"I can't believe I've been roped into this" Colby laughed, sitting down on my bathroom floor with a razor and shave gel.

"Do you care if I film this?" Aaliyah asked, and I noticed she was on her Instagram.

"I don't care" He replied and she grinned. "Do you want to be tagged?" She questioned and he nodded. "That way I can repost them"

"It's not much different than shaving your face right?" He asked and I gave him a weird look.

"I wouldn't know. I've never had to shave my face" I bit my lip, holding back a laugh.

Colby rolled his eyes at me, shaking his head with a small laugh.

"Oh, so that's why your upper lip is darker than normal" Aaliyah smirked and I glared at her.

"What did we say about making fun of the pregnant lady?" I asked, joking and she grinned. "Sorry, mommy" She smirked and I narrowed my eyes at her. "Don't call me mommy, it's weird"

"I really should've been calling you mommy this whole pregnancy. I missed my chance" Aaliyah spoke aloud as I handed Colby a washcloth.

"Okay, now I don't think this is how you're supposed to do it.. but this is how I do it. I either do it in the shower, but I'm not getting naked in front of you again, so get this damp" I pointed at the washcloth, but Aaliyah stopped me.

"I'm sorry, what?" She asked in shock, Colby getting the washcloth wet.

"Hm?"

"He saw you naked?" She asked and I nodded.

"Okay, I rub it over my leg.. and then I put the gel on my leg" I directed, holding out my leg to Colby.

"How did he see you naked? Why haven't I heard about this? Girl, what?!" Aaliyah started to freak out and I sighed.

"I had a panic attack on my sober anniversary in the shower. Long story. Anyway, I then shave away the foam" I held the razer, Colby running the cloth over my leg.

Aaliyah took a video of us shaving my legs and she showed me that she used "#pregnancythings #thisiswhatfriendsarefor" and tagged Colby.

She then had us take a selfie before putting her phone away.

Aaliyah ended up shaving my other leg whilst we talked and I did my upper thighs since I was wearing shorts.

"Can I ask an inappropriate question?" Aaliyah asked, forcing my attention towards her. "Depends what the question is"

"It has to do with your vagina" She said and Colby choked, coughing which made us laugh.

"Colby, do you care?" I asked and Aaliyah scoffed. "he's already seen you naked!"

"Just ask the question. I'm sure he's seen so many vagina's that he practically has one himself" I teased, Colby quickly looking up at me.

"What does that mean? Are you calling me a whore again?" He asked, faking offense.. or at least I think he was faking offense..

"If the shoe fits" I joked and he carefully moved the razor over my leg.

"I haven't actually been with that many people for your information. A lot of them are repeats" He defended himself and Aaliyah grinned, replying "Has it ever occurred to you to have just one friends with benefits and not three hundred booty calls?"

We talked about Colby's sex life for the next 10 minutes, Aaliyah and I teasing him about his sexual affairs whilst he defended himself.

"I thought you had a question for Leigh" He grumbled and I pouted, watching his mood drastically change.

"Hey, we were just kidding" I spoke softly, Aaliyah turning on the faucet.

"No you weren't" He muttered, finishing up on the back of my leg. "There" he muttered again, rinsing off the razor and setting it down.

I frowned, watching him leave the bathroom.

"Hey, I'm going to go talk to him real quick" I announced, walking out of the bathroom to go find Colby.

I found him sitting on my couch, staring at the wall.

"Colby? Are you okay?" I asked, waddling to stand in front of him.

He stayed quiet which was frustrating.

"Please talk to me. I'm sorry" I apologized, watching him look over at me.

"If you know I hate it, why do you keep doing it?" He asked, catching me off guard.

"I'm sorry! I forgot! My guy friends liked to brag about their sexual encounters" I explained, not use to guys wanting to be modest.. if you'd even call it that.

"It's not that, it's the fact that you make it sound like I go around and sleep with every girl I find!" He expressed and the guilt started to set in as I remembered our past conversation.

"I'm sorry! You did sleep with a lot of people though" I spoke quietly at the end, glancing away.

"No I haven't Leigh! I've slept with maybe 15 different people total! A few one night stands, a few repeats here and there, a few failed relationships... As far as I'm concerned, that's not that many people" He argued and I pursed my lips.

