It's Thursday so that means update day! Thank you always to Hollie for the wonderful review!
Callum helped Jess out of the car as they reached their GP's office. Callum had wanted to take Jess to the hospital so she could be seen by the midwife or obstetrician, but she was too early to be seen in triage yet. As they entered the surgery and took a seat to wait, Callum sneaked a look at Jess. Her skin had pinked up some, but she still looked fragile, her blonde hair loose around her face, her green eyes looking down into her lap. Her hands were on her thighs, but she couldn't keep them still. He watched as she took a deep breath in. He placed a hand over her hands, stilling them.
"It's going to be ok. Our baby will be fine. He's a tough one; he must be with us as parents." Callum said in a reassuring voice. Jess just nodded, wanting to cross her fingers just to be sure.
"Callum?" she said quietly.
"Hmm?" he responded.
"Can you ring my parents please? I want them to know...I mean, if this is going to be bad news, I want them to know." she said tentatively, finally meeting his eyes. He nodded, kissed the back of her hand, and walked out of the surgery to make the call. As he left, a female doctor walked in.
"Jessica Stone?" the GP called. Jess gathered up her things and followed the GP into her office. "What can I do for you today?"
"I'm just over seventeen weeks pregnant. Today, at work, I started to feel ill. I had blurred vision and nausea, vomiting and just didn't feel right. It lasted about fifteen minutes maybe? I just felt really weak, and I still feel a bit like that now. My vision is back to normal, and my nausea went when I threw up. My husband and my boss wanted me to come in just to be checked over." Jess explained, her hands once again fidgeting in her lap.
"Have you had any of these symptoms before?" the doctor asked her.
"I've had the normal morning sickness which is still ongoing, but never anything like this. I didn't have it in my previous pregnancies either." she added.
"Do you work in a stressful environment?" the doctor questioned. As Jess was about to answer, there was a knock on the door. "Come in." Callum popped his head around the door.
"Sorry, I'm Jess' husband." he explained as he came in and sat next to Jess, immediately taking her fidgeting hands in his.
"Did you ring them?" Jess asked hurriedly.
"Yeah, they said they would leave tomorrow and be here sometime tomorrow night." Callum relayed.
"Oh, they didn't have to come down; I just wanted them to know." Jess said, feeling bad for dragging her parents across the country. "Sorry doctor, you were saying?"
"I asked if you worked in a stressful environment." she repeated with a kind smile. Jess and Callum exchanged a look with a small smile.
"We're police officers." Jess said.
"Ah, not stressful at all then." the doctor said with a smile. "Was there anything in particular today that caused you any undue distress?"
"Well I was called to a shout of a man who hadn't shown up for his court hearing. I had dealt with him a few weeks back for kidnapping his daughter. When my Sergeant and I showed up at his flat, I found him hanging in his bedroom. I did CPR on him. So yeah, that was probably one of my more stressful shout outs." Jess explained.
The doctor nodded, writing something down. She stood up and walked over to Jess, "If you could just sit on the bed for me please, and I'll take your blood pressure." The doctor placed the cuff around Jess' arm, "This will get a bit tight." The cuff inflated, digging into Jess' arm. As it began to get quite painful, the doctor took it off. "That's brilliant. If you'd like to lie down and lift your top, I just want to have a feel of your tummy and listen to baby."
Jess did as she was told, wincing slightly as the cold gel hit her stomach. The doctor swilled the transducer across Jess' abdomen, finally coming to a stop. She pressed something on the little handheld machine, and the thrumming of the baby's heartbeat filled the office. The GP smiled at Jess, wiped her stomach and indicated for her to sit back down. Jess sat down next to Callum, both looking at the doctor expectantly.
"So? Is she ok? Is the baby ok?" Callum asked.
"Well, as you heard, your baby has a nice strong heartbeat. I am, however, a little concerned about your blood pressure. It's a little high for your normal, and it's known that a high blood pressure can cause blurred vision and nausea." the doctor informed them.
