A couple days later, Troy walked into the obstetrics office and smiled at Nicole, who was making sure all of the patient's files were up to date.
"Troy, she's in room five" Nicole said.
"Thanks" Troy said.
Troy walked to room five and knocked on the door. When he heard Gabriella's voice, Troy walked into the exam room.
"Hi baby" Troy said kissing her lips.
"Hi" Gabriella said.
"How are you feeling?" Troy asked.
"Fine. I started packing and making sure that I had everything" Gabriella said.
"You're not lifting the suitcase right?" Troy asked.
Gabriella shook her head.
"Good. Let me do that" Troy said.
There was a knock on the door and Dr. Fields came into the room.
"Hi guys" Dr. Fields said.
"Hi" the couple said simultaneously.
"How are you feeling Gabi?" Dr. Fields asked as she washed her hands.
"Tired and a little achy" Gabriella said.
Dr. Fields nodded.
"You are two months away. Are you getting excited?" Dr. Fields asked.
Gabriella smiled and nodded.
"How's the pain situation?" Dr. Fields asked.
"It's on and off" Gabriella said.
"Good. Baby still kicking?" Dr. Fields asked as she wrote notes in Gabriella's file.
"Yeah. Mostly at night" Gabriella said.
"Okay. I know that you came in and talked to me about it already, but do you have any more questions?" Dr. Fields asked.
Gabriella looked at Troy, who smiled at her.
"The birth itself. On a scale of one to ten. How bad is the pain?" Gabriella asked.
Troy smiled.
"Depends" Dr. Fields said.
Gabriella nodded.
"I can't say it will be excruciating or that you feel nothing. It will depend on your pain tolerance" Dr. Fields said.
The couple nodded.
"As far as maternity leave, when would be an ideal time to start that?" Troy asked.
"Probably when she's about to hit nine months. Maybe sooner. We just have to monitor everything and if it looks good, we can extend it" Dr. Fields said.
Troy nodded.
"I know that for you, it's when the baby comes" Dr. Fields said.
"Yeah. I talked to the chief and he told me that too" Troy said.
The couple and Dr. Fields talked for a little while longer. Dr. Fields did an ultrasound and exam and told the couple to contact her if they had any questions. The couple walked out of the office.
"He's healthy, that's what matters" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded.
"I guess I should start talking to the newspaper advisors about maternity leave" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled.
"And your professors" Troy added.
Gabriella nodded.
"At least we can go on vacation and just relax for a little bit" Gabriella said.
Troy nodded.
"Are you all packed?" Troy asked.
"Yeah. I just need to add my vitamins and that's it" Gabriella said.
Troy nodded. That night, Troy was watching television in the bedroom. Gabriella came into the room with one hand on her back and one hand on her bump.
"My back hurts" Gabriella said.
"Come here" Troy said.
Gabriella went over to the bed and sat down. Troy carefully started to massage Gabriella's back.
"It's never hurt this bad before" Gabriella said.
"He's getting bigger and there is more weight to carry" Troy said.
Gabriella moaned.
"Sorry sweetie. Am I rubbing too hard?" Troy asked.
"No. It just aches" Gabriella said.
"Just relax. Do you want to try to take a bath?" Troy asked.
Gabriella nodded.
"Okay. Come on, I'll help you" Troy said.
Troy got up and walked over to Gabriella's side of the bed and helped her to a standing position.
"I hope he's not like this the entire week" Gabriella said.
"Baby, you are seven months pregnant. It's going to be a little uncomfortable, yes. But we just have to make you as comfortable as you can get" Troy said.
Gabriella looked down at her bump.
"Come on. I'll help you" Troy said taking her hand.
Gabriella followed Troy into the bathroom. The next day, the couple just got onto the plane and took their seats. Gabriella leaned her head against Troy's shoulder and rested one hand on her bump and the other around Troy's arm. Troy looked down at Gabriella and kissed her head softly. He heard her moan in her sleep.
"You feeling okay?" Troy asked.
Gabriella nodded.
"Just got up early" Gabriella said.
Troy nodded. The plane took off. An hour later, Gabriella woke up and Troy looked at her and smiled.
"Hi sleepyhead" Troy said.
Gabriella smiled tiredly.
"Do you want some water?" Troy asked.
Gabriella nodded. Troy handed Gabriella a cup of water and watched her sip it.
"Did he keep you up last night?" Troy asked putting his hand on Gabriella's expanding stomach.
Gabriella nodded.
"Only two months left until he's here" Troy said.
Gabriella smiled slightly and nodded.
