[ Averie and Spencer finding out about their third pregnancy + gender ]
S P E N C E R ' S P O V
I sit back down at my desk after lunch, ready to open up my case files when my phone gets a new message notification. I open it to find a text from Averie and I respond immediately.
I snicker, tucking my phone back into my pocket.
We definitely weren't planning another baby just yet, but it's us, so of course we weren't exactly doing much to prevent it either. Pull and pray, as Averie would say.
One of those little guys must have got through. No, they all got through. I tried to pull out but if Averie could experience what it's like to be inside her, she would understand why it takes everything in me to attempt to pull out. I blame Averie though. If it's the night I'm thinking of, it's definitely her fault.
I came home from work that evening and the boys were already shipped off to Derek and Layla's for the night, and my wife was waiting for me on our bed, wearing my favorite shade of purple lingerie with a pile of my silk ties layed out because she wanted me to tie her up.
Not. My. Fault.
-
With the pregnancy test I just bought at the store in hand, I turn the key in the front door and step inside our house.
"I'm home!" I call out, dropping my bag and setting my keys down.
Usually the boys are downstairs when I get home and I get greeted by them running into my arms by the door, excitedly talking over each other to tell me about their day.
But after checking all downstairs, I realise they're not down here. So I head up the stairs, checking both their rooms to find them also empty.
When I get to Averie and I's bedroom, I can hear the shower running in the bathroom and I pause by the door when I hear Averie and Aidan talking.
"Aidan, you're so sweet but I'll be fine, you can go play if you want."
"That's okay, mommy. I like helping you."
I push open the door to see Averie hunched over the toilet, Aidan behind her holding her hair and rubbing her back.
"Dad!" Evan yells over the sound of the water running, and I turn to see him knocking on the glass shower door to get my attention. "I'm in the shower!"
"I can see that," I laugh. "Are you having fun?"
Evan tilts his head back, letting the water pool in his mouth before he blows it out like a fountain. He gives me a thumbs up in acknowledgement before he focuses back on his bath toys. He's entertained and happy so I'll deal with him in a minute.
"Spencer, thank god." Averie sighs. Her head is still hanging in the toilet, but her whole body sags in relief when my hand lands on her back.
"Mom is sick," Aidan says with a frown, still rubbing his circles in Averie back. "So I'm helping. This is what mommy does for me when I'm sick."
"I got this from here," I say, pressing a kiss to his head before I take over from him. "Can you go grab a water bottle from the fridge, please?"
I get Averie's hair all tied back and out of her face and wet a cool wash cloth before I press it to her forehead. "How do you feel?"
"Horrible," She groans, leaning into my touch. "I don't remember my sickness ever being this bad. I haven't been able to move from here."
I hate this part. Watching my wife going through the negative symptoms of pregnancy when I can do nothing to help her is the worst feeling ever.
When she says she's not going to throw up again, I carefully help Averie up. "I'll get the kids sorted," I say, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "The test is on the counter."
I grab a towel from the rack before I turn to the shower to see Evan still having the time of his life being a human fountain.
"Okay," I say, pulling open the shower door. "Evan, it's time to get out."
Evans brown eyes light up with mischief, his mouth barely containing the water pooled in his cheeks when he turns to me.
I lower my voice, narrowing my eyes. "Don't do it."
He does it.
My lips fold into a thin line while I stand there and the stream of water trickles down the front of my body.
Aidan slides back into the bathroom and hands Averie the water bottle, snickering when he looks at me. "Dad, it looks like you peed your pants."
I turn off the shower before I scoop Evan up and wrap him in the towel while he giggles. "You are a little gremlin," I laugh, shaking the towel through his wet curls.
Once he's dry, I don't bother putting Evan in clothes because he'll just take them off anyway. I can't even count how many times we've been over at someone's else's house and Evan disappears for a few minutes, only to find him stripped off to his underwear on their couch, lounging around watching tv like he owns the place. He's two so it's cute, but he's definitely going to be the kid we have to keep an eye on in the future.
