Chapter 20 – Lucky

Monday, February 27th, 2023

20 Weeks Pregnant

Gabi's POV

Wren had her phone displayed on Scout Elena as she made her appearance ten days ago. I was flying home next week to meet her and pick up Claire with Troy. We also had to meet Hanson's son – Sullivan "Sully" James who was born just three days ago. "God, Wren, she's so freaking cute," her face was scrunched up as her blonde little hair was sticking up. Wren laughed through the facetime, "I think I'll keep her. Even when she wakes up me up three times a night." I giggled as I let my hand run over my belly that was still really tiny. Honestly, it really wasn't there unless I ate, and it poked out a little bit, but I was enjoying every single minute of it.

"I bet. I cannot wait to have my own to keep. To snuggle every single day. To love." Wren grinned, "How are you feeling? How many weeks?" I switched the view to my non-existent belly. "Twenty-weeks today," Wren gave a big grin, "Halfway!" I nodded with a big smile, "Hopefully more than halfway. I want our baby to be fully cooked but if we were a few weeks early, like 37-38 I wouldn't complain because then Troy would get more time at home with us before the beginning of the season." Wren nodded her head in understanding. "He will make you top priority and I do not doubt that. That man worships you and any off-spring I am assuming will get the same exact treatment."

I smiled as I chewed on my lower lip, "We have our anatomy scan on Wednesday which I am so nervous for. Then in a couple of weeks we have a fetal echo to make sure the baby's heart developed properly. It's a risk with IVF pregnancies." Wren just gave a tiny smile as the anxiety rolled off my body, "You'll feel better once it's over and you get all clear and if you don't get all clear then you have a husband who will move mountains to make it okay." I just gave her a smile of appreciation as I stared at Scout some more. "Did I tell you Troy and I have a name for a boy and a girl?"

"Shut up! Can I know?" I shook my head with a smile, "No, it was so easy. We always had a girl name picked out since high school, but he took my list of baby names and picked one. That was it." Wren groaned, "Seriously? That's all it took? Breck and I fought about it for months. Scout didn't have a name for almost 30 hours after birth." I just gave a laugh as my hand ran over my stomach and it rested there. The baby movements were getting a little bit stronger each and every day. Little Bee was getting bigger, and I couldn't wait to see our bee on Wednesday.

But I wasn't overly excited because I was so nervous.

"I cannot wait to meet her next week,"

"She can't wait to meet you."

"How is The Sunshine Pact going?" I nodded, "Good. They are doing fine getting all the baskets together without me. I am working a lot from here on the Gala because I want most of it done before I have this baby. Luckily, the whole team is back together, and we planned it the same exact weekend. Hopefully it goes just as well as last year."

"Let me know if you need me to do any groundwork for you. I think I will be a bit bored after a few weeks of being home." I shook my head, "You need to spend time with your sweet girl," Wren rolled her eyes at me, "She will go everywhere with me, but I need out of the house. I learned that fast in the past few days. A few errands here or there won't kill anybody." I just smiled at Wren, "How are you doing?" Wren smiled down at Scout and shrugged, "I am okay. It's definitely been an adjustment, but I love it so much. I love her so much. I am tired, my boobs hurt most of the time, and it's a mind trip of being responsible for this tiny human 24/7." She paused, "I think finding what helps make the days feel different is good. Getting out of the house. Shit, sometimes just getting ready in the morning can make me feel so much better."

"Noted," Wren nodded with a serious face, "Yes, get out of the house, go for walks, see the sun." I just laughed and nodded, "I will keep it all noted. I am assuming Troy Bolton is going to be all over to me to make sure that I feel my best." Wren just gave a big laugh, "Oh 100% because Breck is. I cannot wait to walk this journey with you!" I gave her a smile as we talked for a little bit longer before I heard the door open and shut. Troy had a bunch of meetings with Lucas today as he flew down to us for once. We were mostly back in our house now as almost all the construction was done. It was completely different and very much updated.

The beach house vibe was still throughout the house but the windows and doors along the back of the house to give the best view of the water. We were elevated for any potential flooding, and all the rooms had new paint, fresh floors, along with a bigger master bathroom/closet. I really wanted this to be our main stay once Troy was done with his career, but I knew it was only going to get complicated with Claire. Thoughts I wasn't allowing to give myself yet. We had years to go. "El, where are you?" Troy's voice carried through as he was in a button up shirt with a pair of black dress pants. My eyes roamed his body and he smirked. I rolled my eyes, "Stop, Bolton," he just laughed as he came over and grabbed me in a hug. His lips pressing into my neck and then my temple.

"How were the meetings?" I mumbled into his chest while inhaling his scent that I was obsessed with.

