A/N: Hey guys! I was able to finish this pretty fast lol. Enjoy!
Wednesday, March 28
36 weeks and 4 days
Lori was awoken by the smell of vanilla, with a hint of cinnamon. She felt the bed next to her, and frowned slightly when Bobby was nowhere to be found. Her body ached from the weight of her swollen abdomen. Her baby moving around, kicking her from the inside.
She stirred as she felt the familiar sensation in her pelvis. Her bladder full, she slowly sat up. All the weight shifting to her lower half.
The girl rubbed her eyes. She could already hear her siblings outside of her room, pounding on the bathroom door. It was a pleasant surprise, to see a small notecard sitting on her bedside table.
She picked it up, and smiled as she read its contents.
Good morning, Babe. I wanted to be the first one to wish you a happy birthday. You were sleeping so peacefully, and I know it's hard for you to get that recently. I didn't want to wake you. I'm downstairs hanging out with your siblings, I'll be up to check on you soon. Love, Bobby.
His note was enough to make her heart skip a beat. It also distracted her from the task at hand: Listening to Mother Nature.
She used her hands to push herself off of her bed. In the last few months, it had become more difficult to walk. Her baby had dropped a week or so ago, so now she had to waddle. She made it over to her door, and opened it to reveal Lola, Lynn, Lincoln, and Luna standing in front of the bathroom.
They turned to look at her.
"Good morning, Lori," each of them said.
"Good morning, guys," she replied. "Already fighting for the bathroom I see."
"Yeah, Leni has been in there for almost half an hour," Lincon said, putting a hand on his hip.
Lori sighed. "Let me go see."
Her roommate was known to waste time in the bathroom. She'd get distracted by reorganizing the soaps, or mess up and have to redo her smoky eye.
She poked her head inside the bathroom, to see Leni folding a towel. She tried her hardest not to roll her eyes. "Leni!", she yelled as she stepped inside.
Her sister's sudden outburst caused Leni to drop the towel she was folding. She turned around to see Lori standing there. "Lori! You scared me," she said, readjusting the sunglasses on her head.
"Leni, there are other people out here who need to use the bathroom, too," Lori told her. "Including me. I have a baby sitting on my bladder."
The ditzy girl twisted her foot around on the floor. "Oh…I'm sorry," she said. "I guess I'll come back later and fix these."
"Sounds good," Lori said.
The girls stepped out of the bathroom.
"There we go, problem solved," she said while rubbing her hands together. She took a look at her siblings. "Sorry to do this guys, but I'm cutting in front of all of you."
They began to complain.
"Uh uh uh," she said wagging her finger. "I'm the oldest, it's my birthday, and I'm pregnant. Please just let me pee."
She closed the door in their faces, and they began to pound away. It was quickly ignored, as her main focus now was the feeling of sweet relief.
Lori pulled down her shorts and panties, and sat down on the toilet. She sighed as she felt her bladder emptying.
In the Loud house, there was always a fight for the bathroom, and even her being almost nine months pregnant didn't stop her siblings from rushing her morning business.
"Hey are you almost done?"
"Aw come on, I ate too much last night, and Mother Nature doesn't like it."
Ignoring her siblings' complaints once more, she reached for the roll of toilet paper.
"Hey guys, it's her birthday remember? And she's pregnant."
"Can she make her baby pee faster? I gotta go!"
She laughed at that last comment as she wiped herself. Though she stopped when something felt a bit…off.
She brought it up to look at it, and the wad of toilet paper was covered in mucus.
Not thinking much of it, she proceeded to throw it in the toilet, and flushed it. She grabbed the top of panties, then her shorts. As she stood up a bit, she felt a small pain in her pelvis.
Her eyes squinted at the feeling, but it soon went away, allowing her to finish pulling up her pants.
She walked over to the sink, washed her hands, and then placed her hand on the doorknob.
"Okay guys, I'm coming out," she said as she turned the knob, pushing the door open slightly.
"Finally!", Luna exclaimed as she ran into the bathroom. "Oh, and happy birthday, Lori."
Ah yes, her birthday. Her eighteenth birthday to be exact. It was say she had looked forward to for awhile. She had plans to go off to college, and live with her boyfriend.
That would have to wait, as she was expected to give birth in a month. She never would have thought this is how she'd enter the beginning of semi-adulthood, but it wasn't all bad.
Lori placed a hand on her back. "Thanks, Luna," she said. "Now if you'll excuse me, this baby is really pressing down on me today, so I need to sit."
