Chapter 37
Joey returned home on Sunday night to a much perkier looking Lauren. The sickness had practically stopped, thanks to a trip to the doctors on Saturday afternoon that Mandy had pretty much dragged her to. She was very grateful in the end though. Her sickness had been non-existent these past few weeks and Joey had successfully managed to cure her toothpaste craving. It seemed she got the same kick from a packet of Tic-Tacs…
"Come on, Lo, we're going to be late" Joey shouted from the bottom of the stairs to his fiancée who was on go slow mode "Lauren, I'm not joking, we really need to go"
"In a minute" she yelled back. Her hormone levels were through the roof at the minute and Joey was feeling the brunt of them. Another five minutes passed and he was considering going up to carry her down. "Keep your knickers on, I'm here" she bit as she stomped down the last few stairs. Joey looked at her and shook his head… "Well go on then, what're you waiting for?"
Joey quickly moved from the hallway and out of the front door to the car… "Are you okay? Lauren?"
"Can you put the air con on? It's too hot in here" she moaned as they pulled away. Joey did as she asked and opened his window. They drove in silence, Lauren fidgeting the entire way… "Do you want to drive any slower?"
Tightening his hands on the steering wheel he pulled out of the lane of traffic and into a side road, switching off his car engine, turning to her, seeing her looking at him blankly… "Do you want to be any more of a cow today?"
Lauren looked at him for a moment and then instantly burst into tears, guilt washing over Joey… "Babe, don't cry. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap. I know it's just your hormones"
"I'm sorry" she whispered in between sobs, smiling weakly as he placed his hand on her bump
"Don't apologise. It's fine. Look, we'll go for the scan and then we'll go and spend the day doing whatever you want, how about it?"
Lauren smiled warmly and nodded her head "What do you think it looks like now?"
Joey turned the car around and pulled out into the main stream of traffic again, thanking the driver who let him through. "I think it'll look much bigger than before. It'll be about the same weight as a pea pod. And it'll have started to develop, but we won't be able to tell what it is yet"
"Wow, someone's clued up" she chuckled
"I like to know what's going on in there" he admitted "anyway, the app is proving very interesting"
"If you say so" she replied, shaking her head at him as they pulled into a parking space. Secretly she loved how interested and involved he wanted to be. He was perfect, in every sense of the word…
*JL*JL*
The two sat in the consulting room a little while later. The nurse had just gone to get Lauren's notes. She was lying on the bed, t-shirt rolled up and leggings rolled down… "Morning, Lauren, let's take a look at baby, shall we?"
Lauren nodded her head as the nurse squirted the gel onto her stomach… "Sorry, I should've warned you how cold it was"
"It's bloody freezing" she proclaimed, chuckling lightly. Joey smirked at her and squeezed her hand, their attention being caught as the sound of their baby's heartbeat filled the room… "Is that what I think it is?"
"Sure is" the nurse informed her "nice and strong. This is booked in under your 12 week scan, which means you're almost 13 weeks. Does that seem right to you?"
Joey and Lauren looked at each other and nodded their heads.
"Is everything alright?" Joey questioned
"Perfect" she replied "the baby's at 6.5cm in length which is right on target, and look, it's having a bit of a wiggle. I'll print some pictures off for you both"
Sitting up, Lauren took the tissue from the nurse and wiped the remaining gel from her stomach, climbing off the bed with Joey's help, readjusting her clothes… "We can tell people now; your Dad, Alice"
"What about your Mum and Dad? And your Nan and sister?" he questioned, her frowning in reply "Lauren, they need to know"
"I'll tell them soon" she informed him
"When we've had the baby and it starts it's first day of school?" he inquired
"Preferably, yes" she replied "are you forgetting that if I tell them, I'll have to tell them it's your baby. Imagine how ecstatic they'll be"
Joey sighed heavily, Lauren grinning triumphantly, kissing him softly.
"Right, here are your pictures" she informed them "any complaints, Lauren?"
"Not really, the sickness has died down now but seems to have been replaced with a hormonal rollercoaster" she admitted
"I'm afraid it's just another one of the joys of pregnancy, Lauren. If that's all then I'll see you in a few weeks time for your 4-month scan?" she inquired
"Yeah" Lauren replied "see you then, thank you"
*JL*JL*
Arriving home to an empty house, Lauren had decided she had the perfect way to tell everyone she was pregnant, so with a little help from Joey, she set her plan into action. Stripping her top and leggings, she changed into a pair of shorts. Setting the camera on timer in their room, she and Joey stood in front of it. Lauren was turned to the side so you could see her bump, Joey kneeling in front of it, his lips and hands pressed to her stomach. It took several attempts but they both finally found an image they liked. Once it was taken, Lauren sent it to her laptop and did some quick editing on it and sent it to her phone, inhaling and exhaling a deep breath as she wrote the message underneath:
"This text entitles the owner to one cuddle when I arrive. Valid from October 12th 2014. Lots of love and hugs from baby Branning and Mummy and Daddy xx"
Sending it to everyone in her phone book; Uncle Derek, Uncle Jack and Alice included, both of them waiting for a reply. A few minutes later, her phone started to beep…
From Whitney: "OMG, are you serious?"
From Uncle Jack: "Oh God help us. Another Lauren or Joey running around. Congratulations, guys, can't wait to meet baby Branning"
From Fatboy: "Hell yes, Uncle Fats in the house! Congrats, you two!"
From Lucy: "A baby? Do you know how expensive those things are? Congratulations xx"
From Alice: "EEEEEEEEEK! I'M GOING TO BE AN AUNTIE. But ewwwwwww at the thought of you two doing that! Can't wait, I'm so excited! Xxxx"
Lauren sent messages back to everyone, thanking them and telling Whitney she was serious and that she'd speak to her soon. Moving to the bed with Joey, they both laid down, her head resting on his chest…
"You okay?" Joey asked a little while later
"Yeah, your Dad didn't reply though" she admitted, biting her bottom lip nervously
"Joey, Lauren" his voice proclaimed before Joey had chance to reply
"Upstairs, Dad" Joey informed him, both of them hearing his footsteps quicken, the door bursting open a minute later "Dad, you okay?"
"What's this all about?" he questioned, holding up his phone
Lauren and Joey looked at each other and then back to Derek. "surprise?" Joey smiled rather forced.
"is Lauren… are you ?" Derek stuttered shaking his head and then flicked his phone open again. "the message said… the text"
Lauren nudged Joey up from the bed and in the direction of his father. After a few seconds of silent communication, Joey for up and walked over to his Dad, taking his phone from him. "you're going to be a granddad, Dad." Joey said handing one of Laurens scan pictures across to him.
"I'm way, way too young" he smiled "And are you alright Lauren ?"
She nodded getting up to join Joey "we're all good, Baby Branning is nice and healthy and growing strong I'm almost 13 weeks now"
"I'm so happy for you both… does your mother know?" he turned to Joey who became embarrassed "of course she does, bet she fished out of you ay Lauren ?"
"something like that ye" she mused causing Joey and Derek to Laugh. "oh and we're not telling my Mum and Dad, I doubt it would go down too well to be honest"
"it's fine Lauren, I wouldn't consider it…"