Hey, loyal readers. So sorry it's taken so long for me to write an update. My first semester of college was extremely hectic. Between writing essays, studying for exams, doing homework, and obviously going to class, I've had hardly any time to write. I would write when I could, but I could never get more than a sentence down before I had to work on homework. With my psychology, English 101, and math classes, I've had absolutely no time to myself and my thoughts. But I'm on winter break now, and I'll be able to write more. And of course with family coming for the holidays, my mom and I had to clean like crazy before Christmas. But now that things have settled down, I can write a lot more. Keep checking back for more updates! I promise they won't take forever this time.
A/N- Italics in the story indicate Nigel's thoughts.
After they had listened to the heartbeat for a while, Dr. Richardson gently felt around Nigel's belly. After determining that the baby was right where it should be, he took out his stethoscope and listened to Nigel's heart and lungs. Nigel looked at him with confusion, and he smiled. "I'm doing this so I can check for any murmurs or anything like that. It's merely precaution." "Oh. Okay. Hey, Lily, does this remind you of when you had Madeline?" "Yeah. But it seems so long ago, when it was only six months ago! She's getting so big! Oh, when're you visiting next? She loves her Uncle Nigel." "I love her, also. She's so special and precious. Has she started babbling yet?" "Yeah, she has. It's so cute! She gurgles, and her jaw goes up and down, You've gotta see it. I'll bring her by later." "Great. You know how much I love seeing her." "She loves seeing her Uncle Nigel anytime. She always does. Whenever she hears me say your name, she starts to look around for you." "She's the cutest little darling in the whole world. Just like her mommy. If you ever want to go out to dinner with Bug, I'll be happy to babysit again. I love playing with her. And it'll help me practice for when I have this little one." "That's very true." They continued to talk for a while, and Nigel dozed off. Lily snuck out, leaving Bug with him while he slept.
An hour or so later, Nigel slowly woke up, almost forgetting where he was. "Ugh. What happened? Oh, wait, that's right. I collapsed at the morgue, and now I'm at the hospital. My, God! What about the baby?" He turned his head slowly to avoid the head rush that would lead to another bout of nausea, and looked at the monitors by his bed. One had what he knew was his vitals, another was for the IV in his hand, and the last was going twice as fast as the one for his vitals. With a sigh of relief, he turned back to look at his barely swollen stomach. "Oh, thank God. The baby seems to be doing alright. I wish there was some way that I could communicate with it! Well, I can always talk to it, but I don't know if it can hear me yet. And if someone who doesn't know about my situation walks by and sees me talking to Bug, who of course fell asleep, will think I'm absolutely crazy. I don't want to have to recount the whole story of my childhood to anyone ho walks by. I'll just talk to you later, little one! And remember, Daddy (or Mommy, whichever) loves you so much."