Okay, here's 7 to make up for 6 which I didn't like very much. Credit goes to the same people!
Hope you like it better, and we have hope for Linstead!
A soft knock stirred Erin from her sleep. She had been sleeping in Will's room for a few nights now since he was always at work or staying at his new girlfriend's place anyway; however, she was still a little disoriented when she opened her eyes and found herself in the strange bedroom.
Tap tap. The knocking was a bit louder now. "Erin, are you awake? Can I come in?" She heard Jay calling from the other side of the door. She let out a short laugh at how cautious he sounded, not that she could really blame him. Things had been strained since she had found out that he had made detective two weeks ago. However, she wasn't really mad at him anymore, having resolved to not let him get to her, because she could do this like she did everything else, on her own. Since she had yet to find a new apartment, she had suggested that she move to Will's bedroom when he wasn't there, so Jay could claim his own bed again. It had been obvious that sleeping on the too small couch had taken it's toll on him. Besides, being in his bedroom made her feel strangely vulnerable, and that was the one thing she did not want to be around him.
"Yeah, come in!" she finally called out once she had woken up enough to face him.
"Good morning," He gave her a cheeky grin, clearly in a good mood. "I, uh, I'm gonna head out for a bit. I have to go to the academy to do some paperwork before I start on monday. I just wanted to let you know..." He trailed of as his eyes rested on her face.
"Oh, okay." She said, trying to smooth her hair; his stare was making her a bit self-conscious.
"So, I'll see you later?" He had meant it as a statement, but it came out as question. Sometimes he thought she might be gone when he came back. They were still trying to find their balance with each other and he was afraid that somehow the scale would tip to a point where she would leave.
"Yeah, sure." Erin replied, sliding slowly off the bed. She had learned the hard way that moving about too fast after getting up would make her morning sickness that much worse. Following him out of the room, she came to stand in the living room, where she watched him close the front door with a soft thud.
As soon as he was gone she went to look for his laptop. She had some time before she had her first prenatal doctor's appointment today, so she figured she might as well put it to use and look for a new appartment. Locating the computer on the couch, she bent to pick it up. Unfortunately, the movement made her stomach turn, prompting her to quickly run into the bathroom and throw up what little she had in it.
When the heaving finally subsided, she brushed her teeth and started getting ready for the day, choosing to abandon the apartment hunt in favor of a long, relaxing shower. She could always do it after her appointment, when she didn't feel so sick.
"Erin Lindsay?" Erin's head snapped up at the nurse in the flower printed scrubs calling out her name. "Come on back."
Standing up, she followed the nurse through the door and into a hallway. "Let's get your weight, all right?" Erin stepped onto the scale.
"125! You're up five pounds!" the nurse exclaimed, writing the number down in Erin's chart.
"Is that a lot?" Erin asked, nervously. She had no idea what expect, after all it was her first time being pregnant and she had not read up on it much.
"No, it just means you'll have a healthy, strong baby," The nurse reassured her with a warm grin.
Erin gave a small a smile and followed the nurse into the exam room where the nurse took her vitals and asked a few questions. "Here, we'll need you to take off your pants and put this drape on over your legs. Doctor Sullivan will be with you shortly," she said before slipping out the door.
After feeling completely uncomfortable while changing, Erin sat back on the bed. As promised, a few minutes later, two short knocks came at the door before a tall blonde woman in a lab coat walked in. "Hello, Ms Lindsay, how are things going?"she asked with a smile, extending her hand towards Erin, who shook it and returned the smile.
"Good, they're good," Erin replied.
"All right, well, usually ten weeks is when we do the first pelvic exam, so we'll do that and then we'll take a look at your baby all right?" She didn't have much choice did she? Erin just nodded and after an uncomfortable pelvic exam, Doctor Sullivan moved around he to the ultrasound machine, pushing on some buttons, which Erin didn't know the use of.
"All right, ready to see your baby?" Doctor Sullivan's questions were becoming rhetorical because Erin wasn't sure what to say. She lifted Erin's shirt over her small belly and squirted ultrasound gel onto it. After moving the wand around on her skin for a few seconds, a blurry black and white image appeared on the monitor, which Erin didn't quite know how to read, but she could see it moving.
"There's your baby!" Erin couldn't help but grin widely; as conflicted as she was about this whole situation, in that moment she loved her baby very much. "There's the head, and that's its torso, and it's little arms and legs!" Doctor Sullivan explained as she pointed to the different parts of the image and pushed several buttons on the machine. Erin was mesmerized as her eyes hungrily took in the tiny movements. And then, all too soon for her liking, the gel was being wiped off her skin.
"Doctor," Erin asked still staring at the black screen, where her baby had just been seconds before "do you think I could get a copy of the picture?"
"Sure, I'll print you out a bunch," she told Erin before standing up from the stool, "Do you have any questions?" Erin had so many questions but for some reason, couldn't think of any at the moment so she just shook her head.
"That's all right, well here's some info you should read through," Doctor Sullivan handed Erin a few tri-folded pamphlets, "you get dressed while I print the ultrasound pictures out. They will be waiting for you at the front desk, where you can also schedule our next appointment, all right?"
