Chapter 11
Lucy's POV
Ian and I had arrived back to LA in the early hours of the morning on Monday. We have two interviews scheduled for today and a few others scattered throughout the week. I will admit my nerves are running high at the moment as Ian and I wait backstage to be called out for our first interview to begin. They were also all over the place for another reason and that reason would be because Ian and I were waiting backstage of Ellen DeGeneres' show. I have loved her for as long as I could remember, I was through the roof with excitement when Jasmine told me our first interview was with Ellen. I've only had a couple of interviews with Ellen so far but it's still surreal.
"Relax Baby, it'll be fine don't worry." Ian murmurs in my ear from behind me.
"I'm sure it will be, as long as I have you by my side everything will be fine." Turning my head over my shoulder I kiss him chastely.
"Mr. and Mrs. Harding they are ready for you." A crew man informs us, clearly embarrassed to walk in on our sweet moment.
"Come on Sweetheart let's go talk about Baby Harding."
With my hand tightly laced in Ian's we walk out to the loud cheers of the audience and the welcoming host Ellen herself.
"Everyone welcome one of Hollywood's biggest couples, Lucy and Ian Harding." Ellen claps encouraging the already overjoyed audience.
"Hi everyone." I wave to the audience with a wide smile.
Ian and I take a seat on the white couch across from Ellen. Once the audience starts to semi calm down we turn to Ellen and she attempts to speak over the cheers.
"As you can see everyone is on their toes to hear about your special news," She jokes starting off the interview.
"We got an even more intense response when we announced the news of the baby at my concert this weekend."
"Let's talk about the already infamous baby. You two look ecstatic."
"Thank you," I smile turning to look at Ian. "We're very pleased that you are the first person we get to talk to about little Baby Harding."
My nerves had soon faded away and I was caught up talking about our baby and our plans to take a break from the business for a bit. The nearly thirty minute interview flew by before we knew it.
Much to our pleasure every other interview we did during the duration of the week all went smoothly and everyone was polite, sticking to just talking about the baby and how mine and Ian's careers are doing. Our final interview is planned for tonight on a live late night show. It's astonishing how much everyone around the world is already incredibly invested in our baby wanting to know every little detail there is despite me only being three, nearing four, months along. My little baby bump is progressively becoming slightly bigger each and every day bringing wider smiles to our faces. It is such a surreal thought that there is a little human being in my body right now and in just a few short months said baby will be in our arms.
This week has just about drained me. I wanted nothing more than to crawl into Ian's lap right now on the couch as we wait in the green room for us to be called. However to prevent messing up my perfectly styled hair I couldn't do that just yet.
"Alright let's go get this last one done so we can get you home for some much needed sleep."
Tiredly nodding my head I stand up from the couch following Ian out of the room.
All was going well until we were about halfway into the interview, that's when things began taking a wrong turn.
"So Lucy everyone is still wondering what all happened a couple months back?" The middle-aged man starts off causing my body to stiffen.
Tilting my head to the side I try to play it off. "What do you mean?"
"It's known after you were kidnapped a couple months back you refused to take part in any interviews. Now you are coming out of the little bubble you've been in to announce you're suddenly pregnant."
"What are you implying?"
He shrugs his shoulder nonchalant "I'm just curious about the timing of it all."
He speaks up a moment later before I've even opened my mouth. "We can get back to that. What happened while you were kidnapped? I heard you were held up in an old rundown motel, is that correct?"
Daniel yanks me down the bed roughly by a tight viselike grip on my ankle. The more I fight against him the tighter his grip becomes on my ankle. My arms remain bound, my mouth remain taped shut.
"That is none of your business." I hear Ian's stern voice spit out harshly.
"Just intrigued is all. Lucy, if you'll notice here in this picture that photographers caught many images of you are seen being carried out of the motel. More specifically clearing wearing Ian's shirt. Does that in anyway associate with my earlier question?"
