Here's Chapter Five! I just realized that my little time line is kind of
off, since I thought for some reason that Father's Day was on a Saturday.
Eh! Oh well, on with the story.
~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~ Sydney chopped another apple to add to the growing bowl of fruit salad as she watched Michael out on the deck. He had the coals going and seemed to be meditating on the barbeque as he waited for them to heat up. Scooping the last of the apple into the bowl, she rinsed her hands and walked out to join him.
"What are you thinking about?" She asked, wrapping both her arms around one of his and leaning her cheek on his shoulder.
"How many summer evenings we'll spend together, out here, just like this." He moved to wrap his arms around her waist.
Sydney leaned against his chest. "Hmmm.I can almost smell the popsicles and sun block."
"Don't forget the dirty diapers and drool. Those come first." Michael offered.
"Oh, I think I can wait a few months before thinking about those. I'm going to enjoy being pregnant before I worry too much about the more unpleasant parts. And everyone says that when it's your baby, you don't even mind so much."
Michael chuckled. "Tell that to Nenet and I think you'll hear something entirely different." The doorbell chose that moment to sound, and continued ringing as Michael and Sydney made their way through the house.
"Coming" Michael called as they approached the front door. Sydney opened it to find Teddy holding the bell while Nenet and Craig stood back at the car, pulling out the diaper bag, booster chair and pie that they had brought along.
"Unc'e Mike!" Teddy cried as he launched himself at Michael's legs. Uncle Mike grabbed the boy around his waist and held him over his head.
"Hi big guy! Good to see you!" The two hugged as Sydney held the door for Nenet and Craig.
"Nenet, so good to see you." Sydney and her sister-in-law hugged, then Sydney took the pie to the kitchen and ushered them into the living room. "Hi Craig, how have you been?"
Craig answered with a hug after tucking the diaper bag booster chair next to the couch. "We're doing well. Business is good and I have vacation coming up in a few weeks, which means a whole list of honey-do's and few extra baseball games," he laughed.
"Hey, Craig did you see the streak the Met's are having?" the mention of baseball grabbed Michael's attention as he came in and set Teddy down.
"Well, they can't win forever and the Giant's have a strong bullpen going this year." Craig replied as the two moved off to the deck to check the barbeque.
Sydney took Teddy's hand as she and Nenet smiled knowingly at each other and went to the kitchen. "So, Ted, you weren't going to say hi to me after we talked on the phone and everything?" she tickled his little round tummy.
"Hi Auntie Sydy!" he giggled back.
"How was your picnic?" Sydney asked, sitting him on the counter next to the corn she was shucking. Nenet came over to stand beside him as Teddy's little legs began to swing back and forth.
"Picnic was good. We gotta play baseball and have popsicles," came Teddy's excited reply.
"We had quite an afternoon." Nenet put in. "And someone missed their n-a-p, so this could be an interesting evening." Sydney moved to the stove to place the corn in to boil.
"Well, I guess we'll see how long he lasts" Sydney smiled, coming back to place a finger on Teddy's nose.
"Any tantrums and he is Craig's son tonight!" Nenet said with a wearied sigh. "I had my fun at the mall on Wednesday when someone wanted ice cream right before lunch."
"I like choc'at! You got choc'at, Auntie Sydy?" Teddy said hopefully.
"Sorry bud, no ice cream tonight. But your mommy brought a yummy pie." The doorbell rang again. "And that must be Grandmere!" Sydney scooped Teddy off the counter and took his hand as they walked to the door.
As she opened the door, Teddy pulled to see Marguerite. "Grandmere!"
The older woman beamed as she plucked him up into a hug. "Bonjour, Theodore! Comment allez vous?"
"Bon. J'ai joué au baseball!" Teddy spoke French as easily as English and Marguerite loved talking with him in her native tongue.
"Hi Mom," Nenet greeted, kissing her cheek. "We had a play group picnic today."
"Bonjour Nenet. Bruits comme l'amusement." Marguerite replied, looking at Teddy.
"Il était." He replied confidently.
Sydney broke in, "Teddy, could you go tell Uncle Mike that Grandmere is here?"
"Okay," he said, hurrying toward the deck.
"Sydney!" Marguerite came to give her a hug. "You look wonderful." (A/N They could keep speaking French, but I don't want to translate all that and I'd like for you all to be able to understand the dialogue :D)
"Thank you. You look lovely as well." Sydney offered as they walked towards the kitchen.
"Sun always agrees with me and the weather has been beautiful of late." Marguerite replied.
"Mom!" Michael greeted as he came into the kitchen. "How are you?" He gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"Just fine, as I was telling you lovely wife." Marguerite gave him a pat shoulder as she smiled at Sydney.
