AN: Hey everyone, I was able to have this one finished earlier than I expected and decided to post early since we are expecting bad weather (it's hurricane season) and I didn't want the internet to go down and leave you guys waiting,
It's a bank holiday here in Barbados and in the other Caribbean countries which were under British rule. Today is Emancipation Day (slavery was put to an "end" in 1834. I put that in " " because there was still an apprenticeship period, so the slaves weren't completely free until 1838.) For the guest that asked about Crop Over, it's our major cultural festival. Historically, it was a time of great celebration by the slaves after the end of the sugar crop season (hence the name). It was re-born in 1974, so this year, we are celebrating the 40th anniversary. Crop Over is practically synonymous with calypso music, costumes, revelry and a lot of fun.
Enough of my history lesson and cultural exchange, let's get on to the story.
Thanks for your support so far, it is truly appreciated.
Full House (Part 3): Words:7,380
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Saturday, March 7th 2026
"Mommy!" Sarah heard two voices yell after they opened the door and popped their heads in. Sarah turned her head to the source of her interruption from her attempt at sleeping in. She kept her eyes, closed, relishing in the warmth of the covers as she heard the sound of footsteps approaching. When Sarah opened her eyes, she was met by two pairs of chestnut brown eyes looking at her expectantly.
"Good morning you two." Sarah said as she stretched and propped up against the headboard, noticing that Chuck's side of the bed was empty.
"Morning Mommy." They replied in unison and climbed into bed with her.
"Now what did I tell you guys about knocking before you enter a room?"
They looked at each other, before the older of the two; Levi spoke up, "You said that we should knock."
"Exactly. And did either of you knock before you entered?" Sarah asked them.
This time Lisa spoke up, "But Mommy, you said that we should knock, not that we have to." She quipped and her twin nodded in agreement.
Sarah fought down the smile at their likeness to their father. "OK Mr. and Ms. Smarty Pants." Sarah said and ruffled both Levi's and Lisa's dirty blond hair. "When the door is closed, you have to knock before you enter a room," Sarah said, making sure there was no room for another interpretation.
"Ok Mommy." They mumbled.
"Where's your father?" Sarah asked them.
Levi shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. We woke up and CJ and Emily and Shamia were downstairs. "
"Daddy wasn't here though." Lisa added.
Sarah frowned. She was really hoping to talk to Chuck soon. "Ok, well come on. Let's go see what your brother and sisters are doing and then I'll make some breakfast." Sarah said and pulled the covers off of her. The twins followed suit and got off the bed.
"Can we have pancakes?" Levi asked, his eyes lighting up at the thought.
"Sure. I think we have all the ingredients."
"Are we going to make blueberry pancakes? Or chocolate chip? Or the normal ones?" Lisa persisted.
"We can decide that when we get downstairs." Sarah told them while she wrapped her robe around her sleepwear.
"Mommy, Mommy! Look!" Levi said stopping her from making her journey to the bathroom.
"What is it?"
"We got dressed all by ourselves." Lisa said proudly as the twins twirled in front of her to show off their outfits.
Sarah took in the curly-haired four year olds before her, her eyes roaming from head to toe. Levi was wearing his Justice League swim trunks, a white Star Wars T-Shirt with Chewie on the front, white socks which came to his knees and his pair of red converse. Lisa on the other hand, was wearing her Rapunzel costume from last Halloween, and a pair of brown slippers. "I can see that." Sarah said. I don't even want to know how she found that costume.
"So Mommy, how do we look?"
"Your outfits are..um, interesting. Very colourful." Sarah said.
The twins smiled at the compliment. "Thanks Mommy." Lisa said.
"See, I told CJ we could get dressed on our own." Levi added.
"Yea!" Lisa joined in. "That means we're big now. So CJ shouldn't treat us like babies anymore."
Sarah chuckled at their attempts to be independent and assert their supposed maturity to their brother. "Did you guys actually shower first?"
They both shook their heads no, and for that, Sarah was thankful. It was one thing to have your four-year olds attempt to dress themselves but she didn't want them in the bathtub unattended. "Ok, good. Let me use the bathroom first, and I'll join you guys downstairs."
"Ok Mommy." Levi said and tugged his sister along out of the room.
Sarah was glad she got the twins to leave, as she felt the herbal tea from last night making its way back up. She rushed into the bathroom and heaved into the toilet bowl. When the morning sickness seemed to pass, Sarah sat on the floor and leant against the bathtub.
"Mommy," she heard a small voice cry out and opened her eyes to see Lisa standing in front of her, her Smurfette stuffed toy in hand. "Mommy sick?" She asked and sat next to her mother on the floor. "Please don't be sick Mommy." She said and pulled some stray hair from Sarah's face.
