Hey everyone, I'm sorry that this chapter is so late! I've been working a lot of overtime these past few weeks and have been completely wiped out once I get home. In other news, baby is still doing well, the hubs and I have decided we don't want to find out the sex until he or she is born which gives me the chance to live vicariously through the pregnancy in this story. I hope you all enjoy this chapter despite its lateness!
Duncan's Gift
Chapter 7:
Veronica sat on her bedroom floor. At a further glance, you'd think she was organizing baby items, but once you actually sat down you could see the files semi-buried beneath receiving blankets and bibs. What she was doing went completely against what her and her father agreed on, but the tiny voice inside of her that pushed for the truth was getting louder and would not be silenced until this was solved.
She placed more blankets and clothes on top of the files once she heard a knock at her door.
"Come in." She called back.
Keith walked in to find his daughter on the floor.
"What's going on here? It looks like Babies R Us threw up on your floor." He laughed.
"I'm just organizing. Jill keeps giving me her sons old things and I need to find room for them."
"How much stuff is actually usable?"
"90% of it. She gave me a bunch of sleepers and onesies that look pretty new."
"Well that's good. So I'm just about to head out. Are you sure you're going to be alright on your own?"
"Of course, I mean I'm only going to invite a few friends and have a couple of drinks…" She quipped. "No, that doesn't sound right, I'm most likely going to work and find room for all of this stuff."
"You call me if you need anything or if anything happens."
"I know Dad." She stood up and gave him a hug. "Be safe catching those bad guys."
"I will. Bye honey."
As soon as he left, she gave one last glance at the piles of blankets, clothes, and files before pulling herself away to get ready for work.
Jill was having a ball planning her baby shower, every time they worked a shift together she would show her ideas for decorating, food, and games. She was very grateful to have Jill there to help her with any questions she had and even to help her with planning her baby shower. She supposed it was because Jill had gone through close to what she was going through; outcast in high school only later to fall pregnant, and the father of that baby long gone.
Like clockwork, as soon as she arrived to work she was bombarded by Jill with her book.
"Veronica, I've started the invitations for the shower. Come take a look at them. I've also finished the guest list."
She less than enthusiastically walked to the counter and stood next to her.
"Wow, these are really nice!" She said in surprise.
"Thanks. So here's my final list for the baby shower, how does it look?"
"It looks great. Thanks for doing this, I probably wouldn't have been able to pull this off on my own."
"What are friends for."
Veronica smiled to herself. She definitely didn't have many female friends, as over enthusiastic as Jill was, having her as a friend was actually nice.
"Are you busy tonight after work?" She asked.
"I have to pick up Kayden from my parents house…"
"My dad's out for a case. I figured we could hang out and watch a movie. Plus I'm overwhelmed with organizing the baby stuff."
"If you don't mind having a crazy toddler at your place I'm pretty game."
"I probably need practice with kids…"
After work, Jill and Kayden stopped by as planned. The plan was to watch a movie and order dinner, however once Jill saw the state of Veronica's room they both got distracted.
"I definitely don't miss sharing a room with Kayden." She sighed.
"Believe it or not, this is a lot more organized than last week."
"Well at least you're making progress."
"I just hope that the baby shower doesn't overcrowd my room."
"Well if anyone is generous enough to get the swing or travel set it might be a bit crowded."
"I guess I could deal with those, I mean the strollers do fold down." She replied.
Monday:
Veronica sat in her math class trying not to fall asleep. To say that she was exhausted was an understatement. Since her dad was gone, her last two nights were filled with bathroom trips, baby kicks, and a bus crash. She debated internally whether she skip her next class and take a nap in the nurse office or suck it up and sleep later. Interrupting her inner monologue were a series of rolls and kicks from her daughter. Her baby's movement was always a welcomed interruption especially right now in her life. The bus crash was haunting her and making it hard to focus on anything else but her dead classmates.
The bell rang lifting her out of her thoughts and her seat. She stopped by her locker to grab her Government books still contemplating the very possible nap in the nurses office.
"Would you rather be spelunking?" She heard a voice ask.
She looked up to see Logan standing by her locker.
"No, actually this my 'I'd rather be sleeping' face. Man, you've really lost your touch."
"How are you doing with...you know…"
"You can say the word baby aloud." She replied.
"How are you and the baby doing?"
"We're good. She's really active at night, so I lose out on some sleep, but overall everything is good."
"That's good. I was serious about helping you out you know."
"I know, but as of right now I'm alright."
"I'm taking this Uncle Logan thing seriously."
"Uncle Logan? When were you going to spring that one on me?"
