"There we go" I spoke in the tone of a job well done, finishing up tying her laces. "Do you need to pee before we go?" I asked her, helping her up off the chair near her front door.

"No, I think I'm good. I just need to grab my water bottle and crackers" Leighton said, wandering over towards her kitchen island. "Alrighty, I'm ready!" She grinned, thanking me for the door I held open for her.

"So, are you ready for a you and me day?" I asked her, walking down her apartment hallway.

"Um.. I think so? Please remember I'm heavily pregnant and will need to take breaks often" She mentioned, clicking the elevator button.

"We aren't doing anything extravagant. I thought we could maybe go see that movie you wanted to see with Lexi? You said Lexi was gonna go with her boyfriend, Macy and Molly, right?" I asked her, making sure I wasn't ruining possible sister bonding.

"Yeah. Lexi asked if Landon and Finley wanted to go, but they said no. I feel bad for the poor boy who gets stuck with the girls" She giggled and I smiled, letting her exit the elevator first. "So, we are seeing the Sonic movie? We're going to be surrounded by children" Leigh brought up, walking in front of me towards my car.

"It's 12:30, it shouldn't be too bad. We could always see something else instead? Isn't that romcom you wanted to see in the theater now?" I asked, opening her car door for her so I could help her get into my low car.

"Your car is going to put me into labor" Leigh teased, buckling her seatbelt, letting me shut the door.

Once we were out on the road, Leighton sang along to the radio, a smile on her face. "I can't believe we are going to go see Sonic. It better be good. God, imma have to go to bad kids movies when the little one is older" Leighton groaned.

"Do you already know your dos and don'ts?" I asked and she gave me a weird look. "What do you mean?"

"Like your rules. My mom didn't let us go to movie theaters till we were old enough not to be a nuisance" I told her and she grinned at me, a gleam in her eye.

"Well I want them to be independent.. so I was researching how to do that ya know? So rules.. I don't know.. but ideas of raising them? Gabe and I have talked about"

"Yeah? Like what?"

"Well like... I don't want my baby's ears pierced. Male or Female. I want them to be old enough to make that choice. I believe body altering decisions should be made by the person who owns the body. I want my child mature enough to make that choice. I'm thinking middle school or high school. How old were you when you got your piercings?" She asked, turning the conversation back onto me.

"Around 20 I think? I moved out of my house, out here to LA, and kind of made some life choices then. My mom didn't know about the piercings or the tattoos" I laughed, remembering the half ass lecture she gave me, knowing she couldn't do anything about it.

"Speaking of, do you like your new tattoo? You're working on the sleeve right?" She asked and I nodded.

We ended up talking about tattoos for a while, and I told her the artists I used, letting her stalk them online. She mentioned how once the baby was born, she had a few in mind that she wanted to get.

"You know, you're eventually going to run out of skin" I joked, glancing over at her, just to see her shake her head.

"I keep them pretty small"

"Says the girl with a full sleeve, a hand tattoo and her foot covered" I teased, laughing a little.

"Hey! They were done gradually-" She defended herself and I grinned, looking over at her, shaking my head.

"You're twenty one" I laughed, cutting her off.

"And my other ones are small. Like the one on my neck. On my side. The arm one was my only big one, but I love it" she smiled at her tattoo, her fingers tracing the rose on her right hand.

"You know.... You've never told me why you got a sleeve" I brought up, getting curious.

"Well I've always loved the way they look... they all mean something"

"Are you going to do a left sleeve?" I asked her, curious to know how much she planned to change.

"I don't think so. I like the way it looks. I personally think having two sleeves looks like a lot. I don't like neck and chest tattoos either." She rambled, but I cut her off. "You literally have a neck tattoo"

"Nooo! I have a tattoo behind my ear. I don't like them when it's like down the front or the side. I just don't like how they look. I don't mind chest tattoos on men, but I personally dislike them on females. I don't think I'd look good with a chest tattoo" She rambled, a small smile staying on my face.

"I think you'd look hot with a chest tattoo. I have a chest tattoo" I smirked and her eyes widened.

"Oh shit! You do! I'm sorry! Isn't yours small though?" She asked and I nodded.

"I'd show you if I wasn't driving. Just Google me shirtless" I smirked and she scoffed. "I absolutely will not!"

