After All (A Jordan Knight/Joe McIntyre Fanfiction)

39

Being back on tour is both exciting and scary for Amber. It brings back memories of the hurt she felt when Joe broke up with her and broke her heart. She constantly reminds herself that it's not like last time. She and Joe are married and more in love than ever. Jordan supports their relationship and is happy for them. This time it'll be different.

"Andi are you sure you want to do this again? I've taken up so much of your life. It's just not fair of me to keep you out on the road, sleeping in a tiny bunk on a loud tour bus. I'm sure you've got better things to do."

"Amber are you kidding me? Of course I want to go with you. I had so much fun last time. I'm sure this time will be just as much fun. If not more. And don't worry about me, I'll find a way to occupy my time while you newlyweds are busy." Amber laughs, knowing her best friend is right. She and Joe do spend a lot of time together, alone. They've been pretty much lost in each other since they got married.

Life as a happily married couple has been amazing. Amber and Joe can't seem to get enough of each other. They make love at least twice a day, when they wake up and before they go to sleep. Sometimes there might be a third time in the middle of the day, depending on that days schedule. Amber loves how much they need and want each other. Joe definitely has no complaints either.

Two months into the tour, Amber gets some rather surprising news. Finding out she's pregnant, completely shocks her. They hadn't planned on getting pregnant, they hadn't even talked about it. Amber had been on birth control, but with all the excitement of getting married and then preparing for a tour she'd missed her shot. She's not sure how Joe's going to take the news. She doesn't know if he wants kids or not. Amber begins getting nervous about telling him. What if he's unhappy, or mad? What if he doesn't want this baby? Amber almost talks herself out of telling him. But then her better sense tells her that Joe loves her and that he'll love their baby too.

When Joe comes back to the bus after working out with Donnie and Danny she decides to just tell him. "Hey babe, you're up! You should have come to the gym. We had a great workout." He's all sweaty and gorgeous right now. She really just wants to undress him and go back to bed, but she tells herself to just tell him.

"Joseph, I've got some really good news to tell you."

"Really? What is it?" He's smiling so big as he walks towards her. "Is the good news how badly you want me right now?"

"No. I mean of course I want you, but that's not it. I'm pregnant Joseph. We're having a baby." Amber watches him. He looks confused, when he realizes Amber's looking at him, he tries to smile, but it's weak at best. "Wow, pregnant? Are you sure? Those home tests can be wrong."

"Yeah I guess they can be, but I took three. Are you upset?"

Joe forces himself to smile at his beautiful wife. Feeling bad for making her look so sad. "No, babe I'm not upset, just a little surprised, that's all. We haven't talked about having kids, so I just wasn't expecting this. But it's okay." He leans in to kiss her but she doesn't respond.

"It's okay?" Amber turns away from Joe trying to hide her disappointment in his response.

Joe scrambles, trying to find the right words. "Amber I didn't mean it like that. I just meant it's okay, this wasn't planned but that's okay. I wish I'd known you were getting off your birth control so I'd have known this was a possibility. But babe it doesn't even matter. We're going to have a baby. And just because I'm surprised does not mean I'm not happy. I love you and I love this little baby of ours." He places both his hands on her still flat stomach.

"You do Joe? You really love our baby?" Joe moves his hands to her face, "Of course I do. How could I not? I mean this baby is a part of us. Made out of so much love." Joe starts quietly singing to her, "Having my baby, what a lovely way of saying how much you love me. Having my baby..." He trails off as he kisses her lips. Amber can't help but smile even as tears fall down her cheeks. She finally feels like everything will work out.

"So babe, who are we telling? I say we tell the world."

"I'm not sure about telling the world, but definitely our friends and family have to know. I've heard you're not supposed to make big baby announcements until after the first trimester."

Joe's fine with that too. He's not really sure he loves the idea of them having a baby so soon. He'd hoped for more time just the two of them. He enjoyed making love to his wife multiple times a day. Which is probably why they're in this predicament. Or it could be because she didn't keep up with her birth control. Joe isn't placing any blame on her, but he can't help but feel like she should have been more responsible or let him know she wasn't on her shot anymore. Joe comes from a big family and he really does want a family of his own. But he's just not sure it's what he wants right now. He figures he'll be ready by the time the baby gets here though. They still have several months of alone time.

"So how about we call your folks first, then go tell the guys?" Amber nods and they go sit together on the couch and call James and Susan on speaker phone.  They are of course elated about becoming grandparents. This makes Joe both happy and feel like shit. Why can't he be as immediately happy as they are?