Pregnant

Annah read the singular word over again, for what felt like hours, but could have been no more than ten minutes. She knew, because the constant tick, tick of the wall clock over the towel rack resonated loudly throughout the spacious bathroom.

Pregnant

She'd read those words again in the thick block letters on the screen of her home pregnancy test, with the numbers 2-3 in smaller letters underneath. According to Clear Blue, she was 2-3 weeks pregnant. Annah finally placed the pregnancy test, down on the side of the sink, and looked into the mirror. Processing this life altering information, she swallowed hard, and took a deep breath in, and then back out. Closing and then opening her eyes again, she stared herself down in the mirror. Feeling the butterflies spread from the pit of her stomach, and throughout the rest of her body, her lips slowly began to curve into the biggest smile that she's ever smiled. She, Annah Lovell was going to become a mother.

The realization that a living being was growing inside of her was enough to set the butterflies off all over again. Or was that the baby? Was it too early to tell? A million thoughts raced through her mind, as she processed the news.

Breaking Annah from her thoughts, she heard the familiar ding from her phone, alerting her that she had just received a text message. Racing from the bathroom, and into the bedroom, Annah grabbed her phone from the nightstand by her side of the bed. She swiped right on her screensaver, and tapped the messages icon. Her heart dipped a little in disappointment, when she read the name at the top of the screen. It was Rebecca, her sister.

Rebecca: Are we still on for lunch?

Shit, she forgot she was supposed to meet up with Rebecca today. The pregnancy news had immediately consumed all of her attention. She quickly typed back a response, her fingers moving rapidly over the keypad.

Annah: Yeah, the Ivy, right?

Rebecca: Change of plans. Lola's sick. I was thinking we could do lunch at my place instead? I'm making Gnocchi.

Fantastic, Annah typed as her stomach grumbled. She couldn't tell if it was due to pregnancy cravings, or if things were beginning to go to her head a little too quickly. Either way she could eat. She quickly pressed send, followed by an On my way, text. She put on her shoes, and grabbed her keys and headed for the door.

 

 

"So, do you think she'll like it?" JC Chasez was seated at his best friend, Lance Bass's kitchen table, getting a final opinion of the Neil Lane ring that he was holding in his hand. An abundance of tiny white diamonds surrounded the square-cut canary yellow diamond, as well as the rose gold band. The brilliance of the diamond reflected off of the light and shone brightly.

"I think she'll love it," Lance said, taking the ring and twirling it between his thumb and forefinger, carefully inspecting it. He was proud of his friend- no- brother, for finally taking the plunge. "So, when do you plan on popping the question?"

"Tomorrow night."

"Nice, a Valentine's Day engagement."

"Do you think she'll say yes?" Over the past few weeks of planning the engagement, JC was excited to finally take the next step in his life, but somewhere, deep down in the back of his mind, was that little twinge of doubt buried deep down. What if she just wasn't ready yet?

"Do I think she'll say yes? Of course she'll say yes!" Lance exclaimed. "Y'all have been together for four years, and living together for two. You're practically married already."

JC mulled over those words for a moment, practically married already. He and Annah had been in a committed relationship for four years now, but almost didn't count. He wanted to make their union official. "Yeah, but now it's time," he finally said aloud, more to himself, then to Lance. And yes, it was his time finally to tie the knot. After watching Justin, Chris, and then finally Lance get married within the span of 2 years, JC felt in his heart that his time had come; Annah was the one, and he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, completely committed.

"Well I think this deserves a toast," Lance announced, getting up from the table and pulling out a half full bottle of Pinot Grigio. He grabbed two mason jars from his cabinet, and began to pour the wine.

"Mason jars, seriously?"

"What? These are my good ones!" Lance smirked, making his way over to the table with the jars in hand.

You know how the saying goes; you could take the boy out of the country, but....

Sitting down across from JC, Lance lifted his jar into the air, and began his toast, "to JC no longer being the last single member of the brotherhood."

