"It's a good ad." Charlie put a hand on Nate's shoulder. "This whole media buy idea was completely genius. I should have thought of it. I mean, the fact that I didn't, that alone speaks to…" Nate stopped Charlie in his tracks.
"Charlie, stop." Nate got up out of his crouching stance. "I didn't think of it either. Nicole thought of it." Nate let out a heavy breath and looked around. This was the one place in his home state that he loved going to early in the morning just to think. The fog rose off the grass below Cemetery Ridge as Nate and Charlie walked up to the Lutheran Theological Seminary.
"The Governor of Pennsylvania walks the grounds at Gettysburg the day before the election and films this last ad just as the sun comes over the trees in the distance." Charlie was beginning to sound like Robert Frost in Nate's opinion. "This is a Presidential ad. This is what's going to get you elected."
"This brings me to another point, Charlie." Nate stopped walking. "Provided all goes as we hope in the next two days, I want you to be my Chief of Staff."
Charlie looked stunned. He had always expected the boss to offer him something when the campaign wrapped up and he was in the White House, he just wasn't expecting this and if he was being honest, it wasn't a job he was particularly fond of. "We're talking about someone who basically plays Prime Minister." Charlie thought for a second. "I can't do it, office managing and pushing things through isn't my thing. I play politics, it's what I'm good at."
"So be my Deputy White House Chief of Staff. You get to play politics with everyone on the hill and tell me how things are going to play with the press, the GOP and the DNC." Nate gave Charlie a pat on the shoulder.
"That's a job I can take." Charlie chuckled slightly.
"Just remember, if the time comes, you don't get to bitch about having a boss. You wanted the Deputy Job." Nate and Charlie kept walking back toward the car.
"I can live with that, boss." The two men continued walking back toward the campaign bus. The two men were going to have to be in Texas for one last campaign stop with Senator Grier the night before the election, then they would come back to Bethlehem for election night. The next twenty-four hours were sure to be a pleasant trip through indigestion and antacid tablets that would leave a mark on their stomach linings for years to come.
1304 ZULU, ELECTION DAY
RABB RESIDENCE
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA
Harm rubbed his eyes as he padded across the kitchen, his feet thumping on the tile floor. It was Election Day, I day he most dreaded in DC because there would be no point during the day at which everyone who was supposed to be at their post, would actually be at their posts. He was going to vote with Bax before they headed into work. That would count two more votes in Virginia for Ross. In October, the race had gotten competitive and he didn't pay too much attention. He couldn't turn a corner without hearing about swing states and the latest polling numbers. None of it really made too much difference to him right now. He'd known since before the Democratic Convention that he was going to vote for Nate.
The foreign policy debate had completely swung the pendulum of momentum behind the Ross campaign which was now leading a valiant charge in its last days. Harm poured himself a bowl of cereal – one of those healthy, whole grain, Quaker oats concoctions – he ran a hand through his muffled bed hair when he felt arms come up around his waist. "Hey sunshine." He smiled and turned to kiss her forehead. "Sleep well?"
"Harm, I slept naked in a bed where you hogged all the sheets and forgot to close the bedroom window!" She teasingly slapped him across his shoulder-blades. "It is impossible to sleep well under those circumstances." He kissed her again, this time on the end of her nose. "Don't think you can get away with by doing that."
"Well," Harm began to sway the two of them back and forth, "next time you're naked and cold, just wake me up and I'm sure that I could find a way to warm you up." He moved his hands down to her six. "Aren't you glad that we don't have to get the kids up early and turn this place into a zoo at all hours of the blessed morning."
"If you're trying to ask me if I'm enjoying my current reserve status and excess of time with my children, I would have to say yes. I just wish I had something somewhat professional to do, some way to feel as though I was making a difference outside of these four walls." She leaned forward and rested a head on his chest.
"Why don't you try some volunteer work? You know helping the USO or the 9/11 Families Fund or something." Harm pulled a spoon from the drawer and began eating his breakfast.
"I don't know, Harm. It all seems a little compensatory and you shouldn't do volunteer work just to have something to do." She answered as she fixed herself a little breakfast of her own. "Remember to vote today."
"Of course I'm going to vote, you don't need to remind me." Harm rolled his eyes.
