Mending the Soul (25 page)

"But honey!  I can't help it.  You were shaking you ass all over in my face, and it turned me on.  I'll be quick, I promise!"  Nicholas whined.

Jenna laughed at his pathetic plea for some shower loving'.  How could she resist when he looked so cute begging.  She pulled him into the shower and her lips immediately found his.  He untied the strings of her bathing suit, and watched as the pieces fell to the floor of the shower.

His hands went to the waistband of his shorts, and before he could pull them down, Jenna wagged her finger at him.  "Nuh-uh…got to get a condom first.  There should be one in the drawer out there."  She reminded him, pointing him in the right direction.  When he came back with the foil package in his hand, she pulled his shorts down for him.

After Nicholas prepared himself with the condom, Jenna allowed him access to her body.  Just like he promised, Nicholas did hurry, but made sure to bring pleasure to Jenna before himself.

When Nicholas and Jenna were finished with their shower, they dried off and got dressed.  Little voices could be heard downstairs, letting them know that their kids were home.

Jenna sent the babysitter home early, then dragged Nicholas and Colby to the mall with her and Emma.  Both of the boys whined the whole time that Jenna and Emma shopped.  Nicholas only appeared inside the stores when something needed to be paid for.  The rest of the time, him and Colby either sat on the benches outside the stores, or they played around in the sports stores.

When they left the mall three hours later, Emma had all she needed for the upcoming school year, and Nicholas had a headache and an empty pocket.  Emma was so happy with all her new clothes, and the look on her face made the whole trip worth it for Nicholas.  He knew he couldn't have gotten through it without Jenna though.  Emma used to be so easy to please, but as she grew up, she became more and more girly, something Nicholas didn't know how to handle.  The previous year, he and Emma went into one store and bought all that she needed in there.  He knew that he'd never be able to do that again though, now that Emma was growing up.  Jenna seemed to know just what Emma wanted and needed.  How she was able to do that, Nicholas would never know, but he'd be forever grateful.

Jenna called and ordered pizza for dinner when they got home from the mall.  She didn't feel like cooking after the day she had.  Nicholas had worn her out, not to mention all the shopping she had done.

Nicholas and Emma left shortly after dinner so that Nicholas could get her to bed at a reasonable hour.  Jenna hated saying good night to them, and it made her feel all the more sure that she was right in saying yes to Nicholas and having them move in.  When Colby went to sleep, Jenna sat on the couch with a small sketch pad and started drawing up ideas for how she wanted to decorate Emma's room.  By then end of the night, her room was all planned out on paper, with a list of supplies that Jenna would need to make the bedroom over.

*****

The next couple of days went by in a blur.  Both Nicholas and Jenna were trying to adjust to having the kids back to school, getting them into patters with sleep, homework, and meals.  They didn't get to spend much time together until that weekend.  Jenna had scheduled her doctor's appointment for that Saturday, and Nicholas was going with her to keep her company while she waited.  He wanted to be there anyways, since he was involved in the reason she decided to go.

"You know, I can't wait for this stuff with Linda to blow over. I hate having to say goodnight to you during the week."  Jenna said as they sat in the waiting room.  "I can't wait for you and Emma to move in with us."

Nicholas smirked and raised his eyebrows.  "Wow, that's a pretty sudden change.  You were pretty skeptical at first."

"I know, but now I can't wait.  It really is a good idea, but I was worried about it being too soon.  Now I feel like it's not soon enough."  Jenna admitted.

"Well, I don't know what caused you to change your mind, but I'm sure not complaining!"  He laughed.  "Linda should have gotten her letter from my lawyer yesterday, so it's only a matter of time before we either hear from her or she drops the whole thing."

A nurse appeared at the door and called Jenna's name.  Nicholas looked over at her and asked if she wanted him to go back there with her.

"I don't know, do you want to?"  Jenna asked, slightly embarrassed but touched that he even considered going with her.

"If you want me to go in and hold your hand I will.  We're in this together."  Nicholas said.  Jenna nodded her head and reached for his hand.

They both followed the nurse back to an examining room, where she took Jenna's vitals and told her that the doctor would be with her shortly, before leaving the room.

