Wow, okay, honestly I'm as surprised as you guys are that I managed to get three chapters done within a week but we love that for me I guess lol. I can guarantee that there won't be another chapter up until either late in the week or next Monday, because I have a lot to get done. That being said, I am super excited for this next chapter (you can probably figure out what's going to happen by my saying that) and there's a slight chance you'll see another one sometime soon. Enough of my rambling, though—thanks so much for supporting this story, I love you all! -EJ

No matter how hard she tried, Ally couldn't take her eyes off the screen. Now that she had confirmation the baby was okay, she felt like she could at least relax a little. The nurse started to clean the jelly off of Ally's stomach and she sat up on the table.

"Hey, um, could I get a copy of that ultrasound? I'm going to surprise my husband when I get home."

"Sure thing," Daniela replied, pushing a few buttons on her keyboard. Within seconds, Ally had a collection of pictures she could use to tell Austin and a video of the baby's heartbeat, which would both be a surprise. Ally grabbed the pictures gratefully and FaceTimed Trish as soon as she got out to the car.

"So?" Trish asked when she picked up the phone, "What did they say?" Ally held the ultrasound in front of her face.

"You're going to be an aunt!"

Trish shrieked in happiness on the other end of the phone and Ally laughed. "Yeah, that was about how I reacted, too."

"So how are you telling Austin?" Trish questioned, grabbing the drink she'd been sipping on, not taking her eyes off the phone.

"Well, I'm going to cook him a special dinner—baby back ribs, baby corn, baby carrots…if he doesn't get that hint, my backup plan is to take a video of him performing 'Heart Beat' and somehow incorporate the ultrasound in there...I don't really know how yet, though. I'm hoping the dinner will be enough of a hint. Otherwise, I could wait a few days…I found this onesie that says 'When I grow up, I want to play guitar just like my daddy.'"

"Oh my goodness, go with the onesie! That's the most adorable thing I've ever heard!" Trish squealed.

"It is, but I don't know if I can wait that long. Maybe we can use that in the announcement to our fans," Ally replied, "I think I'm going to go with the dinner and the Heart Beat video…I might need Dez's help putting it all together, though."

"You really want to tell Dez your secret before Austin?" Trish exclaimed, "Everyone knows he can't keep a secret!"

"You think I don't know that already?" Ally laughed, "I'm definitely not telling Dez before Austin. I'll just be very vague and say I need help putting audio in the background of another video."

"Ahh, I see." Ally heard Trish slurping her drink in the background. "Well, I should probably let you go. Good luck!"

"Thanks, Trish." Ally hung up the phone and started the car, unable to wipe the smile off her face.

When Ally got back home, Austin was sitting on the couch in the living room, strumming some random chords on his guitar. His face lit up when Ally walked in. "Hey, babe," he greeted, neglecting his guitar and coming into the kitchen. "Where all did you go? You've been gone for a while."

"I told you, I was just running some errands," she replied, setting the groceries on the kitchen table. "I'm going to make a special dinner for us tonight, but I can't tell you why just yet. You're going to love it, though." She retreated back out to her car and grabbed the ultrasounds, which were sitting in the front seat, carefully putting them in her purse and walking back inside.

"What kind of dinner are you cooking?" Austin asked hesitantly, "Ribs, corn, carrots...I mean, I'd never turn down ribs, but..."

"It'll all make sense tonight," Ally replied, "There's a common denominator there."

Austin furrowed his brows. "Why do you have to make everything about math?"

Ally giggled. "You're going to make me ruin the surprise...now, if you'd excuse me, I have to go do something upstairs by myself."

Austin frowned. "You mean, I can't come with?"

"Nope."

"Aww, but I want to. Everything's better with you."

Ally sighed. "I'm sorry, Austin, but this is all part of the plan. I'll be back down in an hour. Until then, don't come upstairs. Got it?"

"Got it," he mumbled, plopping back down on the couch. He racked his brain, trying to think of what kind of surprise Ally could possibly be planning. Austin flipped the TV on, but he couldn't concentrate on the show; he just wanted to know what she was doing.

Then, a lightbulb went off. Maybe he could go see what she was planning, and then pretend like he didn't know what it was until dinner that night. Austin smiled mischievously, getting up from the couch and creeping carefully up the stairs. He heard the faint sound of what he recognized was his song, Heart Beat, coming from one of the guest rooms, and frowned. Now he was really curious. He stood outside the door, which was cracked the slightest bit open, trying to listen in, and became more confused when he realized Ally was talking to Dez.

