**I'm going to be completely honest when I say that I work an eight hour shift yesterday and today and updating just totally slipped my mind until now. Sorry guys! Enjoy this chapter!**
Tansy's POV
One Month Later
I jolted up in bed, frantically throwing Tanner's arms off of my body before bolting for the bathroom. I keeled over and vomited into the toilet bowl as my eyes squeezed shut. About ten minutes had passed with my forehead resting on top of my hand on the rim before the wave of nausea finally passed.
In the time I was spewing my guts out, Tanner had come to sit behind me, his legs on either side of my body as he massaged up and down my back in a soothing manner. I leaned back against his chest feeling tired already and the day had only just begun.
"Here, baby." Tanner motioned while holding something out to me. I grabbed the bottle, a big whiff of its contents wafting into my nose before I shoved it back at Tanner dry heaved multiple times into the toilet once again.
"Shit, fuck. Shit, I'm so sorry baby. I totally forgot." Tanner apologized profusely before setting down the bottle of mouthwash and going back to rubbing my back. I patting his hand half-heartedly, letting him know that I didn't blame him and it was okay as another gruesome gurgle emitted from my throat.
I wasn't sure why, but about two weeks ago my body - more like my baby - decided that it absolutely hates the smell and taste of mint. Didn't matter what it was. Tea, food, toothpaste, mouthwash, my shampoo and conditioner. It didn't discriminate. If it smelled or tasted even the most minuscule amount like mint, then my stomach immediately started heaving. It was getting so bad that I had literally resorted to sharing Calla's tube of bubblegum flavored children's toothpaste.
The brain was a powerful, powerful thing. The day I found out I was pregnant and my body was in sync with my brain, my mood swings, tiredness, and morning sickness reared their ugly fatheads up and have been wreaking havoc ever since. Tanner's done his best to help minimize the times I vomit in a day and just my general overall discomfort, but when he's at work and it's just me at the shop until Calla's out of school it's hard. My body just seems to ache, not to mention how mother fucking painful my nipples have been recently. The only time I get any relief is at night when Tanner sucks on them - though when he gets carried away and rough I nearly wet myself from the pain.
Tanner loves me being pregnant. It wasn't that he'd said anything in particular that cued me into his happiness about it, but then again he never uses his words to communicate how he feels. It was all the little touches here and there that he did subconsciously that I caught, but didn't mention for fear that he'd stop doing them out of self-consciousness.
For example, every morning when we brush our teeth his hand always comes around and flattens against my stomach, his fingers splaying across my skin underneath my shirt. When we were eating, no matter what meal of the day, he always gave me extra and never finished his own so that he could offer it to me if I was still hungry. I think the one that got me the most was when I caught a small trash bag hanging from his back pocket. It came after a nightly walk with Calla around the block when a funky smell hit me and caused me to wretch into a nearby trash can - leaving me terrified of what would've happened had there not been somewhere close by for me to release my stomach's contents.
Calla didn't seem to have any clue what was going on whatsoever. She was just as obliviously happy as the day I came back and started spending the night again. It wasn't until today that we finally decided to buy out my apartment's contract and move everything leftover into Tanner's place - soon to be our place. I wasn't surprised when we showed up and Tanner refused to let me lift even a single finger. I tried fighting him on it, but he wasn't having any of it.
Calla and I sat on the carpeted ground of my living room and played monopoly while I watched Tanner and a few of his work friends walk by every now and then with another box to load into the moving truck. What caught my attention, though, and completely pulled me away from the game I was playing was one single sentence.
"So, Scar said you came over last night and gave him a piece of your mind." I whipped my head up so quickly I think I gave myself whiplash. Tanner awkwardly glanced to the side at my intense face before clearing his throat. I don't think he realized that I could still see the side of his face and still make out the pointed look he was giving his friend.
Even if I couldn't see his face, his moronic friend gave him away completely.