"How's the barbeque coming?" Sydney asked as she drained the water off the corn.
"Almost ready. Craig's giving the steaks a last flip and we should be set." Michael said, walking back outside.
"Well, Marguerite, you and Nenet go make yourselves comfortable while I finish up." Sydney moved to carry dishes to the table on the deck. "Would either of you like anything to drink? Iced tea? Water?"
"Tea would be lovely." Marguerite said.
"I'll get it." Nenet replied as she pulled glasses from the cupboard.
"The jug is in the refrigerator." Sydney motioned with her head as she walked onto the deck. She was setting dishes around the table Nenet and Marguerite came to join her. Nenet had Teddy's booster chair and set it on the seat next to hers, motioning for her son.
"That looks like everything" Sydney glanced back at the kitchen to make sure the stove was off and took her place next to Michael where he had brought the plate of steaks over. Craig took the seat on the other side of Teddy and Sydney couldn't help but smile in anticipation as she watched the little family.
She glanced over at Michael and nodded encouragingly. Though she had been the one to tell Jack, they had agreed earlier that Michael would share their news with Marguerite, Nenet and Craig.
Quickly clearing his throat, Michael took Sydney's hand. "Mom, Nenet, Craig. Syd and I are so glad you could be here today."
"Oh, Michael, it is always good to have family together." Marguerite beamed at her clan.
"Well, we didn't ask you hear just for dinner." Eyes quickly locked on his face. He swallowed hard. "Syd and I just found out that we're having a baby."
In a sudden gush, "Congratulations" and "Wonderful" and "Hey that's great" sounded on top of each other as everyone came together in a glowing mix of smiles and hugs.
From his little seat, Teddy watched in slight confusion. "Where's da baby?" he demanded, eyes searching around the backyard.
"Well, honey," Sydney said, moving over to stroke his ruffled hair. "The baby's not here yet. Not until February."
"Oh." He said, trying to understand. The family moved back to their places and food was served almost as quickly as the conversation.
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~ An hour later, they sat in the living room, Teddy asleep in Michael's lap while his uncle and dad talked about the recent hockey draft.
"Which room will be the nursery, do you think?" Marguerite asked.
"Well," Sydney admitted. "I was looking at the study. With new paint and curtains, it could look really nice. Plus it has that wonderful built in bookcase."
"Oh, that would be good." Marguerite nodded in approval.
"Sydney," Nenet said, "I'll have to look through what we have back at the house and pull out some of my pregnancy books for you to read. You're four weeks?" Sydney nodded. "Oh, look out for morning sickness. Mine started right with week five and lasted till the second trimester. One of the books had great suggestions for that, though."
"Well, I'd love to read anything," Sydney replied. "School is out after next week and I have the whole summer to educate myself on everything 'baby'."
"I'll see what I can find and drop it by later this week. But we should get that one home and let you get some rest." Nenet said, gesturing at Teddy and Michael.
"Yes, I need to go myself" Marguerite added as she rose and came to kiss Sydney and Michael goodbye. "It was wonderful to have the family together and I am so pleased at your wonderful news." Michael handed his sleeping nephew to Craig and gave them both a hug. They all walked towards the front door and Michael gave his sister a hug before putting an arm around Sydney to wave from the doorway. They watched until the others had driven away.
"Tomorrow I'll have to tell Eric and Will." Michael said as he closed and locked the door.
"That should be fun." Sydney walking with him down the hall to their room. "I can just hear Eric and the 'spring fever' jokes now. Don't forget to tell Dixon and Marshall. I can't wait to tell Lisa and Annie, not to mention Eileen." Her voice held a touch of sarcasm when she mentioned her less than friendly boss. The high school principal made Kendall seem positively chummy.
"Well, we both have busy days ahead" Michael said pulling off his shirt. "I think we should get to sleep."
"What a very good idea" Sydney smiled back, hanging up her sundress before pulling on one of his old t-shirts.
He smiled at the sight of his wife in his faded fraternity t-shirt and followed her into the bathroom. They stood in peaceful silence passing toothpaste and dental floss before returning to crawl into bed. Michael lay there with Sydney's head against his heart and traced gentle circles on her stomach until they both fell asleep.
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~ She glanced up from her notes at the agent who stood in the doorway.
"Yes?" The tone of annoyance was clear as she motioned him in.
"The data checks from Saturday turned up new information."
"And?" She put the notes down.
"Sydney was seen for a pregnancy test at St. Stephen's hospital on Friday afternoon."
"What were the results?"
"Positive." This was a development she hadn't expected so soon. She dismissed him with a gesture and pushed a button on her phone.
"Yes?" answered the accented voice on the other end.
