Two Pink Lines

29

She hasn't been sleeping well since she and FP first started fighting, having grown used to falling asleep beside him and the guilt of their argument eating away at her. But tonight is a night where she's unable to fall asleep for a different reason. There's a dull pain in her abdomen that seems to only be worsening as time passes.

Maybe it's just the way she's laying or the position the baby is in, or maybe it's something she ate, after all she doesn't exactly trust the mall's food court and that's what she and Jellybean had for dinner.

She's been tossing and turning for over an hour, the pain unrelenting. She grimaces as she pushes the covers off and slowly gets out of bed, making her way to the en-suite bathroom.

She leans over the sink and splashes some cold water on her face. Just as she's about to head back to bed a wave of pain, even worse than the ones before l, hits her like a semi truck and she curls her fingers around the countertop, hissing out in pain. It's clear to her now that whatever is going on isn't just discomfort from however she was laying.

She makes her way out of the bathroom and heads downstairs. She tip toes over to the couch and lightly shakes FP awake. "FP." She whispers, trying to keep her composure.

She shakes him again and he jumps as he awakens. "Alice?" He groggily questions.

"FP." Her voice breaks as she speaks his name and he's up in an instant, instantly sensing something is wrong.

"Al? Are you okay? Are the kids okay?"

"I think something's wrong." She shakily tells him, bursting into tears, he sits up, placing his hands on her hips to pull her close. "It feels like I'm having contractions but it's way too early for contractions. I'm scared, FP." Tears are rolling steadily down her cheeks and FP pulls her onto his lap and hugs her close, rubbing her back to comfort her.

"It's okay baby, I'm sure everything is just fine." He presses a kiss to her temple and she raises her head to look at him.

"You think so?"

He gives her a soft smile and strokes her cheek, wiping away her tears. "I know so. But just to be safe we're gonna go to the hospital. Okay?"

"What about the kids?"

"If they ask I'll tell them you were having stomach pains and we were worried it was your appendix. Chances are they won't even notice we're gone though, it's the middle of the night."

She nods with tear filled eyes. "I love you."

"I love you too." He tells her, giving her a smile. "Let's get going."

•

She's incredibly grateful for FP, because unlike her he's able to stay calm in stressful situations. She's sure he's not really as calm as he seems, that he's just acting like he is for her sake, and she's thankful for that. One of them needs to be level headed right now.

"How are you feeling, baby?" FP asks, stroking his thumb over her knuckles. He hasn't let go of her hand since she sat down in the exam room.

"A little uncomfortable but not as bad as before."

"That's good." He lifts his free hand to reach for her stomach but pauses. "Can I?"

She frowns, clearly her earlier motion of pushing him away from her is still weighing on his mind. "Yeah honey, of course. Give me your hand." She takes his hand in hers and guides it to where the baby is, pushing down lightly and earning a kick.

FP grins. "Well good to know our little nugget is still active."

The door to the room opens and her doctor walks in. "Miss Smith, Mr Jones. It says here that you're having some pain?"

Alice nods. "It feels like contractions. They've been going on for a few hours now and they just kept getting worse."

"Sounds like Braxton Hicks but I'll run some tests just to be sure."

"Braxton Hicks?" FP questions.

"They're false labour pains, nothing to worry about, though they can be quite uncomfortable and if you're unfamiliar with them it can cause some serious distress."

"I'm such an idiot," Alice whines. "I should've known they were Braxton Hicks."

"Don't beat yourself up, your last pregnancy was seventeen years ago, it's understandable that you would forget. Like I said though, we'll just do some tests, make sure everything's a-okay, and then you can head on home."

•

"I'm sorry," Alice apologizes as she and FP drive home. "I completely forgot about Braxton Hicks and what they feel like."

"Hey don't apologize," FP tells her. "I'm glad we went to get it checked out. It gave us both some peace of mind."

"I'm also sorry about how I've been acting lately."

"It wasn't just you, Al. I wasn't listening to you, and I was an asshole while you were trying to tell me how you feel. You don't deserve that."

"I should've been more understanding, I mean we did agree on you working more shifts. I'm just hormonal and I miss you while you're gone."

"And that's completely understandable, babe. Especially with how the kids have been acting lately, you shouldn't have to deal with them on your own. The last thing you need is any amount of unwarranted stress." He reaches his hand over to hold hers. "I'll have a talk with the kids, and I'll talk to Pop, see if he can give me day shifts instead."

"Honey you don't have to do that, I know Pop needs you at night."

"And I can still work some nights, but I miss spending time with you and getting to sleep beside you."

"Speaking of that, you're coming back to our room. I don't like sleeping without you."

He chuckles. "Fine by me. The couch really isn't that comfortable to sleep on."

"I'm sorry, I should've just talked it out with you that night instead of sending you to the couch."

"It's in the past, Al. I promise you, we're okay."

"I know, I just feel bad."

"You don't have to, honey. This argument was on both of us, I'm the one who's sorry, I was an ass."

"Yeah you kinda were." She teases, making him laugh. "I love you."

"I love you too, baby. And I promise you, next time we have a problem I'll listen to you fully, I won't get upset or snarky, we'll talk things out like adults."

"Deal." She smiles at him, giving his hand a squeeze. "You wanna hear about my day with Jellybean?"

He sighs loudly. "Gosh, yes please. I was hoping one of you would tell me eventually."