Sandy and Kirsten find out they're expecting:
"Hi honey, I'm home!" Sandy called as he entered the home he and Kirsten had bought the year before.
"In the lounge, sweetheart" his wife replied.
He put his briefcase down in the hall and went to kiss his wife hello.
"So, how was your doctor's appointment? Is it that stomach bug that's been going round?" he questioned lovingly, as Kirsten had been to the doctor's that day, as she'd been feeling nauseous for the last few days and just simply wasn't feeling herself.
"Is it something more serious than that? What's wrong, baby?" Sandy asked, taking in the look on Kirsten's face and holding her to him tenderly.
"Well, you could say it's more serious than that, but it's not an illness... I'm... pregnant!" she exclaimed excitedly, beaming and laughing at the look on Sandy's face.
His shock at the news was soon replaced by a whoop of joy and a victory dance round the lounge.
He kissed his wife passionately and then sat down with her on the couch, holding her hand.
She sat with a hand over her stomach that was still as flat as a pancake, already protecting her unborn child and grinned at her husband.
"So, how far gone are you? About three weeks or a month, right?" Sandy questioned, eagerly wanting to know exactly when their little person would be arriving.
"Yes, I'm one month gone! I'm so excited, I'm going to be a mommy and you're going to be a daddy-do you think we can do this?" she replied, sharing her enthusiasm and her worries all at once.
A goofy smile spread over Sandy's face, making his eyes sparkle.
"Honey, we're going to be amazing! We're going to have a perfect little boy or girl and it's going to change our lives forever, but in the best possible way!" he declared, kissing Kirsten's cheek and then her belly.
He put his mouth near her stomach and began talking to it.
"Hello in there, my darling, I'm your Daddy, I'm looking forward to seeing you in about 8 months... You'll be just in time for autumn, you'll like that. And here's a message from Mommy, she wants to say 'hi' too" he announced, holding up a hairbrush to Kirsten's mouth in guise of a microphone.
Kirsten giggled at her husband's goofiness and then spoke to her belly in an adoring voice.
"Hello little one, do you think we can come to some arrangement about being sick, like making it go away right now? Your daddy's very funny, remember that and we love you very very much, sweetie." she uttered, stroking her non-bump lovingly.
Choosing a name:
Eight months later, Kirsten was at home, sitting on the couch, propped up by a million cushions, her feet on the lounge table. She was flipping through a magazine and sipping at another variety of equally vile herbal tea.
She'd had to give up working in the gallery three months ago, as even then, her bump could not be accomodated by the desk at Reception and Inquiries. She hadn't even been able to keep doing the guide of the gallery, as she had to go to the loo every five minutes to either pee or be sick. Whoever had coined the term 'morning sickness' was certainly male, as it was more like 'all day sickness" in her case. God, she was bored, not to mention fed up with being pregnant.
Sandy was now working at home, allegedly because he wanted to be there just in case something was wrong, but she thought it was more so he could play at being her White Knight.
He insisted that she carried nothing heavier than a magazine or a cup of tea and was prepared to drop everything to go to the store to get her a fix for her latest craving.
Unfortunately, her cravings were for junk food in a major way: chocolate, fries, chips, pizzas and ice-cream, basically all the stuff she usually ate very little of or not at all. She was sure she'd never regain her figure, which had been so perfect up to now.
She was so hormonal and her emotions were all over the place that this thought brought on tears, and before she knew it, she was sobbing furiously.
Sandy turned the key in the door and opened it to the sound of his wife's sobs.
He dropped the bag of groceries and was in the lounge as quick as a flash.
"What's the matter, honey, what's wrong? Where does it hurt?" he enquired gently, sliding his arms round her and kissing the top of her head as he spoke.
Kirsten sobbed harder and clung to her rock of a husband for comfort.
"No... It doesn't hurt... I'm just so... fat! I look like a... whale!" she uttered, before dissolving into further sobs, thus soaking her husband's t-shirt in snot and tears.
"Honey, you're not a whale, you're beautiful! Your hair's so glossy at the moment, your skin is clear and glowing, you look radiant and I will love you forever, whatever you look like!" he declared comfortingly, kissing her forehead, nose, cheek and bump before handing her a tissue.
She blew her nose and wiped her eyes and then kissed her husband square on the lips, grateful for his understanding and love for her.
"Awww, that was a lovely kiss, my pretty little whale" Sandy teased, ruining the moment. She swatted him with her magazine and then handed him a piece of paper.
"Oooh, what's this, honey?" Sandy asked her, before glancing at it and taking in her neat handwriting.
"Ah yes, baby names, good thinking, we can't have our offspring be called 'baby' for the first few months of it's life, can we? So we need to find a name we both like, possibly two if you still want a middle name, and it's got to sound good with Cohen!" he recalled.
