Transition Plan Chapter 133 - School Days Part 9

Authors Notes: I have a little more story to tell, thanks to my on-line friend and "Internet Mom" Sueanoi who gave me an idea to expound upon about Jeanne being exhausted by big projects and how she and Jack deal with it. Hope you continue to enjoy their fun at college together. They get to be an almost-normal twentysomething college couple for awhile!

...

Jeanne's morning sickness passed soon after the third month of pregnancy, and her doctor gave her a better estimation of her due date. He determined it she was a little less progressed than he thought, and that the baby could come on either side of graduation, which really caused Jack and Jeanne a lot of consternation on how to plan their doubly big celebration with family.

She was actually in tears, "This is just terrible, Jack. 'Baby Day' and Graduation Day are right on top of each other. We could have both families here for graduation, and they could miss it if I have our babies. I'm so sorry, sweetheart, that I wasn't counting days or taking precautions at Bruce and Edith's wedding."

He held her and soothed her, "I would never trade a little inconvenience like this for that night we had together then, Jeannie. Only our wedding night and our first 'dance for one' date could ever compare to being with you at their wedding."

She blushed, "Yeah... I thought so too, cheri…"

He buoyed her spirits further, "Besides, you wanted both mothers here to deliver you anyway. This would kill two birds with one stone. I think they'd be delighted to be with us for both events. We have room in the flat for both of them. My mom anticipated this."

"I know, but this is supposed to be fun," she continued to worry.

"Don't you think that you giving birth besides graduation won't be fun for them?" he asked cheerfully.

It was hard to stop her fretting, "Well it will be a lot of work and worry for them to help me."

"I thought all the work was on your part?" he grinned.

She felt a little better by his comments, "Silly jungle boy! Well, hopefully now it'll happen right after graduation, but," she lamented, "I don't think they make graduation robes that big. I might have to sew two together."

She cradled the top and bottom of her bump instinctively like all pregnant women did. She really did stick out carrying her twins.

He joked, "Either that or I could rent a circus tent for the day."

She punched his arm and warned, "I can still pin you in bed, especially with the biggest baby bump in recorded history. It makes it easier to hold you down because I'm huge, Mister."

Pregnancy jokes were creeping more and more into their usual conversational banter. It was kind of fun.

"If I recall, pinning me in that bed at the hotel was how you got into this situation," he retorted smugly.

Thinking back to that wild night of Edith's and Bruce's wedding, she knew he was right, and scolded, "Don't confuse me with the facts, jungle stud."

"Seriously though sweetheart, as pretty as you are, you're even more beautiful pregnant."

He was dead serious. It wasn't the first time he told her that. It made her feel wonderful, and in fact her new maternal curves and firming, growing bosom did give her a new kind of feminine beauty and glow that she liked.

…

She may have looked beautiful to Jack and to the other students, who always gave her a smile on campus, but she didn't always feel beautiful. Over time however, the excitement of being a pregnant couple was regularly filled with new surprises. In the middle of a cold winter's night, sleeping spooned together as they always did, Jeanne yelled out in pain, waking both of them.

Jack sputtered, still half asleep, "Jeannie? What? What? Are you all right?"

"I… I think so," she said uncertainly. She was still in pain.

She turned the light on, uncovered, sat up with her legs crossed facing Jack, with her bare baby mound exposed. She put both hands against her stomach to figure out what was happening. Jack felt her tight, bulging belly skin too. He didn't know what he was looking for, though he was really fascinated at how dark the stripe of skin that followed the hair line from her patch to her rapidly-vanishing belly button was becoming. He was more amazed at what he felt.

Jeanne's stomach was in turmoil. Both had noticed little movements before, but nothing like this. She yelped again when a really strong appendage of one of their babies jutted outward, stretching her bump. Jack didn't know her skin could stretch that far.

His eyes widened, "Goodness, Jeannie, dear. What was that?"

"An arm or a leg I guess," she smiled and soothed the bulge, and it relaxed.

A big bulge immediately occurred on the opposite side, most likely from their other child.

She grinned, "It's someone's body, or head. They're bigger. It's getting a lot more crowded in there."

"I think they're ganging up on you, 'Mom'."

