Robert and Ashley walked downstairs after talking to Everly. They went into the kitchen and saw Gabriella unloading the dishwasher and Troy on his laptop.
"We need to tell you both something" Robert said.
Gabriella looked up at the couple and then at Troy. Robert motioned for his mother to sit down next to his father. Robert and Ashley sat across from them. Robert looked at Ashley, who looked back at him and smiled softly. Robert squeezed Ashley's hand supportively. Ashley looked at her in-laws.
"I'm pregnant" Ashley said.
Gabriella's eyes filled with tears.
"Really?" Gabriella asked.
Ashley smiled and nodded. Gabriella got up and hugged Ashley. Troy shook Robert's hand.
"How far along are you?" Gabriella asked.
"Ten weeks. We were going to wait two more weeks but Rob and Ev got into an argument and we needed to tell her" Ashley said.
Gabriella looked at Robert, who smiled.
"Congratulations, guys" Gabriella said.
"Thanks, mom" Robert said.
Gabriella hugged Robert. The two couples talked for a little while longer. Later that night, Ashley walked into the kitchen and saw Robert cooking. She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him.
"How are you feeling?" Robert asked.
"Okay. A little tired, but I'm okay" Ashley said.
Robert kissed Ashley's lips softly.
"Do you feel a little better after talking to Everly?" Ashley asked.
Robert smiled and nodded.
"Ev is sensitive. She and East are close by nature. They are twins. But she and I were always close. I always protected her. She was always there for me. Even when I didn't want her to. So, this was something that I couldn't ignore" Robert said.
Ashley smiled.
"She loves you so much and I know that she appreciated us coming over and telling her" Ashley said.
Robert smiled.
"She loves you too" Robert said.
Ashley smiled.
"Seeing you with Everly and hearing about your bond with her shows me how amazing of a dad you are going to be to this baby" Ashley said.
Robert smiled. He leaned in and kissed Ashley's lips.
"That means a lot to me. Thanks, baby" Robert said.
Ashley smiled. A couple of weeks later, Ashley had her first ultrasound. She walked into the kitchen and smiled when she saw Robert making himself a cup of coffee. Ashley walked over to him and kissed his cheek.
"Morning baby" Ashley said.
Robert looked at his wife and smiled.
"Morning baby. How are you feeling? Did you get sick?" Robert asked.
"I'm a little nauseous. But I haven't thrown up" Ashley said.
Robert took a sip of his coffee and placed it on the counter. He turned to Ashley and wrapped his arms around her. Ashley laid her head on Robert's chest and sighed. Robert kissed Ashley's head softly.
"You excited to see the baby?" Robert asked.
Ashley smiled and nodded.
"Yeah. I'm nervous too" Ashley said.
Robert kissed Ashley's temple.
"I'm going to be here every step of the way" Robert said.
Ashley kissed Robert's chest.
"Thanks. I would make you even if you weren't" Ashley said.
Robert chuckled. The couple got ready to go to Ashley's appointment. A couple of hours later, Ashley and Robert were in an exam room waiting for Ashley's doctor to arrive. Ashley looked at Robert and how nervous he was. She knew that he would never admit it. She placed her hand on Robert's shoulder.
"I love you" Ashley said.
Robert smiled.
"I love you too" Robert said.
Ashley leaned over and kissed Robert's lips softly. A couple of minutes later, there was a knock on the door. A woman who was probably in her late thirties walked into the exam room with a file. She had black hair that was tied up in a ponytail.
"Hi, Ashley" the doctor said.
Ashley smiled.
"Hi" Ashley said.
Dr. Klein turned to Robert.
"I'm Dr. Klein. You must be dad" Dr. Klein said.
Robert smiled.
"Yeah. I'm Rob" Robert said shaking Dr. Klein's hand.
This was the first time that Robert had come to an appointment like this. Ashley had gone alone to the first appointment.
"How are you feeling, Ashley?" Dr. Klein asked.
"I'm okay. A little nauseous, but it hasn't been too bad" Ashley said.
Dr. Klein asked Ashley a few more questions. She then asked Ashley to lie back on the exam table. Ashley looked at Robert, who looked at her and smiled. Ashley held out her hand and Robert took it in his own. Dr. Klein placed a blanket over Ashley's lower body and raised her gown above her bellybutton. She then squeezed some gel onto Ashley's stomach and then took a wand and started moving it around. Dr. Klein had moved the monitor so that the couple couldn't see for a couple of moments. Ashley squeezed Robert's hand. Robert leaned over and kissed her temple. Dr. Klein moved the wand around Ashley's stomach a couple of times and then moved the monitor back in its original position.
"See that dot?" Dr. Klein asked.
Ashley and Robert looked at the monitor and nodded.
