23 weeks
Christmas passes in a blur. Calum and I spend the day lazy on my couch, watching Christmas movies and sipping hot chocolate. We FaceTime his family and my Dad which leaves us both a little sad and missing our loved ones. We'd agreed on no presents as we didn't want to put too much pressure on ourselves after just beginning our relationship but Cal surprised me by revealing he'd bought the baby a present. He'd grinned like a madman as he handed me the neatly wrapped gift. I tore through the paper like a child and found a custom onesie "Daddy's biggest fan" with the 5sos logo on it. His sweet and thoughtful nature was insanely attractive and I was struck again by how lucky our baby would be to have him as a father.
•
We picked January second as the day for our gender reveal. We wanted to find out what we were having along with everyone else we loved. We had given our envelope with the note from the doctor to Lena who was handling everything so that all we had to was show up.
Ashton was the closest of the boys to Calum and had offered to help with the reveal. Lena had ordered special packets with the appropriate colored powder in them. When the time came, they'd be placed on Ashton's drum kit and while he played they'd shoot the powder up revealing the gender of the baby.
It was a little elaborate but it was incredibly sweet and it made me happy knowing the boys were behind us on this. I know the support of his friends was crucial to Calum so to see them jump on board so quickly was a relief.
Cal and I made our way to Ashton's house. Since his drums were already here he had offered to host the small get together.
"Are you nervous?" He asked, looking over to me from the driver's seat.
"Not really. I'll be happy either way."He absentmindedly tangles his finger with mine.
"Yeah, I'm the same. You know I want a girl but...as long as they're healthy, I don't particularly mind either way." I smile up at him as we pull into the driveway.
We step out of the car and move inside where our friends wait for us. We're both quickly enveloped in a hug from an unmistakable voice.
"Mali! You flew all the way out from London?" Cal's face is completely lit up, ecstatic to see his sister and best friend.
"Of course! I have some promo out here anyway and it's my first niece or nephew I had to come."
He brings her back in for another hug. "Thank you."
"Thanks for coming, Mali!" I whisper after Cal has broken from her and moved on to speak with the boys. "Are you feeling better about things now?"
"Aw, yeah, Jes. I'm sorry I was such an ass last time. I'm really happy for you and Cal."
"You were just worried, no need to apologize. It's all settled." She smiles and squeezes my hand before excusing herself to grab a drink.
No sooner has she vanished from sight, than Lena appears next to me. She throws her arm across my shoulder and pulls me in to her.
"I'm really glad this is all working out for you, Jes." She looks at me knowingly. "You've been through so much, you deserve someone like Calum."
"He's pretty great, isn't he?"
"What did he say when you told him about Mark?"
My body tenses and I get a chill as she mentions his name.
"It um...it hasn't come up."
"Jessie" she mutters sternly.
"I know, I know" I put my hands up in defense.
"That was such a hard thing for you, he needs to know. Especially if you want your relationship with him to continue."
"Of course I do."
"Then you need to tell him."
"I will, I promise. Just not today, ok?"
She nods understanding that now is not the time for such a touchy and personal discussion.
"Just promise me you'll tell him"
"Tell me what?" Cal says as he approaches us and grabs a cupcake from the table behind us. His tone is light and non-accusatory, purely curious.
"Nothing we need to worry about now, babe." I say hoping to end the conversation.
"Okay" He says joining his eyebrows together but thankfully dropping the subject. He leads me over to the boys and their girlfriends and I chat with them until Lena asks everyone to venture out to the back yard.
Ashton's drums are set up in the grass with all the guests standing nearby on the small stone patio.
"Alright everyone who thinks baby Hood is a girl step to the right." Sierra, Crystal, KayKay, my dad, Christina and Calum all move over showing their guess. That leaves Mali, Luke and Micheal with me on the boy side. Lena stays neutral since she's the one who knows. Cal raises his eyebrow at me showing his amusement with my choice. This is the first time I've indicated what I thought the baby was.
"We think girl!" Cal's mom says through the iPad screen where she and his dad watch from Australia.
"Just for the record, I vote boy" Ashton says as he takes his place on his stool.
I laugh while Cal and I move slightly closer so we can hold hands while still remaining loyal to our guess.
