85Timing is Everything
This is my first Signed, Sealed, Delivered fanfic. I do not own these wonderful characters, they belong to Martha Williamson
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Chapter 1:
3 minutes
The timer was set and her hands were shaking. She couldn't sit still, so she paced. Back and forth. Back and forth. She was nauseous again. She didn't know how to feel right now. Scared? Definitely scared. Anxious? Absolutely anxious. Excited? Is it too soon to be excited? Oh boy, she was definitely feeling dizzy. Has it been long enough? She checked the timer….
2 minutes
It had only been a minute?! How can that be?! She continued her internal pondering while she watched the seconds tick by. She carefully weighed the pros and cons in her head. If she was, it would change her life forever—their life. They had talked about it, but they had both agreed to wait until they had been married a little longer. After all, it had only been 3 months. 3 wonderful months of being married to the most wonderful man in the world. Dear Lord, were they ready if she was?! How would she tell him?
1 minute
But then again, maybe she wasn't at all—maybe the test would be negative and all of this worrying would have been for nothing. But how would she feel if she wasn't? Deep down it's something she's always wanted. If she truly wasn't, would this ever happen for them? What if they kept putting it off and it NEVER happened for them? She looked at the timer again…
10...9…8…
Her heart was racing…
7…6…5…
She truly felt like she was going to be sick…
4…3...2…
This is it….
1…the timer went off, startling her from her trance. All she had to do now was look at the test and she would know. One way or another, she would finally know. She walked over to the bathroom counter and slowly picked up the test, her eyes fixating on the small window. She gasped, nervous tears filling her eyes as her hand instinctively came up to rest on her flat stomach. She didn't think it was possible to feel so many emotions all at once. The feeling that stood out the most was pure love. Love for the new life growing inside her that she had created with her soulmate.
As shocked as she was, there was no denying the truth that she had suspected all week. Shane O'Toole was going to have a baby. Now she just had to figure out how to tell Oliver and pray he was ready to take on this unexpected turn of events with her in their new life together.
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"There you are, Shane. I was just about to go looking for you." Oliver exclaimed as she walked into the DLO.
"I'm sorry, I was trying to find Hazel to, uh see if she, uh, had anything for us from Terminal Annex. Couldn't find her." Shane nervously laughed, then quickly changed the subject, "What did you need?" Lucky for Shane, Oliver was too distracted by his newest find to pick up on his wife's odd behavior. Rita, however, was carefully observing her best friend. Something was off and she was determined to get to the bottom of it.
"We have a lead. In the letter Natalie mentioned that she would often cheer Grant on as he 'went for the strike '. We believed that she had been referring to baseball, that maybe he was a pitcher. But what if she wasn't referring to baseball at all?" Oliver watched Shane as she quickly caught up to what he was implying.
"Bowling! She was referring to bowling a strike!"
"Exactly. We were also able to make out the word 'panther'. There is a bowling league called "The Panthers" that plays just up the street. Shall we go?" As Oliver put his arm out for her to take, Rita quickly interrupted. "Actually Oliver, can Norman go with you? I wanted to take Shane to lunch. Norman and I have been so busy with Francis that I haven't been able to spend a lot of time with my best friend outside of work." Rita gave Shane a look that went unnoticed by Oliver. Shane instantly knew that Rita had ulterior motives for their lunch.
"Of course, Rita, that's a wonderful idea." He smiled then grabbed Shane's hand and placed a gentle kiss on it. "I will see you later. Enjoy your lunch." She smiled back and replied, "We will. I'll bring you back something." Oliver and Norman quickly exited the DLO, leaving a curious Rita and a very nervous Shane.
Not many words were exchanged as the two ladies made their way out of the office and set off for the Mailbox Grille.
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"So Rita, how is Francis doing?" As soon as they sat down, Shane tried desperately to keep Rita from interrogating her. Asking Rita about her and Norman's adopted two year old son would hopefully do the trick.
"Oh he is just perfect. Last night he finally told me that he loved me. I can't imagine our lives without him." Rita and Norman had officially adopted Francis Alexander Dorman a mere 6 months ago. His parents had both died in a car accident when he was 8 months old. Francis only had one living relative—a grandfather, Adam, who was unfortunately diagnosed with cancer soon after taking custody of him. The Postables had delivered a lost letter to Adam from his late sister. They all had an instant connection to Francis, however none as much as Rita. Adam knew that he wouldn't be around to watch Francis grow, so he asked Rita and Norman if they would adopt him. They instantly agreed to give that precious boy a forever home.
