Chances

"Baby why haven't you gone to the doctor? There's no way you've had food poisoning for 3 days." Michael said to Amelia over the phone. He was on a week long road trip, and 2 days after he had left, Amelia woke up that morning to go straight to the bathroom to empty the contents of her stomach.

That, however, had been happening for three days straight.

"I promise I'm going later this afternoon. I made an appointment and everything." She told him. She was curled up on the couch taking small sips of gatorade, which was the only thing she could really keep down.

"Good I'm glad. Now I hate to cut the conversation short, but we're about to head to the arena for practice. Call me after your appointment okay?" he asked her, and she giggled.

"Yes mom I promise I'll call you." she teased and he chuckled.

"Geez can't a guy be concerned for his wife? I mean come on now." Michael said with a fake annoyance in his voice, to which Amelia giggled at more.

"Love you, you dork. I promise I'll call." she told him.

"Love you too babe, talk to you later."

Amelia ended the call and laid her phone down on the coffee table next to her. Thinking back on her last few days, she was a bit curious as to what was causing her to feel so sick. Her diet hadn't changed, and she knew that the Chinese takeout she and Tara had for dinner a few nights prior was from a reliable place, because they had been ordering from there for years, and neither one of them had gotten sick before.

After an hour of mindless TV, she got up from her spot on the couch and went to get ready for her appointment. Being in the middle of December and a week before Christmas, Vancouver was well into its winter season. Much to her happiness, there was only a light coating of snow on the streets, so she knew she'd be able to make it to the doctor's office without a problem.

Arriving with ten minutes to spare, she signed herself in when the nurse behind the desk looked up to her and said, "We'll take you in right now Mrs. Del Zotto. Being that it's lunch time, we're a little slow."

Amelia smiled and thanked her. The door to her right was opened and she was met with an older African American woman with kind eyes and a big smile. "Come on in honey, my name is Andrea and I'll be your nurse." Amelia thanked her and followed her down the corridor. After checking her weight and height, Andrea led her to one of the exam rooms.

"Okay, so tell me what's going on." Andrea said to her.

"Well, for the last few days I've been waking up really sick and have been puking my guts out. I can't really seem to keep anything down and I just feel... yucky for lack of a better word." Amelia explained.

"Any significant changes in your diet? Or have you gotten sick lately" Andrea asked, and Amelia shook her head.

Andrea scribbled down a few notes and then said "Alright hon, lemme ask you a few questions." Amelia nodded, and she continued.

"Do you smoke or drink?"

"No smoking, and drinks are with dinner or the occasional night out."

"Any allergies?" "No."

"Currently taking any medications?" "None."

"Okay.... date of your last period?"

Amelia stopped to think about it for a sec, and that's when it hit her.

Holy shit. HOLY SHIT

Andrea looked up to see Amelia's eye go wide. "I'm....late."

Andrea smiled at her. "Can you still give me a date?"

"Ummm... week before Halloween I think."

The nurse nodded and continued writing for a few more seconds before turning towards a cabinet and pulling out a small cup with a sealed cap.

"I have a hunch you might be pregnant, so I wanna get a urine sample from you honey, and then we'll go for a blood draw in a bit alright? We can check the urine sample once you're done, but the blood test results come back in a few days. When you see the doctor, she'll explain everything in way more detail." she explained to Amelia.

Nodding, Amelia grabbed the cup from her and followed her out to the restroom. Closing the door behind her, she leaned against it and sighed.

Am I really pregnant? she wondered to herself. Thinking back on the last couple weeks, it really was possible. Although they weren't actively trying, she and Michael weren't doing anything to really prevent her from getting pregnant. They had been fooling around quite a bit whenever Michael was home, now that she thought about it.

She bought a hand up to her stomach and gently rubbed her thumb back and forth. “I really hope it’s you in there, baby DZ.”

Her hopes were confirmed 20 minutes later when a white coat stepped in to the exam room and smiled at her.

“Mrs. Del Zotto, my name is Dr. Manning. Lemme be the first to say congratulations, you’re 7 weeks pregnant!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Keeping a secret from Michael was something Amelia was not good at. He could read her like an open book, and always seemed to know when something was on her mind.

