Chapter 5

It had been three weeks since Abbey had found out she was pregnant. The baby was due in February, around Valentine's Day. Abbey smiled at the thought of giving Jed a son as her Valentine's gift to him. That would be perfect.

But not everything was perfect.

Everybody had been happy for Abbey and she had tried to share their joy. But she didn't feel joy. Worry was her main feeling. Worry about medical school and falling behind. Worry about expenses associated with a new baby.

Jed only earned fifteen thousand dollars a year as a professor and they were already having trouble making ends meet at the end of the month. Her father had offered to pay for medical school, but Jed had been insistent that it was his responsibility.

But gradually she accepted the fact of the pregnancy. What else could she do? She only hoped Jed was right. That it was a gift from God and He would provide.

Morning sickness was putting a dent into her studies. Actually, it was all day, come whenever it wanted to, sickness. With Liz, at least she could eat some crackers about noon and could keep them down. But not with this pregnancy. She never knew when it would hit.

The worst time was working in the anatomy lab. The formaldehyde odor did it to her every time. But she kept trying. One really embarrassing time had been during an exam where she had to identify various nerves and muscles on the cadaver. As she went down the list, her stomach became overwhelmed by the odors and launched its attack all over her instructor's shoes. Somehow, she passed the exam, but couldn't look the instructor in his face for days.

But besides the nausea and vomiting, she felt good.

Good enough for some occasional recreational activity. Abbey knew as her hormones increased over the pregnancy that her desire for sex would increase as well. When she had been pregnant with Liz, they would have sex two to three times a week until the last trimester when she got so big that it had gotten uncomfortable. But bless Jed. He had found other ways to help her get satisfaction. And that worked until the night her water broke on his hands.

A small smile crossed her face as she remembered that night in London. His confused actions as they grabbed a cab to the hospital. His pale face when she was separated from him for delivery. His smiling face when she presented him with Liz. His happy voice telling the family on the phone that the baby had arrived.

Now, after sex, they would lie in bed, with both hands over Abbey's stomach, talking about what was to come. Talking about the baby. Saying it had to be boy. They talked over names for the baby. Jed was determined that it not be a junior. So they talked about names that would include Josiah as a middle name but would give the child his own identity.

TBC