Basketball Baby

• Chapter Six •

Seven Years Later

    Savannah looked up at the clock above the stove and then looked up at the ceiling. "Diana Nicole, you better hurry up or else we're going to be late." She shouted and then continued to finish packing her lunch. A few moments later, little feet were pounding down the stairs and Diana appeared in the kitchen brushing the hair out of her face.
"I'm ready, Mommy." Diana sighed and Savannah giggled as she knelt down in front of her and handed Diana her lunch.
"You need to wake up on time, baby." She teased and Diana giggled as she took her lunch.
"But I love sleep, Mommy." She groaned and Savannah chuckled as she quickly fixed Diana's hair and shook her head. "Daddy's not home yet?" She asked softly and Savannah froze as she stroked Diana's head soothingly.
"No, not yet, sweetie." Savannah said softly and Diana sighed as she looked at her lunch bag, sadly.
"He won't be here for my birthday, right?" She asked sarcastically and looked at Savannah clearly annoyed.
    After Nathan got signed to the Miami Heat about six years ago, he's always busy with the team. They go to as many home games as they can, but Nathan was always too preoccupied with interviews and practices to spend any time with them. His career and a tragedy that happened a year ago was effecting their marriage and his relationship with Diana. Savannah wanted her daughter to always be happy whether it involved Nathan in their lives or not.
"I'll try my hardest to make him come okay, Diana?" She said softly and Diana stared at Savannah with sad eyes then slowly nodded her head.
  "Okay, Mommy." Diana whispered and Savannah smiled briefly and kissed her forehead lightly.
  "Now let's get to school, babycakes." Savannah teased as she picked her up and carried her to the car.