"So my baby is ok? And this high blood pressure, I mean, it can be treated can't it?" Jess asked in a rush. Callum placed a comforting hand over hers.
"Yes, your baby sounds perfectly healthy. As for the blood pressure, I'm going to recommend that you start drinking a lot more fluids, as dehydration won't help. Also, watch your salt intake, try reducing it a bit if possible. I'd also like to suggest taking a step back at work. The stress of your job won't do either of you any good." the doctor said kindly.
"I want to see you every other week just to keep an eye on your blood pressure ok?"
"I'm not going to lose my baby?" Jess asked, not daring to hope yet.
"No Mrs Stone, you're not going to lose your baby as long as you follow what I've said." the doctor said with a smile. Jess exhaled noisily, a sob catching in her throat. She covered her face, not wanting to cry.
"Come on, let's get you home." Callum said gently, helping Jess up. She nodded, tucking herself into Callum's side.
"Thank you so much doctor." Jess said sincerely before leaving the room.
"You're very welcome. Good luck, and make the appointment to see me in two weeks on your way out. Any other concerns don't hesitate to call." she called as the door shut behind the couple.
"He's ok, our baby is ok." Callum murmured into Jess' soft hair.
"Thank God." Jess whispered. She made a promise to herself and to her husband and unborn child; she would protect this child with everything she had, she would die to keep her child from harm. She would do anything.
Once they had got into the house, Callum had gone upstairs to run Jess a hot bath. She wandered into the kitchen, throwing away the wilted flowers that Claire had bought for them. She opened a window, letting a breeze flow through the otherwise stifling kitchen. She poured herself some cold water from the fridge and took a seat at the kitchen table.
She pulled the ultrasound picture from their first scan out of her purse, placing it flat on the table in front of her. Her fingers stroked across the blurry lines of her child's face, and she drank in all his features. She would not let this baby end up as her other two children had; extinguished from this world without their parents, alone. No way. This baby was going to survive and have its parents with it always. No question about it.
The following evening, Jess was laying on the sofa in her silky nightie, eating ice cream straight out the tub. As the doctor had recommended, Jess had upped her liquid intake, and the amount of times she had had to empty her bladder was ridiculous. But it was for the good of her baby so she didn't complain. Callum came downstairs and lifted her legs off the end of the sofa, sitting down where they had been and planting them on his lap. He lazily ran a hand up and down her calf, watching the dimmed lights play across her face.
"How're you feeling?" he asked her.
"I'd feel much better if you stopped asking me every five minutes." she said with a slight smile.
"Sorry." he said guiltily.
She reached out a hand to him, and he took it, rubbing circles on the back of her hand with his thumb, "Don't be sorry. Just understand that I'm feeling fine, I'm not a delicate china doll that's going to break if I move too fast. I'll tell you if I'm not feeling right."
"Promise? Because had I not literally ran into you yesterday would you have told me?" Callum asked. Jess placed her ice cream tub on the coffee table and knelt on the couch to kiss him. She leant against his chest, placing her cold hands under his t-shirt on his bare skin, causing him to shiver.
"Yes I would have, but I just needed to get myself sorted and a bit more presentable first. I was going to get some paracetamol and anti sickness, then I would have come to find you." she said.
"Jess we have mobile's, you could have just text me." he said, catching her chin and pulling it up so she was looking at him.
She sighed, stroking his cheek, "I know I know, I'm just not great at admitting that I'm struggling or I need help."
"Darlin' come on, let me look after you. I am not Dan. I want you and the baby to be healthy and well but I can't achieve that if you don't let me in. You're not on your own in this, let me in." he said gently.
She felt a tear snake down her cheek and quickly wiped it away, "I'm sorry Callum, I know you're not Dan I really do, but sometimes old habits die hard. But I promise you I will be better."
"Don't promise me Jess, promise yourself! Seeing you looking so poorly scared me, I don't want to see you like that if it can be avoided."
Jess pressed a kiss against his chest, "Understood."