"Good, I have to fly out later this week to go meet with some brands in New York," my face fell as I pulled back to look at him, "Thursday," he reassured as he watched my face. Those blue eyes flicking to every single corner as he saw the disappointment almost immediately. "Do you think I would let you go to that scan alone after all of these appointments? I know how nervous you are for this appointment, El." His thumb brushed my cheek as I exhaled, "El…" I just gave a tiny laugh, "No, I didn't truly think but sometimes I know that things get missed or you can't fix everything for us. I just know how nervous I am, and I can't do that without you."

"And you won't." Troy said firmly. "I leave early Thursday morning with Lucas and then I'll be back Friday afternoon. Just one night." I gave a smile as he tilted my head back to give me another kiss. "Want to go get dinner?" I nodded, "Yea, I do." Troy gave a smile, "Perfect, I am going to go change and then we can leave. Any wants?" I shook my head, "No, we can do whatever. Any oldies you want to go back to together?" Troy smirked and nodded before he went upstairs. "That's all I get?" I asked him and he just laughed. Rude.

Troy pulled up to our favorite little mom and pop diner that we spent a lot of time at in high school. I smiled over at him, and he winked, "I am typically left alone when I bring Claire here. Hopefully we get the same respect today." I just shrugged, "We'll deal with it." Troy gave me a smile as we both got out as I tugged down on my sweater and pulled up my jeans. Troy changed into a pair of jeans with a hoodie as I went over, and he tucked me under his arm. He put on a backwards hat, and I snuggled against him.

"Hi baby," Troy kissed the top of my head, and I grinned as we walked in, and we were able to seat ourselves as we tucked back into the back corner. Troy put his back to the door, and I sat across from him. "Have you talked to Claire today?" I asked and he sighed with a shake of his head. "No, sadly. Eve said she was doing her schoolwork earlier with her tutor to help catch her up. I will call her when we leave here probably." My fingers reached over, and I locked fingers with him. "One week down, one to go," Troy gave a half smile, "Luckily, I got a full week with you which makes up for it."

My cheeks flushed as one night we pretty much didn't leave our bed for anything. We stayed up talking, loving on each other, and just being present. We were trying to make sure our time together is being spent well together before we have our own baby. "Ah, I see where your mind went. Can we do round two," I couldn't stop my laugh as I shook my head. "No, we can't. I am still trying to recover." Troy chuckled and he inhaled, "I love this though, these moments, this time together." I nodded, "I do agree. I really appreciate this from the both of us."

"How are you feeling?" Troy asked with his head tilted to the side. "Really, really, good. I think I truly thought the worst of pregnancy and I am feeling pleasantly surprised. My body feels good, I feel good, and I am just ready to spend these next however many weeks prepping for this sweet baby." His eyes watched me, and those lips turned up into a smile, "I am so glad this part is treating you well. You deserve this part to be nice to you." His thumb brushed over my hand, and he squeezed gently. "I love you and I cannot wait to see you get to do it all."

We both shared a smile before browsing the menus, "Chocolate shakes first?" I grinned up with a nod as the waiter came by and Troy ordered two chocolate milkshakes with a basket of fries. I glanced up at my husband as it had been so long since we sat at this table together. That we were in this diner. It took me right back to when I was 17 and life was easy. There was nothing wrong yet. The laughs we shared in these booths and I just…felt all the gratitude to be right back here. A tear slid down and I tried to wipe it away when a hand grabbed around my wrist. I should have known he would have caught that immediately. "Hey, what's wrong?" his voice was soft, and I knew if I looked right at him, I would cry.

I shook my head trying to avoid the eye contact, 'Nothing, honestly, I am just thinking about how far we've come, and I feel 17 sitting here with you. Just getting to order a milkshake and fries and just laughing about dumb things. I don't know. Might just be the hormones but I feel so lucky to be here and with you and to feel like this again." Troy wiped the tear away and he laughed, tilting my face to make me look at him. My chin quivered with more emotion that I tried to suck up, "I never thought you would give me the time of day, Montez. In high school or now. I am the lucky bastard here." I shook my head with a laugh as I grabbed his hand as I kissed it. "This does feel good, and you do make me feel young again. Our relationship is just…easy sometimes and I know things will get hard and things will be difficult, but our love feels easy."

"I want it to always feel easy," I whispered to him. He laughed softly, "I really hope it does, but I don't know, El. We really don't ever know what life is going to throw at us. I hope we always find our way back though." The tears welled again, and I watched the panic build on Troy's face. "I want to wrap us in a bubble. I just…I never want this to not feel good." Troy got up and slide over into my booth. I scooted to let him in, and he wrapped me up into his arms as I buried my head into his shoulder. "El," his voice was a hoarse whisper, and I shook my head. "I just didn't like the hard parts of our relationship and I am just…" I babbled and tried to get my whole body to relax.

