twenty: parents & pranks
"So, Ally, are you ready to try breastfeeding?" Dacia asked a few hours later after bringing Ava back to the room. She had taken the baby to the nursery after Austin and Ally's friends and family left to give them a bit of a break. Ally nodded hesitantly.
"Uh, I... I think so."
"Don't worry, dear, I'll show you how to do it. It might be a bit painful at first, but you'll get used to it." She picked Ava up and placed her in Ally's arms. Ally greeted her daughter, talking softly to her while Austin watched from the chair a few feet away.
"Well, now I'm scared." Dacia laughed, apologizing and assuring Ally that she had nothing to worry about. She guided Ally through the process, showing her what to do as Austin stood idly by, his eyebrows knit in confusion.
"There you go. Just like that." Ally brought Ava up to her chest, adjusting her position so her daughter could reach. She frowned after Ava latched on momentarily then let go, giving a little yawn.
"Come on, girl, work with me here," Ally mumbled, looking up at Dacia, "Is it normal for them not to latch on the first time?"
"Absolutely. Sometimes it just takes a little while—that's why I wanted to show you how, so she'll hopefully be latching consistently by the time you leave tomorrow."
"Oh, that's right, we're leaving tomorrow," Ally mused, glancing back down at Ava. Her eyes widened. "Oh my gosh, it's your birthday tomorrow, too, Austin! Agh, I can't believe I almost forgot!"
Austin chuckled. "It's okay, Als. You've been a little preoccupied."
"And of course I forgot to get you a present...some wife I am."
"Hey," Austin placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, "You don't have to get me anything. This right here is the best thing you could've gotten me." He grinned down at Ava and Ally smiled sheepishly.
"I mean, I didn't intend for Ava to be born a day before your birthday but..."
"Sometimes, the best things in life are unexpected," Austin mused, gazing into the distance.
"Since when are you so wise?"
"I saw it on a commercial."
"I knew it was too good to be true."
"Hey!"
"Alright, you two, enough bickering," Dacia teased, "I'm going to be right back—I have to check on another patient but press that call button if you need anything."
Austin and Ally both thanked her and turned back towards Ava, whose eyes were slowly drooping shut. Ally groaned.
"Looks like she isn't awake enough to eat right now. We'll just have to try again later." Austin nodded.
"Good plan." He sat back down in the chair and lay his head back. Before long, his eyes had closed too—sleep had been hard to come by the past few days. Ally giggled when she looked over there and saw him sleeping but said nothing as she watched her two favorite humans in the world snooze quietly.
the next Day- december 29th
austin's birthday
Austin woke up the next morning with a big smile on his face. Ally was over on the bed, staring at her computer so intently that she didn't notice he'd woken up. Ava was over in her bassinet, awake but calm and content. Austin stretched and yawned rather loudly, and Ally looked over, almost startled by the fact that he was awake.
"Morning, Als," Austin smiled, getting up and going over to Ava's bassinet to pick her up, "Morning, Aves."
Ally giggled. "Is that your nickname for her now?"
Austin shrugged. "Maybe. I kinda like the sound of it." His mouth twisted into a smile again as he gradually walked towards Ally, plopping down next to her on the bed. Ally shut the computer quickly, placing it carefully on the floor. She'd been working on a surprise for Austin and didn't want him to see it quite yet.
"Happy birthday, babe," she grinned, giving him a quick peck on the lips. Austin grinned again, placing Ava in between them on the bed, still supporting her head with his hand. She cooed contently and looked around with her big, beautiful brown eyes.
"Thanks, Als," he said, then looked down at Ava, "I suppose you're not gonna say happy birthday to me, huh," he teased, and Ally giggled.
"She's not gonna be able to say it until she's at least two, I hope you know that," Ally replied.
"Yeah, I know." They shared a mutual smile then both gazed lovingly down at Ava. Just then, there was a knock at the door. Both of them lifted their heads.
"Come in," Austin said, and in walked Dacia with another nurse right behind her. She introduced the other nurse as Hannah, the lactation consultant; someone who might be able to help introduce Ava to breastfeeding.
