For Better or Worse
- Thread starter SkyGirl5
- Start date
cookiemonster
Cadet
that would be interesting having the 2 endings, but i did not do that
as for the smiles...yeh, i know a lot aren't working, but i dont know how to fix themsorry
Oh
no two endings... this would have been the bestest fic to do that :blink: *sad*Now I'm really curious how you're going to end this... it's killing me though :lol:
PS. or Chris' idea would also work
SkyGirl5
Cadet
Chapter 15
For Valentine’s Day that year, Michael wanted to do something extra special for his wife. Typically, he gave her the cursory dozen red roses and box of fancy chocolates for the holiday, as many husbands gave their wives. Occasionally, he would buy her something she had been hinting (okay, giving dead give aways) about, but not always. That year he was going to do something extra special, though. After all, she was not only his wife, but she was his beautiful, magnificent pregnant wife, and that certainly deserved more than just a simple dozen roses.
While Michael knew he wanted to do something special for Sydney, he was at a loss to figure out just what that special thing would be. Jewelry was always an option, but he could get her a nice necklace or bracelet any time of the year. This, he determined, had to be something unique; something she would not be expecting. After a few days of thinking and plotting, he finally came up with the perfect thing, something she would never be expecting.
That year, the actual date of February the fourteenth, fell on a Wednesday, so in order to surprise Sydney with his gift, he decided to give it to her on the Saturday before. After making arrangements for Henry to spend some quality time with his grandparents, he wrapped his present for Sydney in wrapping paper that encompassed Sydney’s two favorite colors: purple background with light pink flowers. Then, he returned home where his wife, he hoped, would just be waking up from her mid-afternoon nap. While Henry had not had an accident for many months, Sydney was still rather sleepy, but that was due to her pregnancy.
“Hey, are you just getting back?” Sydney asked her husband when he walked into the kitchen. She was seated at the table there, sipping on some tea and leafing through a magazine. “You were leaving when I went up to take my nap, I thought.”
“Yeah, but I had to finalize your present,” he grinned, holding up the perfectly wrapped box in his hands.
“Present?!” she asked with a shining grin.
“Yep. Let’s just say Valentine’s Day is coming a little early this year,” he said. Then, he set the present down at the table in front of her, before taking a seat beside her, his heart practically leaping up into his throat at the anticipation of Sydney’s reaction to his meticulously thought out gesture.
With a happy little giggle, Sydney pushed her tea mug aside and reached for the present. She tore off the paper in an unceremonious fashion before freezing upon reading the emblem on the box. “Michael,” she groaned slightly while scanning over the words Baby Gap once more. They had agreed they were going to do all the baby shopping together since, in Sydney’s view, Michael’s choices did not always contain the same taste hers would have.
“How do you know I didn’t just recycle the box hmm?” he challenged her preemptive protest of his gift. Of course, he had not recycled the box, but she didn’t need to know that immediately.
She gave him a conceding nod before lifting the lid off the box. Inside was a layer of white tissue paper, which she quickly removed. Beneath it, there was a ball of tissue paper that was obviously wrapped around something. Sydney quickly tore the paper away and found two infant sized onsies, both of them pink. Upon further examination, she found that one of the clothing items was plain pink with a yellow flower in the center of what would be the baby’s chest. The other had three words in the exact same position: Daddy’s Little Girl.
Tears in her eyes, Sydney glanced up to her husband, hoping that his gift was not some sort of cruel joke. “I just couldn’t wait,” he began softly. “I really wanted to know, so I called the doctor and I found out. Originally, I wasn’t going to tell you, but then after I knew, I figured, considering the circumstances, you wouldn’t mind knowing.”
“It’s a girl?” she croaked out in a questioning manner.
“It’s a girl,” he confirmed with a nod.
“We’re having a girl?!” she asked once more, that time her voice very squeaky.
“We’re having a girl,” Michael grinned. With this, Sydney burst into tears, covering her face with her hands. Though slightly stunned by her outburst, Michael knew she was crying from happiness, so he was not overly concerned. He merely couched down beside her and locked his arms around her.
After a few minutes of crying, Sydney managed to squeak out through her tears. “Are we really having a girl?! Are you sure?!”
“I’m positive,” he laughed softly at her disbelief. A smile broke out across her face and she moved her hands to rest atop her rounded belly. Michael placed his hands on top of hers before leaning in to give her a sweet kiss.
“I love you so much,” she sniffed, throwing her arms around his neck.
“Love you too,” he mumbled into her shoulder. After a few minute embrace, Sydney gave Michael another searing kiss before taking his hand and leading him out of the kitchen with a grin.
Once up in their bedroom, their kisses continued as they began ridding each other of their clothing. Just a few moments after they landed on the bed with a soft thump, both of them shirtless, Michael felt a strange bump up against his stomach, which was resting against his wife’s. At this, Sydney let out a burst of hysterical laughter and Michel groaned, “Oh god, I hate it when they do that!”
“Michael!” Sydney laughed in an almost scolding way, moving her hands down so that she could feel her daughter’s first kicks.
Michael placed his hands beside Sydney’s and sighed. “I like the kicking but…,” he groaned and leaned down to talk directly to the bump, “timing little one, timing.”
“She’s excited!” Sydney grinned.
“Yeah she’s not the only one,” Michael muttered.
Sydney giggled once more. “Remember those two weeks that-”
“Yes,” Michael growled, still mildly bitter about that incident. Around the same time in Sydney’s pregnancy with Henry, he began kicking every time his parents were growing close. In fact, for two weeks straight, every time Michael would begin to kiss Sydney, hoping their activities would lead to something more intimate, Henry would kick and thus interrupt their romantic mood. At one point, Michael was convinced Sydney had a switch she was flipping on purpose just to drive him to the brink of insanity.
“Oh Michael, I’m sure that won’t happen again; it was a fluke,” Sydney told him with a smile.
“Fluke, sure,” Michael muttered. “I know you’re hoping it will happen again just for your own amusement.”
Sydney stifled a giggle and looked away from him; she was hoping just that. They lay their in silence with their hands atop Sydney’s bump for a few more minutes before Sydney began softly, “What do you think she’ll look like? I mean, do you think she’ll look more like me, or like you? Because Henry looks like us both equally.”
“I don’t know, but I hope she looks just like you,” he said, tapping her nose gently. “You need a little Mini-Me running around I think.”
“Yeah,” Sydney sighed wistfully. Truthfully, she did not care if her daughter looked more like her, or her husband, or neither of them for that matter. All that mattered was that she was getting a perfect little baby girl that would be hers forever.
For Valentine’s Day that year, Michael wanted to do something extra special for his wife. Typically, he gave her the cursory dozen red roses and box of fancy chocolates for the holiday, as many husbands gave their wives. Occasionally, he would buy her something she had been hinting (okay, giving dead give aways) about, but not always. That year he was going to do something extra special, though. After all, she was not only his wife, but she was his beautiful, magnificent pregnant wife, and that certainly deserved more than just a simple dozen roses.
While Michael knew he wanted to do something special for Sydney, he was at a loss to figure out just what that special thing would be. Jewelry was always an option, but he could get her a nice necklace or bracelet any time of the year. This, he determined, had to be something unique; something she would not be expecting. After a few days of thinking and plotting, he finally came up with the perfect thing, something she would never be expecting.
That year, the actual date of February the fourteenth, fell on a Wednesday, so in order to surprise Sydney with his gift, he decided to give it to her on the Saturday before. After making arrangements for Henry to spend some quality time with his grandparents, he wrapped his present for Sydney in wrapping paper that encompassed Sydney’s two favorite colors: purple background with light pink flowers. Then, he returned home where his wife, he hoped, would just be waking up from her mid-afternoon nap. While Henry had not had an accident for many months, Sydney was still rather sleepy, but that was due to her pregnancy.
“Hey, are you just getting back?” Sydney asked her husband when he walked into the kitchen. She was seated at the table there, sipping on some tea and leafing through a magazine. “You were leaving when I went up to take my nap, I thought.”
“Yeah, but I had to finalize your present,” he grinned, holding up the perfectly wrapped box in his hands.
“Present?!” she asked with a shining grin.
“Yep. Let’s just say Valentine’s Day is coming a little early this year,” he said. Then, he set the present down at the table in front of her, before taking a seat beside her, his heart practically leaping up into his throat at the anticipation of Sydney’s reaction to his meticulously thought out gesture.
With a happy little giggle, Sydney pushed her tea mug aside and reached for the present. She tore off the paper in an unceremonious fashion before freezing upon reading the emblem on the box. “Michael,” she groaned slightly while scanning over the words Baby Gap once more. They had agreed they were going to do all the baby shopping together since, in Sydney’s view, Michael’s choices did not always contain the same taste hers would have.
“How do you know I didn’t just recycle the box hmm?” he challenged her preemptive protest of his gift. Of course, he had not recycled the box, but she didn’t need to know that immediately.
She gave him a conceding nod before lifting the lid off the box. Inside was a layer of white tissue paper, which she quickly removed. Beneath it, there was a ball of tissue paper that was obviously wrapped around something. Sydney quickly tore the paper away and found two infant sized onsies, both of them pink. Upon further examination, she found that one of the clothing items was plain pink with a yellow flower in the center of what would be the baby’s chest. The other had three words in the exact same position: Daddy’s Little Girl.
Tears in her eyes, Sydney glanced up to her husband, hoping that his gift was not some sort of cruel joke. “I just couldn’t wait,” he began softly. “I really wanted to know, so I called the doctor and I found out. Originally, I wasn’t going to tell you, but then after I knew, I figured, considering the circumstances, you wouldn’t mind knowing.”
“It’s a girl?” she croaked out in a questioning manner.
“It’s a girl,” he confirmed with a nod.
“We’re having a girl?!” she asked once more, that time her voice very squeaky.
“We’re having a girl,” Michael grinned. With this, Sydney burst into tears, covering her face with her hands. Though slightly stunned by her outburst, Michael knew she was crying from happiness, so he was not overly concerned. He merely couched down beside her and locked his arms around her.
After a few minutes of crying, Sydney managed to squeak out through her tears. “Are we really having a girl?! Are you sure?!”
“I’m positive,” he laughed softly at her disbelief. A smile broke out across her face and she moved her hands to rest atop her rounded belly. Michael placed his hands on top of hers before leaning in to give her a sweet kiss.
“I love you so much,” she sniffed, throwing her arms around his neck.
“Love you too,” he mumbled into her shoulder. After a few minute embrace, Sydney gave Michael another searing kiss before taking his hand and leading him out of the kitchen with a grin.