She turned right and opened her door. Walking over to her bed, the pain came back, this time a bit stronger. It stopped her in her tracks, and she took a moment to breathe. It passed, allowing her to look at the gift that awaited her on her bed.
It was gift bag that had a small card that read:
To: Lori
From: Leni
With a heart written next to Leni's name.
She smiled as she sat down on her bed, leaning up against her pillow for support. Using her belly as a prop, she sat it down and reached her hand inside.
Inside was a blue shirt with ruffles on it, and a pair of white pants.
Setting the bag to the side, she laid the shirt on top of her. Her belly began to jump around, causing the shirt to slide off.
"You don't like it, baby?", she poked her stomach, receiving a kick to her hand.
This went on for a few minutes, until she heard the door open.
"Hey, Babe."
She looked over to see Bobby standing in the doorway.
He walked over to her, and gave her a kiss. "Happy Birthday."
She caressed his face. "Thanks, Boo Boo Bear."
Her boyfriend put a hand on her belly. "How's the baby, today?"
"Very, very active," she said. "Watch this."
She poked her stomach, and watched as it jumped.
Bobby laughed. "Oh wow," he poked it, and got a kick back as well. "Just wait until you eat some of that cake."
Her body didn't give her time to respond, as the sharp pain came back. She winced, and placed both hands on her stomach.
Bobby knelt down next to her, placing a hand on top of hers. "Oh no, is it time? Do we need to go to the hospital?" He became frantic.
"No, no," she said, breathing a bit heavy. "It's just a Braxton-Hicks." She pointed to the bottle of water next to her bed. "Can you hand me that?"
He gave it to her, and she took a few drinks. The pain subsided, and she sighed. "Thanks, Bobby."
Bobby rubbed her hair. "No problem, Lori." He stood back up and reached out a hand. "Your dad is making your cake and wants you to come try it."
She grabbed his hand, and he helped her stand up.
The couple headed downstairs, and Lori went in the kitchen. She stood in the doorway as she watched her father dance around, humming to himself.
She laughed, and he turned around. "Good morning, sweetie," he said, walking over to give her a kiss on the cheek. "Happy Birthday."
"Thanks, Dad," she said. "Where's that cake?"
He led her to the counter, where a large glass pan lay. "I'm making my famous cheesecake, strawberry to be exact because I know it's your favorite."
Lori's mouth watered as she stared at the bowl of leftover filling in front of her. She grabbed it, and swiped some up on her finger. The sweetness tickling her tongue as it hit her mouth. "Mmm," she sighed.
"I knew you'd love it," Lynn Sr said. He watched as her belly began to move again. "Apparently my grandbaby does too."
She looked down, and sure enough her baby was kicking away. "They've been doing that all morning," she told him. She placed the bowl back on the counter.
There it was again.
Letting out a small groan, she grabbed onto the counter. Her father looked at her, concerned as her face wrinkled up in pain.
"Are you alright?", he asked as he rubbed her back.
"I-I'm fine," she said. "I've been getting these since this morning."
"Are you sure?" he asked. "Where is it hurting?"
She placed her hand on the top of her pelvis. "Right here."
"I know this isn't what you want to hear today, but we may need to take you to the hospital," Lynn Sr said, growing more concerned. "I'll cancel the party."
She waved her hand. "No, I'm fine," Lori insisted. "I still want my party."
He sighed. "Lori, I've been through this ten times with your mother. I know how fast it can escalate, and if we wait too long, well," he paused. "Your baby may be born the way Lincoln was."
"Dad, please, I'm fine," she said, standing up straight. "They're not super strong, and the doctor said not to come in unless I can't handle the pain."
He stepped back. "Alright, I'll let is slide this time, but please let me know if it gets too bad."
"I will, don't worry."
"Go join your siblings at the table for breakfast," he said, going back to the cake. "I made French toast."
"Oh, thank goodness," she said, her mouth watering. "I'm so hungry."
She headed into the dining room, where the rest of her siblings, and Bobby were seated.
She chose a seat in between her boyfriend and Lily, who had already covered the top of her high chair tray in syrup.
The toddler was giggling happily as she splashed her hands in it.
Lori grabbed her hand. "Uh uh, Lily," she said, grabbing a small, plastic spork. "You need to eat with this."
Lily grabbed it from her. She inspected it a bit, using her hands to grip it at different angles. Finally, she used it to stab a piece of her toast, and shoveled it into her mouth.
"Aww, good girl, Lilster!", Luna said from her seat. She held up her hand to her baby sister. "High five!"
She happily slapped her big sister's hand, leaving a trail of sticky residue. Luna quickly grabbed a napkin and wiped it off.
