Chapter Thirty-Three

~Nicole~

Life on bedrest was… strange. As was having James there day in and day out. While the name was a little bit of an over exaggeration, it was still incredibly frustrating. I was allowed to get up to go to the bathroom, shower, go to the kitchen and have short, occasional walks around the living room, but that was about it. No stairs. No strolls along the river, and certainly no work. It was killing me to not go into the office every day, but apparently, James had handled all the necessary paperwork to make sure I got to keep my job when I went back.

The weirdest part was I felt basically completely back to normal, just really, really pregnant. Maybe it was just in my head, but I swore that my belly grew exponentially each and every day I spent ninety percent of my time on my back or side.

And of course, since I wasn’t feeling like some desperately sick mother, that meant I was feeling like a very horny mother. Almost every night I tried to drop enough hints for James to take the hint and sleep with me, but he never picked them up.

Well, tonight I was determined. One way or another, I had an itch that was going to get scratched.

I heard keys turn in the locked looked to the door from where I was laying on the couch, watching the TV that James had bought and set up so he could watch sports and a few other shows on when I was passed out in one of my naps. He had ever bought a cable package too, which I was generally against wasting money on, but it was for his benefit, so I didn’t see how I could object.

Sure enough, it was James, his arms full of groceries for the coming week.

At first, he had been intent on ordering food from the local shop and having it delivered, but after the first two weeks he finally listened when I told him he needed time to himself and went to get them on his own. Now, going into our fourth week, I think he enjoyed the time not spent doting on me.

Not that I thought he resented me at all. In fact, he never once made me feel guilty for how much he took care of me. He never once complained or said anything negative. He really was a saint, in so many ways.

“I’ve got surprise for you,” he said, setting down his groceries and fishing something out of one of the bags.

“Oh, is it gummi worms?” I asked, clapping my hands. Sugar was a restricted part of my diet and I could only have it every now and then, so James placed out my treats strategically.

“Even better.”

He sat on the edge of the couch and handed me a folded stack of papers. Taking it cautiously, I started to read it over.

“This is a cease and desist order.”

“Yeah,” he said, smiling at me like I should know why this was important.

“Why would someone send me a cease and desist order?”

“It’s not for you. Read more of it.”

I looked back down and kept on. Slowly, I realized who exactly this was for and why he was grinning like a maniac.

“This is against Chelsea, Jason’s ex.”

“That it is,” he said, still grinning. “And look about seven pages in.”

I did, shuffling through the stack, until I found what looked like even more legal paperwork. “These are harassment charges, and trespassing. And even slander.” I said, somewhat incredulously. “We’re taking her to court?”

“Most likely not. The lawyer said these are mostly to scare her. But if she pushes it, I’m more than happy to ruin her life.”

“But I didn’t press these, so I don’t understand how these are here.”

“You didn’t have to. My child is being affected by this so I was able to file them myself, and my lawyer is leveraging all the time I’ve lost with my company by being here. I think it’s safe to say that Miss Chelsea Altrieth is no longer going to be an issue. And if she is, I’ll have her in court and then in jail before she can whip up a single poster.”

I couldn’t believe it. I threw the papers into the air, letting them fall down around me like I was making it rain, and laughed. And laughed. And laughed. And laughed.

James hugged me, being his exceptionally careful self as usual of course, and we both shared the moment together. It was nice to have something so joyous after the tense ride we’d had lately, and I felt myself getting caught up in the emotion.

After a few moments, when he tried to pull away, I took a chance and crashed our lips against each other.

Yes.

This was exactly what I needed, and I felt my whole-body heat. James pressed into me, his hands resting gently on my belly, a low groan issuing from him.

The tension ramped up as our bodies started responding to each other, and I leaned against him, willing for him to swallow me up and give me everything that I was craving. But he pulled away at the last moment, standing up so quickly that I nearly faceplanted into the couch.

“Sorry,” he said, giving me a weak smile before crossing to the kitchen to get a glass of water.

“Aw come on,” I whined, laying across the couch. “A little bit of fun is good for the baby!”

“Maybe under normal circumstances,” he said calmly despite the flush to his cheeks. “But the doctor said no strenuous activities”

“It’s alight. I’ll be gentle, I promise.” I said, batting my eyes at him.

“But I wouldn’t,” he said, his smirk only growing.