"So basically, I want to put Austin's song over another video. I can't tell you what it's for quite yet," Ally was saying into her phone, "But you'll see it eventually. So, how would I go about that?" Austin listened closely as Dez told her what to do. He furrowed his brow, wondering what she could possibly be doing. Austin peeked inside the small crack, careful not to make any noise. All he saw on Ally's computer was a grey picture with a blob in the middle.

Wait a second.

Austin's breath hitched as he placed his hand on the door and pressed against it ever-so-slightly. The door was open about an inch now, and although Ally was sitting against the wall on the other side of the hallway, she didn't notice Austin looking inside. She was wearing earbuds and looking at her phone, where Dez was telling her what to do. She nodded every once in a while, keeping her attention focused on the screen in front of her. What Austin heard next made his jaw drop.

It was the sound of a heartbeat, which could only mean one thing:

Ally was pregnant.

Austin backed away from the door before allowing a huge smile to form. He couldn't believe it. Not it all was starting to make sense— the dinner was baby back ribs, baby corn, and baby carrots. He wondered if he would be able to act like he didn't know until dinnertime. Austin carefully crept past the door, holding his breath, and back down the stairs into the living room. He didn't know if the smile would ever go away.

He sat on the couch, watching the TV program for a little while longer, until Ally came back downstairs. Austin immediately suppressed the grin on his face and greeted her as she sat down next to him.

"Did you get... whatever you were doing up there... done?" he asked, trying to hide the excitement in his voice.

"Yup," Ally responded, not looking up, "Well, I'm pretty close, anyway. I'm super excited to finally show you what I've been working on. I think you'll really like it." A smile grew on her face, and Austin grinned in response.

"I can't wait."

The rest of the day felt like it dragged on, as Austin waited ever-so-patiently for Ally to start cooking dinner. By 4:30, he finally got her to crack.

"I'm hungry," he whined, "Als, can you start dinner?"

"It's not even five yet," she said, then her stomach started to rumble, as if on cue. She grinned slightly, knowing that the baby was probably getting hungry, too. "But I guess I could eat."

"Great, I'll start the ribs." Austin jumped up and sauntered over to the fridge, taking the ribs out and reading the instructions. "I'll be out on the deck if you need me," he said absentmindedly, sliding the glass door open and walking outside.

That's a little weird, Ally thought, In the year and a half that we've been married, Austin has never once volunteered to help make dinner. She shrugged, getting up to grab the corn and carrots out of the freezer. I wonder if he's caught on. She quickly shook off the idea, remembering that this was the guy who once offered her a burger (a raw one, no less) that had been fried on a xylophone and scraped off the window of Sonic Boom. She smiled at the memory and dumped the baby corn into a pot, hoping that their baby would inherit at least part of his adorable, upbeat personality.

"Alright, the ribs are done," Austin announced cheerfully, coming back inside. He set the plate down on the table and wiped his forehead. "Man, it's hot out there."

"The veggies are almost ready. Just give me another minute or two," Ally replied, taking some corn in the large spoon she'd been using to stir and folding it into the rest. Austin grabbed a sharp knife and started to work on cutting the ribs apart so they could be eaten easily. He was sitting on the edge of his seat, silently begging for the vegetables to magically finish cooking. Ally lifted the spoon out of the pot, tapping it a few times on the edge, and announced that they were done. Austin couldn't contain his excitement. He bounced lightly in his seat a few times and she smirked, knowing that he would probably be caught off guard with the surprise and it wouldn't be what he was expecting. She retreated upstairs to grab her laptop, testing the video once to make sure it worked, and came back down to find Austin already digging into his ribs head-first. Barbecue sauce lined his lip like a mustache, and she giggled, setting the laptop down.

"Are you ready?" she asked, and Austin immediately put the ribs down, wiping his face with the napkin.

"Absolutely."

Ally bit her lip and made the video full screen, glancing up from the computer to see her husband had broken into a full-fledged smile. "I will warn you, it probably won't be what you're expecting," she said as she turned it around to face him. "But I think you'll really like it."

She pressed play and instead of the ultrasound like Austin had expected, a pre-recorded video of Ally popped up.

"Hey babe, if you're watching this, we're most likely sitting down to eat dinner. As I mentioned earlier, there's a theme in common with all the foods that I cooked. Your first clue is whatever the theme is. Can you guess it?" Ally paused the video, glancing over at him.

