I don't own Nashville and never will. No copyright infringement intended.
Juliette sighed and tried to fight off the latest wave of nausea, determined to finish this last song on her newest album. Then she could go home and crawl into her bed (or stay in the bathroom until this passed, she didn't care) for the entire weekend. As soon as she finished – and the crew said the song was okay – Juliette bolted towards the bathroom. When she came out of the stall, Rayna was waiting for her. "Hi! I'm fine," she lied.
Rayna gave her a pointed look. "You need to go home and relax."
"I'm planning on doing exactly that." She tried to smile, but it came out more of a grimace.
Rayna smiled knowingly at Juliette. "So, how far along are you?"
Juliette sputtered as she tried to form a response. "What are you … I'm not… How did you figure it out?" She hadn't told anybody yet, especially since she had only found out two days earlier.
"Because I've been pregnant twice and know all the signs. Do you know how far along are you?" Rayna was excited for her friend.
She nodded. "The doctor said I'm about six weeks, which makes sense." She and Avery had freaked out when the condom broke, but since she was on birth control, they figured they'd be fine. How wrong they were.
"Well, congratulations! How'd Avery take it?"
Juliette laughed nervously. "I haven't exactly told him yet."
"Juliette!"
"I know, but what if he doesn't want the baby?" Juliette was terrified of that. This wasn't planned and she had briefly considered abortion, but this kid was part her and part Avery. She actually wanted it, the result of a relationship with a man she loved. But what if he didn't feel the same way? They had only been dating for ten months and this was a lot to dump in his lap.
Rayna scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Have you seen that boy around you? He's so in love with you most of us can't stand it. Avery's going to want this baby so stop stalling and tell him. Don't be scared and fuck this up like you always do."
As always, Rayna could see right through her. "I don't even know if I'm going to be a good mom. I didn't exactly have the best role model and I don't know what to do with a baby. What if I screw this kid up and they hate me?" Juliette had so many fears she couldn't stand them. Her life hadn't exactly been the greatest and Avery was the best thing to happen to her. He meant more to her than any of the men she had been with before me.
"Every parent worries about this kind of thing," Rayna assured her. She patted Juliette on the shoulder. "But you will screw it up at some point – that's inevitable. And if you ever have any questions, please come to me. I'll help you out any way I can."
A tear slid down Juliette's cheek and she wiped it away. "Thanks, Rayna. That really means a lot to me." She had a feeling she'd be asking Rayna a lot of questions during this pregnancy (and afterwards, too).
"You're welcome. Now go home and tell Avery he's going to be a daddy. Congratulations again." Rayna grinned and hugged her then escorted Juliette out of the bathroom.
As soon as Juliette got home, she was greeted by her boyfriend. "Hi."
"Hey you. How did today go?" He would have loved to gone with her, but had got caught up in other commitments.
"Great." She struggled to form the words that had wanted to come out of her mouth for the past week, but it wasn't happening.
Avery knew something was up with his girlfriend, but he didn't know what. He had been worried about her for a while. "Are you okay? You don't look so great, baby."
Juliette hated sometimes that he could see right through her. "Yeah, of course. Although it depends on how you take this."
He cocked his head curiously. "What?"
"Sit down," she encouraged, stalling just a little bit longer. Juliette knew she needed to tell him about her pregnancy (and fuck, there was a little life literally growing inside of her) but she didn't know how to say it.
Suddenly nervous, Avery sat down and waited for her to start talking. "Whatever is it, you can tell me."
Juliette sat down next to him. "I know we haven't even been together that long and this wasn't planned, but it's exciting. At least I hope it is. Guess it depends on how you feel. Well, guess what? You're going to be a daddy, Avery. You knocked me up!" Done rambling, she closed her eyes in anticipation.
Avery gasped. "You're pregnant?"
She nervously and reluctantly opened her eyes, fearful of the look she'd see on his face. "Yes."
"Oh my God, Juliette." Avery kissed her. "I love you."
"I love you too. So you're happy about this?" Juliette just had to make sure they were on the same page.
"Of course I'm happy – the woman I love is having my baby. And I'm scared shitless, but I'm guessing you are too."
She nodded. "Why do you think I kept stalling? I don't know if I'll be a good momma, but I want to try to be."
"We're both delving into this with no idea of what we're doing but we'll figure it out. And sure, we haven't even been dating for a year yet, but that's all right. You're the woman I want to be with and nothing will ever change that."
"Damn it, don't make me cry!" But she laughed and put her arms around him.
"Sorry." Avery would probably freak out a lot later, but she suspected Juliette would too (hell, she still was).
"Morning sickness sucks," Juliette murmured. The nausea had finally faded, but it'd back with a vengeance soon.
"I bet it does. You need me to get anything for you? I'll run to the store and grab some crackers and ginger ale." Avery had already promised himself that he'd do anything Juliette asked of him.
She shook her head. "Thank you, but no. I may change my mind later, just so you know."
"Duly noted. Baby, this is going to be amazing." Underneath the fear, there was anticipation of the thought of meeting their child.
"I hope so." Juliette put her feet in his lap and took a deep breath to calm herself down. Now that Avery knew, she wasn't as stressed out and worried about being pregnant. She couldn't wait to see him as a dad.
Avery leaned down to Juliette's stomach. She rolled her eyes, but laughed when he started talking. "I love you already, Baby Barnes-Barkley. Be good to your momma."
"That was sweet," she murmured (and successfully didn't tear up, despite the fact that she wanted to) as he kissed her stomach and then her.
The best things in life were unplanned – like their friendship, relationship, and even this baby.
Avery was a very supportive partner to Juliette and he surprised her when he proposed on their first anniversary. She accepted after making sure that he didn't want to marry her just because of the baby. Their fans were thrilled for the couple, something that surprised Juliette after the disaster her career temporarily turned into before. And she also went to Rayna for help when she needed it, bonding the women closer together. In fact, Rayna even ended up godmother when Juliette had the baby and was maid-of-honor when Juliette and Avery married two months later.