"I've slept with two people. So to me, that is a lot. I'm sorry I made you sound like a man whore, but to me, 15 is a lot of people"

"I understand, but can you stop making it sound like I'm a man whore? It's bad enough my fans think I'm dating every single girl I'm near, but to have someone I consider a friend think I sleep with every person I pass..." He trailed off, glancing down at his hands.

"I'm sorry! How many times do I have to apologize?!" my voice raised as I got frustrated.

"Until you mean it" He snapped and I was taken aback, my jaw dropped.

"I do mean it! I'm sorry I hurt your feelings! I'm sorry I forgot it's a sore subject and I understand that you haven't slept with 300 people. I'm sorry that Aaliyah and I made fun of you. I'm sorry that I made a mistake. I'm sorry, okay?!" I replied desperately, anxiety rising in my chest.

"Okay" he replied with a monotone and I sighed with relief.

"Friends?" I asked, holding my hand out to shake and I felt the nerves run through my veins as he stared at me.

"Friends" he grinned, taking my hand in his, pulling himself into me to give me a hug.

"I'm sorry" I apologized again, feeling really bad now.

"It's okay, I forgive you"

~

"How does it feel to know you're going to have a baby in less than two months? Wait.. right? Two months? It's.. November 16th and you're due December 5th.." Aaliyah trailed off, counting on her fingers. "A month?" She asked, "I was never good at math" She giggled, reminding me about how she passed math class with a C- in High School.

"Less than a month" I laughed, correcting her, and I watched Aaliyah's cheeks gain a tint of pink, "And I'm terrified." I replied, being completely honest with her. "Don't get me wrong.. I'm excited.. just.. it's scary ya know? I actually ended up apologizing to Sam for screaming in his face about how he ruined my life" I giggled, Aaliyah shaking her head at me.

"Did you really say that he ruined your life?" She asked and I looked away in shame.

"I was just.. I was struggling and I took it out on him. I'm nervous that I've changed, and that it isn't just pregnancy hormones. I don't want to be the person I have been whilst pregnant. Just.. the night you said I wasn't fun.. you kinda spoke my insecurities into the open.. and it just.. made me snap. I hate being a buzzkill.. but this pregnancy has been very hard. Plus everything everyone wants to do is too much walking, or climbing, or partying.. it has just been hard. All I can do is sit in a chair and eat food" I sighed, but Aaliyah's face lit up, "That's the best! You get to stay home, watch Master Chef and eat snacks!" She exclaimed and I rolled my eyes.

"You're forgetting that my lower back feels like it's going to split in half"

"Oh yeah.. sorry" She said with a guilty expression which made me laugh.

She looked like a toddler caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

Aaliyah and I lounged on the couch for a little while, watching Hell's Kitchen, when she got up to go find the doppler.

"Where is it?! You've lived here for three months, how do you have so much crap?!" Aaliyah called out from the empty nursery.

"It's in the bucket next to the tote. It's in a pink box" I shouted back, hearing her rummage through stuff.

"Found it!" She yelled, jogging back. "Show me that sexy tummy" She called out.

"There is nothing sexy about my stomach. Shut up" I laughed, lifting my shirt so Aaliyah could get her doppler time in.

"Yes there is! It's sexy because its housing myGod child! !I'm so excited to hear the little heart beat!" She squealed, squirting the gel on to my stomach.

Aaliyah and I sat on the couch, listening to the heart beat of my baby as we talked to my stomach.

If you would've told me a year ago that this is what my life would've looked like, I would've laughed in your face.

Aaliyah ended up staying the night since I had a doctor appointment in the morning, and she had the day off.

Because of my whole bed rest thing, I ended up having to quit my job as an art teacher in training, or whatever you'd like to call it.. which meant I was now in a pickle.

I could've started maternity leave now, but then I wouldn't have enough days for when my baby actually got here, hence the unemployment.

That next afternoon, Aaliyah and I quickly got ready to head out to the OBGYN appointment, when she asked "Are we picking up anyone on the way?" to which I nodded, as I brushed through my long black hair.

"Kat wants to come. Sam and Colby are filming with one of their friends today. I think we find out if I'm getting an induction today" I mumbled the last part, not particularly happy about it.

"But that's a good thing right? They said the only way to cure preeclampsia is to give birth..." Aaliyah gave me a reassuring smile and I sighed, slipping on some shoes.

"I know.. it just sucks. We need to go, come on"

We picked up Kat along the way to what was probably going to be my last OBGYN appointment, and to say I was nervous would be an understatement.

