Chapter 13
It took Fallon two days to agree to see Liam again. He'd texted her several times, restating the fact that he was still in New York, and not leaving until he was with her. She hadn't responded with anything more than an 'ok.' She knew she should probably make more of an effort to speak to Liam, but after three months, she didn't even know what to say. What are you supposed to say after your husband tells you he doesn't want kids, even though you're pregnant with his twins, and then comes crawling back three months later and says he was just scared and didn't mean what he said? Fallon certainly didn't know.
"Thank you for agreeing to come. I didn't think you would." Liam said to Fallon, as they sat down to a private dinner in one of New York's most expensive restaurants.
"You're lucky I came. I almost didn't." Fallon responded.
"Well, I know there's really no point in flattery, but you look beautiful."
"I look like I shoved a beach ball up my dress and I have coconut bra on. You should've just stuck with the 'no point in flattery' thing."
"Is everything I say going to make you mad?"
"If you keep saying stupid things, yes."
"I don't know what you want me to say, Fallon. I've already said sorry, and you said sorry wasn't going to fix anything. I'm trying to fix this, but I don't know how."
"Then maybe you shouldn't have decided to fix anything. Maybe you should've just stayed in Atlanta."
"And what good would that have done either of us? We both would've remained miserable."
"How is us being miserable together any different than us being miserable apart?"
"I'm not miserable anymore."
"Well, I'm, um, I don't know what I am. I'm not happy, that's for sure. And this stupid dinner is not making my mood any better."
"Do you want to leave?"
"I don't know. I don't know what I want."
"Fallon, I think you kinda need to figure that out before we can start to fix things. I need to know if you even want to continue this marriage."
"I did, or I do, but you're not making it easy. I just wish we could go back to five months ago. There was no Paisley, no Beck, just me and you, and two babies we didn't know about yet."
"I wish that too, but that's not the case. We can't go back. We have to pick up from here and move forward."
"And I don't know how to do that."
"I don't know either. But I think we should start with ditching this terrible dinner idea and going back to your apartment. Even though we're by ourselves, I think you and I both know this is by no means private."
"Ok. Just follow me in your car."
The pair quickly made their way to Fallon's apartment, and ordered Chinese takeout before starting their much needed conversation.
"So, first question, do you want to continue this marriage?" Liam asked, getting right down to business.
"Yes. Even after all this shit the past three months, you are still the love of my life." Fallon answered genuinely, briefly staring into his beautiful blue eyes that she loved so much.
"Ok. Good. And I love you, too."
"Ok, next question. Are you completely sure you want to be a parent?"
"Yes, I am sure."
"Good. Because once they're born, there's no going back. There's no walking away. If you leave, that's it. You and I are done, and you will never have a relationship with them."
"I know. I'm sure I want to be a dad. I was always so sure that I would never have kids, but when I met you, you changed me. I was scared, but I realized that I was being ridiculous. I can't live my life in fear of losing you, and sacrifice you and our kids."
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared of losing you, too. Hell, I almost have, like, a thousand times. In the end, our love prevailed. We just have to trust that we'll be ok."
"Sorry about that, by the way. About the whole thing, well, multiple things with Ashley, and almost dying in a pool, and getting amnesia."
"Well, to be fair, the pool and the amnesia weren't your fault, it was my stupid brother's. But the Ashley things were. But I forgive you, as long as you promise nothing happened between you in the past three months."
"I promise, Fallon. All we did was have lunch a few times. She tried to make a couple of advances, but I dodged them every time. She never came over to our house, I never went to her house. Nothing happened. I would never cheat on you, and especially not with her."
"Can you promise me that if anything ever happens with us again, you'll keep it away from your mother? I know she's your mom, but as she's shown plenty of times, she just makes the situation worse."
"I guess I can do that."
"Good."
"So, are you willing to come back home? We can continue fixing our relationship and preparing for the babies."
"I guess I'll be willing to move back to Atlanta. I do miss our house. And our bed. And my clothes."
"Our bed is quite lonely and cold without you in it. And dinner with Charlie isn't exactly the same. And Khloe's fur in our bed is quite annoying."
"You let Khloe sleep in our bed?"
"Yes, because that was about the only way I could get any sleep."
"Yeah, my sleep hasn't been great either, but I don't know if that's a symptom of pregnancy or because you're not with me."
"Speaking of your pregnancy, how has it been?"
"It's been normal. My doctor says we're all perfectly healthy. I'm about 26 weeks, meaning there's only 10 weeks until my doctor wants them to be delivered via c-section."
"10 weeks!"
"I don't know if I want a c-section yet, so we might have a few more weeks, but around 10."
"God, there's so much stuff we have to do. Have you bought anything?"
"No, I was hoping you would change your mind and we'd still be able to do everything together."
"Did you find out the genders?"
"Nope, again, I wanted to wait for you."
"You didn't have to do that, Fallon. I definitely don't deserve that."
"I know, but I wanted to. Now that I've waited this long, I was kinda planning on just letting the sexes be a surprise until they're born. Is that ok?"
"It's fine with me. We can just buy gender neutral clothes."
"I wanted a grey and blue themed nursery anyway, so that's fairly gender neutral. Not that colors really have gender, but that's another discussion for another day."
"Yes, it is, and yes, grey and blue are gender neutral."
"I was also thinking about giving them gender neutral names."
"That's fine by me, as long as we have gender specific middle names."
"That's exactly what I was thinking."
"So, should we start packing up all of your stuff? Do you wanna leave tonight?"
Fallon looked at her phone and saw it was almost 10pm.
"No, it's late and I'm tired. We can leave tomorrow."