"I do want a middle name honey, as our little boy's going to need to know when he's in trouble. And we're not having any names that can be shortened, like mine can, as I can't stand being called Kiki! So we should keep it short, right?" she explained.
Sandy looked over her list of names, glad that she'd remembered how much he hated his full name and had made his shortened form of it catch on as soon as possible.
"Hmmm, Benjamin's nice, but he could be a Benji for most of his life, and that sounds stupid on a kid after the age of about 6! Matthew's OK, just not with Andrew as a middle name, that'd give rise to lots of burger-related nicknames... Let's try and stick to Old Testament names, please honey, 'cause my mother will seriously plotz if her first-born grandson doesn't have a Jewish name-she could kill me, you know, that's a very real possibility..." he trailed off, following a look from Kirsten.
"Would Nebbuchanezzar meet you mother's requirements?" she snarked, giving Sandy a playful push.
"OK, OK, stop being violent!" Sandy joked. "Ooohhh, Seth's on your list, I'm sure he features in the Old Testament somewhere, he's one of Adam and Eve's offspring, I think... " he declared, then saying 'Seth Cohen' to see how it sounded. "That sounds good, don't you think, honey? It's short, easy to spell and is Jewish enough to keep my mother happy." he continued.
"True, that does have a nice ring to it, and it's a little bit unusual, but not so much so that no-one will know how to spell it!" Kirsten responded, she too trying the name out loud to see how it sounded."It's a lovely name, sweetie, now we need a middle name!" she added.
"What about..." ,she glanced at her list for help, "Edward... Um, no, too much of a mouthful! Andrew doesn't work either, and Seth Robert is just awful! Let's try one of your weird Old Testament names, just for the laugh... At the moment they're looking much better than any of my choices" she conceded finally.
"Not weird, honey-inspired! And Old Testament names are great, I'm the proud owner of one, you know!" he teased, earning him another swat with the magazine from his wife.
"Yes, Sanford Isaac, indeed you do, no need to rub it in!" she mocked, gently rubbing the spot she'd hit him in.
"Elijah's kind of cool, honey, what do you say to that?" he suggested.
She frowned slightly, going through the list of names she hated or just simply couldn't use.
"Sorry, I knew an Elijah in grade school, he was just so gross, I'll think of him every time I say the name, so it's not an option, gorgeous" she replied, shaking her head.
Sandy made several more ridiculous suggestions, using mainly obscure kings and minor prophets before she made him stop, telling him he'd have no more say if he couldn't come up with a sensible one.
Sandy paused, collecting his thoughts.
"OK, honey, I'm deadly serious here, I think this could work... How about Ezekiel?" he said sheepishly, hoping that she wouldn't burst out laughing or give him a deadly look.
Instead, she mouthed it to herself, seeing how the name felt in her mouth to say and then nodded.
"Do you know, I actually quite like that, Sandy? I think you've got it! Hmmm, Seth Ezekiel, I like it... No I don't" she annouced, causing Sandy's face to fall, "I love it!" she finished, making Sandy smile proudly.
"Well, that settles it then honey! Unless, of course, we're having a girl!" he declared. His utterance was met with an eye roll and a frown from Kirsten.
"We are having a son, Sandy, trust me, I know my body, I just know we are... Didn't your mother teach you to argue with pregnant women at your own peril?" she joked, cuddling up to Sandy as far as her humungous belly would allow her to.
Post Birth:
"I'm NEVER doing that again" Kirsten muttered to herself after the 14 hour labour she'd just endured. Her hair was plastered to her head, every muscle in her body ached, she was incredibly thirsty, even though she'd just drunk several large glasses of water and she knew she looked a complete mess. It had been worth going through though, as her little boy had come out fine, he had all his fingers and toes and had let out a big scream when he'd come into the world.
He'd been taken from her by a nurse (who had been eyeing Sandy up since they arrived) to be cleaned up and dressed, Sandy had gone to make phonecalls to his mother, her parents, Paul Glass and his brother and sister to tell them the good news, so she was on her own with her thoughts at the moment.
The nurse came back in, holding Seth who'd been dressed in the Berkeley sleepsuit that Paul had given them and then wrapped in an impossibly white blanket. The nurse helped her hold him properly, making sure she was supporting the back of his head.
She gazed down in amazement at her little boyand whispered to him.
"Hey Seth Ezekiel, I'm your Mommy, I hope you're ready for a big adventure with me and your Daddy and that I do a good job with you-I'm scared I'll get it all wrong.Daddy should be back soon, he'll want a cuddle with you, he's very good at them... And you look so much like him, sweetie, just as gorgeous" she crooned lovingly, stroking his dark curly hair that was so like his father's.
A bunch of flowers appered in the doorway, obscuring Sandy's head and most of his body.
