This was requested by @cristalswan. I hope you like it and that I was able to do your request justice.
It had been four weeks since you and Jude had the conversation about children. Since then things have gone back to normal. At least, that’s what both of you pretended. The conversation was never revisited. There had been no conclusion. Rather, it had just stopped.
You were both still affectionate with one another and you still showed up for one another, but subtly something had changed between you both. It was as if both of you were scared that bringing up the topic meant acknowledging something that had the power to shift the dynamic of your relationship. It was amazing and strange how one conversation could change absolutely nothing and everything at the same time.
Your friend had called you last week and invited you for a party that she and her husband were having to celebrate her promotion at work. She had asked you to bring Jude along as Sienna had begged to see him again. You had told her that you would ask him, but it was the day of the party and you still had yet to ask.
You knew that Jude had the day off and so would most likely be free, but since your last conversation, you didn’t know how to approach him. After all, the conversation had started due to Sienna. You didn’t know if he would want to go now knowing how he felt about kids.
“Where are you off to all dressed up?” Jude asked with a smile on his face as he walked into your shared room. He leaned himself against the doorframe. You had been getting ready for the party.
“My friend invited me over to her place. She’s having a little get together for a promotion she recently got,” you explained then hesitantly added on, “Did you want to come with me?...Sienna asked about you.”
You could see the slight hesitation on Jude’s face when the topic of Sienna came up. Immediately, you could tell he was thinking about your conversation that had happened the last time you babysat her together. “...Do you want me to come?”
You paused for a moment, not knowing how to answer. Did you want him there? Yes. But, knowing that it might make him feel awkward, you didn’t know if it would be fair to ask him to go.
Eventually, you decided to be honest. “I do want you to go. But, only if you want to.”
Jude took a moment before eventually nodding his head. As he walked into the closet to pick out his clothes, you let out a breath. This day was definitely going to be interesting.
“Jude!!!!” Sienna seemed to throw herself at Jude the minute that she saw him. Jude almost fell back but thankfully was able to steady both himself and Sienna before they both fell over. He couldn’t help but smile at the effervescent energy of the little girl as she saw him.
“How are you?” He asked, his tone lighter than it had been all day.
Sienna smiled and exclaimed how happy she was to see him and how excited she was to show him her room. She continued to talk as she dragged him into the house.
You couldn’t help but smile as you watched the pair of them walk off. Once again, you were hit with the thought that Jude would make such a good father.
That same sense of loss that you felt whenever you thought of the fact that that would never be a reality for him hit you. You weren’t able to dwell on it for long though because eventually your friend led you into the house and towards where a few more of your girlfriends were.
Your friend's cousin had also joined you guys that night with her husband and her new baby. As you joined the group, your eyes immediately drifted to the newborn baby. She was about five months old and she was just the cutest baby that you ever did see. She was wearing a bunny onesie and the little ears on her head would make anyone smile as they looked at her.
“Would you mind holding her for a bit?” Your friend’s cousin asked you, handing you the baby. “I really need to use the bathroom.”
You carefully took the baby girl from her, making sure to properly support her as you held her. The baby initially fussed but eventually settled down and rested her head on your shoulder. It was as if she realized that she was safe.
That was the moment that Jude chose to walk back into the room. He was about to join your friend’s husband and the other guys in the backyard but he stopped when he saw you with the baby in your arms.
Jude had seen many emotions on your face before. He had seen you stressed, laughing, crying, excited, angry, but the look he saw on your face now, he had never seen before.
There was a softness in your expression, a gentle calm as you nuzzled against the baby in your arms. It was like your actions were almost instinctual.
Jude couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of you. It was almost like you moved without thinking. He watched you adjust the baby’s head when it started to slide off your shoulder, being careful not to disrupt the child. A smile came upon your face, anytime the baby moved. If she fussed, you begin rocking her gently, getting her to settle back down with such ease. You did all of this and kept up the conversation with your friends.