My eyes were glued to the large screen behind him showing the image when Ian saved me from that horrifying motel room. I knew the pictures were all over the internet however I went out of my way to never come across any of the pictures or videos taken that night.
I shutter away from him and shift higher up the bed when he gets too close to comfort.
"Stop." I tell him when he scoots closer and reaches for my dress.
However he doesn't stop. I begin screaming, yelling, thrashing, and everything else I could think of to try and get away from him in hopes of running across the room to the door. Unfortunately he prevents me from doing so and I am forced back onto the bed. By now my dress had been all but yanked off and I have tears streaming down my face continuing to scream at the top of my lungs.
"Lucy, honey," Ian begins to comfort me while chastising the man in front of me, though I hear none of it, my mind is elsewhere.
The screaming. Their faces. Their voices. All those horrid memories come flooding back into my mind at once. When I realize what the jerk was referring to I scoff forcing myself out of my dazed state to tell him where to shove it.
"You're unbelievable. Yes I am pregnant and no the timing isn't some 'coincidence' you ass. I was pregnant before I was kidnapped which is why my due date is early December. My husband is the father of my baby—our baby. Not that any of this is your concern or anyone else's other than Ian's."
Wiping the stray tear from my eye I push myself off of the leather couch to quickly flea. Asking the first crew member I see for the direction to the restroom I break out into a sprint when the bile rises up my throat. All those thoughts I was sure I would never have to relive hit me at once causes a strong unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach.
"I'm so sorry baby. Shhhh. It's okay just forget about him and what he said. You and I know the truth and that's all that matters." Helping me stand back up he pulls me into his arms rubbing my back with one hand whilst the other combs through my hair.
"Can we get my purse and go home?" I bury my head deeper into his chest.
"Yeah, come on honey."
Ian's arm twines around my waist keeping me tucked in his side ignoring the crew members who were attempting to persuade us to return to the interview that went sour. I try my hardest to block out the memories that are flooding through my head right now but it is too hard and far too painful. Grabbing my purse out of the green room Ian directs me out of the building and to the car as swiftly as possible. The drive home is silent; Ian knew I wasn't up for talking at the moment, instead he slides his hand over to rest on my thigh caressing my leg with his thumb giving me something soothing to focus on.
Arriving at home I head straight upstairs to change out of this dress and into one of Ian's shirts. Meanwhile Ian stays downstairs letting the dogs out for the night before bed. I don't put too much effort in removing my makeup. Afterward I pull my hair up into a ponytail, toss my clothes in a pile at my feet, then I walk across the room to our closet to pull my favorite shirt of Ian's off of the shelf and over my head. By the time I am pulling back the sheets to our bed Ian walks through the door appearing more than ready to climb into bed for a good night's rest. Laying on my side under the covers I watch Ian undress next to the bed until he was down to his boxers. Climbing into bed Ian wraps his arms around my body to snuggle me into him, my safe haven.
"He was out of line and I'm sure he won't get off without some sort of repercussions for that."
"Even though I am upset about him bring the kidnapping up I am furious that he had the audacity to even suggest such a thing of you not being our baby's father. That is the one thing I cannot and will not take not matter what."
"No, he had no right to say such a thing. I'm sorry that tonight happened. The last thing I want is for you to be upset especially when we are at such an incredible point in our life."
Shaking my head in negate I smile softly up at him. "It isn't your fault, he was the ass."
"I love you so much." Ian whispers faintly into the quiet room.
I roll us over off of our sides to reposition ourselves with Ian on his back while I straddle his waist. Yanking the shirt off of my torso I let it fall off to the side before leaning down to attack Ian with kisses.
"I thought you were tired?" Ian raises his eyebrows questioning.
Pushing myself up so I sit straight up on his waist giving him a full view of my panty clad body.
"I am, however I would much rather get past this sucky night by making love with my scrumptious husband. What about you? Tired?" I ask him with a suggestive tone, slowly rocking my hips.
