Pictures Never Lie II Cont'd & less rushed

by MADAM BETH

FINAL CHAPTER! NOOOOOOOOW UP!

4. Fish and Fatherhood

Not mine, can't begin to tell you what I'd do with em' if they were….

Summary…Garrett gives Jordan a goldfish to practice for a baby, while Woody deals with his own insecurities about impending fatherhood.

In the last part….Jordan met Woody's family and helped him deal with some troubling issues from his past. Now it is a month later (September) and as Jordan's birthday and anniversary of her mother's death near, everyone tries their best to distract the mother-to-be…

Pictures Never Lie V: Fish and Fatherhood

            'Wow, those boxes and stuff Dad and 'the boys' are carrying into the house look REALLY heavy. Luckily for me, I'm not allowed to pick up anything that weighs more than a… a can of soda.' I thought raising the aluminum can to my mouth and leaning back to rest against the porch railing. I smiled as Woody grunted past me, Bug and Nigel not far behind as they hurried to move Woody's and my stuff into Dad's house. I was bad. I wasn't even showing yet and I was already milking this kid for all it was worth. I was only 2 months along and still fit into my jeans. If only I'd known that I would officially be sea cow 4 months later, I think I would have been a little less excited about really starting to show.

"Oh, Woody, you dropped this." I said holding up a dark blue bandana that had fallen out of his back pocket in his rush to get a 60 pound box of CD's into the living room. He was just walking past me and swiped the rag out of my hand, wiped his face with it, and purposefully stuck the offensive garment back in my face. I could only screech and laugh as I threw it into the grass in a moment of weakness, allowing girly disgust to slip out.

"Ah, come on Wood….you know I would help you if I could…but. I'm…." All four men cut me off and finished my well-practiced sentence for me.

"In a condition…" They all said shooting daggers at me with their eyes. I cringed and took the hint to go find something to do inside.

"Yikes…if looks could kill." I said as I stood slowly and hurried into the house. I wandered upstairs after disposing of my empty soda can and decided to coordinate "our" room. It took some time to get used to that one…especially since no room had ever been mine and anyone's room before. I smiled and placed John's teddy bear between the pillows which were, at Woody's request, gender-neutral. I fluffed up the pillows and went to the open windows to look out at the small Mayflower truck we had rented for the day. It was nearly empty. My plan to avoid all manner of physical labor was progressing nicely. I smiled to myself and turned to the bed where suitcases waited to be unpacked into drawers. But before I could turn, I spotted someone striding up the driveway along side the truck. It was Garrett. And he was carrying a large brown grocery bag steadily beside him. I furrowed my brow and headed to the stairs, curious to see what he had. He was just opening the front door as I hit the bottom step.

"Hey! Garrett! I thought I saw the reflection from your head in the mirror upstairs…" I said playfully and kissed the top of his shiny head. He smiled sarcastically and walked past me into the kitchen.

"Afternoon Jordan, slacking off as usual I see…" he said with a resigned sigh and when I opened my mouth to explain, "Yeah…..yeah…I know….your in a condition." He said evenly and turned to face me, his hand still clutching the top of the bag. My curiosity began to get the best of me and I wagged my eyes from Garrett to the bag.
"So….." I said between wagging.

"What's in the bag?" Garrett said smiling coyly at me. I smiled back and nodded like a 5 year old being offered ice cream. He pushed it over to me gently and I opened the top swiftly.

Inside, I was met by two big eyes staring up at me and a pair of large lips popping up out of a glass bowl. My shoulders slumped in disappointment.

"A fish?" I asked raising my eyes to Garrett's. He smiled and nodded.

"Practice…remember? 'I can't even see you with a fish'? Well, here's your chance to prove me wrong." He said and hung his pull-over across the back of a chair before heading out to help the other guys finish up. I smiled and sat down next to the bag after removing the little bowl from the shopping bag. The fish responded to the new light by swimming excitedly around in it's bowl. I tapped on the side and the fish hurried away from my finger. I reached back into the bag and produced a little bottle of fish food and sprinkled a little into the bowl, causing the little goldfish to hurry to the surface and hungrily inhale the flakes.

Later that night….

We all sat around the table, and I do mean 'all' as Lily and Peter joined us after a while, having like myself, wisely avoided all manual labor. We ordered a few pizzas and were sitting around dad's dining room table when I began to tease Woody, after noticing his seeming lack of interest in anything we were talking about.