It was like this was natural for you.
Jude didn’t know how long he had been staring at you but it had been long enough for him to realize that the baby had fallen asleep in your arms. It was something that you hadn’t even realized as you continued rocking the baby.
From his spot, he witnessed your friend’s cousin come back and thank you for holding the baby. She offered to take it back, holding her arms back out. Jude didn’t know if anyone else caught it or not but he caught the slight look of hesitation that appeared on your face for about half a second before you carefully handed the baby back over. It was obvious to him that the quick moment with the baby in your arms had been enough for you to feel attached to the little human.
As he stood there watching you, seeing the emotions on your face, Jude realized one profound thing: he had never seen you happier.
Not during birthdays, or vacations, or anniversaries. You just looked so peaceful…so content and fulfilled. As if you didn’t have a single worry in the world.
“I’ve always wanted to be a mom,” Your whispered words from a few weeks ago rang in his ears and as he looked at you, he believed it.
Jude felt a pressure begin to form in his chest. When he had told you that he wasn’t sure if he wanted kids, you had made it clear that you did want kids. By being with him, he realized he was asking you to sacrifice one of the biggest dreams that you had. The thought of you waking up one day and wondering why you chose him over something you’d always wanted filled him with dread.
Jude suddenly felt like it was hard to breathe.
You looked up from where you were standing and your eyes met his. The look on his face clearly told you something was very wrong. Your eye brows furrowed in concern as you excused yourselves from your friend and walked over to him.
“Jude,” Your voice clearly showed your worry as you approached him, “Are you okay?”
Jude didn’t know how to answer your question. The image of you with the baby in your arms seemed imprinted into his head along with the knowledge that by telling you he didn’t want kids he might lose you. After all, it wasn’t fair of you to give up your dream for him and he didn’t know how to be a dad. Didn’t know if he had what it took to be one.
“I-I…” The words were stuck in his throat, refusing to come out.
Clearly realizing that he was about to have a panic attack, you made the decision for the both of you to head home. You quickly told your friends that you and Jude were leaving, feigning not feeling well and with that both of you headed out the house and to your car.
Being in the car, just the two of you helped Jude. You reached over the console and kept your arms on his shoulder hoping to ground him. He took deep breaths and eventually, it took a while but he settled.
“Do you want to talk about it?” You asked him carefully.
Jude shook his head no and you just nodded. You knew he would tell you when he was ready. Starting the car, you began the drive back home. You made it about half-way there when Jude finally spoke up.
“Have you always looked like that around babies?” He asked after the extended period of silence.
You briefly turned to look at his face before moving your eyes back to the road. You had a confused expression on your face, “Like what?”
Jude didn’t answer right away, like he was trying to figure out how to put what he wanted to say into words before speaking. “You looked so happy. So content.”
You couldn;t help but smile, the image of the baby coming to the forefront of your mind. She had been so tiny. “I guess. I mean, when I was growing up, my aunt had a husband who wasn’t the best. My parents helped her escape from a bad situation and so she moved in with us. She brought her baby with her and since she was struggling to work and raise her daughter at the same time, I helped her raise her little girl. I helped raise my cousin. She always made me happy. It was tough at first since she cried a lot but I got really good at taking care of her. She would almost always stop crying immediately when I picked her up as a baby.”
Despite not being the happiest story to tell, the thought of your baby cousin, who was now about to go into her final year of school, brought you a lot of joy. Jude could tell from the way your voice had softened when you talked about raising her.
He also realized one other thing: The concept of motherhood wasn’t just a phase for you. It was woven into the very being of who you are. You had been a caregiver. You weren’t romanticizing motherhood. You knew it was difficult and you still wanted it anyway. That amazed him.
Jude didn’t say anything for the rest of the ride. His mind thought about everything you had just said. He thought about the little girl you helped raise. About the baby you held so easily in your arms like it was second nature to you. He thought about how you never once pressured him. How you might sacrifice your dream rather than force him into something he wasn’t sure about.