Callum nodded, seemingly satisfied for now at her answers, "Right, the spare room is all made up, I put fresh towels out and opened the windows to let air in. I cleared some space in the wardrobe as well." he answered, leaning his head against hers.
"Thanks honey. Did they say how long they're staying for?" she asked.
"No, but they can stay as long as they like. I want someone here with you when I'm at work." Callum said.
"Callum, I don't need a babysitter." she said like a sullen teenager.
"I know you don't, but I'll feel better if someone is with you in case something happens again. Please Jess, you're my wife, and you're carrying my child, I don't want anything to happen to either of you. I love you too much." he said sincerely.
"Well, when you put it like that, how can I complain?" she said with a smile, kissing him again.
They had just got comfy when the doorbell rang. Callum checked his watch; Michelle and Rob weren't due for another hour yet. Jess shifted to the side so he could get up. He opened the door to reveal Jess' parents. Michelle immediately pulled Callum into a hug, and as he stood out her way, telling her where Jess was, she hurried into the house to the bemusement of her long suffering husband. Rob followed his wife, grasping Callum's hand in his and shaking it.
"Alright son. How's it going?" Rob asked, hauling one of the cases into the hall.
"Good, Jess is feeling much better now, so yeah, a lot more calm." he said with a smile, helping Rob haul the next case in. "It's alright Rob, go see Jess, I'll take these up to your room for you."
"Cheers lad." Rob said with a smile and a pat on the shoulder, following where his wife had gone.
Michelle flew into the living room in a whirl of colour and emotion. She pulled Jess tight to her as Jess stood up to greet her. Michelle cradled her first born tight in her arms, smoothing Jess' hair, kissing her cheek.
"Mum, mum let go. I'm ok, I'm ok." Jess said, trying to convince her mum that she really was ok.
"Michelle, let the poor girl go." Rob said gently, placing a hand on his wife's shoulder.
Michelle took a step back, wiping under her eyes with her finger. "I'm sorry. It's just we only found out about the baby a few days ago, and then to get that call from Callum yesterday...I was so worried about you darling. How are you anyway?" Michelle asked, taking the seat Jess offered.
Jess hugged her father and gave him a kiss on his cheek. She sat next to her mum, Michelle immediately taking Jess' hands in hers. Rob sat on the sofa next to the window, watching his wife and daughter.
"I'm good mum, I'm fine. The doctor said I had slightly high blood pressure which is why I felt so rough. Basically I just have to drink more, watch my salt and try not to have as much stress in my life. The baby is going to be fine. She said he had a healthy heartbeat, which was good." Jess said, trying to stop her mother's worry.
"Are you sure?" Michelle asked seriously.
Jess nodded, "I'm sure. I promise you. It's going to be ok, our baby is ok, your grandchild is ok."
"Your cases are set next to the wardrobe in your room." Callum said as he came into the room. "Anyone want a drink?"
"Tea please Callum. 'Chelle, what do you want love?" Rob asked.
"I'll have tea as well please." Michelle answered with a smile.
"Jess? Do you want some more water?" Callum asked.
"Yes please honey. And can you get me an apple as well please?" she called after him. "So, mum, dad, how long are you here for? You can stay as long as you like, and we mean that."
Michelle and Robert exchanged a look, "Me and your mother wanted to talk to you and Callum about something, when he's back."
"Oh?" Jess said, hoping they would expand.
"We'll tell you more when Callum's back." Michelle said, echoing her husband. Jess looked at them closely. Callum came back in, setting the hot drinks down on coasters. He handed Jess her apple and water and sat next to Rob.
"Now that you're both here, we want to talk to you about a decision we've made recently." Rob began. Callum and Jess were looking at him carefully, "We love living in Cornwall, but the only reason we moved there was for you, Jess, and Andy. We wanted you to have a nice place to grow up, to carve out your childhood. When you got older and you moved out, we carried on living there because you were both nearby, you both had jobs and lives there. But Jess, when you moved here to London and Andy went to Plymouth, we began to question staying in Cornwall. So we're selling the house."
"What?" Jess exclaimed, "But you love that house!"
