Go Baby Grow
Chapter 35 – Ups and Downs
Thursday, June 4th
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While Becca, Lucas and Ryder were chatting outside, Amelia stopped at the house to check on Lissa. She saw Becca and Molly with the boys as she entered the house and hoped that meant she'd have an opportunity to chat with Lissa alone.
Lissa was sitting on the floor with the babies. Elizabeth was on her tummy working hard to hold her head up, and Emily was lying below a frame with hanging toys, trying to kick and hit the objects.
"Hey, Lissy Lou," Amelia greeted her daughter-in-law with a smile as she stretched out on the floor. "How's the day going?"
With a weak smile, Lissa shared, "Pretty well, I guess." She glanced at Amelia's tummy and smiled, "You're starting to look pregnant."
"Instead of generally overweight, right?" Amelia laughed.
"I hated that stage – where you're obviously bigger but not obviously preggers," Lissa recalled.
"I saw Ryder and Lucas are chatting with Becca outside. How's she working out?" Amelia wondered aloud.
Lissa lifted one shoulder, "I like her. She's great with the kids and respectful toward Nolan and I. She's starting to see what needs to be done and does it without being asked. That's good."
"Sounds like she's fitting in well," Amelia commented.
"I guess. It's weird having her here. I feel like I can't relax or be myself," Lissa disclosed. "I really don't know how to be someone's boss."
"When Lynne first began, I had the same awkward sense. It gets better. You all need to find a groove and that takes time," Amelia sympathized.
Lissa locked her gaze on Amelia, sensing something was not right. "Are you ok, Amma?"
"Mostly," Amelia nodded. "Ria needs more surgery on her leg. That poor kid is going to spend the summer in a cast."
"No…" Lissa sighed. "What's wrong?"
"It's really complicated. The orthopedist had to run through it twice for me. Basically, there are a collection of intertwined and inter-dependent muscles in the lower leg. One particular muscle that runs from ankle to knee – a muscle Ria usually can't feel – has all sorts of damage: tears, pooling blood, swelling, cramping. As it's reacted to what was probably originally a minor injury, other muscles have been impacted. The whole situation happened over a ten day or less period, but Ria felt nothing and had no idea until it was severe."
"Poor baby. That's absolutely rotten," Lissa opined. "Just when you think you've conquered something, you know? For Ria, Spina Bifida is like pictures of bad hair days. When you think you've found them all and destroyed them, somebody posts a new one on Facebook that you've never seen."
Amelia sputtered and giggled, "Larissa, that has to be one of the most obscure metaphors I've ever heard."
"There's a reason I've always wanted to teach the lower grades, Amma," Lissa kidded. "When you start having to teach about metaphors, similes, electromagnets and pre-algebra, I'm toast."
"You're smarter that you think," Amelia encouraged her.
"How about Spina Bifida is like your first Spring in a new house," Lissa proposed. "When you least expect it, a random bulb pops out of the ground and you find out you have an area of crocus. Just when you become accustomed to the crocus, daffodils start appearing in the corner, then tulips in the middle of the grass, and irises along the side. You never know what's going to surprise you next. You have little clue if an area can be managed or must be removed. No matter how hard you try to map it all out, something seems to spring up unexpectedly every year."
"A for effort, Liss," Amelia laughed. "And who the hell planted tulip bulbs in the grass?"
"My guess is either Ryder or Lucas. Ryder would do it in an attempt to be annoying, Lucas would do it because he doesn't know basic garden do's and don'ts."
"Please don't ever mention planting bulbs in the grass to Ryder. He'd do it and poor Owen would end up with an MI," Amelia joked.
"Just imagine if you have another boy!" Lissa giggled. "Maybe it's a good thing you can find out the gender at your 20-week appointment."
"We've decided not to find out," Amelia shared.
"Why?" Lissa inquired with stunned curiosity.
"With every child, we've always known ahead of time," Amelia summarized. "This time is our last opportunity to be surprised."
"You hear that Little One," Lissa spoke to Amelia's baby bump, "you're going to be a surprise from conception to birth." The baby kicked and Lissa laughed, "It kicked me!"
"This baby loves to respond when people speak to it," Amelia informed Lissa. "I swear sometimes that it is listening and taking in every conversation I have."
After pausing, Lissa smiled and confessed, "I have my own surprise to share."
