NYLON ~ 66 ~BABY FEVER
Hanna finished sketching the dresser onto the plans in front of her. She gathered up her designs and filed them. Then she turned back to her computer and typed out an email to Toby regarding their newest project.
"Do you have the Vergner files?" Toby asked poking his head in.
"I was just sending them over," Hanna smiled at him as she hit SEND. "They should be in your inbox now."
"Also, can I borrow your loverboy tonight?" he asked. "I have to build the crib Melissa sent us and I could use some help from a seasoned pro."
"You haven't built it yet?" Hanna asked concerned. "Spencer could have the baby any day now."
"I know," Toby sighed. "That's why we have to do it tonight."
"Sure," Hanna smiled. "Just make sure he gets home okay...and let Spencer have her rest. I know how rowdy you guys get when you're building stuff."
"Us?" he feigned innocence.
"Don't play me," she smirked. "I know the drill."
"You got it, boss lady," Toby gave her a thumbs up and disappeared into the hallway.
Hanna spent the rest of the morning firing off emails and making copies of her design book to send around the office. She finished submitting her work to all of her clients when Caleb send her a message: LUNCH? She smiled and typed a quick positive response before grabbing her purse and meeting him in the lobby.
"You look gorgeous today," he said slinking a hand around her waist.
"Thanks Mr. Rivers," she smiled as they stepped into the elevator.
"Mrs. Rivers," he whispered in her ear.
"Not too loud," she urged him. "I can't have anyone find out before I tell my mom."
"We're in an empty elevator," he reminded her. "I think our secret's safe."
"Fine," she bit her lip.
"I love it when you do that," he leaned in to kiss her.
"Come on," she took his hand once the elevator doors opened and they went to have lunch in the park outside their building.
"I still can't believe this is real," Caleb said playing with the platinum band on his left hand.
"I know," Hanna smiled. "We should have done this a long time ago."
"No," Caleb replied. "We weren't ready then. Now is perfect."
"I just hope everyone else feels the same way," Hanna sighed. "After everything Emily is going through, it's hard to feel happy without feeling guilty."
"I know," he smiled.
"So," she tried to change the subject, "Toby tells me he's holding you hostage until you guys finish the crib."
"Yeah," Caleb rolled his eyes. "Can't believe he waited until the last minute."
"Like you're any better," Hanna laughed.
"Hey," he took offense to that. "I had your whole nursery put together way before JT was born."
"You were on my payroll," she reminded him.
"Yes," he explained, "but I could have let one of the interns do it. I built that shit."
"And that's why I love you," she kissed him.
"Look," he said pulling away. "You know, I would love to do this all day, but we should probably head back."
"If you say so," she whined taking his hand as they headed back to the office.
The elevator door opened into the lobby and Hanna saw Spencer holding a stack of files. Caleb bowed out heading back to his office as Hanna confronted the culprit.
"Hey," Spencer smiled guiltily.
"You're supposed to be home, missy," Hanna reminded her.
"I know," Spencer groaned, "but I'm so bored. I thought I'd drop in and pick up some of the files. You know, just to take a look."
"What?" Hanna joked. "You don't trust me?"
"You know that's not it," Spencer told her.
"Come on," Hanna smiled heading to her office. "Let's take a look at the Vergner file."
"Thanks Han –" Spencer stopped short. Hanna turned to see what the commotion was.
"Spencer?" she asked when she saw her friend frozen in astonishment.
"I...I think my...my water broke," Spencer choked out.
"Okay," Hanna took her hand. "Why don't you sit down. I'll go get Toby."
She ran to his office and tapped on the door.
"Hey Hanna," he smiled.
"Um," she paused, "I think Spencer is in labor."
"What?" he freaked out.
"Calm down," she told him. "There's plenty of time."
"What's going on?" Caleb poked his head in.
"Sp...Spencer's in la...la...labor," Toby was ghost white.
"Okay," Caleb smiled. "I'll drive you. Everything will be fine."
"I'll get Spencer," Hanna told him. "You bring the car around."
Caleb helped steady Toby and they took off while Hanna went back to her friend.
"Hanna," Spencer said as a she breathed through a contraction. "I need to get to a hospital."
"It's okay," Hanna told her. "Caleb's taking us."
Hanna helped Spencer into the car and Caleb took them straight into the maternity ward. Once Spencer's doctor arrived everyone else cleared out.
"Shit!" Hanna said when they were waiting in the lobby.
"What?" Caleb asked her.
"The crib!" she told him. "We have to build the crib."
"Fucking Toby," Caleb laughed.
"Come on," Hanna said digging through her purse for her spare key to Spencer's house. "We have to do this."
"Okay," Caleb laughed leading them back to his car.
They headed to Spencer's where they found the packaged crib leaning against the sofa. Caleb pulled out his pocket knife to break the seal and then laid out every piece while Hanna grabbed them both a beer. Two hours and a six pack later, the crib was complete.
"So," Caleb looked around the apartment, "where does it even go?"
"The nursery?" Hanna offered.
"There isn't one," Caleb replied. "They design nurseries for a living. Ironic."
"Maybe we could..."
"Don't you dare," Caleb cut her off, "suggest we build them a nursery."
"I was gonna say we could put it in their bedroom," she replied, "and then go home.
"I like your style," he smiled as they pushed the crib into the bedroom. Then he flashed a needy smile at her. "You know, it'd be nice to build another one of these, for our own use."
"Huh?" Hanna shot him a look. "What kind of freaky fantasies are you into?"
"No," he sighed. "I'm just thinking...if we had another kid..."
"We already have a crib," she reminded him, "since you never took it out of storage to give to charity."
"So we won't have to buy a new one," he smiled.
"When did you contract baby fever?" she snapped. "Is it possible for us to have a conversation without talking about another kid?"
"I was just thinking out loud," Caleb replied defeated. "Just tell me you'll think about it."
"Maybe," she retorted, trying with difficulty to stay mad at him.
"Come on," Caleb picked her up and swung her around. "Let's go home."
Hanna giggled as they stumbled out of the cramped apartment and hailed a cab home.
~ UP NEXT ~
PRIVATE PRACTICE: After Kristen's parents sue for custody of Ben, Emily's friends gather together to support her.
I am absolutely floored by all of your support in favor of this story. I can't bear to give up on it. Basically I planned on writing 100 chapters for this story so my basic understanding of maths tells me there are 34 left. I've written quite a few of them but some are still unfinished. I've decided to go ahead and publish 100 but some chapters will be much shorter. In order to compensate for the short chapters, I've decided to upload a new chapter daily and I'm going back to my original tradition of including a teaser at the end of each chapter.
Lastly, I keep getting messages about the lack of Haleb stories and I totally feel for you. In light of this I spent a good chunk of yesterday trying to figure out how to make a community so I started one for Haleb stories. It's listed on the Communities tab on my profile and has a few of the longer Haleb stories that are updated regularly. If you've come across any hidden gems, let me know and I'll add them as well.
Also, if you're still having Haleb withdrawls, my current favorites are Rivers and Company by BlackBaby and Pregnant Little Liars by NicciCastillo. They both update regularly and write nice long readable chapters so check them out!
Again, thanks for reading and stay tuned for tomorrow's update :)
