What Now?

Meeting His Parents

You were having dinner in a private room at Henry's hotel. He said to dress casual, but you opted for business casual, which you easily pulled off with maternity dresses. They were comfortable, and could pass as either.

Dinner was at 6pm, so you arrived at the hotel 10 minutes early. Henry had said he'd have someone at the desk escort you to the room, to avoid any fans.

"Hello. I'm y/n y/l/n. I'm here for a private dinner."

"Oh yes. If I can just see your ID."

"Yes, of course." You handed over your driver's license. Once they verified it was you, you were escorted to a room off the lobby.

When you went inside, Henry was there but his parents were not.

"Hey, sweetheart. Did you have any trouble getting in?"

"Not at all. How are you?"

"I'm good. You?"

"Great! I felt the baby move today!"

"Oh my god, that's amazing!"

"It was so weird. It felt like little butterflies, but I could see the shift in the way my stomach was sitting."

He gave you a huge smile, and hugged you. You'd found that he was very affectionate. You didn't mind. He was really sweet about it. He was hugging you when his parents walked in. He eased up on the hug but didn't pull away immediately, which was nice. He wasn't hiding the fact that he was hugging you.

When he let you go, he put his arm around your shoulders. You weren't sure if he was doing it to show solidarity, or if it was just because he genuinely wanted to be affectionate.

"Y/n, this is my mum, Marianne, and my dad, Colin. Guys, this is y/n."

"It's so lovely to meet you, dear."

"It's great to meet you too."

His mom hugged you, and his dad shook your hand. Maybe affectionate is just a family thing. You were affectionate too, so you liked it.

You all sat down, and Henry looked at his parents. Before they could say anything, he told them he needed to talk to them. They both nodded at him. He reached under the table and laced his fingers with yours.

"Y/n and I are having a baby."

"That's wonderful, Henry," his dad said and his mom hopped up from her chair to hug first him, then you. She had such a big smile on her face, like she was just genuinely happy.

They asked how far along you were, so you told them you were about 22 weeks along. You thought you saw a flicker of sadness on his mom's face. You realized it must be hard to find out your child is having a baby, and they didn't tell you for 22 weeks.

Henry pulled out the ultrasound pictures to show them. He had such a proud look on his face. He looked over at you and smiled. You couldn't help but flash a wide smile back at him. He reached for your hand again, and laced your fingers when you let him take it.

The two of you sat there talking to his parents for a few hours, and he either held your hand or had his arm wrapped around your shoulders the entire time. They were such lovely people. So accepting of you, despite the unique situation. His mom insisted on getting your number so you could keep in touch. You offered to send her some pictures.

You'd been taking weekly bump pictures since the day you found out you were pregnant. You'd sent them to Henry one day, when you were talking about the baby. He'd mentioned that he was bummed he missed those first few months. It reminded you of the pictures, and you offered to show him how your belly grew.

The next time you saw him, he'd given you such a big hug for sending them. You were meeting up every couple days. You probably didn't need to, but he kept asking, and you liked hanging out with him.

When it was time for dinner to end, Henry asked you to hang back a minute after his parents left.

"Thank you so much for tonight. They loved you. My mum might actually like you more than she likes me. You are so thoughtful in offering to share your belly pictures with them. I know those are personal."

"Of course! Your parents are fantastic. I want them to be involved, and I want them to be comfortable with me. We are going to be this baby's parents forever. I want us all to get along."

"You are amazing."

"Thank you, Henry. So are you, by the way. I can't explain how happy it makes me that you want to be so involved in the pregnancy."

You chatted for a few more minutes, but it was already 10, and you were tired. You were slowing down a bit as your pregnancy progressed. You had Uber'd over, since you didn't want to risk driving tired. Henry insisted you use the car service to get home. He couldn't walk you out because of the risk of paparazzi, so he gave you a tight hug and a huge smile, along with a little caress of your baby bump, which he does every time you leave, before telling you goodnight.