"Sometimes it takes longer for babies to latch on, which is completely normal," Hannah explained, "My job is to make it easier for both mom and baby, so you'll be able to get her to latch before you go home." Ally nodded and Austin took a few steps back while Hannah started to work with Ava and Ally.
Dacia leaned closer to Austin, and whispered, "Happy Birthday, by the way." Austin smiled and thanked her, continuing to watch Hannah gently coax the baby. A little while later, just as Ally was about to suggest that they give up and try again later, Ava latched on. Ally's jaw dropped.
"Austin, she's doing it! Look!" Austin peered over Hannah's shoulder and grinned.
"Wow, that's great Als," he commented. Ally looked up at him briefly.
"Isn't it?"
"Mmhm," he murmured, not wanting to admit that his wife breastfeeding their daughter turned him on. He leaned over to Dacia and whispered, "How long do we have to wait until we can—"
"Six weeks." Dacia gave a small grin. "I get that question a lot, and it's six weeks."
an hour later
"Well, I'm pleased to tell you guys that everything looks really good, and you are free to go home," Dr. Jones mused as he entered the room, flipping through a clipboard with multiple layers of papers. "I just need you to take care of some administrative things, like signing your names on the birth certificate...etcetera." Austin and Ally exchanged smiles before taking turns signing their names on multiple sheets of paper. They thanked Dr. Jones and Austin started to gather his things while a nurse helped Ally over to the bathroom to change. After she was done changing, she came out to find all of the bags neatly packed and Ava placed carefully in her car seat, sporting the cutest little smile as Austin tickled her stomach, speaking in baby talk."Who's the cutest baby ever? You are! That's right, my little Avie bear! Daddy loves you so so much." He placed a delicate kiss on her forehead and looked back to see Ally grinning at the sight.
"If this isn't the most adorable thing I've ever seen..." she started, then shook her head. "Nope, it definitely is." Austin smiled, getting up to give his wife a side hug and a kiss on the forehead.
"You're amazing," he said, seemingly out of nowhere, "Have I told you that lately?"
"I vaguely remember hearing that come from your mouth, yes," Ally responded, "After I had Ava."
"Well, it's true," he responded, playing with a few locks of her hair mindlessly, "You're a superhero."
Ally felt her cheeks turn pink, then reached up to smack his hand away lightly. "Don't touch my hair."
Austin he rolled his eyes. "So, are we ready to go?" he asked. Ally nodded.
"I'm more than ready, trust me."
"Cool. Let me to get the car, and I can pull it up to the front entrance." Ally gave him a small smile and sat down on the bed again, as the nurse informed her that she was going to grab a wheelchair for her. They both disappeared and Ally looked down at her daughter in her car seat, quiet and content as ever, and using those big brown eyes to explore the world around her.
"Are you ready to go home?" she asked, as if the baby could respond. Ava just gazed up at her, and although Ally knew very well that babies didn't gain full eyesight until they were older, she could tell that Ava recognized her.
ten minutes later
Austin pulled up to the front entrance of the hospital in his car, putting it in park and getting out to meet the nurses that were bringing Ally and Ava out. One held Ava's car seat, which Austin grabbed from her and brought over to the car. He opened it and started to try fit the car seat in, but frowned when it didn't work. He looked back at Ally helplessly, who was being helped out of the wheelchair. She stood up slowly and hobbled over to him, resting one hand on the doorframe.
She sighed. "Austin, you're doing it wrong. Can you let me try?"
"What am I doing wrong?" he asked, "isn't it supposed to go in like this?" he was attempting to install the car seat facing forward instead of backwards.
Ally faked a smile. "No, it goes backwards. See?" she pushed him out of the way and flipped Ava's seat around, and it clicked into place. She gave him an "I told you so" look as he stared down at the car seat in defeat.
"Huh. Who knew?"
"Me."
Austin rolled his eyes. "Let's take our daughter home." Ally climbed into the backseat next to Ava, and Austin looked in the rearview mirror before putting the car in drive. Austin drove slower on that ride home from the hospital than he had in his entire life, constantly checking to see if his girls were okay. You can drive a little faster if you want, Ally said, people are passing us left and right. Austin just shook his head, saying that he was too nervous.
