The snow thawed and the trees started to blossom again as winter turned into spring... Stevie was now a very confident little 6 year old having had the best birthday ever and Ali was as beautiful and chatty as she'd always been, the word no being one of her favourites... Henry was relishing his role as a professor and was looking to publish another book, the enthusiasm in his ideas bringing him to life in a way Elizabeth had never seen before... And then there was Elizabeth herself... 36 weeks pregnant and blooming as beautifully as the tress. Carrying her unborn child with all the poise and grace she possessed. Her nesting instinct had definitely set in and the need to get the nursery decorated was now a desperate one... Henry had been promising to start it for weeks but always found himself too busy so Elizabeth had given him an ultimatum... He either took a day off and they got it done together... Or she'd do it entirely on her own and risk her health and that of their child... she knew this was rather dramatic but needs must... and it seemed to have worked! He had taken the girls to school/Daycare respectively and Elizabeth was ready and waiting when he got back. Armed with brushes and rollers they set to work...

"Henry... be more careful... you're getting paint everywhere." As lovely as she looked, her temperament was beginning to suffer and she had quite a short fuse

"I'm doing the best I can babe... Just let me get on with it." He rolled his eyes and carried on

"Don't roll your eyes at me Henry... You're doing it wrong."

"I'm doing it just fine... you do it your way and I'll do it mine."

"But your way is wrong... and it will just look stupid."

Henry gritted his teeth and let out a hefty sigh

"OK babe... I'll do it your way... Just drop it."

"Yeah... I'll drop it because you know I'm right."

Henry looked at her and threw his roller down

"Don't get all huffy... god... you sulk like a petulant child." She looked at him and shook her head at his outburst

He grabbed the brush from her hand and put his arm around her back

"Henry... let go... we need to get this finished." She tried grabbing the brush back but he held it out of reach, planting a deep kiss on her lips instead

"Hmmmm... that's an underhanded way to win an argument." She smiled as he pulled away

"yeah... but it's working!"

"I'm all huge and sweaty and covered in paint."

"Just how I like you... we're nearly done here... I think we deserve a break…" he removed her glasses and kissed her again, far more passionately than before and with obvious intent

"C'mon Henry... we still need to finish." She was putting up a half hearted argument

"Well... how about we finish this quickly..." He unbuttoned the old shirt of his she was wearing "And then we'll finish the painting" He was smiling at her in a way he knew she couldn't resist

"Damn it henry... you never play fair... You'll need to be quick…" She was grinning back at him, quickly removing her leggings

"Oh... no worries there baby... I can do quick!" He dropped his shorts and snuggled her from behind, kissing her neck and running his hands up her inner thighs, making her arch into him... He pushed his fingers against her and moved in circles as he moved within her

"Oh Christ Henry... " She needed to brace herself and leaned against the wall

Henry was keeping his promise and moving rapidly, bringing them both extremely close to orgasm in record time

"I'm so close babe..."

"Already... Wow!"

"You asked for quick…" He was groaning in her ear and it was making her knees weak

"I'm..ready...when... you are…" She was panting and couldn't hold back any longer

"Oh god... Henry!" As the pleasure washed over her, she dragged her nails down the wall... He let himself go and jerked into her as he came, wrapping his arms around her to hold her steady

They caught their breath and then Henry let out a deep laugh

"What's so funny?"

"Look at the wall babe... I think we may need to redo that bit."

She looked up and saw the hand prints and nail marks down the wall in the wet paint

"Oh crap... That's your fault!" She slapped his arm and took herself off to the bathroom

He pulled up his shorts and picked up the roller, covering over all signs of what they'd just done

They finished the rest of the nursery fairly quickly... having found a sudden burst of energy and were all finished in time to collect the girls

—-

With the nursery painted... and furniture all put together...everything was ready for mini McCord to make an entrance... Elizabeth had made it to 37 weeks and was now classed as full term or " Ready to pop" as Dr Read had so nicely put it... But baby was showing no signs of imminent arrival... Her bag was packed and waiting by the door and Henry made sure their phones were always fully charged... They were ready!

Elizabeth looked over at the clock... 3.56am...Showtime

"Henry... " She was nudging him but he didn't stir

"Henry... baby... wake up…"

Still nothing

"JESUS HENRY...WAKE UP!"

He shot up, startled by her voice and looked drearily at her

"What... what's wrong?"

"It's time henry... jellybean's coming." She was looking at him with wide eyes and holding her belly

"Oh shit... oh god... Ok, ok... don't panic..."

"i'm not panicking... you are."

He phoned Isabelle who was there within 10 minutes to watch the girls and they made it to the hospital quickly... She was set up in a room and Dr Read assessed her

"When can I have the epidural?" Elizabeth only had one question, and that was it

Dr Read smiled at her and covered her back up with the blanket

"Not for some time yet I'm afraid... You're not in labour Elizabeth."

"What?… I'm having contractions and everything…" She was looking at the doctor as if she were mad

"Nope... you're having Brixton Hicks."

"What the hell are they?"

"Practice contractions... your body is getting ready to have this baby... but it won't be today."

"Oh you are kidding me... that's not a thing... you're joking right?"

"Go home and get some rest... This baby will be with you soon enough."

They walked through the door as the sun rose and Isabelle headed home... Henry was just in time to take the girls off to school and daycare while Elizabeth crawled into bed. Within a few hours, Elizabeth had called Henry home because she was certain that her contractions were real this time... but by the time he got there, they'd stopped again. She burst into tears as he walked through the door

"I'm so sorry... you'd think I'd know the difference considering I've done this once already."

"Don't be silly... it's fine... This little one is just too comfy in there, that's all."

They curled up together in bed and drifted off to sleep...

—

They picked up the girls and went out for pizza... Elizabeth was feeling foolish and rather disappointed and Henry wanted to cheer her up... They had a lovely evening and she read the girls 3 bedtime stories, which included her personal favourite, The Snow Queen... She'd had no more pains and was feeling pretty good. They'd decided on an early night and were both sleeping peacefully until Elizabeth's stomach decided to expel the pizza... Henry had woken as she jumped out of bed and went to see if she was ok

"Hey... you poor thing... are you ok?"

"I'm just peachy... aside from the puking." She gave him a smile and rinsed her mouth

"You haven't had any sickness for weeks... Maybe you've caught a bug?"

"Well... at least it will keep my mind off of waiting for this little one"

She crawled back into bed and winced a little

"Did you have a pain?" Henry sounded concerned

"Nope... nothing like that, I just tweaked my back a little... Don't get excited."

They went back to sleep and Henry woke her as he was heading off to work a few hours later

"If you need anything, just call... I'm dropping the girls off and then I'll be in lectures but I'll keep my phone on."

"I'm feeling fine baby...It won't be today." She gave him a kiss and went back to sleep

She woke with really and backache and ran a bath to try and ease it... The hot water did nothing to help and she just couldn't get comfortable... She padded around the house hoping movement would help, but she was starting to think there may be more to it... Are these contractions?…Nope…I'm not going to call him… Just my body practicing again

She ignored it for as long as she could but then had the worst pain

"Oh fuck... Owwwww" She gripped the kitchen table and rode it out, getting herself a glass of water and trying to asses the situation... Now unsure of what was going on... That was until she felt a snap and a rather big gush... Oh shit... there go my waters

She picked up Her phone and dialled Henry's number...

"This is Henry McCord... Please leave me a message and I'll call you back…"

Damn it henry... pick up the phone

She rang his number again and got the same message

"Henry... Having contractions... waters broken... OWWWWW... Come home…"

And as the thought crossed her mind once more, it really was... Showtime