twenty two: endeavors & excitement
june 2024
Ally stared at the three plastic sticks sitting face down on the counter. She hesitantly reached out and flipped the first one over, holding her breath.
Negative.
Frustrated, she chucked it in the trash. Ally groaned as she turned the other two over just to find the same result.
Negative.
Negative.
Ally leaned over the counter, huffing loudly. It shouldn't be taking this long. It didn't take this long the first time, so why was it taking so long? Besides the whole ordeal with the miscarriage, it hadn't taken them long at all to conceive. She felt like bursting into tears. Ally gulped when she heard the garage door open, meaning that Austin had just gotten home. She quickly ripped several squares of toilet paper off of the roll, bundled them up, and set the wad of tissue on top of the three negative pregnancy tests. He didn't need to know.
She bit her lip, exiting the bathroom and sitting down on the bed, exhaling shakily. Sure, she was devastated, but that didn't mean that she couldn't help Austin work on their newest single. She just had to pretend like nothing was wrong. It's nothing she hadn't done before.
Oh, who am I kidding? Austin can read me like a book.
Then again, he's never really read a book before. But he can read me...like a piece of sheet music. She nodded. That was a good enough analogy.
"Hey, sweetie, I'm home!" he yelled from the kitchen, "I'll be in the studio. Come down when you're ready." He'd just gotten back from dropping Ava at his parents' house—he and Ally had been wanting to take care of some work-related items, both for A&A Records and for their own music, and since they had been having a hard time focusing with Ava around (she'd been particularly feisty lately), Mimi had agreed to take her for the next couple of nights.
"Okay," she choked, flinching, hoping her voice didn't give it away.
Austin frowned. He couldn't help thinking that her voice sounded different. It's probably nothing, he decided, shrugging and retreating down the stairs to the basement. Ally let out a relieved sigh and squeezed her eyes shut.
You can do this. Just... put on a brave face and pretend like everything's fine. Nothing you haven't done before.
Her lip quivered as more tears fought their way out. Ally put her head in her hands. She suddenly didn't even care if he found her like this anymore.
Downstairs in the studio, Austin was trying out different options for lyrics and writing them down in his notebook as he sang them out loud. He'd just come up with a possible option for the chorus, and his voice echoed through the room as he accompanied it with piano.
'Cause baby home is where you are
You know that you're my shining star
From where we started, we've come far
Yeah, cause home is where you are...
Austin nodded. "That's actually not too bad," he thought out loud, looking around the studio. Their grand piano sat towards the back left corner of the room, and to the right of that was what they had deemed their "guitar wall," made up of the different guitars Austin had owned and used throughout the years. In the right corner was a drum set with plexiglass and several different microphones surrounding it. They had build a mini recording booth (although it was actually quite big, and took up most of the front half of the room) for vocals in the front right corner, which included state-of-the-art equipment. Plastered on the walls were the various awards that Austin and Ally had won throughout the years. Austin smiled, thinking about the days back in high school when they'd won the awards and the memories they had made in the process, but it quickly faded. What was taking Ally so long? It wasn't like her to be late for a songwriting session. Austin left his songbook right where it was and retreated back up the stairs. He nearly peed himself when he opened the door and found her standing right behind it.
"Als! God, you scared me half to death!" Ally grinned a little when she saw his face. "Are you ready to get started?" She nodded hesitantly.
"Yeah, let's go."
Austin let the last chord of the piano ring out as he played the chorus of "Home is Where You Are" for Ally. She nodded and smiled.
"Austin, this sounds great. I think we've got a good start on it."
"Yeah, me too." She looked down at her hands and Austin frowned.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired."
He put his hand on top of hers and she looked up at him. "I know that's not true. I can read you like a book."
"You don't read books, though."
"You get the point."
Ally sighed. "Well, if I'm being honest, I'm just a little frustrated that it's taking this long to get pregnant again. With Ava it seemed like it took a lot less time."
Austin scratched the back of his head. "Yeah. But hey, if it was meant to happen, it'll happen." He squeezed her hand, and she squeezed it back. They didn't need to say anything for the other to get it. It was something they'd developed a habit of doing since the miscarriage; one squeeze of a hand meant one "I love you." Sometimes, words just didn't cut it.
two days later
"Ugh, we really need to get you potty-trained," Ally said in disgust as she changed Ava's diaper. She made a face when she realized that the blowout that had happened in her daughter's diaper had reached all the way up the back of her shirt. "You know what, I'm just going to stick you in the bathtub. This isn't worth it." She picked Ava up and held her out at arm's length as she ran from Ava's room to the bathroom across the hall.
"Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ewwwww." Ally started the bath water and peeled the dirty clothes off of Ava as she babbled nonsense. She'd been getting much chattier lately, and after saying "pano" for the first time, she'd since learned to say 'mommy,' 'daddy,' and countless other words. Ally continued to be impressed by her daughter's growing vocabulary.
"Mama, I dirty," Ava observed, looking down at her belly button, then back up. Her chestnut-brown hair reached just past her ears, and her eyes were brown too, of course, just like Ally's. If she didn't know better, Ally would have thought she was looking in a mirror.
A very tiny mirror.
"Yes, Ava," Ally muttered, testing the bath water before picking the toddler up and setting her in, "Yes you are."
Ava's attention suddenly turned toward the mysterious substance that was surrounding her, and she weaved her hands through it. She hit the surface with the palm of her hand and squealed when droplets of water coated Ally's shirt. Ally pressed her lips in a tight line.
"Ava, don't splash mommy. That's a no-no."
