I know he wanted to come, but it got too late. He would've missed the fight and I could see it in his eyes it broke his heart to leave me here. On the bright side, I got taken in shortly after he left. Now I'm laying on a table with my shirt up while Ellis guides an ultrasound transducer across my stomach.
"You've really grown since I saw you last." He says. "That tends to happen at this stage, you can expect to see more noticeable difference in size now."
I nod a few times and watch his hand move.
"How've you been feeling?" He asks, with his eyes fixed on the monitor. "Sickness? Aches?"
"No I've been doing great." I tell him. "I'm getting tired faster though."
"As expected." He laughs once, shifting the transducer and then turning the monitor towards me. "I know I always ask, but is Marshall with you?"
"He was." I explain, and fiddle with my ring. "But it was getting late and he had to go."
"Well I just wanted to check before I show you your baby." He smiles at me and directs me towards the monitor, showing me faint lines that kind of resemble the shape of a tiny human. "There she is."
"She?" My nerves heighten and my whole body goes numb for a second.
"Yes." He nods. "It's a girl."
My heart jumps and then fills with warmth. I stare at the screen in shock. For some reason I realize now that this is actually happening. I'm married, we're having a daughter.
"Listen." Ellis says, and we hear a steady thumping coming from the monitor. "That's her heart."
I smile at the sound of it. Instinctively I look to my side, part of me expecting to see Marshall sitting there. I feel sad for just a second before I force myself to look back at Ellis. He clicks a few buttons on the machine and I hear printing noises. He sets the transducer down and I wipe the gel off. He reaches around the back of the monitor and hands me a couple printed pictures.
"You can show him those." He notifies me, helping me stand up. "I'll see you back here in a couple weeks." He grabs my chart from the counter and before he can leave I halt him.
"I don't know if you are able to do this, but I need to change my name on those." I say pointing to the chart in his hands. "We got married a couple days ago."
"Congratulations." He smiles at me. "One of the girls at the front can help you with that. I'll let them know you're coming."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome." He nods and disappears into the sea of nurses outside the room.
I stay back in the room for a second and pull my phone out of my pocket. I text Thatch and let him know that I'm coming home. My plan was to stay at Marshall's and wait for him to get back but with this news, being by myself is near impossible. I have to tell somebody.
***
"Holy shit." Thatch says, examining the photo. "That is inside you!"
"I know." I say in disbelief with him. "They say it's a girl."
"A girl!" Thatcher's eyes widen with excitement and he stares at the picture. "Names?"
"None yet." I answer. "We wanted to wait until we knew what it was before deciding anything. I'll probably tell him tomorrow depending on how he's feeling."
"Are you gonna go over there tonight or is he gonna stay here?" He asks. "Both are fine I'm just curious."
"I'm gonna go there." I tell him and he looks sad for just a second. "But not for a couple hours."
"Well I'm just happy for you." He says, leaning his head back on the couch. "Bo's gonna have a friend. You know what I was thinking about the other day? She's gonna be a year old soon."
I hadn't even thought about that but I guess Thatch is right. It's been almost a whole year since Rule and Ren died. Bo will be a year old. It seems like everything happened last night. I remember it all vividly.
"I can't believe it's been that long already." I say quietly.
"Me either." He agrees, handing me back the pictures. "But they wouldn't want us to dwell on the timeline. You know how they are."
"Were." I correct him, not to be mean or hostile but I just can't treat their memory that way.
"You're right." He nods. "What does mom say?" He asks, seeming eager to change the subject.
"I called her before I came." I tell him, smiling at the memory of her reaction. "She's overjoyed."
"She should be. It's her first grand-baby." He says, taking in a deep breath. "Have you decided how living is going to go?"
"I haven't talked to him about it." I shake my head. "But I guess we have to figure that out before she gets here." I place my hand on my protruding stomach. "Hopefully when I tell him that'll get his gears turning."
"I can't believe you're really having a baby." He beams at me. "I mean, when I met you you were done with him. And here we are almost two years later. It's crazy."
"I've been pregnant before Thatch." I remind him, trying to keep the light mood of the conversation. "But it's right this time, we're married, he's almost done fighting. It's just a better time."
"I get that." He says, smiling at me again. "So, wedding night, I want details."
"You are the dirtiest person I've ever met." I tell him, blushing a little.
"How long did you go for?" He asks bluntly.
"Thatch!"
"Okay okay." He throws his hands up in false defeat.
Now he's got me thinking about it. That night was perfect in every way. I smile at the memory and Thatch teases me about it. I shove his shoulder playfully and he laughs, turning on the tv. I've got three hours to kill before Marshall comes home.
***
I'm doing everything but opening the door every five seconds to see if he's there. I've cleaned every room in his apartment, washed every article of clothing he owns, and now I'm just sitting on the couch looking at the tv without actually watching it. I want to tell him the good news, and I want to see how hurt he is. As I'm sitting here thinking about it, my prayers are answered and I hear his keys twist in the lock. I stand up when the door opens and he flicks on the living room light. His eyes widen when he sees me almost like he forgot I would be here. When he comes out from behind the door I see that he only has bruising on his jawline but none near his eyes or temples.
"How'd it go?" I ask him quietly.
He shuts the door and puts the bolt on, walking over to me. His hands take my hips and I'm pulled against him, kissing him.
