WHAT UP!

So, there was a little upset for Austin in the form of his boss's daughter trying to break up him and Ally, but if there is one thing everyone knows, it's that you never mess with a pregnant woman. She'll soon learn though.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Austin & Ally

Chapter 17

Merry Christmas, Bitch!

Rockin around the Christmas tree

Have a happy holiday

Mistletoe hung where you can see

Every couple tries to stop

Twinkling lights of red and green hung from the ceiling, a bright green tree sat in the corner of the living room decorated to the nines in ornaments and Christmas carols filled the entire apartment. Yes, Christmas was just around the corner and Ally was beyond excited. One because she loved the holiday itself and two because it also meant Austin's album release was just around the corner.

However, things didn't seem quite as cheery and joyful as Ally had hoped for. In fact, it seemed beyond cheerful.

"Austin," Ally yelled from the living room where the tree was. "Can you bring that box of tinsel from the hall closet?" They had a relatively small tree, living in an apartment and all, but it seems that she didn't have enough tinsel to go completely around it.

Austin came into the room with a cardboard box labeled 'TINSEL' in his hands, a few minutes later and this was where it got weird. He dropped the box at Ally's slightly swollen feet, a part of being pregnant, and then pulled her into a hug. This had been happening A LOT since his last meeting with Jimmy and, while Ally appreciated the extra attention, something just seemed off.

"Am I interrupting something?" Ally managed to turn her head towards the kitchen, where her mother stood with a plate of cookies and hot chocolate in her hands. Penny had stopped by to spend some time with her daughter and help decorate their apartment, but mostly spend time with Ally.

"No Penny," Austin said as he let go of Ally, but still keeping an arm around her shoulders. "Just really starting to feel that holiday spirit, you know?" Penny gave him a look, but decided to not push him.

A cheery Christmas tone soon began playing again as Austin reached into his jean pocket and pulled out his phone. He looked at the screen and then put it back in his pocket.

"Dez is here." He said as he let go of Ally.

"Where are you going?" Penny asked as she set down the cookies and cocoa on the small table in the living room.

"Christmas shopping," Austin said as he grabbed his jacket and keys. "He's got this new girlfriend and he can't decide what he should get her. Plus, I need to find gifts for my parents, but hopefully, that won't take long." He gave Ally a kiss on the cheek, waved bye to Penny and then went on his way.

Ally heaved a sigh as she sat on the couch and reached for a cookie and a mug designed like Santa's face.

"So," Penny said as she sat next to her daughter, a Santa mug clutched in her hands. "How's the party planning coming?"

"It's all done." Ally said her mouth full from biting into a cookie. "Trish was able to handle most of it, along with Jimmy and surprisingly, Kira."

"Who's Kira?" Penny asked as she sipped her cocoa.

"She's Jimmy's daughter and apparently, she's very interested in collaborating with him. She's been trying to hang around him a lot." Penny gave a startled look as she listened to Ally. She knew what Kira was trying to do, but it seems like Ally hadn't the slightest clue.

"Ally," Penny said as she put her mug on the table. "You said Austin has been acting weird since his last meeting with Jimmy right?" Ally nodded her head in a 'yes'. "You don't happen to know if Kira was at this meeting do you?" Again, she nodded 'yes'.

"Mom, what exactly are you getting at?" Ally asked as she began to process the situation. "You don't think… that Austin cheated?" She chocked on the last part as her eyes began to fill with tears. She thought that that would explain why Austin was being so overly affectionate lately, he was probably feeling guilty.

"Ally, do you really think Austin would cheat on you?" Penny said, trying to console her emotionally unstable daughter.

Penny knew that Austin would never cheat; he wasn't that type of person. He loved Ally and their baby with all his heart and would never do anything to jeopardize that. Granted she had seen how Austin was acting and had thought the same thing, but she quickly realized how ridiculous it sounded.

Ally looked up at her mother with teary eyes.

"No, I know he would never, but all the signs are there!"

"Ally, Austin loves you and if anyone made a move, it has to be Kira." Penny explained as she wrapped Ally in an embrace. "If she was at the meeting, then she must have made a move on him."

"Then, why would he be acting this way if nothing happened?"

"Honey, it's not guilt over having done something, maybe it's Kira putting pressure on him to sleep with her or maybe it's a little bit simpler than that. He could be trying to send a message to Kira." Now that made sense a little.

Whenever she would drop stuff off for Austin at the office, he would always make a point to kiss her, hug her and tell her how much he loved her. All of this was done directly in earshot or in the direct presence of Kira. It was all starting to make sense now. He wasn't doing this out of guilt; he was doing this because he wanted to prove a point, a point to a girl that just doesn't get it.

She knew that Kira was a determined girl, like her father, and would go for whatever she wanted and what she wanted was Austin. Well, if there's one thing you should never do, it's make a 5 ½ month pregnant angry.

"Well then," Ally said as she rubbed the remaining tears from her eyes. "There's only one thing I can do now."

"And what's that?" Penny asked.

"Fight the bitch that's trying to steal my man." That caused both women to burst out laughing as they realized how strange it sounded coming out of Ally's mouth. But, Ally was dead serious about it.

Boss's daughter or no, Kira messed with the wrong girl and she would pay dearly.

The two Dawson ladies continued their quiet afternoon of decorating, baking and filling each other in on their daily lives. Ally learned that Elliot was recovering nicely and would be able to attend the album release/Christmas party. He was visiting a therapist and working through everything and had gotten back on course with his classes. Ally was extremely happy to hear how well he was recovering. Sonic Boom had slowed down a little bit since people only came in to look at the instruments and then buy a better, and cheaper, one online. Penny swore that one of these days she was going to get Lester help with his penny-pinching ways.

