Thanks for the lovely comments.
Italics are Flashbacks
The whole chapter is in Juliet's perspective.
Juliet
I was laying on the couch with my eyes closed when James came over next to me. I opened my eyes a bit and saw him kneel down so that he was eye level with my stomach.
"Hey..." he whispered, "How are ya?"
For a second I thought he was talking to me, but I soon realized that he was speaking to the baby. "He must think I'm alseep" I thought to myself. So I shut my eyes and continued to listen.
"I love you...Your not even born yet an' I already love you so much." he sighed, "Never thought I'd be happy that I got some girl pregnant. 'Cept your mama ain't just some girl, she's my girl."
I couldn't help but smile as he squeezed my hand which he now rested on my own.
"She's one of a kind, your mom. She's the most amazing person I've ever known. An' your lucky to call her your mama, an' I know I'm pretty damn lucky to call her my wife."
"Cursing around our kid already?" I asked as I leaned up to give him a light kiss on his cheek.
He looked suprised at first, then quickly said, "Mornin' Jules...You didn't happen to hear everythin' I said, did ya?"
"Afraid so, but lucky for you I happen to think it's very sweet...It's weird, I never took you to be the sweet kind."
"Well, I never thought you'd be the sporty kind."
(Flashback)
I was planting in my garden one day, enjoying the sunny weather, when I heard a voice from close by.
"Hey, Jules."
I looked up and saw James standing in front of me. I could tell by the way he said my name that he wanted something, so I asked, "What is it you need, James?"
"I was just wonderin' if ya were busy tomorrow?"
"Why's that?" I asked, curiously.
"Well, the fella's are havin' a little baseball game, an' I figured you might wanna come watch my team win."
I laughed, "You, playing baseball? I can't picture that."
"I'll have you know, I'm a terrific ball player."
I shrugged, "I guess I'll have to see it to believe it."
"That mean your comin'?"
I nodded, "Wouldn't miss it for the world."
(Next day)
I sat in the stands the next day, admiring James who was dressed in a baby blue uniform and cap. It was official, he looked stunning in anything he wore. I was really glad that he invited me to come watch him play, we've been spending a lot of time together lately, but I still couldn't get enough of him.
I snapped out of my thoughts when I overheard Kris, who I worked with at the motor pool, and some of his friends talking, "What are we gonna do? If Phil's out, we don't have a pitcher."
I instantly jumped up, I used to love playing sports with my sister. And playing with James would surely be more fun than just watching him.
"I'll do it", I volenteered
"Your going to pitch?" Phil asked skeptically, then turned to the rest of the guys, "Theres no way she's playing, we'll forfeit before that happens."
"Hey, give her a break" Kris replied, "It's Juliet, I bet she can do it."
I smiled, and turned to look at Phil who looked openly annoyed, "Fine" he replied, "But you better not go easy on LaFleur."
"Oh, so I won't be playing on James' team?"
"That's not a problem, is it?" he replied gruffly.
"No" I laughed, "This will be much more fun"
When the game finally started, the first up to bat was James. I stood on the pitching mound, while James traipsed over to home plate. He took a few practice swings before he finally looked up to see me, and when he did he looked shocked. He raised his eyebrows before blinking a few times, thinking that he was seeing things.
"What the hell you doin' here?" he yelled over, fighting off a laugh.
"Phil got hurt, I'm filling in for him"
"Oh, really?"
"You don't think I can do it." I said, as more of a statement than a question.
He shook his head, "Never said that, Jules. I just don't think girls should be playin' with the big boys."
"Come on already! Start the game!" Phil screamed, inturrupting our brief conversation. So I rolled my eyes, picked up the ball, and got ready to throw the first pitch.
(Later on)
At the games end, James staggered towards me with a look of defeat plastered on his face.
I looked up at him with a smug smile, "Still think girls can't play?"
He sighed, "Guess you proved me wrong, Jules. If it weren't for you, my team would've actually stood a chance."
I chuckled, and he said, "So tell me, how are ya so good at baseball?"
I shrugged, "How are you so bad at it?"
(End of Flashback)
Later on in the day I went to talk to Kate, to check on her and make sure everything was going okay. She got hurt only a day ago, and I needed to make sure she was feeling better.
"Hello Kate" I said as I walked up to her hospital bed. She looked fine at first but when I got closer I saw that her eyes were red, like she had just been crying, "What's the matter?"
"Nothing"
"Kate. You can tell me."
She thought for a moment, deciding how to phrase it, and said, "I don't think it's going to be okay..."
"Kate, you'll be fine. You got bruised up a bit, but you'll live, don't worry."
She shook her head, "No...that's not what I mean."
"Then what do you mean?"
"I...I should've told you sooner, I--I don't know why I didn't tell the doctors, I guess I just didn't want them to tell Jack yet and--"
"Kate." I said softly, "What happened?"
She gulped and looked down, avoiding eye contact, "I'm pregnant"
My eyes widdened and my breath stopped, "Oh no..." I let out a deep sigh, "Your condition isn't life threatening for you, but it most certaintly could be for a baby."
My statement clearly made Kate upset, and she started blinking back tears, "I just, I didn't think--"
"That's right, you didn't think!" I yelled, "Why didn't you tell me sooner? I could've helped!"
I ran my hand through my hair and sat down, trying to stay calm. I felt horrible, one of the best parts about being in the 1970's was that I no longer lost any women or their babies during pregnancies. It had been three years since I failed to help someone live, and now, that could be happening once again.
"You could've helped?" Kate sniffled, and grabbed her stomach, "You mean you think the baby's dead?"
I tried to keep myself from crying now, and responded honestly, "I don't know. But I certaintly hope not..."
Authors Note: Thanks for reading! Please review, I'd like to know what you think :)