"Splash splash, splash..." Ava repeated, smacking the surface repeatedly until Ally grabbed her wrists.
"Ava! What did I say about splashing?"
"No-no, mommy."
"That's right, I said it's a no-no." Ally let go of Ava's wrists and grabbed the rag and some soap to wash her off when there was a knock at the door.
"I'm giving Ava a bath," Ally called, "She had a blowout that went up her shirt."
"Gross," Austin replied, cracking the door open. His facial expression changed when he saw Ava. "There's my little Avie bear!"
"Daddy, daddy, daddy!" Ava shrieked, bouncing up and down, making waves in the water.
"Yeah, well, that's parenthood for ya," Ally replied as she continued to scrub Ava down. "Anyway, did you need something?"
"No, I just got a text from Chuck. They're heading to the hospital now for Trish's C-section, and they should be ready for visitors by tomorrow."
"Wait, really?" Ally turned to face him, and Austin chuckled when he saw that the front of her shirt was completely soaking wet.
"Yeah, really. Just thought you'd want to know." He looked down as Pickles rubbed against his leg and strode into the bathroom as if he owned the place. Ally groaned.
"Not you, too." Pickles meowed curiously and put his paws up on the edge of the bathtub, his nose wrinkling as he sniffed out the territory.
"Kitty!" Ava exclaimed, reaching out with her bubble-covered hands to pet the cat's head. Pickles' sniffs got more intense as he stuck out his tongue and started to lick the bubbles.
"Can you take Pickles out of here? I don't want Ava getting hurt if he falls into the water. This is like an accident waiting to happen." Austin nodded, picking up the cat, who meowed in protest. Ava stuck out her lip and tilted her head slightly to the right.
"Kitty?"
"You can play with the kitty when you're done getting cleaned up, Ava," Ally assured her, squeezing some shampoo into her left hand and rubbing it through her daughter's hair.
"All done!"
Ally let out a laugh. "No, we're not done quite yet. We will be soon though."
the next day
"Als, are you ready yet?" Austin whined as he waited in the kitchen, leaning back against the counter and tapping his foot impatiently. "Dez said he and Carrie are already there."
"I said, we're almost ready!" Ally yelled back as she tried to fit a squirming Ava into her t-shirt. It had been a present from Mike and Mimi, and it read, 'Princess of Moon's Mattress Kingdom.' Despite Austin's argument that Ava was probably not going to go into the family business, Mimi had special ordered the shirt anyway. You never know, she'd said.
"C'mon, girlie, work with me here. We're late for meeting Aunty Trish's new baby!"
Ava cocked her head. "Tish?"
"Yeah, you have a new cousin! Isn't that exciting?" Ally had finally managed to pull the shirt over her daughter's head, but now, of course, her hair was all messed up. Ally exhaled in frustration. "I guess we have to go comb your hair again."
Ten minutes later, after doing both her hair and Ava's, Ally sauntered down the stairs, holding Ava on her left hip. "Alright, I think we're finally ready!" Austin turned to look at them and grinned when he saw the shirt.
"Of course you had to put that shirt on her."
"What? It's cute! Plus, she didn't have many clean shirts left. She has a tendency to spill things on herself." Ally looked up at her husband. "I wonder where she gets that from."
Austin shrugged. "Beats me. Now are you ready to go?"
Ally couldn't help but smile a bit at her husband's obliviousness. "Yeah, let's go." She grabbed her keys and purse, brought Ava out to the car, and strapped her in her car seat. She sat beside Austin and buckled herself in as Austin started the ignition.
half an hour later
Ally knocked carefully on the door of Trish's hospital room, biting back a smile.
"Come in!" they heard her yell from inside. Ally opened the door and they walked in to find a beaming Trish sitting on the bed holding a pink bundle, Chuck standing right beside her, and Dez and Carrie standing off to the side. Dez held Darrie in his right arm, and the toddler looked over at them when they walked in. His fiery red curls were more defined, and he wore a tiny sweater vest with a miniature bow tie. He was a spitting image of Dez, no doubt about it.
"Hey," Ally greeted, going over to give Trish a side hug, "Oh my goodness, Trish, she's absolutely beautiful!"
Trish and Chuck both smiled. "Thanks. She gets that from me." Both looked at each other, and Ally chuckled.
"Can I hold her?" she asked, handing Ava over to Austin. Ava pouted a bit, but gladly reached her chubby little arms out as Austin scooped her up.
"Of course." Ally reached down and grabbed the baby, who squirmed a little upon being taken out of her mom's arms.
"So, do you have a name?'
"We do," Trish said, looking up at Chuck, "Do you want to say it, or should I?"
"I'll let you say it," Chuck replied, "Since you're the one who carried her inside of you for nine months."
Trish smiled. "Well, we decided to name her Magnolia Rose."
"Oh, Trish...I love it!" Ally gushed, bouncing the baby lightly, "Man, this is making me want another." She looked over at Austin, who glanced toward her, surprised that she brought it up when she'd been heartbroken about it the day before. Her face fell quickly as her cheeks turned bright red. Ally suddenly wished she hadn't said anything. An awkward silence filled the room, and the adults took turns holding Magnolia for another twentyish minutes, making small talk. Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in Ally's head.
"Hey, um, Trish, you should come up with a nickname for her. Like...Maggie."
"Hmm...Maggie..." Trish pondered for a few seconds before breaking out into a smile. "Like Maggie and the Magic Overalls! I love it."
"Really?"
"Really." Ally bit back a smile as she stared down at her niece.
"Is it okay if I let Ava hold her?'