"Why?" I laughed and I saw her glare at me.

"Because I will not have that in my recent search history!"

"Why?" I laughed again and she groaned.

"Wasn't googling your Instagram bad enough?"

"How- what?" I laughed, confused, and she groaned.

"Fine I'll Google it" she grumbled, pulling out her phone.

"Damn, didn't mean to twist your arm" I smirked at her and she rolled her eyes, a slight smile making its way on her face.

"Oh, that's not bad. I kinda like it. It's kinda hot. I told you I liked them on men!"

"Hot huh?" I smirked, glancing at her and she had a silly smile on her face, rolling her eyes.

~

"I'm never taking you to the movies again" I declared, slightly joking as we left the theater, and her jaw dropped. "What? Why?!"

"The amount of times you got up to pee-"

"You gave me a large soda, and I'm 33 weeks pregnant! What did you expect?!"

"I'm sorry" I laughed and she huffed, her hands cradling her bump. "You know what we haven't done in a while? Used the doppler" I spoke without thinking, my eyes widening when my brain registered what I just said.

"Yeah I haven't used that with you in a while. I used it a few weeks ago with Aaliyah and River. I love hearing the heartbeat. We can use it when we go home. Is that where we're headed now?" She asked, not at all seeming phased by my accidental statement. I just shook my head, praying to God that she wouldn't think anything of it. "Oh.. where are we going?"

"I thought you could pick? Any ideas?"

"Um... well it's October.... Is there anything fun we could do? What if we got pumpkin spice lattes?"

"What are we, basic white bitches?" I asked and she smirked, replying, "If the shoe fits" which made me playfully roll my eyes.

"Is that what you really want? Does it have caffeine in it?" I asked, watching her pull her phone out.

"Erm....... It does. A tall has about a shot of espresso in it"

"Yeah no. You're annoying as it is" I laughed and she softly smacked my arm that was resting on the console.

"That's not that much! What if we both got smalls? We could take a cute selfie!" She squealed and on the outside I acted annoyed, but on the inside I found it adorable.

The idea of having a photo of both of us holding mini pumpkin spice lattes in my photo album on my phone made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

It was so weird to go from wanting nothing to do with her, to wanting to make all kinds of memories with her.

It reminded me a lot of when Sam and I first started our career, and how excited we were to look back on all of this when we were older.

~

"I love that photo. We need to do an updated one when the little one arrives" Leigh smiled, her hand rubbing her stomach.

"Yeah, that would be cute. I don't think you're going to get a PSL in December though. Are you ready for your baby?" I asked her, moving the straw between the cup, causing Leighton to wince from the squeaking sound.

"I don't think you're ever ready. I think you'll hit this point where you're as ready as you'll ever be... but I don't think you ever hit the point where you're fully prepared, and ready to go. I've actually been watching a lot of "What's in my hospital bag" and OBGYN nurses talking about what to bring, so that's been helpful. He helped me figure out my birth plan, and helped me research all the medical stuff. But with Gabriel is starting online class courses and online video chats with his professors next week, so he's been a little preoccupied-"

"-So like.. Is he being helpful at all during this pregnancy?" I questioned, cutting her off. The moment Leigh glared at me, I mentally rolled my eyes.

"Why do you hate him so much?"

"I don't hate him... just... I think you deserve more attention. You're carrying his baby after all. If that was my baby, I wouldn't want to leave you alone"

"Colby, we needed time apart. It was a fresh break up. There are a lot of things to take in consideration on both ends. One thing he expressed to me was how he has to sit back and watch other people fawn over his baby. I asked for space, and he respected that. It also means though, that every time I'm with someone else, and they get to feel my belly, or hear the heartbeat... hell, Kat and I buying baby clothes.. He's missing out. It's not that he's choosing to not be around... but to heal, you need space. It's hard for both parties. It's really fucking hard to be apart. We talk a lot over text, and he'll come over and help me with my labor and delivery stretches... he's doing his best. It's hard to be in the predicament we are in. Stop judging him, and give him a break"

"I wasn't judging him-"

"Yes you were"

"No I wasn't"

"Colby"

"Okay, fine, I was. But he's never around" I muttered and she sighed, leaning back against the metal chair.

