Chapter Twelve
Sunlight peaked through the slightly opened blinds, the rays of light angled just so that they hit Nathaniel's sleeping form, causing him to stir and awaken from another night of somewhat peaceful sleep. He was not having as many nightmares as before though he would still have flashes of some disturbing scenes he would rather forget. Tentatively he opened his eyes and saw the light coming in through the window, a welcome sight. Gingerly he sat up and stretched his arms high above his head, then looked appreciatively at his bedmate; Shepard was laying semi sprawled out on her back on the other side of the bed. Her now much larger belly caused her lower half to be turned on its side, though her torso remained unturned. Nathaniel was always astonished at how she slept so comfortably in such awkward positions.
Shepard snored gently, something she swore she did not do despite what he told her, and he grinned down at her, just watching as she slept. She looked so happy and worry free when she slept, sometimes he was tempted to take a picture of her like this just so he could show her but always thought better of that; she probably would not like that. Carefully he leaned over and pressed a small kiss on her forehead, causing her eyes to flutter slightly but she did not wake up, instead she made a small pleasant sound and then turned over on her side. Nathaniel chuckled softly as he pulled the quilt over her shoulder then let his hand wander down to her covered belly; he waited a moment before he felt his child kick against his palm, making him grin. Their baby was due to be born in a few days and he could not be happier.
Without making a sound, he moved out of bed and was across the floor then out the door before Shepard could even register that he was missing from the bed. He made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen, making a mental list of what ingredients he would need in order to make a proper breakfast for Shepard, just like he did almost every morning. Since they had moved in together, Nathaniel had taken it upon himself to make sure she got what she needed while pregnant; he had been on the receiving end too many times whenever she was denied a craving. He knew what she typically liked for breakfast, foods mainly consisting of high levels of protein, so he was often able to make her happy first thing in the morning. That was if they were able to make it downstairs in time for breakfast.
He pulled out eggs and bacon, a few frying pans, and then set about making the meal. They had lived in their new house a little over six months now, and Nathaniel could barely remember the time before they lived here, everything had gone so well lately he almost forgot how bad of a start things had been. Needless to say, getting Shepard to agree on a house had been something he did not want to repeat; she had been so critical of all she had been shown that he almost gave up until they were shown the two story cottage they now called home. Then moving and getting new furniture had been a chore, most of their old stuff had to be thrown out as Shepard declared it inappropriate for their home and they went to London to shop for new stuff. The only thing they agreed on was the nursery, which had been decorated in a beach theme at Shepard's request, and Nathaniel was surprised to find that he did not hate the idea as much as he had hated decorating the other rooms. The other rooms had resulted in a war of words and rough make up sessions on the floor of the room they happened to be fighting about.
"Too bad we're done remodeling," he whispered wryly as he poured the eggs into the pan and started cooking. He had yet to find another job since his retirement had been finalized shortly after Hackett's last visit but he was not too concerned about that, he was enjoying being home too much. Sure they were still upset at having to retire before they were ready, but they had put their new free time to good use; they sponsored various charity events all over the country, visited areas that had been devastated by the war and offered funds for rebuilding, and went to countless memorials honoring entire units of fallen soldiers. The memorials were always the hardest to attend; no matter what, they always knew at least one person whom had served with that unit and they usually brought up painful memories about the war. They had even made a trip to Dublin and visited Fitz's grave; his wife and daughters' bodies were never recovered, so their names were included on the tombstone.
Nathaniel swallowed hard as he thought about the only man in his former unit to have made it to the end of the war alive, he had been so hopeful about having a new life with his family and he was so confident that things would turn out for everyone. To know he met his end at his own hand had been devastating to Coats, for days he had blamed himself and thought there had to have been some sign he missed. Shepard had comforted him through that told him that he was not responsible for his friend's death, then she found out she was pregnant and avoided him for days. Honestly, the only thing that really helped him get over his grief, or at least bring him back to a functioning human, was knowing he was going to be a father.
"Smells really good in here," said Shepard from behind him, bringing him from his dark thoughts. "Oh! Eggs and bacon, my favorite." She was standing behind him now and leaned up to kiss his cheek. "You know me so well, Nate."
"It's part of my job," he said with a smile as she started getting things together to make a peach smoothie, something else she usually had in the morning as a way to perk herself up. She had had to find an alternative to coffee when she became pregnant and until she discovered smoothies, she had been very difficult in the mornings.
"Your child's been incredibly active this morning," she grumbled as she started peeling peaches. "He kicked me so hard in the kidneys, I almost wet the bed; and these false contractions are really getting on my nerves."
"I'm sorry, love," said Nathaniel sincerely. He knew this was all part of the normal pregnancy experience, having read many books on the subject, but Shepard's body had just recovered recently from a horrific ordeal and this pregnancy was just added stress.
She was able to deal with most of the changes and some of the pain that went with it, though they were always concerned whenever a scarred up or previously injured area started to hurt. They had been to the doctors far too often for Shepard's liking, which is why she had insisted on a midwife and a homebirth when given the option. The last thing she wanted was to have her baby in the hospital or be stuck there for days because they wanted to run more tests on her battered body. The last round of tests had resulted in the recommendation that she not get pregnant again, a recommendation she had shot down with a very intense glare. Shepard was not about to be told what her body could and could not do by people who knew very little about her, despite her lengthy medical file.
"I hope they go away soon," she sighed as she started the blender, watching as the ingredients started to blend together. "Makes it very difficult for me to move or do much of anything at the moment."
