The following month, Rapunzel went for the sonogram that would tell her whether the baby was going to be a boy or a girl. She carefully put her sonogram photos in her purse and, since it was a Friday and she'd called off work for the appointment, she'd go shopping. Her appointment had been moved to an open slot due to a cancellation the evening before, and Eugene had promised to help Levi in a fairly long trip for a book shipment and couldn't call off, since they couldn't tell the store on such short notice- nor did he feel right missing the sonogram, however - so he wasn't with her.

She headed to the local mall and surveyed the infant section. She was about halfway through her pregnancy, and her belly pooched her soft, blue blouse out. She couldn't say she wasn't happy that she'd had the day off, because it was still the 'busy' season at the bookstore. Not that she minded work, but she was happy for a day to herself. And the baby.

In one month, they'd gotten the library transformed into a lovely little nursery, and had gotten a cradle to boot. But they needed everything...she suddenly felt overwhelmed. What were the necessities, and what were not? Faced with an entire section of the mall devoted to infant stuff, she suddenly wanted to run screaming for the comfort of her four parenting books, which she'd purchased as soon as they'd gotten the news. Not that the books gave very reliable information, anyhow - they each contradicted one another! Too bad her sonogram photos didn't come with an instruction manual and "items that need purchased" list, too.

She sighed and decided that she'd head down to the mall's book store first, which almost seemed like a crime, visiting another book store on the day that she was off work at Mr. Barnes' shop! A pleasant jolt of electricity ran through her when she saw the small shelf dedicated to a certain Eugene Fitzherbert's newest book, a mystery that Rapunzel had read in one sitting. Not that it was short - at three hundred and six pages - , it was simply that good. Of course, he'd been utterly embarrassed at the fact that his wife couldn't put the book down, not even to eat dinner with the author of said book. It was well on its way to becoming a bestseller, and he was hopping with trying to keep stores stocked. Two publishing companies had offered to pick it up, promote and sell it for him, but he was a little wary after his first experience.

Rapunzel restrained herself from buying one more parenting book. Then, instead of heading back to the pastel-rainbow of an infant department, she headed to the bath and body shop, which always had plenty of good-smelling lotions. This time, though, the smell was incredibly overpowering, and she practically ran from the store. A very alarmed store clerk gawked after her, the usual spiel of "Hello, how may I help you?" drifting off with the slight breeze created by Rapunzel's departure.

That's a sign that you really need to get some shopping done for our little pumpkin, Rapunzel told herself, gulping down a breath of non-perfumed air before reluctantly returning to the infant department. What was so horribly intimidating? When she returned, she remembered what. Rubbing the back of her neck, she decided that they had at least two or three months before they needed to buy all the supplies, and she'd just window shop, sort of. Get a general idea of what they'd need. Eventually, though, she headed back to her - their - cozy Victorian house, ate a quick dinner after texting Eugene, asking if he would be home for dinner (and getting a 'no, sorry', followed by a sad-face-emoticon in reply), and sat down on the couch with a book.

Eugene came home at nine o'clock to find Rapunzel curled up on the couch, a book held loosely in her hands, fast asleep. He grinned and pressed a gentle kiss on her forehead before looking in the refrigerator for some leftovers. Finding a stir fry from three days ago, he dished it out and warmed it, hoping he wouldn't wake her. While he was eating, though, Rapunzel jerked awake.
"Oh! Sorry. I was planning to have something dished out for you. Didn't you text?" she sat up, yawning. "When did you come back?"
He chuckled. "That's okay. I can feed myself, sweetie. I got back around nine," he smiled at her and she went to the fridge, pulling out a jar of pickles and fishing one out with her fingers.
"No text?" As she asked this, her cell phone vibrated on the center counter. "Oh." she gave him a sheepish grin.
"So, how did today go? I'm sorry I didn't come with-"
"It's fine," she waved it off with a smile. "I told you it was okay. And..." she got up, hand covering her belly, and went in search of her purse, where she pulled the sonogram photos from.
She handed them wordlessly to Eugene, who studied them and the text on them with a faint smile on his face. "Girl?"
"Girl," she confirmed, letting her own smile sprawl across her face.

He reached to grasp her hand over the table, squeezing it. For a moment, he didn't even speak, he just gazed at his wife with a mixture of awe and immeasurable joy. He didn't even know what to say.
"Are you okay?" she asked, not sure if she should laugh or cry. Was he upset? It didn't look like he was, but...
"No! N-no. Wait. Yes! Yes, I'm fine," he shook his head and chuckled. "I just don't know what to say. I'm just incredibly excited."
She laughed, relaxing. "Good. I thought maybe you'd be upset. Maybe you were hoping for a boy, maybe it all became a little too real..."
"No," he shook his head and leaned over the table to give her a quick peck on the mouth. "No, babe. I'm so happy!"
Rapunzel laughed, watching him with smiling eyes. "I am too. But you're going to have to help me shop sometime before Christmas. The infant aisle is extremely intimidating."
"O, brave Rapunzel, pray don't force me to face the Baby Supplies Monster! Pray don't, dear lady! I cannot bear the thought!" he teased dramatically, making her choke on a pickle. Smothering his laughter, he asked, "A-are you okay?"
She coughed, grabbed his glass of water, downed it, and cleared her throat before answering. "Don't tease me when I'm eating!" she reached over the table to swat his arm playfully, and he leaned just out of reach.

"Well, don't put food in your mouth when I'm speaking," he gave her a cocky grin, and she rolled her eyes, suppressing a grin.
"Don't speak when I'm putting food in my mouth," she tossed back, standing up and snatching his empty plate to take it to the sink. He followed her, reaching around her to take the plate.
"I'll clean up," he said, still smiling from their banter.
"No, I can," she shook her head. "I can still walk, not waddle, so-" he broke her off with a quick kiss, which she was more than happy to return, taking the plate and setting it in the sink so he could take the hint and wrap her in his arms. Perfect.
When he pulled away, he gave her a loving smile, plopping kisses on her cheeks and forehead. "You're obviously sleepy, if you fell asleep on the couch before nine o'clock, so you head up and go to sleep."
"Well, I'm awake-now," she started to disagree, but it was punctuated by a yawn. He shook his head, holding back a chuckle, and she grinned in mild embarrassment. "Okay, maybe you're right. Okay. If you're sure, I'll do just that."
He gave her another kiss goodnight and watched as she left the room, climbing the fairytale-like spiral staircase. He was so lucky, he decided as he made himself focus on the dirty dishes at hand.

Little Duckling
I can see it now
Don't know how,
But I can.
The little one as she runs
Around and around the center counter
Watching her parents' playful banter

She'll be like a little duckling,
Her little eyes sparkling
And she'll follow her momma; little duckling.
If I'm lucky, she'll love me too,
But she'll be her momma's little girl.
I just hope time doesn't pass in a whirl.

All too soon, she'll be a swan,
All the boys showing off their brawn
And hoping to catch her eye.
But for now she'll stay in our embrace,
See that life isn't a race
And our little duckling she'll remain.