Hey babes! Back with a new chapter for ya! Double update for ya'll on here cause somehow I didn't actually upload the previous chapter when I meant to.
Had to rethink the update schedule a bit because I miscounted the chapters to be uploaded the first time around. So another one should be coming on Monday, and then the Christmas chapter will be up on Christmas Day.
Enjoy!
*December 15, 2020*
Letting out a heavy sigh, Clarke sifts through the clothes in her closet trying to find something, anything, to wear. It's been getting increasingly more difficult over the last few days for her to find a pair of pants that will fit her that she already owns. She still hasn't found anything at the few maternity stores nearby that would be flattering on her and are within her price range, and she's beginning to worry that she might have to start wearing sweatpants to school soon. She's still just barely able to get away with using an elastic ponytail holder to keep her pants closed, but even that's starting to toe the line.
Thankfully her shirts are still fitting her well enough for the time being. Though she knows eventually she'll have to start wearing the maternity shirts she found while out with Harper. Though she'll probably just take some of Bellamy's shirts that he doesn't wear as much. She knows he won't tell her no.
Grabbing a pair of jeans that she knows don't fit as tight as some of her others, she quickly steps out of her pajama pants and into the jeans. She manages to get them up her legs and over her hips, letting out a small breath of relief. She steps over to her nightstand to grab one of her loose hair ties to use on the waistband of her pants, praying that it'll continue to do what she wants it to do until she can figure something else out.
She pauses as she's tying the elastic band onto one side of her jeans, her hands stilling and her eyes going wide.
She's not entirely sure how long she stands there, but when she's able to have motor function again, one of her hands lifts the hem of her sleep shirt further up. Her vision goes blurry for just a split second, but it doesn't prevent her from raising her other hand to rest against the small swell that's poking out right above the hem of her jeans.
If anyone else were to argue with her and say that it's just inflammation or constipation or literally anything else, they'd all be wrong. Because while this may be her first time being pregnant, she still knows her own body.
And what she is staring at is most definitely a baby bump. It's still on the smaller side, but it's a baby bump for sure.
She doesn't remember it being there last night when she went to bed, or if it was there, she didn't notice it. But now it's right there as clear as day. It's real, it's actually real. She might be able to get away with hiding it with loose-fitting shirts for a little while longer, but it's still right there for the whole world to see if she wears tight enough shirts. Not that trying to hide it will do any good since everyone at school already knows.
Clarke finishes getting dressed as quickly as possible, then grabs everything she needs for school and makes her way down the stairs. She stops by the front door and easily slides into her shoes as she hikes her backpack up onto her shoulder.
She turns around at the sound of footsteps and smiles at her stepdad. "Hey, Marcus."
He smiles back, adjusting his hold on the mug of coffee. "Good morning, Clarke. You're ready earlier than usual. Any special reason why?"
She shakes her head. "No. Not really. I'm gonna go have breakfast with Bellamy, though. I'll see you after school?"
He nods. "Of course. Tell Bellamy and his family that I say hi."
"Will do." She tosses another smile over her shoulder at him as she makes her way out of the house, pulling the door closed tightly behind her.
In less than a minute she's standing on the front porch of the Blake's house, using her key to let herself inside. She closes the door behind her and moves swiftly through the house. "Good morning," she calls out.
"Clarke?"
Spinning around, she smiles brightly at Bellamy making his way toward her from the direction of the kitchen; he's still dressed in his pajamas. "Hey. Morning."
"Morning." His brows furrow slightly. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but what are you doing here already?"
"I wanted to show you something."
"What?"
Without a word, Clarke lifts the hem of her shirt, biting her bottom lip between her teeth in anticipation of Bellamy's reaction. She bounces a little on her feet when he stays quiet. "So?" she prods.
He swallows. "Uh. Wow. That's...wow."
"I know." She drops her shirt again. "I swear it just popped overnight. I wanted to come show you as soon as I saw it."
He smiles. "I appreciate you thinking of me." His brows furrow together again. "Wait, where's your jacket? It's supposed to be pretty cold today."
She rolls her eyes. "And I'll be inside most of the time so it's not like I really need one."
He sighs heavily. "Clarke, please, just go get a jacket from my room." He gestures toward the stairs. "We both know you're gonna get cold at some point and will ask to borrow my coat anyway."
"Aren't I technically still borrowing one of your coats?" she asks with a teasing smile.
