I think all of us create our own miracles.
~Michael Landon
***
Savannah had been distant all day, he could see it, feel it, sense it. But why? What was up with her?
"Baby, talk to me, what's wrong?"
She stopped short. "What? No...nothing's wrong, Zac." She looked away. "What makes you say that?"
"Savannah, you know better than to lie to me. Come on, tell me, what's wrong?"
"I'm just...sick. Yeah, I'm si—" she stopped, covered her mouth, ran to the bathroom and locked the door behind her.
Zac pounded on the door. "Savannah, baby, are you okay? How sick are you? Let me in, please, let me in."
She opened the door, wiping her mouth with a hand towel. "Zac..."
He pulled her into him, and hid his face in her neck. "Is it serious, Savannah? Tell me honestly. How bad is it? Do we need to get it checked?"
"No...no. It's not very, uh, not very serious. But maybe a little bit? I guess."
"Can you please tell me, Reece? Have you seen the doctor? What did they say?"
"Yeah, I went there just the day before."
"What? Why didn't you take me along with you?"
"No, I mean, I just went there to confirm something I'd been suspecting for a while...and..."
"And?"
He watched as she freed herself from his embrace, walked over and situated herself on the bed. Taking a long, deep breath, she started, "Zac, I'm—"
He shut his eyes tight, bracing himself for whatever she was going to confess.
"—I'm pregnant," she almost whispered.
"Wait, what?" He too sat down beside her. "What did you say?"
She closed her eyes and exhaled. "I'm pregnant."
"You're...uh, you're pregnant?"
"Yeah, yeah."
"Oh my God, Reece, you scared me shitless. Jesus! I thought you were seriously ill and maybe I'd lose you again sometime."
"No, I don't think so. You're not losing me."
The room slipped into silence for quite a while. Zac was simply processing the news his wife had just broken to him. She was pregnant. He repeated it like a mantra in his head, he couldn't believe it at all.
He was going to be a dad.
"Zac," Savannah's voice broke through his thoughts, "say something, please. Are you not happy?"
That seemed to bring him back to reality. To his wife who looked very nervous gauging his reaction to the news. He pulled her flush against him and rained her shoulder with kisses over and over. And over again.
"I can't tell you how happy that makes me, Reece. I just can't put it in words! We're gonna be parents, Reece, I can't believe it. Ho—how long have you known this?"
"I...uh, I missed my period last month, when I was in Sacramento. So I took a test, and—and it came out positive. So when I returned back here, first thing, I went to my GYN and got myself tested and as fate would have it, I'm expecting." She shrugged it off, like it was nothing.
He studied her carefully. "Reece, be honest with me, are you—are you not happy with this pregnancy? Tell me the truth, Savannah, please, however harsh it may be. Please."
"No! Why would you say that! Jesus, Zac, why would you even suggest that I won't be happy with this baby?"
"I'm sorry, but you don't look happy, Reece. Why?"
"I am. I am happy, Zac. Just that I'm way more scared that I'm happy."
"What? Why?"
She put a hand on her belly, looking down at it. "I'm scared, Zac, that I won't be there enough for this child. That I'll become someone like my mom. That he or she won't have good memories with me. I'm always gone, and I can't take it with me everywhere, right? I'm going to be gone, for the most part. How will he or she remember me, have fond memories of childhood with me? I'm scared, Zac. So scared," she cried into his chest.
He turned her over in his arms so she was straddling his lap as he held her. He pulled her face away from where it was buried in his chest and held her chin up.
"Look at me, Reece. Hear this, and hear it loud and clear, got me? You're gonna be the most fabulous mom for our child, I'm sure of it. And I'm not saying that just because you're my wife—which you are, and I love you—but I'm saying this because I know how you love. I get to witness it first hand every single second of every day. I know you love freely and fiercely. Your love knows no bounds. It's open and unending for whoever is lucky enough to get it. I'm one of those lucky bastards, and this baby? Our child? It's gonna get the same fierce love from you. You're gonna go to your farthest extent to make it all work, just so you can be the best mom you could be, for the baby. Get me?"
"You think so?"
"No. I know so."
"I love you, Zac. I love you a whole lot."
"I love you a whole lot too, Reece."
"Will you promise me something?"
"Anything, baby."
"Will you tell me whenever I mess things up as a mom? Honestly call me out on it?"
"Is that what you want? Because the world knows, Reece, I'm a melted mess when it comes to you, especially when you give me that cute, pouty smile of yours."
"Yeah, please."
"Okay. I'll try my hardest to fucking stone my heart and scold you whenever you call for it."
"Okay."
"Also. You're how many months along you said?
"Just about two. Why?"
He smirked. "Does that mean what I think it means?"
"Yes. This did indeed happen when you came to visit me in L.A., when I was sick and my nephew, that jerk, called you and told you that I was dying. You saw me and went nuts. We had sex, obviously, and due to the meds I was taking, the birth control didn't work properly. And, well, here it is. Our pleasant little surprise."
He kissed her, long and slow and sweet.
"Thank you for this, Reece, thank you so much for this gift you've given me."
She smiled at him, the smile slowly morphing into a smirk. "Come on, Mr. Sifton, don't act like you didn't have an equal part in this."
"Well, that I did. I love you, I love you, I love you." He bent down, level with her belly, and pressed a kiss there. "And I love you too, though I haven't even seen you yet."
"Hey, by the way, what about your ultrasounds? When are they?" he asked.
"I, uh, I...already got one..." she confessed, wincing.
"Without me? Wow, Mrs. Sifton, you wound me."
"It wasn't exactly planned. When I'd been to the hospital to confirm the test, the doc insisted I get one so she could assess the baby's health too. I'm sorry?"
