seventeen: thanksgivings & turmoil

the next day

Austin woke up earlier than usual, his whole body numb with pain. Though he was extremely unmotivated he decided to get the grocery shopping done as a surprise for Ally. He slid out of bed carefully, trying not to wake her up. She needed her rest, and he had a feeling that these next few days, sleep would be hard to come by.

Austin stealthily made his way down the stairs, though his growling stomach made that harder than usual. He grabbed his keys off the counter, right where he'd left them after they had gotten back the previous night. Although he worried about Ally waking up before he got back because she was usually an early riser, he knew that today would be an exception.

Austin thought that it would be easy to avoid the events of the previous night, but that wasn't the case. As soon as he got into the car and looked over at Ally's passenger seat, his eyes filled with tears. The sounds of Ally screaming in pain while he sped to the hospital and the sight of her laying down in the bed, eyes red and puffy, when he'd come into the hospital room flashed through his mind. He made a note to himself to look up how to clean the seat off later, because he knew it would upset Ally when she got in the car again and her seat still had bloodstains on it. Austin got out of their shared 2019 Subaru SUV and instead ran inside to grab the keys for his other car, the Sonata. He started the ignition and backed out of the driveway.

about two hours later

When Austin finally returned from grocery shopping, making sure to get everything on Ally's list (and a few extra comfort foods for her), he was starting to feel the exhaustion and fatigue set in from the previous night. It was close to 9:00 am now, and though he assumed she was still in bed, he put away the groceries then went to check on her. He tiptoed up the stairs and down the hall, slowly turning the knob when he got to their bedroom. Ally had turned on her side and appeared to be awake, but not fully conscious yet. He climbed into bed next to her and rubbed her back lightly.

"Hey, Ally-gator," he said, hoping it would at least elicit a smile from her. Ally's expression stayed blank and unreadable. He leaned down to kiss her forehead. "Are you hungry? I got pancake mix." Austin thought he saw a slight grin come from her at the mention of her husband's favorite food, but he couldn't be sure. Ally shook her head. Austin frowned, wondering how long his wife would stay like this. "Okay. Text me if you need anything. I got some of your favorite foods. I bought like four jars of pickles...no joke." Still no smile. Austin kissed her on the forehead again and went back downstairs to make pancakes for himself.

As he was sitting at the folding card table eating his breakfast, Austin realized that their friends and family didn't know about the miscarriage yet. They probably thought that he and Ally spent their first night in the new house unpacking, watching TV, or doing something else equally fun. He pulled out his phone and composed a mass text to his parents, Ally's parents, Dez, and Trish.

Austin: Hey everybody, thanks again for the help these past few days with moving. There is some news that I have to tell you- and I have a feeling Ally will be upset with me for this but I think you guys have the right to know. Ally was cramping pretty bad last night so I took her to the hospital, and we found out she had a miscarriage. She was about 12 weeks along. Neither of us knew.

Austin paused, wondering how to close out a message like this. What more was there to say? After pondering it for another minute, he pressed send. As suspected, Mimi replied right away with her message (and several crying emojis).

Mimi: Oh no! I'm so sorry honey! We will be thinking about you guys. So sad. Let us know if you need anything.

Trish: That's so sad, Austin. How's she doing? Please keep us updated.

Dez: I'm sorry, dude. That's rough.

Penny: I'm so sorry, Austin. I wish I could be there with her. I agree with Mimi and Trish, let us know how she's doing and if you need anything. I'll let Lester know.

As Austin read the messages, he felt tears slip down his cheeks. Moving into your first house was supposed to be a new and exciting chapter in a married couple's life, but he knew that he and Ally would always remember their move-in day for a completely different reason. Austin's eyes filled with tears as he realized that he hadn't fully let out his emotions at the hospital last night; apparently, he was doing it now. Tears dropped onto the table as he set his phone down and sobbed into his hands. He looked at his pancakes, which were drowned in syrup, sitting untouched on his plate. Suddenly, he wasn't hungry anymore.

about an hour later

Austin stared at the empty notebook in front of him. He'd been attempting to start working on a new song, but since Ally was temporarily out of commission he hadn't had much luck. I wish she knew how much I needed her right now.