"No, baby, we were so young in that relationship and while I loved our relationship then we've learned so much. I think our communication is so much better these days. When I say things get hard – we just don't know what life is going to throw our way. IVF could get harder, life with Claire could get harder, injuries, deaths in the family – I don't know baby. Things could change rapidly which will change our relationship. It might get hard. There is nothing wrong with that, but I think, no, I know, we have a solid foundation to our relationship. Yes, would I love that every day will be easy? Absolutely because I never want to see you sad, disappointed, or anything in between." His lips pressed into my hair as I held onto him. His large hands rubbing my back and tucking me into him a little tighter.

"I know, fuck, I'm sorry," Troy titled my head back, "We don't apologize for having feelings," he murmured as he kissed me parroting everything he says to Claire. I felt the tears roll down my face with that and I just held onto him. "I love you; I never want to lose you again." Troy gave a tiny smile, "I'm not going anywhere without a goddamn fight, Gabriella. You better believe that." Our milkshakes and fries were delivered to our table. Troy never moved but I did uncurl myself from around him. We dipped our French fries into our milkshakes as he was doing everything to make me laugh. Telling silly stories and getting my mind off everything.

"I love you," I told him after a silence beat between the two of us. Troy glanced at me, "I love you, too. I know you feel the need to apologize for feeling something scary and never wanting something to change. Because I also never want this to feel any different – I just think I know it will. I mean, having a baby of our own will absolutely change everything for us. We will find our new ways but there is one thing that won't change because it hasn't change since I first saw you, got to know you, etc. I love you and that is going to be our base, baby."

He tucked my hair behind my ear, and he smiled at me, "Focus on today, tomorrow, I know we have a lot of change coming our way, but do you know what I think? I think we focus on today. Control what we can control and go from there. No anticipatory feelings." My head bobbed up and down and I gave a smile, "I like that." He gave a smile to me as we ordered dinner. Troy never moved from this side of the booth as our legs were pressed against each other and we were both laughing together. He smiled at me, and I smiled right back.

"There's my girl," he whispered.

I almost went to apologize again for crying but I do like that we are trying to set up not apologizing for our emotions. We get to have them. "I think that is going to be our number one thing with our kids – we don't apologize for having emotions. Now – we need to control anger in a sense. No fighting, etc., but sadness? Happiness? Anger in a non-violent way? Yea, why apologize. It's okay to have it." Troy gave a grin, "I agree. I really want our kids to know emotions aren't bad. Just normal." He kissed my head, and we ate our dinner together. "Thank you for making me feel better though,"

Troy just chuckled, "I hate seeing you upset, and I could see it all over your face. You were so upset about something that may or may not happen. I don't want that." I just gave a smile to him, and he cupped my chin to drop a quick kiss. "Want to go play some games at the nursing home? I think those old ladies would kill us in poker." I just laughed and nodded, "That sounds nice,"

Wednesday, March 1st, 2023

Troy's POV

Gabi tossed again in bed this morning and I was so lucky that our appointment was early this morning. I don't think she was going to make if it was in the afternoon. She was so nervous and scared that something was going to be wrong with our baby. No amount of words from me were going to get through to her that everything was most likely going to be okay. I think she kept going to worst case scenario and was waiting for the other shoe to drop somewhere along this pregnancy. She huffed a sigh as the sun wasn't even up yet and I was trying to make sure she didn't know that I was awake. I didn't want her to feel bad. The room was dark, and Ember was laying at the side of the bed.

When she rolled again, I finally reached over for her, "C'mere," she groaned, "I'm sorry," her voice as quiet as she didn't move at first, but I moved her towards me as I shook my head as I tucked her against my body. Her back flush against my chest, "It's okay, I know you are nervous for today." I kissed the top of her head, "I am, I just want it over with honestly. A lot of people talk about how excited they are for this appointment, and I am dreading it." My hand rubbed her arm as she seemed to relax just a little bit in my arms.

"I think you know too much," I teased her softly and she just nodded, "I do know too much. Nursing school can scare you and then I had a friend who became a NICU nurse. Things go wrong." I locked our fingers together and I just held her against me. My need to distract her was huge. "Want to go get breakfast and a coffee before? Get out of this bed. Sometimes laying here just makes everything worse. Why do you think I get up and watch film or go for a run?" She sighed as if she knew it was coming but truly just wanted to lay in bed all day. "Maybe just a coffee? I don't think I can handle food."

"Maybe a pastry?" I offered.

She hummed as I turned her on her back as I dropped a kiss to her mouth, "Maybe…we can distract in other ways?"

"My mind isn't here. That isn't fair to either of us. Maybe tonight," I laughed and dropped one more kiss before I got up, "C'mon," I lifted her up as I raised an eyebrow as my palm covered her tiny belly that seemed to have popped a little bit. "Well, hi little bee," I sat on the bed as I tugged Gabi between my legs as I kissed her belly. "Somebody wanted to say good morning to us," Gabi let out a tiny laugh, "Yea, Bee really did." Her own hands ran over her belly, and she smiled looking down at it. "I can't wait to see our baby."