"Woa, Earth to Woodrow…" I said waving my hand in front of his eyes. He seemed a million miles away. He just turned his head and smiled pleasantly at me.

"You okay, babe?" I whispered leaning my head closer to his. Everyone was already talking about something else and Woody just glanced around at all of our friends and smiled. Then he looked back into my face and smiled assuring me that he was just fine.

"Good." I said and ran a hand softly through his growing bangs. " I could cut your hair tomorrow if you want?" I asked and he nodded complacently again. I couldn't help but chuckle at his agreeable attitude lately. Something had to be up. My mind began to wonder. Well, it was my birthday in a few days….so maybe he's scheming something and is guarding it with his good-natured personality and sweet country charm. That had to be it. I smiled again and stood to go feed my 'water baby', as we were now calling the goldfish.

When I returned, Woody was pouring champagne for everyone, well, excluding me and my little alcohol free tenant. He poured a glass of sparkling cider and held it up for me to see as he poured so that I would know he wasn't putting the baby or I in any compromising positions. Woody set the glass down at my spot and when I came to sit next to him, he pulled my chair closer to his and wrapped his free arm around me.

"MMMM….champagne and pizza, good match." I said chuckling.

 We all chatted and laughed for another hour or so before Garrett announced that it was getting late, after suggesting that we all get together more often. To which Nigel got an idea.

"Oh no." we all said cringing.

"Now come on people, I can do simplicity…okay? I was just going to suggest that we all head to the harbor this weekend for lunch and a stroll, maybe a little boat watching." He said and we were all pleasantly surprised. After agreeing that he had a good point and the coming weekend was rumored by the local meteorologist to be the last warm weekend before fall began, we agreed to meet at a restaurant for some lunch then head down to the harbor to take in the last of the season's boaters for the afternoon.

On Saturday, I woke up pretty early for me and found that Woody was already awake. I slinked down to the kitchen to find him dressed already in a pair of khaki pants and a green polo shirt, standing at the counter making breakfast. Dad was sitting at the kitchen table, a mug of coffee cupped in his hands. He looked up and smiled at me.

:Morning, Sweetheart." He said, his voice trying desperately to hide emotion. Woody smiled at me from the counter and placed a plate of scrambled eggs at my place next to Dad. After sneaking a quick kiss from Woody, I went to the table and kissed Dad on the top of the head before sitting down to my eggs.

"What are you doin' dressed all snazzy?" I asked looking Dad over and taking in the sight of him in a green and black striped polo and a pair of black pants with his favorite pair of dark moccasins on.

"Oh, didn't Woody tell you? I'm going to join you for lunch today." He said happily and I watched him suspiciously for a few seconds before shrugging the suspicious feeling off and diving into my eggs.

I gotta hand it to the weather team, it was a beautiful day out! We met everyone at a restaurant downtown and then made our way over to the harbor to watch the boats. No one brought cars, so we just strolled through the city on our way to the harbor. As we were approaching the harbor, I brought up the fact that no one had said what Island we were going to. I jumped in surprise as three voices in unison behind me said,

"Bumpkin!" I turned, my hand teasingly over my heart, to see my father, Nigel and Woody all looking shamefully at each other. I just mouthed an 'okay', and turned back towards the ferry entrances. Lily was walking along side of me and we shared suspicious glances. The ride over to Bumpkin island was pleasant, there was a light breeze that was not cold, but just chilly enough to cause me to lean back against Woody and wrap his arms around mine, which he was much obliged to let me do. He laid his chin on top of my head and nuzzled my hair gently. I nuzzled back and blinked my eyes against the wind.

"Here we are!" I heard Dad call from his position down the railing from where Woody and I stood. We were all on the top level of the ship and we stood in a line along the railing, watching as we got closer and closer to Bumpkin Island. When the ferry approached the dock, we headed down to the lower level, discussing what part of the island we would visit today.

" I say we start towards the northeast part of the beach." Dad said omnisciently. "Best view of the city is from that side." He said and we all followed wordlessly as he headed for the paved trails. Woody took my hand as we walked and I smiled at him.

