New chapter, finally! I'd really like to see some reviews on this one, please! Also, feel free to start voting on gender and suggesting names!

It feels like my heart is going to beat out of my chest and my stomach is on knots. I can't believe I agreed to do this. I'm going to mess up, I just know it. I should just back out right now, that would be the smart thing to do.

"Hey, you about ready?" Riker asks, coming up behind me. We're at the venue they're playing and it's getting close to time for them to go on.

I jump and turn to face him, shrugging.

He puts his good arm around me, "Nervous?"

"A little." I answer, leaning into him.

"Well, that's to be expected." He replies.

"I'm not afraid to get up in front of everyone, it's just…I know I'm going to be horrible." I shake my head.

"You're not going to be horrible, you're going to be amazing. Just not better than me." He winks at the last part.

I roll my eyes but laugh a little, "I think we both know that's not going to happen. Bass isn't exactly my thing."

He laughs too, kissing the top of my head.

We hadn't exactly planned on him teaching me bass, it just kind of happened. We were goofing off one day and I picked up his bass, pretending to play it. He ended up showing me a few chords and when I picked up on them fairly quickly, he started teaching me more. I was still learning, but I knew several of the chords now. Hopefully those were enough to get me through tonight.

"Hey, maybe this will finally break you out of your shell and you'll decide you like performing." Riker says, smiling.

I roll my eyes and start to say something but am cut of by a weird feeling in my stomach, almost like someone poked me very lightly. I suddenly realize what it is and gasp, "Oh!"

Riker looks at me, concern evident in his eyes, "What? What's wrong? Are you okay?"

I grin and grab his good hand, placing it on my stomach, "Feel that?"

He frowns, "Feel wha-whoa!" He jumps back, "What was that?"

I laugh, "The baby's kicking."

His eyes go wide, "Seriously?"

I nod.

"Wow…" His hand goes back to my stomach and he smiles as the baby kicks again, "That's so weird."

"Yeah, but it's also kind of amazing, isn't it?" I smile.

He nods, smiling, "Definitely." He laughs, "Hey, maybe that's its way of encouraging you."

I roll my eyes but laugh, "Probably more like telling me my heart pounding is keeping it awake."

"I like my idea better." He says.

"Of course you do." I reply, smiling.

"Was that the first time it kicked?"

I nod, "Yeah. I've felt flutters when it moves but that's the first kick."

He smiles, "Good. I missed the first ultrasound and hearing the heartbeat, but at least I didn't miss that."

I smile and stretch up and kiss him, my arms going around his neck. His arms wrap around my waist, pulling me closer as he kisses back. We jump apart when someone clears their throat behind us.

"I don't think we need any of that." Stormie says.

I stare at my feet as Riker rubs the back of his neck, both of us blushing.

Rocky walks up laughing, "I think you're about fourteen weeks too late, mom."

I blush a deeper red as Riker glares at him and Stormie walks off, shaking her head.

Rocky holds up Riker's bass, "Thought you might need this."

I nod and let him slip the strap over my head. It's adjusted to Riker's height, obviously, so it hits almost at my knees.

Rocky adjusts the strap, laughing, "Geesh, you're short."

I roll my eyes, " Really? I wasn't aware."

"Hey, no need to get snippy." He says.

Riker looks me over then laughs, "That thing is almost as long as you are tall."

I glare, "Don't you guys have a show to do? Or are you just going to stand around picking on my height?"

"Or lack thereof." Rocky says.

I cross my arms, starting to get annoyed.

Riker puts his arm around me, "Aw c'mon, B. We're just messing with you, no need to get mad." He kisses my head, "Besides, I think it's cute how short you are."

"Yeah, you know we just like giving you a hard time." Rocky adds.

I start to say something but am interrupted by Ryland.

"Guys, c'mon, it's show time. Let's go." He says, gesturing towards the stage.

We all follow him, Riker and I hanging back a little.

"Still nervous?" He asks, lightly running his fingers up and down my back as we walk.