Once up in their bedroom, their kisses continued as they began ridding each other of their clothing. Just a few moments after they landed on the bed with a soft thump, both of them shirtless, Michael felt a strange bump up against his stomach, which was resting against his wife’s. At this, Sydney let out a burst of hysterical laughter and Michel groaned, “Oh god, I hate it when they do that!”
“Michael!” Sydney laughed in an almost scolding way, moving her hands down so that she could feel her daughter’s first kicks.
Michael placed his hands beside Sydney’s and sighed. “I like the kicking but…,” he groaned and leaned down to talk directly to the bump, “timing little one, timing.”
“She’s excited!” Sydney grinned.
“Yeah she’s not the only one,” Michael muttered.
Sydney giggled once more. “Remember those two weeks that-”
“Yes,” Michael growled, still mildly bitter about that incident. Around the same time in Sydney’s pregnancy with Henry, he began kicking every time his parents were growing close. In fact, for two weeks straight, every time Michael would begin to kiss Sydney, hoping their activities would lead to something more intimate, Henry would kick and thus interrupt their romantic mood. At one point, Michael was convinced Sydney had a switch she was flipping on purpose just to drive him to the brink of insanity.
“Oh Michael, I’m sure that won’t happen again; it was a fluke,” Sydney told him with a smile.
“Fluke, sure,” Michael muttered. “I know you’re hoping it will happen again just for your own amusement.”
Sydney stifled a giggle and looked away from him; she was hoping just that. They lay their in silence with their hands atop Sydney’s bump for a few more minutes before Sydney began softly, “What do you think she’ll look like? I mean, do you think she’ll look more like me, or like you? Because Henry looks like us both equally.”
“I don’t know, but I hope she looks just like you,” he said, tapping her nose gently. “You need a little Mini-Me running around I think.”
“Yeah,” Sydney sighed wistfully. Truthfully, she did not care if her daughter looked more like her, or her husband, or neither of them for that matter. All that mattered was that she was getting a perfect little baby girl that would be hers forever.
Sydney got her wish and Michael doesn't have to worry about castration about passing on a 'Y' chromosome. Their only worry now, if you can call it a worry, is how Henry will react to having a baby sister. Of course, by the time she's actually old enough to play with Henry, he won't care she's a girl, because he won't want to spend time with her- he'll hang with his friends.
Chris
Chris
Spydrummer06
Cadet
Awww they are having a baby girl!! Michael's gift was really cute
Great update
Great update
cookiemonster
Cadet
Wow, sweet
Excellent *cheesygrin*
*sniff*
Yes I know I’m very communicative today but that chapter kinda left me speechless!!!!!!!!!!!!! The best in this fic since the beginning!!!!!!!!!!!
farliieansds225
Cadet
awww yay theyre having a girl!!!
loved michaels gift!! so sweet!
awesome update
loved it
cant wait for more!!
loved michaels gift!! so sweet!
awesome update
loved it
cant wait for more!!
gtwallichs
Cadet
Yeah! Thank you Janet for giving us a little girl!
Syd4Vaughn
Cadet
I'm so glad Syd got her wish.
What a sweet present ^_^
What a sweet present ^_^
catfishally
Cadet
I think in the end Henry will like having a baby sister to take care of and protect.
We all know how big brothers can be, even if we haven't had one.
We all know how big brothers can be, even if we haven't had one.
AliasSydney502
Cadet
yay!!! i'm glad you made it a girl! this fic just keeps getting better!
vaughnshoney
Cadet
Yay they're havin a little girl.. so cute.
gtwallichs
Cadet
No update today? I thought that there was going to be an update on Friday, None Saturday, and then another update on Sunday???
SkyGirl5
Cadet
oy vey freaking finally
Chapter 16
Later Saturday afternoon, when Henry returned home from his grandparents’, Sydney and Michael sat him down to tell him the wonderful news: in just a few short months he would have a brand new baby sister. The two of them planned on telling their parents later that weekend, but they wanted Henry to be the first to know.
“Henry, honey, sit down for a second. We want to tell you something about the baby,” Sydney said sweetly to her son, guiding him towards the couch.
“Is it okay?” Henry asked with mild concern.
“Yes, the baby’s just fine. We just wanted to tell you that we found out that the baby is going to be a little girl, so you’re going to have a sister. Isn’t that great?” Sydney grinned at him.
Henry glanced between his smiling mother to his grinning father and then back to his mother once more. “Are you sure?” he asked in a very skeptical tone. “How can you tell?”
“Well, you’ve seen the ultrasound pictures we bring home. The doctors can see the baby inside my tummy and they can tell it’s a little girl,” Sydney explained to him.
“But how can they tell?” Henry asked.
“Well,” Sydney said cautiously, glancing towards her husband in hopes that he would swoop in and answer for her. Luckily, he caught the hint.
“Henry you know that girls and boys are different; they can just tell,” Michael said simply.
“So it’s definitely a girl?” Henry asked. Michael and Sydney both nodded. “There’s no way we can switch it?”
“That’s definitely not possible,” Michael laughed.
“Fine,” Henry groaned, sounding rather annoyed.
“Henry,” Sydney laughed at the grimace on her son’s face. “You’re going to love your little sister.”
“I guess,” Henry sighed. “I just wish she wasn’t a girl! I can’t play with girls!”
“Sure you can,” Michael said. Henry shook his head adamantly before sliding off the couch and walking away. “He’ll come around,” Michael said encouragingly to his wife once their son was gone.
“I hope so,” Sydney sighed. “What if he doesn’t, though? I mean, what if we end up with two kids that hate each other! What if they can’t even stand to be in the same room!? What if they fight and hit each other and cry?!” Sydney asked, sounding progressively more frantic with each sentence.
“Whoa, Syd, calm down,” Michael said, patting her arm reassuringly. “It’s going to be fine, I promise. I really don’t think they’ll hate each other; I think they’re a little too far apart for that.”
“That’s true I suppose…,” Sydney said, stroking her belly.
“Of course. Don’t worry about it,” he said. Then he kissed her head gently and walked off to finish making their dinner.
~*~
Naturally, all of the Bristow-Vaughn clan was thrilled to hear that the new baby in the family was going to be a little girl. While Sydney’s and Michael’s parents were moderately aware of Sydney’s desire for a daughter, they had no idea what degree she truly craved it beyond anything else. This, of course, made having their future granddaughter only more perfect.
After informing their families of their good news, Sydney and Michael decided to go out scouting for girly baby items, mostly because Sydney could not wait much longer. Since it was nearly eight years sine Henry was an infant, they had to get almost everything brand new. They still had his crib, changing table, and a few other items, but that was all. Of course, Sydney did not mind this in the least; she was going to have a blast buying everything with her baby girl in mind.
Stupidly, Sydney and Michael brought Henry along with them on their shopping excursion. Clearly, a seven-and-a-half-year-old boy had zero interest in shopping of any kind, least of all for his baby sister, but the promise of a reward for his good behavior kept him in line.
“What do you think of these?” Michael questioned, gesturing towards the row of girly crib bedding before them.
“I dunno,” Sydney sighed. As she scanned the shelves, she kept one hand on her belly as though she could draw inspiration from the child inside of her. Her eyes gazed over the pink sheets with stars, the yellow ones with pink and purple butterflies, and the white and pink polka dotted ones, but she just could not decide. Of course, she did not have to pick that very moment; they were just getting started.
“You should get these,” Henry suggested, holding up a packaged containing blue sheets with trucks across them.
Michael laughed softly. “I don’t think your sister would like that so much.” Henry simply shrugged and put the package back on the shelf beside him.
“What are we going to call her anyway? She has to have a name,” Henry said.
“Well,” Michael said, gazing over towards his wife. He knew she already had a name for her daughter all picked out; she had for quite some time, yet refused to tell him.
“I can’t decide,” she sighed, her eyes not leaving the shelving in front of her.
“On what?”
“A name,” she said, glancing towards her husband. “Either Anne Christine and we’ll call her Annie, or Margaret Anne and we’ll call her Maggie,” she said.
“Joey’s dog’s name is Maggie,” Henry pointed out.
“Oh, well that’s nice,” Sydney laughed. Then, she made her way to the next row of baby things with Michael and Henry close behind. “Oh my god!” she exclaimed at the most adorable baby mobile she had ever seen. “We have to get this!”
“Okay,” Michael agreed, picking up the item from the shelf.
“What about this?” Henry asked. In his hands, he held a baby crib liner that had randomly been placed on one of the shelves, most likely carelessly discarded by a shopper, who no longer wanted it.
“Looks like someone left it there; why don’t you put it back in the other aisle, Hen,” Michael suggested.
“No wait,” Sydney stopped him. She took the package from her son’s grasp and examined it further. She had not seen it in the other aisle, but it was perfect. “I’m getting this one. Thank you very much sweetie,” she smiled down at her son.
“Can I get my prize now?” he asked hopefully.
“Sure,” Sydney laughed. “Let’s go to the toy department.”
“Yay!” Henry cheered before scampering off, his parents close behind.
“SO I was thinking,” Sydney began as they walked. “You know how I only stayed home with Henry for a few months?” she paused and glanced to her husband, who was nodding his head. “Well, I was still young then and into my career, but now…well, I was thinking maybe I’d stay home longer with her – maybe for a whole year or…well, I’m not sure yet, but do you think that would be okay?”
“Sure, fine,” Michael assured her with a smile. While they both worked because they wanted to, they were not in dire need of the salary Sydney’s job provided. Michael’s was enough to sustain them, especially while Sydney stayed at home with their daughter. Besides, they had their savings to fall back on if any emergency came up.
“Great,” she grinned. Then, she leaned over and gave his cheek a quick kiss, before walking over towards Henry to make sure his prize was something not too extravagant.
Chapter 17
“Guess what I found in the mail and subsequently signed us up for?” Michael grinned at his wife over dinner one evening in early March.
“What?” Sydney asked, her tone very short. She was prepared to become furious very quickly if Michael’s action warranted it, which most likely it did.
“Our twentieth high school reunion,” he said with a proud smile.
“Michaaaaaael,” Sydney groaned loudly. “I don’t wanna go to that!”
“Why not?” Michael asked. They had attended the last reunion ten years earlier, and he thought they had a nice time when they went. It was fun to see some of their old friends once more. Actually, the most fun part for them had been seeing the surprise from their former friends upon finding out that they ended up together and married.
“Because,” Sydney whined. “When is it?”
“Last week in May,” he said simply.