"What? I talked to him last night and he told me you guys hung out for a few hours but he wouldn't tell me what you talked about. Just said you got into it." The guy replied dumbly. Tanner smacked his hands over his face before dragging them down in a frustrated manner.
"Buck, could you go load this box into the car please," I said, though it most definitely came out as an order. He glanced my way before giving Tanner and oh shit look and nodding. He grabbed the box from the ground and bolted out of the apartment, clearly not wanting to stick around for the fight Tanner and I were most definitely going to have.
Tanner turned with an exasperated huff before placing his hands on his hips with a wary expression, preparing for the verbal beatdown I was about to give him.
"So, when you told me a few days ago that you hadn't had contact with Scar in at least a month, you were clearly lying," I stated, aggravation heavy in my tone. He opened his mouth to reply when two of his friends re-entered the room.
"Could you both please take Calla to get some ice cream?" I gritted out, not removing my penetrating gaze from Tanner's face. Both guys tensed while looking back and forth between Tanner and me before quickly ushering Calla out of the room - who had already caught on to the tension in the room but chose to ignore it for the sake of getting ice cream.
"Tansy-" He started, but I immediately cut him off.
"Don't you fucking 'Tansy' me!" I shouted. "You heard the fucking conversation I had with Evan the other night. You know first hand how broken she is! How could you fucking keep the fact that you're still friends with that son of a bitch from me!" I screamed, my anger and emotions getting the best of me as it usually did these days.
"Now just you fucking wait. You have no idea what's going on on the other end of this situation, Tansy. I get how it looks right now, but there's so much more going on than what is just on the surface," He growled back.
"Yeah, and that's even worse! You've deliberately been keeping things from me! Since the pregnancy, I haven't withheld anything from you but it's more than clear that you've been busy making secrets." I accused, tears slipping from my eyes and down my cheeks.
"Don't do that, Tansy. Don't make me out to be some villain that is intentionally plotting against you. You know that's not true. There are reasons why I couldn't tell you the things he told me. It's not my place to tell and I'll be fucking damned if I put you and my child at risk." He sneered vehemently. The last sentence caused my heart rate to kick up as my palms began sweating.
"What the hell does that even mean? Put us at risk? What the fuck have you gotten yourself into, Tanner?" I demanded. He huffed, clearly having said too much. He stalled, searching for something to say to me.
"Tanner you better start fucking talking or I'll take my shit and Calla and I will move in with my sister." I whimpered, scared. In the time that I'd know this man, I'd never seen him this reserved and quiet which told me that this was something out of his control and something that scared him shitless too.
"Come here, baby." He huffed before sitting on the lone chair in the room and opening his arms to me. I moved to sit on his lap, clutching at the t-shirt material over his chest while my breathing picked up.
"Calm down, Sweet Bottom. No one will ever get to you so long as I'm here. I can promise you that." He insisted before kissing both my cheeks and forehead. I felt most of my worry and anxiety melt away with his firm, strong touch.
"I need you to tell me or I'll make myself sick with worry," I whispered against the side of his neck as my head rested against his shoulder. He sighed deeply before leaning back into the chair and getting comfortable.
"I don't want you to worry, but there are some pretty scary fuckers after Scar. They have no beef with me, but he's basically my brother so I refuse to let him go through this alone. I'm helping him figure things out, but this is why he fucked things up with Evan so bad. He was just as worried about her as I am about you, our baby, and Calla. If anything were to happen to either of you, I don't think I could live with myself," He rasped out, his voice breaking with the thought. I nodded, sick to my stomach just thinking about the idea.
"I need to tell Evan. I've seen her three times in the last three weeks and she's gotten worse each time. She's withering away, Tanner." I sniffled.
"You can't." He immediately replied before his face took on a pained expression.
"Why the hell not?" I demanded, my anger returning the slightest bit.
"Because you know as well as I and Scar do that the second she finds out the truth she's going to insert herself right into the middle and end up getting herself hurt." He said knowingly. I sighed because he was right and I didn't want to admit it. I nodded before kissing his cheek and snuggling back into his embrace. It was peaceful for a few seconds before the alarm on my phone went off.
