Burning Love

10

*6 months into the pregnancy (4 months after finding out)*

I've been in and out of the hospital over the past four months. The doctors say that my pregnancy is more complicated than anyone else's. I get sick a lot, my blood pressure gets pretty elevated, and I have a high fever almost once every week. I'm currently staying overnight for observation and more tests.

"Hey honey. I brought you some jello." Owen said as he walked into the hospital room.

"Is it peach?" I asked.

"Yes, honey." He answered before sitting it down on the tray beside my bed and kissing my cheek.

"Thank you." I said and pecked his lips.

I began to devour my jello and when I finished it quickly, a smile of satisfaction creeps onto my face. Before my pregnancy, I hated anything peach flavored but now I love it. While I had been eating, Owen had sat down on the foot of my bed. He was flipping thorough tv channels, trying to find that he interests him.

"How are all the guys at the station?" I asked.

"They're doing fine, Hazel. Gavin actually should be here in about 20 minutes to see you." Owen announced and I smiled widely.

"Did you guys have anything exciting today?" I asked, even though I already knew about the few calls.

"Haz, don't act like you don't know what happened. I know that you have your pager with you." Owen called me out and I blushed.

"Fine, you caught me. I still want to know how it all went." I said and lightly kicked him.

"Well, your father accidentally sprayed me with the hose while he was trying to get the fire and it knocked me off guard for a second. Oh, this sounds cliche but I saved a cat from a tree." Owen said excitedly and I laughed.

"I love listening to you talk passionately about your job." I said and reached my hand out towards him.

He stood up from his spot at the end of the bed and sat down closer to my torso. With one hand Owen gripped my extended hand, and he placed his free hand on my growing stomach.

"You're getting big, baby girl." He said to me and kissed my forehead.

"I can't wait to find out the gender of our baby." I said excitedly.

Owen and I decided that we wanted to wait until the baby was born to find out the gender, so the nursery is gender neutral. The walls are painted a light grey and will be adorned with either pink or blue signs once the baby is born.

The next morning, I was sent home with strict instructions. I'm supposed to check my blood pressure every hour on the hour to make sure it stays consistent and doesn't get elevated. Owen carefully helped me into my car, and he drove us back to our apartment. Dad gave him the day off so that he can take care of me.

When I walked inside our apartment, I started tidying up the kitchen. Owen picked me up and carried me to our room. He gently laid me down on the bed and glared at me.

"Hazel, you're supposed to be on bed rest." He scolded.

"I know, but I hate not doing anything." I whined.

"Do you want to have a healthy baby?" Owen asked.

"Of course I do." I answered.

"Than listen to the doctor's instructions." He scolded and kissed my cheek.

An hour or so later, Gavin and Will showed up at the house. They came into my bedroom with tons of gift bags.

"What are you boys up to?" I asked as Owen grinned.

"Well since your baby shower is next week and we can't come, we decided to bring our gifts to you today." Gavin said cheerfully.

"We figured you needed something to make your day better." Will said and smiled.

"Aww, guys! You're so thoughtful." I said and smiled. 

One by one they started handing me gifts, and I opened them. There was a stuffed Dalmatian with a firefighter hat, a onesie that said "my daddy is my hero" with the firefighter emblem, a onesie that said "future firefighter", and a onesie that said "mommy's biggest fan. Lastly, I opened a t-shirt(for me) that said "carrying a future firefighter" with an arrow pointing to my belly.

"Guys, I love these! Thank you so so much." I said and hugged both of them.

"We're glad you like everything, Haz." Gavin said and smiled widely.

Will's phone buzzed, and he looked down at it.

"Well, I have to go but I'll see all of you later." Will said and hugged me again before leaving quickly.

"Gavin, Owen and I need to talk to you about something serious." I said softly.

"You're scaring me, Hazel. Is everything alright with you and the baby?" Gavin asked.

"The baby and I are fine. We just want to know if you'd like to be the baby's godfather just Incase something would ever happen to both Owen and I while out on a call." I said softly.

"Of course." Gavin said and touched my shoulder.

"Thank you." I said softly.

"I'm going to run and get some food from Jimmy John's. Do you want anything, Gavin?" Owen asked.

"I'm fine. Thanks though." Gav answered.

"Honey, I'll take my usual." I said and smiled.

"Okay. I'll be back soon, Haz." Owen said and kissed my cheek and my belly before leaving.

Gavin sat down on the bed beside me.

"Hazel, I need to confess something." He said softly.

"What's up, Gav?" I asked.

"It's weird for me to see you like this. I know that you always saw me-and still see me- as a brother to you, but deep down I always had a crush on you. Ever since that day I met you in the station when we were with our fathers, I knew you were special." Gavin confessed.

"Gavin, why didn't you tell me that you felt this way?" I asked.

"Because when I realized that I liked you, it was when you were going through a rough time. When I saw how strong you were after you came to me the first time Matt beat you up, I realized I liked you. I just couldn't tell you." He said softly.

"I'm sorry, Gav. I really am." I said and looked into his eyes.

"Don't be sorry, Hazel. And I promise that I won't put this between our friendship, I just really needed to tell you." He said and squeezed my hand.