"Honey, I am going to call my parents and see if we can reschedule watching Max." Eddie told his wife when she had a break in her vomiting.

"No don't. Your parents have been planning this trip away for a long time. It will be over soon and I will be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"We promised yours parents. They deserve time away. We can't break our word." Janet felt her stomach lurch and her head was back in the toilet. Eddie grabbed the washcloth out of her hand and rewet it with cold water and placed it on the back of her neck.

"See, I'm getting better already."

"If you say so."

"Positive thinking."

"Do you need anything?"

"Yeah. I think I am out of crackers and ginger ale."

"Your wish is my command." Eddie went to kiss her but before he could reach her, she had her head back in the toilet puking again. "Oh honey. I am so sorry that you are so sick." He felt helpless.

"You should be. You did this to me." She told him with a weak grin when she stopped throwing up.

"I sure did." He kissed her sweaty forehead. "I'll be back soon with crackers and Ginger Ale. If you need anything before I get back, call me."

"I will."

"Love you."

"Love you too."

Janet was ten weeks pregnant and for nine of those ten weeks, she has been experiencing horrible morning sickness. Every morning, she spent at least an hour in the bathroom throwing up. The first morning, she woke up throwing up she was an hour late for work, which was unacceptable for her so every day after that, she woke up an hour earlier than she normally would so she could get to work on time and then she sat with a trash can by her desk to catch any lingering vomit that never failed to make its way to the surface every morning but Janet never complained. Throwing up was not fun in the least but every time she had her head in the toilet or trash can she knew their baby was alive and growing inside of her and if her baby needed her to throw up every day for the rest of her pregnancy, she would happily do so.


"Where's Janet?" Max asked as soon as Eddie walked in the door.

"She's at home sick."

"Is she okay?"

"She'll be fine. Is your stuff ready?'

"It's in my room."

"Well go get it." Max ran upstairs and Judee called Eddie into the kitchen. "Hey mom." Eddie walked over and kissed h is mother.

"Did I hear you tell your brother Janet is sick?"

"Yeah. Morning sickness."

"It's almost noon."

"It's a bad day. I feel really bad for her. Do you know of any secret remedies?"

"Sorry sweetheart. I had no morning sickness with you. Just crackers and ginger ale."

"That much I know. Max and I are stopping at the store on the way home to stock up."

"Good boy." She handed Eddie a bag of pill bottles. "Here is Max's medicine."

"Geez. He takes this much medicine? What is it all for?" Sadly, Eddie wasn't real familiar with Max's medication because every time he stayed the night Janet was the one that handled it.

"His heart. He takes medicine to keep his blood pressure down, he takes a blood thinner and he takes antibiotics to keep from getting an infection in his heart."

"Is his heart really that bad?"

"It's not that bad but it's not great either and that's why he is on the medicine; to keep his heart from getting worse. The directions are on the bottles and I wrote them out for you."

"Okay. No problem."

"If there are any problems…"

"Mom, we will be fine."

"Are you sure? With Janet being so sick I don't want to put any more strain on her."

"What's wrong with Janet?" Mitch asked walking into the kitchen.

"Morning sickness."

"Maybe we should reschedule." Mitch suggested.

"Will you guys relax? Go and enjoy yourself. Janet and I will take great care of Max. Right dude?" Eddie asked Max who had joined them in the kitchen.

"Right what?"

"Janet and I will take good care of you."

"Janet always takes good care of me." Everyone laughed.

"All right little brother; give mom and dad a hug. They need to get on the road." Max did as he was told.

"If you need anything call us."

"We love you both and Janet." Judee said, somewhat tearfully.

"We love you too." The boys said at the same time.


"Janet we're home." Max called running into the house followed by Eddie and the only one who came out to greet them was Jasper. "Hi Jasper. Hiya boy." Max said happily. He loved that dog. Eddie put the grocery bags and the bag from the video store down on the kitchen counter and then went to their bedroom and found Janet sleeping in bed. He shut the door behind him before Max could wake her up.