A small thud and the sound of something slamming snapped Austin back to reality. He frowned, standing up from the piano bench and rushed up the stairs. He pushed the door of the master bedroom open, frowning when he didn't see Ally in her usual spot in bed. When Austin turned his head, he saw Ally leaning against the far wall of the master bathroom, through the open door. Her eyes puffy, red, and swollen, and tears streamed down her cheeks. He could tell she'd just gotten sick, but whether it was on purpose or as a side effect of the miscarriage, he didn't know.

Austin rushed into the bathroom and knelt down next to her on the floor, pulling her body closer to his. "Hey, hey, hey. Shh. It's okay, baby. You're okay."

"N-no, I'm not," she sobbed, "I-I'm so miserable, Austin. When will the pain go away?" He gulped.

"I don't know if it will," he said numbly, looking down at the floor, "This is something that isn't gonna go away."

They were both quiet for a moment. "I was twelve weeks," she whispered, ignoring his words of encouragement, "do you know what that means?"

Austin knit his eyebrows. "Uhh, I don't"—

"It means the baby was conceived during our honeymoon."

Austin smiled a little. "Oh, yeah. I think I know which day, too."

"Me, too."

More silence. "I'm just so paranoid that it's my fault, you know? I drank on our honeymoon, I stressed about the move and the EP, I did things that pregnant women shouldn't do..." her voice trailed off into a fit of sobs again.

Austin gently took her head and placed it in his lap. He stroked her hair softly. "It could have been, but it wasn't. The doctor said this happens all the time."

"Why to us, though? Why do bad things happen to good people?"

For once, Austin didn't have an answer.

Over the next few days, Austin kept a close eye on his wife, making sure to check on her every few hours while he got some work done. He was worried about her and had called Trish, asking for advice. She knew Ally better than anyone else, maybe even her parents.

Trish picked up on the first ring. "Hey, Austin. Is everything okay?"

Austin frowned. "That depends. Ally hasn't moved from the bedroom in about three days. I'm worried about her."

She set down the drink she'd been sipping on her back porch. "It's really that bad?"

Austin nodded, but then realized she couldn't see him. "Uh, yeah. I don't know what to do. The doctor said that the bleeding should have died down by now, but she's still in a lot of pain. I'm scared, Trish. She isn't being herself." Austin felt tears well up in his eyes but wiped them away.

On the other end, Trish listened intently, taking sips of her lemonade. She sighed, thinking for a moment about what to say. "Well, maybe start by easing her out of bed and back into, quote unquote, 'normal life.' Like, ask for advice with some song lyrics and maybe she'll open up. Or bring her some of her favorite foods. Ally's never said no to pickles before."

"I tried the songwriting thing already...and the pickles," Austin said, running his fingers through his hair, "I know it'll take some time for her to heal, but...I just want my wife back."

Trish sighed. She shook her head, imagining Ally that miserable. "I don't know what to tell you, Austin. If you want, I can come over later and try to help, but I don't know if that will do anything."

"That'd be great," Austin replied, "I've tried everything. I even brought her Dougie the Dolphin. She took it, but I don't think it helped that much. You can come over any time."

"Sounds good. I'll be there at seven."

Austin hung up and decided to go check on her again and was caught off guard when he found her out of bed and in the bathroom, brushing her hair. He grinned a little, because even something as simple as brushing her hair was a big step forward.

"Hey, you." Ally jumped a little, then relaxed when she saw him.

"Hey," she croaked. There was little to no emotion in her voice. It broke his heart, but at the same time Austin felt a weight lift off his shoulders.

"How are you feeling?" he asked gently, coming behind her and placing a hand on each of her shoulders. She shrugged, and this was the first time he noticed her tearstained cheeks.

"I don't know, just...blah." Austin nodded knowingly.

"So, um, I was thinking we could maybe work on the EP a little today? I mean, if you're up for it. No pressure. But it's gonna be really hard to do it without you."

Then, for the first time in days, Ally smiled. That little grin that must have been so difficult to muster made Austin feel like he could fly. She bit her lip as if in deep thought, and finally said, "Okay."

"Really?" Austin's smile grew. "Are you sure? Cause, y'know, if you need more time..."

"Austin, I'm sure. Let me get dressed and shower, and I'll meet you in the studio."

Austin gratefully pecked her on the cheek and bounded down the stairs, turned the corner and went down to the basement and into the studio, which was almost completely empty except for some unpacked boxes. He went into the other room to grab their keyboard and retrieve a couple of folding chairs, then back upstairs to get his guitar. When he finished setting it all up, he stood at the front of the room, hands on his hips, and sighed. If writing music can't make Ally feel better, he thought, nothing will.

