5 Months Later...

I waddled my way around the house. Thirty-five weeks pregnant and the baby was moving so much that I couldn't sleep anymore, despite it still being early. The pregnancy had progressed well, though the past weeks I was more exhausted than I had ever felt. Not only that, but I couldn't be in a comfortable position for too long because the baby would decide to dig his/her feet under my ribs.

We'd decided to not know the sex of the baby, though Alex was set on the idea that it was a boy. He'd even gone as far buying boy clothes even we didn't know for sure. I sighed, when a Braxton Hicks contraction appeared, just like they had been for the past weeks. 

"Are you okay?" Alex asked, hugging me from behind, his hand settling over my own on my belly. 

"Yes, just a bit uncomfortable." 

"Go back to bed, Eileen," he murmured. He was about to leave. Finals had arrived and he was much busier than usual.

I was going to refuse, but my feet were already swollen and I didn't actually feel like walking anymore. Luke and Alex were in charge of setting up the nursery, and, while perhaps Addie wasn't too happy that I was pregnant with her brother's baby, or our marriage for that matter, she had come to terms with the fact that the baby was going to be around. She had even bought little items, giving them to Alex without much to say. 

"Baby is moving a lot, right?" Alex asked, when he felt a little kick. I laughed, moving his hand over to where the baby had settled. As soon as his hand was there, our little kicker began moving again, aware that the touch belonged to his father. Alex chuckled, placing a kiss on my forehead. "So active."

I agreed, letting his hand settle on the small of my back as he helped me back upstairs. I had almost tripped once, now he insisted that someone always be with me when on the stairs. I didn't mind. Not being able to see your own feet comes with a price.

"You should go, you're going to be late." I told him while he fixed the pillows on the bed. He helped me lay back down and soon I was yawning.

"I'll leave the fruit as always in the fridge, okay?"

I teared up. He was always so sweet.

"No, don't lose your shit right now," he said with a soft voice. "You need rest, and I don't want you crying yourself to sleep."

He was right. I had been crying over everything, even commercials lately. Alex was very patient about it, while Luke... Well, Luke was Luke. He'd make a joke out of everything, but every time I lost it, he would end up hugging me. 

Alex held me close to him, whispering sweet words in my ear while we looked at the time. He seemed rather hesitant to leave and I didn't understand why. I didn't mind though. If it would have been up to me, he would stay in bed with me all day.

Things were wonderful. We had arguments, like any couple, most of the time over petty things but every night was the same routine. We'd talk about our day, with our fingers intertwined over our growing child. He couldn't keep his hands off of me, off our baby. I knew he was excited, not a hint of nerves was present despite the fears he had before. We both knew that we were going to do our best to raise our baby to the best of our ability.

"What's wrong?" I asked him, when I felt him sigh. "Why don't you want to leave?"

"I don't know. The doctor said you had already begun to dilate. I don't want to not be here when you go into labor. Plus, you have your own finals to deal with."

It was true. Throughout the pregnancy I'd still managed taking courses online and I was proud of it. Finals were taking a toll on my body though, and Alex, the observant, of course had noticed.

"Finals are over this week, Moretti. Don't worry."

He kissed my forehead once again before leaving and almost immediately after, sleep took me under.

The day went by painfully slow. I finished two finals and opted for finishing the other two later in the week. I ended up enjoying the day outside, admiring the different birds that showed up in the small birdhouse I asked Alex to put. 

I had closed my eyes for a while after talking to the baby when I heard a car approaching. My eyes opened, and a once familiar car arrived. Julia walked out, seemingly in peace. Out of instinct, my hands cradled my belly as if protecting it. It was too late to walk back inside, she'd already seen me. We hadn't seen her since the time she showed up drunk and I wasn't sure how much she knew. One thing was for sure, she was not happy about the pregnancy. That much was obvious when her eyes landed on my belly.

"Eileen, I didn't know you were pregnant," she said not bothering to greet me.

"I guess now you do," I replied. I had been sure that Addie had said something to her about the pregnancy and the marriage, but it didn't seem so.

"Is Alex here?"

"Do you see his car?" 

"What about Luke?" I frowned. Julia wasn't friends with Luke, there shouldn't have been any reason for her to speak to him. 

"Well, his car isn't here either, so I don't know why you asked."

She glared at me, running her hand through her hair. I wasn't in the mood to argue, that was for sure. I had been having such a pleasant day and I wasn't going to let her presence ruin it.

"If you want to talk to Alex you should call him or come back later, Julia," I said, standing up. 

"You are very sneaky, aren't you?" I stood there, waiting for her rant to be over. If she wanted me to feel bad about whatever the hell she was feeling, she was wasting her time. At this point I only felt tired and annoyed. Her mouth kept moving, but I didn't hear anything. That was, until she took a step forward. 