"What do you want to do first when we land?" Troy asked.
"Sleep" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled.
"After you take a nap, what do you want to do?" Troy asked.
"Maybe go to the beach or the pool" Gabriella said.
"Okay" Troy said.
"What do you want to do?" Gabriella asked.
"I want you to take a nap. This trip is about us and the last time we are going to be traveling as just the two of us. But we need to make sure that you are taking care of yourself too" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded.
"Thanks baby" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled. Gabriella went back to sleep and Troy took the opportunity to also fall asleep. A couple hours later, Troy was sitting up in his seat and looked out of the window and smiled. He kissed Gabriella's cheek softly.
"Sweetheart, we are going to land soon" Troy whispered into her ear.
Gabriella moaned and nodded sleepily.
"I'm going to put your seatbelt on okay?" Troy said.
"Okay" Gabriella said opening her eyes.
Troy put Gabriella's seatbelt on. An hour later, the couple's plane landed and they rented a car and drove to their hotel. Once they got into their hotel room, Gabriella lied down on the bed.
"I didn't think the flight would be that exhausting" Gabriella said.
"It was hot and it was cramped" Troy said.
"You were cramped? How do you think I felt?" Gabriella asked.
Troy smiled apologetically.
"I'm sorry" Troy said.
Gabriella took a nap while Troy looked through brochures of what there was to do. Two hours later, Gabriella woke up and stretched her arms out. Troy looked up and smiled.
"Have a nice nap?" Troy asked.
Gabriella nodded.
"Do you want to go to the beach or the pool for a little bit?" Gabriella asked.
"Do you want to?" Troy asked.
"I'm asking you" Gabriella said.
"Yeah, I'll go" Troy said.
The couple changed into their swim suits. They walked downstairs to the pool and got in.
"Don't push yourself too hard, babe" Troy said as he watched Gabriella try to do a breast stroke.
"It feels nice" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled and swam over to Gabriella. They swam and lied out by the pool and stole kisses from each other. A couple hours later, they had just got back to their room from dinner. Troy walked into the bedroom and Gabriella wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his lips sweetly. He pulled back and smiled.
"What was that for?" Troy asked.
"For everything. This trip, you trying to figure out what will happen when I go into labor, for taking care of me the last seven months. We argued and fought, but we got through it and had some good moments too" Gabriella said.
Troy smiled. He put his hand on Gabriella's cheek.
"I'll always take care of you. No matter what. Yeah, it hasn't been easy. But we've been figuring things out little by little. I love you and I've been trying to sort everything out because of that. So that when he comes out, we can show him the life that we are putting together for him" Troy said.
Gabriella smiled.
"He's going to have a good life" Gabriella said.
Troy nodded.
"Maybe he will be a doctor" Gabriella said.
"If he wants to be. I'm not pushing a basketball into his hands either" Troy said.
"I just hope that our marriage stays the same" Gabriella said.
Troy sat down on the bed and Gabriella stood in front of him. He looked at Gabriella and saw her eyes filled with tears. Troy took her hand in his and entwined their fingers together.
"Nothing will change baby. I mean, yes there are things that are going to change. We will have a baby. But, you and I, our marriage, none of that will change" Troy said.
"We can always ask grandma to watch him for a night too" Troy said.
Gabriella giggled.
"Speaking of grandma" Gabriella started.
"Hey, we aren't going to talk about your mom or any of that this week okay?" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded. She wrapped her arms around Troy's neck and raised her eyebrow. Troy chuckled.
"I love you" Troy said.
Gabriella smiled.
"I love you too" Gabriella said.
Gabriella kissed Troy's lips. Troy put his hands on Gabriella's hips and kissed her back. He helped Gabriella lie down and hovered over her. Gabriella kissed Troy again, this time more passionately. Troy pulled away and looked into Gabriella's eyes.
"Are you sure?" Troy asked.
Gabriella nodded.
"You aren't having pain?" Troy asked.
Gabriella shook her head.
"You tell me if you are in pain okay?" Troy said.
"I know" Gabriella said.
"Okay" Troy said.
The couple made love into the early morning. Later that day, Troy and Gabriella walked to the beach and dipped their feet in the ocean.
"You ready to be a daddy?" Gabriella asked randomly.
Troy smiled.
"At the beginning, no. But now, I can't wait. Are you ready to be a mommy?" Troy asked placing his hand on Gabriella's bump.
Gabriella smiled and nodded.
"I can't wait to see his face for the first time" Gabriella said.
"Me too. We have to figure out his name, Brie" Troy said.