Ten minutes later Ally came down to the basement in baggy t-shirt and sweatpants, carrying her songbook. Austin stood up when he saw her, pulling her into a side hug.

"You smell nice," he said into her hair.

She mustered a smile. "Thanks. Now, are we doing this or what?"

Austin nodded. "Let's do this."

The rest of that day was spent working on new songs for their EP. They were a lot more productive than Austin thought they would be. He was impressed by how strong Ally seemed on the outside, even though he knew she was miserable on the inside. By the time seven o'clock rolled around, they had finished two of their songs and started to browse the internet, looking for equipment they could put in their studio. Austin had texted Trish a few hours prior to let her know that she didn't need to come over. Trish grinned when she saw the message, feeling extremely proud of Ally for persevering, even though she was hurting inside. While she knew that Ally couldn't go long without making music, everything seemed like a chore after you lose someone you love. Ally was stronger than they gave her credit for.

Weeks went by, and Austin and Ally continued to write and perfect the songs on their EP, finally releasing it in the beginning of November. Dez and Carrie started to plan their wedding, and Trish and Chuck's relationship grew stronger. So strong, in fact, that Chuck was almost certain that he wanted to pop the big question—but he had no idea how to go about it. Towards the middle of November, the gang gathered at Austin and Ally's house to have a 'Friendsgiving,' celebrate the release of the new EP, and celebrate Ally's birthday, all in one. He told himself that he would get Austin and Dez in a room alone so he could ask them for advice, but he didn't know how to go about that, either, since he and Austin were never that close and he and Dez had a... special relationship, to say the least.

The party was going to start around four o'clock, and Dez and Carrie arrived at about 3:30. Trish was fashionably late, as usual, which meant that Chuck was also late. He and Trish got out of the car and walked up the front path to Austin and Ally's front door at about 4:15.

"Trish, Chuck! Glad you guys could make it," Ally greeted. She gave Trish a hug and Austin appeared, giving Chuck a manly pat on the back.

"Glad we could come," Trish said, leaning in closer to Ally. "How are you feeling? I haven't talked to you since...move-in day."

Ally sighed. "I'm doing okay, I guess. The hardest part has been trying not to blame myself. Everything happens for a reason, and I'm not gonna lie, it's been hard to accept that. I think I'm finally at peace with it now, at least."

Trish nodded. "That's good. And I heard that you guys have done some decorating in your studio, yeah?" Ally perked up.

"Yeah, we ordered a bunch of sound equipment online, and now it looks like an actual recording studio. Wanna see it?"

"Not really," Chuck murmured.

"Of course!" Trish exclaimed, giving him a light punch in the shoulder and whispering in his ear, "What was that for?"

Chuck shrugged. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to mosey down and take a look." Just then, Dez and Carrie turned the corner. Dez stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Chuck and narrowed his eyebrows.

"Chuck."

Chuck furrowed his brow in response. "Red."

"Oh, brother," Trish sighed, rolling her eyes. "Here we go again."

"I see your fashion sense has slowly been declining since the new year," Chuck commented, smirking, and Dez looked down at his clothing, frowning. He was wearing bright orange pants and a lime green shirt that had a kitten with a unicorn horn on its head, and multicolored suspenders to pull the outfit together.

"Seems fine to me," Dez replied, "I see you're still into that...western stuff."

"I had no choice. You stole the wacky outfit look from me, remember?"

"Oh, right." Dez shrugged. "Yeah, it looks better on me, anyways." He turned around and sauntered back to the kitchen to grab some hors d'oeuvres, which were sitting out on the kitchen counter.

"So," Ally chimed in awkwardly, "Shall we go down to the studio?" Ally led everyone down to the basement and showed Trish and Carrie the studio, while the guys gravitated toward Austin's man cave. After giving them a brief tour, they went into the other room to check on the boys, who were immersed in Austin's new game system, complete with VR goggles.

"Are you boys having fun?" Ally asked. She looked over at Trish, grinning.

"Not now, Ally, we're busy!" Austin exclaimed, pressing the buttons on his controller furiously. "Dez, watch out for that bomb!"

