Chord waited as the phone rang, drumming his fingers impatiently on the glass-top coffee table. The smell of stir-fry vegetables fizzing in their pan wafted through the air toward him and he breathed deep through his nose, gratefully letting it sink in. He leaned back against the couch and turned so he was facing the kitchen. Dianna was at the stove, her back turned to him so she didn't notice his movement, her mind completely focused on the task at hand. Her short blonde hair had been pulled away from her face in a tiny ponytail and she stood with her weight shifting to one side, trying to blow a loose strand of hair away from her face. Her stomach, increasingly noticeable as the days wore on, could now be seen through the risen hem of her yellow t-shirt, a favorite she wore often around the apartment. Chord was set in a trance, her seemingly simple actions causing his gaze to remain fixated on her as she continued to putter around the kitchen.
He was still holding his phone to his ear, and a masculine voice was what finally pulled him out of his reverie. He got up from the couch, pacing as he talked to the man on the other line.
"Yeah, I was wondering if it would be possible for me to get the day off on Thursday of next week. That or an extended lunch?" There was a shuffling sound and then a soft, irritated sighing.
"I'll see what I can do, we already gave Dianna the day." Chord rolled his eyes as the old information reached him, adding a convincing tone of surprise to his voice.
"Oh, really? I'm sorry, I would do another day but I booked an eye appointment a year back without knowing and they just called me today to confirm. I could reschedule but their schedule is always jam-packed." To say the least he knew it was a pretty lame excuse, but it was the best he had come up with on such sort notice. There was more rustling of papers and then the man cleared his throat.
"Alright, I can give you the day. We'll just have to shoot you and Dianna's scene on Friday."
As Dianna set their plates on the table she caught the very end of their conversation, only able to hear one side but still catching enough to cause her face to light up in triumph. When he hung up she was standing on one side of the table, smiling wide as ever. He grinned back and sat down, digging into his dinner appreciatively. At first she didn't join him, performing unneeded tasks as she bounced around the kitchen. Finally, he stopped eating and gave her a playful glare, pointing to the chair across from him while trying to hide his smile. She pouted and complied, sitting in the chair and starting to eat. Her excitement still couldn't be contained, though, and before she even took her second bite she looked up at him, her eyes twinkling with childlike wonder.
"A week from today!"
"I know, it's exciting."
"And you got the day off. The whole day." He shook his head, still in disbelief at the situation.
"I still don't know how I managed to pull that off, but I'll take it." Dinner was quiet, the pair having arrived home earlier than usual that night. They had been told by the directors that they wouldn't be needed, and they took the unusual opportunity to spend the night in. Naya, Heather, Amber and a few of their other cast mates who had also been let go early had gone out, prodding them to come along.
"It'll be fun, when was the last time we all went out together?" Naya was following her back to her trailer as Heather trailed Chord, the two on a mission to get the ever-drifting pair out for the night. It was proving to be difficult, though, and Dianna shook her head as she opened the door of her trailer. Not waiting for an invitation Naya followed her in, plopping herself on Dianna's couch as she moved around the trailer to gather her things.
"We all went out Monday. I'm sorry Nay, I'm just not feeling up to it tonight."
"Why?" Naya was whining like a child now, rolling on the couch so she faced Dianna. "Do you have a date?"
"Maybe I do, maybe I don't." The blonde turned to face her, miming the zipping of her lips before throwing the key away.
"Stop acting so cryptic, we all know you don't just carpool with him." She tries to hide her laugh but still snickers, having taken Naya's words the complete wrong way. The Latina catches this and throws a pillow at Dianna, missing by a thread as she ducks at just the right moment.
Chord unwillingly lets Heather into his trailer and like Naya, the blonde makes herself comfortable as he begins to look for the few things he'd brought to set that day.
"So…." She begins, drawing out the syllable and then pausing for a bit, twirling her long blonde hair around her finger. "Why won't you come with us?"
"Sorry HeMo, I have plans."
"How can you have plans when we just found out we were being let out early like, less than two minutes ago?" Her hands were on her hips and she'd assumed angry mother bear mode, something none of the cast mates had ever wanted to see. When Heather got upset she'd talk to you until she'd convinced you to change your mind, even if it meant staying mad at you for a while.
"I'm just good like that." He scoffed and puffed his chest out in mock vanity, managing to crack a smile from Heather. She poked his chest, laughing.
"No, but seriously. Do you and Di just not love us anymore?" She was the one who was joking, channeling her inner dramatic as her lips formed a giant pout.
"No, we do! We just were kind of hoping…" He stopped himself, realizing that Heather was one of the many who still had no idea about them. That is, other than the fact that they carpooled. "Wait, Dianna's not going either?"
"Way to be subtle, smart-ass." She started to the door, ready to leave him alone but turned around. "By the way, pretty much everyone besides Ryan knows, and if they don't know they suspect." Heather shuts his door behind her and he's left looking after her in horror. As the lean blonde dancer walks to meet Naya, she doesn't realize that he was thinking about something completely different.
They flip through magazines impatiently as they wait for her name to be called. It's early in the morning, and the only other people in the room are the receptionist and another older couple, this one much older than them. Chord gets half-way through an article and then stops, placing it back on the table in front of them. They've been in the office for a little under twenty minutes, and they're both becoming restless. The door opens and both couples look up, but it's Chord and Dianna they call. Chord shoots up from his seat, eager to move around again. As they meet the woman at the door her face flickers in recognition but she hides it, wanting to keep a professional profile. They aren't the first famous couple she's seen, but by far they're the most exciting.
She leads them to a room farther away than most, through hallway after hallway until they're sure they'll be unable to find their way back to the front desk. It's painted a very light blue, so one would have to look at it for a while to see its aqua tints amongst the cotton white that stands more visibly over it. As she changes into the little robe they give her, her anxiousness begins to set in. She sits back on the chair and swings her legs, looking around the room as they wait once more. Chord's nervous too, the cool back of the metal folding chair against his bare arms causing him to shiver. They lock eyes and laugh a nervous laugh, trying to relieve the room's newfound tension.
Her doctor is an older woman with shoulder length brown hair, oval glasses set on the peak of her nose. She's holding a clipboard and she smiles as she walks in, setting it on a table as she grabs a chair to pull up next to Dianna. Her routine questions are normal; things she's been eating, pains she's been experiencing, and so on. She answers them with ease until it feels more like a conversation and less like an appointment, Dianna finally settling into the chair and relaxing a bit. She gets anxious again when the doctor holds up a little wand shaped device, wheeling a monitor towards them as she motions for Chord to come closer.
The blue gel is as cold as everyone's made it out to be, and it feels strange against her once warm stomach. She jumps a little at the touch and Chord grabs a hold of her hand, rubbing with his thumb as he tries to relax her. It's not long before they hear a little thumping, and then it seems as though the rest of the room goes silent. He can hear the mumbling of the doctor's voice as she explains where legs and arms are, but it is drowned out by the thumping of his baby's heart. He watches the monitor as she moves the wand along Dianna's stomach, the baby coming in and out of his view and then staying stationary. He smiles wide and Dianna squeezes his hand, carrying his attention from the screen to his girlfriend. She reaches up and presses her small hands against his face, wiping away a tear he hadn't even realized he'd cried.
"It's…" She was at a loss of words, unsure of how to describe the little life that was inside of her. In a few months, she'd be able to hold the child they'd made together; they'd be a family. She watched the monitor as the baby's hands moved, trying to picture the tiny being inside of her. "Perfect."