"We've had a change. Be here in two hours." And she disconnected to turn and stare out the window.
~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~ Sydney chopped another apple to add to the growing bowl of fruit salad as she watched Michael out on the deck. He had the coals going and seemed to be meditating on the barbeque as he waited for them to heat up. Scooping the last of the apple into the bowl, she rinsed her hands and walked out to join him.
"What are you thinking about?" She asked, wrapping both her arms around one of his and leaning her cheek on his shoulder.
"How many summer evenings we'll spend together, out here, just like this." He moved to wrap his arms around her waist.
Sydney leaned against his chest. "Hmmm.I can almost smell the popsicles and sun block."
"Don't forget the dirty diapers and drool. Those come first." Michael offered.
"Oh, I think I can wait a few months before thinking about those. I'm going to enjoy being pregnant before I worry too much about the more unpleasant parts. And everyone says that when it's your baby, you don't even mind so much."
Michael chuckled. "Tell that to Nenet and I think you'll hear something entirely different." The doorbell chose that moment to sound, and continued ringing as Michael and Sydney made their way through the house.
"Coming" Michael called as they approached the front door. Sydney opened it to find Teddy holding the bell while Nenet and Craig stood back at the car, pulling out the diaper bag, booster chair and pie that they had brought along.
"Unc'e Mike!" Teddy cried as he launched himself at Michael's legs. Uncle Mike grabbed the boy around his waist and held him over his head.
"Hi big guy! Good to see you!" The two hugged as Sydney held the door for Nenet and Craig.
"Nenet, so good to see you." Sydney and her sister-in-law hugged, then Sydney took the pie to the kitchen and ushered them into the living room. "Hi Craig, how have you been?"
Craig answered with a hug after tucking the diaper bag booster chair next to the couch. "We're doing well. Business is good and I have vacation coming up in a few weeks, which means a whole list of honey-do's and few extra baseball games," he laughed.
"Hey, Craig did you see the streak the Met's are having?" the mention of baseball grabbed Michael's attention as he came in and set Teddy down.
"Well, they can't win forever and the Giant's have a strong bullpen going this year." Craig replied as the two moved off to the deck to check the barbeque.
Sydney took Teddy's hand as she and Nenet smiled knowingly at each other and went to the kitchen. "So, Ted, you weren't going to say hi to me after we talked on the phone and everything?" she tickled his little round tummy.
"Hi Auntie Sydy!" he giggled back.
"How was your picnic?" Sydney asked, sitting him on the counter next to the corn she was shucking. Nenet came over to stand beside him as Teddy's little legs began to swing back and forth.
"Picnic was good. We gotta play baseball and have popsicles," came Teddy's excited reply.
"We had quite an afternoon." Nenet put in. "And someone missed their n-a-p, so this could be an interesting evening." Sydney moved to the stove to place the corn in to boil.
"Well, I guess we'll see how long he lasts" Sydney smiled, coming back to place a finger on Teddy's nose.
"Any tantrums and he is Craig's son tonight!" Nenet said with a wearied sigh. "I had my fun at the mall on Wednesday when someone wanted ice cream right before lunch."
"I like choc'at! You got choc'at, Auntie Sydy?" Teddy said hopefully.
"Sorry bud, no ice cream tonight. But your mommy brought a yummy pie." The doorbell rang again. "And that must be Grandmere!" Sydney scooped Teddy off the counter and took his hand as they walked to the door.
As she opened the door, Teddy pulled to see Marguerite. "Grandmere!"
The older woman beamed as she plucked him up into a hug. "Bonjour, Theodore! Comment allez vous?"
"Bon. J'ai joué au baseball!" Teddy spoke French as easily as English and Marguerite loved talking with him in her native tongue.
"Hi Mom," Nenet greeted, kissing her cheek. "We had a play group picnic today."
"Bonjour Nenet. Bruits comme l'amusement." Marguerite replied, looking at Teddy.
"Il était." He replied confidently.
Sydney broke in, "Teddy, could you go tell Uncle Mike that Grandmere is here?"
"Okay," he said, hurrying toward the deck.
"Sydney!" Marguerite came to give her a hug. "You look wonderful." (A/N They could keep speaking French, but I don't want to translate all that and I'd like for you all to be able to understand the dialogue :D)
"Thank you. You look lovely as well." Sydney offered as they walked towards the kitchen.
"Sun always agrees with me and the weather has been beautiful of late." Marguerite replied.
"Mom!" Michael greeted as he came into the kitchen. "How are you?" He gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"Just fine, as I was telling you lovely wife." Marguerite gave him a pat shoulder as she smiled at Sydney.
"How's the barbeque coming?" Sydney asked as she drained the water off the corn.