"Alright, here we go" Ash says.
He hits the kick drum and begins to play. He bangs and crashes into his drums carefully avoiding the packets and allowing the suspense to build.
"Oi! Do it all ready we wanna know!" Luke calls and I laugh.
Ash smirks and plays one last run before he smacks his sticks hard against the small black packets. Pink powder fills the air as Cal and I both jump up in excitement. He pulls my body against him and smashes his lips to mine. We pull away a few seconds later as he wraps his arm around me and I press against him.
"A baby girl" he whispers. "Are you happy?" He questions looking down to me.
"Ecstatic"
Our friends rush to congratulate us. The girls gushing about all the sweet outfits I can buy now and how I can dress her up like a mini me.
"Cal's fucked" Micheal says and I shoot him a questioning gaze. "He's such a pushover, that little girl's gonna get away with everything."
"Hey! I am not a pushover!" Cal cries defensively.
"Whatever you say bud" Micheal offers while squeezing his shoulder. "And don't even get me started on when she's old enough to date."
Cal's face pales and I fail to hold back a snort.
"She's not dating until she's 30." He says seriously looking me dead in the face.
"Yeah, yeah, okay."
•
"I've gotta buy new clothes." I whine to Cal as I join him in my bedroom. "These pants are basically too small now and I'm barely showing."
"We can go shopping tomorrow after you get off work if you want. Or you can order offline. I'll give you my card information."
"You're not buying my clothes Cal."
"Don't fight me on this, Jes. I've got plenty of money."
"I can afford my own clothes."
"I know you can, but let me do this for you. I already feel like a tag-a-long. This is one way I can contribute to the pregnancy, by making sure my sweet girl's mum is happy and has clothes that fit."
I roll my eyes at him.
"How about I let you buy her clothes."
"Just let me do this. Please?" He makes puppy dog eyes which is really unfair because he's already so damn cute and how could I possibly deny him when he's looking at me like that.
"Ugh, fine. You win. Let's go tomorrow though I'm not sure what my sizes will be so I don't know how to order online." He nods and pulls me closer to him on my bed. I rest my chin on his shoulder and my fingers lazily trail across the ink on his bicep.
"I'm really glad Mali could come." I say as I trace her name on his arm.
"Yeah, I was a little worried about her at first. Obviously, you know how close we are. I don't know what I would have done if she hadn't come around." His eyes darken as he considers the thought.
"At least it's not something we have to worry about now."
He nods and places a soft kiss against my forehead.
"We should probably start getting some stuff for her soon. Or at least go register at the baby shops."
I nod slightly and let my hand rest on the small bump.
"I don't know if it even seemed real to me until today."
"Jes, we've had scans and heard her heartbeat, told our parents, none of that made it real to you?"
"Yes and no. I knew it was happening, but nothing has made it as real as knowing we're having a little girl. Now I have this mental image of what she'll look like and it's just...a lot. But in the best way."
"What do you think she'll look like?"
"When I see her in my head she's got dark curls, like you with green eyes, my nose, but your dimples. She's beautiful."
He sighs in contentment and pulls me closer.
"You wanna watch a movie before I head back to mine?"
"Sure. Pick something while I take a quick shower."
"Can I join?" A mischievous smile covering his face.
"Not this time." I laugh.
He pouts lightly before looking around for the remote. I grab a T-shirt, underwear and some sleep shorts then head to my bathroom. I shut the door behind me slipping off my clothes from today.
The hot water relieves the tension in my back that seems to grow more constant as my pregnancy progresses. I wash my hair and body enjoying the way the water hits my skin. I finish up, turning the faucet ending the constant stream of liquid. I grab a towel and begin drying off before I feel, just....off.
I scrunch my face and try to place the feeling. I grab my underwear and go to put them on before stopping in my tracks.
"CALUM!" I shriek.
His footsteps thunder through the house as he barges through the bathroom door. He stops short and takes in the scene, fear coating his face as he looks at me, standing in a pool of blood.
AN: Thank you Wataquotev for the gender reveal idea
Don't hate me for this.
Anyone have any ideas of what's about to happen?
-Sav 🖤