This third trimester of pregnancy was going to be the death of her. She wasn't sure shed make it to the end, she hurt everywhere, in places she didn't know she had, she was beyond uncomfortable, she couldn't move, nothing fit and she was still incredibly hormonal. If it wasn't for her near perfect husband, she would have lost her mind already.
She was now in her eighth month of pregnancy and nearing her due date, thank god, she thought because she wasn't sure she could be pregnant much longer.
Henry was still incredibly supportive and made sure she was well taken of throughout her entire pregnancy. This included foot rubs and back massages at the end of long days, making dinner before she got home and making sure she was as comfortable as she could get at this point. She didn't do a whole lot of moving when she got home, in her third trimester she had gotten into the habit of napping after work again, which henry was understanding of, she did have an almost full grown baby in her belly and he couldn't even imagine how exhausting that must be.
At work, her colleagues were supportive, anything she needed they would help with, if that meant she had to leave early for doctor's appointments of take days off because she wasn't feeling well or she was tired, they understood. Not that it happened a lot but from time to time.
Isabelle and Juliette had organized an office baby shower and gotten Elizabeth plenty of goodies for the baby. Bottles, soothers and onesies for days. They figured she wouldn't be at work much longer, she looked like she was about to pop so they thought better to have it early.
The afternoon after her work baby shower, Elizabeth had another OB/GYN appointment and Henry had made sure to clear his schedule to go. He had not missed an appointment yet and he was not about to start now.
The couple met at the doctor's office, the intention being that Elizabeth takes the afternoon off and goes home and Henry would return to work. This didn't go quite as planed after speaking with the doctor.
Elizabeth was being poked and prodded by the doctor and the nurse, having all kinds of tests run on her and the baby. She had not had any issues since her health scare early in her pregnancy she was able to manage her blood pressure without any trouble... until today.
Dr. smith and checked the baby's heartbeat with an ultrasound and everything look good, the baby was measuring right, was head down and had started dropping a little, all god signs at this point in her pregnancy. The concern Dr. smith had was once again related to her blood pressure, it was unusually elevated, likely due to stress but being this far in her pregnancy, the doctor was not willing to let it go.
When they were informed of this news, Henry's initial reaction was panic, he had read about preeclampsia and knew how serious it could be on mother and baby. Elizabeth's heart sank when the doctor told her, she was also aware of the risks that came with high blood pressure and preeclampsia. Henry held her hand and gave her a kiss on the forehead to show his support but they were both worried at this point. Would Elizabeth be ok? Would the baby be ok? How long could they prolong labor if it doesn't go down? What if the baby comes today?! They weren't ready for that he thought.
Dr. smith informed them that she wasn't presently in any imminent danger and neither was the baby and that they would try to regulate it so it does not get worse, it was not yet at the point of no return and could likely be managed. If her blood pressure was elevated due to stress, it would go down within a few days, if it was a more serious matter, it would continue going up and then they would intervene.
This meant that Elizabeth was not returning to work. Dr. smith put her on strict bedrest until her blood pressure could be managed and being so far along in her pregnancy, she wouldn't be going back to work even if it was under control. Elizabeth was not thrilled of being put on bedrest but she knew that this was currently her best option to help her and her baby. Henry was happy she would finally be taking it easy, he knew she was stressed over work and had repeatedly told her through her pregnancy that it was not good, now, she would finally have to listen.
They were told to return in a week and they would run more tests to determine what the next course of action would be, but until then, Elizabeth was to be on bedrest and relax.
Henry was overly concerned about his wife and his baby and was determined to take Elizabeth straight home, he would figure out how to get her car home later, right now she needed to rest. Elizabeth had a different plan, she wanted to stop by the office and inform Conrad of the news in person, rather than the doctor letting him know. Henry was not fond of the idea but decided he would tag along with her, he could understand her request, as unreasonable as he thought it was.
Henry and Elizabeth walked hand in hand into the CIA headquarters, Elizabeth waddling her way to the director's office. Her coworkers were confused as to what she was doing back at work, and even more confused as to what her husband was doing at her work.
After speaking with Conrad, he was livid that she had come back to work, telling her she should have just called and she should be home resting. When she joked that that's what Henry had told her, he sided with him. "Bess, get yourself home now, and if I see you back in this office before the end of your maternity leave, I will fire you, and I know Henry will agree with me" he joked. "Yes sir" was all she could tell him.
On her way out of the office, she promised her coworkers she would keep them updated once the baby arrived, which they were all thrilled about. They had gotten attached and were so happy for the couple.
When they got home, Henry made sure Elizabeth went to lay down, hoping to get her to relax but with the gravity of the situation finally setting in, it was easier said than done.
She was playing out the worst-case scenarios in her mind, what if something happened to her, or worse to the baby. She couldn't fathom how she or Henry would deal with something happening to their precious baby, and she knew Henry would lose it if something happened to her as well.