“Oh my god, Michael, do you know how pregnant I will be by then? I’ll be a big fat whale!” she exclaimed, gesturing towards her belly, which was already rather large.
“I don’t understand why you call yourself fat. You and all the other pregnant women for that matter,” Michael said. “It’s not fat – it’s a person inside you.”
“Thank you, captain obvious,” Sydney said dryly. “But I still don’t want to go!”
“Oh you’ll have fun!” Michael insisted to her. She continued to look skeptical. “Okay, okay, I’ll make you a deal. We’ll go, but we’ll only stay half an hour or so – any time after that we can leave. Okay? Half an hour – c’mon Syd.”
“Fine,” she conceded with a grunt. “Half an hour… but what am I gonna wear?!” She had absolutely no fancy clothes to wear when she was nine months pregnant, aka full whale size. Sure, she had dress pants to wear to work, but only two pairs of those (though she probably needed to purchase at least one more pair). Even still, those were certainly not the dressiest of all dress pants. After all, at thirty-six weeks pregnant, comfort took much higher priority than fashion.
“You can wear anything Mommy! You’ll still be pretty!” Henry told her with a grin. In her hormonal state, this thoughtful comment nearly brought Sydney to tears. She managed to hold it in, though, as she put her arms around her son and gave him a tight hug.
“I’ve taught him well,” Michael smiled proudly.
“Yeah,” she laughed, wiping the corners of her eyes. “But I can’t just wear anything!”
“So get one of those maternity dress things,” Michael suggested simply. In his mind, it was a very easy solution; perhaps the easiest of all solutions.
“Michael!” Sydney exclaimed with such force that Michael actually jumped back slightly. “Those are like wearing tents! Big giant ugly tents that should just have bumper stickers that say ‘Wide Load’ on them because that’s what women look like when they wear them!” she ended with a sob before breaking down into full hysterics.
Michael jumped up immediately, cursing himself from making his hormonal wife cry for the hundredth time since the beginning of her pregnancy. “No, honey, it’s okay. You can just get a regular dress. I’m sure it will fit because you’re so thin!”
“You’re lying,” she sobbed into his shoulder. “I’m big fat and ugly! Just divorce me and get it over with!”
“Honey I’m not going to divorce you. No way, not ever. You’re beautiful and I love you so much and you know what? You’re going to look so much better than everyone at that reunion because even though your tummy is a little bigger than it usually is, that will go away when you have the baby. The other people at the reunion will be fat forever!” True, this was a rather cruel statement to make, but he was desperate to get her to stop crying, so at that point he was trying anything.
“Michael!” Sydney laughed through her tears.
He grinned and rubbed his thumb across her chin gently. “At least you’re smilin’.”
“Yeah,” She laughed softly. Then she gave him a quick kiss before hoisting herself out of her seat so she could compose herself before cleaning up dinner.
Later that night, as Sydney was on her way to bed, she stopped by the third bedroom in the Vaughn household, the one that would soon belong to her daughter. The previous week, Sydney and her husband hired painters to coat the room in a fresh hue of soft pink, perfect for their new little angel. Ever since it was completed, Sydney would stop by the room every night, imagining the day that would bring her daughter resting comfortably in that area perfectly designed for her.
As she stood in the doorway, Sydney rubbed her hands across her belly in concentric circles. She would talk softly to her daughter, knowing that babies could hear in the womb. She told her how she could not wait for her to arrive and how much she loved her already. Then, once their brief conversation was over, Sydney walked into her own bedroom to get ready for bed.
“Hey beautiful,” Michael kissed her head as she walked into the bathroom. “How’s our little girl doing?”
“Pretty good,” she smiled. “She’s been kicking a little bit, but I think she went to sleep now.”
“As any young child should,” Michael smiled.
After getting ready for bed, Sydney slipped beneath the sheets, more than ready to fall asleep. She tucked her limbs perfectly around her body pillow and was just about to close her eyes when she felt Michael’s hands creeping up over her shoulders. She knew exactly what he wanted but, unfortunately for him, he wasn’t going to get it. “Nope,” She said, batting his hand away.
“Whyyy?” he asked, whining slightly.
“’cause I’m sleepy and I’m pregnant,” she said simply.
“Aw c’mon Syd. We’re nearing that point in your pregnancy where you don’t wanna have sex ever again and then we’ll have to wait until our girl is six weeks old and that’s so long,” Michael groaned.
“Sorry,” Sydney said with an amused smile. “Thems be the breaks.” Michael groaned and flopped back against his pillow; Sydney just laughed.
Chapter 18
Due to Michael’s insistence that she attend their high school reunion with them, Sydney was forced to comply with his wishes. After all, it was rare that he asked her to go somewhere with him, and he did seem extremely excited about this (for a reason Sydney did not understand in the least) so she would have felt guilty not going. One of the major downsides of going, though, meant Sydney needed to go shopping. Normally, she loved shopping, when she could buy size six pants, that was. When she had to shop in the maternity section and attempt to gauge how big her belly would be towards the end of her pregnancy, she wanted to hang herself.
After a few agonizing hours of tramping through store after store, Sydney finally managed to find a dress that didn’t give her the urge to gag. It was black and very simple. Though it hung rather loosely around her girth at that point, she had a feeling it would be a bit snugger by the time she was actually wearing it, which was not for nearly a month. She had reached the point in her pregnancy where her belly was expanding by the day, which was both good and bad. Bad when she looked at her reflection in the mirror, but good when she remembered that her increasing size meant a decrease in the amount of time before she would finally have her baby girl to hold.
The next few weeks passed quickly for the Vaughn family. Henry’s schooling was winding down for the year, making him slightly more restless than usual. He was ready for summer, as was everyone else of course. For the adults, the onset of summer was not usually highly anticipated for them. After all, it only meant that they would be stuck inside at their desks while the weather outside was perfect and gorgeous. That year, however, they were a bit more excited.
Their baby’s due date was the last week in June. Henry had been born two weeks early, so it was possible their baby girl would come early as well. Sydney, of course, would be going on maternity leave at the time of the birth, and Michael would be as well. Well, technically he was going on paternity leave, which his work provided. Paternity leave was an up and coming trend among businesses, and Michael was thankful he was privileged enough to receive it. Of course, he only received four weeks of leave, but that was certainly better than none. He was very much looking forward to spending days at home with his children and wife, though Sydney warned him that she would most likely grow very sick of his presence. That was alright, though, Michael was already planning to have some father-son time with Henry, who would be off from school and in need of activities for at least some of the days he was not playing with his school friends.
Finally, the night of Sydney and Michael’s high school reunion arrived. The main event was being held on a Saturday night, which meant Henry was going to be sleeping over at his grandparents, something he always enjoyed. After Michael dropped his son off with his wife’s parents, he returned home to shower and change himself before they needed to leave.
As usual, Sydney was spending a significant amount of time in front of the bathroom mirror trying to get herself ready for that evening’s event. Michael stayed out of her way as much as possible by watching television downstairs after he was fully dressed. When it was nearly six o’clock, though, he went back upstairs to try and hurry along Sydney’s preening process.
“Syd, you look gorgeous- beyond gorgeous,” he told her as he hovered in the bathroom doorway, observing her putting some finishing touches on her mascara. She gave a scoff that indicated she disagreed with his statement. “Yes you do! You look beautiful and so thin in that dress. It just looks like someone stuck a basketball underneath it!” he insisted. IT was true; Sydney was one of the lucky women who only gained weight in the ‘baby bump’ area during both of her pregnancies. If seen from behind, it was difficult to tell she was pregnant at all. Only from the side was it screamingly obvious.
“Yeah, a basketball the size of Rhode Island,” she muttered.
“Well that is the smallest state,” Michael jested with a slight laugh. Sydney gave him an unappreciative look. “Oh come on, honey, you’re beautiful; stop painting yourself up with this felgercarb.”
“Fine,” she grunted, tossing her mascara back into the drawer beside her. “Let’s go; the sooner we get there the sooner we can leave.”
“That’s the sprit!” Michael said with obvious sarcasm.
Upon arriving at their former high school, Sydney and Michael made their way into the gym area, where everyone was congregating. They donned nametags names (married and maiden in Sydney’s case), and began to mingle among the guests. Understandably, not every one of the one thousand plus graduates of their high school went to the reunion. In fact, the number of attendees was surprisingly low, barely over one hundred, meaning that the number of people Sydney and Michael actually knew was very slim. They did manage to spot a few of their former friends, all of whom seemed to be surprised that they were not only expecting a child, but that they were still married.
At first, Sydney was not sure whether or not to be offended by their shock. She wondered if maybe they thought she and Michael were not compatible, thus making it surprising that they were still together after nearly thirteen years of marriage. Then, she dismissed this thought as another crossed into her mind. In that day and age, divorces were almost more popular than marriages themselves, so it would be shocking for any two people to be together for such a significant amount of time; it had nothing to do with the two of them.
As the two of them were making their way over to the refreshments table later on that evening, Sydney stopped short at a stabbing pain in her belly. She froze and her hands shot to the pained area, a gasp escaping her lips. When Michael noticed she was not walking beside him, he turned and walked back asking, “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know…,” she said slowly. “Something hurt…”
“Is it still hurting?” he questioned. After a moment Sydney shook her head. “Then it was nothing,” he concluded, taking her hand and pulling her along with him. After just two more steps, though, Sydney froze once more after feeling the same pain.
“Michael,” she whimpered, tears flooding her eyes immediately at the fear that something was wrong with the child inside her.
“It’s okay, it’s okay,” he said in the calmest voice he could muster. “Just go, take a seat right there, and I’ll bring you some water. It’s going to be fine,” he said. He then hurried off to get Sydney a drink and returned to find her with both of her hands tightly clutching her belly.
“Here, sip this,” he encouraged, holding up the water bottle in his hand. Sydney took two short sips before looking back at him, her eyes still full of terror. “Okay, so how does it feel now?”
“I don’t know; it hurts,” she said with a squeak.
“Well, does it feel like labor?” he asked.
“I don’t know!” she snapped.
“Do you want to go to the hospital?”
“I don’t know!” she repeated. Unsure of what else to do, Michael rubbed his hands gently across hers, trying to calm her as much as possible.
After a few minutes of sitting there, breathing deeply and sipping on water, the pains in Sydney’s belly disappeared, but she decided that going home was the best course of action. Also, she called her obstetricians office, told them of her pains, and asked for an appointment on Monday morning, just to make sure everything was alright.