"Harm, with your reputation for being late, I feel the need to remind you to prioritize so that you don't miss out on doing something." Mac lectured light-heartedly with a coy smile on her face.
"Hey, Bax and I are going to vote on our drive into work today." Harm answered with his hands in the air as though he was surrendering.
"That's like Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder on a democracy expedition." Mac commented as she took a seat at the table.
"What?" Harm looked up not quite comprehending.
"The blind leading the blind, Harm." Mac answered. "Who are you voting for?"
"There's a reason that they call it a secret ballot, Mrs. Rabb." Harm was now slurping the milk out of the bowl.
"There are no secrets in this marriage, Mr. Rabb." Mac tossed back as she raised the spoon to her lips. She watched as Harm shook his head slightly to his left. "It sill bugs you once in a while when I get you on those point doesn't it?"
"Does not." Harm quipped.
"That was a very pithy comeback, Admiral." Mac was chuckling to herself.
"It doesn't, if it's so important to you, I am probably going to vote Democratic down the whole ticket today." Harm paused for a second. "For the first time in my entire life."
"Really? You've never voted for a slate of Democrats before, even when you were young and at Annapolis?" Mac looked shocked.
"And you have?" Harm raised an inquisitive eyebrow.
"My first midterm election in '86 and my first Presidential in '88." Mac smiled. "Not a full slate since then but I've voted for Democratic Presidential candidates since then."
"I learn new things about my wife everyday. I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing." Harm and Mac both got up from the table.
"All depends on where you learn them, Admiral." She winked at him over her shoulder and walked back upstairs swinging her hips in the most exaggerated fashion possible.
0220 ZULU, THE DAY BEFORE THE ELECTION
FOUR POINTS SHERATON
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
Nicole was four days passed her due date and Nate was out of town. Not a pleasant things for either of them but something which they grudgingly bore being as they were less then twenty-four hours from polls closing on the east coast. Nate had just made a joint appearance with his vice-presidential nominee where he had talked with an audience for ninety minutes fielding open questions on defence policy, foreign policy and economic policy.
Senator Grier fielded the questions on social policy. That was a general decision by the Democratic campaign, Grier had better visibility and credibility with Texans in general and moderate Texas Republicans in particular. Nate, Charlie and Wes stood in the hotel room in front of a large projection board that had the individual states broken down into those which were solidly Democratic which had been coloured in a royal blue. The solidly Republican states were in a fire engine red and the undecided or close states were in a middle grey.
"So, what are the solidly Republican states according to Gallup?" Nate asked as he rolled up the sleeves on his shirt.
"Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Nevada, Vermont, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas, the Dakotas, Utah, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and Indiana." Charlie didn't even have to look up at the map.
"Okay, well how many electoral votes does that account for?" Wes Grier asked.
"Ninety-nine." Charlie answered and he saw the two Democrats smile.
"They're under a hundred electoral votes?" Nate smacked his hands together. "Fantastic! How many have we locked up?"
Two-hundred and sixty-four, boss." Charlie answered.
"What are the swing states, Charlie?" Wes asked.
"Name it." Charlie started. "Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Florida, Tennessee, the Carolinas, Virginia and West Virginia. Ohio's leaning heavy our way but I still wouldn't call it yet." Charlie picked up his laser pointer and pointed at the board. "Tomorrow night is all going to come down to the Old South. How the ticket performs in Virginia and the Carolinas is going to dictate how your mandate will function. Ideally, we'd take all three but we're trailing by five points in South Carolina and we're only up by two in North Carolina. The influence from the hill, Norfolk and Quantico has us ahead by six in Virginia. Either way, the Old South is going to be tomorrow night's page turner."
"If they go against us, there's always Florida." Nate theorized aloud.
"Not sure how we played with the Castro exiles in Miami but we won major points with the Jewish retirees over our Israel policy. Florida's only three points in our favour and that's within the margin of error." Charlie answered.
"That leaves us with Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee and Louisiana. All of which are states that have gone fore President Russell in the last two elections all of which the Democratic ticket currently leads in by an average of three points." Charlie filled the two men in. "Which takes us to the Southwest. New Mexico is leaning toward us, Arizona is leaning toward them and depending on what poll you look at, Texas is either a half a point in their favour or a half a point in ours."
