Present
As soon as Milly saw the result of the first pregnancy test, she instantly checked her watch, and knew that the tiny drugstore that was part of the giftshop in the lobby downstairs would still be open for another hour.
Extremely nervous, she triple checked the test before finally deciding to say screw it, and run downstairs real quick. She hadn't showered yet, and was still wearing her slacks, blouse, and sweeper sweater she had worn out to dinner with her agent, and the owner of the bookstore where she had done her signing today. She was currently in San Francisco for the weekend, and absolutely loved this city. The last time she had been here was actually last year for Memorial Day Weekend with Eric. They had fallen in love with the city while she was touring her last book. The two decided to take a vacation and flew out spending four days together seeing the sights without having to stick to a tight schedule while promoting a book. Eric and Milly had a blast, seeing all of the sights together. They had rented a car and went up to the Muir Woods together, taking a few of the hiking trails together, and looking around the dim lit woods, which had clean cool fresh air, and breathtaking trees that appeared like giants looming over them. Allowed to venture off the trail, they walked hand in hand wearing comfortable clothing, as they climbed the tall mossy hills, and walked so far, they hadn't seen another person for the last half an hour. Eric looked around, making sure that they were careful, before he stood behind her, wrapped his arms tightly around her, before their boots quickly lifted off the ground. Within ten seconds, with the cool fresh wind hitting their faces, they were suddenly both standing on a branch from one of the massive trees. Milly's eyes widened in amazement as she looked out at the breathtaking view.
A view she would never get to see unless she was with her husband. Staring in complete wonder, she knew they could only stay this high up for a minute or so. Standing there, Milly stood against her husband, his hands wrapped tightly around her stomach, as the two stared out smiling. Eric quickly brought her back down, and they spent the remainder of the morning hand in hand hiking, and snapping photos of each other with Milly's digital camera Eric had gotten for their anniversary. When they got back to their car, both exhausted, they drove back to the city, taking the back farm roads, looking at all of the beautiful countryside. When they got back, they parked near the boardwalk, and took the ferry to Alcatraz Island. They took a tour group, and walked around staring at everything in complete awe and wonder, before returning back to the mainland. They spent the remainder of the day walking the boardwalk. They ate chocolate, and fired dough, played pinball, and old school arcade games they used to play as teens, making a secret wager on whoever got the highest score would get to request whatever they wanted once they returned to the hotel room. In the end Eric won high scores on Pinball, and Pac-Man, and grinned, flaunting his stuff, before they sat down and had fresh seafood at a nice restaurant overlooking the bay. They split a bottle of wine, and that's when Milly grinned once they were finished, slightly buzzed, and walking together past all of the gift shops, and little museums, when Milly spotted a tattoo shop.
Stopping, she cocked her head and smiled.
"Remember when I got your ear pierced senior year? Your uncle looked so disgusted."
Eric grinned and touched his now closed ear. The last time he had put anything in it was probably back in 1995 or so. Milly stood there before motioning to the tattoo shop.
"We always wanted to do it. You game?"
Eric looked as though he was thinking it over, before he quickly signed...
"I know I can do it, What about you?"
Milly laughed, took his hand, and led him inside. Less than an hour later Milly stood in front of the full length mirror that hung inside the shop. The pleasant hum of buzzing from the other artists who were working at their separate stations. A Green Day song was playing over the speakers, as Milly smiled, her shirt lifted a little, and her thumb hooked in the waistband of her jeans, pulling it down enough to show where she had just gotten her tattoo. Eric and Milly looked over at the flashsheets and books in the waiting area, before deciding on what they both wanted. Milly got Eric's name in a simple black fancy script on her hip bone.
It was tiny, but completely perfect. Tilting her head to the side, she smiled, before Eric walked up beside her, rolling up his sleeve, and flexed his bicep slightly, showing that he had gotten the name Milly, done by the same artist, the same script, and the same size. Milly was surprised that Eric didn't even flinch when he got his done. He simply smirked, staring at Milly who kept smiling from ear to ear. When she had hers done, she fully admitted it hurt, while her artist, a guy completely covered from head to toe, who shot her a look since her tattoo was done in less than five minutes. This made Eric and Milly crack up completely. Standing together in the tattoo shop, side by side, looking at their tattoos in the reflection of the mirror.
A girl waiting for her boyfriend who was getting a tribal tattoo done on his arm, looked up from listening to her IPod, and smiled, removing her earbuds.
"Awww! That's so cute. How long have you guys been married?"
Milly and Eric turned around. Eric's arm snaking around Milly's waist, pulling her in close. Milly smiled. At that time Eric had a goatee which she found extremely sexy on him. She stared up at him, still feeling butterflies after all these years. Looking back down at the girl, blond and tanned, Milly smiled.
"Um, we've been together for twenty years. Married for roughly fourteen."
"Oh my God that's adorable! How did you guys meet?"
"High school."
The girl swooned, while Milly eyed Eric who winked at her. While they walked out, still hand in hand on the boardwalk, Eric asked if she wanted to watch the sunset someplace? Milly said sure, and together they made their way to the rental car, drove to the Palace of Fine Arts Theater. They parked, walked around taking in the sights, before finding a bench that overlooked everything, and sat down side by side. Milly leaned against Eric, lacing her hands in his, before she laughed.
"I can't believe we got tattoos."
Eric smirked, leaning against her, as she stroked his hand, and played with his wedding band. Eric then nudged her, as she looked up as he quickly signed...
"So, let's start brainstorming about how we're going to celebrate back at the hotel room tonight. We agreed on anything the winner wanted."
Milly sat back, cracking up as Eric softly laughed, and kissed the top of her head.
Now Milly found herself with a small brown paper bag from the drugstore/gift shop. She had taken the elevator down, found the pregnancy tests, bought them without a second thought, before heading back to her room as she checked the clock on the wall, wondering if she should even say anything to Eric tonight? She could never lie to him, yet didn't see this as lying, but merely waiting. She didn't want to jump the gun, or get both of their hopes up. The plain simple truth was...they had a horrible history of miscarriages, stillbirths, and heartbreak. Eight babies ripped away from them. Eight times they had their hopes up, and ended in blood, tears, and disappointment. She saw the look of heartbreak in Eric's eyes whenever they went to the park for walks, or to workout and saw couples pushing strollers, or chasing after little toddlers.
This past winter, when they went Christmas shopping in the mall, she caught him sadly smiling as a father was making faces at his twin baby daughters who were crying their eyes out. Milly saw the look on Eric's face, and it killed her knowing what a wonderful father he would be, and how supportive and wonderful he had been throughout all of this over the years, when in reality he was just as gutted as she was over not being able to start the family they so desperately wanted. She got back to the hotel room, locked the door, and took the two pregnancy tests, knowing very well that she had gotten false positives before, and made a promise to herself to call Dr. Weaver tomorrow if these tests turned blue like the first one. She peed on each stick, capped them, and waited as they laid on the counter. Going into the main room, she put on the news and lowered the volume, before changing for bed. As she undressed, she looked at her hip where Eric's name was written. Smiling, she touched her hip, before changing into Eric's baggy shirt she had been sleeping in that went down to her knees.