“See, its fine,” Michael said with a hopeful smile as they drove home. Of course it was fine right then, but only half an hour earlier he had felt as though he was going to have a heart attack, working about his wife and the child she was carrying inside of her.
“I guess,” Sydney sighed, stroking her belly.
“She’s fine, Syd. Besides, you’re almost thirty-six weeks; that’s like full term,” he pointed out.
“Yea, but I want her to stay in there for another few weeks yet,” Sydney said. “She’ll come out when she’s ready.”
“Exactly,” he smiled at her; he definitely could not wait until then.
Chapter 19
At her doctor’s appointment right after her pregnancy scare, Sydney found that nothing was out of ordinary with her pregnancy. The doctor said that the pains could be explained by any number of things and they were nothing to worry about. Sydney was still on edge for the next few days, though, practically jumping out of her skin at anything she felt inside her, even if it was just her stomach growling.
In just one short week, Henry was out of school, and Sydney took her maternity leave early so she could stay home with him. In previous years, he was forced to go to daycare or day camps during the summer, since he could not stay home by himself. Occasionally he spent time at friend’s houses, but for the most part he was stuck attending some sort of formal facility, which he did not always like. That summer, though, he stayed home with Sydney and they spent some mother-son time together. Not too much, though, since Sydney was busy making sure everything was perfect for her daughter’s arrival.
Early in the morning on June 15th, Sydney was roused from her sleep. She shuffled her way to the bathroom, and only there did she notice the pains in her belly. That time, though, the pain did not terrify her. She recognized it immediately even if it had been nearly eight years since the last time it happened; she was in labor.
A bit too sleepy to panic, she calmly timed how much time passed from one contraction to the next. She found that it was a significant period of time, so she merely shuffled her way back to bed; there was no need to wake Michael up at three am if she was not in active labor.
She managed to drift back off to sleep, but only briefly. At six, when she heard Michael’s alarm go off, she calmly said, “I’m in labor.”
“What?!” Michael gasped, falling out of bed in the process. “What?! Why didn’t you wake me?” he demanded.
She shrugged. “My contractions are still about fifteen minutes apart. I was gonna wake you when they got to ten.”
“I would hope so!” he exclaimed, slightly miffed. He instructed her to stay put as he made the necessary arrangements. First, he called his office to let them know about the situation. Then, he called his parents and Sydney’s, telling them that their baby was on the way. His parents were taking Henry for the delivery, while Sydney’s were meeting them at the hospital. Finally, he left the room and woke his son, telling him that he was mere hours away from having a little sister.
“You’re so calm,” Sydney said with amusement when Michael returned to their bedroom. She, of course, was comparing his behavior to eight years prior, for Henry’s birth. At that time, he could have easily been described as a complete and total wreck. In fact, he was in such a state that Sydney was the one that ended up driving them to the hospital.
“I’m cool,” he said in a supremely casual tone. “I know what it’s all about. You’re calm too.”
“I know; I know what it’s all about,” she repeated, teasing him. Then, she slid her way out of the bed and began to waddle her way towards the bathroom.
“Excuse me, where are you going?” Michael said, holding up his hand to stop her. “If you need something, I can get it or do it for you.”
“I have to pee,” she said simply. “Can you do that for me?”
“Um, no…,” he said slowly before stepping aside and letting her pass.
Fifteen minutes later, Michael’s parents arrived and took control of a very sleepy Henry. Then, Sydney and her husband headed off to the hospital, promising to call as soon as they were settled. After gritting her teeth through a contraction, Sydney said in a chipper tone, “I’m so excited! Aren’t you excited?”
Michael reached over and patted her belly lovingly. “Very excited.”
~*~
“Oh my goooooood,” Sydney whined three hours later. “I forgot how much this hurts!!!”
“I know honey,” Michael sighed, mopping up her sweaty forehead with a damp washcloth. “But it’s almost over. At least it’ll be shorter this time,” he said referring to the fact that she was nearing delivery time already and they had only been there a fraction of the time they were with Henry. Of course, Sydney had gone through some of her labor at home, but it was still much shorter.
“Shorter doesn’t make it hurt less!” she grunted.
“But just think – after that you’ll have little Annie – or Maggie,” he laughed softly. As far as he knew, Sydney had not yet decided between the two names.
“That’s true,” Sydney said with a tiny happy smile. Of course, that was quickly replaced by a grimace as she fought her way through another contraction.
An hour later, as Sydney was being prepared for the delivery of her baby, any happy thought of her daughter was gone from her mind. Up until that point, she had been focusing on how wonderful it was going to be to have a daughter. These thoughts of the future kept her from dwelling too much on the pain coursing through her abdomen. However, by the time the contractions were coming every few seconds, she really could not focus on anything else. She was vaguely aware of Michael beside her, gripping her hand and whispering supportive words to her. Other than that, her mind was blank until the room was filled with a high pitched wailing and the doctor announced, “Here she is!”
“Syd, Syd look, there she is,” Michael said tearfully as he put his arm around Sydney’s shoulders. Looking at the very pink, very loud baby in the doctor’s grasp, Michael fell in love immediately.
Sydney sniffed slightly as she glanced up to see her daughter being placed onto her stomach and wrapped up in a blanket. “Hi baby,” she managed to croak out, tenderly reaching out a hand to pat the child’s head, which already had a significant amount of dark brown hair.
“Syd she’s perfect,” Michael whispered to her. Then he pressed a few kisses into her damp hairline. “You did a great job; I’m so proud of you. I love you; I love you so much.”
Sydney turned her head and gave him a sweet kiss. “I love you too…but I’m really tired.”
“I’m sure you are,” he said with a slight laugh. Just then, the nurses took their baby girl off Sydney’s stomach so she could be cleaned up properly. Michael cut the umbilical cord, as was his right as a father (or so he said), before returning to Sydney’s side and combing all the matted hair away from her face.
A few minutes later, their baby was returned, and Sydney took her eagerly. “Oh my god, she’s so perfect,” Sydney sniffed, her tears beginning to flow at the realization that she was finally there.
“I know,” Michael said, taking one of the baby’s tiny fists between his fingers.
“Have you picked a name?” one of the nurses asked softly.
Sydney nodded as a grin spread across her face. “Anne Christine Vaughn,” Sydney told her. Then, she glanced over at her husband, seeking his approval.
“Perfect,” he said before giving her a long kiss.
Chapter 20
After twenty minutes of holding little Annie, Sydney finally gave her husband a turn. Michael cradled the tiny little girl like a pro as he walked around the room, bouncing her lightly to get rid of her cries. He had only been holding her a few minutes when a nurse arrived and asked to take her away. At this, Sydney started crying hysterically, and Michael had to calmly explain her distress.
Upon arriving at the hospital, Sydney and Michael had specified that they did not want their child going to the nursery; they wanted her to stay in the room with them at all times. Apparently, the nursing staff was unaware of this, but after a few tense moments the situation was cleared up and Annie was able to stay with them.
While Sydney was being wheeled to a recovery room, Michael took their daughter out to the waiting room where her parents were sitting anxiously awaiting the news of their little granddaughter’s arrival. When Michael stepped into the room, pink blanket in his arms, Sydney’s mother immediately started crying.
“This is Anne,” Michael said softly, “but I’m pretty sure Sydney wants us to call her Annie.”
“Annie is lovely,” Irina choked out. Michael immediately passed the baby to her, whereupon little Annie began to wail. Irina didn’t seem to notice though; she was too busy examining every inch of the hour old child. “She isn’t heavy at all. How much did she weight?”
“Six and a half pounds,” Michael told her. “That’s almost a pound less than Henry, which is funny,” Michael laughed softly, knowing how often times birth weight grew with each subsequent child.
“Well she’s a dainty little girl,” Irina cooed. After a few more minutes, Irina reluctantly handed her grandbaby over to her husband, so he could have a turn. Once he was through holding her, Michael took her back to his wife’s room, where he found her nearly asleep. He made sure that Annie was nestled in her little baby bed beside her mother, before leaving the room silently.
After calling his parents and telling them their wonderful news, Michael ran down to the cafeteria to grab himself something to eat; he was starving since all he had all day was coffee and a rather stale bagel from their kitchen. He bought Sydney something as well, figuring she might be hungry herself when she awoke from her nap.
When he returned to Sydney’s room, he arrived just in time to see the nurse encouraging Sydney to begin breast-feeding their daughter. “I love this part,” Sydney said with a contended sigh as she caressed one of Annie’s tiny hands.
“It is amazing,” Michael conceded with a smile.
“Did you talk to my parents?” she asked.
Michael nodded. “Yep, they saw her, held her, and your mother cried,” he laughed softly. Sydney laughed as well. “I called my parent’s too. They should be bringing Henry by in a little bit now.”
“Oh good. I can’t wait for him to see her,” Sydney smiled.
“Me neither,” he smiled. He sat down on the bed beside her and put his arm around her back, pulling both of the two girls he loved the most closer to him. They sat there together until Annie was finished nursing, at which point Michael lifted her up to her shoulder and rubbed her back gently.
“We make a pretty good team, don’t we?” Sydney smiled at him.
“As always,” Michael grinned and kissed her gently.
After just another twenty minutes, there was a soft knock at Sydney’s hospital room door signaling the arrival of Michael’s parents and Henry. Michael walked quickly to the door and let them inside. Immediately, the grandparents were drawn to the bassinet beside Sydney’s bed. They all began to coo over the baby and it was not until a few minutes later that Michael noticed his son had not moved from the door.
“What are you doing all the way over there buddy?” Michael asked with a laugh. Henry merely shrugged. “Well come here and see your little sister, Annie.”
Henry reluctantly took two steps forward, almost looking fearful of the group of people across the room. Laughing at his peculiar behavior, Michael lifted his son up around the waist and carried him over to the bassinet. “See, there she is,” Michael pointed out as Henry peered down at the blanket wrapped baby.
“She’s pink,” Henry said matter-of-factly.
“Yep that’s what newborns look like. You looked like that too except you didn’t have any hair,” Michael told him with a laugh.
“You wanna hold her sweetie?” Sydney asked her son. Henry looked rather horrified and shook his head. “Why not?”
“I’ll hurt her,” he said quietly.
“No you won’t come on sit here,” Michael said, sitting his son down in a nearby chair. Then, he scooped up Annie and instructed Henry to hold his arms in a certain way before laying the baby down on her brother’s lap. “See, there you go.”
“She’s big… I thought she’d be smaller,” Henry said.
“Yeah, well she’s not too big,” Michael told him. Henry sat rather frozen for a full minute before asking his father to take Annie away so he could move.
