A/N: Don't think I have much to say, if I do then I've forgotten.
Oh well.
I'm kinda fed up, hence why I'm updating.
Anyway,
Enjoy x
DISCLAIMER: Ally Carter owns the Gallagher Girls series, etc.
***2 MONTHS LATER: LABOR DAY***
It was Labor Day. Preston had gotten home late the previous night, as he had taken a few days leave and Macey had the day off too. It was only 8am, and Macey was already awake. She wrapped her cardigan around her, slipped out of the bedroom and went and sat on the sofa. She hadn't slept properly for a few weeks now. Instead of disturbing Preston, she decided to call Cammie. So she pulled her phone of out her pocket and dialed the number. Cammie picked up almost immediately.
"Hey Macey." She said sleepily.
"Hey, did I wake you?"
"No, no I just got up. But you didn't wake me. You okay?"
"No, not really."
"What's up?"
"Oh it's nothing major..."
"Which means that it's a big problem. Talk."
"Preston got in last night, he took a few days leave."
"That's not the whole story though. Come on Mace, I'm not a mind reader."
"I need to tell him something, but I don't know if I should."
"What'd you need to tell him?"
"I'm 8 weeks pregnant, Cammie."
"Oh God, Macey. When did you find out?"
"A few weeks ago."
"Look, you're not gonna like what I have to say but I'm gonna say it anyway."
"Go on."
"You really do have to tell him."
"Thanks for that Captain Obvious. I don't even want the baby."
"Yeah you do. You're just trying to convince yourself that you don't because then if Preston agrees it'll be easier for you to deal with having an abortion. Right?"
"I suppose you're right."
"I normally am." Cammie laughed a little, and Macey could practically hear her smirking through the phone. "Listen, Mace. I've gotta go but you really do need to tell him okay?"
"Okay."
"Call me when you've spoken to him."
"I will, thank you Cam."
"Talk later."
"Bye."
As she slid her phone back into the pocket of her cardigan, Macey heard footsteps approaching. She turned around to see Preston walking towards the couch.
"Hey." She said, smiling slightly.
"Hey yourself." He said, sitting down next to her.
"You alright?"
"Yeah, just a little tired. Are you okay? You look quite pale."
"Well...Erm...Not really.."
"What's up? Talk to me."
She sighed deeply. "I didn't want to tell you. I don't want to tell you..."
"Macey. What is it?"
"I'm pregnant." She blurted. And as soon as she had said it, she wanted to take the words back. The pair of them sat in silence which lasted for nearly 5 minutes.
"How far along?" Preston asked, breaking the tension between them.
"About 2 months."
"How are you feeling about it?"
"I don't want it."
"Macey..."
"No. Let me finish. I don't want the baby, because I don't want to go through what's happened before. I can't deal with that again."
"It might be different."
"You said that last time."
"Well I'm sorry I'm not psychic. You're not even willing to chance it."
"Oh right, so you want me to take a chance and hope that the baby won't die."
"Yes! You can't just decide that you want an abortion before you even try."
"Before I try? Seriously? Do you not think I tried the past two times when I lost both babies? Do you think I wanted to miscarry twice? Or are you just plain stupid?"
"Yeah, sure I'm the stupid one."
"So because I'd rather not put myself through hell for a third time, I'm stupid. Well thank you for finally giving me an honest opinion!"
"Don't give me that crap Macey."
"I don't know why you're getting so worked up about all of this anyway."
"Maybe because it's my kid too. You can't just think about yourself."
"Oh, sorry. Did you want me to transfer the fetus to your womb? No? That's right because you don't have one."
"You can't play the 'I have a womb' card Macey, it's just as much my child as it is yours."
"Yes but you can't die from pregnancy. I can."
"So that's it? You don't want the baby so you're not having the baby?"
"It's not that I don't want the baby. You know that I want kids. I...I just..."
"Just what, Macey?"
"I don't want to be responsible for killing another child." She sighed, turning away from him.