"Yes we do, but we love our children more." Michelle said simply.
"So where are you moving to?" Callum asked.
"Actually, we've just bought a house here in London. Not far from here." Rob said slowly. Jess frowned.
"Here? Where?" Jess asked.
"Not far from where you and Dan lived when you first moved here." Michelle explained, "It's a nice little semi detached, with three bedrooms, so we can have a guest room for Andy to stay in, and we wanted to make the other bedroom a room for the baby. You see, we thought we'd move closer to you, to help you during the pregnancy. We want to be here for you both and our grandchild. When the baby is born, we'll look after him or her when you're both at work. It'll mean you won't have to shell out loads of money for a nursery and we'll get to stay close to you and our grandchild. What do you think?"
Jess smiled and laughed. She moved to kiss her mum and pulled her into a tight hug before crossing the room and hugging her dad. She settled on Callum's lap, smiling.
"Are you both sure? Like, really sure? Living here is so different to Newquay." Jess said, a crease of concern on her brow.
"We know that darling but what's important for us is being here, with you. Being nearby again is going to make me a lot less anxious about the pregnancy." Michelle said honestly. Jess nodded in understanding.
"Well we'll be very happy to have you so close, we really appreciate what you're doing for us." Callum said, so grateful for this family that he'd married into.
"You're very welcome darling. Now, can we see the ultrasound of our grandchild?" Michelle asked with a hopeful face.
"Of course. Let me just go and get it." Jess said, nearly skipping out the room she was so happy.
"Thank you, honestly. That's just what she needs right now, and it's making me feel better knowing you'll be near her if I'm at work and not able to be with her." Callum said, a rush of grateful love spreading through his body for his in-laws.
Jess and Callum woke to the smell of blueberry pancakes floating tantalisingly up the stairs. Jess awoke with a smile, rolling onto her side and looking into Callum's smiling eyes.
"Smells good." he murmured, voice husky from sleep.
"Mum always made them for me on my birthday or if I was ill. They're my favourite." she said, jumping out of bed and putting on a thin cardigan and sliding her feet into her slippers.
Callum watched her go round the room in a whirlwind. He couldn't believe how much better she seemed already; having her parents around for the rest of her pregnancy was going to do her the world of good. Jess tied her hair up messily and walked down the hall, past the room that would be decorated soon as the baby's nursery, and down the stairs, following the smell coming from the kitchen.
"Morning sweetheart." her dad said in greeting, smiling at her over the top of the paper.
"Morning. Smells good mum." Jess said, kissing Michelle on the cheek as she walked past to get some juice. She poured herself some apple juice, and then poured Callum a coffee, knowing what he would be like without his morning caffeine fix.
Michelle shimmied the pancakes onto four plates, placing one in front of Jess and Robert, and leaving the other two on the counter.
"Will Callum be down soon?" Michelle asked, sitting herself down with some pancakes.
"Should be, he's just stumbling around upstairs waking up. He needs to eat and have his coffee before work. So, I never got the chance to ask this last night, but has the house been sold then?" Jess asked, taking a glorious bite of pancake.
"Well, no, not quite, but it's just a formality. We've got the buyers, a lovely couple from Manchester looking for a better life for themselves and their three children. They're just sorting out the funds, and our estate agent said he'd call once it's sorted." Michelle explained. At that point Callum stumbled in, looking like a disgruntled bear. He rubbed his eyes, following the smell of coffee. He grabbed his mug and took a seat next to Jess in front of some pancakes.
"These smell great Michelle, thanks." Callum mumbled gratefully.
"You're welcome. Now Jess, we thought that maybe you would like to come see our new house with us today? I want your thoughts on how to decorate the nursery there." Michelle said.
"That would be brilliant; I'd love to see it. About the nursery, you don't need to decorate it especially for the baby. I mean, you could just have it as another guest room. If the baby stayed with you overnight you could just use a travel cot." Jess suggested.
"I know, but we'd rather we had a special room for the baby, to make him or her feel at home with us, you know?" Robert chimed in.
