By the time the summer of 1968 was coming to a close, Dobie and Zelda were content in their new home. Zelda had hated it at first, complaining all the time about the dirty walls, leaky faucets, and rickety floorboards, but Dobie had proven himself more than capable of completing the repairs. He had been right, it was mostly cosmetic, and the other things that required more work he could fix with some dedication and frequent trips to the Central City library for "how to" books. Zelda had to admit she was surprised by how quickly her husband had turned the old house into a home.

"What are you doing in here?" Dobie asked as he walked into the nursery and found his wife sitting in the rocking chair, her hand pushing gently on her stomach.

"Just looking at the baby's room," Zelda sighed. "I love the yellow ducks on the walls." Dobie had decided to paint the room a pale green and then attached wallpaper border with little yellow duckling all around the room. "The room's so pretty…"

"I'm glad you like it," he smiled. "I hope out little boy or girl will like it." He put his hand on her stomach and rubbed gently. He was amazed by how big she'd gotten and he knew she was more than ready for their baby to be born. Zelda startled him when she gasped and put her hand to the side of her stomach. "Are you okay? Are you in labor or something?"

"No," Zelda shook her head and smiled at his eagerness. She pushed again on her stomach and sighed, "The baby won't move and my side hurts." The doctor had said there was less room for the baby to move now, so Zelda knew she'd probably have to put up with her baby's uncomfortable position until birth, but she was hoping for a little relief. "Help me up," she put out her hands and Dobie pulled her up from the rocking chair, "I want to go with you to the store today. I'm tired of sitting around here."

Dobie looked at his wife in disbelief. She was in no condition to work at the store, but he didn't want to argue with her either. "Honey…are you sure?" he asked. "Maybe you should stay here and rest up. My mom could come over and stay with you…"

"I need to get out of this house," Zelda insisted. She put her hand to her back and winced, "This back pain is awful today."

"Then you don't need to go to the store," Dobie argued. He rubbed her back gently and she took a deep breath. "Lay down for a while."

"I'm tired of laying around," Zelda sighed. "Why don't you want me to go? Are you that sick of looking at me?" she asked tearfully.

"Of course not," Dobie knew he had to appease her before she ended up sobbing uncontrollably. "I love having you with me…but I want you to rest…you need to take care of yourself and the baby."

"We're fine. I want to go with you…please? I miss you during the day." she pleaded and Dobie looked into her face and couldn't argue anymore. "I'm gonna go get dressed," she said as she walked slowly toward their bedroom.

Dobie wondered what she was planning to wear since she'd been complaining for almost a month that her maternity clothes were too tight, and she'd been making due with her pajamas for almost a week now. She had gained a lot of weight with this pregnancy, and not just in her stomach. Her hips were wider and her face had filled out a lot. Plus her chest seemed to spill out of pretty much every top she owned. He hadn't expected her body to change so drastically and while Dobie would never have said it to her, he wondered if she was going to be able to lose the weight after the baby was born. He felt bad for her. Zelda had always been so tiny, and now her small frame seemed like it was ready to collapse under the strain of the pregnancy weight. The doctor insisted everything was fine, that she hadn't gained any more weight than most pregnant women, but that her height and small frame simply made it look like she was bigger than normal, but still Dobie worried about her. He was afraid the baby might be too big and Zelda wouldn't be able to give birth without complications. Lately, he was scared pretty much every second of the day, and it was hard not to let her see that.

"I'm ready," Zelda emerged from the bedroom, dressed in a brown maternity dress that clung to her stomach but did fit well enough to wear out in public. It had a big pink bow at the neckline that drew attention to her blossoming cleavage, but that couldn't be helped. She had pulled her hair back into a ponytail and dabbed some pink lipstick on her lips, but that was the most primping she could be bothered with at this point. "I look terrible…don't I?" she asked, tears forming in her eyes once again.

Dobie shook his head and smiled, "You look beautiful." He kissed her and put his hand carefully on her stomach. "Promise me you won't overdo things at the store today."

"I promise," Zelda smiled. "I'll be a big help…but I won't do too much. I'll just do whatever you want me to do."

"Okay," Dobie agreed. "Are you ready to go?"

"Almost," Zelda laughed a little. "Can you help me put my shoes on? I can't reach my feet."

Dobie smiled. He knew she wasn't going to be able to help out at the store, but if it made her happy to be there with him, he'd go along with it. "Of course I will help you put your shoes on," he chuckled. "I can't have my wife barefoot and pregnant, working in the store, can I? What would people say?"

Zelda laughed, "Thanks…for letting me go with you. I just want to be with you."

"I know…" Dobie kissed her. "I want to be with you too."