Grinning wildly Ian flashes me his boyish grin that always makes my knees weak. "Oh baby, I am never too tired to pleasure my wife."
A loud giggle falls from my lips when he shifts me to lay underneath him instantly diving right in to ravish my skin with kisses. Not a single unpleasant thought surpassed my mind after that. I spent my night in pure ecstasy with my husband.
The weekend flew by for Ian and I like all our days lately seem to be doing. With it now being Monday we are both highly excited for my ultrasound appointment this morning. I was awoken by Ian's phone buzzing quite loudly on his nightstand. After three rings had passed without him picking up the disturbing device I sit up in bed to answer it.
"Hello?" My hoarse morning voice greets. Rubbing my eyes I look next to me in bed to see Ian isn't in bed and the sheets are cool meaning he's been gone for a while.
"I'm sorry Lucy did I wake you?" The familiar voice of John, Ian's manager, worries from the other side of the phone.
"Hey John, don't" I pause to let out a loud yawn "don't worry about it. What's up?"
"Is Ian available by chance?"
"Actually I'm not sure where he is at the moment, can I take a message for you though?" I offer climbing out of bed slipping into Ian's shirt that rests beside the bed and grab a fresh pair of panties from the dresser.
"That would be great if you could. When you see him will you please let him know I really need an answer by Wednesday at the latest about the part?"
Confusion instantly washes over me, "what do you mean 'about the part'?"
"You know that role he was offered for the movie in New York. Ian told me he'd have to think about it and get back to me with an answer and the clock is ticking on it; they are ready to announce the official cast and they need to know if they need to seek a new leading man."
"Oh, oh yeah that. Um yeah of course I'll tell him as soon as I see him."
"Thank you so much darling. Hope you and the baby are doing well, wish to see you soon!"
"Of course, have a good afternoon." I say mindlessly hanging up.
Sitting the phone down on the nightstand I stare at it for a few minutes then manage to snap out of my daze. I reach out to open his nightstand drawer wondering if I'll come across a script. If someone wants to hire him as the leading male for their movie then he ought to have a script or something lying around here somewhere. Sure enough right inside the drawer lay the white bound paper known as a preview script. On the front page was a sticky note with the writing '10 months, NY starting beginning of September.'
My head snaps over to the bathroom door that was currently shut when I hear a loud noise only to realize Ian is in the shower. Odds are he knocked off a bottle of shampoo like he constantly finds himself doing.
With my pregnancy hormones quickly kicking into gear I rapidly find myself furious that he hadn't even bothered to talk to me about this when clearly he's known for some time about the part. Storming into our closet I grab a pair of dark wash skinny jeans, a loosely fitting red racer back top with a black camisole underneath. Not in the mood to wear heels I grab a pair of black flats to slip my feet into. Stepping back into the main part of the bedroom I am greeted by a half-naked, wet Ian, which usually would turn me on and make me want to jump him. Right now, however, I don't even spare a second glance.
"Oh you're already up. I was really hoping to wake you up with a few kisses like I did the other day." Ian smiles contently reaching out to pull me close to him and kiss me good morning. Although I refuse, turning away from him walking straight into the bathroom locking the door behind me.
"Hey Luce what's wrong?" Ian questions through the door jiggling the handle only to find out I've locked the door.
Ignoring him for the moment I focus on putting on some light makeup as well as running my brush through my hair a few times to rid it of any tangles. Once my teeth were brushed I was ready to head out.
"What's wrong is you didn't bother to tell me about that big role in New York you were offered. Remember that?" I spat sarcastically walking out of our bedroom towards the stairs.
"How do you know about that?"
"John called while you were in the shower he said he needs an answer by Wednesday about it. What happened to taking a break from the industry for a while as we start our family?" I cross my arms looking him in the eyes.
"Look Lucy," Ian sighs shaking his head. "I was going to tell you but I hadn't found the right time."