"Janet is taking a nap. Put your stuff in your room and then we can check out the video games we rented."

Janet's nap didn't last long. She was woken back up forty minutes after she fell asleep with the urge to throw up. Since there was nothing left in her stomach to come back up, she was experiencing dry heaves. When her heaving subsided, she made her way out to the living room with the bathroom trash can in hand.

"Hi Janet. Are you still sick?" Max asked when he saw his beloved sister.

"Yeah buddy, I am." But that didn't stop her from giving him a hug and kiss. "How are you?"

"I'm great. Me and Eddie got some video games and I am kicking his butt. I have won every game." Janet glanced over at Eddie who sent her a wink.

"Eddie isn't very good at video games. Maybe you can teach him a thing or two." She made her way over to the couch and stretched out with her feet resting on Eddie's lap.

"How are you feeling babe?" She made a face. "That good huh? I bought crackers and ginger ale; do you want to give them a try?"

"Sure. I am hungry."

"Pause the game Max." Eddie lifted Janet's feet up and went to the kitchen.

"I don't understand Janet; how can the baby make you sick?"

"I don't know Max. It's just how it is sometimes."

"Oh." Janet's answer seemed to suffice him. "You don't look like you have a baby inside of your belly. Are you sure there is a baby in your belly?"

"I'm sure that there is a baby in my belly. It's just really, really tiny and no one can tell that's there but believe me, every time I throw up I know that the baby is there."

"How tiny is it?"

"According to the books I have read, it's about this big." She showed him the tiny size of her baby with her hand.

"Wow. That's really small."

"Yes it is and it's going to grow really fast."

"Here honey." Eddie returned to the living room with a few crackers on a plate and a glass of ginger ale.

"Thanks babe." Eddie reclaimed his seat and replaced her feet on his lap.

The few crackers that Janet ate and the little bit of ginger ale that she drank quickly came back up and she knew that she wouldn't be eating anytime soon. She curled upon the couch, drifted in and out, watched the boys play their video games, and watched a movie Eddie rented for the three of them. When they got hungry Eddie ordered pizza and as soon as Janet smelled it she was dry heaving again so she spent the rest of the night in their room, catching up on some Lifetime movies.


"Here honey, try this." Eddie had woken up the next morning to Janet dry heaving in their bathroom again. He had made her some hot tea in hopes that it would help calm her stomach down but like everything else, it came right back up.

"I'm so hungry." She was crying. She hadn't been able to eat anything in almost two days and was miserable.

"That's it. I don't care how much you argue with me. I am taking to the hospital."

"Okay." She mumbled and Eddie knew she was really sick. Throughout the evening he gave her Gatorade, crackers, tea, dry toast; anything he could think of to help her and nothing stayed down. He begged her to let him take her to the hospital but she refused, insisting she would feel better in the morning.

"I'm going to wake Max up."

"Can you help me get dressed?" She was so weak she was having trouble moving around.

"Of course." Eddie pulled her up, wrapped an arm around her waist, led her to their bed and sat her down.

"I tried to deal with this." She cried. "I didn't want to complain because as long as I am sick the baby…the baby is fine but I just feel so horrible." Eddie sat next to her and laid her head on his chest.

"You are sick you have every right to complain." He attempted to sooth as he ran his fingers through her curls. "We're going to the hospital and get you feeling better."

"I'm sorry I am crying."

"Don't be sorry." He kissed her head.

"What's wrong? Why are you crying Janet?" A sleepy Max had wondered into their bedroom.

"She doesn't feel good." Eddie explained.

"I cry too when I get sick." He told her.

"I am taking her to the hospital. Do you want to come with us or stay home and hang out with Jasper?"

"I want to come."

"We may there for a long time."

"I promise that I will be good Eddie."

"Go get dressed, grab something to eat and make sure you have something to do like your IPod and shut the door on your way out." Max did as he was asked. "Now let's get you dressed and get you to the hospital so they can get you better."

