A couple months later, Ashley found out that she was pregnant. She and Robert were so happy. They were advised by Ashley's doctor to keep the pregnancy to themselves until Ashley had passed the twelve-week mark. One night, Robert walked into the bedroom and smiled when he saw Ashley sitting up in bed looking at her flat stomach.
"What are we doing?" Robert asked.
"I can't believe there is a baby in here" Ashley said.
Robert smiled. He walked over to the bed and sat on the edge. Robert kissed Ashley's forehead softly.
"You happy?" Robert asked.
Ashley smiled and nodded.
"So happy. You are going to be the best daddy" Ashley said.
Robert smiled.
"I don't know about that" Robert said.
"You have helped take care of Everly and Easton since they were born. You always check up on them to make sure that they are doing well. You are like their second dad" Ashley said.
Robert smiled. He leaned in and kissed Ashley's lips softly.
"Thanks baby" Robert said.
Ashley smiled.
"It's the truth" Ashley said.
Robert got into bed. The couple fell asleep. The next day, Robert went to his parents' house. He walked into the kitchen and smiled when he saw his mother.
"Hi mama" Robert said.
"Hi stranger" Gabriella said.
Robert let his shoulders fall.
"We've been really busy" Robert said knowing what his mother was going to say.
"You could have called or texted us and told us what was going on" Gabriella said.
"I'm sorry. It's just been really crazy the last few weeks. Ash has been working long hours. I have been running around at the office. It's a lot" Robert said partially lying to his mother.
Gabriella knew something was going on. But, she didn't want to pry.
"You know that you can talk to me about anything, right? Even though you are all grown up, you are still my son" Gabriella said.
Robert smiled. He walked closer to his mother and hugged her. Gabriella wrapped her arms around Robert.
"I know. Hopefully everything will calm down in the next couple weeks" Robert said.
Gabriella smiled. She kissed her eldest son's head. Easton came downstairs and smiled when he saw Robert in the kitchen with their mother.
"Hey" Easton said.
Robert looked over at Easton and smiled.
"Hey dude" Robert said shaking his younger brother's hand.
"I was going to go do some free throws in the backyard" Easton said.
Robert smiled. He let go of his mother and followed Easton to the backyard. The two brothers started doing free throws.
"Something is up with you" Easton said.
Robert looked at Easton.
"Why do you think that?" Robert asked.
"Because you are never this quiet. You are usually telling me what I need to do to improve my footwork" Easton said.
Robert closed his eyes and sighed.
"Promise me that you won't tell mom, dad, or Everly until we are ready to tell them" Robert said.
Easton dropped the basketball.
"What's wrong?" Easton asked.
"Ash is pregnant" Robert said.
Easton smiled.
"Really?" Easton asked.
Robert nodded.
"We found out a couple weeks ago" Robert said.
"Congrats, bro. You guys are going to be great parents" Easton said.
Robert smiled.
"Thanks. It's just a scary concept too" Robert said.
"You took care of Ev and I from the very beginning. We turned out okay" Easton said.
Robert chuckled.
"Yeah" Robert said.
"Have you told anyone else?" Easton asked.
Robert shook his head.
"It's early. We wanted to wait until Ashley was further along" Robert said.
Easton nodded.
"Mom and dad are going to be really excited" Easton said.
Robert smiled and nodded. That night, Ashley came home and smiled tiredly when she saw Robert in the kitchen. She walked into the kitchen and wrapped her arms around him.
"Hey baby" Robert said kissing his wife's lips.
"Hey" Ashley said.
"How was your day?" Robert asked.
"Fine. I'm just really tired" Ashley said.
Robert smiled.
"Why don't you go take a shower and I will start dinner?" Robert said kissing Ashley's lips again.
Ashley nodded. She walked out of the room. A half hour later, Ashley returned to the kitchen in a pair of sweats and one of Robert's sweatshirts.
"I told Easton about the baby" Robert said.
"Rob, we were going to wait to tell them" Ashley said.
"I told him not to tell my parents and Everly. I just needed to tell someone. I felt that Easton was the safest" Robert said.
Ashley sighed.
"I'm sorry baby" Robert said.
"Don't tell anyone else, please" Ashley said.
"Okay" Robert said.
Ashley took a deep breath and released it.
"I've never done this before-" Robert started.
"I know. I'm sorry for getting so agitated" Ashley said.
Robert stopped what he was doing and moved closer to his wife. He wrapped his arms around Ashley. Ashley placed her head on Robert's shoulder.
"It's just a process" Robert said.
Ashley nodded against his shoulder. She looked at Robert and kissed his lips.
"I won't tell anyone else until we get the okay" Robert said.
Ashley nodded. She kissed Robert's lips again. A couple weeks later, Gabriella and Troy had invited Robert and Ashley over for dinner. Easton and Everly were home for the weekend. Robert walked into the bedroom and saw how sick Ashley looked. She had been having really bad morning sickness.
"Do you want me to cancel?" Robert asked for the third time.
"You go to dinner with the family. I will stay here" Ashley said.
"Babe, I want to help if you aren't feeling well" Robert said.
