Well, what a week... But let's not dwell on that.

Thank you to all of the lovelies who I heard from this week, I received a few messages just letting me know how they saw themselves or understood what Brett was going through in the last chapter. Thank you - it made me feel like I was able to make a connection with people and they were able to make personal connections with the characters. To each of you who I spoke to this week - I know you deserve all the happiness that will come your way. And Coconut - I can't reply to you personally, but no I don't believe that I will ever bring in the Brettonio relationship into this story :)

To Rebecca - you all cannot believe what a godsend this lady is. She edits for me for every chapter and this week managed to turn this chapter around in record time, in just a few days. And not only is she a fantastic beta and an awesome writer, she's become a very good friend who will listen to everything I need to vent. Plus she lets me know when I've used Australian phrases that I would never know of otherwise. Thank you R

~ Week Eighteen ~

~ Candidate is now about the size of a sweet potato ~

Herrmann hurried through the house intent on find one thing, or rather a person. He figured if he was quick enough he would be able to catch the parents before the shift started.

"Anyone seen Dawson?" he questioned the group sitting in the common room, many of them eating breakfast. Everyone shook their heads causing Herrmann to look down at his wristwatch. The Caseys were cutting it close to shift starting. "Brett," Herrmann spun around to catch the blonde paramedic walking past. "Seen Dawson?"

"Umm…" Brett pondered for a moment looking around. "Chief said that they might be running a bit late this morning. Casey had rung him, but they should be here soon."

"Lieutenant!" Herrmann called, brushing past Brett calling out to Casey.

"You're welcome," mumbled Brett not loud enough for anyone else to hear.

"Casey, where's Dawson?" Herrmann questioned as he reached him out on the apparatus floor. Matt motioned with a thumb behind himself. Herrmann stretched to look over Casey's shoulder to see Dawson dragging her feet into the house yawning almost continually. "You know that you are supposed to let her sleep at night Lieutenant…"

"Herrmann," Casey started warningly. "Those showers…" he trailed off.

"Stop it, Matt," Dawson ordered as she finally reached them. "Morning Herrmann. It's just a sore back keeping me from getting a good sleep at night," she complained slightly.

"And Cindy has something for that," announced Herrmann, "C'mon" he led them towards the locker room. Casey gave Dawson a small smile before grabbing her bag from her and motioning for her to continue on after Herrmann.

By the time that they had made it into the locker room Herrmann was struggling with something white, trying to remove it from his locker.

"What have you got there Herrmann?" Casey questioned.

"Something from Cindy and I. I'm under orders from the missus to pass this on," he commented as he finally wrestled what looked like a pillow from his locker.

"Is that a pillow?" Casey questioned confusingly.

"It's a body pillow. Cindy swore by it during the last three pregnancies. She was rattling something off about it being comfortable and supportive. Give her a ring, she'll explain it all…" he trailed off as he handed the pillow off to Casey.

With wide eyes, Casey accepted the proffered item, "How did you even get this into your locker Herrmann?"

Dawson smiled with tears in her eyes, touched that Herrmann and Cindy would have thought about something like this. It was nothing that she would have even thought of buying for herself. Every time she thought she had this pregnancy gig under control, something would smack her square in the face. "Thank you Herrmann, that's so sweet," she blubbered pulling the older firefighter in for a hug.

"Aww geez, don't need to cry about it Dawson," he joked gently pulling back slightly to look at the woman, "Just a pillow!"

Matt turned the pillow over in his hands, it just looked like a giant sausage. He glared slightly thinking of the amount of pillows that were already on their bed. Gabby had taken to sleeping with three or four of them in the last week or so. And it seemed that his side of the bed was shrinking each night.

"I'm going to try this out now!" Dawson announced taking the pillow from Matt's grasp.

"Gabs, you can't nap now," Casey explained to no avail.

"Not a nap, just testing the pillow out," Dawson replied.

