"Bug?" Lola was surprised that Iris called her so early in the morning. "What's up?"
"Umm, Lola, I'm not sure but my period is late, like four days. I feel sick but I just think that's nerves, what do I do?"
Lola had always told Iris that she could call her any time of the day or night if she was worried about anything. It had been a long difficult road for her little sister and her husband, they all wanted the same thing for them, Iris and Colton wanted a baby and they'd done everything they could. "Okay. Have you taken a test?"
"Not yet. I've got one here. Do I do it now, in the morning?"
"Yes, you can do it now."
"Can you come over?"
"Sure, I'm on my way." Fortunately Riley was at home and he could look after Sam and Billy for a couple of hours. They were all still in bed, one thing her boys did do was sleep in, they weren't early risers and she usually got an hour in the morning to check some emails or finish some reports. Riley had got home just before midnight so he didn't need to sleep all morning, if he got home at two or three she would have felt guilty about leaving him with the boys. "Where's Colt?"
"He left early this morning, it's month end." Month end was always the busiest time for an accountant with reports due and Colton always was under the pump for the few days around the end of one month and the start of the next. "I don't want him to get his hopes up."
Lola sat on the bed with Iris while they waited. She didn't want to talk. Her period was late and her boobs were a little tender but not unusual, they were often a little tender around this time of the month. Four days late wasn't a lot but for Iris is was enough to give her some hope. That's all they had lately, hope, but it was always fleeting and it was fading fast.
Iris touched Lola's belly. She was very pregnant, just over eight months and she was happy for her sister, she just wanted to feel that herself. She wanted someone to want to touch her belly and wonder what she was having. She wanted to feel a baby grow inside her. "I can't wait to feel your baby bump." Lola told her as she rested her hand on her sister's shaking one.
Lola turned the stick over and showed it to Iris. She blinked a couple of times to make sure she was reading it right. "What does it say Bug?"
Iris covered her face with her hands and sobbed. Lola heart was in her throat as she turned it over and looked at it. She held Iris's face and kissed the top of her head. "My Bug is pregnant."
"I'm scared."
"I know Bug, I know what that feels like and I know how much you want this."
"What if it's wrong?"
"You've just gotta stay positive Bug, we've never been here before. This is good." They had never even got to the point that they needed a pregnancy test so this had to be a good thing. No one in this family had an issue staying pregnant but Iris was the only one who struggled to fall pregnant.
"Do I tell Colt?"
"Of course you should tell him. He will want to know. He knows you so well, you wouldn't be able to hide it from him anyway, as soon as he sees you he will know something is up. I'm surprised he hasn't cottoned on already. And I can tell you when you tell them that you are pregnant, that moment never fades, I remember Riley's reaction, each and every time." Lola hugged her as tight as her pregnant belly would allow her and rested one of Iris's hand on her stomach. "I know this hurt you, but I always had faith in you. I always believed in you."
It had been a kick in the guts and Lola had sat Iris down before Lola and Riley even tried to get pregnant again and told Iris that they wanted a third child. She had been upset but she was happy for Lola. If she couldn't have children, her nieces and nephews were her whole world and she adored them, all of them. When it only took Lola three months to fall pregnant Iris was gutted, Lola came over one night and told her and apologised, it had been a big decision for them to go ahead when Iris was struggling.
Riley had been patient as Lola went back and forth on having another child but they had always wanted three and both of them were hoping for a girl to complete their family.
It was a long day for Iris, she didn't do well at work and held her breath every time she went to the bathroom and she was in there every hour. She could barely eat and the wait for Colton to get home was excruciating. As soon as she saw him she burst into tears. "What's wrong?" As if he didn't know. They'd been here a lot and he knew around about when Iris was due for her period, it had taken over their lives a little and they lived by a damn calendar.
Iris didn't say anything she just handed him the pregnancy test and Colton stared at that little stick of plastic in his hand wondering how something so small and innocuous looking could change his life forever. He blinked a few times and then looked at his wife.