"Baby, Mommy's OK." Sarah said as she got up. She noticed Lisa had tears and uncertainty in her eyes. Sarah bent down and hoisted her on her hip. "Hey, don't cry. Mommy's OK. I'm not sick."
"Pinky promise?" She asked holding out her finger.
"Yes, pinky promise." Sarah said and locked her little finger with her daughter's and placed a kiss on her temple.
Sarah set her down to her feet and washed her face before brushing her teeth. Lisa was still watching her every move.
"But if you're not sick, then why are you throwing up Mommy?" The little girl asked.
Sarah brushed her teeth and gargled with mouthwash before turning to face her daughter. She then took her hand and led her out of the bathroom and into the adjoining bedroom. They both sat on the bed, facing each other. "Sweetie, you know sometimes you eat too much and then you get a tummy ache?" Lisa nodded. "Well, that's probably what happened to Mommy, and my body is just trying to get rid of it". So that was a little white lie...
"Oh OK, Mommy." The little girl said, a toothy smile, which showed her bucked front teeth finally gracing her pretty face.
"Don't worry about me. Mommy's just fine." Sarah said.
/\
Sarah and Lisa entered the kitchen and Sarah immediately groaned at the sight. Their kitchen looked like if a food bomb had gone off. Their dog, Chazzie whom they had adopted a week ago, was on the floor lapping at some spilled milk. Her eyes roamed from one of her children to the next. Levi was on the floor, still dressed in his outfit from before minus the Converse, with a colouring book in front of him, and crayons sprawled over the floor and was helping himself to a bowl of strawberries, the juice from the fruit dripping on his clothes and staining them. She then looked at her eldest, he was covered in what she assumed to be flour, and his brown hair was practically unrecognizable. Shamia was working on extracting orange juice from some oranges which were on the counter. And Emily was apparently trying to crack some eggs, unfortunately most of the eggshells ended up in the bowl rather than in the trash. Sarah almost screamed.
"What on earth are you guys doing?" Sarah asked, grabbing the attention of everyone in the room. All five children looked at each other, deciding who should speak. The front door opened before CJ, who was selected as their spokesman began to speak. "None of you move." Sarah commanded before leaving the room,
"Hey baby." Chuck said when he saw Sarah walking towards him.
"Hey yourself." Sarah said and gave him a short kiss. "You went running." Sarah observed, taking in his attire. Chuck was wearing a grey V neck T-shirt and jogging pants which came to his knees and a pair of Nike sneakers.
"Yea, and I planned to be back earlier, but I was cornered into talking with two of the moms from the PTA at CJ's school. You know how some of those moms are."
"I missed you." Sarah pouted.
"I missed having you wake up in my arms too. But really, I hoped to be back before you guys woke up."
"It's OK." Sarah said. "I've got something to show you though." She said and pulled Chuck into the kitchen.
"What the-" Chuck said as he saw the mess in the kitchen. "What happened here?" He asked no one in particular.
"That's what I would like to know. The kids were just gonna explain before you got here." Sarah said, casting a pointed look at each of them. "Ok, talk."
"We were making, or should I say trying to make breakfast." CJ explained. "I was doing the pancakes, Emily was gonna crack the eggs and I'd scramble them, Shamia was gonna make the orange juice and Levi was supposed to take out fruits for the fruit salad. Lisa was supposed to distract you so we would have time to finish."
Sarah relaxed and smiled, "Though it didn't go as planned, this is very sweet of you guys. Now come on, let's clean up a bit and then all of us can work on breakfast."
"And after that, we need to pack a picnic basket, 'cause we're going to the beach." Chuck announced.
~/0/~
Later that night
Maybe I could just put an eviction notice on one of the guest bedroom doors, and the date to be moved out would be the baby's due date. Or I could give him a card that reads 'It's all your fault' and in the inside, it could have congratulations, your swimmers won the race. Prize to be claimed in eight months. No...Ugh... I'm going to go insane with this...
"Chuck," Sarah said as they were lying in bed, with him spooning her. "There's something we need to talk about." She continued and turned so that they were now facing each other.
"Ok." Chuck said. "I'm all ears." he noticed Sarah was a bit hesitant and continued. "So this chat...I mean, are we talking like a chit chat or a FDR fire side chat?"
"No, everything is fine." Sarah assured him. "It's just something I have to tell you."
"Okkkk," He drawled. "Is it a big deal?"
"No" she said not looking at him. "I mean maybe. Yes." Of course it's a big deal; you're pregnant for crying out loud. Chuck was looking at her questioningly, so she pulled her thoughts together. "Ok. I love you Chuck, that's the first thing. And I really love being with you, and I love our family."