"That's your baby" Dr. Klein said.
Ashley and Robert smiled. Dr. Klein pointed out the baby's features. Robert kissed Ashley's head softly. Ashley looked at Robert smiled.
"I love you" Robert said against her temple, kissing it again.
"I love you too" Ashley said.
Dr. Klein turned off the ultrasound and looked at the couple.
"I will go print a couple of pictures for you and I will be right back" Dr. Klein said.
"Okay" the couple said.
Dr. Klein took her gloves off and washed her hands and left the room. Ashley sniffled. Robert smiled softly.
"You happy, baby?" Robert asked.
Ashley nodded. She looked at her husband with tears running down her cheeks.
"Don't cry" Robert said wiping a tear away from her face.
"It's happy tears, I promise" Ashley said.
Robert smiled.
"It was pretty cool to see the baby" Robert said.
Ashley smiled and nodded. There was a knock on the door and Dr. Klein came back into the room. She did a brief exam and told Ashley and Robert what to expect in the next four weeks. When the couple finally got into the car, Robert looked at Ashley.
"So, human grower, where to?" Robert asked.
Ashley giggled.
"Ev wanted to see the sonogram and so did your mom" Ashley said.
"So, my parents' house it is" Robert said.
Robert was about to start the car when Ashley put her hand on top of his. He looked at her.
"What's wrong?" Robert asked.
Ashley leaned in and kissed Robert's lips softly, but passionately. Robert pulled away slowly and then kissed her again. Ashley pulled back slowly.
"What was that for?" Robert asked.
"For being you. I love you so much and I can't wait to have this baby with you" Ashley said.
Robert smiled.
"I love you too, so much. I can't wait to have this baby with you too, Ash" Robert said.
Ashley smiled and sighed. Robert started driving to his parents' house. Once they arrived, the couple walked into the house. Troy was sitting on the couch watching a basketball game.
"Hey, guys" Troy said.
Troy stood up and hugged Ashley and shook Robert's hand.
"What are you guys up to?" Troy asked.
"We just came from the doctor" Robert said.
Troy looked at his eldest son and daughter-in-law.
"Is everything okay?" Troy asked.
The couple nodded.
"Yeah. We have a sonogram" Ashley said.
Troy smiled.
"Your mom should be home any minute from the office" Troy said.
"Okay" Robert said.
The couple and Troy walked into the living room and sat on the couch.
"Who is playing?" Robert asked looking at the television.
"U of A and Stanford" Troy said.
Twenty minutes later, Gabriella walked into the house and went into the living room and smiled when she saw Robert and Ashley.
"Hi, guys" Gabriella said.
"Hi mom" Robert said.
"Hi Gabi" Ashley said.
"What are you guys doing here?" Gabriella asked.
Ashley handed Gabriella the sonogram. Gabriella took the sonogram and looked at it and smiled.
"Is it healthy?" Gabriella asked.
Ashley smiled and nodded.
"Yeah. So far so good" Ashley said.
Robert smiled.
"Are you guys thinking about looking for a house?" Gabriella asked.
"We haven't talked about it. But we know that we are going to need more space when the baby comes" Ashley said.
Robert nodded. Ashley looked at her husband and smiled. Robert smiled. An hour later, the couple went back to their apartment.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Robert asked noticing how quiet his wife was.
Ashley looked at Robert.
"It's just stressful" Ashley said.
Robert nodded.
"She's just trying to help, baby. That's all. We don't need to move" Robert said.
Ashley took a deep breath and released it.
"It put things a little more in perspective though" Ashley said.
Robert motioned for Ashley to follow him into the living room. They sat down on the couch.
"We are going to need more space but it's not an emergency to move. I just hadn't even thought about it until your mom brought it up" Ashley continued.
Robert nodded.
"I get it. Maybe after the baby comes, we could start looking at houses" Robert said.
Ashley nodded. Robert smiled. He leaned in and kissed Ashley's lips softly.
"I love you" Ashley said.
Robert smiled.
"I love you too" Robert said.
A couple of weeks later, Ashley and Robert were at Easton's basketball team try-outs with his parents. Everly had stayed behind since Robert and Easton's childhood both consisted of countless basketball games and practices. Troy and Robert sat together while Gabriella and Ashley sat together further up in the bleachers of the U of A stadium.
"How are you feeling?" Gabriella asked her daughter-in-law.
"I'm feeling okay. I've been having a lot of morning sickness. Rob is a big help when I get sick. We have developed a new routine. He's learned what my stomach can handle and what it can't" Ashley said placing her hand on her flat stomach. Gabriella smiled.
"Good. If he doesn't help you out, you let me know. I'll talk to him" Gabriella said.
Ashley smiled.