"Go right ahead," Trish said, "I've been wanting to take a nap anyway. I'm exhausted."
Ally raised an eyebrow. "But...you had a C-section."
"I know, but the surgery was at nine a.m. yesterday. I had to get up at seven. I'm exhausted."
"We heard you the first time," Ally muttered, remembering what she had to go through when Ava was born. If you asked her, getting a C-section didn't seem so bad compared to nearly forty-eight hours of labor. Austin set his daughter down on the floor and she toddled over to the couch alongside her mom. Ava climbed up, turned around, and looked up at her mom expectantly.
"Baby?" she asked as Ally sat beside her. She held Magnolia lower for her to see, cracking a smile.
"Yeah, Ava, this is Maggie. You guys are going to be able to play together and grow up together. You'll be like sisters!"
Ava cocked her head. "Baby sister?"
Ally grinned. "Well, no, not exactly...but also yes..." Ava stared up at her.
"She's not your sister, she's...your cousin." Ally paused, realizing that had probably gone in one of her daughter's ears and out the other. "Do you want to hold her, Ava?"
Ava clapped her hands and bounced up and down on the couch. The adults in the room watched with amusement as Ally set Maggie's legs in her daughter's lap, still supporting the head. Dez brought Darrie over to the couch as well, insisting that he wanted his son to be in on this sweet family moment. Ava immediately took her attention off of Maggie when Darrie sat down next to her, and she reached up, grabbing a fistful of his red curls, yanking on them hard. Darrie's lip quivered, and Ava looked at her mom with confusion.
"Ava, you can't grab Darrie's hair like that!" Ally exclaimed, reaching over to grab her wrist with one hand and supporting Maggie with the other. "You have to be nice. Darrie is your friend!"
Ally stood, handing Maggie over to Austin as she scooped Ava back up into her arms. "I think she's getting antsy. We should grab a few pictures and then take off." Austin nodded and went over to Trish's bedside to hand her daughter back off to her. Dez set up an automatic timer on his camera as Carrie scooped Darrie off the couch and followed suit.
"Alright, let's see here..." Dez squinted, looking through the lens of the camera. "Uh, Chuck, move more to your right, and Ally scootch in toward the bed a little."
Chuck frowned. "But if I move more to the right, I won't be in the shot."
"That's kinda the point."
Trish rolled her eyes. "Don't listen to him. Just move closer to me." Chuck narrowed his eyebrows, motioning that he was watching Dez with two fingers. Dez gulped and turned his attention back to the camera.
"Okay, smile everyone!" Dez blurted quickly, rushing over to the right to join Carrie as the timer on the camera started. Ten seconds later, the camera flashed and Dez went over to take it off the tripod. "Looks good." He nodded in approval and Ally scooted over to see how it turned out.
"Awww, that turned out really nice!" she exclaimed, "That's going in the photo album, for sure."
january 2025
"C'mere, you!" Austin chased his daughter, who was only wearing her diaper, around the main level of the house. She giggled as the pigtails he'd put in her hair earlier flopped side to side. They were a little uneven, but he'd decided to let Ally sleep in this morning because she hadn't been feeling the best lately, which meant he was in charge of doing Ava's hair. The past few days she'd been sleeping in later than usual and experiencing lots of nausea. He'd been trying to keep his distance in case it was something contagious, like the flu, but he still went to check on her every few hours.
When Austin finally caught up to her, he scooped Ava up and pressed his lips to her belly, making a sort of farting noise against it. She giggled at the sensation and he did it again, making himself laugh this time. "Oh, man." He set her back down on the floor, attempting to catch his breath. "Ava, you really wear me out, you know that?"
"Yeah, daddy," she responded, toddling back into the living room and turning all her attention toward her favorite baby doll that Austin and Ally had gotten her for Christmas, which she'd named "bubba." Austin let out a big exhale and sat down on the couch, fanning himself with his hand.
"I should really go up and shower," he muttered to himself, "but there's no one to watch you, Avie bear." Ava glanced up at the mention of her name and brought the baby doll over to her dad.
"Bubba," she said, handing it over to him. He took the doll, allowing a smile, and decided to play along.
"You want me to take Bubba?" he asked, cradling the doll in his arms, "I think Bubba is tired. Should we go put him in his crib?"
"No," Ava responded, frowning, "Bubba hungry."
"Oh, he's hungry?" Austin asked, "Okay, well, can you go grab his bottle? Daddy needs to take a shower, but you can feed him while you hang out with mommy for a bit."
"Okay." Ava grabbed the doll and jumped off the couch, starting to run towards the kitchen. Austin got up and stopped at the bottom of the stairs, stopping to call her back over.
"C'mon, girlie. Let's go upstairs," Austin said, grabbing the two-year-old and carrying her up the stairs. "But only if you promise to be quiet, okay? Mommy isn't feeling well. We have to be quiet." He held one finger up to his mouth.
Ava copied him. "Shhhh."
"That's right," Austin whispered, cracking open the door. "Shhhh..." his voice trailed off when he didn't see Ally in her spot in the bed. He set Ava on the bed and hurried into the bathroom, where Ally was clutching the handle on the outside of the shower.
"Ally, are you okay?" Austin asked, rushing over to her. "You look super pale."
"Is it that obvious?" she croaked, leaning into him.
"Um, how do I put this nicely..." he paused. "You look like that vampire you played in Dez's movie." This time, she shot him a look.
"Were you even trying to be nice?"
"I'm sorry!"
"No, no, maybe you're right. I probably look awful." She leaned on the counter, using both hands to guide her back to the bedroom, but Austin came back behind her and scooped her up, bridal style.