"Ditto." He said beginning to get nervous.
Sarah took a deep breath. "I've wanted to tell you earlier, but I hardly had you to myself for more than a couple of minutes and then I was trying to find a creative way to say it, but...Now I'm just going to come on out and say it. "I'm pregnant." She breathed. There, I finally said it.
Chuck did a double take, and Sarah felt his body tense. "You're what?" He asked, not even bothering to hide the surprise clearly infiltrating his voice.
"I'm pregnant." Sarah repeated and propped herself up against the headboard.
Chuck did the same. His face went slack, as he stared wide-eyed at nothing in particular in the room. Sarah watched him closely, waiting for him to say something, but it was like if Chuck was frozen or under some spell, she could barely tell he was breathing. Chuck let out a deep sigh, and opened his mouth to speak, but snapped it shut and gulped. Then he opened it again, this time with more success in speaking, "You said you're pregnant? As in we are going to have baby number six?" He asked her, his voice raspy and barely audible.
"Yes Chuck." Sarah said exasperatedly. She knew this was a shock, but she really needed to find out how Chuck felt about the news.
Chuck hopped from the bed and stood up. He wiped his forehead with his hand and began pacing the room. Sarah watched his every move intently. "Sarah! How on earth could you be pregnant?"
OK, so maybe my Mom was wrong…Chuck doesn't seem to be happy about the baby. "Well Chuck," Sarah began, as if she were talking to one of her smaller children. "When a man and woman get physically intimate, there is- " she stopped when Chuck shot her a dirty look that said 'really?' "Come on Chuck!" Sarah said beginning to grow agitated. Yes this pregnancy was unexpected, but did Chuck really have to act like that? "It's not like I planned this." Sarah said and got out of bed, crossing the room so she could reach him. She came to stand in from of him and took his clammy hands in hers. "Chuck, I know you're in shock, but this baby is going to come whether you like it or not, and it's unfortunate if you don't want another baby, because I love him or her already and I am going to make sure they have the life he or she deserves." Sarah said with tears in her eyes as the horrid thought of Chuck not being happy about the pregnancy.
Chuck's hazel eyes snapped in anger and hurt at those words. "Sarah." Chuck said, his voice laden with emotion. "How can you say that? I'm sorry if the way I acted just now made you think I didn't want this baby. I was just overwhelmed. I don't care that this baby isn't planned for. We've got plenty of money to provide for all of the kids financially and even more importantly, more than enough love to support them emotionally." Chuck said and wiped her tears away. "I was just freaking out. I'm sorry. But you have to know that I love you and I love our family." Chuck said with conviction before leaning down to capture her lips in a kiss.
They both smiled when the kiss finished and climbed back into bed.
"When did you find out?"
"Yesterday when I went to the doctor." Sarah said, "And that reminds me, we have an appointment next week so we can hear the baby's heartbeat."
"I can't wait." Chuck said with a smile on his face as he remembered the previous times he had heard the other kid's heartbeats for the first time. "And who knows, this baby might finally even out the sexes in this house. We men have been outnumbered for far too long." Chuck joked.
"You do remember what happened last time when we tried to even things out and we ended up with twins." Sarah laughed.
"Yea, that was a big surprise." Chuck said as he stroked Sarah's back. "When do you want to tell the kids and the rest of the family?"
"I want to wait until I'm out of my first trimester." Sarah said, the words of her doctor about the risks and possible complications during late pregnancies still running through her mind. "Then we can tell everyone else. But my Mom knows, I told her yesterday." Sarah confessed.
"Oh, so that's what was going on when I came upstairs." Chuck commented.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you first. I just wasn't sure how to or how you would process the news."
"Hey, it's OK." Chuck assured her. "But what about you? Are you ok?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I know pregnancies after thirty-five are high risk."
"I admit I am worried about any possible complications I might have. But my doctor said I'm as healthy as a horse, so she doesn't think I'll have any major complications."
"And you're happy?"
"Yes Chuck, I'm very happy."
"Good. Cause that's all I ever wanted; for you to be happy."
"When I have you, the most gorgeous, caring, sweet, loving, charming and wonderful man as my husband in the entire world and such an amazing family, how could I not be?"
"Sweet? Gee thanks, for making me feel like I'm eight." Chuck joked.
Sarah smiled. "I love you Chuck."
"I love you too Sarah. Good night."
