Colby walked into the kitchen in his home and went to grab water out of the refrigerator when something caught his eye.
It was a black and white photograph.
Rebecca's name was in white letters on the top.
Today's date was next to it
Gestational age: 10w 3d
His eyes widened and he looked at the photo, sat in the middle was a tiny gummy bear, the tiny legs were were curled into the body and all you could see was a tiny foot and the smallest hand he'd ever seen was next to the head.
This was the baby, his baby, their baby. This was the first time he was seeing this tiny thing that was already changing his entire world and as cliché as it sounds, it took his breath away.
"REBECCA!" He yelled as he took the photo off the refrigerator and sat down on one of the stools next to the bar "Get in here!" He yelled
He heard her fast footsteps coming down the stairs quickly and she stopped when she saw him sat down, looking at the photo in his hands.
He looked up when he heard her enter the room and held his hand up showing her the photo.
"When did you do this?" He asked
"Today" she said in barely a whisper
"You had the first scan and you didn't think to tell me?" He questioned "I told you I wanted to be with you"
"I know" she nodded
"You remember.. so why did you go without me?"
"Because I didn't have a choice" she shook her head
"What does that mean?"
"I was cramping" she said and his eyes widened "I was in class and I thought it was nothing, but the longer the lecture went on the worse it got, I also had a slight headache" she explained "So I went to the hallway, thinking if I moved around it would stop"
"What happened?" He asked
"I passed out in the hall" she said "and they called an ambulance and they took me to the ER"
"You passed out!" He exclaimed "and nobody thought to call me?"
"I didn't want to freak you out over something that could have been nothing" she shook her head
"Or it could have been something!" He yelled "Are you okay? Is the baby okay?" He asked and she nodded
"The nurse said the cramping was my uterus stretching and getting bigger.. she said its normal" she said
"What about the passing out? That is never normal"
"They did tests, and determined I was slightly malnourished from not being able to keep anything down and I was dehydrated for the same reason which was what was causing the headache and caused me to pass out"
"That doesn't sound like you're okay" he shook his head and she could see the concern in his eyes
"They gave me some medicine to help with the nausea and it helped.. I felt better within about 15 minutes of it getting in my system.. and they gave me fluids to rehydrate me. I'm supposed to drink water, at least 8 cups a day, more if I can and if I get tired of water I can have gatorade" she explained "and they said as far as food goes, whatever doesn't make me feel like I'm going to throw up.. and they said eating smaller portions throughout the day.. basically they've given me permission to snack all day" she smiled
"So you're okay?" He asked once more and she smiled sympathetically
"I'm good" she nodded "Baby is good" she said "Perfect actually" she corrected as she looked at the photo that was now sat on the counter
Today was a special day because Colby finally got to see the baby, even though it was in a picture.
It was also a special day because it was the company Christmas party, it was being held at the event center downtown and it was the first official event Rebecca would be attending.
"Are you sure you're okay enough to attend this?" Colby asked in a whisper as he walked in the event center with Rebecca holding onto his arm
"I'm fine" she said through her teeth as she continued to smile at the people she passed
"If you start to feel bad.." He started
"I'll tell you" she looked up at him "Can we just go pretend to be together and get this over with?" She asked and he nodded
There were speeches, there was a performance by a local band and there was food. It was a proper Christmas party, the first one Rebecca had ever attended.
"You wanna come dance with me?" Colby asked as he walked back over to the table where Rebecca sat and she looked up at him as he held his hand out to her
"I don't dance" she shook her head and he laughed
"Humor me" he said and she let out a huff and nodded as she grabbed his hand and he took her to the floor with the rest of the guests
"You have no idea how much you scared me today" he said and she looked up at him as his hands found their way to her lower back "Telling me you passed out terrified me"
"Baby is all good" she nodded "Nothing to worry about"
"I'm not just worried about the baby" he shook his head "I'm worried about you as well"
"Well that's unexpected" she said "I mean when did you start caring about my well-being?"
"If I didn't care about your well-being you wouldn't be living with me" he shook his head "You would still be working in that bar, living in that small apartment.." He shrugged
It was silent as they listened to the music, the sound of the small talk being had by the other couples who were dancing around them.
"Hey.." Colby looked down at the redhead and grabbed her attention as she looked up at him through her eyelashes
He gently grabbed her face in his hands as he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers and much to his surprise she didn't pull away.
She wrapped her arms around his neck with her hands in his hair to pull him closer.
In that moment, everyone in the room faded away.
It was just the two of them.
