22nd May 2013. So it's time for Lauren to start enjoying her pregnancy... so I guess we should have another lighter chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 60.

In the middle of January Lesley and Alice went with Lauren over to Walford. Tanya had called and asked for them to come over. Lauren suspected her mum was up to something and Lesley and Alice were acting strangely too but she was too tired to think about it too much. Her heart was still causing her a few problems, although it was better than it had been at Christmas but she got tired much more quickly these days. Every day was draining for Lauren at the moment.

Tanya opened the door of the house and ushered the three of them in. "Come in..." She hugged Lauren and helped her take her coat off, again complimenting her on what she was wearing. Joey's words had definitely had an impact on Lauren and she was now wearing the clothes he bought her all the time, starting to enjoy the way she looked and she was able to see how happy Joey was about this change which made her feel even better. It turned out a happy Joey led to even better sex... which was a pretty fantastic thing as far as Lauren was concerned.

Lauren walked into the lounge and found Whitney, Lucy and Poppy there, as well as Carol, Bianca and Sharon. Kat, Denise, Kim and Roxy completed the gathering. "What's going on, mum?" She asked.

"I thought we'd throw you a baby shower, sweetheart. We wanted to do something nice for you."

"Mum... you shouldn't have." She told her as she turned to hug her mother, "Thank you. I wasn't expecting anything like this." Lauren went and sat between Whitney and Lucy on the couch, both of them touching bump in the hope of feeling movement. However it seemed the only person bump ever performed on cue for was daddy. Bump would know when Joey was nearby and would kick or hit when he touched it. Lauren smiled when she saw the disappointment on her friend's faces. "Don't feel sad, guys. The only time bump does what you want it to do is when daddy is around. He seems to have the magic touch because he's the only person that can convince bump to stop moving too." Those gathered in the room all awwwed to that particular revelation.

"How are you feeling, Lauren?" Bianca asked. "You seem a bit brighter than you were at Christmas..."

"I am a bit better. My heart has settled down a little and so has bump. I'm able to get a bit more sleep than I was a few weeks ago too." She said, smiling at her cousin. "Although I'm still permanently tired..."

"So not long now till baby's here then..." Kat said, "I was petrified when I was pregnant with Tommy... it was even worse when it was the first time."

Lauren paled slightly and glanced at her mum. Her mind had been on the labour much more recently. Her antenatal classes had included watching a video of a birth and it had been horrific viewing. Both Lauren and Joey had come away mentally scarred from that particular evening although Lauren now had a pretty firm idea of what she did and didn't want for the end of her pregnancy. She'd spoken to her mum about it the next morning and her mum had reassured her that the video they show was much worse than most births and it was a completely different experience when it was your own child being born. Lauren wasn't sure she believed her but at this stage there wasn't any going back from where she was now; bump had to be born at sometime... it certainly couldn't stay where it was now. The only thing she was certain of was that she didn't particularly want to have a caesarean. Call it vanity but she didn't want a scar... she was still to be convinced that she was going to be attractive for her husband once this was all over without adding to it by marking her body. The stretch marks were bad enough.

"Don't frighten her, Kat." Tanya said quickly, "She doesn't need to hear everyone's horror stories, guys." Lauren smiled softly as she heard her mum protecting her. She knew her mum understood her fears and she was going to be so much help during the labour. Lauren wasn't sure she or Joey could do it without her mum there.

Alice and Lesley followed Tanya back into the kitchen and the three returned with plates of food that were put on the low table in front of the couch. The mums disappeared and came back with some cakes. Lauren could see the stand of cupcakes and knew Lesley had made them. She laughed when she looked at them closer, seeing the cakes had baby's faces on them with different expressions on each one. Some were wearing blue and some pink. There was also a bigger cake that had building blocks, booties, a teddy bear and a dummy on it. The building blocks spelt Baby Branning.

Lauren struggled to her feet and moved over to Tanya, hugging her tightly. "Thanks mum." She whispered, "for everything." She added. She then turned to Lesley and hugged her too, "Thanks to you too, mum." She said.

"You're very welcome, honey." Lesley said.

