** How Life Changes ** - Chapter 4
"You and Squall are going to become parents..." Dr Kadowaki let her words sink in before continuing. "In every other way, you in tip-top condition Rinoa. There are no signs so far to suggest a complicated pregnancy or birth"
"I-I'm g-g-gonna be a ......dad?!?" Squall stuttered, still in shock. Rinoa searched Squall face for clues to his further reactions.
{Oh! I can't believe I'm pregnant... Oh no! Squall! How is he gonna react?} Rinoa thought to herself. {The look on his face isn't a happy one. What if he doesn't want this baby? What if he leaves me?!?!} Squall noticed Rinoa's frightened face and how she was shaking all over. He hugged her in approval of the event. Rinoa slightly relaxed, but hugging her didn't prove anything. {Maybe he's hugging me because he feels sorry for me}
"I'll leave you two alone to discuss the matter" Dr Kadowaki announced as she departed the room.
"Oh Lord! What am I going to do?!?" Rinoa cried out. She buried her face in her hands and began to cry.
"No Sweetie. You've got it all wrong" Squall informed her. Rinoa looked up with a puzzled look on her tearful face. "It's not what YOU are going to do, it's what WE are going to do" He pulled her close into his chest for a warm embrace.
"Does this mean you'll stay with me?" Rinoa asked between her whimpers.
"Of course! What ever gave you the idea that I wouldn't!" He exclaimed, shocked at Rinoa's question.
"I just thought that maybe you weren't ready yet. I'm scared" she confessed, burying her face into his shirt.
"I would never do that to you my love. NEVER. We'll take what ever life throws at us. Be it good or bad" he laughed at the formality in his voice, then held his wife close. "Lets go home" Rinoa nodded in agreement and headed out the door. As they exited Garden, Squall spotted Dr Kadowaki. The doctor motioned them over, so they did.
Dr Kadowaki examined Rinoa's tear-stained face. "Have you came to a decision?" She asked the couple. Rinoa and Squall exchanged glances and with a nod Squall told her that they were keeping the baby. "That's great! You're going to need frequent check-ups Rinoa. Even though that other doctor is closer to you, I strongly suggest that you stay away from him. I would be quite happy to continue being your doctor" Rinoa agreed. They said their goodbyes, then the couple headed to the car park. Squall drove home carefully, deep in thought.
{I can't believe I'm going to be a father. At least I'm going to share this baby with the one woman I truly love.... What if I'm a bad father? I don't have a clue about babies! What about my art? Does this mean I must give up my painting? My true passion, second to Rinoa}
"Well. It looks like we're home" Squall said, finally breaking the silence. Squall opened the door for his lady just as any gentleman would. She thanked him as she walked into their house. "Hey!!! We're going to have to create nursery! That's going to be so much fun!!" Squall exclaimed with a little too much enthusiasm. He sprinted up the stairs, but stumbled, tripped and smacked his jaw on the step. Rinoa let out a gasp, but Squall stood up with a cheesy grin on his face. Rinoa slowly followed him upstairs and retreated to their bedroom. She let her body flop onto the bed and released a sigh. Squall, who had been in the next room, raced into their bedroom and leaped onto their water bed, causing Rinoa to be tossed about. She didn't even hint a smile at his stupidity. Normally it was Squall telling Rinoa not to be so childish, but because he was trying to cheer her up, all of his maturity flew out the window.
"Please cheer up babe. What are you so worried about? I've already told you that I'm not going to leave you! Please open up your heart to me...like you've taught me to" Squall sat up against the headboard of the bed. He gently dragged Rinoa's body towards him and placed her head on his chest.
" Do you 'member when we first met? At the graduation ball. You looked so gorgeous that night. I remember thinking to myself that you were nice. It wasn't a really flattering comment for you, but back then that was the most a girl could get from me. Now look at me! Married to a goddess, who's carrying my child. I've never been happier in my entire life!" Rinoa gave a slight smile as her husband poured out his heart to her. "We've had a long day hon. Lets just get some sleep hey?" He kissed her forehead as he turned out the light. "I'll always be here for you...." He whispered as she ventured into the world of dreams.
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Rinoa awoke the next morning in a much better mood. She was almost her normal self.
"Good morning babe!" She exclaimed cheerfully as Squall awoke. "It's a beautiful day outside! Why don't you keep working on that painting of the forest you were doing?" She opened the curtains and the windows. A warm summers breeze glided through the windows.
Reluctant to leave the warm bed, Squall sat up and rubbed his eyes. "I'm just gonna have a shower, ok sweetie?" Rinoa called from their ensuite. Squall silently got out of bed, tossing off his clothes as he went. He slinked into the bathroom where he saw her beautiful naked body, blurred by the shower glass. Silently, he slipped into the shower behind her and wrapped his arms around her stomach.
