A New Chapter 2

The first few weeks of pregnancy were smooth sailing. Will and I were excited, blissfully so, and we had agreed that, for a little while, we would keep the happy news to ourselves - except for Nathan, of course – he sees too much of us and knows us too well for us to keep big secrets from him. Even if we'd tried to, I'm sure he'd have figured it out. It was helpful, actually, to have him in on the secret, especially around week five, when my morning sickness kicked in to overdrive.

Nathan and Will were eating scrambled eggs when I dragged myself out of bed and into the kitchen. Will gave me his most dashing smile and said, "Morning, sunshine!" I growled at him, daring him to smile again, which, of course, he did, "Eggs?" He asked. My stomach lurched. "God, no! I'm still bloody sick." I said, and sank into the chair beside Will. Will's smile turned to a frown, "I'm sorry, Clark. No better this morning?" I shook my head slowly. "The dinner stayed down though, right?" Nathan asked, from Will's other side. When I said nothing, Will nodded for me.

No one said anything more for a bit. Then Nathan smiled consolingly across the table, and offered, "Can you think of anything that might stay down, Lou? I made eggs, but I can cook something else. Anything you like." I shook my head. "Oh, come on, Clark; don't play on his sympathies. Are you angling for a full fry-up, then?" Will joked. I knew he was joking, and that he was trying to be helpful; but it wasn't helping and, for some reason, that really galled me. I began to feel very angry with both of them suddenly and my eyes filled with tears. Soon my nose was running and I was snuffling it into my pajama sleeve. Nathan handed me a napkin. Wiping my nose and mumbling a thank you, I put my head down on the table and cried.

After a moment, I heard Will saying, "Clark?" Then again, a bit louder, when I didn't reply, "Clark? I say, Clark, are you going to make it?" Breathing deeply, without really looking up, I attempted to compose myself. I was getting annoyed with Will, but also with myself. Slowly, I raised my head. Will raised an eyebrow at me, he had the hint of a smile on his face, but also was looking genuinely concerned. He was obviously waiting for some kind of an explanation. Nathan was watching me with concern as well and I supposed I did owe it to them to try.

"Look at me," I began, then trailed off, pausing as I took a moment to try and find the words. I looked to Nathan. He was eating his eggs, but he paused to smile encouragingly at me. Then he got up and walked back over to the stove, presumably to get the tea water, which was beginning to whistle. Will was looking more worried by the second, "Come on, you're worrying me, Clark. Let us help."

"It's just," I began again, falteringly, "it's just - if you really want to know – it's that, well, it's that I'm, I'm not even sure why the bloody hell I'm even crying! Alright? I probably knew why when I began, but I can't remember now! It happens all the time lately. It's maddening – and it's making me feel incredibly stupid and frustrated!"

"Well," Will began. I turned on him, "Don't you dare make a joke, Will Traynor! "Don't you dare!" Before Will could say anything more, Nathan jumped in, speaking calmly, but firmly, as he returned to the table with the tea. "As the medical authority in this room, I want to say a few things. First off, you are suffering from persistent nausea and intermittent vomiting, both of which are normal for this point in your pregnancy, but also, more than a little unpleasant for you as they not only make you feel miserable, but they are also keeping you from eating and sleeping normally. Right?" I nodded. "And," he continued, "this feeling of nausea and these instances of vomiting are happening because your body is creating a baby, which is a wonderful miracle, but also an exhausting process. So those are reasons 1, 2, 3 and 4 why you're not feeling yourself. Reason #5 is that you also are experiencing massive and rapid shifts in your estrogen and progesterone levels, -"

Will interrupted, "If I may, I think that what Nathan is trying to say, is that the hormonal changes of your pregnancy are normal, but they are making you feel lousy in lots of different ways, including emotionally."

I nodded. Oddly, I'd not thought of it this way before, but now that I did, it made sense.

Will continued, "I've been reading up on it." Now it was my turn to raise an eyebrow, but Will ignored it and continued, calmly, "And, I'm thinking maybe it's time we talk with Treen and your mother. Let them in on our secret. What do you say? They might be of some support."

I paused, considering that. I had to admit, it all sounded rather logical. "Hmm," I said, "Mum and Treen. Yes, I think it's time. Don't see how it will hurt, really," and then in an attempt to lighten the mood, "I mean they're probably going to be furious if we don't let them in on the secret soon anyway, and, who knows, maybe they can be helpful." I managed a smile.

"Brilliant." Nathan said. Then he set the teapot down, opened the newspaper, and buried his nose in it as if the matter was quite closed. I was feeling much brighter. I turned to Will, who was looking much brighter himself, "You know, Will, now that I'm thinking about it, Treen had some fairly outrageous mood swings while she was expecting Thomas. I used to tease her about it, but mum scolded me for it. As I'm thinking, I recall she told me to have a little sympathy and try to understand that Treen's whole body was changing to make the baby and that, while it was wonderful, it wasn't easy. She said that there would be moments when Treen was feeling wonderful and then others when she was feeling awful and that she wouldn't be able to help either one! Mum told me that it all was normal and that it would pass. She said that she'd felt the same when she was pregnant with me and then again when she was expecting Treen."

Will smiled. Suddenly, I realized I was feeling much better. "Thank you, Will."

"Happy to help." Will said, his old smile returning, "Shall we have them for dinner, then?"

"Nathan?" I asked, "Can you stay? Will you help me cook?" Nathan nodded, "At your service, Mrs." And so I nodded to Will. He just smiled. "What?" I asked him. "It's nothing," he said, mysteriously. Now I was intrigued, "No, seriously, what?" "Nothing," he was laughing now, "I was just thinking," and here, I think he actually was blushing a bit, then he cleared his throat and shook his head, "Nothing, just thinking that I believe I've been helpful," his smile spread, "and thinking that it's rather a good feeling to be helpful to my lovely wife, who is pregnant with our child, just a rather lovely way to start the day."

Nathan raised his teacup, "Cheers to that, mate."

Cheers, indeed, I thought. And then, not trusting myself to speak, but needing to express what I was feeling, I turned to my husband and I kissed him, a really good, long kiss, full on the mouth; it was a kiss that probably would have continued for some time longer if we'd not been interrupted by Nathan, who cleared his throat said rather loudly, "Nathan's still here, just in case you've forgotten. Just sitting here, drinking my tea."

And, with that, I pulled away, smiling. "Well," Will said, after a moment, also smiling, "Now that we've got that sorted. Let's try some of these eggs and a little tea, shall we, Clark?"