JC playfully rolled his eyes at Lance's little faux-jab, and lifted his jar into the air as well. "To married life," he said before clinking jars with Lance, and guzzling down his wine. He was finally saying, Bye Bye Bye to the single life.

 

 

 

"Becca," Annah called, upon entering her sister's home. "Becs," she called again, shutting the door behind her.

"I'm in here," Rebecca called back.

Making her way through the foyer and hallway, Annah followed her sister's voice into the kitchen, where she could smell the familiar smell of their Nanny's baked gnocchi wafting through the air. It smelled like home in the summers of Rhode Island.

"Hey, you made it!" Rebecca said, untying her apron, and turning off the timer on the oven.

"Yeah, sorry I'm late; I had something I needed to do."

Pregnant

The pregnancy test flashed through Annah's mind again, as she said the words, I'm late.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine." Annah tried her best to stifle her nervous energy, which was hard to do around her sister, who knew her almost a little too well. She was relieved to see that Rebecca seemingly hadn't detected anything off about her demeanor. "So, how's Lola?" She asked, quickly changing the subject. She took a seat at the counter, while Rebecca put on an oven mitt to take the baking dish out of the oven, and then scurried around the kitchen for plates, glasses and silverware.

"Well, she was running a fever this morning, so I decided to keep her home today." Lola was the five year old that Rebecca, and her husband Sam had adopted from South Korea when she was four months old. "I gave her dose of Benadryl, and she's been out like a light for the past hour. Hey, you look great!" Rebecca exclaimed, finally slowing down and taking time to get a good look at her sister.

"Um, thanks," Annah laughed nervously, and started twirling her hair, as she always did whenever she felt put on the spot.

"You're totally glowing! Have you been exfoliating with that Kate Somerville cream I gave you for Christmas?"

"Yeah, that's it," Annah replied, thankful that her sister had unknowingly provided her with an easy cover up.

Pregnant

The word flashed again in her mind, this time in big block letters just like it had shown up on the test, accompanied with the dancing baby from Ally McBeal. She didn't know how much longer she could keep this a secret.

"Good stuff, right?"

"Uh, yeah. Great," Annah stammered, shaking Dancing Baby and Blue Swede's Hooked on a Felling from her head.

"Sooo, I know that an indoor lunch isn't exactly what we planned, but I was hoping that Nanny's cheesy baked gnocchi would make up for it." Rebecca placed a plate and fork in front of Annah, as well as one for herself, before she glided over to the stainless steel refrigerator. "And, I have this," she said proudly, producing a frosty bottle of Malbec wine from the bottom freezer.

Pregnant

Annah could feel those butterflies again, their wings fluttering up a storm right at the pit of her stomach. "I- uh..." She was getting cotton mouth. "Um, isn't it a little too early in the day to be drinking?"

"Annah, it's past one."

"I know, but I think I'll pass."

"Since when do you have an aversion to wine?" Rebecca asked, cocking her head to the side, and raising a single brow.

"I don't. I'm cleansing. It's an alcohol detox type thing, I just started it." Annah averted her eyes, and tried her best to sound convincing, but she could already tell that Rebecca wasn't buying what she was trying to sell.

‘Since when do you cleanse?" She asked suspiciously while setting the wine down on the counter beside her.

"Since today." Since she found out she was pregnant.

"Liar!" Rebecca said, narrowing her eyes, and pointing an accusatory finger at Annah.

"Becca!" She shouldn't be the least bit surprise that her sister didn't believe her. She was a horrible liar, but she would continue to keep up the charade.

Rebecca studied her sister for a moment, before slowly cracking a smile. "Oh my God. You're pregnant!"

"Yeah," Annah conceded. There it was. The cat was finally out of the bag. "Yes, I am." To be honest, she felt a wave of relief wash over her, now that her secret was known.

"Oh my God!" Rebecca gasped, clasping her hands over her face in shock at the realization that her baby sister was now an expectant mother. "Oh my God," she repeated as she exhaled.