She put her hair in a ponytail, before walking back to the bathroom, knowing she would be calling Eric in a few minutes.
That's when she froze again. The two pregnancy tests were blue. She took the box one of them came in, flipped it over and scanned the directions. Raising an eyebrow, she held the test up suspiciously, before taking a deep breath. Taking one of the tests back with her, she put it on the nightstand, and opened her laptop. Quickly she typed in Dr. Weaver's email address, and began pounding away on the keyboard. Dr. Weaver was aware that she would be on her book tour for roughly two weeks, and had walked her though how to properly store her vials, and give herself her injections without missing a dose. She also gave her all of her contact information, and told her to not hesitate if she had any questions or concerns. Milly felt a little silly, but wrote the email as quickly as she could, explaining about the three tests she took, and how all were positive. She tried to make the email sound calm and collected. Rechecking it twice, she nodded, knowing this was the best she could do, before pressing the send button. Once her computer screen showed she had sent it, Milly sat on the bed cross legged and nervously picked at her nails. She started trying to think about when Eric could have gotten her pregnant? She wasn't sure how many weeks along she was, so until she heard back from Dr. Weaver and took a blood test.
She had miscarried three times before super early on. Once she hadn't even known she was pregnant until she was woken up by awful cramps ripping through her. She remembered stirring awake, and suddenly feeling wet, and cold. She had muttered in her sleep, before Eric woke up, his hair messy and sticking up, before he blinked, waking up, and signing...
"Are you okay? Bad dream?"
Milly sat up in bed, before she felt the sensation she associated with the second day of her period when it was the heaviest. It was the feeling of blood dropping. She remembered reaching and clicking on the lamp on her nightstand, when she felt it. Eric was putting his lamp on, when Milly threw back the covers. Instantly she froze, seeing blood smeared up and down her thighs since she was wearing one of Eric's shirts. The blood had soaked through her panties, and had stained the sheets below. Seeing the ugly sight of bright red blood caused her eyes to widen, before she cried out.
"Oh Jesus..."
Eric was fully awake, and had jumped out of bed. They spent the night at the ER, Milly sniffling, wearing sweats and a heavy pad as the doctor explained she was just two weeks along, and that the only upside to this was that it was fast showing that the proper hormones were kicking in for Milly. Mind you, this was long before she started on the injections, but Milly and Eric had been struggling to conceive for some time by then.
They had given Milly a prescription for pain, and Eric drove her home a little before sunrise. Milly didn't even feel like crying. She was too tired, and too stunned to really do anything. Instead, once they got back, Milly stood in the doorway of their bedroom as Eric stripped the sheets off their mattress, and brought everything downstairs to wash. Milly was grateful she hadn't bled through to the mattress, she brought out fresh bedding, and made the bed. Eric came back upstairs, and frowned as he took one of the pillows she was changing the case for, and shook his head and signed...
"I told you I would do it. The doctor said you need to rest."
Milly was swimmy headed and stoned from the pill. Her responses were slow, and drawn out. She stood there, before she shook her head. Besides switching two more pillow cases, she had made up the bed in record time. She figured this was simply a way to distract herself. Milly held onto the pillow, clutching it actually, as she felt herself still bleeding badly. She didn't need a D&C since she wasn't that far along. She had gotten them before, and the sensation of her and Eric's baby getting sucked and scraped out of her, was enough to set anyone over the edge. Lucky for her tonight, they had given her something to help the process, and made an appointment with her gynecologist for that Monday. She stood there, clutching the pillow, swaying before she sniffled and said...
"It's okay...it's my mess...I..."
She couldn't finish, before her shoulders sagged, lowered her head and began to sob. Eric was there holding her within seconds. He took the pillow out of her hands, and wrapped his arms around her tightly. She broke down completely, so exhausted, and tired of this. She started crying even harder than before, sobbing, her chest hitching as Eric held onto her tightly. He tried his hardest to sooth her, as she shook all over, her complexion pale, with brownish circles underneath her bloodshot eyes. She was exhausted both emotionally, as well as physically. She remembered feeling herself bleeding through her pad, before Eric led her into the bathroom. She was too exhausted to try and shower, so instead Eric lowered her sweatpants, and actually changed her pad. If this was any other time, she would be humiliated. Instead, she simply stood there, silent tears rolling down her face.
Eric had done this for her before, most likely when she was too stoned following a trip to the ER after losing one of their babies. She bowed her head weeping, as Eric took the pads they had given her from the hospital, and cleaned her up using a facecloth, and getting her into fresh sweats from her dresser. Once she was cleaned up, he gave her another pill, double checking the bottle to make sure she could still take one. He brought her into the bedroom, and she saw he had put her heated blanket on, and had turned it on high. He propped her up with pillows, then signed to her he would go make her a hot cup of tea. Taking his water bottle, he offered her the pill, which she took silently. He then cupped the side of her face with his large warm hand. Milly shut her eyes weeping softly, before finally Eric leaned in and kissed her forehead. Opening her eyes, Milly stared across at Eric feeling completely defeated.
"At least...it happened without us even knowing. It wasn't like with Jet or...Lucky..."
Lucky was the name of their little girl. The only other baby she had lost almost as far along as she was with Jet when she miscarried. The baby she had been forced to deliver, which was less than a year or so ago. The very thought that she could of had a toddler girl, one with a chubby cute face, hazel eyes, and wavy brown hair. She then thought back of Jet, who would have been a pre-teen, or the several other babies she had lost. Had they not had any issues, she often daydreamed that they would have probably ended up having five or so babies. She often day dreamed that there would be three boys, two girls. Jet, Griffin, DJ, Lucy, and Tina. Those were their names they had talked about at one point or another that they wanted to use. This had been the last baby she had gotten pregnant with, until her doctor had her go back on birth control to regulate her cycle, and give her body a rest. At that time Milly was feeling very discouraged, and she remembered how stoned the pain pills made her, as she laid in bed, feeling the dull throbs of cramps wash over her. She laid there, sniffling, before Eric reached down, and gently rubbed her stomach, right above her bikini line, usually the spot she sometimes asked him to rub whenever the cramps got really bad. He snuggled in close, rubbing her stomach, and holding her as she cried. That night she remembered every single pregnancy test that resulted in blood, no heartbeats, and tears. Now here she was, ready to video chat her husband nearly a year and a half later since that last miscarriage.