"What the fuck are you doing?" I asked her. 

"You show up and fuck up people's relationships, don't you? It's easy for you, isn't it? You come from a fucked up family and decide that you can do the same to others?"

I sucked in a breath and opened the door, just as I saw Addie showed up. She didn't even turn off her car before walking out. Great; two against one.

"What are you doing here?" She asked Julia, holding her arm. "I told you we could meet at Marty's."

"I was wondering why you never wanted me to come over to the house anymore, Addie. I guess this," Julia gestured towards my very pregnant body, "that's why, isn't it?"

"It would have been pointless, Julia." Addie said with a sigh. "Eileen and my brother are married now, and as you can see they are having a baby."

Quietly, I walked back inside. I didn't need to hear anything of what they said, nor did I want to. Julia looked like she had gone mad for a moment, and though I knew she wasn't dangerous I wasn't going to listen to the nonsense that left her mouth.

After a while, Addie finally showed up, throwing her purse on the floor. 

"She's gone," she said leaning back on the wall. "I'd appreciate it if you don't tell my brother this was my fault. It wasn't, I didn't know that she would show up."

"Why in the world would I tell him that this was your fault?" I asked. "I'm not like you, Adeleine. I wouldn't lie just to mess with your relationship with Alex."

She looked at me for a moment and gave me a small nod before walking towards the kitchen. I followed behind her. She was such a confusing person, that's all I knew. 

"Thank you, Adeleine," I said, placing my hand on her shoulder.

Addie turned, and raised an eyebrow. She was shocked I had even thanked her. Hell, even I was shocked. 

"It was for the kid," she said with a shrug. "It's my brother's kid after all so..."

Addie trailed off, not knowing what to say. I smiled, the girl had a soft spot for the baby after all.

******

Alex was quiet during dinner after Addie told him what happened with Julia. To my surprise, she told things just as they were, no adding more drama than needed. Luke was also silent, which was more of a surprise. He always had a smart mouthed comment, but it seemed as if this time they both were thinking the same thing.

"Do you know why she showed up?" I had asked the both of them. 

Alex had only turned to face Luke, who had lowered his gaze. He never lowered his gaze. I knew something was going on that I didn't know. I didn't push. I would find out in due time. 

After my nightly foot rub, my whole body began to relax. Alex had placed a pillow under my feet so that the swelling would go down. He had made sure to always rub my feet; he knew how much they ached.

 "Let's move," Alex said, as he sat behind me, his hand taking its place over my large belly.

"What? Why?"

I felt him shrug behind me.

"I don't know. It's time I think. We can leave this house to Luke, Addie, well she can stay here while she gets her shit together."

"Is this about Julia?" I asked him. After that incident it wouldn't have surprised me if he wanted to move, but I didn't want to leave everything behind.

"No. I told you that what happened with her didn't matter."

"Are you sure?" I asked. I knew the answer. I just needed confirmation.

"I guess in part," he sighed. "But, it's more for us. A lot has happened, sometimes I think it would be best if we start out with a clean slate."

I hummed, leaning my head against his shoulder. Another Braxton Hicks contraction appeared, the tightening on my abdomen making me slightly uncomfortable. They had become more often, though I knew they weren't the real thing yet. 

These were the moments that I most cherished. It was so different from my pregnancy with Angie. 

"Turn your brain off," he murmured. "Go to sleep, baby."

The baby then kicked Moretti's hand, making us both laugh.

"Settle down, little one," Alex said. "It's time for mommy to sleep."

A/N: This was a bit of a shorter chapter, but there is a story behind the whole Luke/Julia/Alex situation. It's all pretense for The Lesson (Luke's story).

So, my dear readers, there is two more chapters and an Epilogue left.

They should be posted by tomorrow , or at the latest on Wednesday. 

Thanks for reading, and stick around. You will love the last chapters, I hope. 

Please leave your comments, I love reading them.

Vote if you enjoyed!

-Luz<3

I let Alex hold me against him, tightly like he always did. The baby wasn't moving too much, which was strange but nonetheless, I let sleep pull me under. 

It was past midnight, when I woke up with the need to use the restroom. 

"Shit..." I mumbled. "I fucking peed myself."

I realized that the pee wouldn't stop. Either my bladder had been terribly full or...

"Alex," I whispered, nudging him. "Alex, wake up."

He was sleeping like a rock. He was exhausted, but he would need to get rid of that exhaustion pretty quick. I sat up, placing a hand over my belly. 

"Your dad wont wake up," I whispered. "Alex, wake up."

He merely stirred a little bit, then went back to sleep. 

"Alexander Moretti," I said, now a bit louder. "Wake up, my water just broke."

That woke him up.