Chapter 10

[4 months later]

Cece was smiling, she was happy as she went into the loft holding her newly protruding stomach. Jess had said she was glowing and Cece could definitely see it now. She had taken maternity leave early as her agency had told her they don't want pregnant models, as it was not "the trend". Although it didn't bother her, she was able to spend a bit more time with her friends and she loved every minute of it. It was a whole new experience for her

"Cece!" beamed Schmidt as he embraced her in a hug. She had to admit she still wasn't used to this much affection from him. Frankly, if he hugged her in public, she knew she would still wince.

"Schmidt" she half heartedly responded back, as she lifted her arms to awkwardly pat his back

"How's my little one?" he chuckled as he bent down and stroked her stomach, he placed a soft kiss on the surface of her woollen jumper. Cece couldn't help but smile, as soon as he noticed a little bump forming on her stomach, he had been doing that ever since

"Get a room" yelled Winston as he emerged from his room

"Gladly" winked Schmidt as he pretended to pull Cece in to his room as she resisted his touch. She rolled her eyes as she walked off to where Jess was sitting

"I'm liking the new mummy fashion" laughed Jess "Give us a whirl" Cece did a full turn, letting her white woollen jumper slightly shift in the breeze

"Very nice"

"I know! I don't know how I would cope without these leggings" she giggled, plonking herself down next to Jess on the couch

"Move out the way, heavy weight champion just sat down!" chuckled Nick who was sitting on the other side of Jess. Cece scowled at him, she was starting to get fed up of all his fat jokes, he knew that she was pregnant but still he kept going on and on

"Jokes over Nick" said Jess sternly as she wagged her finger in front of his face

"It's over to the fat lady sings" he was feeling pretty pleased with himself as Winston gave him a high five over his shoulder

"Good one"

"I know!" Nick and Winston had been friends for years but they still hadn't lost that very familiar, very magical connection they shared. The girls rolled their eyes, after four months, it's easy to ignore the constant banter from immature boys. If it wasn't the love of Jess's life, Cece was sure to slap his sorry face. She reminded herself

"It's been four months, Jess" she winked "one month left"

"Until what?" Nick had pretty sharp hearing; it was one of his most helpful and annoying traits

"Until the big day, right Jess?" Jess was silent, right now she hated Cece. How could she talk about her kissing Nick, to Nick

"Big Day? I haven't heard about this?" He was lost, was there something he missed

"Well you'll definitely be there" winked Cece once more at Jess, who was practically stooping lower and lower in her seat

"Oh, well I look forward to it" smiled Nick as his eyes peered over to Jess "Are you not excited?" Jess just wanted to curl up into a ball and disappear

"Of course she's excited! She's been waiting for this day all her life" Answered Cece in replacement for her mute friend

"All her life? Wow, it must be important"

"You will never forget it" Cece was enjoying this too much, she knew Jess would probably rugby tackle her later, but for now, she would make the most of it

"Okay guys, enough talk about the Big day, its ages away, let's just talk about something else...the weather! The weather looks pleasantly sunny today" Jess was trying helplessly to change the subject, if Nick knew what they were actually talking about, she was sure he would be uncomfortable about it too

"Cece, you coming?" called Schmidt from the front door

"Coming where?"

"To our birthing class, It was your idea after all" smirked Schmidt as he stood there waiting for her to finally click

"Oh right, see you guys later" she smiled at her friends as she met Schmidt. She remembered the day when she first brought up birthing classes

*"I will do anything! Anything, Cece! You can count on me, I will attend your needs and go anywhere you want me to...just name" smiled Schmidt as he appeared through the Cece's kitchen door

"Well, that's certainly a mighty big proposal, you got there" it was too good to be true, he was starting to be a bit cocky now, she thought. After fetching her a day's worth of groceries, he now thought he was capable of doing anything, she smiled, what a loser

"Anything for you" her eyes focused on one of her pregnancy pamphlets and she saw the words that would completely straighten that smirk off his face

"Anything you say?" she had a glint in her eye "birthing classes"

"Come again?" Schmidt's face, certainly dropped, she couldn't help but smile

"Birthing classes, you know when they prepare you for labour and birth" she gave a satisfied grin, she found enjoyment in his misery

"Yeah" he gulped "sure, sounds like a blast" she could see the colour drop from his face, wasn't so cocky now?*

She muffled a laugh at his expression, it was imprinted into her brain, she would remember that day forever,

"What's so funny?" Schmidt frowned as he opened the car door for her

"Just remembered something"

"Something good I hope"

"It was amazing"

"Welcome to Bradley Method Birthing Classes, I am your instructor, Dianne. In these twelve weeks, I will help you embrace the natural process of childbirth and help you get the find preparations. We emphasise the importance of diet and exercise. Also, I would like to mention that we believe that the husband or partner must be involved as an integral participant in the birth process" Cece listened attentively as she looked around and saw several other women sitting in a circle on mats. She could feel Schmidt sitting behind her as she left her body melt into his grip. Considering this was their first birthing class together, they were coping pretty well. She smiled; maybe it won't be as bad as she thought

"This better be worth the money" whispered Schmidt in her ear as Cece rolled her eyes, trust him to think of money in a time like this

