After All (A Jordan Knight/Joe McIntyre Fanfiction)

40

"Hey Pops, when I have kids what do you want them to call you? I was thinking Poppie. Or maybe PopPop?"

"Sweetheart, I don't know, I've never given being a grandpa much thought. Hopefully I won't have to think about it for a while." He laughs as he sits down next to her. He gives Joe a hard look. Joe just grins at him. "You've got about eight months to think about it." Jordan looks from Joe to Amber. Amber smiles. "Surprise! We're having a baby."

Jordan really is surprised, but this is what happens after people get married. They start a family. "Wow, so I'm going to be a grandpa. Or a Poppie. That's great news guys. Congratulations, both of you. We need to celebrate."

"We will Pops, soon. But first I need to go get ready for tonight's show." She hugs and kisses Jordan on the cheek. Then turns and kisses Joe on the lips before she whispers in his ear, "You want to come with me, we've got a little time before the show." She wags her eyebrows at him. He half heartily smiles at her, "I'd love to babe, but I've got a couple of things I need to take care of before the show. Rain check?" Amber nods, "Sure babe. Love you."

"Love you too."

As soon as Amber's gone Joe turns to Jordan. "Hey J, let me ask you something. When you first found out Evie was pregnant with Dante, did you immediately feel, happy about it?"

Jordan thinks about his answer carefully. "Honestly Joe, I'm not sure I was truly happy about it until Dante was born. The day he came into this world, the day I became a father, was the greatest day of my life. Joe I swear there's nothing in this world that compares to the feeling of being a dad. You'll see. Everything changes. All your priorities shift."

Joe hangs his head, "That's what I'm afraid of, I'm not ready for everything to change. I'm not ready to share my new wife with anyone yet. We just started our life together. We hadn't even talked about kids yet. This wasn't planned, at all. Wasn't even a thought there was a possibility."

Jordan shakes his head and laughs, "Joe, you two have barely spent any time out of bed since you got married. Of course this was a possibility. Babies are always a possibility if you're having sex. You know this. No birth control is one hundred percent effective."

"J, she stopped taking it without telling me." Jordan doesn't respond to him. He just pats him on the back and sits with him in silence for a while.

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The next three months go by so fast for Amber. She's exhausted from the hectic schedule of the tour and from baking the little human inside her. She tries to get as much rest as she can, while also eating healthier. Amber's been taking walks with Jordan everyday, either at the venue or they find a nature trail in whatever city they're in. Sometimes Joe comes with them, but most days it's just Amber and Jordan.

Joe and Amber spend less and less time together the farther along she gets. They definitely aren't making love twice a day anymore. Days they don't have a show they go out to eat, they see a movie or just explore the city. But days they do have a show, they hardly have any time just the two of them. Joe's sleeping when she gets up, they get about an hour before Amber goes on stage. Time together on stage doesn't count as spending time together. Then they have about an hour after the show together before she heads to the bus and Joe goes to whatever After Party is being thrown for the guys. Amber's sleeping by the time Joe makes it back to the bus. It's frustrating for Amber, she never thought coming on tour with her husband could be so lonely. Even Andi seems to be too busy to spend time with her. Amber knows it's not fair to be upset with her best friend for going to all the After Parties. Andi shouldn't be punished just because Amber isn't comfortable going to the parties while she's pregnant.

Amber starts to think maybe she should go home. It's getting harder for her to sleep comfortably on the bus. The bunk hurts her back. And she's just feeling so stressed about everything. She hasn't spoken to Joe about it yet. But she knows she's going to have to soon. Amber doesn't think Joe will have a problem with her leaving the tour though. He'll understand and want her to be comfortable. They have a day off in two days, she decides to talk to him then.

Amber is feeling really nervous to tell Joe she wants to go home. She's just not feeling good being on the road so far from home. "Babe, what's wrong? You said you needed to talk to me about something, but you haven't said two words since we left the hotel. Is everything okay?" Tears fill her eyes and now Joe starts to worry, thinking something's happened to her or the baby. "Hey, hey come here. What is it?" He pulls her into an embrace and he actually feels her body relax. It's then that he realizes just how long it's been since they were intimate. Suddenly it hits him how much he's missed her.

"It's nothing really Joseph. Everything's fine. I'm just starting to feel so uncomfortable. I'm passed my first trimester and I'm starting to show a little. I'm finding it more difficult to get comfortable on the bus. And it's just going to get worse the bigger I get."

Joe pulls back and looks down at her tiny little belly. He hadn't even noticed until now. He puts his hand on her stomach and gentle rubs the tiny bump. "Oh babe we'll figure it out. Maybe get a new bus that has a bedroom, with a king size bed in it. We'll do whatever we need to so you're comfortable."

"No, Joe I want to go home. I'm more than just physically uncomfortable out here on the road. We're in Arizona now Joe, we're so far from home. I want to be at home. What if something happens? What if I need to see a doctor? I've already had to see two doctors I don't know. I need to be in Boston so I can find a doctor who will be delivering the baby when it's time. I'm sorry Joe. You're not mad are you?"

Joe is a little mad. He'd been so happy he was going to have his wife on tour with him. Now they were going to be apart for the next eight months. He was actually a lot mad, but he'd never let her know. He doesn't want her to be upset. So he lies. "No honey, I'm not mad at all. I'll miss you so much, but I understand. I want you to be comfortable. And you can come visit when we're close to home. And I'll fly home as often as I can. Now let's go get something to eat."