"Austin, what are you doing? Put me down!"
"You're in no shape to be walking, missy," he commented as he brought her back over to the bed and set her down. Ava looked up curiously, crawling over to her mom to show her the doll. "And by the way, you will never look awful. You look gorgeous, as always."
"Then, why did you say I looked like a vampire?" she raised en eyebrow.
"If it helps," he said, "you look like a cute vampire." Ally rolled her eyes.
"Wow. Nice save." Austin crossed his arms.
"Thank you."
Ava crawled up to Ally and put the doll right in front of her face. "Yea—hi—Ava, get the doll out of my face. I've seen Bubba before."
"Bubba's hungry," Ava said, "Mommy feed him?"
"Mommy's tired," Ally muttered, turning the other way, "She wants a nap."
"Is... this a bad time to ask if I can grab a quick shower?" Austin asked hesitantly, "It'll take like two minutes. I just really need to, because I haven't showered in, like, three days..."
"Just go," Ally mumbled, "I'll watch the kid."
"You're amazing." Austin pecked her forehead and ran over to the dresser, grabbing a random shirt and shorts before disappearing into the bathroom. Ally sat up, sighing.
"Alright, Ava. Hand over the doll and I'll show you how to feed him." Ava hugged the doll close to her chest.
"No. Bubba my baby."
"Well, what do you want me to do? First, you say he's hungry, then you don't let me take him." She lay back down on her pillow. "You know what? Keep him. I'm going back to sleep." Ally's eyes fluttered shut and she was just about to drift off to sleep when she felt her daughter scoot in closer to her, making herself comfortable in the crook of her mom's neck. Ally wrapped an arm around her daughter and heard the faint sound of Ava sucking on her thumb as she drifted off to sleep. Austin reappeared from the bathroom a good five minutes later, his shaggy blond hair still damp, and a smile appearing on his face.
"Well, would you look at that," he said, causing Ally to lift her head slightly, "My two favorite girls." Ally smiled.
"She's out cold. What'd you do to tire her out?"
Austin put a hand in his pocket. "Chased her around the main level for a while. We tired each other out if you ask me." Ally let out a laugh, stroking her daughter's hair gently.
"So, are you feeling any better?"
"A little. Seeing you and Ava always helps." Austin sat down on the bed, nodding.
"Should I take her?"
"You don't have to. She looks so comfortable, and I wouldn't want to disrupt that." Austin shrugged.
"Well, in that case, I'm going to see if Dez is online. Text if you need anything." Ally smiled again.
"Have fun. Oh, and tell him hi from me."
Since the visit at the hospital after Magnolia was born, Dez and Carrie had decided to move out to L.A. permanently. Carrie had gotten a call from her former modeling agency, and Dez was currently working on writing the screenplay for "Jaws (dun dun dun) 3," so they'd decided now was as good a time as ever. Darrie was thriving, according to Dez; he had a bigger vocabulary than Dez and Carrie combined, and at one and a half, he had the whole dictionary memorized. Ally nearly did a double take when Dez had mentioned it on their video call not too long ago and told him she didn't believe him. She'd been pleasantly surprised when he called his son into the room and asked him to recite it, and he did—Ally's jaw had dropped to the floor. She still wasn't sure if she believed it.
Dez and Carrie's son, a genius? Impossible.
Ally rolled over and grabbed her phone from the dresser beside the bed, then scrolled through her social media for a few minutes. She was in the middle of looking at a picture Trish had posted of Magnolia when her daughter stirred beside her. Ally rolled over again and smiled when she saw those big, brown eyes staring up at her.
"Did you have a nice nap?" she asked Ava, who ignored her and reached for the baby doll situated in between them. Ally ruffled her daughter's hair, barely registering her babbling in the background and looked back down at her phone.
"Bubba hungry," Ava mused, sticking the plastic bottle in the little gap between the doll's lips. She turned to Ally. "Mommy feed Bubba?"
Ally sighed. "Sure." She grabbed the doll and stuck the bottle in its mouth, grinning. She liked playing baby with Ava, and she knew that this phase wouldn't last for long. Soon, she thought, I'm going to be teaching her how to drive and wishing that I was playing baby. Ally shuddered at the thought.
Ava pointed at her mom. "Mommy feeding Bubba."
"That's right. I am feeding Bubba."
"Mommy have baby here," she pointed to the doll, "and here." Ally's eyes widened when she realized Ava was gesturing toward her stomach.
"Uh...uh...yeah. Mommy has a baby here," she held up Bubba, "but there's nothing here." she pointed at her belly. "Trust me. There's nothing here," Ally repeated, starting to feel her cheeks get pink.
"No, mommy have baby here." Ava again pointed to Ally's stomach. Ally gulped. Maybe it was the delirium from being sick and tired, but...what if her daughter was right?
Then it hit her. What if all that she'd been experiencing the past few days wasn't the flu, but morning sickness? Ally smiled sheepishly and quickly gave the doll back to Ava, pulling out her phone to text Austin. I must be going crazy, she thought, I know that Ava didn't just hint at my being pregnant again.
Ally: Can you pause your game for a sec and come in here?
Austin: Yeah. Be right there.
Ally heard footsteps coming up the two flights of stairs from the basement and Austin appeared at the door, huffing. He leaned against the doorframe.
"W-what do you need?"
"Before I say anything, promise me you won't say I'm crazy."
"Ohhh...kay...?" Austin walked slowly toward the bed and sat down on the edge. "What's up?"
