Here's the eighth chapter. Sorry for the delay. As of now Tess has completed her first trimester. Now the pace of the story will pick up a bit. Enjoy. :)
As always thanks to suburbs, my wonderful beta. And this chapter is dedicated to two amazing people, WeFallForever for reviewing so wonderfully every time and gypsyeyes91 who's writing I immensely admire. :)
Playlist - Dido - Don't Leave Home.
Tess looked down at the planner in her hands, seeing what her appointments were for the day.
And right there written in big bold letters was her next doctor's appointment - a sonogram to track the baby's progress. Maybe she could take Jason along for this one; she constantly felt guilty about not having told him early enough about the baby for him to have been there for the first one.
Now he'd be able to see what his child looked like.
She got up from the bed and stretched gingerly. Thankfully the morning sickness had stopped and she no longer had to race to the bathrooms in the morning. She looked at the time on the watch, it was eight thirty now. Jason would probably be up and about now. He was an early riser, always up and about by six in the morning. For now, they were living in their own houses but once they got the new house fully furnished, they'd be moving in together. And Tess was looking forward to the idea of living with Jason.
She picked up her cell phone and pressed Jason's number on speed dial.
"Hey Tess, good morning." Jason said cheerfully. Tess cringed just a little. Jason was very much a morning person and Tess was far from one.
"Hey Jason. I have a pre-natal check up today. Would you like to come along?" she asked with a hint of mischief in her voice. Even if Jason hadn't wanted to come she would have dragged him along because she believed seeing the baby was a very important thing and it had given her a new perspective. But she was pretty sure Jason wouldn't refuse. He was thrilled with the thought of being a father and constantly kept his ear to her stomach to see if he could hear anything. All the same she just liked annoying him now and then.
"Tess…do you even have to ask? I mean I'm coming over there right now." Jason said sounding outraged.
"I was pulling your leg Jason. Sure… come on over right now." Tess said laughing.
"Fine…I'll be there in twenty minutes. Meanie" Jason huffed before putting the phone down. Tess smiled down at her phone. Jason was so child-like sometimes. Yet she could see him being the perfect father to their child. In fact she had a feeling that he would be the fun parent and she would be the stuffy one who had to lay down the law. Ah well, someone had to be the villain.
She picked up a huge fluffy towel and walked to the bathroom, to take a nice long bath.
Half an hour later she was all done and she only had to get dressed. She was just sitting down to breakfast when the door bell rang. Grinning she went to open the door. She opened to find Jason pacing outside. He looked excited and nervous at the same time.
"How much coffee did you have?" she asked him smiling as Jason walked in. She shut the door behind and followed him to the kitchen
"Just one cup…" Jason said with a not so convincing smile. Tess gave him a pointed look and Jason crumbled.
"Fine…I may have had three or more cups." Jason mumbled.
"Jason…you can't be hyperactive at the clinic." Tess said groaning.
"I couldn't help it, I was excited and nervous and the only thing that would calm me down was coffee." Jason said holding his head in hands. Tess ruffled his hair with a half amused and half exasperated smile.
"We'll counteract it with some good old breakfast" Tess said as she pulled him close and gave him a sound kiss on his forehead. He pulled away and kissed her cheek, smiling at her. She placed a plate of pancakes in front of him and sat down in front of her plate.
"Tess, have you already seen the baby?" Jason asked as he poured some syrup over his pancakes.
"Yes, I did Jason. Just before I told you about the news." Tess said with a small smile.
"Well…how was it?" Jason asked tentatively.
Tess looked at Jason thoughtfully. She took a deep breath before answering the question.
"It was overwhelming, wonderful and scary, all at the same time. It felt so wonderful to know that there was something so tiny, alive inside of me. Yet the knowledge that there was something so precious inside of me was scary. But I'll never forget the experience." Tess said, her eyes tearing up as she remembered the steady heartbeats that had reverberated throughout the room.
Jason was silent. He took a bite of his pancakes and then spoke.
"You and I can both be scared together this time."
That elicited a smile from Tess and both them finished breakfast in companionable silence. After breakfast, Tess went and got dressed.