She blushed happily at Jack's new term for her, "Either that, dear, or they're wrestling each other in there. Sibling rivalry and all that. You know how we like to wrestle."

"I suppose..."

Both laughed, and she kidded him, "You know they get this from your side of the family."

Jack puzzled, "What? How?"

"Like you, neither of them will let me get my rest," she smirked, "and you know we've seen your father play with your mother…"

He just shook his head, knowing she was right, but he tried to change the subject.

"Don't they know it's the middle of the night?" he questioned.

She just took his hands and explained, "Jack, dear, it's always the middle of the night for them right now."

"Oh," he laughed, "That's right! There's no window down there."

They held hands and laughed, but were interrupted by one or both of the babies doing some kind of somersault that literally jiggled one of her breasts, and instantly, one of the babies flipped over and pushed hard inside her.

She sat up ramrod straight and gasped, "Aughh! Someone stepped on my bladder."

"How can I make it stop?" Jack asked with concern. He felt really helpless.

She bit her lip with the sustained pressure, "You can't dear. Oh my goodness… now I need to 'go'."

She held herself to prevent an accident.

Jack immediately offered, "Let me take you," and he scooped her up in his arms.

While he did, she put both hands on either side of her belly and just watched with enjoyment the undulations within her.

"You spoil me so, jungle boy."

"Well, once I get you there it's your business after that," he grinned.

She just rolled her eyes, "If they let me."

The pressure on her had not let up. If anything it had gotten worse. She already knew where every ladies bathroom was on campus. She might not make it to the one in her own flat.

She held herself more aggressively and shivered, not from the cold, but from Jack's soothing embrace of her against his warm, handsome body. The other baby kicked another sensitive spot somewhere else inside her. With skin against skin carrying her, he could feel the kicks inside her against him too, but he let her down. Soon she had the relief she needed and came back to bed. Even better, her babies had settled a little.

He teased Jeanne upon her return underneath the warm covers with him, "Just don't pop the babies tonight. There's three feet of snow out there. We'd never make it safely to the University clinic."

She grinned, but then took both of his hands very seriously, "I promise. But this I know, sweetheart, even if it was just you and me alone right here in this bed, you could bring our children into the world with me. I trust you with my life and theirs."

"I… I don't know about that, Jeannie."

She looked at him with conviction, "I know you could. It was just your Mom and Dad and Grandmother Kala that delivered you in the deepest part of the jungle. Your mother told me all about it. Besides, they're not ready yet. I assure you, dear. God will decide when they're 'done'."

"Well, let's hope I don't have to."

There were some more kicks and rolling movements but not as intense as before. They grinned at each other and he quipped, "Wow! They're still really busy in there. I honestly don't know if Elisabeth and Paul were like that with Mom."

"They'll only get more active, sweetheart. Both mothers promised me that. You mother told me your sister and brother were very active. But it's new right now. Hopefully I'll get used to this."

Jack was confused, "I always thought babies kept parents awake after they're born."

She smiled, "I guess our little urchins are getting us in practice early."

After a few more minutes reclining in Jack's arms, Jeanne sighed in relief, "It seems they've settled down."

"Well, we can sleep now," and he started to roll over to spoon with her, but hesitated with the look she gave him.

She said gently, "Well… actually Jack… I'm not sleepy. It's almost daybreak. We have classes early. We're already awake. I… I'd rather… umm… cuddle. Shake them up a little."

'Cuddle' was a gentle code word Jeanne used whenever she wanted to have him make love to her.

"A craving?" he snickered.

"Maybe... and you promised you'd always take care of my cravings," she teased, and then winked at him.

"Oh did I now? Well, then. My pleasure," he agreed heartily.

It had been nearly a week since their last relations due to tests, homework and projects, and the usual complications of her pregnancy, including this latest episode.

One thing Jeanne insisted on was their love life was not going to suffer because of her condition, although at this point their usual face to face positions were impossible for them, but it made for a lot of variety. Her doctor encouraged them that their vigorous times together helped her health from their exercise, especially cooped up inside so much during the harsh winter.

They soon discovered that their gentle rocking motions actually soothed the babies to sleep. It was a wonderful way to get ready for their day.