"Well, I was playing with Ava, and all of a sudden she points to my belly and says, 'mommy have baby here.' And at first I thought, there's no way. But then when I put two and two together, I realized I actually could be pregnant. Just...think about it."
Austin frowned. "Well, I guess you haven't been feeling well the past few days." Ally nodded.
"That's what I'm saying!"
"And you've been cranky."
Ally rolled her eyes.
"And you've been sleeping a lot."
"I get it, Austin." He put his hands up in defense.
"Not to mention short-tempered."
"Austin..."
"Right. Sorry."
"My point is," Ally said, "it might be worth taking a test just to make sure I'm not crazy. Could you go down to the drugstore and pick one up?"
Austin raised an eyebrow. "Me? A guy? Go and get you a pregnancy test?" he faked a laugh. "Yeah, right."
"I'll let you have two more hours of video game time if you do."
"I'll be back in twenty minutes." Austin hopped off the bed and sped downstairs. Ally smirked.
"And that, Ava, is how you get guys to do stuff for you."
Almost exactly twenty minutes later, Austin returned with a small paper bag. "Here you are, my love." Ally grinned and grabbed the bag, disappearing into the master bathroom. Austin looked down and noticed that Ally had since put some clothes on Ava—she must be feeling better, he thought, as he lifted her shirt up and tickled her belly, making her laugh. He then grabbed one of the stuffed animals she'd brought into their room—Dougie the Dolphin, Ava's favorite—and played with Ava for the next couple of minutes, using a cartoony voice to make it talk as she giggled up a storm. Ally peeked her head out of the bathroom.
"Austin, can you come in here quick?"
"Yeah." He set the dolphin down on the bed and went into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. "Have you looked yet?"
Ally shook her head. "I wanted to do it together."
Austin grinned. "Well, okay, then let's do it." He reached for the test cautiously, slowly flipping it right side up. He frowned. "Two lines means positive, right?"
Ally's jaw dropped, then slowly turned into a smile. "Uh, yeah. Yeah it does."
"Then, it looks like we're going to be parents again." Austin grinned as he looked from the test to his wife, who was tearing up already.
"Are you serious?" Ally grabbed the test out of his hand and he saw a tear slide down her cheek. She put a hand to her mouth and Austin pulled her in for a hug, kissing her hairline.
"Dead serious." They stayed in that position for a while until Ally pulled away, wiping happy tears from her eyes.
"How are we going to tell people? How are we going to tell Ava? I need to go make a doctors' appointment"—
"Als," Austin interrupted, grabbing her wrist, "We can figure that stuff out later. For now, let's just keep this as our little secret." He put his hand on her stomach and gently rubbed it with his thumb.
Ally grinned. "Okay." She leaned her head on his shoulder and they stayed like that for a few seconds before she spoke up again, "Could we maybe do this out there, though? I don't want to leave Ava unattended."
Austin stifled a laugh. "Sure."
the next day
Ally stared at the ultrasound, unable to suppress the tears. This was actually real. They were actually having another kid.
It sure didn't feel real.
She got out of the car and walked into the house, hiding the photos behind her back. Austin and Ava sat at the table, eating pancakes—it was almost noon, but that's what she got for leaving Austin in charge of Ava.
"Hey, how'd it go?" Austin asked, suddenly uninterested in the plate of his favorite food sitting right in front of him.
Ally said nothing, but whipped the photos out in front of her, sporting a big grin. "We're pregnant!"
"Ally, that's amazing!" Austin immediately jumped up and ran to hug his wife, twirling her around in a circle. He grabbed the photos out of her hand and smiled widely. "So that's our little munchkin, huh?" Ally nodded. "It's so tiny."
She giggled. "Yeah. According to the doctor, I'm about ten weeks along, so it's still pretty early." Austin nodded and Ally glanced over at Ava, whose face and hands were sticky with syrup. "Hey, Ava, guess what?"
"What, mommy," Ava said, grabbing a piece of cut-up pancake with her left hand and shoving it into her mouth.
"You're going to be a big sister!" Ava cocked her head, turning her attention back towards the pancakes in front of her.
"I don't think she gets it," Austin mused, "It was worth a shot, though."
"She'll get it eventually," Ally said, "For now we should plan how we're going to tell our friends and family. A photoshoot maybe? Or a video announcement?"
Austin scrunched his nose. "I dunno. Those sound really...impersonal. Why don't we make it more... intimate, and just schedule a video call with our family and friends? Then we can see their reactions." Ally nodded.
"Alright, I can deal with that. Should we do a Zoom call, say, a week from now?"
She turned back to face her husband, who was immersed in his phone. "Works for me."
"Great. I'll set it up."
a week later
"Trish, hey!" Ally waved at the computer screen excitedly, and Austin did the same. He bounced Ava on his left knee, zipping her sweatshirt up a little more to make sure they didn't see the "Big Sister" shirt that he and Ally had gotten her. Trish and Chuck were sitting side-by-side while Chuck held six-month-old Magnolia in his lap. She'd begun to develop some dark brown curls, too, just like Trish's. Ally couldn't help but smile, imagining what it'd be like if they all had a mini-me.
"Hey, guys!" Trish returned, waving back, "How's life?"
Austin and Ally exchanged glances.
"It's decent," Austin replied, trying to sound nonchalant. "Same old, same old."
Trish nodded. "Same here. My management company has been picking up a lot of new clients, which I'm excited about." Shortly after Austin and Ally's wedding, Trish had opened a management school in Miami called "Management to a T," the 'T' standing for Trish. Unsurprisingly, it was wildly successful. Everyone was fighting to be managed by Trish, mostly just because she'd been managing the Austin and Ally Moon since high school. Trish paused to grab a sip of whatever she was drinking—lemonade, maybe? Ally couldn't tell— then spoke up again. "What about you guys, how everything with A&A Records?"
