Normal //Ryan Metzger

33: three more

   "You okay?" Ryan said to me, waking me up in the pitch black room. I opened my eyes and could only process shapes around the room as my eyes adjusted. I looked over to him and his face was extremely close to mine, making me jump a little.
   "Jesus, Ryan," I said groaning, flipping over so I could see him better. I struggled to with the weight on my stomach. "What's wrong?"
   "Nothing," He said snapping out of whatever trance he was in. "I thought you said something about the baby and I-"
   "Ryan," I said, cupping his cheek with my palm in a loving way. "I'm fine. We're fine."
   "I know," he said looking at me in a loving way. "I'm just worried, y'know?"
   "I know, love, but there isn't any need to," I said to him. "Now we need some sleep, okay? Got a big day tomorrow with the show and everything."
   He smiled at me and leaned in for another goodnight kiss.
   I smiled and watched him flip back over, hearing his breathing get heavier and heavier as he fell back into his sleep, almost drooling on his pillow.
   When I knew he was fully asleep, I snuck out of bed and moved across the hall into what used to be Jack's bedroom. The white walls were now covered in wall decor and a crib was pushed in the corner. I walked over to the crib and picked up the teddy bear Ryan's mom gave us when we told his parents.

    "This," She said with tears stinging at her eyes. "Was Ryan's. Boy never let that thing out of his sight."
   I took the bear in my hands as we crouched in the storage closet of their apartment.
   "Ryan actually gave Jack that when he was born, kind of as a peace offering of 'if you would stop screaming' kind of thing." She laughed at the memory, taking it in like it happened yesterday.
   "Thank you so much," I said to her, resting my hand on hers. "I'm sure it'll love it just like it's dad."
   "I can't believe my baby is having a baby," she said with a huge smile, the one that reflected Ryan's perfectly.
    "I can't either," I said and the moment was interrupted by the front door of the apartment opening and Gary's voice echoing throughout the apartment with a 'hello'.
   "Oh good," She said standing up in the closet. "Gary will die at the news."
   We left the closet and met with Ryan and Gary in the living room where Ryan was sitting on the couch.
   "What are you two doing over here?" He asked, taking his coat and scarf off and hung it on the rack by the door.
   "Well we had a question for you dad," Ryan said, smiling as he put his arm around me. "We wanted to know if you preferred to be called grandpa or papaw."
    Gary stopped hanging his scarf on the wall and turned to the two of us. He stared at us as if not believing what Ryan had said.
   "You're joking," He said laughing as he met us in the living room. I grabbed the ultrasound photos to prove him wrong.
   "Youre? What?" Gary yelled in an excited way, hugging me and Ryan in a group hug. "No way!"
   "Yep!" Ryan smiled, looking down at me. "Your reaction beat mom's by a landslide."
   "What was yours?" He asked, turning to his wife.
   "I said 'huh, I always thought Adam would be the first' I didn't know what else to say." She laughed. "But I gave Lauren that teddy bear Ryan used to lose in Central Park all of the time."
    "Beary ?" Ryan and Gary said at the same time. This made me chuckle because of how much they looked alike and their voices matched perfectly.
    "Yeah," I said holding the bear in my hands. "Thought it'd go perfect in the nursery."