“You’ll have to get used to it someday, pal; you’re gonna have to change diapers,” Henry’s grandfather teased him.
“Yuck!” Henry concluded with the utmost grimace. At this, all the adults in the room laughed.
After visiting for about half an hour, Michael’s parents left with Henry once more so that Sydney could get some much needed rest. Once they were gone, Michael settled down beside Sydney and stroked her back softly, trying to help her fall asleep. “You can go home you know,” Sydney said sluggishly.
“What are you kidding? And leave the two of you here alone? I’m not going anywhere,” he assured her before kissing her cheek gently. Sydney grunted softly in acknowledgment, but fell asleep soon after.
Once she was out completely, Michael carefully moved from the bed to a nearby chair and pulled out the magazine he brought to read. After only a few minutes, though, he heard Annie begin to stir, and scooped her up quickly so that she would not wake Sydney. “What’s the matter little girl? I’m right here,” he said softly to her. She squirmed a bit and Michael picked up one of her little hands and kissed it gently. “I’m so glad you’re here, Annie; we’ve all been waiting to meet you. You’ve already met your big brother and all your grandparents, too… boy you’ve done a lot in the past few hours,” he laughed softly. “Anyway, you’re going to have a great life, sweetie, and you’ll always be my best little girl,” he said. Then, after pressing a gentle kiss on her head, he set her back in her bassinet so she could sleep.
Chapter 16
Later Saturday afternoon, when Henry returned home from his grandparents’, Sydney and Michael sat him down to tell him the wonderful news: in just a few short months he would have a brand new baby sister. The two of them planned on telling their parents later that weekend, but they wanted Henry to be the first to know.
“Henry, honey, sit down for a second. We want to tell you something about the baby,” Sydney said sweetly to her son, guiding him towards the couch.
“Is it okay?” Henry asked with mild concern.
“Yes, the baby’s just fine. We just wanted to tell you that we found out that the baby is going to be a little girl, so you’re going to have a sister. Isn’t that great?” Sydney grinned at him.
Henry glanced between his smiling mother to his grinning father and then back to his mother once more. “Are you sure?” he asked in a very skeptical tone. “How can you tell?”
“Well, you’ve seen the ultrasound pictures we bring home. The doctors can see the baby inside my tummy and they can tell it’s a little girl,” Sydney explained to him.
“But how can they tell?” Henry asked.
“Well,” Sydney said cautiously, glancing towards her husband in hopes that he would swoop in and answer for her. Luckily, he caught the hint.
“Henry you know that girls and boys are different; they can just tell,” Michael said simply.
“So it’s definitely a girl?” Henry asked. Michael and Sydney both nodded. “There’s no way we can switch it?”
“That’s definitely not possible,” Michael laughed.
“Fine,” Henry groaned, sounding rather annoyed.
“Henry,” Sydney laughed at the grimace on her son’s face. “You’re going to love your little sister.”
“I guess,” Henry sighed. “I just wish she wasn’t a girl! I can’t play with girls!”
“Sure you can,” Michael said. Henry shook his head adamantly before sliding off the couch and walking away. “He’ll come around,” Michael said encouragingly to his wife once their son was gone.
“I hope so,” Sydney sighed. “What if he doesn’t, though? I mean, what if we end up with two kids that hate each other! What if they can’t even stand to be in the same room!? What if they fight and hit each other and cry?!” Sydney asked, sounding progressively more frantic with each sentence.
“Whoa, Syd, calm down,” Michael said, patting her arm reassuringly. “It’s going to be fine, I promise. I really don’t think they’ll hate each other; I think they’re a little too far apart for that.”
“That’s true I suppose…,” Sydney said, stroking her belly.
“Of course. Don’t worry about it,” he said. Then he kissed her head gently and walked off to finish making their dinner.
~*~
Naturally, all of the Bristow-Vaughn clan was thrilled to hear that the new baby in the family was going to be a little girl. While Sydney’s and Michael’s parents were moderately aware of Sydney’s desire for a daughter, they had no idea what degree she truly craved it beyond anything else. This, of course, made having their future granddaughter only more perfect.
After informing their families of their good news, Sydney and Michael decided to go out scouting for girly baby items, mostly because Sydney could not wait much longer. Since it was nearly eight years sine Henry was an infant, they had to get almost everything brand new. They still had his crib, changing table, and a few other items, but that was all. Of course, Sydney did not mind this in the least; she was going to have a blast buying everything with her baby girl in mind.
Stupidly, Sydney and Michael brought Henry along with them on their shopping excursion. Clearly, a seven-and-a-half-year-old boy had zero interest in shopping of any kind, least of all for his baby sister, but the promise of a reward for his good behavior kept him in line.
“What do you think of these?” Michael questioned, gesturing towards the row of girly crib bedding before them.
“I dunno,” Sydney sighed. As she scanned the shelves, she kept one hand on her belly as though she could draw inspiration from the child inside of her. Her eyes gazed over the pink sheets with stars, the yellow ones with pink and purple butterflies, and the white and pink polka dotted ones, but she just could not decide. Of course, she did not have to pick that very moment; they were just getting started.
“You should get these,” Henry suggested, holding up a packaged containing blue sheets with trucks across them.
Michael laughed softly. “I don’t think your sister would like that so much.” Henry simply shrugged and put the package back on the shelf beside him.
“What are we going to call her anyway? She has to have a name,” Henry said.
“Well,” Michael said, gazing over towards his wife. He knew she already had a name for her daughter all picked out; she had for quite some time, yet refused to tell him.
“I can’t decide,” she sighed, her eyes not leaving the shelving in front of her.
“On what?”
“A name,” she said, glancing towards her husband. “Either Anne Christine and we’ll call her Annie, or Margaret Anne and we’ll call her Maggie,” she said.
“Joey’s dog’s name is Maggie,” Henry pointed out.
“Oh, well that’s nice,” Sydney laughed. Then, she made her way to the next row of baby things with Michael and Henry close behind. “Oh my god!” she exclaimed at the most adorable baby mobile she had ever seen. “We have to get this!”
“Okay,” Michael agreed, picking up the item from the shelf.
“What about this?” Henry asked. In his hands, he held a baby crib liner that had randomly been placed on one of the shelves, most likely carelessly discarded by a shopper, who no longer wanted it.
“Looks like someone left it there; why don’t you put it back in the other aisle, Hen,” Michael suggested.
“No wait,” Sydney stopped him. She took the package from her son’s grasp and examined it further. She had not seen it in the other aisle, but it was perfect. “I’m getting this one. Thank you very much sweetie,” she smiled down at her son.
“Can I get my prize now?” he asked hopefully.
“Sure,” Sydney laughed. “Let’s go to the toy department.”
“Yay!” Henry cheered before scampering off, his parents close behind.
“SO I was thinking,” Sydney began as they walked. “You know how I only stayed home with Henry for a few months?” she paused and glanced to her husband, who was nodding his head. “Well, I was still young then and into my career, but now…well, I was thinking maybe I’d stay home longer with her – maybe for a whole year or…well, I’m not sure yet, but do you think that would be okay?”
“Sure, fine,” Michael assured her with a smile. While they both worked because they wanted to, they were not in dire need of the salary Sydney’s job provided. Michael’s was enough to sustain them, especially while Sydney stayed at home with their daughter. Besides, they had their savings to fall back on if any emergency came up.
“Great,” she grinned. Then, she leaned over and gave his cheek a quick kiss, before walking over towards Henry to make sure his prize was something not too extravagant.
Chapter 17
“Guess what I found in the mail and subsequently signed us up for?” Michael grinned at his wife over dinner one evening in early March.
“What?” Sydney asked, her tone very short. She was prepared to become furious very quickly if Michael’s action warranted it, which most likely it did.
“Our twentieth high school reunion,” he said with a proud smile.
“Michaaaaaael,” Sydney groaned loudly. “I don’t wanna go to that!”
“Why not?” Michael asked. They had attended the last reunion ten years earlier, and he thought they had a nice time when they went. It was fun to see some of their old friends once more. Actually, the most fun part for them had been seeing the surprise from their former friends upon finding out that they ended up together and married.
“Because,” Sydney whined. “When is it?”
“Last week in May,” he said simply.
“Oh my god, Michael, do you know how pregnant I will be by then? I’ll be a big fat whale!” she exclaimed, gesturing towards her belly, which was already rather large.
“I don’t understand why you call yourself fat. You and all the other pregnant women for that matter,” Michael said. “It’s not fat – it’s a person inside you.”
“Thank you, captain obvious,” Sydney said dryly. “But I still don’t want to go!”
“Oh you’ll have fun!” Michael insisted to her. She continued to look skeptical. “Okay, okay, I’ll make you a deal. We’ll go, but we’ll only stay half an hour or so – any time after that we can leave. Okay? Half an hour – c’mon Syd.”
“Fine,” she conceded with a grunt. “Half an hour… but what am I gonna wear?!” She had absolutely no fancy clothes to wear when she was nine months pregnant, aka full whale size. Sure, she had dress pants to wear to work, but only two pairs of those (though she probably needed to purchase at least one more pair). Even still, those were certainly not the dressiest of all dress pants. After all, at thirty-six weeks pregnant, comfort took much higher priority than fashion.
“You can wear anything Mommy! You’ll still be pretty!” Henry told her with a grin. In her hormonal state, this thoughtful comment nearly brought Sydney to tears. She managed to hold it in, though, as she put her arms around her son and gave him a tight hug.
“I’ve taught him well,” Michael smiled proudly.
“Yeah,” she laughed, wiping the corners of her eyes. “But I can’t just wear anything!”
“So get one of those maternity dress things,” Michael suggested simply. In his mind, it was a very easy solution; perhaps the easiest of all solutions.
“Michael!” Sydney exclaimed with such force that Michael actually jumped back slightly. “Those are like wearing tents! Big giant ugly tents that should just have bumper stickers that say ‘Wide Load’ on them because that’s what women look like when they wear them!” she ended with a sob before breaking down into full hysterics.
Michael jumped up immediately, cursing himself from making his hormonal wife cry for the hundredth time since the beginning of her pregnancy. “No, honey, it’s okay. You can just get a regular dress. I’m sure it will fit because you’re so thin!”
“You’re lying,” she sobbed into his shoulder. “I’m big fat and ugly! Just divorce me and get it over with!”
“Honey I’m not going to divorce you. No way, not ever. You’re beautiful and I love you so much and you know what? You’re going to look so much better than everyone at that reunion because even though your tummy is a little bigger than it usually is, that will go away when you have the baby. The other people at the reunion will be fat forever!” True, this was a rather cruel statement to make, but he was desperate to get her to stop crying, so at that point he was trying anything.