He pecked her lips and laughed. "There's nothing to be sorry for. I was just pulling your legs. Well, do you have those images they give you, those film-like things?"
"The sonograms—I do. Wait, I'll get them for you." She moved from his lap and across the room. Rummaging in her usual tote bag, he pulled out a string of image films. She situated herself back on his lap. "Here, see," she pointed to a small white blob, "that's our baby. Do you see it?"
Zac looked at it, confused as to where exactly to see. He pointed vaguely at what he thought was the baby his wife was showing him. "That is our child?"
She laughed and moved his finger a little toward the left. "That is our child."
"Wow. So tiny."
Savannah giggled. "You know, I heard the heartbeats too, the other day."
"What!" He pouted. "I want to hear it too. How does it feel like, Reece, to hear the heartbeat?"
She smiled softly. "I cried. The whole situation is pretty sentimental. You want to go? We can request another one."
"Can we, really?" She nodded, making him beam at her. "I'd absolutely love to. When can we go?"
She laughed at his eagerness. "I'll have to ask my gynecologist when she's free. I'll let you know."
She slid off his lap to place the call.
"Hi, Sally. I wanted to ask you when I could come for another ultrasound... No, that I know. But I just broke the news to my husband, and now he's excited to see and hear the baby for himself." Savannah laughed at something Sally said. "Yeah, yeah. That's just it... Sure... Really? That's great. Okay, thanks a lot, Sally. I'll see you then. Yeah, bye."
He practically skipped toward his wife. "What'd she say?"
She splayed her hands on his chest, smiling up at him. "Well, she said...that..."
"Oh, Reece, stop toying with me. Come on, spit it out already."
"Oh, well," she laughed, "she said we could come over later today."
"Wow, okay. I can't wait, Reece."
She smiled at him and kissed him tenderly. "Me too."
—x—
"Good evening, Savannah. How do you feel?"
"Just been throwing up quite a bit lately. And I get tired pretty quickly too. God knows how I'm gonna be able to keep up with my chef's timings at this rate." Savannah huffed.
"Well, my friend, you're going to have to take it easy. That's the only way. You will have to go easy because everything you do is affecting the baby, keep that in mind and you'll be fine."
"I'll make sure of that, ma'am," Zac's voice rang out as he entered the room. He walked up to her, and held out his hand. "Zachary Sifton, Savannah's husband."
"Sally Sexton. Pleasure to meet you." She swirled her chair back into position, facing the monitor. "I hear you've been eager to see your baby, is that right?"
"Fuck yes."
"Well, Mr. Sifton, you're gonna have to mind your language, with a baby on the way."
"Oh yeah, right. Okay, okay."
"Come on, Sav, lie down here. Let's get you started."
Sally moved to the end of Savannah's bed and inserted an instrument in. Mere seconds into it, a black and white video came up on the screen that Zac watched with rapt attention, and the heartbeat began to echo through the roof, loud and beautiful.
Zac's eyes met his wife, who lay on the bed. She could see the unshed tears in his eyes, and she was sure those tears were already running down her cheeks. All of this just felt so...whole, and beautiful.
"This is so...so...I don't have words, Reece."
"I know, Zac. I know."
They simply held each other's hands as they listened to their baby's heart beat steadily.
"See that?" Sally asked, pointing at the screen. "That's your babe."
"Wow. So small."
"Don't worry, dad-to-be, it will grow into a full-sized human baby in no time. And you'll be there to see the progress, naturally, so believe me, you won't miss out on anything. But, first things first, I have a few things I need to warn you about."
Savannah and Zac looked at each other with wide, frightened eyes. Desperate eyes. Was there something wrong?
"Relax, both of you. It's nothing to worry about at the moment. Just a few red flags you might see over the course of your pregnancy that need to be brought to my notice ASAP. Got me?
"First, since this is quite a geriatric pregnancy, you may face a few complications—"
"Wait a minute," Zac interrupted. "A what pregnancy?"
"Geriatric pregnancy—or an advanced maternal age pregnancy. When a woman gets pregnant above the age of 35, just for the sake of a definite number, it's a geriatric pregnancy."
"Oh, but I just turned 36."
"I'm aware. Which is why I said "quite". Plus, 35 isn't a definite number...it's just for namesake, for better general understanding. So as I was saying, the complications that might arise—if you faint, or feel constantly low, have blackouts, pain anywhere near the abdomen or where your womb is, bring it to my notice immediately.
"Is there something of grave concern, Doctor Sexton?" Zac wanted to know.
"No, not as of now. You see, Mr. Sifton, around this age, a woman's body is preparing for menopause. That is to stop producing the eggs. And most women face problems in conception, but you've been lucky in that department, I must say. Yet there are other problems that might arise. I won't warn you of them now, you both need to enjoy this process as any other couple would, without any stress about the hows and whens. Just notify my ASAP if any of what I stated happens. Rest assured, your wife and the baby are okay—kicking actually."
As Zac and Savannah walked back to their car, he still couldn't believe it for the life of him. He and his wife were going to be parents.
Zac, on an impulse, ran and hugged Savannah from behind, so, so tight.
"Zac..."
"Thank you, Reece. Thank you so much for this precious gift you've given me. Thank you very, very much."
"Oh, my sweet boy. It's as much a gift to me too. This baby is a miracle really. I guess I'm kinda warming up to this whole situation, kinda loving the likes of it."
"I swear, Reece, I promise. I won't ever, ever let either of you down. Never ever, I swear it."
She smiled. "I know you won't. I know."
—x—
Timeline: Six years after the previous chapter.
Well, hey, i'm back. Yay! I don't know for how long i've been drafting this particular chapter, but thank god, its done and dusted, finally.
I hope you enjoyed the fourth In-Between. Please vote and comment if you did.
Thank you!!
Until next time...