A few hours later...

A baby! She was going to have a baby! His amazing wife was going to have a baby! Needless to say, Jeffrey couldn't sleep. Eight hours ago, he was still the sort of guy who laughed at the scenes in movies where the 'expectant fathers' go berserk. Now he could sympathize.

It was two in the morning and he was still wide awake, trying to fight off a panic attack. Next to him his wife, the one who was actually going to go through labor, was sound asleep, snoring slightly.

He didn't know how she was managing so well. Sure, they still had eight or more months to go, but his mind had already played out countless disasters that would occur when it was time to go to the hospital.

Taking a deep breath, he rolled over on his side, staring in awe at the beautiful woman lying beside him. The moonlight poured through the window of their room and was making her soft blonde hair shine and glow.

Unable to stop himself, he reached a hesitant hand out and, ever so lightly, stroked the strands out of her face. Cautiously, he slid closer to her. His hand moved of its own accord from her hair to her still perfectly flat stomach.

You never would have been able to tell, and it still put him in a state of put wonderment to know that there was the beginnings of a little person in there. Just thinking about it caused a warm of happiness to spread through him. Despite his near panic attack state, he decided that this was a peaceful time of morning.

His opinion changed however, a few moments later. Skye, who had been sound asleep only moments before, sat up abruptly, her eyes flying open, and hunched over, breathing deeply. Her body lurched as her hand clapped over her mouth, and she desperately kicked at the tangle of blankets before stumbling into the master bathroom.

Jeffrey, not quite knowing what was going on, hurried after her. He entered the small room just as the retching commenced. She looked absolutely miserable.
Still unsure of exactly what one was supposed to do in this situation, he moved forward and knelt down beside her.

Grabbing a hair tie from the counter, he did his best to maneuver the elastic so that it - at least somewhat - held her hair off her face and neck. Then, trying to remember what had felt best when he was in her current position, he pressed one hand to her forehead, breathing cool air on her neck.

By the time she sat back on her heels, sweat glistened on her face and she was shaking. Turing to him, she smiled weakly.

"It's 2:11, isn't it?"

He checked his watch and smiled at her, surprised. "Yeah. How did you know?"

She let out a low chuckle. "It's been the same time for the last three days. I never wake up to be sick until 2:11am."

"Wow, that's odd. Does it stop then?" At the shake of her head, he felt his tired heart sink.

"No, sadly. It usually comes and goes from this point on. You can go back to bed though, if you wan-"

Here she was interrupted by the need to lean forward and loose the contents of her stomach again. Jeffrey, more prepared this time, scooted closer, wrapping a supportive arm around her waist while holding her head for her. The bought didn't last as long, but she was dry heaving by the end of it, and was left completely weak-kneed.

She sank into him without a word, and he pulled her closer. How had she done this alone? A suspicious sniff made his glance down into her face, and he was shocked at what he saw. Not only was she shaky and sweaty, but there were silent tears streaming down her face. Worried, he turned her shoulders so he could look her straight in the eye.

"Skye. Are you alright? What's the matter?"

She bit her lip and sank back into his arms, her tears slowing but still filling her eyes. When she finally spoke, her voice was so soft he had to strain to hear.

"I'm so miserable. I feel so awful!"

And then she whimpered. Jeffrey had never in the twelve years he'd known her, heard Skye whimper. And it just about broke his heart.

"Oh, honey. Can I do something? Can I get you anything?"

She shook her head and muttered something.

"What did you say?"

She blushed and said sheepishly, "Just hold me."

He never thought three words could sound so wonderful. She wasn't one to ask for physical contact of any sort, and this request was a first. He wrapped his arms around her tighter and buried his face in her neck.

"Oh, honey. You never even have to ask."

For a long time they just sat there on the bathroom floor, holding each other. Then, when his knees began to get sore, Jeffrey stood up and ever so gently lifted his wife into his arms. He carried her out of the bathroom bridal style, before stopping to look at her.

"Do you feel like you could go back to sleep?"

"I'm tired, but I don't think lying down would be a good idea at the moment."

He nodded, and began to carry her down the stairs.

"Where are we going?"

"To the living room. If we aren't going to bed I don't see any reason why we should stay in the bedroom. Do you want to watch a movie?"

He turned on the light and laid her on the couch, covering her with a blanket before moving to sit next to her. She shook her head and just snuggled into his chest.

"Let's just sit here. I missed you this last month, you know."

"I missed you, too. People were shocked to hear that I left my wife back in Boston."

"What did you tell them?"

"The truth. I told them that my wife was very independent and that she was glad to get me out of her hair while she was trying to write her dissertation. By the way, did you finish it?"

"Yeah. I finished it Tuesday night. The committee should have it by now."

"When do you think it'll get published?"

"Sometime in the next month or two, probably. What did you learn at Juilliard?"

"Oh, Skye, it was amazing. Berklee is a wonderful school, but Juilliard is so much more than just a music college. It's for all the arts. To be surrounded by so many creative people is just incredible, even if it does make you feel a little uninspired every once in a while. Anyways, the music hall, where we met every day, is insane. I've never seen anything like it..."

Here he trailed off, realizing that the person he was speaking to was sound asleep. Reaching over to turn off the light, he sank down lower into the couch and kissed the top of his wife's head reverently. This had been a good night.

Thank you all for the wonderful reviews! They mean a lot to me. :-)

babybeluga747 - Thank you! You are always so kind. I don't feel like I deserve a reviewer like you.

Babybubble262 - :-) In response to your comment about the soccer, I know. However, this is Skye we're talking about and I highly doubt that she would ever allow anyone to sit her down for a kissing session in the middle of Sydney, Australia. :-) If it still feels unrealistic to you, think about this: I didn't tell about the whole two days. Fill in fluff where desired.

Randomsarcasm42 - I figured it was you. :-) Thanks for the ideas. I will use those! :-)