The Stacks

Chapter 47: The Final Chapter

Fine, you convinced me to do one last chapter ;) It's like being a rockstar and being called back by your fans (okay, not really, but close).

*Two and a Half Years Later*

I found myself running after a particularly ornery toddler. At one moment, she would be whiny and rubbing her eyes and then, when I tried to pick her up, she'd giggle and race off as if we were playing the most fun game in the world. It didn't help that I was exhausted and wanted to sleep twice as much as she did.

Finally, I caught my little chunky monkey and tickled her, saying, "It's time for your nap, munchkin."

"No nap," she whined, arching her back and trying to squirm out of my arms. Why did she fight it? It was obvious that she needed to sleep and I would kill to be in her place - eating, sleeping and playing all day long with someone else to attend to my every need. But such was not the case, and I had been beginning to suspect that another little munchkin might be on the way to join his or her big sister. A doctor's appointment this afternoon would either confirm or disprove my suspicions.

I hadn't told Harry yet that I thought I might be pregnant again. He was too crazed with putting the final touches on the bed and breakfast which we planned to open in June. I didn't want to give him another thing to think or worry about until I knew for sure.

Harry had proposed that we call the bed and breakfast "Fireplaces" because of the obvious gorgeous fireplaces inside. Instead, I had searched up a bit of history on the house and found that it had been called Burnhaven for a long time, after the Burnham family who built the place, whose name was inscribed in the main fireplace. We went back and forth, pitching different ideas when we finally agreed on Fireside Inn. Simple but warm and welcoming.

After Melody was sound asleep, I turned on the baby monitor and brought the receiver to Harry, who was putting a final coat of paint on the honeymoon suite. "Hey, babe," I grinned.

"Hey," he said, pausing to give me his attention. He leaned over to kiss me but didn't dare touch me for fear of rubbing a shadowy midnight blue onto my clothes. "Off to the doctor?"

"Yes. Melody should sleep until I get back," I told him, handing him the monitor. "But, just in case."

"Have I told you that you're the world's sexiest mom?" He said with a cheeky grin.

"We'll see how sexy you find me in six months if my belly is the size of a blimp and my feet are too swollen to fit in my shoes again." I batted my eyelashes at him after dropping that mini-bomb. We hadn't been trying not to get pregnant so it wasn't a complete surprise. I figured I'd know in a few hours anyway, so why not give him a head's up.

His jaw dropped wide open and his eyes matched. "Wha?!"

"'Bye dear," I said, waving in a teasing fashion and racing off down the stairs.

I heard him call behind me. "You can't just leave me hanging like that!"

I pulled in at Dr. Stellen's office just before 1:30 PM. She was always very prompt so I was called into her office soon after arriving.

"Hello, Regan," She said, entering the room with a smile. She had been my ob-gyn with Melody and I wouldn't trust anyone else but her. I loved that she was family practice as well so that I didn't have to run around to different doctors for every different need. "What brings you in today?"

"Well, I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm pregnant again. I've been exhausted, just a few days late with my period, but I just want to make sure I start on the right foot and hopefully avoid the problem with anemia again." After Melody was born, my iron levels were low and I was more exhausted than I'd ever been in my life. Everyone kept saying it was just because I had a new baby, but I felt like it was more than that. Finally a blood test had revealed that I was anemic. A rather simple problem with a easy fix.