Helloo! So here is Chp. 11, sorry it took a few more days than usual but I am having some computer issues right now. I'm hoping Chp. 12 can be up within the next week, but until then I would love to know if you guys want to see Arthur and Joan celebrating the holidays! This chapter contains some medical stuff which i did research online, but if you notice any glaring errors please let me know. Enjoy!

**Joan's POV**

It was Madison's last night with us, and we had decided to have a movie night. Maddy made popcorn, I pulled out all of our dvds (mostly consisting of James Bond movies), and Arthur promised to be home by 7. We had spent all day doing stuff we used to do when I still lived at home, like paint our nails and play boardgames. It was all bitttersweet because I was really going to miss her, but the option of being around family more was not currently available to us. There were a few times this week were we had been talking about how much we missed each other and how we never saw each other when I felt her waiting for me to say something about her visiting more often, but I couldn't do it.

"Joan, why do you have mostly spy movies?"

"Um, Arthur likes the sense of danger. He's a huge James Bond fan." I laughed to myself. It was a lame excuse, but it seemed to go over with Maddy, who smirked and continued flipping through the dvds.

"Ooh, Two Weeks Notice! I love this movie!"

"Arthur and I do too. It's actually one of his favorites."

"Why, because he thinks Sandra Bullock is hot?"

"Yeah," I laughed. I knew that wasn't the real reason. Although he never admitted it, I knew he liked it because of the story. A woman falls in love with her divorced boss. Technically, Arthur hadn't been divorced when we first starting dating, but it was close. I thought it was sweet how much he loved the movie. It was one of the reasons I loved him.

The front door opened and a gust of cold rushed in, pulling me out of my thoughts. I got up from the couch eagerly.

"I'm home, ladies," Arthur called, setting down his briefcase. He walked over to me and kissed me on the lips, and I kissed back, bringing my hands to his face. Maddy coughed and we broke apart, Arthur grinning and me blushing. I sat back down on the couch and put my hand on my stomach.

"I'll go change into something more comfortable and then we can start," Arthur said, heading into the bedroom. "I got Chinese food on the way home. Hey, what movie did you choose?"

"Two Weeks Notice," Madison said, putting the dvd in our dvd player. Arthur came back in the room in jeans and a gray t-shirt. He smiled.

"Oh really? I love that one."

He sat next to me on the couch and pulled me close to him, letting me bury my head in his chest. He kissed my hair and made small talk with Madison about her plans for when she returned home as she skipped through the commercials. As Sandra Bullock's character spent her last two weeks with her boss, Hugh Grant, I could feel Arthur smiling. I slipped into his lap about halfway through the movie and he kissed me neck, sending shivers down my spine. Madison was enjoying the movie, and every once and a while she would say things like, "What about Lucy? You could name your daughter Lucy!" or "That is so sweet! He obviously loves her. How amazing would that be, Joan? Your boss realizes he can't live without you?"

The irony was insane, but she didn't know that, so I laughed and said," I have a pretty great guy already, Maddy." Arthur found that hilarious and buried his face in my hair to muffle his laughter. After the movie ended, Arthur and I went to bed and Maddy went to the guest room. It was almost 10 PM, but I didn't feel like sleeping, so I took a hot bath while Arthur sat on the edge of the tub and went over replacement applications with me. By the time we got in bed, I was exhausted and fell asleep quickly.

The next morning, I woke up with Arthur snuggled up next to me, against my back. I smiled and turned around so when he woke up he would see my face. He woke up shortly after I did, giving me a soft kiss. I kissed back passionately but gently, pressing my body against his. We snuggled for a few more minutes until he had to get ready for work. He planned to work a half-day and come home shortly after I took Madison to the airport. I watched him put on his suit with a sense of pride, and gave him another passionate kiss when he left.

"I love you, sweetheart."

3 hours later Madison and I stood next to my car outside the airport. She looked at my stomach for a while, then wrapped me up in a huge hug.

"I'll miss you so much!"

I hugged her back, choking on a few tears. "I'll miss you too."

We broke apart and she squeezed my hand. "Maybe I can visit when you have the baby, help out for a few weeks?"

She seemed so hopeful but I didn't know what to say, so I smiled and laughed. "God, that seems so far away."

She checked her watch. "I have to go." We hugged one more time and then she grabbed the handle of her suitcase and walked into the airport. I got in the car and texted Arthur to tell him I was on my way home, when started to drive. I had gotten so used to Maddy, it felt lonely in the car without her. When I got home I changed out of my jeans and flowy t-shirt and into yoga pants and a purple tank top. I had started changing out of my clothes and into sweats the second I got home, for some reason I was always extremely uncomfortable in street clothes, my bra and jeans especially. I got a text from Arthur saying her would be home in an hour, and the clock said it was 1:30 pm, so I laid down on the bed and took a nap.

I was woken up around 2:15 with a pain around my bladder. I got up to go to the bathroom, but the second I sat up in bed the pain multiplied. I gasped in pain and stretched my arm to the bedside table to reach my phone, which only made it worse. I took deep breaths and tried again to reach my phone, this time succeeding. I hit 3, my speed dial for Arthur, and put it on speakerphone.