"Night." Sarah yawned and shifted slightly as Chuck wrapped his larger and warmer feet around Sarah's. She snuggled closer to Chuck, resting her head against his chest as the rhythmic comforting sound of his heart lulled her to sleep. When Chuck heard her breathing even out, he knew for sure she was asleep. And even though he was tired, considering that their day at the beach had been quite taxing on his energy levels, he could not fall asleep. His mind drifted back to their day at the beach and a huge smile formed across his face. They had played volleyball with the kids; with the boys against girls, then he and Sarah helped the twins build their sandcastles while the older children set up the picnic table for their lunch. After lunch, the girls had buried both him and CJ in the sand before they all went for a swim. It had been fun and they'd definitely have to do it more often.
Sarah's news kept ringing in his ears...They had another baby on the way and the thought actually made him quite happy. His family was the most important thing to him and he'd make sure he or she was just as loved and as comfortable as the other children. He stayed awake for another fifteen minutes, his mind bouncing from one miscellaneous thing to the next. Carefully, not wanting to disrupt Sarah's sleep, he moved his arm to hold her tighter and on impulse gave her a kiss on her head. The distinct smell of her coconut shampoo began to infiltrate his nose, helping him to fall into a pleasant sleep where dreams of their future filled his mind.
~/0/~
Saturday, March 21st
The sunlight began filtering through the golden curtains of the master bedroom, and Sarah tossed slightly in her sleep. A while later, Sarah sat up against the headboard and yawned. She'd been up for about ten minutes now, but was hoping to fall back to sleep. Looking over at her husband whose snores were slightly muffled by his pillow, she ran her fingers through his hair and smiled contentedly. Her hands then drifted to her slightly swollen stomach. "Morning baby." Sarah giggled softly. When Devon had been talking to Clara when Ellie was only three months, she'd found it strange for lack of a better word, but when she had first gotten pregnant, she found it actually felt quite nice and she had been doing it ever since. She rubbed her stomach slowly, thankful that the ultrasound earlier that week had gone well.
Flashback
Sarah sat on the examination table, swinging her legs. She looked over at Chuck, trying to gauge his mood. Her nerves were running high, as she was anxious to find out how well the baby was growing. They had heard the heartbeat three days after she told Chuck and her doctor had been satisfied that it was strong and steady. That had been a relief for both parents, but now, as Sarah waited on the sonographer to conduct the ultra-sound, some of her fears came rushing back. Take a deep breath. I'm sure everything is OK. The doctor was pleased last week, so there's nothing to be worried about. She looked at the diagrams on the wall, before resting her eyes on Chuck. He locked his eyes with her. He could tell she was nervous, so he smiled warmly at her and took her hand in his, squeezing it in an effort to calm her.
"Mr. and Mrs. Bartowski." An Asian lady who looked around fifty entered the room with a clipboard in hand. "I'm Dr. Patel, I'll be conducting the ultra-sound today." she introduced herself. They shook hands and got the pleasantries out of the way.
"Sarah, please lay down." Dr. Patel said. "The gel is going to be a little cold." she advised.
Sarah nodded; she had gotten pretty accustomed to it after all her previous ultra sounds. Sarah looked over at Chuck, who smiled at her, and she relaxed. As the transducer moved across her stomach and the image of her baby popped up, Sarah couldn't stop the few tears that pooled in her eyes. The moment was similar to when she had found that wedding dress in Castle, as the emotions once again hit her like a ton of bricks. They were having a baby. Chuck was mesmerized by the image of the baby on the screen and listened intently as the Dr. Patel explained what she was looking for and pointed out the different features of the baby. Having done this a couple of times, he was able to identify some of them on his own. When he felt Sarah's grip on his hand tighten, he turned his attention to her, and wiped the dears from her eyes. Chuck then gave her a kiss on the cheek. After finally checking the placenta, the umbilical cord and the amniotic fluid, the sonographer finished recording her notes and measurements of the baby.
"Everything looks good." She told the two parents. "The baby is progressing normally. I will forward my notes and measurements to Dr. Blackett."
"Thank you." Chuck said.
The doctor smiled at them. "You're welcome."
End flashback
/\
Sarah finished talking to the baby, before deciding to go have a shower. She slipped out of bed, and headed to the bathroom. Sarah stripped herself of her nightie and stepped into the shower. Turning on both faucets, she tested the water after a minute, making sure it was good enough for her. When she stepped under the warm stream of water, letting in run down the entire length of her body, Sarah slipped her eyes shut, just allowing her mind to go blank as the warm water soothed her. She enjoyed moments like this; the quiet ones when she got to be alone for a little while. Not that she didn't love her children, cause did she ever; she loved them fiercely and would hunt down anyone who ever tried to hurt them. (If you thought Giant Blond She-Male was bad, Giant Blond Mamma Bear was oh so much worse). In these quiet moments, she wasn't confronted by their frequent petty squabbles, during which she had to be the voice of reason, nor their whining when she and Chuck refused to let them have their own way. In a house with five children, peace and quiet was hard to come by, so when the opportunity did present itself, she took the time to relax and decompress.