"Hi." I said and snuck a kiss, as we were the bringing up the end of our little crew. Ahead of us, Lily and Bug strolled switching between chatting and looking out over the island, Nigel and Peter walked a little ahead of them, pointing out wildlife and commenting on things no person would probably ever want to know in their lives, and Garrett and Dad headed the little parade, occasionally stealing a glance back at Woody and myself. I smiled at their protectiveness.

"Hi yourself." Woody said and briefly brought my hand to his lips. My curiosity was piqued again.

"So what's up with you lately…you seem like you're off in La la land half the time…you alright?" I asked and Woody looked at the ground stifling a smile.

He shook his head and returned his eyes to mine. "Yeah, yeah…I'm great…I just…I've never been happier in my life." He said honestly and I chuckled.

"Me either…I never thought that this…"I said raising our joined hands between us and laying my free hand on my stomach. "Would be something that I wanted. I mean what with…my mom…and how I was raised just with my dad…and all of the serious intimacy issues I USED to have…" I said and we both chuckled. I looked off over the island. I smiled remembering when I first met Woody. "I thought you were…so…naive and innocent and cute and…and….nothing I looked for in a guy." I said and Woody chuckled shyly.
"Thanks, Jordan." He said shaking his head. I felt like I had to explain.

"NO….no I don't mean that….that…that's bad…sometimes I think…you find the best things in the last place you'd ever think to look." I said and smiled at Woody. He stopped momentarily and pulled me gently into his arms and kissed me. I smiled up at him and kissed him back.

Suddenly, Nigel's proper British voice interrupted us.

"Emmmm…if you two are quite finished, we'd like to make it to the outlook post before tomorrow….maybe…..huh?" he said and Woody and I turned slowly to face him and nodded slowly in unison. A short while later, around 4 o'clock or so, we finally were in view of the outlook. Woody took my hand and we climbed the relatively small hill to the little shack. When we reached the top, I looked behind me for the rest of our crew and none of them were anywhere in sight. I searched the hills around us quizzically and as I was turning back to Woody to ask him if he'd seen where they went, I couldn't find him either. That was until I looked down to the ground in front of me. He was down on one knee.

The air caught in my throat and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. He was going to propose. I could tell he was nervous as he took my hand shakily. I opened my mouth to speak, but Woody just gestured for me not to speak, then he smiled.

"Forget it." He said sighing and I knew immediately where he was getting his newly calm inspiration from. I decided to play along. He pulled me down to him and I kneeled in the grass with him.

"You know what….just.Wait." he said and reached into his pocket. I smiled as my eyes filled up a little.

"If that's a quarter, I'm gonna smack you in your head." I said and sniffled. Woody smiled and produced a little velvet green box.

"Woody…" I said and looked at the box anxiously. He smiled and the smile made his own tears pool under his eyelids.

"Jordan, don't say anything….and please marry me." He said and opened the little box to reveal my mother's engagement ring. I laughed and cried and wrapped my arms around his neck, sacking him into the grass.

"Is that a yes?" he asked from under me and I laughed. Suddenly, a voice rang out from behind the outlook shack.
"Can we come out now!? Please!?" Came Nigel's voice clearly through the air. Woody and I laughed together as we sat up in the grass.

"Yes! Yes! Come out here!" I yelled as our 'family' hurried out from their hiding place. They all dropped down to sit with us in the grass and there were hugs all around. We ended the day all sitting in the grass together, my dad and Garrett standing over us, as the last of the sailboats headed home for the night.

"So when you getting hitched?" Peter asked as he tried to make musical instrument of a piece of grass he was blowing on between his thumbs.

I turned to Woody who shrugged his shoulders.

"How bout tommora?" A little voice called out from the end of the path leading up to the outlook. We all turned quickly, minus Woody who smiled and glanced to the voice.

I smiled and hopped up from my sitting position and headed for the path: where John Robert Hoyt stood arms crossed bossily across his little chest. The rest of the family wasn't far behind him and they all rushed me as I picked John up.

"Sorry we're late," Mrs. Hoyt said wrapping her arms around me tightly. "John went 'exploring' without our knowledge and we nearly sent a search party out for him." She said and I chuckled.

