Royals: Part 6

Chapter 6

"Look, it's raining!" 

Jackie scooped water into a cup with holes she had poked into the bottom, letting it drip over Mary Kate's head. Her daughter let out a squeal, flapping her arms up and down.  

"You need an umbrella!" Jackie laughed, wiping water away from Mary Kate's eyes. It was the morning of her surgery, and Jackie was giving her a bath in the tub in her hospital room. She was trying to keep Mary Kate happy and distracted so she didn't get scared when the surgeon came in, poking her with needles looking in her ears. Jackie wished someone was there to distract her, as well. She felt more nervous than she did the morning of her wedding, the day before taking her nursing licensure exam, and the day of Harry's deployment to Afghanistan combined. 

Jackie looked at her watch. It was 7:30 am. "Time to get out now, daddy will be here soon." 

Mary Kate babbled to herself as Jackie dried her off, dressing her in a pair of pajamas. Her stomach was in knots, the surgery took about two hours, and she knew it would be the longest two hours of her life. 

The door opened just as Jackie carried Mary Kate out into her room. Harry walked in, smiling brightly. "Hi, Mary," he greeted, reaching out to take her from Jackie. 

Mary Kate turned her head, holding tightly to Jackie's neck. 

Harry looked stunned. Mary Kate was usually pretty easy going, it wasn't like her to refuse to be held. 

"She's just tired," Jackie said quickly. No matter how angry she was with Harry, she didn't want his feelings to be hurt. In actuality, Mary Kate probably didn't want him to hold her because she'd only seen him for less than an hour a day for the past week. 

"She just woke up," Harry said, looking hurt. He gave Mary Kate a quick kiss before sitting down on her bed. "When's the anesthesiologist coming?" 

"7:45. She goes in at 8." 

"I should be able to see her off," Harry said. 

Jackie frowned. "I would hope so." 

"That's not what I meant," Harry sighed. "Sorry." 

"She's a bit crabby because she's not allowed to eat or drink," Jackie explained. "Will you watch her while I get ready?" 

Harry nodded. Jackie handed Mary Kate to Harry, but she immediately began to crying, reaching out to go back to Jackie. 

"Shh shh, it's okay," Jackie soothed. Harry tried to distract Mary Kate, but she wanted no part of it, outstretching her hands to try to touch Jackie. 

"I got sunshine, on a cloudy day," Harry suddenly sang, dipping Mary Kate up and down. "When it's cold outside, I got the month of May." 

Mary Kate stopped crying. She gave a final sniffle before breaking into a wide smile, watching Harry as he sang in not so perfect pitch. Jackie smiled too, sneaking off to the bathroom while Harry continued singing 'My Girl' to his girl. 

Jackie managed to get cleaned up a bit, brushing her teeth and washing her face, swapping her pajama set for a striped tee shirt and a pair of jeans, one size bigger than she usually wore. Her normal jeans wouldn't button over her slowly growing baby bump. Jackie had thought it was hard to hide her pregnancy with Mary Kate, but it was nothing compared to her pregnancy with the twins. She was only 6 weeks along and had already gained five pounds, mostly in her stomach, which was beginning to get firm and rounded.

Jackie finished up just as Harry stopped singing, Mary Kate now throwing her head back with laughter. "Thank you," Jackie said with a genuine voice.