Eleven

Chapter Twenty-Five: Flutter

A/N: Yes, I'm alive.

After the bacon and eggs fiasco, my morning sickness settled down during my second trimester. Life returned to our family's regular pace—which wasn't regular at all. But it was comforting. We covered our jobs for the Academy, I helped Sean at the clinic, and we ate dinner as a family most nights. The in-between moments were my favorite, when we'd watch movies or work in the garden or talk about plans for the baby. Spending time with my family felt like a luxury I'd never be fully used to. I'd always cherish it.

Seventeen weeks turned into eighteen, which quickly rolled into nineteen—and before I knew it, I was twenty weeks pregnant.

I still couldn't believe it, and my hand regularly found itself resting over the growing bump in my abdomen. There was a baby in there. It was mindboggling.

I'd just gotten back from a screening at Dr. White's office with North and Kota. We spent the afternoon afterwards consoling North over the fact that he'd been forced to sit the entire visit. He still refused to forgive Sean for making that promise to Dr. White, but it didn't take long for his scowl to soften when Kota pulled out copies of the newest ultrasound. I was just happy the baby was healthy.

Our baby was barely the size of a... bell pepper? Banana? I wasn't sure, and my head spent most of Dr. White's visits spinning from all the new information.

Gabriel already took enough pictures of my belly to fill a whole photo album. It made me feel a little funny when thinking about it. That was a lot of pictures of my belly.

Later in the evening, North worked on dinner while I built myself a nest in Siberia's TV room. Pillows were imported from the other two townhouses, and a dozen blankets were added to the pile before I settled down to read on the couch.

Cozy.

It wasn't long before a door slammed and Nathan's voice floated in from the kitchen. "Is Sang here?"

North told him I was watching TV before I heard a clatter of something hitting the floor, and North's voice rose. "Shit, Nate. What the hell happened to you?"

My mind went on alert, all signals firing. I set my book down and threw off the blankets, planting a hand against the top of the couch and struggling to get out of the nest.

"Nathan?" I called, not liking how worried North sounded. I racked my brain for where Nathan was supposed to be tonight. An Academy job? Or did he go to that new gym he likes? What could've happened? Should I emergency-line Sean?

"I'm fine!" he said quickly, doing nothing to calm my growing concern. "Don't freak out, okay?"

"I'm freaking out," I called back matter-of-factly, finally heaving myself out of my nest and stumbling to my feet as Nathan turned the corner into the room. "Are you—"

The rest of the words died on my tongue. Nathan looked like he'd been hit by a truck. Bruises and cuts marred his face. His poor eye was swollen. His red shirt looked clean, and the loose grey sweatpants weren't stained with blood, but his face made my heartbeat kick into a gallop.

I struggled for words—for an explanation—while Nathan only offered a sheepish grin.

"I'm okay. I swear," he said, stepping forward and pulling my frozen body into his arms. Warmth encased me, but I shivered. "It looks bad, but I already stopped by the clinic. Sean cleaned me up, and I changed into clean clothes. I'm good, Peanut. I'm okay."

"What happened?" I whispered against his chest, grabbing at his shirt and pressing myself as close as I dared. Even though I wanted to squeeze him tight to make sure he was okay, I didn't want to cause him any more pain.