Introductions were made all around. Dad got to talk to Woody's parents, and he of course had nothing but good things to say about the job they did raising Woody. Nigel found a new friend in John who he chased along the beach at dusk searching for shells, and Charlie hit on Lily a little, much to Bug's dismay. I watched Garrett talk shop with Chrissy as he played air drums as we walked in a line. Peter watched bemused by the display of semi-coolness being given by Garrett.

"So, I assume we're getting married pretty soon huh?" I asked looking back at our parents, still consumed in conversation. Woody looked back at them too and smiled, the wind flicking his hair in his eyes as he turned.

"Actually, John wasn't kidding… I WAS thinking about tomorrow…"He said and trailed off. I was shocked. Not at the prospect of marrying Woody so soon, I mean, we were having a baby…I was ready to marry him anywhere anytime.

"Wow, hey there spontaneous Woody! Where have you been hiding all this time?" I said and jabbed him gently with my elbow. He laughed and looked out at the Atlantic.

"Hey, I can be spontaneous…and I am serious Jordan. I wanna marry you…tomorrow." He said and I stopped walking. I watched his eyes to make sure he wasn't kidding. Then I nodded and smiled.

"Okay." I said and he smiled a little taken aback. He wrapped his arm around me and I could tell he was giving everyone behind us a thumbs up. I heard a few muffled cheers, which disappeared when I turned to see where they were coming from.

The next morning…

I stood in front of the full length mirror in my old room. The dress was white and simple. Linen not lace. I had no veil, no train, no puffy under-thing that itched and made me look like a parachute. Lily wove a strand of little white flowers into my hair which I let curl for the day. The dress, simple as it was, was beautiful. I peeked into dad's room when no one was around and watched Woody dressing. He wore white linen himself. White linen pants, a white linen man's peasant shirt that had a v-neck and showed off his strong collarbones. While he was looking in the mirror I slipped silently into the room. He caught me out of the corner of his eye and smiled.

"Aren't I not supposed to see you before the ceremony?" he said and I rolled my eyes and laid a hand on my stomach after shutting the door slowly.

"Yeah, there are a lot of things you're not supposed to do before the wedding Wood, I think we dropped tradition on the way into the first ultrasound." I said and Woody nodded.

"Oh. Yeah." He said and turned to look at me. He didn't blink. Just sat down on the edge of Dad's bed and scrutinized me.

"Hey, take a picture, it'll last longer." I said and walked over to where he sat. He just smiled and pulled me into his lap. I leaned my forehead against his and we sighed.

"You ready?" He asked and I smiled, remembering the last time he asked me that. I felt confident enough to really answer this time though.

"Uh huh." I said and kissed his forehead. Just then, Dad knocked on the door and came in. He smiled, not surprised in the least when he saw me in there with Woody.

"You two ready to leave?" he asked and I stood from Woody's lap. Dad stopped himself from walking out the door and just stood in the threshold, unaware of anything but me.

"Holy Mary motha of God…you look so…so…much like her right now." He said his eyes filling with tears. I started to move towards him but he put up his hands to stop me.

"No, no, no, no….just…just let me look at you." He said and I smiled sadly. Woody stood and walked to the door, laying a hand on Dad's shoulder. He finally looked away from me and nodded to Woody that he was alright. I smiled and walked forward and kissed Dad's cheek.

"I still don't know why you won't get married in a church, Jordan…but you've always gone your own way, I don't know what made me imagine you'd go mine on your wedding day." Dad whispered from his position standing next to me on the beach. My old band-mates had offered to play at the wedding and I chose a traditional Irish tune to be played instead of the wedding march.

"Oh will you stop!" I whispered playfully back. "Don't you think it might be easier for God to see us out here in the open rather than a stuffy church with walls?" I asked proud of my resourcefulness. He just sighed and rolled his eyes as we made our way down the sandy wooden steps to the beach. Our families stood from their seats and I looked at Woody standing at the makeshift altar. He straightened up and Charlie patted his shoulder proudly. The groomsmen were all dressed similar to Woody and they just looked adorable. I couldn't help but smile along the line of them and Charlie, Bug, Nigel, Garrett, and Matt all smiled brightly back at me. Woody was as serious as I'd ever seen him as he never took his eyes off me the whole walk down the aisle.