Austin stroked his chin, pretending to be perplexed. "Uhh, I don't know...baby back ribs, corn, and carrots? I can't think of a theme."

"What kind of corn and carrots, though?" Ally pressed.

"I don't know," Austin frowned. "Uh, these carrots are kind of small, I guess. Baby carrots and... baby corn?"

Ally tapped her nose. "Ding, ding, ding!" She pressed play on the video again.

"By now, you've probably figured out that the common denominator here is 'baby,' but you may not know what that means just yet. This next clip should give you a decent idea." Austin grinned.

"I think I have a decent idea already," he said as a video of the ultrasound came onto the screen. It was playing Heart Beat in the background, softly enough so he could still hear the baby's actual heartbeat— just as he had expected. His jaw dropped, and his lips curled into a smile. "Als," he whispered, looking from her to the screen, "You're pregnant?"

She nodded, letting out a laugh as Austin jumped up and ran over, lifting her off the ground and swinging her around. "I can't believe it!" he exclaimed when he'd finally set her down, "I'm...I'm gonna be a dad."

"You are," Ally responded, and it was then that Austin realized she'd been recording his reaction. He didn't seem to care, though, as he repeated, "We're going to be parents."

"How do you feel?" Ally asked. Austin pulled her into a hug again.

"Amazing," he said, "Like...like I can do anything. I want to shout it from the rooftops, except I don't want to get on the roof, so imma just shout it from the deck." He yanked the sliding glass door open and ran out onto the deck, raising both arms into the air and shouting triumphantly, "I'M GONNA BE A DAAAAAAAD!"

Ally watched him, still recording his reaction and belly laughing. She turned the camera to face herself and said, "Well, there you have it, folks. Austin's a little excited to be a father." She stopped the video and went out to join her husband, whose face was still covered with a smile. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her hair; Ally grinned, not wanting this moment to end.

"I love you, Als," he whispered, moving his hands to her stomach, which was starting to jut out ever so slightly, and rubbed it gently, "and I love you, too, munchkin," he added, "I can't wait to meet you."

Minutes later, after Austin and Ally had finished eating dinner, they started the cleanup process. Ally grabbed the pan after wiping it down and she felt a pair of arms wrap around her.

"Uh, uh, uh…there's no way I'm letting you lift a finger the next nine months. Leave it all to me."

Ally let out a laugh. "Austin, this pan is so small. I can handle it…and technically, it's the next...six and a half...ish... months. I'm already about ten weeks along."

"Wait really?" Austin asked, "Wow. How big is the baby?"

"I don't know how accurate this chart is, but according to this, it's the size of a cotton ball," Ally replied, pulling a chart up on her phone, "So, about this big." She showed him the size with her thumb and pointer finger and he broke out into a smile.

"Wow," he breathed, "That's so cool. We have our own little cotton ball." He paused. "We should come up with a different nickname, though."

Ally giggled. "Yeah, I'm with you on that one. We could call it something like pumpkin or peanut? And then, obviously we'll know the gender after he or she is born and we can pick a name."

"Or, we could find out the gender and then we won't have to scramble to find a name," Austin said, taking the pan out of her hands and putting it away. Ally's smile faded.

"Wait, you want to find out?"

"You want to wait?"

Ally ran her fingers through her hair. "Ugh...we're not really going to get into an argument about this, are we?"

"I'm impatient, Ally! You know that! Why wouldn't we find out the gender, because then we can start decorating the nursery, buying them clothes…do you see my point, here?"

Ally sighed. "I guess we are. Look, it's not that I don't want to do those things—I just like being surprised. I think it'll be more impactful if we find out when the baby's born." She picked up a rag and wet it down under the faucet.

"And I think it'll be more impactful if we find out as soon as we can. I want to know whether I'll be taking my kid to dance lessons or sports practice." Austin regretted saying the words as soon as they left his mouth. "I-I mean—"

"Why does it matter what gender they are?" Ally asked, "Yes, girls typically do take dance lessons—and sports can go either way—but boys can do dance, too. I mean, look at you. You're a good dancer."

"I-I misspoke. Of course, they can do either one. It's just—you know what I mean, right? We can prepare better if we know the gender."

Ally shook her head. "Yeah, I have a feeling I'm going to win this argument, given that I'm the one carrying the kid."

Austin tilted his head as if in thought. "That's a valid point."

