BREAKING | rafe cameron

TWENTY FIVE

"Happy Birthday!" I woke Rafe up with a smile, "thank you, baby." He muttered into the pillow, "let me sleep, please." He added, already starting to snore again. I pressed a soft kiss to his forehead before getting out of bed, he was up late last night putting some of the nursery furniture together, I know, it's early. I'm only 20 weeks, but, we'd rather have it done now rather than rushing when she's almost here. I stood in front of Josie's future room, looking at the crib in the corner, the half assembled changing table on the floor, and I couldn't help but picture that this should've been Austin. I sighed at the thought, running a hand across my growing stomach, I was happy, definitely that we were having Josie, but that doesn't make the fact that this should've been Austin's any easier. I pushed the bad memories to the side, going to make Rafe breakfast for his birthday, coincidentally it landed on a Saturday so we were both off, but unfortunately everyone was going surfing, so we decided we were going to go baby shopping. Rafe was a mixture of excitement and dread, but I assured him, once we got the necessities I would let him pick out some fun cute stuff for Josie.

"You didn't have to do this." Rafe startled me as I was flipping a pancake, making it land half way outside of the pan, "see what you've done!" I joked, pointing to the pancake that was burning to the outside of the pan. I scraped it off and made another, "but yes, I did, it's your twentieth birthday!" I turned to him with a smile, putting my arms around his neck, "happy birthday." I pressed a sweet kiss to his lips. He sighed when I pulled away, but kept his arms around me as I walked back to the stove, this time successfully flipping a pancake. He placed his hands on my stomach, he does this at least twice a day, and when he thinks I'm sleeping, sometimes, he'll talk to my belly. It's the cutest thing ever. I bit my lip in excitement as I looked back at him, "please tell me you didn't get me anything? Growing a baby is gift enough." He whined, he's the worst at receiving gifts, he gets all awkward and quiet. "Babe, you'll love it, I promise. Go sit down, I'm almost done." I demanded to him with a smile, he put his hands up in surrender and walked away, not without giving my butt a light slap, I turned to him. "It's my birthday." He shrugged, men, I rolled my eyes.

"Here!" I rushed over with the wrapped present, sitting next to Rafe, we had eaten breakfast and gotten ready for the day but I demanded he open this before we go shopping. I sat next to him, my legs draped over his lap as he hesitantly unwrapped the gift, "you're scaring me." He muttered as I clapped my hands together. I got him one of those custom books, for daddy's and their daughters. They had a space in their for an insert, kind of like a dedicated to page. So I wrote in it, as if it was Josie.

"Happy birthday, daddy! I know I haven't seen you yet, but mommy always tells me how amazing you are. Sometimes I hear you talking to me when I'm trying to sleep, but that's okay, I'll stay awake just to listen to you! I can't wait to meet you!

Love, Josephine Paige"

Rafe looked at me with tears in his eyes, like everything just hit him like a ton of bricks. "You're so  fucking cute, you know that?" He leaned over to me, giving me tender kiss, pulling away and leaning down to my belly, placing a gentle kiss. "I can't wait to see you, princess." He whispered, I mentally awed at the sight in front of me. "You're such a good dad and she's not even here yet." I cried, Rafe looked at me and laughed, "isn't that a good thing? Why are you crying?" He wiped the tears from my face with his thumbs, "yes, of course it's good, but it's just so cute I can't help but cry." I laughed through my tears. He gave me another quick kiss, patting my thigh, "come on, if we don't go now, I'm not going." He laughed against my lips. I sighed, pulling away from him, "fine." "Oh who's the one that doesn't want to go shopping now?"

I laughed as Rafe stood, staring at a NoseFrida, trying to figure out what it is. "I can't figure it out, please just tell me." I dared him to guess without reading the back of the box. "This goes in the babies nose, and then you put this in your mouth and suck the snot out." I explained, he fake gagged, "that's disgusting." I laughed at his reaction, "believe me, if she can't breath because she's got snot in her nose, you'd do much worse than this." I assured him with a smile, "I don't know." He mumbled, I shot him a look, "yes you would."

Rafe was staring at the cart with wide eyes, a baby tub, a swing, a tummy time mat, that stuff alone filled most of the cart, "everything else we can just order online." I sighed, leaning against the cart, "my back is killing me." I mumbled, "I'm sorry, Charli." Rafe rubbed my lower back gently. I felt as if I could cry, it just felt that nice. I stood up with a half assed smile, "do you want to look at clothes?" He nodded almost instantly, like an excited little kid.

"We don't need anymore newborn sizes, get zero to three months, okay?" I called to Rafe from the other side of the rack, I had stocked up on a good amount of plain newborn onesies, knowing she would grow out of them so quickly. I pulled a couple of cute things off the rack, putting them in the cart, keeping in mind what time of year it will be when she's born, I'm due in January, so it will be pretty cold for the first few months of her life. My mind started going through the events coming up, thanksgiving, Christmas, then Josie. Wow. "Babe, yes or yes?" Rafe shook my from my thoughts. He was holding up a onesie set that said daddy's little princess, "yes, obviously." He threw it in the cart, "you okay?" He looked at me intently. "Yeah, I'm just tired, my feet hurt." I mumbled as he hugged me, "let's go home." He rubbed my back, "okay."

"Feel better yet?" Rafe was holding my hand as he drove down the road, "oh." I shot a hand to my stomach, "what?" Rafe panicked, glancing over at me. "I think I just felt her kick." I laughed at his wide eyes, "really?" He looked over to me again, "eyes on the road, Rafe!" I shrieked, he looked back in front of him, pulling over in the next clearing. "Right here." I mumbled putting his hand over the spot she was just kicking, I chewed my lip, she stopped kicking. "I'm sorry." I sighed at Rafe's disappointed face, "it's okay." She kicked when he spoke, "holy shit." He gasped, "does it hurt?" He mumbled, looking at my stomach in awe. "No, it does feel weird though." I answered, laughing as he jumped when she kicked right where his hand was. "That's so cool, this is my new favorite thing." Rafe spoke as he pulled back out onto the road, eager to get home.