"No NAP!" Casey called out after her, it reminded him of how life was when they still had Louie - it would have been something that he would have yelled. Herrmann chuckled as he watched Dawson scamper down the hallway, pillow in hand. She looked left, then right quickly before slipping into Casey's office and closing the door behind her. "Not that that's my office or anything," he mumbled under his breath.

"So Lieutenant, here's the thing about that pillow. Say goodbye to any room you may have had in the bed. That thing's a monster," Herrmann grumbled, remembering what it was like to share a bed with the pillow and a pregnant wife.

Casey sighed as rubbed a hand over his face, tapping his cheek. Herrmann laughed, clapped him on the shoulder and made his way out in search of food.

It had been a relatively quiet shift for Firehouse 51 Second Watch, although no one had made mention of it for the fear of jinxing it. Once again Dawson was seated at the long table watching the house move around her, a hand lying absentmindedly on her belly. As quiet as it was, the house occupants all seemed busy with one thing or another. Casey on the other hand was sitting in his office, just catching up on some reading, having foregone his usual coffee and newspaper routine. Herrmann had been teasing the man that it was rare not to see him eating something and obviously something was wrong along with a raspy laugh.

In his office, Matt glared at the papers surrounding him. It had taken him a fair while longer than he had originally planned, but finally he was putting his signature on the last report. Only 20 minutes ago had he watched Severide fling his own office door shut with a groan. He was going to be in there for the long haul too Matt mused. Sighing he tossed his pen away, flexing his aching wrists out in an attempt to ease the ache that had set in from the writing.

His ears pricked up as he heard the familiar click of the speakers turning on, alerting him that a call was coming mere seconds before the tones went off. Anytime it was quiet around the place and he was just in the moment, he would hear the click. Not every time, but after a number of years in a firehouse and hearing it happen that he was now tuned into it, so much so that he could hear it over the low rumble of the working house. He was actually up and out of his office before the tones had actually blown.

Pulling his suspenders over his shoulders, he shot Dawson a 'take care look' before climbing into his own rig and ordering Otis to move out.

Pulling up to an apartment building, it stuck Casey that there was a distinct lack of smoke or flames. Jumping out of the truck, he looked around for Boden, who himself was getting out of his own vehicle. There was a crowd who were gathering in the front yard of the building and also a number of people in the space between the building in question and the next, all of which caught Casey's eyes. There didn't seem to be any cause for the firehouse to be in attendance. Nothing out of the ordinary apart from the crowds of people.

Severide came to a standstill next to him, "You smell that?" he questioned. Casey paused to sniff the air trying in vain to see if there was something else out of the norm that he could use as an explanation.

"Chief?"

Boden hadn't even been able to open his mouth to speak when the top story of the building's windows blew out.

"Oh that is bad," muttered Herrmann from his position next to the truck. Casey locked eyes with his chief, who nodded.

"Otis, raise the aerial - see what you can find from the top. Kidd, you and Mouch vent the building," he ordered. "Herrmann, you meet me at the top and we'll work our way down," he turned to look at the older firefighter who nodded in confirmation.

"Casey - I'll send Squad in too. You go left and we'll go right."

As he reached the front door of the building, Casey did one final look upwards and discerned that noticeable flames had erupted closer to the windows, making them visible to the eyes of the crowds below. Obviously, the fire had started nearer to the heart of the building.

At that moment Dawson and Brett pulled up in their rig and Dawson watched closely as she noticed the back of Casey's jacket disappear into the building. As normal she felt her breath catch in her throat, rationally she knew that the likelihood of something actually happening to him was minimal, but that fact never stopped her blood pressure from rising just a little bit more when she was on scene with him. Actually, she was beginning to feel that same worry that he had spoken about feeling when she was moving on to Truck, there had never been a feeling like this before. Getting out of her own rig, she pulled her jacket around herself tighter.