He lowered them slightly to beam at her and the bundle in her arms. He looked like he was about to explode with pride and joy at the sight of his wife and son.
He deposited the arrangement of lilies on the bedside table and then bent over to kiss Kirsten fiercely on the mouth before kissing his son's forehead much more gently.
"I think it's my turn to hold him now, if you can give him up for a while, beautiful" he declared, gazing at his newborn son lovingly.
"Wow, he looks so much like you, he's gorgeous!" he announced .
Kirsten handed him over and felt a slight pang of jealousy at the way Sandy seemed to instinctively know how to hold their child. She'd been the one learning the facts and the techniques in the baby books, asking Sandy to test her on them til she knew them off by heart, while he simply used them as a reference point to check his instincts, which were usually correct.
Sandy walked round the room holding Seth, whispering something to him that sounded something suspiciously like the ratio of men to women in the Cohen household was 2 to 1 now. He also let Seth know that he loved him so much and that he'd do his best to be a great dad to him.
He knew that if something bad happened to Seth he'd never forgive himself, and if he ran awy (God forbid that ever happening though) he knew he'd come straight after him.
He kissed Seth on the forehead again, then melted as he grabbed hold of his finger with his tiny hand.
Sandy went to sit down on Kirsten's bed, saying that his Mommy was right over there and that she adored them both, that they were going to be a happy family, all three of them.
Sandy told Kirsten his mother would be coming to stay sometime soon, that he'd got Caleb when he'd phoned her parents, so the less said about that the better, and that Paul was on his way to see them.
Sandy held Seth closer, cooing at him adoringly. He could happily say that he felt thoroughly comfortable with fatherhood and the idea of being responsible for such an amazing little person he'd helped make.
Seth started crying and the nurse who'd been making eyes at Sandy, who'd been standing by the door, watching them, entered.
"Do you want your Mommy, huh?" he enquired of his son lovingly. "Well, we have that it common, at least, 'cause I want her too" he said, giving Kirsten a sexy and suggestive wink.
"I think he's hungry, here let me help" she said, expertly holding the baby and handing him to his mother whilst getting Kirsten to sit up properly to feed him.
She met Sandy's eye and smiled charmingly.
"I saw you holding your son a minute ago, you're a natural at this fatherhood lark" she gushed, touching his arm as she spoke.
Sandy thanked her, barely taking his eyes off the breath-taking sight that was his wife feeding their son.
She suddenly made her excuses and left, telling Kirsten to buzz if she had any problems.
Paul Glass burst through the door, bearing a smaller bunch of flower's than Sandy's and a card under one arm and a blue teddy that declared that the owner was male under the other.
He dropped all the gifts on the bedside cabinet, kissed Kirsten's cheek and pulled Sandy into a manly hug.
"Congratulations, he's gorgeous!" he exclaimed, glancing over at Seth.
"He's got your hair, Sandy, and your nose Kirsten, what a cute kid!" he continued.
"You've got fabulous parents, little man, do you know that? They're going to be a great Mommy and Daddy to you! And if you ever want to visit an old bachelor friend of your dad's when you get a bit bigger, just ask, I'd love to spend some time with you!" he uttered, addressing Seth this time.
Paul looked almost as proud of his friends as Sandy had looked of his family a few moments ago.
"Sandy, is your mom coming? Just so I can conveniently arrange to be out of town when she's there, 'cause she's one scary lady, man, sorry, but it's true" he bantered good-naturedly, giving Kirsten a sympathetic look.
"Yeah, Ma's quite a character, isn't she? But who was I to say she couldn't come over? Hopefully we'll get rid of her before our little one turns 18!" he commented, only half-joking, as his mother was well known for her stubborness.
"look, guys, I have to take off now, but I'll come and visit soon, I promise" Paul announced, waving at the three of them.
Sandy waved back and then smiled at his wife lovingly.
"Can I get you anything, honey?" he asked her.
"Yes, a year's sleep would be nice... Well, I'd settle for 8 hours at the moment, and a bath... Hmmmmm, bath..." she said dreamily.
"Ok, darling, I'll get Seth settled down for a nap and I'll see whether a bath can be arranged for you. Hopefully we won't have to see Flirtey Nursey again soon. Here, I'll buzz for you" he uttered.
A few minutes later, a nurse arrived but Kirsten had already fallen asleep. Sandy whispered "Goodnight, my little freight train" into her ear and then began singing to Seth in the hope that he would go to sleep too.
A different nurse came in, who checked on Kirsten and Seth and then took Seth away to the sleeping bay. Sandy followed her, not wanting to lose sight of his son for a second. He blew Kirsten a kiss as he left the room, after writing her a note, telling her where he was.
"Kirsten was right, we do have a little boy" he mused, thrilled to pieces that he was so gorgeous and healthy.
He smiled goofily upon realising he was already a totally besotted dad.