Chapter 10: Life is Grand

Time had flown by for Anna, she had gone with Pratt to that OB appointment and much to their amazement saw that little baby in there, it might not have resembled much of a baby, but they new that in less than 8 months their baby would be in the world with them. The baby would arrive in early March.

There had been no more phones call, but Anna hadn't let down her guard any, more protective now than ever as the realization that she was going to be a mother set in fully upon seeing the baby in the ultrasound.

She was laying on the bed now before getting ready to go into work. She looked down her stomach was now starting to protrude some but then she had expected that to start soon after all she was fourteen weeks pregnant now. But if someone who didn't know her saw her they would just think that she had put on a little weight. They still hadn't told anyone at County about them expecting, mostly because Anna wanted to wait to say anything until she got through the first three months.

Well she had now and they wouldn't be able to deny it much longer, especially if this little one decided to go on a growth spurt. She rubbed the little bump that was there, smiling happy and content once more as her emotionally hormonal rollercoaster had finally slowed down and she was starting to return to her "normal" personality.

"You about ready to go?" Pratt asked as he walked from the bathroom into their bedroom with nothing more than a towel wrapped around him.

Anna looked at him now with a sly grin on her face, "hmm, yeah more so than you are." She said giving him that come over her baby look.

"Oh no down there momma." He said smiling back at her; he knew that smile after spending the last three months getting to know her on so many different levels. The last 14 weeks had been an emotional rollercoaster for them but one that he had been happy to be on. He was looking forward to being a father.

Anna just laughed; things had been to be going well between the two of them again. She moved now to get up off the bed. She kept the smile on her face as she finished getting dressed to go into work with him. She had gone out a few days ago and gotten herself some new clothes, she still needed to baby shop but that could still wait another month or two after all she had around six months until the baby was technically due.

"What are you thinking about?" Pratt asked wrapping his arms around her and gently lifting her up off the floor.

"How we are going to be late if we don't get a move on it." She said with a smile, "I mean Susan and everyone have been pretty relaxed about us being five or ten minutes late, but really we should try to get there on time once in a while."

"Party pooper." Pratt said setting her gently back down onto the ground. "No where is the fun in that?"

"Oh I think that we need to start being responsible adults." She replied back with a sly grin. "After all we are going to be parents in March."

He fell back on the bed, "oh no, woman just suck all the life that's left in me out."

Anna shook her head, "if you don't get off that bed," she smiled knowing how to get him moving, "I am going to be joining you in it and then we will really be late and everyone will know why from the smile that is on your face."

He sat up and lunged at her a little, to which Anna playfully jumped back just out of his reach, "no, no you don't."

Anna looked at him, "oh yes I do." She playfully shook her finger at him now. Sometimes they were worse than two small children bickering but it was all fun for right now between them. "Did you bring in the mail?" She asked as she headed from the bedroom into the other room.

"No didn't get to it yet." He called back, "we can grab it on the way out."

"Yeah, yeah," came her reply as she gathered up her things for work. "You said that yesterday and still managed to forget again."

"I mean it this time." Pratt said emerging from the bedroom as he buttoned up his shirt. "My god woman did we get married or something you are starting to nag as if you are my wife." As he passed by her to get his keys and coat he stopped and smiled at her. "Here I got this for you." He said picking up a small box from the counter.

"You got me what?" She said looking at him.

"Well if I was just going to tell you why would I have gone to all the trouble of putting it in a box?"

"Yeah okay," she said, "you've got me there." She pulled the lid off the box and was looking at keys, "what are these too?"

"This one," he said reaching around her from behind now "is to our apartment, this one is to the mailbox, and this one is for the car."

"You gave me a key to your car?" She said looking at him with a puzzled look. "But that's your car, and this is your apartment."

"Well yes and no." He said kissing the back of her neck softly, "see the way I look at this is this, you are going to need wheels when baby gets here, and this way I don't have to worry about you. And baby this is where we live now, not just me, but you, me and baby to be."