Oh, something about the way he said it made goosebumps rise all over my skin and my heart skip a beat. Damn, he was so sexy! And he wasn’t even trying.

“Look, if you want to, and I want to, why resist?”

“Because, as beautiful as you are, I value your health, and the health of our baby more than getting my rocks off.”

I sighed and finally sat up. “Fine. I guess one of us has to be responsible.”

“That we do. And since you’re busy healing, it makes sense for it to be me.”

“I guess.” I pouted. But in reality, I was so thankful to have someone like him looking out for me. It wasn’t something I could say happened often. “Well, I think I’m going to take a nap. After that, do you think you’re fine with me cooking dinner, or do I need to be carried on a litter for that too?”

“Maybe we can cook it together. You’re almost a month through this, I’d hate to get to ambitious when you only have a month or so to go.”

“Alright, good. I’ll see you in a couple hours.”

“Yes, you will, now go get some rest.”

*

I had never been much of a nap person when I was younger, but golly did I love them now. I guess the doctor was right that I had been pushing myself far too hard and my body needed a lot more rest and special care. I had just been so stressed and so tired for so long, that I had thought that it was normal.

I guess not.

But as I woke up from my nap, I felt refreshed and ready to cook that dinner I had talked about with James. Well, I would be ready once I went to the bathroom. One thing that had certainly never been exaggerated to me was how much the baby growing within me would press on my bladder.

Swinging my feet over the side of the bed, I heard James watching some sort of stock report in the living room. The noise gave me quite a bit of comfort, assuring me that I wasn’t alone. That, for the first time in my life, I had someone who was one hundred percent on my side.

Too bad we were getting divorced.

I shook that thought out of my head. Our divorce had always been the plan, so I couldn’t cop out now. We would just be best friends and ex-spouses.

I went about my business in the bathroom, smiling as I heard James argue with the reporter on TV who couldn’t hear him, and went to wash my hands. Wiping them on the towel, I started to call out to James to ask him what was going on, when suddenly I was hit with one of the most intense cramps I had ever had.

“Holy halibut,” I wheezed, both of my hands going to my lower stomach. I tried to breathe through it, but the squeezing was impossibly painful. I managed a single step towards the door before there was the strange sound of water hitting the tile and suddenly my bare feet were wet.

No… oh no.

“James!” I cried, my voice shrill and cracking. “James, I need you right now!”

I heard his feet thundering to me, and I tried to take another shaking step, but mostly just ended up clinging to the towel rod for support while my abdomen continued to shake, rattle and roll like a warzone.

James practically barreled through the door and took one bewildered look at me like he was trying to figure out what could have possibly gone wrong. It took me several solid gasps before I could collect myself enough to blurt out a response to his confused look.

“I think my water broke.”

“Your water broke?!” he repeated like I had stuttered or something.

“No, I decided to just splash something on my feet because I can’t bend over anymore. Yes! My water broke! It’s time for that hospital plan we put together!”

“Right, of course! I’ll go grab our blitz bag!”

“Yeah, do that!” I said, managing to stand up slightly. “Whew, the cramps halted for a moment. We’ve only got a little bit before they come back again.”

“Try to get to the car. I’ll be right behind you!”

“You sure?” I asked, panicky. “Aren’t I not supposed to take stairs?”

“…we have an elevator, Nicole.”

“Oh… right. That’s a thing. I’ll get going.”

I grabbed a towel and waddled out, careful not to slip on the wet tile. I was in such a state of shock and scrambling to remember what James and I agreed was the best protocol that I didn’t even have time to think about the fact that I was having my baby three months early. I just rushed for the car as fast as my pregnant legs could take me.

Naturally James caught up with me before I was even out of the front doors, my duffle bag over his shoulder. “You alright?” He asked, looking more nervous than I had ever seen him before.

“Yeah, but I don’t promise anything when the next round of contractions come around.”

“How far apart are they?”

“I don’t know, James,” I said with all the patience I could muster. “I haven’t had the second set yet.”

“Oh, yes. You said that. That makes sense.” We reached his car and he opened the door for me, helping me in. For once I actually needed his assistance, because I couldn’t quite muster the leg power to get myself up and in.

At least I managed to buckle myself in before James slid into the driver’s seat. I didn’t even have to tell him the address, he had it memorized and was punching it in before I could even open my mouth.

He gave me one last look, his expression one of anticipation and total fear, then punched the gas.

We were having this baby alright.