The next morning, Gabriella got out of bed and walked into the living room. She turned on the television and put her prenatal yoga DVD into the DVD player and started her morning yoga session. Fifteen minutes later, Troy walked into the kitchen but stopped and walked back to the living room and smiled when he saw Gabriella doing yoga. He then walked into the kitchen. An hour later, Gabriella walked into the kitchen and smiled when she saw Troy sitting and reading something on his laptop. She walked over to him and kissed his cheek.
"Morning baby" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled.
"Good morning sweetheart. You are in a good mood. Maybe doing yoga is allowing you to finally relax" Troy said.
"Maybe. What are we going to do today?" Gabriella asked.
"Relax around the house. That's the whole reason we wanted to move your maternity leave up wasn't it?" Troy said.
"Yeah, but I think the yoga is helping. I just have to remember to do it every morning" Gabriella said.
"Set a reminder on your phone" Troy suggested.
"I will. But seriously, are we going to stay in the house all day?" Gabriella asked.
"Yes. If we were allowed to leave the house, I would be at work and so would you" Troy said.
Gabriella sighed.
"I know you want to go out Brie. But, we need to get your stress level down to like zero" Troy said.
"Can we at least start figuring out how we are going to set up his room?" Gabriella asked.
"We can do that if you want" Troy said.
"But that requires us to leave the house" Gabriella said.
"We can figure out how to set his room up here. Some other time, when your stress level is lower, we can go out and look at furniture and all of that stuff" Troy said.
"Okay" Gabriella said in defeat.
Troy kissed Gabriella's lips softly.
"I'm just trying to keep both of you safe Brie, that's all" Troy said.
"I know" Gabriella said.
"Still love me?" Troy asked.
"I guess I will keep you" Gabriella joked.
Troy laughed. The couple sat at the table and figured out how they were going to set up their son's room. A couple hours later, the phone rang. Troy picked it up.
"Hello?" Troy answered.
"Hi Troy, how are you?" Maria asked her son-in-law.
"Hi Maria, I'm fine. How are you?" Troy asked.
"I'm okay. Busy with work but I finally got some free time and thought that I would call and catch up" Maria said.
"Oh. Do you want to talk to Gabriella?" Troy asked.
"If she's available" Maria said.
"Hold on a sec. Babe, your mom is on the phone" Troy said.
Gabriella walked into the room and took the phone from her husband.
"Hi mom" Gabriella said.
"Hi honey, how are you feeling?" Maria asked.
"A little stressed out. I was in the hospital yesterday" Gabriella said.
"Why didn't you call me and tell me?" Maria asked.
"Why would I call and tell you mom? You are across the country" Gabriella said.
Troy looked at Gabriella, confused of why she was angry at her mother. But then it had clicked. Maria hadn't called to talk to Gabriella since she left for New York.
"Gabi, I want to know things like that. Even though I moved, it doesn't change the fact that I'm your mom" Maria said.
"A mom wouldn't leave her only child with no family around her when she's pregnant" Gabriella said.
"You have Troy's family there for support" Maria said.
Gabriella closed her eyes and sighed.
"You know what, I can't talk to you right now" Gabriella said.
Gabriella handed the phone back to Troy.
"Talk to her please. I'm going to go lie down" Gabriella said.
"Alright baby" Troy said taking the phone.
Gabriella left the room. Troy talked to Maria and hung up a couple minutes later. He put the phone down and walked upstairs to the bedroom.
"Brie, do you want to talk about it?" Troy asked as he looked at his wife, who was lying on the bed.
"She doesn't think she did anything wrong. She said that I have your family here, which I do and I love them to death. But it doesn't change the fact that I want her here" Gabriella explained.
Troy nodded.
"It sucks knowing that she won't be here" Gabriella said.
"I know sweetheart. I know how much you want her here" Troy said.
Gabriella sighed.
"She hasn't even called since she left" Gabriella said.
Troy nodded. He leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips softly.
"Get some rest okay? Don't let this phone call ruin your day" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded.
"I love you" Gabriella said.
"I love you too" Troy said.
Gabriella fell asleep. Troy walked downstairs and picked up his phone and called his mother.
"Hello?" Lucile answered.
"Hi mama" Troy said.
"Hi Troy, how's everything?" Lucille asked.
"Maria just called and talked to Brie" Troy said.
"How did that go?" Lucille asked.
"She's upset" Troy said.
"What did Maria say?" Lucille asked.
"She was trying to catch up and it set Gabriella off. Brie got upset about her not calling and it just wasn't good" Troy said.
"Is she okay?" Lucille asked.