In times like this, that she truly got some peace and quiet.
She took the shampoo from its place in the rack and palmed a generous amount before lathering her hair. She sighed softly; she had gotten accustomed to Chuck helping her wash her hair over the years. She loved the way his fingers would massage her scalp, as he was careful not to apply to much pressure...and of course, the majority of times, his fingers would wander and their shower would last way longer than she had originally intended. Sarah's cheeks flushed as her mind replayed some scenes from their romps in the shower and she quickly attempted to shake the thoughts from her mind, concentrating instead on rinsing the shampoo out.
Briefly, she contemplated stepping out of the shower and going to wake up Chuck so he could join her, but she knew he was probably tired from Movie night as they'd been up until 11:30, and then she had kept him up for a session of love making until her legs felt like Jell-O and they were both exhausted. And to top it all off, she had woken up at four with a craving for mangoes with salt. Chuck had insisted that he be the one to go get it, but Sarah protested and said that she could wait until daylight. He had argued that if she was craving, he would satisfy it. However, she kissed him hard and assured him it was fine. After she coaxed him, he finally agreed and hopped out of bed. Sarah was surprised when he left the room and waited upon his return. The thought that he did decide to go out crossed her mind, until she remembered he was only wearing his boxers. Still, she listened for the sound of his car roaring to life. Five minutes later, Chuck came back, carrying a cereal bowl in his hand and a bottle of water in the next. She smiled at him, when she saw that he had made her a fruit salad as a consolation for the mangoes until they could get some later.
Sarah smiled at the memory. Every day, she realised just how much of a gift Chuck was. He was so warm, so loving, extremely attentive and loyal. And she made sure she knew how much she cherished him; just as she'd promised in her wedding vows. After rinsing her hair the second time with the shampoo, Sarah returned it to its station and picked up the bottle of conditioner and worked a handful of it into her hair.
She saw a silhouette in the shower glass and for a brief moment was on alert. She relaxed when the shower door opened and saw it was Chuck. He smiled at her when he stepped in, and stood behind her, his hands resting loosely around her stomach, which had the beginnings of a small bump.
"Good morning." Chuck whispered in her ear before placing a kiss on her cheek.
"Good morning." Sarah said and turned in his arms.
"I missed waking up with you in my arms." Chuck told her, rubbing his hands along her arms.
Sarah smiled apologetically. "So did I, but I woke up early and thought I'd get an early start to the day."
Chuck nodded. "How are you feeling?"
"Quite good actually." Sarah smiled. "I haven't thrown up yet, so I guess the baby was satisfied with the fruit salad even if it didn't have in mangoes."
"Speaking of mangoes," Chuck began, a smile forming on his lips. "I've got some waiting for you downstairs."
"What? When did you have time to go for them/ where did they come from?"
"I went to the grocer this morning around five." Chuck explained. "And you know, she's Caribbean, and they eat a lot of mangoes there. Anyway, she helped me choose which types to buy. I've got the Julie; she said they are the sweetest in her opinion, the Pawee and the Long Mango. According to her, in the Caribbean, they usually eat the harder ones which aren't fully ripe with salt, so I bought some of those too."
Sarah looked at him while he was speaking. How did I ever get so lucky? Chuck is amazing. "Chuck thank you." She said earnestly.
"It was no biggie." Chuck downplayed it. "I told you, I'm going to do my best to make sure this pregnancy is as comfortable as possible, and if that means going out weird hours of the night or early in the morning to satisfy some craving, then so be it."
Sarah shook her head no. She could feel the tears pricking at her eyes, but thankfully, the water was still dripping on their bodies, so it would mask any that did fall. "That's not what I meant." She clarified. "Thanks for that too, but I really wanted to say thank you for everything. Before I met you, I didn't think I would ever fall in love with anyone, or love so fiercely."
Chuck tried to interrupt her, but she placed her forefinger on his lips. "Let me finish." Chuck nodded, droplets of water falling from his hair as he did so. "I want to thank you for loving me, for being so selfless and loving, and for giving me everything I've ever dreamed of...Our family, the kids, our home...I love it all, and I wouldn't trade it for anything."
"I love you." Chuck said. She would never get tired of hearing that because she knew he meant it from the bottom of his heart.
"And I love you too." She would never get tired of saying it either. After having said it the first time all those years ago, it now came naturally, but earnestly. Sarah closed the small gap between them and grabbed Chuck by the back of his head, bringing his lips to hers.
Chuck manoeuvred them, so that she was now pressed against the tiles, and had the presence of mind to turn off the water...Conserving water... Sarah's arms came around his back, hugging him closely, while he maintained a firm but gentle grip on her waist.