She cursed herself for even taking the stupid thing when there was really not a whole lot she could do while on the road. Still, she had learned the sad reality of not getting her hopes up whenever she took these things. She was actually starting to feel numb about it, which truly broke her heart. Eric and her had been trying nonstop, no matter how much it worried Eric, and exhausted her. She knew these positives were too early from Dr. Weaver inseminating her with Eric's sperm. She knew they were holding off on IVF, but the hormones must have been doing something. Her emotions were going crazy, her moods constantly swinging, her skin sensitive, and her anxiety pretty bad. Still, she thought of that strange dream she had a few days ago. The one where they were teenagers, fourteen and fifteen. Both on the high school roof, the police and Mrs. Sherman were there, and both were scared, standing on the edge, before he lipped her name, barley able to say it above a whispher. In the dream Milly remembered asking Eric if he could fly? He thought about it for a moment, before nodding. Both tightly held hands, before stepping off the edge of the roof, and as always she would wake up before the sensation of dropping hit her. She had this dream several times before, all of which was a sign of something good. Still, she had this dream before taking pregnancy tests, and now at the age of thirty-five she still didn't have any children, despite the total giddy filled excitement she felt whenever she took the pregnancy tests. She then saw a tab pop up, showing that Dr. Weaver had emailed her back instantly. She double clicked on it quickly, and scanned it.
Milly - That's wonderful! I'm thrilled for you! You said you'll be in San Fran for another day? I'm providing an address to a lab that's just a few blocks away from your hotel. I'm not sure what your schedule is like, but go around 9:30 to have labs drawn. You'll probably feel light headed afterwards, so make sure you'll eat something! I'll be able to get the results by tomorrow night. Now, whatever contact you're under, I will take care if you getting out of anything. We agreed, if you are in fact pregnant we're instantly treating this like a high risk pregnancy. If you trust me, I'll make sure you safely carry this baby to term. I don't want you feeling guilty about prior obligations. What was the most important is making your husband and your dreams of having this family a reality. Just rest up, and head to this lab tomorrow a little before 9:30. 10168 Larkin St. Suite 18.
Milly looked over the email one more time, before looking at the time on the computer, and saw she was already late to video chat with Eric. Sitting up against the headboard, and pillows helping her get comfortable. She relaxed a little, before clicking on the camera icon. The signal connected, and suddenly, she saw Eric fill up her computer scree,. The signal was actually really good tonight, and she saw he was in her office, his hair wet from a shower, slicked back, wearing a white T-shirt with the sleeves rolled up over his biceps, and sweats. He grinned, eyes lighting up seeing her, before he signed...
"Hey babe! I miss you!"
Milly couldn't explain it, but tears formed in her eyes as she held back a choked sob.
"I miss you too! Like a lot. I'm so home sick right now.
" Eric raised an eyebrow looking confused. He signed...
"You okay? You seem upset? Did today go okay?"
Milly sighed, shrugging and shaking her head.
"Yeah...it fine. Everyone is super nice. I was just thinking about how we spent that Memorial Day weekend here and how much fun we had..."
Eric smirked and rolled up his sleeve, and pointed to Milly's name tattooed on her. Milly laughed and then lifted up her shirt, showing her hip tattoo, before Eric looked as if he was staring at something. He squinted, and at first Milly thought he was doing this because she had lifted up his baggy shirt she was wearing, and only had a pair of panties, and a sports bra underneath. She made a face, rolling her eyes at him, before she noticed him sitting up closer in the office chair, staring at something. Milly raised an eyebrow.
"What honey? What is it?"
Eric sat back, crossing his arms, before tilting his head to the side. He then motioned with his head and signed quickly...
"What's that?"
Milly paused, when she went to reach over and take a sip of her seltzer water that was sitting on the nightstand. She raised an eyebrow confused, when it dawned on her what he was looking at. She had left the pregnancy test on the nightstand, and hadn't moved it. At this angle with the computer screen, you could see what it was clear as day. Instantly, Milly glanced at it, and felt her heart pound in her chest. She looked down at it, before she took a deep breath, and plucked the plastic pregnant test up, looked it over, and sighed. Looking upon at him, she tried to keep her face serious, before a nervous smile took over. She held it up.
"So...I took a test tonight, and it was positive. Then I took another two and emailed Dr. Weaver. I need to get bloodwork done tomorrow before the signing..."
Eric leaned forward, looking at the test with raised eyebrows, before she saw the same amazed look that lit his face up that constantly pulled at her heartstrings. The amazed look of wonder she first started to discover when they were just kids. She remembered showing him the Super 8 movies of planes, jets, kites, and birds. How the same look of wonder filled his big brown eyes whenever he listened to her read. The look he gave when they first started to discover each other's bodies, and both figured out how to make their bodies respond to each other. It was the same look he gave her the day they got married, and his eyes squinted, almost turning to an almond shape, before his entire face brightened up, and he smiled. She had seen this look millions of times on her husband's face, but somehow she never got tired seeing it.
He quickly signed...
"What room are you in? I can wait and fly..."
Milly made a face, her eyes widening as she shook her head.
"No! Never in the city or that far! We promised! Listen, this could be a false negative..."
Eric shook his head and signed, cutting her off.
"You said you took more than one test?"
Milly sighed, still smiling.
"That doesn't mean anything honey. Let me get my bloodwork done tomorrow. My nerves are already shot. I was going to wait to tell you. We know we can't get our hopes up."
Eric nodded in agreement, before he reached forward, and touched the screen. He sighed, before Milly found herself struggling to hold back tears. She tried to make her voice sound normal, but she knew it was these damn hormones that were making her into a complete basket case. She missed him, and just wished she was safe and sound in their bed. Instead she took a deep breath, forced a smile and stared at him.
"I mean it Eric, if you try to fly over here I'll be pissed. Promise me you'll stay put."
Eric nodded, before Milly tilted her head and smiled.
"I'll call you tomorrow. My labs are earlier, but it might take her a day or so..."
She then stopped mid sentence, before she looked at him. She didn't even uotice, but she was crying. Sniffling, she used the back of her hand to wipe her face.
"I know I'm acting crazy. It's just...I want this so bad Eric. I don't think I've ever wanted something so badly before in my whole life. I know I'm being selfish. There are millions of children who need good homes. I just..."
Eric shook his head and signed...
"You don't ever need to explain yourself Milly. Trust me, I want this too. Just as long as you're safe. That's all that matters."
Milly nodded, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, before giving a small humorless laugh. Looking up at him, she could tell by his expression he was worried. Instead, she sniffled, blinked a few times, before sighing deeply.
"I just miss you so much. Whatever the results are, I wanna take a weekend away with just us. Maybe Seattle? We haven't been yet, and just a long weekend with..."
She looked down at herself. "Who knows...just us three?"
She smiled color rising in her cheeks as she looked down at herself. Eric sadly smiled back at her, before Milly lifted her eyes and looked at him. He took a deep breath and said...
"I...I...I...M...m...miss...yo...y...you."
Milly smiled, on the verge of tears again. Sadly smiling, she touched the screen, before taking a deep breath.