So the fact that she had been able to hide her pregnancy from him for a full on week was deserving of an award in Amelia’s mind. She wanted to wait till Christmas to surprise him with the news, so when she called him after her appointment, she told him it was simply the stomach flu that had made her so sick, and he believed her.

Fast forward a week later to Christmas Eve, and Amelia felt like she was sitting on pins and needles. She was really excited to tell him, but also super nervous.
After making dinner and attending the nearby church for Christmas Eve mass, the couple made their way back to their apartment as quick as possible to avoid the falling snow.

“Baby what time is your family coming over tomorrow?” Amelia asked as she shrugged out of her jacket. Michael took it from her and hung it on the coat rack near the door, and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

“Mom said around 2. Your mom and sister are driving in around the same time right?” He asked as they moved to the living room, and she nodded.

"Yup! I can't wait for every one to be here, it's gonna be so great!" She smiled at him. He smiled in return, and then asked, "Hey I'm gonna make some hot chocolate first, but should we trade presents?"

"Yes let's do it!" she exclaimed. Michael chuckled and walked into the kitchen to get started on their drinks. In the time that they had been together, they had started a small tradition on Christmas Eve where they would open at least one present from each other, and save the rest for Christmas day when they were with their families.

Five minutes later, Michael returned to the living room with two steaming mugs and passed one to Amelia, who was patiently waiting on the couch with a box in her lap. He went over to grab a small box from underneath the Christmas tree, and walked back to sit next to her.

"Open mine first." He told her with a smile as he passed her the box. She grinned and began to rip off the wrapping paper. Her smile grew when she was met with the all too familiar light blue box that every girl knew. Popping off the top, she gasped softly. Inside was a beautiful open heart pendant necklace that was detailed with diamonds.

"Babe, this is.." She began, but Michael cut her off by saying. "I saw how much you were admiring it when we went shopping a few weeks ago, so I went back the next day and picked it up for you."

Amelia leaned over and pressed a sweet kiss to his lips. "Thank you love, you're the best." She set his present down on the coffee table, and turned to hand him his gift. Michael leaned over to set his mug down on the table to begin unwrapping the box.

Here goes nothing Amelia thought to herself as she nervously watched him.

Michael popped the top off of the box and frowned a bit. Inside was a small white pacifier, with a note attached to the little handle. He looked back up at Amelia, then back down at the box.

"Umm...."

"Read the note silly."

He flipped the note over on the pacifier and read.

Merry Christmas daddy! I can't wait to meet you and mommy this summer, so make sure you hold on to this paci for me! See you soon! Love, baby DZ

His eyes went wide and his mouth fell open as he looked back up at Amelia, who sat with an ear to ear smile and tears in her eyes. "Really?" He asked softly. Amelia nodded.

"Merry Christmas baby, you're gonna be a daddy."

Michael's smile mirrored her's as he pulled her into him and began to pepper her face with kisses. She fell on top of him with a laugh and he cupped her face in his hands to pull her in for passionate kiss.

"I love you so much sweetheart, this is the best Christmas present ever!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Baby?" Michael called out, and he was met with "Bathroom!"

He walked down the hallway to the bedroom and turned to the bathroom, where he stopped in the door way and smiled. Amelia was in the tub, soaking in a bubble bath. She looked relaxed, with her hair tied up in a messy bun on top of her head, and a towel rolled up underneath her neck as she rested her head on the edge of the tub. The top of her baby bump was poking out over the surface of the water, which made him smile more.

"Hi beautiful." he said and she turned to him with a grin.

"Hi. Wanna get in with me? The water is still warm." she told him and he nodded. Stripping out of his suit, he carefully slid in behind Amelia, and pulled her back to him so she could rest against his chest.

"Welcome home, I missed you." She said as she turned her head to kiss his cheek. He smiled softly and brought his hands up to her stomach to gently rub her baby bump.

"I missed you too babe. How's the little peanut doing?" He asked.

"Good. She was kicking yesterday." she responded, and he frowned.

"What?? Why does she always kick when I'm not home!" he exclaimed, and she giggled. "You'll feel her soon enough, I promise! She's been pretty active these last few days."

