Chapter 10

Summer

Emmy's P.O.V

"What do you think about this one?" I asked Jonathan as I came up to a beautifully polished wooden crib. Shopping for baby things was both fun and frustrating. I wanted to be as frugal as possible but Jonathan hadn't given me an exact budget to stay within. I hated how he controlled the finances; then again he was the one that earned the money. Ugh…I need a job.

Jonathan came over to the crib, he looked it over intensely. He seemed to know exactly what he wanted for our son and was being very picky. I wish he would at least tell me the specifics of what he wanted.

"It's a possibility." He nodded after he finished his inspection. Jonathan walked over to another crib as I made my way over to the baby clothes. He clearly didn't need my help in the crib area.

I smiled as I looked at the cute little boy outfits in front of me. I picked up a short sleeved dark blue outfit with a cute little bear on it. I was looking through some more outfits when Jonathan approached me.

"I've chosen a crib that will do nicely, we have a car seat picked out and it came with the stroller so these items are checked off the list." Jonathan informed as he put a hand on my back.

"Sounds great." I answered.

"Having fun?" he asked and nodded to the baby clothes I had in my hand.

"They have some cute things. Are you having fun?"

"I'm glad to be getting these things done. We'll go ahead and put a down payment on the crib and payoff the car seat-stroller set paid off today. It's a bit close to the budget but we should be fine for now. We can look at some more things after my next paycheck." Jonathan said as he did the equations in his head. I wish I was at good at math as he was.

"I do have some money set away Jonathan…you don't have to pay for everything." I told him. I hoped he would let me know more about our financial situation.

"If there are things you would like to buy with your money go ahead." He bluntly said. I hated that he was keeping me out of something as important as finance but we had decided our marriage was a partnership. I guess that was an area he wanted to be in charge of.

"Why don't you go ahead and pick out a couple of outfits? He will need clothes and we have little bit of money to spare." Jonathan suggested before he walked to customer service about getting the crib ordered.

Now that we were out of school, Jonathan started working full time at the pharmacy while I filled out job applications. So far I had no luck since no one wanted to a hire a woman who was this far into a pregnancy. I hated being cooped up in the apartment all day. It drove me nuts! I didn't want to have to depend on Jonathan to meet my needs. I wanted to be somewhat useful in the marriage.

{May}

Where it was summer it was time to get started on a garden. We only had a little balcony that linked off our small dining room but I knew with the right tools I could grow some veggies and have a small garden. With the help of a hammer, nails and some wooden boards I was able to make little cubical to grow plants in. I decided to grow some tomatoes, peas, zucchini, green peppers and cabbage. I would have loved to have grown more but we didn't have the room.

"What are you doing?" Jonathan asked as he came out onto the balcony. He had just gotten home from work was probably ready for dinner.

"I just finished planting our garden." I replied, standing up and walking over to him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him into a kiss.

"I thought you hated farming." Jonathan stated.

"No. I love farming and gardening, I just don't want to spend my whole life doing it. Besides it gives me something to do while you're gone."

"No luck with job interviews?"

"I get job interviews but once they find out I'm pregnant they just dismiss me."

"I'm sure you'll find something soon." Jonathan reassured.

{June}

Things in the nursery were coming together nicely. The light blue and lime green room was almost complete. Jonathan and I had set up the crib and dresser. I had washed all of the baby clothes we had bought. Jonathan surprised me with a light green glider and ottoman set. We were able to get a small baby swing and Dr. Hughes had sent us a bassinet to use the first few months of our son's life. The only thing missing was our baby.

Jonathan was in his office reading a textbook he would be using during medical school, while I sat on our couch writing down some baby name ideas. It didn't seem to matter what names I came up with. Jonathan hated all of them. I had a few names written down when Jonathan came into the room.

"What are you working on?" he asked sitting next to me.

"Just more baby names." I told him as I glanced his way.

"Let's see what you've come up with this time?" Jonathan said before he took the notebook out of my hands.

"Hey I wasn't finished." I protested and reached for the notebook. He read through the list, and crossed off everything he didn't like. He paused for a moment.

"This one." He stated as he circled the name and handed the paper back to me. I looked at the name he had circled surprised at his choice.

"Really?" I asked him.

"If you didn't like it you shouldn't have written it down."

"No, I like it…I just didn't think you would. It's so simple."

{End of July}

"What are your plans today?" Jonathan asked me while he got ready for work.

