Title: Little One

Name: Joy       

Email: [email protected]

Rating: PG

A/N: This is the third and final of my continuing series of Timing and Fiona.

            IF you have not read the other two it will stand on its own. Max and Logan are married and Max is pregnant. Bling is married to Logan's sister Fiona.

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            "Hey there Little One," Logan whispered to the small bulge in his wife's stomach. Max was sleeping soundly, but Logan was too excited since tomorrow he would get the first picture of his child. Everything that he and Max had gone through to get to that moment had been haunting his mind all evening. He wanted this child, their child to be happy, healthy, and perfect for Max. All of her fears of the possible problems had caused her to have high blood pressure thus far.

            "Well, I just wanted to take this time to introduce myself. I'll be known, as papa and the lady you reside in will be mama. She is gonna have a lot more time with you here at the beginning, so I wanted to take this time for just us while she's asleep."

            "I'm gonna make a lot of mistakes…just know that coming in. Your mom and I won't be typical parents, nor will you be a typical kid. I know that Max, your mom, and I will do everything to make your childhood as happy and carefree as possible. She's really into you being a real kid. We'll always love you and do our best to protect you."

            "Fight hard Little One. We both want you so much. You mean the world to us. I never saw myself as a dad until your mom told me about you. Now all I can think about is getting to spend the rest of my life getting to know you and watching you grow… Make it through this pregnancy and I promise to get you whatever you want when you arrive. Lucky for me, it will probably be your mom's breasts… I'm fond of them too… Never mind… Give us a chance. You won't be sorry."

            Logan Cale leaned down and kissed his wife's stomach. "Logan," Max said groggily, "Are you talking to the baby?"

"Yes," he admitted shame faced.

"Did you just say something about liking my breasts to our child?"

"Well, I figured it would be a guaranteed commonality between us," he said shrugging his shoulders.

"You're a sick and twisted man… Go to sleep… I don't want to wake up with you at my belly again tonight, OK." She yawned, "Once a night is all you get for waking the mother of your child for belly time."

"All right," he said as Max snuggled into his chest after he patted her swollen abdomen.

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            Logan had spent a considerable amount of time and money locating a doctor that specialized in "high risk" pregnancies that would be a suitable for his wife and child. The doctor selected had been a geneticist for several years, working with gene therapy to correct neonatal defects. This particular doctor also was a close friend of Fiona's in England. When the prospect of having to trust someone with the health and safety of his wife and child, Dr. Jessica Spencer seemed the best choice. Her relationship with Fiona supplied the motive for seeking her help with this "high risk" pregnancy as well as her silence about the genetic anomalies she was bound to see. Logan and Fiona employed Jess to take a Sabbatical from teaching in London and be Max's OBGYN. So far the plan was working well. At the end of the pregnancy, they were planning to move Max to another state to give birth so there would be no record of Max in Seattle.

            Jessica was a slender woman of five feet seven inches with radiate red hair and very pale skin. She looked very much like what Pippy Long Stockings would have looked like when fully grown. She had a quiet energy about her that radiated to others. If she was excited about something, others were as well.

            The first appointment Max had with Jessica was mainly time for Max to become acquainted with the woman who would know her intimately over the next several months. Jessica started by telling Max several embarrassing stories about herself as well as a few stories about her capers with Fiona. Jessica told Max quite seriously that she would never jeopardize her friendship with Fiona by betraying Max or probing too far into her genetic makeup. From then on the relationship was strong with a bond that grew in confidence and trust over time.

           

            Logan held Max's hand as Jessica put the slippery substance on Max's slightly protruding stomach. She smiled up at him with the same loving expression she did the day they got married. He brushed the hair out of his wife's face and remembered her voice on the day they eloped. "I, Max Guevara, take you, Logan Cale, to be my lawful husband…" She was so calm… He still marveled at how calm she was. There was no waver in her voice or fear in her eyes.

            It was a sunny Saturday afternoon in Colorado. A month had passed since Bling and Fiona's wedding. Max wore Fiona's wedding dress from her day as the child bride of seventeen. Max had it altered to look more like her. The back of the dress was completely altered so that there was a plunging back and no train. Logan was dressed in a gray suite she had picked for him. He wore no vest or tie, opting for a collar button instead. For some reason Max liked it a lot. She commented later how hot and bothered she got looking at Logan during the ceremony.

