This is kinda short, and the ending is kinda awkward, but oh well. Alot of people are saying to leave it all as one big story... It's gonna be big. i can't help but feel like people are gonna get bored and not wanna read anymore, but i guess I'll be keep it all together. :) There will have to be a lot of jumping around though. There are sorta big gaps between the kids. Cheyenne was, what? 10 when Jake was born, or around there. So... yeah... Lol. Just, bare with me. It'll all work out in the end. I'll figure it out.
ENJOY! If you do, you know what to do, if you dont, review anyway and tell me how much you hate it. :p i wont get offended. i like hearing all different opinions, so dont hold back.
I woke up and the first this I did is lift up my t-shirt I wore to bed to examine my stomach. Brock came in from the bathroom with a towel around his waist and laughed at me.
"Do you see any?" I asked, panicked. He rolled his eyes and walked over to me. He looked all around my stomach and shook his head. "None?" He smiled and shook his head, then I let out a sigh of relief. "Okay, if I can make it to my due date with out a stretch mark I think I can make it till I give birth."
"Are you even big enough to get stretch marks?" I glared at him.
"Are you sayin my stomach hasn't stretched at all? I was this fat before I got pregnant?" He laughed and shook his head, then kissed my forehead.
"Are you sure you're gonna be okay? I don't have to go in today, I can cancel all my appointments."
"No, Brock… I'll be fine. I'm keepin it in, I wanna spend my Halloween doin what I want, not in a hospital." He raised an eyebrow.
"Reba, as soon as you start havin any weird pains you tell me." I nodded.
"I will. After tomorrow."
"Reba…"
"Okay… Don't you have to go to work?" He shrugged.
"I just don't know if I'm comfortable leavin you here alone on your due date. You could pop any second now and I don't wanna be all the way across town when it happens." He scooted my legs over and sat down. I smirked and took his hand.
"You're gonna be late…"
"Do I have to go?" He whined. I nodded.
"Yes. I'll be fine. I don't feel different or anything, I'm almost positive it's not gonna happen today." And I was right. Brock finally left for work and as soon as he was out of sight I let my uneasiness and nervousness take over. I paced in the living room for about an hour, then tried sitting down and eating something, but it didn't take me long before I started pacing again. What if I start having contractions and nobody's here? Or what if my water breaks? What if I don't get to the hospital in time and I give birth here, at home, alone?! I felt my stomach start to churn at the thoughts. Brock called me about an hour after he got to work.
"Are you doin alright?" He asked in a worried voice. I pushed my nerves to the back of my mouth and nodded, absentmindedly.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Are you sure? I can come home if you want me to…"
"No. Really, I'm fine. I promise." I wasn't lying. I was fine, other than my thoughts.
"I'll be home if a few hours for lunch, alright?"
"Okay… What do you want?"
"Nothing. Just relax on the couch, I'll stop and get us somethin." I rolled my eyes.
"Why do you have to come home then? You're 25 minutes away, that's just a waste of gas."
"Because… I don't want you alone all day." I shook my head as he talked my ear off for the next 45 minutes. I could tell he didn't have any appointments for now and he was bored, I listened, but started getting crabby. My feet hurt from all the pacing, then standing by the phone for another hour listening to him babble about new patients, and stuff he's done today… blah, blah, blah.
"Honey." I finally stopped him, trying my hardest not to sound annoyed.
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry, but my feet hurt and I'm really only listenin to about a quarter of the words you're sayin."
"What? Your feet hurt? I'll come home and give you a foot massage-" I laughed.
"No, I'm just gonna get off them. I'll probably take a nap or somethin until you get here for lunch." Lunch started up another conversation and he talked for another 5 minutes until he realized he was doing it again.
"Sorry, I'll be home in about 3 hours, okay? Call if you need anything."
"I will, sweetheart. I love you."
"I love you too… Call me!" I chuckled and hung up before he could start talking again. I sighed and laid on the couch for about 10 minutes before I heard the door open. I popped my head up to see who it was.
"Hey, darlin…" Nancy said
"I didn't know you were comin over."
"Brock called, said he wanted someone here with you." She explained. I rolled my eyes.