"I can't either," she started to speak again when I shook my head, "No, baby, that's it. We're excited to see our baby. We will deal with anything else afterwards." Those brown eyes looked at me as if she was trying to believe anything I could say right now. I pressed my face against her warm skin. "Let's go take a shower and then we'll grab some coffee." Gabi nodded her head as I pulled back. I stood up as I wrapped her up into a hug, "I hate that I kept you from sleeping," I shook my head, "It's fine. I'm not overly surprised that you couldn't sleep."

I kissed the top of her head and then I pulled her into the bathroom. I turned on our shower as I pulled off the t-shirt of mine that she was wearing and tossed it into the laundry basket. "Go get in, I'll go," I started, and Gabi shook her head as she linked her hands with mine. "Come take a shower with me," I turned my head and she tugged on my hand, "Just want you near me," she whispered, and I couldn't deny that. I kissed her head again as I peeled off my own clothes as we both got in the shower. Both of us took our own shower as the sun was coming up through the slits of the windows above us.

She reached up to wash her hair and I smiled watching her, things felt good, and I knew she was nervous, but I think we just needed to get through the appointment. I helped her rinse her hair and she melted into my fingers as I massaged her head. I grabbed her conditioner and put that through her hair. Her body leaned back into mine as she relaxed for the first time this morning. I kissed her temple, cheek, and then her jaw before I helped rinsed her hair out. "Sometimes this is sexier than sex," I let out a dry laugh as I smiled with a shake of my head.

I let her do her soap while I finished washing my hair and soap. She shut off her shower and I shut off mine as we grabbed our own towels. I wrapped the towel around my waist as I grabbed my toothbrush. Gabi and I brushed our teeth as we got ready together. Sometimes doing the mundane things were my favorite. Just getting ready in the morning and dancing around each other. I turned on music in our speaker system as I sang to her from time to time which caused her to loosen up and laugh. I smiled with a shake of my head as I pulled on a pair of jeans with a soft t-shirt that hugged my arms. I paired it with a plain black hoodie and a backwards hat and Gabi just shook her head at me. "This is unfair,"

A smirk lifted onto my mouth as I pinned her hips back against the bathroom counter and I grabbed her mouth in a kiss. "Love you, love doing this with you." She smiled and I released her as she went to get ready. I went downstairs as I cleaned up last night's dinner and drink glasses. We sat outside and stared at the stars together with a mocktail and a cocktail. A blanket draped over both of our laps as we were curled together talking about what we wanted for the future. I just smiled at the thought and hoped we could do it tonight.

Hopefully I could get her out of her head tonight. I am hoping that she feels better once we leave the ultrasound. After starting the dishwasher, I took inventory on food in the fridge and knew what I was making her tonight. We were leaving Sunday morning to go get my girl and I couldn't wait to see her. I missed her. Two weeks was too long, and the phone conversations were not enough. I swear, she was getting so big on me. I text Eve and check in on her and I almost immediately got a picture of my girl smiling. I hearted it and saved the picture of her.

Gabi came down in a pair of leggings with a loose t-shirt with a crew neck in her hands. I raised an eyebrow because I am pretty sure it was my Alabama sweatshirt. "Mind your business," I laughed as her hair was braided down her back and she did minimal make-up. "You ready? I almost made a coffee," Gabs nodded her head, and I grabbed my wallet, phone, and keys while Gabi just grabbed her bag. We walked out to my Range Rover as we climbed inside as she stared out the window the entire drive. My fingers clasped with hers as I stroked my thumb over her skin. I let her be in her head for now as I navigated to our favorite coffee shop that looked over the water. Once I pulled into the parking lot, we were both heading inside. "Go sit, I'll order," I directed her, and she just nodded.

Blowing out a breath of air I ordered our normal coffee – with her favorite coffee creamer. She settled into the corner booth as I also grabbed her a water before heading over to where she was sitting. I kissed her head as I dropped the coffees on the table with a few pastries for her to pick from. "Thank you," she said, and I nodded in understanding. "Do you want to spill all your thoughts, or do we want to think about something else completely?" I asked her as I took a sip of my coffee. She let out a long sigh and I just laughed, "Or we can sit in silence for another hour."

Gabi just shook her head, "You know if something is wrong that we will do it together, right? I know you want our baby to be fine and nothing wrong but…even if there is something wrong…we got this." She just gave me a sad smile and another sigh, "I think partially is just the baby even, okay? Is it something else I am feeling inside there? Or what if it is devastating? I just…" she shrugged, and I grabbed her hand, "Remember we focus on the now and what we can control. Let's worry about that after, yea?" she pushed out a tiny sigh.

