That Blue-Eyed Boy

20. BABY FEVER

POV:  BEAU

"What about this one, Stella?" Grace asks her daughter, holding up a pink outfit that says something about grandmas being the best.

"Mom, we don't even know if it's a girl yet." Stella groans at her mom and turns her attention back to the car seats we're looking at.

"Oh, I hope it's a girl." She frets, going back to digging through baby clothes while Stella debates between the two we picked out.

"What do you think, Beau?" Stel asks for the fifth time in the past two minutes, and I shrug, wrapping my arm around her waist. After nearly two years without her, I don't like having even two feet of space between us. I've spent the majority of the last month holding her hand or rubbing her shoulders and just being as close to her as I possibly can.

"I think you should go with the one with the highest safety ratings." I answer, pressing my lips into her temple. "We can't have our little pumpkin in an unsafe car seat."

Stella has taken to calling our baby a 'pumpkin' because that's what her belly reminds her of. I personally find it beautiful, but I might be a little partial because my own flesh and blood is growing inside her. I haven't quite figured out how these next few months are going to work with her being so far away, but I know that it's going to work this time. I'm not going to stupidly think she's pushing me away when she's going through a difficult time, because I've learned that that's her coping mechanism. She pushes people away when she's hurt, but I'm never going to let her succeed again.

"You're right." She sighs, and starts to pick up the box that the car seat is in, but I quickly push her out of the way and put the box in the cart. "I could have done that."

"You're adorable when you're trying to be mad at me." I grin at her, wrapping my arms around her waist and locking them behind her back while I still can, before leaning down and pressing my lips into hers. She smiles into the kiss for a second, before tearing her lips from mine when some lady starts 'awwing' at us.

"Y'all are just the cutest little family I think I've ever seen. Is this your first child?" A little old lady probably in her sixties or seventies waddles up to us, and I release my arms from around her, but keep ahold with one arm.

"Yes ma'am it is." Stella grins, her hand going to the base of her protruding belly for support.

"Oh how lovely. You just look thrilled. Is it a boy or a girl?" She asks, nosing around our cart looking for signs.

"We actually don't know yet. We're finding out this afternoon though!" I answer this time, not really believing that I'm going to be a dad. I mean, it's sunk in over the last month, but I never thought I wanted to be one until I met Stella and knew immediately that I could see a future with her. I could honestly picture little kids of our own running around the yard, playing with the horses and dog, and I'm so happy my dream is coming true.

"Oh how lovely. Although, it doesn't really matter if it's a boy or a girl, as long as it's healthy, right?" She asks, and we both nod.

"That's absolutely right." Stella smiles, turning her head up to look at me. I press my lips to her temple before the lady bids us a good day, wishing us luck with our pregnancy, and waddles on her merry way.

"We need to talk about names." I decide, steering the cart with one hand and tugging her to my side as we walk towards the playpens.

"Sure. I don't really care what the first name is, as long as the middle name is Lane for either a boy or a girl." She answers, and I sigh, knowing that was her dad's middle name.