Nick's alarm beeped rapidly dragging Gaby back into consciousness. She searched blindly for the alarm on the nightstand next to her bed; Gaby smacked the off button with a groan as she turned onto her back. Gaby looked over at Nick who was out cold and slightly snoring; she rolled her eyes and plucked him in the forehead.
"Nick get up," Nick responded with a snort as he turned his back to her.
"Nick get up we have to get going," Gaby said as she tapped his shoulder.
"I'll get up after your shower."
"Why do I—you know what never mind." Gaby tossed herself out of bed and shuffled into the bathroom. After her shower, she came out to find Nick lying at the foot of the bed trying to get himself together.
"We have to go back to my place so I can get some clothes."
"What's wrong with the clothes in the closet?"
"They don't fit." Gaby snapped.
"Okay geez we'll go, you don't have to bite my head off."
"I'm sorry, I just feel so, so, so fat."
"You're not fat at least not yet anyway," Nick said with a laugh as he dodged the brush that was gunning for his head.
"This is all your fault, and I'm going to blame you for this for the rest of my life and probably after."
"Oh come on Gabs, the fault is both yours and mine, and I think you look beautiful. Even if your stomach is sticking out like a sore thumb." Nick said with a chuckle, Gaby grabbed a pillow and attacked Nick with it.
"Okay, okay stop I'm sorry. I'll be good." Nick said as he grabbed the pillow away from Gaby.
"You can hardly tell that you're pregnant once you have clothes on."
"My mother is going to pick up on this right away; I know she is." She said with a groan as she tossed on one of Nick's shirts.
"Let's not worry about it too much."
"Man I've haven't been this nervous since I told my mother I lost my virginity to Henry," Gaby said as she shimmied into a pair of sweatpants.
"That's who you let rob you of your innocence," Nick asked in utter disbelief.
"He was my boyfriend in high school and what was wrong with Henry?"
"I never got what you saw in him; he was so weird," Nick said scrunching up his face.
"He was not weird, just because he liked poetry and playing canasta with his grandmother instead of getting drunk with you and your buffoon friends doesn't mean he's weird. He had class."
"He was weird and overly obsessed with you. He liked sniffing your hair you can't get any weirder than that."
"Oh give me a break Nicholas," Gaby said as Nick slid out of bed and stretched.
"I can't believe you gave your virginity to Henry Fisher and I thought you were a good girl." He said shaking his head as he walked into the bathroom and got into the shower. Gaby stormed into the bathroom and stood in the doorway glaring at Nick through the frosted glass.
"For your information, I am a very good girl. I am glad I am not a male whore like you, who sleeps with anything with a pulse."
"And all of this is coming from the woman with the prego belly who was just screaming this male whores name a few hours ago," Nick said as he went into a laughing fit. Gaby huffed and said,
"Okay, Nick." Gaby pushed the lever down on the toilet and smiled to herself as she heard Nick yelp as the hot water shocked his system.
Gaby grabbed her car keys and went back home and packed a bag for the trip. When she returned, Nick was waiting for her outside with a scowl.
"Somebody looks like they woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning." She said with a laugh as she walked up to him.
"It's not funny; do you know how hot that water got?"
"I have an idea."
"Get in the car, Gaby." He commanded.
"I have to pee first," Gaby said walking passed him. Nick shook his head and waited for her in the car.
Gaby took her seat on the plane and watched as Nick put their carry on in the overhead compartment and took a seat acting like Gaby didn't exist.
"You can't possibly still be mad at me, "she said with a pout, but Nick pushed his earplugs into his ear and closed his eyes.
"You're such a big baby." She said as shaking her head and staring out the window.
When they arrived in Richmond Nick was still ignoring Gaby, and she was not happy about it.
"Here you go Mr. Gregorio." The receptionist said handing Nick back his driver's license.
"Your car should be coming right out; I hope you and your wife have a great time here in Virginia." She said with a big smile.
"Oh we're not married, we're just friends," Nick said with a smile.