Averie and I need a minute of privacy to do the test and these kids, like any, have no concept of privacy so I need a distraction. So I hoist them into our bed, tucking them underneath the covers before I turn on the tv and hand Aidan the remote.
"Pick a movie." I pop a kiss to both their heads. "Mom and I will be out in a minute."
When I make it back to the bathroom, Averie is closing the cap over the pregnancy test. I close the bathroom door behind me, unbuttoning my wet shirt before I throw it in the hamper and step in behind her while she washes her hands.
I plant my lips on her temple, sliding my hands around her body to rub her stomach. "I know you feel like shit right now, but will you be happy if it's positive?"
"Of course I will, Spence," Averie sighs, resting her head back against my shoulder. She looks completely drained right now, but there's no hiding the excitement in her eyes. "I'll be so happy."
I reach over and grab her toothbrush, loading it up with some toothpaste before I slide it into her hand. "Brush your teeth because I'm going to kiss the crap out of you if it's positive."
While she brushes her teeth, I carefully fold her shirt up underneath her boobs, displaying her full stomach. I tuck my head into the crook of her neck when my finger traces over all her faded stretch marks, appreciating every single one of them. This body has carried and birthed two of my children and I love the little bits of evidence the pregnancy leaves behind. I don't know how it's possible, but I swear I love her more and more everyday.
Averie's eyes widen and she leans over to spit out her toothpaste. "We need a birth plan this time," She says, wiping her mouth. "We can't have a repeat of Evans."
I wince because she's completely right. Evan being born three weeks early while we were on a camping trip in the middle of the woods was not ideal. I've read all about it, even delivered a baby before, but when it came down to it and I had to try to deliver my own baby while my wife was screaming in pain, I freaked out and my mind went blank. Thank god Layla was there.
"No outdoor trips in your ninth month," I wince. "Noted."
Averie groans and rolls her eyes as she swishes some mouth wash around her mouth. "Ugh," She says when she spits. "You just reminded me of the ninth month. I hate the ninth month."
Selfishly, I love the ninth month of her pregnancies. Her bump is so huge she has to waddle everywhere. I love taking care of her so I love that she needs to rely on me to do simple tasks like putting on her socks for her. Her face gets all chubby so when she's grumpy with me she looks like an angry gerbil. It's so cute.
I raise an eyebrow. "Look at it this way, you want three kids, right? Nine months and then you'll never have to be pregnant again."
Averie's eyes begin to pool with tears and her hand rests on her stomach. "Oh my god," She whispers, whipping around to face me. "This could be our last one. I might never be pregnant again."
She's definitely pregnant because in twenty seconds her emotions have done a complete one eighty. Anything I say right now, or for the next nine months for that matter, won't be right.
So I decide to put that conversation on hold for now and turn our attention back to the test. "Think it's time to check?"
Averie nods when she slides the test towards me and steps back. "You look first."
I take a deep breath before I flip the test around. This is the third time we've had a pregnancy test turn positive, but it's still every bit as exciting as the first time.
"It's positive!" My heart warms, looking at the little screen that says +pregnant 6-8 weeks. "We're having another baby."
My hands cradle her face when I plant my lips on hers, showing her all my excitement, appreciation and love in a kiss.
I nuzzle my nose against hers before I rest our foreheads together. "I love you so much."
Averie's face softens and happy tears start streaming down her face. "I love you and your shitty pull out game," She half laughs, half sobs, swiping at the tears on her cheeks.
I drop to my knees and my lips flutter across Averie's stomach, planting a million little kisses into her skin. "I love you so much already," I whisper to the baby, hugging myself around her lower half.
Both our heads turn when the sound of the boys laughing at the movie filters through the closed door.
Averie smiles, sweeping her thumb across my cheek to turn my attention back to her. "Should we tell them yet?"
Evan is two so he won't really know what the hell is going on, but Aidan is five so he'll definitely understand more about pregnancy this time around. The pregnancy is still early and god forbid something bad happens, I don't want to have to explain that all to Aidan.
"Maybe we should wait?" I say, wrapping my arms around her and pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Until we go to the doctor?"
"Okay," Averie nods, laying her cheek on my chest. "We'll wait."
