Without You (gxg)

Part 54- Epilogue

2 Years Later
"Holy fuck."
I stared down at the positive pregnancy test in front of me on the bathroom counter.
Of bathroom that had just become mine 10 days ago.
It all happened really fast- Noelle and I weren't expecting to find a house we loved so quickly. But when the three bedroom, two and a half bathroom townhome became available in the next town over that our apartment was in- we had to make an offer. And we were beyond surprised we got it.
All in the meanwhile, we had decided that we wanted a baby- and we found a sperm donor, and had started the process of me trying to get pregnant. Noelle and I decided that I would be the one to carry the children we had- it was something I wanted to do more.
The doctor told us it would take a few cycles possibly to get pregnant. And it was disappointing, but not unexpected when it didn't happen the first cycle. But now- the test in front of me said positive.
And it was much different this time around- knowing I was going to keep the baby. And it was something both Noelle and I had been trying for.
We had both just turned 26 years old. I was still of course working as a hair stylist at Fantasy Hair. I had been "acting owner" while Tessa was on maternity leave- she had a baby girl named Bailey- but now I guess it would be my turn soon enough to go on maternity leave.
Not only did Tessa have a baby- but Olivia had another baby boy named Tyler- and Priya, much to her surprise got pregnant and had a baby boy as well, named Dhruv. She got pregnant her last year of pharmacy school. But she couldn't be happier that she was a mother.
Noelle and I did have, what felt like, the luxury of being able to choose when we wanted a child. And with Noelle now working as an ICU nurse for over a year- and absolutely loving it- we decided to take the leap and try. We both felt ready.
But now staring at the pregnancy test in front of me- I was slightly freaking out.
Noelle worked nights- most newer nurses did. She worked three nights a week, and I had taken the pregnancy test at 7:30 PM. An hour and a half after her shift began.
So I was going to have to wait until the next day- which was a Sunday, and I didn't have work- to be able to tell her.
I kept thinking about if I should tell her in some cute way. But I couldn't come up with a damn thing. So I figured I would just tell her.
Noelle usually would get home from work at around 7 AM, and she tended to sleep until around 2-3 PM. Waiting was agonizing. I just wanted to tell her. Tell someone. But I knew that Noelle should be the first person I told- she was my wife, after all.
After she woke up from sleeping, she came into the kitchen, where I was making an early dinner/late lunch.
"Smells like bacon." she said. She was just in a t-shirt and shorts, as it was May, and it was hot outside. Her hair- which I still was dying dark for her- was up in a ponytail.
"I'm making BLT's." I said, putting bread in the toaster.
She gave me a kiss on the cheek. "Sounds delicious."
I was trying to figure out how to say it. I wasn't facing Noelle, I was facing the kitchen counter.
Here it goes.
"Um, I'm pregnant." I said.
"What?" I heard Noelle say.
"I'm pregnant." I turned around, "I took a test last night. It was positive."
Noelle walked up to me, "Are you serious?"
"Very. And I'm definitely freaking out. But also excited. I seriously don't know how to feel." I said.
Noelle enveloped me in a giant hug. "Well, I'm thrilled. So, for now, I can be thrilled for the both of us. And I'll be here for you every step of the way."
Which she was.
Seeing the baby for the first time was crazy. I laid down on the table and the ultrasound tech showed us where the fetus was. I was actually pregnant.
We didn't tell anyone until I was pretty much out of the clear for miscarrying, which was 12 weeks along. Which was so hard- especially not being able to tell my mom, Blake, Brianna, Priya, and Olivia.
The only one it was very tough to keep a secret from was Tessa. I was dealing with some rough morning sickness- and when I had to call out of work, I had to tell her.
"I am thrilled for you." she said, "Believe me, I know how rough the first trimester is. We will make it work for you."
We told my mom, Juan, Brianna, and Blake right when we reached 12 weeks.
We went out to dinner- the six of us- for sushi. Blake ordered a glass of wine- which for a long time none of us did around Noelle- but she was at a point where she now felt okay with other people drinking around her- even me if we went out to dinner. But not anymore.
"Are you going to get anything to drink, Har?" Blake asked me.
"No, I'm okay tonight." I said, "And for the next 6 months actually."
"Huh?" Brianna looked at me.
"Wait, are you pregnant?" Juan asked me.
I nodded, and my my gasped. Loudly. "Oh my god!"
I didn't even care that people were looking at us.
"I am 12 weeks along." I said.
My mom got up and gave me a hug. She had tears in her eyes. "This is such a blessing." she said.
Noelle and I were not about to have any kind of gender reveal party. We didn't really care if we had a boy or girl- we just wanted a healthy baby. When I was 20 weeks along, we found out at our ultrasound appointment.
"So, I can tell you the sex of the baby today if you want." the ultrasound tech, Isabella, said.
Noelle looked at me. "What do you think? Do you want to know today?"
"I do." I nodded, "You can tell us."
"Okay." Isabella nodded, and she moved around the doppler on my stomach, that had now popped out.
"I'm all of a sudden really nervous to know." Noelle said, with a nervous laugh.
"Well, no need to be. I know you two are going to be amazing parents to your daughter." Isabella said.
Noelle and I immediately turned our heads and looked at each other. Her eyes were wide with excitement.
"It's a girl?" I said to Isabella.
"About 99.9% sure it's a girl." she smiled at nodded.
Noelle and I then had to decide on a name. And we seemingly had no idea. We talked about it for weeks until we settled on a name.
And as the weeks went on, I was staring to feel more and more uncomfortable in my growing body.