"Not to mention the whole childbirth thing. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't completely terrified." Ally wiped off the last pan and put it away. "I've heard lots of horror stories from family friends and such…and I'm scared out of my mind."

"Hey," Austin put a reassuring hand on Ally's shoulder. "Don't worry. I'll be right by your side the entire time. You're gonna do great."

Ally's lips curled into a smile. "You always know what to say." Austin shrugged. "I love you."

"Love you, too."

"So, you're okay with waiting, then?" Ally asked, biting her lip.

He nodded, knowing that was a lie. "If it'll make you happy, then I guess I can wait. It'll be worth it at the end." Austin paused. "Hey, what do you say we start planning how we're going to tell our friends and family?" Austin suggested.

Ally nodded. "Sounds great. I already have a couple of ideas—"

"Of course, you do."

"Hey, I've known how I wanted to do this for years now. Since not long after we met, actually."

"Wait, seriously?" Austin chuckled, clearly amused. "You've known how you want to announce your pregnancy since you were fifteen?"

"Yeah, I... guess I've always known you were the one." They exchanged bashful smiles and Ally continued. "Anyways, I have a Pinterest board full of ideas that we should take a look at, and then we can host a party and tell everyone there."

Austin grinned as Ally pulled up the board on her computer and they started searching through it, keeping themselves busy for the next few hours looking for the perfect way to reveal the big announcement to their closest friends and family. About an hour in, Ally stumbled upon a onesie that said "I can't wait to meet you, grandma and grandpa," and they exchanged looks again.

"What do you think about getting our parents each one of these?" Ally asked.

"It's perfect," Austin said. "We can say that it's a fourth of July present. What about Dez and Trish?"

"Trish already knows...I think we should get her something, anyway. For all of them, we should put a picture of the ultrasound in there, too, just to drive home the point."

Austin chuckled. "Sounds great."

One Month Later- 4th of July

After ordering the things they needed for the reveal, Austin and Ally invited their friends and family over for a 4th of July party. Everyone they invited said they'd be there (including Penny, who was home from Africa briefly), which made it all the more exciting for both of them. Ally was really excited to be able to share this moment with everyone, especially her mom.

Around 1:00, the doorbell rang and Ally scurried over to the front door to answer it. Dez and Carrie stood behind it, both wearing cheerful smiles.

"Hey, guys!" Ally hugged them both excitedly, "How was your honeymoon? Tell me all about it!"

"Uh-MAZING!" Dez exclaimed, coming into the house and taking off his shoes, "We went to the National Zalien Convention." He sighed, grinning wistfully. "I can't think of anywhere better to celebrate our marriage than being surrounded by thousands of other people dressed exactly like us."

"I can think of about a dozen other places I'd rather spend my honeymoon," Ally mused. "And besides, I thought that they canceled that because of the virus."

"That was last year's," Dez said, "It was back on this year."

"You guys went to the Zalien convention?" Austin exclaimed, turning the corner. "Awesome!"

"I know, right?" Dez replied, fist bumping his best friend. "What up!"

"So, how's it feel to officially be a married couple?" Austin asked, leading them all back into the kitchen.

"Awesome," Carrie chirped, grabbing a bottled water from the cooler, "I've never been so happy in my entire 27 years of life!" Dez cleared his throat.

"Uh, babe...you're 26."

"Oh, right. My entire 26 years of life!" Carrie giggled and opened the bottle, taking a sip. Just then, the doorbell rang again and Ally went to greet Trish and Chuck, who looked a lot less happy than Dez and Carrie.

"Hey, guys," she repeated, embracing Trish in a hug. "How are you? I haven't talked to you guys in a while."

"Oh, we're fine," Trish replied, "It's just...all these little wedding details are so frustrating! Like, which type of napkin rings do we want, or should we have a DJ or a live band? Honestly, who cares? I wish we could just elope and get married at City Hall so we didn't have to deal with all that."

"Well, we could"— Chuck started, but Trish cut him off.

"And miss out on the only wedding I ever get? Absolutely not!" she huffed, making her way into the kitchen. She turned to Ally. "Do you have anything with alcohol in it?"

"Uhhh...I think so? You'll have to ask Austin, though, because I don't know where he keeps it. I obviously can't drink right now because of..." her voice trailed off when she realized everyone was listening, "uh, because I don't want to...haha...who needs alcohol, anyway?"

"Me," Trish stated blatantly, "Didn't you hear what I just said?"

