A little later they were called into the room.
"Good morning Zoë," the doctor greeted them.
"Good morning Dr. Fuentes."
"And you must be the father, I recon?" The doctor addressed Callen.
"Yes, Callen," Callen shook the doctor's hand.
"Glad to meet you Callen."
"I'm happy to be here. I'm sorry I couldn't be there before, I was away on business."
"That can happen, but it's good that you're here now, for Zoë too. Well shall we get started?"
Zoë climbed onto the bed and lifted her shirt up. Callen smiled when he saw Zoë's baby bump. The doctor got everything ready and put some gel on the wand before moving it on Zoë's stomach.
"That's not gonna hurt her right?" Callen asked concerned.
"No of course not."
"It doesn't hurt honey, I just tickles a bit," Zoë reassured him.
The doctor put the wand on Zoë's stomach and Callen immediately saw the little baby on the screen. You could definitely see the clear shapes of a baby already.
"Wow, that's our baby," Callen exclaimed.
Zoë looked at Callen who was staring at the screen, mesmerized. She also saw the love in his eyes. "Yes it is," Zoë replied with a smile.
The doctor had also turned the sound on so the heartbeat was heard around the room. It was such a beautiful sound. "Wow the heartbeat sounds so fast."
"It's perfectly normal," the doctor told him.
"Is everything okay doctor?" Callen asked.
"The baby looks very healthy and is right on track for twenty weeks. I asked before if you wanted to know the sex of the baby but you said you wanted to wait until your husband was back. So I'll ask it again, do you want to know the sex of your baby?"
"Yes we would," Zoë answered.
The doctor looked at the screen one more time just to make sure. "You are having a little girl."
"A little girl?" Zoë asked, to make sure she had heard it right.
"Yes a little girl."
Zoë looked at Callen and Callen looked at her. "We are having a little girl honey."
"Yes we are," Callen replied and he gave Zoë a kiss. "She's gonna be so beautiful."
"Yes she will be."
The doctor examined Zoë a bit more and took her vitals and weight. She gave the parents-to-be a picture of the ultrasound and the video of the ultrasound. Zoë made a new appointment for in three weeks before they left the doctor's office. Together they walked back to the car and got in. Zoë was looking at the ultrasound picture as she sat in the passenger seat.
"That was so beautiful to see, to see our little baby, our little daughter on the screen," Callen spoke.
"Yeah it was. And it's gonna be a little girl."
"Yes it will be. But as long as the baby is healthy is doesn't matter if it would be a boy or a girl."
"Yes of course. I'm sure you're gonna be a great daddy to our little girl," Zoë said as she looked at Callen.
"I hope so."
"I know you will. And I'm sure she's gonna be daddy's little princess. I can't wait to see you with her."
"And I can't wait to see you with her. Halfway there already."
"Yeah halfway there."
Callen leaned over and gave Zoë a kiss before giving her stomach a kiss.
"Hey there, little girl. Daddy can't wait be meet you and be good to mommy these coming months okay."
Callen gave Zoë one more kiss before he drove them to the office.
"Good morning," Callen spoke when he and Zoë walked in. The others were there already.
"Good morning, how was the doctor's appointment?" Sam asked.
"It was good. Everything is going fine," Zoë answered.
"That's good to hear. Did you find out what you're having?"
"Yes, we did. But you're gonna have to wait until the weekend," Callen said.
On Sunday they were going to have a gender reveal party. Zoë went upstairs to her office as Callen sat behind his desk.
….
That Saturday Zoë and Callen went to the store to buy baby items for the nursery. They went to the Walmart store in Torrance. Callen looked at the size of the baby department.
"Wow that's a lot of stuff," Callen remarked.
"Yeah you need a lot for a baby."
They first went to look for a crib.
"This one is pretty handy. She can sleep in it for a while," Zoë stated as they looked at a crib.
"Yeah it says here you can convert it into a toddler bed and even a double bed."
They picked the Dream on me Violet crib in white wood. The long sides were a bit in a wave pattern at the top. The mattrass could be changed in height. From the same collection they also bought a changing table with drawers and a changing pad. They also bought a fabric beige rocking chair that could be turned into a recliner.
"Oh yeah we have to get one of these too," Zoë spoke as she looked at the basinets.
"For what? We have a crib already."
"Yeah but with this basinet it's easier for her to sleep in our room for the first few nights. They say it's good for babies to sleep in the parent's bedroom for the first week or so."
"Ah okay."
"And it's easier for us if she starts crying, we are close by and don't have to go to her room."