Thankfully Emily was there today, so it helped a little bit.. but every weight check, blood draw and lab exam felt like life or death.

"You said you filled out your birth chart right?" Emily asked, moving the computer mouse.

"Uh.. yeah. Is it possible to have you in with me for delivery?" I asked, leaning back against the exam table.

"If I'm on the clock, you can request me. You really want me there?" She asked and I nodded quickly.

"Of course! You've been on this wild ride with me!"

"Alright, let's see how our baby is looking. I'm going to keep the screen facing me so I don't show the gender. You know the process by now" She laughed, doing some sort of thing on the monitor.

"You've been doing your stretches, right?" She asked and I nodded, Katrina now holding my hand.

"Well they seem to be working! Your baby is head down, which should mean you can have a vaginal birth if everything goes to plan" Emily smiled at me and I nodded, feeling relieved.

My baby for the longest time was laying sideways and shoving their dumb little toes into my ribs.

"How do you know that?" Kat asked, filling the silence.

"I can tell by seeing the baby's position in the womb. We're also going to feel Leighton's belly to see if the baby has dropped or not" Emily explained and I felt the nerves come back.

Eventually Dr. Hughes came in and we went down the same run down as always. The only difference is she checked to see if the baby has dropped - which it hasn't, to which led to a slew of questions about what that meant.

Dr. Hughes explained that it won't affect labor, and sometimes the baby's don't ever drop.. but I still felt like a failure.

As we were reaching the end of the appointment, Dr. Hughes brought up the plan, and now I was really losing it.

"So Leighton, as of right now things are looking okay. I still want you to take your blood pressure once a day and keep track of it. I will send home with you a chart that tells you good reads from bad reads. The darker orange and reds come in right away. The yellow and orange I need you to try and relax yourself. There are some tips on the back that help a lot of pregnant women. Some people find it comforting to use the doppler to hear the heartbeat. Some people like to just lay in bed and watch tv.. you're on bedrest now officially.. so you should find something" She teased and I took a deep breath.

I spent about 15 more minutes in my appointment going over the details of the plan, what my birth chart was looking like and what my labs meant before she explained the blood pressure chart one more time. By the time we were walking.. well.. I was waddling.. out of the appointment, I think Dr. Hughes scared all three of us.

"You're never allowed to get out of bed. I'm moving in" Kat declared, shutting the car door.

"I'll be okay. I'm just not allowed to be stressed or sprint a mile" I reassured her, but neither of the girls were having it.

When we got back to my apartment, Kat and Aaliyah started to bitch at me about how boring the nursery looked.

You'd think they were the ones having a baby.

"It's white Leighton. Beige carpet and white walls. It looks like a prison in here" Aaliyah groused and I snapped my head up.

"Have you ever been to prison? Because I can assure, it does not look like a prison in there. I told you I'm waiting till I know the gender of the baby"

"You know Leighton, you could've known a long time ago" Aaliyah grumbled and I flipped her off.

"You know I want the moment of the doctor announcing that it's a boy or girl. Based on Dr. Hughes' talk.. you don't have much wait left. Now I need to call Gabriel and fill him in, I'll be in my room"

I listened to the dial tone, taking a seat on my bed.

"Hey Leigh, everything okay?" He asked and I nodded, forgetting I was on the phone.

"Yeah, everything's alright. Just got home from the prenatal appointment" I said in a monotone, closing my eyes as I listened to the soft hum.

"Yes! That's right! How did that go?" Gabe asked, sounding fake interested which caused me to open my eyes.

"You're being weird"

"No I'm not"

"Gabriel. What did you do?" I grumbled and he sighed.

"Please don't be mad"

"Why would I be mad? What did you do?"

"I uh.. I was talking to the dean.. and um.. they want to fly me out next week to get things set up" He said and I swear my heart stopped.

"Wh-what? You said no, right?!" I asked frantically and it was silent. "YOU SAID NO, RIGHT?!" I asked again.

"Why would I say no?"

"Are you fucking kidding me?!"

"What?"

"GABRIEL ROAN BENNETT YOU BETTER TELL THAT FUCKING DEAN NO OR I WILL COME OVER AND HURT YOU WHERE THE SUN DON'T SHINE!!"

"Leighton, what's wrong with me leaving next week? You're due the 5th" he stated, acting like I was oblivious to my own due date.