"Right. Austin, could you get Trish something to drink?" He nodded and led Trish downstairs, and Ally shook her head. Well, that was close, she thought.

About a half an hour later, everyone had arrived to the party and Austin was grilling burgers and hotdogs with the guys while the ladies casually chatted inside. Soon enough, lunch was ready and he brought the plate of steaming food inside and set it on the table. He raised one eyebrow at Ally, as if to ask, "Should we do it now?" Ally gave a slight nod and went upstairs to retrieve all the presents. Austin rubbed his hands together impatiently.

"Hey, um, if everyone could gather around, we have something to give you," he paused, "as soon as Ally returns with the presents, that is."

"Presents?" Dez asked, "But it's not anyone's birthday...is it?"

"No, no, it's nobody's birthday," Austin said, "Consider this a... fourth of July present."

"Ooh," Penny mused, "I wonder what it could be." Ally came back downstairs, juggling four packages, and set them all down on the table hastily.

"They all have your names on them," she said, a little breathless. "So, pick the one that has yours on it and we'll open them one by one, starting with me and Austin's parents."

Austin raised an eyebrow. "Wait, I thought we were going to have them open the presents all together. I mean, wouldn't that make more sense?"

Ally faked a laugh. "Yeah, but I wanted to video tape everybody opening theirs and I think it would go a lot more smoothly if" —she paused when Trish put down her drink and started ripping her gift open.

"I don't have time for this...I wanna see what you got me!" Ally rolled her eyes.

"Apparently we're starting with Trish." she paused, "But don't show it to anyone else just yet— you don't want to give it away." Trish's face broke out into a huge smile as she held the white onesie that said, 'Best Aunt Ever' behind the gift bag, shoving it under the table when Dez craned his neck to see it.

"I love it, Ally."

"There's more, but just wait to open the second part. Mike and Mimi, and mom and dad, you can open yours."

"At the same time?" Mimi asked. Ally nodded and pressed record on her phone. Penny pulled the onesie out of the bag and her hand went to her mouth.

"Ally, are you"— her voice caught and tears formed in her eyes.

Ally just nodded, and Penny showed the onesie to Lester, who smiled.

"You're serious?" he asked, and Ally nodded again, smiling. Her parents got up from the table and came to embrace her in a hug. Meanwhile, Mimi and Mike were in the middle of opening theirs.

Mimi's eyes went wide when she saw the onesie and she showed it to her husband. Matching smiles crossed their faces.
"Congratulations!" Mimi exclaimed, nearly knocking her son over with a bear hug. Mike joined in cautiously and Austin just laughed.

"Thanks, guys."

"Now can we see what all the fuss is about?" Dez asked impatiently. Austin let out another chuckle and Dez ripped the tissue paper out. His jaw dropped when he pulled out the onesie, which stated, 'The best brothers get promoted to uncle.'

"Wait, so..." Dez paused, furrowing his brow, "Didi's pregnant?"

Austin fought back a laugh. "No, Ally is. The reason why it says 'brother' is because you're like a brother to me."

"Ooohhhhhhh." Dez jumped up and wrapped Austin in a hug. "Well, congrats, Austin! You guys are gonna be the best parents."

Ally came up beside Austin and leaned on his shoulder. "I sure hope so. If I'm being honest, I'm completely terrified."

Mimi waved her hand. "Don't you worry, Ally. I have lots of tips I can share with you guys! Oh, this is so exciting...I can give you my whole collection of parenting books!"

Penny faked a smile, pretending that she wasn't a little annoyed by Mimi's perkiness. "I don't have parenting books, but feel free to bring the baby over any time. I'd be happy to babysit." Ally smiled back.

"I think we're going to take you up on that offer."

Austin nodded in agreement. "We definitely will."

"Oh, before I forget," Ally said, "the other part of the gift is inside the bag. It's a picture of the first ultrasound." Everyone dug in their bags and a chorus of awws echoed around the room.

"I think I'm going to frame this," Penny said with a smile.

"Me too," Dez agreed, which earned him a few strange looks. "Hey," he argued, "I want to remember this moment." Austin shrugged.

"Can't argue with that logic."

A few hours later, everyone was sitting around the fire pit that Austin and Ally had installed in their backyard, still chatting away. The couple still had more news to share, but hadn't had the chance to do it quite yet.

"So, have you had any morning sickness?" Mimi asked, taking a drink of her hard lemonade.

"A little," Ally replied, "It hasn't been too bad yet, though. There's been a little bit of weight gain and the usual cravings, but nothing too serious."

