Out Of The Woods

"Mrs. Peacock, put this on and sit on the exam table, the doctor will be with you shortly," the nurse explained. She seemed nice enough. Short, round with

peaches and cream complexion. She looked to be about 35, red hair, and plumber's hands.

Betty changed into a hospital dressing gown and sat down.

Doctor Parker entered the exam room. He looked like a television doctor- salt and pepper hair, smooth complexion, perfect teeth, wire-framed glasses,

medium build, and kind hands. He looked to be about Stephen's age. He pulled on a pair of rubber gloves.

"OK, Mrs. Peacock, I'll need you to scoot to the edge of the table and put your feet in these stirrups. Relax and let your knees fall to the sides."

"Oh! How ignamonious!" she cried.

"I'm right here, Darling," Stephen comforted.

"I don't want the whole world seeing me in this indignity!"

"Well, Mrs. Peacock," the doctor began, "the good news is the baby is fine and you're fine. I don't see any heavy bleeding; whatever was going on seems to

have stopped. Sometimes there's bleeding from you overexerting yourself or from where the baby has implanted. Either way, your baby is fine. The bad news

is you cannot continue to walk and stand around in heels all day. Your age puts you at a higher risk for complications. Therefore, I am ordering you on bed

rest. We want you to have a healthy, full-term baby."

"I have to stay in bed all day? How do you expect me to do that?" she whined in disbelief.

"You don't have to stay in bed all day long. You can get up and move about. No high heels though. You'll need to get some trainers to walk around in. You

will also need to stop coloring your hair."

"Quit coloring me hair? Stephen, do you hear this?" she cried.

"It's what's best for the baby. It's not forever- five months. It'll be alright," Stephen reasoned.

She tried to smile; she'd had a scare and she was trying to regain control of her emotions.

"There are a few more things I want you to do...or actually not do. You need to stay away from tea and coffee. We need to keep your blood pressure down. I

don't want you standing or walking around for more than 30 minutes at a time. No baths. No sex."

Stephen's eyebrows shot up and he sulked, "I can be gentle."

"He's quite gentle," Betty defended.

"The baby can't handle the motion. Orgasms might cause premature labor and we don't want that. The messiness of intercourse could cause infection."

"Oh, 'eck! You try living with 'im! 'E's been all over me from the word 'go'!"

Stephen's eyebrows shot up indignantly, "Doctor, do you have any children?"

"Yes. Four."

"Then you know what your wife looks like when she's pregnant."

"Yes, I do," he said, smiling endearingly.

"All right, then you know what I'm going through!"

"Yes," he agreed, "You can still be intimate; you'll just have to be creative. There are other ways to have intimacy without intercourse."

They both blushed like two students brought before the headmaster.

"Oh, and one more thing: no playing with her breasts. Stimulating her nipples can cause premature labor," he explained.

"Indeed!" Stephen's shoulders slumped and he stared at the floor for a moment.

Dr. Parker listened to Betty's belly with a stethoscope. He held the chest piece in place and slipped the earpieces off his ears.

"Mr. Peacock, would you like to hear your baby's heartbeat?"

"May I?" Stephen perked up.

"Just put these in your ears and you can hear."

Stephen removed his handkerchief from his pocket, wiped off the earpieces, and then inserted them into his ears. His face lit up and his eyes misted, "That's

my baby!"

He gently placed his hand on Betty's abdomen and smiled at her.

"What's it sound like?" Betty asked.

"It sounds like a little horse trotting round in there!"

The next morning, Stephen clocked in at the sign-in book.

"So how did it go? Is Betty a'ight? The baby?" Mel asked sympathetically, "You ran outta here yeste'day like the place was on fire!"

Stephen nodded, "Betty and the baby are both fine. She's been ordered to bed rest for the remainder of the pregnancy."

"So she's outta work now, huh?"

"Yes, sir. I would like to work some overtime and doubles whenever possible, at least until the baby is born."

"I'll see what I can do. 'Ave you decided wha'cher gonna name it?"

"If it's a boy- Stephen Jr. If it's a girl- Stephanie- the female variant of Stephen!"

"You are one vain bugger, d'you know that?"

Stephen snickered, "This is my only chance!"