One night I broke down about it when I was almost 7 months along. I felt exhausted. And unattractive.
Noelle, who had been there for me every step of the way, the whole pregnancy, hugged me as I cried. "Hey, it's okay. You know- I think you look beautiful. I know this has been really tough on you and your body. But it'll be worth it." she said, "I promise. I love you."
Priya and Olivia threw me a small afternoon baby shower when I was 35 weeks along. They were very excited that I was pregnant. It was a really nice shower, and Noelle's stepmom, Mary, even came to it. It meant a lot to me that she drove seven hours to come to a baby shower. She also was going to be staying with us that night.
All during the baby shower, while I was having a great time, I was feeling extra uncomfortable and my stomach was cramping up every so often. It wasn't too painful, but it was enough that my mom asked me if I was okay.
"You need to rest after this. Lay down and get some rest." she said.
Noelle had work that night- she was able to go in a little bit late due to the shower, but she still had to work. It was nice though- having Mary stay with us.
"You relax on the couch, I'll make you a cup of tea." she said.
Which she did- and as I sat on the couch- Noelle and I's cat that we adopted- Stella- came up and cuddled next to me. Stella was a 6 year old orange cat that we rescued right when we moved in. We were both really grateful to have her.
Mary handed me the tea and sat next to me, "How are you feeling, honey?" she asked me.
"I'm pretty uncomfortable, to be honest. I keep having those Braxton Hicks contractions. My stomach keeps getting really tight." I said.
"She will be coming really soon." Mary smiled at me, "I'll be so happy have a granddaughter."
"And she will be so lucky to have you as a grandmother." I smiled back at Mary.
"I am able live with it fine now- especially because I am a stepmom to four awesome kids- but I do wish that I had been able to have my own child too." Mary said thoughtfully.
"You weren't able to?" I said to her.
"No, I wasn't. I had ovarian cancer when I was in my twenties. I am so thankful to be alive and well, but I lost my ability to have children." Mary said.
"I didn't know you had cancer." I said to her.
"I've been in remission for over 20 years now. I had it when I was twenty four years old." Mary said.
As she told me about how she got diagnosed, and then her treatment, I kept feeling my stomach tighten up more and more.
"Harley, are you okay? You look like you're in pain." Mary said to me.
"The pain is just getting stronger." I said, "Maybe I should try to sleep. See if I can sleep it off."
"Let me help you up." Mary said.
Mary took my hand and helped me up front the couch. And as she did so, I felt a gush. Down my leg. Was wearing black pajama pants, so she couldn't see any liquid, but Mary heard the water hit the floor in drops.
She looked at me, "Harley, did your water just break?"
I felt panic flood through my body. As more liquid kept coming out of me. I was frozen. "I-I think so."
"Alright. Let's stay calm. Do you have a hospital bag packed?" Mary asked me.
"No, I don't! We weren't going to pack one until I was a little further along. Oh my god. Im only 35 weeks along. Is this bad for the baby?" I said, I could feel myself tearing up. And then a wave of pain came over me. "Ouch." I gripped my stomach.
"Hey, it's okay. Breathe. Breathe, Harley." Mary said, "Sit back down, honey."
"Okay." I said, easing back into the couch.
"I'm going to call Noelle. Tell her your water broke. Just stay here, and I'll pack you a bag while she comes and I'll meet you at the hospital." Mary said, "I don't want you worrying about a thing."
Mary took out her phone and called Noelle. I wasn't sure if she was going to pick up, but she did.
"Mary, is everything okay?" I heard her voice on the other end.
"Harley's water broke, sweetie."
"Wait, what?" Noelle said, "Okay. Okay. Oh my god. Alright, I'm coming home now." she said.
Mary went upstairs to start packing a bag while I sat there, the pain starting to increase more. Noelle showed up about twenty five minutes later.
"I rushed home as fast as I could!" she said, bursting through the door in her scrubs. She ran up to Meg and knelt down to my level. "Are you okay?"
"I'm really scared." I said to Noelle, looking at her.
"Let's get you to the hospital." Noelle said.
I was in a lot of fucking pain by the time we got to the hospital. Enough for me to yell for the pain medicine.
After I started to feel better from that, my OBGYN, Dr. Martin, kept an eye on me. She said that the baby, after she was born, would most likely have to go to the NICU just to get checked out since she was a couple of weeks early.
What was scary was that as the hours went by, I wasn't progressing much, and the baby's heart rate kept dropping.
I had been at the hospital for over 12 hours. Noelle had been with me the whole time, and my mom was out the waiting room with Mary.
Dr. Martin made the decision to give me an emergency c-section. The baby's heart rate kept dropping, and she didn't want to risk any health issues.
I couldn't help but to start crying. Surgery. I was scared. But I knew it was best for my daughter.
Charlotte Grace Thompson-Edwin was born on February 25th at 2 PM weighing 5 pounds, 1 oz.
She had to spend some time in the NICU getting checked out, but thankfully, she was healthy as could be.
And this was it. My family. I had my wife. And we now had a beautiful daughter.
Little did I know when I had walked into English class in 12th grade, and saw Noelle- that this was going to be what was to come.
And the spark that I had felt when I had saw her- was going to last a lifetime.

A/N- Thank you so much for reading the epilogue ❤️ I will most likely make a part 2 to the epilogue, but for now, this story is completed. The first chapter of "Complicated" is now out!
EDIT- I just wanted to add in, I started "Complicated"- but my heart just wasn't in it so I unpublished for now. However, I am starting a new story very soon! It will be femalexfemale. Can't wait to start it.
EDIT (again)- My new story is "She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not"- go check it out!