Chapter 8 - Here We Go Again

The test was positive.
I was pregnant with my second child. Sure, I was excited (not as excited as Dayvid was), but I couldn't push that one niggling thought out of my mind. I took a bath to calm myself.

The pregnancy progressed a lot faster than I'd thought it would. I stopped throwing up pretty quickly and within the month I had quite a prominent bump. I spent a lot of time on the phone to Katie. She understood me. She'd recently got engaged to Brett and had unofficially adopted his two kids from a previous marriage. I had originally planned to fly out to Sunset Valley for the wedding, but the baby had kind of scuppered those plans.

As Jasper began teething it had become obvious that he was a vampire like his dad. He had adopted a tendency to sleep all day and be up all night. Luckily, Dayvid was more than happy to use this time to teach him some life skills. I wasn't against Jass being a vampire at all, but it did mean that at some point in his life he would need to be fed blood rather than mashed carrot. This made me see how quickly he was growing up.

As the baby was getting so big so quickly, I decided to go to the hospital before I was due for my check-up.
'Dayvid, I'm just going out to the hospital. Watch Jass, will you?'
'Okay, but are you sure you don't want me to come with you?'
'No!' I shouted. I immediately regretted it. 'Ah, Sorry, no. Besides, it's just a few tests. And you're getting so far with teaching Jasper to speak.'
'All right, darling. I hope that all goes well.'
'It will.'
'Hey, can I feel the baby?'

The child was always very energetic inside me but I could feel it calm right down when Dayvid came close.
'It's a girl.'
'What?'
'I bet It's going to be a girl.'
'Oh yeah? What makes you so sure?'
'Call it fatherly intuition?'
I sighed. As I drew away from him the baby took a kick at my side, making me buckle over slightly.
'Blimey, this one's a strong one!'
'Are you sure you don't want me to drive you?' Dayvid insisted.
'No, I'm fine. Hey, it's Jasper's birthday tomorrow, why don't you organise a party?'

He agreed and I headed to the hospital.

Much to my surprise, Dayvid was waiting for me with Jasper when I came out.

'What on Earth are you doing out here, you're both vampires!? You'll be dust within minutes if you don't take cover!'
'Relax, Liza. I wanted to see you. You've been acting so stressed lately, it can't be good for our baby. I needed to check you're okay. And Jass won't be affected by the sun until he's an adult.'
'But what about you!? Get into the taxi.' I snatched Jasper into my arms and waddled towards the cab as quickly as I could. Dayvid shook his head in confusion and then followed.

To my utter delight, however, Dayvid had redecorated one of the top floor bedrooms to make a little boy's haven for when Jasper aged up the next day.

It was perfect, and something he could grow into as well.

The guests arriving the next morning had all been invited by Dayvid. They included Jasper's babysitter, some of my pack, the Van Goulds that Dayvid stayed with for a bit and my old neighbours.

Briar took it upon himself to entertain everyone whilst I fetched Jass.

As I reached the last step I felt a sudden familiar, but still as painful, twist in my belly.

I quickly put Jasper down before I dropped him. 

Another contraction followed, a lot quicker than I expected. I was surprised to go into labour as I was over a month early. Jasper seemed concerned that I was in pain and began to wail. I hoped that Dayvid or one of the party guests would hear him and come to check on us.

Unfortunately, nobody came to my aid as they were all listening to Briar. I managed to stumble into the kitchen before another contraction brought me to my knees. Everyone panicked, except Dayvid - he was surprised but calm and gently took my arm.
'It's okay, Liza. Don't worry. Let's get you to the hospital.' He whispered in my ear. 'Sorry, party's over folks.' He said to the guests who all quickly left.
He led me out the door and down the steps before rushing back inside to get Jasper. He was still wailing but quietened a little when his dad held him close.

Jasper could age up in the morning. There was a baby to be had.