"You're pregnant?!" Amelia gasped.
"Goodness no, Amma. Nolan and I haven't had sex since I was pregnant," Lissa admitted without shame.
"Ohh…" Amelia responded sadly. "How sad. How can you go that long?"
"Without sex?" Lissa attempted to clarify. "Umm, I'm postpartum, exhausted, depressed… there are lots of reasons. Didn't your sex drive plummet after giving birth?"
"Lissy Lou, my sex drive doesn't know the word plummet. Sex is a high priority in my life," Amelia declared.
"Are you sure you didn't give birth to Nolan and Ryder?" Lissa teased. "I know from firsthand experience that one is insatiable and from his non-stop boasting that the other one is too."
"Ah, yes… I love hearing about my children's sex lives," Amelia stated as she covered her ears. "Please… no more."
"Sorry," Lissa guffawed. "Change of subject: tell me more about Ree's leg."
Amelia frowned. "She doesn't know anything yet. The doctor explained the muscle issues and did a fantastic job showing her the problem on a model, but we haven't told her about the surgery yet. I think Owen and I were still trying to take it in. As if surgery isn't bad enough, she'll be facing major PT and a long recovery. After surgery, she'll be in a cast. Not just any cast, but a non-weight bearing cast which means she'll be spending time in a wheelchair. She can't stand the stares and looks of pity when she's in a chair. You know her… she wants to run and play, not watch everyone else do what she wants to do."
"How are you with all this?" Lissa inquired.
Smiling, Amelia gazed at the floor, "Wait a minute… I came over here to check on you."
"Actually, Amma," Lissa assured her, "having something else to focus on is fantastic. Not that Ria's surgery is great news, but it helps me not be so self-absorbed and such a downer. I feel useful when I can listen to you and support you. What else is going on?"
"I have my 20-week appointment on Monday," Amelia shared, deciding to talk about anything other than Lissa's depression. "I can't believe I'm already at this point."
"And absolutely no signs of concern so far," Lissa noted. "I am so relieved. From the moment we found out, Nolan has been fretting about you and the baby. He's been so worried that something would go wrong."
"Really? He's never said a word to me about that. In fact, he's seemed indifferent about the pregnancy," Amelia described her experience.
"He was a little weirded out at the idea of having a sibling younger than his own kids at first, but now he loves the idea of them all growing up together," Lissa disclosed.
Amelia inquired, "Has he been working a ton?"
"He's been better this week," Lissa emphasized. "He stayed home on Monday and Tuesday, which I couldn't believe. Yesterday, he came home around 7. That's earlier than before. He's trying to be home tonight by 6. He can't always control his schedule, though. He's trying."
"Good for him," Amelia celebrated.
"He and Becca work well together. I'm so jealous – he seems so relaxed and at ease giving her directions or tasks. When he wants her to do something a specific way, he has a knack for redirecting her without any sense of judgment or blame. He's a great leader," Lissa acknowledged. "When I do any of that, I feel so awkward. I mean, she's our age and here we are paying her and having her do our dishes and laundry. It's weird."
"I bet having another set of hands to help is great, though," Amelia redirected.
"It is. She's great with the girls. Nolan's great with her. Everyone's good with everyone else, and I have no idea what I'm doing," Lissa commented.
Amelia reached out and grasped her daughter-in-law's hand. She whispered, "It gets better. I promise."
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Thursday afternoon was a busy time throughout Seattle. As Julie and Nate drove to the Caldwell's, he mentioned that the phone call he took was from Adam's assistant.
"What'd she say?" Julie inquired.
"She'd been trying to call you but you weren't answering your phone, and she needed to clock out. Mechanics were taking a ship out this morning to assess their work and plan out next steps. Since it was meant to take 4-5 hours, your dad and Captain Rice went out to log some sea time. The ship had some problems and is now anchored just off the coast. The necessary equipment and parts won't arrive at the ship until tomorrow. Your dad decided to keep the crew out there and run them through some drills rather than sending choppers to take them back to the base," Nate explained.
"Oh," Julie popped her head back slightly. "Crazy. Running them through drills – does that mean he's pissed or that he's making the best of the situation?"
"Yes," Nate laughed.
"Those poor, poor sailors," Julie sympathized as she shook her head.
Nate chuckled and added, "So it looks like you're on your own tonight. If you want, we could grab some grub."