"Ok, if you're sure then. But we haven't even decorated our own nursery yet!" Jess said with a laugh, leaning her head on Callum's shoulder.
"Ah, well, I have a gift for you in that respect. Callum, could you help me bring something in from the car please?" Robert asked, quickly leaving the kitchen with Callum in tow.
"Mum? What gift?" Jess asked.
Michelle looked just as confused as Jess, "I have no idea darling."
They listened as the men shuffled along the hall, apparently carrying something heavy. There was a thud as the thing was dropped onto the floor. Jess and Michelle got up, walking out to where the noises had been. On the floor, wrapped in a load of bubble wrap, were a lot of pieces of pale wood.
"Dad? What is it?" Jess asked, trying to peer through all the bubble wrap for a better view.
"I wasn't sure if you'd already bought the furniture for the nursery, so I thought I'd bring this with me. I started to make this when you were pregnant with Luke, but by the time I'd finished it all, you'd already bought all the stuff for the nursery. So I kept it in the workshop for when you had another baby. And now you're pregnant again, so I took it down and wrapped it all up ready to give to you both. Open the bubble wrap." Robert instructed.
Callum bent down, gently tearing off the sellotape holding the bits of bubble wrap together. Different sized pieces of wood were revealed; Jess finally realised what it was.
She rushed and gave her dad a tight hug, "It ah, it needs to be put together, but I can do that for you later today."
"Thank you so much. It's beautiful." Jess said sincerely, kissing her dad on the cheek. The different pieces of wood were the pieces for a crib, a delicate, beautiful crib for their baby, handmade with love by their grandad. It was done in white oak, a beautiful pale wood. "We can do the rest of the nursery around this."
"It's also a rocking crib; see the curved pieces of wood there. I made some flat ones as well if you didn't want it to rock. And, this is what I did a few days ago." Rob searched through the wood and pulled out a wooden letter S, made from the same wood as the rest of the crib. "It's an S for Stone, for baby Stone. It goes on the tail end of the crib."
"Robert, this is fantastic. Thank you. Let us give you some money towards it or something though?" Callum asked, shaking Rob's hand in thanks.
"No lad, you're alright. It was my pleasure to make something which my grandchild would use, and maybe it'll even be passed down to my great grandchildren as well." Robert said with a smile. Michelle touched his arm affectionately.
"If you're sure then. But let us buy the crib for your house." Callum bargained.
Robert nodded, "Ok then."
"Callum, honey, haven't you got to get ready for work?" Jess asked, checking his watch.
"Oh crap, yeah. Gina will have me if I'm late! I'll take the pancakes to go alright? I'll see you later, have a good day." Callum said, kissing Jess deeply, waving to Michelle and Rob.
"Well then, let's get ready and go to the house." Michelle said with a smile.
Michelle slotted the key into the lock of their new house. Jess was glad to see that they were moving to an area where they generally didn't get a lot of calls; she didn't want her parents to move to a high crime area.
Michelle placed her bag down inside the door, Jess following suit. The house was bare of furniture and painted in shades of cream. She followed her mum through the house, oohing and aahing at the rooms, nodding to the ideas her mum had for the place, including painting the living room in a deep red, and having a light green kitchen. They went up the stairs, finally getting to the room that Michelle and Robert wanted to turn into the nursery. It was a small but well proportioned room. Opposite the door was a big window which let in light, with a gorgeous view over the garden and all the flowers. To the left of the room were two smallish alcoves, perfect to fit in a chest of drawers and a changing table.
"This is lovely mum, really nice." Jess said with a smile as they walked back down the stairs to gather their bags and leave.
"I'm glad you like it. So what did you think of the nursery?" Michelle asked, walking down the gravel path.
"Perfect." Jess said simply.