As you continued driving, you looked over at Jude but realized he had a lot on his mind and so you also didn’t force him to talk.
Later that night, as you were in the kitchen, Jude’s eyes never seemed to leave you. You were completely ignorant of his stare, but his eyes followed as you moved from putting away the remnants of the dinner that you both had had to washing and then drying the dishes.
As he watched you, he couldn’t stop imagining. His brain continually showed him images of you as a mother. He imagined you reading bedtime stories to a little girl, decorating for the birthdays of a little boy, comforting a child after a nightmare, helping them with their homework, holding your own baby like you had held the one from earlier in the day. The same look of happiness on your face. The same look of peace.
He wasn’t consciously trying to imagine it, the images just seemed to come to him and within them, he felt a sense of rightness. It’s like that’s exactly what you were meant to be: A mother.
Within those images, he also couldn’t help but imagine his own place. When he imagines you reading a bedtime story, it isn’t just you. He imagines sitting beside you while you read it. He imagines teaching a child how to play football after homework, carrying a sleepy child up the stairs so you don’t have to. He sees himself waking up with you in the middle of the night to comfort the scared child. In all of it, he is right there with you.
He doesn’t feel a sense of dread or uneasiness like he previously would have when he thought about having a child. He doesn’t feel trapped. The idea of having a child doesn’t seem as scary when it’s with you.
Jude still wasn’t sure if he wanted kids or if he would be a good father, but for the first time in his life he found himself wanting to find out. As he looked at you, wiping down the countertops, he began to see his future differently.
It wasn’t some grand fantasy. Rather, it was a quiet one: you, him, and a child.
He had always thought having kids meant giving things up: his freedom, his time, his career. Maybe the question wasn’t what he would have to give up, but rather what he could build with you.
A/N: I hope you guys like this. I had a lot of fun writing it. Let me know what you think.
I'm currently working on a second part to The Future We Imagined. I should have that posted by tomorrow. Since I started working again, I'm only going to be able to post on weekends going forward. Also, feel free to send me requests, cause sometimes it's hard to come up with story ideas.
This story is part 2 of What The Picture's Didin't Show
This was requested by @elegantzipperherringskeleto-blog and @m4wrkiye. I hope you guys like it and that I did it justice.
Ferran knew the minute that he walked out the door that walking out had been the coward's thing to do. He hesitated for a moment, but then remembering your words, he kept going.
“I found myself not looking forward to the evenings because I knew how they would end.” Your words haunted him.
He had felt anger at the words. You had blamed him for ruining your guys’ vacation. Ferran didn’t think it was fair of you to do that. After the final, both of you celebrated. Hell, even his teammates had celebrated. Why was he to blame for drinking while celebrating? It wasn’t like he was an alcoholic or that he couldn’t survive without drinking.
That’s what your words had made it seem like to him.
In his anger, he hadn’t realized that his feet had carried him towards the beach. Planting himself on the sand, he tried to forget the fight. This seemed to be much easier said than done.
As the scene from earlier replayed in his head over and over, one thing stood out to him that you had mentioned. In your anger, you had asked him about the concert that you had both gone to, the broken promise of the sunrise. He had said that he remembered that night.
That had been a lie.
He tried to remember, but all he got were flashes of that night. He remembered getting ready, telling you how beautiful you had looked that night and smiling when you had blushed under his gaze. He remembered trying to get you to skip the concert so you could do other things instead. He remembered you vehemently disagreeing and dragging him to the venue. The arrival and the dancing that happened were clear memories in his head. After that…nothing.
Ferran hated to admit it, but that was the reality. He doesn’t remember getting back to the hotel and anything that happened afterwards. There is a whole chunk of that night completely missing from his memory.
Thinking about the other nights that they had been in Ibiza, he realized that he couldn’t recall how he got back to the hotel most nights. Most nights ended with a blank space.