"I couldn't be happier for you and Norman. Francis was meant to be a Dorman." Shane gushed, gently squeezing her friend's hand.
"Thank you, Shane. You and Oliver have been so supportive in all this. We couldn't hope for better friends." She smiled, quickly gaining her composure so she could dive into the real reason for whisking Shane off to lunch. "You mentioned earlier that you were looking for Hazel and couldn't find her. Where did you look?"
Shane gulped, "Well, you know, out on the floor."
"Really? Well that's odd because I was actually on the floor talking to Hazel right before you walked into the DLO. I'm not sure how we didn't see each other."
"Oh, umm, that's really odd. I must have walked right passed you ladies." She looked down, suddenly finding her silverware very interesting.
"Shane, is everything okay? You are my best friend and I can see that something is on your mind. Please talk to me."
Shane sighed, maybe it would help her to get Rita's perspective. "I wasn't looking for Hazel earlier. I was actually taking a test…and the test was positive."
"A test? What kind of a test?" Rita's brows furrowed. She wasn't catching on to what Shane was trying to tell her. Shane raised her eyebrows at Rita. "A POSITIVE test, Rita."
It took a moment, but Rita gasped, finally catching on to what Shane was trying to tell her. "Oh wow! You're pregnant!" She squealed with delight.
"Rita, please keep your voice down. You're the only one I've told."
"Oh okay, sorry Shane. I won't say a word." Rita dropped her voice to a loud whisper. "This is the best news! Francis is going to have a playmate!" She clapped her hands together and continued, "We are going to have so much fun shopping for the baby together. You and Oliver are going to be great parents! I can't wait to —" She suddenly stopped talking, noticing that Shane had paled and looked incredibly apprehensive. "Shane, aren't you happy about the baby?"
"Oh Rita, of course I'm happy! I've only known for about an hour or so, and yet I already love this baby more than I thought possible. It's just that I'm…I'm scared." She looked at Rita, tears glistening in her eyes and threatening to fall down her cheeks. "Oliver and I both had a parent that walked out on us. What if I'm not a good mother? What if we aren't ready? What if—". The tears were freely falling now as Rita grabbed Shane's hand in order to stop her rant.
"Shane, you are going to be an incredible mother. I've seen you with Francis and so many other children that we've helped over the years. You have so much love to give and you have a wonderful husband that will be there with you every step of the way. I know that you've both had parents that have left, I can understand why you're afraid. But you've also both had loving parents that stayed and raised you to be the selfless, admirable people that you are today."
"But what if Oliver isn't happy about this happening right now? You know he's always saying 'trust the timing'. But what if he's wrong? What if the timing isn't right for him…for us?"
"He loves you more than anything, I knew that to be true, probably long before he ever admitted it to himself. This baby is a part of you and a symbol of the love you share. He will love this baby from the moment you tell him, trust me." Shane got up and hugged Rita.
"Thank you, Rita. You always know what to say to make me feel better. I pray that you're right and I promise to tell Oliver soon. I just need some time. Would you mind keeping this between us until I'm ready to tell him?"
"Of course. Your secret is safe with me." The two friends continued their lunch, discussing much more casual topics. As they finished their meals, Shane was deep in thought, contemplating what her next move would be.
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Later that night, Shane woke with a start, trying carefully not to wake her sleeping husband as she crawled out of bed. She made a beeline for the bathroom and quietly closed the door behind her. She turned the faucet on to mask the noise, then barely made it to the toilet just in time to empty her stomach contents into it. Whoever came up with the term "morning sickness" most certainly did not know what they were talking about. Once she was through and felt the color return to her face, she slowly got up and quickly brushed her teeth before sneaking back into bed.
Oliver's arm snaked around her stomach, pulling her close to him while mumbling a sleepy "missed you", seemingly unaware of the reason for Shane's absence. As comfortable as she was in his arms, Shane couldn't fall back asleep. She was too deep in thought, desperately trying to figure out how and when she would tell Oliver that there was a baby—their baby— growing inside her womb.
She finally decided that she would keep the news to herself for a couple of more days so she had time to fully process everything. Once she was content that she had made the right choice and didn't have to worry about telling him at that exact moment, she nuzzled deeper into Oliver's warm embrace and finally drifted off to sleep.
That night Shane dreamt of rocking chairs, bed time stories and a sweet cherub-faced little one calling her "Mommy".
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Should I continue? Please review and let me know what you think!