Author's Note: Wow...that took a lot longer than expected. Of course it didn't help that I managed to short out the keyboard on my laptop. A word to the wise--never keep a full glass of water anywhere near a computer. 
Thanks so much for your patience. 
---
Chapter 8 - In Sickness and in HealthAs Morgana looked back over these last five months she had to come to one conclusion: she very much enjoyed being pregnant.
True, there were some things about the experience that were less than pleasant. It took another four weeks before she was fully over her morning sickness, and even then there were certain foods that she just could not eat without feeling ill. Much to her chagrin that included
coffee...which made mornings rather interesting for a while as she tried to get used to drinking tea instead. “You’re
sure you’re not drinking zombification elixir or something?” Jamie had teased her.
As per hospital policy Morgana was placed on maternity leave shortly after the beginning of her second trimester, which both worried and annoyed her at the same time. Six months was a long time to be off of work and a long time to be away from her classes. Granted, between wedding planning and preparing for the baby she knew that she would be very busy, but at the same time Morgana was nervous that she would forget some of what she had learned during her internship.
Morgana did have to admit, though, it was rather nice not to have to worry about classes or work for a while. Now she could place her focus where it truly needed to be—on her new family.
Yumi wasn't terribly surprised when Leighton told her that Morgana was expecting. “The morning sickness was a dead giveaway,” she stated in a matter-of-fact way. “I knew that Morgana was pregnant before
you did.”
But
Sam's reaction to the news was simply priceless.
“A little brother or sister? Can I pick?” Sam excitedly asked. “I think I want a sister, 'cause a couple of my friends are little sisters and they're pretty cool and Bella says that her big brother is really awesome and I want to be a really awesome big brother too!”
“No Sam,” Leighton laughed. “You can't pick. It's all a matter of chance...though I'm really glad that you said that you wanted a little sister.” He looked up at Morgana and smiled. “Because the baby is going to be a girl.”
Sam's eyes lit up. “Really? I get to have a little sister for real?” He trotted over to Morgana and put his head close to her belly. “Are you there, little sis? Can you hear me? It’s Sam, your big brother!”
Sam, for his part, had adjusted quite well to the changes. That he already got along with his soon-to-be stepmother made the transition much easier, and Morgana made it a point over the coming months to spend as much time with him as possible.
“So two plus five is...?”
“Seven.”
“Three plus nine?”
“Twelve.” Sam set his notebook down and looked up at Morgana, a questioning look on his face. “Miss Mor...I mean,
Mom...do you think that maybe I will be able to help my sister with her homework when she is old enough for school?”
“I imagine so,” Morgana replied with a smile. “So you’re really happy about having a baby sister?”
“Uh-huh...but...” Sam’s face suddenly took on a concerned expression. “I’m kind of confused. My friend Arlo said that she’s only going to be
half a sister. How does that work? Which half is she going to be? I’ve never
seen a half a person before!”
It took every ounce of self-control that Morgana could muster to keep from laughing. “Sam, you have nothing to worry about. What your friend meant was that she will be your half-sister, meaning that you have the same daddy, but different mommies.”
Sam contemplated this. “So she won’t just be half a person?”
“No. She will be a whole person, I promise.”
“Good, ‘cause that might have been weird.” Sam sat back on his hands and looked around the room. “So this will be her room, right?”
“Yes. Just as soon as your dad gets his summer bonus we're going to get her crib and a few other things.”
“Like a teddy bear? And maybe a xylophone like I had?”
“Probably, yes.”
Little did Morgana realize that Leighton already had grand plans. While Morgana was away on a spa day with Pauline and Zelda, Leighton, Gobias, and a few of Leighton’s teammates got together and completely remodeled the upstairs room. By the time Morgana returned late that afternoon everyone had left and she was none the wiser.
But when she went upstairs later that evening to work on her laptop she got the surprise of her life.
“Oh...my
goodness...”
She felt a pair of arms wrap around her from behind. “What do you think?”
Morgana looked around the room in absolute awe. The dusky green of the wallpaper, the light, muted pinks of the crib and the baby swing, the sweet little unicorn on the dresser...seeing it all in place moved her nearly to tears. “It's just perfect,” she breathed. “When did you manage to find the time for this? And without my
knowing...?”
“I had a bit of help,” Leighton replied. “Half of a baseball team and a scientist, to be exact. We started at about nine this morning and finished just before you got home.”
Morgana smiled. So
that was why Zelda had been so insistent upon going to the spa today.
She turned around in Leighton's embrace and kissed him deeply. “I'm ready...I'm ready to meet her,” she stated. “We can do this.”
“Together, Morgana...we can do
anything.”
The weeks and months seemed to fly by as they continued their preparations for both the wedding and the baby. Settling on a wedding date proved to be more difficult than either of them had expected, namely due to Leighton’s game schedule. If the team made the playoffs they would be playing well into October, which meant they would almost certainly have to wait until after the baby was born to wed. Neither of them were particularly thrilled about that prospect. Morgana had not legally changed her name back to her maiden name after she and Thornton had called it quits, and the last thing that she wanted was for the baby to be born with
his last name.