Ally had told her mother about her doctor's appointments, her weird craving, she had recently developed a love of peanut butter on her burritos, and what her body was now going through. Her ankles had recently begun to swell, most days she was lucky to be able to fit in a pair of sandals. She had also developed a few migraines, which was also normal and nothing to be afraid about, but it did hamper her way of thinking when she was working. Penny asked if she had bought any more maternity clothes and Ally, with an exasperated sigh, said that she had. Ally hated how her clothes contained more elastic than she would like.

By the time Penny was ready to head home, Austin had texted that he was done shopping and was on his way home. Penny had asked if she needed her to stay, but Ally insisted that she was fine and the she would see her at the party on Friday. With that, Penny kissed her daughter and granddaughter goodbye.

Ally retreated to the couch to eat the last Christmas cookie when she saw Austin's car pull up into the parking lot. She suddenly felt something stir inside of her when she thought about Kira and how she been making moves on Austin, regardless of the fact the he was engaged and expecting a baby. A primal, eager feeling that commanded her to place claim over what was hers and only hers.

"Hey Ali, I'm home!" Austin said as he walked in the door. Ally could see that he had various bags of items in his hands, but at this point there was only one thing on her mind.

"You are so sexy." And with that, she grabbed his face and brought him down to meet her lips.

Austin, while a little stunned, never the less reacted quickly and began following. Ally jumped up and Austin caught her as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

"Well, hello to you too." He said as they broke apart for air. The break was short lived as their lips reconnected and began a rhythm of their own. Ally began to rock her hips as her need began to grow and grow with each passing second. Austin, needing no further instruction, began to move to their bedroom and using his foot, closed the door behind them.

Austin would later wake up to find the glass figurine he had gotten his mother would be in shambles.

Did he care? Not really.

Before they knew it, Austin's album had been released in stores and online and they were met with an early Christmas present.

The party was being held in the event room of Starr Records and the entire crew had showed up, dressed in their Christmas-y best. The entire room was dressed with garland, Christmas wreaths, giant red and green bows and various Christmas themed appetizers and drinks were available.

"Well, everything is looking good so far." Jimmy said as he looked at his tablet. He was watching the sales and downloads as they progressed throughout the night.

"Yeah, I really can't believe it." Austin said as held a red cup and plate of food in his hands. "Can it really be doing that well?" He looked at the tablet and saw the numbers continue to go up from 2.1 million to almost 2.8. He had never felt this excited before, well except when he and Ally had first told each other they loved each other.

"By the way Jimmy?"

"Yes?"

"What is that on your head?" Austin pointed to the ridiculous red and green striped hat with the phony elf ears and bell on the point end on top of Jimmy's head.

"Kira decided I should wear this to get in the 'Holiday spirit'." Jimmy said as he heaved a sigh.

Wow, Austin thought as he looked at his boss. Even Jimmy is whipped by Kira.

Austin then felt a tap on his shoulder as he turned around to find Ally reaching for the plate in his hand. They both were dressed in outfits befitting their situation and the season. Austin was dressed in a white button down shirt with a red blazer and tie, a pair of red dress pants with a black belt and black dress shoes completed his look. Ally was dressed in a tan sweater that had a red bow design wrapped around the middle with a tag that said, 'Don't Open until March 2016', a long black maxi skirt and a pair of strappy flat sandals.

If you haven't figured it out yet, Austin was channeling Santa and Ally is the present he brought from the North Pole. The sweater had been a gift from Dez and Trish and they had it engraved with the month and year Aria would be born as a way to poke fun at their situation. It was cute and innocent gesture from their friends and they loved it.

However, Ally was also on high alert for Kira and if she tried to pull anything. If she had anything to go off from their other times, she wouldn't be afraid to pull something, even with their family and friends in the same room.

Penny was also on high alert as her protective mama bear stature kicked into gear. She wouldn't let some home-wreaking bitch come in and ruin her daughter and her granddaughter's lives without a fight. She still had a little hope that she wouldn't show up and Ally, Austin and the rest of the A&A team can enjoy the fruits of their labor.

Thankfully, it seemed like the party would continue without a hitch.

Trish was flittering around, her sparkly red dress and blazer glittering here and there as she mingled with the other managers, trying to make more connections with other artists. Dez was doing some mingling of his own with his new girlfriend, Carrie, on his arm as he spoke with the directors and managers. He also tried to make small talk with Jimmy, here and there, but the man always found a way to avoid him. Though to Dez, he didn't get the message that easily, nor did his girlfriend. She seemed almost as air-headed and flighty as Dez. Austin and Ally were enjoying hearing all the comments and critiques about Austin's album and what to do if he was interested in collaborating with any other Starr Records artists. He gladly sopped up all the information as he held Ally close. He was genuinely relieved when he didn't see Kira show up anywhere, finally feeling like he could enjoy himself with his fiancé outside of their apartment.

However, that feeling did not last for long.

"Kira," Jimmy said as he looked towards the entrance of the room. "I didn't think you were going to show up."

"Oh please, daddy," She said as she hugged her father. "There's no way I would miss such a big moment in Austin's career."

"Great, well shall we go in?" He said as he offered his arm to his daughter.

"Of course, I can't wait to see Ally again." As she took her father's arm, her smile turned creepy and her eyes contained a glint of mischief.

Let the battle begin, bitch.

DUN-DUN-DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

I'm just gonna say this now; Kira will mess with the wrong pregnant woman. You don't try to steal Ally Dawson's man without a fight.

Until next time, stay ROSSOME!