"He's been great so far. I've had to cut out a lot of different foods because I just can't handle the smell. Since I can't handle the smell, he has also cut those foods out too" Ashley said.
Gabriella smiled.
"You know that you can talk to me about anything" Gabriella said.
Ashley smiled and nodded.
"Yeah, I do. I think we are just trying to figure everything out" Ashley said.
Gabriella nodded.
"We decided that we want to look for a house after the baby is born" Ashley said.
"How are you feeling about that?" Gabriella asked.
"I am excited to move into a house but at the same time, we have made a lot of memories in the apartment" Ashley said.
Gabriella nodded.
"I felt that way too before Troy and I moved into this house. But you will get used to it. Plus, when the baby is here and is crying, it will give the three of you space. If the baby cries and Rob gets the baby, he could bring the baby into a different room that is not your bedroom" Gabriella said.
Ashley nodded.
"Yeah, that's true" Ashley said.
"What are we talking about ladies?" Robert asked kissing Ashley's cheek and handing her a bottle of water.
"The baby" Ashley said taking a sip of water and handing the bottle back to her husband.
Robert smiled.
"Ashley told me that you guys are going to look for a house after the baby comes" Gabriella said.
Robert nodded.
"We want more space so that we aren't constantly in one room all the time" Robert said.
Gabriella nodded.
"That will be nice" Gabriella said.
The couple nodded. The Bolton family continued to watch Easton's basketball try-outs. That night, Ashley was cleaning the kitchen in her pajamas. Robert walked into the kitchen and started helping her put things away.
"I talked to Ev. She said that she may come by this weekend if we weren't doing anything" Robert said.
"Okay" Ashley said.
Robert smiled.
"Baby" Robert said.
Ashley looked at Robert.
"I can finish it from here. You go rest" Robert said.
"I can do it" Ashley said.
Robert observed how exhausted his wife looked.
"Ash" Robert said.
Ashley looked at Robert.
"I can do it. It's not a big deal. You had a long day today" Robert said.
Ashley sighed and gave in. She handed Robert the cleaning supplies that she was using and kissed Robert's cheek.
"Thanks, baby" Ashley said.
Robert smiled.
"No problem" Robert said.
Ashley left the kitchen. Robert cleaned the rest of the kitchen and shut off the light. He then walked into the bedroom and smiled when he saw that Ashley was in bed asleep. Robert got ready to go to sleep and climbed into bed. He kissed Ashley's forehead softly. Robert then fell asleep. The next morning, Ashley was the first one awake. She went into the bathroom and did her morning sickness routine, which consisted of throwing up, brushing her teeth, and taking a shower. Ashley then went into the kitchen and made herself a piece of toast. A couple of minutes later, Robert walked into the kitchen.
"I heard you get up earlier, are you okay?" Robert asked.
Ashley nodded.
"Just feel sick today" Ashley said.
Robert wrapped his arms around his wife and kissed her head.
"Is there anything that I can do to help?" Robert asked.
"Just stay home today" Ashley said.
"We can do that. We can find a couple of movies and just lounge today" Robert said.
Ashley nodded against him.
"Where do you feel sick?" Robert asked.
"Stomach, throat and my body aches" Ashley mumbled.
Robert leaned down and kissed Ashley's cheek a couple of times.
"I love you" Robert mumbled into her ear.
"I love you too" Ashley mumbled back.
The doorbell rang and Robert sighed.
"Go back to bed. I'll get the door" Robert said.
"Okay" Ashley said.
The couple went their separate ways. Robert went to the front door and opened it. He smiled when he saw Everly.
"Hey, how's it going?" Everly asked.
"Good. Everything's okay. Ash is feeling sick, so we've been hanging around the house" Robert said.
"Is she okay?" Everly asked.
"Yeah. She's just having a lot of morning sickness and it's been hard. What's going on with you? We missed you last night at East's try-outs" Robert said as the siblings walked into the apartment.
"I've been busy with school stuff" Everly said.
"Oh. Is there anything you need to tell your older brother about?" Robert asked.
Everly smiled. She hugged her brother.
"I've missed you" Everly said.
Robert smiled.
"I've missed you too. It's been crazy around here. Between Ash and the pregnancy and my stuff, it's a lot" Robert said.
Everly nodded.
"But, I'm happy for you guys. You are going to be an amazing dad. You have protected me all these years and I know that you will continue to with your baby" Everly said.
Robert smiled.
"Thanks, Ev. That means a lot to me" Robert said.
"Of course. But I'll let you get back to what you were doing. I just wanted to stop by and say hi" Everly said.
Robert walked Everly to the door. The two siblings hugged and promised to keep in touch. Robert went back into the bedroom and saw that Ashley was asleep. He smiled and let her sleep.