“Michael!” Sydney laughed through her tears.
He grinned and rubbed his thumb across her chin gently. “At least you’re smilin’.”
“Yeah,” She laughed softly. Then she gave him a quick kiss before hoisting herself out of her seat so she could compose herself before cleaning up dinner.
Later that night, as Sydney was on her way to bed, she stopped by the third bedroom in the Vaughn household, the one that would soon belong to her daughter. The previous week, Sydney and her husband hired painters to coat the room in a fresh hue of soft pink, perfect for their new little angel. Ever since it was completed, Sydney would stop by the room every night, imagining the day that would bring her daughter resting comfortably in that area perfectly designed for her.
As she stood in the doorway, Sydney rubbed her hands across her belly in concentric circles. She would talk softly to her daughter, knowing that babies could hear in the womb. She told her how she could not wait for her to arrive and how much she loved her already. Then, once their brief conversation was over, Sydney walked into her own bedroom to get ready for bed.
“Hey beautiful,” Michael kissed her head as she walked into the bathroom. “How’s our little girl doing?”
“Pretty good,” she smiled. “She’s been kicking a little bit, but I think she went to sleep now.”
“As any young child should,” Michael smiled.
After getting ready for bed, Sydney slipped beneath the sheets, more than ready to fall asleep. She tucked her limbs perfectly around her body pillow and was just about to close her eyes when she felt Michael’s hands creeping up over her shoulders. She knew exactly what he wanted but, unfortunately for him, he wasn’t going to get it. “Nope,” She said, batting his hand away.
“Whyyy?” he asked, whining slightly.
“’cause I’m sleepy and I’m pregnant,” she said simply.
“Aw c’mon Syd. We’re nearing that point in your pregnancy where you don’t wanna have sex ever again and then we’ll have to wait until our girl is six weeks old and that’s so long,” Michael groaned.
“Sorry,” Sydney said with an amused smile. “Thems be the breaks.” Michael groaned and flopped back against his pillow; Sydney just laughed.
Chapter 18
Due to Michael’s insistence that she attend their high school reunion with them, Sydney was forced to comply with his wishes. After all, it was rare that he asked her to go somewhere with him, and he did seem extremely excited about this (for a reason Sydney did not understand in the least) so she would have felt guilty not going. One of the major downsides of going, though, meant Sydney needed to go shopping. Normally, she loved shopping, when she could buy size six pants, that was. When she had to shop in the maternity section and attempt to gauge how big her belly would be towards the end of her pregnancy, she wanted to hang herself.
After a few agonizing hours of tramping through store after store, Sydney finally managed to find a dress that didn’t give her the urge to gag. It was black and very simple. Though it hung rather loosely around her girth at that point, she had a feeling it would be a bit snugger by the time she was actually wearing it, which was not for nearly a month. She had reached the point in her pregnancy where her belly was expanding by the day, which was both good and bad. Bad when she looked at her reflection in the mirror, but good when she remembered that her increasing size meant a decrease in the amount of time before she would finally have her baby girl to hold.
The next few weeks passed quickly for the Vaughn family. Henry’s schooling was winding down for the year, making him slightly more restless than usual. He was ready for summer, as was everyone else of course. For the adults, the onset of summer was not usually highly anticipated for them. After all, it only meant that they would be stuck inside at their desks while the weather outside was perfect and gorgeous. That year, however, they were a bit more excited.
Their baby’s due date was the last week in June. Henry had been born two weeks early, so it was possible their baby girl would come early as well. Sydney, of course, would be going on maternity leave at the time of the birth, and Michael would be as well. Well, technically he was going on paternity leave, which his work provided. Paternity leave was an up and coming trend among businesses, and Michael was thankful he was privileged enough to receive it. Of course, he only received four weeks of leave, but that was certainly better than none. He was very much looking forward to spending days at home with his children and wife, though Sydney warned him that she would most likely grow very sick of his presence. That was alright, though, Michael was already planning to have some father-son time with Henry, who would be off from school and in need of activities for at least some of the days he was not playing with his school friends.
Finally, the night of Sydney and Michael’s high school reunion arrived. The main event was being held on a Saturday night, which meant Henry was going to be sleeping over at his grandparents, something he always enjoyed. After Michael dropped his son off with his wife’s parents, he returned home to shower and change himself before they needed to leave.
As usual, Sydney was spending a significant amount of time in front of the bathroom mirror trying to get herself ready for that evening’s event. Michael stayed out of her way as much as possible by watching television downstairs after he was fully dressed. When it was nearly six o’clock, though, he went back upstairs to try and hurry along Sydney’s preening process.
“Syd, you look gorgeous- beyond gorgeous,” he told her as he hovered in the bathroom doorway, observing her putting some finishing touches on her mascara. She gave a scoff that indicated she disagreed with his statement. “Yes you do! You look beautiful and so thin in that dress. It just looks like someone stuck a basketball underneath it!” he insisted. IT was true; Sydney was one of the lucky women who only gained weight in the ‘baby bump’ area during both of her pregnancies. If seen from behind, it was difficult to tell she was pregnant at all. Only from the side was it screamingly obvious.
“Yeah, a basketball the size of Rhode Island,” she muttered.
“Well that is the smallest state,” Michael jested with a slight laugh. Sydney gave him an unappreciative look. “Oh come on, honey, you’re beautiful; stop painting yourself up with this felgercarb.”
“Fine,” she grunted, tossing her mascara back into the drawer beside her. “Let’s go; the sooner we get there the sooner we can leave.”
“That’s the sprit!” Michael said with obvious sarcasm.
Upon arriving at their former high school, Sydney and Michael made their way into the gym area, where everyone was congregating. They donned nametags names (married and maiden in Sydney’s case), and began to mingle among the guests. Understandably, not every one of the one thousand plus graduates of their high school went to the reunion. In fact, the number of attendees was surprisingly low, barely over one hundred, meaning that the number of people Sydney and Michael actually knew was very slim. They did manage to spot a few of their former friends, all of whom seemed to be surprised that they were not only expecting a child, but that they were still married.
At first, Sydney was not sure whether or not to be offended by their shock. She wondered if maybe they thought she and Michael were not compatible, thus making it surprising that they were still together after nearly thirteen years of marriage. Then, she dismissed this thought as another crossed into her mind. In that day and age, divorces were almost more popular than marriages themselves, so it would be shocking for any two people to be together for such a significant amount of time; it had nothing to do with the two of them.
As the two of them were making their way over to the refreshments table later on that evening, Sydney stopped short at a stabbing pain in her belly. She froze and her hands shot to the pained area, a gasp escaping her lips. When Michael noticed she was not walking beside him, he turned and walked back asking, “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know…,” she said slowly. “Something hurt…”
“Is it still hurting?” he questioned. After a moment Sydney shook her head. “Then it was nothing,” he concluded, taking her hand and pulling her along with him. After just two more steps, though, Sydney froze once more after feeling the same pain.
“Michael,” she whimpered, tears flooding her eyes immediately at the fear that something was wrong with the child inside her.
“It’s okay, it’s okay,” he said in the calmest voice he could muster. “Just go, take a seat right there, and I’ll bring you some water. It’s going to be fine,” he said. He then hurried off to get Sydney a drink and returned to find her with both of her hands tightly clutching her belly.
“Here, sip this,” he encouraged, holding up the water bottle in his hand. Sydney took two short sips before looking back at him, her eyes still full of terror. “Okay, so how does it feel now?”
“I don’t know; it hurts,” she said with a squeak.
“Well, does it feel like labor?” he asked.
“I don’t know!” she snapped.
“Do you want to go to the hospital?”
“I don’t know!” she repeated. Unsure of what else to do, Michael rubbed his hands gently across hers, trying to calm her as much as possible.
After a few minutes of sitting there, breathing deeply and sipping on water, the pains in Sydney’s belly disappeared, but she decided that going home was the best course of action. Also, she called her obstetricians office, told them of her pains, and asked for an appointment on Monday morning, just to make sure everything was alright.
“See, its fine,” Michael said with a hopeful smile as they drove home. Of course it was fine right then, but only half an hour earlier he had felt as though he was going to have a heart attack, working about his wife and the child she was carrying inside of her.
“I guess,” Sydney sighed, stroking her belly.
“She’s fine, Syd. Besides, you’re almost thirty-six weeks; that’s like full term,” he pointed out.
“Yea, but I want her to stay in there for another few weeks yet,” Sydney said. “She’ll come out when she’s ready.”
“Exactly,” he smiled at her; he definitely could not wait until then.
Chapter 19
At her doctor’s appointment right after her pregnancy scare, Sydney found that nothing was out of ordinary with her pregnancy. The doctor said that the pains could be explained by any number of things and they were nothing to worry about. Sydney was still on edge for the next few days, though, practically jumping out of her skin at anything she felt inside her, even if it was just her stomach growling.
In just one short week, Henry was out of school, and Sydney took her maternity leave early so she could stay home with him. In previous years, he was forced to go to daycare or day camps during the summer, since he could not stay home by himself. Occasionally he spent time at friend’s houses, but for the most part he was stuck attending some sort of formal facility, which he did not always like. That summer, though, he stayed home with Sydney and they spent some mother-son time together. Not too much, though, since Sydney was busy making sure everything was perfect for her daughter’s arrival.
Early in the morning on June 15th, Sydney was roused from her sleep. She shuffled her way to the bathroom, and only there did she notice the pains in her belly. That time, though, the pain did not terrify her. She recognized it immediately even if it had been nearly eight years since the last time it happened; she was in labor.
A bit too sleepy to panic, she calmly timed how much time passed from one contraction to the next. She found that it was a significant period of time, so she merely shuffled her way back to bed; there was no need to wake Michael up at three am if she was not in active labor.
She managed to drift back off to sleep, but only briefly. At six, when she heard Michael’s alarm go off, she calmly said, “I’m in labor.”
“What?!” Michael gasped, falling out of bed in the process. “What?! Why didn’t you wake me?” he demanded.
She shrugged. “My contractions are still about fifteen minutes apart. I was gonna wake you when they got to ten.”
“I would hope so!” he exclaimed, slightly miffed. He instructed her to stay put as he made the necessary arrangements. First, he called his office to let them know about the situation. Then, he called his parents and Sydney’s, telling them that their baby was on the way. His parents were taking Henry for the delivery, while Sydney’s were meeting them at the hospital. Finally, he left the room and woke his son, telling him that he was mere hours away from having a little sister.
