BF(F?): A Josh Richards Fanfiction *completed*

37

My mom woke me up the next morning. "Good morning, sweetheart," she greeted me. "Why don't we go out and get you some maternity clothes? I'm not doing anything today."
I stretched, yawning. "Sure, Mom. I appreciate your offer."
"I love you, goofy," she replied. "Also, maybe this is a little, how do you kids say it? Extra? But anyway, I scheduled a photo shoot for you and Josh. I think I'm just trying to relive when I was pregnant with you. I can cancel it if you want me to. Gosh, I don't know. I'm rambling. Sorry. Sorry. I will just let you go get ready. I will meet you downstairs?"
"Mom?" I called out to her before she closed the door behind her.
"Yes?"
"I think that photoshoot sounds great, Mom. Thank you." Did I really want to do a photoshoot? No. Was the look on her face when I agreed to it more than worth it? Absolutely.

I pulled on a pair of sweatpants that I had found shoved in the back of one of my dresser drawers. I was really looking forward to wearing something other than stretchy pants for once.
My phone rang, and I answered it quickly. "Hey, babe," I answered.
"Hello, my love. How did you sleep?" Josh asked me.
"I slept well," I answered, putting him on speaker so that I could put on an old sweatshirt of my dad's. After our appointment yesterday, I had been thinking about how much I missed him. I almost wanted to call him, but I knew that I would regret it after the baby was born.
"What are you doing today?" he asked.
I had pulled the hoodie over my head, and I was pulling at the strings absentmindedly. "My mom asked me to go grab some maternity clothes today. She's noticed that my clothes don't exactly fit, so I can only imagine what everyone else is thinking."
Josh chuckled. "You're being ridiculous. No one has even noticed. I promise."
"Also," I added, "my mom just told me that she scheduled us a maternity photoshoot."

"Um, a what?" he asked.
"A photoshoot. We're just going to humor her okay?" I replied. "She's been super duper cool about this entire thing."
"Have fun with your mom, okay? Call me when you get home, and keep me updated on the whole pictures thing. I love you."
"I love you, too," I replied before hanging up.

I made my way downstairs, sitting down on the couch next to my mom while she was watching the news. "I'm ready whenever you are, Mom."
"You're, uh, you're wearing your dad's sweatshirt," she commented.
"Um, yeah," I responded, "I found it in my closet, and you know, this whole thing has really been making me think about him."
"Oh, sweetie. I'm so sorry that you're struggling right now. What can I do for you? Tell me what you need me to do to help you."
"Let's just go, Mama," I replied. "I don't want to think about it too much more."
"Okay, I'm ready, sweetie pie," she said, standing up. "Need some help up?"
She extended her hand, and I took it, struggling to get up.

The car ride was pretty silent, and we pulled into the parking lot where I had learned about the video of Josh and me.
"Are you alright?" Mom asked, looking at me. "Do you want to talk about it?"
I shook my head. "Let's just go in there, okay?"

We walked through the mall, and I felt like I was watching my back for anyone that recognized me. I'm sure that Josh and I were going to be announcing the pregnancy soon, but I was still a little bit nervous.
We made it to the maternity clothing store, and we browsed the racks. Mom held a few different pairs of jeans up to me, including a few distressed pairs that looked almost identical to pairs that I already had in my closet. "Those are cute," I commented.
"Alright, go try them on!" she encouraged me, handing them over. "I'm gonna look for some outfits for your pictures, okay?"

I went into the dressing room, and I stared at myself in the mirror, lifting up my dad's sweatshirt to look at my baby bump. "You're gonna be here soon, little bean," I whispered. "Mommy and Daddy are so, so excited to meet you."
I sat down, rubbing my hands over my bump. My eyes filled with tears, and I found myself sobbing again.

There was a knock on the door. "Are you okay, sweetie?" my mom asked.
I sniffled, wiping my tears with my sleeve. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"Can I come in?"
I opened the door, letting her in. "Do these look okay?" I asked.
"Oh, they do, sweetheart! I found a few options for your pictures. What do you think of these?" she asked.
The options were gorgeous. The first one that she held up was a long-sleeve, pink lace maxi dress. Everything about it was perfect. The second was a white midi dress, and its simplicity was everything that I could have wanted. The final option was perfect. The black midi skirt and white v-neck were classic, and I could really see myself wearing them.

"Mom, these are beautiful options. I can't choose," I replied.
"Then, we'll get them all!" she responded, throwing her arms up excitedly. "Do you want to go pick up some more tops or anything?"
"I can't really afford a whole lot right now," I replied. "I can probably do a pair of jeans and a top, but that's probably it."
"Don't be ridiculous," she replied. "This whole day is my treat. Go pick out whatever you'd like."
"Mom," I said, tears filling my eyes for what felt like the fiftieth time that day.
"I love you, my dear. Let's go get what you need, okay?"

I know that I had told Josh earlier that she had been so supportive of us during this entire situation, but she had just proved to me just how supportive she really was.