9 Weeks Along
Austin's POV
Ally and I were sitting at the kitchen table playing a game of UNO while Kins took her nap on the sofa.
Ally sneakily laid down a 'draw four' card and I growled under my breath, "Alls please, stop doing that!"
She giggled at my irritation and looked over at me, "Oh, can a grown man not take a simple little card game?"
"Okay, okay." I vented, picking up the four extra cards from the stack.
A sly smile flashes across Ally's face and she frantically begins laying down cards, "Skip you! Reverse! Skip you again! Uno!"
I looked down at my handful of cards; I was practically holding the entire deck. "Ally, you know I'm not going to win."
"I know!" She said, proud of herself.
I slowly put down a blue four, and she placed a red four right on top of it. "I win!" She cheered.
"Like always." I whined.
She laughed again and stood up. "Well I'm going to get something to drink, do you want anything?"
"Hmm, let me look." I said standing up with her.
We walked over to the refrigerator and began rummaging through it together. "Oooh, how about some apple juice?" Ally asks.
"Yeah, that'll be good." I tell her as she gets it out.
I step back and watch my wife as she reaches into the cabinet above the stove to get out some glasses. Today she was wearing her grey Star Wars tee shirt, and it was noticeably becoming tighter on her.
I walked up behind her as she poured our drinks and placed my hands on her small, swollen abdomen. "You know, you're starting to show Alls." I tell her, resting my head on her shoulder.
"Yeah, I've noticed." She says. She stops pouring the juice and covers my hands with hers.
"I wonder if it's going to be a big baby." I ponder.
"I hope not." She replies.
I chuckle and Ally turns around, "Not funny Austin."
I quickly compose myself and look down at her. "I'm sorry." I say, followed by a kiss on her cheek as I pick up the juice.
As I'm putting it back into the refrigerator, a bolt of lightning strikes outside. A couple of seconds later it's followed by thunder, and I look over at Ally to see her hand tighten around her cup.
One thing many people don't know about Ally is her fear of thunderstorms. We rarely get them here in Miami, but when we do, Ally is always terrified.
"Come here." I say, opening my arms.
She quickly walks over into my embrace. "A thunderstorm in January. Wow." She nervously says, taking a sip of her drink.
"Let's go the living room and sit down with Kins." I tell her.
Ally nods her head and we walk into the living room to see Kinsley still fast asleep. I take a seat on the opposite end of the couch, and Ally sits down in my lap.
Another round of thunder makes it's way through our walls, and Ally curls up her legs as she presses herself against me.
I wrap my arms around her, trying to calm her. "Alls, it's okay. It'll pass in no time."
"Hopefully."She murmurs.
We sit in silence for a couple of moments, quietly listening to the rainfall. Ally is about to fall asleep when another streak of lightning causes her to jump in my arms.
Not only did this startle Ally, but Kinsley began to whimper in her sleep. I reached over and picked her up, placing her in my and Ally's lap. "Shhh, it's okay baby. Daddy and Momma have you." I tell her, rubbing my hand over her soft hair. She eventually begins to quiet down and falls back to sleep.
"Austin?" Ally whispers.
"Yeah sweetie?"
"I need to use the bathroom."
"Okay." I tell her.
I gently pick Kinsley up and rest her head on my shoulder, and I walk Ally to the bathroom.
I await outside the door and sway with my baby girl in my arms as the storm rages on outside. "Kins, it's getting pretty rough outside. I hope Uncle Dez and Aunt Trish are okay." I slip my phone out of my back pocket and send them a quick text. Storm's getting pretty rough. Or you guys okay?
After I put my phone back in my pocket, Ally comes out. "Want to go lay down honey? I need to put Kins somewhere to sleep."
"Yeah, we can put her in bed with us." She says, looping her arm around my left one as we go upstairs to our bedroom.
Ally's POV
Austin and I lay down on our bed, placing Kinsley in between us. He had one arm wrapped under both of us, and I had my head rested on his forearm. I hear a roll of thunder outside our window and couldn't help but jump.
Austin reaches over with his arm and strokes mine, "Alls, it's okay baby."
"I'm sorry Austin; I'm so childish when it comes to thunderstorms."
"I understand. If I had went through that hurricane with you, I'd be scared too." He says, stretching over and giving me a sweet forehead kiss.
A smile comes to my face as I hear the wind blow stronger against the side of our house, "Thanks Austy."
"You know, it's kind of ironic Alls."
"What is?"
"Well, I used to be afraid of umbrellas." He says with a chuckle.
"And now you're my umbrella, protecting me from the storm."
"How did I end up with such a poetic wife?" He asks.
"And how did I end up with such a caring husband." I reply.
He smiles and looks at me in our darkened room, "I love you Alls."
"I love you too baby."
And after that, I somehow found a sense of calm and drifted off to sleep as my umbrella protected me and our daughter.