"I will be there with you, and we will handle whatever after." Gabi brown eyes just stared at me for a moment and then she nodded her head, "Okay," I rolled my lips together as I stared right back at her. Our eyes holding together as her face softened and her body relaxed just a little bit.

"Okay," I whispered to her.

"I really hate that you feel this way around Claire scans," I groaned as I really never wanted to go through those again, but I had years of those to come. "I'm pretty sure you tell me the same exact thing. That we will deal with whatever afterwards." Gabi just rolled her eyes and pouted, "I can be irrational, okay? It's my turn to be irrational." A chuckle left my mouth as I reached over, and I gave her a quick kiss. We finished our coffees, and she ate some of her muffin, and we were off to our appointment. My hand stayed firmly on her thigh the entire drive as she was jittery and constantly moving around on me, but I just held her underneath of my hand.

I can honestly say Eve was never this anxious about this scan, but I also knew having a medical background probably wasn't helpful. Pulling into the doctor's office we walked in, and I tucked my hat low as I was already spotted. I really sometimes hate how recognized I am. The front desk worker at the front just nodded and led us back where we finished filling out paperwork. I did it for Gabi as she wasn't in the headspace at the moment. Once I was finished, I put the paperwork on the counter. My eyes moved to Gabi who was on the bed as she peeled off my Alabama crewneck and tossed it on the chair. I went over to sit next to her, and I kissed her belly a few times as I looked up at her. My eyes right on her. "We're good," I whispered into the quiet air. The only thing I got back was a tiny smile. We only waited a few minutes before the tech came in to start Gabi's ultrasound.

"Hello, I am going to do your anatomy scan today. I see in your file you don't want to know girl or boy?" Gabi nodded her head, "We're keeping it a surprise," the tech smiled, "I will let you know when to look away. Regardless of what I see I will tell you to look away, so don't take that as any hint." Gabi nodded as she smiled. Once the jelly was on her belly and the tech moved the wand around – we immediately saw our baby moving and wiggling on the screen. My heart squeezed staring at the tiny little baby moving. The heartbeat filling the room as Gabi already had tears in her eyes watching. I had tears in my eyes watching. "See? Bee is okay," Gabi just nodded wiping her tears off on the back of her hand. I held her other hand the entire time as the tech was pointing out every single feature of our bee.

"Ten fingers and ten toes," she said with a wink towards us and the exhale from Gabi was audible. I squeezed her hand with mine.

We both watched as she measured each limb, looked at the brain, the heart, and the stomach before she had us turning our heads away. I honestly couldn't wait to find out but knowing that we will find out in the delivery room? It made it so exciting. "Okay, all done there. Just a few more measurements and then we will be close to done." Gabi nodded as she started to relax a little bit more. We never spent too much time on one area which I think gave Gabi some hope inside of her. I held her hand throughout the entire scan as we both were just staring at our little baby. "Look at those cheeks," Gabi whispered, and I chuckled, "Do you think we're going to have a big baby?" she shook her head as the tech laughed. "The baby also has some hair," she pointed it out on the ultrasound which Gabi was fascinated by. "I am all done! I will have Dr. Miller come talk with you!" I thanked her as she left, and Gabi pulled down her shirt after wiping all the goop off her belly. "I think that was good," I told her, and she nodded, "I think so, I will still be just as nervous for the fetal echo."

I stood between her legs, and I tipped her head back to give her a kiss. "I love you; I love Bee, I love everything about this."

"You love Claire,"

"I love Claire," I whispered back, and she smiled as she gave me a kiss back. "I love all of those things, too." We both smiled at each other as there was a knock on the door. I took my seat and Dr. Miller walked in with a smile, "Gabi, everything on your anatomy scan looks perfect." She visibly relaxed, her shoulders melting forward, as if the biggest weight was lifted off her chest. I squeezed her knee and then stole her hand as I pressed a kiss to it. "Baby is measuring in the 40% percentile for weight, 60% for length, and the head size is exactly 50%." Gabi groaned with a laugh, "You would put a long kid in me," I just chuckled as Dr. Miller went over all the results with us and she gave Gabi's shoulder a squeeze. "You are doing amazing. You see the fetal echo at 24 weeks, right?" Gabi nodded, "After that your appointment frequency will go up. We'll do your glucose test at 28 weeks and then we'll be seeing each other a lot."

Gabi was much more relaxed, and the smile was growing bigger on her face, "I also want to introduce the fact that we typically induce our IVF patients at 38 and 6. We don't want you going over 39. There is a lot of literature that tells us nothing good starts happening in there after that. Especially with IVF pregnancies." Gabi nodded, "I honestly am okay with that. I want to maximize my time with Troy before he goes back to football." Dr. Miller laughed, "That would be nice." I agreed with her, and we finished up the appointment. Gabi made the rest of her appointments that went into our shared calendar – Lucas included.