Lauren had tears in her eyes as she moved back to the couch, Whitney and Lucy helping her sit back down. Her mum passed her a plate of food and she started to eat slowly. Conversation began amongst the people around the room with Lauren talking to Whit and Lucy. "So how are things going, Lauren?" Lucy asked.

"They're great..." She said, smiling at her friend. "We've got the nursery all decorated and have the major bits of furniture all set up. There are a couple of bits we still want to get but we'll have it all sorted by the time bump arrives."

"Are you still seeing your doctor every week?" Whitney asked.

"Yeah... we've had so many scans now and have photos from most of them. Alice brought me a photo album and it's full of scan photos."

"Last time I saw you was back in November at the Vic. Bump has grown so much since then." Lucy said. Lucy had been away at Christmas so hadn't been at their second wedding.

For the first time this comment didn't bother Lauren too much. She brushed her hand over bump, feeling a small shift beneath the surface and smiling gently. "Bump's still small... the doctor thinks it's going to be a bit petite. It's still growing though so she's not overly concerned. And from the scans it looks perfect. That's all Joey and I want, a perfect baby with no health issues."

"When will you go back on the medication?" Poppy asked, having moved closer to them a few minutes earlier.

"It depends on how I am after bump's born. I'd like to try breast feeding and I can't do that on the medication so if I can, I'll stay off it a bit longer. I've already done eighteen months, a few more won't hurt." Lauren told them.

"Is the birth risky?" Lucy asked.

"It could be." Lauren admitted. "My doctor and consultant have come up with a plan... well several plans apparently, for if things go wrong."

"What are they?" Lucy inquired.

"I've no idea..." Lauren told them with a smile.

"What do you mean, Lauren?" Whitney questioned.

"I told them I didn't want to know. They know what they're doing. They know what needs to be done. If we end up in a situation where something is wrong, I'm not going to be in any state to make any decisions. I trust them to make the right choice."

"What does Joey think about that?"

"He wasn't happy at first but he understands now. We had a long talk about it and we've spoken to both my doctor's. His priority is to be there for me and bump. Same with mum. I don't want him or mum to be put in a position where they have to make a decision either."

"Can the doctors do that?" Lucy asked.

"We had to sign some paperwork giving them legal authority to make the choice. Normally it would be down to Joe but I can't do that to him. If the worst were to happen it would kill him to have to choose. That's not what I want... it's about the last thing I want."

"So your mum's going to be there with you as well as Joey?" Poppy asked.

"Yes. I need her help as well as Joe's. Neither of us knows what's going to happen. Mum's been through it three times so she'll be there to support me and Joe."

"I'm really looking forward to meeting bump, Lauren." Whitney said softly. "I'm sure he or she will be as beautiful as it's parents are. You both deserve this. You've been through so much."

"Thanks Whit." Lauren said. Her other friends echoed Whitney's sentiments.

Sharon helped Tanya and Lesley clear away the food, just the cakes remaining. "Time for a game," Alice said once everyone was back in the room. "Now I had a look on the internet and found a particular game that I thought would be fun. It's called Daddy knows best." Some of Lauren's friends start to giggle at the surprise on her face. "I asked my brother various questions about babies and Lauren has to guess what answers he gave. You all have to predict how many questions she'll get right." She smiled at Lauren, "Good luck." Alice passed out bits of paper to all of them and they had to write down how many of the ten questions Lauren would correctly guess. They passed their papers back to Alice and she put them all to one side. "Okay, Lauren... first question. How many kids do you want to have?"

"I know this one... We've spoken about it." Lauren said.

"Come on then." Kim said.

"He will have said... as many as I'd be prepared to have. As long as I'm healthy throughout."

Alice smiled at her sister-in-law, "Practically word for word." She ticked the question sheet. "Next question, does Joey want a girl or a boy? And I made him choose... he couldn't sit on the fence."

Lauren frowned. This would have to be a complete guess. It wasn't something they'd discussed. Oh well, it's a fifty, fifty decision. "I think he'd say a girl."

"Why?" Poppy asked in interest.

Lauren blushed, "Because I'm pretty sure he'd want her to be just like me."

"Well it seems you certainly know my brother." Alice said, looking somewhat disappointed. "How many nappies does a baby need each day?"

"God, I don't know the answer to that question," Lauren said. She thought about it a bit, trying to think what Joey would've said. "I think he would've said eight." Lauren said softly.