"Best friends," Gaby interjected, but no one paid her any mind. Gaby was starting to get nauseous watching Nick flirt with the woman, so she walked outside and waited for their car. When their car pulled up a young man with shoulder-length locs who looked to be no more than twenty-two got out of the car and smiled at her showing off his dimples.
Ooo dimples and locs how cute.
"Here you go, Miss." He said as he opened the passenger door for her.
"How did you know I'm not the driver?" Gaby said with a big grin on her face.
"I noticed when you walked in with that guy, is he your man?"
"Nope,"
"I'm DeShawn."
"Gabrielle," Gaby said placing her hand into his.
"What brings you to Virginia?"
"I'm visiting my parents."
"How fun." He said dryly.
"I know," Gaby said with a laugh. They talked for a while until Nick walked out of the building and frowned at Gaby's new found friend.
"Let's go, Gaby." Nick huffed, and Gaby just rolled her eyes.
"Well if you need someone to show you where all the hotspots are, I'm your man," DeShawn said handing Gaby his card.
"I'll keep that in mind," Gaby said with a smiled as she pocketed the card before getting into the car and Nick drove off.
"What the hell was that?" Nick snapped as they got onto the highway.
"What was what?" Gaby asked innocently.
"If you need someone to show you around I'm your man," Nick said imitating DeShawn.
"I just made a new friend."
"Yeah, I don't think so."
"What was so different from what I did from your love fest with the Avis lady?"
"Lovefest?"
"You practically splayed her out on the freaking desk. All I did was make a new friend ."
"New friend my ass, he was looking at you like you were the only drink of water in the desert, and since when are you a cradle robber?"
"He's twenty-two we're only six years apart. It sounds like someone is jealous to me." Gaby said as she folded her arms across her chest and stared out the window.
"I'm not jealous, I just don't like it when men stare at my...." Nick trailed off as he merged off the highway.
"My what?" Gaby probed but Nick wasn't saying anything else. They rode in silence for the next ten minutes until they pulled into Gaby's parent's driveway.
"Well here we are." Nick said with a sigh while Gaby dug in her bag for her keys.
"I would like to eat before I die." Gaby said as she pulled the keys from her bag and got out of the car. Nick followed behind her to the front door and stood next to Gaby and pulled her into him by her coat.
"Do I feel an apology coming?" Gaby asked with a smirk as she looked up at him.
"I figured if I'm gonna die I might as well leave on good terms." He said as he bent down to kiss her lips when the door flew open.
"Thanks Nick for getting that dust out of my eye." Gaby said nudging Nick's head back with her hand as she faced her father.
"Hi daddy," Gaby said as she hugged him.
"Gaby, what are you doing here?" he asked as he let them in.
"We wanted to surprise you and mom. Is that okay?"
"Yeah, of course,"
"Hello Mr. McNair." Nick said as James stared him down. Even though Nick was taller and bigger than James he always felt intimidated by him.
"Hello Nick."
"Nick, thank you so much for taking care of our little girl, she gained weight and looks so happy." Isabelle said as she hugged Nick.
Gaby just smiled as she watched Nick try to keep his cool.
"So what brings you two down here like this?" Isabelle asked as she took Nick's coat and hung it up on the coat rack.
"Well I have a bit of news to tell you but can we eat first, I'm starving." Gaby said taking her mother by the hand and pulled her towards the kitchen.
"Gaby don't make Auntie Ice cook," Nick said calling Isabelle the nickname he had given her as a child.
"We'll go out to eat, on me."
"Well in that case get your coat mom." As soon as the words left Gaby's mouth the doorbell rang causing everyone to look at the door.
"I guess we're popular today." James said as he opened the door to find Nick's parents Paige and Brian standing there smiling.
"Surprise!" Paige said as she walked into the house and straight into her best friends arms.
"Paige you didn't tell me you were coming this way last night."
"Well after Nick called me this morning and told me that they were coming down, we just had to come over." Paige said as she pulled her scarf away from her neck.