"Really? This is yours? This is ours? It says your pregnant."
"It does."
"Oh…." The tears in Colton's eyes were enough to start Iris off again. He pulled her up off the couch and into his arms. "…Oh Wombat."
"We still need to have a blood test, it's early days but we've never even got this far before. So I am trying to be positive." Iris rambled. "I wasn't going to tell you, but I can't hide this from you. I didn't want to hide this from you. I didn't want to get my hopes up, but I have, I can't help it."
"This feels right. I have a good feeling." He knew so much more about reproduction than he ever thought he would. He always thought it would be a matter of deciding to have a baby, having sex for a few months and that would be it, it had quickly turned into something bigger than Ben Hur and he had been right beside Iris the whole time. "Fuck….Bug I love you so much, I love how perfect this minute feels."
They curled up together on the couch Iris told him about her day, every single detail and Colton's hand slid under her sweater and stroked her bare skin softly. He felt for the little scars she had, the ones that had caused them so much heartache.
Colton watched her face every time she came back from the bathroom for any sign that their hopes were crushed. It always had been in the past and they were bracing themselves for it. Colton didn't let her do a thing, he fussed over her all night and Iris let him, she liked how quietly supportive he was. This was his baby too and all he could do was hope and ensure they did everything they could to nurture their future.
Even the next morning Iris was still waiting for that moment that she went to the bathroom and their hopes and dreams would be shattered. It didn't come. Nor the next day or the rest of the week and it took Iris a two weeks to finally start to relax. Colton walked a fine line, he tried to stay positive and was readying himself to pick her up if she fell.
They had a blood test and that also came back positive and hope started to turn to excitement. Iris did everything she could, she made sure she slept well, ate well and took things easy and Colton pandered to her every whim but they didn't talk about the baby, they didn't want to jinx anything and every day they felt a little more confident.
At eight weeks Lola organised a scan for them, just because Iris had a nightmare that there was no baby. She'd woken up in a sweat and Colton had panicked, he remembered all too well Iris waking up sweating with a fever at the start of this terribly heartbreaking journey they'd been on. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, just a dream." She lay back down and tried to steady her racing heart.
"About what?"
"That there is no baby." All along they had been honest with each other, it was the only way this was going to work for them. She had all the other symptoms, sore boobs, she peed ...a lot, although that was also her rushing to the toilet to check more than usual, fatigue and mood swings. She also craved apples, she would eat six apples a day and Colton kept buying them for her on the way home from work.
"Oh…" Colton held his hand over her belly while Iris tried to breathe and calm down. "I don't believe that."
Colton thought Iris was going to break his hand as she squeezed it. At this stage they decided the best way to see their baby was with a transvaginal scan. It wasn't pleasant and Iris grimaced a little as they inserted the probe. "Look at that?" The sonographer pointed to the screen.
"Our baby?" Colton looked at where the finger was pointing while Iris kept her eyes tightly closed.
"That's your baby." She turned the dial up and suddenly they heard a beautiful sound. Their baby's heartbeat.
"Open your eyes Iris." Colton begged her, he watched her intently, waiting to see the look on her face. "Open your eyes and look at your baby."
It looked like nothing, a dark cavity with a tiny blob of white firmly attached to the top where it was supposed to be but that was their future. It was the most beautiful thing they had seen. It was perfect, Iris had never looked more beautiful to him than she did in that moment, the moment she saw her baby for the first time.
Lola was waiting for them outside; she had such a good feeling about this. It would have been cruel to snatch that away from them when she was due to give birth any day now. Life had been cruel enough for them, this would be too much, it would tear Iris apart and break Lola's heart. Iris's teary smile as she came out told her everything. "You saw it didn't you?"
"We did. Lola Bear, it's so beautiful. It's stupid, it's a blob and we heard it, we heard the heartbeat and I'm so in love with it."
