"Thanks for inviting me to come along," Aisha said as she and Kat walked down the aisle of Babies R Us. They had come with Katherine and Tommy's mothers to shop for furniture for the baby's room.
"I'm glad you could come, besides we should leave all the hard work up to the guys," Kat replied referring to Tommy and the other boys who were busy painting the guest room at Tommy's house.
"It's really cool of Tommy's parents changing the guest room into a nursery," Aisha declared.
"Yeah, I'm really grateful that their letting us stay with them after the baby's born, I'm already nervous enough thinking about taking care of a newborn and it helps knowing that Tommy's mom is a nurse, especially since my own mom won't be around," Kat told her.
"Oh Kat, I'm sure your mom will find a way to be with you and the baby, I mean she made time to come here with you today," Aisha pointed out.
"I know but it's just not the same," Kat replied.
"Ok, no more of this sad talk, have you and Tommy come to a decision on what this little guy's name is going to be," Aisha said changing the subject.
"Well we've narrowed it down to a few but we still can't agree on which one we like best," Kat answered.
"Do you mind sharing them with me?" Aisha asked.
"Of course not, it'll be good to get another opinion, so far we've narrowed it down to Austin, Aidan, Cameron, Joshua, Noah and Lucas," Kat informed her.
"Hmm, those are all good names, I can't decide which one I like best," Aisha admitted.
"Neither can we, that's the problem," Kat said with a laugh.
"What about the middle name?" Aisha questioned.
"I suggested that we use Thomas as the middle name but I don't think Tommy was too keen on the idea so I guess we'll just use whichever name fits best with the one we pick as the first name," Kat replied.
"I guess you could always wait until the baby's born and see what name fits him best," Aisha decided.
"Yeah, who knows when we'll decide but we still have a few more months before we have to worry about that," Kat said.
"Oh I almost forgot how are those childcare classes going?" Aisha questioned.
"Their going great so far, there's a lot to learn but I think Tommy and I are picking things up quite well, though he's dreading the childbirth part of the class, I'm not that into doing the whole Lamaze thing either but that class doesn't start for another month," Kat explained.
"Just the word childbirth gives me the shivers, are you scared," Aisha remarked.
"A little but I try to remind myself that women give birth all the time though that doesn't stop me from being scared by the whole process," Kat told her.
"Well, I'm sure your going to do just fine, especially with Tommy by your side, I'm really proud of the way he's dedicated himself to you and the baby," Aisha said.
"Yeah I'm really lucky, there are some girls in our classes who are attending alone without their baby's fathers," Kat replied.
"Katherine, sweetie come take a look at this one," Kat's mom called from the other aisle. Kat and Aisha walked over and found both mothers standing beside a baby crib.
"Oh mom, it's beautiful!" Kat exclaimed.
"Do you really like it?" Lily asked her.
"Yeah I think it's perfect," Katherine said.
"Then I guess that settles it, we'll take this crib and the rest of the furniture to go with it," Marie Hillard said to the salesperson who was helping them.
"I can't tell you both how much this means to Tommy and me," Kat said as tears welled up in her eyes.
"We're glad to do it, besides nothings too good for our grandson," Lily said and Marie nodded in agreement.
"I think he's trying to tell you thank you, he's kicking up a storm right now," Kat said and both mothers placed their hands on her stomach.
"Wow, feeling him kick makes it real," Aisha said as she too got to feel the baby kick.
"You should feel it from this side," Kat said with a laugh.
"Alright, I think we're done here, I'll have the store hold on to the furniture until the baby's room is ready," Lily Oliver said as they headed for the exit.
Later that afternoon, Katherine and Tommy stood in the newly painted nursery and admired the guys' hard work.
"So what do you think?" Tommy asked as Katherine looked around the room.
"I think you guys did an excellent job," Kat said.
"All we need now is the furniture," Tommy replied.
"Yeah, I think your mom is having it delivered next week, are you sure your ok that you didn't get to help me pick it out, Kat remarked.
"No, I'm sure whatever you picked out is fine, just think in a matter of weeks our son will be here in this room," Tommy said as he put his arms around her.
"From the way he's kicking, I'd say our son can't wait to see this room for himself," Kat said as she placed her hand on her stomach.
A few weeks later, Katherine walked into the youth center and made her way over to the juice bar.
"Hey Kat, anything I can get for you?" Ernie asked.
"No thanks, I'm just waiting on Aisha she's meeting me here," Kat explained.
"Ok, well just let me know if you need anything," Ernie said as he turned his attention to another customer.
"Wow, you look like you're about ready to pop," Aisha said as she joined Kat at a table.
"I feel that way sometimes, but I've still got 2 more months to go," Kat told her.
"I'll bet you can't wait for this pregnancy to be over," Aisha replied.
"Yeah, I can't wait till I'm able to see my feet again, but mostly I just can't wait to see my little boy and get to hold him," Kat explained. .
"I take that to mean you still haven't picked out a name for him yet," Aisha concluded.
"No, we haven't, I guess we're just…." Kat said but stopped mid-sentence.
"Kat, are you ok?" Aisha questioned.
"I'm not sure, I just felt this weird pain, in my lower back," she replied.
"Should I call your doctor?" Aisha asked her.
"No, I'm sure it's nothing," Kat said but made a face as the pain returned. "On second thought, maybe I should call Dr. Brice."
"Ok, I talked to your doctor and she said that she would meet us at the hospital but she said there's no need to panic," Aisha said helping Kat up as they headed for the door.
"Hello Katherine, I understand you're having a few pains in your lower back," Dr. Brice said as she entered the room where Katherine had been taken since arriving at the hospital.
"Yeah, I didn't think anything of it at first but they seem to be coming regularly," Kat told her.
"Well, there's no need to panic just yet, you could just be experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions, we'll run some test to make sure though," the doctor said.
"Doctor, is my friend still here?" Kat asked.
"Yes, she's right outside, I'll have her come in," the doctor replied.
"Aisha, can you try calling Tommy for me, he's at the dojo, I have the number written down in my address book in my purse," Kat said.
"Sure, Kat don't worry, I'm sure everything's going to fine," Aisha said.