Once we were outside, I scooped her up into a hug and she let out the tiniest squeak of a cry. "I feel so much better." I think I felt my own self relax knowing that she felt better. I just held her to me as we settled back down onto earth. Her anxiety floating away and my own ticking down just a bit knowing that Gabi was okay. Bee was okay.

"Good, little bee is getting big in there." Gabi just laughed and I smirked, "C'mon, let's go do something fun now. Enough of these doctors' appointments," we both just laughed together.

Sunday, March 5th, 2023

Gabi's POV

We pulled up to Eve's house as Troy was buzzing with excitement. We had both flown up to Boston separately as he had to go to New York first and ended up staying longer than he thought. I was feeling on top of this world since our appointment. I was so glad that it went well. I flew up late last night and Troy flew in early this morning. Once the car was in park Troy hopped out as the front door flew open which had Claire bounding out of it. "Daddy!" he bent down to greet her in the biggest hug. "Hi baby girl," he swung her around and kissed her temple. She held onto him so tight as I knew two weeks was probably pushing it for everybody. Her tiny fingers roped through his t-shirt and her face pressed into his neck. The love that little girl had for her dad was ginormous.

Eve came to the door with Jackson underneath of her feet. "Hi Jackson," Troy waved to him as I went over as Claire caught sight of me. "Hi Gabi!" she reached over for me, and I greeted her in just as big of a hug. "Hi Claire," she giggled and wiggled before sliding down to kiss my belly just like she watches her dad do all the time. "Hi baby bee!" the stars in Troy's eyes as we he watches his daughter. "We got new pictures of baby bee," Troy told her rocking on his heels, and she squealed. "Let's go get your stuff, we have some people to meet tonight."

We all went inside to grab her backpack and all the other things she needed – her medications mostly. Troy and Eve talked, and I knew they were discussing a good time for them to join us at the beach house. We both figured April was probably the best month. Troy wanted to take me out of town on our two weeks off in May. Baby was due in July, so I wanted to make sure I had June to get my life together and the baby's room together. Unless baby decides to come sooner, or my health status changed – our induction date was going to be July 9th.

Once Claire was loaded up in the car and we hugged Jackson and Eve good-bye, mostly Claire four times, we headed to Hanson's house. She was going to get to play with Lulu and Camille while I got to snuggle Sully. Tomorrow morning, we were going to visit Wren and Brecken so that I could get my hands on Scout. "Dad, I missed you," she let out a sigh and Troy fought off a grin, "I missed you more. Never doubt that." She giggled at his answers. "When are we going to the beach house?" she wiggled around in her booster seat. "Tomorrow afternoon, are you already looking forward to it?"

Claire nodded her head, "When is mommy coming to hang out there?"

"In April, baby," Claire huffed as Troy couldn't stop his smile. "Claire, look," I handed her a picture of Baby Bee and she squealed again. "It's the baby! It looks like a baby!" I giggled with her, "Right? Doesn't it look so much less like a gummy bear?" Claire nodded her head up and down, "Why can't we find out again?" Claire's blue eyes glanced at me, and I nibbled on my lower lip, "Because your dad and I really want it to be a surprise. You will be one of the very first people to know." I stuck my pinky out and she wrapped her pinky around mine. "Promise?"

"With everything," I told her and that satisfied her – for now. Troy gave a glance and a smile towards me. "Who knew our promises were going to extend to our children." I just gave him a wide smile, "I know. Also, I really can't freaking wait to hold this baby." I paused to reflect on it as I peeked back at Claire to see her busy playing with the book, she brought with her. "When Wren and Amber told me they were pregnant – I had such a sinking feeling in my gut. I couldn't say the same thing to them, and it did hurt. More than I ever realized. Yet, I am so thankful going into their houses and knowing that I am having a baby and we will get to be parents." Troy blinked a few times and once he hit a stop light, he looked over at me. "You never told me that," he whispered. His voice was so soft, and those blue eyes so concerned.

My shoulders shrugged and I took a deep breathe, "How do you say you are insanely jealous of your friends for being able to get pregnant without a problem without sounding like a horrible human?" Troy opened his mouth and then closed it. I rolled my lips together as I took a deep breath as Troy was still trying to find something to say to that. "Gabi…that…that does not make you a horrible human. It makes you real. You have real emotions, and we were going through the hardest part of IVF. I think all of them would have thought those feelings were valid. Even with being so happy for them." His jaw clinched a few times and I saw the strain in his throat. "You can tell me those things, baby," his fingers found their way to my thigh, and I let mine hands hold over top of his. "I know, I just…I wanted to feel happy for them and I am happy for them. It feels better now but I was so jealous initially,"

Troy's sigh filled the car and once we pulled into Hanson's driveway, he twisted in his seat to face me. Claire was still occupied in the back as he gripped my face between his two fingers. "You are allowed those emotions, Gabriella. You are not a mean person for having any of those thoughts. You can feel jealous and be happy for them. That's okay. They will still love you and understand that. I know things have changed now but you get to feel that way. This hasn't been an easy road." I just nodded as he pulled me forward to press our foreheads together. "I love you, El."