"I miss you to Eric. I miss you so much...I..."
She shook her head knowing she was being stupid. She nervously played with her wedding rings, before she looked up at the screen.
"What if this is really it Eric? What if we really did it?"
Eric sadly smiled back at her before signing...
"Let's take this one step at a time. Get a good night sleep, and just remember there''s nothing you can do about anything tonight. Just get some sleep, and then tomorrow we'll take the next step."
Milly nodded, before she sighed.
"Isn't this awful? We should be excited, instead we're both terrified. I don't think I've been this scared before since...God...your emergency surgery when you were seventeen?"
Eric nodded, before he signed...
"I love you. I wanted you to know that. I love and miss you, but tonight I want you to just get a good night's sleep. Maybe I'll visit you in your dreams. I'll take you up to the clouds, and you can pick where we go."
Milly laughed through tears and thought.
"Maybe up to the vineyards? Remember that one we visited in Carmel? I bet it would be gorgeous if we flew over it."
Eric smiled and nodded before signing...
"Sounds good. I'll see you there."
Milly smiled, laughing through her tears still as she blew him a kiss.
"See you in my dreams honey."
He blew her a kiss, and Milly smiled, before signing off. Closing her laptop, she sat on her bed for a few extra minutes, before stretching out. Somehow whenever she finished talking to Eric, her nerves always felt better. She felt better seeing him, and somehow this horrible nervous twisting feeling that was aching inside of her the second she took the pregnancy test had vanished. Eric really was magic, somehow whenever she was around him she felt inner peace. She was homesick, but she knew she wasn't homesick for their home that they shared, or the town they had lived in since they were kids. It was him, he was home to her. She was glad she had gotten it off her chest letting him know, she just hoped that dream of them as teenagers jumping off the school roof was a sign that good things were waiting to happen.
The clock was ticking and she knew her chances of having a baby were getting smaller and smaller. Thinking back on all eight lost pregnancies, she desperately just wanted to have Eric's baby. She thought back on all of the blood, the brutal delivery of their little girl, and the heartbreaking reality that her office would never be turned into the nursery... Still, at least there was a chance, and that's all she could ask for. She charged her laptop, washed up, and clicked off the lights. She got into bed, feeling the cool smooth sheets against her, she looked at the framed photo of Eric and her she brought with whenever she traveled, and sadly smiled. She played with her rings, before staring at the photo and in no time she slowly drifted off to sleep.
The next day...
Milly had gone to the lab and got her blood drawn. They said the results were going straight to Dr. Weaver, and she told her she would be in touch by tonight. Nervous, she thanked everyone who had been extremely kind, before she grabbed a quick bite to eat, before meeting her agent at the bookstore. As she munched on a bagel, she was stunned to see how packed the place was.
"Are all those people..."
"Here for you. Yep. There was actually a line around the block before they opened."
Milly smiled, seeing set up on two easels a large black and white author photo of her, taken several years ago. She always hated how these came out, since she felt they always made her look much older than she was, and way too serious looking. Lucky for her, Maggie, her photographer had set up at the house, wanting to take some candid shots of her around the house for an article that was being written about her for a local newspaper. They were having tea on the back screened in porch near the hot tub, when Eric walked by, carrying several two by fours over his shoulder, wearing jeans and a T-shirt. Maggie had raised her eyebrows, holding her camera, before smirking over at Milly who was sipping her tea.
"The boy who could fly. More like the man who could fly...into my bedroom window."
Milly didn't know why she found this so funny, but she threw her head back and started cracking up. Maggie laughed along with her, and took several snapshots of Milly curled up on her wicker chair, holding her mug, and laughing. It actually came out super cute, and had been her author photo for her last two books. Next to it was the artwork of the cover of her latest book for The Boy Who Could Fly. Her illustrator, a wonderful man named Johnny Draven, who had been working with her since she first published her first book, and really knocked this latest one out of the park. He was always on constant contact with her, both sending pages, or samples back and forth to each other. In fact, Johnny was the other person besides her agent, and Eric that could see her transcripts before they were properly edited by the publishing company. Milly loved how great these illustrations came out, and had given Johnny photographs of Eric when he was fifteen, right around the time she first met him to base the artwork off of. In fact, she had some original samples framed in her office, one of which was of herself and Eric drawn as children, holding hands and flying over the school fair. This was her favorite piece of artwork, and had gotten it blown up and framed over the fireplace.
She secretly hoped if she was in fact pregnant, that she could hire Johnny to paint a mural on the nursery room wall. She walked to the podium, welcomed by the audience standing and clapping, before she smiled, thanked them, fixed her mic, and read the first preview chapter. She didn't mind speaking in front of crowds since it was something she had been doing for years. She read loud and clear, all the while thinking of a fifteen year old Eric with his messy hair, and smile that made her fall completely head over heels in love with him. She didn't realize it, but as she read...she was smiling. Later... The Q&A went off without a hitch. The moderator, who was the PR person for the bookstore did a great job, and it was well run. There were the basic questions such as...
"What made you want to become a writer?" "What's your favorite book? "What inspires you the most?" "How do you think of your ideas?" "Is it true your husband really is autistic? Is the character of Eric based off him?" "What does your husband think of your stories?" "What advice do you have for people wanting to become writers?" ect.
Milly loved answering all of these questions, and was really touched when several parents of autistic parents spoke, thanking her for writing such a wonderful book series that celebrated people with autism, and didn't treat it like a disability. She even got to speak to several people who were on the autism spectrum. One girl even asked where her husband was? Milly smiled, saying he was back home, but next time she went on tour she was bringing him, since he would have loved to have met all of them. She did her signing, which took a little over two hours. She took her time talking with every single person. One woman's story really touched her, when she asked advice on where she should send her son for school since he was struggling. They talked for awhile, and Milly even wrote down a list of schools and numbers she could check out.
"My husband was very sensitive to sounds, and would get triggered easily. Now he ride a motorcycle, works in construction, and communicates through American Sign Language. He's lightyears away from where he was when I first met him as a girl."
The woman smiled, thanking her, and shaking her hand. Once all of that was over, Milly felt exhausted, and went out for a late lunch with her agent, and bookstore owner. They all at a lovely cafe, which was out on a deck, over looking a gorgeous view of the bay. The weather was actually beautiful, and Milly had quite the appetite after talking for so long. She laughed, sitting back and finally feeling herself relax. Afterwards, her agent and her went for a nice little walk around the parks, and window shopped a little bit, before deciding to head back to the hotel. Her agent said they would meet down in the lobby around five after maybe catching a nap, and freshening up. Here they would go out for dinner. Milly was grateful to be getting back, she felt it was her heavy lunch of a cheeseburger and fries, but she felt sleepy. She planned on taking a good two hour nap, wake herself up by a cool shower, then enjoy her last night here, before they got ready to travel to her next stop on the tour which was going to be Southern California.