"Almost ready. Craig's giving the steaks a last flip and we should be set." Michael said, walking back outside.
"Well, Marguerite, you and Nenet go make yourselves comfortable while I finish up." Sydney moved to carry dishes to the table on the deck. "Would either of you like anything to drink? Iced tea? Water?"
"Tea would be lovely." Marguerite said.
"I'll get it." Nenet replied as she pulled glasses from the cupboard.
"The jug is in the refrigerator." Sydney motioned with her head as she walked onto the deck. She was setting dishes around the table Nenet and Marguerite came to join her. Nenet had Teddy's booster chair and set it on the seat next to hers, motioning for her son.
"That looks like everything" Sydney glanced back at the kitchen to make sure the stove was off and took her place next to Michael where he had brought the plate of steaks over. Craig took the seat on the other side of Teddy and Sydney couldn't help but smile in anticipation as she watched the little family.
She glanced over at Michael and nodded encouragingly. Though she had been the one to tell Jack, they had agreed earlier that Michael would share their news with Marguerite, Nenet and Craig.
Quickly clearing his throat, Michael took Sydney's hand. "Mom, Nenet, Craig. Syd and I are so glad you could be here today."
"Oh, Michael, it is always good to have family together." Marguerite beamed at her clan.
"Well, we didn't ask you hear just for dinner." Eyes quickly locked on his face. He swallowed hard. "Syd and I just found out that we're having a baby."
In a sudden gush, "Congratulations" and "Wonderful" and "Hey that's great" sounded on top of each other as everyone came together in a glowing mix of smiles and hugs.
From his little seat, Teddy watched in slight confusion. "Where's da baby?" he demanded, eyes searching around the backyard.
"Well, honey," Sydney said, moving over to stroke his ruffled hair. "The baby's not here yet. Not until February."
"Oh." He said, trying to understand. The family moved back to their places and food was served almost as quickly as the conversation.
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~ An hour later, they sat in the living room, Teddy asleep in Michael's lap while his uncle and dad talked about the recent hockey draft.
"Which room will be the nursery, do you think?" Marguerite asked.
"Well," Sydney admitted. "I was looking at the study. With new paint and curtains, it could look really nice. Plus it has that wonderful built in bookcase."
"Oh, that would be good." Marguerite nodded in approval.
"Sydney," Nenet said, "I'll have to look through what we have back at the house and pull out some of my pregnancy books for you to read. You're four weeks?" Sydney nodded. "Oh, look out for morning sickness. Mine started right with week five and lasted till the second trimester. One of the books had great suggestions for that, though."
"Well, I'd love to read anything," Sydney replied. "School is out after next week and I have the whole summer to educate myself on everything 'baby'."
"I'll see what I can find and drop it by later this week. But we should get that one home and let you get some rest." Nenet said, gesturing at Teddy and Michael.
"Yes, I need to go myself" Marguerite added as she rose and came to kiss Sydney and Michael goodbye. "It was wonderful to have the family together and I am so pleased at your wonderful news." Michael handed his sleeping nephew to Craig and gave them both a hug. They all walked towards the front door and Michael gave his sister a hug before putting an arm around Sydney to wave from the doorway. They watched until the others had driven away.
"Tomorrow I'll have to tell Eric and Will." Michael said as he closed and locked the door.
"That should be fun." Sydney walking with him down the hall to their room. "I can just hear Eric and the 'spring fever' jokes now. Don't forget to tell Dixon and Marshall. I can't wait to tell Lisa and Annie, not to mention Eileen." Her voice held a touch of sarcasm when she mentioned her less than friendly boss. The high school principal made Kendall seem positively chummy.
"Well, we both have busy days ahead" Michael said pulling off his shirt. "I think we should get to sleep."
"What a very good idea" Sydney smiled back, hanging up her sundress before pulling on one of his old t-shirts.
He smiled at the sight of his wife in his faded fraternity t-shirt and followed her into the bathroom. They stood in peaceful silence passing toothpaste and dental floss before returning to crawl into bed. Michael lay there with Sydney's head against his heart and traced gentle circles on her stomach until they both fell asleep.
*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~ She glanced up from her notes at the agent who stood in the doorway.
"Yes?" The tone of annoyance was clear as she motioned him in.
"The data checks from Saturday turned up new information."
"And?" She put the notes down.
"Sydney was seen for a pregnancy test at St. Stephen's hospital on Friday afternoon."
"What were the results?"
"Positive." This was a development she hadn't expected so soon. She dismissed him with a gesture and pushed a button on her phone.
"Yes?" answered the accented voice on the other end.
"We've had a change. Be here in two hours." And she disconnected to turn and stare out the window.