Month 1
"A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for."
"I…I'm what?" Natara gasped. Beside her, Mal could only smile.
"Oh, Mrs. Fallon… Pregnancy isn't hard! It's an extremely natural process that is used to create spawns and replenish the earth with your young! Just think, in forty short weeks, you'll have your own bundle of joy! Oh, but you're already one month pregnant, so it may be a shorter pregnancy period!" Dr. Johnson said passionately and cradled her clipboard in her hands with Natara's pregnancy test results clipped onto it.
Natara blinked a few times and let out a tiny groan that only she could hear. "Thank you, Dr. Johnson. Can we, uh, leave soon?" She said impatiently.
Dr. Johnson smiled and ignored Natara's remark. "Now, Mrs. Fallon, there are a few rules you need to take into consideration!" She flipped through a packet of papers. "Oh, yes. Read over this packet and try to follow every single suggestion and tip inside. That will ensure a safer pregnancy! And your next appointment is in two weeks, just a quick check-up with Dr. Jolly."
Natara nodded and gulped. "O-okay, thank you, Doctor… Can we leave now?"
Dr. Johnson smiled and nodded. "Have a great day, Fallons, and congratulations!"
Mal opened the door of the doctor's office and turned back to Dr. Johnson. "Thank you, Doctor. Have a nice day."
Natara didn't say anything, but once the couple walked out of the building, she turned pale.
"Nat, are you all right?" Mal questioned.
Gulping for air, Natara struggled to nod. "I—I just… I'm pregnant, Mal. That's a lot of pressure, and I…to be honest, I'm really nervous."
Mal squeezed her hand. "Hey, I'll be here for you. We'll get through this together. Besides, remember that one night, a few weeks ago, where you were telling me all about your dream baby?
Natara smiled as she remembered that night.
"…and I don't know what I'd name it, Mal. I really would like it to be a girl... Then I could buy dresses for her, and do her hair, and make her hairbows, and put her in ballet classes, and…and everything!" Natara sighed and pulled the covers up to her neck.
Beside her, Mal wrapped his arm around her bare waist and nuzzled his face into her shoulder. "You really are passionate about these things, aren't you?"
Natara thought about it for a second, and then smiled, but Mal couldn't see, because the room was pretty dark. Instead, she just laughed. "I guess so…" she began, but she could feel Mal's lips gently press against hers, and they kissed for a few moments. She finally pulled away and snuggled into his arms. "…yeah. Yeah, I am pretty excited about this type of stuff."
"I can tell," Mal returned a small laugh and ran his fingers through the hair on her freshly-shampooed head. "You smell nice."
Natara sighed and wrapped herself around him. "It's called shampoo."
And they started a whole different conversation.
Natara blinked as she finished her quick flashback. She turned to Mal and nodded. "Yeah, I remember. I guess I'll be alright, won't I?"
Mal gently put his arm around her waist and smiled. "Yup. You'll be fine. And do you know what I'm going to do for you?" He said as he walked to the car in the parking lot.
Grinning wildly, Natara whispered softly: "What?"
Mal put on a mischievous smile. "…I'll throw our coffee maker and wine cabinet out the window." He then darted across the parking lot to the car.
Natara gasped and ran after him. "Oh my God, Mal! You won't!" She then became secretly glad she used to be a track runner in high school; those skills really helped right then.
By the time Natara caught up with her husband, they were both out of breath and laughing.
"I love you," Nat said softly.
Mal gave her a long kiss, and then pulled away, whispering in her ear: "I love you more, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to throw that stuff out the window."
"Mal!"