As Long As You Love Me

Tiny Boxer

The next four months flew by, and you had just reached the 32 week mark. You were instructed to go on bed rest at your last appointment the week before, and Dr. Fisher was making house calls every week to keep up with your progress. She'd just left after informing you that you'd need to deliver within a week or two and you were absolutely freaking out, worrying if things were going to be done on time.

Joe was at work but was leaving early to come home and put the cribs together. Calvin was stopping by later to help and Daisy was bringing her new son Milo with her. You were excited to see Milo again. He was at that fun age where he was babbling and squealing constantly, discovering his fingers and toes, and you figured he and Daisy would provide you with the distraction you needed.

Daisy arrived sooner than you expected and let herself in. You heard Milo squealing as Daisy said, "Okay, handsome, stop tugging on Mommy's hair—ow!" You heard skin slapping skin and another shriek of giggles from the infant. Daisy and Milo made their way back to your bedroom and you smiled, making grabby hands for the baby. "Come here, Mr. Milo. Come see auntie Y/N," you cooed.

Daisy sat him down on your lap before sitting down herself. She shed the diaper bag and rummaged around in it, pulling out a bottle and burping cloth. "Do you want to feed him?" Daisy asked, waving the bottle in front of you. "Only if he can stay in my lap," you said, explaining to her what Dr. Fisher had told you. No lifting, only getting up to use the bathroom, sponge baths only, absolutely no leaving the apartment unless it was a life-threatening emergency, and no sex (the worst one).

After Milo was fed and burped, Daisy put him down for a nap. He was out quickly, and she laid him on the floor, bunching pillows in a perimeter around him so he would stay in one place on his back. When Daisy got back into the bed with you, she leaned back and sighed. "How are you?" you asked, rubbing her arm. "I'm okay," she said, sniffling. "Dais," you said, concerned. "What's wrong?"

Tears fell silently down her cheeks and she leaned further back into the pillows, sobbing hard. You continued to sit there, letting her get it out. After a couple minutes, she wiped her eyes and said, "Ben's been gone for three months doing promo tours for his latest movie," she began. 

"It's just been Milo and me and I'm just...I'm lonely. And it's not easy, mothering alone. I miss him." Her words were cut short by her phone ringing. She quickly silenced it and wiped her eyes and grinned at the screen, answering it the call.

"Hi baby," she said, waving at the screen. "Say hi to Y/N!" she said, turning the phone toward you. "Hi Ben," you said, smiling and waving. Ben looked almost as exhausted as Daisy did. "Hey," he said. "Wow, look at how big your stomach is getting," he remarked, earning a scowl from Daisy. "Ben!" she scolded, turning the phone back to her.

Patting your belly, you said, "Well he's not wrong, Dais. I'm carrying a litter." The three of you shared a laugh and then Daisy got up to take the rest of the call in the living room, leaving you and Milo alone in your bedroom. You eased yourself back into the pillows and closed your eyes.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Two minutes or two hours later, you weren't sure which, you awoke to the feeling of one of the babies moving around. It was extremely uncomfortable and your eyes fluttered open, looking down to your stomach. You saw a small, separate bump protruding from your bigger bump and it was slowly disappearing and reappearing.

Awestruck, you put your hand over it and ran a finger along the width, feeling what you believed to be the baby's fingers in a fist. You reached for you phone and pulled up the camera, immediately starting a video; Joe would hate to miss this. Just then the little bump that came up disappeared.

"Ow, baby, you're hurting Momma," you said, softly massaging the little fist that sharply punched up to the surface just under your skin. "Y/N?" you heard Joe call out. "Are you awake?" You listened as his footsteps walked toward you, not wanting to call out to him and possibly scare the baby away. Walking into the bedroom, Joe saw your hand on your belly and looked to you with concern. "Everything okay?" he asked a little too loudly. "Shh," you said, motioning for him to come over to join you.

"Come feel this," you whispered and Joe put down the glass of water he was carrying on the bedside table. He kneeled down beside the bed and you removed your hand, showing him the small bump. Joe's eyes widened and he said, "Is that what I think it is?"

Without waiting for you to answer, he ran the tip of his finger over it, no doubt feeling the same dips and creases that you had. "Did I just feel her fingers?! Is - is that a fist?" he asked. "Doesn't that hurt you, babe?" He looked disappointed as the small bump disappeared back into your belly.

"Joe," you said, laughing. "It hurt when she punched me a minute ago," you admitted, rubbing the spot. "Now Baby," Joe said in his best "dad" voice. To his delight, the little fist formed another bump, closer to where his voice was coming from. 

He gently caressed it, holding back a sob, saying, "Please don't punch Momma. It's not nice. I know it's cramped in there with the other two, but you'll all be able to get out soon, okay? We love you so much, just try to be patient," he finished, looking to you.

"Sooner than we thought," you said. "Dr. Fisher came by today and the induction date has been pushed up to next week or the week after." At that, Joe scrambled back up and said, "Well then I've got to get the rest of the nursery put together then, don't I?" before leaving the room. He came back quickly to kiss you and caress your belly once more.

You took a sip from the glass of water he'd left with you and before you could set it back down, you felt a sharp point of pressure in your lower abdomen. You accidentally dropped the glass and it shattered when it hit the wood floor of your bedroom, the contents splashing everything around it. Your vision was blurry, you couldn't hear very well, and you were disoriented.

All you could focus on was the excruciating pain. Your body felt like it was on fire and you couldn't move due to your muscles tensing up. You thought you saw Joe's silhouette in the doorway but everything was hazy. Then you heard screaming and everything went dark.