"Gaby you look so pretty." Paige said as she hugged her.
"Your just glowing." She said getting full as tears welled up in her eyes. Gaby looked at Nick who was standing off in the corner looking guilty, 'she knows' he mouthed to her apologetically. Gaby felt her heart drop to her feet as she began to plead with Paige mentally not to say anything.
"We were just going out to eat." Nick said trying to bring his mother in.
"Perfect I'm hungry." Paige beamed.
Isabelle and James grabbed their coats while Nick pulled his mother aside.
"So dad, how is work?" Gaby asked as she walked with him out of the house and onto the front porch.
"Slow, which is good, we had a hectic month." James served as head of the second Behavioral Analyst Unit in Quantico. James and his team consulted on crimes against children, Gaby knew that he had seen some pretty gruesome things, and when he came home he was pretty tight lipped about it all. Gaby also knew that it was the reason why he was so protective over her.
Everyone got into their cars and as soon as Nick closed his door Gaby let him have it.
"You told your mother? Of all the people to tell you told her!." She said as she punched him in the arm.
"You know she can't keep a secret to save her life." she fussed.
"I know, I'm sorry, but when I talked to her last night it just slipped out. I told her that we hadn't told your parents yet so she agreed to not say anything. It's not going to be easy."
"Don't I know it."
When they arrived at the restaurant Paige made sure that Nick and Gaby sat together. Gaby could tell that she was really excited about her future grandchild; she only hoped that her parents would take the news so well.
When the appetizers and drinks arrived, all of the different aromas were making Gaby nauseous.
"Are you okay?" Nick whispered.
"No, I feel like I'm about to barf." Gaby excused herself from the table and went to the bathroom and made it just in time. When she walked out of the stall Paige was waiting for her with a wet paper towel.
"Thank you." Gaby said as she patted her face with the cool towel.
"How far along are you?"
"Thirteen weeks, well fourteen weeks tomorrow,"
"It'll get better trust me, I was sick as a dog with Nicky but after I was sixteen weeks I was fine the rest of the way."
"I hope so." Gaby said as Paige hugged her.
"I'm so excited, I'm going to be a grandmother." She said as she clapped her hands. Gaby was glad she could make her so happy.
Paige and Gaby walked out of the bathroom arm in arm, and when they reached the table Gaby noticed the look of anguish on Nick's face.
"Gabrielle, Brian said that your pregnant is that true?" James asked in almost a whisper as Gaby sat down. Gaby felt as if all of the air had been knocked out of her and the whole restaurant was staring at her.
"I'm sorry I thought they knew." Gaby heard Brian whisper to Nick.
"Yes it's true; Nick and I are having a baby."
silence fell over the table, Gaby turned and looked at her mother who had her hand over her mouth as tears filled her eyes.
"How could you Gaby? What were you thinking?" Isabelle questioned softly. Gaby knew that whenever Isabelle questioned her like that Isabelle was seething.
"You are in no type of position to be having a child," Isabelle said barely able to look at her.
"How can you say that, you were twenty-four when you had me?" Gaby asked not even caring that people where starting to look at them.
"It was different your father and I were married, which you aren't, and I wasn't spoiled rotten and self-absorbed like you." Paige's mouth gapped open, and her eyes stretched as she waited to see what would happen next. Gaby stared at her mother for a minute as she contemplated whether she should respond or not. Gaby got up from her seat and stormed out of the restaurant, not even caring that she had left her coat and purse behind. Nick followed behind her with her coat and purse and had caught up with her in the parking lot.
"Gaby put your coat on before you catch a cold." Nick said as he held it open for her.
"Can we get out of here now?" she asked as she buttoned up her coat.
"I think you need to talk to your mother."
"No I don't. When she gets like that there is no talking to her." Gaby rested her head on Nick's chest and said "Can we just go home now?"
"Let's check into a hotel for the night, and we'll leave tomorrow as planned." Nick said as he hugged her.
"Fine," Gaby and Nick checked into a hotel for the night and left on their afternoon flight back to New York.