   I stood at the crib, holding the old bear in my hands and remembered telling Ryan's parents just six month prior to today.
   "You're going to love it out here," I whispered into the dark. "You're so lucky that you have so many people that love you already, especially your dad."
   I felt myself tearing up as I spoke, trying to keep my voice down to not wake Ryan in the other room.
   "Your dad is your number one fan and always will be," I said smiling. "You're going to be so spoiled by that man, you have no idea. You'll see so many cities and opportunities that you'll brag to all of your friends at school. You'll brag that your dad travels the world performing and you'll brag about how much he loves you."
   I smiled, but my smile faded as reality of my situation set in as I talked into the dark.
   "Just three more months," I said, gripping onto the bear. "Just last three more months and you're golden, okay? Promise me three more months."
   I set the bear back into the crib and turned around to see Ryan leaning against the door to the nursery with his hands in the pockets of his joggers.
   "See you couldn't sleep," he said walking over to me. He wrapped his around around my shoulder and hugged me from behind.
   "Just got worried, that's all," I said looking up at him.
    "From the words of my amazing, talented, beautiful, pregnant wife? 'There isn't any need to worry', right?"
    "I know," I said looking down. I couldn't even see my feet anymore, just my shirt. "I'm just afraid they're gonna tell us something tomorrow and we have to cancel everything."
   "Don't say that," he said, kissing the exposed skin in between my shoulder and neck. "One day at a time, remember?"
   "One day at a time," I said, staring at the teddy bear sitting upright in the corner of the crib.
*
    "Hi Mr. and Mrs. Metzger, How is everything?" Our doctor said walking into the exam room we were sitting in. Ryan and I responded with the same good but Jack in the corner was more excited than us.
   "We are great!" Jack said, slapping his thighs as he sat in a chair in the corner. We all three looked at him and he shrunk down. "What? I'm excited to see if I'm having a niece or nephew."
    "I'm guessing he is coordinating the gender reveal?" The doctor asked laughing, preparing for the ultrasound.
   "Yep," Jack answered for us again, "we are gonna announce it at our show tonight in front of the fans. They don't even know she's-oh my gosh look at it!"
   Jack was gushing over the ultrasound of the baby now, his hands covering his gaping mouth.
   "Well, they look like a baby now," the doctor laughed. "Heartbeat is good, scans are good. They're kicking the amount of times a day, correct?"
    "Even more that that," Ryan smiled, squeezing my hand three times.
    "Well, you're officially in your third trimester," She doctor said, taking her gloves off and printing out the photos of our baby. "You're in the home stretch. Since you're still at high risk we ask that bed rest is happening throughout the majority of the day and you're thinking happy thoughts okay?"
    I nodded and smiled as she wrote something down on a piece of paper out of Ryan and I'd view. She handed Jack the piece of paper and he looked at it.
   "Yes!" He said in excitement but died down once he realized he was only one of two people who knew. "Sorry."
   "You've got a happy and healthy baby," She said, handing the pictures to us. "Just three more months."
   "One day at a time," Ryan whispered to me, kissing the top of my head again.
*
   "Emily, you better let me see that ring!" I said running up to her when I saw her and Adam at the venue. She blushed and held up her left hand to show the sparkling engagement ring that Adam had given to her just the night before. "It's so beautiful!"
   "I know!" She smiled, taking in the ring. "It feels so good to finally be engaged. And it took a certain someone a long time to do it."
    "Hey good things come to those who wait," Adam laughed, pulling his bass out from it's case.
   She laughed and gave him a kiss on the cheek, causing Adam to blush.
   "You guys are so cute," Jack said. "It's gross."
   "Oh you're just mad your girlfriend went to Ohio for two weeks," Emily laughed, holding on to Adam's arm.
   "The apartment is scary when you're alone, okay?" He said in his defense. "If Ryan and Lauren didn't redo my room, I'd be there now."
   "Sorry we are kind of having a human in the next three months?" Ryan said confused and in a sarcastic way. He came over to me and put his arm around me.
   "Speaking of," Jack said with a devilish grin. "I think y'all will like the way I set this up."
    "Oh gosh, knowing Jack he will send off firecrackers in the auditorium.
     "Just wait," Jack said grabbing his microphone from someone who threw it towards him. "Now cmon, we've got a show to do."
   The guys ran out onto the stage as the crowd chanted AJR over and over. When the purple lights came up, the crowd's chanting turned into cheering.
   Song after song, the boys crushes the set with New York shows being their favorites. Ryan danced around the stage as he performed while the baby was kicking, dancing to the music too.
    "Okay guys," Jack said into his microphone. "We've got a special little treat for everyone tonight."
   The crowd cheered as Emily and I stood off on  the right side of the stage. Jack talked the crowd up about Ryan and I, and Ryan wore a big smile the whole time.
    "If I may ask, can the Lauren Pearson Metzger please join us on stage?" Jack said into the mic and I walked out on stage, meeting with Ryan. Ryan and I held hands and walked to the center of the stage where Jack was. Adam met too and we all crowded together.
   "So if you can't tell, Lauren is seven months pregnant," Jack said to the crowd and they cheered, causing me to blush. "And they just opted to find out the gender of the baby, why I have no idea."
    Ryan and I laughed at his jokes as he continued. Ryan planted a small kiss on my forehead and the whole crowd erupted with an 'aww'.
   "So, Ryan, If you could join your amazing brothers, the uncles to your child, over by the drums please?" Jack said and they all walked over to the 'follow the click' drums standing on drum stands.
    The band started playing their remix and when it got to the part where the drums were put into play, the whole stage lit up with blue. Ryan stopped playing and dropped his drumstick, meeting me in the middle with a hug as he spun me around.
   "A boy," he whispered to me over the loud music.
   "A boy," I repeated back, imagining the little guy. My tears started tearing up as the crowd cheered and went nuts.
    I was so overwhelmed at the immense love in the auditorium that I couldn't help but she's the tears I had been holding back. I looked at Ryan who had the biggest smile on his face, one that wasn't coming off any time soon.
   "We are AJR," Jack said into his microphone. "Goodnight!"
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-wow I hate this chapter.