I nod, "Very. I don't want to mess up."

"I think you'll be alright. And even if you do mess up, odds are no one will notice. We've all done it and no one has ever said anything." He says, "You remember what songs we're doing right?"

"Yeah." I reply.

"You'll do just fine then. Just close your eyes, take a deep breath, and go for it." He smiles and gives me a quick kiss before taking my hand and pulling me over to the rest of the band.

I watch as they get in a circle and put their hands together, doing their pre-show ritual. As soon as that is done, they rush up the stairs to the stage. I stay close behind Riker until we step onto the stage, when he goes to his microphone and I go to my spot off behind him.

It's a huge crowd and they all start screaming as soon as they see the boys and Rydel. I try to stay back out of sight, hoping to go unnoticed. Between all the people and the lights, it's pretty hot and I can't tell if I'm sweating from that or from nerves, just as I can't tell if I have butterflies or of the baby is on the move. I remember what Riker said, and close my eyes, taking a deep breath.

"LA, are you ready to rock?!" Ross yells, eliciting cheers from the crowd.

I open my eyes as they all start to play, and follow suit, willing my hands to stop shaking. Riker looks over his shoulder, giving me a quick smile before turning back to the crowd to start singing.

I'm not sure what it is, but shortly into the show, it's like something clicks inside of me and suddenly I'm not so nervous anymore. I even find myself dancing a little to the music and by the end of the show I feel like I have found a new air of confidence.

As the show ends, I watch Riker and the rest of the band gather at the front of the stage. While they are throwing picks into the crowd, Riker looks over his shoulder at me, motioning for me to come up there. I shake my head, but he keeps motioning so I slowly make my way over to him.

"Before we take off, I want to give a big 'thank you' to the amazing girl who stood in for me tonight since I couldn't play," He looks at Ross who smiles sheepishly, then puts his arm around my shoulders, pulling me forward, "Give it up for Maya!"

I smile and give a small wave as the crowd claps and, to my surprise, cheers.

"Thank you and goodnight!" Riker calls as they all take a bow, pulling me with him, before walking off the stage. He keeps his arm around me until we are backstage, where he pulls me into a hug, "You did great, babe."

I hug him back, trying to ignore how sweaty he is, "That was actually kind of fun."

He pulls back a little, smiling, "Make you want to do it again?"

I shrug, "I don't know. Maybe some day."

"Well, at least I got you on stage once." He says.

I laugh, "I'm starting to think you planned this."

He laughs too, "No, if I'd planned it you would have been front and center on the stage, and singing."

I roll my eyes, but smile. He gives me quick kiss before we go to catch up to everyone else. I am met with high fives and a chorus of 'great job'. I smile a little, muttering a 'thanks'. I'm not sure why, but I'm suddenly not feeling very well. I end up sitting against the wall with my eyes closed while I wait for Riker to go change out of his sweaty clothes.

"You okay?"

I look up to see Ross standing over me.

I nod, "Just tired."

"You sure? You look really pale." He says, looking concerned.

I stand, "Yeah, I'm fine."

He doesn't look convinced, but doesn't press it. I'm relieved when Riker walks up at that moment.

"Hey, you guys about ready to get out of here?" He asks.

Ross nods but I am suddenly overtaken with extreme nausea and rush past him to the nearest trashcan, barely making it before my dinner comes back up. I decide it must not be pregnancy related, because I don't feel better after like I usually do. I probably caught something, knowing my luck.

Breathing hard and willing my stomach to settle, I stare up at the ceiling. It's then that I hear the giggling. It's a familiar giggle, but I can't figure out why. Frowning, I peek around the corner and am shocked by what I see. Ellington has someone against the wall, kissing them from what I can tell. I lean forward a little more, and realize why the giggle is so familiar; it's Rydel. I cover my mouth to muffle my gasp and quickly jump back away from the wall.

"Hey, you alright?"