"I love you, too, baby," he gave me a tiny smile and a quick kiss before we got out of the car. Claire jumped out of her seat, and she held Troy's hand as we headed for the door. I grabbed the gift for them as we walked up to the front door. Troy knocked gently as Hanson swung the door open with a grin on his face. "Hanny!" Claire jumped at him causing him to laugh. "Hi Claire, I've missed you." He hugged her tightly as we all stepped in the doorway. "Gabs, you are looking amazing per normal!" he greeted me with a hug as him and Troy patted shoulders.

"How far along?" he asked me, and I grinned, "21 weeks tomorrow, over halfway." Hanson carried Claire in as Lulu and Camille were playing at the kitchen table. Claire wiggled down to go join them while I found Amber sitting on the couch with a baby on her chest. "Amber…" she just grinned, "I know, I think I spit out a carbon copy of my husband." Hanson barked out a laugh from behind us as Troy chuckled. I sat down as I stared at the cutest baby boy. "Hi Sully," I said, and Hanson handed me hand sanitizer as I happily did. Amber handed me Sully and I gushed staring at him. He wiggled and moved but found his comfortable spot as I couldn't stop staring. "He's so handsome," I murmured which had Amber nodding, "He really is, and the girls are obsessed with him."

"I bet," I stared at him for a beat and then looked up to see Troy staring at me with watery blue eyes. I just gave a tender smile back before peppering Amber with questions about her labor and anything I need to prepare for in the future. "Our kids will only be about four-ish months apart," Amber looked over at the table to see the girls all coloring together, "I love that he'll have a friend close in age. It's nice especially at football games." I giggled in understanding as Troy finally sat behind me as him and Hanson had been off talking. "Amber, you out did yourself here."

"Thanks, Bolton," he looked down at Sully with a soft look on his face. "You ready for round two?" I asked him with a tiny nudge, and he just gave a tiny laugh, "Yea, I am. I don't know how I'll handle watching you hold our own kid one day because watching you hold this one wasn't easy to control any of my emotions." I leaned back into him as Sully had fallen fast asleep. His chin resting on the top of my head, and he stared down at Sully. "Damn, Han, he's cute. Gonna make a great tight end one day." Hanson laughed, "Might make him go the QB route. My body hurts," Troy just laughed at his friend as I finally turned towards him. "You want a turn?" he nodded as I gave him Sully. Claire watched and I saw the frown on her lips for just a moment, "Dad," Troy glanced up towards her.

"What's up Claire?" he held Sully as she got down and came over, "Isn't this Lulu and Camille's brother?" Troy nodded, "Yes, his name is Sully," she stared at him for a moment, "He looks like Jackson did," Troy laughed, "Yea, a little bit. All babies are small like this. Your brother or sister will most likely also look like this." Claire leaned against him, and her little hands gripped onto his shoulder. His t-shirt being woven between her, and I just laughed a little bit. Troy glanced at me, and I shook my head as Amber also laughed. "Do you think she's actually going to like sharing her dad?" Amber murmured under her breath, and I just laughed.

"I have no idea. She seems excited for a sibling."

"Until she realizes that means she has to share her dad," Amber said with a raised eyebrow which only made me laugh. Lulu and Camilla came over as they each took a parent as we all chatted. Sully cried and Amber nodded, "He wants to eat, I'll take him upstairs. Ya'll stay and chat!" I nodded as she took Sully from Troy and Claire immediately slid into Troy's lap. Hanson chuckled underneath of his breath as Troy kissed the top of her head, "You do know when Gabi and I have a baby I will be holding it – right?" Claire huffed, "Daddy, that isn't for a while." Troy rolled his lips together and tried to avoid the smile on his lips. "Alright, Claire Bear."

"Gabs, how are you feeling?" Hanson asked and I nodded, "Really good, I am feeling like I am being a little blessed in the pregnancy department. No complaints here," I said as I felt out little bee move around and wiggle. I let my hand cover my belly as Troy watched me. "You deserve to have an easy pregnancy. You went through hell to get here," Troy grunted in agreement with Hanson. "Gabi got sick a lot," Claire piped up and Troy laughed, "For her egg retrieval. She's felt good since then." I squeezed Claire's leg as we hung around for another thirty minutes as the girls went back to playing. Troy and Hanson talked some football as the baby was all wiggly today.