As they were about to get into the car, they could hear shouts coming from down the road. Jess turned, her police instincts kicking in. She wandered down the path until she came out onto the road, and looked left and right. A couple of doors down, a well dressed man was getting into his car, trying to push off the shouting woman. He pushed her hard, and she stumbled back, falling onto the pavement. The man slammed his car door shut, starting the car with a growl. As he pulled out, the woman got back up, running after him, banging on his window. He ignored her, pulling away fast. There was a scream and a crunch. The car drove off, leaving the woman collapsed heavily on the kerb, cradling her foot.
"Jess, no, don't, you're not on duty." Rob said in warning.
"Dad, I'm a cop, this is my job." Jess said over her shoulder as she jogged over to the woman.
The woman was dressed in a short, tight red dress, and she had on high black stilettos. Her face was made up perfectly, as was her hair, and the first impression Jess got from her was that she was a tom.
"Hello there, my name's Jess; I'm a police officer, are you ok?"
The woman turned her brown eyes scathingly over Jess, tears streaming from the pain, "You don't look like a copper."
"Well I am. Do you want me to call an ambulance? It sounded as if he went over your foot pretty hard." Jess asked, crouching down next to the woman, eyeing her foot, thinking that the woman probably had some broken toes. She nodded, sobbing into her arm. As Jess hung up from calling for an ambulance, she rang Smithy at the station, informing him of what had just happened. He confirmed that he would send someone there soon. Jess turned back to the woman, handing her a tissue.
"Thanks." she said begrudgingly.
"Can you tell me your name?" Jess asked.
"Lana Ramirez. It's not what you think, before you go jumping to conclusions." Lana said with a quick glance at Jess.
"Really? So I didn't just see a man run over your foot after pushing you onto the ground?" Jess asked, an eyebrow raised.
"Well yeah, but it's not...he didn't mean to." Lana said tiredly.
"Ok, well my colleagues will be here soon to talk to you anyway." Jess explained, getting to her feet when she saw the ambulance at the end of the road.
"What did you call them for?" Lana asked, outraged.
"Because I just saw a crime, that's why. They'll need to take a statement from you and me and then find that man." Jess said, waving the paramedics over.
"No no no, that's not what I want you interfering cow." Lana hissed. Just behind the ambulance, a police car pulled up. Nate and Will got out, coming over to Jess. As the paramedics started to assist Lana, they stopped in front of Jess.
"Why is it that wherever you go, trouble always follows." Will asked, rolling his eyes.
"She can't help it, Will, she's just got one of those faces." Nate said with a wink.
"Thanks guys, I've missed you too." she said with a pout.
"Just kidding. How're you doing? Is baby alright?" Will asked seriously.
"Yeah, we're both good thanks. I should be back at work next week, thank the lord!" Jess said with a laugh.
"Good, the place ain't half boring without you, and Sally is driving us insane! She has no-one to gossip with you see, cause Beth is on a CID case at the minute. So hurry up and come back yeah?" Nate said with a grin.
"Sure thing. Anyway, this lovely lady is Lana Ramirez. I saw her shouting at a male who I think was IC5, short black hair. He was driving a black Mercedes with blacked out rear windows. The man pushed Lana back as he got into the car, she stumbled backwards, got back up, and as the man was pulling away, he drove over her foot. He carried on driving." Jess informed them, speaking slowly to allow them to write it all down.
"Ok, what's Lana saying?" Will asked.
"She's saying I'm an interfering cow and she doesn't want us involved. I have a hunch that she's a tom though, so maybe put her name through crimin..." Jess started to say.
"Jess, we know how to do our jobs." Nate said with a laugh.
"Sorry, I just miss being at work. Go on then, go get her statement. I need to get back to my parents. Say hi to everyone. If you need anything more from me, you know where to find me." Jess said, briefly hugging her friends and waving as she returned to her parents.
Jess and Michelle had dropped Robert back to the house so he could begin assembling the crib in Jess and Callum's nursery. Michelle had wanted to take Jess out shopping for furniture for their new house, and for some baby items.
As they walked around the shops, Michelle said, "Your dad and I thought we'd have some baby clothes and stuff at our house to keep there, so you don't have to bring stuff with you all the time. Is that alright?"
