His Best Friend

Chapter 27- Wedding!

One morning, 2 and a half months later, I woke up in the upstairs loft bed. The last couple mornings I've been waking up with a headache and my stomach feeling nauseous. Both Hunter and my sister have been trying to convince me to go get checked out by my doctor before the wedding.

I've been putting it off, but now as I realize how bad I feel, I reached for my phone while still laying on my back. I called and scheduled an appointment for later that morning. I dragged myself out of bed, showered, got dressed and drove myself to the doctor's office while Hunter was in the studio.

I slouched in a waiting room chair, my eyes closed, trying to relax my quivering stomach until finally the nurse called my name and led me back to another room where I waited another 10 minutes for the doctor to come in.
"Ryleigh. It's good to see you. But I didn't expect you would have time to come with everything you've got going on. You are still headed home to Louisiana, right?"

"Yeah, Hunter and I are headed back with my sister for the wedding."
"So, what's going on? Why did you come in?"
"I don't know exactly. I just haven't been feeling well. And I want to make sure everything's alright before my wedding."

She did a quick preliminary check before saying,
"Well, you seem perfectly healthy. There's only one thing left that I think it could possibly be. How likely is it, do you think, that you could be pregnant?"
"Pregnant? You think so? I mean, it's possible I suppose, though it's not like we planned it."

She ran a couple more tests including an ultrasound before continuing,
"Well, I'm not sure if you'll think this is good news, or at least if it's good timing. But you are pregnant. About 3 weeks. There's only one potential problem. You have a very hectic and sometimes stressful life, right?"

"Yeah, I mean, I'm getting married to someone who travels coast to coast weekly, raising a young toddler girl, tour manager and planning said wedding. Is that bad?"
"From what I can tell, this pregnancy is a high risk one. Which means, unless you significantly reduce your workload, there is a chance you could lose this baby."
"Really? How much of a chance?"

"Well, you have at least a 50% chance that your baby will survive. But that's all I can tell you."
I drove home in a daze, still taking in everything the doctor had told me. By the time I made it back, I parked in the driveway and walked in the front door. I shut it and stood there like a statue until Hunter came out of his home studio. He walked over to me, wrapped his arms around my waist and asked,
"Ryles, what's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing really." I still hadn't snapped out of my daze.
"Ry, I know you. Something's wrong. What is it? You can tell me anything."
"I know," I blinked, looked up at him and let out a weak smile, "I really do, it's just something the doctor told me."
"What? It can't be that bad," He pulled me closer to stop me from trembling, "tell me what she said."

"Umm, well, she actually told me, I almost can't believe it's true, but she said I'm pregnant," I stared up at him, waiting for it to sink in.

"Oh, wow."
"Yeah, but that's not all. She said there are more risks this time than normal. There's a much greater chance that I'll lose this baby."
"We, not just you. Ry, we're in this together. If the baby survives, we'll love her as much as Emmy. But if she doesn't, we'll try again, when you're ready. And in the meantime, we'll get through it together."

Everything has changed now, though we're still getting married in the middle of August. Layla and I went out shopping again, this time for a maternity wedding dress for me, since I'll be 3 months along on the big day.

3 months later, it's a week before my wedding. Layla set up a fitting for me to adjust my dress to my growing belly.
Finally, the big day is here. As per the usual superstition that the groom can't see the bride before she walks down the aisle, I haven't seen Hunter since last night. Right now, I'm waiting just outside the church doors waiting for the moment when I walk in with my dad. I was about to something to my dad, when I felt movement in my belly. I placed my hand supportively and protectively on it as Dad said,
"Ryleigh, you ok?"

"Yeah, I just felt your second grandbaby move."
"That's exciting. Are you ready to get married?"
I didn't answer right away, I was too intent on watching through the window into where the ceremony would take place. Finally, I walked over and took my dad's arm with my left arm while my right hand held my flower bouquet while holding under my belly.

20 minutes later, it's almost official. We were facing each other holding hands as the pastor had us turn facing our family and friends as he said,
"I give you Mr. and Mrs. Hunter Hayes!"

We walked back down the aisle, this time together, closely followed by Layla and Sam. My sister was my only bridesmaid and Sam was Hunter's best man. Devon, as the only groomsman, carried Emmy, the flowergirl, back down the aisle. We drove back home after the reception. Since I'm pregnant, we're putting off a traditional honeymoon. Hunter promises though that we'll go on a vacation soon, just the two of us after our second baby is born.

A few weeks later, he got an offer for another tour. He tried to convince me that he'd give up that tour to stay home with me, but I've been his best friend for years, I know how much he loves playing on stage for his fans every night. So, I instead of him convincing me, I talked him into going. I told him that Emmy and I would be just fine here without him for a little while and he said he'd come back as often as he could in between shows.

A/N: Wait, she's pregnant again? But the doctor wonders if the baby will survive... A sweet moment between Ryleigh and her dad before walking down the aisle..

Ryleigh's maternity wedding dress: