July 26th, 2008: 6:28 AM

The Spina Bifida did get bigger. It was about the size of a half-dollar. Still, that little half dollar was deadly.

She was now eight months pregnant.

And not too much bigger than when she was around six months.

She got up from her bed and stretched, but rushed to the bathroom and vomited in the toilet.

She took a shower after that, brushed her teeth, made her bed, and let her dogs out. She sat outside in the backyard with them, watching them roam around and play. After two minutes of play, Henry plopped down on the cement and began to pant heavily.

Colt and Leaf played like crazy, though. They both ran through the sprinklers and took a big drink of the pool water when they both jumped in simultaneously. She wished that she could be at the local pool, jumping in simultaneously with her friends, like the dogs, and swimming around playing weird games. She could if she really wanted to, but she didn't feel like it because she had just gotten over another back spasm last night.

Gabriella got her phone out while watching the dogs and texted Troy.

"Are you up?"

She set her phone on the deck and ran her fingers through her wet hair. Henry jumped up and walked away from her when her phone buzzed.

"Been up all night."

"What's wrong?" She texted back. She set it back on the deck and waited impatiently.

It buzzed and Henry started barking at it.

"Shut up fat ass." Gabriella razzled his fur and picked her phone up.

"Just thinking about you and the baby. You feeling better today?"

"The spasms went away again. I feel much better."

She stared back at the pool, watching Leaf and Colt get out and shake together. She smiled.

"Leafy! Coltie!"

Colt was the first to bolt out of pool gate. He ran towards Gabriella full speed, then stopped right in front of her, wagging his tail.

"It's not that hot!" She smiled and dried him off with a towel. As Leaf came, she also dried her off.

"Stay out of the pool you guys!"

Her phone buzzed again.

"I can see you."

She raised an eyebrow.

"How?"

She felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Because I went through the front gate and took the back trail to the backyard, and now I'm looking at you."

She turned around and laughed. "You're slick.

Troy bent over and kissed her forehead. "Aren't I?"

They both stared at the pool. Against Gabriella's words, the dogs jumped in the pool and were swimming around. It was tempting.

Troy shoved his hands in his shorts pockets, thinking hard for a couple minutes. He looked at Henry, then at the pool. He then picked Henry up like he was a feather and began to go towards the pool. "Come here, Gabi." He looked back.

She ran towards the pool with Troy in tow, opened the gate for him, and locked it behind her. Henry knew his fate.

Gabriella looked around. "Here. Use my little cousins' floaties." She grabbed four floaties and strapped them on Henry. Then, she put a life jacket on him.

"Ready?" Troy picked Henry up. He offered her his front legs, and she gladly took them. She kissed Henry's head, laughing as his eyes bulged out of his head.

"On the count of three... " Troy was laughing hysterically, along with Gabriella. They began to swing him back and forth. "One... Two... Three!"

Gabriella and Troy let go of Henry's legs, watching him do a belly-flop into the water. He snorted as he came up and doggie swam in place.

Troy set his phone on the table about 10 feet away from the pool. He began to take his shirt off.

"What are you doing?" Gabriella laughed.

"These dogs are tempting me! I'm getting in, with or without doggie hair!" He ran to the diving board, where he sprinted to the end and curled up, doing a cannonball into the water. Gabriella got soaked.

"Troy!" Gabriella took her phone out of her pocket and set it on the table. "You asshole!" She was laughing.

He spit water out of his mouth like a fountain and treaded water. "Get in!"

"No!"

"Then just put your feet in!" He grabbed her legs. "I won't pull you in, I promise!"

She put her feet in the water, splashed around a little, then admired the water. "It's so warm!"

"Isn't it?" He helped Colt onto the diving board. "Just get in!"

"I don't feel like swimming around."

He called Colt, and Colt happily jumped off of the diving board and did a nose dive into the water. He came up smiling and panting happily.

She splashed water towards him, and he came up to her and grabbed her legs. "Don't splash me, or I'll pull you in!"

She quickly stopped. As he backed away, she kicked water and hit him hard in the face.

"Oh my god, are you okay?"

Troy held his nose and came back up to her. "I don't know... "

"Let me see." She pulled his hand away. Quickly, he got his hand out from hers and pulled her legs, dunking her into the water. He pulled her up, treading water in the middle of the pool.

As she came up, she spit water and pushed her hair back. "TROY!"

He was laughing hard. "You looked like you needed a little dunk!"

"I didn't!" She tried to swim to the edge, but Troy held her tight under her arms. She looked confused at him.

"Just swim with me for a while. Please?"

"I can't swim! I've put on thirteen pounds since I got pregnant, and it weighs me down every time I get in the pool!"

He helped her to the side of the pool, then pushed her to get her onto the deck. She didn't look happy.

"I'm sorry baby, I didn't know you couldn't swim... "

"Sure you didn't." She sighed and went to the shower in the corner. She washed the chlorine and chemical off of her body before walking into the shed. She found some clothes, put them on, and came back out, where she grabbed her phone.

"I'm sorry... " He pulled himself out of the pool and shook his hair off. He grabbed a towel, his shirt, and his phone.

"I'm going to go take a real shower, AGAIN. Spray the chlorine off the dogs and dry them, will you?"

"Alright baby." He grabbed the hose, called the dogs out of the pool one by one, and sprayed them down.

Gabriella stepped in the shower, washed her hair and body from head to toe, then got out. She felt a suddenly pain rush up from between her legs to the top of her stomach.

It went away after about fifteen seconds.

She went into her den and plopped down on her couch. Troy came in about three minutes later.

"Are you feeling alright?" He walked over to her and touched her head.

"The chlorine fumes... They gave me a little headache and made my stomach hurt a little. I'll be fine, though."

So she thought.