Thursday 12th December
8:30am
Jonny, Mo, Mr T and Guy were sitting in the living room, watching the news when Jac emerged the bedroom in a pair of leggings, thick socks and a baggy dark blue hoodie with her hair up in a messy bun.
"Oi, that's my hoodie!" Jonny protested.
"I was cold in the night." Jac stated as she plonked herself down in her armchair and brought her knees up to her bump.
"But you have plenty of hoodies." Jonny stated.
"But this ones comfy." Jac argued.
"It should be for the amount I paid for it. C'mon, it's mine!" He moaned.
"But your daughter likes it. Just think, she's always smelling you too so she'll know you better." Jac explained.
"Smelling me?" Jonny laughed.
"Yeah, it's smells of your aftershave a little bit." Jac said quietly.
"That's why you're wearing it!" He laughed.
"Yeah well, you always put it on too strongly but this smells nice. And I couldn't find your aftershave..." Jac admitted.
"It's in the bottom of my wardrobe." Jonny stated. "Not that I should be telling you because I can imagine you'll be spraying it everywhere now." He retorted.
"Oi, you should be grateful that I like it, Ollie Valentine's aftershave used to make me gag. Literally, I couldn't stand to be in be same theatre as him." Jac stated.
"Yeah but when you had morning sickness, anything made you gag." Mo stated. "Hence the three page long list of items of food and drink that have been banned from Darwin for the last 35 weeks." She added.
"I'm 36 weeks actually." Jac smiled sarcastically as she pulled the sleeves of Jonny's hoodie down, and clenched the excess material in her fists to keep her a little warmer. "How's your phone?" Jac queried Jonny.
"Great, and I've even got a lullaby app for our little girl." Jonny smiled.
Zosia was almost at the end of her morning run where she had been running the entire perimeter of the lake behind their lodge again, only she lost her footing on a patch of ice, and ended up on a heap on the floor. She glanced around to check that no one had seen her fall, and they hadn't, before her doctor mode kicked in and she assessed herself. Because she had been running along a gritty path, she had grazed one of there palms of her hands, along with the opposite elbow. Her knees stringed so through her black leggings, she assumed that they were grazed too. Though the most painful was her ankle.
She pulled her legging up a little and pulled her trainer sock down to check for any obvious bone fractures. After a proper inspection, she concluded that it was just a twisted ankle, with some bruising so she carefully got herself back up onto her feet, and limped back to their lodge which thankfully wasn't far away.
Guy was had just stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist after having his shower when he heard the front door slam.
"Are you okay? What happened?" He heard asked by the others so he made sure the towel was secure before he ran to the living room where Jonny and Mr T were helping Zosia onto the sofa.
"What happened?" Guy asked worriedly.
"I fell... There was some ice and... My ankle, it's just sprained." Zosia stuttered as she sat down and then Jonny stacked the beanbags, then put a pillow on tops of them and put Zosia's foot on it to keep it risen. She had rosy cheeks from the run and she was still a little out of breath.
"Did you hit your head?" Guy asked after she had barely managed to get the words out of her mouth. She shook her head in response. "You seem a little... Less Zosia-ey." Guy smirked.
"It's probably just the shock, and she's freezing cold too." Mr T stated.
"Go on, go and get changed first; I'm fine." Zosia said to her father.
"Fine but don't put any weight on your ankle, I wanna check you over in a minute." Guy said sternly before he left the room.
"Probably best to do ice and heat compresses, though seeing as you're freezing cold, I think we should start with a heat compress." Jonny concluded before he headed off to the kitchen. They all knew that Zosia was a vegan so she wouldn't have any painkillers unless she was in agony so they didn't even bother asking her about them.
"Do you want some water?" Mo asked kindly.
"Um, yes please." Zosia replied and as Mo went out in the kitchen, she found Jonny taking a bag of rice out of the cupboards.
"Jonny that's Jac's." Mo whispered.
"She's not gonna notice a cup of rice missing." Jonny stated as he poured the rice, into a ziplock bag and then put it in the microwave.
"Well it's your funeral." Mo stated as she got a bottle of water out of the fridge.
Guy had just gotten changed so he went back into the living room where Jonny had just wrapped the t-towel wrapped hot rice bag around Zosia's ankle.
"Right, let's have a look shall we." Guy said as he rolled up his sleeves but Zosia protested.
"I've already had a look, it's sprained and starting the bruise. Jonny said just do hot and cold compresses and I agree." Zosia stated.
