Chapter 30

Damon

It's graduation day. Mom and I head over the Elena's house to get ready for the ceremony. I go up to her bedroom and knock on the door. She doesn't respond, I slowly open the door and whisper; "Lena."

I see her laying on the bed. Her body is wrapped tightly around the pillow. Leg thrown over it. I smirk as I swipe the hair out of her face. She lets out a soft snore and I shake my head with quiet laughter.

We have a few hours before we have to be at the school, so I decide to let her sleep.

I leave her room and carefully shut the door. I walk downstairs and I find mom and Miranda in the kitchen making a salad.

I flick my chin; "need any help?"

Miranda shakes her head, "no. We are just about finished. Thank you though."

I look towards the back door when mom asks, "where's Elena?"

I point to the ceiling, "she's sleeping. I'm going to let her be for a little while."

"Ohhhh I remember that stage of my pregnancy with you." Mom says as she puts a bowl in the fridge.

"Yeah between sleeping and throwing up. You feel like a brand-new person when you get closer to 20 weeks."

I sit down facing them, "I have a question about something she brought up."

Miranda and mom look at me waiting.

I rub a hand down my face and scratch my jaw; "Um. Lena said something about wanting to do a home birth."

Miranda nods, "yeah she saw an article about it."

"Is that even safe? Like isn't it better to do it in the hospital?" I ask tilting my head.

Mom pats my hand when I place it on the island. "It is very safe actually. The same risks apply to both a hospital and home birth."

Miranda agrees. "Yeah that's true. Plus, midwives are usually quick to spot any sort if complication. And you'll be living close to a hospital."

"What about the hospital?" Elena asks walking into the kitchen covering a yawn.

I pull her to me and kiss her arm. "Morning sleepy."

She rolls her eyes and groans as she stretches. She yawns again and laughs. "I don't understand why I'm so tired."

"I wonder why?" Miranda questions laughing.

Lena waves her off. "You know what I mean. It's like my body is even more tired to make up for a lack of morning sickness."

Miranda points at her. "You're lucky to not have any morning sickness. I had it horribly for you."

Elena finishes getting ready as I go out back to help Grayson setting up for the party after our ceremony.

I step onto the back deck and see Grayson setting up his new grill. "Need any help?" I ask walking over to him.

"No, I got this. If you could set up some of the tables and folding chairs though, that would be great." He says pointing to the side of the house where the tables are leaning against.

"Yeah, no problem" I tell him going over and grabbing a table. I bring it to the middle of the yard and start setting up.

Graduation day came and went without any problems. Elena has started to gain more energy; mom says it's normal in this stage of pregnancy. Today we get to find out the sex of the baby. I can't wait. I'm probably like every other soon to be dad out there, hopeful the baby will be a boy. But at the same time, I would love to have daddy's little girl. Like Elena said, whatever the sex as long as he or she is healthy.

We pull up to her OBGYN. I go around to her side and open the door. I hold my hand out and she grasps it; climbing out of my car. I shut the door and hit the locks. I take her hand in mine and we walk into the doctor's office.

We have been waiting for about 15 minutes when the nurse calls her name. I follow behind her and we are brought to a room. "Ready for show and tell?" the nurse asks optimistically.

Elena smiles a large smile. "Yes. I've been ready."

"Since it's just the ultrasound today, you don't need to get undressed. Just hop onto the table and raise your shirt. If your pants have buttons, undo them. Otherwise just lower them a little. The tech will be in shortly." The nurse says exciting the room.

Elena does as she's asked and hops onto the exam table. She raises her shirt and the small curve of her growing stomach is visible. My heart rate picks up. That's my child in there. There's a knock on the door and Elena says come in. The tech enters and gets right to work. She tucks a towel into Lena's pants and applies a small amount of gel.

"Alright, what are we hoping for?" The tech asks using the ultrasound machine to get a glimpse of our baby.

"I don't care as long as he or she is healthy." Lena says looking from me back to the screen.

My eyes are focused on the screen. There's my baby. It actually resembles one now. My vision is clouding, and I know I'm on the verge of tears.

"Here's the head." the tech says moving the probe down lower. "And here we are. This is what you're looking for. Any guesses?"

I try to focus my eyes, but I really can't tell what I'm seeing. Elena stares at the screen. We both stay quiet.

"It's a girl," the tech says to Elena and me.

Lena gasps and I look to her. She is crying. I stand up and take hold of her hand. Kissing it gently. A girl. Daddy's little girl. I can't believe it. Our families will both be ecstatic to learn the news.