They heard the door close, and turned to see their mom walking in the door. She came into the dining room, and kissed Lori's hair. "Happy Birthday, Lori," she said.
"Thanks, Mom," she responded. "Look at what I got Lily to do."
Rita turned to see Lily still using her spork. "Oh! Yay Lily!", she held up her hand to the toddler.
"Careful, Mom, you don't wanna end up in a sticky situation!", Luan said, laughing. "Get it?!"
The rest of her siblings groaned.
Rita gave Lily a high five anyway. "Mama! Mama!", she said, reaching out her hands.
Her mom wiped off her hands, and took her from her high chair. "I'll go get Lily cleaned up, and when you kids get done eating, you can come and help me set up, okay?"
The kids nodded and went back to their breakfast.
After she ate, Lori decided to go into the living room. Maybe if she propped her feet with an ice cold glass of water, this pain would go away.
She rested her head on the end of the couch, and Bobby walked in with a glass of water. "Here ya go, Babe," he said.
"Thanks," she said, grabbing it and taking a sip.
He sat next to her, and let her legs rest on top of his lap. Grabbing the remote, he turned on the latest episode of The Dream Boat. "Oh man, I've been waiting to watch this one."
"Me too," she said. "I hope Meredith finally sees that Blake isn't the right one for her."
He shook his head. "I doubt it, she seems to love him."
She nodded her head in agreement. "Tell me about it."
Through the episode, she hadn't noticed that she'd been rubbing her belly the entire time. It was like an instinct at this point.
Bobby smiled when he saw it, and placed his hand on top of hers. "I wanna do it too," he said.
Lori laid her head back. "When did your family say they'd get here?"
He took out his phone. "Uh…Ronnie Anne told me that they were leaving, about thirty minutes ago."
"So it'll still be awhile then," she said.
She watched as each of her siblings came downstairs carrying various objects, such as streamers and balloons. Each one heading to the door, presumably to help decorate.
"I love it that they want me to be surprised," Lori said to Bobby. "It's like everything in my life is literally a surprise now. One after the other."
He laughed. "Yeah, but it's kinda cool, right?"
"Yeah, I guess so," she said. "You know what else will be cool? When this baby finally leaves my body. It's so hard to move."
"Aww, I'm sorry," he said. "It won't be much longer."
She sighed. "Thank goodness, I'll be happy when I can finally put on my own shoes again."
They laughed. "I think it's about time we go get you ready, huh?"
She put her water on the table, and sat up. He grabbed her hands to help her stand, and led her upstairs.
Lincoln chewed on the lid of his pen as he looked through the checklist.
"Okay so, the streamers as up, we've got the balloons, the table, chairs," he looked around. "Where's the snacks?"
Lana walked in with a bag of chips in her hands. Her face was covered in powdered cheese. "I've got some cheesy puffs," she said with her mouthful.
He checked something off the list. "Why don't you put the rest of the bags on the table?"
The girl nodded and went on her way.
"How's it going, Linky?", Leni said, looking over his shoulder.
"It's going good, I've got Lana setting out the chips, Luan has the dip, and Luna is helping Mom wrap presents."
"Ooh, good," she said, patting him on the back. "You're a natural at this."
The boy smiled. "Thanks, I learned from the best."
Lori's birthday party may not have seemed very interesting, but there's not much to do when you're very pregnant. She'd have also liked to go out to eat with her friends and family, but sitting outside in the cool, spring air while eating cheesecake sounded pretty good to her right now. It was hard for her to move, or sleep, so she wanted something that was comfortable while still having fun with her family.
"Here it is!", Lynn Sr said as he entered the backyard, a large pan of cheesecake in his hands.
The kids watched as he sat it on the table. A few of them reached out their hands to touch it, which were immediately smacked away.
"No, guys come on," he said. "You know the rules, it's Lori's birthday, so she gets to eat some first."
"Speaking of Lori, where is she?", Lucy asked.
"I'm here!"
They looked to see a hand sticking out of a crack in the screen door.
"Help me, Bobby."
They heard a bit of a scuffle, and the door opened.
Lori stepped out onto the porch wearing the outfit Leni had gotten her. Her hair has been straightened slightly, and she was wearing a bit of lip gloss.
Leni clapped her hands, and jumped up and down. "You look so pretty, Lori!", she said, running up to hug her.
She hugged her sister back. "Thanks, Leni, I literally love it."
Bobby smiled, and then looked over to her Mom. "Oh, hey Mrs Loud," he said. "I've got something important to tell you."
She turned around, raising a brow. "What is it?"