When we reached the altar, Dad placed my hand in Woody's and stood off to the side, after kissing Lily, Chrissy, and my three closest childhood friends, each on the cheek. When dad was finally seated, the priest began. We made sure for John's sake that the ceremony lasted only about a half hour. When it quickly came time to exchange the rings, John stepped proudly forward and removed the matching Claddagh rings from a gold chain around his chubby little neck. He handed them to Woody, who handed them to the priest, Father Paul, my first love from high school. He took the rings and smiled at me. Then he leaned forward and whispered, "Your dad gave me 10 bucks to try and talk you into a church wedding, you don't have to day anything, just make me look like I gave it my best." I smiled back and Paul began to explain the significance of the Claddagh's.

"BY TRADITION THE RING IS MEANT TO SIGNIFY THE WISH THAT LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP SHOULD REIGN SUPREME. THE HANDS SIGNIFY FRIENDSHIP, THE CROWN LOYALTY. AND THE HEART LOVE. TODAY THE CLADDAGH RING IS PASSED FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION AND WORN WITH GREAT PRIDE. THIS FAMOUS RING IS WORN EITHER ON THE RIGHT HAND WITH THE HEART TURNED OUTWARDS SHOWING THAT THE WEARER IS AVAILABLE: OR WITH THE HEART TURNED INWARDS TO DENOTE THAT HE OR SHE IS SPOKEN FOR: THE PRIDE OF PLACE IS ON THE LEFT HAND ,WITH THE HEART TURNED IN,INDICATING THAT THE WEARER IS HAPPILY MARRIED AND THE LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP WILL LAST FOREVER." Paul finished his micro-sermon by doing just as the legend of the ring says. He handed my ring to Woody who's job it was to place it facing inward on my left ring finger. I took the larger ring and placed it the same way on Woody's left hand. Paul…or…Father Paul, told us to go ahead and kiss which we happily complied with and everyone stood again and clapped. As we turned to everyone, Paul spoke again.

"I present to you in the name of God and by the state of Massachusetts, Mr. and Mrs. Woodrow AND Jordan Hoyt." Everyone clapped as we walked together hand in hand down the sand aisle. We decided, or more our short planning schedule decided, that instead of a stuffy, plain-old, sit down reception, we were going to end our wedding day the Irish way: Sing, eat, get drunk, pass out when the sun comes up. And so we all headed to the Pogue together and threw the best party I think Boston had all year. I took out the flowers in my hair and let it down. While I sat on the bar during a 'down-time' between dancing, I watched curiously as Woody seemed to be scheming with my old band-mates. I lost interest long enough to also lose sight of where Woody had gone until I heard a guitar being played through the commotion of the bar. Everyone else seemed to notice it as well and they quickly quieted to hear better.

All of a sudden the light on the stage came on and Woody sat in the little spotlight, strumming a guitar. I was completely dumbfounded. I leaned over to yell into Crissy's ear. "I didn't know he played the guitar?!" I said and Chrissy leaned towards me clapping. "Who do you think taught me?" She said and I just shook my head in awe, of course then he blindsided me by opening his mouth and singing.

There are few things pure in this world

Anymore

And home is one of the few,

We'd have a drink outside,

Maybe run and hide,

If we saw a couple men in blue.

But to me it's so damn easy to see

That you people are the people

At home

Well, I been away but now I'm

Back today and

There ain't a place I'd rather go

I feel home, when I, see the faces

That remember my own

I feel home,

When I'm chillin' outside

With the people I know.

I feel home, and that's just how I feel

Home to me is reality,

And all I need is somethin' real

Feelin' alright headin' out tonight

Maybe off to a dark driveway

I say, some are bored and some are

Lookin' for more, but we all just decide to stay

We got nothin' to do,

But when I, look at you,

I see somethin' that I know and love

And with the crack of a smile,

We all, stay a while

We know from home there ain't nothin' above

Well in the end, we can all call a friend and

That's something that I know is true,

And in a thousand years,

And a thousand tears

I come findin' my original crew

Cause to me throughout eternity,

There's somewhere where you're welcomed to go,

I said it's somethin' free that means a lot to me

When I'm with my friends I feel home

I feel home, when I

See the faces that remember my own

I feel home

And that's just how

I fe-ee-eee-eee-eel

Home to me is reality

And all I need is somethin' real….

When woody was finished the song, I just stared at him amazed as everyone clapped. When he looked up and smiled at me, I sauntered over to him as he laid the guitar down next to him on the stage. I sat down sideways in his lap and kissed him.