They picked a blue dream on me Skylar basinet. The frame was in a way that you could fit it underneath the bed. One side was attached with Velcro so you could open it up and have a bedside basinet. For the crib bedding they went with a pink princess theme and one with butterfly theme. The princess theme bedding set contained a comforter, fitted sheet and dust ruffle. The comforter had a pink castle and a pink carriage on it, the fitted sheet was white with pink flowers and crowns on it and the dust ruffle was pink with flowers. The butterfly theme bedding also had a comforter, fitted sheet and dust ruffle. The comforter was white with pink edges and pink butterflies, the fitted sheet was also white with pink butterflies on it and the dust ruffle was pink with purple butterflies on it. They also bought a baby nest for in the crib and a few loose blankets. They picked a light pink armoire with two doors at the top for hanging and two drawers underneath it. For above the changing table they picked a white storage shelve and for next to the changing table a pink flower hamper. For above they crib they bought a pink music mobile with butterflies and a pink small table lamp with butterflies. For on the ceiling they picked a pink diamond pennant chandelier. They picked beige black-out curtains with a butterfly valence above it, some decorations for on the walls, a pink flower wallpaper border and white wall paint. Now that they had everything for the nursery they moved on to strollers and car seats. They picked a stroller and car seat in one. The stroller they could use for a while since it had a car seat and basinet that could also be used in a seating position. The cap was red and the rest of the stroller was black. The basinet and car seat could be put in two different position, facing the parents or facing forward. The car seat they could clip loose and use it in the car as well. Underneath the basinet was a storage basket. They also bought a grey diaper bag backpack and a video camera baby monitor. As a playard they picked a grey and pink floral deluxe playard that they could also use as travel bed with a basinet and changing pad that could be removed so they could use it as just a playard. They also picked up a light grey baby tub with a sling in it. For now they thought they had everything for the nursery, the other stuff they would get later. Before going to the registry they also stopped by the clothing department to get some new clothes for Zoë. Zoë bought a black short summer dress with sunflowers, a few jeans, a grey floral top, a black with white dots blouse with a belt above the belly, some new bras and underwear and a few new pajamas. With everything in the cart they walked to the register. Callen was shocked when he saw the total price! The small things they took with them already and the stroller and furniture would be delivered to their house in about 2 weeks. Callen took the bags as they walked to the car.
"Damn I didn't know that having a baby would be so expensive," Callen remarked.
"Yeah you need a lot for them. But with these items we can do for a while. But we're gonna have to get a few more things when she gets bigger like a safety gates, plugs for the outlets, locks on the cupboards, that sort of things. Cus once babies are mobile they like to get their hands on everything. But we have until she's like seven months or so to do that. First is the nursery."
"Yes, I will get started on the painting and added the wallpaper border," Callen spoke as he put the bags into the trunk. "So it'll be finished when the furniture arrives."
"Yes it's gonna be a beautiful nursery."
"Yes it will be."
Callen drove them back home and carried the bags inside. He put them away in their bedroom for now. Callen changed into some old clothes and started cleaning up the nursery, they had stored some items there since they didn't use it but now that had to go to the other room. Once everything was out Callen put a plastic sheet on the floor so it wouldn't get damaged or dirty before he started painting. He painted all four walls. For now he needed to let them dry before he did them once again. He grabbed a quick shower before joining Zoë for dinner.
..
The next day in the afternoon everyone came by for the gender reveal party. It was a beautiful day so they could do it outside. Callen had set up a few tables and chairs outside. Unfortunately Zoë's mom and brother couldn't make it from Holland so they would video call them when it was time for the reveal. Just after 2pm everyone was there so Callen went to grab the box from the garage. They had put a box together and when they would open it pink balloons would come out. Ben called Kirsten and Frank and turned the video towards the box.
"Kam, you wanna help open the box?" Zoë asked Kamran.
"Yeah of course." Kamran stepped up to the box
"Okay on three you can pull the lid off." Kamran nodded. "Alright, one, two, three," Everyone called and Kamran opened the box.
A few seconds later pink balloons popped out of the box and everyone clapped and yelled.
"It's a girl," Zoë yelled happily.
"It's gonna be a little girl," Ben said as he came over and hugged Zoë and Callen. "I'm happy for you two."
"Thanks dad."
Ben handed the phone over to Zoë so she could talk to her mom and brother.
"Hey mom, hey Frank" Zoë greeted Kirsten and Frank.
"Yeah sweetie," Kirsten replied. "Congrats with the little girl, I so can't wait to meet her."
"I know, we can't either."
"Everything still okay with you two?"
"Yes we're perfectly healthy and she's growing nice and big."
"That's good to hear. Let me know if there's anything I can do for you."