"Alright, let's get some rest." Nate cracked his knuckles. "Wes, I'll see you Wednesday but I hope to talk to you around midnight eastern tomorrow night and Charlie, let's get some sleep so that we don't look completely bushwhacked tomorrow morning."
1849 ZULU, ELECTION DAY
PENTAGON OPNAVS OFFICE
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA
The OpNavs office was 'wide open', a term that Harm had coined for days when the Navy Intel liaisons were coming through the door so often that it didn't even get a chance to close. The shit-storm that was a week in coming had come. Hezbollah had accused Israel of taking out that terrorist camp a week earlier which they had claimed was merely "a village of innocent civilians". Al-Jazeera had plastered pictures of dead young kids all over their news broadcasts.
"Well isn't that complete horseshit." Barris walked in behind Harm and Bax who immediately turned around to face him instead of the television. "Baxter, did you talk to Lieutenant Commander Frasier?"
"Yes, sir, he confirmed that everyone killed that night was over the age of twenty at least." Bax answered.
"Well, that's good at least. The thing is that we can't come to Israel's defence without pissing off Lebanon, Syria and then throwing the Lebanese people into Hezbollah's waiting arms." Harm added. "What is Hezbollah doing at the moment?"
"Press scrumming at the moment, no military operations." Barris answered. "I want the two of you on this thing like a starving man on a Christmas ham, you got me?"
"Aye, aye, sir." Bax answered for the two of them.
"And if Hassan Nasrallah takes a stray step outside of Lebanon or Syria, I want you to tell Langley that they've got an executive order to capture the son of a bitch and hand him over to Mossad." Barris turned and headed for the door.
"Wouldn't the President have told the Director of CIA that himself that, sir?" Harm asked.
"He would have, but as of 0200 last night, the Director of CIA is in critical condition at Bethesda because his prostate cancer has taken a very drastic fishtail turn for the worse, so Langley's in a panic administratively. Which is not a problem for us because they only need to be able to get one order through to one operative through at one embassy in Ankara or Amman or Cairo or whatever the hell country Nasrallah is in." Barris walked through the door.
"Doesn't get more plain then that." Bax turned to face Harm. "Thank God this hasn't gone big yet."
"How long before it does?" Harm stated as if this was merely the roadsign before another conflict.
"If the UN troops can intervene successfully then we may have ninety days before Hezbollah can rebuild enough of an armament to take on Israel again after '06." Bax assessed.
"And if the UN troops turn out to be wooden soldiers – as is often the case – then Hezbollah just turns to Syria and the IRGC for weapons which they will of course get and we'll have a much more escalated conflict on our hands." Harm concluded as he played with the rim of his cover.
"Vinson is still in the Eastern Med and so is Saipan, that gives us a big rapid deployment capability. If the UN needs someone to cover their ass…" Bax started.
"They have no reason to ask us for the Sixth Fleet!" Harm spat. "Israel is our ally and they play a strategic role for us in the region but they proved in '48, '56, '67 and'73 that they are perfectly capable of kicking ass of their own accord when no one tries to put the diplomatic dog collar around their neck."
"Harm, we can't let this thing blow up. I won't let it." Bax stepped in.
"Bax, I'm not going over this with you again. You are not responsible for what the hell is going on just because you ordered the strike. If Hezbollah wants to kill a few kids and tell them that they'll be martyrs for Allah and then plaster their corpses all over Al-Jazeera there's nothing we can do to stop it and it is completely suicidal to try. The only way to solve Hezbollah is to let the Israelis do to them, exactly what they did to Black September." Harm walked back over behind his desk.
"So, the solution to them killing people is us killing them? Won't that just lead to someone killing us?" Bax responded. "I just get the feeling that this thing is going to spiral."
"If so, this isn't the Casus Belli." Harm answered.
0230 ZULU
ROSS FOR PRESIDENT HEADQUARTERS
BETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA
"Boss, the first results are in from the eastern time zone." Charlie came storming in with the latest reports from their precinct captains in the swing states. "ZNN is calling Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Ohio, West Virginia and Tennessee for Ross with ten percent of precincts reporting."
"South Carolina went to Wayne?" Nicole asked from her seated position in the chair.