Turning to her left she saw Brett waiting expectantly. "Let's go. Grab a bag. And we'll go find out what's happening from the Chief," she ordered. However, something stopped her in her tracks as she reached the side door. Something didn't feel quite right, she couldn't put her finger on what exactly it was, but something felt weird. It was almost like she had butterflies in her stomach. She reasoned with herself for a flash, it wasn't the first time she had experienced butterflies since Casey had reminded Herrmann that he had Cindy at home, ever since that incident, that they had managed to sweep under the carpet, Dawson had been more uneasy watching Casey do his job.

Feeling the butterflies for a second time, the more she thought about it, a look of worry flashed over her face - one that Brett caught. "Everything okay Dawson?"

Dawson nodded in reply. Turning to shield herself behind the open door, she placed a hand down on her lower belly and applied a bit of pressure. To her surprise, the butterflies disappeared. Maybe it was something else, she thought as she rested her head upon the cool metal of the rig.

"Gabby?" came Brett's worried voice, she had been observing what was going on. It just looked like Dawson had stopped and once she had laid her head down, Brett had become increasingly concerned. Dawson turned around and gave her a weak smile. "What's going on?"

"Nothing, everything's okay. Come on, let's move," Dawson smiled as she made progress towards where Chief Boden was standing.

Meanwhile, Casey and Herrmann had entered the building and made their way to the top floor, it was becoming progressively harder to see what was in front of them with the increase of smoke. In the time that it had taken to reach the top, they had passed not another soul, seemingly everyone on the lower floors had managed to make it out.

"Fire Department, anyone here?" he could hear Herrmann calling out as they systematically made their way through the rooms. Casey ducked his head lower, trying to find a clearer line of sight, somewhere under the smoke

Kicking in the last door on the upper floor, Casey strained his ears to see if he could hear anything. "Fire Department, call out!" Hearing what he thought was young children crying, he bolted forward calling out to Herrmann to follow him. Casey darted through the room, calling as he went. Pausing for the shortest amount of time, he struggled to listen for any sounds of life. Heading towards the bed in the middle of the room, he started pushing back the covers, careful not to push them towards the fire that had erupted near the window, burning up all of the drapes. Over the radio, he heard Severide calling over that the rest of the building was clear.

"Under here!" a small voice called. Casey stopped and dropped. Hiding under the bed were two small elementary aged children. Casey gave a sigh of relief as he stretched out a gloved hand to the closest child. "It's alright, I've got you," he spoke as a young boy crawled out. Standing upright as much as he dared he passed the child off into Herrmann's waiting arms. Bobbing down again he saw that the young girl was terrified and curled up in a ball just out of his reach. "Come on sweetie, I've got you. You just need to come towards me," he told her gently. He could hear her whimpering but she had started to make her way outwards. Casey placed his hand between her head and the metal base of the bed, "Watch your head… That's a girl." Finding his radio, he pressed down on the button, "Chief, we're coming out with two children, they need to be checked for smoke inhalation," he finished as he swept the young girl into his arms, pulling his coat over and tight around her. "It's okay, I've got you, everything's going to be okay."

"Right, let's get ready with that oxygen Brett," Dawson ordered making her way towards the back of the Ambo. She knew there was little point getting the gurney out, it would be just as fast for the boys to bring the patients to them. As she reached the rig, those butterfly feelings started up again. Applying a slight amount of pressure, they disappeared.

"Gabby?" Brett lay a hand on her back. "What's going on, and don't say nothing."

Gabby turned to face her partner, hoping that her face didn't convey the real fear she was feeling. "Honestly Brett, it's nothing. Just some hunger pains. Didn't feel like eating much earlier and now it's coming back to haunt me." Brett didn't look convinced. "Really! Once we get back to the house I'll eat and I'll feel like the same old PIC…" Turning to notice Casey coming towards them with Herrmann in tow, she pleaded with Brett, "Look I'm fine, just don't tell Casey. He'll worry about nothing. Honestly, I'm okay."

