Settling in Seattle

Chapter 44- Mothering Senses

Rachel spat the remanence out of her mouth and grimaced at the repulsive taste, grabbing the flush to make it disappear as promptly as possible.

"Are you alright babe?" Mike wandered into the bathroom in his pyjamas, scratching the back of his head in a daze. Narrowing them, he set his eyes on his wife, now pulling her toothbrush from the cabinet.

"Well, I think you need to take a trip to the pharmacy." They both laughed quietly, and he took her into a quick hug before releasing her to brush her teeth and presumably shower.

"Mike?"

"Yes."

"What do you want to do today?"

"Why?"

"We have our free day and Harvey and Donna finally left yesterday, so what would you like to do with it?"

"I was thinking we could go on a hike?" Rachel smiled.

"Maybe I can brush the nausea off and go walking with you and Rosy."

"We can get you some orange juice, that postponed it last time, right?"

"I guess. Whilst I shower go and see if she's awake, then you can get the seat rucksack thing. She won't want to walk, and you can have an extra work-out!"

"Okay, have a nice shower!" Mike kissed her forehead hastily, making his way out towards Rosalie's room. He opened the door slightly, peering in to his daughter, who was found to be sleeping soundly, wrapped in her favourite Disney princess blanket. Hearing her heavy breathing and eying her arms neatly tucked under her face, Mike grinned at the beautifully adorable picture. He then checked his watch to determine what to do with the seemingly tired child. She'd been put to bed at her normal bedtime, half past six. It was now eight, meaning Rosalie had been sleeping for fourteen hours. This was an unusual occurrence, but Mike reasoned it with Harvey tiring her out. He wandered back into their room and spoke with a raised voice to Rachel.

"Rach, she's still asleep, do you want me to wake her up, or leave her for a bit longer?"

"Still? Are you serious?"

"Completely knocked out."

"Well, if she's still asleep it means she needs it, but she's been sleeping eleven to twelve-hour nights, so I would wake her to have breakfast. We can then fit that in with getting a reasonably good parking spot at Interlaken."

"Sounds good," Mike left to disrupt the sleeping toddler, as much as he hated to break the delightful face. He knelt to the edge of her little bed and slowly waved his hands through her hair, taking the liberty to kiss her forehead, "Wake-up sleepy pants!" Her eyes began to pry open, and they looked at Mike with great sparkle.

"Daddy." She whispered, putting her minuscule hands on the ones that rested on her head. A weak smile appeared on her face, and her awareness began reloading.

"Hey Rosy, we're going to go on a hike today, so we need to get you up, dressed and fed! Did you have a good sleep?" She nodded debilitatingly and sat up into a small, loving hug with her father. Mike picked her up and placed her on his hip, they left the room to find breakfast, Rosalie still squinting at the abrupt light change, rubbing her eyes. She placed her head on Mike's shoulder, trying to close her eyes, but he stopped her by tickling her stomach.

Once the carrier was found, and they were all fed and dressed, they departed the house, all wearing walking boots. Rosalie was cheerful but quiet in the car, nothing that they didn't rule to be her missing her sleep.

"After we'll pop into the pharmacy and get you a couple of tests, alright?" Rachel smiled and nodded as Mike put his hand on hers for a moment, before returning it back to the steering wheel.

"Are you alright back there?" Rachel asked looking back to Rosalie.

"Yeah." She was looking out the window. Rachel couldn't help but worry that something was up. Her mothering senses were peaking, however that could've been down to the fact it was quite possible she was growing another child.

"Are you sure baby?" She reciprocated.

"Mhm." She was still distracted, but wouldn't admit to anything, so Rachel left it for herself to worry about.

They arranged the carrier and Rosalie was happily placed on Mike's back as the family set off walking around the park. Needing the fresh air, they soon found themselves looking onto the city at a viewpoint of Capitol Hill.

"It's so pretty isn't it?" Rachel laced her hand around her husbands, weighting herself onto him, smiling down towards the breathtaking sight.

"I mean it's cool, pretty...debatable."

"Alright, so maybe that was the wrong choice of words, but I love this. I love being here with you and our little family."

"You need to stop saying things like that!"

"Why?"

"Because they make me want to kiss you!" Mike laughed, squeezing her hand tighter, before he was met with a brief, chaste kiss. She smiled whilst doing so, and left Mike in the same state.

"I love you." She continued watching below them until they began to walk on.

They'd walked for hours and were just arriving back to the car when Rachel's phone began buzzing wildly. She looked down at the caller ID confused but answered straight away.

"Hello, Doctor Fringe?"

"Is that Mrs Ross?"

"Yes, is everything alright?"

"Your husband brought Rosalie in for her routine blood test a week ago, I would like you to please book an appointment right away to discuss the results. I am sorry I cannot disclose any information over the phone, just try not to worry." Rachel's face convulsed at the words meeting her ears.

"Uh, yes. Is it an appointment with you?"

"Yes please."

"As soon as possible?"

"Yes. If you can get a slot today, that would be great"

"Okay, we will. Thank you doctor."

"Okay." The phone line cut, and Rachel was stunned to a short silence.

"What is it?" Mike asked, now as concerned as Rachel, who peered over to Rosalie, now asleep again. It suddenly occurred to her that something was very wrong.

"The doctor asked us to get an appointment with him as quick as we can."

"Why?"

"To discuss Rosalie's blood results."