AN: SO SORRY! WARNING! LONG WINDED…..Been crazy few months. Graduated, was out of town for almost a month then have been apt hunting, then house hunting, then packing, closing on said house, more packing, moving (cause the daddy decided last minute he and my bro would help me do it instead of hiring professionals) and yeah unpacking, dealing with construction still being done in the basement, still running between my old place and my new home which are 50 miles apart and on heavy traffic areas, I basically sit on my ass in my downtime or am off to the lake with the fam for the weekend. Most this time I've had no computer or at least not the one with my stories. Finally said screw looking for the USB so I am gonna update. On Maybe Baby, the update is gonna flash forward and the telling of Alice's family and Jasper's family are gonna be outtakes later when I have the energy to finish wording them (hard cause I made the families so friggin big) you will get a summary in this next chapter. As for One Night Stands, yeah I am so far far behind in updating that one. It is coming to an end to those readers I might still have, very close to an end and I may do an epilogue for closure on the other couples.
Also location wise. Jasper is going to be just outside San Antonio and his family is spread out between there an Galveston (the Galveston part I took from Eclipse).
Without further adieu here we go.
MAYBE BABY:
CHAPTER- 17
POV: Alice
It was as if my life wasn't even my own anymore. I hadn't exactly left my mother's house unscathed by my revelation, at first I was hoping for a delayed reaction. I mean more delayed then maybe the 5 minutes it took my mother to actually react; my uncle's reaction was instant surprise and a quick glance towards my mother. If my mother had held off till the next morning, when Jasper was gone I would have been so grateful but of course, gut reaction I suppose, condoms? Yep why didn't we use condoms? She couldn't believe I would forget to take a pill when I've been on them since I was 15 and had the cramps from hell. Irresponsible. That's just summing this up in a word.
So the next morning I woke super early, thankful I hadn't told my mother when Jasper's flight was, this gave us a little extra time, neither of us slept well, me because I get upset and morning sickness kicks in. Jasper because I was up and down all night long and I'm sure it was also because he felt extremely uncomfortable in my mother's house, in my bed after such a revelation. The only plus side to all this was my uncle's sound advice and praise on one thing, moving in together. He said it didn't matter when Jasper asked because to my mom it would take years and years and years and he said probably not until the day one of us dies will she truly believe Jasper asked before hand and not because I was pregnant. He, however, did believe us, found the timing hilarious and even mentioned how happy he was I would no longer be in New York, he always felt I was too young to be in the big city alone, and of course Texas is closer than New York.
"I miss you so much" I said when Jasper finally picked up. His receptionist (not just his but for his studio) had placed me on hold, Jasper was in a phone conference and I felt like I'd been on hold forever when she said it should only be a few more minutes, that they were all shaking hands. That struck me as odd since she said phone conference but she explained some clients were in the meeting, the rest were on the phone.
"Miss you too, how's my baby…s" he added the s after a moment and I smiled touching my very, almost non-existent bump. He always corrected himself, said he was getting used to actually being able to use the plural, since he'd dropped the baby bomb on his co-workers a few days ago and had been greeted with baby balloons, parenting advice and apparently his office window was curtained by Pampers and Huggies the next day.
"Doing pretty good. Emmett helped me pack half my apartment last night, and Rose kidnapped me for maternity duds since apparently she doubts Texas will have anything fashionable in that department" I explained, smiling for the first time all day. Shopping for clothing in anticipation of how big I'd get had not been a good feeling, it made me scared. I have always been a small thing and I don't want to believe I will get that big.
"That's wonderful. Still on for Friday?" he asked and I nodded my head as two of the newest fire fighters under Emmett stood in my kitchen packing up items. He'd sent them over to finish packing my stuff, hazing and apparently the two had issues with one another. Thankfully they didn't act out around me, but it was funny to watch them avoid talking, and when they did speak it was with such distaste.