Sarah moaned softly when he began stroking her back, and his tongue caressed hers oh so softly, oh so torturously. When Chuck pulled away, a satisfied smile graced his face when he saw Sarah's hazy gaze and the desire in her eyes, but he had no doubt he was probably the same. Because yes, even after five, soon to be six children and fourteen years of marriage the passion and desire for each other was still there.
Sarah took him in, her eyes roaming from head to toe, and lingering on some areas more than others. The water rolled off of Chuck, from his brown hair down to his muscular chest and Sarah bit her tongue as a flame ignited inside of her. "The kids won't be up for about another hour and a half." Chuck told her and stepped closer to her. "And I have the perfect idea on how to pass the time." He smirked while wiggling his eyebrows. Sarah didn't trust her voice at the moment, so she smiled welcomingly at him.
An hour later, they emerged from the shower, clean and satisfied, with matching grins on their faces.
/\
Weekends, Saturdays especially were considered lazy days, as such, unless the family had pressing engagements, they would usually spend the day catching up on TV shows or movies, a trip either to the mall or supermarket and after lunch, Chuck and Sarah would help the kids with their homework while in the evening, they would go to the nearby park or visit their other family members.
Sarah and Chuck assembled their children into the living room after breakfast was over and the dishes had been taken care of. The kids sat down on the couch, while the oldest, CJ, was sitting on the arm rest.
"Ok guys, there's something your mother and I have to tell you." Chuck said.
"Before we do that Daddy." Emily spoke up. "There's something I need to tell you guys."
Sarah sighed, ready for the drama to begin. "What is it Emily?"
"CJ owes me five dollars for making up his bed since last week and he hasn't paid me yet." She accused, rising from her seat to stand in front of CJ.
"Hey! That's not true!" CJ defended, also standing up. He was much taller than her, and glared down at her.
"Yes it is." Her blue eyes flashing with anger.
"No it's not." He scowled.
"Yes it is." She insisted, glaring at her older brother.
Chuck leaned over to Sarah smiling. "She IS her mother's daughter" he whispered. "Oh so stubborn and insistent."
Sarah slowly turned her head and looked at Chuck...the same way Emily looked at CJ. The Death Stare. Uh oh.
Chuck gulped and cleared his throat. "That's enough from the two of you." Chuck said interrupting their bickering.
"But Dad!" They whined. Chuck silenced them with a look.
"Mom!" They tried looking at Sarah, but she was having none of it and shook her head at both of them.
"Not a word for either of you." Sarah said sternly.
The two eldest children sat on the couch, their arms folded across their chests. "I'll give all of you guys five dollars. You can put it in your piggy banks. But in the future, make up your own beds; don't shirk the work off to someone else." Chuck said giving them pointed looks. "Are we clear?"
He got mutterings of 'Fine Daddy.' and 'Yea.' from the oldest three and two head nods from the twins even though they didn't make up their beds yet.
"Good. Now that that's settled. We have an announcement." Sarah said looking at Chuck and then back at her children. She took a deep breath. "You guys will be having a little brother or sister in a couple of months."
All of them were shocked, but CJ was the first to speak. "But you're so old!"
Sarah frowned slightly. They weren't that old, and besides, she and Chuck looked good for their age. They had managed to keep fit, a huge thanks to constantly running after their children and their couple workout sessions with Morgan, Alex, Ellie and Devon. During those sessions, either she or Devon took charge, with Devon placing a heavy emphasis on cardio.
"CJ, we are both thirty-eight. Lots of couples have had babies much later. The oldest woman to give birth according to some reports was seventy years old and according to the Guinness Book of World Records, sixty-six. I think we're pretty good."
He looked pensive at that moment before shrugging and said, "Well I hope it's a boy. Then l can teach him and Levi to play Call of Duty and League of Legends and go camping with Uncle Casey and all that stuff." He smiled.
"Well I hope it's a girl." Emily said glaring at her brother. "Then we can play dress up and go shopping with Auntie Carina and Zondra when they come to town."
"And have tea parties." Shamia commented.
"You guys won't do any of that stupid girly stuff with the baby." CJ said.
"Tea parties aren't stupid CJ." Shamia said offended.
"And neither is playing dress up." Emily piped up. "You're the one that's stupid!"
"And you're a moron." CJ rebutted.
"Hey!" Sarah interrupted their argument. "Time out. Stop it. Enough with the name calling. Emily, don't call your brother stupid and CJ, don't call her a moron."
"As a matter of fact," Chuck cut in, "if I hear anymore name-calling, there will be no going outside to play, no TV, video games or computer. Zero, zip, zilch, nada." He emphasized, making his point clear.
