A/N: Thanks for the reviews once again. I have an idea of where this baby thing will go, as you will read in this chapter, but I am open to suggestions. I'll trump 'em if I don't agree, but I'd love to hear what you think: ) Thanks for reviewing.
Sara and Nick woke up in each other's arms the next morning. Nick sweetly kissed Sara's neck to wake her up. It was her turn to go to work today, but it was finally Friday. Sara turned in bed to face her husband, smiling sleepily.
"Good morning, mommy." Nick told her, still thinking about the fact his wife may be pregnant. Sara put her hand on Nick's hip, patting it lightly.
"Hello, daddy." She laughed, and then kissed him slowly on the lips. They just stared into each other's eyes for a few minutes, touching each other gently, still so in love.
"Should we tell the kids today?" Sara whispered.
"I don't know. Maybe we should wait until we know for sure." Nick suggested. Telling the kids they were going to have a new brother or sister would be a big deal, and he didn't want to disappoint them if Sara wasn't pregnant after all.
"You're right."
"Of course." He agreed self-righteously. Sara lightly slapped him on the cheek and they were soon in fits of laughter, playing around.
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Mally heard her parents giggling in their bedroom. It didn't sound like they were doing it, thankfully, just horsing around. They did that sometimes, but at least they were still into each other. The senior forced herself out of bed, running into her doorframe sleepily as she found her way to the bathroom.
Mally was never super-excited about school, but today she dreaded going. First of all, she'd have to see Natalie, and she had no idea what her friend was thinking. It would be weird and awkward and she'd just rather not see her. Secondly, she'd have to face the principal again. He still didn't believe her, and he'd be grilling her with questions and comparing work samples. Mally knew he wouldn't find anything, but it didn't feel good to have someone investigate you.
She took her time in the shower, trying to enjoy it as much as possible. Mally savored breakfast time, but got reprimanded for eating too slow by her father.
"Mal, why don't you grab a breakfast bar and eat in the car. We have to go." Nick hurried his daughter. He knew she really didn't want to go to school today, but they'd had a conversation about sticking out the tougher things in life. If she didn't go today, she'd still have to go Monday and face the same things. There was no point avoiding the inevitable.
Mally pouted like a little kid, abandoning her Cheerios and grabbing her backpack. She wasn't very hungry anyway. Nick grabbed his keys and could see she wasn't reaching for a breakfast bar.
"Mally, you need to eat breakfast." Nick told her, his eyes no-nonsense, as he reached into the cupboard and tossed his daughter a Nutri-Grain. Mally sighed and took it reluctantly. Sara finished getting the twins ready for preschool as Nick drove Mally to school. Normally, it would've been Sara taking Mally since she was heading to work, but today Nick wanted to make sure his daughter was alright.
"Are you gonna be okay today?" Nick asked as they drove down the road in the Denali, stealing a glance at Mally.
"I don't want to go, and I know you're gonna say I have to, so what's the point in arguing?" Her tone snappy and her arms crossed.
"I know it's going to be hard, but remember what we talked about?"
"Yes, dad!" Mally snapped, "That's why I said let's not argue."
"Watch your tone, please." Nick reminded her, "Everything will turn out fine. And you can call me at home or even Sara at work if you need to."
Nick pulled up to the drop-off circle of Las Vegas High School and turned to Mally, who opened the door immediately. Nick gently grabbed her wrist before she could bolt out. Mally looked back with a scowl on her face.
"We love you sweetheart, okay? And don't worry, everything will be fine." He looked her in the eye, hoping it would help soothe her worries. Mally nodded, but looked down at the floor. As soon as she felt her father's grip loosen, she took her hand back and shut the door. Nick watched his daughter walk up the steps, willing her to be strong. Just like he taught her.
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Nick arrived back home to help Sara finish up before she had to go to work. On her lunch hour, she was scheduled to go to the gynecologist to see if she was really pregnant. Sara's stomach was in knots as she tried to get the twins ready to go.
"Momma, I farted!" Bailey announced, standing naked on her bed as Sara helped Aidan with his underpants.
"Bailey Catherine, we do not announce when we fart. It's not polite." Sara reprimanded her daughter. Bailey wasn't taking well so far to manners, though the parents constantly worked with her. Farting was just the funniest thing ever.