"Promise? She asked tearfully.

"I promise."

Four hours later, Janet was feeling much better. She was immediately diagnosed as being dehydrated. She was given a shot of a medication to stop the nausea and vomiting and fluids and within the hour there was major improvement. During the next three hours, she continued with the fluids and foods that were easy on her stomach and when it was time to go home, she almost back to normal.

"Hey sleepy head." Janet opened her eyes and stretched her arms over her head at the sound of Eddie's voice. The medicine she was give for her nausea and vomiting made her very tired.

"Hi." She smiled at him for the first time in two days.

"How are you feeling?"

"Wonderful; tired and hungry. Is that soup I smell?"

"Yep." Janet sat up in bed and Eddie placed a tray over her lap.

"Did you make this?"

"Are you kidding me? Max and I ran out to deli and I picked up some fresh chicken soup and orange juice for you."

"You are the best." Janet took a bite of the soup. "Hmmm. This hits the spot. Thank you." She lifted her face for a kiss; a request he willingly replied to. He kissed her softly on the lips. "Thank you for taking such good care of me."

"Any time but promise me something."

"Anything."

"If you get sick again, any type of sick please don't wait so long to tell me."

"I promise."

"Since Max was so good at the emergency room I told him we would go out for ice cream."

"Mmmm. Ice cream."

"Would you like me to bring you some ice cream back?" She nodded. "Chocolate fudge brownie?"

"Actually, I want butter pecan with butterscotch syrup."

"You always eat chocolate."

"I guess the baby doesn't want chocolate."

"What baby wants, baby gets." Eddie told her with a grin and a kiss.


"Happy Anniversary." Eddie was standing in their bedroom, holding a bouquet of lilies when Janet came out after her shower.

"They are gorgeous." She took them out of hands and then kissed him gratefully. "I love them."

"I know it."

"I thought we agreed to no gifts." They decided instead of spending money on each other, they would spend it on the baby. Their gift to each other was spending the day together. They had slept in, woke up and made love. Soon they were going to Janet's ultrasound appointment and then since it was rare beautiful March day, they planned a picnic at the lake.

"It's not a gift. It's a show of my love."

"I love you too." Eddie leaned down and kissed her long and hard. "Happy Anniversary." She whispered softly when they broke apart.


"Good afternoon. I am Kate, your ultrasound technician."

"Hi." Eddie and Janet replied in unison.

"Could you please tell me your full name and birth date?"

"Sure but I am not sure why. Edward Andrew Latekka and my birthday…" Janet hit him on the arm.

"Not you. Me." She did as requested.

"Great. Now that I know I have the right mom to be in here let's get started. This is just your routine twenty week ultrasound. Your physician doesn't have any concerns so we are just taking a look at your baby, making sure it has all of appropriate pieces and parts and make sure it's growing on schedule. Do you want to know the sex if it's visible?"

"We do." Eddie answered. They had decided to find out what they were having so they could be as prepared as possible.

"Go ahead and lay back on the table Mrs. Latekka." Eddie helped Janet lay down. "Now I am going to need you to lift your shirt up under your breasts." Again, Eddie was more than willing to help out. "Now, I am going to place a cold gel on your belly and take a look. Mr. Latekka, you can have a seat next to your wife." Eddie sat down and took Janet's hand, nervously.

Kate fired the machine up and a minute later Eddie and Janet saw the first images of their baby; heartbeat, face, fingers, toes and they even saw a yawn. They were in complete awe over the image; their baby and as far as they could see it was perfect. They were just needed Kate to tell them that.

"Can you tell what it is?" Eddie asked anxiously.

"I sure can. Get ready dad. You are having a girl."

"A girl?" He whispered in shock. He had convinced himself that it was a boy. "Are you sure?"

"No doubt about it." She froze the screen and pointed. "A girl."

Janet stared at the screen mesmerized. "Our daughter." She said tearfully.


