"Oh, hey Manny, do you think you could bring me to my doctor's appointment this afternoon? It's a little tedious for a large pregnant woman to ride the bus alone. Not to mention creepy." Frida asked.

"I'm booked solid, but I can take lunch for it." Manny said.

"Are you sure? If you're busy, I can manage." Frida asked.

"No, it's no problem, my boss will understand." Manny said, kissing her forehead before he left for work.

So later that afternoon, Manny took his father's car and drove the two to the doctor's appointment.

As much as they wanted to look at the ultrasound when the doctor had rubbed the jelly on Frida's belly, they knew they wanted a surprise even more, so they looked away to the best of their abilities.

"Well, congrats so far, Miss Suarez. You are a strong eight months along. Your baby is very healthy so far. Would you like to see its ultrasound?" The doctor asked.

"Nope, we still want it to be a complete surprise." Frida responded. The doctor shrugged, turned off the machine and gave Frida a towel to (carefully) wipe off the ultrasound jelly.

"Well, I must say, you two are doing very well at keeping this a surprise. I'm impressed. Most couples can't wait this long." The doctor said with a smile.

"Well we think keeping it a surprise is important. It keeps us prepared for anything, you know?" Manny answered.

They couldn't be less prepared for what would actually come out, though.

~…~

After the doctor's appointment, Manny brought Frida home before returning to work. Frida thanked him for taking time off from work to bring her to her doctor, because she truly did appreciate having a fiancée who was so dedicated to her.

"Hey, Manny, can I ask you something?" She asked before Manny could leave.

"Sure." Manny responded.

"This is going to sound weird, but…well, did you only propose for the baby or for me?" She asked. Manny placed his bag by his feet and placed his hands on either of her cheeks.

"Frida, I love you. Even if we weren't having this baby I would have proposed. Don't let Zoe and her stupid sidekicks. They're just jealous that they don't have what we have." Manny said, giving her a quick kiss.

"I know, I know, its just that they get to me sometimes, even though I tell myself not to. Sometimes I realize we have our work cut out for us and maybe it's a little more than we can handle…"

"Frida, this is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I know that's enough to make it work." Manny said. He gave her a quick kiss before heading back to work, leaving Frida home to go through her usual routine.

As she was going around the house, cleaning whatever needed cleaning, however, she turned on the TV in the living room and listened to the news report. As she was listening, she heard Chipotle and Senor Sinestro's names come up. She set down her duster and went to the living room to watch the news.

"This is the umpteenth time this duo has attacked the city, as well as the umpteenth time El Tigre or his father has had to stop them. It leads to believe that the two have something planned that's greater than anything our superheroes are prepared for." The newswoman explained. Frida knew it was just panicking from citizens, and that they probably only wanted to cause stress between her and Manny, but she also couldn't help but join in with the hysteria.

As she watched the news more, she heard the phone ringing and quickly picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Oh, hi Benny! How are you?"

"Oh, me? I'm good. Just the usual pregnancy stuff. Getting a little uneventful sitting home alone all day."

"No, Manny got a job not too long after he graduated. Yeah, he'd been setting up interviews for weeks."

"Oh, he works as a manager for factory workers downtown."

"Oh, you are? That's great, we can't wait to see you there! Alright, see you soon, Benny. Bye."

Frida hung up the phone and found the guest list in the kitchen, checking off 'yes' under Manny's cousin Benny's name. Frida had met many of Manny's cousins on Manny occasions over the years, and was close with a lot of them.

With the last guest checked off as attending the wedding, Frida counted the list over once more to total about 200 people attending. And boy, was that a lot of people. She was used to large crowds, but that was when she was playing her music. It was easy to get rid of stage fright when you were living your dream. When you were trying to impress 200 people either you or your fiancée were related to and that you'd be seeing for a long time to come, it was a bit more nerve wracking.

After she finished cleaning, Frida decided to rest her swollen, achy feet and watch a little television while she looked at color swatches for the nursery. They'd bought all the furniture and had it delivered to their house, and they'd even assembled it in the room they'd selected as the nursery, but they hadn't gotten time yet to paint the nursery. They had to put newspapers down across the floor, move the furniture away from the walls and cover it, then actually paint it, and move the furniture back. And they definitely didn't have the money to hire professional painters. If they could only find a time when Manny has the day off and Rodolfo, Emiliano, Carmela and Maria all could come over to assist. Not to mention her own inability to stand for more than a half an hour at a time (because she's so large).

But, with luck, they'd be able to get to it tomorrow on Manny's day off. They'd already gotten Rodolfo and Emiliano to come help out with moving furniture, and the three of them alone would be good enough to move all the furniture in the nursery. She wanted Maria and Carmela because their female commentary on what color to paint the room and where to place furniture once they were done.

~…~

The next day, the guys and Frida gathered in the nursery to paint. The boys got to work moving furniture while Frida, Carmela and Maria covered the furniture with old sheets to protect them from dripping paint. After the guys got busy painting and Frida's ankles began to ache, the girls went downstairs to snack on some good snack foods and chat about wedding plans while the guys began the painting process.

"So, mi'jo, how is your new job?" Rodolfo asked. They hadn't gotten many chances to catch up lately, so this was one of their only chances.

"It's more work than I've done in my life, I can tell you that." Manny said.

"Well that's what happens when it all happens at once. As long as you've learned to juggle it all." Rodolfo responded.

Downstairs, the girls were having a similar conversation.

"So, Frida, any pre-wedding jitters yet?" Maria asked.

"A little bit. 200 people are attending the wedding; it makes me a bit nervous." Frida explained.

"Oh, honey, weddings are always nerve-wracking. All that planning, making sure all the guests are accounted for and happy and accommodated. It's a lot of work. But you have a lot of people's help, so don't stress it." Carmela chimed in.

"Yeah, I know. When you guys are right, you're right. I don't know what I'd do without all your help."

"That's what we're here for, dear." Maria said as the three went on to chat some more.

About three hours later, the guys had finished painting and had moved the furniture back, so they all stood back to observe it.

"Well, it looks like a fine baby will be slumbering in this room soon." Rodolfo said as they stood back and studied the final product.

"I think even if we didn't have this excellent room we'd have a 'fine baby', dad." Manny said with a smile as he wrapped his arm around Frida's shoulders and observed their nursery. Soon enough, their wonderful child would sleep away (hopefully) in the bedroom.

I know, I know, this chapter was more on the boring side. Honestly this is the best I can do for a filler. Next chapter will be like, a thousand times better. I have a bunch more planned for it, promise. This chapter, I just didn't know what to put in. All my ideas are for chapters surrounding this one, and I needed something to fill the gap between eighth and mid-eighth month of Frida's pregnancy. So yeah. That's what that's about. Review?