He sighs again, though she can see the smile fighting to break through. "Clarke…"
She laughs, holding her hands up. "Okay, okay. I'm going." She drops her backpack by the front door and then starts up the steps. "Want me to wake up Octavia while I'm upstairs?" she calls over her shoulder.
"That'd be great, thanks."
Climbing the rest of the steps, Clarke heads for Bellamy's room first, figuring she'll give Octavia a few more minutes of sleep while she searches for a jacket. She opens the bottom-most drawer of her friend's dresser and sifts through the pile of hoodies before grabbing her favorite one off the bottom of the pile. She pulls it over her head and tugs on the front of it, breathing deeply; even when it's been washed it still smells like Bellamy.
Pushing the drawer closed, she steps out of the room and moves down the hall toward Octavia's bedroom. She knocks lightly on the door as she presses her ear closer to the wood.
"Go away, Bell."
Clarke stifles a laugh at the slow, tired whine. She slowly pushes the door open and peers inside, smiling at the lump huddled under the covers. "I'm not your brother."
The blanket moves, and then Octavia sits up, grinning through her half-asleep state. "Hi, Clarke."
"Hey. Time to get up."
Octavia groans, falling back against her pillow and pulling the blanket over her head again. "I don't want to."
"Well, that's too bad." She crosses the carpet and sits on the edge of the bed, tugging the blanket away from Octavia's face. "Because girls who don't get up and out of bed don't get to see the surprise I have."
Octavia gasps again and then throws the covers off her body as she scrambles out of bed, nearly knocking Clarke over as she does. She lands with a soft thud on her carpet, brushing her hair back and smiling. "I'm out of bed."
Clarke laughs quietly and nods. "Yes, I suppose you are. Which I suppose also means you're going to want to see my surprise."
Octavia nods eagerly. "Please."
Clarke sighs playfully. "Okay." She shifts a little on the bed, lifting the bottom of Bellamy's hoodie and then her t-shirt. "What do you think?"
Octavia's eyes go wide. "Is that…?"
Clarke nods. "Yep. I have a little baby belly now. Wanna touch it?"
"Can I?"
"Of course." She shifts a little more on the bed and then gently grabs Octavia's hand when the girl moves closer. She settles Octavia's hand on the small swell, smiling when her pseudo-sister lets out a breath. "Feels kinda weird, huh?"
Octavia nods. "Yeah, kinda." She removes her hand and shifts on her feet a little. "Can you feel the baby move yet?"
Clarke shakes her head, dropping her shirt and leaning back on her hands. "No, not yet. I think I still have a little ways to go until then." She takes a deep breath and stands up, smiling at Octavia. "But you have to get ready for school now, so I'm gonna go and see what's for breakfast." She gently ruffles Octavia's hair as she moves past the young girl and makes her way back downstairs.
As soon as she's off the bottom step, she turns toward the kitchen, eager to get some food in her stomach and praying the baby will let her keep it down. It's been pretty touch-and-go recently when it comes to eating, so she just wants to find one thing that she can keep down this morning.
Crossing to the cabinets, she begins searching through them, not entirely sure what she wants, but sure she'll know it when she sees it.
Pulling open one of the cabinets, Clarke immediately finds the box of PopTarts that Bellamy tries to keep hidden from Octavia as much as possible, claiming that it doesn't qualify as a good enough breakfast. Which, he's not entirely wrong about, but if he tries to pull that card with her, then she'll just pull the baby card to shut him down. With a smile on her face, she pulls one of the packages from the box and tears open the foil as she stands.
She breaks off a corner of the pastry and pops it in her mouth, letting it sit on her tongue for just a moment before she starts chewing.
"Clarke? I wasn't expecting to see you here this morning."
Spinning around mid-chew, she smiles when she sees Aurora entering the kitchen. "Hi," she says around the pastry.
"Hi. So what are you doing here so early?" Aurora asks as she crosses to the coffee pot.
Clarke finishes chewing and then swallows. "I was getting dressed and I noticed I have a little bump and I wanted to show Bellamy."
Aurora smiles. "You're showing now?"
Clarke nods, a small smile tugging at her lips. "Mm-hmm. Wanna see?"
"I would love to."
Clarke sets the PopTart aside and brushes the crumbs off her hands. She turns to the side and lifts the hoodie while smoothing her shirt down over her barely-there bump, looking up at the other woman.