"Well I'd rather just have a look." Guy admitted.
"Well I'd rather if you just leave me alone." Zosia huffed so Guy pulled his sleeves back down and stepped back. "I'd also rather you passed me the TV switch so I don't have to watch this crap." Zosia stated sheepishly.
"Of course Miss Cripple." Guy laughed as he passed her the switch.
"Call me that again and you won't be laughing." Zosia threatened.
"Jesus Christ Zosia, you have the mood swings of a 15 year old girl." Guy stated. Zosia just rolled her eyes and turned the TV over. "What do you want for breakfast?" He queried.
"Oh um... Just some toast. And some orange juice please." Zosia replied.
"Coming right up." Guy announced before he entered the kitchen.
Mo and Mr T had just gotten their skates at the ice rink so they sat down at the she of the rink on a bench to put them on.
"Y'know, I'd better say now that I'm not fantastic at this sport." Mr T admitted.
"Neither am I." Mo smiled.
"Yeah but when I say not fantastic, I mean I'm absolutely crap." He stated and Mo smirked.
"Well I would say I won't let you fall, but if you really are that crap then I can't promise anything." Mo laughed as she stood up and ensured her ice skates were on properly. She and Mr T carefully stepped to a gate that led onto the rink where there were around ten or fifteen other people skating. "Oh c'mon." Mo moaned as Mr T froze and he wouldn't step into the ice. "Look, at least there's a doctor at the scene if anything happens, and I promise to make sure that your organs don't go to waste." Mo smiled evilly.
"Thank you, that makes me feel so much better." Mr T said sarcastically as he took one step closer to the edge.
"Look, hold my hands and you'll be fine." Mo stated as she step onto the ice, then turned around and held her hands out to help her partner onto the ice. Reluctantly, Mr T took her hands and stepped onto the ice, though he immediately fell back against the wall which thankfully gave him some stability.
"I think I'll stick with the wall, I trust it more than you." Mr T joked as he slowly manoeuvred himself along the wall, holding one hand with Mo as she skated along with the assistance of a wall.
"Jac, where did you put my- you're still wearing my hoodie!" Jonny laughed as he came into the living room in just a tshirt where Zosia was on the sofa with her leg elevated and her father next to her, whilst Jac was curled up in the armchair in Jonny's comfy hoodie and her hands were cradling her bump.
"Shut up, I've got a headache." Jac muttered without even turning her head away from the TV to make eye contact.
"Oh sorry." Jonny whispered as he crouched down in front of her. "How much water have you had?" He asked.
"Two bottles." Jac stated.
"Okay, you had any paracetamol?" He queried and Jac shook her head.
"I can manage without it." She forced a smile.
"Just have one tablet then, instead of two eh? Jac you're nearly full term, the risks are tiny." Jonny stated and he watched Jac as she considered it. "Ill go and get it for you. You want anything to eat? It's pretty much lunchtime." He stated.
"Chicken soup wouldn't go amiss." Jac replied sheepishly.
"Chicken soup coming right up." He smiled as he got up and headed for the kitchen but he stopped at the door. "Zosia, you want anything?" Jonny asked.
"Um, no thanks. Dad's gonna make me a sandwich in a minute." Zosia stated.
"Is he now?" Guy laughed as he got up so Jonny pondered into the kitchen. "What do you want?" He asked.
"Um... Strawberry jam sandwich with... A pack of pistachio nuts and a cup of coffee please." She smiled sweetly.
"Coming right up." He huffed before he went to the kitchen.
When Jonny returned, he had already given Jac a tablet of paracetamol so he handed her the steaming bowl of chicken soup with cracked black pepper on top, and then placed the box of cheese twists on the edge of the sofa for them to share whilst he sat on the floor with his bowl; he didn't want to move her if she wasn't feeling well.
"Thank you." Jac smiled as she blew on the spoon of hot soup, before she put it in her mouth.
"Why don't you go to bed after this? Have a little nap." He suggested.
"I'm not a little kid, I don't need naps." Jac stated although she had to admit the thought of a little snooze did sound appealing.
"Suit yourself." Jonny concluded as he began eating his own lunch.
Guy came out with a tray containing two plates, two mugs, a bag of unsalted pistachio nuts and an apple.
"Do you want me to spoon feed you in case it hurts your ankle to eat?" Guy joked as he handed Zosia a plate.
"Oh shut up. So you want me to be up and about and prolong the recovery time even more?" Zosia snapped.
"God, you are in such a mood today!" Guy laughed.