The only witnesses of the blessed event were newlyweds Fiona and Bling, Original Cindy, and Zack, who refused to actually come into the judge's office for the ceremony. Their other siblings were advised to stay away by their big brother, for security reasons. He did his best to be her brother that day, but the absolute loss of Max to Logan was very painful for the solider, let alone knowing she was baring his child. The upcoming months would test his heart and his head, but for the day he was present.

Fiona did her best to soothe her pseudo brother in law. She sat outside the office with Zack for a while in silence before venturing a few words. "No one will ever be good enough for her or love her the way you do or protect her the way you did…" she stated with a pause as he turned toward her with curiosity. "My brother has felt the same way…twice now. No one can take Max from your heart. The bond between siblings is strong. You won't be shut out of her life…I promise. I won't let it happen… Logan can be territorial but then all men can," she said nudging him, getting what looked surprisingly like a smile from the blond man. "I'll make you a deal. We'll work on figuring out how for you to be a brother to Max and an uncle to her child, and I'll go to bat for you with Logan, if need be."

"Why would you do that?" Zack asked in a gruff manner.

"Because it took Logan a long time to figure out how to be my brother as an adult… I don't want Max to suffer through the lose of her brother the way I did… Besides we're family now," Fiona said with a smile.

"Family?!?" he whispered. "I'll try…and you'll be sure Logan doesn't take her away completely?"

"That's the deal."

"It's better than nothing…" Zack said with a far off look at Max as Logan patted her stomach lovingly.

No reception, few pictures, and even fewer customs followed the wedding. Logan and Max just exchanged vows to one another with heartfelt love and commitment. Marriage was more attractive to her now that the child in her belly grew and the public humiliation she used to believe in faded way.

            Logan caressed his wife's face as Dr. Spencer rolled the ultra sound wand over her stomach. This was the moment they had been waiting for. Max bit her lip as they waited to see their baby. "Mr. & Mrs. Cale," Jess said in grand fashion, "May I introduce you to your child."

            They sat dumb founded staring at the small monitor watching the tiny nebulous form that was curled in a ball. Jessica pointed out the baby's head, back, legs, and arms. Logan's eyes filled with tears while Max already gave into the urge and cried openly. The most exciting moment for the new parents was when they heard their child's heart beating. Little One was very real and alive with a heartbeat to prove it. Eyes glowed with pride and tears as they clutched hands. The couple had no words to express the emotions they were feeling. They just stared into the other's eyes, feeding off each other's joy and love.

            Dr. Spencer smiled as the happy couple giggled back and forth, passing the stethoscope to one another to hear the glorious sound over and over again. "Everything looks really good right now. We'll run an amniocentesis when you're further along to see what we'll be faced with on the genetics side of things. The baby is very strong and reactive…good signs…I'll leave you alone with your child and I'll see you in a couple weeks," Jessica said as she exited the room.

           

            "Little One, this is your papa… You look great," Logan said to Max's tummy. "I'm going to treat you and mama to some ice cream. Better tell her now what you're in the mood for," he said with a smile.

            "We'll have to discuss it and let ya know later…" Max responded.

            "See… Now, do you see why I need belly time with my child? You get all day long to bond with Little One, and I only an occasional conversation."

            "More like monologue… So I take it you've decided the baby should be called Little One?" Max asked as she buttoned up her shirt.

            "It works… Affectionate and loving without a pull towards a gender," Logan said trying to explain his choice. "So what do you want the baby to be?" he asked with a smirk.

            "Healthy… either is fine as long as Little One is healthy," She said hugging her husband.

            "The name grows on you, doesn't it?"

            "Yeah," she sniffled. "You owe us ice cream… vanilla for me and chocolate peanut butter for the baby."

            "Little One tell you so…"

            "In a way… I can't stand chocolate peanut butter so the baby must want it."

            "That is normally referred to as a craving," Logan taunted a bit.

            "What Little One wants Little One gets… Got it papa!" Max stated with hand on her hip as they exited the doctor's office.

            "You got it Mama… And may I say our child is going to have one hot mama…" he said earning a slap from his wife. "If it's a boy, he'll suffer through having his friends lust after you… You'll be the mom the boys in the neighborhood will fantasize about."

            "And if it's a girl, she'll have to put up with all her friends mooning over her papa… They'll all think you have the dreamiest eyes…and that'll be your undoing. One of those little girls will have memorized your eyes so well she'll realize you're Eyes Only," Max teased back while Logan merely laughed at the notion.

            The Cales climbed into their car and headed for the nearest ice cream shop.