Hey babes! Got a new one for ya! There's only one more chapter after this one but then...there's going to be a sequel. :)

So enjoy!

Despite everything she's read online so far, none of it has really prepared her for what she's been dealing with throughout the entirety of her pregnancy. There's only so much a book or blog can tell you because every pregnancy is different and special. Children are a gift that you should always treasure and be grateful for.

But with less than two weeks left of her pregnancy, she's not feeling in a very grateful mood.

Glancing down at her large baby belly as she paces her room, she runs her hand over it in a soothing manner. "Please hurry up, kid. I love you, but you really need to get out here. I don't know how much more I can take."

A soft knock on her door pulls her attention to it. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's me. Just checking in."

She smiles softly at hearing Grant on the other side. "You can come in." She'd given him an override code for her room for the last stretch of her pregnancy in case of an emergency. He hasn't needed to use it yet, and she knows that he won't abuse it either. Not when he's trying to get back in her good graces.

A few seconds later, the door slides open and he's stepping inside, closing the door securely behind him. He looks at her with furrowed brows. "You okay?"

She nods. "Yeah. I'm fine. Just some annoying contractions."

His eyes go comically wide and she nearly laughs. "Contractions? Skye, why didn't you say anything? We need to get you to Abby so she can st-"

"Grant, relax, please."

"How can I relax when you just told me that you've been having contractions?"

"They're not real contractions."

His brows furrow again. "They're not?"

She shakes her head. "No, they're not. They're Braxton Hicks contractions and I've been having them for a while now. They're just to get my body ready for delivery."

He breathes out. "Oh. Sorry."

She shrugs. "Don't be sorry. You didn't know. I didn't either at first. I definitely started panicking."

"But I should have known. I've spent so much time reading parenting books that I didn't think about books about pregnancy. I'm an idiot."

"Hey, you are not an idiot. Don't ever say that again, okay?"

He nods slowly. "Okay."

"Good." She takes a deep breath. "Now, is there a specific reason you came in here…?" she lets her question trail off, quirking an eyebrow at him.

He shakes his head. "Uh, no, not really. I just wanted to check on you, that's all."

"Well, I appreciate that. And how are you doing?" she asks him. "How's your leg?"

He glances down at the appendage and then back up. "It's a little weird without the cast since I was actually starting to get used to it."

"Yeah, I've heard that happens. It feels good, though, right?"

He nods. "Definitely. I'm really just glad that the first time Adian sees me it won't be with the cast. Even though he wouldn't remember it when he's older, I'd remember. And that's not how I want him to see me."

She frowns at Grant's obvious need to be seen as perfect in their son's eyes. Or at least, as near perfect as he can get. She has a feeling that a lot of it stems from how his own father treated him as he was growing up, and that he doesn't want to be a repeat of that in any way. She can't say she blames him for thinking that way. She just wishes he wouldn't be so hard on himself.

She reaches out to place a gentle hand on his arm, smiling softly. "Hey, Adian is going to love you, okay? No matter what. I promise."

.

.

.

"What are you doing?"

She looks up from her tablet to find Grant standing near the entrance to the lounge, his brows furrowed slightly as he watches her. She glances back at the tablet before looking at him again. "Oh, uh, I'm going to watch a movie. It kinda helps me to relax and take my mind off of other things. Plus, I think Adian really likes it since he seems to settle down whenever I watch one."

"Oh, that's nice."

"Yeah." She shifts in her spot. "Hey, do you maybe...want to watch one with me?"

He shrugs. "Sure. If you're really okay with it."

"I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't," she tells him. She pats the space of couch next to her. "Now come sit. Get anything you want to snack on while I get the movie loaded."

"Are we going to watch it on your tablet?" he asks, making his way over to the kitchen.

She shakes her head, focusing on the small screen. "No. I'm going to set it up to play on the TV."

"Do you want me to hook it up to the TV so you don't have to move?"

"No thanks. It's wireless so all it takes is a few taps of my screen and then...we have a connection." She smiles brightly, looking up at the TV screen across from her.