"What the hell is that for?" Tanner groaned.
"It's my reminder that we need to leave now for my doctor's appointment or we'll be late." I sighed while getting off his lap. "I totally forgot. You think the boys can keep Calla entertained for about two more hours?" I asked as he bolted up and rushed to grab his wallet and keys.
"What the hell are we waiting for then? Let's go!" He exclaimed before throwing the front door open and giving me a hurry the hell up look. I giggled before following after him as he called his friends to tell - more like demand - that they take Calla to the library or park and keep her entertained until we were done.
**
Tanner looked like a sore thumb sitting in the waiting room of my doctor's office that was currently filled with just women - though if you just look at him you would never know it because he looked as comfortable as could be. I had to giggle when I caught the high school aged girl across from us staring at him in both caution and lust. My laughter pulled her from her intense gaze before her eyes flitted over to me, her cheeks instantly turning a crimson red at being caught staring. I sent her a wink before patting the hand Tanner had rested on my thigh.
I was starting to get annoyed at the long wait, but thankfully my mood was saved as the nurse came out seconds later calling my name. A sense of deja vu washed over me, except this time I wasn't going to get railed by information and I wasn't alone. Tanner's face lit up with a smile before he wrapped his arm around my stomach and sped us towards the nurse that was showing us the way. I laughed softly at his eagerness before taking a seat in the chair and lying back.
"How have you been today, Miss Nicole?" The nurse asked politely, making small talk while pulling up my files and records. Tanner had an irritated glare on his face while furiously reaching around in his pocket. I had absolutely no idea what his problem was, but I couldn't ask until our audience left the room.
"Well, I'm just going to take some quick vitals and then Dr. Anderson will be in to do the ultrasound. We'll have you could take off your pants and undergarments and lay this blanket over your lap for us once I leave," She said with a smile. I nodded and let her do her thing, remaining silent and in my thoughts. Before I knew it, the nurse had left and it was just Tanner and I sitting in silence as I quickly changed and laid back down. I rolled onto my side and examined his face. He looked to be lost in his own thoughts, so I just stayed quiet and watched him. When he finally snapped out of his stupor, his eyes met my own and a small smile pulled at the edges of his lips.
"What were you thinking about?" I whispered. He rolled his chair closer to me and started to rub along the expanse of my side. I released a content sigh as he ghosted his lips across my forehead.
"Just some stuff I have planned." He murmured before pecking both my eyelids, making me realize I had closed them. I was about to ask what he meant when the door opened once again.
"Hello-ah! You have a guest with you today!" Dr. Anderson exclaimed when she entered the room. Tanner and I must've been so far in our thoughts that we didn't hear her knock on the door.
"Well, hello there! I'm Dr. Anderson, and you must be the daddy!" She assumed happily. Tanner nodded before standing up and extending his hand for her to shake. "Let's get started shall we?" She said with a clamp of her hands before noting a few things in my file and starting up all the necessary equipment.
I winced at the cold sensation as she inserted the device. We waited on bated breath before a quiet whirring noise filled the room.
"There's your baby's heartbeat. It's muffled because the heart has just developed. It will grow in strength the farther along you get. I can definitely put you at seven weeks along now. We'll set your due date to the last week of January. Everything looks great for now, just make sure you're eating enough and getting enough sleep at night. That is crucial. As far as telling people about the pregnancy, I always advise mother's to wait until they reach the second trimester because most major complications appear during the first," She explained before cleaning me up and telling me I was okay to get dressed.
"That's going to be hard," Tanner abruptly groaned out.
"What will be?" I asked, confused.
"Not telling people. I want everyone to know you're pregnant with my baby," he groaned. I giggled before patting his cheek and kissing his lips.
"My first trimester will be over in five weeks, we can wait that long," I insisted, though he didn't look convinced.