"We're doing our best. The same way you and I are growing and working on changing our ways.. So is Gabriel and I. It's a lot of life changes at the moment, and we are all doing our best"

We sat in silence for a moment, her phone dinging breaking up the semi awkward tension.

"OOO" She hummed in excitement, myself looking up at her out of curiosity.

"Hm?"

"How do you feel about hanging out with my family tonight? Do you still have plans with Brennen?" She asked and I shook my head.

"What are you guys doing?"

"Um, Lexi wants to keep up with our Halloween tradition and go pumpkin picking-"

"It's literally the third week of October. Aren't you supposed to do it like the week of Halloween?"

"Yeah, but we paint them! I'm thankful because I think if I saw, let alone touched pumpkin guts, you'd be seeing my guts" She giggled and then gagged, holding her hand to her mouth. "I thought about the guts" She told me, gagging again and I just quietly laughed, watching her get herself under control.

"What do ya think?" She asked, her thumbs getting ready to text back a reply.

"What time?"

"Um... I can ask. I'm assuming before dinner? Normally we all go and pick out pumpkins, and then Lexi makes us go to Olive Garden. Don't tell my Nonno or he'd have our heads on a platter" She giggled

~

"I thought we were going to meet up with my family? Why are we at Target?" I asked, now understanding why Leighton wanted to drive.

"Well for starters, Cynthia's birthday is tomorrow, and I need to get her a gift" Leighton stated, waddling towards the women's clothing section.

We wandered for a while, picking out a few things before finding ourselves in the baby section.

"Can you believe I'm going to have one of these? Like... a baby fits in this Colby. Oh my god, look at the little shoes" She cooed, holding up baby converses.

"Why do babies even need shoes? If anything, they need knee pads" I smirked and she laughed.

"What, you want my little one crawling around your house with little hockey knee pads?"

"No one said it had to be hockey"

"Do I dare get baby converses? I still need to pay rent this week" She pouted, holding the tiny black shoes in her hand.

"Do you really want them?" I asked and she nodded.

"Alright, hand them over" I held my hand out and she looked at me weird.

"Why?"

"I'll buy them for you"

"You don't have to do that!" She quickly replied, holding the shoes closer to her chest.

"It's not biggie, really. My phone bill costs more than those" I chuckled, trying to make it light hearted but she just shook her head, putting them back.

"We need to get to the pumpkin patch, let's go check out" She muttered, starting to walk in front of me.

I quickly glanced at the little baby shoes left.. and without thinking, I snatched them off the shelf, quickly meeting up with Leighton.

~

"Look Leigh, it's the size of your belly!" Lexi smirked with a mischievous gleam in her eye, pointing to a pumpkin on the ground.

"I hope you're ugly when you're pregnant. It'll be karma for all the shit you say to me" Leigh grumbled, walking next to her mom as they looked for the perfect pumpkin.

"C'mon Brock!" Leigh called out, myself drifting from the family.

She did not inform me that everyone and their grandmother would be here.

In just our group alone, it was all of Leighton's family, their significant others, and friends.

"Good luck picking it up Finley" Leighton teased the younger boy who stopped in front of a pretty bulky pumpkin.

"Shut up, you're the one who can't lift Nova"

"NOVA'S GETTING BIG! It's not my fault!" Leighton huffed.

"Remember when we were younger and came here with dad, and he tripped over the pumpkin-" Lexi started reminiscing and their dad quickly cut her off. "We do not speak of that Lexi Nicole" which made a lot of them snicker.

"Colby, are you coming? Pick out a pumpkin!" Leighton urged, motioning for me to get closer.

"How do I pick the right pumpkin?" I asked, having never had to pick a pumpkin for painting before.

"Um, we usually look for a big landscape and smoothness" She said, both of us watching everyone inspect different pumpkins. "Like see the pumpkin Landon has by Cynthia? It has a larger side. So like.. If you wanted to do scenery it would work well. Or like, my mom over there has a taller pumpkin. Do you have any ideas? You know... if you really wanted to win.. I could be the brains if you're willing to be the muscle? I can't exactly carry a pumpkin whilst I'm carrying a pumpkin" she joked, motioning towards her very pregnant belly.

"We can team up?" I asked and she nodded.

"Normally Lexi teams up with my dad to try and get the upper hand.. But I think she's teaming up with her boyfriend, and Landon with his. I'm not sure. So... teammates?" She asked, holding her hand out.