Mimi nodded. Trish set her bottle down (this was at least her third—Ally was counting), and motioned for Chuck to bring her another one.

"I love you, darlin', but three drinks is enough," he said, and Trish pouted.

"But...but..."

"Nope. No beggin'. I'm cutting you off."

Trish groaned, leaning back in her chair. "But there's still, like, three more hours before the fireworks start! How am I going to survive?"

"Here's a suggestion: how about, oh, I don't know, drinking something without alcohol in it?" Ally grinned a little as she sipped on her glass of regular lemonade.

"I don't wannaaaaa..." Trish drawled, eliciting a laugh from the rest of the crew.

"I think I like drunk Trish better than sober Trish," Austin murmured into Ally's ear. Ally gave him a little smack on the shoulder.

"What? It's funny."

Ally cleared her throat, ignoring her husband. "Uh, well, there's actually something else we wanted to share with you guys...something career-related." She glanced over at Austin, who gave her a little nod. "We've been talking, and we decided that we are going to pursue starting our own record company."

"Wait, really?" Trish asked, seemingly snapping out of her drunken state, "So, that means you'd be competing with Starr and Ramone records?"

"Yup," Austin stated triumphantly, "We decided that we want a little bit more of a flexible schedule for when our little whoopie cushion gets here." Everyong giggled a little at the nickname. "What? She's about twenty weeks along, which means it's the size of a whoopie cushion."

Ally leaned in. "Um, maybe don't use that nickname around Dez. I think you killed him." Sure enough, Dez was laughing so hard he had turned red in the face, and Carrie was yelling, "Breathe, Dezzie! BREATHE!"

"Well, I'm happy for you guys," Penny said, "You and your little wh"—

"Don't...say whoopie cushion," Ally interrupted, "And besides, I'm not even twenty weeks yet. Technically I'm closer to 18 weeks, which means it's about the size of a wine cork."

"That's no fun, though," Austin whined.

"Speak for yourself," Trish replied, glaring at Chuck, whose eyes widened.

"What did I do?" he asked defensively.

"You cut me off from alcohol, you asshole!"

Austin chuckled. "Wow. Good luck handling her when you guys get pregnant. I'd like to see Trish go nine months without consuming any alcohol."

"That's why we're not having kids," Trish said blatantly, "Life without alcohol isn't worth living."

"Um, can't we at least talk about this?" Chuck murmured, "I thought you did want a kid or two."

"Nope." Chuck frowned. Maybe this was just the alcohol talking, but they had discussed it before, and they had both agreed that they wanted kids. Of course, this was also before he proposed. Maybe she'd changed her mind?

After that, the conversation ceased a little until the fireworks show started. Lester bragged about how his extreme couponing habits had helped him when there was a toilet paper shortage two years prior, which elicited eye rolls from both his daughter and ex-wife. The others found it amusing, to say the least, and Dez commented about how much the coronavirus pandemic compared to a zombie apocalypse. People were hoarding food and supplies, he pointed out, and they'd had to stay inside for a long period of time. The others agreed, especially Trish and Austin, while Ally shook her head. He really hadn't changed since high school.

Two Weeks Later

"I think we should star decorating the nursery," Ally said one night at dinner, "I'm about halfway through my pregnancy now, and it'll take a while to come up with a gender-neutral color that we both like."

Austin nodded. "Sure. Sounds good."

"Oh, and we need to decide on a theme. I was thinking either, like, a jungle safari vibe, or under the sea." She paused. "Wait a minute, we should go with safari, because my mom works in Africa! Oh, that'd be so cute!" she squealed, and Austin grinned.

"Yeah, sure."

"You're being awfully quiet tonight...is everything okay?" she asked, stabbing a piece of broccoli with her fork.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he assured her, "It's just—I'm worried about how Jimmy's going to react when we tell him that we're leaving Ramone and Starr Records."

"You're worried about that? Austin, I'm sure it'll be fine. I mean, he might be sad to see you go, but he's never liked me."

"What are you talking about?" Austin asked, "Of course, Jimmy likes you."

"Well, then, why did he keep you from performing when he knew that it would only bring revenue down? I mean, it was obvious, Austin. That whole debacle was never about your career. It was about me." Ally picked up her knife and started cutting her chicken. "He saw me as a threat."

"Don't be ridiculous," Austin said, putting a reassuring hand over hers, "If Jimmy doesn't like you, then why did he and Ronnie combine record companies so we could be a duo?"

