Destiny Rules

You Can Do It

Stevie and Lindsey left the doctors office with a decision to make. The doctor told them to talk about it first and let him know their decision soon.

Once at home, Stevie laid down with Emmaline on her bed. Lindsey laid next to them and just took in the beautiful sight.

Stevie stared at her baby girl and her heart ached. As much as she didn't want to put Emmaline through any pain, she thought that maybe they could try the surgery. Lindsey thinking the same.

"So...what do think we should do?" Lindsey asked quietly.
Stevie looked to him and replied. "I...I think we should say yes to surgery."
Lindsey nodded. "I agree. But, when?"

"If I could I would like for it to happen this second." Stevie said. "However, I think we should wait till after the baby is born. I don't need the stress of worrying about my baby in a operating room while pregnant."

Lindsey nodded and replied. "Again, I agree with you."
Stevie smiled softly and said. "I love you."
"I love you too." Lindsey said.

Lindsey gently leaned over, carful not to wake Emmaline and placed a kiss on Stevie's lips.

He then laid his back on his pillow and the family of three just held each other, relishing the moment of just being together.

*3 weeks later*

Time marched on and Emmaline's surgery was scheduled for three months after the baby was born.

Life for the family of three was going smoothly. Lindsey and Stevie had gotten their parenting style down. They weren't perfect of course and they did mess up from time to time, but they made it work.

At seven and a half months pregnant, Stevie was becoming miserable. It was getting difficult to carry Emmaline while standing or walking. So, Stevie would have to sit down in order to carry her. She also had body aches and pains. She has trouble sleeping and has been making multiple trips to the bathroom.

Lindsey was already a great dad, but during this time, he stepped up even more. He would take over taking care of Emmaline, that way Stevie could just take it easy and take care of herself.

Stevie hated it because she wanted to be the one to take care of her baby girl but she knew she needed to take it easy.

Currently, Stevie was cooking dinner and Lindsey was working on getting Emmaline to walk. He held Emmaline's hands as she took some steps with his guidance.

Emmaline wasn't comfortable walking on her own yet. She would stand up by herself and with the help of furniture she would walk that way. But never letting go.

Lindsey let go of one of her hands and immediately, Emmaline knew what he was going to do. She stopped walking and stood still.

Lindsey chuckled and said. "Come on baby girl, you can do it." Emmaline babbled as if she was talking back to him. "Hey, don't talk back to me." He said playfully with another chuckle.

Lindsey gets her to walk again holding her one hand but as soon as he let go of that hand, Emmaline stops. She stands there for a moment looking at Lindsey who was now standing in front of her.

"Come on, Emma." Lindsey said and signed as he kneeled down. "You can do it. Come to daddy." He held his hands out towards Emmaline. He smiled in encouragement.

Emmaline looked at her father with a smile and took one step forward. But then she dropped onto her bottom and crawled to Lindsey at first.

She then took a turn and crawled right into the kitchen.

"Hey!" Lindsey laughed as he stood up. "Where do you think you're going?"

Emmaline could hear her father but once she felt his footsteps coming towards her she crawled faster. She giggled as she played her little game with her father.

She makes it into the kitchen and sees Stevie by the stove and crawls to her. Soon, Emmaline was pulling herself up using Stevie's legs for support.

Stevie looked down to her side and saw Emmaline staring up at her. She smiled at her baby girl and quickly covered the food she was cooking. It needed to simmer a little longer.

"Hello, my sweet girl." Stevie said and signed.

Emmaline signed and said Mama and up.

Stevie was about to bend down to lift up Emmaline but Lindsey scooped her up and placed Emmaline into Stevie's arms.

Stevie moved away from the stove and leaned on the counter to help support her. She kissed Emmaline's cheek and spoke to her.

Lindsey was close by and stood beside Stevie in case she needed help.

After a few minutes, Stevie kissed Emmaline on her cheek once more before handing her over to Lindsey. She needed to check on their dinner.

Emmaline fussed a little; she wanted her mother but Lindsey was able to distract her. Soon Emmaline was content in her father's arms.

Stevie turned off the stove once the food was done and walked over to the cabinet to grab some plates.

She was about to place the plates down onto the counter when she gasped.

"Ow!" Stevie cried out. The two plates that she had in her hands slipped onto the floor where they broke into pieces. Stevie's hands cradled her belly. Her breathing changing.

"Steph?" Lindsey rushed to her side. Careful of the broken plates. "What's wrong?"

"It hurts." Stevie said in painful voice. "Something is wrong."
"Are...are you in labor?" Lindsey asked worriedly.

"I don't know." Stevie cried, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I think I'm having a contraction. But, it can't be. It's too early for the baby to come."
"Let's get you to the hospital." Lindsey said. "We need to make sure you both are okay. I'll call Karen once we get you settled so she can get Emma."

The pain passed but Stevie was scared that what she had just experienced was a contraction. So, she nodded and let Lindsey guide her to the car. Lindsey grabbed his keys that were hanging by the door.

Lindsey still had Emmaline in his arms but he was able to lock the front door and get Stevie into the car.

He then closed her door and walked around to the drivers side of the car so he could put Emmaline into her car seat. Emmaline was confused as to what was going on but she didn't fuss.

Just as Lindsey finished with the last buckle of the car seat, Stevie cried again.

"Lindsey! It's happening again." Stevie cried. "This can't be happening."

He quickly closed the back door and jumped into the drivers seat. He looked over at Stevie and saw how scared she was. He was too, but he knew he needed to be strong for her.

He took hold of her hand and said. "Hey, it's going to be okay. The doctor will help stop the contractions. As much as we can't wait to meet our baby, I know they won't come today. They still need to bake for a little bit more. Okay, Steph?"

Stevie looked into Lindsey's eyes and saw his confidence that everything was going to be okay.

Stevie nodded and took a deep breath. She closed her eyes and prayed that her baby was going to be okay.

What should the baby be? A boy? Or a girl?