The concept unnerved him. Could it have been possible that you were onto something?
Not wanting to think about it, Ferran tried distracting himself. Pulling out his phone, he logged onto instagram to see what his friends and teammates were up to. As soon as he opened instagram though, he instantly regretted it. The very first post that popped up was a compilation of pictures that someone else had taken of his time in Ibiza with his friends and you. The caption of the post read: Our legend living the dream. What a life!!!
In the very first picture, Ferran noticed it was of a time in which you, him, and one of his friends had gone swimming from the yacht. Ferran had a bottle of beer in his hands as he stood on the dock next to his friend in conversation. He had a huge smile on his face. You were in the water near him, one hand on his leg.
To anyone on the outside, the picture might just look like a couple enjoying their vacation with friends but Ferran knew better. Your hand was placed as if you were trying to steady him. He noticed the look on your face. You were smiling, but he could clearly read the concern in your eyes as you looked at him.
One by one, Ferran swiped through the pictures in that post. All of them are moments from your trip. All of these moments that he had lived, but now, he couldn’t help but focus on you in all of these pictures.
In them, you are smiling and you look happy. But, that wasn't what stood out to him. In most pictures you are either holding his hand, carrying his jacket, holding his phone, or watching him celebrate instead of celebrating yourself.
It was at that moment that he realized for the first time that you had been taking care of him this entire vacation.
An intense sense of guilt begins to form in the pit of his stomach as he looks at this seemingly innocent instagram post.
You were right. Ferran had been so caught up in celebrating and reveling in finally being able to prove his critics wrong, that he hadn’t realized the impact that it was having on you.
Closing out of instagram, he tried to call you. The line rang three times before the call went to voicemail. Realizing that you weren't picking up, he decided that it would be better to find you face to face.
With that resolve, Ferran finally rose from where he had been sitting and headed off in the direction of the hotel, only making one pit stop along the way. When he reached the room you both shared, he set down what he had bought and then began looking for you. He couldn't find you anywhere. An uneasy feeling came over him. Were you okay? Had something happened?
That was when he noticed the door to the balcony was slightly ajar. Opening it, he finally caught sight of you sitting, wrapped up in a blanket, on one of the balcony chairs. You had curled in on yourself and he could tell that you had a lot on your mind. Clearly he wasn’t the only one disturbed by your earlier fight.
The sight of you only compounded onto the feeling of guilt that he felt.
“Hey,” He said softly, trying not to startle you.
You turned your head towards him at the sound of his voice. Ferran had a contrite look on his face but you didn’t know what to make of it. Was he still angry? Had he calmed down. You felt unsure. That was why you barely responded. “Hi”
Ferran hesitated for a moment, feeling just as unsure as you. Eventually, he took a few steps towards you, stopping a few feet away from the chair that you were sitting in. “Can I sit?”
You were silent for a brief moment before giving a small nod in acquiescence.
Ferran took the seat on the other balcony chair that was available next to you. The pair of you sat there in silence for a while, neither knowing what to say or how to initiate the conversation. The only sound that could be heard were from the waves from a nearby beach.
Knowing he was the one who must initiate, Ferran finally spoke up, breaking the silence.
“I’m sorry for walking away,” he began. “I didn't know what else to do. I was angry and when I thought about it, that anger was mostly at myself.”
Ferran paused, waiting to see if you said anything but when you didn’t respond, he continued. “I’ve been trying to figure out what to say on the way here and you were right.”
That finally got a sentence out of you. “About what?”
Ferran was silent for a moment as if thinking how to answer that. Eventually, he settled on something simple. “I don’t remember the sunrise promise.”
He waited to see your reaction to what he said. You hadn’t been expecting him to say that. He must have read the confusion on your face because he quickly clarified. “I don’t remember making you that promise and that thought scares me.”
You remained silent, letting him explain. There was a vulnerability in his voice and you could tell this was difficult for him. Ferran always struggled to admit any weakness of his, wanting to come across as strong. You needed to let him have his moment.