She laid down in bed and Henry snuggled up with her to watch a movie. She tried to convince him to go back to work but he would hear none of it. He wanted to make sure his girls were ok. He was thinking the same thing as Elizabeth but neither of them saying it out loud for fear it might happen, it was a realistic possibility that they didn't want to imagine.
Lying in bed, Elizabeth could not get comfortable, she was wearing one of Henry 's t-shirt, it was the only thing that would fit her giant belly, and she refused to wear pants around the house for several weeks now, it was too uncomfortable. Henry did everything he could to get her comfortable. They had bought a body pillow along with several sleeping pillows and she was utilizing all of them regularly to get comfy. She finally got comfortable and Henry snuggled with her but it didn't take long for her to have to pee. It seemed these days anytime she moved she had to pee, this time was no exception.
She grunted as she tried to get up, but with her size at the moment, getting up was not an easy task. Henry was more than happy to help her up, following her to the bathroom. That's were she drew the line though, she may need help with a lot of things right now, but peeing was not one of them.
When she returned to bed, she was in the same dilemma as before, trying to get comfy. The baby had woken up and was squirming like crazy in her belly. Henry again tried his best to help but nothing was working. She eventually found a position that worked for her, henry rubbed her belly for a few minutes, talking to his baby girl, trying to get her to calm down. He was the baby whisperer and could usual get the baby to relax, or at least stop squirming enough for Elizabeth to relax. Once he was able to calm down his baby girl, he gave Elizabeth a much-needed back rub, she fell asleep shortly after. Henry was thankful she was able to relax enough to get some sleep, he figured he would take the opportunity to get some work done before she got back up.
Before heading down to get some work done, Henry stopped by the nursery that he and Elizabeth had completed a few days prior. It was all decorated and everything was in its place. It was perfect. Henry was still convinced they were having a girl but they had decided to keep the nursery gender neutral just to be sure, though he still had no doubts. He stood at the doorway a few minutes and just stared around, taking it in and thinking about the new chapter in his life and his new responsibilities as a father.
He wasn't sure how long he'd been standing there but he snapped out of his day dream quickly when he felt arms reach around his torso, hugging him from behind.
"What are you doing?", she asked softly, clearly still half asleep.
He turned around and held her in his arms, she was leaning against his chiseled chest. "Babe, you should be in bed resting, what are you doing up?". He was genuinely concerned for her.
"I had to pee" she said dryly, "and you weren't there anymore, I was wondering what you were getting up to."
Henry gave her a sweet kiss before suggesting she head back to bed. "I'll go make some food, go back to bed babe, I won't be long I promise".
"Fine... can we order Chinese, baby girls got a craving" she teased.
"What baby girl wants, baby girl gets" he teased back. But it was true, anything Elizabeth wanted, he would do everything in his power to get it for her, same thing went for his soon to be little baby. Elizabeth knew that was Henry 's weakness and she took advantage of it when she could, getting foot rubs, back massages, any craving she might have had Henry would get it for her.
Elizabeth made her way back to bed, it had only been a few hours and she was already over being on bed rest, she thought to herself that this would be a long month.
Henry went downstairs and ordered some Chinese food. While waiting for it, he was able to do a little bit of work. Once it arrived, Elizabeth had heard the door and started to waddle her way down stairs. Henry caught her mid-way questioning her as to what she was doing.
"I'm going to get food, what are you doing? she retorted back.
"I'm bringing you food, in bed, while you are on bed. Rest.", he made sure to put the emphasis on the "bed rest". He told her, a little more contrary than he had wanted it to come out. He knew as soon as he had finished his sentence that Elizabeth was not going to have a good reaction and he braces himself.
"Don't talk to me like that" she spat back. "I'll get up if I feel like it. I may be on bed rest but I am not bed ridden, Henry." She stood before him clearly exhausted, with one hand supporting her lower back and the other around big belly.
He softly whispered back to her, hoping to get her to calm down, "I know babe I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to come out like that". He looked down, he clearly felt bad for speaking to his wife the way he did but Elizabeth was not having it today, she was stressed enough as it was and she wasn't supposed to be stressed at all.
" just because you think I should do something, doesn't dictate what I can or cannot do. I am fine to get up for whatever I please when I want and if you're going to be like that, I'd rather you not stay home and you go to work."
He knew better than to say the words "calm down" but he needed a way to subtly say it, but she was the expert in that being an analyst and all.
"Baby I'm sorry, I know you don't need me to tell you what to do, I was just worried about my girls." He'd hoped if he brought he baby into this she would calm down, it worked a little but she was still mad. "Yup, I fucked up", he thought to himself, he should have known better than to tell her what to do. Elizabeth had always been independent, particularly since her parents had passed away so being told what to do by anyone didn't usually go over very well.