She turned and smiled at him, "thanks." Her eyes locked with his for a brief moment, "okay, okay we've got to go."

They grabbed their stuff and headed out, she knew they would be late again but tried not to dwell on it. After all it was a sweet gesture that made them late. She wasn't sure how they were going to tell everyone about the baby but she knew that they would have to do it here pretty soon. She had grabbed the mail as they passed by the box; she'd look through it on the way to County.

Once they were in the car and on their way, it was Pratt who broke the silence, "so what do you say tonight if there's some slow down time…"

"Ah baby you just jinxed it, now we are going to get slammed you wait and see." Anna said looking over at him with a smile.

"Okay, well just under the assumption now that I haven't done that and we get some down time anyway, or we make some time, you and I sneak a peak at junior in there see if that baby of ours will tell us if we're having a boy or a girl?"

"Oh, no you don't," Anna said with a serious look on her face, "we are not finding out ahead of time what the baby is."

"What you seriously don't want to know?" He said as he concentrated on traffic while talking to her.

"No I don't want to know and you won't know either." She said putting her hand on his leg as he drove, "there are very few real surprises in life and this is one of them."

"But how do we decide on a name?" He asked her.

"Well it's this simple, we pick a boys name and we pick a girls name and then when baby arrives, we'll know which one to use." Anna replied rather matter of fact like. She already had an idea of the sex of the baby was, she just didn't want to have it confirmed.

"You seem to have the answer for everything there don't ya babe." He said patting her leg now.

"I try my best sweetheart." She said grinning at him, "but you are not going to find out what the baby is."

"Guess I'll just have to work a little harder to get you to bend on that one." He said with a sly smile, "I mean how are we supposed to by baby clothes and all that jazz too before baby gets here?"

"You're not going to give up are you?"

"Nope."

"Gregory Pratt." Anna said now looking over at him, "you might as well give this one a rest because I am not going to be swayed to change my mind."

He pulled the car into the parking lot and turned the engine off before leaning over and whispering something into Anna's ear which caused her to turn a slight shade of red, "okay well that might get me to change it."

"I thought it might." He got out of the car and waited for her before taking Anna's hand as they headed inside. Life was good right now and he wouldn't change it for the world. He had a wonderful woman by his side, they were expecting a baby, and everything was grand.

"You know you distracted me so that I didn't get to go through the mail." Anna said as she darted in the ER doors headed for the lounge.

"So, it's probably nothing but bills and they can wait until later." He said as he got into his locker and pulled on his lab coat.

"Doesn't mean that I really wanted to ignore them." She said as she sat it on the shelf in her locker before putting her arms into her lab coat.

"It can wait a few hours." He responded back to her as he finished getting ready to go out and heal the masses that would be flooding into the ER.

Anna smiled back over at him, "yeah I know it can. I'm off to be your boss now." She smiling going from cute to more of an evil grin.

"Rub it in would you, but you know that just shows how much older than me you really are." He smirked at her.

"Oh you had better watch it." She said looking back over her shoulder as she closed her locker door now. "Remember I can make you night miserable for that one."

"Yeah I know you could, but you wouldn't do that because you like me that much."

"Watch the cockiness there my dear." Anna said as she headed for the lounge door now, "People know we are dating and if you suddenly ended up with all these horrible cases, they would instantly know that there is trouble in paradise for you."

He leaned over and placed a small kiss on her cheek, "I love you too Anna dear." He would let her go out first, he wanted a cup of coffee to jump start his night.

She laughed softly now as she headed off to work, there was nothing tonight that could pull her from her good mood tonight and the last few months a good mood for Anna was a rarity. "You are just lucky I am in a good mood tonight." She called back over her shoulder as she continued her way to the admit desk.

"Lucky for Chicago and the residents of County." Pratt said softly so that she wouldn't overhear that one. That good mood was a rarity in his eyes and he didn't want to do anything to pull her from it, tonight might just be a good night for the two of them.