    The basketball court was empty once Nathan walked out of the locker room and looked down at his cellphone. The time was 1:30 p.m. in Chicago, but back in Miami it was 2:30 p.m. and he knew that Diana was just getting out of school at this time and he sighed sadly. He missed Diana and Savannah more than anything. He knew that his girls weren't handling his career very well, but today was his last day of practice until next season and he was finally going home to surprise his daughter for her birthday.
    Nathan knew that Savannah and him haven't been very close due to the loss they suffered last year, but he knew that when he got home they finally needed to discuss it and try to officially move on from it. He took in a deep breath as he exited the building and walked over to the team's bus.
    Savannah sat on the bathroom floor with one hand on her head and the other holding her phone. Her calendar had notified her an hour ago that she was due for her period four days ago. She was usually one or two days late, but never four. Savannah's heart hammered against her chest as she thought of the possibility of being pregnant again. After what happened last year, she didn't want to go through it again and she was completely terrified. She took in a ragged breath as she blinked back the tears in her eyes and put her phone down. She needed to pick up Diana in fifteen minutes and needed to schedule an emergency appointment with her doctor.
    Savannah drove down the highway nervously and Diana could sense something was wrong. "Mommy, why are you sad?" Diana asked, her eyebrows knitting together in confusion and Savannah looked in the rearview mirror and met Diana's gaze.
  "Mommy needs to see the doctor really fast, baby. I wasn't planning to see her today but this is an emergency. Okay sweetie?" She said softly and Diana stared down at her hands and nodded her head slowly.
  "You're not gonna go back to being sad for along time again... Right, Mommy?" Diana asked sadly and Savannah bit her lip nervously as she tried to focus on the road as she tried not to cry.
  "No," Her voice quivered but she cleared her throat as she shook her head then tried to speak again, "No, I'm not gonna get sad again." She said softly and continued to focus on the road.
    Once they arrived at her doctor's office, she quickly got out of the car and unbuckled Diana from her car seat. They walked inside the building hand and hand and Savannah become even more nervous as they approached the receptionist's desk. "Good afternoon, Mrs. Walker! And hello Diana," Cathy, her Doctor's receptionist, greeted them and Savannah gave her a brief smile and Diana waved. "Are you ready for your appointment, Mrs. Walker?" She asked and Savannah nodded her head.
"Yes, would you mind watching Diana while I'm back there?" Savannah asked and Cathy shook her head as she smiled at her.
"Not a problem," Cathy said as she looked at Diana. "Hey Diana, why don't you come pull up a chair and watch some SpongeBob with me?" She asked and Diana nodded her head eagerly. Savannah smiled as she watched Diana grab a chair from the waiting room and start dragging it towards the desk. "You can go see Dr. Reynolds now, Mrs. Walker." Cathy informed her and Savannah looked up at her then nodded her head. She made her way down the long hallway until she reached her Doctor's room. The door was open and Dr. Reynolds smiled once she saw Savannah appear in the doorway.
"Hi there Savannah! Are we having another baby?" Dr. Reynolds asked eagerly and Savannah's heart ached against her chest as she took in a ragged breath and shrugged her shoulders.
"I don't know, that's why I'm here because I want to find out." She said softly and Dr. Reynolds nodded her head. Savannah watched her Doctor pull out a pregnancy test then handed her a gown.
"Alright, you're gonna go take this pregnancy test and then once we find out the results we'll have an ultrasound and see if you really are having a baby." She said and Savannah nodded her head as she began to slowly panic and Dr. Reynolds knew something was wrong. "Savannah, listen, everything is going to be fine. Just relax." Dr. Reynolds said soothingly.
"You're right, um," Savannah trailed off as she reached out shakily and took the test and the night gown from her. "I'll be right back."
    Nathan sat on the plane tiredly and decided to give Savannah a call. It was only 4 p.m. in Miami so he knew she was usually at home helping Diana with her homework. But he was surprised when Savannah didn't answer and he wondered what she could be doing. He really needed to talk to her about everything and he desperately wanted to fix their relationship. He loved Savannah more than anything in this world and he really needed to remind her about how much he loved her.
    Dr. Reynolds looked down at the test as Savannah waited patiently on the examine table for the results. "Well the test says you are pregnant, Savannah." She said softly and Savannah let out a sob and covered her face with her hands. "I'm guessing this baby was not planned." Dr. Reynolds said as she rubbed Savannah's shoulder and Savannah shook her head then looked at Dr. Reynolds, panic present on her face.
"No, it wasn't planned. I can't lose this baby too, Dr. Reynolds. I don't know what will happen to me if I lose another one." She sobbed as Dr. Reynolds tried to comfort her.
    Savannah opened the front door to their house and carried Diana inside as she carried her prenatal vitamins and her ultrasound picture in one hand. "So you're having another baby, Mommy?" Diana asked softly and Savannah smiled a little as she started to carry Diana upstairs.
"Yes, baby. Everything is going to be okay. Did you have fun at McDonald's?" Savannah asked softly and Diana nodded her head as she started to slowly drift off to sleep. Savannah giggled as she finally reached Diana's bedroom and gently placed Diana in her bed. "Goodnight sweetie, I love you." Savannah whispered as she stared down at Diana with so much love in her eyes and couldn't be anymore thankful to have such a beautiful little girl.
    Savannah entered her room tiredly and yawned as she walked to her closet lazily. Nathan sat on their bed as he watched Savannah enter the room tiredly and not notice him sitting there. "Hey," He said, making Savannah gasp and stop dead in her tracks to look at him. "Can we talk for a second, baby?" He asked softly. Savannah stared at him for a few seconds as she calmed her racing heart from him startling her and then nodded her head slowly. "I know this passed year and a half has been really shitty and I know we lost our baby and that caused us to lose our relationship, but I want you to know that I'm happy with just having Diana. We don't need to have another child to be happy, I just want you to be happy. I want you to know that I love you more than anything, Savannah, and I never want to lose you. As long as I have you and Diana, that's all I need-"
  "I'm pregnant, Nathan." Savannah admitted and held up the prenatal vitamins and ultrasound picture. "I just found out today." She said softly and Nathan's eyes widened as he stared up at her in shock.