One Night...

Chapter 29

That night, Scarlett and Andrew went to dinner with his mom and her dad at a cozy seafood restaurant in Santa Monica. Everything went great, and Scarlett was a little surprised to see how relaxed her father had become. His demeanor had changed from earlier that morning when he was skeptical and terse and not all that warm to Andrew. She noticed the two men talking easily about sports, New York, and Scarlett's brothers. It was nice, and Scarlett couldn't help but wonder what had changed. The four chatted a lot about the new baby and the excitement she would bring to the family, and Andrew asked John questions about what Scarlett had been like as a child, with John sharing stories about his princess with the proud grin anyone would expect from a father. Scarlett felt relieved that everyone seemed to be getting along so well.

John Ubered back to his hotel and Andrew and Scarlett brought Kara to hers. Andrew started to drive Scarlett to her apartment, but she told him to take her to his instead. He smiled brightly, always glad to have his girl next to him when he slept. As they made their way to Andrew's room, Scarlett started to feel sharp pains in her abdomen.

"Oh, God! Oww!! What the hell?" Scarlett said, clutching the side of her stomach right underneath her rib cage, and Andrew's eyes grew wide as he ushered her to sit on his bed with her feet up.

"Are you OK baby? What's wrong, are you in pain?" he asked her, a terrified look in his eyes. She put her head back on the pillow, legs stretched out in front of her, and then she clutched her stomach, feeling pain radiating through her. Andrew reached down to pull off her shoes, and then she curled on her side, still holding onto her stomach. "Oh gosh, this hurts so bad, Andrew," she cried out softly, her voice barely above a whisper, and Andrew stroked her hair nervously. "Baby, do we need to call you doctor?" he asked, obviously freaked out. She shook her head, pausing for a few minutes to collect herself. "I think it's just Braxton Hicks contractions, I read about them online. I guess this could start to happen as I get closer to the due date." She grimaced a little but noticed she was starting to feel better.

"I'm OK, baby," she said to Andrew, patting his forearm as he perched on the side of the bed, and she knew how worried he was for her. "I'm alright, don't worry. I think this is normal," she said softly, and just as quickly as the pain came, it seemed to fade away. Andrew breathed a sigh of relief. "I guess this is how I'm gonna be for the next few weeks, huh? Jittery and freaked out and constantly worried about you." He smiled ruefully, thinking about how nervous he was. Scarlett smiled weakly, and she took his hand in hers. "Honestly, Andrew, I think this is how you're going to be for the next 18 years, at least," she said with a sly smile, and Andrew laughed in spite of himself.

Scarlett patted the spot on the bed next to her, gesturing for Andrew to join her, and he kicked off his shoes, laying down next to her and taking her in his arms. Scarlett always felt so safe in Andrew's arms. He had a lot of amazing qualities, but by far his best was the way he made Scarlett feel like the most important person on the planet. He held her gently as she relaxed into his chest, sighing a little as she was still rattled from the pain she'd felt.

"Tonight was OK, huh?" she asked quietly, and Andrew nodded. "Yeah, I think it went about as well as it could have. We're lucky, we both have decent families," he said, and Scarlett smiled. "I hope my dad wasn't too hard on you Andrew. I wasn't expecting him to be so stern and everything. He's not usually like that, I swear. I'm daddy's little girl through and through," she said, hoping he wasn't freaked out. Andrew shook his head. "Your dad is a good guy, he loves you with all his heart Scar. He's protective, and I get that. If some idiot YouTuber tries to mess with the Bean, I'm going to knock his lights out," he said with a laugh, and Scarlett laughed too. "No, but seriously, I think your dad just wants to look out for you. We talked a lot at the beach today, and I think we came to an understanding." Scarlett looked up into Andrew's soft brown eyes, smiling at him as he stroked her hair.