"Okay, let me put it this way. You're going twenty-five in a forty, and you need to speed up—going this slow is dangerous." Austin sighed.
"Fine." He ramped it up to thirty, and although many cars still passed them, Ally couldn't help but grin a little at his protectiveness over her and Ava.
After a few minutes, Ava started to whimper. Austin frowned in the mirror, looking back at them. Ally felt the car slow down a little. "Is it my driving?" he asked, "Am I going too fast?"
"She's fine, Austin. Just keep your eyes on the road."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure. Now focus on the road, or we're going to get into a crash!"
"Okay, okay! I'm sorry!"
About fifteen more minutes passed, (although it felt more like hours), they finally reached the driveway of their house. Austin pulled into the garage and put the car in park, getting out to help Ally by bringing Ava inside. She held his hand as they walked into the house together. Both of them nearly peed themselves when he opened the door to find Austin's parents standing in their kitchen. Austin gripped the car seat harder, afraid that he'd drop it.
"Surprise!" They yelled.
"Shiiii... heyyy, mom, hey, dad, what are you doing here?" he and Ally exchanged glances. Ally bit her lip. He could tell they were the last people that she wanted to see.
"Well, we figured we would surprise you guys when you got home, aaanddd we have a big birthday present for you!" Mimi exclaimed, "It was all my idea."
"Heh, wow, this is such a... pleasant surprise," Ally said placidly, "Thanks." She turned to her husband. "Austin. The other room. Now."
"Uhhh," Austin stammered, pulling his wife off to the side, "We'll be right back. Watch Ava for us, yeah?" Mike and Mimi nodded, confused, as Ally dragged him into the living room by his t-shirt.
"What. Are. They. Doing here?" she asked between gritted teeth, "Did you know about this?"
"No!" Austin shot back, "Hence the surprised look on my face when they said surprise!"
Ally put her head in her hands. "This cannot be happening." Austin scratched his forehead. "This. Cannot. Be. Happening," she repeated. Austin frowned.
"Please stop saying that. God, you're acting like my parents paying us an unexpected visit is the worst thing ever."
Ally sighed. "You know I like your parents, Austin. But I just can't deal with them right now. We just got back from the hospital, and all I want to do is take a shower and lay in bed all day with my adorable baby and adorable husband, and"—
Austin cut her off by placing a hand on her shoulder. "Als. I get it." He glanced over at his parents, who were in the kitchen, fawning over Ava. "Now, we can go upstairs and get cleaned up while my parents watch Ava for a little bit, or I can try to get them to leave." He looked back at her. "Your call."
Ally put a hand on Austin's shoulder this time. "Maybe if we sneak upstairs they won't notice." Austin smirked and he grabbed her hand as they carefully made their way up the stairs.
"You do know that you can't have sex until six weeks after you have a baby, right?" Mimi yelled from the kitchen. Austin froze, his eyes turning into saucers. Ally fought back laughter as the two of them stood in the stairway, still as statues. Of course Mimi would think that they were going to do that. This was the one time, however, since they'd gotten married that they hadn't snuck away from a family function to do it.
"She can hear us?" he whispered, peeking his head over the railing, "We're just going upstairs to shower, mom," he yelled down into the kitchen. He exhaled and turned his attention back to Ally. "Well, that was embarrassing."
fifteen minutes later
Ally sauntered out of the bathroom wearing a pale pink top and sweatpants, her hair wrapped up in her towel. "I have something to show you," she mused, "It's on the computer, which is downstairs, but I don't want to face your parents to go get it." Austin nodded, taking the hint, and disappeared, bringing both the computer bag and their daughter back a minute later. He set the car seat on their bed and opened the computer.
"Oh, did your parents finally leave?" Ally asked, reappearing from the walk-in closet. Austin nodded.
"I politely told them thanks for the birthday wishes and the gift, but we wanted to be alone with Ava and that we'd call if we need anything." Ally leaned on his shoulder.
"Thank you."
He nodded. "Of course. Now, what was it you wanted to show me?" Ally's facial expression changed as she pulled up the video she'd been working on in iMovie and clicked on it, then pressed pause. She carefully lifted the baby out of her seat and held her close against her stomach, grabbing the circular U-shaped pillow and putting it around her midsection so Ava could lie comfortably in front of her. Austin took a seat next to her.