"So is this one." Jonny stated as he pointed at Jac.
"Oh, wouldn't it be a shame if I spilt chicken soup all down your jumper Jonny?" Jac smiled smugly.
"Yeah but I know you wouldn't because one: it would burn you, and two: then you wouldn't be able to wear it." Jonny stated cleverly.
"C'mon, you're never gonna get any better if you out don't come off of the wall." Mo stated as Mr T continued to shuffle himself along it
"Can you gimme a hand then?" He asked. Mo smiled as she skated closer to him and held her gloved hand out for him. He willingly took his hand, and then slowly took step by step forward, though he kept very close to the wall, he just wasn't technically touching it. Suddenly, Mr T's foot went further forward than he anticipated and he fell backwards. Mo tried to stop him, only she fell too and ended up underneath him on the ice. "Mo, I'm so sorry." Mr T said quickly as he scrambled off of her, he tried to stand up, only he fell back on his backside again. It was only when two stewards quickly skated over that they were back on their feet, and the pair both burst out laughing at their antics.
After going skating, they went for a meal -well, a takeaway that they ate on the small table and chairs in the shop- before they returned to the lodge at 6pm. Zosia was still on the sofa, with her father besides her on his phone (checking if his hospital was still standing). Jonny was sitting on the floor in front of the armchair, which was empty.
"Have a good time?" Jonny asked.
"Yeah great thanks. Where's Jac?" Mo asked curiously.
"Oh um... She went to the toilet a while ago, come to think of it she should be back by now." Jonny concluded as he got to his feet. Mo handed Mr T her coat before she followed her best friend into their bedroom, where Jac was lying in bed with her hands frequently rubbing her bump- she wasn't asleep, in fact she looked far from it, distressed even.
"Jac, you okay?" Mo asked as Jonny squatted besides her on the bed.
"I feel weird." Jac replied oddly.
"What? Like labour weird?" Jonny queried quickly.
"I don't know, just..." She trailed off as she shrugged her shoulders.
"Well have you had any contractions?" He asked and she shook her head. "Have you had your show?" He asked and received another shake of her head so he let out a sigh of relief. "Well, do you want me to run you a hot bath? And I might even give you a back rub after, if you behave." He winked but surprisingly, Jac shook her head.
"I don't like this." Jac stated as she pulled the duvet up over her head.
"Like what?" Jonny said quickly.
"I don't know what's wrong with me." She mumbled.
"Well what's happened to suggest that there is anything wrong with you?" Mo asked.
"I just don't feel right." Jac stated.
"C'mon, I'll run you a bath to help with your back." Jonny rubbed Jac's arm under the sheet before he headed for then ensuite bathroom.
"I'll leave you to it." Mo concluded.
Mo came out and changed from her coat to her comfortable cardigan where she met Mr T in the bedroom.
"Is Jac alright?" Mr T asked.
"Um, she says she doesn't feel right." Mo stated.
"Some women feel that way before they go into labour, and she is 36 weeks." Mr T stated.
"Yeah well, we'll just have to wait and see I suppose. Jonny's just running her a hot bath to help her relax." Mo explained.
"Well hot baths can prevent or ease contractions so that will probably make her feel better." Mr T stated.
"Fingers crossed." Mo smiled. "Ooh um, how's your cooking skills?" Mo asked happily.
"Cooking skills, pretty good, it's my tidying up skills you wanna worry about!" Mr T laughed. "Why?" He added.
"Because I've just thought of something that Jonny did for me when I was pregnant, and I think Jac'll like it too." Mo smiled.
"What is it?" He asked.
"Come with me, and you'll see." She chirped as she grabbed his hand and dragged him towards the kitchen.
Guy looked out of the corner of his eye, where he saw his daughter grimacing in pain as she tried not to let out a peep. She had just been to the toilet, so getting up must've aggravated her injury.
"Right, shall I get you another ice pack?" Guy suggested.
"Um, yeah. Thanks." Zosia replied as she shifted in her seat to fight the throbbing pain in her ankle. Minutes later, her dad returned with ice wrapped in a t-towel which he laid over her ankle and then left it there to work it's magic.
"It's bruising for sure." Guy stated. He had seen the purpley black colour that her ankle was turning, and it definitely wasn't pretty, though he had seen much worse. "By the way, be prepared to leap up and high the smoke alarm off, Mo and Mr T are making an absolute mess out there cooking something." Guy chuckled.