“You’re so calm,” Sydney said with amusement when Michael returned to their bedroom. She, of course, was comparing his behavior to eight years prior, for Henry’s birth. At that time, he could have easily been described as a complete and total wreck. In fact, he was in such a state that Sydney was the one that ended up driving them to the hospital.
“I’m cool,” he said in a supremely casual tone. “I know what it’s all about. You’re calm too.”
“I know; I know what it’s all about,” she repeated, teasing him. Then, she slid her way out of the bed and began to waddle her way towards the bathroom.
“Excuse me, where are you going?” Michael said, holding up his hand to stop her. “If you need something, I can get it or do it for you.”
“I have to pee,” she said simply. “Can you do that for me?”
“Um, no…,” he said slowly before stepping aside and letting her pass.
Fifteen minutes later, Michael’s parents arrived and took control of a very sleepy Henry. Then, Sydney and her husband headed off to the hospital, promising to call as soon as they were settled. After gritting her teeth through a contraction, Sydney said in a chipper tone, “I’m so excited! Aren’t you excited?”
Michael reached over and patted her belly lovingly. “Very excited.”
~*~
“Oh my goooooood,” Sydney whined three hours later. “I forgot how much this hurts!!!”
“I know honey,” Michael sighed, mopping up her sweaty forehead with a damp washcloth. “But it’s almost over. At least it’ll be shorter this time,” he said referring to the fact that she was nearing delivery time already and they had only been there a fraction of the time they were with Henry. Of course, Sydney had gone through some of her labor at home, but it was still much shorter.
“Shorter doesn’t make it hurt less!” she grunted.
“But just think – after that you’ll have little Annie – or Maggie,” he laughed softly. As far as he knew, Sydney had not yet decided between the two names.
“That’s true,” Sydney said with a tiny happy smile. Of course, that was quickly replaced by a grimace as she fought her way through another contraction.
An hour later, as Sydney was being prepared for the delivery of her baby, any happy thought of her daughter was gone from her mind. Up until that point, she had been focusing on how wonderful it was going to be to have a daughter. These thoughts of the future kept her from dwelling too much on the pain coursing through her abdomen. However, by the time the contractions were coming every few seconds, she really could not focus on anything else. She was vaguely aware of Michael beside her, gripping her hand and whispering supportive words to her. Other than that, her mind was blank until the room was filled with a high pitched wailing and the doctor announced, “Here she is!”
“Syd, Syd look, there she is,” Michael said tearfully as he put his arm around Sydney’s shoulders. Looking at the very pink, very loud baby in the doctor’s grasp, Michael fell in love immediately.
Sydney sniffed slightly as she glanced up to see her daughter being placed onto her stomach and wrapped up in a blanket. “Hi baby,” she managed to croak out, tenderly reaching out a hand to pat the child’s head, which already had a significant amount of dark brown hair.
“Syd she’s perfect,” Michael whispered to her. Then he pressed a few kisses into her damp hairline. “You did a great job; I’m so proud of you. I love you; I love you so much.”
Sydney turned her head and gave him a sweet kiss. “I love you too…but I’m really tired.”
“I’m sure you are,” he said with a slight laugh. Just then, the nurses took their baby girl off Sydney’s stomach so she could be cleaned up properly. Michael cut the umbilical cord, as was his right as a father (or so he said), before returning to Sydney’s side and combing all the matted hair away from her face.
A few minutes later, their baby was returned, and Sydney took her eagerly. “Oh my god, she’s so perfect,” Sydney sniffed, her tears beginning to flow at the realization that she was finally there.
“I know,” Michael said, taking one of the baby’s tiny fists between his fingers.
“Have you picked a name?” one of the nurses asked softly.
Sydney nodded as a grin spread across her face. “Anne Christine Vaughn,” Sydney told her. Then, she glanced over at her husband, seeking his approval.
“Perfect,” he said before giving her a long kiss.
Chapter 20
After twenty minutes of holding little Annie, Sydney finally gave her husband a turn. Michael cradled the tiny little girl like a pro as he walked around the room, bouncing her lightly to get rid of her cries. He had only been holding her a few minutes when a nurse arrived and asked to take her away. At this, Sydney started crying hysterically, and Michael had to calmly explain her distress.
Upon arriving at the hospital, Sydney and Michael had specified that they did not want their child going to the nursery; they wanted her to stay in the room with them at all times. Apparently, the nursing staff was unaware of this, but after a few tense moments the situation was cleared up and Annie was able to stay with them.
While Sydney was being wheeled to a recovery room, Michael took their daughter out to the waiting room where her parents were sitting anxiously awaiting the news of their little granddaughter’s arrival. When Michael stepped into the room, pink blanket in his arms, Sydney’s mother immediately started crying.
“This is Anne,” Michael said softly, “but I’m pretty sure Sydney wants us to call her Annie.”
“Annie is lovely,” Irina choked out. Michael immediately passed the baby to her, whereupon little Annie began to wail. Irina didn’t seem to notice though; she was too busy examining every inch of the hour old child. “She isn’t heavy at all. How much did she weight?”
“Six and a half pounds,” Michael told her. “That’s almost a pound less than Henry, which is funny,” Michael laughed softly, knowing how often times birth weight grew with each subsequent child.
“Well she’s a dainty little girl,” Irina cooed. After a few more minutes, Irina reluctantly handed her grandbaby over to her husband, so he could have a turn. Once he was through holding her, Michael took her back to his wife’s room, where he found her nearly asleep. He made sure that Annie was nestled in her little baby bed beside her mother, before leaving the room silently.
After calling his parents and telling them their wonderful news, Michael ran down to the cafeteria to grab himself something to eat; he was starving since all he had all day was coffee and a rather stale bagel from their kitchen. He bought Sydney something as well, figuring she might be hungry herself when she awoke from her nap.
When he returned to Sydney’s room, he arrived just in time to see the nurse encouraging Sydney to begin breast-feeding their daughter. “I love this part,” Sydney said with a contended sigh as she caressed one of Annie’s tiny hands.
“It is amazing,” Michael conceded with a smile.
“Did you talk to my parents?” she asked.
Michael nodded. “Yep, they saw her, held her, and your mother cried,” he laughed softly. Sydney laughed as well. “I called my parent’s too. They should be bringing Henry by in a little bit now.”
“Oh good. I can’t wait for him to see her,” Sydney smiled.
“Me neither,” he smiled. He sat down on the bed beside her and put his arm around her back, pulling both of the two girls he loved the most closer to him. They sat there together until Annie was finished nursing, at which point Michael lifted her up to her shoulder and rubbed her back gently.
“We make a pretty good team, don’t we?” Sydney smiled at him.
“As always,” Michael grinned and kissed her gently.
After just another twenty minutes, there was a soft knock at Sydney’s hospital room door signaling the arrival of Michael’s parents and Henry. Michael walked quickly to the door and let them inside. Immediately, the grandparents were drawn to the bassinet beside Sydney’s bed. They all began to coo over the baby and it was not until a few minutes later that Michael noticed his son had not moved from the door.
“What are you doing all the way over there buddy?” Michael asked with a laugh. Henry merely shrugged. “Well come here and see your little sister, Annie.”
Henry reluctantly took two steps forward, almost looking fearful of the group of people across the room. Laughing at his peculiar behavior, Michael lifted his son up around the waist and carried him over to the bassinet. “See, there she is,” Michael pointed out as Henry peered down at the blanket wrapped baby.
“She’s pink,” Henry said matter-of-factly.
“Yep that’s what newborns look like. You looked like that too except you didn’t have any hair,” Michael told him with a laugh.
“You wanna hold her sweetie?” Sydney asked her son. Henry looked rather horrified and shook his head. “Why not?”
“I’ll hurt her,” he said quietly.
“No you won’t come on sit here,” Michael said, sitting his son down in a nearby chair. Then, he scooped up Annie and instructed Henry to hold his arms in a certain way before laying the baby down on her brother’s lap. “See, there you go.”
“She’s big… I thought she’d be smaller,” Henry said.
“Yeah, well she’s not too big,” Michael told him. Henry sat rather frozen for a full minute before asking his father to take Annie away so he could move.
“You’ll have to get used to it someday, pal; you’re gonna have to change diapers,” Henry’s grandfather teased him.
“Yuck!” Henry concluded with the utmost grimace. At this, all the adults in the room laughed.
After visiting for about half an hour, Michael’s parents left with Henry once more so that Sydney could get some much needed rest. Once they were gone, Michael settled down beside Sydney and stroked her back softly, trying to help her fall asleep. “You can go home you know,” Sydney said sluggishly.
“What are you kidding? And leave the two of you here alone? I’m not going anywhere,” he assured her before kissing her cheek gently. Sydney grunted softly in acknowledgment, but fell asleep soon after.
Once she was out completely, Michael carefully moved from the bed to a nearby chair and pulled out the magazine he brought to read. After only a few minutes, though, he heard Annie begin to stir, and scooped her up quickly so that she would not wake Sydney. “What’s the matter little girl? I’m right here,” he said softly to her. She squirmed a bit and Michael picked up one of her little hands and kissed it gently. “I’m so glad you’re here, Annie; we’ve all been waiting to meet you. You’ve already met your big brother and all your grandparents, too… boy you’ve done a lot in the past few hours,” he laughed softly. “Anyway, you’re going to have a great life, sweetie, and you’ll always be my best little girl,” he said. Then, after pressing a gentle kiss on her head, he set her back in her bassinet so she could sleep.
AliasFan1979
Cadet
Awww... that was so sweet!
cookiemonster
Cadet
I can so see little Henry cringing his nose at that
he's cute though...
SkyGirl5
Cadet
Chapter 21
After a forty-eight hour hospital stay, Sydney and Annie were released and able to go home with their family. Immediately upon walking through the door, Michael and Sydney gave Annie a tour of their house. Of course, Annie, being barely two days old, was not the most attentive participant in the tour, but Michael and Sydney showed her around nonetheless. After the tour was over, they sat down with Henry to try and get him to bond with his little sibling.
“Why isn’t she moving?” Henry asked as he stared down at the blanket covered bundle lying across his father’s forearm. “Is she dead?”
“No of course not,” Michael laughed a bit too loudly at his son’s observation. “She’s just a baby, and they don’t do too much right away. Wait a few months, though, and she’ll be everywhere.”