"I can cook," Julie pointed out. "You're welcome to stay for dinner and keep me company, though."
Spending the late afternoon and evening together provided time for conversation about the Academy and about life in general. Julie, sweaty from the workout, had hopped in the shower when she and Nate arrived at the house. Since Nate hadn't worked out alongside the plebes-to-be that day, he sat on the back porch soaking in the warm breeze. They laughed as they prepared dinner side-by-side and shared in the tasks of cooking and cleaning up. The relaxed time was a welcome experience for both of them.
After dinner, they sat outside and chatted more. They settled in next to one another on an overstuffed outdoor sofa and rested their feet on the outdoor table. To Julie's delight, Nate shared funny stories about his time at the Academy. She peppered him with questions, some of which he answered by saying, "I can't tell you all the secrets... some things you'll have to experience for yourself." At other times, he made up outrageous descriptions of the life of a Plebe and had Julie believing him. However, he couldn't resist taking the accounts one step too far. When he crossed that line, Julie would figure out he was teasing her. His taunting, which increased as the night evolved, caused Julie to impishly push him at one point. Nate let the first nudge slide. When she attempted it again, he gently trapped her hands and joked, "You're playing with fire, Caldwell."
His words only encouraged her to provoke him further. When she playfully went in with fake punches on his chest as a response to his teasing, he grasped her wrists tenderly and turned so they were face-to-face rather than side-to-side. Their eyes met as they laughed with one another, then suddenly the laughter disappeared and a magnetizing energy flowed between them.
For what seemed like an hour, Nate and Julie lost themselves in one another's eyes. They grinned softly at each other and Nate slowly lowered Julie's wrists to her lap. When he let go, neither one of them moved.
Sputtering, not because he was nervous about the possibility of kissing but because he knew better than to kiss the CO's daughter and a soon-to-be-plebe, Nate opened his mouth slightly and whispered, "May I…"
Interrupting, Julie, with starry eyes and a body full of surging hormones, responded softly, "Yes."
Their lips made contact first, followed by their arms that wrapped around one another's body. Julie could feel Nate's flexed arm muscles and sunk into the sensation as their kiss continued without pause. Not showing any signs of hesitation, Julie leaned back until she was flat on the sofa. Nate followed her movements, ending up on top of her initially until he slid to the side. As his body pressed against hers and they continued to kiss, Julie was well aware that he was aroused. Her heart felt as if it was going to burst out of her chest. A little part of her was tempted to stop and scream out words of celebration: Julie Caldwell has finally made out with a guy! Not only that, but he's a hot, muscular guy!
"This is nice," Nate cooed as he slid his 5 o'clock shadow over her soft cheek. His mouth ended up at her ear lobe and her toes curled at the sensation of his nibbles. As he whispered sweet nothings in her ear, his left hand wandered off her torso and under her shirt. When he reached her breast and caressed it, Julie simultaneously wanted to stop and wanted more. Conflicted and unsure what signal she hoped to send, she set her hand atop his roaming fingers.
Nate pulled back and nudged Julie's cheek softly with the tip of his nose. "Do you want me to stop?"
"Yes…No…" Julie chuckled with anxious uncertainty.
Sliding his hand out of her shirt, Nate whispered as he nodded, "We should stop."
Julie leaned up, pulled his head to hers, and whispered, "No, we shouldn't." She began another extended kiss her stomach filled with butterflies. With delight, she ran her fingers through his hair. She eased her grip and rested her head on the sofa. Her eyes locked on to his face as she encircled his eyes with her forefinger, traced his strong jaw line and stopped at his lips. He eased on top of her and began kissing her again. Hands explored and soft chuckles were heard as they lost themselves in one another. Surging and craving, Nate whispered, "Oh, Julie, I want you."
Unsure how to respond, Julie searched her brain. She decided to simply name her reality. Grasping his arm, she confessed, "I love your touch."
Nate slid down and began kissing her uncovered belly, working his way upward.
The front door opened and the couple heard, "Dad? Itsy? I'm home!" Sam's low voice filled the air from one end of the house to the other. Shaken out of their frenzy, Julie stood up and straightened out her clothes and hair. She ran inside to greet her brother. Nate ran his fingers through his hair quickly, using the reflection of his phone as a makeshift mirror and tucked in his shirt. He sat up on the couch waiting to reunite with his former Brigade Commander.