"Of course you are. I'm so happy for you Bug." Lola hugged both of them. "I am so happy for both of you."
It was the first time they had relaxed enough to talk about the baby. It was the first time Colton talked to it. Iris was lying on the bed when they got home, she was tired and they were still going to do whatever it took to try and protect this pregnancy. He knelt beside her and lifted her shirt. "Hey, jellybean, it's your Daddy. We saw you today, we know you are in there and you are doing perfect. Let's keep that going hey, because trust me you want to be out here with us because we are going to love you like no other and there are all these awesome people who don't know about you yet, but when they do they are going to be so happy. Be nice to your Mom, I am so crazy in love with her." He kissed that beautiful belly that was protecting his little jellybean. "And you."
Iris loved it, she also loved finally talking to him about their baby. "Boy or Girl?" Iris rested her hand on Colton's as he lay it on her flat stomach. His fingers were gentle as the grazed over her and she loved feeling his hand on her belly, it felt protective and comforting.
"Girl."
"Really?"
"Or boy, don't care really. I think I'd like a little ladybug." Colton could just see Iris with a girl.
"I think it would be amazing to see your little boy holding your hand, looking up at you like the sun is shining because of you." Iris knew how much Alfie treasured that last photo of him with their Dad, taken the day before they went away. It meant the world to him and over the years they'd all had moments of jealousy that the last photo of their Dad was with Alfie.
"Let's have one of each then."
"Sure." Iris clicked her fingers. "Just like that."
"So, Bug, talk to me…" Iris already knew what he was going to ask. "How does this make you feel with regards to everything? Your past, your parents. I really want to know."
Iris took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. "I want my child to always know what a hug and kiss from Mom and Dad feel like. I want them to always know what my voice sounds like. I want to see their whole life." Her surging hormones and devastation combined and it streaked down her face. Colton never wiped away her tears, she wore them like a badge of honour.
"I want all that for you and more. You deserve it and you know what, I believe it, I believe you will and I can't wait to see it."
"Beside me?"
"Yep, you can't get rid of me now. You are growing my baby. I think that's fucking incredible."
"Are you going to tell your Mom?"
"One day. We aren't telling anyone yet right? I'll worry about her when we get there."
"Okay." They had decided to wait until after they hit twelve weeks just to make sure they were out of the danger period and also because Iris didn't want to take away Lola's excitement. She was having a baby any day now and like all Ruzek Hollister Baby's they deserved to be the centre of the universe for a while.
"On the one hand I want to shout it from the rooftops, my beautiful Bug is incubating my child and on the other hand I want to stay in this bubble with just you because this is the best I've ever felt." Iris got it, she felt exactly the same and right now their bubble was perfect.
Lola woke Riley up with a fist to his chest. He hadn't moved. "Get Up."
"What? Is it Sam? Billy?"
"No it's not friggin' Sam or Billy. My water just broke."
Riley had barely got into bed. He'd been on call and had to go in around nine and crawled home around two thirty. "What time is it?"
"Get the fuck up Riley."
He finally realised what the problem was. The bed was wet. "Shit."
"Are you getting up?"
"Yes." He leapt up. "What's going on? Contractions?"
"What do you think is going on?" Lola spat at him. For a smart man he could be really stupid sometimes.
Riley started stripping the bed on Lola's orders. He'd rather be doing anything else but she was stressing about it so he did as he was told. They were dropping Sam and Billy off at Mae's on the way. Hopefully Lola could stay home for a few more hours and the boys could sleep for as long as possible. She lasted another two hours at home, Riley got her in the shower and the hot water helped soothe her contractions and nerves. For a while she knelt on the floor, her arms resting on the bed and rocked gently. Constant movement kept her under control and gave Riley something to focus on.