"That was delicious." Eddie exclaimed, collapsing onto his back. "I am so stuffed." Janet had packed them a simple picnic; cold fried chicken and potato chips.

"Of course you are. How many pieces of chicken did you eat?"

"Too many." He groaned. "Come down here with me." He grabbed her hand and yanked her down to the ground with him. Her head landed on his chest. "There. Much better." She adjusted her head, wrapped an arm around his waist and linked their fingers together.

"This is perfect."

"Absolutely."

"I don't think that I will ever get tired of holding your hand. Mine fits perfectly inside yours; our hands were meant to be together." She told him with a giggle.

"Your hands are so soft. I love the way they feel against my skin."

"Well in that case…" She pulled her hand out of his and slid it under his shirt, dragging her fingernails across his muscular chest, a move that always sent goose bumps all over his body. He groaned in delight.

"Now that's what I'm talking about."

"One year ago today, we got married."

"It's been a hell of a year."

"Our whole relationship has been an uphill battle and this year has been one of the hardest. There has been so much hurt."

"You are right but look how far we have come."

"Eddie, I thought I was going to lose you. After I was raped we pulled away from each other and you started drinking, I was so scared you were going to divorce me…" Eddie felt a tear fall onto his chest. "We could have easily have lost each other but we fought against the odds and stayed together."

"And we are stronger."

"I learned something very important."

"What's that baby?"

"We are so much stronger together than apart. We dealt with my rape alone and in different ways and fell apart in the process. When we decided to deal with it together, we grew stronger and dealt with it." She lifted her head and looked into his brown eyes. "I don't want to ever be alone again." Eddie pushed himself up to a sitting position and cupped her face.

"Never, will you be alone my sweet Janet." He leaned forward and he kissed her. "I learned a lot over this past year too but mainly, without you, I am a hot mess. You keep me grounded. I can't live without you. This first year was hell so the way I figure it, is that things can only get better."

"I love you, so, so much." She whispered tearfully. "I can't wait to see what our future together and with our little girl brings us."

"I love you too; more than you will ever know." Still with his hands on her face, he leaned forward to kiss her again, this time pushing them both back onto the blanket where they spent the next fifteen minutes kissing.

"Hmmm. This is perfect; the day, the picnic, the kisses, you." Janet mumbled through swollen lips as Eddie placed kisses on her neck.

"You are perfect." He pushed her shirt up and placed a hand on her growing belly. "And this is perfect; our little girl is perfect." He began to place kisses on their growing child.

"Just like her daddy." She felt his grin against her stomach.

"No. She is going to be just like her mommy; blue eyes, curls and absolutely beautiful."

"Are you sure that's your wish?"

"It's not a wish. It's a fact. How can she not be beautiful when you are her mother?"

"You are so sweet." Janet began to run her fingers through his hair." But you know what a beautiful girl means." Eddie groaned.

"Boys lots of boys."

"Yep."

"All right kiddo. Time for our first daddy daughter talk. We might as well get this out there right now. You will not date any boys until you are thirty and as your father, I have a right to change your dating age at any time which I most likely will so you could probably count on forty. Do we understand each other?" He heard Janet giggle. "What?"

"She kicked."

"I didn't feel it."

"Maybe she's not big enough."

"Was it a good kick or a bad kick?"

"If she is anything like me, it was a bad kick. I think that she doesn't agree with her dating age."

"Well it's already been decided."

"And I am sure she will agree with it." She told him sarcastically.

"I am going to have my hands full huh?"

"Full because she will have you wrapped around her finger."

"Just like her mom." Eddie sat up and pulled the cooler over. He reached in and pulled out a bottle of sparkling grape juice along with the glasses. "Hold these." He handed her the glasses.

"Yes sir."

"Since we have to toast our anniversary I have brought the best drink for us since you can't drink and I am not drinking." He held up the bottle.

"Of course you did." He finished pouring, took his glass and held it up.

"To my lovely, beautiful, amazing wife. Happy Anniversary."

"Here is to many, many, many more."