"Macey. Listen. You didn't kill anyone. Those miscarriages, they weren't your fault. We can get help this time, extra scans and regular blood tests."
"That stuff costs a fortune." she muttered.
"Look around, Macey. We have a fortune. We really can do this."
"I can't do it if you're not gonna be here. If you're 6000 miles away then what am I gonna do if something happens?"
"I can get a transfer back into America. Hell, I could even get thrown out."
"Preston, you won't be able to get kicked out of the army. It's not boarding school and you're not 14 year old me."
"I'll do it. Or I can continue my term but just take leave when you need me here. I'll find a way to be here, I have before. And when I'm not, we can Skype and FaceTime. I might not be able to actually be here, but we'll sort this. And besides, my enlistment was only 2 years to start with, and that ends in July. Everything's gonna be fine, we're going to do this."
"I don't get how you can be so optimistic."
"Someone has to be, and by the looks of things it's not gonna be you. Just stop stressing, if that's even possible."
Macey sighed. She was terrified. All of the odds were against her, and she knew it. They both did. But despite everything that they had gone through, and everything that was yet to come, Macey and Preston were determined that they would get this right. They would do everything that they could in order to bring this child into the world. And although they knew it could end in tears, and that it may not go completely to plan, they owed it to themselves to try.
"Preston, where the hell are you?"
"I'm literally two blocks away, what's wrong?"
"I think my water just broke."
"Shit, where are you?"
"At this precise moment in time, i'm sitting on the bathroom floor in a lot of pain because my contractions are every 5 minutes."
"I'll call the hospital, let them know that we're on our way."
"Whatever, just get your ass home already." She yelled and put the phone down.
Just under 5 minutes later, Preston burst through the front door. Macey was still sat on the bathroom floor with her head resting on the side of the bathtub. Preston shut the front door and walked into the bathroom.
"You took your time." Macey snapped.
"I got here as fast as I could."
"There's a bag with some clothes and stuff in under the bed, can you get it please?" She asked as she began to try and stand up.
"You need some help?" Preston asked.
"I'm going into labor, not dying. I can stand up by myself, but thanks." She said, walking out of the bathroom and waiting by the front door whilst Preston got her bag from the bedroom.
"You ready?" He asked, walking out of the bedroom.
"Yeah. I think so."
"Let's go then." He said, opening the door for her and walking out to the car.
When they were driving towards the hospital, Macey asked "So you called the hospital, right?"
"Yes Mace."
"And they definitely know that we're coming?"
"Listen Macey, I know that you're worried. But you've gotta stop stressing. It's not doing anyone any good, especially not the baby. You've done so well so far, this is it. Just focus on what you've already done, and it doesn't seem so bad."
Neither of them spoke again until they got to the hospital. They pulled into the parking lot, got out of the car and walked into the hospital. From then, it was difficult for Macey to process what was going on. To her,it seemed like she was watching her life through a TV screen. Like she wasn't really there. It all seemed so unreal however it was anything but.
On June 10th at 1:44 am, Macey gave birth to a somewhat healthy baby girl. At 1:52, Macey, Preston and their newborn baby were all fast asleep.
"Macey. Mace, honey wake up." Preston said, trying to wake her up gently.
She stirred, and opened her eyes slightly but then sat up in a panic. "What? What is it? Is she okay?"
"She's absolutely fine, calm down." He said, looking over at the sleeping baby.
"Why did you wake me then?" Macey said, in a slightly annoyed tone of voice.
"We have visitors." Preston exclaimed. Then Cammie, Zach and the others walked in, as if on cue.
"Hey!" Cammie said, rushing over to Macey's side.
"Shhhh. She's sleeping." Macey hushed, gesturing to the hospital bassinet where the little girl was fast asleep.
"Oh my god, she's gorgeous." Liz squealed quietly.
"Well with those two for parents, do you really expect anything less?" Bex asked, laughing to herself a little.
