Shourtney AU - Loving So Hard (Mature)

#85 - Morning Sickness

*Shayne*

As time passed I found myself waking up after Courtney far more often, finding her knelt beside the toilet. Whilst I was ecstatic that we were going to have a baby, I hated seeing her like this. It made me feel so useless, and I'd willingly trade roles in all of this in a heartbeat if I could, which of course I couldn't, adding to my self-diagnosed futility.

Some mornings were worse than others, and Courtney's hormones were all over the place, obviously through no fault of her own. I'd wake up to find her atop me, sobbing into my chest over the fact that she felt lonely, followed by her crying out for me whenever I left her by herself, even for a few seconds. But then on other days she'd scream at me for stupid stuff like breathing too loudly or invading her personal space when I would just be attempting to help, before she'd break down into tears yet again for being an asshole, and then entering this apologetic frenzy. I reassured her she never had to be sorry for anything, as she'd given my life meaning, and that always cheered her up.

Courtney's family were a great help, Kari especially, which wasn't a surprise. She was staying with us quite a lot now, with me and her exchanging 'shifts' to either stay with Courtney or go out to get groceries.

As her stomach grew, Courtney started to become more and more paranoid around me, worrying whether she looked good enough and so on. Even after my many attempts of trying to reassure her that I'll always love her no matter what, she still tied herself into knots about her increasing weight, amongst other things that come naturally with pregnancy.

The two of us visited the clinic as much as possible, ensuring we were fully aware of the baby's health and so on. Courtney persistently worried over every little thing, which was of course very understandable, and if we're being totally honest, I worried too. I couldn't show it though, I had to stay strong for my wife.

Another morning came, but this one was different. I wanted to try and cheer Courtney up in some way or another, and so I came up with a plan.

After deliberately setting my alarm to 4am, so I'd wake up before my wife for once, I found myself shuffling around the kitchen downstairs, making sure to stay as quiet as possible. I was making an omelette, consisting of cheese, rosemary, peppers, mushrooms and black pepper. A little bland but very nutritious and high in protein, and I had learnt from the clinic that eggs were especially good for you and the baby during pregnancy. Plus, Courtney always loved the omelettes I made anyway.

Just as I finished putting the used kitchen-ware in the dishwasher, wiping down the counters and setting the omelette on a plate accompanied by a glass of cold water, I heard Courtney crying my name from our bedroom.

I sprinted upstairs to find my wife weeping in bed, clutching a pillow and crying out for me. I enveloped her in a warm embrace, kissing her forehead and apologising for my absence.

"Where the hell were you!?" Courtney wailed, clinging onto me.

"I was just making you some breakfast, baby," I said quietly, continually kissing her cold skin.

Immediately, her saddened anger dissipated and it was replaced by overwhelming gratitude. She sobbed as she thanked me, apologising for getting annoyed, and as always I assured her she had nothing to be sorry for. With that, I returned downstairs to retrieve her omelette, before bringing it back up along with the cold glass of water, and she cried again, informing me that I was being 'too nice.'

"Don't be ridiculous honey, you're carrying our baby for Christ's sakes!" I laughed.

I was rewarded with that lilting giggle, and she began feasting on the omelette. After devouring it in a matter of seconds, she thanked me once again and began to passionately kiss me. I grinned against her lips, unable to escape her irresistibility, however, moments later she told me her wave of morning sickness was coming on.

After gently guiding her to the bathroom whilst clutching her hand, I massaged her shoulders and back whilst she threw up in the toilet, and I also held her hair back for her.

"You shouldn't have to do this, I'm disgusting," Courtney groaned, sitting against the wall and holding my hands.

I smiled warmly, "In sickness and in health, remember? I love doing this, Court. I love taking care of you."

"You do?" Courtney asked with a small smile.

I nodded sincerely, "Of course I do. I love you."

"I love you too," she grinned with teary eyes.

"And you're certainly not disgusting," I added.

"Pfft," was Courtney's immediate response, "How are you gonna want me? I'm constantly throwing up. I'm getting fatter by the day. I'm sweating my ass off 24/7. That's just a few 'perks of pregnancy,'" my wife joked with a lacklustre laugh.

I frowned, "I'll never not want you, Courtney. No matter what, you're always beautiful in my eyes, and you will forever be my Courtney."

Once again her mood snapped back to one of happiness and gratitude, and she kissed me lightly as we sat on the tiled bathroom floor, "And you'll always be my Shayne," she whispered.

Our kiss shaped into conjoined smirks, and as it deepened I found myself entranced by my wife once more, adding to the infinite list of occasions in which that had happened, further developing our internal 'Shourtney Mausoleum' of memories.

"I love you," she whimpered against my lips.

I cupped my wife's cheeks gently yet protectively, "I love you too."