Ready Or Not

Ch 19 - We'll Be Okay

** Jordyn's POV **

Feeling the baby move was incredible. My first thought was that I wanted to tell Luke, so I did. I didn't expect him to call me, though. That was a pleasant surprise. I also didn't expect him to call me "babe." I'm sure it was just a generic nickname he used when speaking to girls in general, and there was no affectionate meaning behind it. But it still made me feel something; something I kept telling myself that I wasn't allowed to feel.

Luke and I talked weekly, as well as texted in between talks when we thought of something the other should/might like to know. I had to change to an international calling plan because my bills were going to be out of control at the rate we were going. We'd be talking away and I'd realize two hours had gone by. I grew very comfortable talking to him as our conversation slowly started evolving into more than baby talk. We became friends, even. I was afraid, though, that when the group got back out on the road, and he'd be around so many girls, that it would change things. However, there were no set plans for another tour just yet. They were going to start writing and recording their third album in December. And it was only the end of September.

And that meant that it was time for my 20 week ultrasound. We were both anxious to know that everything was okay and we wanted to know the baby's gender. Luke mentioned that he wished he could be there, so I suggested FaceTiming. He thought it was a brilliant idea. My mom and sister were going to be with me, so I told Luke that it would be okay if Liz wanted to watch, too. He said that she nearly cried when he asked her.

According to Luke, once she got over the shock and saw that Luke was going to take responsibility, Liz had been super excited about having a grandchild. She even texted me a couple of times asking how I was feeling. I was pretty sure we were going to get along just fine. And it was a blessing to have her support.

The big day arrived and I was so nervous. I felt that everything was fine with the baby. But I had mixed feelings about FaceTiming with Luke. I hadn't seen him except via social media pictures and videos since the night we met. And let me tell you, there were plenty of those I'd rather have not seen. But that's all I'll say about that because it wasn't really any of my business who he hung out with.

I had obviously put on a few pounds and felt like a beached whale, even though I had barely gained the recommended weight at that point. At least he'd only be seeing my face, and mostly the ultrasound screen. It was going to be a nice quick way to introduce Luke and Liz to Jodie and Mom, too, so that was nice.

I went ahead and called Luke as the nurse took us into the exam room. There he was, looking gorgeous as ever, with a backwards snapback on. Snapback Luke was my favorite kind of Luke.

I, on the other hand, looked like trash. I was having a bad hair day, so I had just pulled it up instead of fighting with it. So when Luke complimented me, it caught me completely off guard.

"I like your hair like that. It shows off your face."

Kill me now. With an audience watching, I wished I could crawl under a rock. I know I turned 10 shades of red as I thanked him.

"Oh, yeah, this is my mum, Liz."

Liz's face came into view and she waved and greeted me enthusiastically.

I then quickly introduced my mom and sister. I was thankful that there wasn't time for smalltalk as the sonographer, Kelly, entered the room just as we were finished with the introductions.

I explained to Kelly what we were doing. She was fine with it, and made sure we could all see the screen well. She dimmed the lights and I handed the phone to Jodie, since she was in the best spot to hold it. I noticed that she had it angled at my belly as Kelly squirted the gel on me. I punched Jodie's arm & mouthed "Stop it!" She stuck her tongue out and aimed the phone at the screen again. She was gonna pay for that one.

I think you really just have to be a parent to fully understand the feelings you experience while seeing that black and white fuzzy figure. Pure bliss is the best I can describe it.

Kelly pointed out all the little body parts and said the measurements were good. And we got a good view of the baby sucking it's thumb. I'd never seen something so precious in my life. I glanced at the phone a couple of times to see Luke staring intently, his chin resting in his hand, and smiling sweetly. I prayed that he would always be that happy when it came to the baby.

"So, do you want to know the baby's gender?" Kelly asked.

Luke and I both answered, "Yes."

"Well, if you'll look right here," she said, pointing at something that didn't leave any guessing about it, "you'll see he has a penis. It's a boy!"

A boy. Holy shit I was having a little boy. A little Luke.

I was speechless. I saw Liz hug Luke as she squealed and I lost it. It was impossible for me to hold the tears back.

"Congratulations, you two," she said, through her own tears.

"Mum, don't. You're gonna make me cry." I heard Luke say, as he playfully pushed her away. Now that's something I'd like to see. Only happy tears, though.

Mom and Jodie hugged me and told Luke and Liz bye. "We'll give you some privacy," Mom whispered to me, then they went to the waiting room.

Liz must have had the same idea, as she told us bye and gave Luke a kiss on the cheek. He rolled his eyes, but grinned.

Kelly wiped the gel from my abdomen and said that she'd let the doctor know she was finished, and she'd be in to see me soon.

I sat up and got situated, then told Luke, "I'm glad we got to do this together."

"Me, too. Wow. A boy. Let's hope he turns out to be more like you than me."

"What? No way. Maybe he'll be a rock star like his daddy."

Luke shook his head emphatically, "Oh, hell no! I know too much about the rock star lifestyle. That's why we're here in the first place."

He was making a joke of it, but it still kind of stung. I didn't know how to respond. He must have noticed, because he added, "Not that I regret it. I wish it had happened about ten years from now. But we're going to be okay. I think it's going to be fun, actually."

That made me feel a little better. But it was really his reference to "the rock star lifestyle" that hurt. I knew I was just one of many one night stands and didn't mean a damn thing to him. I was just the lucky (or unlucky, however you chose to look at it) one who ended up pregnant.

"Yeah, we'll be okay."