"Of course, not looking forward to the drive but I suppose it's gotta be done" I said and Jasper chuckled. We were driving the whole way and my brother-in-law Ryan was driving my car from Mississippi to Jasper's house, I mean our house on his way to Vegas for a convention.
"At least we'll have 4 un-interrupted days together before we have my family all over the place, stopping by for this and that, dropping off this and that" he chuckled and I smiled. I was looking forward to it. His siblings seemed very supportive and his grandmother was calling often to find out if I was moving any sooner. Could she send movers? I love that woman. She even told me Jasper's parents were getting more used to the idea, apparently Jasper seemed to be on cloud nine, a little fall after meeting my family but apparently his father said it made complete sense and his mother of course cooked him his favorite meal to cheer him up.
"So let's hire someone to drive the truck and we'll fly in and lock ourselves in our room for those 4 days" I whined and he chuckled, a little deeper. OH he was totally contemplating the idea.
"I wish we could but I have a surprise for you and it won't be ready till we get there" he said and I smiled.
"Oh a surprise! What a new closet like the one Big made Carrie?" I asked teasing although that would be awesome.
"I'm sad to say I know what you are referring to and if we can't shove all our clothes in the existing one I'll get to work on that" he said and I smiled. He was quite possibly the sweetest and most considerate man ever, that and such an ass kisser, but he just says he loves me and my wish is his command. I refer to him as Wesley because he's just like him, only until he was let in on this did he actually say 'As you wish,' to me, once.
"What did I do to deserve you?" I asked dreamily.
"Hmm, still not sure on that one can I get back to you?" he joked and I let out a fake surprised gasp before laughing with him. "I'll get in Thursday night, very late" he said and I frowned, he was supposed to be here Thursday morning. "I've got to fly to Atlanta first for a meeting on a new project then I'll get on a plane to New York after" he said and I sighed.
"I guess I shouldn't complain, they are giving you the whole week off" I said, it really was nice of his boss, apparently Jasper did have the vacation time, man hardly ever took a single sick day since he'd started there so he only had to promise to get some work done at home and come in for a few meetings, he'd get a week off when the baby was born but then we'd have no vacation time until next year so this would also be my first Christmas away from my family, unless I could talk my mom into coming for her second granddaughters sake.
"So how was your first week of not working?" he asked and I smiled. Heidi had let me go without a fuss, I'd helped narrow down my replacements so she didn't have to sift through them herself and while I still think she is related to the character from 'The Devil Wears Prada,' she has proven to me that she does have a heart and even said she expects a birth announcement as soon as the baby pops out.
"Weird. I just came off a vacation and though I've kept busy it's so strange not having to wake myself up every morning, a little bit of a treat though" I smiled petting Millie's head, she knew something was up since there were a million boxes littering my apartment and she didn't really care for the help Emmett sent. "Emmett is bringing by 4 guys tomorrow to load the truck so you and I are camping out Thursday night on Hank's air mattress" I laughed.
"I appreciate his help, I take it everything is packed then?" he asked and I gave an affirmative sound. "So I mapped out our trip I was thinking we could stay the night in Knoxville, it's about the half way marker" he said and I rolled my eyes.
"Whatever you say cause lord know either way this trip is going to suck, you are gonna have pregnant lady and high energy Millie to deal with" I warned.
"Darcy swears as long as the baby isn't crushing your bladder it should be that bad" he chuckled and I smiled.
"Nope" I grinned though I did have a surprise for him, I know he can feel it because Emmett flipped out when I asked him to see if he could feel the baby kicking, he'd been so giddy and told me I should surprise Jasper. "But at the rate my tummy is growing I can't promise I'll be a ray of sunshine" I added in reference to packing everything but my stretchy yoga pants and tank tops.
He chuckled because every time we talked I told him I swore I was at least a good inch rounder but it still didn't seem so bad unless I stood naked and looked at myself sideways in a mirror. "There is absolutely no way you have gotten that much bigger, it's been 2 weeks" he said and I shook my head.