I grinned, taking her hand in mine and giving it a firm shake.

"Alright. Well, let's go find our winner winner chicken dinner!" She exclaimed, causing me to laugh and shake my head at her using the dumb saying.

We scanned the pumpkins for a while until Leighton found the perfect one, which was literally ginormous.

"You know, painting this is going to take hours" I told her, huffing as I picked up the pumpkin.

"WAIT! I want a photo!" Leighton quickly pulled out her phone, snapping a photo.

We placed our pumpkin in a wagon and whilst we waited for the others, I found two smaller pumpkins and held them up to my chest.

"Hey Leigh, we match" I smirked and she narrowed her eyes at me.

"If you really want to match, find one that's the shape of my tummy"

Challenge accepted.

After about 15 minutes, I found the perfect pumpkin and I brought it over to her, carrying it at the height of my stomach.

"Oh my god!" she laughed, a huge smile on her face as she saw me get closer. "You know... besides the little stem thing... it's not too bad" She giggled and I grinned.

"Thank you! It's kind of like if your baby's umbilical cord was on its head" I joked and she made a grossed out face, shaking her head at me.

"Hey Molly? Can you take a photo please?" Leigh asked and we both handed Landon's friend our phones.

Leighton lifted up her shirt, pulling down her pregnancy leggings to expose her stomach. I pulled up my own shirt and held the pumpkin in front of my stomach, Molly snapping some photos.

Before going to dinner, the whole family took a lot of photos.

I watched the family take photos, and then they split off into pairs, and finally by themselves... but what I wasn't expecting was for Mrs. Fox, Gemma if you will, to shout at me to come join the group photo.

"No, No. That's okay!" I called and she shook her head.

"Get over here! You're practically family now! Come on!" She ushered, and who was I to deny her?

I ended up standing next to Lexi and Leighton, smiling for the photo.

I was silly to think I was getting away with just one photo.

"Alright stand with Leigh" her mom instructed and Leigh and I's eyes widened.

"Um, mom no-" Leighton started to oppose, but her mom quickly won the battle, and I stood next to Leighton, my arm wrapped around her waist as her mother snapped a photo.

"Okay, enough photo ops! I'm starving" Leigh groaned, a few of them chuckling.

~

"10 minutes" Leighton's mom called out, everyone putting their final touches on the pumpkins.

"Colby, you have to help more than just documenting the experience" Leighton grumbled, annoyed at the amount of Instagram Stories I've posted.

"I'm a social media-"

"Yeah yeah pick up a paint brush!" She motioned to my barely touched brush laying against a paper towel.

I helped her finish up, Leighton lecturing me the whole time about how I wasn't allowed to put the final touch, and take all the credit.

"It's not my fault you're the artistic one!" I grumbled and she laughed.

"You barely helped!"

"You said you were going to be the brains if I was the muscle!" I defended and she just smiled to herself, dipping her brush in the plastic cup full over discolored water.

"Okay but I'm also pregnant and can't be around the fumes for this long"

"3 minutes" Mrs. Fox called out and I felt a burst of adrenaline rush through my veins as we worked against the clock.

"SHIT!" Lexi yelled, all of us hearing a crashing sound.

"Language!" Mr. Fox reprimanded his daughter, all of us looking over at her.

"I always forget your father doesn't like swearing. If only he knew" I smirked at Leigh but she just ignored me.

"PAPER TOWELS PLEASE!" She shouted, Cynthia and Macy quickly getting up to help her.

She ended up tipping over the paint filled water cup all over the hardwood floor, and I didn't dare look at Leighton's parents' faces the entire time they cleaned up the mess.

"I'm surprised how chill Lexi and Macy are about me being here" I mumbled to Leigh, watching her focus on her precise line work.

"I mean... you've come over a lot since I met you and we were working on being friends. They got used to you. Hell, I think you're practically Lexi's brother after you beat her at guitar hero like 10 times, She was ready to pound your face in" Leigh snickered and I smirked, remembering that night like it was yesterday.

It had been about a week since Sam and I got back from London, and Stas and I were invited over to Leighton's family night. We played games and made snacks, and eventually Lexi challenged Stas and I to a guitar hero face off.