"Did ya miss me? I missed you too much, so I had to come join yo-" Squall cut himself off as he noticed Rinoa had been crying again. "Oh... Sweetie. Come on. Out you hop" he soothed as he helped her out the shower. Both wrapped in towels, Squall led Rinoa to their walk-in closet. "What do you want to wear?" His eyes searched through her clothing. "What about this?!?" He cooed as he pulled out a black leather cat-suit. He wiggled his eyebrows as he spoke. Rinoa playfully hit him over the head. Rinoa walked towards the rack of clothes and pulled out a pair of jeans and a shirt that said 'BITE ME!' on the front. Squall donned a pair of jeans and a Jim Beam shirt.
"Right sweetie" Squall said to his love. "We need to talk. What are WE going to do?" [He emphasized the WE due to their previous conversation.]
"We should get started on the nursery. The room next to ours is perfect. How would you like to do the painting?" Rinoa asked.
"How will I know what colours to choose? I don't even know if it's a boy or girl!"
"Dr Kadowaki can tell us the sex of the baby later. That means the painting must be left for later. Do you wanna go baby accessory shopping instead?" She asked suddenly excited. Squall nodded and they headed off to Balamb.
After returning home with a car full of purchases, Squall got to work with setting them up. The crib was no problem, neither was the baby-bouncer, but the changing table-that was a different story. Squall cursed out loud as it continually fell apart, or as something dropped on his foot.
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They say that time flies when your having fun. Well that must also apply when your in love because for Squall it seemed everything was moving way too fast and he was struggling to keep up. In no time at all it was December 24th and time to head to Selphie's party / sleep over. [It was mentioned in chapter one if you can't remember!!] Rinoa and Squall had decided to keep her pregnancy as a surprise for when they arrived. Her stomach which was usually flat as a wall, was now almost perfectly round. The naturally thin girl was finding it hard to handle her ever growing 'bump'.
Squall nervously pressed Selphie's doorbell while holding a shuddering Rinoa in his other arm. Selphie's shriek of joy as she opened the door startled Rinoa, but Squall was expecting it.
"Selphie! I missed you so much!" He gave her a hug, but she quickly pulled away as she shrieked again.
"Rinoa!!! Your... PREGNANT!!!!!" She screamed gleefully so all the other party members could hear. She tenderly pulled her close for a hug. "Now both of you come inside before you catch a cold!" Rinoa fumbled for Squall's hand and relaxed when she found it. "Guys! Rinoa and Squall are here!"
"He-hey! Cloud my man! Was been up!" Squall exclaimed when his dear friend Cloud Strife, came into view.
"Nothin man, just chillin. But obviously YOU'VE been busy" he laughed, noticing Rinoa's outwards stomach.
"Cloud! Don't speak so rudely to our dear friends!" Tifa Strife ordered jokingly. "Rinoa sweetie. Look at you... Congratulations!" She gingerly pulled Rinoa close for a hug. Cloud gave Rinoa a quick kiss on the lips [as friends of course!!!], but swiftly stopped as he saw Tifa start to fume. She just fired back, by embracing Squall in a deep hug and a slight peck on the cheek. "Squall, love. Look how you've grown. You're a man now" Squall laughed off Tifa's comment as a small group of youngsters came bolting around the corner.
"Aunty 'Noa!! Uncle Squall!!! You're here!!" Aeris Strife [Yes, they named their first kid after Aeris], the oldest of the group congratulated Rinoa and Squall then raced away squealing. The rest of the tribe followed except for Ben Strife, the youngest. He shyly entwined himself through his mother's legs.
"Mummy. What's wrong wif Aunty 'Noa's tummy. Has she gotta big boo-boo?" He asked sounding seriously concerned.
"No sweetie" She replied lovingly. "A little baby is growing inside her tummy. Remember how we saw the little babies at the hospital?"
"Aunty' Noa's havin a baby!! Where's yours Uncle Scall?"
Squall laughed at the way the youngster pronounced his name.
"Aunty Rinoa and Me, Uncle SQUALL are going to share this baby." He emphasized his name in an effort to get Ben to pronounce it properly.
"Oh. Ok. Thanks Uncle Scall!" With that, he ran off after the others bragging that he knew a secret about his aunty. Cloud laughed at his beautiful children.
"See what wonderful things you have to look forward to" Cloud laughed again as they all made their way to banquet table.
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Pretty long chapter hey!! It's almost 1 am right now and I got so carried away I almost forgot to stop! Anyways, Please ** Review ** I need your reviews because they are my inspiration. With out you guys, there would be no point in writing! Thanks to everyone that has already reviewed! You guys rule!!!! Thanks for the kind words!
Lots of Love from
~Zidane's NEW Princess~