CJ huffed loudly; he'd already been on a ban for his last incident and did not want a repeat, so he kept his mouth shut. Emily however, muttered something under her breath, which Sarah thought sounded like whatever. "What was that young lady? I didn't quite catch it." Sarah said, daring her daughter to repeat.
Emily looked at the floor. "Nothing."
"Good. Now all three of you. Apologize to each other." That got them all talking at the same time.
"Aw Mom do I have to?" CJ asked.
"I didn't do anything!" Shamia argued.
"Why do I have to apologize to him?" Emily said stubbornly.
Through their legendary silent communication, Chuck quickly glanced at Sarah, and she noticed. See, her mother's daughter. So stubborn. Sarah laughed quietly. He was right, but she was not going to admit that. Oh, you're going to get it, Mr. Bartowski.
The children were still whining but the stern looks their parents sent them shut them up immediately. "Sorry." They mumbled.
"Now the three of you go clean your rooms. They're beginning to look like pigsties." Sarah said. They knew better than to protest this time and left the room to head upstairs.
Chuck and Sarah then sat down on either side of the twins who had been quiet during their older siblings' outbursts. "So how do you guys feel about having a baby brother or sister?" Chuck asked them.
"I think it'll be fun." Lisa said. "And I won't be the baby of the family anymore." she said happily.
"And what about you Levi, are you excited about having a baby sibling?"
He nodded, "Uh huh, and then I can teach him to count and his ABCs and how to ride a tricycle."
"You'll have to do that when the baby is a bit older." Chuck said.
"But why do we have to wait for the baby to get here?" Levi asked.
"Well um" Chuck started and scratched the back of his head. He turned to Sarah for some guidance.
"Well...It uh...Um, it takes a while for the baby to grow and develop. Right now, the baby is inside Mommy's tummy and he or she is only the size of a penny. But they'll get bigger my tummy is gonna get big, like a pumpkin and then the baby will be born." Sarah said hoping that their children's curiosity was satisfied.
"The baby's in your belly Mommy?" Lisa said and she moved closer to her mother.
"Yes." Sarah said and lifted her shirt so the twins could see her stomach.
"But how did it get in there?" Lisa asked, looking from her mother's face and back to her stomach.
"Yea Mommy, "Levi added "Where did the baby come from?"
Chuck and Sarah looked at each other and then back to their children. They communicated silently. How do you explain where babies come from to five-year olds? You don't. You deflect and hope that it works.
"You know what?" Chuck said. "It's really hot and I'm thirsty. Who wants a Popsicle?"
The twins perked up at hearing that, their questions about the baby forgotten.
"I want one Daddy." Lisa said.
"Me too." Levi said.
They ran off into the kitchen, expecting their father to follow. Chuck rose from the couch and Sarah smiled at him. "Nice save." Now that they had told their children, it was soon time to tell their family.
~/0/~
Sunday, March 22nd
Dinner with the family always proved to be an interesting affair. With ten adults and nine kids, they usually decided to have dinner on the back porch as it was less constricted, and the weather was nice. Dessert had just been served and the kids were digging in, anxious to leave the table and go play. For Molly, Levi and Clara, this meant going inside for a couple rounds of Mario Kart, while the younger children would play with either the Lego set or Chuck and Sarah's dog or whatever toys caught their fancy. However, before they were able to disperse, Chuck announced that he wanted to take a family picture.
"Ok guys. Get ready." Chuck said as he set the timer on the camera and ran quickly over to where the group had assembled. "Everyone say cheese." He instructed, seconds before the camera flashed.
A chorus of cheeses erupted from the group. "Ok, one more. This time, everyone say Sarah's pregnant!" Chuck said.
As soon as the words left his mouth, the camera flashed, capturing everyone's reactions to the announcement.
"I can't wait to see that second photo." Chuck laughed.
After the initial shock of the news, everyone congratulated the expecting parents. Devon had declared that the news was awesome, and everyone agreed.
"Dude, this is great. It's like you guys have your own Brady Bunch, the Bartowski Bunch." Morgan said. "Hey Sarah, is there any chance that you'll legitimately consider our request to name at least one of your children Han or even Luke if it's a boy?" The look Sarah sent him let him know that was a no.
"I already tried that buddy. She still won't budge." Chuck said forlornly. "I guess having Emily's middle name be Leia and Lisa's be Serenity is enough."
Casey came up and patted Chuck on the shoulder. "Casey, you know your hands are the size of a bear's paw. Go easy on me." Chuck said.
