You’d been slaving over the stove for nearly 45 minutes, making Stephen the breakfast of champions. He’d had a long night practising and you wanted to start the day off right. Just as you flipped the last of the pancakes on to a plate, you heard him shuffle sleepily into the kitchen.
“Mmm, good morning love,” he yawned, falling into a chair at the table.
“Morning, Steph,” you smiled, walking over to him and brushing his hair from his forehead, “Did you sleep okay?”
“Like a rock,” he laughed and pulled you into his lap and rubbed your belly, “How are my two favorite girls doing this morning?”
You looked down at your growing baby bump, laughing, “Stephen, we don’t find out if it’s a boy or a girl until tomorrow.”
“Oh, no. I can feel it,” he kissed your shoulder, his hand still resting on your belly, “We’re going to have a little baby girl.”
“Whatever you say, love,” you gave him a quick kiss before standing up, “Eat up. You’ve got another long day ahead.”
He groaned at all the work he had in store, but happily stacked his plate with every breakfast food in the world. “I have the best wife in the world,” he mumbled through a mouthful of food and you laughed. He scarfed down all his food in record time, but was still running late. No surprise.
You hustled him upstairs so he could get ready while you cleaned up the kitchen. It wasn’t long before you were standing by the front door, saying goodbye.
“Have a nice day, sweetheart,” you stood on your tiptoes and gave him a quick peck.
“Take care of yourself, babe,” he looked down at your stomach.
“Of course,” you smiled, “I love you, Stephen.”
“I love you most,” he responded, already out the door.
~~~
You spent the morning tidying up the house. It was your day off from work, and as nice as it was to have a lazy day, you hated having nothing to do. You dusted the living room and vacuumed the entire second floor. Once all the dishes were done and you’d thrown away all the old cans of food in the back of the kitchen cabinet, you made your way to the bedroom to organize your closet.
As you knelt on the carpeted floor, you felt a sharp pain in your stomach. You ignored it. You had eaten a lot at breakfast and it must just be some indigestion. But as you continued to pull out shoe boxes from the low shelves, it got worse. You stood, figuring you should head to the bathroom. As you raised yourself off the ground, you felt something between your legs. Looking down, blood was seeping through your shorts. Your stomach dropped.
You immediately went downstairs, the cramps in your belly even worse. You tore your phone out of your purse, dialing as quickly as you could.
“Hey lo–” Stephen started.
“Stephen. Something’s wrong. Something’s really wrong,” your eyes began to prick with tears.
“Y/N? What’s happening?” you heard the panic in his voice.
“The baby, Stephen. Something’s wrong. I’m bleeding. I’m-I’m…Stephen,” you broke into sobs.
“Calm down, Y/N. Sit down and stay there. I’m coming right now,” the line went dead.
It took Stephen 15 minutes to get home. The cramps had subsided a little, but there was still a lot of blood and you were still hysterical.
He came running through the door, “Y/N! Where are you?” he fell through the front door, but you were right there, “Shhhh, love. Come on. Let’s go. It’s going to be okay,” he said pulling you up and leading you out the door. Despite his words, you knew he was scared.
In less than 20 minutes, you were laying on a hospital bed. Stephen had done little to calm your fears. He held your hand as tightly as he could, sandwiched between his. As a nurse came in, dragging an ultrasound machine, you bit your lip, tears brimming.
“I’m sure it’s fine, Y/N,” he lied to you in his shaking voice.
The wait seemed endless as she rubbed the jelly over your bulging stomach. You held your breath as she brought the ultrasound to your skin, searching for the little life inside you. You felt Stephen bring your hand to his lips, kissing it.
The nurse looked up with anything but a happy face.
“I’m sorry Mr. and Mrs. Curry…” she said in a quiet voice.
You didn’t say anything, you simply let the tears roll down your face.
Stephen stayed stone still, taking shaky breaths, “Was it a boy or a girl?” he whispered.
The nurse looked up at you, her eyes falling, “A little girl.”