"What bomb?" Dez asked and jumped back about two feet as an explosion sound rang out. He screamed in surprise and said, "Oh, that one."

Ally rolled her eyes. "Come on," she said to Trish and Carrie, "Let's leave the boys to their video game and we can talk upstairs while I finish getting dinner ready."

Not long after the girls went back upstairs, the guys had completed their game. Chuck removed his VR goggles. "Huh, that was actually pretty fun."

"See? I told you!" Dez replied, setting his goggles down and going to grab a water bottle from the mini fridge.

"Yeah, I'm glad we have another guy friend to game with. You're actually not too bad of a gamer," Austin said, motioning for Dez to toss him a bottle, too. "So, how are things going with Trish?" he asked nonchalantly as they took their seats at the snack bar.

"Actually, I was hoping you'd bring that up," Chuck said, "Because I wanted to ask you guys for some advice." Austin nodded.

"Yeah, of course. What is it?"

"Well, as you know, Trish and I moved in together, and it's been goin' really well. I've been thinkin' about us a lot and... I think I want to pop the big question."

"Wait, really?" Austin asked in disbelief, "Chuck, that's awesome. Congrats!"

Chuck nodded and looked over at Dez, who seemed perplexed.

"Wait, you want to marry Trish?" Dez questioned, his eyebrows narrowed.

"Yup. That's right, red, you're gonna be dealing with me a lot more...that is, if she says yes."

"So, how are you going to propose?" Austin asked, taking a sip of his water.

Chuck shrugged. "I have no idea. That's what I wanted to ask you guys about. I was thinking about taking her to some sort of show... my Trishypoo is really into Broadway these days."

"Hmm..." Austin sat in deep thought for a minute, "Well, it's Trish, so you have to make sure you go all out."

"Yeah. But I'm not exactly sure how I wanna do it, y'know?"

Austin nodded. They continued to brainstorm different ways that he could ask her for another half an hour or so until Ally called them up for dinner. Ally placed put a dark green table cover on top of their new, dark oak wood table that they had gotten not long ago—it came with four chairs and a bench, and the length could be adjusted to fit up to eight people. She figured that if Dez and Carrie were eating with them, she couldn't take any chances.

She smiled when Austin, Dez, and Chuck came back upstairs, still slightly sweaty from gaming so hard. Trish had been put in charge of setting the table and Carrie was filling water glasses. After all the food had been put on the table, the six of them sat down to eat.

"I think we should all go around and say what we're thankful for," Ally said, as Austin took her hand underneath the table, "I'll go first. I'm thankful for wonderful friends, amazing food, and my amazing husband." Austin smiled in response. "Also, music, of course, and how it has the power to heal." She squeezed Austin's hand. "Okay, I'm done, your turn."

"Uh, okay. Um," Austin stammered, looking around the room, "I'm thankful for music, friends, food— especially pancakes— and last but certainly not least, my wonderful wife, who is stronger than she will ever know."

A soft 'aww' came from the rest of the people sitting at the table, and Dez, who was sitting beside him, sniffled.

"That was so beautiful."

Austin grinned. "Your turn, Carrie."

"I'm thankful for goats...and zombie romance movies... my friends and my family...oh, and my Dezzie, too." Dez smiled at her. "Your turn, Dezzie."

"Uh, let's see. I'm thankful for the Zalien movie franchise, my friends, my fashion sense, and my fiancée." He smiled at Carrie, who leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He turned to Chuck, who was sitting to his left. "Your turn... Chuck."

Chuck smirked. "Not so fast, red." Dez raised an eyebrow. Everyone at the table let out a collective groan. "I'm so much thankful than you are. I'm so thankful, that instead of saying 'Happy Thanksgiving,' they say 'Happy Chucksgiving.'"

"Really? Well, I'm so thankful, that people don't say thank you anymore. They say 'Dez you.'" Dez frowned, realizing that his argument didn't make the least bit of sense.

"Guys," Ally interrupted as Dez and Chuck narrowed their eyes at each other, "It's not a competition. You can both be thankful!"

"I'm so thankful," Dez said, ignoring her, "That they're changing the dictionary definition of thankfulness...to Dez."

"Well, I'm so thankful...that...uh..." Chuck stammered. Dez wore a sly grin.

