Always been you//Jolex

Chapter 25

I smile and lean against the door frame of the empty nursery, watching from the doorway as Sadie helps Alex paint the walls. She moves the paint roller up and down, dripping paint all over herself in the process, and Alex laughs and helps her clean up.
Boxes of baby stuff had been the only thing in the room, but we decided it was time to actually put everything together. Alex didn't seem to see me standing there, and good thing, because he probably would've told me to sit down.
Sadie goes on painting the white room purple, and I can tell by the smile on her face that she's having fun. I know she's gonna be a great big sister. She loves to talk to the baby and tells everyone she meets  that she's going to be a big sister. She asked us almost every day when she would get to meet the baby, so Alex bought her a calendar and marked off my due date, which is about 8 weeks away now that I'm 31 weeks along.
After a few more minutes of watching the two people I love most in the world, I finally speak up.
"Why don't you two take a break and come get some lunch?" I say. They both look up and Sadie puts down her paint brush and hurries over to give me a hug. Her hands are a mess, and she ends up getting purple paint on my shirt.
"Whoops." She says, giggling.
"That's okay. Come eat." I say, ruffling her hair and giving her a kiss. She runs down the stairs, presumably into the kitchen.
Alex puts down his things down as well and gives me a kiss, and we follow Sadie.
She's already at the table eating the ham and cheese sandwich I put out for her, a glass of lemonade in her other hand.
Alex and I join her at the table, and I take a bite of my food.
"So, are you excited to meet your baby sister?" Alex asks.
"Yeah. I'm gonna take care of her and play with her and teach her how to do all kinds of things."
"She's gonna love that."
"Does she have a name?" Sadie asks.
"Not yet. I think we have to meet her first."
"How did you choose my name?"
"It means princess. You're my sweet little princess."
She smiles, finishes her lunch, and puts her plate in the sink.
"Alright, you gonna help me finish up the nursery, princess?"
"I'm kind of tired." She replies.
"How about daddy works on it, and you and I watch TV?" I say, putting the dishes in the sink and wiping off the table. Sadie nods and jumps onto the couch, and I cuddle up next to her.
"Can I say hello to the baby?"
"Of course!"
She puts her hands on my belly and leans in to talk to my bump.
"Hi, baby sister. I'm really excited to meet you because I never had a sister before. But I promise I'll be a really good big sister. I'm gonna share all of my toys and show you how to swing on the play set so that you go really high. I love you." She speaks in a hushed tone, as if she doesn't want anyone else to hear, and gives my belly a kiss. I even feel the baby kick at the sound of her voice.
I turn on the TV and Sadie continues to talk to the baby. She's so gentle and sweet, and I can't wait until there's an actual baby for her to fuss over. At the same time, I love being with the baby all the time and feeling her grow inside of me.
The two of us were laying on the couch watching some Nickelodeon TV show that Sadie put in when we heard a crash upstairs.
"You think dad started on the crib?" I say, imagining the disaster he's creating up stairs while he tries to screw together the wooden pieces. I told him we should have had the store deliver and put together the furniture, but he was being stubborn as usual and insisted he could do it himself.
She giggles and hops to her feet.
"I think he needs some help." She says.
"I think your right." I say, chasing Sadie up the stairs.

*****

With just 4 to 5 weeks until the baby gets here, I've gone into overdrive. At work I spend every possible minute in the OR as if to compensate for the time I'll be missing; at home I do my best to spoil Sadie in her last weeks as an only child. Every day, Alex asks about going on leave, and every day I refuse. It's not that I don't want what's best for the baby, I just don't think I should be confined to a bed simply because I could go into labor at any moment.
"Hey, Jo!" Amelia says, walking from the OR board to the nurses station I'm standing at.
"Hey, what's up?" I reply, looking up from my paperwork.
"Not much. I've got a neuroblastoma in an hour, then I'll have nothing to do. Maybe we'll get an MVC or something in the ER, though. Lots of brain bleeds and contusions. Fingers crossed!"
"I don't think-"
"Yeah, that came out wrong. What are you up to?"
"Nothing much, besides growing a person and all. Catching up on some charting."
"Isn't that why we have interns?"
"Yeah, you're right. Why am I charting when I can pile it on interns?" I say, closing the patient file. "Schmitt, get over here."
He walks nervously towards me and I hand him the chart.
"Finish this."
"Sure." He says, taking the chart from my hand.
"So, does that mean you're free for a quick lunch?" Amelia asks.
"Definitely. I'm starving. And for some reason, I'm really craving cafeteria food. And maybe some jello."
"Sounds good." She replies, and we walk towards the cafeteria.
Amelia and I have gotten really close in the past few months, mostly because I hang out with Link a lot and she tags along.
She's super outgoing and funny, and doesn't mind listening to me rant about stupid crap. She and Link are great with Sadie, who already knows them as Aunt Amelia and uncle Link. Sade absolutely loves hanging out with them, especially because Link usually buys her toys and takes her for ice cream.
We're sitting at a table in the cafeteria, which is actually pretty crowded. Amelia picks at her sandwich and I have a crappy burger which I used to find disgusting but now eat for lunch almost every day, despite the fact that the baby seems to hate them and tortures me with heartburn.
"How's Sadie?"
"She's great. We try to keep her busy with crafts and cartoons and whatnot, but she's excited out of her mind to meet this little girl. And to be honest, so am I."
"Me too. I'm gonna spoil your girls rotten. I get to be the cool aunt who comes over and plays all the time. Mer can be the responsible one, as usual."
"Sounds good to me."
Out of the corner of my eye I see Alex walk into the room and he's by my side in an instant.
"Hey babe." He says, giving me a kiss on the forehead from behind. "Hey, Amelia."
"Hey, what's up?"
"Nothing. Just wanted to check on my girls and figured it's about lunch time and you were probably hungry. I also figured you were eating another cheeseburger you're gonna regret in an hour, so I brought you this." He says, handing me a tupperware of leftover chicken Alfredo leftover from last night which he's clearly just heated up.
"Thank you. Wanna say goodbye? She's kicking like crazy."
"Of course I do." He crouches down and rests his hand in my belly, giving it a kiss. "Love you both." He says, heading back out the way he came.
"Love you!" I shout.
I turn and notice Link came in at some point, and he's talking to Amelia. He gives her a kiss and walks away, and Amelia says,
"Looks like we got the good ones."
I laugh. "Looks like it."