"My family said that they'll be late, but I don't want Lori sitting out here for long," he grabbed her hand, giving it a squeeze. "So, if it's okay for her, we can have cake and snacks right now, then open presents when they get here."
Rita looked at her husband, who nodded. "Sounds good to me," he looked at his daughter. "What do you think?"
"That's fine," she said. "I know how these kids are with snacks." She pointed to her younger siblings, who all had a bag of chips.
"Kids, please," Lynn Sr said. "Save some for everyone else."
She laughed. "It's fine, Dad," she said, waving her hand down. "Chips give me heartburn anyway."
"Lori! Will you pour me a cup of cola?", Lana asked, holding up a cup.
"Sure." She walked over to the table, grabbing the bottle of cola. "Anyone else want some?"
Her siblings lined up, and she handed each of them a cup of cola.
"Cola!", Lily said, holding up her sippy.
Lori looked to her Mom. "Can she have some?"
"Well, it usually keeps her up late," she said. "But it is your party, so go for it."
Lori grabbed the cup from her baby sister's hands, filled it up with soda, and handed it to her. "There you go, baby."
The toddler happily stuck the cup in her mouth, toddling off to sit with her sisters.
Lori felt a pain in her back, causing her to lean against the table. She tried to stand up straight, placing a hand on her back. Her breathing heavy, she walked over to a seat, sitting down next to Bobby.
He frowned when he saw the pained expression on her face, and placed a hand around her shoulders. "Are you sure you're okay, Babe?", he asked.
"Y-Yeah, I'm okay," she said. "It's going away now."
"Okay, guys!"
They all turned to the front, where Luan was standing. "I have some fun tricks planned for you all! They're inspired by today's special guest, my big sister Lori. Happy Birthday!"
She smiled at her sister's gesture, and clapped her hands.
Luan took out a bag. "Just give me a minute to gather my things."
They watched as she fumbled around in her bag, pulling out various objects.
Lori was having a pretty good day already, despite her constant stomach issues. She enjoyed seeing her siblings spending time together, laughing, eating chips…
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sudden feeling of wetness…in her pants. She looked down to see a small puddle forming in her seat, a clear stain on her brand new pants.
Lola gasped as she saw the trail of liquid coming towards her on the ground. "Eww, Lana, did you pee out here again?" Her twin responded by shaking her head.
"N-No, Lola, that wasn't Lana," Lori said, her voice shaky. "T-That was me."
Her siblings turned to look at her.
"And that wasn't pee," she said. She stood up, holding her stomach.
"I think my water just broke."
There were multiple gasps, and she felt Bobby grab her.
She turned to him. His eyes were wide, there was sweat on his forehead, and his hands were shaky.
"Y-You're sure it did?", he asked, his voice shaky.
She grabbed his hand. "Yes, Bobby, I mean it when I say that this baby wants to come now."
He lifted her up, holding her bridal style. "Then let's go have a baby!"
He began to run out to his car, her siblings following closely behind. They were stopped by Lori as they made their way to into the kitchen.
"Okay guys, you all need to stay here with Mom and Dad and help clean this up," she said, trying to catch her breath. "Meet us at the hospital when you're done."
"But Lori-", Lincoln began.
"No, buts," she said. "We'll call when we get there."
Leni gave her sister a hug. "Good luck, Lori," she said.
The other siblings joined in, giving their well wishes.
Their parents caught up to them, joining in on the hug as well.
They pulled away, and Lori spoke. "Mom, I want you to come with us."
She rubbed her daughter's hair. "I'd love nothing more."
Bobby turned to Lincoln. "Hey little buddy, will you text Ronnie Anne and tell her what's going on?"
The boy nodded, quickly taking out his phone. "On it."
Lynn Sr stepped back. "Alright kids you heard her, let's get this all cleaned…"
He looked outside to see his kids frantically putting everything away. Bags of chips flying in the air, cups of soda getting spilled.
"Don't touch the cake!", he said, yelling after them. "We'll see ya soon, kiddos, good luck," he said before heading out to the backyard.
Lincoln gave his sister one last hug. "Good luck, sis," he said, kissing her cheek. "You'll do great."
She smiled, rubbing his hair. "Thanks little bro." She turned back to Bobby. "Well, come on."
"Let's go have a baby."
A/N: So yeah, Lori is in labor! That means (sadly) that next chapter will be the last one. That one will probably take me awhile to write, so please be patient as I'm so excited for it, and want to put all of my time into finishing it.
Also, I will be putting up a poll on my page so you guys can guess whether the baby will be a boy or a girl. Not sure how long it'll be up, but don't worry you'll have plenty of time. Until next time!