"Ha! I won," he exclaimed, digging into his mashed potatoes. Trish rolled her eyes. "Okay, onto me now. I'm thankful for my friends and family, for Chuck, for this delicious meal that Ally made us...oh, and before I forget, I have a big announcement to make." She paused. "Guess who's joining the touring company of Hamilton?" Trish broke into a smile. Everyone's jaw dropped, including Chuck's.

"Wait...are you serious?" Ally asked, grinning from ear to ear. Trish nodded.

"Yup! I'm Angelica's understudy! I've been waiting to tell you guys for so long, you have no idea!"

"Trish, that's amazing!" Ally jumped up to give her a hug and the rest of the gang congratulated her.

"Thanks, guys," Trish beamed, "I'm so excited about this. Ooh, you guys should try to catch a show when we're in Miami!" The others agreed and Trish immediately pulled out the tour schedule to show her friends.

The rest of the evening flew by quickly. The friends talked more about Trish's tour for the next hour or so, already making plans to meet up and see it when it came to town. After they'd cleaned up from dinner, Austin grabbed Ally's birthday cake from the fridge. He pulled some small, colorful wax candles out of the cupboard and placed twenty-six candles on the big square cake, which was decorated with white and pink frosting and read, "Happy Birthday, Ally!" Austin grabbed the lighter, carefully lighting each candle as Ally watched. Dez pulled out his video camera and everybody started singing 'happy birthday.'

"Happy birthday, dear Ally...happy birthday to you..." Ally blew out all of her candles and sat beaming ear-to-ear as Austin plucked each candle out and grabbed a knife, carefully cutting six slices. Ally put their new EP on her phone and connected it to the Bluetooth speaker, and they all chatted casually while it played in the background.

A little while later, Dez, Carrie, Trish, and Chuck eventually left, and Austin and Ally started to clean up. The EP was still playing on repeat, as it had been for hours, and Ally hummed along quietly as she scrubbed the dishes. When Two in a Million came on, she bit her lip, trying to suppress the tears. This song meant more to them now than it had when they'd reunited on the Helen show, for multiple reasons, and it made her cry almost every time it came on. When she was finished with the dishes, she headed up to bed changed into her pajamas. She curled up under the covers and put her glasses on, grabbing a book from the shelf beside her. Austin joined her not long after, resting his head on her shoulder.

"I'll never understand why you prefer reading to video games," he mused, frowning. Ally giggled.

"And I'll never understand why you prefer to play those mindless games over reading a good book. So that makes two of us."

"I guess," he yawned, leaning back onto his pillow. "What a day, huh? Trish is touring with Hamilton, Chuck is proposing to Trish"—

"Wait, Chuck is proposing to Trish?" Ally glanced over at her husband, whose facial expression had turned to guilty.

"Oops, I... wasn't supposed to tell you that."

"Don't worry, I won't tell her. I can keep a secret...unlike Dez," Ally grinned. "Trish and Chuck, huh? Who would've that thought they'd end up together?"

"Yeah, I'm still not sure how that happened," Austin said, laughing. "But hey, as long as they're happy, that's all that matters."

"Exactly." Ally yawned. "Well, I think I'd better go to sleep." she pecked Austin on the lips and turned the bedside lamp off. "'Night, babe."

"Night, Als."

six months later

may 2022

"Ally, you'll never guess what just happened!" Trish exclaimed as soon as Ally picked up the phone. She and Austin had been in the middle of working on another single, which was set to be released in about two weeks.

Ally grinned, knowing what she was about to say, but not wanting to give it away through her tone. "What happened, Trish?"

"Chuck proposed!"

"Oh my gosh, really?" she asked, breaking out into a smile, "How did he do it? Did you say yes? Tell me everything!"

"Well, I had just gotten home from tour, which was so amazing by the way, and he invited me out to dinner. It was so crazy— one minute we're eating, the next he's getting down on one knee!"

"But did you say yes?" Ally asked again, on the edge of her seat.

"Well, duh!" Trish laughed. Ally joined her, looking over at Austin and giving him a thumbs up.

"Wow, so Chuck is your fiancée now...who knew that would happen?"

"I know, right? It's kind of weird. If you would have told me back in high school that I'd end up engaged to Chuck McCoy, I would've laughed in your face." She paused, "I'm really happy, though."

"Well, I'm so glad to hear it," Ally replied, "You deserve a happy ending, too."

