A/N- Hello, everyone! Again, I would like to thank you for all the wonderful reviews. Keep up the good work! And, without further ado, here is chapter 16 for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!
Robin woke up around three in the morning because Alice was wiggling around like a worm on a hot rock. She was eight months pregnant, and she'd been having a really hard time getting comfortable as of late, so Robin found it difficult to be angry with her.
Instead, she rolled over to face her wife and whispered, "Alice?"
Alice rolled over and looked at her wife apologetically.
"I'm sorry," she apologized. "Am I keeping you up? Because I could go and sleep on-"
"No, no, you're fine," Robin replied. "I just wanted to know if there was anything I could do to help you get some sleep."
"Well, you could tell your daughter to kick me during the daytime instead of at three a.m. in the morning," Alice muttered crossly. "Honestly, I can't get any sleep with her pretending she's an acrobat all night long."
"I'm sorry," Robin sighed. "Here, let me talk to Duckling."
She slid down the bed so that her face was level with Alice's stomach, and put her hand on the side of the bump that was currently her daughter's whole world.
"Hey now, little missy," Robin chastised. "You need to go to sleep, okay? Mama's very tired from carrying you around all day, and she needs her sleep. But she can't sleep if you're in there doing tricks, you hear? And if Mama can't sleep, then I can't sleep, and I need to sleep too. I'm not as tired as Mama, but I'm still pretty tired, and I want to go to sleep. So, you should go to sleep now, Little Duckling, and you can play tomorrow, okay?"
"Amazing," Alice murmured. "She stopped! She's settled down! She-"
All of a sudden, Alice sat up rather quickly in the bed and swung her legs over the side.
"Did she kick your bladder?" Robin asked sympathetically.
"I think she was just stretching," Alice explained. "It's getting a little cramped in there now, so she was just trying to get comfortable. Weren't you, little Duckling?"
There was a gentle, almost sleepy kick in response, which Alice took as a yes.
She got up slowly and waddled down the hall, with Robin watching her, her green eyes heavy with sleep but still alert enough to watch and make sure her pregnant wife didn't need her help.
Satisfied that Alice had made it to the bathroom safely, Robin let her eyelids drift shut.
They snapped open about five minutes later, however, when Alice came waddling back into the room, her frustration almost tangible.
"Alice, love, what's wrong?" Robin inquired, sitting up in bed to better look at Alice.
Alice opened her mouth to reply, but let out a sharp gasp instead, doubling over slightly and putting a hand to her side.
"Alice!" Robin exclaimed, springing out of bed and to Alice's side in a fraction of a second. "Are you alright? What happened?"
"Nothing," Alice sighed. "It seems that little Duckling has no intention of settling down. She's been kicking my ribs nonstop since I left the room, and, believe it or not, being kicked in the ribs from the inside is not a pleasant experience."
Without another word, Robin knelt in front of Alice and placed one hand on either side of Alice's swollen belly.
"Now, now, Duckling," Robin scolded. "Do we need to have another talk? Kicking Mama's ribs is not nice. She takes care of you all day, and at night, she just needs a little sleep, okay? Besides, you need to sleep too, and we can't spend time with you properly if you're asleep during the day but awake at night. So, go to sleep, Duckling."
"Amazing," Alice breathed. "It seems, someone just wanted her Mommy."
"Is that right, Duckling?" Robin asked. "You wanted Mama and Mommy?"
The baby kicked again, this time to the side of Alice's bump and a lot more gently.
"Well, all you had to do was just say so," Robin joked. "I will gladly stay up and talk to you till you fall asleep. C'mon, let's get to bed."
She stood up- noting that her knees protested more than they used to, which was not something she really wanted to think about- and headed to bed.
She didn't end up talking to her daughter that night- Alice fell asleep the second her head hit the pillow, and Robin hadn't the heart to wake her- but she did fall asleep with her hand on Alice's belly, a contented smile etched almost permanently onto her face.
A/N- So, what did you think? I know it was a little shorter than usual, but I liked where it ended, and so I'll just stick with it. Besides, there will most likely be some long chapters coming up, so stay tuned for that. As I've been doing, I'll only post the next chapter once I get two reviews on this one, so be sure to leave a review! As always, thank you so much for reading, and have a blessed day, loves!