The Constable's Child

Feeling the Baby

More months had passed. Katrina was resting peacefully on the sofa near the fireplace, one hand loosely grasping a book at her side and the other hand lying gently on top of her now slightly swollen belly. Her breathing was soft, calm, and even as she slept with a small smile on her face.

She looked so peaceful that Ichabod didn't want to disturb her. Being as quiet as he could so as not to wake her, he carefully approached his wife. Holding his breath, the Constable knelt down and grabbed the book from the young woman's hand as gently and as slowly as he could. He froze when he saw Katrina slightly stir in her sleep, before settling back down and continuing her rhythmic breathing. Ichabod sighed inward in relief and continued to pry the book from her fingers. Ichabod quietly let out a breath he had been holding in; the last thing he wanted to do was wake up his pregnant wife.

He looked at the cover of the book Katrina was reading and smirked; he recognized it was the book of classic fairy tales she would often read to herself. Thumbing through the pages, Ichabod raised an eyebrow when he landed on a section that was bookmarked; it was the story of Rapunzel, Katrina's very favorite. Young Masbeth quietly entered the room as he saw his master skim the first page of the story.

"Sir?" Masbeth quietly asked.

Ichabod almost cried out in surprise, being careful not to make a sound. He turned his head around to give Masbeth a rather irritated glare.

"Sorry; I didn't mean to scare you." Masbeth said in a hushed tone.

"Please, young Masbeth; do not sneak up on me." Ichabod angrily whispered before he heard a soft sigh from Katrina.

Ichabod and Masbeth each took a small step back, hoping she would continue to sleep. He almost didn't want her to wake up because when she does, there was no telling what type of mood she would be in. There were times when Katrina was beaming with joy after waking up from one of her naps, being as sweet and kind to Ichabod and Masbeth as ever. Other times, she would wake up sobbing for some bizarre reason, spending most of her day absolutely miserable. And then there were times when she awoke in an absolutely rotten mood and anything and everything would make her angry. Ichabod hated and feared that the most.

'Just a few more moments of peace, please.' Ichabod begged in his mind.

'Please stay asleep, please stay asleep, please stay asleep...' Masbeth pleaded.

However, it wasn't meant to be as the young woman softly yawned and stretched. Ichabod grimaced a little in fright and Masbeth let out a frustrated groan to himself Katrina began to rub the sleep out of her eyes.

"What time is it?" She asked, another yawn bubbling in the back of her throat.

"Two hours until supper, ma'am." Masbeth said.

Katrina smiled and her eyes lit up at the mention of food. She tried her best to sit up, placing her hand on her stomach.

"Wonderful." She said happily.

Ichabod and Masbeth both relaxed; she was in a good mood. Katrina stretched and sat up straighter. Suddenly, just as she was about to stand up, Katrina stopped mid-way and her eyes widened in surprise as she let out a tiny gasp.

"Katrina? W-what's wrong?" Ichabod asked worriedly.

"I... I felt..." Katrina looked into the concerned eyes of her husband and gave him a reassuring smile. "Quick, give me your hands."

Ichabod raised an eyebrow at her in confusion; Katrina sighed in slight annoyance as she grabbed her husband's hand and placed it on top of her stomach.

"Katrina, what are you doing—" Ichabod started before being interrupted.

"Just wait..." Katrina instructed in an excited whisper.

The two sat like that for a few moments of silence until Ichabod felt something underneath his hand. His eyes widened and he almost gasped in response. He looked at Katrina who was staring back him with a thrilled expression on her face.

"That's the baby..." She giggled.

A small nervous laugh escaped from the Constable's throat as a tiny smile slowly crept onto his lips. It was at that moment that a certain reality finally hit Ichabod: Katrina was really, incredibly, carrying a real living thing inside of her. For some reason, he hadn't quite appreciated that until now. It was... really quite something.

"Amazing..." He said, placing his other hand on his wife's stomach to see if he could feel the movement again; he smiled even bigger than before as the baby kicked once again.

Ichabod pulled his wife closer to him and kissed her forehead before she rested her head on his chest and placed her hand on his. Masbeth smiled a tiny smile and quietly headed out of the room to give the couple some privacy.

"Now, shall we go see about supper?" Katrina asked as she fully stood up.

"I suppose we shall." Ichabod said as he and his wife left the room, arm in arm.