A few weeks later...
"Where's Mama?" Scarlett asked, running into the kitchen in her loud colored pajamas. "I 'ungry."
"She's still in bed, sweetheart," he said, picking her up and taking her over to the dinner table. "You stay right here and eat some fruit while I check on her, okay? Don't move a muscle."
"Okay," she responded happily, popping a piece of watermelon in her mouth. "I stay here."
Jamie walked over and carefully opened their bedroom door, frowning as he saw his girlfriend still laid out in bed. She had been feeling poorly for the past few days, throwing up and feeling so fatigued that it eventually made her have to stay home from work. They thought it was the flu but with her still being sick a little over a week later, Jamie felt like it was more than that.
"Babe," he said gently, wiping a few strands of hair from her face.
It took a minute but Eddie finally opened her eyes, giving a small tired smile to her boyfriend.
"Hey," she rasped.
"Do you feel like eating?" he asked. "The munchkin is asking for you and saying that she's hungry."
She sighed, "I threw up again. I don't think I can keep anything down."
"You have to try. We don't need you to get dehydrated, Ed."
"I know," she replied, wiping her forehead.
"I really think we should get you checked out, babe. It's been a few days now and you're still not doing any better.
"I probably caught something from Scarlett when she was sick," she retorted, remembering how the three year old came down with a small cold for a few days after their trip to the Catskills.
"She got over that pretty quick," he reminded her. "She was running around after the second day. And she wasn't as tired and throwing up like you are. Eddie please. Let's go down to urgent care and get you checked out."
"Fine," she relented, seeing the look on her boyfriend's face. "But who are we going to leave Scarlett with? She's going to get antsy if we make her sit for that long."
"I'm sure my niece wouldn't mind coming over for awhile," Jamie said, pulling out his phone to dial Nicky. She answered almost immediately and happily agreed to come over to take care of Scarlett.
They waited for Nicky then made their way over to the closest urgent care, that was just a few blocks away from their apartment. It didn't take very long for a doctor to see Eddie, who after hearing her symptoms and running a few tests, gave them a diagnosis.
"Hyperemesis Gravidarum," Dr. Johnson said, sitting down on the other side of Eddie. "That's the cause of all of this."
"Hyper- what?" Jamie asked, furrowing his brow in confusion. "What's that?"
"Severe morning sickness," Dr. Johnson replied. "It means that she's-"
"… Pregnant," Eddie quietly finished for him, looking down at her hands then over at Jamie. "I'm pregnant."
"Is this your first pregnancy?" Dr. Johnson replied.
Eddie shook her head, "I have a three year old daughter."
"Did you have it while you were pregnant with her?"
"Yes," she responded. "But I don't know why it didn't occur to me that it could be that."
"Well, it definitely is." Then, Dr. Johnson smiled at both of them. "I hate that you feel so poorly right now but congratulations."
Jamie and Eddie both gave a small smile, "Thank you."
"I'll do an ultrasound to see about how far along you are and then we'll get hooked up to an IV to get you feeling better. I'll be right back."
As soon as Dr. Johnson left the room, a few tears slipped down Eddie's face.
"Hey. Hey," Jamie said, standing up and immediately sitting on the bed beside her. He pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. "Don't cry, babe. It's okay."
"I know," she responded, wiping a few tears away. "It's just a surprise, that's all."
He smiled and leaned in, giving her a kiss on the lips. "At least now we know why you were feeling so lousy. You had this when you were pregnant with munchkin?"
She nodded. "Yeah. Aaron wasn't very sympathetic at the time. He thought I was just being dramatic about it."
Jamie tightened his grip around her. "If I saw him right now, I'd probably kick his ass."
She chuckled softly as she buried her face in his neck, "I know you would."
Dr. Johnson came back in and performed an ultrasound, determining that Eddie was about five weeks along. The baby looked to be growing at a normal rate but they were advised to not go public with their news until after the twelve week mark, just to be safe.
"Would you like a few copies of the sonogram?" Dr. Johnson asked.
Jamie and Eddie both nodded, "Yes please."
Then, a nurse walked in and set Eddie up on an IV. The doctor didn't feel that it was necessary to admit her to the hospital but wanted to give her some fluids to help with the nausea and vomiting.
Jamie sat at Eddie's bedside, clutching her hand after she had fallen asleep. It was a shock that he was going to be a father but he was so happy. He won't lie, he had imagined for a long time of how their children would look like, probably like a miniature version of their older sister, with the same endless amount of energy.
Suddenly, his phone came to life into his pocket. He quickly pulled it out of his pocket and answered it before it woke up Eddie.