Jenna glanced over at Nicholas who looked a little uncomfortable now.  He was looking at the posters covering the walls, blushing.  The posters were typical OB-GYN posters…one that showed the female reproductive system in detail, one that listed infertility problems and actions they can take to correct them, and one that showed detailed pictures of STDs.

"Are you regretting the offer to come in with me?"  Jenna laughed.

"No.  I just forgot all the stuff that they put in these rooms.  I haven't been in one since Leslie was pregnant."  Nicholas told her, and when he saw Jenna's face pale at the mention of Leslie, he instantly regretted it.  "Sorry, I didn't mean to bring her up, it's just the only experience I've had at one of these doctors."

"It's ok, I understand.  It's just not easy to hear her name when I think about what we're here for."  Jenna admitted.

A soft knock was heard through the door and a second later, the doctor walked through the doors.  "Good morning Jenna.  It's been a while since I've seen you.  How have you been?"  The doctor asked.

"I've been great, thanks."  Jenna said.  She introduced Nicholas to the doctor and the two shook hands.

"Now, I see that the last time you were here was for an overall STD scan and everything came out negative.  What can I do for you this time?"  She asked.

"Well, I need to get on birth control again."  Jenna told her.

"Do you think that's wise when you were worried about STDs before?  The pill won't protect you from any of those the way condoms will."  The doctor advised.

"I understand that.  When I came in last time, I was still with my cheating ex-husband, getting ready to divorce him.  Now I am in a monogamous relationship and I think birth control pills are a better option for us than condoms.  We seem to have trouble remembering them sometimes."  Jenna said, feeling a little ashamed at what she had gone through with her ex-husband.

"Ok, that's fine.  Now, we'll need to do a pregnancy test on you.  I won't prescribe any birth control pills until I get a negative urine test."  The doctor said as she handed Jenna a cup and pointed her in the direction of the bathroom.  The doctor and Jenna both left the room, leaving Nicholas in there alone, staring at the grotesque pictures of STDs.

Jenna came back in the room a few minutes later and sat back down.  "She only worries because she cares."  Jenna told Nicholas about her prying doctor.  "I've been going to her for a long time now and she's a great doctor…a little opinionated, but she knows what she's doing!"

What seemed like an eternity later, but was in reality only five minutes later, the doctor re-entered the room.  "Well Jenna, I have some good and bad news.  I don't know what you will think is good and what you will think is bad, so I will let you decide that for yourself.  I can't give you birth control pills because you're pregnant."

Jenna started laughing.  "That's funny.  Now, where can I pick up my prescription?"

"Jenna honey, I'm afraid that I'm serious.  Your pregnancy test came out positive.  I have a prescription here for some prenatal vitamins that you should start right away."  The doctor told her.

"Is there any chance of mistake?"  Nicholas asked as he swallowed the lump in his throat.

"It's not likely.  The tests are 99.9% accurate.  We'll set you up with an appointment next week, and have you take a blood test then to see how far along you are."  The doctor smiled.  "Congratulations!"  She said before leaving the room.

Jenna and Nicholas both sat there in shock, neither one making the move to get up and leave the room.  "Now what?"  Jenna asked as the tears began rolling down her face.

Jenna and Nicholas woke late the next morning, after getting some much needed sleep.  Jenna smiled through her sleepy state, feeling Nicholas' arms wrapped around her.  It was even more comforting for her to know that she would be waking up like that from now on.  As she rolled towards Nicholas to put her head on his chest, a wave of nausea shot through her body.

Jenna groaned as she threw the bed covers off her body and ran to the bathroom, making it to the toilet just in time.  While she was busy unloading her insides, Jenna felt a large pair of hands sweeping her hair from her face.  Holding her hair back with one hand, Nicholas used his other hand to rub Jenna's back.

After Jenna was empty, Nicholas got a wet facecloth to lay across her forehead.  "I'm guessing this is morning sickness?"  He asked.

"Must be.  Welcome to the wonderful world of pregnancy."  Jenna said sarcastically as she sat on the floor next to the toilet.

"Have you been getting sick in the mornings or is this the first time?"  Nicholas asked.