Aurora smiles softly. "Well look at that."
Clarke laughs quietly. "I know. It's kind of weird, but also kind of cool."
"I know exactly what you mean. I was so amazed by my bump the first time I saw it when I was pregnant with Bellamy. He was a pretty tall baby, too, so the labor was very fun," Aurora tells her with a small laugh.
Clarke laughs at the thought, but it quickly fades out. "Oh. I just realized I have no idea about any of Finn's medical history or his family's medical history. My baby could end up with some kind of genetic thing that's inherited from his side and I'll have no idea it's even a possibility beforehand. Of course, I'll still love the baby because they're mine, but—" she cuts herself off as tears start to fill her eyes, everything in front of her going blurry. "Why did I think I could do this? I can't do this. This isn't…" She shakes her head, her breathing starting to speed up. "I can't do this."
A familiar pair of arms wrap tightly around her and she immediately sinks into them, letting the sobs wrack her body and the tears fall from her eyes. She circles her arms around Aurora's waist, hugging the woman tightly as she cries, wishing not for the first time that she could be hugging her mom like this again. She can't remember the last time the two of them hugged or said more than a few words to each other. The painful reminder of her strained relationship with her mom only makes her cry harder.
"You're okay," Aurora says quietly, one hand rubbing up and down her back. "Just let it all out, I've got you, sweetheart."
She buries herself further into Aurora's arms, basking in the comfort it brings her. Her baby's going to be very lucky to have the Blake family in his or her life.
After another moment, when she's all cried out, Clarke pulls out of the hug and wipes at her face with the sleeves of Bellamy's hoodie.
"Feeling better?" Aurora asks, her hands resting gently on Clarke's shoulders.
Clarke nods and offers her a small smile. "Sorry for...all that," she says, gesturing vaguely.
Aurora waves her off. "No need to apologize. You know I don't mind. I should get started on my projects for the day, but are you sure you're okay?"
Clarke nods again. "Yeah, I'm okay."
Aurora smiles. "Good. Have a good day at school, then."
"I will, thanks." She watches Aurora walk out of the kitchen toward her office and then leans back against the counter, letting out a heavy breath and running a hand through her hair. She looks down and rests her hand against her belly, rubbing it gently. "It's not going to be like this the whole time, is it? With you making me super emotional all the time? I don't know if I can handle that by myself."
"Well, then it's a good thing you're not going to be by yourself."
Looking up, Clarke smiles at the sight of Bellamy stepping through the doorway. "Hey."
"Hi." He moves closer and stops in front of her, his eyes drifting toward the counter. He looks back at her with a frown. "PopTarts, Clarke? Really?"
She shrugs. "I was hungry."
"And I can make you something if you're hungry. But you need something more substantial than PopTarts."
"Little Bean wants PopTarts, though," she tells him with a small smile.
He chuckles. "Oh, is that so?"
She nods. "Mm-hmm."
He sighs, shaking his head, the smile still on his face. "Alright, I guess I can make an exception." He steps over to the bowl of fruit on the other counter and grabs an apple in one hand and a banana in the other. "As long as you take one of these for the car ride."
She glances between the two pieces of fruit and then grabs the banana, holding it up in front of his face with a smile. "Happy?"
"Very."
"Good." She sets the banana down on the counter and picks up her PopTart to break off another piece. She pops it into her mouth with a satisfied smile directed at her best friend.
"No fair. Why does Clarke get to eat PopTarts for breakfast and I can't?"
Clarke turns toward the young girl, smiling softly. "Hey, O. You just about ready to go?"
Octavia nods. "I have to eat first. Bell," she says, turning toward her brother, "you said that PopTarts aren't good to eat for breakfast. So why does Clarke get to have them?"
Bellamy sighs. "Because Clarke is pregnant and stubborn."
"Little Bean wants PopTarts," Clarke says around the food in her mouth, a hand in front of her mouth so she doesn't show her chewed food. She swallows and then laughs quietly. "But your brother insisted that I take a banana for the road."
"Can I just have a banana too?" Octavia asks.
Bellamy chuckles. "No, you may not. Clarke has a hard time keeping actual food down right now, which is why she doesn't always eat full meals, no matter how much I try and get her to."
She just shrugs at the pointed look he gives her. "Blame Little Bean."