Nick had to chuckle a little as he neared the twins' door. Bailey was a character and he knew she'd be a handful as she got older, as if she wasn't already. He opened the door to find Bailey jumping on her bed as Sara struggled with Aidan.
Nick clapped his hands together to get his daughter's attention.
"Bailey Catherine Stokes, we do not jump on our beds." Nick told her firmly. It seemed the only thing they ever told her was what not to do. Don't talk about farting; don't jump on your bed; don't put your brother in a headlock.
Bailey knew to stop when her father got home. She could still get away with a lot around her mommy, mostly because she just got tired of reminding her. But her daddy always meant business, so she ceased her misbehavior immediately.
"But I heard you and momma jumping on your bed last night!" She argued, sitting down on her bed. Nick walked to Bailey's dresser and pulled out a fresh pair of underwear, denim shorts, and a white flower t-shirt, and couldn't help but laugh along with Sara.
"Come on over and I'll get you dressed." Bailey happily ran to where her father was standing and he helped her into her clothes one by one.
"Daddy, Baiwey's being bad!" Aidan informed his daddy. His sister was getting on his nerves this morning, and he didn't care if she got in trouble.
"Is she?" Nick asked curiously, glancing at his wife. Sara rolled her eyes and nodded her head. With two the same age, it was hard to keep both in check. "Well, I hope she won't do anything else, or she'll get a time-out."
Bailey looked in thought as she listened to their conversation. Crazy males.
"Baby, do you want to go get ready for work? I can finish here." Nick suggested.
"Yeah, thanks." Sara said, getting up. She kissed Aidan, who still needed his shirt, and ruffled Bailey's hair as she passed.
"Daddy, why do you call mommy baby?" Aidan wondered, sitting on the floor to wait for Nick to finish with his sister. "She's not a baby."
Nick chuckled a little.
"It's just a nickname, bud." Nick explained. "I call Mally, Bailey and you baby sometimes too."
"I thought onwy Nick was a nickname." Aidan said. "Coz ya know…ya know your name is Nick and that's your name, daddy."
Nick pulled Bailey's shirt over her head and kissed her head, then turned his attention to his son.
"You're right, Aidan." He took his son by the sides. "But if someone goes by a different name, you call it a nickname. Even if your name's not Nick. You understand?"
"I guess."
"You guess?" Nick smiled. He took his son in his arms and blew a raspberry on his stomach, sending him into peals of laughter.
"Daddy, stoppit!" He giggled.
"What was that?" Nick teased. "You said, keep going daddy?" He kept blowing raspberries and Aidan had no way to escape. Bailey huffed and slowly headed downstairs, one huge step at a time.
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Sara smiled as she listened to Aidan's squeals coming from down the hall as she headed into her bathroom. The twins were hyper this morning, so she was glad it was her day to go to work. But their unconditional love for her was what kept her going; them, along with Nick and Mally. She couldn't think of a more perfect lunch hour, confirming her pregnancy with her third child. Sara didn't think she'd be able to get through the morning.
Last night, Nick and Sara had done a drug store pregnancy test. It had turned up positive, and they were thrilled, paving the way for yet more love making that night. She smiled as she thought of how excited Nick was at the prospect of another child.
Sara sat down on the toilet to use the restroom and looked down. Then she saw it – blood in her panties. Sara's heart dropped. She felt like crying. She'd gotten her period. Dammit! She was so sure she was pregnant. She was late by six days on birth control! How could this be? Sara quickly finished, took her panties off to be washed, and reluctantly found a tampon in the cupboard. Crying, she walked into the master bedroom that was attached to her bathroom.
Sara went through the top drawer of her dresser looking for a fresh pair of panties when she felt two large, warm hands on her bare hips. Sara's face shot up and looked at Nick in the mirror in front of her. He dropped a kiss to her shoulder as he gazed at her.
"What's wrong, baby?" He asked gently.
Sara knew he would be crushed, but had to tell him. He wasn't going to be a father again after all.
"I got my period." Sara whispered, closing her eyes so she wouldn't have to see his heartbroken orbs. He didn't say anything for a few moments, and then rubbed her hips a little.
