Hey all! This chapter jumps ahead in time a little bit. It's a chapter oozing with fluff, so enjoy! Please review!
"Well? What do you think?" I asked Maisie as I turned slowly in front of her. We stood in a small bridal boutique in town and I was becoming tired of trying on dresses. I didn't want to be the traditional bride in a big white gown that made me look like some sort of princess. I survived two dinosaur attacks, had countless guns pointed at my head, survived a volcano eruption and almost drowned. I was no where near princess material.
The dress I had on was simple. It was a cream color, silk, floor length dress. The back was open with strands of sequence criss crossing down my back.
"It's like it was made for you!" Maisie gasped in awe.
"I agree with your daughter," the seamstress poked around at the dress. "There's nothing that would need to be altered.
I turned sideways as I stared at myself in the mirror. "Well this may be a dead giveaway." I sighed and laid my hand on the slight bump that was just noticeable from the way the dress hugged my body.
"How far along are you?" The woman asked.
"Just over four months." I answered.
"When's the wedding?" She asked nervously and pulled at the front of the dress revealing that I didn't have much more room to grow before the dress didn't fit anymore.
"Next month."
"Oh, well this would be perfect."
I glanced over my shoulder at Maisie and she threw me two thumbs up. "Ok, this is it."
"Would you like to try on a veil with it?"
I shook my head. "No, just the dress and shoes." I turned my attention back to Maisie. "Sweetie, can you hand me the picture of the dress you found online?"
She jumped up and pulled the printed out picture from her back pocket.
I took it from her and showed the seamstress. "Do you have anything similar to this and the same color?"
The woman smiled and motioned back towards the dressing room. "Go get changed and we will find the perfect bridesmaid dress."
"I need two. The other one is for my sister. She gave me her measurements and we're just about the same height."
"We'll find what you need." She smiled and motioned towards the dressing room again.
Maisie was already sifting through some of the dresses on the rack and I ducked behind the curtain to get changed.
"Found one!" Maisie shrieked just as I stepped out from behind the curtain. She ran over to me and handed me the dress she found. "It's the perfect shade of blue!"
I took the dress from her and smiled. She was right. As a surprise for Owen we decided to make the bridesmaids dresses blue. The one I held in my hand was almost the exact color of the stripe on Blue's back. It's been almost two months since Blue was sent to the sanctuary and I knew this little detail would mean a lot to him.
"Go try it on." I handed it back to her and she ran behind me towards the dressing room.
I couldn't hold back the tears when Maisie stepped out from behind the curtain. The dress would need to be hemmed and altered, but it looked great of her. It was slim fitting on the top like my dress, but flared out from her hips. "I want this one." Maisie twirled around and giggled.
"How long would it take for the alterations?" I asked the seamstress who was already on the floor instructing Maisie to sit still so she could start pinning the dress.
"I'll have it done in two weeks. No problem."
We finished up at the boutique and headed back home.
"Hey!" Owen called out as he met us on the front porch. "Find what you were looking for?"
"Yes!" Maisie hurried up the steps and jumped around Owen. "You're going to be so surprised!"
His eyes fell on me and he smiled. "Going to be hiding that bump still?" He asked as he reached out and tugged on my shirt. For the past few weeks I started wearing slightly baggy shirts. I wanted to wait until the wedding to announce the pregnancy, but my stomach had other plans.
I shook my head. "There will be no hiding anything in my dress."
He winked at me and leaned down to kiss me. "Good."
With the cabin mostly finished, we were able to fully live in it, with the exception of painting the living room, kitchen and what will be the baby's room. We were slowly getting settled in. It was especially nice to have bedrooms. Where we were all able to finally have some space.
After dinner Maisie went to her room to finish studying for a test and Owen sat beside me on the couch. I curled into his side and his hand immediately went to my stomach. Since I started showing, this became a habit of his.
"You still set on not finding out?" I asked and placed my hand over his.
He shook his head. "I want to be surprised. Does it really matter if it's a boy or girl… or a boy?"
I couldn't help but giggle. "No, but it would help me plan for his or her arrival if I knew."
He sighed and laughed lightly. "What do you need to plan?"
"There's a lot! Clothes, the color of the room, nursery theme…" I trailed off when he nibbled on his bottom lip.
"I guess, but wouldn't it be exciting to find out when he's in our arms?"
I smiled and kissed him. "Or she."
He shook his head. "It's got to be a boy. I'm already outnumbered I'll have to keep the van around to hide from three women coming at me at the same time. Especially when it's that time of month."
I rolled my eyes. "You know you're probably jinxing yourself. I have an ultrasound in a few weeks. Actually it's right before the wedding. We can announce the pregnancy and let everyone know."
"What about names?"
I shrugged. "I haven't really thought about it."
Owen leaned away from me, a flash of shock in his eyes. "That's impossible. You have a list in this house somewhere. There's no way you haven't thought about it."
I couldn't hide my guilty smile. I did have a list. A small list, but I had one.
He raised an eyebrow when I didn't speak. "You going to share with me?"
"Do you have any requests?" I wondered.
Owen shrugged and looked down at his hand rubbing small circles on my stomach. "I'd like to try and name him after one of the raptors."
I leaned in to kiss his cheek. "I'm not having a kid named Echo or Blue."
He chuckled and shook his head. "Charlie for a boy or Charolette for a girl."
I got up and walked towards the bookshelf in the corner of the living room. Searching for my journal I could feel Owen's eyes on my back. I opened the book and took out the list I had shoved between two pages. Walking back over to Owen, I handed him the paper.
"Is this your list?" He asked, taking the paper from my hand.
"Just read it." I instructed.
He looked down at the paper and immediately smiled up at me. He reached for my hips and pulled me down on his lap. "Charlie or Charolette." He sighed against my neck.
I nodded. "Great minds think alike." Owen held me tight and I curled up on his lap. We sat silently and I closed my eyes, resting my head against his shoulder. Never in my life would I have ever thought I would be this happy. I couldn't help but smile when Owen's hand found it's way to my stomach once more.
My eyes shot open and I sat up on his lap. "Stop moving your hand!" I half shrieked.
"What?" He removed his hand from my stomach and watched me with wide eyes.
My hands replaced his and I jumped to my feet.
"Claire?" Owen followed me, his arms stretched towards me, unsure of what was wrong. "You ok? What is it?"
"I'm fine." I smiled and looked into his eyes. "I felt it! The baby! It moved!" It was the faintest flutter, but it was there.
"Really?" Owen dropped to his knees and pushed my hands out of the way. "Do it again."
I laughed and patted the back of his hands. "I can't make the baby move. Plus it was so faint that I don't think you'll feel it yet— there!" I looked down at Owen's hands. "It moved again."
He shook his head slowly. "I didn't feel anything."
"Soon enough." I said and sat back down on the couch. I didn't want to admit it, but it was kind of exciting knowing this was something I shared alone with the baby. No one else in the world knew this child better than me right now.
Owen sat beside me his eyes on the small bump under my shirt. "Please be Charlie." He whispered.