This chapter is a reward for making it through the last one lol. Hope you enjoy it! ;) x
"Hey gorgeous, how are you feeling?" Rick asked Kate. He ran his fingers down the side of her face and lifted her chin to look her in the eyes. Even after all this time, those beautiful forest-green eyes still made his heart flutter. And his had exactly the same effect on her.
She smiled a little, but he could tell she was in pain. "Back is killing me and I'm so tired."
He looked at her adoringly. "I'll go and run you a bath," he replied, thoughtfully. "I'll be right back."
"Thank you." Kate smiled. How did I end up with such a thoughtful husband, she wondered, what happened to that 9-year old on a sugar rush? He was still there at times, but that's what made life interesting, and why he was so good with the kids.
They had a little boy, 3 years old. Whilst picking names, Rick had fought for Edgar after Edgar Allen Poe. After she had pointed out that he had already changed in own name in honour of that writer, he went on to suggest Ernest after Ernest Hemmingway or Alfred after Alfred Hitchcock. She vetoed all of those names. "I'm not having our son named after dead writers, especially horror writers," she had argued. In the end they settled on Alexander. Kate had suggested it. "After all, as the psychic said, someone named Alexander will be very important to me."
Rick smiled. "That's perfect."
Now Kate was pregnant with another child, a little girl, due in 3 weeks. There was absolutely no argument about her name. 'Johanna' was the only option. She was going to be as strong as her mother and grandmother, as theatrical as Martha, as intelligent as her sister, and as creative and kind as her father. Rick came downstairs after running the bath and caught Kate staring thoughtfully and lovingly at her stomach. "She's going to be beautiful, you know. Just like you," he told her. He kissed the top of her head and then her stomach. "I love you, Kate."
"I love you too."
Rick lifted her from the sofa and carried her upstairs and into the bath. He knelt at the side of the bath, beside her, and took her face in his hands. He pressed his lips to hers, gently at first, but she tangled her hands in his hair pulling him closer and deepening the kiss. Breaking away for air, he gasped "God, you're so hot!"
Kate shook her head. "I'm huge."
"You're gorgeous. Glowing, as they say," he chuckled. "But mostly just hot."
She smiled coyly at him "Thank you."
"Always."
She heard noises in the background, noises that didn't fit this scene. "What's that noise?" she asked Rick; he didn't respond. His face began to fade and the noises came to the forefront, Rick's voice was among them. She began to regain consciousness. "I think she's waking up," she heard him say. Her eyelids fluttered.