"Because he knew that I wasn't going away anytime soon," Ally replied, "He just had to accept that combining records was the only way to make it work, because if they hadn't, we would have gone to another label, and that would've brought sales down for him."

Austin thought for a moment. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense." He stared into Ally's deep brown eyes for a moment, making them both smile.

"So, should we get started planning this nursery?" Ally asked excitedly, jumping up and heading up the stairs. Austin's expression changed as he followed her up. "I was thinking we could go with a pale yellow, that way he or she could grow into it," Ally explained, gesturing at the walls of the bedroom across from theirs, "Yellow is a color that they won't mind having in their room when they're, say, eleven or twelve. We could always change the theme, of course, but at least the color can grow with them."

Austin nodded hesitantly, leaning against the doorway. "Are you sure you don't want to find out the gender?"

Ally hesitated. "I would be lying if I said a little part of me didn't want to know..." she paused, "But the rest of me still wants to wait."

He groaned. "Why can't we just find out? I've been dying ever since you told me! We could do a big reveal with all our friends and family..."

Ally bit her lip. "That does sound fun..."

"Right? Come on, Als. What do you say?"

"Okay. Let's do it."

"Yesss!" Austin wrapped her into a big bear hug. "I'm so excited that you finally gave in!"

Ally giggled. "Yep, I'm sure you are."

A little while later, Austin and Ally were sitting on the couch in the living room. Ally was making a list of the things they needed to get for the nursery and Austin was focused on the TV, but quickly turned his attention away when she let out a little yelp of surprise.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, and Austin looked over at her.

"What?"

"I think...the baby just kicked."

His eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yeah." She smiled, grabbing his hand and putting it on her stomach, which was sticking out a bit now. They waited for a second, and Austin frowned when nothing happened.

"Aw, don't tell me I missed it."
"That's okay, it'll happen again. Maybe try playing one of your songs, and see if the baby responds to that," Ally suggested.

"Good idea," Austin mused, grabbing his phone and pulling up one of his albums. "Hmm, what song, though?"

"What about Heart Beat?" Ally suggested. He nodded and pressed play, turning the volume up and putting it closer to her stomach. Austin placed his hand gently on Ally's belly again, and they waited. After about thirty seconds of the song had gone by, Austin's hopeful smile turned back into a frown.

"I guess they're being stubborn, huh?" he asked, inching closer.

"They get that from you," Ally said, grinning.

"Nuh uh," Austin argued, "You're the more stubborn one."

Ally rolled her eyes. "That's not true, but okay." Austin pouted as they continued to listen to the song, both bobbing their heads a little to the beat. He jumped in surprise when he felt movement from inside Ally's stomach.

His jaw dropped. "Woooaaaaah. Was that...?" Ally nodded, and his face broke into a smile. "That was...amazing."

"It's really incredible, isn't it?" Ally asked, "I think our little pumpkin likes your music."

Austin crossed his arms. "They'd better. If they're gonna grow up with Austin and Ally Moon as their parents, they pretty much have no choice."

Ally giggled, rubbing his shoulder. "That's exactly what I thought you'd say."

One Month Later

"So," the nurse said as she walked into the exam room, "I hear that you guys want to find out the gender today?" Austin nodded vigorously.

"Yep," he piped up, "And it was all my idea, too."

"He finally convinced me," Ally mused, "I didn't want to at first."

"A lot of couples get into that argument," she said, typing some information into her computer, "So it's definitely not uncommon." Ally lifted her shirt up and the nurse squirted some gel onto Ally's stomach, which was protruding out a little more than at her last appointment. She pressed on it with the wand, moving it around until she could get a clear picture.

"There it is," said the nurse, moving the screen and pointing at the vaguely baby-shaped blob toward the left of the screen. Austin's jaw dropped.

"Woah... so that's our kid, huh?"

"Yup," the nurse responded. "Are you ready to know the gender?"

"Absolutely," Ally smiled.

"I've been ready since she told me she was pregnant back in May," Austin said, breaking out into a huge smile.

"Alright. Well, based on what I'm seeing here, I can tell that you guys are having a very healthy little baby girl. Congratulations."

Ally's eyes quickly filled with happy tears and Austin stood up from the chair he was sitting in by the exam table, and gave her a kiss on the lips. She caressed his cheek and held on for a few seconds until Austin pulled away, gazing at the screen again.