Brett gave her a tight lipped smile but nodded her head indicating that she would indeed drop it. Gabby gave a sigh of relief, however, her mind wandered whilst she was placing the oxygen mask on the young girl who Casey had deposited on the bed. What if it wasn't hunger pains, what if there was something more serious wrong? What if, what if? Placing a hand over her lower belly, she could have sworn she was actually feeling cramps now. Dawson felt tears pricking at her eyes, however, she took a shaky breath in and kept at her job.

"So," Dawson started as she stuck her head in the door of Casey's door. "That was interesting…" she trailed off. Casey looked up from his reading waving her in. He turned to sit sideways on his chair to watch Dawson go through a routine of finding somewhere to sit. Grabbing her new pillow off the bunk, she shoved it behind herself in an attempt to make herself comfortable. Sliding down slightly she took Casey's sleep pillow to hug before turning her attention back to Casey who smirked in reply

"Comfy?" he questioned cheekily.

She nodded, "Thinking about making this my new bunk," she retorted.

Casey shook his head as he made his way over the bed, lifting up her feet to take a seat on the bed. "Everything okay?"

"Hmm?" Dawson hummed as she looked around the office, rubbing her lower belly absentmindedly.

Casey took a deep breath, thinking that this might be finally the right time to start an actual conversation about their run in a few weeks ago. Every time he had tried to talk to her about it, she had found numerous ways to get out of it. "Gabby, we need to talk about the other week. When I said something stupid before I went into that abandoned building with Severide." But she was having nothing of it, of this conversation and she firmly shook her head and looked the other way. "Please Babe," he appealed placing a hand on her legs rubbing it slightly.

Another flash of surprise crossed Gabby's face briefly as she shifted in her seat, she really did need to get out into the common area and find something to eat. Continuing to ignore Casey, she leant over to search through his little cubby hole next to his bed in search of food

"Everything okay?" he questioned bothered by the look on her face that she had evidently tried to hide from him. Rummaging around for another few moments, Dawson withdrew her hand clutching a bag of potato chips.

"Just need something to eat, not feeling great. But I'm sure the salt will help pick me up," she explained popping a chip into her mouth.

Casey scanned her up and down trying to work out what was actually wrong. "So a few weeks ago…"

"Casey," she started warningly, "This isn't the right place for this conversation, we're at work…" she kept chewing between words.

"Well you won't talk to me about it at home, so when else do you want me to talk about it?" he questioned throwing his arms up into the air. Dawson narrowed her eyes at him slightly before screwing up the now empty chip packet and tossing it over his head and onto his desk.

"We keep it professional at work. Leave our problems at home and don't bring that crap to work."

"So you're telling me that you crying after a shift when I did something stupid is crap?" he asked incredulously.

Dawson shook her head and hauled herself up off the bunk and started towards the door, "I'm not doing this here Casey."

Casey snuck around her and put his hand on the door handle before she was able to reach it. "Please Gabby," he put a hand on her arm, sliding it down to reach for her hand. "Please… We need to talk about it, I need to talk about it." Dawson sighed before nodding her head. Making her way back towards the bed she scooped up the pillow and held it close, as Casey observed her hand snaking its way back down towards her lower belly, rubbing at the same spot he had noticed at the last fire and also only a few moments ago. At the same time, he moved to close the blinds of his office windows.

"Gabby - I just don't know what I did that particular day. I know that I screwed up in your eyes. But I was doing my job."

Dawson scoffed slightly, "You don't know what you did? You ran into a burning building with no regard for your life or mine. What would have happened if something had gone wrong…? All on a whim?"

"And what would have happened if Severide and I didn't go in?" Casey asked her seriously, taking a seat on his bunk, folding a leg up onto it. "What would have happened to that man?" he questioned, reaching out to caress her cheek. She pulled back.

"Do you remember what else you said that shift Casey?" Dawson's voice started to rise in volume. "Do you?" Casey's brow furrowed in confusion trying to work out what the crazy woman was trying to get at. He quickly went over the day in his head, but nothing out of the normal stood out to him.