"You feeling bee?" I smiled and nodded, "Yea, I am,"

"Bee?" Hanson asked and Troy chuckled, "We hate calling the baby it and so we wanted a reference for it. So, honeybee kind of became it. Claire calls it bee, and it just stuck." Hanson shook his head, "I couldn't imagine not knowing the sex," Troy shook his head, "I am actually excited that we don't know. It's kind of fun." I nodded in agreement as Troy reached over to see if he could feel again. "Anything?" he shook his head, "Not yet, but soon."

Monday, March 6th, 2023

Troy's POV

21 Weeks Pregnant

Watching Gabi hold a baby? It gave me baby fever. The way she stared down at Scout with a look of absolute adoration. It was becoming my undoing. Watching her yesterday with Sully and now Scout? I couldn't get enough. It was a drug I didn't know I needed. Luckily, in just a few months I would see it daily. I reached down to squeeze her shoulder softly as Wren looked good. Claire stayed with Lucas and Bethany as Gabs, and I met with Wren and Brecken. "How is North Carolina?"

"Good, I am so ready to go back. You should come down this year for a handful of days!" Wren nodded, "Yea, we'll have to find a long weekend that Breck isn't working. I don't go back till June." Gabi nodded eagerly as Scout twisted and pressed her face into Gabi's chest. "You appear to have a look," Brecken said as the girls laughed about something. I just nodded, "I think I am glad Gabs, and I can't get pregnant on our own." Brecken let out a big laugh. "Lucky dog," I just smirked with a whoosh of a laugh. Gabi twisted to see what we were talking about.

"How have the first few weeks been?" Gabi asked and Wren looked down at Scout, "So freaking good. I never knew I could love somebody so much." Gabi nodded, "I know, I already love our little honeybee so much and it's just…I can't imagine how much more I will love it when bee gets here." Wren nodded in understanding. "I would do just about anything for her." I kissed the back of Gabi's head and she turned to face me, "Want a turn?" I shook my head, "You enjoy."

"Any big plans for your week with Claire?" Wren asked me and I nodded, "Nothing too big. I think we're going to go do some different activities but hang around the house, just spend time with my girl."

"She got territorial over Troy when she held Hanson's son, Sully. She grabbed onto him so tight," I rolled my eyes at Gabi who was smirking, "Daddy's girl," Gabi whispered, and I just chuckled, "Just you wait," I pinched her side which made her laugh as I let my hand wonder over her stomach. I tried every day to feel bee move around in there, but I never got lucky. Not yet. Gabi pressed my hand a little further down. I took comfort knowing that our baby was wiggling in there. That she felt comfort that she could feel our baby. "How is dad life?" I asked Brecken and he just grinned, "I think I like watching Wren more. She's a natural at this whole thing."

I smiled with a nod, "It is fun. I know I am excited to watch Gabi get to do the whole mom thing."

"She's already so great with Claire," a grin spread over my mouth, "Why do you think I am excited to see it do it with her own?" Breck just nodded with a laugh as if he was understanding what I was saying. Gabi and Wren went off to the kitchen together as I stayed back to chat football and life with Breck. I actually really enjoyed him and knew that he was there for my girl. "Did you live with both of them?" I asked as they were taking a selfie together. Brecken laughed, "Yea, I did. Not for too long before Gabi moved out but those two are so damn funny together. They would lay on the couch and watch movies for hours. Like they wouldn't move. Especially after a night shift."

My eyes stared at Gabs as she was giggling in the selfie they were taking together. Viv was on her way over and we were staying a bit longer to say hi to her. "I wish I would have been there for those moments. The night shifts and the school and all of that," Breck patted my shoulder, "She was amazing in all of those aspects, but I think she needed it. She grew into her own person." I nodded with a tight smile as I looked over at her. Her eyes twisted to meet my face and I shot her a wink which she shook her head about. Wren took Scout as Brecken went over to see her as Gabi came over to me.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked reaching up to rope her arms around my neck.

"You in nursing school. A new grad. Night shifts. All those things that I missed."

"You missed nothing. I was not nice and always tired." I chuckled as I ducked down to kiss her cheek. She pressed her face into my shoulder, "You couldn't be mean to save your soul." Gabi just laughed and I squeezed her. "You saw me after some night shifts," she reminded me and I rolled my eyes, "Those don't count. I was also living in a fog of cancer." Gabi hummed as she let go to see Viv coming in the door. I lost her attention again but that was fine. I loved seeing her with her people. The way she lights up for all of them, cheered for them, and loved them.

I was so lucky to have her back. That's for damn sure.

Happy Monday! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Sorry for the extra 24 hour wait but hopefully it was worth it!

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Next Update: TBD. I am in a VERY busy season of life at the moment. It's pretty much sleep, work, and trying to keep my head above water with all other social obligations. I will update you on my profile with the next update!