"Babe, it's time to go." He finally convinced Lola that they'd been home long enough. Her contractions were regular, getting closer together and lasting a little longer and he had given her an internal and she was dilating steadily. They had to stop at Mae's on the way so it was better to go earlier rather than later.
"I'm happy here." She was rocking through another contraction.
Riley kissed her forehead. "Come on Lola Bear, let's get this show on the road. We've got a baby to meet."
"Easy for you to say."
"Nope, watching you in pain is not much fun for me either. I wish I could do it for you, but hey, I'm just a guy and I'm as weak as piss." He was kneeling beside her and kissed the back of her neck. "You blow me away every single day."
"Oh, you're okay too."
They called Mae before Riley got Lola into the car and dashing back upstairs and grabbing Sam. He was unimpressed about being woken up but fell asleep quickly while he went and got Billy. He wasn't as easy and he cried all the way on the short car trip to Mae's. He took him inside while Mae slipped out and spoke to Lola quickly and George came and got Sam out. "Love you Lola Bear, I can't wait." She held her hand on her beautiful belly. "Try not to kill Riley."
"I'll try." She held Mae's hand until Riley came back out. Sam had settled into bed again and was cuddling his Emu but George was trying to settle Billy and Riley tried to soothe him quickly but in the end he had to go, the last thing they needed was Lola giving birth in the car.
"Okay, now let's get a wriggle on." Riley backed out and then reached for Lola's hand.
"If I forget to tell you later, or get a little shitty. I do love you."
"I know."
It was true that Doctors did not make good patients and labouring Doctors were even less pleasant. Lola was stressed and it was her toughest labour. Whether being a little bit older now made things harder but she really struggled with the pain. Riley suggested an epidural but Lola procrastinated until it was too late.
Riley wasn't much better than Lola, if she was stressing that made him more anxious and it was such a different feeling in the room than when they had Sam and Billy.
The midwife nodded at Riley and he kissed Lola's sweaty forehead and took over. He'd never say no to delivering his child but he was seriously hoping this was the last time. They were happy with three although he had some suspicion that if it was another boy Lola would go again. She really wanted a daughter. She wanted that mother daughter relationship that she felt robbed off. "Hey Lola Bear, you are so close."
The midwife helped her brace and she pushed hard until he told her to stop. The incredible pain eased off momentarily as Lola took some deep breaths.
"That's the head Lola, Come on sweetheart. Just one more push."
He gasped a little when his baby slid from his wife. They'd been hoping but didn't find out what they were having. "Well no wonder it took so long..." He whispered as he held his daughter in his hands. "I hope this is not a sign of things to come, your daughter is a diva already."
"It's a girl?" she had collapsed against the bed and the midwife pulled her gown down so Riley could place his daughter on her mother's chest. "Oh look at her Riley." Lola almost didn't believe it; she was shaking as she placed her hands on her little newborn girl, one on her back and the other cradled her head. She couldn't believe they had a girl. He knew exactly why she was crying right now and Riley wrapped them both up in a hug.
"I'm so happy for you Lola Bear."
"I can't believe it." It seemed surreal that she was holding her daughter. "Let me see." It was that she didn't trust him to get it right but she just had to see it for herself. Riley lifted the baby of her chest, much to her displeasure and showed Lola the necessary end. "Oh it's a girl." Riley laughed at Lola's shocked response and lay her back down again.
Riley was stroking his little girl's tiny fingers. "She's beautiful like her Mom. I love you Lola Bear, so much. My mother of three, you are my beautiful, beautiful woman."
Their baby girl was perfect, all 8lbs 1oz of her. They were left alone with her for a while, Lola fed her and Riley got to have a cuddle while Lola showered and then they called Mae to bring the boys in.
They charged out of the lift straight into their Dad's arms. "Shall we go see Mom? She's got something to show you."
"Is it a baby?" Billy asked his Dad.
"It is, a beautiful little baby."
"Is Mom okay?" Sam wanted to know. Riley crouched down and hugged Sam and promised him that his Mom was good, she was happy and that he took care of her.
