baby, I'll show you the world [muke af]

(Thursday, February 13th, 2020)

(Thursday, February 13th, 2020)

Ashton placed a friendly hand on Luke's back as he helped him up the small step of his pregnancy doctor's office. Ash closed the door behind the two, getting Luke situated in a seat before checking them in.

With Michael and Calum gone once again, the two boys were pretty dependent on each other again. They sometimes felt like they were living they college days except with kids and more crying.

"Thirty weeks pregnant now?" Ashton—sort of—asked as he sat down.

Luke nodded and leant back in the uncomfortable plastic chair. He leant his head against the wall behind them as his two hands lay soft on his belly. "Yeah, I definitely feel like it now."

Ash eyed down at his very, very, very large stomach before quickly moving his eyes back to Luke's closed eyes. "Excited, though?"

"In pain."

"How bad?"

"4," he paused, "Maybe 5."

Ashton patted his resting hand. "Don't worry, it'll get worse."

"Awesome, thanks for the support."

Luke knew the doctor's room like the back of his hand at this late point in his pregnancy. The light lavender walls and charming white trimmed border all seemed normal to him. He sat in the leant back chair minutes later, his hands holding his sagging belly. He could not see his toes nor the ground when he was standing nor when he was sitting. The four girls were practically squishing him.

Dr. Silver came in, happy to see Ashton once more. Ashton was pretty much Luke's second husband when needed—which was a lot. She checked the usual vitals, making sure everything looked okay.

Going into a pregnancy, especially with quadruplets, was always risky. It was important to make sure everything was exactly the way it needed to be. There wasn't ruin for error.

The women sat down in her chair, her computer in her hands as she typed up a few notes. "So, labor talk time." She scooted closer to Luke, knowing he was most likely going to start crying soon. "We're obviously going to need to do a C-section, you'll be in recovery for about a week, maybe a little longer."

He nodded his head, quickly eyeing Ashton. The blonde held out his hand, wanting the comfort and warmth of his friend. Ash scooted closer with a small laugh, holding Luke's fingers.

"It's very, very common for you to go into labor early. Your body isn't made to hold four babies. Even though your due date is—," she paused, looking at the top of Luke's file, "—April 9th, I'm expecting them early March."

"Oh, that's early." Luke swallowed a lump in his throat. "Is—Is it going to hurt?"

"You'll be heavily medicated, so you won't feel a thing. You will definitely be sore for a few months, but it'll be bearable."

"I don't like pain," he pouted.

Ashton squeezed his hand. "It's not bad, Lukey. I was able to walk the next day."

Luke had his eyebrows furrowed and his crying face coming on. "Ashy, I don't like needles. They're gonna cut me open!"

Dr. Silver stood up, grabbing him a cup of water. She patted his shoulders, her cold hands creating comfort. "Why don't you go sit outside for a bit? I can talk to Ashton about all of this, yeah?"

Their eyes watched the moping blonde leave the room, wiping his wet eyes.

"He does that a lot," Ash apologized, "Sorry for him. He'll be fine."

She tried to crack a smile. "I don't want him to freak out about it all, he's gonna scare himself into labor or something."

"I can get him on bed rest soon, I'll make sure he's okay and rested for the girls' arrival."

"When it gets closer, maybe make sure someone is always with him. I don't need an emergency happening because he went into shock, okay?"

Luke sat on the curb, knowing he wouldn't be able to get back up. The air was cold around him as he wrapped Michael's jacket closer to him. He was feeling rather lonely without his husband at his side. He was scared of everything lately and he really needed Michael.

He brought the cuffed sleeve to his nose, trying to smell the last scent of Mike.

"I'll force him back into pregnancy classes," Ashton promised as he held the door open for Luke's doctor, "I'll make sure he doesn't skip them this time."

"Feel free to call me at any time for questions or concerns. Mr. Clifford will be home soon, though, correct?"

"About two and a half weeks. I'll update him on everything."

Ashton had his own family to worry about, but in some sense, Luke was his family, too.

(a/n) first day of school......,,,i'm not wearing real pants.........,,,,,