"Well Bartowski, didn't know you still had it in ya." Casey said. "I'm surprised when you dipped your chocolate in Walker's peanut butter, it was able to make a sandwich. I thought your chocolate dried up a while back." Casey quipped with his usual grunt.
Chuck made a sour face. Casey's euphemisms for sexual activity were always so interesting. "Oh bite me Casey."
"Sorry kid. You're not my type. I'll leave that for Walker." Casey smirked and left to go get another beer from the fridge.
Ellie however, though she was extremely delighted at the announcement of having another nibbling, was concerned about Sarah's health. She had pulled Sarah away from everyone else and asked her about what the OB/GYN had said. "Ellie, we visited the doctor last week. She said everything is fine. I'm gaining enough weight, my blood pressure and blood sugar levels are in the normal range. And we also heard the baby's heartbeat and had an ultra sound. Everything's fine. She doesn't see any cause for concern. I should have a safe and successful pregnancy." Sarah assured her.
Ellie nodded, clearly relieved. "That's really good news. I'm happy for you."
"Thank you." Sarah said.
"There's so much we have to do though. We need to convert one of the two guest rooms into a nursery. We have to go sort through the old baby stuff in the attic so we'll know what to buy. We need to start buying furniture, clothes, books, stuffed animals, breast pump, nursing bras, and maternity clothes of course." Ellie rambled.
"Ellie, we do have a bit of time." Sarah said.
"Nonsense." Ellie dismissed her. "You and I both know that as you get further into the pregnancy you won't want to move, unless it's to go to the bathroom or for food. It's best to start early, that way, we can do piece by piece, instead of letting it creep up on us, and then you're in the delivery room and realise you don't have everything you would need."
"OK. OK." Sarah relented. "I'm available on Tuesday after work. We can go shopping then."
"Great." Ellie squealed, her amber eyes dancing with excitement.
"Auntie Sarah! Mommy!" Oliver, Ellie's six year old who had her hair but Devon's blue eyes came running up to them. "We're playing hide and seek, and I'm it. Have you seen anyone else?"
"I don't think that's how the game goes Oliver." Sarah said.
"Yea Oliver, you know you have to find the other people on your own."
"Ok, fine." He pouted and ran off to find the others.
"I'm going to get a soda." Ellie said. "Do you want one?"
"No thanks, I'm good." Sarah said. In fact, I'm great. Ellie nodded and left for the kitchen. Sarah looked around the room, as the noise from the children playing upstairs and their melodious laughter and the occassional shriek filtrated downstairs. Casey and Gertrude were giving Devon hunting tips (his latest interest), Mary and Emma were talking about the new baby and how big their grandchildren were getting and Morgan, Alex and Ellie were in a corner laughing at something he said.
Chuck walked over to her, a smile on his face the entire time. He came behind her and wrapped his hands around her waist. "Hey pretty lady."
"Hey."
"You OK?"
"Yes. Everything is perfect," Her question to Casey from years ago entered her mind:
"Did it change anything? Having a kid? Did your priorities change?
She could answer that question on her own. Yes it did change something, not everything, there were some things that would never change, like the irrevocable love she had for Chuck, in her opinion, their love grew stringer each day. But what did change was that she had a lot more love to give. Her priorities changed as well. The well-being and happiness of her family was her number one priority. And instead of jet-setting across the globe, and quelling revolutions with a fork, or interrogating moles, their days included getting the kids ready for school and making them breakfast, helping them with homework before dinner in the evening, reading bed time stories, tucking the younger children in to bed, watching movies with them, and stopping their squabbles from escalating. It didn't matter what they did, she found that she enjoyed each moment she spent with her family.
Now, her days would also include ensuring that her health and the baby's was well looked after. And in a couple of months it would also include messy diapers, breast feeding, sleepless nights and balancing a new baby with her other commitments. But she wasn't afraid or worried, Chuck would be by her side, the kids were excited and she had her family there for support, they would be just fine. Her life, though not having an ideal start, had turned out just fine. She was surrounded by love, and warmth and happiness and people who loved her. She was living the life she only dreamed of.
~/0/~
AN: Thanks so much for reading. Please read and review (even if it's as a guest) I'm working on another chapter which will be a sort of epilogue to this one. Hope you enjoyed this one.
Now, aren't you glad I eased your eyes and split it up rather than post a 20,000+ one-shot?
And yes, I teased you with that preview. :P I don't think Chuck would be that crazy to call Sarah old to her face.
Once again, thanks to charahkids for his help. He really helped me a lot, especially with some of the dialogue for this chapter and the previous one. The discussion C&S had when they were trying for baby #4 is almost verbatim of what he sent me, as is some parts of the children bickering. Ck, you're the BEST. *mwah*
Until next time,
xoxo ~ Barbadiangirl.