The Tale of Zachary Willowbrook: A Leap Day Paradox

Chapter 5: The New Baby

That night, Stacy reviewed with David the meetings that they had with Dr. Langdon that weekend. During that trip, the DNA sequencing for Zachary was done. They were able to pinpoint what genes were causing Zachary's condition. What they found was that several of Zachary's genes that pertained to his growth had several varying degrees of mutation. With all the various mutations in these genes, they were affecting Zachary's aging, and were the reason for his delayed aging.

"Are they going to find a cure for this?" Stacy said, beginning to feel impatient.

"Now, how would they even begin to do this?" David asked her. "They have only begun to understand what Zachary's condition was. What if they don't find a cure?"

Stacy sighed. "Then we'll just have to accept him for who he is. Our own special child."

"There you go. Now stop worrying."

Stacy felt a kick in her stomach. At this point, she was now almost seven months pregnant with her next child. She doesn't know what she will name it, but she does know that it's a boy. "Oh, he's kicking!"

David smiled. "Oh, he is?"

Stacy nodded. "Two more months, Davy!"

Right as they kissed, Stacy heard the sound of crying in the other room. It was Zachary. "MAMA!"

Entering Zachary's room, Stacy was shocked. Zachary threw up all over his crib. With that, she cleaned him up, changed him, and put him back to bed.

After walking back to her bedroom, she felt a couple more kicks. Two more months, she said to herself, smiling.

During those two months, David and Stacy began preparing for their new arrival. Stacy used the last remaining spare bedroom to design a room that was similar to Zachary's. She called it "the perfect room for the next baby boy". Like Zachary's room, she was quite successful. A banner of different animals ran the whole perimeter of the room, just like Zachary's. Everything was spaced in an even pattern apart from each other. The changing table, the dresser, the crib and the rocking chair. Everything was similar to Zachary's room, and she used various things that she got from the baby shower, and bought everything else that she didn't have. The room was clean, with everything neat and organized, everything in its place.

Months passed. It was now August 13, 2009. Just 10 days before the new baby's due date. Even then, Stacy didn't have a name picked out, since she wanted to see if her baby was born on time.

That night, Stacy was getting ready for bed with Audrey.

At this point, Audrey was beginning to brush her teeth on her own. Audrey looked at her mother's stomach and smiled. "Mommy has big tummy!"

Stacy smiled. "That's right, honey. You're going to have a little brother! You're going to be a big sister!"

"I big sister," Audrey said, smiling.

At that moment, Stacy felt another kick. "Oh! He kicked. Do you want to feel your little brother's foot, Audrey?"

Audrey nodded. "I wanna feel."

With that, Stacy guided Audrey's hand to where the last kick was. A few seconds later, the kick happened again. "Did you feel your little brother kick, honey?"

"Uh-huh. I tired, mommy...."

Stacy nodded, and took Audrey to her room. She laid out her footie pajamas and her diaper. "I'll be back with your bottles, honey."

Stacy went downstairs and prepared Audrey's bottles. She then went back upstairs and placed them in Audrey's crib. "Good night, my little angel." she told her.

One week passed. That night, Stacy felt a sudden a sudden rush of fluid. She gasped, and sprang out of bed. "Davy, my water broke!"

Right after that, there was not a moment to waste. It was 1:16 in the morning and Stacy needed to get to the hospital immediately. Stacy took a quick shower and got some new clothes on while David got Zachary and Audrey up and ready. A few minutes later, David, Stacy and the kids were in the car, on the way to the hospital. Zachary and Audrey were in fresh diapers.
Audrey was wearing a new pair of footie pajamas, since her other ones were soaked. Zachary too, was still in his pajamas. David would clean them up later.

Audrey sat there in her car seat, clutching her pacifier in a firm grip. "What's wrong, mommy? Are you going be okay?"

Stacy turned to face Audrey and smiled. "Mommy is going to be okay. Your baby brother is ready to be born, honey."

Zachary sat there in his car seat, holding his stuffed bear. He looked at Stacy and smiled. "Baby!"

Once at the hospital, Stacy was checked into a room. A couple hours later, her labor began.

At around 5:45 a.m. on August 20, 2009, the new baby boy was born. With the baby being born on this day, Stacy decided to name him Timothy.

Three days later, Stacy left the hospital with Timothy. She placed him in his new room and into his crib. Looking at Timothy, she smiled. Unlike Zachary, she had a strong feeling that he would age normal like Audrey.

The sleepless nights continued, but only for the first couple weeks. After this time, Timothy grew accustomed to his sleeping schedule.

Audrey's attitude toward Timothy changed from the time he was taken home from the hospital. At first, she loved having a baby brother and being a big sister. But after two and a half weeks, she started to realize that her mother and father were paying less attention to her. With that, she started to become jealous toward Timothy.