A Falice Story

36. Deck the Halls

[Two Weeks Later]

FP's POV

"Hey--Al," I softly say as she wakes up. 

She smiles, crinkling her nose, "Hi, baby."

"Did you have a good nap?" I run my hand through her hair with a smile.

She nods, "It was nice. Little peanut was behaving herself."

I kiss her and then lean down and kiss the top of her belly. "Well, I hate dragging you out of bed--but the kids have something they want to show you."

"What?" she asks with a confused smile.

"Yeah--come on, honey."

I pick her up bridal style and carry her down the stairs. She's been feeling pretty shitty lately, on top of being upset that she can't decorate for Christmas in the big "Alice way" she normally does--which is why she's going to love this surprise.

"Shut your eyes."

"Forsythe--"

"Shut your eyes!"

She sighs, "Fine. They're shut."

I set her down gently in the living room. "Okay, babe. Open your eyes!"

Her blue eyes flutter open, and her jaw drops in shock. The whole downstairs is decorated to the nines. A large, freshly cut Christmas tree stands in all its glory, with shiny gold and silver ornaments, and sparkly white lights adorning it. The mantle is done up with crystal lights and the stockings are hung in their rightful places. 

"You guys!" she exclaims, looking to the three kids--who even put a santa hat on Hotdog. 

"Do you love it?!" JB asks.

Alice goes over to her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head, "I love it, sweetheart." She moves to Betty, who was the mastermind behind all of it. "I can't believe you did this for me."

"Well, we know how much decorating for Christmas means to you, and with the baby coming at any time, we knew you wouldn't have time or energy to do this yourself," Betty says with a smile.

"You did an amazing job."

"Yeah, and at what cost!" Jughead says, raising up his right hand, that has been wrapped up with gauze bandages.

Betty and JB roll their eyes. "What happened to your hand?" Alice asks him.

"My mother, who claims she is incredibly skilled out in the woods, thought that my hand was a part of the tree trunk..."

Gladys pops her head out from the kitchen, "How many times do I have to say, IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!!" 

She walks toward us, cracking open a diet coke, "I am very skilled out in the woods for your information. You'd think he'd have moved his hand off the tree trunk when I started cutting but nooooo--and for the record I barely nicked him!"

Jughead shakes his head with a smirk and grabs a decorative pillow off of the couch and smacks her with it. Gladys grunts as it hits her and without batting an eye pulls another pillow off the couch smacking Jughead with it. 

The pillow fight ensues, while my ex-wife decides her best move is to take out our son. He's wiped out on the floor while she continues hitting him with the pillow, both of them laughing like idiots.

"She's not touching my baby," Alice says bluntly. 

I laugh and pull her close, pressing a quick kiss to her lips. 

"Why are you like this?!" Jughead asks her, between laughter. "JB help me out!" 

JB climbs on top of her mother, getting involved in the pillow fight. 

"Alright, alright--truce!" Gladys says after realizing her two kids can easily overpower her. 

"Like I said--not touching my baby," Alice reiterates, before disappearing into the kitchen.

Gladys sits up, fixing her hair, "Hey, I heard that!"

_________________

Alice's POV

Gladys took Betty, Jughead and JB snowboarding and skiing that afternoon, leaving FP and I some much needed alone time. Before they left, I forced her to listen to my 'safety talk' and she swore to me that nothing would happen.

"What do you want to do babe?" FP asks, wrapping his arms around me from behind, resting his hands at the top of my baby bump.

"Mmmhmm just be with you," I purr, leaning back to rest my head against his chest. 

I can tell he's smiling at that. He runs his hands up and down my sides and I wince, feeling a sharp pain in my lower back. "Oh, God--did I hurt you Alice?" 

I turn around to face him, "No, honey, of course not. I just felt a little pain in my back--no big deal."

"Do you want a massage?" 

I nod, and he takes my hand, leading me upstairs to our bedroom. FP flips on the TV and climbs onto our bed, his back resting against the headboard. I sit in front of him and he starts massaging my back--hitting all the right places.

I few minutes go by and I get another pain in my back, along with an intense burning pain in my lower abdomen. "Owwww--shit!" I exclaim, doubling over.

"Al? Are you okay?" FP asks, his tone anxious.

I take a couple of deep breaths, and turn around to face him. "FP--"

"Babe?"

"It's time."

His face goes absolutely pale and I grab his hand as I feel another contraction hit. "Ouuuuch--son of a bit--" 

"Oh my god--oh my god--Alice--you're in labor?!!"

I look up at him with an irritated expression, "No babe, I'm just screaming in pain as a practice run for you--WHAT THE HELL DOES IT LOOK LIKE I'M DOING?!" 

"Okay, it's okay, honey--just breathe," he soothes, climbing off the bed and grabbing his phone to call the hospital.

I get up in between contractions and grab the rest of what I needed to take to the hospital with me. Luckily, we were packed and ready to go weeks ago. FP gets off the phone with the hospital and grabs the bags, rushing them out to the car. 

He comes back inside and helps me into the car, while I have another painful contraction. I try to get as comfortable as possible, but at this point, sitting on a seat full of nails would be more comfortable. 

FP peels out of our driveway, one hand on the wheel and his other hand being death gripped by yours truly. When the contraction passes, I'm finally able to breathe again and I release the grip I have on his hand. 

He rubs my belly gently, "Can you believe she's going to be here soon?" his voice full of tenderness as he speaks, "God--I can't wait to meet her."

I smile, looking over at him, "I know. I'm a little scared. I can't believe it's finally happening."

"Everything's going to be just fine, Al."

I join my hand where his is, still resting on my bump, "I don't know..."

He reaches over and brings my hand to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss to it, "Trust me, babe. It's going to be perfect--and she's going to be perfect."