"It did, by eight percent, still not bad for a Democrat, boss." Charlie answered with a wide smile.
"Don't take any thing for granted yet, Charlie. When are the results from the Central time zone due in?" Nate looked over at his Chief of Staff from the couch. Most of the senior staffers were with the Ross family watching the results come in but the rest were in the war room taking stats and calls from field staffers and precinct captains.
"Half an hour for Iowa, Arkansas, Missouri, Louisiana and forty-five minutes for the first Texas precincts. Mountain Time for Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and the other half of Texas gives us the results in an hour and a half." Charlie answered, reading directly off the page in his hand.
"Colorado? I thought we locked that one up?" Nate was fiddling with the buttons on his cuffs again.
"Wayne spent most of the last week in Colorado. State's one percent in favour of Ross last poll which was thirty-six hours ago." Charlie answered almost mechanically.
"So, it's up in the air? Why didn't you tell me this last night when we were going over battleground states?" Nate rubbed hair on the back of his head. "We focused on the southwest and as a result we've lost Nevada, we're in trouble in Arizona and now Colorado is floating around in the air. What the hell happened to our southwest strategy?"
"We've got California and New Mexico and Texas is at our fingertips and Colorado is a jump ball. No strategy is perfect, ours cost us fifteen electoral votes but we may have picked up forty-eight. I think that's an even trade off." Charlie answered.
"Boys!" Nicole lectured trying to wiggle her way off the couch. "As I see it, this is what is going on.." She turned to face Charlie. "You ran a very successful campaign which gave Democrats a more national representation base and you," she turned to face her husband, "are going to be announced as the forty-fourth President of the United States, an office which is far above the petty bickering which you are currently displaying so if the two of you would kindly cease and desist."
"Yes, ma'am." Nate bowed his head.
"Yes, Mrs. Ross." Charlie hung his head as well.
"Good, now get along." She sat back down on the couch.
"And that, my friend is what happens when your wife is six days passed her due date." Nate and Charlie headed back out to the war room.
0314 ZULU
TURNER RESIDENCE
MANASSAS, VIRGINIA
The night was a special one for Senator Bobbi Latham-Turner. She had been elected as the junior Senator from Michigan for her first term in 2002. The senior Senator from Michigan was another woman, a moderate Republican by all accounts and someone who would have been a standard bearer for Senate Republicans had Brent Wayne won the Presidential election. But the ZNN election desk was predicting a Democratic victory in excess of 350 electoral votes and Democrats were sweeping seats from moderate Republicans all over the country.
Bobbi Latham-Turner was now the Senior Senator representing the State of Michigan. Bobbi, however, was not at her residence with her husband in Manassas where she lived during the months that Congress was in session. She was in Detroit with her campaign workers. Her husband Sturgis and his father and their friends had gathered at their house in Manassas. The champagne was popped when ZNN announced Bobbi's re-election and they were now passing it, along with non alcoholic selections around to the guests.
Election night normally wasn't one for a big party, especially being as only one person in the room belonged to a political party. All the votes in the room tonight had gone one way and according to ZNN, the majority of the votes in the state of Virginia had gone the same way; for Nathan Ross. The whole focus was now on the southwest, being as ZNN had just called Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana for Ross. Colorado and Texas would both need to go GOP or this would be the biggest GOP catastrophe since the Clinton landslide in '92 or maybe even the Goldwater fiasco of '64.
"What do you think, Mr. Rabb?" Chegwidden walked over to stand next to Harm.
"Looks like at least four years of dealing with Democrats, sir. Your brother in law will certainly be happy." Harm kept his response neutral. "What do you think, sir?"
"I think that my son just became the First Nephew and my sister is a member of the new extended First Family which puts me by extension in that sphere. I also get the feeling that there's going to be a dining out next month." AJ laughed as he raised a pint of beer to his mouth.
"Why do you say that, sir?" Harm asked looking over at his old CO.
"Simple, Mr. Rabb, you cannot serve as a military officer while you serve as President of the United States. You have to formally resign and you petition for reinstatement once your term is over, which any President will usually get if they ask." AJ explained almost like a professor. "My brother in law is going to have to file for terminal leave which he will get which means we'll be having a dining out, likely at Eighth & I within the month."