"Oh. Okay." He whispered back, a little sadly, "So you're not pregnant?"
"No."
Nick could see Sara was very upset about this. They had been so sure. There had been a pregnancy test, and her period was late. Nick wrapped his arms around his wife in a supportive embrace.
"It's okay, baby." He kissed her cheek and rocked her back and forth a little. "We can always try on purpose if we decide we really want another child."
"You mean you didn't really want another baby?" Sara's eyes studied her husband questioningly in the mirror.
"Sara." He started, fishing out a pair of panties from the drawer and handing them to his wife, "You know I'd be completely in love with any baby we have together, but you have to admit now wouldn't be great timing."
"How so?" Sara thought she knew, but she wanted Nick to explain. She put her panties on so she was at least covered now, not that she cared at the moment.
"Well, Mally's about to head off to college, and you know how helpful she was with the twins. That would be one fewer set of hands to help out. Plus, the twins are only three, and they're a handful by themselves. If we were to have another child, I'd want to wait until they were in kindergarten at least."
"There's never a good time to have a baby, Nick." Sara reasoned with him, now turning around to look at her husband face to face. "There's always some excuse. I'm pushing forty, and I would like to have at least one more child."
"Okay, well it sounds like we need to seriously discuss this then. But not when you've just found out you're not pregnant." He kissed her on the lips. "You've got a lot of emotions playing around right now."
"So, when I'm talking about wanting another baby, it's just my emotions, Nick?" She said in an accusing tone, moving away from his grasp. "You don't know what I'm feeling! You didn't carry two babies for eight and a half months, and have morning sickness and have your boobs hurt! I want to be pregnant again, Nick! Now!"
"Sara, listen to yourself!" Nick tried to whisper, "Your head isn't straight right now. I know you're upset about not being pregnant, but that doesn't mean we should jump into things."
"But you were so happy when I told you I was pregnant." Sara's eyes were welling up with tears. His emotions couldn't be fake. He was genuinely happy that Sara was pregnant.
"Sara, like I said. I would be happy with any baby we make together, no matter what the timing. Of course I was happy. But right now is just not right."
"Fine." Sara finished, storming off to the bathroom. Nick just stayed back, stuffing his hands in his pockets, giving Sara some space. He thought pregnant women were scary, but now he was dealing with a woman who thought she was pregnant and wasn't.
Sara threw her pants back on, threw on a little make up and stormed back out the bedroom, giving Nick an evil glare. Nick followed his wife down the stairs where she kissed the twins goodbye. Bailey and Aidan looked a little confused. They could tell when someone was upset, but the grown ups never seemed to tell them what was wrong.
"Bye momma." Aidan said quietly, and Bailey waved, her eyes worried.
"Bye, my precious and my prince." Sara told them, gathering up her things. Nick stood by the table just watching again. He thought she was actually going to leave without saying goodbye to him, but then she paused on the way to the door. She couldn't leave like this. Sara walked back over to her husband and kissed him on the lips.
"We'll talk later, okay?" Nick whispered, kissing her forehead.
"Okay." Sara sounded civil now after her spiel. She knew it wasn't fair to expect him to be all for another baby at this point in their lives. But they'd be talking later.
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It was the end of a long, trying day at Las Vegas High as Mally put some books in her locker. She'd been at the principal's office the first two hours of the day, while he drilled her questions, and she waited while Natalie and her chemistry teacher were in there. Finally, the principal deemed Mally a non-cheater and sent her on her merry way. She didn't wait around for Natalie.
Mally could sense someone approaching her locker with her peripheral vision. It was Natalie.
"Hey, Mally." She said timidly.
"Hey." Mally replied, glancing quickly at her friend, or whatever she was now. They were both nervous and uncomfortable.
"I just wanted to say sorry for getting you into this. I just wasn't sure if…"
"Okay, Natalie." She stopped her friend. "Let's not talk about it right now. Not in the hallway of school."
"You're right. Do you want to go back to my place?"
"Sure."
Mally finished getting her books together and shut her locker. She'd just aced her chemistry quiz, and was feeling pretty good about the day. She'd gotten through the principal's interrogation, and it seemed that she and Natalie were going to work things out. Mally smiled at Natalie and they walked down the hallway, ready to go home and ready to be friends again.