"Babe, I did what I always do, exactly what I did today. I went into a burning building, making sure that everyone was safe. I was doing my job. And Baby I never meant to scare you or Smudge, but…"

"You told Herrmann not to go into the burning building, just in case something happened because Cindy would never forgive you… You protected Cindy… But what about me?" she questioned before dissolving into tears. As she sobbed doing the one thing she had avoided doing for days, she felt another slight funny feeling, making her sob more. Casey slid her into his arms, gently running his hands up and down her back in a soothing manner. Bring her head towards his chest he shuffled them around so that he had his back to end of the bunk and her between his legs. Continuing to run his hands across her body soothingly he dropped a few kisses onto her hair, shushing her gently.

Her sobs slowly began to ease into a few sobs here and there accompanied by a hiccup or two. He looked up as his door opened slowly with Severide looking around the door with raised eyebrows. Casey shook his head slightly, giving a tight lipped grin as the door closed again.

"Hey," he started quietly, a finger hooked under her chin easing her face up to make eye contact. "Baby, I never meant to scare you. I know that I swore to protect you and Smudge and that I might have messed up that day. I get that I scared you, and that Smudge only having one parent is our worst nightmare…"

"Matt, I'm sorry, I should never have put this on you…" she sniffed.

"Don't apologise Gabby. I want to know what it is you're feeling."

"But I shouldn't blame you for doing your job."

"Forget about it Baby…" he soothed, pulling her closer. They sat in the silence for a moment or two, before Dawson's hand darted back down to her belly. "What is it Gabby?" Whilst waiting for an answer for a minute, he pressed again, "Gabby?"

"It's nothing Matt, I'm still feeling a bit funny. And the crying didn't help," she confessed. Casey reached around behind himself for his water bottled and offered it to her. She gratefully accepted the bottle, bringing it to her lips fast.

"Baby, about what I said to Herrmann… I needed to be a lieutenant first…"

"I know Matt. I learnt under the best lieutenant in all of Chicago," she smiled. "You won't let your men and women do anything that you won't do yourself," she repeated the line she had heard many times from him before.

"Gabby I do this to protect you and Smudge," he told her. Watching as she have him a confused look, he ploughed on, "I needed to be a lieutenant first and foremost at work. I can't give anything less than my best because if I let my mind wander then I lose focus and something might happen. I do it to make sure that I'll come home to you and Smudge and at the end of the day. I will do anything to make sure that you are safe Baby."

"Matt you can't promise that… None of us knows what the next shift will hold. And losing you," she started to tear up again.

"I know I can't promise that Gabby. But I will always try to make sure I'm safe and home with you. And for me to do that I need to block that you are out there doing your job, because if I lose focus… I can't think of what would happen if I lose focus. Baby, I love you too much, and it's why I do what I do. I'm sorry for scaring you, but try to understand why I did it, please," he begged.

"I do Matt… Sometimes I just need a reminder Babe," she told him as she reached up to capture his lips.

Pulling back a few moments later when oxygen became an issue, that funny feeling was felt once more. "Okay Gabby enough is enough, something isn't right. What's going on?"

Dawson sighed and let her head fall forward onto Casey's chest, "I've just been having some funny feelings in my lower belly. It's nothing, they are just hunger pains or something like that. Food will fix it all."

"How long?... C'mon how long?" he keep poking at her for an answer.

"Since we pulled up at that fire earlier today."

"Right," Casey eased her up finding a way out from under her and then hauled her to her feet. "We're going to Med."

"Mattt…"

"Gabby," he turned to placed his hands on her shoulders, "I won't be okay until I know that everything is fine with Smudge. Please? For me? Let's go see April." Casey kept hold of her until she finally relented and nodded.

"Chief," Casey poked his head into the battalion chief's office. Waiting to be motioned in, he took a step in and closed the door behind him. Standing in front of Boden, Casey was unable to stand still, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet.

"Lieutenant?" Boden asked pulling his glasses off of his face and throwing them onto the desk. "What can I do for you?"

"Just want permission for myself and Dawson to leave shift for a short while?"

"What's happening Casey?" concern evident in his voice.