"I've been feeling shitty, but this is the first time I've tossed it up.  I hadn't really thought about it, I just chalked it up to stress.  After hearing the pregnancy verdict yesterday, it makes a whole lot more sense now."  Jenna told him.

"You're still looking a little green, can I get you anything?"

"No, it'll pass in a few minutes.  Hopefully it won't be as bad as I had it with Colby.  That was a nightmare.  I couldn't eat anything for about two months straight without getting sick."  She reminisced.

"I'm so sorry that you have to go through this Jenna.  If there was anything I could do to change it, I would."  Nicholas said, feeling bad that he was responsible for the way that she was feeling.

"I know.  We'll get through this."  Jenna said.  As if Nicholas's face told the story of what he was feeling, she added, "Nicholas, this isn't anyone's fault.  Neither one of us acted responsibly, and it happened.  No one is to blame…we're in this together!"

Nicholas smiled and grabbed for her hand.  He placed a light kiss on her palm, then traced circles over the back of it as they sat there waiting for the nausea to pass.  When he saw the color start to return to normal in Jenna's face, Nicholas got up and turned the shower on for her.  He helped Jenna up from the floor and watched her as she walked over to the sink to brush her teeth.

After cleaning her mouth, Jenna undressed and got into the shower, silently beckoning Nicholas to follow her.  He grinned from ear to ear as he shed his boxers and stepped into the shower stall with the woman he loved.

*****

After lunch, Jenna and Nicholas went to pick the kids up from his mother's house.  They had agreed to tell his mother about the baby, to kind of make up for the way that it came out about them being together.  Even though they had agreed to wait to tell people, there were a few people that they felt they owed the truth to, Diane being one of them.

When they arrived at Diane's house, the kids were in the backyard playing, giving Nicholas and Jenna the perfect opportunity to talk to his mother.  Diane looked worried when they arrived, thinking back to the phone call yesterday asking her to keep the kids longer.

Nicholas knew that there was no room for small talk.  He decided to get right to the point, to help alleviate some of his mother's worries.  "Mom, thanks for keeping the kids overnight.  Yesterday Jenna had a doctor's appointment for a checkup, and while we were there, we found something out, and we needed to discuss some things without having to worry about the kids too."

"What is it?  Is everything ok?"  Diane asked, looking over to Jenna with deep concern in her eyes.

"Well, I guess it's all in how you look at it."  Jenna told her with a nervous laugh.

"Mom, Jenna's pregnant.  We're going to have a baby."  Nicholas told her as a smile broke out over his face.

"Is it yours?"  Diane asked looking at Nicholas.

"Yes it's mine!  How could you even ask that?"  Nicholas spat, angered that his mother would even question Jenna that way.

"Well, you never know these days.  So are you going to do the honorable thing and get married?"  Diane wanted to know.

"No, we're not.  But Nicholas and Emma will be moving in with Colby and I."  Jenna told her.

"Oh, so you're shacking up and having an illegitimate child.  How special!"  Diane retorted.

"Mother!"  Nicholas yelled, standing up from the couch he was sitting on next to Jenna.

"Well forgive me for wanting something better for my son and granddaughter.  You better hope that Linda doesn't catch word of this.  She'll have a field day with her lawyers!"  Diane said haughtily.

"Well, she won't find out because you aren't going to say anything!  No one is going to know that Jenna is pregnant for a while.  We're keeping this quiet for now, for everyone's sake.  So, keep your mouth shut."  Nicholas raged.  Jenna reached up and grabbed his hand, sending a calming feeling through his body.  After a few deep breaths, he continued.  "Mom, we didn't plan on having this happen, quite honestly, but we are dealing with it and accepting it.  This baby is your grandchild, just as much as Emma is, and we hope that you will accept and love him or her, just as you do Emma.  Please don't make this harder for us than it already is.  We aren't saying that we're never getting married, but we aren't going to get married just because of a baby.  I stayed married to Leslie only because of the baby, and I know that my life wasn't as happy or as full as it could have been.  I don't want to do that again, neither does Jenna.  Neither one of us wants to compromise our happiness just because of a pregnancy."