Fate || BENNIFER

Surprises

Jennifer's P.O.V

Ben put the box down on the grass, and it was fun to see how he didn't have to a say a single word to trigger Max and Emme's curiosity. They were distracted when he walked in and out to the garden. They had been playing for a while, but they stopped what they were doing the moment they noticed him. The truth is, at the moment, they could only see the carton box he had brought with him. To be honest, I was a little curious too, but I preferred to watch from a distance and let him do his thing.

"What is in the box?" Emme asked while Max was getting more and more restless.

"It's moving!" Max screamed.

I laughed at first, but then I realized it was actually moving. It remained still if Ben held it down, but the moment he took his hands off the box, it moved slightly. I moved closer.

"Do you wanna know what's inside?" Ben asked making their curiosity grow.

At that point, I didn't know if they were still excited to see what was in there or if they wanted to set off running, but their facial expressions were hilarious.

Ben opened the flaps slowly, giving them enough time to let their imagination run wild before eventually revealing the content, a very unexpected content. The furry head of a tiny golden retriever popped out almost instantly and without any hesitation. Their reaction of pure joy was priceless and almost made me forget that he had brought a dog without consulting me.

"She is very playful, just like you two." He said as he picked her up and put her down on the grass.

The moment her paws touched the ground, she started to run with unbelievable speed and energy. Emme and Max ran after her.

"What was that?" I asked still in disbelief.

"I want them to like me." He said shrugging.

"A stuffed animal would've made them like you." I said amused. "Besides, they already liked you."

"It's a dog. It doesn't require more commitment than having a baby." He said in a funny tone.

"Can we keep her, mommy?" Emme asked pouting with the cutest face.

"Pleaseee." Max yelled.

I looked at Ben and he raised his eyebrows. He knew there was only one possible answer to that question.

"Will you take care of her?" I asked already knowing what they would answer.

"Yes! Yes!" They said as they jumped.

"Okay... now you gotta think of a name." I said giving up.

I wondered if the day would have more surprises for me. It was only nine in the morning and we already had a new puppy, and surprisingly, Ben was coming to the studio. That was something we had never even talked about because avoiding the paparazzi had always been the plan, but Ben was right, if we hid from them, we would only make them want to follow us even more.

For the first time, we were going out together to be seen, to try and revert all the mystery that had been built around us and our relationship, to get back some of our freedom without revealing too much.

Ben drove us to the studio, where a bunch of paparazzi waited scattered around the building. He opened the door for me and I stepped out of the car to walk straight to the entrance. I barely looked up while we were out and exposed, but those stressful twenty seconds felt like minutes.

We had been rehearsing for a while, and soon we'd be performing the song for the first time. American Idol had been the first stage chosen to present it, and most certainly, the last one, at least for a few months. Everyone had done their best, worked hard, and we were just one rehearsal away from the real thing.

"Before starting, I wanted to thank you all for the effort put into this single choreography these past few weeks. It's been short, but definitely more emotional than I expected." It felt like saying goodbye even though I knew it was temporary. "Some of you have been asking about what's next and commenting how weird it is that you still haven't heard about future projects. That's because I still don't know how far that future is. I could say six months, but as much as I would like to believe that, the truth is I have no idea."

I turned to Parris, my choreographer. She was the only one who knew. She had been patient and understanding whenever I needed a change in the choreography, when I needed to stop, or when I had to postpone a rehearsal at short notice.

"I need to take a little break after this last performance." I said glancing at Ben, who was quick to grab my hand. "The reason is as beautiful as it is surprising. We are... having a baby." I instinctively tilted my head on his shoulder. "Now you know why I've been slow and clumsy like never before." I said making them laugh.

At that point, they were friends, family. The way they were so happy about the news made me more emotional than I had originally thought it would.

"Now let's get back to work." I said wiping the tears from my face with the biggest smile and the warmest collective hug.

What should we name this puppy???🤗