"It will be" Cece focused back onto her instructor, she watched as Dianne's long brunette hair swayed side to side, she watched as her mouth moved up and down. Before long, she realised she wasn't listening as she started to zone back into the conversation

"...and breathe in" Cece's head swivelled round to see a closed eyed Schmidt, breathing deeply in. She frowned; I thought this class was for me. Schmidt seemed to be enjoying this class more than she was. Cece muffled a chuckled before she starting turning her head back round, she started to take breathes,

"In" she inhaled "and out" this wasn't so bad, if pregnancy was like this, it would be a breeze, she smiled feeling proud of herself

"You're all doing great, it is important that you learn to take deep breathes as if your body is stressed it will make contractions a lot worse" contractions. Cece gulped, it sounded painful

Before she knew it, Cece's first half an hour session had finished and she was getting ready to get back

"Also ladies, before you go, I want you all to start eating as healthy as you can. So lots of vitamins, fruit and veg. Please avoid junk food and too much sweet things. Alright, that concludes our first session. See you all next week" Cece sat as she watched the three other couples start to get up and leave. The one next to her seem a lot bigger than her. Cece looked down at her little bump and wondered whether her baby was developing okay

"You ready?" ask Schmidt, as he stared in concerned down at her

"Ready for what?"

"To go home?" he gave a little laugh as he pulled her hands, helping her off the ground. Schmidt enjoyed that session more than he thought. He was expecting a lot of back rubbing and dealing through labour pains but luckily it was mainly breathing and being healthy, which was his speciality. He absorbed every bit of information that Dianne has said and was going to make sure that Cece stuck to it.

Schmidt endured a silent journey home as he drove back to their apartment. He had expected Cece to ask questions about fitness or healthy eating, considering it was what he was good at. But nothing, she sat quietly next to him, staring at her nails, then the ceiling, out the window, anywhere expect in his direction

"That was a good session, wasn't it?" he encourage, if small talk was what it took to get her to speak, small talk it was

"Yeah"

"I sure learnt a lot"

"mhmm" he briefly looked over at her, she was now looking out the window. What was wrong with her, he thought. Maybe she was hungry? He looked down at his watch, 3pm. On cue, he felt his stomach rumble

"You hungry?" he asked

"What?" Cece squinted, almost being brought back into reality from a dream

"Hung...ary" Schmidt spoke slowly, trying to get through to her

"Erm...yeah a little bit" He fought the temptation to gasp, he just managed to get more than a one word answer out of her

"Oh that's good, Want me to get anything before we get home?"

"No" he sighed, back to one word again

"Okay then"

Schmidt pulled up to his familiar spot outside. He now claimed it as his spot. Cece stepped out the car, without another word as she walked off up the stairs. What was her problem? As he locked the car ... then double checked to make sure it was lock, he pushed the keys into his back pocket before following Cece up the stairs. As he neared the apartment, the door was shut. Twisting it slightly he tried to open it, but not success. Did she seriously lock him out?

"Cece" he called as he started knocking

"Yeah?"

"Door"

"What about it?"

"It's locked"

"No it's not"

"If it wasn't, I wouldn't be standing outside it" He could hear heavy exaggerated footsteps march towards the door before it flung open

"It's open now" she almost yelled at him

"You don't say" he mocked her aggressive tone. He watched as she stormed off, to the fridge grabbing a massive tub of Ben & Jerry's ice cream from the freezer. Shuttingthe door behind him, he started walking towards her

"Cece..."

"What now" she mumbled as she struggled to talk with a full mouth

"Dianne said no sweet things"

"Yeah" her expression was confused, what was he trying to say

"Well, I hate to tell you, but ice cream is generally sweet"

"So..."

"So...Cece you can't eat it" he began to attempt to pull the tub out of her hands. Emphasise on the 'attempt'

"What are you doing Schmidt?"

"Trying to stop you from ruining our baby" it was almost a scene from tug a war, as Cece began to crouch to get a better hold of the tub as Schmidt pulled aimlessly in theopposite direction

"Give me the ice cream, Cece"

"NO" she shouted

"But Dianne said –"

"Who cares what Dianne says...you know what sod Dianne!" Schmidt released the tub, as Cece stumbled backwards. His mouth was open as he stared at this monster infront of him

"Sod Dianne? It was your idea to go to the damn session and now you're saying Sod Dianne? Seriously, Cece, What do you want?" Schmidt didn't shout but Cece could almost see the disappointment in his eyes

"All I want is ice cream right now, Alright. I don't want you to tell me what to do; I don't want Dianne to me what to do. I just want to be young and able to do what the hell I want" she was getting breathless as Schmidt sighed in realisation

"I see"

"What do you 'see'?" she mocked him

"You feel that you're no longer 'young' because you're having a baby...I get it"

"Do you Schmidt...do you really!" Cece sighed as she shook her head "You can have the damn ice cream" she pushed the tub into his chest, their faces inches away from each other, as she shoved past him; knocking his shoulder on the way. Schmidt stood motionless, holding the cold tub in his hands as he listened to the bedroom door bang.

Closing his eyes, he sighed. Yes, he loved Cece but it was moments like this that he just wanted to get up and leave.

© Ms Zola, April, 2012