"She's sleeping now. Her OB wants her to limit her stress level and this probably made it skyrocket" Troy said.
"Why don't you guys come over for dinner? We want to see you guys and Gabi doesn't have to cook and be on her feet" Lucille said.
"Alright. I'll ask her when she wakes up" Troy said
Troy and Lucille talked for a little while longer until they both hung up. An hour later, Gabriella came into the living room, where Troy was sitting and watching television. He looked up and smiled.
"Did you have a nice nap?" Troy asked.
"Yeah" Gabriella said sitting down next to her husband and wrapping her arms around his waist and placing her head on his chest.
"I talked to my mom and she wanted to know if we wanted to come over for dinner" Troy said placing a hand on Gabriella's bump.
"I'll go" Gabriella said.
"Are you sure baby? I can tell her no if you are still upset" Troy said.
Gabriella smiled. She leaned in and kissed Troy's lips.
"I'm fine. I promise" Gabriella said.
"Okay" Troy said.
Troy rubbed Gabriella's stomach in soothing circles. He felt a kick come in contact with his hand. Troy's eyes widened.
"Did you feel that?" Troy asked.
"No, what's wrong?" Gabriella asked.
"He kicked for the first time" Troy said.
Gabriella smiled.
"Really?" Gabriella asked.
"Put your hand right here" Troy said.
Troy took Gabriella's hand and placed it on the spot where their son kicked him. Gabriella felt a small kick come in contact with her hand.
"Oh my god. He's kicking" Gabriella said as tears filled her eyes.
Troy smiled and nodded. He kissed Gabriella's lips softly and then her bump.
"Hi buddy, It's daddy. I love you and I can't wait for you to come out" Troy said.
Gabriella smiled.
"Now, it feels real" Gabriella said.
Troy nodded.
"See, if you had been at work and he kicked, you would have wanted to come home anyway" Troy said.
Gabriella looked at Troy annoyed.
"Don't start" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled. A couple weeks later, Gabriella was up late. The baby had been kicking and it didn't allow her to sleep. She was watching television in the living room, rubbing her bump in soothing circles, trying to get her son to calm down.
"Come on baby, mommy needs to get some sleep" Gabriella mumbled.
Gabriella heard footsteps and turned around and saw Troy walking into the room with a worried look on his face.
"Why are you up so late baby?" Troy asked sitting next to his wife on the couch.
"He's kicking and I couldn't sleep" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled. He put his hand on Gabriella's stomach.
"He's just trying to say hi" Troy said.
Gabriella smiled.
"I'm so tired. Why won't he let me sleep?" Gabriella asked.
Troy kissed Gabriella's stomach softly.
"Hey bud, let your mom sleep. She's really tired" Troy said talking to Gabriella's stomach.
Gabriella closed her eyes and sighed. She continued to rub her stomach in small soothing circles.
"Come on sweetheart. Come back to bed" Troy said.
Gabriella opened her eyes slowly. Troy stood up and offered his hands to Gabriella. Gabriella took her husband's hands and he helped her stand up. The couple walked back to the bedroom and got into bed. The next morning, Troy woke up and saw that Gabriella was still asleep. He smiled and got out of bed quietly, careful not to disturb his pregnant wife from her much needed sleep. At around two o' clock, Gabriella woke up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She looked at the clock and her eyes widened when she saw what time it was. Gabriella got out of bed and walked into the living room and saw Troy and Chad talking in the living room.
"Hey beautiful. How did you sleep?" Troy asked as he helped Gabriella sit down.
"Good. He finally settled down and allowed me to sleep" Gabriella said putting her hand on her bump.
"Tay sent Chad over here to check on you" Troy said.
Gabriella giggled.
"She told me that she wanted a full report" Chad said.
"I'm okay. Just tired" Gabriella said.
"He's been kicking all night" Troy said.
"Sounds like you have a soccer player in there" Chad said.
Gabriella smiled.
"Maybe" Gabriella said.
"Are you still tired baby?" Troy asked.
"A little" Gabriella said putting her hand on her bump.
Troy put his hand on Gabriella's bump and felt their son kick his hand. He smiled.
"Are you getting excited to be a mom Gabs?" Chad asked.
"Yeah, I can't wait to see him for the first time" Gabriella said.
"Me too" Troy said.
"When are you due?" Chad asked.
"September fourteenth" Gabriella said.
Chad smiled.
"Are you taking time off when he comes?" Chad asked his best friend.
"Yeah. I get a month off after he comes" Troy said.
"How long do you have for maternity leave?" Chad asked looking at Gabriella.
"I am going to take a month off after he comes too. But, when I go back to work, I was hoping Lucille could watch him" Gabriella said looking at her husband.
