Chapter 22

Note: Like before, Margaret has still been going in for check-ups every month--I'm just not covering all of them in

the next few chapters.

4 months later---September 18th, 2013

Andrew and Margaret woke up that morning, both wrapped in each other's arms.

"Good morning" he said, leaning over and kissing her.

"Good morning to you" she replied, returning the kiss.

"And good morning to you, too" Andrew said, leaning over and kissing Margaret's significantly protruding belly. Ever since

they had found out, at this point in the pregnancy, that the baby could hear voices and sounds, he did this almost every

chance he had. Margaret smiled--she had to admit that it was rather cute.

Andrew got out of bed, and then walked over to Margaret's side of the bed, and helped her up. The farther along she got,

the harder it was, and would continue to be, to get up and sit down.

"What time is our appointment?" Andrew asked.

"11:00" Margaret replied.

"Well, in that case, we still have plenty of time to get ready and clean up, and do what ever else we need to do before we have

to leave"

1 hr. 20 minutes later....10:20 a.m.

"Allright, I guess I'm ready to go. You ready, honey?" Andrew asked.

"Yeah, I'm coming" she said, walking over to him.

"Let's go then" He opened the door and helped her outside, before closing and locking it behind them. He then helped her

into the car, and they drove the 30 minutes to the hospital.

10:50 a.m.

They pulled into the hospital parking lot and parked the car. Andrew helped Margaret out of the car, and they walked into

the hospital. After they had checked in, they went over and sat in the waiting area. About 5 minutes later, a nurse came out.

"Margaret Paxton?"

Margaret stood up, grabbed Andrew's hand, and headed down the hall with the nurse. They walked into one of the rooms/

"Dr. Matthews should be in in just a couple minutes"

"Thank you" Andrew responded. The nurse smiled, and walked out. Then, about 5 minutes later, Dr. Matthews walked in.

"Well. Andrew and Margaret--hello again" she said.

"Hello, again , they each replied.

"So, Margaret, how have you been doing these last few months?"

"Well, except for the fact that I have trouble sitting down and then standing back up, I've been doing very well"

"That's good. So, you've hit that point in the pregnancy. Have you two decided if you want to find out what you're have this time?"

"Yes, and we've decided that we would like to find out" Andrew replied, leaning over and kissing Margaret, who, very willingly, kissed back.

"Allright, then--let's get started. Margaret, if you could just lay back and pull your shirt up just a little bit" then turned on the

ultrasound machine, put the gel on her stomach, and started moving the wand around slowly. She kept moving it around, until she found what

she was looking for.

"Okay, well, it looks like, in about 4 months, you two will be the proud parents of a baby girl!"

"You hear that,honey? We're getting our little girl" Margaret said, looking up and smiling at Andrew.

"I know--this is just amazing" he replied, looking down at her, and smiling, before leaning in and kissing her again. As he did so,

however, they both started to cry--happy tears, of course. They were finally going to have their own perfect little family--a boy and a girl.

"Well," Dr. Matthews said after a minute or so "everything else is looking good. Here's another picture--just so you can see what your

daughter looks like now. Now I would like you to keep coming in for you monthly check-ups"

"Allright, I'll see you next time, then" Margaret replied. "Goodbye, "

After the appointment was over, they scheduled their next appointment, and then walked back out to the car. They got in, kissed, and then

headed home--they absolutely couldn't wait to tell the family the news--the news that, on top of having a grandson/great grandson, they would

now be getting a granddaughter/great granddaughter as well.

Note: I checked it out, and Alaska is 4 hours behind New York, meaning, in this case, that it's just 8:00 in the morning

in Alaska.

30 minutes later--noon

Andrew and Margaret walked back into their apartment, after having gotten back from their latest appointment--at which they found out that

they would be adding a baby girl to their little family--and they honestly couldn't have been any happier.

It was still a little early to be calling his family, so they decided to eat, and then just sit in the livingroom and relax.

They enjoyed a nice leisurely lunch, and then just sat together on the couch--Joshua on Andrew's lap, as usual. They were watching tv, when,

all of a sudden, Joshua looked up at his parents, put his hand on Margaret's belly, and said "sister".

"Yeah buddy--that's your sister in there" Andrew said, smiling."And we love her very much, don't we?" Joshua nodded.

"Come on--let's both give her a kiss" They each leaned over and placed a kiss on Margaret's belly.

"Well, this is one lucky little girl" Margaret said. "She has a wonderful family who loves her very much." She paused for a moment. "Andrew?"

"Yeah, honey?"

"I was just thinking--now that we know that we're having a girl, we should probably start discussing names, don't you think"

"Yeah, we probably should--after all, we only have 4 months left before she arrives."

"Okay, you can go first this time" Margaret said.

"Allright--how about Katelyn Marie?" Andrew asked.

"Well, I don't know. It just doesn't really sound right to me. What about Hailey Renee'?"

"Mhhm, I just don't think it goes very well with Paxton. What about Samantha Grace?" he asked.

"I'll admit--it is a beautiful name, but I still just don't think it's the right one. (brief pause) Okay, I think I got it--what about

Grace Elizabeth? We could call her "Gracie" for short."

"Finally--a name that we both agree on. It's beautiful--and the perfect name for our little girl" They leaned in and shared an amazing

kiss, before they each looked down and placed a hand on her belly.

"So, that's it, then. Our daughter's name is going to be Grace Elizabeth" Margaret said. It was then at that moment that the

baby kicked. Margaret kind of hunched over a tiny bit.

"Are you okay, honey?" Andrew asked, walking over and putting a hand on her back, looking very concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine. The baby just kicked for the first time. It surprised me a little bit, that's all. Come on over here and feel this"

He walked over, and placed a hand on her belly. "Hey Gracie. This is your daddy. Your mommy and I love you so much, and

we can't wait for you to get here" Just then, as if the baby was letting her parents know she approved of her name, she kicked

again.

"Wow, that was incredible. I can't believe that's our daughter in there" he said, starting to get a little teary eyed.

"I know. It's amazing, isn't it?" she replied, now starting to get a little teary eyed as well.

They looked at each other, and then leaned in for a kiss. Afterwards, they continued to sit quietly and relax, content with being

together, just the two of them--just the two of them, with their son and unborn daughter. It was at that very moment, they

thought, that life was good. Very good, indeed.