"I am not lying or exaggerating, it took my sister 3 weeks before she looked like she was about to pop and then she didn't pop till a week after he due date" I explained.
"So you're anticipating being full blown by the time you get home?" he said and I laughed. "I'm sure all the food we'll be getting once you're here will take care of that" he said and I shook my head.
"I look forward to any home cooking, Rose is definitely no Paula Dean and Emmett, while he can grill with the best of them a George Foreman just isn't the same" I said referring to the menu I'd been eating since packing began, any food left in my fridge was going straight to the Fire Station.
"So I wanted to ask" he said and I adjusted the phone as I put Millie's leash on, might as well take her out now before it gets dark.
"Yeah" I said and pointed at the leash when the firemen looked at me; they nodded and went back to work.
"Did you want to stop and see your family? We have time" he said and I knew it took a lot for him to ask. When the elevator doors opened and I stepped in I apologized and told him just a minute, really I needed the time to think and the shitty reception in the elevator gave me enough time to do so.
Once the doors opened I stepped out into the lobby where Hank was giving his usual run down to James, James had become nicer lately, Hank told me James finally got a girlfriend and she was a spitfire, she sort of brought out the best in him, I was happy. They both waved with a smile, creepy leer missing since my return from my moms. "Do we have to drive thru there or are we going to be near?" I asked.
"Near" he said, "We're going to pass through just north of New Orleans and it wouldn't be a hassle at all to re-route like 15 miles" he said and I sighed.
"I don't know" I said. "I mean I guess I should but I don't think mom has cooled any and I don't want any dampers on my mood, cause I am happy" I said.
"Ok, well we'll make that decision when we need to ok?" he said and I nodded my head before hearing voices in the background.
"I love you" I said knowing he likely needed to get off the phone, I'd planned this to be a quick I miss you, love you phone call.
"I love you baby, I gotta get back to work" he said and I smiled. I was truly glad he loved his job, his co-workers and they seemed to love him back.
POV: Jasper
The meeting had last so long in Atlanta that I was afraid I'd miss my flight, I was hoping to catch an earlier flight, get on standby and be able to arrive before my 11 pm arrival in New York so I drove as fast as I could through the Atlanta traffic but ultimately too late and instead boarded my flight. I'd received a text picture from Alice this morning when I'd gotten off the plane in Atlanta, she was obviously only wearing panties and a bra, it was apparent she was indeed pregnant and I was upset I'd missed her growth, as much as it freaked her out it made me happy to know our baby was growing with her. I'd sent back a message saying how sexy that picture was and how cruel it was of her to send it knowing I wasn't going to see her until very late, she swore she'd stay up and wait for me even after I told her to get some sleep we had a long trip ahead of us.
Once I finally arrived at JFK I was surprised to see Peter waiting for me with a sign and I smiled, thankful I wouldn't have to fight for a cab as the airport was very busy. Peter explained that quite a few flights had been sent to JFK instead of Newark due to a bad storm and high winds. I'd only brought a small bag with enough clothing for our road trip and for our stop in New Orleans that I had planned with Alice's brother-in-law, he was planning on following us on from there but said we had to have dinner there, he warned me that he would invite Alice's mom, uncle and grandmother so we should be prepared.
"Thanks again man" I said as Peter pulled into the small drop-off at Alice's apartment building.
"Not a problem, I got off work and Charlotte told me the situation with the airport so I told her I'd get ya" he said.
"I appreciate it" I said and was actually thankful I wouldn't have to pop into Peter's New York office to drop off the new specs before we left and I'd only have to pop by their apartment so Charlotte could feed us and send us off, he warned me that she already had a cooler and snack bag packed for us and had told Alice as much.
"See you next time you're in town or we're in town" he chuckled and I agreed, I hadn't worked much in New York in the past month so I'm pretty sure the timing of the move is pretty sound with my visits for the year.