“You scared me because you were right. When I walked away, I told myself you were overreacting. I repeated it like a mantra but eventually even I couldn’t believe it myself anymore. I started thinking about this trip and I realized something, I don’t remember a lot of it. You asked me if I remembered the concert,” he paused as if admitting the next part was painful for him, “I don’t. At least not all of it. I-I didn’t realize how much I was putting on you. How much you were having to look after me.”
As he spoke, Ferran got a little choked up. You listened to him. To his words carefully. It was apparent he understood what you had been saying. He noticed what you had noticed, but that had never been your biggest problem.
“It wasn’t just the drinking, Ferran. I don’t regret taking care of you. I would never regret that.” You tried to explain. “It was how alone I felt. I needed you to listen to me and when you walked away, I started to wonder if you’d ever choose to listen.”
“I’m listening,” Ferran reached out and squeezed her hand. The small touch seemed to unravel something within her as she could feel the tears welling up in her eyes.
Ferran, having noticed the reaction, stood up from his own chair and moved towards her. Gently picking her up, he placed her on his lap, wrapping his arms protectively around her waist.
He placed a gentle kiss on the side of your head and whispered, “I’m so sorry, Mi amour. I should have listened from the very beginning.”
You melted into his touch, allowing his words to settle over you. He had said it so sincerely. Resting your chin on his shoulder, you listened as he continued speaking.
“When you brought up the topic, part of me felt judged,” He paused trying to explain his reaction at the restaurant. “After I left, I realized you weren't attacking me. You were telling me you were scared and I heard criticism instead.”
“You know I would never judge you, Ferran,” You spoke quietly. For months leading up to the world cup you had seen the toll that other’s judgement had had on Ferran. You would never do that to him.
“I know.” Ferran said, turning his head and placing a kiss on your head. “I want to make this right. Can you come with me somewhere?”
You lifted your head and looked at him in confusion. “Where are we going?”
Ferran didn’t answer your question, Instead the both of you got up from the balcony chairs and Ferran grabbed your hand and led you inside the room. You went wordlessly, curious to see what he was going to do to make it right.
Ferran pulled you into the bathroom and stopped by the sink. Next to it was something in a bag that hadn't been there earlier when you had returned to the room. Ferran reached in and pulled out a bottle of wine. Part of you felt disappointed when you saw it. This whole argument had started with drinking, and so had Ferran really gone out and bought himself a bottle of wine.
“Ferran?” The disappointment was obvious in your tone.
Ferran knew exactly what you were thinking. He had a slight smile on his face, “Relax, this isn’t for drinking. We’re going to pour it out together.”
You were confused, “Pour it out?”
“Yes,” Ferran said as if it was the simplest thing ever. “We are going to pour it out. When I bought this, I realized something. I kept saying how I was drinking to celebrate, but that wasn’t really true. When we won…I felt like for the first time in months that nobody hated me. There was no one criticizing me. Everyone was celebrating and I think I was scared that if the celebration stopped that I would go back to the hate and the criticism. But with you, that could never be the case. I want to keep celebrating, but I don’t need the drink to do it. I want to celebrate with you.”
You were crying by the time that Ferran finished speaking. Any anger or hurt that you were carrying before fully melted away. All that was left was the overwhelming feeling of love that you felt for this man in front of you. You knew that it wasn't easy for him to admit what he just had to you and you were so proud of him for taking this step.
“Let’s do it!” You said, as you grabbed onto the wine bottle with Ferran. He opened the bottle and the both of you watched as the wine made its way down the drain of the bathroom sink. As the bottle emptied, both you and Ferran felt a sense of relief. It was as if with the wine, the feelings that your argument had brought up were also easing away.
When the bottle was finally empty, Ferran threw it away and came back to wrap you up in a hug. His arms wrapped around your waist as he pulled you as close to him as physically possible. You arms wrapped around his neck and the both of you stood there for who knows how long.