"He's freakin out. He thinks that just because I'm due today that its just gonna jump outta me." She laughed and sat on the coffee table in front of me.
"Well, I don't blame him for bein so crazy. Tell ya the truth, I was kinda worried anyway. I probably would've come over anyway."
"What's the big deal? If I started having contractions or my water broke I would just call him… Labor takes more than 10 minutes. He'd have time to get here."
"Yeah, but knowin you, you'd wait last minute until it's half way outta you until you finally said 'take me to the hospital'… You're stubborn, he has every right to worry." I glared at her.
"Quit takin his side…" She laughed and patted my hand.
"Sorry, honey, but you should be happy he's so concerned. It's a good thing." I sighed.
"Well… He's not helpin my nerves!" She looked at me confused. "I'm scared, Nancy…" She smiled.
"Oh, honey…" She grabbed my hand with both of hers, then she let go and felt my forehead. "You sure you're feelin alright? Where's the Reba I know?" She chuckled a little, but I kept the worried expression on my face. She sighed and dropped her hand from my head. I could tell she was surprised I'd admit to being scared, it didn't happen often that I admitted to stuff like this, usually I'd just suck it up and deal with my feelings, but this was the scariest thing I've ever experienced. "It's a scary thing… And it's even scarier when it gets here. You'll be nervous to hold it, even though you're a natural with babies I can almost guarantee that you'll be scared at first because it's your baby. Your tiny, fragile, little baby. You'll be scared you'll do something wrong or make it cry. You'll be scared it wont like you. Every little thing will scare the hell out of you… But you know what?"
"What?"
"You'll love every minute of it." She spoke soft, with a smile on her face as she eased some of my nerves. "You'll hold it and wont be able to stop smilin… You'll stare at him or her for hours and admire how beautiful it is. Memorize every little detail of it's tiny, little face. You'll cry, but don't think for a second that 'you're too tough to cry' because every mother does. This… little person that you're holdin is your creation. You made it with the person you love the most in this world and for that, it'll be perfect." I smiled and tried swallowing the lump in my throat, but a tear fell anyway. I tried to shake it off and get it together, but it didn't work. I wiped my face and thought about everything I was just told. "It's an amazing feeling, Reba. And I know you're gonna be a fantastic mother. And Brock's gonna be a great father, but it's okay to feel scared, because it is a very scary experience." I smirked and nodded
"Thank you." I said quietly. She smiled and hugged me.
She stayed with me until Brock came home from work. We talked and ate slowly, I could tell he as trying to take as much time as he possibly could before I made him go back to work. Once he finished his food he sighed and cleaned up his mess.
"Well… I guess I better be goin…" he said, sadly as he went towards the door. I smirked and shook my head as he reached the door and turned around to sigh, dramatically, at me.
"Do you wanna stay home, honey?" He nodded.
"Yeah… and try to be with my very pregnant wife, but she wont let me…" He said, still talking in a sad voice. I scuffed and rolled my eyes.
"Are you tryin to guilt me?"
"I don't know… Is it workin?" I laughed and walked over to him.
"You have to call every patient you had an appointment with and cancel." I saw his face light up as he cupped my face and kissed me, quickly, multiple times. I laughed and shook my head. "Okay! Call 'em…"
"Right now?" he whined.
"Either that or go back to work and keep their appointments." he groaned and stomped towards the phone, pulling out his planner that I made him get and carry around, that way he wouldn't forget any appointments. All of a sudden a sharp pain hit me out of nowhere. I grabbed under my stomach and bent over. Not labor contractions, I'd get these all the time and they grew worse every day that I had them. I knew I wasn't going into labor, so I didn't say anything. Brock saw it though and, with wide eyes, hung up on whoever he was talking to and ran over to me.
"What's happening? Are you alright? Should I call Dr. Schmidt?!" I looked up and him and forced a laugh through the pain.
"No, Brock. These are normal."
"No… I've never seen you act like this before."
"Brock. I. Am. Fine!" I snapped, but instantly felt bad. He was just trying to help and make sure I was okay, but I was clearly in pain and he loved to argue. "I'm sorry, but I- why do you push?" He shrugged.
"I just like to be sure… I'm worried."