"I'M 37 WEEKS GABRIEL. I COULD HAVE THIS FUCKING BABY AT ANY MOMENT! You're telling me you're really gonna fly ACROSS THE GODDAMN COUNTRY WHEN I COULD GIVE BIRTH?!"

"I'm supposed to be back on the 29th" He says like it's the most obvious thing in the world, and I swear my vision was going blurry.

"Gabe, you can't just go! I am not having this baby alone! YOU PUT IT IN ME AND YOU WILL TAKE IT OUT!" I yelled, tears starting to fall down my face.

There was a soft knock on my door, followed by an "Is everything okay in there?" to which I just ignored as Gabe started to explain how they want to make sure all of his stuff is set up and ready and how there are some things he needs to sign.

"You can't be serious" I begged, a steady stream of tears falling down my face as my biggest fear was slowly becoming a reality.

"Two days. Three days tops" He pleaded and I groaned.

"When?"

"The 21st to the 23rd?" He stated, but it came out more like a question.

"But what if I get an induction? You're really willing to miss the birth of our baby all because signing a contract is more important to you?! I knew you going to school right now would be a horrible idea! You can't just go across the goddamn country right now!"

"Leigh, three days. That's all I'm asking" He pleaded and wiped at my face, my hand shaking.

"Stop phrasing it like whatever I say is going to change the outcome! You've made up your mind already! This isn't a discussion, it's an informing! What if I go into labor during those three days? What are you going to do then?" I asked, feeling extremely frustrated at his lack of common sense and poor planning.

"Get a flight back home" He replied as if it was no big deal, which only made my blood boil even more.

"Gabriel! If I call you and I'm like "I'm having fucking contractions get home" and you can't get a goddamn flight, then what?! We're not exactly rich! We can't just buy a private plane! Life isn't a movie Gabe! You can't have your cake and eat it too! We can't just book a flight tonight and get to NYC tomorrow unless we pay our fucking lives away!" I shouted, finding it absurd that he thinks this is okay.

"Why can't we figure it out once we come across the problem?" He asked and I swear I was going to explode.

"Because that doesn't work for me! I need a plan. I need to know that if my baby decides to break my water tomorrow, you're going to be there" I explained, wiping away some stray tears.

"Leighton I'll always be there" he said in a soft tone and I mentally rolled my eyes.

"Where? In fucking New York?! I don't understand why you can't start school next year" I huffed and this time he groaned.

"Oh my god! We've gone over this!" He started and my mouth parted in surprise.

"Are you fucking kidding me right now?! You're acting like this is something I've been on board with the whole time! YOU CAN'T JUST FLY ACROSS THE COUNTRY WHEN OUR SON OR DAUGHTER COULD BE BORN" I yelled, not understanding how he could bring himself to do this.

"I don't know if I will be accepted again Leigh! It's a once in a lifetime opportunity! And we both said it would be easier to handle now, and not when our baby is like two"

"WE BOTH DIDN'T SAY THAT! YOU JUST SAID YOU WANTED TO FINISH BEFORE YOU WERE 40. I'm trying, I really am and if med school is something you really want to do I will support it... but I can't support you going to New York when I'm due so soon! Babies come early so often Gabriel!"

"They also come late! We both read fhat the first baby takes a long time"

"so what, you're gonna make it in the knick of time?! ARE YOU ON CRACK?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"

"Leighton why are you yelling at me" he asked and I swear I wanted to strangle him.

"BECAUSE I'M MAD, AND SCARED, AND FRUSTRATED! I don't want to do this alone!" I cried, and I heard another knock on the door.

"Leigh? Can we come in?" Kat asked and I wanted to scream.

I got up and opened the door as Gabe replied, "I get why you're feeling those things.. but I've already put my life on hold for you-"

"Now what the fuck is that supposed to mean" I growled, Kat's eyes widening.

"Leigh we already agreed on-"

"YOU GOING IN JANUARY-"

"Yes Leigh-"

"NOT THE END OF NOVEMBER WHEN OUR BABY IS ABOUT TO BE BORN" I finished, not letting him get a word in.

"Leighton, will you please listen to me?" He begged as I paced my bedroom. "It's three days max. I know it isn't ideal, but it's what I want to do. I don't want to miss my child's birth. I have to have faith that nothing will happen, but you're not alone. You have your mom, your dad, Logan, Lexi, Landon, Aaliyah, River, Sam, Colby..... if for some reason I can't make it.. you have people Leigh"