He pushed open the door and Lola was waiting for them.
"Mommy." Billy rushed at her; Sam was a little more subdued. He hung onto his Dad's hand; he'd been worried about his Mom all morning and he looked like he was about to cry. Riley stuck close to Sam while Billy was just excited to see his Mom. Lola helped him up onto the bed and Riley lifted Sam up beside her.
"Come on, let's meet your sister." He lifted the baby out of her cot and sat up with them all on the bed. "Say hello to Olive."
"Oh, she's pretty." Sam touched her first. "Hi Olive." He bent down and kissed her little head. Her eyes were tightly closed but she did squirm a little when Sam kissed her.
"Do you want a cuddle?"
Sam nodded and Lola helped him sit up against the pillows and Riley laid Olive in Sam's arms. Billy was fascinated but preferred to just watch, he did touch her head briefly. "What do you think Billy?"
"She's sleeping." Billy pressed his finger to his lips. "Shhhh."
"She is, it's been a big day for little Olive."
When she woke Lola unwrapped her and the boys watched her change her diaper. "What's that?" Billy pointed to her umbilical clamp.
"It's a little clip that will help make her belly button. You had one too, and Sam."
"Does it hurt?"
"No sweetie, it doesn't hurt Olive. In a couple of days we will take the clamp off and then the rest falls off and Olive will get her little belly button." She lifted up Billy's shirt and showed him his. "See, you had a clamp like Olive too and look how cute your little belly button is." She tickled his stomach playfully and he giggled.
"What's it for?" Sam was curious.
"Well, when Olive was growing in my belly she was attached to me with this long cord, that's how she got all her food and blood that helped her grow."
"So she wouldn't fall out?"
"Not quite, but she needed it to grow big and strong enough to be born. Now she's here she can have Mommy's breast milk to grow."
"Addy calls it Boob juice. That's what Marlee Moo had."
"I know she does. That's all Olive needs for a while. That's all you had and Billy too."
"And we are big and strong." Sam showed his muscles and Billy was just making faces at Olive. Lola thought it was beautiful seeing her boys besotted with their sister. It reminded her a little of Alfie with Iris when she was born.
"My beautiful big strong boys. Olive's big brothers. I think she's going to love you."
"I hope so." Sam was playing with her foot. "I love her."
"It's exciting isn't it."
"When can we take her home?"
"Later today hopefully. The Doctors need to see her first and need to make sure Mom is doing okay."
"You're a Doctor." Sam argued. He didn't get the whole different roles of different Doctors. He knew his mom was a Doctor for kids so he didn't get why she couldn't say that Olive was okay to go home. "Daddy is too."
Lola just wanted to go home, snuggle up with her boys and love their little girl.
Mae was head over heels in love with her niece. She was so happy that Lola and Riley got the little girl they were hoping for. She knew how much George adored Poppy and Alfie had his two girls. She couldn't wait to see them all with their girls. "Have you talked to Bug?" she asked Lola while she was absorbing Olive.
"Yeah, I called her after I spoke to you."
"How is she?"
"She's okay Mae, she's happy for us."
"I just want her to have this." She brushed her fingertips over Olive's soft dark hair. "I wish I could do it for her."
Lola knew how Mae felt, she had offered, somewhat out of the blue to be a surrogate. To say everyone was blindsided would have been an understatement, even George was stunned. Iris got upset, which was not Mae's intention, she just wanted her little sister to be happy and she wanted her to be a Mom.
"She doesn't want that Mae."
"I know, it's just hard and I really want you to be happy about Olive."
"I am happy, Mae, I'm over the moon and Bug is too." Lola sat next to her sister and wrapped her arm around her and rested one hand on Olive. "More than anything Bug wants us to have everything we want and we are thanking our lucky stars for this slice of heaven."