"Before then he's got to organize a cabinet, an executive office and the Democratic leadership. After a year dealing with the administration in the OpNavs office, that's a task I certainly don't envy." Harm shook his head from side to side.
"You're due for a promotion aren't you, Mr. Rabb?" AJ eyed his old protégé knowingly.
"That's the scuttlebutt, sir." Harm chuckled. "I here that I'm either going to be appointed the next JAG, or they're going to make my office at OpNavs permanent."
"Puts you within spitting distance of the CNO's chair." AJ thought aloud.
"What about you, sir, what are your plans? Do you enjoy being retired?" Harm asked, not sure if he was crossing any lines.
"Hell, no, it's driving me insane, Rabb." AJ answered. "My son's in school and I have nothing to do all day but practice my golf swing and baseball season is only a few months long. I think retirement has put me within an inch of my sanity."
"Maybe you should actually do some golfing, sir." Harm suggested.
"In the middle of November, Mr. Rabb?" AJ turned to face Harm again.
"Forget I said anything, sir." Harm nodded and the two men went back to join the other guests. Harm found his wife standing and talking with Bax and Jen who, now that Jen's enlistment contract had run out, were acting a little bit flirty and romantic without letting on that there had been a pre-existing relationship.
"Hey, honey." He slipped an arm around her shoulders and quickly pecked her on the lips. "What are you doing over here?"
"If I had to stand around and listen to you and Sturgis and AJ and the Chaplain talk about politics any more, I was going to volunteer for a firing squad." Mac rolled her eyes. "Really, we voted this morning, we get the point of what's happening tonight, why do you have to bore everyone to death by talking about it?"
"Forget I asked." Harm chuckled as he felt her curl against his chest.
0429 ZULU
ROSS FOR PRESIDENT HEADQUARTERS
BETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA
"We got Texas but we lost Colorado, sorry." Charlie gave Nate a pat on the shoulder. Nate had his tie off an his cuffs rolled up passed his elbows. Nate was getting ready to go out in the town square in Bethlehem and address in excess of 170,000 people who had gathered there. "So, how you feeling, sir?"
"Nervous as hell, ZNN just informed me that in eighty days, I'm going to become the leader of the free world." Nate let out a heavy breath. "Jesus, I can't help but think there's been a colossal mistake made."
"Try not to say that out loud to the public will you?" Nicole dusted off his collar. "Remember, you have an outstandingly clear mandate from the American people. You won four hundred and twelve electoral votes, that kind of win for a Democrat puts you right up there with FDR and LBJ."
"Do I get a three letter abbreviation?" Nate looked over at Charlie with a crooked smile.
"I don't know. Your middle name's Daniel, right?" Charlie looked up at his friend who was walking down the hall toward the big doors that lead out into the square. Nate nodded at him. "NDR? Too close to FDR, we'll work on something for you, chief." Charlie gave him a pat on the back.
"You ready for this, honey? I don't want you to strain yourself." Nate took her hands in his.
"I cleared it with my doctor, I may be overdue but she says I can stand by your side for a few minutes while you accept the mantle of the Presidency that was handed to you by the American people tonight." The two of them stood there looking into each other's eyes and he lightly stroked her shoulders.
"Mantle of the Presidency, huh?" Nate raised an eyebrow at his wife. "That's good, I may have to use that." He kissed her forehead. "You're going to make a great First Lady."
"Why thank you, Mr. President." She kissed him on the cheek and the two of them walked through the doors and out on into the Bethlehem city square. They walked across the street to the steps of the limestone courthouse and Nate saw the people who had turned out and the media who were present at the speech.
"I want to thank you all for turning out tonight. I know that the beginning of this is going to sound like my acceptance speech from the Primaries but I honestly cannot thank the people who came out to vote and especially the people who worked on the national campaign and I really mean it. This campaign would have had all the flight time of a lemming if it weren't for the volunteers and the campaign workers who just pushed on endlessly and made this night possible and I seriously cannot thank them enough. Theirs is a normally gruelling, normally thankless job and if this victory belongs to anyone nearly as much as it belongs to the voters, it's theirs, so let's give them a round of applause." There was a loud thundering of applause that followed Nate's words.