"So, I've been working on this for a while, and I didn't have quite enough time to finish it while we were in the hospital, but... I made this for you." She pressed play and "Two in a Million" immediately started to play while pictures of she and Austin, and occasionally Dez and Trish, popped up on the screen. Austin's jaw dropped slightly and eventually formed into a small smile. He shook his head.
"It's every picture we've ever taken together," she explained, watching his reaction change as a tear slipped down his cheek. "It took me a long time, and multiple phone calls, texts, emails...etcetera... to both Dez and Trish to gather them all, but it was worth it." More pictures filtered through of Austin and Ally at the WMAs, at the beach, at prom, at graduation. There was even one of Ally, Austin, and Dez dressed as sandwich condiments from the Halloween they were in New York City. Austin let out at chuckle as that one came up, and Ally gave a small smile. Eventually, the pictures changed to more recent: when they'd gone on tour after the Helen show, pictures from the night they got engaged, pictures from their wedding and move-in day. The very last picture on the slideshow was Austin, Ally, and Ava morning after she was born. Austin was holding up the camera in selfie-mode while Ally hugged their daughter close to her chest—both still had bedhead and the biggest eyebags, but their smiles were even bigger.
The picture slowly faded, and text came up on the screen:
Austin: words can't describe how much you mean to me and Ava. I'm so grateful that you came into my life and stole my heart (a second time) and that you're here to stay. I love you with my whole heart. Happy birthday, baby.
-Ally
Austin said nothing but leaned over closer to Ally, wrapping an arm around her. "I love you, too," he whispered. Ava stirred in Ally's arms, as if to say, 'Don't forget about me!' he chuckled. "I love you, too, my Avie Bear."
"Now, I know the video isn't much," Ally said, still a bit teary-eyed from reliving all of their most precious memories through pictures, "but to make up for it, I'm going to make you anything you want for your birthday dinner."
"Anything?"
She giggled. "Anything."
Austin stroked his chin for a moment, and his face lit up. "Can you make pancakes?"
"I had a feeling you'd suggest that, so I got some ingredients to make them from scratch—just the way you like them."
"Wait, seriously?"
Ally laughed, cradling Ava in her arms and standing up from the bed. "Yup."
"Wow. This is the best birthday ever." He pecked her on the forehead and raced down the stairs. Ally sighed and looked down at her daughter.
"I hope you get to be like him someday, Ava," she said, following him downstairs.
three months later
march 2023
The next couple of months had flown by as Austin and Ally got used to life with Ava. Austin left occasionally to take care of some business things with A&A Records, but for the most part it was the three of them at home. Since bringing Ava home, they had secured an office building in downtown Miami to house their company, which both of them were ecstatic about. Ava continued to grow and had started to babble a little bit, to Austin's amusement. He often had "conversations" with his daughter, despite his wife's reminders that she wouldn't be able to talk for another few months to a year. Still, he didn't give up.
"Good morning, Avie Bear," he greeted her with what had come to be his permanent nickname for her one sunny morning in March. She smiled up at him and let out giggle as her dad tickled her stomach lightly. Ally walked into the nursery and leaned over Austin's shoulder.
"Well, look who's awake!" she exclaimed as the baby continued to giggle, which made Ally smile. "I'm never going to get tired of that sound."
"Me neither," Austin replied as Ally intertwined her fingers with his. "So, what do we have planned for today?"
"Hmm, I'm glad you asked," Ally said with a smirk, "The fans have been dying for more content of Ava, so I thought we could do a quick three-month photo shoot."
"Hmm. Cool."
"Oh, and I think Carrie's going in to get induced either today or tomorrow. Dez said he'd keep us updated."
Austin nodded. "Sounds good." He watched Ally pick up their daughter and place her upright against her right shoulder as she started down the hallway. Ava stared directly at him and he attempted to make her laugh by making goofy faces. She gave him a toothless grin and shoved her fist in her mouth. Austin followed Ally down the stairs to the living room and placed her in her rocking seat. She turned back to him.
