The Fire Station

Chapter 10

As the Christmas day stretched on, Sidney and I found ourselves snuggled up on the couch in front of the fireplace in a small sitting room. More people had arrived and joined us for the Christmas dinner and stayed into the evening for conversation and drinks. It was a lovely meal with so much food. Unfortunately, I couldn't eat much of it. I tried, but most of it made me nauseous. At least with everyone knowing about the pregnancy, I didn't appear to be rude by not eating much.

I was exhausted from the day's celebration and events and found myself drifting in and out of sleep against Sidney's chest. His arm wrapped around me protectively as we enjoyed a moment of quiet away from the crowd of people who had mostly congregated in the common room. We could still hear them laughing and enjoying each other's company, but for the most part, we were alone in the darkened room.

"I keep thinking about all the things we did wrong these past couple of months," Sidney blurted with a worried tone.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

He sighed. "We went out and had drinks, we went in the hot tub, we ate food you shouldn't eat, I put you in a stressful environment when I took you on the ride along. All these things you aren't supposed to do while pregnant," he explained.

I rubbed his chest and snuggled into him further. "It's alright, Sidney. The baby is fine. There's nothing to be worried about. We didn't know I was pregnant."

He sighed again. "I should have known better. I should have seen the signs."

I sat up and looked at him. "Will you stop?" I ordered. "Everything is fine. We will be fine. We can't go back and change anything. All we can do is go forward and make sure we do everything right from here on out. The baby will be fine."

He smiled and gave me a sweet peck on the lips. "You're right. Everything will be fine."

I snuggled back into his side and rested my eyes. I didn't realize I had fallen asleep until Sidney woke me up hours later. He had packed my suitcase and gotten everything put into the car so we could head home. Most everyone had already left. I was still very tired, but Sidney helped me put my shoes and coat on so we could head home.

Once in the car, I suddenly realized I hadn't made sure Alison and Clara had made it home alright. "Did Alison leave with Clara?" I asked.

Sidney laughed. "About that. I hope you aren't too upset, but Alison left with Crowe."

"What?" I said with a chuckle.

"They talked most of the night and even went on a short walk around the yard. I think Crowe may be smitten with your sister," he explained.

"That's sort of hard to believe. Not that I mind, but I guess I just assumed James Stringer would be more her type. I was suspecting they might start up a conversation tonight and spend some time together."

Sidney laughed again. "About that. It seems as though Stringer and Clara have formed an attraction for each other. They too spent most of the night talking and if I heard correctly made plans to meet up again."

I laughed. "Exactly how long was I asleep?"

Sidney laughed too and took my hand in his bringing it to his lips and kissing my knuckles. "You need lots of rest. I'd like to suggest you quit your job at the bookstore."

"No!" I protested. "Sidney, I don't want to sit at home and do nothing with my time."

"Hear me out first," he begged. "I know you want to continue with your photography business. I think you should make that your priority and give up the day job. This way you aren't spreading yourself too thin when you have bigger things to worry about, primarily our baby. But also, a wedding, buying a house, moving, helping your family, helping your sister. I don't want you to put anymore stress on your body. Please, just give me this one request."