The thought of having to be in the car that long weighed down on her, but she decided to not worry about it for the time being, and just relax for tonight. She came back to her room, and peeled off her light jacket, when she saw the tiny light flashing, showing she had a message. She had set this up whenever she traveled in case anybody from the publishing house needed to reach her, or Eric. Usually her agent took care of all of her calls, but this was just something she did to put her mind to rest, since being apart from Eric for so long worried her, and sometimes these hotels weren't the greatest at giving her messages. She walked over, and pressed play on her machine that she plugged into her hotel phone. Dr. Weaver's voice filled the room.
"Hi Milly, could you please give me a call right away..."
Before the rest of the message played, Milly slammed down on the stop button, and with slightly shaking hands, dialed the number she knew by heart now. She waited as the phone seemed to ring on and on for what seemed like forever.
That night...
Eric parked his bike in the garage. He put the kickstand down after killing the engine, and slid off. It had been a very busy day, and he was exhausted. Sliding off, he tossed his bag down near his workbench before using the side door, and taking the back path to use the back door. He went up the backstops, opened the screen door, and walked into the kitchen when he froze.
Milly was sitting there in the breakfast book. She was wearing that purple and gold lace nighty that he loved, and her plum colored silk robe, open showing the swells of her breasts. Her hair was pinned up, and she was wearing light makeup. She was sitting at the table, several candles lit. She had two champagne flutes. She was in the middle of pouring one with a fancy bottle of champagne they had saved from their last anniversary, and once it was filled, she cracked open a Diet Coke, and filled the other one half way. Eric stood in the doorway, sweaty, tanned, and tried from today's work. He raised an eyebrow, surprised to see her. She smiled, standing up, holding both glasses. Eric laughed and signed...
"Milly? What are you doing here?!"
"The rest of my book tour was canceled. Doctor's orders. In fact, I'm ordered to strict bedrest for the next eight months."
She handed him the glass of champagne, while she held onto the Diet Coke one.
"Congrats Eric. You're going to be a daddy."
Eric blinked, as if he didn't hear right. Milly laughed, clinking the glasses together, as Eric remained completely speechless. Eric ignored the glass in his hand, while Milly leaned in, and softly kissed his cheek, before sipping on her Diet Coke. Eric stared at her speechless, before Milly laughed, and plucked his glass from his hand and placed it on the windowsill, knowing he was too stunned to drink. She put hers down as well, before staring at him smiling.
"Well?"
He stood there, overwhelmed, before looking down at her flat stomach. Lifting his eyes, filling with tears, before he struggled and said...
"Y...You...You're...P...P...Pregnant?"
Milly smiled, and loosely slipped her arms around his neck, before kissing his two slightly parted plump cheeks. Eric was too stunned to even react, before Milly warmly smiled up ay him.
"We did it Eric!"
Without so much as another word, Eric scooped Milly up who squealed with delight, and carried her upstairs.
July 1988
Milly was a nervous wreck. She had been sitting in the waiting room, silently rocking back and forth as Uncle Hugo, and Mrs. Sherman sat on each side of her. Milly had scraped up knees, which were now covered in bandages, but she hadn't even felt it when she fainted, and fell in a dead heap on the sidewalk. The next thing she remembered was coming to, laying on her front porch with Garry, and her mother looking worried. Uncle Hugo was there, and for a split second she thought she had dreamed it all. Instead, the horrible reality that Eric had been raced to the hospital hit her, and she got up, knees bleeding and trickling down her legs as she began to cry and beg her mother to take her to the hospital. At first her mother didn't seem to sure, asking her to please lay back down and rest. Milly didn't quite remember what happened, only that she began to sob, and throw a fit, pushing everyone back and screaming that she needed to go to the hospital. Uncle Hugo had offered to take her, as long as it was okay with her mother. When her mother began to say something, Milly turned on her like a wild animal, telling her that even if she had to walk, she was going to that hospital, and nobody was going to stop her. There was no calming her down, and in the end Uncle Hugo had driven her, and they met with Mrs. Sherman. Dr. Granada was on staff that day, and had been the one insisting on cleaning up, and bandaging her knees.
She had sat with Milly who chewed on her nails, and kept checking the clock, completely on edge, wondering why they hadn't heard anything? Every single time a doctor or nurse walked through those rotating doors, she would jump up, ready for them to walk over. Instead, nothing. Uncle Hugo had to fill out some paperwork, with Mrs. Sherman's help. Milly kept thinking back to last night. Did she do something wrong? Why hadn't she noticed how warm he was? Why hadn't she known something was wrong? No, this wasn't supposed to happen. She was supposed to be home alone with him today. If Garry and her mother had arrived unexpected to announce their engagement, she was sure she could have had Eric hide in her closet, or even fly out quickly to his own bedroom. She would have lied saying she had her period, and left Geneva's since she had cramps. But no, instead of spending the day with her boyfriend, having sex, and being able to scream as loudly as she could when an orgasm hit her...she was now siting in the waiting room, having absolutely no idea what was happening with Eric?
She knew it was serious, and began to wonder if something was wrong? What if something happened? What if he flatlined and died? She couldn't even begin to think that way. What if he was awake, and scared? What if she needed him?" She tried to say this to Mrs. Sherman, but she soothed her, gently petting her arm, telling her that there was nothing she could do. That the doctors needed to work, so they could help him. She had seen on TV before that this could be serious. If your appendix ruptured, it could poison and kill you. She had seen it happen on TV before, and it terrified her. She honestly didn't know what she was going to do if something happened to Eric? She closed her eyes, silently praying, begging God that she would do anything, as long as Eric was okay. Hours passed, and finally the doctor came out, still dressed in his scrubs.
"Hugo Gibb?"
Uncle Hugo, Milly, and Mrs. Sherman all jumped up. The doctor walked over and offered his hand.
"I'm Dr. Taylor. I operated on your nephew..."
"Is he okay?!"
Milly asked, tears forming in her eyes. Dr. Taylor sadly smiled at Milly and nodded.
"He's fine. He's in recovery. He was lucky. Had you waited an hour longer I'm afraid it could have gotten much worse. We removed his appendix, and had a little bit of clean up to do, but his levels look stable. He's going to need to stay here for about three days. Then he's on strict bed rest for another week or so before we remove the stitches. He's going to be in a lot of pain, and for the next twenty-four hours he'll need to just drink and eat clear liquids. He's going to be pretty out of it, but I'll allow one visitor at a time..."
Before he could finish speaking, Milly looked up at Uncle Hugo with pleading eyes, before he cleared his throat and nodded.
"Better let Milly go and see him. She's his girlfriend, and they are awfuly close. She's been a nervous wreck since the ambulance came and got him."
Dr. Taylor nodded and softly smiled.
"He actually was asking about you? I know he doesn't often talk but he kept saying your name?"
Milly blinked shocked.
"He did?"
