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Sunday 8th September 2019, 6:30am
It was the day before Daniel's 4th birthday but for convenience, Sam and Tom had decided to have Daniel's party on the Sunday so that all of his friends from the crèche could come, as well as Noah, Fletch's 5 year old son who had just begun his first year at school. But because Daniel was going to be one of the oldest in the year, he wasn't starting school for another year. And of course, on the morning of the party, Daniel couldn't sleep...
"Mummy... Mummy it's time to get up." Daniel whispered as he prodded Sam's arm. Sam was 27 weeks pregnant and it had been a full week since she had had any symptoms of the food poisoning. Her appetite wasn't quite back to normal yet but with Tom's encouragement, she was eating as usual and feeling a lot better.
"What?" Sam croaked sleepily before she glanced at her phone. "Daniel it's half past six, we've still got another half an hour at least before we need to get up." Sam stated, but she knew that Daniel was going to wake early in the morning so she couldn't help but smile.
"Pleeeeeeeeease? I promise I'll be really really good today and plus I really really need a wee too." Daniel stated and Sam laughed lightly before she slowly sat up and stood out of bed with her tight camisole showing off her rather large bump.
"Come on then, toilet it is." Sam smiled as she too needed the toilet, and even though she knew that Daniel could go to the toilet by himself including undressing and redressing himself, as well as flushing the toilet and washing his hands properly but for some reason, Daniel still liked the company of being with someone when he went, and it was the same at the crèche too, he always had one of the carers there go into the toilets with him so Sam had to go with him into the ensuite where they had a step by the toilet, and another step by one of the two sinks for Daniel to reach them. Sam leant against the wall whilst Daniel went before she decided that she couldn't wait much longer either because of her unborn child's active morning habits. "Right, you wash your hands while I go to the toilet aright?"
"Okay." Daniel nodded and thankfully, the sinks weren't in a separate room, but they were down a slim corridor of the bathroom near the door so from where he was, he couldn't see Sam and she felt comfortable enough to go. A few minutes later, both were ready to leave the ensuite and Sam noticed that Tom was still fast asleep.
"Daniel, do you want to go and wake daddy?" Sam suggested playfully and so Daniel climbed on top of the double bed.
"Daddy! It's morning!" Daniel said demandingly and Tom opened his eyes before he closed them.
"Just give me ten more minutes." Tom moaned so Sam decided that because it was almost Daniel's birthday, for once he could be a bit cheeky.
"Daniel." Sam whispered and he turned around to see Sam holding a half empty glass of water from her bedside table. Daniel giggled before he took it and poured it onto Tom's face and so he jumped up.
"Daniel! Let me guess, mummy told you to do that?" Tom shrieked as he dried his face on the bath towel from the radiator.
"Maybe." Sam admitted sheepishly. "Right, come on. We've got to get ready for a party!" Sam smiled. "And of course none of us can run without...?" Sam asked her son.
"Breakfast!" Daniel smiled.
"That's right, so let's go downstairs."
10am
The party was from 12-4pm but of course, Daniel's closest friend, Noah, was arriving early with his Dad Fletch who was one of the several parents who were staying during the party. Sam had already contacted all of the parents of Daniel's play group friends and so she knew that some mums and dads were staying because their child would get upset without their parents, and others were just staying to lend a helping hand because there was no way that even if Sam wasn't pregnant, that she and Tom could be responsible for 33 children, all of which except Noah were 3 years old because Daniel was the first to turn 4.
"Noah! Come look, come look!" Daniel said happily and both boys ran through out to the garden where a man was inflating the massive disney themed bouncy castle with Donald Duck on one pillar and Mickey Mouse on the other - everyone was coming dressed up as any Disney character they wanted but Daniel and Noah weren't getting dressed up until later.
"You are getting bigger every time I see you." Fletch smiled as he looked at Sam's bump.
"Mm, and you're getting ruder every time I see you." Sam quipped before the pair walked into the garden where Tom was making sure that the boys didn't get on the bouncy castle because it still wasn't fully inflated yet.
"You've been lucky the weather." Fletch stated as he looked up at the clear blue sky.
"Mm. Right c'mon, you've got to help Tom with the decorations." Sam ordered.
"Why me?" Fletch laughed.
"Because one: you volunteered to help and two: if I blow up balloons then I'm going to pass out." Sam stated bluntly.
Midday
People were arriving for Daniel's party and going straight out into the garden where disney songs were playing and children were either running around playing, or jumping on the bouncy castle. And because Sam had been in charge of who was coming and contacting the parents, she was greeting the guests whilst Tom, Fletch and another parent who was staying, were keeping an eye on the 10 kids who had already arrived. Once again, the door knocked so Sam opened it to find a little girl dressed up as Snow White in a pretty little dress and headband along with red shoes.
