Tied Down

Chapter Eight

Ruby woke up in the middle of the night, thinking that she heard something while she was trying to sleep. Clutching the blanket up to her chin, she tried to stay as quiet as she could. There were definite footsteps that led up to her room. Then, the door opened, revealing a figure. Ruby tried to scream, but it was caught in her throat.

"Babe?" The figure spoke in a way that seemed familiar to her.

She sat up, which took a little extra effort because of her stomach. She thought she was going crazy; the voice sounded like her boyfriend. "Michael?"

"Hey, babe." He sheepishly walked into the room, flicking the lights on as he did. His hair was sticking out in odd angles, evidence that he had tried to sleep but was unsuccessful. He wore the sweatshirt that she had gotten him for his birthday last year with typical dark skinny jeans and combat boots.

"When did you get back? Oh my goodness!" She tried to get up, but couldn't.

He came over to her, sitting on the side of the bed. Cupping her face, he whispered, "I was going to surprise you. I thought you were sleeping." He kissed her, their lips moving together in a way that was so natural. He was so happy to see that she still had her big belly. If he had missed the birth of his child, he would've cried.

Ruby chuckled, then placed his hand on her stomach. "She's been kicking a lot recently."

"Like she's going to punch her way out of you?" He laughed and rested both of his hands side by side, which easily took up her entire bump. "That's my girl."

"Yeah, well, your girl is a day late. The doctors put me on bed rest until she's born."

"Then, I guess the lads and I should get to painting her nursery." Michael grinned from ear to ear at the thought of his baby girl in his arms. He couldn't wait to be a father. It would change his life forever.

As she watched him wait for some kicks, Ruby wondered if they were considered a family. Then, she realized that she wants the same thing that Izzy wants: marriage.

When Luke woke up, he forgot where he was. Some city that he couldn't pronounce. He turned to his left and saw Calum and Ashton, still sleeping in their bunks. Bracing himself, he peeked down into Michael's, but it was empty. Nothing was there, even though Mikey had been there just yesterday. The boys knew that Ruby was close to her due date — maybe she had passed it — Luke wasn't sure. Maybe he went home to be with her. Deciding to go back to sleep, Luke rolled back over in his bunk, his elbow hitting the stuffed animal that Zoe had let him borrow for the tour. It was a koala. Every time Zoe saw Luke, she would use her entire body to hold herself to him, so Luke called it a koala hug. even though he had tried to sleep, Luke couldn't keep his eyes closed for long, not knowing where Michael was.

Ashton was the next to wake up, who also freaked a little when he found that the bunk across from him was vacant. He stood up, "Where's Michael?"

"Not sure. He's not answering his phone." Luke answered from behind his curtain.

Ash grumbled something, then went to make some coffee in their make-shift kitchen. When Luke joined him, asking for a cup as well, he turned to his bandmate. "You think Ru had her baby yet?"

Luke tilted his head to the side, then added the appropriate amount of creamer and sugar. "Not sure. He's not answering my calls."

"What time is it at home?"

"About six in the morning."

"Wait a few hours and they'll be up." Ash smiled, then put the steaming mug in both hands. He smiled as the heat warmed up his freezing palms. "Why are we still here?"

"What do you mean?"

"If Mikey can just leave whenever he feels like, then let's go. We have families too, so let's go."

Luke shrugged, "We can't just disappoint all our fans like that, Ashton."

"We won't be disappointing them if we say that we have an emergency with one of our friends." Ashton wasn't letting this go. "I bet Calum wouldn't mind being with Izzy, either."

"What about Izzy?" Cal was walking towards them, rubbing the sleep out of one eye with a closed fist.

Luke chuckled at him, "We're thinking about quitting the tour."

"Oh," he paused to look around the bus. "Where's Michael?"

"We're thinking he's with Ruby."

"That would make sense. Her due date was yesterday." Cal explained to the others, who nodded to each other, then went to pack up their things. "Oh, don't forget, guys. When we go see Ruby, we promised that we'd paint the nursery for her."

Luke and Ashton groaned as they shoved all their clothes into their suitcases, but agreed to helping. They had a long flight ahead of them.