Dear Journal,

We've just checked into this hotel in the middle of Vancouver. It's quite modest, really. Two queen sized beds and a TV with three working channels. It's nearly eight o'clock in the morning. Neither one of the kids want to settle down, either. Even Baby Whosit is kicking nonstop.

"Mommy, I'm hungry," Zach whines.

"Honey, let me get my things unpacked first, okay?" I tell him, unzipping our bags.

"But Mommy, I'm hungry now," he insists.

"Honey, I'm almost done. Then we'll go downstairs. They've got a continental breakfast."

"Eww... what's a continental breakfast? I just want pancakes," Katie says, pulling on Speid's jacket.

"I'm sure they've got pancakes, sweetheart," Speid tells her.

Zach flops down on the bed and starts crying.

"I WANT BREAKFAST!" he screams.

At this point, I'm so fed up, I've reached my breaking point. I drop my things and go to the bathroom and sit on the toilet and start crying. There's a knock at the door.

"What do you want?" I ask irritably, sniffing.

"Jude, are you okay?" Speid asks, walking in.

"I'm fine," I say shortly.

"No offense, but you don't exactly look fine. I know you have to already be stressed and the kids aren't really making it easier..."

I look up at him and he kneels down in front of me and holds my hands.

"If things get too hard, just tell me. I can take care of the kids and let you go out and get some fresh air... or something. You need to relax. It isn't good for your baby for you to be so stressed out and worried about everything."

I pull my hands away from his and wipe my eyes.

"Thanks," I say quickly. I go over to the mirror and grab a washcloth and wipe my face. I look horrible. I'm not wearing any makeup, I'm dressed in the same style of baggy sweatshirts I've been wearing and my pajama pants have Care Bears on them. "I look horrible. God only knows what's going through my son's mind when he sees me looking this awful."

"Nothing's going through his mind. He's too little to comprehend what's going on," Speid said soothingly. "Besides, you look beautiful."

I stifle a laugh. "Thanks."

"Here. How about I take the kids out for ice cream or something and then you can get ready and stuff. There's a Marble Slab Cremery somewhere around here, I think. I saw it when we took the cab on the way here."

"Would you really do that?" I ask him. "You are beyond amazing. I couldn't have done this without you."

"Well, half of that devilish duo is mine, so I might as well help out," he says, heading for the bedroom again. "Take this time as an opportunity to calm down, okay?" His tone of voice seems anxious and worried, yet I don't know why.

"Thank you," I say softly.

"Don't mention it," he says, going outside. I hear faint mumbling and then screams of joy. A couple of minutes later, the hotel room door closes and I'm left in peace.

Five minutes later, I leave the bedroom and make my way over to the bed, pull back the covers and flop down on the bed. I close my eyes, praying for sleep to come and rid me of this horrible headache that has become my life.

I wake up to the baby's insistent, steady kicking. I look down at my belly and smile.

"Baby's hungry?" I ask.

There isn't much food in the hotel room, so I make due with a peanut butter sandwich and tap water. I'm not really sure why Speid is taking so long to bring Zach and Katie back. I mean, it's nice to have some time alone, but I really need to be with my son. I need to get my priorities in order. We need to figure out a stable living environment, one where Tommy and his fiancee -- or whatever she is -- will have no clue of where to find us. With any luck, Tommy will never find out about this baby and he'll be forever separated from my son... and that's going to be a lot better for Zach in the long run, as well as this new baby.

Eventually, the baby's kicking dies down and I try to get some more sleep.

I'm awoken a couple of minutes later by the door opening and Katie and Zach coming into the room, looking considerably worn out.

"Thanks, Speid," I yawn.

He smiles at me. "No problem. If you need anything, just ask."

I nod.

"Jude, what do we plan on doing about living arrangements? I need to figure out a place where Katie can have her own room, preferably someplace close to you and Zach. I want to know that you are doing okay... I need to know in case you go into labor or something and someone's not there..."

I nod once more, conveying my understanding. I slowly digest his input.

"We could all move in together," I say. "Just two friends and their kids living together... whatever works," I add.

"Yeah, okay," Speid says. "What kind of place? A house, an apartment, what?"

"I guess a three-bedroom house on the smaller side would be more convenient for the kids right now," Speid says. "A room for each Katie and Zach and a room for us and the baby will be sleeping in a bassinet for the first three months or so..."

"Yeah," I say, thinking.

"I saw a place on the way back from the ice cream shop. That's what took me so long... I figured maybe you might want to look at it."

"So that's what took you so long? You go caught up in house-shopping?" I tease. "Sounds like that must have been on your agenda the entire time, huh?"

Speid doesn't say anything. He turns to Katie and Zach and whispers something to them Katie runs over to the bed and climbs into it and Speid turns on cartoons for them.

"How's the baby?" he asks me.

"Just fine. It was kicking up a storm earlier, but since I ate and tried to go to sleep, it calmed back down some," I said. He nodded.

"I'm really excited about that house. I mean, it needs just a little bit of cleaning up and all, but that's nothing we can't do. Just regular housekeeping things and all. It's already completely furnished."

"Speid, how much is it going to cost?" I ask nervously.

"I've got it all figured out. The lady I talked to said that she understood our extenuating circumstances."

I nodded slowly.

"I'm going to go get a map of Vancouver. I'll be back here in about fifteen minutes. The TV show lasts for a half hour," Speid said, giving me a quick hug before dashing out the door.

I sigh. Getting adjusted here might not be as hard as I originally thought.

xXxJudexXx


Please review. This was kind of a filler chapter. The next one should be more interesting. :D

Leanne