Chapter 9

March 27, 2010

Mello sits in the passenger seat of my car as I drive him to the doctor for another ultrasound and one of his last prenatal check-ups before the baby comes.

"Matty?" he asks. "You know what I just realized?"

"What?" I ask.

"We haven't even discussed what we're gonna name the baby," he says. "We really should start thinking about that; I'm due in less than three weeks now."

"Yeah, you're right," I reply. "So...do you have any names in mind?"

He thinks for a moment, rubbing his bump. "Well...if it's a boy...I'd like to name him Matt, after you..." he finally says, blushing.

"Aww, that's sweet..." I can't help but tell him. "How about if it's a girl?"

"Huh...I'm not sure..." he admits. "Which is funny, because I'd actually really like to have a girl..."

I look at him, surprised. "Really? You would?"

"Yeah," he says. "Why? Did you want a boy? I mean, since you know now that he'd be named after you?"

"Well, that'd be nice," I say, "but at the same time, I really want a daughter too..."

"You know what I just thought?" he asks, a few minutes later.

"What?"

"I think we should name her after L, if it's a girl," he suggests. "Since, you know...he can't be here with us..."

"Mello," I say, leaning over to kiss him as I stop at a red light. "That's a great idea."

"So, if I have a boy, it'll be named after you, and if it's a girl, after L, right?" he asks.

"If that's what you want, babe," I reply. "Though...are we really gonna name her L? Just the letter?"

"I was thinking Elle. E-L-L-E," he explains. I nod. That makes more sense...but the thought is still there.

Soon we get to the doctor's office and Mello is lying comfortably (er, not so much...) on the exam bed while his doctor takes down some notes on his chart.

"So, you're due in about two and half weeks," he says. "You seem to be perfectly healthy, now let's check on that baby of yours...I'll be right back."

When he goes to another room to bring in the ultrasound machine, I look at my fiancé.

"Do you want him to tell us what the baby will be now?" I ask him. "I mean, all this talk about names has made me curious...but if you wanna wait another couple weeks, I'm fine with that too..."

Mello looks at me, then down at his protruding belly. "Well, we've made it this far without knowing...so...yeah, we'll ask him when he comes back," he says.

"You sure?" I ask. Mello nods.

After a few minutes, he comes in with the machine. He wheels it over next to Mello's bed, and Mello takes that as the cue to lift up his shirt. We know the drill, but Mello never seems to get used to just how cold that gel is on his stomach...

"So, you're aware that this will likely be the last ultrasound you have before your due date, correct?" the doctor asks. Mello and I nod.

"Hey, we were wondering," I ask the doctor, "what is the baby? A boy or a girl?"

"Oh, so you've decided you don't want to wait until it's born?" he asks. Again, we both nod. "Very well then. I just need to put the gel on, then I'll show you your baby girl, okay?"

Mello stares at him, then at me, then back at him again. "I'm...I'm having a girl?" The doctor nods, and Mello's eyes light up. "That's so great! I mean, I wouldn't have loved it any more or less either way, but I was secretly hoping for a girl..."

"Well, it's a girl, and you'll get to meet her soon," he says, placing the ultrasound probe on his stomach. It's not long before that familiar image appears on the screen--what was just revealed as our precious daughter. "She's definitely grown since your last ultrasound, Mello," the doctor says. "Everything looks fine, she's moving normally...Congratulations, your baby's just as healthy as you are."

I can't take my eyes away from the screen, from the image of the baby, our baby. Even though it's just an ultrasound image, I can tell she's going to be absolutely beautiful. I can feel Mello gently squeeze my hand and I can hear him try in vain to hold back a small sob. I gently rub his hand with my own.

"Matt," he whispers. "We're almost parents. Can you believe it?"

I smirk. "It does feel a bit...surreal, now that it's only a short time from now...and technically, we're already parents. But we can't hold her in our arms yet. But soon we will."

"Okay, well now that we've gotten everything checked, let me just get you cleaned up, Mello, and I'll see you in a couple weeks," the doctor says. He gets Mello a damp washcloth from the sink across the room and hands it to him. After he cleans himself up, he puts his shirt back down, then I help him to his feet.

"Thanks," he says to the doctor. "I guess I won't see you again until the baby's born, then?"

"Not unless anything different happens," he says. "Be careful, Mello. And Matt, make sure he doesn't get too stressed. It could possibly induce early labor."

I nod, understanding. "I'll keep my eye on him," I say with a smirk, then take his hand as we leave the small building and head back to my car.

When we're about halfway home, Mello speaks up again about names.

"You know Matt..." he says, "Didn't you tell me when we were kids that you had a sister?"

"Yeah, Amanda," I remind him. "I don't know anything about her because she died when I was about three...why do you ask?"

"We could name our daughter after her, if you want..." he says. "Amanda Elle Jeevas. I kinda like the sound of that, personally. But if you don't want to, then that's fine..."

"No, I like it a lot too," I tell him. "And we could even call her Mandy for short, since we both have 'M' nicknames...well, real names too, for that matter...but I think that's a good idea, Mels."

"Mandy," he says. "Hmm, I like that. It's cute...Matt, my dear, I do believe we have a name for our child."

"Not bad, considering we only began discussing this about two hours ago," I reply with a grin.

(a few hours later)

I come into the bedroom, seeing that Mello's already gone to sleep. I've always loved watching him sleep (does that sound creepy? Because he's my fiancé, I should be allowed to watch him sleep), but there's just something different about the way he looks when he's asleep now, and for the past several months. I don't mean the obvious difference, I mean the more subtle ones. Like the fact that his face doesn't display any kind of raging hormones, there's no stress...he just looks peaceful. Almost childlike himself.

I crawl into the bed next to him and put my arm around him. He twitches slightly from being touched, but he's always done that in his sleep, and it's adorable beyond words.

"I love you, my sweet Mello," I whisper softly in his ear. Then I lean closer to his stomach and whisper, "I love you too, Mandy. And we can't wait to meet you."