Before she could bitch him out some more over his comments, she clutched her belly clearly trying to suppress the pain, she was breathing heavy trying to breathe through the pain. Henry went into panic mode, his initial thought went to worst case scenario, Elizabeth was going into labor because of her blood pressure and it was his fault and what if something happened to the baby because of it, what if something happens to Elizabeth. She quickly released a deep breath and was able to stand up straight, she had been surprised by the feeling but was not panicking, until she saw Henry 's face, he looked like he'd seen a ghost. He was usually cool calm and collected in high stress situations but he couldn't control it today.
"What was... was that a... are you?", he couldn't finish a coherent sentence but she knew what he meant.
"I'm fine Henry, I just need to relax" she told him, "but first I need to eat".
"Babe, if you're in labor, we need to call the doctor, it could be serious."
"I'm fine, ok. It was one contraction, it was probably a Braxton-hicks contraction anyway, Dr. Smith warned me about those."
"Dr. Smith also warned us about your blood pressure and the dangers of it getting higher". He tried being soothing and comforting but he wasn't sure if she would receptive to his comment.
"I know babe, but I know my body, I don't think it was serious, if its persistent and it gets worse we'll call, ok?", she had finally started to calm down, Henry was grateful.
"Ok babe". He gave her a kiss and took her in his arms and ran his hands up and down her back, gently.
"Henry"
"Yeah babe", he answered.
"We're going to have a baby" she said.
"Yeah, we are" he said breathy.
They stood there in silence, holding each other close before Elizabeth claimed she and baby girl were still hungry.
They l made their way down to the kitchen where they sat and had dinner before snuggling up on the couch to watch a movie.
Through that night, Elizabeth didn't have any other contractions. She thought maybe it was baby way of telling her to calm down.
Henry was just a protective of them, but he was a little more silent and subtle about it, or so he thought. Elizabeth knew what he was doing but didn't have it in her to break it to him that he was not as discrete as he thought he was being but after cooling down, she realized he was just trying to help.
She laid down on the couch, propped up against the arm of the sofa with pillows supporting her, Henry was at the other end rubbing her feet as they watched the movie. Apparently baby girl was happy her mommy was relaxing because she was extremely hyper most of the evening, to the point where Elizabeth 's belly was moving around enough for henry to comment on the movement. He could see little feet and little arms moving through Elizabeth 's shirt. He took the opportunity to talk to his little girl and tell her how excited he was for her to be here soon but to stay cooking in her mommy's belly a little longer. He told her to be good to her mommy and not play with her bladder too much. Elizabeth laughed at her husband's comments but she couldn't get enough of henry being so sweet to their unborn child.
"You ready to go to bed babe?", he asked her when the movie finished.
Elizabeth was already half asleep on the sofa "mmm, I don't want to get up" she grunted.
"Babe, you'll be much more comfortable in bed, with blankets, and me..." he tried convincing her.
"Yeah but I have to move" she grumbled.
Henry started peppering her with kisses, hoping he wouldn't piss her off but still trying to get her up.
"You're going to have to help me up Henry. I can't do it on my own." She told him, she was a little embarrassed to ask even if it wasn't the first time during her pregnancy.
"Of course, sweetheart, here give me your hands", he was so loving and supportive, she didn't know how she got so lucky to have him in her life.
Once upstairs in their bedroom, Elizabeth made one last stop to the bathroom before getting into bed with her husband. When she walked out of the washroom, Henry was in only boxers, god he looked good naked she thought to herself. With a big kick in her ribs, she was brought back to reality and reminded that her body was not as attractive as her husband's, thanks to the insane amount of weight she had put on and the giant belly that was wiggling around.
"You ok?" He asked when he noticed her in a daze.
"Perfect" she smiled back.
"I know you're perfect, that's not what I asked" he joked.
"I was just admiring the sexy naked man that was laying in my bed, as one does" she teased.
"Well I'm admiring my very hot wife who is hopefully about to join me in bed".
"Do you have another wife that I don't know about?", she asked.
"Of course, not babe, you're my one and only, I'm waiting for you" he told her.
"Sorry you said hot wife, I didn't think you were talking about me". She gestured to her body that she was clearly self-conscious about.
"Elizabeth, you know I think you're beautiful, I tell you every day of how beautiful you are, and I think you're very hot. Now come here so I can feel you up" he joked, kinda.
"Well that's romantic" she teased back before crawling into bed and snuggling up to her husband. "Ok, I'm actually comfortable right now so you're not allowed to move ever" she told him, her very pregnant body draped over his fit figure. He didn't mind, he enjoyed having her cuddle up and now he could rub her belly and feel his baby kicking and squirming while she snuggled up on him. Plus, her boobs were up against his chest which he enjoyed anyway, especially now that they are enlarged and huge. Really was enjoying her pregnant body, even if she didn't. Elizabeth never doubted her husband, but the fact that he was telling her he enjoyed her pregnant body and thought she was beautiful, she was convinced he was full if crap and just saying it to make her feel better. Henry on the other hand, whole heartedly believed his wife was stunning, pregnant or not.