#daddy derek

You tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. Come to think of it, you also weren't very good at tossing and turning -- instead you sort of kicked around a little, desperate to find some comfort for your poor, aching body.

"I can't believe it," you said quietly. "I'm dying."

"You're not dying, you're just pregnant," Derek said, trying to be supportive but failing to muffle his chuckle.

"Tell me the difference," you told your husband. "Tell me, I dare you."

He tucked his head against your shoulder, and you thought you felt a smile, but he kept quiet.

He was right -- you were pregnant, not dying, but you certainly felt like you were on death's door. Just a few weeks away from your due date, your belly was huge and heavy, and all your muscles hurt trying to support it. It made it hard to sleep. Oh, and also there was the constant heartburn that almost always led to the vomiting. Getting the sudden urge to puke throughout the night made for a restless sleep as well.

"You don't have too much longer," Derek said softly, reaching a strong arm around you to gently rub your stomach. "Then it'll be baby time. I'll stay up with her and feed her, change her diaper, give her burps ..."

He continued listing off the things he would do for your baby girl once she arrived -- after you told him you were pregnant, he'd thrown himself into research mode. Sure, he was the world's best big brother, but he was only little himself when Jorge and Nicolas were babies, so he needed to get good on the infant care.

For months, you'd watched him practicing swaddling and trying burping techniques on a baby doll he'd proudly purchased. He'd looked into all the gadgets available, then joined mommy forums online to learn which were actually helpful and which were money grabs. Whenever you talked to him about it, he'd gladly chat with you about what you thought and what he'd learned, but always made it clear that you were doing the hard work in carrying the baby, so it could be his job to do this sort of stuff.

Suddenly a familiar but entirely unwelcome sensation pulled you out of your thoughts. There was a burning in your chest, followed by a tell-tale squeeze in your stomach and yep, you were going to throw up again.

"I'm gonna be sick," you managed to get out as you swung your legs over the side of the bed as quickly as possible.

Luckily your husband was not pregnant and as fit and strong as ever. Derek hopped up before you were able to and rushed over to your side of the bed, gently but firmly grabbing your arms so you could pull yourself up.

"It's ok, baby, I got you," he said, one hand on the small of your back as he guided you to the bathroom.

He stayed with you while you were sick, holding your hair back and staying close to keep you steady. When you were done, he pulled you up off the ground and wiped your face with a washcloth he'd prepared quickly and quickly helped you brush your teeth as tears pooled in your eyes.

"I'm so sorry," he told you, setting the toothbrush down before wrapping both of his arms around you. "I know that this has been hard, and I know I have no idea how hard."

He left it at that for the moment. You hugged him back as best you could, not getting as close as you'd like with your belly between you.

"I'm so excited," you told him after a moment. "I can't wait until she's here, but this part sucks. Is that ok?"

Derek smiled and planted a kiss on your forehead, telling you "Yeah, I think that's fair."

After you were all cried out, for the moment, anyway, you let him lead you back to bed. He sat you down then laid you back carefully, then situated your legs. A pillow went between your knees for support, and another under your belly before he pulled the covers up carefully.

"Do you need anything else?" he asked.

You knew full well he'd get absolutely anything you asked for -- he'd proven this multiple times already, especially during your intense cravings period during the second trimester. But for now, you just wanted your sweet husband.

"Can you lay back down too and be nice to me?" you asked, trying once again to get comfortable.

"Give me a hard task next time," he laughed before hurrying into bed himself, cozying up against your back again. He got as close as he could, and you felt his hot breath by your ear.

"I love you so much," he said softly, his hands running up and down your hip. "You're so amazing, you're so strong. We're going to have a baby, and she's going to as beautiful and as sweet as her mama, and no matter how much this sucks right now, we're going to have a little girl to love for the rest of our whole lives because of it."

"Derek," you said lovingly, moving to hold his hand. He kissed your shoulder and tried to get even closer.

"And you know, the books say that every pregnancy is different, so hopefully with babies 2 and 3 things are easier," he said in the same gentle tone before placing a kiss on your jaw.