Chapter Twelve: Much-Needed Discussion
Woody, of course, was rather shocked when he returned home from his run on the pier. He had basically forgotten about his brother since New York; everything had been so hectic he hadn't had a spare moment to think about him. So when Cal offered to tell them what he had been up to in the last two months, Woody was the first to egg him on. He wanted to know what his brother had been doing since he last saw him; he had cleaned up, that was for sure.
Cal's smile was whiter when it had been in New York, though he hadn't smiled much then. His hair was cut shorter again; not short, of course, but it was no longer the lengthy uneven main that covered his eyes and hid his ears from view. He was wearing a nice jacket, leather or faux-leather, Woody couldn't be sure, and his jeans looked new and washed.
"I've actually been back in town a couple of weeks now," started Cal, flashing them a white smile again. "I didn't want to just jump back in, though. So I thought I'd look around for a new job, find myself an apartment if I could, before I actually came to see ya." Jordan frowned.
"You could have stayed with us for a few days while you found yourself a place," she said, looking at Woody, "Mi casa es su casa." Woody nodded quickly. Cal sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"I didn't want to be a bother. I found myself a nice place not far from here, 82 Bunker Hill Street." Jordan nodded. "I was walking down Bunker and all of a sudden, this woman approached me."
Jordan swatted him playfully, and Woody rolled his eyes. "Do we need to hear this part?" Cal nodded.
"Well, yeah. She told me I had the look of a model, and asked if I was looking for a job." Jordan's eyebrows raised.
"Just out of the blue? She picked you off the street?"
"Yeah! I know, I was surprised, too. It was very strange, but I told her that I was, anyway. She got me a job here in Boston, so now I can stay!" He beamed at his brother and soon-to-be-sister-in-law. "How great is that?"
"Where are you working, then?" asked Woody, leaning against the armrest of the couch.
"You are looking at the new poster boy for none other than... dun dun dun duh! Calvin Klein." Even Woody cocked an eyebrow. "I get my own billboard and everything!"
"Wow," was all Jordan could say, so she hugged Cal instead of trying to say anything further. After a moment, she came up with, "That's great!" Woody patted him on the back, smiling from ear to ear. Jordan smirked. Cal was finally going to be a part of the family.
XXX
"So, fifteen weeks, right?" Kate smiled and laid a hand on her stomach. "Two weeks longer than usual, already?"
"Yes," said Kate happily, and Nigel was beaming. "I haven't even been cramping or anything." Aaron smiled slightly and nodded.
"You are progressing as well as can be hoped. You are a high-risk pregnancy, of course, because of your medical history and your age, but that can be handled through proper diet, and making sure you aren't skipping sleep or being too strenuous on your body." She nodded.
"God, I'd do anything for this to end well."
"We're doing all we can, Katherine. So, any complaints? Pain? Nausea? Diarrhoea? Fatigue?" Kate rolled her eyes, and Nigel chuckled.
"I've still got the morning sickness, unfortunately. It was never this severe before, but I'm taking that as a good sign. These days, pregnancy is leaving me slightly breathless— literally. It's a mild annoyance, to say the least."
Aaron nodded. "It's called Dyspnea. Unfortunately you can expect the problem to worsen as your uterus pushes up against your diaphragm, leaving little room for the lungs to expand." He made a motion with his hands over his stomach, mostly to explain to Nigel what he was talking about, and where everything was. "It's nothing to worry about, but you should call me immediately, or at least a doctor, if you're unable to catch your breath, your fingertips turn blue, or your heart feels like it's trying to jump out of your chest." He chuckled. Nigel nodded, putting his arms around her waist protectively.
"Anything else we should be concerned about?" he questioned Aaron seriously, and Kate groaned silently. Nigel's over-protectiveness was sure to worsen as she began to look pregnant— at the moment he was already trying to cater to her every need, and it was getting quite annoying. She wasn't an invalid!
Aaron shook his head. "Not really, but now that you're past fourteen weeks, it's a good idea to make an appointment to get a flu shot. And you might want to get a triple screen— a blood test to test for Down syndrome and spinal bifida." At Nigel's horrified expression, he quickly added, "But only two in every thousand babies actually have such things. It's just precaution." Nigel let out a happy sigh. "Sorry if I freaked you out for a second there."
"I wasn't freaked," said Kate quickly, making a face at her boyfriend, "I know the statistics. You just have to worry about him—" She jabbed a thumb toward him. "Being over dramatic about every little thing. He spent six hours last night reading a book on preventing SIDs, and has taken about seven pregnancy books from the library already." Nigel blushed.
"Soooorrry if I want to help out baby be healthy!" he grumbled sarcastically, unwilling to admit he was being a little ridiculous.
"Don't be such a big baby over it!" She swatted at him offhandedly. "Aaron, if all goes well, do you think I'll be able to deliver naturally? I hate surgery, and having it going on while I'm not sleeping sounds... disgusting."
Aaron laughed. "This coming from the person who cuts open dead bodies for a living?" Kate nodded. "I don't see why not, as everything is going as it should. In five months or so— give or take— you will be the proud owner of a screaming infant."
"When will we be able to tell gender from the ultrasound?" questioned Nigel, eager to prove he was right in their little bet.
"Actually, if you want to come in next week, I should be able to tell you then." Nigel grinned, and Kate shrugged.
"Why not? Though I already know he's a boy."
"Girl."
"Boy."
"Girl."
"Boy!"
"Girl."
Aaron chuckled.
XXX
Only a few hours later, Kate strolled into Garret's office, a content smile on her face. Nigel trailed quietly behind her after having lost the screaming fight at Dr. Fitzgerald's office. Garret looked up from the death certificate he was signing, and pushed it aside when Kate closed the door, obviously intending to talk to him about something private or important, or both.
Kate sat down across from him, and Nigel hovered weirdly behind her, looking nervous.
This was, of course, because Kate had finally convinced him that Garret needed to know they were having a baby before Bug did— and that they needed to tell him before he figured it out and it looked like they hadn't cared about or trusted him enough to tell him beforehand. Nigel had convinced her than after Garret knew, he should be able to tell Bug, too, and she agreed— on two conditions. One, that she could tell Henry; and two, as long as he came with her to ask Garret for some time off in five months' time. This was the part that Nigel was dreading; especially since he looked up to Garret much like one would a father, and he felt like a naughty teenage caught with his pants around his ankles.
"Garret," Kate started, opting to make this confession more personally by not calling him 'Dr. Macy', "We, erm..." She paused, unsure of how to proceed. She'd played it out a few times in her head, but now that she was actually telling him, her mind went blank.
"We're going to need some time off in five months or so," Nigel said quickly, realising that Kate was as nervous as he was. "And we wanted to make sure that was okay." Garret nodded.
"Of course. It's not like you don't have enough vacation days saved up, Nigel. Where are you going? England? Hawaii?" He waggled his eyebrows at the couple, and Kate groaned.
"Nowhere, actually. You see..." Garret gave them a confused expression. He had been thinking that they wanted to go on vacation, a romantic getaway of some kind. He was thoroughly confused. "It was Nigel's fault!" Nigel opened his mouth to protest.
"Was not!"
"What was Nigel's fault?" Kate froze, trying to find the words. She chose to just to say it.
"Nigel knocked me up." The look on Garret's face was indescribable.