…

When Edith's and Jeanne's bellies got big together at six months into Jeanne's pregnancy and three months into Edith's, then the fun started, for the two best female friends, not necessarily for their husbands. Both men cherished their wives and doted on them and their needs, but the women often conspired against them to have some joint fun. Jack and Bruce both knew they were being played.

One night, the two women wanted to take full advantage of their food cravings, and so concocted the worst-sounding combination of tastes. They were having dinner at the Clayton's flat, and the two women just picked at their regular food.

"Are you two all right?" Jack inquired

"No. Not really," complained Jeanne.

"The pot roast you made Jack is lovely, but just is kind of sitting there in my stomach like a lump. But I'm still hungry. I need something."

Edith added, "Mine too. I'm sorry Jack. You're such a good cook but I just can't appreciate it tonight."

Bruce was really confused, "I thought you guys were over morning sickness."

They both shrugged and Jeanne observed, "It comes and goes."

Jack was at a loss at what to serve the women that they would like, and he asked, "So… what would you rather have?"

The two young women looked at each other. They had rehearsed this before their husbands joined them after class.

Jeanne requested, "Jack be a dear, and bake us a broccoli, raisin, onion, tomato and chocolate cherry cake. With fudge icing."

Jack's jaw dropped.

Bruce raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure? You want us to send both of you back into all day every day morning sickness?"

Edith reinforced the request, "It sounds yummy. I think it will hit the spot."

Jack and Bruce gave their two pregnant women a skeptical look but agreed cautiously, "OK… OK… coming right up, ladies."

The men looked at each other very questionably, went off to the kitchen to do their wives' bidding, and the two pregnant co-eds just snickered with the cunning of their plans.

Jeanne whispered, "They won't last five minutes in their before just making that cake turns their stomach and they'll try to suggest 'dinner out'. I want to go to that little French pastry bakery. It's open late."

"Either that or there's a new bistro just down the street that I've wanted Bruce to take me to but we've been buried in projects."

"Oh? Tell me about it."

They both giggled.

While the ladies chatted, Jack and Bruce attempted to bake the awful-sounding cake. Soon the flat had an indescribable aroma.

Jack pulled the finished product out of the oven. It looked hideous and didn't smell much better, as he noted, I am not sure if even the carrion birds of Africa would touch this… this… well… whatever this is.

Bruce agreed with a chuckle, "How do we know if it's any good?"

Jack was adamant, "I don't know, but I'm not tasting it."

"Don't look at me," Bruce responded, "I'm an engineer, not a toxicologist."

That made them chuckle.

Jack shook his head, resigned to their task, "But it's what they want. So let's finish it."

The young men completed the cake for their wives by covering their creation with delectable thick fudge icing to hide the evil combination of its contents.

With great fan fare, Jack and Bruce served the questionable looking dessert, and Jack served it to the girls, "There you go! For our hungry mothers-to-be. Dig in, you're eating for five."

Jack still found that amazing to say.

The girls didn't expect the men to complete their unusual baking task and gave each other a worried look. All they wanted was to play a prank on their husbands, not thinking the boys would be so dedicated to pleasing them.

Jeanne gave a plausibly believable excuse, "I… I don't know, Jack. Now my stomach has some butterflies. Maybe I'll just have a slice of cheese instead."

Unexpectedly, Edith eyed the concoction greedily, "Actually Jeanne, could you pass me a plate please? I would like to try some of that lovely cake."

"Really?" Jeanne stared at her friend in disbelief, quickly realizing Edith was totally serious about eating a piece of the awful-looking cake. This was not according to their 'evil plan'.

The slice of cake looked positively disgusting, but Edith took a bite, closed her eyes to savor the bite, gave a contented sigh, and proceeded to take another bite, and another until it was gone.

It was clear to Jeanne that Edith thoroughly enjoyed the cake, not some practical joke independently played on Jeanne.

Edith smiled with a bit of a fudge mustache, "Please sir, may I have some more?" offering the crumb-filled empty plate to her husband to give her another slice.

"Are you sure? The last time you got sick you didn't get to the bathroom in time," Bruce warned his wife.

"Don't worry, Bruce, honey. It's good! Jeannie dear, try it!"