"You're welcome." He said when I pulled back. I smiled and he laid his hand on my stomach. I laid my hand over his and kissed him again.

"Hey, looks like I found another headliner for the Pogue!" Dad said laughing and raising his glass to us. Woody chuckled and ducked his head shyly.

"Nah, this is just for fun, and for her." He said laying his hand on my stomach. I took his cheeks and squeezed them playfully.

"Still with the HER, you don't give up do you?" I said and laughed. Woody pulled his cheeks away and laughed. "Nope." He said and stood with me in his arms.

I laughed and wrapped my arms around his neck as he called for everyone's attention. I glanced at the clock on the wall and when I could focus well enough through my sleepy haze, I was shocked to realize that it was nearly 5 am.

"Well, everyone we'd like to thank you all for being with us today…for our wedding." He said and smiled at me. "We couldn't ask for a better family." He said looking not only at our parents and siblings but at our adopted family as well. "I know I'm going to know and love all of you for years and years to come just like I know that my home is here with Jordan. Hell, I've known that since we met. So did all of you." He said smiling at the 'gang'. They raised their pitchers back at Woody and gave a few playful 'here, here's'. "And whether he'll admit it now or not, I'm pretty sure Max saw something there himself." He turned with me still casually in his arms to face Dad. "Thanks Max, I mean about tellin' me to go with that little voice." He said and I narrowed my eyes in curiosity. Dad smiled coyly and nodded in understanding.

"You're welcome son." He said and raised his pitcher as well.

"And I know if we could we would want this night…or…morning…to last forever, but, I've got a pregnant woman here who needs some rest." Everyone laughed and I rolled my eyes at everyone.

"He's so protective." I mouthed and they laughed again. Woody pretended to ignore me and continued.

"So with that, I'm gonna ask Max to give us a good old fashioned Irish blessing and…we'll see you all tomorrow for breakfast!" he said and stepped down from the stage with me still in his arms. Woody set me down on a stool and took the seat next to me. Dad cleared his throat and asked that everyone raise his or her glass.

May God be with you and bless you.
May you see your children's children.
May you be poor in misfortune, rich in blessings.
May you know nothing but happiness.
From this day forward.

We all raised our glasses again and smiled. I downed my little glass of cider and Woody scooped me up again when he sat his glass down. "Ahhh." He sighed thirstily as we headed for the door. Dad opened the door and kissed me good-bye.

"See ya at home sweetheart." He said and I cupped his face briefly. I waved to everyone as I was carried out the door and I smiled as the door closed and I could just see little John curled up asleep on a booth.

Woody put me down slowly and went to the curb to open the door of a waiting taxicab.

When we arrived back at the house, we walked hand in hand up the front porch and into the house. On the way up the stairs I sprinkled a little food into the water baby's little bowl. Half way up the stairs, Woody once again swept me up and I burst into laughter as he charged up the stairs and into our room.

When I finally woke up in Woody's arms, I stretched, happy to be back in Jordan clothes as I looked down at my BoSox t-shirt and the soccer shorts I was wearing.

"I just love your wedding night lingerie, Jordan." Woody's gravely voice said from the pillow next to me. I chuckled and rolled over playfully onto him, and went dead weight.

"ohhhhhhhhh………Jordan, get off!" Woody groaned rolling over onto his stomach.  I slid off of him chuckling. I was still for a few seconds until I realized Woody was dozing again. I tentatively tugged on the corner of his undershirt.

"Jordan….go away. I wanna sleep a little before we go out to breakfast with the whole world." He said and I heard a smile in his voice. I tugged harder and he swung around and flipped me over. I started laughing as he pinned me to the bed and when I laid my hand across my stomach casually, he pulled hurriedly back.

"What?" I asked as Woody grew serious and stared at my stomach.

"Did…..did I hurt you? I didn't hurt you or the baby did I?" He asked nervously and sat up on his knees facing me. I looked around perplexed then pretended to knock on my stomach.

"You alright in there kid?" I asked tapping my stomach. I listened intently for a minute. "We're okay." I said and Woody rolled his eyes.

"Seriously, Jordan I don't wanna do anything to upset the two of you." He said and I smiled coyly. I moved forward and pushed Woody onto his back.