Alice smiled, "Wrong I'm afraid... he said twelve although he admitted it was a pure guess." She made a note of Lauren getting the wrong answer. "Next question was how many nappies he planned to change each day?"

"Well I know what my answer would be... but I would imagine his will be as few as possible."

Alice shook her head, "What would your answer have been?"

"All the smelly ones..." She said with a smile.

Alice giggled, "Joey's answer was all the ones Lauren won't do." All the partygoers swooned a little from that answer and Lauren was actually glad she got that one wrong because she preferred Joey's answer. The game continued and Lauren was relatively successful. After the ninth question she had got six questions correct. "Okay, last question, Lauren. I asked Joey who would be the firm parent and who would be the pushover."

Lauren giggled, "That's the easiest question so far. Joey will be the pushover. Bump has already got him wrapped are it's little finger, and I can't see that changing."

"So you'll be the firm parent." Sharon asked.

"I guess." She admitted, her face heating again slightly, not sure she wanted to be that parent but knowing it was more likely to come from her direction rather than her husband's.

"Another one right, Lauren." Alice said. "I'll just work out who was the closest guesser." A few minutes later she had the results, "Well, ladies... we have a tie. It seems that mum and Auntie Tanya both guessed that Lauren would get seven answers correct." She reached behind her and pulled out two small gift bags from a box. "Fortunately I came prepared..." She passed the bags to them both and they each pulled out a chocolate lollipop with Baby Branning written over them in icing.

"These are lovely, Alice." Tanya said to her niece.

"Thanks Auntie Tanya." She smiled brightly, "Okay, I have another game now. Auntie Tanya actually helped with this one. For each of you I have a sheet of pictures of Lauren through the ages. You have to guess how old she was in each of the pictures. The person with the most right wins a prize." She passed out the sheets to each of them while Tanya handed everyone a pen.

"Oh, Lauren, you were such a cute baby..." Roxy said. Lauren blushed at her words. Everyone sat and filled in their sheets. Lauren abstained from this game, Tanya helped her walk upstairs to go to the toilet instead. Bump had shifted slightly in the last week or so and this enabled her to be able to go to the toilet on her own again. It was very liberating after more than a month of mortification. Lauren had brought her mobile with her and called her husband while she was alone.

"Hey baby girl." He said as he answered the phone, "You having a nice party."

"Yes. Your sister is playing games master at the moment."

"So how many of my answers did you get right?" he asked with a laugh.

"Seven..." she said proudly. "I think Alice was a little disappointed with us both. She seemed much happier when I got an answer wrong." Joey laughed again, "The mums guessed right." She told him.

"So what are you escaping from now?"

"They've got a sheet of pictures of me at various ages and they have to guess how old I am."

"Baby photos of you? Bring me home a copy, I want to see what I'm letting myself in for."

"Joe, it could be a boy too. Maybe I should get your mum to show me baby photos of you too."

"I'll get mum to dig them out for you. I think there are a few lying around." He promised her.

"I'd better get downstairs." She said softly.

"I'll see you at home later, baby girl."

"Love you, Joe." She murmured to him.

"Love you back."

Lauren walked slowly and carefully back down the stairs and into the lounge. "Who won?" she asked.

"Sharon." Alice proclaimed, handing another gift bag to Sharon. "Right guys, one last game... and even I'm going to take part in this one. Here is a sheet of fifteen attributes for the baby. You have to decide whether Lauren would prefer that bump gets the attributes from her or from Joey." She handed out the sheets, including passing one to Lauren.

Lauren worked through the answers pretty quickly, knowing what she wanted to come from her and Joey easily. She held onto the list and then gave it to Alice once everyone handed back their answers. "Thanks for organising these games, Alice. You've put so much hard work into it." Lauren said to her softly.

"It's no problem, Lauren. I enjoyed myself." Alice walked over to the dining room table and started to sort them out.

"Right, while Alice is doing that, I think it must be present time," Tanya pronounced.

"Guys, you really didn't have to get me presents." Lauren protested.

"We wanted to, sweetheart." Tanya said.

"And I think it's time for Lauren to cut the cake." Lesley said.

