Happily Ever After?? (Third in the Through The Dark And Free series)

Chapter 25

Harry looked out of the back patio doors sipping his cup of tea. He and Julie had been back in the UK a handful of weeks now, and the mornings were quite cool. There was a dew on the grass and a fog hovering over the lake, but just like every morning, he saw his pregnant wife sitting in a lounge chair holding a steaming mug of coffee looking out over the lake. He grabbed a blanket from the back of the couch and walked out to her. "Good Morning, baby." He set his cup of tea on the table and settled behind her, settling her against his chest and the blanket around them both. "It's awful chilly out here. You should have worn a jacket."

Julie snuggled into Harry and closed her eyes. "I figured you'd come save me. Always my knight." She let out a relaxing sigh. "I actually wasn't that cold. But the blanket is nice."

"How are you and little Grace feeling?" Harry asked rubbing his hand over Julie's stomach. She'd seemed a little down the past few weeks, ever since their disagreement, or her, what she called, "meltdown" after the gender reveal party.

"Ok, just enjoying the quiet. I love coming out here and hearing the birds chirping and the frogs croaking. And the crickets and all the other nature sounds." Julie curled up tighter to Harry. "But I guess I'm going to have to give up my early mornings out by the lake soon. It's getting pretty cold. Time is sort of going too fast right now." Julie shifted a little as the baby started to move with the warmth of Harry's hands on her stomach.

"You ok there?" Harry asked looking down at his wife.

"Yeah, she's just getting bigger; when she moves, I feel it a lot more. I'm thinking she's cold. She's moving towards the warmth of your hands it seems." Julie chuckled a little.

"Is that so?" Harry grinned. He placed his hand under Julie's shirt palm down. "You cold, baby girl? Daddy will keep you warm. Mummy always says Daddy is like a heater."

"Well, you are pretty good at keeping me warm. So, I'm not wrong." Julie shrugged gently. "She's definitely learning a lot more. It amazes me how much more she moves at times."

"Is she still moving towards the warmth?" Harry asked. Just after he asked he jumped and pulled his hand away quickly making Julie jump in the process.

"What?" Julie asked looking up at Harry's face quickly. She smiled when she saw the completely shocked look in his face. "You felt her, didn't you?" She put her hand over the spot Harry's had just vacated.

"I, uh, I, I don't know. I think so. Maybe." Harry stuttered. He hadn't expected to be so shocked. So caught off guard. He had felt Jule's babies when they'd kicked and Ruby when she'd kicked inside Meredith. He remembered asking them shyly if he could feel the babies, and the women's amused response when he'd held his hands on their pregnant tummies and he'd smiled in amazement. So, he wasn't sure why he pulled away from Grace's kicks, but now he seemed frozen.

Julie smiled as she felt the small movement against the palm of her hand and felt the stronger movement on the inside. "Yep. You did." She chuckled at Harry sitting there frozen and then grabbed his hand putting it back under her shirt where Grace was continuing her exercise routine. "That's your baby, Harry."

Harry let out a shaky breath and blinked back some tears as he relaxed a little and rested his palm on Julie's stomach again. He waited a few moments, and then he felt it again. "Oh, my." He said quietly. "That's crazy." It was light, but he could definitely feel the movement. He had waited so long for this, to feel his own daughter moving inside her mother's tummy, and now he wasn't sure how to process it.

Julie leaned back against Harry's chest and then moved his hand around her stomach chasing Grace's movements. "It's like she's playing a game."

Harry sniffled as he chuckled. "I'm sorry. I'm a bit overwhelmed at the moment. I don't even know how to articulate what I'm feeling right now. It's just, yeah, I don't even know."