"Heck yeah, I do," Trish agreed, "After watching you and Austin get engaged and married, and now Dez and Carrie, I'm so happy to finally know how it feels. I feel like I'm part of the club now."

"You were always part of the club," Ally said, "The fearsome foursome didn't break up just because we all got engaged." Austin said something about his nickname for their group sticking. Ally smacked him lightly, giving him a slight eye roll.

"That's not what I'm trying to say. When you and Austin and Dez and Carrie were all in a relationship during our senior year, I felt so lonely. I had broken it off with Jace and didn't have anyone. But then—and I still can't believe I'm saying this— Chuck came along and stole my heart." Austin softly started to sing "Steal Your Heart," smirking. Ally shot him a look.

"Wow, I... didn't know you felt that way, Trish. Why didn't you tell me sooner?" she furrowed her eyebrows.

"I guess I just kind of kept it to myself. I didn't think I needed to say anything...didn't want to ruin your happiness." Ally sighed, suddenly feeling bad that she didn't catch onto Trish's loneliness.

"You know that you could never ruin my happiness, right?" Ally asked.

"Yeah, of course. I was just so paranoid back then," Trish responded, "Thanks for understanding, though—you're the best, Ally," She paused. "Well, I've gotta go. Good luck working on your new single!" Ally bade Trish goodbye and hung up the phone.

"Trish is engaged," she told Austin, who grinned.

"Yeah, I caught on," he said. "So I guess that means that all of us are either engaged or married now."

"That's so weird to think about," Ally mused, setting her phone down. "Anyway, where were we?" She tapped out a few different ideas for a melody on the piano as Austin came over to join her, taking a seat next to her on the bench. They played around with some different combinations for a while, Ally writing lyrics in her notebook as they went. A few minutes later, she stopped.

"Have you ever thought about our future...you know, as artists? Like, the long-term future?"

"You mean, like, if we went on any more tours or anything?" Austin asked, "A little."

"Yeah, exactly. I was thinking and...hear me out on this...what if we were to start our own record company?"

Austin's face lit up. "That's an amazing idea, Als! After how much we went through as artists to be together and be successful, it makes sense that we give back to other artists."

"That's exactly what I was thinking, too." She was grinning from ear-to-ear now. It would be more flexible when we have kids, for sure, and allow us to work from home sometimes...so I'm guessing that's a yes for you, then?"

"It's a hell, yes," Austin responded, leaning down to peck her on the lips. "What would we call it?"

"What about A&A Records?" Ally suggested. Austin jumped up and down in his seat.

"I love it!"

Ally giggled. "Me, too."

"So...we're really doing this?"

"I mean...why not?" Ally asked, "We could still release music sometimes, it just wouldn't be as often. And as for tours...well, I don't know how that would work."

"Yeah, me neither. I'm willing to give up touring if we could help other people make music, though."

"Seriously?" Ally narrowed her eyebrows, "But you were miserable when Jimmy didn't let you perform."

"I know, but...now we get the chance to help other artists become pop stars. We already had our chance." Austin bit his lip, and broke into a smile. "I can't believe we're starting our own record company."

"Me neither," Ally said, "I know we can do it, though—after all, I've got you by my side." She nudged him with her elbow. "When you're next to me, I can do anything."

Austin grinned, kissing her on the forehead. For the next couple of hours, both of them got lost in researching and planning and had completely forgotten about the new single that was supposed to be out next week. They ended up having to pull an all-nighter when the time came—just like they had many times in high school—in order to get it done in time. Austin and Ally both went to bed with smiles on their faces that night and hovered over the idea for the next several days, completely giddy about this new adventure they found themselves on.

one week later

Ally paced the floor of the master bathroom, biting her lip so hard she was surprised she didn't draw blood. She gulped, knowing that the result of this test could possibly change their lives. Her phone timer went off, signaling that the test was ready, and Ally stopped in her tracks. She closed one eye and felt her way over to the sink, squeezing both of them shut when she got there. Two lines means positive, she told herself, and one means negative. Here goes nothing.

Holding the test away from her body, Ally took a deep breath and cracked one eye open so she could barely see the test.

Two lines.

It was positive.

A billion emotions swirled through Ally's body all at once: happiness, worry, giddiness, fear, confusion. She felt tears spring to her eyes and stood there staring at the positive pregnancy test for a solid minute, happy tears sliding down her cheeks. Should I go tell Austin? How should I tell him? What would he say?

