April 7th

Part 3

Disclaimer: I still only own Norah.

A/N- The usual Beta'ing credit goes to Evie.

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Joanne dabbed at her eyes, wondering how Maureen had survived this. She was only two months into her own pregnancy. What would she do if something happened to her own baby? Could she and Maureen survive that?

"Do you do this every year?" she asked, realizing just how little she knew about Maureen's life before her.

"For the last fourteen years," Maureen said, reaching out for her lover's hand and then gently laid across her stomach. "It's part of the agreement. Mark and I will probably do this to the end of our days." She gently pressed her hand into Joanne's stomach. The other woman winced. What was Maureen doing? "Right here."

"What?" Maureen seized her hand, and gently pressed it into her stomach. She winced, her hand coming into contact with a hard lump. "Ow, you're hurting me. What is that?" Maureen gently prodded again. Joanne pushed her hands off, and protected her stomach. "No more until you tell me what you're poking, because it hurts."

"I was poking our baby in the head. That lump is our nine week old baby," Maureen said, her eyes glistening with happy tears.

"Wow," Joanne murmured, leaning her head on Maureen's shoulder. "That's amazing." She sipped her lemonade.

"Mark and I used to sit up in bed, just feeling for her." Maureen murmured, her eyes shimmering with hope. "He was so excited the first time he realized he had his hand on her."

Deep in her mind, she could see it. Maureen pleading for sleep while Mark begged for 'five more minutes' to find their baby. Then Maureen gave in and got to deal with Mark's excited squeals.

"Am I rambling?" Maureen asked, snapping Joanne back to reality. "I don't know why I'm suddenly so talkative," She shook her head. "I normally hate talking about Norah."

"I love hearing about her." Joanne said. "I really do," Her stomach growled.

Maureen handed her a bag of Sour Skittles. Popping the tart candy in her mouth, she was grateful for Maureen's thoughtfulness.

"Feel better?" Maureen asked, throwing her arms around Joanne. She shook her head.

"I'm pukey and I want to know more," she admitted. Opening the notebook, she settled her head on Maureen's shoulder.

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