"Since Dez can't take the photos because of Carrie, we'll just have to do it ourselves." She grabbed her phone and placed it on the tripod that was sitting in the middle of the floor. "Now, as far themes go, it's almost spring so I thought a flowery, springy-themed photo shoot would be cool. We'll just put this blanket on the floor," she ran and grabbed Ava's pale pink blanket from off the couch, "set Ava on top, and dress her in cute outfits. The floor is carpet so it should be fine." She retreated upstairs to Ava's room and came back down with two different outfits and a plastic bag full of colorful orbs. She showed the two different outfits to Austin, fawning over how cute they were: a dainty yellow sundress with orange flowers on it and a cute green top with a frog in the middle that said, 'hoppy spring!' and grey leggings.
"Oh, and we need to make it obvious that she's three months old, right, so I thought we could make the number three out of plastic Easter eggs!" she opened the bag to reveal a variety of different colored plastic Easter eggs.
"Ohh, I get it!" Austin exclaimed, his face lighting up. "And then we put candy in them and hide them around the house so she can find them—except she can't eat candy yet, so...I can eat it!"
"First of all, she's not old enough to find Easter eggs. Second, we're not putting candy in them. We're just using them for the photo op."
His facial expression changed. "Aww. Well, that's no fun."
Ally rolled her eyes, grinning. "It will be, trust me. Now, let's get her into the green 'Hoppy Easter' outfit and start arranging the eggs." Ally took the outfit off the hanger and Austin brought Ava over to the couch. She squirmed a bit while her parents attempted to dress her, and a whopping five minutes later she was dressed in the outfit plus a cute matching headband with a green flower on the front. Ally picked her up and set her carefully down again on the pink blanket. She had just started to arrange the eggs on the right side of the blanket when Ava started to whimper. Ally groaned.
"Come on, Ava, don't cry." She picked her daughter up and bounced her up and down while she continued to wail. "I don't get it! I just changed your diaper!"
"She's probably hungry again," Austin mused as he scrolled through his Instagram feed over on the couch. "Maybe she got my appetite."
"It seems that she did," Ally sat down, preparing to feed her daughter, "That would make sense because I fed her only three hours ago."
Austin nodded, continuing to scroll as Ava latched on right away. Ally winced.
"I don't think I'll ever get used to this feeling," she said, turning back down toward Ava. "Wow, missy, you're really going to town over here!" Austin shrugged.
"It's like I said—she's got my appetite."
"I guess."
Ten minutes later, Ava slowly let go. Her mom groaned when her eyelids started to flutter. "Great. How are we going to do this photo shoot if she's sleeping?"
Austin shrugged again, looking up. "I think she's tired. Maybe we should let her sleep, and then we can..." he raised an eyebrow, "you know..."
"Oh, right, the six weeks are up, aren't they?" Ally looked down at Ava, who was passed out in her arms. "I guess we could... you know..."
"Seriously?" Austin's face lit up. "You have no idea how much I've missed...you know..."
"I think I have a pretty good idea," Ally said, picking Ava up again and putting her back in her rocker. She looked down at Ava, and her eyes darted back over to Austin. "We probably have a solid twenty minutes before she wakes up...do you want to..."
"YES!" Austin exclaimed. Ally narrowed her eyebrows at him.
"It'll be less than twenty if you don't stay quiet!"
"Sorry," he whispered as Ally set the baby monitor up near Ava's rocker and they both snuck upstairs quietly to their bedroom. Ally turned the receiver end of the monitor on and leapt up on the bed next to Austin. He planted kisses on her lips and started trailing down her neck as he whipped her shirt off and unclipped her bra. She pulled away suddenly, looking down at her shriveled belly and running a hand over it. Austin placed his hand over hers and leaned down, kissing her stomach.
"A-actually, I don't think I'm ready yet." Ally stammered, scrambling to find her clothes as she watched Austin admire her body.
Austin frowned. "Why not?"
"Because I don't think we should be leaving Ava downstairs by herself," she lied.
"Ally," he grabbed her hand, "I can tell when you're lying. What's the real reason?" he asked, "you can tell me anything, you know that, right? I'm your husband. I'm here for you."