When Lola called her to tell her that she had a new little niece she organised that Iris and Colton were the only ones there when she came to meet Olive. Lola knew that Iris was going to be emotional and she didn't want to put her under pressure to announce her own pregnancy before she was ready. They waited until they were at home before she visited, despite being happy for her sister and feeling confident in her own pregnancy she couldn't bring herself to rush and meet Olive. She needed time to get her head around it.
Holding Olive felt different now, she had been dreading it and now she loved it and was a total emotional wreck. "Imagine how much she's going to cry when she holds her own baby?" Colton teased her.
"Build an ark." Riley agreed.
"I'm not ashamed." Iris wasn't ashamed to admit she was a blubbering mess and would likely be when they finally met their own baby.
"I can't wait." Colton seriously couldn't wait; he was just as excited as Iris was. They both just wanted to hold their baby and he wanted to see Iris become a mother. That was what he was looking forward to the most, seeing his beautiful Bug with her precious baby. Every day that passed had excited them more and more and they were now so close to three months it felt real and they were starting to get excited about sharing their secret.
The announcement came at Sunday dinner three weeks later. Iris was just over twelve weeks pregnant and another scan showed their baby was growing beautifully. Surprisingly Iris had suffered very little morning sickness, she was starting to feel less tired and apart from bigger boobs she wasn't showing yet but they couldn't wait for that day. She had told Lola, at her last scan that they were going to share it on Sunday night, it felt right to do it there. It was where all the big announcements were made.
Lola bought Olive out and handed her to Iris. "Hey pretty girl." She was three weeks old and she calmly looked up at her Aunt. "I guess you gotta make the most of this being the youngest in the mob? You are going to be the sweetest big cousin in the whole world."
"IRIS." Mae screamed. "OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD." Everyone stopped mid conversation. Iris was in tears and Colt couldn't be happier for her, she looked so blissfully happy. "You're pregnant."
"We are pregnant." Colton answered for Iris who was too busy crying and hugging her sister to answer. "Bug is just over 12 weeks pregnant. We are so happy to finally be able to tell you; we've known for about two months now and everything is going really well. As you can imagine we are over the moon."
Mae had flung herself at Iris and just about squashed poor Olive. Lola took her back and let Mae and Alfie and everyone else share in Iris and Colton's excitement. It was nice to see how happy everyone was for her. Even the kids were excited, Addy was beside herself especially. Everyone knew how much Iris wanted a baby.
They hadn't seen Iris with Olive, although Lola assured them that Iris had met her and was happy for them. They had all called her to check up on her and Iris thought it was sweet. She felt a little cruel not telling them but they just wanted to wait that little bit longer. It was strange avoiding her siblings for a few weeks, she'd been busy at work and also had a 'bad cold' and didn't want to spread it to through the mob, especially with little Olive in the mix so it was nice to be surrounded by them now, she had missed them.
Colton informed his family. Iris wasn't with him when he told his mother that she was pregnant. Things were not particularly pleasant between Colton and his mother at the moment. "Just to let you know, Iris is pregnant. She's eighteen weeks and doing really well. We are over the moon and really excited." He just announced it after dropping in unexpectedly. "And in case you are wondering, it was an unassisted conception, just Iris and I." It had taken her a few weeks to convince him to go see his mother rather than just send a message. Iris was showing off her bump proudly and the last thing she wanted was for Marchella to find out from someone else. That wasn't fair.
His mother cried and Colton started to forgive her. Iris had told him he needed to make the first move as far as his mother was concerned and this was the first step. He agreed to bring Iris over for dinner soon and his mother did send Iris a really sweet message congratulating her and offering any help that she needed.
His father and step-mother were delighted. They adored Iris and had always supported them and their decisions, they were so happy for both of them. They couldn't wait to be grandparents either. Will had long realised that his own daughter would never forgive him or want him in her life. It was a bitter pill to swallow but Colton and Iris's baby was finally a little bit of sugar.