What if this was too good to be true?

With a shaky hand, Ally set the test down on the counter and picked up her phone. She tapped Trish's contact and put it on speaker.

"Hey, Ally," Trish greeted cheerfully, "What's up?"

"Trish, I-I have something to tell you, "She croaked, a big smile forming on her face.

"Okay," Trish said hesitantly, "What is it?"

"I-I'm pregnant."

Ally heard silence on the other end of the line. Trish's mouth hung open wide. After a few seconds she finally spoke, barely able to contain her happiness.

"Ally, I... oh my God!" she squealed. "Are you serious?"

"Yes," Ally giggled, though she couldn't really tell if she was laughing or crying.

"I'm so happy for you!" Trish squealed.

"Thanks," Ally said, picking up the test and staring at it. "I'm still in shock...I haven't even told Austin yet."

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Trish exclaimed, "Go tell him!"

Ally frowned, "I don't know, I kind of want to wait until I have my first doctors' appointment and make sure everything is okay." She paused, rubbing her belly. She wasn't showing quite yet; the baby was still about the size of a peanut. "I hope that nothing goes wrong this time. I don't want to let him down."

"Ally, Austin promised to stick by your side, for better or for worse. I promise that you won't let him down." There was a pause. "Now, if you'd excuse me, I have to go explain to my dear fiancé why we need a live band at our wedding. Let me know how everything goes."

Ally grinned. "See ya."

the next day

Ally had called her doctors' office shortly after her and Trish's conversation to make an appointment for the next day. When she left, she told Austin that she was running errands—which wasn't untrue; technically this appointment was an errand...just not one she could tell him about quite yet.

Ally sat in the waiting room, flipping through a magazine while butterflies flew around in her stomach—or maybe that was the baby moving around. Could you even feel a baby moving this early? Ally had so many questions.

"Ally Moon?" Ally looked up and saw a nurse standing in the doorway, holding a clipboard. She grabbed her purse and stood up, following the nurse into the back hallway.

"How are you doing today?" the nurse asked casually, sending her a pleasant smile as they made their way to the exam room.

"I'm a little nervous," Ally admitted, "My first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage, and I'm really hoping this isn't too good to be true."

"I'm sorry about that," the nurse said as they entered the room, and gestured for Ally to lie down on the bed. "It's not uncommon for a woman's first pregnancy to end prematurely, but ...fingers crossed you get better results this time around." She typed some things on the keyboard and Ally nodded.

"So, have you been experiencing any symptoms lately? Nausea, exhaustion, weight gain, cravings...?"

"Um, a little bit of nausea and a few cravings, but at first I mistook those for my period. Then, when I missed it, I realized I could be pregnant and took the test."

"I'm going to take a wild guess and say it was positive?"

Ally smiled. "Yup."

"Alrighty, then. I'll just take a quick look here and make sure everything is okay." The nurse, whose name tag said Daniela, explained that she would be taking some jelly and putting it on Ally's stomach, and she would then rub it around with the wand that would hopefully allow her to see her baby. Ally nodded and flinched a little at the coldness of the jelly, crossing her fingers that the wand would pick something up.

A few seconds later, the nurse grinned, turning the computer screen in Ally's direction. Ally's jaw dropped and her eyes filled with tears as she looked at the screen that showed a little tiny blob right in the middle.

"There's your baby," Daniela whispered. Ally was still in disbelief, tears of happiness sliding down her cheeks.

"It's okay," she finally whispered, "The baby's healthy."

"The baby is healthy," Daniela repeated with a small smile. "Would you like to hear the heartbeat?"

Ally nodded vigorously, and seconds later, she heard what she would later describe to Austin as one of the most beautiful sounds in the world—the soft thump-thumping of her baby's heartbeat. Daniela left the room and Ally lay down on the bed, trying to process everything that had just happened. She was going to have a baby— a little mini Austin or Ally— a tiny human that they would be responsible for. One that they could teach how to walk, talk, sing, and play instruments—one that they would watch grow up. Ally smiled giddily. She couldn't wait to get home and tell Austin the big news.

EEEEEEEEEEEEE! What do you guys think? Tell me tell me tell me! This chapter was in all honesty kind of all over the place, and a lot happened in it so please leave a review to tell me what you think! Thanks for all your support :)