Take Me Back

17 - Niall

Over the next few days, Jenna still had whatever bug she had picked up. I was genuinely worried about her, so I booked her a doctor's appointment, which she abruptly cancelled.

"Leave the opening for somebody who really needs to be seen. I'll be fine, this will pass over in a couple of days". I shook my head at my stubborn wife, who would never take no for an answer. 

"If you aren't doing any better by Monday, I'm taking you in". Today was Thursday, so I still gave her time to heal herself. Jenna opened her mouth to talk, but I put a finger over her lips. "No debating over it. We're married now, which means that I get a say in these things. Now, take some medicine and get rested up. I can't stand seeing you this miserable". A soft smile took over her face as I brushed my hand on her forehead and up through her soft hair.

"Yeah. I love you". I returned the phrase and kissed her softly before she went back to bed.

As of now, my work schedule was pretty relaxed. I had to work on site Monday, Tuesday, and half of Wednesday. All the other days of the week I got to work from home, plus I got the weekends off. Owning a business was hard at first, but I was getting way better. On the other hand, Jenna was always at home. She got total freedom since she was an author. Her book was still selling at a steady rate, but had yet to make a breakthrough. She had started writing another novel, this one being a romance. 

"Hey, what are you doing?" A familiar voice asked as she wrapped her arms around my neck. She had been asleep for a couple of hours now before she woke up.

"Nothing, just hanging out"

"Good, I have to talk to you about something once I get this laundry started". She gestured to the basket sitting at her feet. I was confused, but nodded as she turned away to clean our clothes. Once she got back, she sat on the kitchen stool beside me.

"So, I'm thinking of taking up this new job offer I got". I was shocked, as she seemed to love what she was doing now.

"Really? What is it?"

"Contributor to The Times. I'd still be able to write my own novels, but that wouldn't be my main focus. But I'd be writing stories on whatever I see fit for them, and if they really like my stuff, they could make me a journalist"

"Well that's great, but I'm just shocked you're considering it. I never thought you'd want to step away from where you are now"

"Me neither, but my creative juices have run dry. I guess I just don't enjoy it like I used to"

"But what about the book you just published? I thought it was doing fine?"

"Let's face it: the book isn't doing well enough. With this, I get a steady workload and paycheck. And that's what we're gonna need". I tilted my head, stuck on her last statement. 

"What do you mean, we're gonna need it? Money isn't tight right now for the two of us"

"Yeah, exactly, for the two of us"

I still had zero clue what she was trying to say here. I pondered with myself for a moment, but I was stumped.

"What's going on?" I asked, worry prominent in my voice. Jenna stood up and walked away, going into our bedroom. I followed her, concerned on the way she was acting. She bent down over her nightstand, fumbling through the drawer like she was trying to find something.

"Petal, you're scaring me. What the hell is going on?" This time, my tone came off a little more harsh. She turned to give me a look before going back to her search. I hated this. Finally, she found whatever she was looking for and whipped around with it in her hands. She extended it out to me, and I grabbed whatever it was without even looking. I looked to the palm of my hand and saw a little white stick with a big blue plus sign in the middle of it. I looked up at her, then back down at it, repeating this until my brain finally processed it.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I'm pregnant"

I laughed and grabbed her by the waist, hoisting her up and spinning her around. Softly, I pushed her down on the bed and laid beside her. I turned over and lifted up her shirt, peppering tiny kisses on her belly.

"There's a little ankle biter in there? And it's ours?" She nodded once more, and I shook my head in disbelief. "I'm gonna be a dad?"

"You're gonna be world's greatest dad"

I stood and ran to the windows, flinging them open and looking down to see who was outside. I saw a few people, looking to be about our age, walking along the street, and I called down to them.

"Hey! Guess what? My wife's pregnant! I'm gonna be a dad!" Jenna pulled me back, and I assumed she was pretty embarrassed by my excitement.

"Niall, the whole complex can hear you shouting"

"Sorry love, but I don't really care. You're having my baby! Our baby!" She blushed and nodded. "Who else knows?"

"Monday, when I first got sick, I called up Harry and asked him to go to brunch with me while you were at work because I was having my suspicions. He went with me back here, I did a test, and we found out together. I made him swear to secrecy, so nobody else knows". I smiled, happy that it was our little secret for now.

"Can we tell our parents? Like, now? I don't know how long I can keep it in" She laughed and nodded, pulling out her phone to text Diana and John. She asked them to join a Zoom call with my parents, which they agreed to right away. We were very lucky that they got along so well.

"Hello, hello! Good to see my babies again!" Just her saying the word babies set me off. I tried to bite my tongue, but failed miserably.

"Jenna's pregnant! We're having a baby! You're gonna be grandparents!" Jenna cringed beside me from the level of my voice. I gushed, happy that I got to share the surprise. On the other end of the line, there was silence followed by laughter and tears.

"Are you joking? I get a grandbaby?" My mother asked, and I nodded my head like a kid who just got asked if they wanted ice cream.

"No, we're not kidding. I have an appointment with my OB next weekend, so we can see how far along I am. But yeah, we're having a baby!" Everybody cheered, overjoyed with the news. We talked for about another twenty minutes before hanging up.

"Take the job"

"What?"

"The Times. This little guy needs a roof over his head, and so do we. If it makes you happy, I know you'll be successful. Go get 'em, tiger". Jenna did a fake growl like a big cat before trotting back over to her laptop to email them back.

After dinner, I could tell she was tired, so I carried her over to our bed.

"You do realize I can still walk on my own, right? I'm not defenseless yet"

"I know, but you deserve the treatment either way" She smiled back at me, and her face lit up the sun.

"I love you. And so does our baby, even if he hasn't met us yet"

"Well, I love my wife and baby too"

a/n: i have baby fever even though i hate kids. ugh, this book is gonna be the death of me. anyways, make sure to vote and comment! love each and every one of you!