Ricky POV
Another few weeks had passed, it seemed like time was flying. Nini is now around 15 weeks pregnant and my anxiety continues to grow as each week goes by. We have another doctor's appointment tomorrow, and she and I are probably going to find out the gender. It makes me so excited, but it also makes me nervous because it makes it real. We wouldn't be calling the baby "it" anymore and it was just a little surreal. "Baby, what are you thinking about?" She asks me quietly from her spot on the bed. I look over and smile at her concern. "You. My thoughts are always consumed with you." She rolls her eyes playfully and opens her arms, beckoning me to come close to her. "Hey there" I say when she pulls my body close to her. "It wanted me to hug you" she says, pointing down to her stomach. "Oh really? Pinning it on our kid I see." She giggles and fixes herself so that our bodies are together. "What can I say. It loves you already." She shrugs and I feel my face get warm. "How do you know?" I whisper to her. I didn't mean to say it, and I wasn't trying to make everything about me, but at times I was worried that I might not be the best father. My own dad was half in and half out, and my mother wasn't ever a constant. I didn't have any good parental role models and that worried me just a little bit. I tried not to ever think too hard about it though, because my job is to make sure Nini is comfortable. For some reason though, I said it and I looked away from Nini before I could make eye contact with her. Her hand comes up to my face and softly turns my head so that I'm looking at her. She rubs my leg and just stares into my eyes for a second. I feel really vulnerable but she smiles her beautiful smile and my thoughts melt away. "I just know. Everyone who meets you falls in love with you immediately, and you actually made this human." I smile and press my hand to her swollen belly. "Yeah" I whisper and she presses her forehead against mine. "You know-" She starts to say but then she's cut off. She jerks back from me and looks frozen in shock. "Nins?" I ask and she breathes out. "Ricky, that felt weird." She says and I move into panic mode. I try to get up but she shakes her head and grabs my arm. "No no wait" She presses my hand against her stomach again and she sits there without saying anything. "Wha-" and then we feel a movement. She gasps. "That's the first time it's moved Ricky!" She squeals and I almost tackle her in a hug. "It felt so weird, like something was moving inside me. Isn't it really early for that to be happening?" I smile and laugh excitedly kissing along her face. "Is it early?" She thinks for a second. "I thought the book said 16 weeks so I guess it's not too early, but OH MY GOD RICKY!" She squeals and jumps me. I tighten my arms around her, my smile still growing. "See, I told you it already loved you." She whispers into my chest and I press my hands firmly against her back. "It was just trying to tell you too." She says and I blink rapidly to try and hold my emotion back. She looks up at me and I give her a smile and her eyes soften as she brings her hands up to my face. "This is so real." She whispers and I nod, moving to catch her lips. She smiles against me and deepens the kiss. "Hey you chill out in there." Nini pulls back, scolding her stomach. I start to laugh and I can't stop the ridiculous laughter that comes after she places a blanket over her stomach. "So it doesn't see anything." She's trying to kiss me but my laughter is too much and she pulls back, laughing with me. "This thing is high maintenance." She says. I bring her face close to mine and press a real kiss against her lips. "You're such a weirdo." I whisper to her and she leans into me. "I'm so exhausted" she mumbles against me. I tighten my arms and smile. "The kicking probably took all of your energy to do that." She groans. "Selfish" she mumbles and I laugh, maneuvering our bodies so that she can lay down next to me.
I run my fingertips through her hair and after a few minutes, I'm sure she's asleep so I move to pull her shirt up, scooting down to be at the same level as her belly. I check again to make sure that her breathing is steady, signaling to me that she's actually asleep and I touch her stomach slowly. "You know how excited you made your mom tonight?" I say really quietly against Nini's skin. "Well you should've seen how happy she was. Let's make an agreement. You and I need to make her that happy for the rest of her life." I run my hand over her stomach and while I'm not 100% sure, I feel a slight flutter against her belly. "Good. I love you, now go to sleep so you don't wake your mom." I scoot up so that I'm back by Nini and I hear a slight whisper. "Pinning waking me up on the kid huh?" She says quietly. I jump at her voice and I laugh lightly. "Go to sleep both of you." I say quietly and I kiss her temple. I see her smile in the dark when I move back to kiss her stomach. "I love you" we whisper to each other.