"Hey, Duncan was my brother in all but blood. He wouldn't want me leaving you alone in this."
"I appreciate it Logan. My baby girl is going to grow up surrounded by a lot of testosterone."
"That and crime solving."
She gave a laugh at that statement. Hell, it was as close to the truth as ever; she grew up with her father as Sheriff and look how she turned out.
"I have to get to class." She finally said.
She made her way through the corridor still noticing the whispers aimed towards her belly. While most people were shocked about her pregnancy, she did receive rare encounters with excited people. She also encountered the unexpected and uncomfortable hands on her belly. She liked to joke that she was the human petting zoo; no matter where she was, there was at least one or two hands placed on her belly without her permission.
"Hey Veronica!" Gia called excitedly once she entered the Government classroom, pointing to the seat right next to her.
"Hey Gia."
"Wow, you've gotten bigger." She exclaimed.
'Because that's just what every pregnant woman wants to hear'
"Yep, at least I have someone to blame it on."
"Does it...she...move at all?"
"All of the time."
"Can I feel?"
"At least you actually ask to touch my belly." She quipped. "Here, give me your hand."
She took Gia's extended hand and placed it on the side of her belly where most of the kicks were happening.
"That's so freaky!" She gasped. "She does that all the time?!"
Veronica nodded.
"Yeah, kids are definitely a no for me."
"Yeah, I thought the same thing too..."
Kids weren't originally on her agenda. All she wanted to do is get away from Neptune and start a career as far away as possible. However, her plans had always changed quickly due to circumstance. Despite kids not being part of her plan, she was happy that she was having a daughter and she embraced that part of her life with full force.
By the time Veronica arrived home, she was well and truly exhausted. She made straight for her room and went to take a nap. She knew that lack of sleep was something that she'd have to get used to, but was it too much to ask for a little sleep before a screaming and crying baby entered her life?
She had managed a good half hour of sleep before she started feeling uncomfortable. With all the pillows on her bed, you'd expect that she had some semblance of comfort, but that wasn't the case. In the end she gave up and went into the living room.
She sat in the living room looking through baby names on her laptop. She was 25 weeks and over half way through her pregnancy, she knew she'd need a name instead of baby girl for her daughter. She knew that she at least wanted to at least have Lily as her daughters middle name, as for her first name she was stumped. Thankfully, she had the internet and it was filled with different options.
She heard the door open and saw her dad walk in.
"You're home!"
"Hey honey, what're you up too?" Keith asked as he walked in.
"Looking for baby names. I mean now that we know she's a girl, Keith Wallace Mars really isn't an option." She replied. "How did the hunt go?"
"The bad guys is behind bars once more."He smiled. "Baby names, I was never good at that part."
"That's why I have the internet. So far I'm liking the names Hope, Emilia, Francesca, and Natalie."
"Those are some good names. Personally, I like Francesca, but that may be the Italian side of me."
"Francesca is actually a big contender. I'm actually trying to find something that matches well with Lily as her middle name. I have a few options written down for now, but I really need to pick out a name before I go into labor."
"You've got time honey. So what did you get up to while I was away?"
"Bar hopping, I got a few tattoos...you know the same old weekend activities."
"That's my girl." He laughed planting a kiss on her forehead.
"Oh, before I forget..." She started to say as she walked into her room.
After a few counts she returned with an envelope.
"You're cordially invited..." She said handing him the envelope.
Keith opened up the envelope and gave the contents a read.
"Oh honey, I'd be happy to go to your baby shower."
"Good because if you didn't I'd be very upset."
"I wouldn't miss it. These cards look pretty fancy, last time I checked you had trouble drawing a straight line."
"Jill made them, she also planned the entire thing."
"So who else is coming to this thing?"
"A few of my coworkers, Mac, Wallace, Alicia, Logan, and Gia."
"Gia Goodman? You're friends with Gia Goodman?"
"Acquaintances. She saw one of the baby shower invites and got really excited. I couldn't tell her she wasn't invited, that'd be like kicking a puppy."
"Oh honey, those hormones have you going soft."
"Don't remind me."
"Well at least that means you'll be getting a pretty sweet gift from the Goodman family."
"That's one plus."
They ended their night with dinner. Afterwards, Veronica returned to her room to work on the bus crash. She was still exhausted, but she still had a small little bit of energy to push her to stay up until 12am looking into all of the possible theories.
That's all for you guys! Once again I do sincerely apologize for the lack of updates. For some reason, this chapter was hard to get through. Not only did I have a busy schedule, but writers block was biting me in the ass. Next chapter will include prom and epic stuff and yes, this one will be up by Sunday. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.