“What do you say we go watch the sunrise tomorrow morning?” Ferran asked, a lightness in his tone, “This time I promise you I won’t forget.”
You couldn’t help but laugh pulling back from the hug slightly to see his face. “I’ll hold you to that.”
The following morning, he finally fulfilled his promise.
A/N: I hope you like it. Let me know what you guys think.
This was a request by @yeon103. I hope you like it and that I was able to do it justice.
The sound of the alarm blared throughout the room, causing you to stir from your sleep. You reached out to grab your phone and turn the alarm off when you were stopped by the feeling of someone’s arm around your waist. Following the arm with your gaze, you noticed Michael was still sleeping, completely unfazed by the sound reverberating throughout the room.
Gently, you moved his arm enough to be able to reach out and turn the alarm off. As soon as you turned it off, a calendar notification popped up on your screen. You have your six-week appointment with your gynecologist today. Mentally, you’ve been preparing for this appointment for many days now. For the past week, you’ve had a countdown going and the day circled on your calendar.
You and Michael had specifically chosen this day because it was one of Michael’s rare days off. It was the first time that he was going to be able to accompany you for a doctor’s appointment.
Getting up, you made sure not to disrupt Michael as you walked into the bathroom. You showered and completed your morning routine, getting dressed in comfortable clothes. When you walked out of the bathroom, you noticed that Michael was already up and scrolling on his phone.
He smiled when he saw you, opening up his arms, inviting you in. You willingly went, laying down next to him once more and allowing him to wrap his arms around you.
“There you were. I woke up and you weren’t here.” Michael spoke, his voice still somewhat heavy with sleep. “I freaked out for a moment until I heard the shower.”
You nuzzled your neck into him and the both of you laid there in silence, just being with one another. Neither you nor Michael needed words said out loud to communicate with each other. You both laid with one another, relishing in the comfort of one another before the big day ahead.
“What time is the appointment?” Michael asked. He wasn’t asking cause he didn’t know the time. In fact, he had had this time memorised since the minute you had made the appointment, but you had realized that focusing on the logistics of the appointment brought Michael a sense of comfort. It allowed him to focus on what he could control.
“It's at 11am,” you reminded him. “You should probably get up and start getting ready.”
Michael leaned down and placed a quick kiss on your forehead. “I will. But, how are you feeling about today?”
You paused at his question, thinking honestly about the answer. Michael’s question came from a genuine place and you wanted to give him a genuine answer. “I am excited, but I’m also kind of nervous. I’ve been getting sick so often that I keep thinking about what if something is wrong with the baby?”
Michael was silent as you shared your biggest fear with him in a vulnerable tone. When he saw you get sick everyday, he worried as well, but for right now, you didn't need him saying he was worried as well. You needed him to be there for you and that’s what he would do.
“Even if something is wrong, we’ll deal with it together. Whatever it is, we are in this together.” He spoke with such confidence that it made you feel slightly better.
Looking up at him, you smiled, a small smile, and pecked him on the lip. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” Michael said.
“Now, get up and get ready!” You ushered Michael off the bed and towards the bathroom.
As he was getting ready, you double checked to make sure you had everything. Your phone, ID, and insurance information. Any and all paperwork that you would need. Just as you finished triple checking, Michael walked out of the bathroom freshly showered and ready in his day clothes.
“You’ve got everything you need,” Michael asked.
You couldn’t help but smile. “Michael, you saw me pack the bag last night.”
Michael poked you in the ribs, “I know. But it doesn’t hurt to ask. Especially you with your pregnancy brain.”
Michael had taken it upon himself to tease your recent propensity to forget certain things and words in moments. He seemed to find it adorable.
“I have everything,” you said in a mock exasperated tone.
Michael and you left the house and, thankfully, made it to your appointment on time. You filled out all the necessary paperwork and then the receptionist asked you both to wait and eventually you would get called back into the doctor’s office.