"I don't know… the French girl answered skeptically, giving the monster cake a very wary look.

"Oh come on, Jeannie. It's good. Our husbands made it for us."

Jeanne steeled herself to taste the cake, and expected to wretch, but to her, it was as delicious as it was to Edith.

"Yum! Well Jack, don't just stand there, cut me big slice."

It disappeared nearly instantly and so did another slice. Jack and Bruce just stood there in front of their wives in total disbelief as they devoured the cake. It was a turn of events neither of them expected.

Jeanne praised both of them, "You boys are always taking care of us. Thank you! It's so tasty."

Bruce said very doubtfully, "If you say so, ladies."

The girls chatted while the men went out on the balcony. It was a comparatively mild night on a weekend with no real pressing homework or studies do for a couple of days.

Bruce shook his head, "Pregnant women are a true puzzlement, dear friend."

Jack noted, "My dad told me never to be surprised at anything Jeanne says or does. He should know, he got mom through four pregnancies, including twins."

Bruce appreciated Jack's family experience, "Yeah my father told me same thing too. This defies logic."

Jack smiled, "Like my grandfather said: There is nothing logical about a pregnant woman."

Bruce just grinned back, "But they're both happy. I guess our cake baking proves it's better to be lucky than smart."

Jack raised an eyebrow, "I never thought I'd hear that coming from an engineer!"

Bruce just chuckled, "Just don't tell anyone, OK? I'll have to turn in my 'engineer card'."

They both had a good laugh over that.

…

Greenly and Hazel, who also had classes with them, would tease their friends about being full- fledged members of the 'preggers' club.

Even without Jack and Bruce, Table 17 was full with the four friends and two baby bumps. Greenly noted, "We need to get a bigger table."

Hazel kidded, "Or knock down this wall."

They all laughed at Jeanne and Edith's expense.

Jeanne shot back immediately with perhaps a little too much edge in her voice, "I'd like to see you guys try carrying a twenty pound ten pin ball in front of you all day every day that, when you least suspect it, intentionally wobbles like a wild top while still try to get around classes and exams like normal."

Greenly gulped, "Sorry…"

Jeanne calmed the situation by saying, "It's OK. Being pregnant can be a little daunting at times."

"Amen to that sister. And I'm not as far along as you are. I don't know how you can carry two."

Jeanne joked, "Well I guess it beats the heck out of carrying two separately. With twins we get an instant big family!"

Edith empathized, "Ugh. You're right about that. I can't imagine Bruce getting me pregnant again right now."

"But there's always the fun of getting pregnant again," Jeanne slyly noted.

"You got that right, girl."

They were both very satisfied with their husbands, and had talked about that woman-to-woman before.

They all laughed at that, though Hazel and Greenly were a little envious of their friends and the wonderful men they were married to.

"But you want more, right, Jeannie? We all know how much you want to be a mommy," Hazel asked seriously.

She said dreamily, "Yes. I do. To both! We've had four enjoyable years just as a married couple. We've been all over the world together. It's time to settle down… I don't know if we'll ever have five like Jack's family. But I want at least another one after the twins. But who knows? The twins might cure us forever!"

They all laughed.

"But is it worth all the trouble?" Greenly asked with great interest.

She was dating seriously now. Marriage after graduating had been hinted by her beau, and she was very interested in what happened during pregnancy.

"Absolutely!" both girls said simultaneously with no hesitation.

"I mean look at us," Edith said wistfully, "I like being pregnant, and even better so does Bruce. He's even more dedicated to me than before. If that is possible. And we have the comfort of being in school with all our friends. What could be better?"

Jeanne added, "There's some days that are really uncomfortable, but look at what we made together with our husbands. Pregnancy is mostly fun, but being a mom is going to be even more amazing. I just hope I'm half as good a mom as Mama and Mom C are."

Hazel, normally the big joker and flirt of the group, raised her cocoa in honor of her friends, "Here's to all you attached women. Someone in our little group has to have some common sense. I'm glad I'm still free right now."

The girls at the table quaffed their hot cocoas, the drink Jeanne and Edith substituted for their usual caffeinated tea and coffee. Hazel was always the wild one of the group, but even she had her eye on a certain someone that was new and very exciting in her life.