“Oh,” Henry said. Then, he cautiously reached over and touched one of Annie’s tiny hands. He gently petted her little fist with his finger tips until Annie gripped on to his finger with her whole hand. For some reason Michael could never understand, Henry began shaking his finger wildly as though it was caught in a piranha’s teeth and not the soft hand of a baby. This, of course, caused Annie to scream, especially when Henry yanked his finger back and ran away from the couch.
“Henry!” Michael said in a scolding voice as he lifted Annie up to his shoulder and tried to calm her. “What did you do that for?!”
“She grabbed my finger!” Henry insisted.
“And what was she going to do, rip it off?” Michael retorted sarcastically. Henry merely shrugged and ran away from Annie’s cries.
“What happened? What happened?” Sydney asked frantically as she rushed into the room from the kitchen, drying her hands on her sweatpants. She quickly reached out for her little angel, gathered her up in her arms, and began to rock her gently.
“Nothing. Henry was just… nothing,” Michael shook his head, glancing towards the stairs where his son had disappeared moments earlier.
“Okay, well I’m going to go feed her; she’s probably hungry. Then I’ll put her down for her nap,” Sydney told him with a smile before disappearing up the stairs herself.
While she was gone, Michael straightened up their house since it was a bit of a mess after they were gone for two days. He did this efficiently and, when he was done, noticed that forty minutes had passed and Sydney was not yet back downstairs. Curious, Michael went to check on her.
He found her standing in Annie’s room right beside her crib. Her hands were clasped under her chin and she was gazing down at her sleeping baby with a look of utmost love. Gently, Michael put his hand on the small of her back while kissing her cheek softly. “You should be sleeping,” he informed her in a whisper.
“I know I just… I love her so much and now that she’s here I can’t believe it,” she said in a rather tearful way before dabbing her eyes with a tissue. Then she turned to her husband and let out a breathy laugh, “hormones.”
“Right,” he said, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. Then, he guided her out of the room and down the hall towards their own bedroom. “C’mon, I’ll lay down with you for a few minutes,” he said trying to encourage her to nap as much as possible, knowing that in the next few weeks they would both be very sleep deprived.
Sydney nodded her head and crawled under the covers of their bed. Michael curled up beside her and locked his arms around her waist. “Love you Michael,” Sydney mumbled into her pillow.
“Love you too,” he said before kissing the back of her neck and watching her fall asleep.
~*~
Later that night, when everyone was in bed, Sydney was awakened by the sounds of Annie’s cries emanating from the baby monitor beside her. Slowly, she slid from bed and grabbed her robe before shuffling her way down the hallway. She slipped into Annie’s room, picked up the crying infant, and spoke to her in hushed tones while making her way over to the nearby rocking chair to nurse her daughter.
Twenty minutes later, it was obvious that Annie had no interest in drinking any milk; all she wanted to do was cry. Sydney bounced her and rocked her in every way she could remember from her days of taking care of Henry, but nothing seemed to work. As Annie continued to wail, she was growing more and more frustrated. Just as she was about to break down herself, Michael appeared in the doorway.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice hoarse from sleep.
“I don’t know! She won’t drink, she won’t sleep; she’s just crying,” Sydney whimpered. Michael gestured for her to hand over the baby and she did so willingly. Michael laid her across his arm and began to walk around the room, bouncing her lightly.
A few minutes later, while Annie was still crying, Henry appeared in the room, rubbing his eyes sleepily. “Why is she so loud?” he asked. “Can’t you turn her off?”
“I’m sorry honey we’re trying,” Sydney told him softly. “Why don’t you just try and go back to sleep?”
“I can’t! She’s loud!” Henry insisted.
“Well try, okay?” Sydney said, turning him around and directing him back towards his room.
“Let’s go downstairs,” Michael suggested, figuring Henry would hear less of the noise then. Sydney nodded wearily and followed him down the steps. There, Michael put Annie into her baby carrier and rocked her back and forth with his foot as he flopped back on the couch. Sydney curled up beside him and rested her head against his chest.
“Remember Henry’s first night of crying?” Sydney asked with a slight laugh.
“Oh god yeah,” Michael laughed as well, pinching the bridge of his nose. It was just a day after they brought him home from the hospital and they were both beside themselves with sleep deprivation. Henry was screaming at the top of their lungs and nothing they did would quell his cries. After a few hours, they nearly took him to the hospital out of fear something was terribly wrong with him. Finally, out of other options, they called Sydney’s mother, who had their child to sleep in a matter of minutes. In their exhausted state, they both believed she had magical powers and thanked her profusely before falling asleep themselves.
“Do you ever get the feeling we’re too old to do this again?” he laughed softly.
“Um yeah, only every day,” Sydney laughed. “But she’s worth it.”
“Definitely,” Michael agreed before kissing her sweetly. Then after a moment, he came to a surprising realization. “Hey, its silent.”
“It is,” Sydney said softly, smiling at their sleeping babe. “I’m too tired to go back upstairs…”
“But we gotta…,” Michael said sluggishly. Of course, only moments later they were both sleeping curled up on the couch together.
After a forty-eight hour hospital stay, Sydney and Annie were released and able to go home with their family. Immediately upon walking through the door, Michael and Sydney gave Annie a tour of their house. Of course, Annie, being barely two days old, was not the most attentive participant in the tour, but Michael and Sydney showed her around nonetheless. After the tour was over, they sat down with Henry to try and get him to bond with his little sibling.
“Why isn’t she moving?” Henry asked as he stared down at the blanket covered bundle lying across his father’s forearm. “Is she dead?”
“No of course not,” Michael laughed a bit too loudly at his son’s observation. “She’s just a baby, and they don’t do too much right away. Wait a few months, though, and she’ll be everywhere.”
“Oh,” Henry said. Then, he cautiously reached over and touched one of Annie’s tiny hands. He gently petted her little fist with his finger tips until Annie gripped on to his finger with her whole hand. For some reason Michael could never understand, Henry began shaking his finger wildly as though it was caught in a piranha’s teeth and not the soft hand of a baby. This, of course, caused Annie to scream, especially when Henry yanked his finger back and ran away from the couch.
“Henry!” Michael said in a scolding voice as he lifted Annie up to his shoulder and tried to calm her. “What did you do that for?!”
“She grabbed my finger!” Henry insisted.
“And what was she going to do, rip it off?” Michael retorted sarcastically. Henry merely shrugged and ran away from Annie’s cries.
“What happened? What happened?” Sydney asked frantically as she rushed into the room from the kitchen, drying her hands on her sweatpants. She quickly reached out for her little angel, gathered her up in her arms, and began to rock her gently.
“Nothing. Henry was just… nothing,” Michael shook his head, glancing towards the stairs where his son had disappeared moments earlier.
“Okay, well I’m going to go feed her; she’s probably hungry. Then I’ll put her down for her nap,” Sydney told him with a smile before disappearing up the stairs herself.
While she was gone, Michael straightened up their house since it was a bit of a mess after they were gone for two days. He did this efficiently and, when he was done, noticed that forty minutes had passed and Sydney was not yet back downstairs. Curious, Michael went to check on her.
He found her standing in Annie’s room right beside her crib. Her hands were clasped under her chin and she was gazing down at her sleeping baby with a look of utmost love. Gently, Michael put his hand on the small of her back while kissing her cheek softly. “You should be sleeping,” he informed her in a whisper.
“I know I just… I love her so much and now that she’s here I can’t believe it,” she said in a rather tearful way before dabbing her eyes with a tissue. Then she turned to her husband and let out a breathy laugh, “hormones.”
“Right,” he said, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. Then, he guided her out of the room and down the hall towards their own bedroom. “C’mon, I’ll lay down with you for a few minutes,” he said trying to encourage her to nap as much as possible, knowing that in the next few weeks they would both be very sleep deprived.
Sydney nodded her head and crawled under the covers of their bed. Michael curled up beside her and locked his arms around her waist. “Love you Michael,” Sydney mumbled into her pillow.
“Love you too,” he said before kissing the back of her neck and watching her fall asleep.
~*~
Later that night, when everyone was in bed, Sydney was awakened by the sounds of Annie’s cries emanating from the baby monitor beside her. Slowly, she slid from bed and grabbed her robe before shuffling her way down the hallway. She slipped into Annie’s room, picked up the crying infant, and spoke to her in hushed tones while making her way over to the nearby rocking chair to nurse her daughter.
Twenty minutes later, it was obvious that Annie had no interest in drinking any milk; all she wanted to do was cry. Sydney bounced her and rocked her in every way she could remember from her days of taking care of Henry, but nothing seemed to work. As Annie continued to wail, she was growing more and more frustrated. Just as she was about to break down herself, Michael appeared in the doorway.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice hoarse from sleep.
“I don’t know! She won’t drink, she won’t sleep; she’s just crying,” Sydney whimpered. Michael gestured for her to hand over the baby and she did so willingly. Michael laid her across his arm and began to walk around the room, bouncing her lightly.
A few minutes later, while Annie was still crying, Henry appeared in the room, rubbing his eyes sleepily. “Why is she so loud?” he asked. “Can’t you turn her off?”
“I’m sorry honey we’re trying,” Sydney told him softly. “Why don’t you just try and go back to sleep?”
“I can’t! She’s loud!” Henry insisted.
“Well try, okay?” Sydney said, turning him around and directing him back towards his room.
“Let’s go downstairs,” Michael suggested, figuring Henry would hear less of the noise then. Sydney nodded wearily and followed him down the steps. There, Michael put Annie into her baby carrier and rocked her back and forth with his foot as he flopped back on the couch. Sydney curled up beside him and rested her head against his chest.
“Remember Henry’s first night of crying?” Sydney asked with a slight laugh.
“Oh god yeah,” Michael laughed as well, pinching the bridge of his nose. It was just a day after they brought him home from the hospital and they were both beside themselves with sleep deprivation. Henry was screaming at the top of their lungs and nothing they did would quell his cries. After a few hours, they nearly took him to the hospital out of fear something was terribly wrong with him. Finally, out of other options, they called Sydney’s mother, who had their child to sleep in a matter of minutes. In their exhausted state, they both believed she had magical powers and thanked her profusely before falling asleep themselves.
“Do you ever get the feeling we’re too old to do this again?” he laughed softly.
“Um yeah, only every day,” Sydney laughed. “But she’s worth it.”
“Definitely,” Michael agreed before kissing her sweetly. Then after a moment, he came to a surprising realization. “Hey, its silent.”
“It is,” Sydney said softly, smiling at their sleeping babe. “I’m too tired to go back upstairs…”
“But we gotta…,” Michael said sluggishly. Of course, only moments later they were both sleeping curled up on the couch together.