"Ok, well, I guess I'll go." Liam started to get up from the couch, until Fallon stopped him.
"Just, um, stay. Neither of us has had great sleep since I left Atlanta. Things are definitely not fixed between us, but it's already late. There's no point in you leaving."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, Liam, I'm sure. Let's go." Fallon pulled him into the bedroom.
"Ok. I just don't want to rush you. It's really ok."
"And I'm really ok with this."
"Ok."
"I think I have an extra toothbrush." Fallon said, walking into the bathroom and waiting for Liam to join her.
She and Liam walked into the bathroom and started their nighttime routine. Usually, they'd have playful banter while getting ready, but this time was different. Things were still awkward. They brushed their teeth, and then Fallon turned towards Liam.
"Yes?" He asked, not sure what she was doing.
"I'm waiting for you to finish."
"So you can do what?"
"So I can change. You haven't seen me naked in over three months. My body's a lot different. And we're not even close to being there."
"Your changes don't matter to me, Fallon. You'll always be beautiful in my eyes."
"Go back out to the bedroom, Liam."
Liam did as he was told and went back out to the bedroom. Fallon changed quickly and joined him in the bedroom. He had already stripped down to his boxers and climbed into bed.
"While I'm not gonna build a pillow wall in the bed like the first time we shared a bed, I do expect you to keep your hands, feet, and everything else on your half of the bed. We're not anywhere near close to going back to cuddling and spooning like we used. Plus, I now have a giant belly and a pregnancy pillow."
"I want to regain your trust, Fallon, violating the fragile trust I do have is not going to help that."
"Good. Goodnight."
"Goodnight." Liam gave one last glance to Fallon before turning off the light and rolling over away from her.
For several hours, they slept soundly. Fallon got up twice to pee, but went right back to sleep. Everything was great until 4am, when Liam was woken up by Fallon's tossing and turning.
"Are you ok?" Liam asked, turning back over to face Fallon.
"No. I can't get comfortable. They won't stop kicking and moving. It's annoying." Fallon responded, letting out an exasperated sigh.
"Oh. Is there anything you can do to get them to stop?"
"If there was, don't you think I would've done that by now?"
"True. Can't you, just, drink some water? Or warm milk?"
"Cold water will only make them more hyper, and I hate warm milk."
"I've heard walking around can soothe a baby."
"It's four in the morning, Liam. I don't have the energy to walk around, and my back is already killing me."
"Would it be better if I slept on the couch, so you could at least have more room to spread out?"
"No. There's no point in neither of us getting sleep. Just go back to bed."
"This is good practice for what will happen every night in a few months."
"Fine. Suit yourself." Fallon reached for her phone, and quickly got lost in it.
"Does this happen a lot?" Liam asked, after several minutes of silence. Fallon did say anything, so Liam asked again. "Fallon? Does this happen a lot?"
"Not really. It only just started happening. They're big enough for their kicks to be more annoying than cute."
"Can you tell which baby is which?"
"Yeah, baby A is over here," Fallon point to her left side, "and baby B's a little further down and over here." She pointed a little lower than opposite her right side. "Baby's A's head down, so their feet are closer to my ribs, and baby B's butt is closer to their sibling's head."
"Can you tell what they look like, yet?"
"I've seen their faces, but there aren't any definite features, yet."
"What do you think they are?"
"I think two boys, but I want a boy and a girl."
"A boy and a girl would be cool. I think she would look like you. A mini Fallon would be adorable, but two mini Fallons would be even better."
"Two girls? Really?"
"Yeah, really."
"If they're anything like me, it would be a nightmare."
"I think they'd be angels. Sure, they'd be sassy, strong-willed, confident beyond belief, but we'd raise them to be kind."
"Hey, I'm kind."
"I never said you weren't."
"I think a boy would be nice. He'd look just like you, and he'd have your personality with my stubbornness. I bet he'd be platinum blond at birth, just like you were. His blue eyes would be brighter than the sun."
"And a girl would look just like you. She'd have light brown hair and greenish-blue eyes. She'd be your mini-me. I think she'd be a daddy's girl, just like you."
"I don't really care what we have. I just want two healthy babies."
"I do, too. As long you you and them are healthy, I couldn't care less if they're boys, or girls, or one of each."
"I'm not looking forward to giving birth."
"At least you'll get two beautiful babies out of it."
"Yeah, but I'm not looking forward to what I have to do to get those babies."
"Do you want to have the c-section?"
"I don't know. Not really, but I will if it's the safer option. I'd like to keep them inside for as long as possible, so they can grow."
"Is it safe to not have a c-section?"
"I don't know. I know people have done it. I know it's best if both babies are head down, but that almost never happens. And if I don't have a c-section, I don't know if I want an epidural or a natural birth."
"You don't have to decide yet, right?"
"No. I still have some time."
"We have a lot to do in the next 10 weeks. We have to buy everything times two."
"Monica wanted to throw me a baby shower. I told her no."
"Why?"
"Because we don't need people buying things for us. We are perfectly capable of doing everything on our own."
"Yeah, but we don't have to. They say it takes a village to raise one kid, let alone two."
"I don't want help, Liam."
"Are you gonna be this way for their birthdays, too?"
"Maybe. I don't know. I just don't want people buying us a bunch of stuff. I'd rather us pick out everything. It's just easier that way."
"I think it's nice that your friends and family want to help."
"I can't explain it, Liam, I just need to do this by myself, or with you. I don't want help."
"Ok. That's fine."
"I think they finally settled down. Do you wanna go back to sleep?"
"Yeah, I'm still pretty tired."
"Me too."
The pair rolled back over into the respective positions, and fell asleep with smiles on their faces.