"It's been a little bit frustrating because everything is pretty slow going. There are so many things you have to do just to get started." Ally lost her train of thought when Paris started barking in the background. She turned around and saw the puppy running in circles, as she often did when she needed to be let out. "Hold on, I need to take the dog out. Just one sec." She left the room, and eventually Dez and Carrie joined, along with Mike, Mimi, Penny, and Lester. By the time she'd gotten back to the couch, everyone they'd invited was there.
"So, what's this about?" Trish asked.
"Well, we actually have some news to share with you guys," said Austin, grinning over at Ally. He put his fingers on the zipper of Ava's sweatshirt, ready to unzip it at any moment.
"Oh, we do too," Trish interrupted, "We're moving to L.A."
Ally's jaw dropped slightly. "Wait, seriously?" she asked, "Wow."
"Yeah, Chuck is transferring to the office near there, and since my company out here in Miami is doing so well, I'm going to open up another branch in L.A.!"
"That's...great, Trish," Ally said, trying not to sound disappointed, "I'm really happy for you."
"Babe, you're putting the diaper on him wrong again," Dez said, He then disappeared from view to help Carrie put Darrie's diaper on. "Here, I'll help." Ally scratched her forehead.
"While Dez is dealing with...that, there's actually something I wanted to ask you and Austin," Lester said sincerely, "I've been wanting to ask you this for a while, but I'm considering retiring from running the music store."
Ally frowned. "But if you retire, then who will run the store?"
"Well, I was hoping you guys."
Ally faked a laugh. "You're kidding, right? We're never going to have time to run the music store, not with a very active toddler, a puppy and a kitten; not to mention we're in the beginning stages of starting our own business, and now with this new baby on the wa"— she suddenly clamped her hand over her mouth, looking over at Austin. "Oh my God, I just told them, didn't I?"
Austin nodded, leaning in to whisper in her ear, "Yup."
Ally smiled sheepishly as she watched her family and friend's reactions (minus Dez, who was still busy trying to teach Carrie how to put the diaper on their son, even after a year and a half). "Surprise..." Everyone's faces changed, and Mimi started squealing while Penny got teary-eyed (it was hard to tell through the screen, but Ally was pretty sure she saw tears welling up in her mom's eyes). Austin zipped down the sweatshirt, holding Ava in front of the screen so they could see it.
"Ally! You're pregnant again?" Trish exclaimed, "I'm so happy for you guys!" she squealed, "I wish I could give you a hug through the screen!"
Ally awkwardly out her hands out, as if trying to air hug Trish, who did the same thing and they burst into a fit of giggles. Dez came rushing back a minute later, a squiggle-shaped stain covering the front of his shirt.
"Uh, Dez," Ally hesitated, "I might regret asking this but...what's on your shirt?"
Dez looked down and frowned. "Aw, man," he said, "Darrie got me again." He paused. "Eh, I've been covered in worse. Anyway, what did I miss?"
"Well, Trish and Chuck are moving to L.A., my dad is retiring and Austin and I are expecting another baby." She paused, "So quite a bit, actually."
Dez' jaw dropped. "Wait, you guys are having another baby?" Ally nodded. "That's amazing, dude, congrats! Hey, maybe this time you'll get a mini Austin."
Austin chuckled. "Yeah, that'd be sweet. Then we'd each have a little mini version of ourselves." He put his hand on her stomach, and Ally put hers on top of his.
"Either way, I can't wait," she said, pecking him on the cheek.
morning after the zoom party
approximately 2 a.m.
The sound of Ava's cries echoed down the hall, waking Ally up. She rolled over to check the time and groaned. "Ava," she mumbled, "it's too early." Austin still lay fast asleep beside her, snoring softly. I guess it's my turn, then.
Ally shuffled down the hall to Ava's bedroom, half-awake. She turned on the lamp, squinted and bent over her daughter's crib. "Baby, what's wrong?" she asked upon seeing Ava's tearstained cheeks. Ally picked her up and bounced her, glad that Ava could still lay snugly against her chest; she loved that feeling more than anything else in the world. Ava sniffled and Ally pushed back her hair, touching her forehead lightly.
"Ava, you're burning up." Ally frowned and crossed the hall, shuffling through the bathroom cabinet one-handed to try and find a thermometer. Once she found one, she went back over to Ava's room and set her daughter in the chair. She pointed the thermometer at Ava's head, and it beeped, showing that her temperature was 101.4. "Well, you definitely have a fever," Ally muttered, double-checking her temp by trying it again and getting the same result.
"I'm going to get you some medicine, and then you should rest, baby girl." Ally picked her daughter up again and this time went downstairs and rummaged through the medicine cabinet until she found some Tylenol. She set Ava down and poured some medicine into the tiny plastic cup. She brought it up to Ava's lips, and Ava squinted, sticking her tongue out.
"That yucky," she observed, pointing to the cup of pink liquid in Ally's hand.
"I know, sweetie, but this is the only way you're going to get better."
When her mom offered the rest of the medicine, Ava turned away, making a face. "No-no. Yucky."
"Ava..." Ally sighed, putting the cup back on the counter. Her daughter's eyelids fluttered, starting to droop shut. Ally sighed and picked her up again, turning off the lights in the kitchen on her way back upstairs. Ava rested her head on Ally's shoulder and seemed as if she was almost asleep, up until the moment Ally put her back in the crib, when she started crying again. Ally groaned.