As it turned out the Llamas were ousted from playoff contention by late summer—a fortuitous turn of events for Morgana and Leighton, even if not quite so lucky for the team. With less than two months to spare before the arrival of the baby they finally had a date in place; they would be man and wife three weeks to the day before their daughter’s due date.
On the morning of the wedding Morgana awakened to the sensation of feather-light kisses on the back of her neck. She smiled as Leighton gently placed his hand upon her belly and sighed deeply.
“What are you thinking?” She absently asked him.
“About our daughter, and how I can’t wait to meet her,” came his soft reply. He climbed over to the other side of the bed and pulled Morgana into his arms, a wistful grin on his face. “And just how beautiful her mother looks.”
Morgana closed her eyes and all but melted into his embrace. “Personally, I can’t wait to marry her father.”
The two of them shared a quick kiss before the creak of door hinges interrupted them. Morgana opened her eyes and saw her almost mother-in-law standing in the doorway.
“M—
Mother!” Leighton stammered. “Knock, please?”
“What? I knew that you weren’t up to anything,” Yumi defended herself. “It’s after nine, the wedding is at three, and you two need to eat. I made watermelon pancakes. Sam’s already at the table and he looks hungry, so you might want to get moving.”
She smiled and closed the door, leaving Morgana a bit stunned and Leighton shaking his head.
“Remind me to get a lock for that door,” Leighton groused.
--
The rest of the morning seemed to fly past, and before Morgana knew it she and Leighton were standing beneath the arch in front of their dearest friends. In the very front row stood Gobias and Zelda, the latter of whom was in tears.
To be fair, Gobias was not far behind his wife. Morgana heard him sniffling as Leighton took her hand in his.
“Are you ready?”
“More than ready.”
Leighton took a deep breath. “I…don’t really have a way with words. I’m not even sure that there
are words that can really describe how I feel. Who you are to me, how much I love you. I just…don’t think that words could really do that justice.” Morgana felt a chill run down her spine as he slipped the ring on her finger. “I, Leighton, take you Morgana as my wife. I promise to love you and be faithful to you always, in all circumstances, for as long as I live.”
Now it was Morgana’s turn to be in tears as she gazed into his deep brown eyes, positively speechless. She had written her vows months before, but right now they seemed as mere platitudes. Leighton had hit the nail on the head; how
could words possibly do her feelings justice?
“As I look back on the day we met…I thought that it would be just another Monday,” she began. “Never could I have imagined that I would meet that special someone…that someone from whom you never want to part…that someone who is a part of who you are in every way. The love of my life.” She took Leighton’s hand in hers and slid the gold band upon his finger. “I, Morgana, take you Leighton to be my husband. I too promise to love you and be faithful to you always, in all circumstances, for as long as I live.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“Oh will you just
kiss her already?” Yumi called out, eliciting chuckles from the crowd. Leighton burst out laughing and pulled Morgana into an embrace, kissing her fervently on the lips.
But little did Morgana realize that their celebration was about to be turned upside-down.
As Leighton sliced into the cake Morgana became conscious of an odd pain on her lower right side. It was just a dull ache, and it was right around the area where the baby had been kicking a few days ago, so she initially thought nothing of it.
Until about half an hour later...
“Mom? What's wrong?”
“S—Sam, go get your father...” Morgana stammered. Her legs suddenly felt weak.
“Oh gosh...is it the baby?” Gobias asked.
“I...I think so. But I'm not due for another three weeks—
ah!” Morgana cried out as a wave of pain gripped her abdomen. Was labor really supposed to hurt like
this?!
Slowly the contraction subsided, but that pain in her lower right side remained steady, and actually had worsened considerably since she had first noticed it earlier. Out of the corner of one eye she saw Leighton sprinting toward her with Geoffrey close on his heels.
“The baby. Has your water broken?” Leighton frantically asked.
“Not yet...” Morgana huffed as another contraction began. “Perfect...place to go into labor. My own wedding.”
“At least neither of you will forget your anniversary,” Geoffrey stated with a smirk.
Morgana breathed through the pain as best she could as Leighton and Geoffrey slowly helped her toward the car. Her legs felt like jelly and she struggled even to walk. That pain in her side had doubled in intensity with this latest contraction and was now throbbing. Suddenly Morgana felt terribly ill. A wave of dizziness swept over her and she lost her balance completely; only Leighton's quick reflexes kept her from falling to the ground.
“Easy, easy...” Leighton carefully lowered Morgana down into a sitting position. “Are you all right?”
She weakly shook her head.
“We might want to call an ambulance,” came Geoffrey's voice. Vaguely Morgana registered the touch of someone's hand on her forehead. “She’s feverish. We need to get her to the emergency room, stat.”
"Hold with me, love..." Leighton pleaded with her. His voice echoed in her head, almost as if she was listening through a tunnel. Morgana struggled to remain conscious, but the pain was just so...
The last thing that Morgana remembered was the sound of Leighton calling her name as her vision became completely dark.
