Thought I'd post a mini chapter for Mother's Day. Hope you guys enjoy, just a bit of Nate/Nora fluff.
(Also, if any of you are interested I drew a picture of how I imagine Natalie. I'm not the best artist, but I find sometimes it helps to have an image with a character. post/144064957480/some-doodles-of-my-oc-natalie-and-an-attempt-at )
Chapter 20: Rest Easy
Nate watched as Nora looked over the house. She placed her hand along the walls, tracing the wood. Nate tapped his foot, a bit impatiently. "So, honey… What do you think?"
She looked back at him, her dark brown eyes softened as her brows turned into a look of uncertainty. "Well, I don't know… It is a quite above the amount we agreed on." She bit her lip in thought.
"The location, though, is great. Exactly what you wanted, a small neighborhood for Shaun to grow up in. The neighbors all seem great." Nate stepped to her, gently caressing her swollen belly. "It's a safe place, where we can all be together."
"It's just… how can we do this with me being out of work?" She sighed, rubbing her forehead softly. "I'm just worried, you know?"
"Don't be, Nora." Nate kissed her forehead. "We'll make it, I'm not going to mess this up."
She looked at him, worried. "It's not that I think you're going to mess this up… I'm just… worried…"
Nate paused to look over her face, smoothing a hand over her neck. "We haven't even gotten to the best part yet. Follow me." He led her down the hall, towards the last room on the right. "This would make an excellent nursery. It's got plenty of space. We can set the crib here," He motioned with his hands as she stood in the doorway, "and that new changing table you want, the wooden one, we can set it up here." He placed his hands on his hips, looking around the room. "I know you love it."
Nora crossed her arms, huffing lightly. "I do…" She gave in, smiling at him. He walked up to her, caressing her cheek as he gave her soft kisses on the lips. "I think we should get it…"
The real estate agent stepped in as they leaned for another kiss. "How's everything loo—oh I didn't mean to interrupt anything." They cleared their throat, laughing nervously. "Are there any questions I can answer?"
"Yea, when can we move in?" Nate beamed, Nora laughing softly behind his shoulder.
"If this baby doesn't come out of me by next week, so help me god…" Nora crouched down slowly, picking up a plastic cup she dropped.
"Sweetie, just let me grab it." Nate swooped down before she could grab it, handing it to her. "Besides, you still have three weeks until the due date."
"Sometimes babies come out early and are actually healthy." She stuck her tongue out, playfully, but Nate saw a hint of sadness behind her eyes. Ever since the first baby she was nervous about getting pregnant. Nate was ready to start a family, though, and admittedly she was too. So here they were, years later, hoping for the best.
Nate leaned against the breakfast bar, sighing heavily. "It wasn't your fault, you know. Doctor said it was unexpected, they don't even know what caused it-"
"And that's what scares me." Nora tossed the plastic cup in the trash. "What if I end up messing up again, and Shaun..." She rubbed her hands protectively over her belly, swallowing hard as tears built up in her eyes. "I just don't want to lose another one… Not this late in the game…"
"Nora, look at me." Nate placed a hand on her shoulders, using his free one to make her look him in the eyes. "Don't worry, everything is going to be ok. Shaun will be here in three weeks and it'll be smooth sailing from then on." Nate hugged her softly.
"Well, not smooth sailing. We'll still have to raise him for the next eighteen years." She laughed softly, sniffing as she ran her hands along Nate's back.
"We're gonna be fine, Nora." Nate kissed her cheek. "Listen, why don't you get dressed and we'll head out for dinner. I'll take you to your favorite diner. The one with the best chicken fried steak." He smiled at her.
She wiped her eyes. "I do love chicken fried steak," She started heading for the bedroom. Nate smiled at her, watching her beautiful figure disappear behind the door frame.
Nora rubbed over her tummy, sighing contentedly at her fullness. "Good thing about being pregnant is you can eat like a cow and no one judges you." She laughed softly.
Nate laughed along with her, reaching to open the door for her. A man walked in, accidentally shoving Nora as he was talking to someone behind him. "Hey, man watch it." Nate warned.
"Hey, watch-" He reached a hand out to Nora. Nate gripped him by the wrist.
"Don't touch her." Nate stared at the man in the eyes. The man smelled of beer and cigarettes. "Just back off."