It was a beautiful pregnancy, Iris breezed through it. She was beautifully calm and relaxed because Iris eventually relaxed and felt that this was meant to be. They'd been through enough and it hadn't always been easy or smooth sailing but they had never given up and now they celebrated every little milestone.
Iris had walked out of their bedroom when Colton had got home from work late one night. He was surprised that she was naked from the waist up with one arm over her breasts. "Well hello." His eyes widened and he felt a little surge. "You look good enough to do inappropriate things to."
Iris smiled and turned to the side. She ran her hand over her stomach, the tiniest of a bump sticking out. "Do I look fat?"
"You look a little bit pregnant."
"Do I?"
"Yes, and I love it."
Iris giggled. "I do too." Colton rested both hands on her tiny little swollen bump. It looked like she had eaten a big meal but they knew better. He picked her up and Iris wrapped her legs around his waist and took her back into the bedroom. Lying her on the bed he had a chat to his 'little bug' as Addy called it.
"I know you can't see yet and that's a good thing because it's about to get a little x-rated." It had taken a while for Iris to feel comfortable with sex, both Lola and their Doctor assured them that it was safe but she waited until after twelve weeks and that was a struggle for Colton although she was more than willing to make Colton happy. When Iris finally let him loose he was very patient and gentle with her.
Now she had no such problems getting jiggy with it. She was having a bit of a surge and fortunately Colton was always willing to surge right along with her and they were enjoying each other right now. He found her ever changing shape a turn on as well as knowing what was going on inside her. For Iris, having Colton adore her and make her feel safe and loved was just what she needed.
They loved feeling their baby move. Iris obviously felt it first, she had gasped one day when she was standing in the kitchen cooking dinner and put her hand on her stomach. "What is it?"
"Butterfly's. I think it's the baby moving." She looked so happy. They were almost 20 weeks pregnant and Iris was loving every minute of it. Even the crappy days when she felt exhausted it didn't matter, they were having a baby.
It was a few more weeks before Colton got to feel the baby moving, every time he tried it would stop but late at night in bed Iris reached for his hand and he felt it move. "I kinda can't believe this is going on inside you."
"It's surreal isn't it. I can't wait. I'm so impatient, I want to meet them now."
"I know you do but not yet Bug, it's got some growing to do." Colton was half asleep and slept well with his hand protecting his precious Bug and her little bug. "I want to see you big and fat with that baby belly."
"You know, the scan next week. We could find out?" Iris was back and forth about it.
"We could, if you really want too."
"You don't?"
"It is what it is, I don't care and all Riley and George telling me is how horrific it is and the not knowing kinda takes away some of the horror and then I can blame him or her for trashing your lady garden."
"You spend way too much time with them."
They loved seeing it move every time they had a scan, it had surprised them to see their baby's personality already, the hand over its face, sucking it's thumb or waving, they even managed to catch it with a case of the hiccups. They had more scans than usual because Lola would often call them on the weekend when it was quiet at work and get them to come in and she could give them a quick look at their growing baby.
Decorating the nursery was fun. It was always going to have an Australian animal theme and painted on one wall was a mural that had koala's, emus, echidna's, a platypus, wombats, kookaburras and hidden behind them all was a Leopard, Rhino and Giraffe. Colton had organised it and he took Iris away to the beach house for the weekend and left Mae to supervise the painter to come in.
She had loved it. It was beautiful, not leaning towards a boy or girl because at the end of the day they decided to not find out what they were having. Iris hoped for a girl and Colton thought it was a boy but they didn't mind either way. Mae and Lola were both on the boy bandwagon but Alfie felt like they had another girl on the way.
Colton loved how Iris's family surrounded her. He loved watching the kids come up to her and feel and talk to her baby and even he shed a quiet tear when Alfie gave her a little train. "For your own little Bug, so they know their Uncle Alfie is always there for them, always Bug."