"Do you want to sleep with mommy and daddy tonight?"
"Yeah," Ava whimpered. Ally took Ava into her and Austin's bedroom, placing her right between them. Pickles, who was curled up at the foot of the bed on Ally's side, lifted his head at the sudden movement then carefully walked over to Ava, lying down at her feet. Paris was still sleeping soundly in her dog bed over on the other side of the room.
"Kitty," Ava mumbled.
"Ava, you have to be quiet, it's night-night time." Ally got into bed with a sigh and pulled the covers over her.
"Shhh," Ava whispered.
"That's right." Ally rolled over to face her and tucked a few loose strands of hair behind her ear. "Goodnight, baby."
"Goodnight-night mommy."
8:00 a.m.
"Good morning, daddy," Ava said into Austin's ear. He knit his eyebrows, confused, and rolled over to see his daughter staring directly down at him, sucking her thumb. Austin quickly sat up.
"...What are you doing here?" he asked, looking from Ava to Ally and back.
Ava said nothing, pointing over at her mom, who was still fast asleep. Austin frowned, lightly shaking Ally awake. She groaned and rolled over.
"What, Austin?"
"Did you bring Ava in here last night?"
"Yeah. She had a fever," Ally mumbled, closing her eyes again, "Feel her forehead. Is it warm?" Austin put his hand to Ava's forehead.
"A little."
"You could probably give her a second dose of that medicine. When she woke up at two, she didn't finish it all."
"Two, as in two a.m.?" Austin exclaimed, "Why didn't you wake me? I could've gotten up with her instead." Ally's eyes opened and she put her hand on top of Austin's.
"That's really sweet, Austin, but I took care of it. Don't worry about it." Austin shook his head.
"No, you should've woken me. You're pregnant and you need all the rest you can get." He turned to Ava. "So do you, missy. Now why don't I go downstairs and make you an amazing breakfast in bed? How's that sound?"
Ally smiled. "You're the best. You know that, right?" Austin grinned.
"Yeah." Austin left the bedroom, picking Ava up and coaxing both Paris and Pickles to follow him. The sound of his footsteps faded as he disappeared down the stairs.
8:30 a.m.
"Who wants pancakes?" Austin asked, coming carefully up the stairs one at a time, holding a tray with a glass of orange juice and a plate of pancakes drowned in syrup, cheesy scrambled eggs, and two sausage links. Ally sat up, her lips curling into a smile. Austin sat down on the bed next to her, grinning.
"Wow, Austin, you've really outdone yourself," Ally commented as Austin pecked her on the cheek, setting the tray down on her lap.
"Yeah, I know." he smirked. Ally took a bite of her eggs.
"Damn, these are good." He laughed. "Austin Monica Moon, where have your cheesy eggs been all my life?"
"You've never asked for them," Austin replied with a shrug. "But now that you have..."
"I'm definitely gonna ask for them again," Ally finished with a smile. Austin leaned against the headboard, crossing his arms.
"That's what I thought." He turned toward her, both sharing mutual smiles. "So, have you thought about your dad's offer yet?"
"I was hoping you wouldn't bring that up," she said, cutting one of the pancakes with her fork, "I don't know if we'll be able to run both businesses at once. It seems too hard...plus with Ava and this new baby, and Paris and Pickles, I don't know if we can..."
"Handle it all?"
"Yeah."
"Well, if there's anything I've learned over the past couple of years..." he scooted closer to her until their faces were only inches apart, "It's that no matter what life throws at us, we can handle it."
She smiled, setting the fork down, still staring at him as he leaned in and kissed her gently. Ally closed her eyes and smiled against his lips, deepening it further.
"Mmmm," he moaned, "You taste like syrup." Ally let out a laugh, slapping him playfully on the shoulder.
"You know what I love about you?" she asked. Austin's eyes shifted to the pancakes on her plate.
He raised an eyebrow. "That I'm hot?"
"Well, yes, but that's not what I was"—
"That I'm funny? Ooh, or that I make delicious cheesy scrambled eggs?"
"Austin."
He bit his lip. "Sorry."
"I was going to say that whenever we kiss, it still feels like the first time," Ally mused, "It still feels like it did the night we performed at the Jungle Café and I overcame my stage fright." Austin smiled.
"It does," he replied. "Anyway, what do you say to taking over the factory?"
"I don't know, Austin," she said, getting up from the bed and heading towards the stairs. He grabbed the tray and followed her down to the kitchen. "We're already pretty busy as it is..." Ava looked up briefly from her plate, and then turned her attention back to the pancakes.
"What if we hire other people to teach lessons?" he blurted. "Former students of ours. Like, um...Lily or Herman, or even Lucy?" He went over to the counter, pouring some of the pancake batter he'd made from the plastic white bowl onto the hot griddle.
"You'd trust Herman to teach other students?" Ally asked, giving him a skeptical look.
"Well, I don't know about Herman. But definitely Lucy. And maybe Lily, or even that kid Max," Austin pointed out, "He hated music when he started taking lessons with us, but now he goes to the Music University of New York."
"Valid point," Ally said, "I guess it could work if we hire the right people. We would only have to go to the factory itself once every few weeks."
"Exactly," Austin replied, his mouth full of pancakes.
"Plus then, we could divert more of our energy to A&A Records," Ally added, grabbing a washcloth from over by the sink and walking back over to her daughter's high chair to to wipe the sticky syrup off her face. "Since we've already put so much work into starting it."
Austin nodded. "Right. So, what do you say?"
