My eyes blinked open the next morning to Martha licking my face. I rolled over the other way to come face to face with Paul, who had woken from the shifting.
When his eyes opened completely, he smiled, gazing at me contentedly.
"Morning." He said groggily, rubbing the sleep away from his eyes.
"Morning." I smiled back, before a quick realization had hit me.
I winced, Paul immediately taking notice.
"I'm supposed to have a doctor's appointment." My eyes widened, not knowing the time as I forced myself up.
"I can drive, if you want." Paul offered getting up behind me, looking as if his head were still heavy as he stumbled over his feet, his eyes squinted from the sunlight pooling into the room.
"You don't have to do tha'." I shook my head meekly.
"I want to." He spoke sincerely with a nod, causing me to grin just as I had picked up the keys to my car from the coffee table.
"Alright," I smiled as Paul fixed his hair, "but it's important. We're supposed to find out the gender with an ultrasound today." I trailed off at my use of "we". I was ecstatic that I could actually learn the sex of the baby before it would be born, but would George be there?
"Really?" He paused, looking up at me, then down at my tummy.
I nodded putting my hands to my stomach.
His expression had a slight falter before realizing, "let me get changed quickly," he grinned up at me before hair ring to his room to get changed.
I sat back down on the couch, running my hand through my hair then down my face. Would George come to appointment? An overflow of thoughts hit me. I was so angry with him, though I felt like I needed him there. It was a feeling I couldn't shake despite how broken I was because of what he'd done.
And I was still wearing the clothes from the night before, what would he think of me showing up with Paul in the state I was in? He'd been aware of Paul's past feelings, but he, just like I had thought those feelings had gone away.
"Ready?" Paul asked coming out of his bedroom giddily, seeming more excited than I was.
"Yeah," I grinned as we exited the house, taking Paul's car to the clinic with the specialist for the ultrasounds which George had paid a significant amount considering it was somewhat new technology which not everyone could have the luxury to afford, and now I thought he wouldn't even be here to see it.
"Are you crying?" Paul sounded concerned as he took the key out of the ignition, realizing I had been sobbing silently, something I couldn't help but do.
"Everything's a mess Paul, Brian's gone, and I feel like with everything that's happened I couldn't even mourn properly, and with George and Maureen its just-" I trailed off, "It's all too much for me to take." I let out a whimper as I wiped the tears from underneath my eyes.
"Poppy, you're going to be a mum. Despite everything, that's your baby. You need to be there for her like Brian was for you. I know you can." He encourage, causing a small gin in awe to peak on my lips.
"You're right, I should be happy. I'm going to have a baby at the end of this." I smiled as we got out from the car.
Paul and I walked arm in arm into the clinic, finding ourselves in front of the door of the specialist. Paul opened the door for me and we had entered to go see the receptionist when I saw him.
George stood up from the chair he had been leaning forward on, elbows on his knees as he bit his nails, bouncing his knees nervously.
"George." My facial expression dropped at the sight of his helpless expression.
It hurt to see him this way, though I was no where the point of forgive and forget. It had said something about the commitment to the baby that he came, but it felt too soon.
His eyes looked over at Paul, then back to me, his ego seeming bruised slightly in a jealous way that Paul was with me instead of us going together.
Paul looked as shocked as I, unmoving like a deer in headlights.
"Mr and Mrs Harrison." The doctor called.
I looked over to Paul, silently pleading for him to come, I couldn't go in with George alone.
"I should stay here, really though, I think it should just be the baby's mum and dad." Paul explained sorrowfully, causing me to close my eyes in agony, taking a deep breath and following the nurse back to the room, George just behind me, neither of us daring to say the first word.
Once we had been left in the room alone to wait for the doctor, I sat on the examination table, avoiding George's eyes.
"Did you sleep with him?" George asked seeming to swallow his pride as he spoke.
My eyes rose to his immediately, seeing he was staring down at my hand that was gripping the edge of the examination table firmly, his focus particularly on my ring finger where my wedding ring rested.
"The simple fact that you asked me that shows how little you know me." I spoke defensively with a scoff, hurt by the accusation. We'd kissed, but to do something so serious like that, I couldn't fathom this was my George.
"Well?" He asked a bit more firmly.
"Oh wouldn't you like to know? Would that make you feel better for kissing your best mate's wife, what was it, twice?" I snapped back, seeming to take him aback.
The door swung open by the doctor, cutting the scene short.
After a few routine questions he had begun the process of the huge machine that would show us our baby.
I felt awful already for saying those things for George though the two of us were still steaming.
"Well, look at that." The doctor grinned to himself, George peaking over his shoulder with a wide grin at what was on the screen ad the doctor was pressing down on my tummy with a special tool to scan the baby.
"Well? I want to see." I grinned with a laugh excited at their happy expressions.
The doctor turned the screen to me, revealing what looked like screen static, the shape only somewhat possible to make out to me.
"So, what are we having?" I was excited seeing the screen moving, our baby really beginning to become real life for me in that moment.
"Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Harrison, you're having a baby boy." The doctor announced, George and looking at each other with a look of pure joy, troubles seeming to melt away in that moment.
"We're having a boy." George ran his hands through his hair, his mouth unable to shut as a wide grin had lightened his entire face.
George had really wanted a boy, and it was evident he looked so happy to be hearing the news.
"We are." I echoed, tears brimming my eyes.
