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I'm sorry this updates taken so long! I jumped on the Avengers bandwagon and I've only just managed to scrape my feet across the ground to actually write this. It's just a filler chapter for the next one, but I hope you all enjoy it anyway :)
Chapter 24
When the Jeep finally pulled up in front of the clinic, Justin had just barely stopped shaking. He hadn't said a thing and had seemed unaware of the concerned looks Brian shot him out of the corner of his eye every time they pulled up in front of a traffic light. The harsh and cruel words echoed around his head, his breathing becoming shallow, and his arms formed a protective cocoon around his swelled stomach.
Brian killed the engine and removed the keys from the ignition before he turned once more to the uncharacteristically quiet blond in the passenger's seat. He regarded him for a moment, and reached out to gently splay his hand across the bump. Justin's eyes snapped downwards at the touch, but he didn't try to shake it off, which Brian took as a good sign.
"Are you okay?" he questioned slowly.
There was a moment of silence that followed before Justin started speaking, his voice low and strained with barely contained emotion. "…He would have hurt our baby."
"But he didn't," Brian tried.
"But he would have if Alec hadn't interfered," Justin automatically corrected, eyes narrowing slightly. "How could someone do that? I mean, this is our baby – a defenseless being - who has no say in who their parents are or where they are born and Hobbs didn't care." He paused to lick his lips. "When I found out about this baby, never once did I think people could…could act like that. I never thought I would be putting my own child in danger, I just…"
A sick feeling rose in his stomach and Brian's shoulders tensed. "Justin…do you not want our baby?"
Justin looked up at him with a mixture of shock and maybe hurt, that Brian would think of him in such a way. "Of course I do," He answered automatically. "I don't think I've wanted anything more."
"Good," Brian breathed. "Then forget about Hobbs. There are always going to be people like that in the world. We can't change that, despite what those annoyingly hetero infomercials they show on PBS say. What we can do is focus on us and this baby. You didn't get hurt; Hobbs didn't get a chance to touch you because that Alec kid kicked his ass. The baby is safe, so don't worry about what could have happened, okay?" At Justin's hesitant nod, he continued, "Now, you're going to take a deep breath, and we're going to walk into our appointment with Dr. Luton. We'll find out that our baby is perfectly healthy because we've been taking good care of both of you, and he'll tell you that you need to keep your stress levels down, yes?"
Unable to resist, a smile played on Justin's lips. He nodded acceptingly.
Brian leaned over to press a kiss to his lips. "Good. Now move your bubble butt. We're already 10 minutes late for our appointment."
Justin hissed as the cold gel was spread across his stomach. Dr. Luton smiled apologetically before turning his attention back to the ultrasound screen, with one hand moving the probe over the swollen skin.
"Everything seems to be fine," he finally announced. He pressed his fingers to the screen, pointing at different parts of the black and white image. "Five fingers, five toes. That's your baby's nose, his ears…"
Justin squeezed Brian's hand tightly in response, unable to move his eyes from the image. He could see everything - the fingers and the toes and eyelids. He felt tears of happiness sting the back of his eyelids and he had to curse at his out of whack hormones once more. It really was getting ridiculous.
"That's good, so our baby's fine?" he repeated, just to be sure.
Dr. Luton smiled, assuring him. "Yes, Justin, your baby looks to be perfect - a little on the small side maybe - but that doesn't necessarily mean there are any serious medical issues that need to be addressed. Some babies are bigger, others are smaller. Over the next few weeks, you'll be putting on a lot of weight as most of the energy is focused on the baby's growth and brain development."
"Is there anything we can do to, you know, help the development along?" Brian inquired.
"Eat right and make sure to keep the stress levels low," Dr. Luton advised. "During this late stage, any kind of high stress situation could cause premature labor or other manner of complications that could potentially be harmful." He turned his attention to Justin. "I would suggest retiring to bed rest in about two weeks time. That should be enough time to sort out what you need to with school and gathering supplies to get ready for your new arrival. From then on, maybe one extended trip a day should be okay."
"That should be interesting - Sunshine has a problem keeping still," Brian smirked. Justin shot him a glare and Dr. Luton laughed good-naturedly.
"Don't worry Justin; you'll be able to get him back. Your mood swings and cravings may increase over the next month while your hormone levels are unsteady, and it will be up to Brian to keep you appeased - especially when you're on bed rest."
The blond proceeded to stick his tongue out at the crestfallen brunet. He hadn't thought of any of that.
"I'll put a note downstairs to renew your prescription for the pre-natal supplements, but before that…" Dr. Luton paused and smiled widely, "…do you want to know your baby's gender?"
"You can do that?" Brian blinked, wide eyed.
"Yes, I can. Usually it's possible to tell around the six or seven month mark. Of course, some parents would rather have a surprise on the big day, but we like to give them the option."
Justin's and Brian's eyes locked, both peering at each other questioningly, hopeful.
"I want to know," Justin stated softly.
Brian grunted a noise of agreement from the back of his throat and returned his attention back to the other man in the room. "Alright Doc, lay it on us."
"Hey sweeties, I just wanted to remind you about the family dinner on Saturday for Michael's birthday. I wanted a party – it's his birthday for Christ's sake – but he wants something small, so I'm making his favourites. It'll be the first time we've all been together in a while so Brian, no making excuses to try and get out of it. And um…just a forewarning, Emmett's started asking some questions, mostly about whether I've noticed anything different about Sunshine. I've denied it, of course, but I don't think you can keep it to yourself much longer - especially as Justin gets bigger - no offense. Anyways, I need to get to the diner before the lunch rush – Lord knows Kiki can't handle it herself – so I'll see you Saturday."
Justin sighed, tilting his head as the message clicked to an end. He turned to glance over his shoulder, into the depths of the bedroom, where Brian was meticulously hanging up his Armani suit. "Debbie's right. Our friends aren't exactly stupid and if Emmett's already asking questions, it won't be long before the others start to notice as well. We can't keep this to ourselves much longer."
"So you want to tell them this Saturday?" Brian asked.
"…At Michael's birthday?" Justin arched an eyebrow. "I don't know, maybe. It'll be a way to tell everyone while they are all together."
Brian padded out of the bedroom, grabbing the phone from the receiver. "I'll give him a call and see if he agrees, but are you sure you're ready?"
"No, not really," Justin admitted, thinking back to how people had reacted to the news in the past. He wasn't sure whether he could handle one of the gang reacting badly. But then again, he supposed the worse person he had to worry about was Michael and he was already on their team. Lindsey and Mel might be difficult, after all the chaos about paternal rights, but they needed to know, even if it was just because their children would be siblings. He sighed heavily. "But we have to right? Besides, this secret will be hard to keep in a few more weeks, and this baby is going to be as much a part of their lives as it will be ours. They need to know."
Brian looked thoughtfully and nodded slowly. "Okay. The decision is yours. I'll call Mikey."