Week 29
All
things considered, as Fi went from trimester two into trimester three, the
pregnancy had been going well.
By
week twenty-two she had regained the weight she lost from morning sickness, and
had continued from there to plump up nicely.
The
baby was doing a pretty good job of not bugging her mom, too much. Sure, she
seemed to be under the impression that Fi's bladder was her own personal combination pillow and punching bag, but beyond
that, she was behaving.
And
compared to some of the horror stories Fi had been hearing, something about a
visibly pregnant woman inspires strangers to tell said woman just utterly
terrible things, she'd been having it pretty easy.
So,
she probably should have figured she was due for something to happen. After
all, whenever a job seems like it's going too well, something is about to jump
out and bite them.
She
was getting dressed to go jogging. She stopped training with Michael when it
came to fighting as soon as she learned she was pregnant, but since the doc
said pregnancy wasn't a good time to start jogging, but if you were already
doing it, there was no reason to stop as long as it didn't hurt, they had kept
up with the running.
Fi
stood on one foot, and lifted the other to put a sock on. Normally that would
be that, put sock on, lower foot, put other sock on, and go run. But this time
something happened. She doesn't know what, but she was standing, foot up, sock
in hand, and then there was searing pain all down her hip and left leg, and she
was on the floor cursing loudly.
Michael
was there a second later, worried, picking her up, asking what happened.
She
tried, gingerly, to put some weight on her leg, and once again pain went
shooting through it.
Five
hours later they were out of the Emergency Room with a diagnosis of a strain,
and instructions to put ice on her hip and rest.
**********************
They
are sitting on the bed, her between his legs, back resting against his chest,
as he gently rubs her hip and thigh.
"How
about Claire Natalie?" Michael asks.
"I
like Claire. But..."
"Yeah,
I don't actually like Natalie either. It's a bad name for a girl. Natalia isn't
much better. I just want—"
"What
was his middle name?"
"Elias."
Fi
thinks about that. "Ellie? Elise?"
Michael
slowly starts to smile. "I like Elise."
"How
about Elise Claire? Claire is just mine, but Nate was both of ours."
Michael
kisses Fi's temple, and rests his hands on the baby bump. He strokes it firmly,
and feels the baby kick in response.
"Hello,
Elise."
***************
Supposedly,
Sam is bringing them to meet a client. Just for a consult. He and Jesse will
handle the heavy lifting on this. Mike and Fi are just there to plan.
Supposedly
this client is very security conscious, which is why they're going to his place
in, from what Michael can see, the Everglades.
And,
as they pull into a driveway filled with cars, he sees Sam frown. Someone, and
he's guessing in this case, someone is Barry, forgot that if you're trying to
set up a proper surprise party for Joe Average, let alone Mr. and Mrs.
Superspy, not having everyone parking in the driveway is a good plan.
It's a
beautiful house, and it's way off the beaten track, and Michael is certain
that's on purpose. Sure, Barry and his mom may have forgotten about the parking
situation, but they both understood that this particular combination of guests
would need a lot of privacy.
Inside
looks like a Mary Kay convention. There's pink everywhere. Pink balloons, pink
streamers, pink pillows, pink cake, and in case all of the pink didn't get the
idea across, It's A Girl was emblazoned everywhere.
And
also inside was a huge group of people, almost everyone he and Fi have helped
over the years. He's got no idea how Barry and his mom could have come up with
this guest list. It boggles his mind that all of these people are here to
celebrate him and Fi having a baby.
And
yes, the games are kind of cheesy, and the food could be better, but as he sits
there opening a collection of unique baby gifts, he's amazed at how much
he loves these people, and how happy he is right that moment. He leans over and
kisses Fi, which results in a wave of "Ahhhs" cresting over them,
strokes her face, and pets Elise.
And
right now, life is awfully sweet.
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