"Yeah, when he was coming around after surgery. He was pretty out of it, but he kept softly saying 'My Milly.' 'My Milly'. You must be pretty important to him."
Mrs. Sherman and Uncle Hugo smiled, looking relieved, before Milly stepped forward, her nerves completely shot.
"Can I see him?!"
"Of course, come on honey."
Dr. Taylor led her down the hallway and towards Eric's room.
"He's gonna be in and out of it. Just don't stay long, or upset him. He's going to want to sleep for awhile with what we gave him for the pain."
Milly nodded, before Dr. Taylor pointed her in the right direction, and she hurried in. There laid Eric. He looked pale, and was in a hospital gown, and the sheets pulled up to his chest. He had an IV stuck into his arm, and an oxygen tube going up to his nostrils. The machine hooked up to him was softly beeping, and somehow seeing him like this caused Milly's chest to ache. Hurrying in, she saw he had a private room. Looking down at him, her face crumpled, before she sat on the edge of his bed, and took his hand. She saw they hadn't taken off her blue hair tie, which was still around her wrist. Holding onto his hand, she gently stroked his palm, and arm, before lowering her head and weeping. Slowly, his eyelids fluttered open. He was drugged up, but he stared up at her, and softly spoke...
"M...M...Milly?"
Milly looked down at Eric, still clutching his hand, her eyes wide in surprise staring down at him.
"Eric?!"
Eric looked uncomfortable, as if he was in a lot of pain. Milly lowered her head, kissing his hand, before giving it a gentle squeeze.
"Shhhh, it's okay. You're alright. The doctor had to take your appendix out. You had to have surgery. He said you gotta stay here for a couple of days but you'll be home in no time."
Eric blinked, looking up the machines that were showing his heart rate, before he looked back down at Milly. He looked scared. Milly shook her head as she scooted closer.
"It's okay. I'm not going anywhere. This isn't like the clinic. You aren't stuck here. You need to stay a few days to heal up. You...could have died Eric."
Her voice began to break up, as she dropped her eyes, and brought his warm hand up against her cheek and sighed, silent tears running down her face.
"I promise I'm not going anywhere. I'm just...so happy you're okay."
"M...M...My...M...Milly?"
He softly said. Sniffling, Milly looked up, blinking her tears away before she nodded.
"That's right. Your Milly."
Carefully, she crawled in beside him, snuggling in close, being careful not to hurt him, before she laid her head in the crook of his arm. Eric was already fast asleep by the time she settled down, and laid in close to him. Faintly she listened to the sounds of the beeping machines, and Eric's breathing.
Later that night...
"Eric, you'll see her first thing in the morning. Now you gotta let go, you'll pull your stitches out!"
The nurse barked, as Eric wrapped his arms tightly around Milly. His hospital bed propped up so he could be in a sitting position. Milly had spent all day with him, even though he slept for most of it. Dr. Taylor had dragged in two chairs so Milly could stretch out and relax beside him. She spent most of the day either holding Eric's hand, watching him sleep, or watching TV. The nurses came in every twenty or so minutes to do checks. Eric had been so drugged up, he slept most of the time. Uncle Hugo and Mrs. Sherman came in at one point and spent roughly an hour, sitting around while Milly stroked Eric's hand. When Mrs. Sherman offered to drive her home, she shook her head and asked Uncle Hugo to tell her mother that she was staying here. At first Uncle Hugo frowned.
"I'm not too sure she'll like that Milly. Besides visitor hours will be up around eight."
Milly shook her head.
"I don't care. I'm staying. She has a problem she can come and try and take me back."
Mrs. Sherman and Uncle Hugo looked surprised at this, but didn't say a word. When Mrs. Sherman left, she gently brushed back Eric's fallen bangs out of his forehead, kissed his head, and told Milly that he was okay, and getting the best of care. Still, Milly didn't trust it, and remained by his side. For the most part all of the nurses really liked Milly since she was polite. They found it adorable that Eric's girlfriend hadn't left his side all day. When an older nurse came in, a grumpy mean looking woman with a name tag that said Alice, she reminded Milly that visitor hours would be over soon, and she would have to say her goodbyes. This was around the time Eric was put in a sitting position, still groggy, and clearly drugged up. When he heard Milly might be leaving, he wrapped his arms tightly around her while she sat on the edge of the bed, and had refused to let go. Dr. Taylor had been paged, and sighed. He had read Eric's chart, and saw he was autistic. He came in, while Nurse Alice rolled her eyes annoyed. Eric clutched onto Milly as tight as he could, actually make it hard for her to breathe. When Nurse Alice tried to pry his arms off her, Eric's face became flushed, he shook his head, and held onto Milly even harder. Finally, annoyed, she paged Dr. Taylor who walked in.
"He won't let go of her. Should I get the orderlies?!"
Dr. Taylor dragged over one of the chairs, sat down, and sadly sighed.
"Hey Eric. I know today was scary for you. I'm sure you're in a lot of pain...which I can give you something to stop that, but I'm sure you're also confused, and more than a little scared since all of this happened. I read your file, and I know Milly means a lot to you. How about I bend the rules, and have her call home. If her mother says it's okay I'll allow her to stay with you tonight, but since you're healing up she'll need to stay out of your bed. You need your rest. How does that sound?"
Eric buried his face into Milly's shoulder, being stubborn and refusing to look up. Milly sighed, and gently stroked the back of his sweaty head.
"Let me try?"
Dr. Taylor nodded, as Milly pulled back, using all of her strength since Eric was ten times stronger than her. She pulled back, and gently cupped his face with her hands, forcing him to look up at her.
"Eric?"
Eric finally lifted his eyes and looked up at her. Milly gently smiled.
"I'll call and see if I can stay. I'm sure mom will have a cow but I'll have Garry talk to her. Listen, you gotta relax. I'm not going anywhere. Okay?"
Eric took a second, looking miserable, but nodded. Milly smiled, pushing back his hair gently with her hand, before getting him to ease back against the bed. She then looked at Dr. Taylor.
"I'll call home. I'm not trying to be a jerk but...nurse Alice..."
Dr. Taylor nodded and waved his hand.
"I'll have Nurse Liz be in charge of his room tonight. Trust me, I have a cousin like Eric. It takes...a special kind of person to understand what's going on in their heads. He's lucky to have you Milly."
Milly saw how flushed he looked, before Dr. Taylor got up and prepared a syringe to inject Eric's IV with. Milly picked up the phone and dialed 0, before calling home. Thankfully, she got Garry, and she explained to him that she was going to spend the night at the hospital. and that the doctor said it was okay. She could hear her mother questioning in the background, but Milly sighed, and flat out said she was staying, if mom wanted to ground her when she got back, she could for a whole month, she just needed to stay here. Garry sighed, not relaying the message, but told her to call them in the morning, and if she needed a ride whatever time he would be there in a flash. He then told her he was taking Luis and her mom out to celebrate the engagement, and asked if she was sure if she didn't want to run out for a bite to eat? Milly smiled, clutching the phone and said no thanks, but she would make it up to them as soon as Eric got home. That's when her mother got on the phone, most likely snatching the phone from Garry.