"Dawson keeps telling me it's nothing. But she's feeling funny, and I need to make sure everything is okay. I want to take her over to Chicago Med," he told his boss, his eyes continually darting towards the door.

"Go Casey," dismissed Boden

"Thanks Chief" Casey hurried towards the door. His hand had closed around the cold metal handle as Boden gained his attention again.

"Matt, you call and let me know what is going on, you hear? And don't worry about the shift. You and Dawson take as much time as you need." Casey smiled gratefully at the man behind the desk before exiting the room.

"April?" called out Gabby catching the nurse out of the corner of her eye. "Have you got a minute?"

"Gabby," she greeted, "Casey. Is something wrong?" she questioned once she noticed the concerned look at Matt wore.

"I know how busy it is… But I was wondering if we could borrow your expertise please?" asked Gabby

April ushered them into an exam room, motioning to Natalie Manning to follow them discretely.

"Oh, no need for Dr Manning," Gabby protested as she took a seat on the edge of the bed.

"You let me worry about that Gabby," assured Natalie. "Now what can we do for you?"

"I know I'm being paranoid, but with my history, this one over here," she started pointing at Matt, "insisted that we leave shift and come and get everything checked out."

"And?" questioned Natalie as she settled herself down on a spare stool. "What is it that has him rushing you in here?"

"It's nothing," insisted Gabby, twisting her wedding band.

"How about you let Natalie and April be the judge of that?" ordered Matt from his position at the foot of the bed. April gave them both a smirk, adding in that she should probably listen to the lieutenant.

Gabby grumbled as she began to explain what she had been feeling during the shift, "Honestly Natalie, it's nothing. I had a late start to the morning and you know how many times we can roll into the ER in one shift. I haven't had any time to eat. All I'm feeling is hunger pains… I'm just feeling them in my lower tummy, nothing to worry about it."

"And you need to listen to what Doctor Manning has to say Gabby," Matt insisted. Turning to face the doctor he continued, "It's got to be more than hunger pains; I've watched her eat today. She finished off any form of food that was in my office today," he spoke.

Natalie pondered what Gabby had told her for a moment or two. "How far along are you now?"

"18 weeks," jumped in Matt. "What do you think it is? Is everything okay with Smudge?"

Natalie smiled as she turned towards April, "Could you get me the portable ultrasound machine please?" Matt looked concerned as he watched April leave the room in search of the equipment. He opened his mouth, yet words were unable to leave his mouth. "It's okay Lieutenant Casey, just want to test a hunch," she comforted. Turning back towards Gabby, "You get comfortable on the bed… I want to see what's going on in there. And I'm sure it will put your mind at ease… Both of you," she emphasised as she watched Matt help Gabby settle onto the bed. "So how is the pregnancy going? What are the latest cravings?"

Tapping her fingers on her belly as she pulled her shirt out of her trousers, Gabby pondered her answer, "Salt & Vinegar chips," she finally came up with, "All the chips that I can get my hands on… And fruit, specifically oranges," she added.

Matt chuckled at the chips comment, "You should feel sorry for the company. Poor Jimmy thought he was going to be castrated for being the last person with the chip packet and then Otis had to run for cover when it turned out he hadn't bought chips when he did the grocery shopping."

Natalie laughed along reaching for the wand as April wheeled the machine in. Waiting for the machine to fire up, Natalie motioned for Matt to take a seat opposite her. At the sight of the machine an extra-large grin spread over his face, he knew that they had their 20 week appointment coming up but he would never turn down a chance to see Smudge again. Grabbing Gabby's hand, he squeezed it excitedly.

"So are those hunger pains still around?"

"Every now and then… I'm telling you Natalie, I just need to get some food into me."

With a gentle smile and squeeze on an arm, Natalie started the ultrasound machine. A strong fast heartbeat filled the silent room as tears pricked at Gabby's eyes as she stared intently at the screen. Moving the wand around, pressing hard down into Gabby's lower abdomen, Natalie found what she was looking for.

