Authors: LaVenia R. Boswell
“Again!” she said with disgust.
She ate, then Jon helped her put on a less revealing gown set. She fixed her hair and makeup then began to feel human again.
When Melody was helped down the stairs, very much against her will, she realized just what a change had occurred in her life.
After her morning exam she returned to her sketches, but this time she was designing a royal nursery.
CHAPTER SIX: DAVID'S BIRTH
Over the following weeks Jonathan hovered over her like a wet setting hen. She tried to get him to go back to the labs but he steadfastly refused.
He was even with her on the beach when she felt the first movement of their child. “Jon!” she called to him as he was looking for shark’s teeth. She had shown him some a couple of days before and he had become fascinated with the vicious creatures.
“What is it?” he asked excitedly as he ran to her.
“Put your hand here,” she said pointing to her huge abdomen.
“I feel him, I feel him! He's very strong,” he exclaimed as he knelt down on the sand. He put his cheek on her stomach as he lifted her blouse. “He rattled my teeth!”
Jon immediately had to walk them back to the house to tell everyone.
Aunt Cassandra and Aunt Cherise got really excited. Melody was pleased they were happy but she felt that they seemed overly so.
“Melody, may we speak to you, in private?” Aunt Cassandra asked after she saw Jonathan preoccupied.
“Of course, Aunt Cassandra,” Melody stated after she also saw that Jon had walked off to tell someone else.
She led them into her study, then shut the door.
“Is anything wrong?” Melody asked concerned.
“No dear. But, we know that Jonathan doesn't know that when the child starts moving that it's preparing for birth. It's turning you know. You probably will give birth in about three days.”
“Three days! But, why wouldn't Jonathan know about this?” Melody questioned.
“We, that is, us females, don't share this knowledge with them, we just pass it down as it's needed, to another female. As you can see, Jonathan has been extremely attentive to you. All our men are like that.”
“Except that Jon has been taking the cake for over-achievers,” Cherise quipped.
“If the men knew this, we women wouldn't have even one moment of peace from them once the baby moved,” Cassandra explained.
“Oh . . . I see! Thank you for sharing this with me.” Laughing she added, “If he were more attentive I'd go crazy.”
The aunts both smiled knowingly. “We know,” they both chimed together.
Melody opened the door and they walked out quickly.
Mark had seen the three women as Melody opened the door and they had walked out of her study. Well, really two of them walked, poor Melody could only waddle. He wouldn't have thought much of it if Aunt Cherise hadn't been giggling like a young Earth girl, and Melody hadn't had such a funny look on her face.
“Jon,” he said as Jonathan was expounding the strength of his son to yet another tired ear. “Jon, I want to tell you something.”
“Mark, I'm busy bragging,” Jon responded boastfully.
“I think the women are up to something.” Mark made his statement and started walking away.
“Mark,” Jonathan called as he reached him, “What do you mean?”
Mark told him what he had seen, but left out the part about Melody waddling.
“What could those two precious aunts of mine be up to? Aunt Cherise was actually giggling?”
“Just like I said. Jon, I know those two, they were up to something.” Mark felt vindicated for having Jonathan to tell all his worries to. For some reason, ever since they had discovered that Melody was pregnant and hadn't known it, they had felt like they were on a two man crusade to not allow a woman to surprise them again.
“Jon, try putting the ole charm on Mel. I know you know how to do that, expertly! I just know it's something very important, or they wouldn't have been behind
closed
doors to talk about it.” Mark's face had gotten an increasingly excited look with the telling.
Jonathan decided he had stayed away from her long enough. He went into the den and found her behind one of the tropical screens, she was laying down on the sofa rubbing her lower stomach.
“Mel, are you feeling okay?”
“Sure, Baby, my stomach just itches and aches a little bit. I thought that if I laid down for a couple of minutes it would ease up,” she responded, then smiled at his odd look. “I'm fine. My stomach feels much better already,” she lied.
He pulled her feet around and helped her sit up after a second of seeing her struggle. “My sweet Baby, I know this has been terribly hard on you. All the checkups and the meals that I know you don't really like. Your discomfort just breaks my heart. Is there anything that I can do for you?”
Melody nodded her head yes.
“What is it, whatever it is I'll move Heaven and Earth to see it's done.”
“Jon, I love you with all my heart and soul, but, sometimes you, uh, you make me feel, uh, like you have given up all your work, just to watch over me.”
He started shaking his head no.
She continued, “It makes me feel bad, Jon, really bad. Can you find something to do, please?”
So that's it! She thinks I’m smothering her! Well, well, that's just almost too bad.