"In March, I said that our real work starts tomorrow. Well, my real work starts tomorrow, most of my staffers get a small breather. Tonight, I have been gifted with a mandate beyond what I would have said a few hours ago was the limit of my wildest idea but the American people deemed me to be a deserving public servant and let's never forget that's what I am; a public servant." Nate paused for a second. "Today we did something. Whether we know it or not, today we changed our country and provided that in the coming months, we are able to unify, as one people with a common purpose and that is to produce a nation of equals. A nation with an education system that doesn't look at the numbers on a cheque before determining the quality of the education our children should receiver. A nation with a healthcare system that, like the government, is run for the benefit of people rather then benefit of big insurance companies. A nation that protects our interests and combats terrorism without the attitudes and the policies which foster it's growth. We want a nation with a responsible energy policy, not just responsible in the sense that it reduces our dependence on our foreign imports but also because we have to reduce greenhouse gas emissions so that we aren't stripping the O-Zone from our future generations and sticking them with global warming instead. Our most noble resource is our democracy, it is our greatest tool in our quest to create an strong and equal America, a dream I believe is shared by all Americans across party lines. Our political differences, while important, are not as central to what makes us Americans. In the end, it all comes to the words life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and I make it my promise to you that my administration will make it our duty to ensure that all Americans are able to live those things to the fullest extent possible." There was massive applause as Nate side-stepped and held his wife's hand as he raised his into the air and waved to the crowd.
0556 ZULU
RABB RESIDENCE
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA
Harm was tossing and turning in his bed. Things were going to change but that was nothing new, things always changed after an election. Nothing was going to be the same eighty days from now as it had been yesterday. The House of Representatives now had a majority of 253 Democrats, the Senate now had a majority of 57 Democrats and the incoming President was a Democrat. Nate Ross had a slate to do something real in his administration until midterm elections. What had Harm restless was the fact that his job was uncertain.
He was a one star Admiral who was no doubt about to get promoted, the real question was where to? He felt his wife stir under his arm and look into his eyes as she came out of her slumber. "Hey." She mumbled lightly.
"Hey." He whispered back. Mac always used to say that she never got much sleep but since they had been married she certainly seemed to be sleeping peaceful and was almost always able to get exactly eight hours to the second.
"What has you in a tizzy?" She asked, propping her head up on her hand.
"My job. I'd just like to know if, come January 17th, I'm going to be working out of Falls Church or my current office. I mean, Barris is a former aviator, Bax has aviation training even though he's never flown a plane and the VCNO is in the same situation, meanwhile there are no submariners in the OpNavs office for the first time in sixty years." Harm began to ramble.
"If you were to become the JAG would that really be so bad?" Mac asked as she ran her fingers over his pectorals.
"No, but it would mean less money then three stars and since you went on reserve status, I want to be able to pull the whole weight of bread winning since you're pulling the load here at home." Harm lowered his chin to his chest.
"Harm, you're destined for something, I just know it." Mac smiled she ran her fingers through her hair.
"How do you know?" He asked in a voice just above a whisper.
"Let's just say I had a vision." Mac replied coyly.
0709 ZULU
GOVERNOR'S MANSION
HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA
"Nate, Nate wake up." Nicole nudged him in the shoulder. "Nate!" She screamed and Nate shot up like a rocket into a sitting position.
"What?" He looked over at his wife.
"My water just broke." She said simply and her husband's eyes went as wide as saucers.
"Charlie!" Nate shouted at the top of his lungs waiting for the man who was going to be his Deputy Chief of Staff to come bounding through the door. The President-Elect threw on a pair of pants and grabbed the bag full of stuff he knew they would need for the delivery room before taking his wife by the hand and heading out into the residence. Charlie met them in the hallway. "Have you got the car waiting?"
"Are you kidding? It's been on standby since she passed her due date." Charlie answered as the three of them headed for the stairwell.
"What about my mother in law? Has she been woken up to make sure that she can deal with the kids in the morning?" Nate looked at his Deputy Chief of Staff.
"Already done, sir." Charlie nodded. "Nicole, do you know if it's going to be a girl or a boy?"
"It's a boy!" Peach grimaced as she felt a contraction.
"How do you know, the doctor never told us." Nate looked confused.
"In my life, I have known four Ross women and they are never late and this one is a week late!" Peach answered as they headed out the door to the car.