Lauren took the knife from her mum and then sliced into the cake, partly hating having to ruin it. She cuts slices of it and passed the plates to each of the guests. She took a bite of the cake, "Wow... this is great. I think I've just found the birthday cake baker for bump each year." Lauren said. Lesley looked embarrassed, especially when everyone else started complimenting her baking skills too.

Tanya reappeared in the room with a pile of gifts. Lauren opened each one carefully. Whitney, Lucy and Poppy had got a combined gift of a baby activity mat. Lauren thought it was great and it was just what she would've chosen. Kim and Denise had brought her some onesies in gender neutral colours. Kat gave her a lovely teddy bear which would look great in the nursery. Roxy gave her a baby carrier and Sharon gave her a really trendy baby changing bag that Lauren knew would be really useful.

Alice reappeared and stated that Lucy was the winner of the last game so she received a gift bag with a chocolate lollipop in it too. She then gave Lauren the present from her. It was another photo album that matched the other one she'd brought and inside it was a picture of Joey and Lauren that had been taken on New Year's Eve as the clock struck midnight. Joey was kissing her and his hand was resting on bump. She was wearing a dress he'd brought for her and she could see that what he'd said to her was right. The picture brought a lump to Lauren's throat and tears to her eyes. She could see in the photo that she was beautiful, just like Joey was always telling her.

The presents were all gone but Tanya slipped out of the room again with Lesley. The two of them walked back in with a buggy in front of them. It also co-ordinated well with the changing bag Sharon had bought her. "This is from me, your dad and Lesley. We spoke to Joey and he said you'd been looking at this one so we clubbed together and got it for you." Tanya said.

"I can't believe you got me that. I've been trying to convince Joey for weeks to let me get it but he was adamant we could find something more reasonably priced."

"That would be because I spoke to him about it a month ago and the three of us had agreed we wanted to get it for you both." Lesley told her.

Lauren brushed her hand over bump, feeling her child making its presence known again, "I think bump is pretty grateful too." She said with a smile.

*JL*JL*

Joey was standing on the doorstep waiting for them when they pulled up on the driveway. He was at Lauren's door straightaway. "Hey baby girl." He whispered, pulling her into his arms after helping her out of the car. He kissed her passionately. "I've missed you today."

"Missed you too." She smiled at him, "You should see the presents we've got, Joe. Everyone was so generous."

"Let me help mum and Alice get them out of the car. You can show me inside."

*JL*JL*

Lauren lay on the couch, her feet and back were both aching and bump seemed to have gone into hyperactive mode as soon as Joey was close. She brushed her hand over bump, hoping to soothe him or her. It didn't work. "You alright, baby?" Joey said as he came into the room, "I took the stuff upstairs, you can show me later. I figured you were tired out."

"I am tired." She reached into her handbag and pulled up a folded bit of paper, "You wanted to see this..." She told him, handing the paper over to him.

He unfolded it and looked at the various pictures on the sheet, "Wow, you were adorable... I hope our child looks like you, baby girl..."

Lauren smiled and blushed slightly. He always knew how to make her feel so special. She sighed, shifting on the couch, "Do you think you can rub my feet for me? They're really sore tonight."

"Course I can." He said, walking over to the couch and lifting her feet so he could sit down. He pulled her socks off her feet and began to rub her feet, concentrating on the pressure points he'd discovered which helped to relax her. "How's bump?"

"Frantic at the moment." She whispered, her hands brushing over her belly to try and soothe bump. "It knows you're here... I think it was asleep until I got home to you..."

He smiled at her tenderly. "Once I've finished your feet, I'm going to take you upstairs and I'm going to massage you all over and I'll try to convince bump to settle down." He whispered to her.

"Bump only pays attention to you anyway." She grumbled.

"As it should be," he said with a sly smile.

"Hey!" she tapped his arm with her hand, "I'm the firm parent remember, you're the pushover, not me."

"Well you certainly manage to work your magic on me, baby girl. I think bump will learn from the master."

"You know it." She whispered, smiling at her husband.

TBC

A/N: Another sweet chapter... I must be making you wonder when something bad is going to happen, right? I guess I should tell you the bad news now then... there are just five chapters and an epilogue to go of this story. Sorry! Anyway, back tomorrow... wonder what we'll get then...