I entered the lobby to see James sitting at the desk with ESPN on and he actually smiled and waved at me, it was weird but Alice said he'd gotten a girlfriend. I waved back and headed towards the elevator without the slightest hassle, James liked to always check me in like he didn't know me by now.
Once I reached Alice's floor I pulled out the key she'd given me before her trip to meet my family and opened the door. The place was empty except for a small IPod dock and Alice's duffle for the trip. I saw dim light coming from her room and setting my bag down beside hers I headed in and smiled at what I saw, Alice was fast asleep on the air mattress with Millie tucked into her side snoring. She hadn't been asleep long since '16 candles' was still on and they were only at the party. I smiled and let out a soft laugh as Long Duck Dong rode the exercise bike with his American Girlfriend.
Leaning down I kissed Alice and removed my tie, setting it beside her bottled water and scratching Millie's head as she yawned and stretched, her tail coming to life. Turning around I lead Millie out of the room and left the door open, I didn't want Alice to wake up and wonder where Millie was. Putting on her leash and pocketing Alice's key again I went and took Millie for a walk.
Once we came back inside Millie followed me through my routine of going to the bathroom, washing my face to remove all the plane grime and brushing my teeth. Once in Alice's bedroom I stripped down to my boxer briefs and shut off the movie on the tiny screen before sliding onto the air mattress, trying not to wake her. Kissing her shoulder I wrapped my arms around her and fell asleep.
POV: Alice
I woke up and smiled, Jasper's arms were around me and he was snoring softly, I almost couldn't hear him over Millie's, it was cute. I struggled for a few moments and finally got myself turned around so I could study him as he slept, I leant forward and kissed his lip before wrapping my arms around him, he stirred but didn't wake so I settled into just snuggling with him. Ignoring my bladder as it screamed for me to pee for only a few moments before I had to extricate myself from his arms again so I could get up. Instantly Millie woke and followed me around before leaving me when I brushed my teeth. I guess Jasper walked her last night since she didn't run to the door.
I walked back into my room and saw Millie lying on the pillow looking at Jasper and giggled as she licked his forehead a few times causing him to stir and swat her away. Sliding back onto the bed I smiled when his eyes opened tiredly. It was pretty early even without the hour time difference.
"Hey" I said softly and he smiled rubbing the slobber off his forehead. I smiled and leaned down to kiss him.
"Morning" he said and kissed me again before I slid under the covers and intertwined myself with him hoping he'd get some more sleep, he'd gotten in later than midnight since I'd put in the movie just after 12. "What time is it?" he asked.
"6:20 ish" I said and I groaned and giggled before kissing his Adam's apple. "What time did you get here?" I asked.
"Almost 1" he said and I frowned. "Flight was delayed over an hour due to winds, the re-routed a bunch of flight from Newark. Peter picked me up and dropped me off" he yawned and I smiled.
"We had a bit of a storm here in the afternoon but it wasn't anything bad" I said. "Get some more sleep, we don't need to leave till 10" I reminded and he nodded, wrapping his arms around me. After a few moments of silence it became apparent he wasn't going back to sleep as his hand slid up beneath my night gown and over to feel my stomach, I grinned as he ran his hand over my bump and giggled as I felt his soldier wide awake against my thigh.
Tilting my head up I saw him smile at me. Needless to say we said farewell to my New York apartment in style, too bad we couldn't do more but after an extremely long and often times distracting shower we were off to Charlotte's, I'd said my goodbyes to Rose and Emmett the night before since Rose was flying to Rome in the morning and Emmett was on a 24 hour shift starting last night, he'd broke long enough for Rose and I to bring by a late dinner.
Our breakfast was brief with Charlotte since we needed to leave by 11 and full we got on the road.
AN: Next chapter will be their dinner in New Orleans and I'm hoping to post it no later than tomorrow. Sorry for the wait. I'm gonna work on a chapter for my highly neglected (yes more so then this) ONS after I post this next chapter.