We stay in the bathroom for a few extra minutes, stealing kisses, talking about how excited we are to be expanding our family and appreciating the rare alone time. But eventually, Averie slips her hand into mine and we exit the bathroom.
Aidan's head turns when the door opens. "Do you feel better now mommy?"
"I will when I get some cuddles." Averie says as she slides underneath the comforter, pressing a kiss to both the boys heads when she curls into them.
I round the bed and climb in the other side, sandwiching the boys between Averie and I when the four of us fall to silence, watching the movie playing.
If I thought Averie was bad at taking over most of the room in our bed, that's nothing compared to the boys. I can't even tell you the amount of mornings I've woken up with feet in my face or one of them literally laying on my head.
Now with another little bed hogger on the way, I think it might be time for an upgrade. I lift my head to look over at Averie. "I think we might need to get a bigger bed."
"No we don't," Averie says in dismissal, scooting us all in tighter. "We all just have to snuggle in closer."
-
"Spence?"
I look over at my wife who's currently sat next to me at the doctors office while we wait to be called in for our appointment. "Yeah?"
Averie gives me a soft smile. "I've decided. This is our last baby."
I know Averie has been mulling over this decision for the past few weeks, but it finally looks like she's made her mind up.
I bring our joint hands up to my lips, kissing her knuckles. "Okay," I say with no hesitation. This is one hundred percent her decision. No uterus, no opinion.
I have a beautiful wife and two, soon to be three, beautiful children. That's more than I could have ever dreamed of and Averie is all to thank for that.
"Mrs Reid?"
We follow the nurse down the hall when Averie's name is called. When we get into the nurses office, all the routine questions are asked and answered, and all the baby's scans and measurements are normal and on track.
A soft patter of a heartbeat fills the room and the nurse turns the monitor towards us, gliding the ultrasound wand across Averie's stomach. We smile and share a kiss when the screen shows the black and white outline of our little baby.
"I can see the gender," The nurse says excitedly, pressing the ultrasound wand into Averie's stomach. "Do you want to find out?"
We didn't find out the gender until birth with both of the boys, but now that we know this is our last baby, Averie and I share a look that says why not?
"Yes," Averie says to the nurse. "We'd like to find out now, please."
The nurse smiles. "It's a little girl. Congratulations."
"A girl," Averie gasps, clutching my hand. Her bottom lip trembles and her eyes dampen. "Spence, we're going to have a daughter."
A girl is a whole new ball game. I'm a mix of elated and terrified. "I think I might pass out."
"First girl?" The nurse asks. When I nod, she laughs. "Yeah, that's the usual reaction from dads."
"I hope she looks like me," Averie grins, eyes shining. "Third time lucky."
I laugh, pressing my lips to her cheek repeatedly. "A mini you? God help me."
Twenty minutes later our appointment is over and we've got five new sonogram photos to be proudly stuck on our fridge later.
"I still can't believe it," Averie says, shaking her head. "I kinda thought it would be another boy."
"So did I," I laugh, holding open the passenger side door for her. "I'm going to have to deal with two of you now. You're already enough work."
Averie arches an amused eyebrow while she clicks her seatbelt into place. "I'm dealing with three boys twenty four seven. You can deal with two girls."
I'm not going to lie, knowing the baby is a girl is scaring me a little. "What if she gets a boyfriend someday?"
Averie gives me a you're crazy look. "Then she gets a boyfriend."
"Averie, I might kill him. It's the only solution."
"You're insane," She laughs, rolling her eyes. "Get in the car."
On the drive home I bring our joined hands to my lips, kissing Averie's knuckles. "What do you want to do for dinner?"
She throws me a duh look. "It's Friday."
Ah, yes. Friday's are our pizza and movie nights with the kids. It started when Aidan was young and we've kept up the tradition. It's not like I could change it if I wanted to because nothing messes with those three and their pizza nights.
-
I unlock our front door, letting Averie pass through before me. "It's weirdly quiet in here," She says, pausing in the hallway.
I follow suspiciously behind her. "Too quiet. I hope they're not coloring on the walls again."
