I'll Always Choose You #Watty's2023

59. Nico

October 12,2023( Gia is 9 months old)

I stood shell shocked as I stared at the white test on the counter. It couldn't be. We wer—no that's a lie we weren't careful. Hell, I even thought that nothing would happen since my last period had happened at the end of August. Dang it, I should have been more careful, and listened to Gio when he said we should have used protection a few weeks ago when we had sex for the first time after the whole attack at the den. Gia wasn't even one and yet we were having another baby.

A knock on the door made me jump followed by a little voice calling for me.

"Mama you okay?" Aros asked and I swallowed the knot in my throat before taking a deep breath.

"Yes, love, I'll be out in a second," I called back to my eldest son.

"Okay, mama." He called back before his light footsteps faded as he walked away. I stuffed the rest into my pocket and flushed the toilet before washing my hands.

I walked out of the bathroom only to be greeted by a crawling nine month old baby, and three little boys sitting on the floor across the bathroom.

"Have you three been sitting there all this time?" I asks with a chuckle as I leans down to pick Gia up making her babble and clap her little hands.

"Nope," Tanner said shaking his head, "we just got here mama, we play with cars." And he held a toy car as proof and I nodded.

"Come on then, let's go eat some lunch, daddy should be arriving soon." I said and they nodded as they stood up from the floor and followed after me, "wash your hands first though." I helped them wash their hands at the sink while also holding Gia on my hip.

Once all four boys' hands were washed, I placed Gia down on her high chair before I walked over to the freezer and pulled out the dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets along with the fries before putting them in the air fryer.

As the nuggets and fries cooked, the boys chattered excitedly about their day at school and the upcoming weekend. I couldn't help but smile at their enthusiasm, grateful for moments like these that brought us together as a family.

Once the food was ready, I served each of them a plate of crispy nuggets and hot fries, making sure to cut them into smaller pieces for the younger ones. They eagerly dug in, their laughter filling the kitchen as they devoured their lunch.

As we ate, the sound of a car pulling into the driveway caught our attention. "Daddy's home!" the boys exclaimed, rushing to the window to catch a glimpse of their father. I smiled as I watched them, knowing how much they looked up to him.

When he walked through the door, there was a chorus of excited greetings as the boys ran to greet him. He scooped Gia up in his arms after giving me a kiss in getting and ruffled the boys' hair, a smile on his face as he greeted each of them.

"Welcome home daddy," Aston said as he placed Gia back in her highchair and Gio smiled.

"It's good to be home," he replied, "I'm going to go change and come join you, okay?"

They nodded and so he walked out of the dining room and made his way to our room. I bit my lip as I felt the pregnancy test in my packet. How the heck was I going to tell him?

Gio soon joined us and after we had all finished our lunch, we gathered around the table to talk about our day and make plans for the weekend. Gio wanted to take the kids to the zoo and I agreed. It was about time that we went out with them and just enjoy ourselves without having to look over our shoulders constantly and be on high alert. Even though that will still happening as Gio will most definitely be watching our surroundings like a hawk even if he'll be calm and relaxed for the sake of our children.

*****

"Are you alright?" Gio asked as he walked into our rokm after putting our youngest son in bed. I looked up at him and gave him a small smile.

"Yeah," I replied, "actually, I have something to tell you." He raised a brow and I took a deep breath as I reached into my side table and pulled out the rest I had taken earlier today while the kids played. He frowned as he stared a the whole stick in my hand as I extended it. "Here."

Gio took the pregnancy test from my hand and his eyes went wide. "Are you serious?" he asked, his voice filled with excitement and disbelief.

I nodded, feeling a mixture of nervousness and joy. "I just took it today, and it's positive," I told him. "Gia is barely one and I'm pregnant."

"It'll be okay," he said as I felt tears well up in my eyes.

"I had wine last week," I told him and he smiled as he wiped the tears away.

"It's okay, we'll figure it out. We always do," he reassured me, pulling me into a tight hug. "I know it's unexpected, but we're a team and we can handle anything that comes our way."

I nodded, feeling grateful for his support. We had always wanted a big family, but we never expected to get pregnant so soon after our youngest was born.

"The boys are going to be excited to have another baby sibling," Gio said making me chuckle with a sniffle, "remember Tanner had asked us for another baby a couple weeks ago?"

"God," I chuckled, "I think he's going to be the happiest of all four of them."

"I guess next time you tell me that there's no chance of getting you to pregnant when we have sex, I will not listen and wear a condom." Gio said with a teasing smile making me laugh and nod.

"Absolutely," I sniffled and looked up at him, "we don't want any surprising. We already have four boys under 10 and a little girl barely one."

"Yeah, I think we have enough chaos in our hands as it is," Gio chuckled, wrapping his arms around me. "But you know, I wouldn't mind having another little one running around the house."

I playfully swatted his arm. "Oh no, we are definitely done with babies for now. Let's just focus on raising the ones we have."

Gio nodded, his smile turning tender. "You're right, we have our hands full already. But hey, who knows what the future holds, right?"

I shook my head, trying not to laugh. "I swear, if you even mention having more kids, I will make sure you're the one waking up for all those late-night feedings."

Gio's laughter filled the room, and I couldn't help but join in. Despite the chaos and the constant busyness of our lives, there was nowhere else I'd rather be than with Gio and our five beautiful children. As long as we were together, we could handle anything that came our way – surprise pregnancies included.