The next day, the group decided to head to the beach. The air was warm and everyone knew the water would feel good in the Virginia sun. Cal and Loker set up the umbrellas while the girls spread out the beach towels. Cal clapped his hands when everything was set up, "Alright! Who wants to go into the water with me?"
"Me!" Emily raising her hand and jumping up and down like a little kid.
"Anybody else?" asked Cal and then smirked at his daughter.
"Not funny Dad," said Emily.
"I'll go too," said Loker, "Last one in the water is a rotten egg!" Loker and Emily ran towards the water leaving Cal in the dust.
"Hey that's not fair! You both got a head start and you both are younger!" shouted Cal jokingly running after them.
"Be careful honey!" called Gillian though her husband hadn't heard a word.
Ria chuckled as she watched the three of them together, "Cal loves that girl so much."
Gillian nodded, "I know he does. This one is spoiled rotten already and he or she isn't here yet."
The two girls laughed and leaned back in their beach chairs. They gossiped about various things and watched Cal and Loker throw poor Emily underwater numerous times before they all came back, "Gill do me a favor and make Dad behave!" said Emily playfully.
"Believe me Em, that's probably the last thing I could do," Gillian smirked.
"Hey you've been doing it for years at work; you're just not good at it in our personal life," Cal smirked back. Ria and Emily made the sandwiches and got the drinks and everyone ate lunch together.
"So what's the plan for the rest of the week Lightman?" asked Ria.
"Today and tomorrow here, Wednesday, Busch Gardens, and then Thursday the drive…"
"OW!" Gillian shouted, one hand immediately rubbing her stomach.
"Gill. What's wrong?" asked Emily concerned. Three more sets of eyes landed on her with worried looks.
Gillian looked down and rubbed her abdomen again only this time with a smile on her face. She looked up and softly said, "The baby's kicking!"
"For real?" Loker said happily.
"Yeah," Gillian nodded happily as everyone put their hands on her growing swell. Gillian put their hands on the upper part of her abdomen.
"Wow, do you think that's a foot or a fist?" asked Ria pulling away.
"Let's hope for Dad's and Gill's sake it's not some monster like tail," said Emily.
"Smart arse," said Cal and he gazed at Gillian's abdomen with wonder. He slowly rubbed his hand over her bump, "That's our baby love. Our miracle baby."
"Yeah it is," said Gillian with tears in her eyes. A short time later, the Lightman Group and Emily packed up their stuff and headed back to the hotel to refresh before dinner. The group had dinner at one of the local seafood restaurants and even Gillian was able to find food not harmful to the baby. They spent the rest of the evening walking along the boardwalk and browsing through the various shops for nothing in particular. Well, the girls had a better time shopping than Cal and Loker did. They decided to go to one of the arcades while the girls shopped.
"How can guys waste all of their time playing video games?" asked Ria watching them walk out of the store.
"I honestly don't know. At least that way they behave," chuckled Gillian. She went back to browsing the various clothes and picked up a pink baby dress. She admired how cute it was and started thinking about what Cal had told her. Maybe they should find out what the baby was. And even if it was a somewhat painful, having a little girl with Cal would be wonderful.
"Gill!" Emily shouted interrupting Gillian's thoughts.
"Yeah Em?" she asked.
"What do you think of these earrings?" asked Emily holding them up to her ears.
"They look lovely Em," Gillian smiled and sat the dress down on the shelf, "Are you and Ria almost done?"
Emily nodded, "Uh huh." Emily was the only won who bought anything so the girls went to get the guys and headed back to the hotel for the night. Loker disappeared into his room and Emily decided to go with Ria for the night to give Cal and Gillian some privacy.
Gillian climbed into bed while Cal burshed his teeth, "Cal I've been thinking maybe you were right."
Cal started choking on his own spit and rinsed his mouth before asking, "Did you just say I was right about something?"
"Don't get so cocky," smirked Gillian, "But in this case yes, you were right. I think we should find out the baby's gender when we get back."
"What made you change your mind love?" asked Cal climbing into bed next to her.
Gillian shrugged, "I don't know. Just been thinking about it. And like you said, finding out at twenty weeks is just as exciting as finding out at forty weeks."
Cal kissed her on the forehead and said, "Alight then. We'll let Dr. Samuel know at our next appointment."
Gillian smiled and snuggled closer to Cal, kissing him hard, "Good night Cal. I love you."
"You too, love," said Cal as they both fell asleep excited for another day, both eager to know what their baby was.
Please review! Sorry for the wait. It's been a crazy couple of weeks with the end of the semester and finals.