"Wow, you look amazing!" Sam praised as she girl stood besides her mother.
"Hiya, I'm Louise, and this is Sophie." The woman smiled as she shook Sam's hand.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Sam. Sophie, if you go straight through that door there and go outside, then there's a bouncy castle and all your friends out there." Sam explained as she pointed through the living room.
"This is for Daniel." Sophie stated as she held out a neatly wrapped present with a card attached to the top.
"Aw, thank you very much. I'll make sure he gets it later." Sam smiled as the little girl walked through the house and out into the garden.
"I can't imagine throwing a party and being pregnant at the same time. It'd exhaust me." Louise admitted as she followed Sam through to the garden, she was also one of the parents who was staying because she knew that her child would get upset without her, after Sam put the present on the accumulating pile in the living room.
"Well, I've got my husband Tom who's been doing most of it, plus Daniel's been really well behaved recently and I just wanted to make a fuss over him before the baby comes so he doesn't feel left out." Sam explained.
"How far gone are you? If you don't mind me asking."
"No it's fine, I'm 27 weeks."
"Oh, have you got dogs here?" Louise asked worriedly as she noticed a squeaky toy on the floor.
"Yeah but don't worry, they've gone to my friend's house for the day because I didn't think it'd be a good idea to have thirty odd kids in the house with three hyperactive border collies." Sam replied.
"Sorry, it's just Sophie gets scared around dogs."
"Don't worry, I know some children can be. Plus some are allergic."
"Mummy, can we get the bubbles out yet?" Daniel asked excitedly as he came up to Sam in his Woody costume from Toy Story.
"Not yet, not everyone's here yet." Sam smiled.
Sam was sitting down on a garden chair after Tom being insistent that she take a break from running around and sorting everything out when she noticed a girl who was quite a tomboy dressed as a pirate run around the back of the bouncy castle and Sam was sure that she had looked distressed. So, Sam got up and waddled around the back where she saw the little girl sitting on the grass with her head in her hands, crying. But she couldn't be heard because of the screaming and the music being played on the other side of the inflatable.
"Hey." Sam said softly as she knelt down to get her attention. "It's Amy, isn't it?" Sam asked as she remembered greeting her mother at the door and Sam had found out that she had only just turned 3 years old. The girl nodded in reply. "I'm Sam, Daniel's mummy. What's the matter sweetheart?" Sam asked as she put her hand on Amy's arm.
"I sorry." She apologised.
"Sorry for what? It's alright, you can tell me... I won't get mad." Sam said reassuringly.
"I had an accident." She mumbled as she looked up and Sam saw the tears pouring down the girl's face. She also then noticed that Amy's black and white striped tights and black purposely torn skirt were damp.
"Don't get upset about that Amy. Come on, I'll take you inside and give you some dry clothes yeah?" Sam suggested but the girl began sobbing again. "I've got you, don't worry." Sam whispered as she leant forward and lifted Amy up so that she was balanced on her hip, despite the fact that it would make Sam's shirt wet. Sam was an expert at picking toddlers up with her bump because she'd had practice with Daniel and so once Amy put her arms around Sam's neck, Sam began to walked her into the house.
"Sam?" Tom questioned quietly.
"Its alright, you just keep things calm down here." Sam replied before she proceeded to carry Amy upstairs and into the family bathroom. She quickly grabbed a few things from Daniel's bedroom before she went back and closed the bathroom door incase someone came upstairs. "Right, look. I've got a pack of girl's underwear here sized 2-3 years because I knew someone would have an accident, I just didn't know who. Amy trust me darling, there's nothing to be embarrassed about." Sam said as she took out a pair of the underwear from the brand new pack. "Right, Daniel used to like dressing up as a pirate but he never does anymore so if you take your skirt, tights and underwear off for me, you can wear these for the rest of the party so that you'll be all dry again." Sam stated as she showed the girl the pair of black pirate trousers.
"But I naughty."
"No, naughty, is doing something on purpose, that you shouldn't. Accidents aren't done on purpose therefore you weren't naughty. Besides, you seem like a very nice young girl to me." Sam stated.
"Really?"
"Yeah, so let's get you changed and then we can go and join the party again." Sam smiled.
3:55pm
It was getting near time for everyone to go home and Sam was near exhausted, but she wasn't letting it show as she continued to make sure that everyone was happy and if they weren't, Sam would find a way to make them cheer up. They had played party games, danced to music, played with a bubble machine and had snacks and drinks. As well as sung happy birthday to Daniel and lit the Disney cake.
"Right, I've cut a slice of cake for everyone and put them in the party bags so everything is ready." Tom stated as he came out into the garden and stood besides Sam.
