Bigger Than The Whole Sky ☆ Jaylor

Chpt. 6 - A very casual normal checkup

October 6th, 2022.

I feel very cold. That's the first thing that I notice when I wake up.

My eyes squint as I try to fight against the brightness of the sun, and I snuggle tightly against Joe's bare chest. It's almost ridiculous how dependent I am on this man for warmth, especially in England. He sleepily wraps his arm around me and pushes me over to cuddle me like a teddy bear. Like the teddy bear that I found in his childhood bedroom a few years ago. Like the teddy bear that our baby will have in just 9 months. Maybe even less.

Today is my first appointment with the obstetrician. I'm guessing they'll do an ultrasound and then let us know that our baby is healthy. I really don't think anything will be wrong. I don't know what a healthy pregnancy is supposed to feel like, but this feels right to me.

I feel the familiar nausea reappear on that thought and unwrap myself from Joe's arms and the bedsheets. I rush to the toilet and repeat the daily vomiting that I'm getting really sick of (get it? getting SICK of?).

Joe pulls my hair back and ties it up, whispering something like "mornin' baby" against my shoulder, as he strokes up and down my violently puking torso.

After a minute or two of no vomits, I lean back and let Joe clean me up. We're starting to get good at this system. I wake up, hurl my guts into the toilet, and Joe looks after me and treats me like a sick princess. I'm so fucking lucky to have him.

"Baby's first appointment today," he mumbles. "How are you feeling about it?"

I cough against my sore throat and reply, "I think it will be fine. I'm a bit nervous but nothing feels wrong."

"Okay, that's good." Joe kisses my shoulder.

We got up and I took a shower while Joe made our breakfast. I had requested pancakes and Joe added blueberry, of course. My favorite. As we ate, we spoke about the appointment.

"Will they put the cold gel on your tummy, like in the movies?" Joe asks.

"Yeah, I guess so. We have to be there at 1 so we should get Matt to pick us up around 12:20." I tell him.

"Ok. Are we gonna tell your security? They probably don't need to know but if you want to tell them we can." He offers.

"I think I prefer it being a little secret for now. Maybe we could tell them around the same time as our parents? In a few days?"

"Sounds good, babe."

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I texted Matt at 9 to ask him to drive us to the doctors, just for a regular checkup. I have such a good relationship with my drivers and security that they feel more like friends than employees. And that makes me feel more like a human being than a celebrity, which is nice. I always make sure to text them the day before, or at least a few hours before I need them, so they can spend time with at home with their families, instead of scheduling their entire lives around work.

He replied with a "Alright, see you soon" and thumbs up emoji. The disguise is set: we're just going in for a very casual normal checkup. Of course, Matt will realise exactly what's going on when I give him the address for an obstetrician, but I doubt he will say anything about it if we say it's just a very casual normal checkup. And he won't tell anyone either; He cares about my privacy just as much as I do.

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9 o'clock rolls around and soon Joe and I are being rushed out the front door and into the car. There wasn't anyone outside our home but we always try not to stand on the street for too long, just in case someone sees us, although that's pretty rare now that we're a bit further away from central London. We both sat in the back seat, and Joe immediately began rubbing my arm to calm my nerves.