"Joan?"

"Arthur," I gasped, squeezing my eyes shut. "Something….. something's wrong."

"What do you mean?," Arthur asked sharply. I could hear him standing up and pushing back a chair very faintly in the background.

I took another long, deep breath. "I was taking a nap, and I woke up because I really had to use the bathroom, and when I sat up in bed I, I feel felt this huge stab of- " Another cramp came, and I fell backwards onto the pillows.

"Joan? Joan, what happened? Are you there?"

"Yes, I'm here," I said, reaching for my cell phone and wincing. "But I'm scared, and I'm in a lot of pain." the worst wave of pain rolled throughout my body, and I gave a short scream of discomfort.

"Joan?" Arthur sounded frantic. "I'm getting in the car right now. Do not move, do you understand?"

I nodded, then realized he couldn't see me. "Yes."

"I'll be there as soon as I can."

I hung up and put my hands on my stomach, rubbing it gently. The cramps were still coming, but they were getting slower and less painful. I could feel the weight of the baby on bladder, but I did not move. Suddenly, I felt what I assumed was a contraction underneath my bladder. I moaned and sat up. Bad move. Another wave of pain washed over me, caused me to scream harder than I did before. I tried to take deep breaths, but they quickly became short pants. I ran my fingers through my hair nervously, then tried talking to the baby.

"Calm down, honey. It's gonna be okay. You don't have to leave for another 5 or months. It's okay. No need to panic."

My daughter clearly took after her parents in having a mind of her own, because the cramps and stabs of pain kept coming. After 10 minutes they seemed to be slowing down again, getting less painful. I almost had to laugh. I thought I'd escaped cramps for nine months. The weird thing was that I hadn't had really awful menstrual cramps for the last few months before I found out I was pregnant. I heard a car outside and prayed it was Arthur's, not a neighbor's. All of the sudden, the worst pain I had ever imagined came over me, and my eyes teared up. I screamed at the top of my lungs, trying to breathe evenly. I heard the front door open and I gave a sigh of relief.

"Joan?," Arthur yelled, sounding more scared than I had ever heard him. He rushed into our bedroom and saw me lying on our bed propped up on my elbows, panting and sweaty. "Oh my god."

"Arthur," I gasped. He ran to the bed and took my hand. I felt weak and pathetic, and I was scared. What was happening to me?

"Squeeze as hard as it hurts."

I squeezed as hard as I could, but I felt weaker than ever before. I started sobbing. Arthur came around to the other side of the bed and sat next to me for the next 5 minutes as the pain continued. Finally, it stopped and I collapsed back onto the pillows again. Arthur looked at me concernedly and pulled out his cell phone, dialing 's office. I got up to go the bathroom, walking slowly and cautiously.

"I came home and she was lying on our bed in so much pain – I've never seen her like this….. uh-huh…. yes… one second…"

"Joan?," he called. " wants to talk to you."

I washed my hands and slowly walked back into our bedroom, taking the phone from Arthur.

"Joan?"

"Yes, hi."

"Can you please describe what happened?"

"I was woken up by a full bladder, and when I sat up in bed I started getting these awful stabs of pain. Sort of like cramps. It started to get worse, so I called Arthur. He told me he was coming home to stay where I was, and I fell back onto the pillows. The baby was putting a lot of pressure on my bladder, so I sat up, which increased the pain. It just kept getting worse, and I tried taking deep breaths and even talking to the baby, trying to get her to calm down. When Arthur got home, it was still happening, but it started to slow down after about…. 30 minutes after it started, I guess." I tried to stay calm, but inside I was reeling.

"Hm… well it seems like you experienced some Braxton-Hicks contractions. They usually don't occur until the second trimester… how far along are you?"

"17 weeks, I think."

"Ok, that explains it. You're about 4 weeks into the second trimester, and this was probably caused by dehydration or a full bladder. Braxton-Hicks are usually infrequent and aren't supposed to hurt that badly, but they can sometimes. We'll have to test you next time you come in to make sure everything is ok. Has the baby kicked yet?"

"No, not hard enough to feel," I said nervously. "Is that bad?"

"No, but it should happen soon. As for the Braxton-Hicks contractions, you probably won't get those again until you're much closer to the birth. Breathing was good, but also try to lie down on your side if it happens again. It looks like you have an appointment next week, so we'll talk more then."

"Thank you," I said gratefully. "Take care."

"You too, Joan."

"What did she say?," Arthur asked anxiously. He looked very worried.

"They were Braxton-Hicks contractions. Aside from the extreme pain, they're totally normal. She said there's a pretty good chance I won't have them again until closer to the end of my pregnancy, if at all."

Arthur facial expression relaxed. His face broke out into a small smile and he leaned forward and kissed me gently. "Good. When I came in and saw you on the bed…. it scared the crap out of me. If anything had happened to you, I don't know what I would do."

I smiled and kissed him on the lips. "I love you."

"I love you too," Arthur laughed, pulling me into his arms. He put his hand on my stomach. "You have stop causing us so much trouble, baby girl!"

I laughed. This baby was really doing magical things for our marriage. Wait, scratch that. This baby was doing magical things for our family.