"Milly? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Eric is awake, he's still in a lot of pain. He's scared and upset. I talked to his doctor and I'm staying."
"They're allowing it?!"
"Yeah, his doctor is right here if you wanna talk to him?"
Her mother sighed.
"No, it's okay. How long do they think he's going to be there?"
"Maybe three days?"
"Three days? Milly, you're going to need to come home at some point..."
Milly felt her cheeks burn as Dr. Taylor finished up with the syringe. Eric had his eyes closed, and was breathing lightly, as Milly gently touched his chest, and sighed.
"Mom, he could have died today. The doctor said if Uncle Hugo hadn't called the ambulance something awful could have happened. That scares the Hell out of me. You know how he is. He's confused...let me just stay with him. Once he's home it will be different..."
Her mother sighed again, before clicking her tongue.
"Fine, but I'm calling in the morning to check in. Maybe we can come visit him later tomorrow. If the doctors, or anyone says you need to go home no arguing. I thought that was the whole point of Eric going to his appointments alone. You two need to learn how to cope without each other."
Milly suddenly felt annoyed, but decided not to argue in case her mother changed her mind. Clutching the phone, she took a deep breath and nodded.
"I know mom. He's just scared that's all. Besides, when the pond happened with me...if it hadn't been for him I could have..."
"Alright, it's fine. Just...if you wanna come home just call. Garry is taking us out to eat for a little bit. Do you want us to drop anything off for you?"
"No, I'm okay. I'll grab something downstairs. I'll call you in the morning."
"Okay honey. I love you."
"I love you too...and congrats mom. I'm super happy for you."
Her mother lightly laughed on the other end, before Milly hung up. Turning, she watched as Dr. Taylor walked over to Eric's IV line.
"Everything okay?"
"Yeah, everything is fine."
"Listen, I'll call down to the cafe and send you up some dinner. The food isn't exactly great here, but the cheeseburgers aren't bad. Eric can't have anything tonight, so no sneaking him anything."
Milly warmly smiled.
"Okay, sure."
Dr. Taylor injected the syringe into the IV line, before Eric's eyes fluttered open. He stared weakly up at the doctor, before Dr. Taylor smiled and gently patted his shoulder.
"Good news Eric. Your girlfriend can stay."
Eric's dazed brown eyes looked over at Milly, before he lipped the words...
"My Milly..."
Again, so soft only Milly heard it. Dr. Taylor grinned, as he checked Eric's relaxes, and lifted the sheet, looking at Eric's incision area.
"How long have you two been dating?"
"Over two years now. We live next door to each other."
"Well, his Uncle thinks the world of you. I think that's great what you've been doing with him Milly. Honestly. My aunt and uncle get really frustrated with my cousin. She goes to a special school up state, but it's great to see someone who understands how autism works. There's more and more books being published about it, it's really amazing."
Milly smiled, before she looked at Eric who stared blankly up at the TV.
"Man, he looks really out of it."
"Yeah, he's going to be on pretty heavy duty pain meds for the next few days. He just needs to rest, He'll sleep a lot."
"Is it...true? Could he have...almost..."
"Died?"
Milly gulped and nodded, before Dr. Taylor sighed.
"It could have been really bad, had we got rushed him into surgery when we did. Eric also has high blood pressure for somebody as healthy and as young as he is, so that's another thing we needed to factor in. He'll be fine, but he's going to need to really take it easy for the next few weeks. I'm sure with a girlfriend like you, he'll be taken care of."
Milly felt a little embarrassed, but smiled.
"Thanks Dr. Taylor."
Dr. Taylor used his penlight to shine into Eric's eyes, before nodding.
"I'll come back in a few hours to give him another shot. He's going to be super groggy. I'll get Nurse Liz to check in and bring up that cheeseburger and fry. She'll probably have some scrubs you can wear tonight. I'll get a cot set up."
"You don't need to do that, I can sleep right here..."
"It's no problem Milly. Besides, Dr. Granada is a good friend of mine. She said she might be by later to check in, as long as you don't mind."
Milly smiled, thanking him, before he walked out. Milly sighed, grateful that her mother wasn't flipping out too bad. She was certain she might freak out if Milly insisted on staying until Eric got released to go home. Still, she didn't care. She had never been so scared seeing the ambulance pull away from his house. She now perfectly understood why he got so scared the night at the pond. The very thought of something happening to him scared her to death, and if she ever questioned if she really did love Eric? The answer was right here. She sat on the edge of the bed, sighing as she looked at his flushed face, his messy hair, and how shallow his breathing was. She hated seeing him hooked up to all of these machines, the oxygen going up his nose, the IV going into the top of his hand, how odd he looked in the hospital gown, laying back in bed.
She kept thinking, what if Uncle Hugo hadn't called the ambulance? What if she hadn't noticed he was running a fever or felt sick? What if he had died? She couldn't allow her mind to go in that direction. It scared her too much. Turning, she turned the volume up on the TV, and saw that a thunder storm was predicted for tonight. Getting into her chair, she continued petting Eric's hand, all the while not wanting to let go...not even once.
Two weeks later...
Milly and Eric were up in the attic. Uncle Hugo was playing poker at a friend's house, and the two were trying to take advantage of the fact that they had the place to themselves. Eric had spent four days in total at the hospital, and had gone home shortly after. His stitches had just came out, and an ugly purplisih scar of healing tissue in the small shape of a C was on the side of his stomach. It itched him, but Milly scolded him whenever he tried scratching it. She had applied special cream Dr. Taylor had given her so the scar would shrink. She would apply this to Eric three times a day, and kept him out of the sun for the time being. She went with Uncle Hugo for his two follow up appointments, in which Eric behaved for, but wouldn't let go of Milly's hand, not even once. He was still taking medication for the pain, and to fight the infection, and he wasn't allowed to lift anything heavy. Milly came over a few nights a week to help with his chores, and whenever she went over to Mrs. Sherman's to do work, he would join her, and "look" at books from her massive libary while she mopped, and swept up. She knew she was on thin ice with her mother. She didn't leave Eric's side once for the four days he was at the hospital. Thanks to Dr. Taylor, this was never a problem, and Eric behaved himself for the nurses, but threw a fit when he had to go get an X-ray in and Milly wasn't allowed in the room. She kissed his forehead, promising him she would be in the next room, but the nurses had to try doing the X-rays several times, since Eric kept nervously moving. Milly gave him a sponge bath inside his room, and washed his hair. He wanted her in bed with him, and usually would only sleep if he could hold her. Garry, Luis, and her mother visited on the second day, and Milly could tell the way she was looking at Milly. Taking him aside, she whispered to her that she was acting more like a nurse than a girlfriend, and needed to remind herself that she was just a sixteen year old girl, not Eric's caretaker. Milly wanted to scream at her mother, but she held back. There was tension building, and the last thing she wanted was her mother to ground her, and forbid Eric from seeing her. Instead she kept her mouth shut, even though her temper was boiling. Once Eric was taken home, Milly helped Uncle Hugo get Eric comfortable, but had to level with him. She explained how her mother was acting, and that she needed to be careful since her mother seemed to suddenly have a problem now with them, and she needed to spend a little time at home or her mother might make it impossible for them to see each other. Eric seemed to understand, and Milly promised him she would see him as much as possible, but right now what was most important was him healing up.