"I can think of a few things that could make us feel better…" I said and wagged my eyebrows playfully. Woody sat up horrified.

"Oh my God!! You're disgusting!!! That could traumatize her for the rest of her life!!!" He said and stood up from the bed. I couldn't help it I laughed.

"Oh for the love of God, Woody…there's no possible way you could…there's a…..wall….if you will….a wall that even the best of men can't get through…it's fine…" I said standing and wrapping my arms reassuringly around him. Woody thought for a moment then stepped away from me and headed for the door.

"I'm sorry…I can't…I've already got a visual and it just won't leave me." He said and rubbed his head as if the rubbing alone could scrub the picture out of his mind. He looked at me one last time then shook like he had a chill and hurried out of the room.

"Just you wait till my third trimester mister! You just try to ignore me when I'm begging for it!" I said and his head popped suddenly back into the room.

"Ummmmmm……..begging?" he said hopefully. I decided to play hard to get for the time being. I couldn't let him off the hook that easily.

"ummm….yeah, but you know that's okay…you have issues with it, so I'll just have to wait it out and you know….remain celibate for the next oh, 5 or 6 months…no biggie."  I said walking to the door and past Woody. He grabbed me around the waist.

"5 or 6 months?" he asked looking straight ahead. I smiled. "Yeah, no problem I mean you can wait right?" I asked and started to walk forward again. Woody didn't let go.

"Problem Wood?" I asked leaning back to look in his face. He finally turned his head to look at me.

" I think I'm better now Jordan." He said somberly. I nodded and laughed as Woody swung me quickly back into the room and pushed the door shut.

Later that day…

"So are you kids going to your doctor's visit today, or did other activities…preoccupy your…minds?" Dad asked and raised his eyebrows at us as we all ate lunch in the early afternoon. I looked sympathetically at Woody who was bright red and mumbling something about never getting used to the openness of east coast people.

"What was that hon?" I asked and Woody turned to face me. "Where I come from, in the MIDWEST, we keep things inside…we don't talk about things like…what we're talking about… in Wisconsin! We bottle things up and…and never speak of them again…" he said and Dad and I just shrugged at each other.

"That's REALLY healthy, Wood…" I said and patted his hands where they lay on the table. He shook his head and I turned back to Dad. "Of course we're going to the doctors, Dad. Today we get the video of the ultrasound and the miracle of life video!" I slapped Woody on the shoulder.

"Yeah, it should be great." Woody said sarcastically. Dad laughed and stood from the kitchen table. He walked over to where Woody was sitting and leaned down next to his ear.

"Take it from a guy who's been there son, during the exam, keep yourself up by Jordan's pretty little head there, you follow?" He asked and Woody shook his head quickly in understanding. I smiled and grabbed Woody's wrist to look at his watch. "Yikes! We better get going Woody. My appointment is at 3!" I said and we stood together. Dad wished us luck and we headed off to the doctors.

At the hospital, Woody sat with me in the exam room while we waited for the doctor to come in. Woody put a latex glove over his head and nose and blew it up to make me smile and managed to get powder in his eyes which made me laugh even harder. Just as he was flushing the last of the talcum out of his eyes at the sink, the doctor walked in reading my chart.

"Hey there kids, how are we all doing today?" my middle aged, cool English teacher looking OB said as he rolled up to my lowers on a rolling stool.

"We're doing married Doc." I said sticking out my hand for him to see my wedding band. He looked up over his glasses and reached out to hold my hand still and admire the ring.

"Ahhhhh…..well, it's about time folks, I was worried your ass backwards approach to life might jinx the little one and send her….or him out breached…." He said smiling and cut his eyes at Woody.

"God, Jordan what does your Dad have like a phone chain with half of Boston?!" Woody asked rubbing the back of his neck. Dr. Donnelly cleared his throat.

"No…three-quarters." He said deadpan and I chuckled. "Alright well should we have a look at your work here, Dad?" The doctor said and Woody smiled.

"That's the first time anyone called me that…" he said and the doctor raised his eyes as the nurse came in to prep my belly for the ultrasound. The doctor smiled at Woody genuinely.

