Our next couple of months were rather uneventful and completely normal, in a way we were bored and joked about it. On Christmas, we go next door and Ben joins in the Christmas carols. He enjoys his time rubbing elbows with the rich and snobby, even plays a card game with them while sipping gin.
New Year's Eve came, and so did the disappointment. There was going to be no wedding, even though we both really wanted one. Alex went online and got ordained, Ben and I exchanged rings and vows, but none of it was legal because we didn't file for a marriage license. However, the day was still special for us, and for a moment I truly believed that we would have a happy ending to our story.
For the most part, all the evidence of my attack and Ben's shooting have vanished. Neither of us have any lingering marks, just the occasional nightmare. Seems like every other night I was dreaming of Allen finding us. I know I'm having these nightmares because Ben confessed that after the babies are born, he was going back to New York to finish the assignment, only this time not undercover.
Ben starts his morning in the home gym, I would walk pass and watch him. Nothing would beat the view of his muscles tense and tight in the morning. Sex stopped weeks earlier, but I still loved watching him.
I always find my way to the nursery. We have put so much into the room to make it look the same as our New York nursery, only Vancouver had a bigger space, and the large windows actually gave us a real mountain view.
"Babe, are you ready?" Ben finds me in the chair in the nursery.
Today, we have our 34-week check with Dr. Stillwell. She is everything our New York OB promised. She was professional and didn't ask too many personal questions.
Ben helps me to the car, my stomach makes it impossible to put shoes on or walk straight. We stop for tea before walking into the clinic. Never have we waited in the waiting room, we are always shown straight to our room.
"She's having a lot of heartburn, not sleeping at night, and uncomfortable." Ben tells her the moment she walks through the door.
She smiles at him and nods, "All of this is normal. I can prescribe something for the heartburn, but I can't tell you how to get more comfortable, that's just a process you have to navigate. Have you guys completed the birthing class and tour?"
"We finished last week. I decided that I want to do a natural labor."
Dr. Stillwell sits at the computer and opens my birthing plan. The three of us discuss all my wishes. I want to hold off of meds until I ask for them, I want the labor to progress naturally. Ben and I give names of people that would be allowed into the unit. I express that I just want Ben in the room when it comes time for delivery.
"Sounds like a great plan. Let's do a quick exam." She looks at us.
She steps out of the room while I undress and get on the table. Ben and I are shocked when she tells us to have bags ready for the hospital, she is predicting that they will arrive in 3 weeks. We leave feeling suddenly unprepared.
A week later, I wake in the middle of the night in a huge puddle of liquid. I pull the covers away and see small amounts of blood, I freak out.
"Ben?" I whisper.
He is sound asleep and not moving.
I grab his shoulder and shake him. "Babe, it's time. My water broke."
His eyes fly open. Half-asleep, he pushes the covers off his body and starts getting dressed. I have to laugh because his hair is standing straight up on the side he was sleeping on. He grabs my bag and then his, next he disappears to the babies room for their bags. While he is busy loading the car, I start the shower and shave my legs.
YOU ARE READING
Heartlines
Romance*** Complete Story *** Allyson Sicard was in her final year at Harvard and while her roommates were trying to get their Ivy League boyfriends to propose, Ally was trying to figure out which law school she wanted to graduate from. Columbia had always...