"I'm okay… I promise." I walked over to the couch still bent over, holding my stomach with one hand and Brocks hand with the other. He stared at me for a while and I tried to keep it under control. "These'll pass… I have them all the time." I reassured him. He still didn't look convinced, but I wasn't lying. After a few more minutes of staring at me he sat down, finally relaxing.
"I heard walking will induce labor." I shot him a dirty look.
"I'm sitting until my water breaks then." He frowned. "I heard a warm bath does the trick too." I added with a smile. It's true, I heard that somewhere, but I knew he wouldn't let that happen.
"No. No way! You're not supposed to take baths, especially warm, when you're this close to havin a baby. Are you crazy?!" I stared at him confused and he sighed before explaining. "Because… It your water breaks, you will have no idea. You wont feel it, see it, nothing. A cold bath would be okay because when your water breaks its warm, but you cannot take a warm bath." I rolled my eyes and sat back. He jumped up and grabbed a magazine from a drawer in the kitchen.
"Whats that?" I asked.
"I had it at work and read it all. It has tips and stuff about pregnancy." I smiled at him as he sat down next to me. "Oooh… My favorite one." He grinned, huge before reading "It says right here," He pointed so I could see it. "you know I'm not lyin… " He cleared his throat, the grin never leaving his throat. " 'Sex," I rolled my eyes already. As nice as it sounded and as bad as I wanted it, I really didn't have the energy. " 'The prostaglandin in semen can often soften the cervix and get it ready for labor, and an orgasm can definitely cause the uterus to contract'." he finished, proud, still grinning. "So…" I gave him a blank look for a while.
"Do I look like I'm in any position to want to have sex, Brock? I'm nine months pregnant, tired, already sore and that's what got us here in the first place!" He tried to hold back a laugh.
"Okay…" He said with laughter in his voice. "Castor oil?"
"Absolutely not. Yuck, no way." He groaned in frustration. "Ooh… I like that one." I said, pointing to one that said 'massage'. He rolled his eyes, but read it anyway.
" 'A prenatal massage can do wonders for back pains, soreness and stress, especially during labor when the contractions get stronger," I smiled and nodded. " 'But, unfortunately it wont help to start labor." I felt my smile fall from my face.
"Why'd they put it in there then?!" He shrugged his shoulders.
"Pineapple!"
"What?"
" 'Pineapple contains the enzyme bromelain which is thought to help soften yours cervix and bring on labor. Eating large amounts will also stimulate your tummy, which could stimulate your uterus.'"
"We don't have pineapple." I stated.
"Yeah, but I could get some! C'mon… wouldn't be awesome to have your baby on Halloween? Your favorite holiday."
"Cant we just wait and let him or her come when it's ready? I feel bad forcing him out with Oils and Pineapple and sex…"
"Why? He's ready to meet us too. Besides, the longer he stays in there, the more likely it is for you to have a C-section." I sighed.
"I wont need a C-section."
"You never know. He could be huge, and only getting bigger the longer he's in there… You're small, Reba, he could rip you in half if they don't do a C-section." I gave him a disturbed and disgusted look.
"He ain't rippin me in half, Brock! If they absolutely have to do a C-section, then I guess they will. It's not a big deal."
"How are you so calm about this?" I'm not… I'm freakin out actually. Instead of saying that I just shrugged. "Don't you want him out? Don't you want to meet him?"
"Of course, I do. But lets just wait till he's ready." He sighed and I chuckled. "You're so impatient…"
"I wanna meet my child!" I smiled and ran my hand through his hair, then rested my hand on the back of his neck.
"You will… In just a couple days." I felt my heart drop to my stomach as I said it and I could tell Brocks did too. He looked as if he had just seen a ghost. "It's alright." I said, quickly, but not sounding very convincing.
"It's just weird… I'm excited, but… Scared." I quickly looked over to him.
"Really?" He nodded and I smiled and cupped his face. "So am I…" I admitted for the second time that day. He rested his hands on my forearms.
"You are?" I nodded. "Oh, good… I'm really scared, actually. What of I mess up?" I laughed and kissed him quickly, then shook my head.
"You'll do fine." He slid his hands up my arms and pulled me into a tight hug. "We're gonna do great…" I whispered.