*December 19, 2020*
Clarke winces when the gel is squirted onto her stomach. Blindly reaching out when the doctor places the doppler on her stomach, Clarke grabs Bellamy's hand and holds tightly to it. She's not nervous about this, she's more excited than anything else, but it's still nice to know that her best friend is right there supporting her through everything. Just like he promised he would be.
She glances up at him, smiling when he does, and then turns back to the doctor right as the familiar whooshing of her baby's heartbeat fills the room. Tears immediately spring to her eyes. Maybe it's because she's only heard it one other time, or because it's still sinking in, but to Clarke, her baby's heartbeat is one of the most amazing sounds she's ever heard. Hands down.
"I don't think I'll ever be over getting to hear that," Bellamy remarks.
Clarke glances up at him. "Me neither. It's pretty incredible."
"Well," Doctor Lightbourne says, "if you think that's incredible, I'm sure you'll enjoy this too."
Clarke turns back to the screen, gasping quietly at what she sees. "Whoa. That's...it actually looks like a baby this time."
Bellamy lets out a breath behind her. "Yeah, it does. Little Bean doesn't look that much like a bean anymore."
"That's okay," Clarke tells him with a small smile as she gently squeezes his hand. "They'll always be our Little Bean." She's only vaguely aware of the implications behind her words, but she's much too caught up in the thrill of seeing her baby on the screen to focus on that.
Breathing deeply, Clarke turns back to the image on the screen, taking in the side view of her baby's body. It's so small and perfect and she's already thinking about the day when she'll finally get to hold him or her. The thought is enough to bring her to tears.
"Clarke? Are you okay?"
She looks at Bellamy crouched down next to her and nods. "Yeah, I'm okay. Just thinking about when Little Bean finally gets here and being able to hold them."
He smiles. "Yeah. It's gonna be pretty incredible. And I know you'll do an amazing job bringing them into this world."
She sniffles a little. "You're...I want you there when I give birth, okay? I don't know if that's something you'll be comfortable with but you're my best friend, Bellamy, and at the rate things are going I don't think my mom will—"
"Hey," he cuts her off gently, resting his hand on her cheek and smiling softly. "If you want me in the room with you, then I'll be there."
She smiles through her tears. "Really?"
He nods. "Really. I meant what I said when you told me about this, Clarke, I'm here for you, whatever you need. And if you need me in the delivery room with you so you're not going through it alone, then that's right where I'll be."
"Thank you."
"Of course." He lifts her hand and presses a kiss to the back of it, the smile remaining on his face. He looks up at the doctor. "You said we can find out when she's due at this appointment, right?"
"Yes, give me one moment and then I'll be able to tell you."
"I'm hoping it's after school gets out," Clarke says. "I don't want to have to miss the last bit of school because I'm recovering from giving birth."
Bellamy chuckles. "I'm sure you'd still find a way to get your assignments and do your work."
"Because both you and Harper would bring it all to me."
He shakes his head. "No, we wouldn't. Not this time. You'd be too focused on taking care of Little Bean and be way too exhausted to do any schoolwork. We'd be doing you a favor."
Clarke lets out a huff of air. "I'm not that bad."
"Yes, you are. And it's one of the things we all love about you."
"Whatever." Clarke turns her attention back to Doctor Lightbourne. "Sorry. Have you figured out the due date yet?"
Doctor Lightbourne nods. "I have. And don't worry, people have all sorts of conversations while in here. And as for your due date, it looks like we'll be shooting for July 2nd."
"After school's over, that's great," Clarke says with a smile. "That shouldn't be a problem. I can totally do that."
"Well, it's not like you have much of a choice in the matter of your due date," Bellamy remarks. "It is a good thing it's after school gets out, though. It'll give you the majority of the summer to just focus on being a mom and then Little Bean will be a couple months old when you start your junior year."
Clarke tilts her head. "Yeah, I guess you're right about that. It will be nice to just get to focus on being a mom for a little while without worrying about school too."
Bellamy smiles. "See? You can do this, Clarke. I have every faith in you. And I'll be right there to help you."
"Bellamy…"
He shakes his head. "No, Clarke. If I'm gonna be in the delivery room with you, then I'm sure as hell going to be helping you take care of your kid. We're best friends, remember? No matter what, we're there for each other."
Clarke smiles, wiping the tears from her face. "I know. I'm just...I'm really glad that you're still with me through this."
He holds her hand tightly and smiles. "Nowhere else I wanna be."
So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Until next time,
Jellybean96 out!