Looking into her pleading eyes he realized that maybe, just maybe, he had been, but he was only concerned about her welfare. After all, he had thought that he'd lost her one time, he didn't want to risk it again.
She could tell that he was seriously thinking over what she had said, she only hoped that she hadn't hurt his feelings.
Suddenly smiling he said, “Melody, my dove, you're right. I have been neglecting my work. I guess a woman in your condition sometimes needs some time alone, just to sort out her thoughts or to be able to think about the post-pregnancy days ahead. I'll return to my work right away.”
A look of unreal relief washed over her face.
He was headed around the panel to leave when he turned and said, “But, you promise me, you will call me on the phone or over the speakers, and press
all
the buttons, if you need me for anything!”
“Oh, Jon, I promise.” Seeing his understanding smile she added, “Jon, thank you. I'll feel much better now.”
Jonathan spoke to several of the bodyguards and commanded them to stay close by her. They were to call him in the monitoring room if she looked or behaved strangely. With that done he found Mark and they headed for the basement rooms.
As they went in the double doors of the monitoring room Jonathan sat down in front of a bank of small monitors and told Mark to take the next bank. Jonathan quickly had Melody in view, then he turned off all the others, except the perimeter cameras.
“Mark, it's time you found yourself a mate! As a matter of fact, I think it's time all our men found women they can bond with,” Jonathan grinned as he saw the look of sheer joy spread over his friend's face.
Mark surprised him when he said, “Jon, I may have already found her.” Seeing the look Jon gave him, he quickly explained, “Remember when I had to help you get access to the monitors, when you wanted to watch Melody at night?”
Jon remembered well the trouble he had trying to do that. He had become addicted to watching her bathe, sleeping, dressing and doing anything at all. “Yes, Mark I remember.”
Mark was unsure of Jon's anger for doing the same thing that he had done, without his permission. Jon had changed some since his Bonding, he was more authoritative now. It was to be expected he knew, but it still had come as a slight shock to Mark.
Mark continued, “Melody was with me when I spotted this gorgeous hunk of a woman one day about three weeks ago. I had escorted her to a showroom that had miles and miles of baby furniture in it, this woman was a saleslady, I think. You remember the one, you and her went back and you bought that beautiful swinging bassinet?” Jon, nodded yes. As this made him think about Melody again, he turned back to the view screens, Mel was still rubbing her stomach.
“Well, when Dawn and I saw each other's eyes something just clicked. Jon, I swear I got a har . . . uh, got stirred like I never had before.”
When Mark said that, Jonathan rolled with laughter. He slapped Mark on the thigh as he leaned forward and whispered, “Mark I'm not a female, and just because I'm your Prince doesn't mean that you can't talk to me the way you always have.” Then grinning broadly he said a little loudly, “So, when you saw this lovely female, you got this tremendous enlargement happening, huh?”
“Jon!” Mark looked embarrassed as several of the other men in the room turned to look at them and smiled as well. “Yes, I did. Anyway, Jon, she felt something too, I know it! I've kind of kept up with her since then, but we haven't actually got to talk with each other much – yet.”
“How soon would you like to meet her? Just to see if the chemistry is really working,” Jonathan asked.
“Meet her again? As soon as I can! She'll be working tonight. She just got a promotion to manager. She's a good woman too, Jon. She's only gone out two times since I met her and then it was just with her female friends.” Mark was excited again.
“Do you feel the real Stirrings when you see her Mark?”
“I'm pretty sure. Sometimes, just looking at her makes my heart ache,” Mark volunteered.
The sometimes part bothered Jonathan, it should be always, not sometimes, but he didn't say anything negative to Mark about it. They would discuss it at better length another time.
Jonathan saw that Melody was still rubbing her stomach. This bothered him as well. She had never done it this long before. She finally called for help to get off the couch and walked into the kitchen. Jonathan began to relax. He got Mark to show him his new find. They monitored her for several hours then decided they were hungry.
“Jon, have you been busy?” Melody asked as her two favorite men came to supper.
He kissed her and helped her into her seat as he answered, “Yes, darling, we've both been very busy. We've started on a new project.” He winked at Mark.
“Since you said we, is Mark involved with it as well?”
“He's majorly involved,” Jonathan admitted with a grin.
“That's good.” Melody seemed to be distracted all during the meal. When she wouldn't eat much, she had explained it as not having any room left for food. When they looked at her they had to secretly agree. Shortly after that she left the table asking Jon to help her up the stairs.
“Are you sure you're feeling all right?” Jon asked as she was getting into the Jacuzzi.