She came to find Jason stuffing his face with strawberry gummy worms. He gave her a guilty look but she didn't say anything. After all she too had been equally guilty of stuffing her face with strawberry gummy worms whenever she wanted.
They both went out of the house and Tess walked to her car which had been parked outside. Jason looked at her with a questioning glance.
"I felt like driving. Besides you've been practically chauffeuring me around everyday" she said. Jason accepted the statement with a shrug and got into the passenger side. Tess got in and soon they were on their way to the hospital.
While waiting at a traffic signal, Tess asked Jason a question that had been plaguing her for quite some time.
"Jason, how are things with you and Shane?" she asked quietly.
"They are still the same as they were two weeks ago. He still thinks he's right; I don't." Jason said with a touch of anger in his voice. He still hadn't forgotten what Shane had said. And he was positive that he wouldn't forget it anytime soon. For all his good qualities, Shane had quite a few bad ones like shooting off his mouth and stubbornly sticking to his opinion.
"Oh" was all Tess said. She wanted to do something about it but knew it wasn't her place to do so. Jason and Shane would sort this out by themselves, eventually. Because when Jason held a grudge- which was very rarely – he held onto it very long time. But then another thing bothered her.
"But then how are you managing band practice?" she asked. If there was such a cold war between Jason and Shane she didn't see how they could manage practicing together.
"We're barely civil to each other. Besides Nate's the buffer. I think he's the reason I haven't ripped apart Shane as yet." Jason said in a normal voice. But Tess could still hear the inflection of anger behind it. She sighed loudly.
"Look Tess, you don't have to worry about it. We'll eventually hash it out but not right now when Shane's being such a prick." Jason said patting her arm.
"As long you are happy Jason, I'm fine." Tess said with a smile.
"Thanks for understanding, Tess." Jason said as he leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
They reached the hospital and after Tess found a parking spot they both walked into the waiting room hand in hand. Tess went up to the reception desk and was directed to the ultrasound technician's room. They sat on the plastic chairs, awaiting their turn while Tess told Jason about her last visit here and the adorable toddler she had met.
Soon enough it was their turn and both of them walked into the room. The technician motioned for Tess to lie down on the bed. She then applied some water-based gel and then passed the wand over Tess's stomach.
Jason watched the screen with anticipation. And as the wand moved over Tess's stomach, a tiny figure began moving on the screen. Jason expelled a breath he didn't know he had been holding in. Seeing his baby moving was incredibly exhilarating.
The technician noticed the wonder on his face and smiled. Seeing the reactions on the faces of soon to be parents made her forget all the craziness that came with her job. She then picked up a different wand and located the heart, and the baby's heartbeat filled the room.
Tess looked over at Jason who looked ecstatic. When he heard the baby's heartbeat, his face lit up even more if that were possible. She smiled; this moment had been all that she hoped for.
"The baby is doing well and you are twelve weeks along, which means you have completed a trimester. You are out of the danger stage but do take care okay. You doctor will schedule your big ultrasound when you're at twenty weeks. Think about if you want to find out the baby's gender then. Have a good day, both of you." the technician said as she handed them a manila envelope with the ultrasound in it.
Tess and Jason thanked her and Tess got off the bed and wiped the gel off her stomach. After disposing of the tissue she pulled her shirt down and walked out of the room with Jason.
"So how was it?" she asked him as she hooked a hand through the crook of his elbow.
"It was amazing. I think I'm going to frame this." Jason said smiling at Tess. Tess laughed and both of them walked out the hospital, thrilled at the way things were going so far.
Both of them got into the car.
"Where to now?" Jason asked expectantly.
"Well, I need to get some groceries, go looking for baby furniture and then also get supplies for the baby. Then I think we need to make an announcement to the press. I'd rather we tell them before they find out from some other source." Tess said, as she reversed out of the hospital parking lot.
"There's so much to do!" Jason said with a horrified look.
"Wait till the baby comes; we won't have time to breathe then." Tess said laughing at the expression on Jason's face.
"I don't mind anything that comes along. As long as you, the baby and I are together, I'll be happy." Jason said as he leaned over and gave Tess a kiss. And Tess knew that come what may, she would happy.
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