"She would love to watch him. I am sure of it" Troy said.
Gabriella smiled.
"Is Maria going to come down for the birth?" Chad asked.
Gabriella looked down and sighed. Troy shook his head.
"No, she has work" Troy said.
"I'm sorry Gabi" Chad said putting his hand on her shoulder.
"It's okay. I have Troy and Lucille that are going to be with me" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled. He knew that Gabriella was trying to be strong and not think about Maria not being able to attend to the birth.
"Well, I know you are going to be taken care of" Chad said.
The couple and Chad talked for a little while longer. That night, Gabriella walked downstairs after taking a bath and went into the living room and sat next to Troy.
"How was your bath?" Troy asked.
"Relaxing" Gabriella said.
"You know, you don't have to put on a brave face about your mom not being here Brie" Troy said talking about the conversation that occurred earlier.
"If I don't put on a brave face, I won't stop crying" Gabriella mumbled.
Troy kissed Gabriella's lips softly. Gabriella kissed him back. She put her hand on the bottom of Troy's shirt and pulled away. Troy looked at his wife and smiled.
"Is it safe? I need you right now" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled. He leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips softly, but passionately. Troy pulled away and nodded.
"It's safe, but we have to be careful. Are you sure you want to do this?" Troy asked.
Gabriella nodded. Troy stood up and took Gabriella's hands in his and helped her stand up. The couple walked upstairs. Clothes were discarded and they made love throughout the night. The next morning, Gabriella woke up and smiled. She snuggled into Troy's chest and kissed his neck softly. Troy's eyes fluttered open. He kissed Gabriella's swollen lips softly.
"I love you" Troy said.
"I love you too" Gabriella said.
"How are you feeling?" Troy asked.
"Fine" Gabriella said.
"Is he kicking like crazy in there?" Troy asked.
Gabriella nodded.
"I think he likes hearing your voice" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled. He placed his hand on Gabriella's bare stomach and felt his son kick his hand.
"Hi bud" Troy said kissing Gabriella's stomach.
Gabriella smiled.
"I can't believe that in two months he will be here" Troy said.
"I know. Did you pick out names for him?" Gabriella asked.
"Yeah, did you?" Troy asked.
"Yeah, can we put his name together today?" Gabriella asked.
"We can do that" Troy said.
An hour later, the couple was sitting up in bed talking about their son's name.
"Okay, so it's between Joshua Alexander and Benjamin Thomas" Troy concluded.
"Which one do you like the most?" Gabriella asked.
"I like Joshua Alexander. It has a nice ring to it" Troy said.
"I like it too. So is that going to be our son's name?" Gabriella asked.
"I guess it is. We can cross that off our list" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded.
"Are we going to tell everyone his name now or wait until he's born?" Gabriella asked.
"I think we should wait until he's born" Troy said.
"Then let's wait" Gabriella said.
Troy nodded. That afternoon, Gabriella had just finished her yoga session. She walked into the kitchen and sighed. Troy walked into the kitchen and saw Gabriella rubbing her stomach in soothing circles.
"How was yoga?" Troy asked.
"Tiring. I can't touch my toes anymore" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled.
"He's definitely a Bolton. We never stop growing" Troy said.
"Yeah, I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow at eleven. She's going to talk to us about the birth and all of that stuff" Gabriella said.
Troy nodded.
"Alright. Are you getting nervous about it?" Troy asked.
"Yeah, I know it's going to be painful" Gabriella said.
"You can always get an epidural babe" Troy said.
"I know, I am not scared of labor. I more scared of-" Gabriella started.
"Pushing him out" Troy finished.
Gabriella nodded. Troy smiled slightly. He took Gabriella's hand and led her into the living room and sat down on the couch.
"Talk to me about what you are scared of" Troy said.
"I'm scared of what you just said" Gabriella said.
"I am going to be there and so is mom. I know you are scared baby. Dr. Hart is going to make you feel as comfortable as you can get" Troy said.
"I am just scared of the pain that is going to come from it" Gabriella said.
"Don't think about the pain. Think about Josh and seeing his face for the first time. That will distract you from the pain" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded.
"I will be in labor for hours since it's our first child" Gabriella said.
Troy nodded.
"Yeah, but you can sleep, walk around, talk on the phone, and do a lot of other things that can keep you busy" Troy said.
"Well, I know contractions are painful so I know what to expect with labor" Gabriella said.
"False labor contractions are different than real ones" Troy said.
Gabriella shrugged. The rest of the day, the couple relaxed around the house. They couldn't wait to meet Josh in two months.