Let's Have A Baby

Part 9

You woke up the next morning to a gigantic arm locked around your middle and an unsettling feeling in your stomach. This was starting to happen more often lately, and it was the absolute worst. Because Shawn hadn't been around for it, he had no idea. You had to get up, and you had to get up now.

His grip was tight but not permanent, and you were able to squirm out of his firm grasp by shimmying down the bed.

Running to the washroom, you managed to shut the door behind you and surrender to the morning sickness.

It wasn't until you felt a cool draft in the room that you looked over to the door, shocked to see your terrified husband assessing the situation. He froze for a moment, eyes widening in worry, but was soon at your side, rubbing your back and pulling your hair away from your face.

"It's okay, love. You're okay," he kept reassuring as you got sicker and sicker. It usually only lasted a few minutes, but they were always the worst few minutes of the day.

You flushed the toilet, sitting down on the bathroom floor. Shawn was already up and in the kitchen, grabbing you a glass of water. He came rushing in, passing you the drink and setting himself down on the tile floor with you.

"I'm sorry," he said, looking down at your knees.

"What? Shawn, I'm sorry," you said, confused.

"No, babe. I did this to you. I'm sorry. I'm sorry you have to do this and I don't, and I'm sorry I haven't been here. I'm never leaving you again," he said, pulling you into a half-hug on the bathroom floor.

"Shawn, don't be ridiculous. This is our baby. She's mine, too," you reassured him, pushing out of his grip to clean yourself up.

"Do you need to go to bed, sit down, anything?" he asked you, leering over you like a helicopter parent.

"No, Shawn, I'm fine. I'm not actually sick. I'm just pregnant," you responded, giggling at the severity of his concern for your health.

Your first real ultrasound was scheduled for this week, as you were about seven weeks pregnant and the baby's heartbeat would now be audible. Shawn was so excited, and he brought it up what seemed like as often as every five minutes.

As Thursday rolled around, you woke up to the sound of clattering in the kitchen. Slowly getting up and pushing yourself out of bed, you threw on a large sleep shirt and wandered into the kitchen.

It was Shawn. He had his earphones in, Notion by Kings of Leon blaring, coffee in the pot and pancakes being made. Already in his workout clothes, you concluded that he must've already gone to the gym. It was seven in the morning.

Walking over to him, you stood behind him and wrapped your arms around his middle, patting his tummy and resting a cheek on his shoulder blade. Kissing the back of his shoulder, you loosened your grip as he turned around and tugged his earphones out.

"Morning sleepyhead," he said, smiling down at you and planting a quick kiss on your lips.

"Didn't know you were such a morning person," you said as you walked over to the fridge, opening it unsure of what you were looking for.

"Couldn't sleep. Got up at four and decided to just get going. I'm too excited," he smiled, energy radiating off of him. It was ultrasound day.

The two of you had some pancakes as Shawn had his coffee. You got ready to go, slipping into comfortable clothes as Shawn put on black skinnies and a button-up, because wtf else does he wear, ever? Shawn drove the two (three) of you to the doctor's office, a comforting hand on your thigh the entire ride. He was excited, but you were nervous.

"Baby, aren't you happy?" Shawn asked, looking at you while the Jeep was stopped at a red light. "Cheer up, sweets. We're gonna see and hear our baby. Our girl."

"I know, Shawn. I'm just, a little anxious? This makes it official, you know? Like, now you have to tell your whole family. And I have to tell my dad. And pretty soon I'm gonna be showing. It's just a lot, really fast." You responded, looking out the passenger window.

"Hey, look at me. Baby, please look at me," Shawn said, "We're gonna be fine. This is our family. Team Mendes?"

He'd always talked about how once you'd started a family, he wanted to make "Team Mendes" a thing. It was finally happening. Nothing made you happier.

"Team Mendes," you smiled back, interlacing your fingers with his. He kissed each of your knuckles as he drove into the parking lot, backing into a spot and coming around to your side to get the door for you.

"You ready?" he asked.

"Ready," you said, taking his hand and hopping out of the car.

Upon entering the office, you went up to the front desk and displayed your health card. Shawn came up behind you, adding, "We would be Mr. and Mrs. Mendes."

"Shawn, stop! I already gave my card. They know who I am," you said, embarrassed of his extroverted personality and high volume.

"Babe, I'm just excited," he said, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet.

The receptionist prompted you to have a seat and wait, and the two of you sat in the chairs in silence. Shawn's thumb rubbed circles on your thigh as you tried to calm yourself down, closing your eyes and getting lost in your own thoughts. You snapped back into reality when you heard your name being called.

Shawn bounced out of his seat, standing and holding out a hand for you. The doctor led you into one of the rooms, motioning for you to lay down as Shawn took a seat beside you. She asked a few questions, and you asked about ten for each one she asked. Shawn was beaming, tapping his foot on the floor in anticipation.

The ultrasound was fine, but the gel was a little cold. Squeezing Shawn's hand, you laid very still and waited for your doctor to confirm the weird noise you were hearing was your baby's heartbeat.

It was an ongoing sound, a distorted white noise. It was constant and quick, and you knew it was her. Shawn planted a kiss on your temple and pulled away, and you took notice of the small tears escaping the corners of his eyes. He was so happy.

"That's her?" he said, looking from you to your doctor, "That's our baby?"

"Well, I can't confirm if it is in fact a her, but yes, that's your baby," she said, wrapping up the process.

Shawn took a quick voice memo of the heartbeat, insisting it was just to remember this moment, but you knew he'd be using the same BPM for a song he was writing about all of this. Classic Shawn. So sentimental.

Once it was over, you walked back to the car as Shawn swung your right hand with his left. He was radiating pure bliss.

Once you were settled in the car, he immediately dialled his mom's number.

"Hey, mom. Yeah, it's over. It was amazing. It was the most beautiful sound I've ever heard in my life. See you soon," and he hung up, ignoring your persistence to talk to her as well.

"Babes, you know we're going over there. Can't you wait like, twenty minutes?" he looked over at you, giggling.

"What? Why are we going over now? It's a Thursday afternoon."

"Honey, it's a miracle I've kept this from my sister for seven weeks. We're telling her," he said, starting the car and pulling out of the spot.

You laughed, shaking your head. "Okay, Shawn. If your life really depends on it."

Once again his hand had found yours, and you could finally relax, knowing everything was going to be okay.