"She looks tiny, how much does she weigh?" Jonas asked
"5 pounds. She's 5 ounces under the average, so we've got to keep a close eye on her to make sure that there aren't any health problems. The doctors said that it was probably down to the amount that I ate when I was carrying her, which wasn't very much." Macey explained.
"Or they said that it could've been stress." Preston added.
"Well yeah, but that was a bit obvious. Having a husband who's fighting overseas kinda causes you to worry a little more than usual."
"But she's okay though?" Zach asked, looking at Preston.
"She's healthy, and she's alive. So yeah, she's okay."
"We keep saying 'she'. Does she have a name?" Grant questioned.
"Not yet." Preston and Macey said simultaneously.
"We have ideas." Preston continued.
"But we didn't actually have time to name her." Macey finished. "Not yet anyways."
"You look tired." Preston whispered, looking over at Macey.
"I am."
"Well we just came by to check up on y'all, so we'll let you get some rest. We know what you're like when you don't get enough sleep." Bex smiled, and hugged Macey.
"Thank you for coming." Macey smiled back as Bex, Liz, Grant and Jonas walked out.
"We'll catch up." Cammie called out as the door shut. "Can I talk to Macey real quick? Is that okay?" she asked.
"Yeah sure, we'll talk outside." Zach said as he and Preston walked out of the room too.
Macey moved over in the bed slightly and Cammie sat down on the edge. "You okay?" Macey asked her.
"Me? Yeah, I'm fine. I should be asking that to you!"
"I'm okay. I'm so exhausted, but it was worth it." She smiled, looking over at the baby.
"She really is beautiful. And I'm so proud of you Mace. You were so scared, you didn't even want to tell Preston. But just look what you've done. You've given birth to the most adorable baby I have ever seen, and you're gonna raise her to be as amazing as her parents."
"Cam, stop. Seriously you will make me cry."
"Okay! Okay! I just...I'm really happy for you. It's good to see you in such a good mood, even if you are exhausted."
"Thank you." Macey smiled and pulled Cammie into a hug. "You've been so supportive. I really thought this was gonna be a lot more difficult. What with Preston not being around, and this being my third pregnancy. But you've helped me so much. You've been there for me every step of this, and I know that I couldn't have done it without you."
"Now you're gonna make me cry." Cammie laughed a little.
"But I'm serious!"
"I know. But hey, what are friends for?" She smiled and stood up, just as Preston and Zach walked back into the room.
"Damn, I think we missed sappy-girly-talk-time again Preston!" Zach said sarcastically and Preston laughed.
"I may have only given birth 10 hours ago but I will still get up and kick your ass if I need to Goode." Macey said.
"Yeah, don't mess with hormonal Macey." Cammie said, laughing as she and Zach got ready to leave.
"Damn right" Macey called out as Cammie and Zach were leaving.
Two minutes later, all was quiet. Preston sat down in the chair opposite the bed where Macey was still resting.
"She's been so quiet, is she alright?" Macey asked, gesturing to the bassinet. Just as she said it, the baby started to stir and within a minute she was wide awake and crying.
"You jinxed it." Preston said, picking the baby up and gently rocking her back and forth to calm her. Almost immediately, she had stopped crying and instead was staring intently at Preston.
"You're so good with her." Macey smiled, but then the baby started to cry again.
"And you jinxed it again."
"Bring her here, she might need feeding." She said, and Preston handed her to Macey.
The second that she was in Macey's arms, the little girl stopped crying.
"I think she just wanted her mother." Preston smiled and sat back in the chair. "Oh, and I think we should talk names again."
"We liked Isabella, right?"
"Isabella Winters... I like it. It suits her."
"Yeah...I think so too."
"Did you decide on a middle name?"
"What did we narrow it down to?"
"Amelia, or Abigail. I think Abigail fits better."
"I know. But Abby is gonna think that it's a personal shout-out to her."
"You mean to tell me it isn't?"
"It fits well."
"So that's that then?"
"I think so."
"Well, welcome to the world then Isabella Abigail Winters."
Sorry for spelling mistakes, grammar mistakes or typos.
Thank you for reading :) x