As you waited, you could feel your thoughts racing as you became more anxious.
What if something is wrong?
What if they aren’t able to find the heartbeat of the baby?
What if you had already failed as mom before you even became one?
Michael, who had noticed how quiet you had gotten as you had sat in the waiting room chair next to him, grabbed your hand and squeezed his. He leaned over and kissed the side of your head.
“Everything will be okay?” He whispered.
You could tell that despite comforting you, Michael was anxious as well. He was finding it difficult to smile and his legs were shaking. You placed a hand on his thigh to stop his legs from shaking and help ground him. The both of you were there for each other.
Time seemed to pass by so slowly. Michael found himself continuously looking at the clock. You noticed all of the different baby magazines that filled the shelves nearby. It was an excruciating amount of time before the wait ended.
After about twenty minutes, your name was called and Michael and you headed into a room in which the doctor would see you. After specific formalities and taking your vitals, which thankfully were good and stable, the doctor finally asked you both if you were ready to see the baby.
Michael froze for a moment before finally nodding his head. You knew how important this moment was for him. It would be the first time he would see the baby.
The doctor prepped all the tools before finally beginning the procedure. As she worked she pointed out on the ultrasound machine the exact location of the baby.
“And there’s the baby,” the doctor proclaimed as she pointed towards a speck on the screen, “Very healthy. Everything looks exactly like how I would expect it to be at six weeks. Things are progressing well.”
You had been watching Michael’s face as the doctor moved the probe around until she finally had a clear picture of the baby. Both you and him were relieved that the doctor had said that the baby was healthy. It felt like a weight had been lifted off your shoulders.
Michael also had a look of absolute wonder as he saw the baby for the first time on the screen. It brought a small smile to your face.
“Th-That little blob is our baby,” Michael asked in wonder. He had addressed the doctor but his eyes never left the screen where his child was being shown.
The doctor smiled in a knowing manner. “Yes, it’s about 3mm big, almost the same size as a grain of rice.”
“That’s so tiny,” Michael whispered, almost as if he couldn’t believe something that tiny actually existed inside of you.
“It is,” You said in awe. You couldn’t help but squeeze his hand. Michael’s gaze finally looked towards you and the look on his face made you feel emotional. Even without him saying it, you knew exactly what Michael was feeling. Up until this point, the baby had been something that you thought about in abstract terms. You knew that you were having a baby but being able to see it and realizing that you were having a baby were two different things.
“Do you want to hear the heartbeat?” The doctor asked the both of you.
Michael’s head turned around at the question. “We can hear the heartbeat?”
“Yes,” the doctor chuckled.
Leaning over, she flipped a switch on the machine and pretty soon the sound of a beating heart filled the room. Everything else faded away and you immediately felt your eyes welling up with tears.
Looking at Michael you could see similar emotions in his eyes as well, sans the tears. This noise was proof of the life that you both had created together. It was the symbol of both of your feelings for one another. As you listened to the sound and saw the look on Michael’s face, you knew without a doubt that this baby would be loved.
Michael leaned over and kissed the side of your head. You saw the smile on his face as he continued looking at your little blob.
“Wow!” He whispered.
That one word summed up everything that you knew both you and Michael were feeling listening to the steady beat of your baby’s heart.
The rest of the appointment seemed to pass by in a haze. Your doctor assured you once again that everything was looking good. She reminded you to keep taking your prenatal vitamins and then you scheduled your next appointment.
As you and Michael walked back out to the car, you both were silent, still thinking about the sight of your baby and the sound of its heart beat. When you got in the car, Michael didn't start the engine. Instead, you both spent time looking at the printout of the sonogram that the doctor’s office had provided you.
“We’re really having a baby,” Michael said, still in awe as he looked at the picture.
“Yeah, we are.” You whispered.
It was still settling in for both of you. Before today, you had been pregnant. After today, you were having a baby.