Ally smiled. "Let's do it."
april 2025
four months later
Ally walked up to the doors of the doctor's office for her five-month appointment, holding hands with her husband, neither of them saying a word. Austin held the door for her and she grinned as they entered the waiting room and got checked in. Ally picked up a magazine and sat down in a chair against the wall, while Austin stared at the fish in the tank a few feet away, his eyes following them as they swam back and forth, back and forth.
"Ally, this one looks like Dory from Finding Nemo!" he exclaimed, pointing to the small blue tang, who was circling the miniature coral in the front right corner. Ally smiled, shook her head, and went back to her magazine.
"Just keep swimming, just keep swimming," Austin sang quietly as they waited, earning a few puzzled looks from other patients. Five minutes later, they were called back by a nurse and led into an exam room.
"So," the nurse started, washing her hands at the sink in the back of the room, "Are we wanting to find out the gender today, or do you guys want to wait?"
"Yes," Austin said, bouncing in his seat.
"I'd rather wait," Ally responded at the same time. She and Austin exchanged glances. "You got your way last time, now I get my way, and I say that we wait."
Austin groaned. "But it's still so far away!" he complained, "You aren't due for like, another six months."
"This is my five-month appointment."
Austin raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, and?"
"And, that means that I only have four months left." Austin furrowed his brow.
"Wait, really?"
Ally giggled. "Really. The baby will be here before you know it. Four months isn't very long at all."
Austin paused, as if in deep thought. "Well, I guess if that's what you want to do..."
"It is," she replied, "and it'll be worth the wait. Trust me." Austin gripped her hand, giving a small smile.
"Then I guess we're going to wait."
The doctor moved the ultrasound wand around the surface of Ally's stomach as both Austin and Ally stared up at the screen. "It looks like you guys have a very healthy baby here," she said, "Everything is right on track for your due date in mid-August."
"Awesome," Ally replied, looking over at Austin.
"Any other questions I can answer for you guys?" the doctor asked, starting to clean the gel off of Ally's stomach.
"Um, I have one, actually. Will I need to be on bed rest again, like last time?"
"Since the baby is measuring a little bigger than Ava was, I'd say no. Bed rest is mainly for mothers who are pregnant with multiples, if the baby is measuring small, or if the moms are considered at risk. And since you've successfully carried a baby to term, you aren't considered at risk anymore." Ally nodded. the doctor turned to Austin. "What about you, Austin? Any questions you want me to answer for you?"
"Nope," he said. The doctor nodded, and Ally thanked her before she and Austin made their way back out to the car. Austin started the ignition and they sat in silence for a few seconds.
"So," she started, "I suppose we should start brainstorming some names, huh? This little munchkin will be here in four months, and that's not a lot of time."
"Yeah, I guess," he said, backing out of the parking spot, "I've thought of a couple already."
"Of course, you have," Ally huffed, "I haven't been able to come up with any good ones."
"Tell me what they are, anyway. They're probably not that bad."
"Okay, well, for a boy, the only one I've come up with Augustus—but that's mainly because the baby's due in August."
Austin made a face. "Well, that's not very creative."
"I know, that's my point. Pregnancy brain is a lot worse this time for some reason."
"Okay, well, for a girl, I was thinking Aria." Austin smiled. "It's pretty, unique, and music-related."
"Wow, I'm impressed," Ally mused, "I like it. Okay, now what about if it's a boy?"
"Hmmm..." Austin scratched his forehead. "Austin Jr.?"
Ally reached over and smacked him on the shoulder, making them both bust out laughing. "Not gonna happen."
"Well, you're no fun," he teased. "What about...Aidan?"
Ally cocked her head to the side. "I like it, but I'm not sure if it's the one. Y'know?"
"Well okay, then, Ms. 'I went to Harvard,' you got anything better?"
"How about Arthur for a boy, and Alexandra for a girl?"
Austin wrinkled his nose. "What is this, the 19th century?"
"Those are cool names!" Ally argued. They were about halfway home now, which meant that this conversation had taken about five minutes. Ally was starting to get flustered. She wondered if they'd ever be able to agree on a name. It didn't help that sticking with the 'A' theme narrowed down their options even more. She shook her head in frustration. "Okay, well how about we flip Alexandra then, and turn it into Alexander for a boy?"
Austin paused, looking from the road to Ally. "I like it."
"Really?"
"Yeah. We could call him Alex for short."
"Oh my gosh, I love it," Ally squealed.
Austin smiled. "Me too. Did we decide on Aria for a girl?"
"I really like Aria," Ally mused, "I'm okay with it if you are."
Austin nodded. "Yeah, it's a pretty name. What about middle names, though?"
"We'll cross that bridge when we get there," Ally said, "middle names are a whole different road that we're not ready to travel down yet." Austin grinned, pulling into the driveway. Mike and Mimi had come over for a couple hours to watch Ava, and their dark green Suburban, plastered with Moon's Mattress Kingdom and various different Austin Moon-related stickers, was parked off to the right side of the driveway. Ally smiled when she saw Ava peek her little head out one of the front windows and she was unbuckled almost as soon as Austin parked the car in the garage. She got out of the car, grabbing her purse and ran inside, enveloping her little girl in a giant bear hug.
Sooo, what'd you guys think? Trish and Chuck are moving to L.A., Lester is giving A&A ownership of the factory, and Ally's pregnant again! Yay! we love happy endings lol. Please consider leaving a review if you liked this chapter! I love getting them and responding to them if I can—not to mention getting feedback about my work! Love you guys, stay safe! *muah* -Ej