Jurassic Baby

6

It was so good to finally be home. Owen stayed at my bungalow and he woke up early making plans for us to get a place together.

"You do realise we might have to leave this perfect little area of bungalows?" I told him sleepily as he got ready.

"I know, but it's just not practical anymore, not with a baby. We need more space than this." he said, and he was being so sensible and grown up that my heart seemingly melted.

"Do we need to talk to Claire?" I mumbled, closing my eyes again. I hadn't got to get to work for a few more hours, but Owen was about to go to the raptor pen.

"Yeah, I told her we'd meet at lunch to talk." he told me, tying up his shoe laces.

"Perfect, I'll meet you there at usual time." I said, sitting up in bed now and rubbing my eyes.

"Take care babe." Owen pressed a chaste kiss to my lips and made his way out of the door. I smiled after him and then laid back down for a few more minutes. I rolled up my pyjama shirt and wondered if it was possible for the baby to have grown even more since I looked last night. My once flat, tan stomach was now curving noticeably, still not very big at all, but I knew it was only a matter of time before it would be huge.

I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and saw I had a missed call from my Mom. Frowning slightly, I called her back and waited for her to answer.

"Hey, Rose!" my mom's familiar voice said softly down the phone and a wave of emotion suddenly hit me as I realised I missed her quite a lot.

"Hey Mom, I saw I had a missed call from you, what's up?" I asked her.

"Nothing, I just wanted to see how my daughter was doing." she said and I smiled.

"She's doing pretty good, and how are you? How's Bill and the kids?" I asked.

"They're fine, Thomas is growing up to be a nightmare." she groaned, but I knew she was joking.

"That's great." I said flatly, it was always a little awkward talking about my half-brothers and step-dad with my Mom.

"So have you got any news?" she hummed.

"Um... I'm pregnant." I blurted out. I didn't mean for it to come out like it did, but it was still news.

"You're what?!" My mom responded, and I tried to evaluate whether she was mad.

"I'm nearly fourteen weeks pregnant, Mom." I explained, biting my lip nervously.

"Oh Rosie, I didn't even know you were seeing anyone." she paused, "this better not have been a result of a one night stand young lady!"

"God Mom, who do you think I am? My boyfriend and I are having a baby." I clarified.

"Your boyfriend?!" she gasped, "Rosie, so much has happened that I didn't even know about!"

"Mom, I've already told you about Owen." I said.

"Oh, did you? I'm sorry sweetie I must have forgotten." she said, "wow, I can't believe you're pregnant, congratulations are in order!" I smiled at her words.

"We're so thrilled." I said simply.

"I'm going to be a grandma!" she said quickly, "Listen hun, I've got to go, the plumber has just arrived, but all the best, bye!" I frowned as she quickly hung up, and I found myself longing for a mother that truly cared, like Maria.

"So, what is it that you wanted to talk about now?" Claire joked as we sat down to lunch.

"Well obviously, now we have a baby coming, it is going to be difficult living in two separate bungalows on the beach." I explained, "It isn't safe, and there's just no room."

"Right, I see." Claire mused, taking a bite out of her sandwich, "This is something I have never had to deal with here, so I will have to do some investigating, but I can see your issue, I mean, you need space, and you need to be together."

"We're not entirely fussed about when it happens as we can cope right now, but obviously we need a safe home for the baby, and room for all of us." Owen said.

"I'll do some digging this afternoon and I'll call you guys tonight, does that sound okay?" Claire said and we nodded, "How was your weekend anyway?"

"It was amazing, thanks. What did you get up to?" I asked Claire.

"Me and Barry went for dinner, saw a movie, had a lot of sex, the usual." she said simply. I rolled my eyes and giggled at her crude remark whereas Owen was choking on his burger, not used to her words.

"Babe! Claire is calling!" Owen called from the living room. I had offered to clean Owen's bathroom for him, and it had taken a lot longer than expected.

"Coming!" I replied and threw off my rubber gloves and walked into the living room. The phone was on speaker.

"So, I looked around for you guys, and there's a new development of employee housing that was in progress of being built when you arrived Rosie." Claire explained and I had a vague recollection of her saying my bungalow would only be temporary. Funny how that temporary turned out.

"That's great, is there any space for us?" Owen asked.

"There's plenty of vacant houses, in fact very few are lived in. It's just..." Claire trailed away.

"What...?" I asked suspiciously.

"Just under half of the final building work is postponed until July and the majority of the place resembles a building site right now. Don't get me wrong, the actual finished complex is extraordinary, top of the range, but it's whether you guys mind dealing with construction workers." Claire said, and even though I couldn't see her, I could tell she was biting her lip. I looked over nervously at Owen and he was looking at me in the same manner, both of us deliberating. Owen sighed and ran a hand through his hair; it wouldn't be the most ideal situation with a newborn.

"When is it expected to be completed?" I wondered.

"It should be done by the middle of September, there really isn't a lot left to do, but it would cause some disruption if you did choose to move into one of the already finished houses." Claire replied.

"Well, is there any chance that we could get out there and visit?" Owen asked and I nodded in agreement.

"Sure, I can take you guys there tomorrow after work. Some employees do live there, like I said, but it's April now, and the work isn't being done for a few more months yet. It's hard to tell whether they will move out temporarily whilst it is completed."

"That would be great, I think whether we like the place is going to be a big deciding factor." I said.

"But, if the due date isn't until after September, then it shouldn't be a problem, but we will see." Owen explained.
We briefly thanked and said goodbye to Claire and arranged what time to meet at the control room tomorrow, and then we both collapsed in bed.

Owen moved automatically into his usual position of spooning me with his hand over my stomach and I sighed sleepily.

"What are you thinking about babe?" He whispered into the darkness.

"It sounds perfect, our own house with a garden, but it's just whether we can live with the construction, and the pregnancy stress." I explained.

"I know Rose, but I'm sure there are other options Claire can give us." He sounded hopeful and I nodded.

"I think we need to have the scan next week and determine the actual due date and see what time frame that gives us." I mumbled, sleep threatening to take over.

"I love you." Owen whispered into my hair.

"I love you too." I yawned and soon fell asleep.