As Rebecca walked towards her, Annah noticed tears on the brink of falling, and soon the emotions swirled within her. "Oh my God," suddenly she was echoing her sister, as it dawned on her for the second time that day, that she was actually carrying a child. All of the emotions, so fresh and raw started to surface.

"We're having a baby!" Rebecca cried. She threw her arms around her sister, and they embraced in a hug. A long, tight hug full of love and warmth.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Rebecca finally asked, once they released each other from the hug. She began wiping her tears, as did Annah.

"I wanted to tell you so bad," Annah replied, crying and laughing at the same time. "I just found out today, that's why I took so long coming over here. Josh doesn't even know yet, and I really wanted him to be the first to know."

"When are you gonna tell him?"

"I was planning on telling him tomorrow. If I can hold out that long!"

"Oh, Valentine's Day. The timing couldn't be any more perfect."

"I know, but that's only if I can keep a secret."

"Are you happy?"

"So happy," Annah responded, wiping a fresh set of tears away. "This is definitely the best Valentine's Day ever."

 

The next night, Annah was getting ready for her date night with JC as she anxiously waited to break the news to him that she was pregnant.  She'd gone over the scenario a few times, and had been mentally rehearsing how she would tell him.

Honey, I'm pregnant.

Too bland.

Josh, I'm with child!

She'd sound like a housewife from the fifties.

We're having a baby!

Albeit, sounding a bit cheesy, this seemed like the best way to tell him. How many ways were there to tell a significant other that you were expecting, without going the attention seeking, over the top social media route? She smiled to herself, thinking of how in just a few short hours, JC would be basking in the excitement of a baby right along with her.

Slicking her hair back, and securing it neatly in a tight chignon, and smoothing out her black Saint Laurent cocktail dress, Annah gave herself a final once over, before slipping into her black five inch stilettos. She decided to get as much mileage out of her Manolos as possible, for it wouldn't be long until she wouldn't be able to walk in them!

 

Meanwhile, downstairs, JC was anxiously checking for the time. He had everything specially planned out for the evening, and he needed everything to run according to plan. Confidant that things would run smoothly, seeing to every last detail was his way of keeping his nerves intact.

Tonight was the night that he would propose to Annah. He'd never done anything of this magnitude in his entire life, and he needed for everything to go perfectly. Now if only for once in her life, Annah would be on time...

"Hey, Josh you ready?" Annah called, as she made her way down the stairs.

"As I'll ever be," JC replied, with a knowing smirk.

 

 

"I can't believe this," JC sighed in exasperation. An hour later, JC and Annah were stuck in LA's Saturday night traffic.

"Calm down, honey, so what if we're a few minutes late? It's not the end of the world," Annah reassured him.

No, it may not be the end of the world, but the ship would sail. Literally. JC had planned the perfect romantic evening for Annah and himself upon the Marina Bay floating restaurant, and it was set to sail at 8:15, which gave them only forty-five minutes to get to the dock. This would be no easy feat, considering how backed up traffic was.

As they inched slowly inched forward onto the highway, traffic came to a complete stop. "Oh, looks like there's been an accident," Annah said, peeking from over the dashboard and over the tops of cars ahead of them.

Great, JC thought to himself. I am totally, fucking screwed. He let out another frustrated huff, as he placed the car in park, because from the looks of it, they were going nowhere fast anytime soon.

"C'mon Josh, lighten up, there's nothing we can do about an accident," Annah said. "No matter how frustrated you are, it's not gonna get us anywhere faster."

While this may have been true, it didn't make him feel any better. "I know.... I just had everything planned out perfectly," JC tried his best to explain without giving too much away.

"And you honestly think that all of these other people stuck in traffic didn't?" She asked, turning to him, and pointing towards the sea of cars among them.