"I'm fine. I'm just really nauseated and tired" Ashley said.
Robert sighed.
"Go have dinner with your family. If they ask anything, just tell them that I wasn't feeling well and didn't want you to miss out on being with them" Ashley said.
"My mom will probably call you" Robert said.
"Then let her call me. I will stick to that story" Ashley said.
"Okay, you win. But, call me if you feel worse" Robert said.
Ashley smiled.
"Don't worry" Ashley said.
Robert leaned in and kissed Ashley's lips softly.
"I love you" Robert said.
"I love you too" Ashley said.
"And I love you, whoever you are" Robert said placing his hand on Ashley's flat stomach.
Ashley smiled.
"Go before you are late" Ashley said.
"Okay" Robert said kissing Ashley one last time.
Robert left the house. He drove to his parents' house and parked his car. Robert walked to the front door and opened it. He walked in and smiled when he saw his father.
"Hey" Robert said.
"Hey. Where's Ashley?" Troy asked.
"She's not feeling well. She didn't want me to miss out on anything so she told me to come" Robert said.
"Is she okay?" Troy asked.
"Yeah. She just has a bug or something" Robert said.
Gabriella came into the living room and smiled.
"Hi Rob, where's Ashley?" Gabriella asked.
"She isn't feeling well" Robert said.
"Oh. We could have rescheduled if you needed to stay home with her" Gabriella said.
"She told me that I should come" Robert said.
"I told her that you would probably be calling her later" Robert said.
Gabriella smiled at how well her eldest son knew her. Troy and Gabriella dropped the subject. Easton and Everly had come over an hour later. The Bolton family had dinner together. Later that night, Robert came home and smiled when he saw Ashley in the kitchen dressed in one of his shirts. He walked into the kitchen and smiled.
"Hey, anything happen while I was gone?" Robert asked.
Ashley smiled and shook her head. She walked over to Robert and wrapped her arms around his neck. Robert kissed Ashley's lips softly. Ashley pulled back slowly.
"How was dinner?" Ashley asked.
"Fine. My parents asked about you. I told them that you had a bug" Robert said.
Ashley smiled.
"Thanks" Ashley said.
Robert kissed Ashley's forehead softly.
"No problem. How are you feeling?" Robert asked.
"Fine. Just a little tired and nauseated" Ashley said.
"Is there anything that I can do?" Robert asked.
Ashley smiled and shook her head.
"Just stay here with me" Ashley said.
Robert smiled.
"Okay. Nice shirt" Robert said changing the subject.
Ashley giggled.
"I wanted to wear something comfortable" Ashley said.
Robert smiled.
"I like you wearing my shirts. It's cute" Robert said.
"You will probably be missing some shirts in the near future" Ashley said.
Robert smiled.
"Did you eat?" Robert asked.
Ashley nodded.
"Yeah" Ashley said.
The couple went into their bedroom. Ashley got into bed. Robert took his pants and shirt off and climbed into bed. Ashley snuggled into Robert's chest.
"Did they suspect anything?" Ashley asked.
Robert shook his head.
"I just told them that you had a bug and that you wanted me to go" Robert said.
Ashley nodded.
"But I am sure that the topic has come up. If not from them, then from Ev or Easton" Robert said.
"I thought you told East not to tell?" Ashley asked.
"I did. But, Ev and my parents may have thought about you getting pregnant" Robert said.
"Yeah" Ashley said.
"Don't overthink it. If they think that something is going on, then they will ask" Robert said.
Ashley nodded.
"Plus, I kind of like having the baby be our little secret for a while. It's our first time being able to keep something big like this to ourselves" Robert said.
Ashley nodded and snuggled closer to Robert.
"Once we announce that you are pregnant, I'm sure our parents will understand why we kept it to ourselves for a while. It's a legitimate reason" Robert said.
"Yeah. Our parents will be so happy" Ashley said.
Robert smiled. He kissed Ashley's lips softly. Ashley kissed Robert's lips. Robert pulled away slowly. The couple fell asleep. A couple days later, Ashley had opened the door after a long day at the office. She walked into the house and heard a couple of voices. Ashley walked into the living room and smiled when she saw Gabriella sitting in the kitchen with Robert.
"Hi Ashley" Gabriella said.
Ashley smiled.
"Hi Gabi" Ashley said.
Gabriella hugged her daughter-in-law.
"How was the office, babe?" Robert asked.
"Fine. I just had a lot of paperwork to do" Ashley said.
Robert wrapped his arm around Ashley's waist.
"Mom was just stopping by to say hi" Robert said.
"Oh" Ashley said.
"Rob said that you have been sick for the passed couple of weeks" Gabriella said.
Ashley looked at Robert and then at her mother-in-law.
"Yeah. I think I'm really stressed out at work with all the products launches that we are doing this month" Ashley said.
"Oh. How many products are you launching this month?" Gabriella asked.
"Five" Ashley said.
"So a lot of ads?" Gabriella asked.
Ashley smiled and nodded.
"Yeah. Plus, we needed to get enough people to model for the ads too" Ashley said.
"Oh" Gabriella said.