"Karl flies in today. I'm going to meet him at the airport." I answered as I prepared his lunch for him to take to work.

"Do you still have the taser I gave you?"

"I'm not tasing my brother."

"I didn't say tase your brother, I just wanted to make sure you had it with you. I don't like you going into that part of the city alone."

"I'll be fine. I'll even take the can of pepper spray if it'll help you feel better."

"You should carry both of them around with you anyway." Jonathan lectured, unimpressed. I finished his lunch and handed it to him.

"I'll be fine. Stop worrying." I told him. He put down his lunch and put a hand on each hip.

"I can't, especially where you don't take this seriously." He whispered to me his face only an inch away from mine.

"I've been here for almost a year now, I haven't had any problems." I told him.

"This isn't Iowa, Emmy. Just because something hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't."

"You better get going; neither of us wants you to be late to work." I told him changing the subject. Jonathan grabbed his lunch, gave me a quick kiss and told me to take the taser and pepper spray with me.

….

Once Karl was off the plane and we got his luggage we made our way back to the apartment Jonathan and I shared. Karl would start moving into his apartment the next day so he was sleeping on our couch that night.

Karl and I were happily chatting away, catching up on the last few months that we didn't notice the man following closely behind us.

Jonathan's P.O.V

I had finished filling a prescription when I heard my cell phone rang. I looked at the phone but it wasn't a number I recognized. I looked up at the clock realizing my lunch break was a couple minutes away. I signed out while I answered the phone.

"Jonathan Crane." I answered.

"Mr. Crane, this is Officer Jim Gordon with GCPD, I'm calling about your wife, Emily." A man's voice replied.

"Is she alright?" I asked. I hated that Emmy went to pick her brother up but Emmy was strong headed enough that she would have done it regardless of what I said.

"She and a Mr. Dawson were attacked. She is being transported to Gotham General Medical center. She asked me to call you."

"I'll be right there." I told him, hanging up the phone. I quickly told my boss of the situation and left for Gotham General.

"I'm looking for Emily Crane." I told the lady at the nurse's desk once I got to the hospital.

"Mrs. Crane is in room 108…just down the hall." The nurse answered before she pointed me in the right direction. I thanked her and quickly walked down the hall until I came to Emmy's room. A police officer, a doctor; a couple of nurses and Emmy's brother were in the room.

"Jonathan." Emmy's brother, Karl said to me as I came into the room.

"How is she?" I asked Karl.

"She's a bit shaken but the doctor said she would be alright. They have her hooked up to some fetal monitors to make sure the baby is ok. The bastard that attacked us held a knife up to her throat; she has a cut from it but nothing fatal. She is awake; you can talk to her if you want." Karl informed me. I was glad to know Emmy was alright. I walked through the small crowd of people huddled by Emmy's bed and her eyes met mine.

"Jonathan." Emmy smiled, her hand reached out for mine. I walked up to her and took her hand.

"What happened?" I asked while inspecting the large bandage on her neck. She went to say something, but was cut off by the officer.

"I think we have everything we need from you Mrs. Crane. We'll be in touch as things develop. Mr. Dawson, I have some questions for you." The officer said before he walked out of the door with Emmy's brother.

"We're going to keep you overnight just to keep an eye on the baby and make sure everything is alright that way. Mr. Crane," the doctor began, "it's a good thing you gave her that taser. If you hadn't she would have been killed."

After a few more minutes the doctor and nurses left, leaving Emmy and I alone.

"What happened?" I asked her again. I wanted to know who did this to my obviously pregnant wife.

"Karl and I were making our way back to our apartment, when a man came up behind us. He put the knife to my neck, he demanded wallets and anything of value we had on us. I reached into my pocket to grab my wallet, felt the taser, slowly pulled it out, prayed it was facing him and not me and tased the hell out of the bastard. It surprised him but he still managed to cut my neck before he crawled away. The doctor says I'll be alright though." Emmy explained.

"I'm glad you actually listened to me and carried the taser." I told her, there were times I was positive she didn't listen to me.

"Me too….I hate it when you're right." She smirked.

"You're married to me….get used to it." I smirked back at her.

"How's the baby?" I asked, devoting my attention to my son.

"He's moving." Emmy answered as she placed my hand on her bump just in time to feel a good strong kick.

{August}

Emmy recovered well from her injuries. The man who had attempted to mug her and Karl was found and convicted.

