Chapter Thirty
"I had no idea we owned so much junk!" said Lila as she worked on packing the fifth box of items from the bookshelf.
"I know the feeling!" said Steven. "Remind me again why we're packing this stuff and not letting the movers do it for us?"
"Because," answered Lila. "I don't trust them to get it right. We're not packing everything ourselves, just the irreplaceable stuff."
"I do hope you're going to let them take care of all the baby stuff?" asked Steven.
"Most of it, yeah," replied Lila. "I've already boxed up the few things we're taking over ourselves, the more sentimental items."
"That's fine, babe. I'm just glad you're not insisting we take everything else – these kids already have a ton of stuff and they're not even born yet!"
"Getting close, though," smiled Lila. "Only 6 more weeks."
"Didn't Dr. Mianni say it could be any time after 4 more weeks?" asked Steven. Eddie had gone with Lila to see the doctor earlier that week, but Steven wasn't sure he was remembering the report correctly.
"Yeah, she did," replied Lila. "But I'm not actually due for another 6 weeks, and I just have a feeling these babies aren't going to come early."
"Never know. I mean, these kids are half of each of us, which alone gives them a stubborn streak five miles wide. I'm betting they'll be born whenever they please, regardless of what they're 'supposed' to do."
"I can't argue with that!" said Lila with a laugh. "Okay, finally done with this stuff," she said as she taped up the last box of bookshelf items.
"Come sit down," said Steven. "You need to take it easy."
"I'll sit down if you do," she said. "You're not supposed to be doing too much either, you're not totally healed up yet."
"Okay, we'll take a little break" said Steven. "Want a drink or anything?"
"Water, please," she answered.
"Coming right up," said Steven as he walked into the kitchen and grabbed two bottles of water.
"Well, we're pretty much done here" said Lila. "We can leave the rest to the movers?"
"Works for me," said Steven. "That'll free up tomorrow to finish painting the nursery." They never intended to be moving this late in Lila's pregnancy, but there were a few delays in closing on the house, and then Steven's accident set them back even further.
"I can't wait to see the nursery all put together," said Lila excitedly. "When is the baby furniture being delivered?"
"Thursday," answered Steven. "I didn't want to schedule it too early in the week in case something comes up and I don't get the painting finished as soon as I'm hoping to."
"Good thinking," agreed Lila. "But you know my father and brother volunteered to help with that."
"I know and I'll take them up on that probably when it comes time to put together those cribs. What would you like for dinner?" Steven asked her. "I'll run to the store and get whatever you'd like."
"I'd love a chicken salad sandwich," said Lila. "The kind you made me before, with grapes and celery in it." Like most firefighters, Steven was an accomplished cook.
"I can do that," said Steven kissing Lila on the nose. "I'll figure out what I want when I get there." He grabbed his keys, kissed Lila and headed out the door.
Lila called Eddie while Steven was out at the grocery store. "So you and the family will meet up at the house to help with the unpacking, we'll get it all done in a day with that many hands."
"You bet honey, I talked to Dad and he's making sure that Saturday is all cleared up."
"Thanks, oh and Mom, I really need your help setting up the curio cabinet. I love how you did all your keepsakes as a story."
"I'll be glad to help, you don't overdo it packing okay. I'll see you at dinner on Wednesday."
By the time Steven got back, Lila had finished her chat with Eddie.
"What'd you get for yourself?" she asked him, sneaking a handful of grapes from the colander in the sink.
"Broccoli and cheese with rice," he said. "Looks really good."
"Yeah, it does" she agreed, popping grapes in her mouth one by one.
"How long until its ready?" she asked.
"Half an hour or so" he replied. "Why, you hungry or something?"
"Something like that," answered Lila. "We've worked hard today, especially given our conditions."
"Indeed," said Steven as he put his dinner in the oven and set the timer. "Let me get the last few things packed and out of the way while that's all cooking."
"Is there anything else in this entire apartment that you can think of that we need to pack and take over ourselves?" asked Lila as she sat on the sofa.
"I don't think so" answered Steven after a moment of thought. "I mean, all that's left is the household stuff and the furniture."
"Okay, cool" said Lila. "After we eat, we can walk through and double check though, I don't want to miss anything that's better off coming with us than going on the moving van."
"Agreed" said Steven.
