Jacky Vincent Imagines

Your child.

Collapsing into your lover’s chest you barely had time to register his words of passion and love before darkness took you under.

Little did you know that one night of rough, wild fun, would turn into a lifetime of commitment and family…

-

You clutched the white stick tight in your hand, knuckles aching with the strain and jaw locked tight. Frozen on the spot, with silent tears leaving their warm trails down your cheekbones, you could only gaze unfocused at the ‘+’ in horror. How one minuscule symbol could alter your entire life from a great distance you could never understand. But one thing was for certain; you were going to have a baby.

You were going to have Jacky’s baby.

"Sweetie, are you alright?" Jenn’s concerned voice sounded from beyond the closed cubicle door, "You’ve been in there for longer than three minutes. We’re dying out here. Can you please come out and talk to us?"

You scrubbed relentlessly at your eyes, trying to erase all traces of pain and terror before pushing the doorway aside. The concerned faces of your best friends and confidents greeted you almost instantly; Jenn rubbing between your shoulders and Christina offering a friendly tissue.

"Well?" Derek’s long-term girlfriend prompted, changing her weight from foot to foot, "What does it say?"

The words ‘I’m pregnant’ tasted so fuzzy on your tongue. Like battery acid and coarse pepper. Admitting the truth aloud would only clarify everything so real. But you were pregnant. You were going to have a child. And telling your girlfriend’s this was one thing, but confessing to your boyfriend was a different hurdle all together.

"I’m pregnant."

-

You bit at the skin of your thumbs, knees brought up to your chest as though to act as a shield from Jacky’s response. The room had been basked in silence for what felt like an eternity, lead weights of tension that pressed down on your shoulders with the intensity of a million cinderblocks.

"You… You’re what?" Jacky eventually croaked out, voice weak and eyes as wide as Ryan’s kick-drums.

"Pregnant. I’m pregnant, Jacky. You remember that one wild night all those weeks ago? Well apparently it did more than annoy the neighbours. I’m with child."

The deafening silence returned, prickling your skin like fresh icicles. You screwed your eyes shut tight enough to hurt, wanting to stem the tears before they could overflow and give out your true fear. Your ears remained ever alert, searching for his booming anger or the sound of him fleeing the room never to return.

Instead warm hands touched your cheeks, slipping below your jaw to direct your gaze upward. His nose brushed against your own in a sweet Eskimo kiss, lips hovering over your mouth before finally stealing your breath away in the form of a romantic kiss. The sound that fluttered from your throat (a half-whine-half-moan) shocked even you and you found yourself winding your arms around his neck just to keep him from abandoning you.

"Baby, shhh, calm down," He began to plead, smoothing your hair down with the press of warm fingertips. You didn’t even realize you were sobbing until you saw the tear marks stain Jacky’s shirt. "This will be a good thing, okay? We’re going to have a baby, and it’ll be wonderful. I’m never going to leave your side throughout this whole experience. I promise you."

-

And for nine long months of new experiences, emotional breakthroughs, and terrible backache, Jacky was there by your side, just as he had promised. He was there through the simplest of tasks: painting your baby’s nursery and satisfying even the strangest of your cravings. And he was there for the hardships: your sheer anger when your band merch refused to fit over your pregnant belly and the morning sickness that occurred during the night.

But most importantly, he was there for you as soon as the earth-crippling pain of labor had kicked in. He kept so wonderfully calm despite how you screamed at the top of your lungs and blamed him for causing you so much distress. He helped you to his car without a moments delay, having pre-prepared a backpack full of hospital necessities in anticipation of the big day.

He made sure the journey to the hospital could be as quick and painless as possible, keeping the air conditioning in the car at a blissful rate and humming your favourite melodies to sooth your agony. You gripped his hand hard enough to leave lasting indents in his palm but he could not have cared less. He had you by his side, healthy and safe, and his beautiful child was on the way. What more could he ask for?

Nothing frightened him more than the seemingly never-ending wait of getting you admitted to your birthing room. He was confined to outside the door whilst Doctors checked your vitals and assured everything would run as smoothly as possible. He wrung out his hands until the knuckles cracked; chewed on his bottom lip hard enough to bruise. He promised he’d be with you every step of the way, and that’s exactly what he wanted.

After far too long in a realm he could only relate to limbo, Jacky was finally allowed by your side. Everything happened so suddenly then. He was thrust into an apron and mask, you squeezing his hand so much he was certain it would have gone completely numb. There was so much noise around him that it all blended together into a friendly hum. He could see the agony etched into every crevice of your face, causing his chest to throb with sympathy, and allowing him reason to hum and murmur words of love and comfort into your ear. Any and all movement trapezed together into a hazy blur and suddenly the room was bursting at the seems with life.

A soft cry echoed throughout bleached-white walls.

You sobbed a sigh of relief and pressed your head into Jacky’s trembling torso.

It had all been utterly worth it to hear four simple words.

"Congratulations. It’s a girl."