"What the hell is your problem, asshole?" The man jerked his arm free.
"My problem is you almost knocked over my wife." Nate practically growled.
"Maybe she should watch where she's going." He said as he started to walk by.
"Hey, asshole, you should watch where you're going." Nate turned his body to follow him.
"Nate, really I'm fine." Nora adjusted her hair, pulling her jacket tightly over her shoulders.
"See, the broad is all right." The man said with a smug grin, turning just barely to look at Nate. "So quit bitchin'."
Nate bit into his lip. "You better apologize to her." Nate stepped up to him, shoving a palm flat against his back, causing him to lean forward from the sudden pressure.
Nora grabbed his arm to hold him back, "Please, Nate let's go."
The man grumbled, "Make me, motherfucker." Nate slammed his fist into the man's face. He stumbled backwards, but quickly regained his stance. He threw a punch, Nate grabbed onto his arm and jerked him forward, causing him to nearly fall forward onto the ground.
"Stop!" Nora screamed. The man swung around, disoriented by his surroundings and slammed an elbow into Nora's abdomen. She stumbled backwards, letting out a scream of pain. "Nate! Nate, oh my God!"
"Oh, shit man. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—" The man stopped as Nate gave him a look of death that even the devil would be scared of.
"I'm gonna fucking kill you!" He shouted as the man ran off. He quickly turned to Nora, looking over her pained face. "Baby, you're gonna be ok. Don't worry, everything's gonna be ok."
She gasped as she looked down. "Nate!" Blood was pooling down her legs.
"Nora!" Nate rushed over to her, helping her settle onto the waiting bench. "Someone call an ambulance!" He cried out, looking around. Several people stood around, concerned. A few of them ran off, hopefully to call an ambulance.
"Nate, the baby… what if the baby…" She started weeping, clenching onto his jacket. Nate buried his face in her hair, trying to calm himself as he breathed heavily. "The baby…" She whispered with a cry.
"He's gonna be ok." Nate said, mostly trying to reassure himself. "Shaun's gonna be ok…"
Nate sat outside the hospital room, anxiously tapping his feet. He shifted his position in the chair over a million times as he waited to be let into the room. The Doctors said it would take anywhere from thirty minutes to two hours to help Shaun. After what felt like an eternity, they opened the door. "Mr. Graham, you can come in now." The nurse said as she held the door open.
Nate walked in, looking at Nora as she held the tiny baby. The worried expression on his face softened into a smile filled with disbelief. The baby was mostly silent, every now and then letting out a soft yawn. "Hi, honey." She beamed at him, her eyes red from crying. "Look who came to see us already…" She ran a gentle finger over Shaun's face. He opened his mouth instinctively, shifting under his swaddling.
Nate pulled a chair up next to her bed. "Hey, little guy." He smiled, looking over the newborn infant. His chest swelled with warmth as he watched Shaun's body stretching underneath the soft fabric. "How are you doing? You came really, really early…" He laughed softly, his eyes welling up as he looked over the baby.
"The doctor says we should be able to go home in a couple of days… He wasn't too early, apparently… Only about a week, they said… they just want to make sure everything is healthy with him before we check out…" Nora smiled at him. "You want to hold him now?" She asked as she looked up at him, her own eyes tearing up as well.
"Yes, yes…" Nate said in an excited whisper. He gently grabbed Shaun, carefully cradling his head as he held him. "Hey, Shaun…" He smiled down, looking at the baby's reddened cheeks as he yawned again. "It's me, your daddy… I can't wait till you can come home and see your room… You're gonna love the rocking chair. Hand crafted, it'll put you to sleep like a… well, like a baby." He laughed again. "You're gonna love it." Nate looked up at Nora. "You did a great job, honey. I'm sorry about what happened…"
"It's fine, Nate. That guy was being an asshole." She covered her mouth softly. "I mean, jerk. We should probably work on our swearing in front of the baby."
"Yea, maybe. Wouldn't want his first word to be something terrible." Nate caressed the baby's cheek. "I love you, honey, and Shaun. He's perfect… This is perfect. Everything is perfect." He sighed happily, feeling the newborn wiggle gently in his arms as he made soft noises.
"Yea…" Nora smiled at him, for the first time in a long time without a look of worry. "It is perfect."