About 10 minutes later, the timer beeped in the kitchen. "Hey, dinner time" he said.
"Bring it on!" said a very hungry Lila. They sat down to a relaxing and relatively quiet dinner, since both of them were exceptionally hungry from the hard days work.-
"That was delicious, babe" said Lila as she finished the last bite of her sandwich. "The balance between the grapes and the celery was perfect."
"I'm glad it was to your liking, my dear" replied Steven with a smile.
"How was your broccoli stuff?" she asked.
"Really good" he replied, "if you like that kind of stuff."
"Well, let's finish up here and take a walk through the place and see if we need to pack anything else" said Lila, finishing her last sips of iced tea.
"Okay," said Steven as he took their empty plates into the kitchen. "I guess we'll start in here?"
"Yeah" said Lila, following him into the kitchen. "I doubt there's anything in here we can't trust the movers to take care of."
"You're probably right," agreed Steven. "Next." They walked into the living room and looked over the tables, the book cases and on the walls and didn't find anything they'd missed. From there, they went down the hallway, Lila going past the bathroom while Steven stopped at it.
"You don't want to look in here?" he asked her.
Lila laughed. "Unless you've got an attachment to a bottle of shampoo that I'm unaware of, I don't think there's anything valuable in the bathroom, babe."
"Silly me" said Steven with a smile, "what was I thinking?" He caught up with Lila in his bedroom.
"I guess we should double check the closet" he said. "I think I got all the important stuff out of there already, but let's look anyway." He stepped into the closet and carefully perused everything inside.
"Nope, Lila" he said, "all I see are clothes, shoes, uniforms and a bit of junk, nothing the movers can't take."
"Okay, I guess that's it then" she said. "We're officially packed - well, as packed as we're going to get ourselves anyway."
"Yeah, and it's only…8:30," he said, looking at his watch. "What do you want to do with the rest of the evening?"
"I don't know" said Lila, "got any ideas?"
"Yeah, one" he said.
"Movie?" asked Lila.
"Nope."
"Work on the birth plan?"
"Nuh-uh."
"What then?" she asked.
"This." He lifted her face towards his own, and placed the most romantic of kisses on her lips.
"I see" said Lila. "Can two play this game?" she asked.
"By all means" said Steven. Lila returned his kiss with an equally passionate one, and they didn't separate until their bodies hit the bed.
"Are you sure you're okay with this?" whispered Lila as her fingers circled the button on his jeans. In times past, it'd been him asking that of her, but being the first time since his accident they'd gotten this far, she was concerned about hurting him.
Steven nodded. "You?" It didn't matter how many times the doctor told him it was okay, he couldn't help but ask.
Lila also nodded, looking deep into his sapphire eyes. He slipped his shirt off and tossed it to the floor. He reached for the hem of her shirt and carefully pulled it up over her head.
"You're so beautiful" he whispered as he kissed her neck over and over.
"Mmmmmm…" said Lila, "You know what that does to me."
"What, this?" he quietly teased as he kissed up the side of her neck and all around her ear.
"Yes…" purred Lila.
"Yes, I know" he softly replied. He continued kissing her neck as the remainder of their clothing met with the floor.
"I know what this does, too" he said as he began massaging her foot, slowly moving up, his action coming to a near halt the closer he got to the top of her leg.
Lila took a deep breath. "Don't you dare stop there, Smokey?"
"Have I ever?" he asked, moving his attention to her face and kissing her tenderly.
"Then why are you teasing me like that?" she cooed.
He whispered in her ear. "Because it drives you wild."
"Two can play that game, too" she said slyly. She rolled onto her side and with her finger began making small circles all up and down his upper body.
"Lilaaaa …"
"Just returning the tease" she said.
He reached out for her hand, took it in his own and kissed each of her fingers.
"Enough teasing" he whispered…
A/N: There you have those pregnancy hormones going wild and our young couple getting ready to embark on the next big step, the final step before becoming parents. I was so glad to hear so many enjoyed the baby shower chapter, it was one of my favorites. As this series is primarily about Jamie and Eddie and their family I don't always incorporate the other family members as much but I'm glad I took the out for the baby shower chapter.
Next Update – June 10th – It's moving day, but not everyone in the family is able to keep their promises to help. Find out who and why…
