Perfection, Thy Name Is Happiness

A couple of weeks passed and now I'm on week ten of my pregnancy; it's also time for another prenatal appointment. I woke up tired and would've much rather stayed in bed, but I got up nonetheless and made Pierre get Carly ready for the day. He had a look of concern when I came downstairs which I didn't want to deal with; I didn't even look at him when I walked into the kitchen, but I did say, good morning to my two favorite people.

"You okay?" he asked, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"I'm fine." I said, pouring myself a glass of milk.

"You're lying to yourself if you think that."

I sighed in frustration and shrugged his hand away. I continued to get myself my own breakfast then I sat down next to Carly.

"How's your breakfast?" I asked.

"Yummy!" she exclaimed.

"That's great."

I kissed her cheek and she giggled. However, I could feel his eyes on me which made me a bit uneasy. After he buckled her up in the car twenty minutes later, he spoke to me again.

"Why don't you stay home after the appointment?"

"I wanna head into work."

"You're crazy."

"Thanks for the assessment." I said sarcastically.

He rolled his eyes and got in the driver's seat to drive to David and Sheena's to drop off the princess for the duration of the appointment. The drive both to their house and my obstetrician was relatively quiet aside from the music on the radio and Carly's delightful singing. Despite the hostility between the two of us, I held his hand once I was up on that bed.

"The baby's taking a lot out of me already, and I know Carly did at this point, but this is worse."

"That's probably because we have a toddler at the same time."

"Yeah." I yawned.

"Please stay home."

"Part of me would love to, but I can't completely stop working. I'll take breaks, and if I'm not really feeling good, I'll call you."

"Promise me."

"I promise." I said, smiling.

Five minutes later, my ob walked in.

“Hi, Skyla. How are you feeling today?”

“Tired, but good.”

She nodded.

“No other issues: heartburn, dizziness...”

“Some nausea and fatigue, but that’s it.”

“Let’s see what this baby is up to.”

Our baby turned out to be fine while I was the opposite. Getting back into the car, I sighed and buckled my seatbelt.

“Mommy!” she said as she jumped into my arms.

“Hi Carly!”

“How’s baby?”

I love when she asks about the baby.

“Baby’s good.”

“Yay!”

“Ready to go home?”

“Not without you.”

“I have to go to work.”

“No. You don’t.”

“I want to. I’ll be home soon enough, though. You know that. Right?”

“Yah.”

Ten minutes later, we were at my work and I had to say goodbye for the time being.

“Don’t forget to call if-“ Pierre started.

“I will. I promise.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

And off I went into the building already dressed in my scrubs.

“Good morning, Skyla.” Sheena greeted me.

“Good morning, Sheena. How are things?”

“With me, good. Work wise, it’s been busy. So, how are you? The baby?”

“Tired. Too tired for Pierre’s liking. But, Baby Bouvier is good.”

“I’m assuming he's worried, then.”

“I’m not surprised. He didn’t want me working today.”

“You convinced him otherwise?”

“I’ll told him that I would call him if I need to.”

“So great about that baby of yours.”

“Thank you.”

The rest of the morning went pretty well, I did take a couple of breaks though. Come one o’clock, I was about to grab my water from the fridge when I blacked out. I woke up in a hospital bed, completely confused.

“Skyla?”

It was Pierre.

“Hey.”

“Are you okay? Sheena said you collapsed at work.”

“I did? I remember going to the fridge to get a drink, but other than that...nothing.”

“Tell me you rested at work.”

“A couple times I took breaks, I snacked and stayed hydrated, but... I don’t know why this happened.”

I rubbed my eyes and shook my head.

“I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?”

“You know why I’m sorry. I should’ve stayed home.” I said, beginning to cry.

“Stop. It’s okay.” he said, taking my hand.

“Bullshit.”

He just made a face as I wiped my tears.

“Let’s just hope the baby’s okay.”

“Okay.”

“Hi, Mrs. Bouvier. How are you feeling?”

Nothing like having this question twice in a day by two different doctors.

"Just tired. How's my baby?"

"Perfect. You, on the other hand, need to take it easy for the next week or so."

I was afraid of that.

"Which means I can't go back to work for a while. Right?"

I don't know why I even asked something so stupid.

"Unfortunately. I'm sorry."

There's that word again.

"I understand."

After getting further instructions, I filled out my discharge papers so I could just further lie down.

"I fucking hate this. I love my job." I said standing up.

"You'll get through this. It can't possibly last too long."

"That would kill me."

I leaned my head against his shoulder and sighed; he pulled me close and kissed the top of my head.

"What are we gonna tell Carly?"

“The truth.”

“The exact truth or the condensed truth. She is two after all.”

“The latter.”

She was with Sheena and David in the waiting room.

I know my best friend loves me, but she really should be at work. I’m fine.

I leaned against Pierre the entire way and saw our toddler run toward me and hug my leg.

“Hi, Mommy.”

“Hi, sweetie.” I said smiling.

“You okay?” she asked worriedly.

“Mommy’s okay.”

“She just needs to rest for a while.” Pierre said.

She nodded and reached out for her daddy’s hand.

“Thank you guys for watching Carly. We really appreciate it.” I said, hugging each of them.

“It was our pleasure. Plus, we’re glad you’re okay.” Sheena replied.

“I’m gonna miss work for a while, so call and come visit.”

“Of course.”

When we got home, I set myself up in the bedroom because all I wanted to do was to sleep.... at three in the afternoon.

“Would you like anything before I go?” Pierre asked with Carly attached to his leg.

“No. You two go enjoy yourselves.”

“Feel better, Mommy.” she butted in.

“Thanks sweetie.”

He kissed my cheek.

“I love you.” he said.

“I love you, too.”

I felt bad for being home and not even playing with my daughter; this pregnancy definitely is going to be different than my first one.