Michael hummed in response and pressed a kiss to her head, and then down her neck. He felt her relax in to him, and said. "Well either way, I'm glad I'll be home for few weeks. We need to decide on a name for her by the way."

Amelia groaned. "I know, don't remind me. Why is naming a child the hardest thing in the world?" He laughed and told her. "We'll figure something out babe, don't worry."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The day Vivianne Rose Del Zotto was born, Michael felt like life took on a whole new meaning. Amelia's labor lasted 12 hours, and his heart ached as he watched his wife groaning in pain. He never left her side, and did what ever he could to make sure she was comfortable, whether it be rubbing her back, bringing her extra pillows, or giving her a hand to squeeze with every passing contraction. When it came time for her to deliver, he sat behind her on the bed and held her to his chest, encouraging her with every push.

And when he heard their daughter's little cries for the first time and watched the doctors place her on Amelia's chest, he felt his heart fill with more love than he ever thought was possible. His little girl was finally here, and nothing else seemed to matter.

Vivianne was born at 10 o'clock in the morning, and after multiple visits from some of Michael's teammates and a few of their close friends, Amelia had fallen asleep, exhausted from the day. Michael sat in the chair next to her bed, answering phone calls and incoming texts from family and friends that were wishing them congratulations.

After a quick phone call to his parents to confirm their flight, he leaned back in his chair for a minute, only to jump up again when he heard a few whines coming from the bassinet to his right. Vivianne was awake, and was squirming in the crib, her face scrunched up as if she was about to cry.

"Shhhh don't cry baby girl, we gotta stay quiet so mama can get her rest." he told her quietly, reaching in to pick her up just like how the nurse taught him earlier. Neck and head in the crook of his arm, and a hand supporting her back and butt.

He began to rock her gently, and her whines quieted to soft whimpers. Michael smiled down at her and ran a finger over her cheek.

"I'm can't believe you're here baby. Ever since your mom told me she was pregnant with you, I was so excited to see you, and now that you're here it's just... unbelievable. There are so many more people that can't wait to see and meet you. You already met a few important people today, like your Aunt Tara, and some of your uncles. You have a lot of uncles peanut." He told her with a chuckle, as he thought of all of his teammates.

He sat back down on the chair slowly and continued to talk to his daughter. "Your grandma and grandpa are flying in tomorrow to meet you, and your other grandma and auntie are coming to see you later tonight." Vivianne had quieted down, and was staring up at Michael with blue-gray eyes. He took notice of her eyes, and smiled.

"Man I hope your eyes stay blue just like your mama's. Your mom by the way? Best person in the world, and I'm not saying that just because she's your mom. She's so smart, really funny, and has the biggest heart in the world. And man is she beautiful. I feel so lucky that she's in my life and I thank my lucky stars she took a chance with me and agreed to go out on a date with me."

"I only did it cause I felt bad about spilling your coffee on you."

Michael's head popped up to see Amelia turned towards him and Vivianne with a smile on her face.

"So you only went out with me as a pity date?" he asked, faking surprise in his voice.

"Best pity date ever." she joked, and Michael chuckled. He looked back down at Vivianne and said, "Your mom can also get really mean to me sometimes."

Amelia giggled and slowly sat up in bed. "Come sit with me babe." she told him, and he carefully stood up and moved over to sit with her in bed. Amelia cuddled into his side, and looked down at Vivianne.

"She's so prefect Michael. I can't believe we made her." she said softly, laying a head on his shoulder. Michael turned and kissed the top of her head.

"I think we did really good." he told her, and paused for a beat before saying. "Thank you by the way."

She picked her head up from his shoulder and looked at him confused. "Thank you for what?"

"For saying yes to me that day... even if it was a pity date." he joked, and she laughed as he continued, "But also for being you... for making me so happy, for making it easy to love you, and for bringing this beautiful girl into the world."

Amelia leaned forward to press a brief but sweet kiss to Michael's lips. "I love you baby. I love our life, and I love our little family."

Michael smiled at his wife, and in that moment, he felt like the luckiest man in the world.