"Feels nice huh?" He said and Woody could only nod in response. They turned the ultrasound on and instantly a little fluttering beat sounded through the room as a picture suddenly appeared on screen. Woody came to stand next to me and took my hand gently. I watched his eyes as they watched the screen captivated by the curled little body slowly shifting there. The doctor looked over the picture as well and assured us that everything was going just fine. He turned and hesitantly asked us if we'd like to know the sex. I could feel Woody's pulse quicken and his hands moistened.

"You….you can….you can tell that already?" he asked in awe. The doctor nodded and I smiled and smoothed my hand over Woody's. Woody shifted next to me.

"You…you mean like it's in your head right now, like right this second you know what are baby is?" He said and I chuckled. Woody turned his head to me, his eyes begging a question his mouth didn't know how to ask. I nodded slowly, giving him the go-ahead. He looked back at Dr. Donnelly.

"Does that mean you'd like to know what you're having?" Dr. Donnelly asked smiling at Woody's apprehension. Woody smiled back.

"I'd like that very much." He said as truthfully as I have ever heard him say anything. Dr. Donnelly looked from my face to Woody's and then took Woody by the arm and pulled him over to the screen.

"You see that right…there?" he asked and after searching the area the doctor was pointing at for a few seconds, Woody shook his head.

"Ummmm…no." Woody said and turned his head puzzled, towards the doctor. Dr. Donnelly nodded.
"Good, that's because this is your daughter, Woody." He said and Woody's mouth hung open in awe. He looked from the doctor to me to the screen and then back again.

"Hey," he said turning to me. "I…I was right! It's…it's a girl….I'm going to be a daddy and…and it's a little girl!" he said and hugged the doctor tightly. My eyes filled up with tears.
"Don't…hug me son, hug your wife." The doctor said with a chuckle and Woody pulled away.

"Oh right, thanks Doc." He said and hurried to my side.

"We'll give you two a few minutes. Just let us know when you're ready." Dr. Donnelly said and walked out the door. Woody took my hand in his as his eyes filled up with unshed tears as well. He couldn't speak to me yet, he just watched me tear up as I stared at the little person on the screen. The little girl on the screen. Woody leaned forward and laid his head on my puffy little stomach. I laid my hand on his head and we watched the screen in silence. In awe.

On the way home, Woody stopped at a cigar store and smiled at me before jumping out of the car and practically floated into the store. He exited a few minutes later with a box under his arm. I narrowed my eyes in suspicion as he hopped back into the car and we drove off.

"What did you get for Halloween Charlie brown?" I asked and picked up the box, flipping the lid open as I did so. I smiled at the line of cigars with silver bands around them reading, "It's a girl!" Woody smiled and I set the box back down between us.

"So………any thoughts on names?" I asked looking out the window as the Boston streets passed quickly by. Woody was quiet then tentatively said,

"Well…I was thinking…but we don't have to if you're uncomfortable with it…" he said capturing my attention. I leaned my head on my hand and turned it to look at Woody.

"What is it?" I asked and he smiled hesitantly. He sighed and looked out his window briefly before looking back at the road ahead of him. "Ummmm……I was thinking about naming her…Emily?" he almost asked. Tears suddenly sprang to my eyes. I was touched. Woody pulled over quickly, believing he had upset me.

I could only shake my head to let him no I wasn't upset. "I'm sorry Woody, I just…you caught me off guard." I said and chuckled embarrassedly. Woody pulled me into his arms.

"Jordan, I'm sorry…I should have waited until we were home to tell you." He said and I wiped my eyes chuckling.

"No, honestly Woody, I'm fine you really just caught me off guard…Is…is that really what you want to name her?" I asked and pulled back from Woody. He slowly started the car again. He shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, yeah. I mean wouldn't you like that? And you know, her middle name could be Jane for my mom. What do you think?" I thought it over with a smile for a minute.

"Emily Jane Hoyt." I said and Woody smiled happily at the sound of his daughter-to-be's last name: His last name. He smiled and pulled back onto the road.

"Jordan?" he questioned tentatively as we headed back towards home.

"Huh?" I asked looking out over the city as the sun was slowly disappearing in the West.

"You sure she has to be in their for nine months? Cause…I wanna play with her now." He said with a chuckle. I laughed.

"Yeah, Wood, I'm sure." I said, taking his hand in mine between our seats.

Alright there it is, next installment….Woody gets his little playmate finally…YEAH BABY TIME!!!