"I know. Maybe this week we can figure that out" Gabriella said.
Troy nodded. A couple days later, Troy woke up and smiled when he saw Gabriella snuggled as close as she could get to him. Her expanding bump pressing against Troy's stomach. Troy smiled when he felt their unborn son kick his stomach.
"Easy buddy. You aren't a professional soccer player yet" Troy joked.
Gabriella stirred and opened her eyes slowly.
"Did that kick wake you up?" Troy asked.
"You talking to him woke me up" Gabriella said.
"Sorry" Troy said.
"Don't be. It's cute that you talk to him" Gabriella said.
"The OB residents have been telling me that we should be talking to him" Troy said.
"Oh yeah?" Gabriella said.
Troy pulled the covers down and put his hand on Gabriella's bare bump. He leaned down and kissed it gently.
"What do you want to do today?" Troy asked.
"Just relax" Gabriella said.
"Getting a little tired?" Troy asked.
"I love it here but it's always nice to be home" Gabriella said.
Troy nodded.
"Do you feel like laying out by the pool?" Troy asked.
"Yeah" Gabriella said.
"Okay" Troy said.
The couple got ready to go out to the pool. They walked downstairs and lied out on the pool chairs.
"I like the name Brandon" Gabriella said randomly.
Troy looked at Gabriella and smiled.
"Brandon Bolton" Troy said.
"What do you think?" Gabriella asked.
"I like it. That is one to put on the list" Troy said.
"Okay" Gabriella said.
"You want to go in the pool?" Troy asked.
Gabriella nodded. The couple got into the pool and swam for a little while. That night, Gabriella was in the bathroom brushing her teeth when she felt a pain in her stomach. She finished brushing her teeth and walked out of the bathroom.
"Troy?" Gabriella said.
Troy looked up from the television and saw the concern in Gabriella's eyes.
"What's wrong?" Troy asked.
"I was brushing my teeth and I felt pain. I don't know what it was" Gabriella said.
"Come here" Troy said.
Gabriella walked over to Troy.
"Show me where" Troy said.
Gabriella showed Troy where she felt the pain. Troy put his hand on Gabriella's stomach and took a deep breath and released it.
"What?" Gabriella asked.
"Is that the only pain that you felt today?" Troy asked.
Gabriella nodded, not knowing what was going on.
"What is it, Troy?" Gabriella asked.
"I've only seen that a couple times. But, I am a ninety-five percent sure that you just had a contraction" Troy said.
"But I'm only-" Gabriella started.
"Hey, just relax for a minute. Let me explain" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded.
"It's false labor contractions. They are harmless, but we have to keep an eye on them. In the morning, we should call Dr. Fields and let her know what's going on too" Troy said.
"So what does that mean? Am I in labor?" Gabriella asked.
"No. It's common to have them. You are two months away from your due date, which means your body is starting to get ready for him to come out. Hence, the contraction that you had" Troy said.
Gabriella put her hand on her bump and looked down nervously.
"Take a deep breath for me, baby" Troy said.
Gabriella took a deep breath and released it.
"Everything's okay. We just have to monitor it" Troy said.
"I know that I said a couple months ago that you aren't my doctor-" Gabriella started.
"Hey, that doesn't matter right now Gabriella" Troy said gently.
"So what do we do now?" Gabriella asked.
"Nothing. We continue with what we are doing. You are not in labor" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded. The couple got into bed and Gabriella snuggled into Troy's chest. She inhaled Troy's scent and relaxed.
"Maybe I do need your advice" Gabriella said.
"Sweetheart, it's not my specialty. But I want to know what's going on and how we are going to deal with something like this" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded.
"Thank you" Gabriella said.
Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips softly.
"It's my job. Get some sleep. Wake me up if you have another one" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded.
"I love you" Troy said.
"I love you too" Gabriella said.
The couple fell asleep. The next morning, Gabriella woke up early. She picked up her phone and called Dr. Fields office and explained what she was feeling. Troy had woken up when she was in the middle of talking to Dr. Fields. He let Gabriella talk to her doctor. A couple minutes later, Gabriella walked into the bedroom.
"What did she say?" Troy asked.
Gabriella sat down on the bed.
"She basically said the same thing that you did. She said that it's normal" Gabriella said.
Troy nodded.
"Have you had anymore since that one?" Troy asked.
Gabriella shook her head.
"Okay. Just take it easy. That's all we can do right now" Troy said.
Gabriella nodded. The rest of the day the couple relaxed in the hotel room and watched movies.