"I could always call Jenny and see if she has any recommendations," said Nathaniel cautiously. Jenny was their assigned midwife from the birthing center and right from the start had butted heads with Shepard; they could not agree on anything from her diet to what she should do to get ready for the birth. Nathaniel was half convinced that Shepard was being difficult on purpose just to irritate the poor midwife for her amusement.
"Possibly, if moving around does nothing for me," replied Shepard, being unusually cooperative about the midwife. "Honestly, I don't want to see anyone today, I'm not exactly in the best mood."
"Never stopped people from coming around, love," teased Nathaniel as he flipped the bacon over and took the eggs off the stove. Then the doorbell rang.
"Oh just perfect," mumbled Shepard as she added more yogurt to her smoothie.
"I'll get it," said Nathaniel with a sigh. "Just watch the bacon and make sure it doesn't burn."
"Will do," she said with a wave as he went to the front door.
When he opened the door, he half expected to see Kaidan, James, and possibly Trinity on his doorstep wanting breakfast but to his great surprise it was Admiral Hackett.
"Sir," said Nathaniel, stunned to see that admiral once again. "Good morning."
"Good morning to you as well, Coats," said Hackett pleasantly. "Are you going to invite me in or is Shepard getting ready to put a bullet between my eyes."
His words shook Nathaniel from his daze and he laughed. "Hardly, she's reserving that honor for Joker," he replied as he stepped aside and allowed the admiral to enter. "Shepard's in the kitchen at the moment, we were just getting breakfast ready. Would you care to join us?"
"Thank you, but I'd hate to impose," said Hackett as he followed Nathaniel into the kitchen. "I'm really here just to make sure you and Shepard are settling into retirement well."
"It's really no problem," insisted Nathaniel as he entered the kitchen. "Nat, we've got company for breakfast."
There was an audible growl from Shepard as she slammed her glass down on the counter. "Is it Vega and his nurse?" she asked through gritted teeth as she poured herself a glass of her smoothie.
"No, but you might want to act a little nicer," said Nathaniel sternly as he went back over to the bacon, relieved to find that it was not burnt as he had feared. Quickly he took it out of the pan and put it on a plate along with Shepard's scrambled eggs.
"It had better not be Joker," she said darkly, glaring at him before taking a drink of her smoothie. "If it is, I'm going to find the pistol you hid and blast his brains out."
"That's not an advisable move, Shepard," said Hackett sternly; the sound of his voice causing Shepard to spin around so fast she almost went in a complete circle. "Joker's a member of the Alliance and it would not look good on you to kill a fellow soldier, no matter what rotten and underhanded thing he did to you."
Shepard was neither pleased nor upset to see the admiral standing in her kitchen, preferring to keep her face neutral as she moved to sit at the small table they used as a place to eat breakfast. "Please sit, Admiral," she said with an air of indifference, indicating the seat furthest away from her. Hackett nodded and sat at the spot she had designated, doing an excellent job of not saying anything that might upset her further. "What brings you here today?"
"I was in the neighborhood and wanted to see how well you and Coats were adjusting to civilian life," replied Hackett pleasantly. "I had heard that you two were throwing yourselves into charity work and have been present at almost every memorial service held in the last few months. I have to say I'm surprised that you didn't hijack the Normandy and become pirates, some of us had a bet going that you'd spend retirement making our lives more difficult that way."
Shepard snorted as Nathaniel placed her breakfast in front of her. "Believe me, I considered it," she said stiffly. "Then Nate told me that being pregnant might inhibit my ability to raid Alliance ships; so I've decided to wait on that until the baby's at least three before jet setting as a pirate."
Hackett laughed. "Well, I'll take some comfort in that I guess. Anyway, how are you settling into retirement? By the looks of this place, I'd say you were adjusting well."
"We are," said Shepard stiffly as she took a bite of her eggs. "We have a beautiful home close to our friends, we're about to start a family, and we've dedicated most of our free time to honoring the fallen and to charity work. All in all it's been very fulfilling being retired, though I wish it had been my choice instead of an alternative to prison."
"It's good to see that you've maintained your sense of humor," said Hackett dryly and Shepard smirked. "You should know that the Normandy is going to be retired as well, much to Joker's dismay, and turned into a war memorial museum. She'll be permanently housed at Alliance HQ in Vancouver, and I'm inviting you to the opening gala in a few months time."
Shepard could not help but grin, after all he did to get rid of her, Joker was losing everything he cared about as well; she thought that was much better revenge than putting a bullet in his head. "So what's Joker going to be doing?" asked Shepard lightly, trying not to let too much glee slip into her voice.
"Not sure, actually," said Hackett with a shrug. "He refuses to pilot anything but the Normandy and his disease is getting worse. My guess is he'll put in for retirement here shortly then ask to live in Vancouver to be close to the ship."
"Is it wrong that I'm happy about that?" she asked Nathaniel, her lips trembling as she tried to keep from grinning.
"Not necessarily," he replied slowly. "Just remember love, what goes around comes around."
"And it certainly bit Joker in the ass," she said with a loud laugh before she grimaced and clutched her belly. She thought it was another false labor contraction but that one felt stronger than the other ones, actually it felt pretty real.
Nathaniel looked over at her, his eyes wide and filled with concern. "Are you alright, love?"
Shepard nodded as she tried to stand up, her belly feeling like it was getting tighter and tighter the more she moved. "I'm fine," she said with a slight groan. "Just a really strong Braxton Hicks."
"They haven't been that strong before, have they?" asked Nathaniel worriedly as he stood up and helped her out of her seat.
"No, at least, I don't think so," she said with slight panic in her voice. The next thing she felt was a huge rush of liquid come from between her legs.