Aside from her almost constant complaining and impossible demands, Chelsie tried to harm herself several times during the pregnancy. She went for a couple of weeks refusing to eat, claiming morning sickness that wouldn’t allow her to keep anything down; and then made an attempt at slashing her wrists, landing her in the hospital for observation. Upon her release, Chelsie promptly swallowed a bottle of over the counter pills as soon as Mark left for work, only to be quickly discovered when he returned home to retrieve his forgotten briefcase. She ended up in the hospital, again being held for several weeks for observation and therapy. This time, once she got home she promised to behave, insisting that she was fine and that Mark should return to work. He did so reluctantly, hoping that she would settle into the fact that she was loved and needed, that she had to keep healthy and take care of herself for the baby. His heart sank when, two days later, he got the call that she had fallen down the basement stairs and was being rushed to the hospital.

“What the hell happened?” Mark rushed into the hospital room, gently setting the bouquet of flowers he carried on the nearest table and joining Chelsie at the side of her bed.

“She fell, Mark.” Her mother stated, simply. “Thank goodness I came to visit with her, who knows how long she might have lain there.”

Mark sighed as he pulled a chair close to Chelsie’s bedside, knowing that had been a not so subtle dig at his job and recent tendency to work overtime. He tenderly pushed a strand of hair from her eyes and kissed her cheek.

“Where’s her doctor? Has he been to see her yet?”

“He’ll be coming in shortly to talk to you. Let’s go get a coffee and leave these two alone.” Chelsie’s father murmured, ushering his wife out the door.

“What did you do? Why were you going in the basement?”

“I don’t want to be pregnant, Mark. I don’t want this baby.”

Mark stared at her in stunned silence. She couldn’t possibly be willing to kill herself just to get rid of the baby. Surely there was more to all this. The doctor’s entrance saved Mark from having to think of a reply to Chelsie’s shocking statement. He listened carefully as the doctor assured him that his wife was fine, nothing was broken and she should be able to return home in just a few days.

“What about the baby?”

“The tests we’ve run so far show no damage to the baby. We do have to run a few more to be sure.”

Mark looked at Chelsie and noticed the tears running down her cheeks. Her mouth twisted into a frustrated grimace and as she started to sob loudly, the doctor confused her anger for sadness.

“Everything should be alright, Mrs. Kanemura, we’ll know for sure in a day or two.”

As soon as the doctor left the room, Mark jumped to his feet and began pacing. “You tried to kill yourself? Again? You threw yourself down the stairs, didn’t you?”

“I don’t want to die, Mark. Honest. But I’m not going to be a good mother. I want this thing out of me. I hate it!” Chelsie shrilled.

“Why can’t you stop thinking of yourself for one minute and think about your family? Your child that you are carrying, your husband that loves you?”

“You don’t love me.” Chelsie sobbed.

“I do. Chelsie, I love you with all my heart. And you’re carrying our baby, our precious child, so please, please, stop this insanity and let us be a family.”

“I can’t Mark. I hate feeling like this, feeling that thing inside me…”

Mark sat back down and gently pressed his hand to her stomach. He could feel the small, but insistent, movements of their child, testing the limits of its surroundings.

“That’s our child, Chels, our little baby.” Mark felt tears spring to his eyes. He couldn’t believe how amazing this felt. The first real confirmation that he was going to be a father.

“You love this kid more than you love me.” Chelsie snorted, swatting a hand at her stomach.

“Baby, I love you, what do I need to do to prove it to you? Tell me.” Mark took her hand in his and kissed it. “Whatever it is, I’ll do it.”

“Stay with me. Don’t go back to work.”

Mark stared at her for a moment. He needed to work to pay off all the extravagant things she had demanded during their marriage. They had a huge mortgage, the cars, and the trips; there was no way he could afford to stay home. “Baby, I…”

“I knew it!” Chelsie exploded, roughly yanking her hand away from him. “If it’s not the damn baby, it’s your job! I’m never first with you!”

Mark jumped, startled by her outburst. “I’ll think of something baby, I promise.” He brushed his hand over her forehead, smoothing her hair down. “I’ll stay home with you.”

Mark talked with Chelsie’s father and they both agreed that for the sake of her health, Mark needed to be home with her, at least for the duration of the pregnancy, if not longer. He set up a more elaborate office in a room off their bedroom and brought what work he could home. Whenever Chelsie was asleep or out with her mother he worked there, trying to keep on top of everything.

Chelsie seemed to relax with Mark home and she even seemed to be settling into the fact that she would soon be a mother. Mark was surprised one afternoon when she returned home anxious to show him the wardrobe of baby clothes she and her mother had purchased. She started to discuss baby names with him and even ventured into the nursery, commending Mark for his work on it.

The day of the birth came when Mark was, unfortunately, out of the house on a business call. He met Chelsie at the hospital as she was being taken into the delivery room. He tossed his suit jacket aside to don the scrubs the nurse handed him.

“Mark, it hurts so much, why weren’t you there?” Chelsie screamed. “I’m sorry baby, I had to make that meeting. I’m so sorry!” Mark leaned over to place a tender kiss on her forehead. “I’m here now, I’m not leaving.”

Chelsie was in too much pain to argue anymore with him so she gratefully allowed Mark to cheer her through the long labor process, offering encouraging words and tending to her needs for ice chips or glasses of water. Finally, it was almost time for their baby to arrive.

“Push, Chels, you’re doing so good!”

“This is all your fault!” Chelsie panted. “I didn’t want this! It hurts too much!”

“One more push, hun, that’s it! You can do it!”

Chelsie screamed as she almost fully sat up, pushing with all her might. Mark let out a delighted yell and hugged her tight as she tried to collapse back onto the bed.

“We have a baby. We’re a family!”

“What is it?” Chelsie huffed, exhausted.

“It’s a girl, honey, a beautiful baby girl.”

Chelsie smiled weakly. “Let me see her.” After she had come to terms with the fact that she would be a mother, she had hoped she would have a little girl that she could spoil. A pretty little girl that she could dress in beautiful clothes and fancy shoes. Her daughter, with cascading blonde hair that she could brush into waves of endless curls. “I want to see our little girl.”

Mark waited for the nurse to wrap the baby in a blanket before she placed his daughter in his arms. He twisted and awkwardly held the infant closer to Chelsie’s face. She folded the swaddling blankets back and tried to hide her disappointment as she took in the infant’s mess of black hair and the almond shaped brown eyes of her father.

“Oh, she looks like you.”