"Course it is, but mum, I don't want you spending so much money on the baby. Spend it on yourselves and your new house." Jess said kindly.
"We want to love, honestly. Now, let's go look at some baby clothes." Michelle said, a twinkle in her eye as she dragged Jess into another baby shop.
Callum got in just as Jess was serving up their dinner of grilled chicken breast with salad. He came in, said hello to Rob who was nearly finished assembling the crib, changed into some clean clothes and then wandered through to the kitchen.
"Evening." he said, kissing Jess on the cheek and rubbing her bump as he walked past her to get a beer.
"Good day?" Jess asked, sliding the chicken breasts onto some plates.
"S'alright. The woman involved in the accident you called in declined to give a statement and insisted no further action to be made. As we thought she would." Callum said, taking a seat at the table, "And your hunch was right; Will and Nate ran her name through crimin, she's a tom, and a well known one at that. She's also had previous for minor drug offences."
"What about the man? Any luck on his identity?" Jess queried, pouring herself a drink.
"Not yet, but Will and Nate were trying to find out who owns the building that Lana Ramirez lives in and find out through that. I was talking to Stevie, she was one of the arresting officers when Lana was done for drug possession, and she said that when she had nicked Lana before, she had been moving into the house you saw her come out of, saying that that was where all the other girls stayed. So Will and Nate are looking into it, seeing if it's a brothel etc. But anyway, enough of work, how was your day?" he asked, sitting down.
"Good thanks, I saw mum and dad's house, obviously, and it's really lovely. The room they're having for the baby is gorgeous, and mum bought some little clothes for him. I told her not to, but she insisted. Dad's been doing the crib all day, he said we can see it tonight once he's finished." Jess said, taking a bit of her chicken.
"Jess? Callum? Michelle!" Rob shouted down the stairs.
The three adults got up, going up the stairs to the nursery. In the centre of the bare room stood the crib. It looked magnificent put together, absolutely beautiful. Rob had tied a red ribbon round it, like a present, and Jess noticed he had affixed the wooden S onto the end of it. Jess skipped over and hugged her dad tightly, wiping away a tear from her eye.
"Dad it's perfect, thank you so much." she said sincerely, letting her dad go and walking to the crib. She pushed it gently, watching as it tipped from side to side lazily. She noticed as well that there was already a mattress in the crib, and someone, Michelle most likely, had put some clean white sheets with sunshines on in the crib. It was beautiful. There was also a small snuggly bear at one end of the crib, and a hand knitted yellow blanket folded up neatly in one corner. "Mum, you shouldn't have, really."
"Michelle, Rob, you've done so much for us, and we're really grateful, but let us pay you for the bedding at least?" Callum asked.
Michelle shook her head vehemently before stepping over to Jess, "No no, because I technically didn't buy any of it, not recently anyway. The sheets are some olds ones which were at our house, the bear was an old one of Luke's that I just washed and neatened up, and I knitted the blanket. This is our grandchild; a grandparent's job is to spoil them, we've just started a bit early." Michelle said with a smile, tenderly rubbing Jess' small bump.
Jess hugged her fiercely, so grateful for the wonderful family she had.
"Thank you mum and dad." Jess said again.
Jess and Callum settled down into bed later that night. Lately, Callum had taken to lying with his head on Jess' belly, wanting to feel the baby move. Jess watched him as he ran his fingers over the skin of her stomach, giving her goosebumps. Callum noticed and looked up at her sleepily.
"You ok Mrs Stone?" he asked.
Jess nodded, a smile on her face, "Things are going so well recently. This just feels so right, it really does. Our baby is going to be ok, I can feel it." Jess said with utter conviction.
"Of course he is, nothing could hurt him, I wouldn't let it. I won't let anything hurt you either, I promise." Callum moved his lips from her stomach to her neck, lightly kissing up towards her mouth. Her lips captured his, wanting more. Callum gently pulled Jess up off the mattress towards him, running a hand down her spine, the other cupping the side of her head. She sighed in contentment, a big smile on her face.