"Yes, thank you." Erin replied, still a bit dazed at what she had experienced just minutes ago. Before she knew it she was already driving home with a small smile on her lips. It wouldn't go away and she didn't want it to.
Unfortunately, the smile did fade as a wave of nausea hit her in the elevator up to Jay's apartment. Fumbling with the key, she finally opened the door and in a rush dropped her keys, purse and pamphlet onto the end table. Covering her mouth with her hand as she barely made it inside and to the toilet before she vomited...and then again. Lying down was the only thing that made her feel remotely better, so, after having brushed her teeth, Erin retreated back to bed.
"Erin?" Jay called out an hour later when he got home from a day of last minute business at the police academy. Looking unsuccessfully for her in the living room and kitchen, he noticed that the door to the second bedroom was firmly shut. Had she not moved all day?
Upon knocking softly and receiving no answer at all, he slowly opened the door and peeked his head inside. She was fast asleep. Leaning on the doorframe, he smiled, she truly was beautiful. His eyes moved to focus on the swell in her abdomen where their child was nestled, growing. He felt like the luckiest guy in the world; he couldn't wait to meet their child, to be a father.
Deciding to let her rest, Jay made his way over to the couch. The White Sox should've still been in the first few innings of their game at Minnesota. As he reached for the remote on the end table, he saw some pamphlets. They had photos of happy pregnant women and smiling baby faces on them. "Your Pregnant Body" and "Month By Month Fetal Development" they read.
It took him only seconds to put two and two together: she had been to her first doctor's appointment…and he hadn't even known about it. All of the glee he had felt up until this moment vanished in an instant, leaving him disappointed and angry. He had a right to know, a right to be there. Why wouldn't she let him?
Before he knew it, he was back in the door frame of the room where Erin slept. "Erin, where'd you get these?" he asked gripping the pamphlets in his hand, not even bothering to wake her.
She opened her eyes and yawned, not sure what was going on. "Hey, you're back!" She smiled, still on a high from seeing her baby for the first time.
"Where'd you get these?" Jay repeated, holding up the pamphlets, but she was already digging in a manila file folder she had grabbed off the night stand.
"I had a check up, look!" Erin, exclaimed happily, as she pulled out the largest size of the ultrasound photo and held it out so he could see.
His eyes focused on the picture in her hand. His baby. Their baby. "Why didn't you tell me you went to the doctor?" he said, trying to tear his eyes off of the photo of his child. He came in this room for a reason but it was soon forgotten as he fixated on the square piece of paper.
Erin shrugged, "I didn't think it'd be that big of a deal." She really hadn't thought much about it before she had left this morning. However, she had come back a different person. He had had every right to witness that wonder, too; to feel the same reverence she had felt upon seeing her baby for the first time. She realized now that he should have been there. He would have wanted to.
"Of course it is, this is my baby too," Jay explained, as he stepped forward and took the ultrasound photo in his hands. He could see the head, limbs and torso. Tears came to his eyes as he stared at the blurry, colorless image. "Woah."
Erin looked up at Jay, he had wet eyes and a stupid grin plastered on his face. She was smiling too now; the brightest and most genuine smile she had ever given him.
"That's in there?" Jay asked incredulously as he gestured to Erin's belly. Her smile only became impossibly wider in response, her head bobbing up and down slowly . "Haha!" he laughed happily before scooping her up from where she was standing by the bed and effortlessly twirling her around in his arms. Once she was firmly back on solid ground, he pulled her into a hug and held her for a few seconds.
"This is my baby too, Erin. Don't ever think I don't want to be included in this." Jay mumbled, his face still buried in Erin's hair. He had a hard time letting her go. When he finally did, he kept his eyes trained on hers. "I want to be there for every little thing."
Erin nodded, for the first time really understanding that he meant his promise, "Of course, I'm sorry."
Jay looked onto the bed at the pamphlets he discarded when he lifted Erin from the bed. "If you want, we can look through these together now?" Erin asked after a moment of silence.
Jay smiled and nodded, "Oh, yeah! I want to know as much about your pregnancy as I can." He had already started gathering the brochures. He made his way to the couch as Erin followed behind closely. She, too, was curious to see what the next stages of her pregnancy were going to be like. She hadn't really been excited before today, but now, talking with him and remembering the way her heart had fluttered, when she had looked at the sonogram, she was. She sat down next to him as he grabbed the first pamphlet.
"All right, what've we got?" Jay asked flipping to the first page, "Your Pregnant Body," he read aloud before pointing to her, "all right, we've got one of those." The two began to read through the first page. After barely three sentences Erin scooted closer to him, leaning on him slightly. She could read better that way.
"The pregnancy glow: Your face will be fuller and your complexion will be shinier due to more oil glands," Erin read out loud , "oh great, not only will my belly get big but my face has to too?"
"You're still gonna be beautiful though," he commented, looking at her with a smile, "pregnancy looks good on you."
"You're an idiot," Erin scoffed mid-blush and shoved his shoulder lightly. He only put a strong arm around her neck, pulling her close to him and kissing her hair.
"You bet."