"Hello?" he said quietly.
"Mr. 'aime," he heard. "Where you go?"
"I'm at the doctor with Mama, munchkin," he responded. "They're making Mama feel better remember. Are you okay?"
"I want you to come back," she replied sadly. "Me miss you."
"I miss you, too," he said back, giving a small smile. "But we'll be home soon, okay? You be a good girl for Nicky and we'll bring you home a surprise."
"Okay!" she replied excitedly. "Can me talk to Mama?"
"Not right now, sweetheart," he replied. "Mama's busy. But I'll have her call you later, okay? Have fun with Nicky. I love you, honey. Give the phone to Nicky."
"I luh you, too," Scarlett said back. "I give the phone to Nicky!"
"How's Eddie?" Nicky asked once Scarlett handed the phone back.
"She's fine, now," Jamie answered. "Just a bad case of food poisoning. Sorry to do this to you but do you think that you could keep Scarlett for a little while longer, Nic? They have Eddie on an IV right now and I'm not sure what else they might want to do after that."
"I was going to meet one of my friends for coffee in a bit but I can take Scarlett with me. We were going to meet at a shop right around the corner. I can take her to the park right across the street from there."
"You sure?" he asked.
"Positive. It'll be fine."
"You're the best, Nic. There's a pink backpack in our room that has a few of Scarlett's things in it just in case you need it so take that with you. Keep a good eye on her because she does like to wander off. Thanks again."
"No problem. Just let me know when you're headed back so I can bring her."
"Alright. Bye Nic."
"Bye."
Later, the nurse came back and took Eddie off the IV drip. Thankfully, she was feeling a bit better. They encouraged her to go home and take it easy for the next few days, suggesting to still stay away from work until she was able to manage her sickness better.
They arrived home a little after six o'clock in the evening to Nicky comforting an emotional Scarlett, who was tired and missing her mother and Jamie.
"I think the park really wore her out," Nicky said, handing Scarlett over to Eddie. "She ran around for a good solid hour and a half. My friend brought her little sister too so Scarlett had a playmate."
"Thanks for taking care of her Nicky," Eddie said gratefully, rubbing circles on Scarlett's back. "I really appreciate it."
"No problem," Nicky replied. "I had a great time with her and I'm glad you're feeling better now."
"Do you want me to take you home?" Jamie asked.
"No, it's okay. Thank you though. I have a friend waiting for me outside. We're going to meet up with a few others uptown and have dinner."
"Okay then," Jamie responded. "Be safe and text me when you make it home. Thanks again."
Nicky nodded and left out the door. Eddie sat down on the couch with Scarlett, who was still clinging to her.
"You better now, Mama?" Scarlett asked, leaning her head against Eddie's chest.
Eddie kissed the top of her head, "Much better now, baby. Especially now that I get to see you. Did you have a good day with Nicky?"
"Mhmm," Scarlett nodded. "We go to the park and play. We get pizza too." The three year old then yawned. "I sleepy now."
Eddie smiled softly and cuddled Scarlett in her arms, "Go to sleep, sweetheart. Mama's here."
"Okay," she trailed off, closing her eyes and quickly dozing off.
"Can you believe that nine months from now, munchkin is going to be a big sister?" Jamie said, taking a seat next to them. He wrapped an arm around Eddie and kissed the side of her head. "How do you think she's going to take it?"
"I think she's not going to understand it at first," Eddie answered, laying her head against his shoulder. "But I think the more we talk to her and once she sees my belly getting bigger, then she'll understand that something is happening."
"How're you truly feeling about all of this?" Jamie asked, running his hand through her long blonde tresses.
"I'm just... a little scared," Eddie answered honestly. "This all happened so quick."
"I know," he replied. "It shocked the hell out of me too."
"What is your family going to think?" she asked. "We're not married and we just moved in together."
"We're both full grown adults, babe. There's nothing they can do to us. I'm sure they'll be shocked but happy about it."
"I hope so," she said softly.
There was a few minutes silence between the two before Jamie spoke up again.
"You know that saying, everything happens for a reason?"
Eddie nodded at him, "Yeah. I've heard that before."
"I believe there's a reason for everything. I believe there's a reason that we met. I believe there's a reason that we fell for one another and now are having a baby together. There's a reason for all of this, babe. None of this would've happened if it wasn't meant to."
She smiled at him. "I agree."
He leaned in and kissed her lips, "I can't wait to be a parent with you, Janko. You're already the best with Scarlett so I know you'll be just as great with this new baby."
She kissed him again, "I love you."
"I love you too."