"Oh I don't know, how about when you were approached with the idea? Or hell I don't know, when you had auditions for it! Seeing how it's being filmed in New York! Across the damn country Ian." I shout at him.
When he doesn't have anything to say in response I shake my head with a huff.
"Were you thinking about saying yes?" There was the longest pause where he denied any form of eye contact. I was becoming all the more impatient as the seconds ticked on without a response from him. "I'll take that as a yes."
Rolling my eyes I turn on my heel hurrying down the stairs. Picking up my purse from the table I toss my phone inside double checking everything is in there.
"Where are you going Luce?"
"I have an appointment," is all I reply with preparing to storm out the garage door.
"I'm going to your ultrasound with you. This is ridiculous just because we are in the middle of something doesn't mean I don't get to go be a part of this." Ian fights back with fury now rising in his eyes as well.
"Seeing as you're currently in a towel I don't peg you to be going anywhere. Besides, I don't want to sit in a small room with you filled by tension."
Grabbing his set of keys from the hook hanging at the back door, I drop them in my purse preventing him from taking his car to my OBGYN's. I may be overreacting but right now I am high on pregnancy hormones and frankly couldn't give a damn. I don't spare as much as a glance behind me at Ian shouting for me to come back into the house. Backing my car out of the garage I turn my radio up in attempts to calm myself by listening to some good ol' country music. My phone rings continuously in my purse for the duration of the drive though I ignore it knowing full well it was Ian.
Going into my checkup was definitely a tough thing to do by myself since Ian has been present on every single one of them—well aside from this one now. Sitting on the short, barely padded bed, I twiddle my thumbs after unsuccessfully finding a way to keep entertained while I wait. Thankfully it didn't take too much longer for Dr. Sandra Watson to enter the room. We run through all the usual questions to double check everything was going smoothly along with the usual checking my weight to ensure I am gaining the proper amount throughout the pregnancy. Once all that was taken care of it was time for the best part of all; the part when I get to see and hear my little baby boy or girl.
"Alright Lucy are you ready for this part?" Dr. Watson asks knowingly whilst she picks up the freezing cold gel.
"I'm always ready when it comes to seeing my baby and hearing their heartbeat."
Tears fill my eyes when the heartwarming sound of Baby Harding's heartbeat fills the small room and the image of the sonogram appears on the screen.
"That's our baby" I whisper to myself softly with my eyes locked on the screen.
"Everything appears to be perfectly healthy with this little one. Baby Harding is progressing perfectly thus far. Would you like the usual amount of prints of the sonogram?"
Nodding my head I wipe away the happy tears that always spring from my eyes during every single appointment.
Within the next thirty minutes that passed I've cleaned all the gel off of my stomach, tucked the new pictures safely in my purse, scheduled my next appointment, and got in my car to leave. It's only noon and I wasn't ready to return home just yet to what's sure to be a continuation of our earlier fight. Instead I drive in the opposite direction to a place I knew I would be able to release my emotions and talk to someone who could see from my point of view.
It was a nice twenty-seven minute drive. Parking in front of the house I step out of my Audi, lock the doors, and then walk up the driveway. Ringing the doorbell I find myself anxiously fiddling with my hands as I wait for the door to open. As soon as the door opens revealing the person I was eager to see a wave of relief washes over me and a faint smile replaces the worrisome frown where I had been biting my bottom lip.
"Hi. I know this is sudden and I should have called… Can I come in?"
Okay so here is chapter 11! When I went to proof this chapter I noticed the last time I had this open was on 10/3. It's pretty crazy to think of all the time that has passed since I wrote these chapters.
So, who do you think Lucy went to go see? Let me know your thoughts on this chapter!
I recently posted an Ezria one shot as to what should have happened in the cabin during 414 if you guys want to check that out. It is called "Loving You Again".
25 reviews (bringing me to 240) and I'll post chapter 12.