"Wow. Nice."

"Thanks."

"So what are we watching?" he asks, sitting down next to her and setting his snacks on the coffee table.

She simply smiles and gestures at the screen.

He looks at it and tilts his head. "The Breakfast Club. Never seen it."

Her jaw drops involuntarily. "You've never seen The Breakfast Club?"

He shakes his head. "No, I haven't."

"Well, that just seals the deal right there, then. We're definitely watching it. This movie is a classic and you have to watch it at least once in your lifetime."

"Then I guess it's a good thing I'm watching it now."

She nods her head. "Yes, it is." She taps a few more times on her tablet before setting it aside and plugging it into its charger. She settles back against the cushion behind her as the opening credits start to play, grabbing her own bowl of snacks and setting it in her lap.

"That's what you're eating?"

She pauses, her eyes never leaving the TV screen. "Are you really going to criticize a pregnant woman's diet?"

"I'm sorry, I just...shouldn't you be eating healthier foods? You're carrying our baby, Skye."

She huffs. "Believe me, I know. And don't put all the blame on me for eating this stuff. Your son has a lot to do with my cravings. And I've been craving a lot of junk food and extremely unhealthy foods."

He sighs. "I guess there's not much I can do about your eating habits at this point."

"No there is not, and it's good that you recognized that. Now shush, the movie's starting."

She shifts a little in her spot to get more comfortable as she focuses on the TV screen, trying to ignore the heat she can feel from Grant, no doubt that his eyes are on her.

.

.

.

"Alright, I've got to admit that that was a pretty good movie."

She looks at him. "You really think so?"

He nods. "Absolutely. Then again, I don't really have much to compare it to. I didn't watch a lot of movies over my lifetime."

"At St. Agnes we were only allowed to watch movies that were approved by the nuns, so it was a lot of gospel movies with a few regular cartoons mixed in. Whenever I went to a new home, I made sure to watch as many movies as I could before I inevitably got sent back."

He frowns. "You were always sure you were going to get sent back, weren't you?"

She sighs and nods, shifting on the couch. "Yeah. The first few times, I was hopeful that I'd get to stay and have a real family. Over time, I started hoping less and less, until eventually, I stopped hoping altogether."

"I'm really sorry you had to go through that."

She shrugs. "I'm over it now. I've moved past that all and don't dwell on it too much anymore."

"That's good."

"Yeah, I just want to forget about all of that and just focus on this little guy." She smiles down at her stomach, running her hands over it. "I want to give him the absolute life that any child can have. I mean, I wish we didn't have to raise him on this base, because he should get to live in a house with a big backyard to run around in, and a nice school to go to where he can make friends and actually be a kid."

"I want that for him too," Grant tells her. "And I promise you that the first chance we get, I am going to get you both that house. Whatever it takes. You both deserve it."

"You deserve a good house too, Grant."

He shakes his head. "You and Adian deserve one way more than I do."

"Let's agree to disagree, then."

He smiles. "Okay."

She smiles back before glancing down at her tablet, scrolling through the list of movies she has downloaded onto it. "Ooh, Sixteen Candles. That's another classic." She looks up at him. "I'm going to guess that you haven't seen that one either."

"You would be correct."

"Do you want to watch it?"

"Can we rain check for another time?" he asks. "I want to watch it, but I need to go and do my PT before it gets to be too much later."

"Oh, yeah, no, totally. Your PT is way more important than watching another movie. Is next week good for you to watch it?"

He nods. "Yeah, it should be."

"Great. I'll see you then, I guess."

"Yeah." He gives her a small smile before grabbing his crutches to help stand from the couch so he doesn't put too much pressure on his leg, and then slowly makes his way out of the room.

Relaxing back into the couch, Skye focuses her attention on the tablet in her hands, closing out of the movie listing and pulling up the various baby websites she's always perusing.

There isn't much time left until their baby is going to arrive and she wants to be as prepared as humanly possible.

So? What did you think? Let me know down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Until next time,
Jellybean96 out!