"Did you clean?" He asks, pulling away for a second and taking in the appearance of his living room.
"Yeah a little." I answer, holding the sides of his face. "Did you win?"
He nods, leaning forward and kissing me again. I let him for a minute and then gently push him back, examining him again.
"Are there more under your shirt?" I ask him.
"Probably." He answers obediently. "How was your doctor's appointment?"
I smile as soon as he says it and it intrigues him. I separate from him and walk to my bag fishing around inside for the pictures. Once I find them I walk back over to him, handing them to him.
"You'll have to explain this to me." He laughs once.
"Okay so, this is the baby's head." I show him the faint outlines in the photo. "And feet." I show him again and watch his reaction. He looks at the pictures intensely, smiling to himself. "That's about all you can see right now. She's still pretty small."
"She?" His head shoots up and he looks at me with glistening blue eyes.
"Yeah I didn't tell you." I say, lacing my fingers with his. "Ellis says it's a girl."
"A girl?!" His smile grows and he alternates between looking at the picture and me.
I've never seen him like this before. And then suddenly he's setting the picture down on the table and pulling me to his lips yet again. His hand rests on the side of my cheek, his thumb gently rubbing the skin.
"I take it you're happy." I say between kisses.
"Oh Rach this is..." He shakes his head and smiles again looking down at my belly. "This is the best thing in the world."
He wraps his arm around my waist and lifts me up. My heart flutters as he wraps my legs around his hips.
"What are you doing?" I ask, smiling.
"Taking my wife to bed." He says, spanking me playfully.
"Take it easy." I say lovingly, holding the side of his cheek. "If you're hurt we can wait."
He silences me with a kiss and kicks open the door to his bedroom. He lays me down gently on the bed, rolling next to me and then guiding me across his lap. He grabs the hem of his shirt and takes it off, throwing it on the floor. My hand flies over my mouth when I see him. He's bruised up as expected, and it hurts to see him this way.
"Baby, look at you..." I say quietly, and he laces our hands together.
"I'm fine love." He promises. "Honestly I am."
"You've said that so many times." I point out, and he begins to rub my thighs.
"Believe me Rach." He says, his hands gliding over my stomach. "Don't think about that. I just want to show you how much I love you."
"You know I'm a sucker for that shit." I tell him, bending down to kiss him.
"Oh yeah?" He raises his eyebrow and smirks. "Is that the only reason why you sleep with me? Because I'm good with words?"
"Well that and..." I press a kiss to his lips and let my hand slide over his lap, feeling him.
He breaks away and inhales sharply. His chest rises and falls rapidly, and he fiddles with the button on my pants.
"Oh Rach..." He slides his hands underneath my shirt and touches me gently. "Knowing that I'm coming home to you is the only thing that keeps me sane."
He pulls me down closer to him and begins to kiss me again, tangling his fingers in my hair. I shift on his hips, making him groan into my mouth.
"You need a shower." I tell him, now noticing all the dirt that's on him. "You're all dirty."
"Dirty?" He smirks at me, sitting up with a wince and peeling my shirt off. "I can be dirty."
"No babe seriously, shower." I say, and he goes to kiss me again. "Marshall."
He stops and sighs, leaning his head up against the headboard. I slide off him and he tries to pull me back.
"No no no come on Rachel you can't do that when you get me like this." He whines, standing up.
I know exactly what he means as soon as he's up. My eyes can't help but fall to his hips. I tell myself to stop staring but I can't, he's so...perfect. Suddenly I see his hand clamp between his hips and I gasp once. He laughs at my reaction and presses himself against me.
"You want me?" He whispers, towering over me and looking down at me.
"Marshall." I say sternly, immediately breaking my seriousness with a smile.
"I know I'm gonna shower but just answer me." He laughs. "Do you want me?"
"Yes but I want you to go-"
I'm cut off with and kiss and he's carrying me into the bathroom with him. He puts me down on the counter and tugs off my jeans, wrapping my legs around his waist. It doesn't take him long to get started and his eyes roll back in pleasure when he goes in. He grunts and moans in relief after a long night of fighting.
"Oh..." He whines, his eyes closing shut and his hands press against the mirror for support. "I love you so much."
He takes off my bra and leaves it on the floor, his hands immediately replacing it. My back arched which pushes my chest into his hands. I begin to breathe hard, whimpering as he grinds his hips.
"Look at me." He says, taking my cheek in his hand and pressing our foreheads together.
I do my best to keep my eyes open and look at him but he makes it so hard when he's kissing me like that. I feel his breath on my chin and his hips bump against my inner thighs with his movements. My breathing gets alarmingly fast and we both come. He groans into the crook of my neck and breathes heavily while I groan into his shoulder. When we finish we both look at each other and start laughing.
"You couldn't wait?" I tease him, caressing his cheek lightly.
"I wanted my wife." He shrugs like it's no big deal and then smiles at me.
"We have a lot of sex." I point out, rubbing his bare chest.
"Good. We're supposed to." He laughs. "Some married couples don't have any sex at all."
"That'll never be us." I laugh and kiss him once.
"No it won't." He agrees and then reaches over to the shower to turn it on, and I can't help but notice his bruises. By the looks of him, he'll be hurting tomorrow.