"Okay." Sam nodded and they both stood there for a few minutes watching the children play in the garden when Tom felt Sam's hand touch his. He looked down and Sam lifted Tom's hand up and placed it on her bump through the blue floral shirt that she had changed into after the incident, with comfortable light blue jeggings. He felt their baby kick against his skin and he smiled as Sam kept her hand on top of his.
"Have I told you how beautiful you look today?" Tom asked.
"No but you can make up for it later." Sam winked.
"Are you not exhausted?"
"Yeah but I'm just gonna have an hour's nap once everyone's gone." Sam stated. "Daniel will be needing a nap too."
"Well then I look forward to it." Tom smiled as he let his hand slip off of her bump because their unborn daughter had stopped kicking.
"That'll be the parents arriving." Sam said after there was a knock at the door.
"Right, if you greet parents, I'll grab the party bag, collect the kid and send 'em out the door." Tom smirked as he followed Sam to the front door.
Monday 9th September 2019
It was Daniel's actual birthday and so Sam and Tom had reluctantly agreed to wake up earlier than usual so that Daniel could open his presents and cards from his friends that he hadn't been allowed to open the day before because it wasn't his birthday. So at 6am, Daniel raced down the stairs in his pyjamas to find that the mound of presents from his friends in the living room had grown even bigger covering he entire three seater sofa and part of the floor too.
"Oh my god!" Daniel squealed at the number of presents before he ran over and opened a big box wrapped up that just happened to be from his parents.
"I'll be here if you want me." Sam said sleepily as she plonked herself down in the armchair in her dressing gown. Tom chuckled before he sat down on the floor in front of the armchair and watched his son rip the wrapping paper off of the box to reveal a large tub of building blocks.
Zoe walked into the staffroom to find Sam lying on the sofa with her hair down to one side and she was using her stethoscope on her bump to listen to her baby's heartbeat.
"I hope you're on a break." Zoe said sternly but jokily as she got a bottle of water out of the fridge.
"I am." Sam said softly without taking her eyes off of her bump.
"Listen, I've been meaning to talk to you actually about the email you sent me." Zoe admitted as she leant against the counter. "Are you sure you want to take six months off for maternity leave? Because six months is a long time Sam."
"I'm sure." Sam nodded as she reluctantly pulled the stethoscope out of her ears and then sat up. "Daniel's starting school next September so I want to spend the time with him while I've got it. Plus I think I came back too soon after Daniel's birth. He was just three months old and despite the fact that I was relieved that I didn't have to change nappies all day, I felt bad for leaving him with strangers when he barely even knew who me and Tom were. I want to spend more time with my daughter when she arrives and I want Daniel to spend time with her too, that's not going to happen if they're both in separate play groups and stuck in the crèche all day." Sam stated. "And when I do return to work, I want regular breaks to breastfeed. So I'll be needing somewhere private." Sam added.
"I'll sort something out." Zoe nodded. It was the law that she had to provide somewhere for breastfeeding mothers but none of the other doctors in the department had been pregnant since she had been in charge and most of the nurses were too afraid of losing their jobs to start asking for extras. "Did I hear rightly that when you went home sick the other day, you had salmonella?" Zoe asked curiously.
"Yeah. Me, Tom and Daniel went to a restaurant for my birthday and the next day I fell ill. Fletch found some news that 7 people had fallen ill too and two were admitted to hospital and diagnosed with salmonella and dehydration. But Tom looked after me and made sure I didn't get dehydrated." Sam explained.
"In sorry to hear that-" Zoe was interrupted as her pager began beeping and Tom opened the door. "Sorry, I've got to go." Zoe quickly walked out whilst Tom came in and sat next to Sam.
"Looks like I've got the thumbs up for six months off." Sam smiled.
"It doesn't matter if Zoe's happy about it or not, legally you're allowed it anyway." Tom stated.
"Whatever... Listen, I know this is the hormones talking but to be honest, I don't really care... Can we go to the oncall room?" Sam asked bluntly and Tom knew what she meant straight away.
"Dr Hodson's stuff is in there, he's oncall and staying overnight." Tom stated and Sam huffed. "Come on, I know somewhere else." Tom smiled as he stood up and held his hand out. Without an ounce of hesitation, Sam took his hand and followed him down the stairs to the basement where he took her into a linen room.
"Won't someone come in here?" Sam asked worriedly.
"No, this linen is used to restock the linen cupboards on the wards, and they only restock them once a day in the mornings." Tom explained as he grabbed a pile of towels and laid them on the floor. "Wait is your back going to be alri-" Tom was interrupted as Sam planted her lips on top of his to stop him from talking. He responded to her kiss and then slowly lowered them both to the floor before they made love to each other, regardless of where they were.
Coming up: After 41 weeks of pregnancy, Sam finally goes into labour. But what will they call their daughter? And how will Daniel greet his new sibling?
Thanks for reading, please review :)