We had Penelope come over to watch the boys while we were at the appointment and knowing her, she would provide them with every marker color under the sun and watch with enjoyment as they ruin our walls. Needless to say, they love her.
"Never mind," Averie says from over by the window. "They're out in the backyard."
I slide the hot pizza boxes onto the kitchen table before I follow Averie outside. My kids laughter is one of my favorite sounds and they're giggling while Penelope pushes them on the swing set.
"You're back!" Penelope says, narrowly dodging the boys swinging feet as she jogs over to us. "How was it?"
Penelope knows Averie is pregnant, but we haven't told the boys anything yet. "All healthy," I say, keeping my voice low. My eyes float to Averie, wanting her to say the gender. "And..."
It's a girl Averie mouths excitedly to Penelope.
Penelope's face lights up and I can tell it's taking everything in her right now not to scream, cry, or both. "I'm so, so so happy," She whisper yells, her eyes shining with excitement. She pulls Averie into a hug, rocking back and forth. "A mini you! I love her already."
We have a few more minutes of hushed baby conversation before Averie says, "Are you staying for dinner?"
Penelope waves bye to the boys, grinning when she turns back to us. "No, I've got some baby girl shopping to do."
Averie catches her hand, arching an eyebrow. "Don't you dare buy her clothes already."
Penelope wiggles out of her grip, bouncing on her toes as she heads back into the house. "I can't hear you!"
Averie sighs when she disappears, her lips folding into a thin line. "She's going to show up here tomorrow with one hundred shopping bags and everything pink you can imagine."
I laugh when I swing my arm over her shoulder, tugging her into my side. "Of course she is."
"Dad!" Aidan yells from his swing. "I'm going to jump off. Catch me?"
I hold my arms out wide and when he's at the highest point, he lets go of the rope and flies through the air before I catch him, spinning him in my arms while he laughs.
"My turn!" Evans says when I set Aidan down on his feet.
This turns into ten more minutes of them swinging as high as they can and jumping off into my arms before we finally get them inside, wash their hands and sit down at the table.
"We have some exciting news for you two," Averie smiles, setting a slice of pizza down on both of their plates.
"We're getting bikes?" Aidan asks hopefully, sitting up straighter.
"I'm getting a bike?" Evan mumbles around his pizza. Obviously because of his age he's not too interested in our news. He's more intrigued in the pizza he's stuffing in his face. "Cool."
"How about bikes and a baby sister?"
Aidan's eyes brighten. "We're getting a sister?"
Evan looks between us all. "What's a sister?"
Averie laughs, reaching over to wipe his mouth with a napkin. "It means there's a baby in my belly. How exciting is that?"
The pizza is soon forgotten about and the boys crowd around Averie, pressing their ears to her stomach to see if they can hear the baby. They both cup their hands, borderline screaming hi baby sister into her stomach.
Aidan is a very curious child so I shouldn't be as surprised as I am when he throws out a question I'm not prepared to answer.
"Where do babies come from?"
Averie coughs, turning her head into her shoulder when she mumbles to me, "Spencer, you're up."
Aidan is staring at me with his innocent little eyes, waiting for me to answer. I'm not ready for him to look at me like he knows I've violated his mom just yet, so I try to bullshit my response as much as I can.
"Well, as you know me and your mom are married and in love. What do we say about love?"
Aidan grins, repeating what Averie and I have drilled into him since he was old enough to understand. "Love whoever you want and don't care what anyone else thinks."
"Good," I nod, smiling. "So when you're in love, there's this special thing you do—"
Aidan grimaces slightly, getting a hint at where this is going. "Does it involve you and mom kissing?"
It was difficult to kiss in the position I had Averie in when she got pregnant, but I suppose he's on the right track. I shrug when I say, "Sometimes."
"Mom and dad kissing," Evan sticks his tongue out in disgust. "Gross."
"I know," Aidan says, agreeing with his brother. "Ew."
I chuckle, lacing my fingers through Averie's. "Someday both of you are going to find someone you want to kiss and it won't be so gross then."
-
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this! I loved writing these two again :) as always, you can comment or message me any ideas you have for more bonus chapters!