"Well, it's just..." Ally sighed, struggling to find the right words. "Ever since Ava was born, I've struggled a little bit with like...body image and stuff, and... this might sound stupid, but... my brain has been telling me that you aren't as attracted to me because of it? Like, it's a turn-off somehow." Austin wrapped his arm around her, feeling his heart sink.
"Ally, you know that will never happen, right?" he whispered into her neck, "never in a million years. I'll love you until we're all old and wrinkly and we talk like this." He made his voice sound older, like a grandpa, which elicited a laugh from Ally.
"Yeah, I know."
"I love everything about you, Ally. I love your laugh, your smile, the way your hair smells after a shower—like apricot and peaches. I love every single inch of your body, including your stretch marks, because without them we wouldn't have our beautiful baby girl." Ally grinned sheepishly. "I love the way your lipstick tastes and the feeling I get when we kiss, and how butterflies swarm in my stomach, even after ten years of doing it. I love the way you're passionate about music, and how much love you have for Ava."
Ally giggled. "Okay, I think I get it."
"But I'm not done yet," Austin argued.
"It's okay, I feel better," she assured him, and a small smile tugged at her lips.
"I love your quirkiness, your lame sense of humor..."
"Austin, I said I'm okay now," she giggled.
"What, I can't list the reasons I love my wife, just because?"
Ally paused for a minute. "Actually, go on."
Austin raised an eyebrow. "I love how good you are in bed..."
"Okay, and we're done."
Austin let out a laugh and started to plant kisses on her again, and this time they leaned deeper into each other as more of Austin's clothes flew off. Ally moaned in pleasure and Austin smirked, as if to say that she just proved his point. A few minutes later they lay next to each other, panting.
"I guess I am pretty good, huh?"
"I mean, I would say so." Ally giggled and rolled off the bed, starting to gather her clothes, and Austin did the same. His phone buzzed and he looked at the notification— a text from Dez.
The text was a selfie of Dez and Carrie wearing matching smiles and a chubby little baby swaddled in a blue blanket. It said, Everyone meet Darren Hatfield Wade (We're gonna call him Darrie for short) He made his grand entrance earlier today at around noon. He and Carrie are both doing well. 😃😃😃😃👶 👶 👶 👶 👶
Austin grinned, showing the text to Ally.
"Oh my goodness, he's just adorable!" she gushed, "Ask if we can swing by tomorrow. I can't wait to meet him!" Austin nodded and reiterated her message to the group chat, to which Dez responded that they could come the following afternoon. Both finished getting dressed and went back downstairs, where Ava was still happily snoozing.
the next day
around 2:00 p.m.
"Could you grab the diaper bag, Austin?" Ally asked, jamming a shoe onto her right foot. "Everything should be in there and ready to go."
"Got it!"
"Thanks, babe."
Ava squirmed in her car seat, babbling away. Ally put her other shoe on and buckled her daughter in, grabbing her purse in one hand and the car seat with another before heading out to the car. She secured Ava into the car seat holder and climbed into the front seat as Austin turned the ignition and started backing out of the driveway.
Ally's phone chimed. She pulled it out of her purse, grinning when she saw it was from Trish. "It's a text from Trish," she told Austin. "She and Chuck are on their way, too." Austin nodded, and they continued driving down the road in relative silence. Once they got to the hospital, Austin parked the car and Ally got out to grab Ava's car seat.
"It feels like we were just here," she said as Austin locked the car and they headed toward the front entrance, "Like, I know it's been three months but it sure doesn't feel like it."
"Yeah. She's growing up so fast." Austin smiled down at his daughter, who was sitting in her seat contently. They approached the front desk and a familiar voice greeted them cheerfully.
"Well, if it isn't Austin and Ally Moon," Dacia chirped, coming around the front desk to give Austin and Ally each a hug, "How are you guys? How's parenthood been treating you? Oh, she's gotten so big!"
"We're good," Ally said, adjusting the position of the carrier, "And it's been a big transition but a good one, to say the least."
"Well, I'm so glad to hear that!" Dacia responded, "What brings you guys back here today?"