"See that?" she questioned pointing to the screen. The expectant parents' eyes followed the pointed finger to watch Smudge repeatedly rolling and stretching his/her arms, occasionally tapping Gabby's uterus. A smile began to unfold on Gabby's face, Matt could see the cogs turning in her brain but wasn't able to work it out for himself. He gave her a confused smile. "Gabby that's not hunger pain you're feeling. It's the baby, it's what's known as quickening."

"But I didn't think I would be able to feel that for a few weeks yet?" Gabby questioned.

"It's different for everyone… But the baby has been moving around since your eighth week of pregnancy. It was only a matter of time before you were able to feel it. But so many women mistake it for gas or hunger pains," Natalie informed them.

Matt's fingers began to fidget at his sides as he watched Natalie clean the remaining gel off of Gabby's belly. They were what Mama Dawson would call 'itchy fingers', he had been waiting what was honestly a lifetime for this. Obviously, they hadn't had the chance with the first pregnancy and Matt knew that this was going to be yet one more way that this pregnancy was going to become even more real to him. It was like Matt had a bucket list for the pregnancy and this was at the very top. He would spend nights, especially when he had restless nights on shift when the Ambo was called out - he would spend time lying in his office thinking to the future. An imminent future where he would be able to lie with his head on Gabby's belly chatting away to Smudge, feeling him move underneath his own palm.

Once Natalie had cleared away all of the gel and equipment, Matt's warm hand was on Gabby's belly. This was a major milestone in their lives, but his smile dropped slightly when he couldn't feel anything. Grumbling to himself, he moved his hand slightly lower down her belly in the hopes of feeling something. He didn't mind how little the movement was, but he wanted to feel something. After a moment or two, slightly dejected he withdrew his hand. Raising his head to face Gabby, he found that she was having a slight chuckle to herself. "What?"

"Oh baby," she laughed reaching out to cup his cheek. "You won't be able to feel anything yet… I can barely feel anything yet.

"There'll be plenty of time and opportunities later on for you to feel something Casey," Natalie said. "Word of warning, you might be in for a wait, it could very well be a number of weeks before you can feel something," she warned. "As baby is continuing to develop he will stretch and flex her limbs. As you get further along in your pregnancy, you will begin to feel more obvious movements, such as kicking, punching, and rolling."

"So these fluttering will become more persistent and definite over time?" Gabby questioned.

April nodded along, "They will be eventually recognisable kicks and nudges too."

"So many that you will become sick of them," laughed Natalie.

"Now that you've felt it Gabby, you should probably be able to feel it every day. Don't be worried if you can't though. Some days will be stronger than others," relayed April.

"And if you want to get your baby active, I suggest that you drink a big glass of orange juice or really cold water and lay down to wait for your baby to move. You'll find that you'll feel the baby moving better when you're lying down, especially during this quickening stage. When you are up moving around, it often rocks your baby to sleep, so when you stop moving, she is able to wake up and start moving on his own," added Natalie. Gabby had to laugh at Natalie's constant interchanging of pronouns.

"Thank you. It's nice to have my mind and Matt's put to ease. Especially Matt's," teased Gabby, reaching over to poke him in the stomach.

"Anytime," replied Natalie, "Given your history, I thought actually being able to hear and see baby would ease any worries or concerns that you might have. Remember I'm here anytime that you need me. But from the quick look that I saw, everything seems to be going smoothly. Is there anything else?"

Gabby waved her off. "We're seeing Doctor Peterson in a few weeks. I'm sure we'll be okay until then."

Natalie nodded. "We'll let you get yourself together. Pass by the desk on the way out," she farewelled as the medical staff left the room.

"Can you believe we're nearly halfway to meeting Smudge?" Matt questioned, resting a hand on her re-clothed belly. Gabby smiled swinging her legs off of the bed ready to get back up.

"Now can I get back to work please?"

~ Her tiny fingers now have unique fingerprints ~

Hope you enjoyed it ~Em