Greenly mused to everyone's giggles, "No you're not. In a word: 'Warren'. I predict an engagement and summer wedding by graduation."

She blushed for the first time they could remember, but retorted, "Oh? Are you spying on me and Warren now?"

The story of Hopkins exploiting Greenly was well known to the women but totally forgiven.

"I'll drink to that!" Jeanne kidded, and everyone laughed. Hazel acknowledged all the attention. She secretly wanted that to happen too. Warren was very hard to resist.

For just a moment, the four girls savored the deep friendships they shared and how their lives were changing.

…

But as both Edith and Jeanne had observed, not every day was as fun. At six months pregnant, Jeanne was almost as big in girth as women at seven or eight months along because of her twins, and despite her strength, it did make things difficult. She discovered that couldn't sit in the desks in classrooms with built in desk tops. But there were extra normal chairs in classrooms, so that didn't matter and the professors let her sit in those. Desktop space was awkward for her though, an even working in groups sitting at the conference tables in the library was difficult. In the classes Jeanne and Edith shared, Edith knew it wouldn't be much longer before she had the same problems.

The biggest issue was Jeanne really couldn't reach her homework, pens, and pencils at her home desk and projects that were coming due. The big group projects were wearing her out because of late night hours. Jack more than once he found her asleep on the desk top, and gently carried her to bed. She was getting heavier and there was a lot more of her now.

Sometimes the only way she could study or do her homework was to sit cross-legged on the floor near the fire and spread all her school supplies and work around her in a semicircle. But she often became cramped and needed massages and stretching exercises with her husband. That gave him an idea.

One night they were studying as always together at their desks, but she couldn't pull up to her desk at all or reach anything. She was very frustrated, and was about to move to the floor.

Her temper flared, she thumped the desk with her balled fists, and shouted, "I can't do this! The naysayers are right. You can't be a student and be preggers."

Jack responded calmly, "No they're not. I made something for you to help you study."

"Oh?" she asked, wiping a single tear, intrigued by his latest surprise.

He went over to the closet, and pulled out a finished wooden surface rounded into a shape of a half-doughnut so that it wrapped around her bump. It had bean bag cushions attached underneath the board so that it would sit across her legs and what was left of her lap comfortably. That way it would alter shape to whatever comfortable position she could attain in class sitting a chair, and had some fabric straps on it so she could carry it like a back pack across campus building to building.

"Oh Jack dear, how nice! This will be great for class," she noted, and arranged it on her lap framing her big bump. It fit perfectly, and there was room for her to grow. She beamed a smile at him.

"I'm not done yet," he said with intrigue.

She smiled with anticipation, "What could be better than a laptop desk?"

"This…" he said with excitement.

He took her portable lap tray and placed it next to the desk. He went back to the storage closet again and walked in with an attachment he affixed to her desk. It was like the lap tray only much bigger. It was a half-doughnut-shaped desk extension that clamped securely to her regular study desk, and it even adjusted to her ever increasing baby bump to fit, and would surround her so she could have easy access to books, journals, papers, pencils, and all her other school supplies. Her desk's swivel chair could turn to any part of the extended desk surrounding her pregnant stomach.

She spread all the ledgers and papers of her latest bookkeeping project around her and could work with and reach everything, "Ohmigoodness, Jack, you are so thoughtful. And talented."

She kissed him.

He explained humbly, "Building the treehouse last summer really helped me learn carpentry."

"So, you big sneaky Viscount. The other day when you measured my belly for our 'baby journal'…"

He pleaded guilty, "Yes. I had an ulterior motive to get the measurements for this. Thank Bruce too. He got me access to the engineering workshop."

She saw through his fabrication, "So that 'group project' late nights… ?"

"Yep, after I was done with the project, I went over to the workshop with Bruce to finish this. Edith is getting a set too."

They heard a scream of delight one floor below them.

"Right about now, I'd guess," she noted and they both laughed, but she turned her attention back to her husband.

"You are one clever jungle father-to-be, Jack Clayton! I love you."

"'Love you too, Jeannie," her new appellation for him made his heart melt.

She threw her arms around her husband's neck and did her best to reach around her big bump to hug and kiss him, which led to something else much more thrillingly intimate.