"Our friends just had a baby," Austin put in, "Carrie and Dez Wade. Do you know what room they're in?"
"Sure, let me check." She went back around the counter to her computer and typed a few things on the keyboard. "Usually, I'm not supposed to give out room numbers, but I trust you guys," she said with a wink. "It's Room 346."
Austin and Ally thanked her as they headed over to the elevator. They walked down the halls, and Ally felt memories from three months prior come flooding back from when she and Austin had walked up and down the halls late at night. They approached room 346 and knocked on the door.
"Come in!" Dez yelled from inside. Austin cracked the door open and a cheerful Dez appeared on the other side.
"Dez, Carrie, congrats!" Ally greeted him with a hug, taking Ava over to the bed, where Carrie was holding Darrie on her lap. Austin and Dez did their handshake before enveloping each other in a man hug.
"Wow, we both have a kid now. How cool is that?" Austin exclaimed following him over to where the girls were.
"So cool!" Dez repeated, "We named him Darrie because it's both our names combined. Creative, huh?"
"Very," Ally said, stifling a laugh, "I can't wait for them to grow up together—Darrie and Ava are going to be best buds!" After a few minutes there was another knock at the door.
"Come in!" Dez repeated, and in walked Trish, Chuck right behind her.
"Hey, guys," Ally greeted, "Glad you could make it!"
"Glad you could see me, too," Trish mused, eliciting a laugh from her friend. "We're a little late because Chuck took forever perfecting his hair. Having a husband is such a pain in the ass sometimes."
Chuck shot her a look. "Hey..."
Trish turned her attention back toward the baby. "Anyways, can I hold him?"
"Sure," Carrie chirped, handing Darrie over to Trish. She carefully took the baby in her arms, swaying back and forth slightly as everyone watched. Though she initially didn't want kids, she had to admit, the little guy was adorable. She and Chuck hadn't really talked much about the subject after the night of her drunken rant by the campfire, but she was pretty sure he agreed with her, too.
"He's so cute," Trish mused, turning to Chuck, "I want one, can we have one?"
"I mean, sure," Chuck gave a small smile, "So I take it that you changed your mind about wantin' kids? 'Cause that night at the campfire you were pretty adamant about not wantin' any."
Trish narrowed her eyebrows. "What did I say the night of the campfire? I can't remember."
"That's cause you were super drunk," Dez said. Trish scowled in his direction.
Chuck shrugged, "Red is right. You basically said you didn't want kids because life without alcohol isn't worth living."
Trish shrugged. "I mean, I wasn't wrong..." Realizing she was still holding Darrie, Trish handed him off to Ally, who'd been dying to hold him since they got there. Austin knit his eyebrows, as if in deep thought.
"So, does Darrie make this the fearsome...eightsome?" everyone chuckled at Austin's comment and continued to chat for another hour or so. Ally suggested that everyone give Dez and Carrie some space because they probably were both very tired, and Chuck and Trish agreed. Ally grabbed Ava's car seat and she and Austin made their way back out to the car. She strapped Ava in and got into the front seat, letting out a deep sigh.
"What a day, huh?"
Austin chuckled. "Yeah, it was. It's pretty surreal being back here." Ally nodded and they sat for another few moments in silence.
"You know I wasn't just saying those things earlier to make you feel better, right?" Austin asked, buckling his seat belt. "I meant every word."
Ally blushed, remembering the conversation. "Yeah, I do." but even she wasn't convinced.
"I don't believe that." he looked at her, his eyes soft and sincere. Ally swore that he could see right through her sometimes.
"It's just... I don't know, a little frustrating, because every time I look in the mirror I see all this..." she gestured to her belly, "and I know it's probably going to take years for it to disappear."
"Well, if you want help working it off, I can help," Austin suggested, "And if you don't, then I won't mention it again. But"—
"Yeah," she replied, "I'd like that. You can be like, my personal trainer." Austin laughed.
"Something like that."
He put his hand over hers and started the ignition, giving Ally a knowing smile as they started the trek home.
Yayyy, Darrie's here! What did you all think of Ally's gift to Austin? As always I love you all and please continue to follow, favorite and review this story! it means the world to me! -EJ