"Thanks mom I will."
"Are you working on the nursery yet? You need to have it done in time."
"Yeah we went to the store yesterday and we bought a whole bunch of stuff already. G's working on the nursery with painting the walls and such so they'll be ready when the furniture will be delivered."
"Ah that's good. Please think about what kind of present you want from me. I will get it for you."
"Thanks mom."
"I'm happy for you two sis," Frank spoke. "I can't wait to meet my little niece. I will definitely come to LA when she's born."
"Thanks bro."
Zoë hung up and enjoyed the rest of the party. Around 6pm Callen fired up the grill and everyone enjoyed some burgers and sausages before going back home. Callen cleaned up outside as Zoë got the dishwasher started.
…..
Two weeks later the furniture and big baby items were delivered to their house. Callen was still at work, the case wasn't finished yet so he had to work late. Zoë asked the men to put the items in the garage for now. Zoë thanked them and tipped them for their service. She looked at the items, everything was there. The nursery would be beautiful, she was sure of that.
Zoë tried to stay up until Callen was home but it was already past 11pm and Zoë was dead tired so she decided to go to bed already, since she had no idea how long Callen still had to work. She changed for bed and snuggled up to her pregnancy pillow. It didn't take her long to fall asleep.
Callen pulled up to the house just after 1.30am. He hated the fact that he had to work late, he always missed spending time with Zoë after work. He walked up to the house and quietly opened and closed the door. The whole house was dark already so Zoë was probably asleep. Quietly he walked up the stairs and into the bedroom. He smiled when he saw Zoë lying in their bed. Quickly but quietly he stripped out of his clothes and pulled on a sleeping shirt before crawling into the bed. Zoë was facing his side so he carefully shifted closer to her and wrapped his arm around her as he gave her a soft kiss on her cheek.
"Hmmmm," Zoë moaned in her sleep as she snuggled against Callen. "G."
"Yeah, I'm here."
Callen gave her another soft kiss before he lay down next to her. It didn't take him long to fall asleep. The next morning Zoë woke up and she felt that someone was next to her. She opened her eyes and saw her husband lying next to her, still asleep. She was glad he was back home again. It was Saturday today so they didn't have to go out of bed. She snuggled closer against him and fell asleep for a bit again. When she woke up again around 9.30am and she noticed Callen was awake too.
"Good morning honey," Zoë said.
"Good morning honey."
Callen lifted her head up and gave her a soft kiss.
"What time did you get in?"
"Around 1.30. You were already fast asleep so I didn't want to wake you."
"Is the case finished?"
"Yes the case is finished with success."
"Good."
Callen pulled Zoë closer to him and kissed her deeply. God, he had missed her last night. One evening didn't seem much in comparison to the two months he was away but he always missed her. He turned her around on her back and he tried to shift with her but her pregnancy pillow was in the way. With a grunt Callen reached in between them and pulled the pregnancy pillow out and tossed it on the floor. Zoë wrapped her arms around him and pulled him as close as she could. Callen moved his hands down her body and lifted the night gown up over her head. Zoë followed suit and took Callen's shirt and boxers off. Callen made sure she was ready for him before he pushed himself inside of her.
"Wow, that was an amazing way to wake up," Zoë stated once they had finished.
"Definitely," Callen breathed out.
"By the way, the furniture for the nursery was delivered yesterday."
"Ah good. You didn't lift it upstairs yourself did you?"
"No, I asked the drivers to put it in the garage."
"Ah good. I will get started on it later today."
"That's good, I can't wait to see it finished. It's gonna be a beautiful nursery. I'm sure our little girl will be happy there."
"Yes she will."
They stayed in bed a little longer before getting out and getting some breakfast. After breakfast Callen carried the furniture upstairs.
"G, I'm just gonna go to the store, get some groceries," Zoë called upstairs a little later.
"Alright, that's fine."
Zoë grabbed her bag and drove to the store. She went to Albertsons which was nearby. About a half our later she was back at home. The bags weren't that heavy so she carried them in one by one.
"How's it going here?" Zoë asked as she walked into the nursery.
"Good, just trying to figure out how to put it together but I'll get there."
"I brought you a sandwich and some soda," Zoë said as she handed Callen the plate and the glass.
"Thank you." Callen took them from Zoë and put them on the windowsill.
"Everything was there right?"
"Yeah as far as I can see now yeah, here is the crib and there and the dresser and closet and such."
"Alright good, let me know if you need my help with something."
"I will but I got this."
"Alright." Zoë turned around to go back down but she stepped on a piece of plastic wrapper that Callen had pulled off the furniture and she lost her footing.