The couple and Gabriella talked for a little while longer. An hour later, Gabriella left the apartment. Robert looked at Ashley, who had lied down on the couch.
"You could have given me a heads up that your mom was here" Ashley said.
"She showed up unexpectedly. I didn't know how long you were going to be at the office" Robert said.
Ashley sighed.
"How are you feeling?" Robert asked.
"Tired. I think I am going to go and take a nap" Ashley said.
Robert nodded. He leaned in and kissed Ashley's lips.
"I love you. Yell if you need me" Robert said.
Ashley smiled. She kissed Robert's lips again.
"I love you too" Ashley said.
Ashley got up and walked to the bedroom and took a nap. A couple weeks later, Everly was at Robert and Ashley's. Robert and Everly had their monthly dinner.
"So, what's been going on?" Robert asked.
"School" Everly said.
Robert smiled.
"When are you graduating?" Robert asked.
"A year and a half" Everly said.
"Are you getting excited?" Robert asked.
"Yeah, but at the same time, it's kind of scary" Everly said.
Robert nodded.
"I was scared when I was about to graduate too. It's normal. You are no longer a child or a teenager. You are a full-fledged adult" Robert said.
"Yeah. We will see how it goes" Everly said.
Robert was texting Ashley, who was upstairs. She didn't want to bother Robert and Everly. Ashley was having a lot of morning sickness. She would update Rob on how she was feeling.
"Is Ashley working late today?" Everly asked
Robert smiled and nodded.
"Yeah, she has a lot of work to do. She was just updating me on how everything was going at the office" Robert lied.
"You know that you suck at lying" Everly said.
Robert raised his eyebrow and looked at his younger sister.
"There are things that are going on that you don't need to know yet" Robert said.
"What kind of things?" Everly asked.
"None of your business type of things" Robert said.
Everly shook her head.
"We don't keep secrets from each other" Everly said.
Robert sighed and then looked at his sister.
"I know. But, this is one thing that I need to keep to myself" Robert said.
Everly nodded. Robert knew that Everly was hurt when he placed that boundary.
"Okay. I'll get out of your hair then" Everly said standing up.
"Ev" Robert said.
Everly walked to the door. Robert followed her.
"Just leave me alone" Everly said.
Everly opened the door and left the house. Robert sighed. He walked upstairs and went into the bedroom.
"Everly is mad at me" Robert said.
"Why?" Ashley asked.
"Because she knows that we are hiding something" Robert said.
Ashley saw how frustrated Robert looked.
"Two weeks, Rob. Two weeks and we can tell our families" Ashley said.
"I know. I just hate fighting with Everly" Robert said.
Ashley smiled softly.
"Do you want to go over and talk to her?" Ashley asked.
"I should. But, at the same time, I need to give her some space" Robert said.
Robert picked up his keys.
"I'll come with you" Ashley said.
"You sure?" Robert asked.
Ashley smiled and nodded.
"Okay" Robert said.
Ashley and Robert left the house. They drove to the Bolton home. Ashley and Robert walked into the house. Gabriella saw the couple and smiled.
"Hi guys. Everly ran in a couple minutes ago" Gabriella said.
"Did she say anything to you?" Robert asked.
Gabriella shook her head.
"No, why?" Gabriella asked.
"Nothing" Robert said.
Robert and Ashley walked upstairs. Robert knocked on Everly's bedroom door.
"Ev, we need to talk to you" Robert said.
"You obviously do not" Everly said.
Robert rolled her eyes.
"Everly, open the door so we can talk" Ashley said.
Everly opened the door and looked at her older brother and sister-in-law.
"What do you need to say?" Everly asked annoyed.
Robert looked at Ashley, who looked back at him and nodded.
"Can we come in and talk?" Robert asked.
Everly stepped to the side and the couple walked into the room. Robert shut the door behind them. They all sat down on Everly's bed. Robert sighed.
"Ev, we've talked about this before. You have to understand that now that I'm married, there are things you are not going to know about because that's Ash and my business" Robert started.
Everly was about to say something, but Robert stopped her.
"Let me finish. Ashley is pregnant" Robert said softly.
Everly looked at Robert and Ashley.
"Really?" Everly asked.
Ashley smiled and nodded.
"We didn't want to tell you until after I had my twelve week appointment. But since this argument came up, we knew that it wouldn't get solved without telling you what was going on" Ashley said.
"We needed to make sure Ashley and the baby were both healthy before we told anyone. Mom and dad don't know. Easton knows because he thought I was acting weird a couple weeks ago. But, I made him promise not to tell you or mom and dad" Robert said.
Everly hugged Robert. Robert hugged Everly.
"I'm sorry for being a jerk" Everly said.
Robert smiled.
"You have to trust me, Ev. If something is going on and it involves you or us, we will let you know when we feel it's okay" Robert said.
Everly nodded against her brother's shoulder. She pulled away and hugged Ashley.
"Are you going to tell mom and dad now?" Everly asked.
"We probably have to now" Robert said.
"Sorry" Everly said.
Robert and Ashley smiled.
"It's okay, Ev. It's not your fault" Ashley said.