PARADISE [ JACHARY ]

25 | poppy seed

IF ZACH hadn't taken a test prior to that moment, he definitely knew he was pregnant now. he was irritable, tired and sore all the time.

the brunet was enjoying a peaceful morning nap, sleeping soundly, when a small body jumped on him. zach let out a groan before opening his eyes to see his son. "hi, baby."

"mama, play," the boy tried to pull his arm.

"where's daddy? get him to play with you, mama's tired," zach hummed, closing his eyes.

the little brunet huffed, before deciding to make the best of the situation. he crawled into zach's arms and closed his eyes, waiting for sleep to come.

when jack walked in the room, twenty minutes later, he smiled and took a picture of the two boys. he gently shook zach awake, speaking to him softly. "c'mon, baby, we have to leave soon so we can drop james off at your parent's."

the brunet nodded and whispered to the sleeping boy. james slowly woke up and quickly smiled when he saw his dad.

"let's go, time to get you ready," jack scooped him up, leaving zach alone to get ready himself.

the brunet hummed as he quickly showered, soothing his sore muscles. a soft smile graced his features as he dressed in jeans and one of jack's hoodies. the blond and james were waiting for him in the living room when he emerged. the boy smiled before grabbing a granola bar and an applesauce from the pantry. "ready?"

"we should be asking you that, mama," jack hummed, "we've been waiting for like ten minutes."

"well, excuse me for wanting to look good," zach huffed, grabbing james' bag before he walked out the door.

⋆

the car was silent. james had been dropped off, and the couple was headed to their first ultrasound appointment.

"are you nervous?" zach asked in a small voice. he knew it was unfair, how temperamental he was, but the poor boy's hormones were going crazy.

"a little," the blond admitted, looking over when he was stopped at a red light. "you?"

he sighed, nodding. "first appointments are scary. i just wanna make sure everything is okay," he set a hand on his tummy. "i forgot how much the first trimester sucks."

"everything will be perfect," jack squeezed his hand as they pulled into the doctor's office. "now let's go see our baby."

the couple walked into the cool building, quickly signing in and being called almost immediately. zach smiled at the doctor he knew so well; the same one who helped him through his last pregnancy. "zach! so good to see you again."

the brunet nodded, shifting in his seat.

"so, what brings you in today?"

"i'm pregnant, again," the two boys failed to contain their smiles.

"wow! congratulations," the doctor replied. "so we're doing an ultrasound?" she asked, bringing the machine over.

zach nodded, laying on his back. he knew by now what to do.

jack stood awkwardly to the side, unsure of his role in this situation. but when the boy on the table reached out for him, he kneeled down on the floor beside him.

"so, i'm sure you've worked this out already," the doctor began, rubbing gel on zach's stomach, "but your muscles are likely still stretched out from when you had baby number one. which means you'll begin to show faster. not a bad thing at all, it just lets you know how everything is going." she moved the wand around, searching for a heartbeat.

zach nodded, letting out a sigh of relief when she found it, and he heard the sound of the baby's heart. a sound he was used to hearing, the same one from all his appointments with james.

jack, however, paled at the noise. it was all hitting him now. there was an actual thing inside his fiancé, a little baby he helped to create. he smiled widely, catching zach's eye and squeezing his hand.

"there they are," the doctor smiled. "very tiny, i would assume you're just over four weeks. right now baby is the size of a poppy seed." she moved around the room printing off pictures for them as zach cleaned his stomach off.

"everything is looking good," she continued, handing jack the pictures, "you know all the first trimester symptoms. tiredness, cramping, tenderness in the breast area, nausea, peeing lots, mood swings. just to name a few."

the brunet nodded, "i definitely have had all of those."

"your mood swings have been even more dramatic than usual, i'm impressed," jack kissed his cheek.

"i want to see you back here next month, just to check in. but before then, make sure you're sleeping, staying hydrated and eating lots. we don't want a situation like we had last time," she looked at jack, "make sure you keep this boy in check, let him know that eating is good, especially when you're trying to grow a baby inside of you."

the couple nodded, thanking the doctor, before making their way back to the car. zach was about to get in, when he felt a hand grab his wrist. "what happened last time?"

the brunet looked away guiltily, "i just wasn't getting enough nutrition for both of us. we got it under control though, and it won't happen again."

jack nodded, looking down at the photos in his hands. "i just want the two of you to be healthy and happy."

"oh, gosh jack, you don't even understand how happy i am right now," he smiled, tilting his head to look up at the older, "especially knowing our baby is doing well in here." he took jack's hand and put it on his stomach.

"and the doctor said you'll be showing sooner! which means i get to see your cute bump for longer," jack chattered excitedly as the two got in the car.

the small boy nodded. "i kinda...miss having a bump. i took so many pictures of mine when i was carrying james."

"and you never showed me?" the blond feigned hurt.

zach smiled, grabbing his hand over the console. "i'll show you all my pregnancy content when james is down for his nap later, okay?"

"deal," jack grinned. "i bet you looked so cute."

"oh shut up," the brunet blushed. "you're going to be the death of me."

"what a wonderful way to go."

i feel like i already ended a chapter like this but oh well :D
if u couldn't tell im on my laptop and don't have my gif again
:(
i'll try to remember to put it in tomorrow idk
ANYWAYS sleep well babies, i hope u all have nice dreams <333