In fact, Garry had invited Milly and Luis to bring Max with them up to the mountains for the weekend. He had rented a cabin, and wanted to spend some time with all of them to celebrate the engagement. Milly wanted so badly to ask if Eric could come, but knew she needed to make peace with her mother. So she said sure, and for the time being things seemed to be smoothed over with her mom. She had explained this to Eric, who listened, before Milly sighed and told him that she needed to go away up North for two days. That Eric had to stay here, and that she promised once she got back they would spend as much time as possible together. That he had a few appointments coming up, and if she tried to bring him with them, her mother might have a cow. She was on the verge of tears thinking of this summer so far. First her almost drowning, then them having sex for the first time, then him being rushed to the hospital...it seemed as if fate was trying to tell them something. Instead, she made Eric promise he wouldn't flip out. He didn't look happy, but he sighed deeply, nodded, before pointing to her blue hair tie. Smiling, she leaned in and kissed his cheek.
"That's right. Just forty-eight hours. We can do this."
Eric smirked sadly before Milly took his hand and nuzzled it.
"I keep thinking if my dad was still alive he wouldn't have a problem with us. In fact, I know he would have loved you. I really like Garry, but my mom has been acting so weird. It's almost like she's jealous or something. She knows how much we love each other and she keeps trying to guilt me about something, almost as if dating you is some kind of job for me. I don't think she gets it."
Eric listened, and Milly made him promise that he could be away from her for a weekend, even though she wasn't so sure she could handle it.
Now the trip was only in a few more days, and she was dreading it. Lucky for her, tonight Garry and her mother were going out for dinner, and then dancing. Luis was at a friend's, and Milly had a date to double with Geneva, and Alex at the drive-in. She wasn't so sure what was playing, but the last few times they had doubled, Eric and Milly weren't as shy as they used to be. Besides whenever Geneva and Alex got going, they didn't even know if the entire world was set on fire around them. Last time Eric and Milly had started making-out in the backseat, and actually liked the privacy since Geneva and Alex began having sex, totally unaware that anything was going on behind them. Milly of course was a little stunned they had gone this far, and kept trying to block out the moans and groans coming from them, but she figured if she was forced to leave Eric behind for the weekend, she would throw any worry to the wind, and enjoy her time with her boyfriend.
This rainy afternoon, Eric and Milly went up to the attic. The heavy sounds of the rain hitting the roof echoed up in the attic. They put their music on, and when Eric slowly undressed, Milly met him on her knees, before she saw his fresh scar. Gently, she kissed over it, her lips softly kissing the tender skin around it. Eric stood before her, breathing heavy, he stared down at her, his eyes serious as she gently kissed the area, before slowly sliding down his boxers. Once they were down, she leaned forward, and began to softly kiss him, before she took hold of his penis, giving it a dull squeeze, before kissing the head of his swollen penis, as Eric shut his eyes and tried to steady his breath, before she opened her mouth. Relaxing her throat, she slid his manhood right into her mouth, now used to giving him oral sex, and only gagging whenever she wasn't prepared. She knew how much Eric loved this, and used her tounge, before she began to bob her head. Her hands went up behind him, taking hold of his ass, as his own hands went into her hair, and held her head in place as he moaned, tilting his head up as his Adam's apple bobbed up and down, as he bit down on his bottom lip.
Outside it continued to rain.
Later...
Milly laid beneath Eric as he collapsed against her, huffing, and puffing. He stiffened, his ass tensing, before his shoulders sagged, and he colpased on top of her Milly held onto him, her legs parted, as she laid still. Eric caught his breath, before lifting his flushed face, and looked down at her. Milly tilted her head up, as they deeply kissed. Milly closed her eyes, smiling through the kiss, before she pulled back, and stared up at him. Gently, she brushed his fallen bangs out of his face as she stared up into his eyes with wonder.
"I love you Eric Gibb."
Smirking, he leaned down deeply kissing her, before she laughed through the kiss, wiggling her hips, ready for round two. Faintly in the distance thunder sounded outside.
Present
Milly laid in bed just in her bra, the tangled sheets around them, as Eric, just in his boxers, was hiked up on one elbow, staring down at her smiling.
The two had just celebrated the news from Dr. Weaver for the last few hours, and now both laid back exhausted, and sorta in a stunned happiness, as the two laid back, staring at each other. Eric reached down, and gently tickled her flat stomach with his fingertips. Milly giggled, stretching out, before Eric leaned down, and tickled her stomach as he ruffled his hair against her bare skin, then kissed her stomach in several places around her bellybutton. Milly laughed, as he brought his head up, and stared down at her smiling. Milly sighed, before Eric signed...
"Were they upset that you left?"
Milly shrugged.
"They weren't happy, but Dr. Weaver said if they gave me any trouble to just have them call her. It's not like I'm under any contact or anything, besides it was a little over ten days. Who cares. Dr. Weaver wants to see me first thing tomorrow, and she's putting me on strict bedrest."
Eric smirked, and signed...
"I'll take tomorrow off. Any appointment you gotta have I'm here. We're doing this right."
Milly smiled before she made a face.
"What if she says no sex for the rest of the pregnancy?"
Eric laughed and shook his head before shrugging and held out his hand, flexing the fingers and signed...
"Then I guess my hand better become my best friend."
Milly cracked up, before she looked down at her flat stomach.
Suddenly her face became very serious.
"I'm scared Eric. I mean...we lost Jet and Lucky when I was roughly four months. People miscarry even further into that, have still births. I mean with my history anything could happen. I know I should be happy. I didn't think it would even happen after all of this, but the second Dr. Weaver called me saying I was pregnant, I didn't even have to think twice before telling everyone I was going home. I hate that instead of being happy...I'm absolutely scared out of my mind."
Eric sighed, looking concerned, before he gently placed his hand over her stomach, he scooted up, leaning against the headboard, before using his free hand and signed...
"I'm scared too, but whatever happens we're going to face it together okay?"
Milly gently placed her smaller hand over his hand, and gazed up at him.
"Together. Sounds like a plan."
Smiling, Eric placed his other hand on top of hers, before she used her other one to cover his, Laying side by side they smiled, and for the first time today Milly felt like everything was going to be okay.