I turn to see Riker walking up to me, wearing a worried expression.

"Yeah, just a little nauseas, no big deal." I say, hoping he didn't notice me looking around the wall.

"You sure?" He asks.

I nod, "Mhm."

"You ready to go then? Not going to get sick in the car?" He still looks concerned.

"I'm fine." I say.

"Okay."

He takes my hand and I follow him to the door. We have to wait a few minutes for Rydel and Ellington, who don't appear until Rocky texts them. I instantly feel awkward as soon as they walk up, but I try to hide it, deciding to talk to Rydel about it later.

We make it back to the house just a little bit later. My nausea has been replaced with light cramps, but I ignore them, figuring they're just gas. Riker and I kiss goodnight before going our separate ways. Rydel and I sit in silence for a while before I finally talk myself into asking her about earlier.

"So, uh, I saw something interesting earlier…" I start.

She lowers her phone, "Oh? What was it?"

I look anywhere but her face, "You and…uh, Ellington…kissing…"

"Y-you saw that?" Her eyes are wide.

I nod, "Yeah."

"You didn't say anything to anyone, did you?" She asks.

"No, of course not." I answer.

She lets out a breath, "Oh, good."

"So, are you guys together now or what?" I ask, then, laughing, I say, "C'mon girl, dish."

She laughs, coming to sit next to me, "I don't know. Maybe? We haven't really talked about it."

"Was this the first time or…?"

She shakes her head, "No. We kissed for the first time a couple weeks ago, after a rehearsal. We've been sneaking around ever since."

"So you're sort of secretly together then." I say.

"I guess you could say that." She shrugs, then sighs, "I do want to tell everyone, and make it official, but…I just think there's a few people who aren't going to be all that thrilled."

I raise my eyebrows, "Really? It seems like everyone is a shipper of Rydellington, I can't imagine there would be very many people upset."

"Well, I'm sure the majority of our fans would be thrilled but…take Riker for example. He's not exactly the biggest Rydellington fan, as I'm sure you've noticed." She explains.

"I don't think he's against it exactly, I think he's more…indifferent about it. I'm sure he'd be fine so long as you were happy." I respond.

"Maybe…I just think it'd be better to keep it quiet for a while. At least until we know if it's going to work out or not."

I nod, "Yeah, that's proba-ungh!" I'm hit suddenly by a sharp pain that doubles me over.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Rydel asks worriedly.

I wait for the pain to subside so I can answer, but it doesn't. It's when I'm leaned down clutching my stomach that I notice something terrifying; there's blood between my legs.

"Some-something's wrong…with the baby." I manage to get out.

Rydel jumps up and bolts out of the room. The pain continues to get to worse and I clutch my stomach. I'm terrified I'm losing the baby and I feel tears running down my face. Rydel rushes back in then, Riker and Stormie close on her heels.

Riker is immediately kneeling in front of me, "Maya? What's wrong?"

I lift my head and manage to say, "Something's wrong…I'm bleeding."

He looks up at Stormie, his eyes full of worry.

"You need to get her to the hospital. Now." Stormie tells him.

Riker nods and before I can even register what is going on, he has scooped me up in his arms and is carrying me out the door.

"Grab her shoes." I hear him say.

I know we are outside when I feel the cool night air hit my face. I vaguely register Riker putting me in the back of the car and climbing in beside me as Stormie gets in the driver's seat.

Riker has his arms around me and is gently rubbing my arm. I rest my head on his chest, trying to fight back tears.

"It hurts…" I whimper.

"I know baby, but we're going to be at the hospital soon and everything will be okay." He says softly, kissing the top of my head.

"What if I lose the baby?" My voice is getting hoarse.

He's quiet for a moment before he says, "I don't know."

It seems like forever before we finally make it to the hospital. Riker helps me out of the car, keeping his arms around me as he tries to help me to the door. I feel my knees shake before they give out and everything goes black.

Uh oh! Will Maya and the baby be okay? Stay tuned to find out!