"We're gonna have a daughter," he whispered. Ally nodded, wiping a stray tear from her cheek.

"Yeah, we are."

"See, this is why I wanted to find out. Tell me you aren't extremely happy right now."

Ally let out a laugh. "I can't, because I'm so so happy."

Austin smirked. "I knew you would be." he watched their baby girl move around on the screen for a few more seconds, then added, "I'm gonna spoil her so much, I hope you know that."

"You would've done that if it was a boy, too," Ally said.

"Yeah, I guess that's true."

As soon as they got back from the doctor's office that day, Ally immediately started planning the gender reveal. They'd decided on a music-themed reveal, where Austin would sit down at a drum set and wail on them for a little bit (he begged Ally to let him do it with corndogs, to which she'd given him a sassy eyeroll and said 'absolutely not'). At the end, he would do a drumroll on the top of the drum that was filled with pink dust, which would be covered with colorful wrapping paper.

Austin couldn't have been more excited.

Two weeks later, they hosted the gender reveal party and invited all of their family and friends. Coincidentally, Carrie had found out that she was pregnant, too, a few weeks before. She was only about eight weeks along and wasn't quite showing yet. She and Dez were both ecstatic; frankly, though, nobody was surprised when they'd announced it.

Everyone gathered in Austin and Ally's backyard, where the drums were already set up. There was a candy table with pink and blue treats, and streamers that said 'Boy or Girl?' hung across the beams of the deck. Ally motioned for everyone to gather around the drum set, and she nodded to Austin, letting him know he could start.

Austin started out with a simple rock beat, eventually transitioning to more complex riffs. After about a minute, he turned his body toward the drum with the colorful wrapping paper and started to wail on it with all he had. Ally had been recording the entire thing, and she moved to capture everybody's faces when the pink powder started seeping out of the drumhead.

Trish squealed, running to give Ally a hug, which she had been planning to do either way. Dez, Carrie, and Chuck cheered, and the moms started to get teary-eyed. Lester and Mike just stood on the lawn, holding their beer and grinning pleasantly.

Austin pulled Ally in for a side hug, kissing her hair, even though they'd known it was a girl before the party. Ally felt completely overwhelmed with emotion, and happy tears filled her eyes as they celebrated knowing that Austin and Ally were having a baby girl.

After the party, Trish came up to her, giddy with excitement. "You have to let me take you on a shopping spree! It's pretty much vital at this point. I mean, what do you have?"

Ally faked a laugh. "Close to nothing. We don't even have a crib yet, Trish. So, I'll gladly take you up on that offer."

Trish squealed. "Great! Let's go tomorrow. I'll pick you up at one. Until then, make a list and we can go from there."

Ally smiled. "Great, see you then."

After everyone had gone home, Ally sank into the couch with a sigh, followed by Austin.

"Busy day, huh?" she mused, grabbing a magazine from beside her.

"Yup," Austin agreed, "It's been a crazy past couple of months. I mean, first we find out we're pregnant, then we decide to start our own record company, and then all of a sudden, you're halfway through your pregnancy and we find out we're having a baby girl—which I'm still trying to process," he looked over at Ally, who nodded in agreement. "Man, the only thing that would make this day better is if we found out that we got approved for the business loan we applied for, so we can start A & A records."

A few minutes later, Austin's phone buzzed. He swiped to the right and his jaw dropped. "Woah, it's like I can predict the future!" Ally looked at him skeptically and he showed her his phone, which displayed an email that said their business loan had been approved.

"Wait, they approved it?" A smile grew on her face.
"They approved it," he replied, immediately pulling her in for a side hug.

"Wow, so this is it, huh?" Ally mused, "We're really starting a business and a family at the same time."

"There's nobody I'd rather do it with." He planted a kiss on her forehead.

She grinned up at him. "I feel the same way."

haha okay wow a lot happened in this chapter. What did you all think? I personally love drunk Trish, and it's wild that Carrie and Ally are pregnant at the same time...also THEY'RE HAVING A GIRL! Y'all probably know that from the finale of A & A because obviously the girl looks older than the boy...and if you didn't know that...go watch it lol. Also, leave it up to Dez to brighten the mood...I was searching on the internet for baby size charts and when I saw one that had a whoopie cushion for week 20, I knew I had to include it. While I was editing this chapter I literally burst out laughing at that part aha. And yay for A & A Records! Idk about you guys but I'm excited for them. Again, I appreciate each and every one of you! I'll see you next chapter! *muah*- EJ