"I am going to take classes; I'm so close to my degree, I can't give up now." Emmy argued, trying to convince me that her taking classes this fall was a good idea.

"I'm not saying give up on your degree; I'm saying this may not be the best time to pursue it. Think about this logically, you're due at the end of the month, two weeks after school starts. You will be emotionally and physically drained. If you go this semester it could jeopardize your grades, which means jeopardizing your GPA and scholarship. Take this semester off and go back in the spring, if you still want to." I calmly.

"Jonathan, I have had friends say they're taking a semester off because they had babies. None of them have made it back to school. I can't let that be me."

"Emmy, I don't know these friends you're talking about, but I do know you. You are a beautiful, strong willed, educated woman. I know you will make it back to school and I promise I will help you anyway I can."

"I have fought so hard for this…I…" Emmy started.

"I know. Don't think of it as giving up…think of it as taking a little time off. You'll be back in classes before you know it." I reassured her. She thought a moment.

"Why are you always right?" She questioned.

{September}

I was two weeks into Medical School and I was even busier than I had been when I was working on my Masters. Emmy was a few days over her due date. She acted fine but I could tell she was ready to meet our little one.

I was in my office when I heard Emmy in the kitchen. She slept quite a bit now, that was normal for this part of pregnancy, but she was up about every two hours. I looked over at the clock and realized I had pulled another all-nighter. It was 7:15 and I needed to get things ready so I could be at my 8 am class.

Emmy was getting a glass of water when I walked into the kitchen to get some coffee started and to make sure Emmy was alright.

"Another all-nighter?" Emmy asked before she took a sip of water.

"Just part of the territory." I answered. I knew medical school wouldn't be easy but I was up for the challenge.

Emmy was put her cup in the sink when she grabbed her stomach and started to breathe heavily. Her face looked pained as she concentrated on the contraction I was sure she was having. I broke the space between us and put a hand on her shoulder. She leaned her forehead on my shoulder.

"Are you alright? Is a contraction?" I asked to be sure. I couldn't help but wonder if it was finally 'baby time'. After a couple seconds Emmy stood straight again and nodded.

"I'm fine. It was just one of those rude fake contractions." She replied. It wasn't hard to tell she was miserable. She had, had a doctor's appointment the day before and he told her she had barely dilated to a one. Emmy hadn't been very happy with that news where she had been contracting on and off the past couple of weeks.

"Do I need to stay home today?" I questioned. I didn't want to leave her alone only to go into labor.

"The last contraction was about four hours ago, Jonathan. It's been doing this for the last two weeks. I don't think I'm going into labor yet. You need to go to your classes. The less school you miss the better." She was right about that. However, I couldn't get the image of her giving birth at home alone out of my head.

"I think I'll stay home." I insisted.

"Jonathan, you and I both know labor can take a long time, even after it starts. Go to your classes, I promise I'll text you if I need you." Emmy tried to reassure me. I still wasn't convinced. There was just something that made me feel uneasy about the situation.

"What if I have Karl come over while you're gone? I guess most of his Professors went to Europe for an Art program thing." She suggested. "Please, there's no reason for you to miss school until the baby is actually coming. I'd really hate for you to miss school for no reason."

Now I had the image of Karl catching the baby in my head. However, I knew the hospital wouldn't admit Emmy until she was contracting every 2-4 minutes and she didn't seem to think she'd be at that point any time soon.

"Alright, I'll go if your brother can come over." I replied. I didn't like it but I did need to go to class.

After talking with Karl, Emmy told me he would be there within the next half hour. I looked at the clock realized I really needed to leave if I was going to make it to class on time.

"I need to get going. Call me if anything changes." I instructed as I grabbed my briefcase.

"I will, I promise." Emmy agreed before she gave me a kiss. "Have a great day! Learn lots." I nodded to her and gave her another kiss and left.

…

My last class of the day had just finished when my cell phone went off. I looked at the number and quickly answered it when I saw it was Emmy.

"Emmy?" I asked.

"Hey Jonathan, its Karl….I think Emmy's in labor."

Author's Note: Hello everyone! Sorry it took me so long to update! Life's been busy with school. Thanks to everyone who has followed/favored my story. A special thanks to ParadoxMagic for reviewing!

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and are looking forward to the next chapter. It should be a fun and exciting one! Please leave a review if you have a moment. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Thanks again!-Lin