"Well it can't be any worse than your attempt at a homemade Chinese. Remember that? I was 10 and I can still remember the distinct smell of burnt plastic." Zosia laughed. "And I can remember Mama saying that she was never going to trust you in the kitchen alone again." She added.
"Well I can remember your attempt at helping Mama make some bread when you were little. You put in too much yeast and the oven was practically about to explode." He laughed. "Ooh, what I wouldn't give for a slice of proper bread." He smiled. "Actually, I'd rather have a thick, juicy, rare steak cooked to perfection with thick cut chips, a fried egg, and peas." He licked his lips at the thought.
Jac laid in the bath for ages whilst Jonny sat besides her. She smoothed her hands over her bump countless times, as though she was scared she was going to lose it that night, yet she smiled uncontrollably every time their little girl gave a few kicks. However, the reassuring kicks in Jac's bladder, helped her to relax that she probably wasn't in labour, because their baby was the wrong way round.
"I feel better now." Jac said quietly as she twiddled her thumbs and then rested them on the peak of her bump.
"Yeah? Well that's good." Jonny smiled. "Maybe it was just indigestion from dinner." He smirked.
"No it wasn't." Jac sighed, which let a silence fall among the two for a few more minutes.
"Right, how about we get you out, pjs on, tuck you in bed and you can have whatever you want. We can get a movie on your iPad, and then you can eat as much crap as you want." He suggested. "Within reason." He added.
"Sounds like my kind of night." Jac smiled as she reached forward and pulled the plug out by her feet.
After putting their creations in the oven, Mo and Mr T had left the kitchen looking like a bomb site. There was flour everywhere, including the floor, bubbles from the washing up water which was now cold was all over the pair of them after they had had a water fight, and the kitchen utensils looked like the average set of university gear which hadn't been washed up properly and they weren't going to be cleaned properly anyway. Mo had just been whipped in the bum by a tea towel from her partner when Jonny came in.
"Hey, how's Jac?" Mo smiled optimistically.
"She's feeling better, I've just tucked her in bed, we're gonna watch a movie and just snack for two hours." Jonny stated proudly as he shook his head at the amount of mess.
"Right, you go back to Jac, get into bed and we'll bring in a movie survival kit." Mo ordered.
"Well just so you know, she wants some cream soda, and she's requested kettle crisps, the ready salted ones." Jonny stated. "And thanks." He smiled before he left.
"You do realise that this could go catastrophically wrong if you don't get something that she wants, or if you get something that she hates." Mr T warned.
"Ah yes, but I know what she hates because after working on Darwin, there are plenty of bans on there for certain types of food and drink, including grapes for some reason." Mo smirked.
"Grapes? Why? It's not as if they have a strong odour." Mr T laughed.
"Well, maybe it's because she can't have wine." Mo chortled.
"Right, I'm going to bed so this is your last chance for an escort to bed." Guy stated as he got up. Zosia just moaned with her eyes closed because she was tired she just couldn't be bothered to get up- obviously, doing nothing all day just made her tired. "Nope, okay I'll do this instead then." Guy stated as he picked Zosia up bridal style and was careful not to knock her on any doorways as he carried her to their bedroom. He laid her on top of her duvet and then slid into his own bed so Zosia had to fidget about until she was under her duvet. "Thank you daddy, good night daddy." Guy said sarcastically after he'd turned the light off as he got comfortable in his bed.
"Thank you daddy, good night daddy." Zosia repeated sleepily without even bothering to open her eyes.
Jac and Jonny were sitting on bed leaning against the headboard with the iPad propped up in between then ready for the movie to begin when Mo came in with a tray which she placed on the end of the bed.
"Right, one cream soda for you, one iron bru for you." Mo stated as she got two large glasses of fizzy drink and placed them on the appropriate bedside table. "Ready salted kettle crisps, nachos without jalapeños but extra cheese, and plenty of my homemade, still warm Nutella cookies!" Mo announced.
"Nutella cookies?" Jonny laughed.
"I like the sound of all of that." Jac smiled.
"Yeah I thought you might." Jonny laughed. "You do realise you're gonna have a full time job if she likes those cookies don't you." Jonny stated.
"Well there's like ten cookies there, and there's loads more out in the kitchen so I'm sure it'll last for three days until we go home." Mo laughed. "Mind you, y'know what she's like..." She smirked as she looked at Jac who replied with a glare. Mo then shuffled out of the room and closed the door after her leaving Jac and Jonny to feast in peace whilst they watched a movie.
Thanks for reading, sorry if this chapter's a bit crap :/ Please review though and I'll probably update again today x