"I guess you're right," JC conceded. He leaned his head back against his headrest, and glanced at the clock on the radio. It was now 7:50, and they were more than thirty minutes away. Reluctantly so, JC let go of the idea of the "perfect proposal", along with the Marina Bay floating restaurant and it's string quartet, rose petals, and the rare 1929 Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Brut. There was nothing that he could do.

‘C'mon, let's listen to some music." Annah turned up the volume on the radio, where the station had been playing classic love songs. "Oh, this is our song," she swooned as Can't Take My Eyes Off You by Frankie Valli filled the speakers. "Remember when you sang this to me on our first date?"

And that memory on that warm spring night came flooding back to JC like it was just yesterday.

The sun was setting, and the warm air smelled nice and sweet as the dogwoods floated from the trees, and swirled around them.

"Sing to me,' Annah had requested.

"Ummm, no," JC replied bashfully.

"Oh come on, you sing for a living, you can't sing for me?"

"Uh, no, I don't sing for my dates that's... cheesy."

"Well I don't think it's cheesy," Annah coaxed, playfully batting her eyelashes.

"You're not gonna let up are you?"

"Mmm-mm," she cocked her head to the side and shook her head no.

"Alright, what do you want me to sing?" JC asked, finally relenting.

"Whatever you want!"

Taking half a second to decide on what to sing, JC chose a song, and began to serenade Annah with Can't Take my Eyes off You. After the first verse, JC stopped to look back at Annah who was now blushing.

"That was beautiful," Annah gasped. She'd never had a man sing to her before. Even if she did have to practically beg him, he still did it. For her.

"Gee, thanks," JC replied, scratching the back of his head as they started to walk again.

"That should be our song!"

"Whoa, don't you think you're getting a little bit ahead of yourself, there?"

"Not at all." Annah flashed him that warm innocent, incredible smile. The one that could make him do anything. Even sing in public on a first date. And from that moment, he knew that she was the one.

"So tell me, what did your top secret plans involve?" Annah asked, breaking JC from his reverie.

"Huh?"

"This date that you've been so up in arms over. Tell me what you had in mind."

JC spent the next few seconds debating his next move. Finally, he pulled the black velvet box from the back pocket of his pants.

"Josh..." Annah could practically feel her heart rising to her throat.

"Annah, tonight I was going to propose to you," JC confessed, opening up the velvet box to reveal the canary yellow Neil Lane diamond ring.

"Was?" Annah choked.

"I was planning to take you somewhere special, and-"

"I don't need special-"

"-romance you, and pop the question on the water after a candlelit dinner, and a string quartet to serenade us. But, as you can see, things didn't quite go as planned. Life doesn't go as planned. I live each day, planning and organizing everything, and things don't always turn out the way that I plan for them to, but that one thing I know that I can always count on, is you." JC took a moment to breathe, before asking the most important question of his life. "Annah Lovell will you marry me?"

"Yes," Annah cried, without hesitation and holding out her shaking left hand. "Of course I'll marry you!"

As JC slid the ring on Annah's finger, he could feel every worry and doubt that he'd had about tonight practically melt away. It wasn't the date itself that was important, it was the answer. And he'd gotten the one that he'd wanted. "God I love you so much, Annah," JC whispered as he leaned in to kiss her. The moment-though unexpected- could not have been more perfect.

Breaking from the kiss, Annah leaned back to look at her ring."It's beautiful," she marveled, taking in her new ring. She felt that familiar swirl in the bottom of her stomach again, and knew that there was no better moment to tell him than now. "Josh I-"

Bleep!

Before she could get the words out of her mouth, she was interrupted by the blaring horns of the cars behind them.

JC and Annah both looked up and noticed that traffic had finally begun to move. "Looks like we'll make it out of this thing after all," JC said, as he put the car back in motion.

"Get off at the next exit," Annah instructed, as they cruised down the highway.

"Why?"

"Because there's something I want to do."

Doing as he was told, JC took the next exit, and they drove for a few blocks before Annah told him to pull over. "Okay. What are we doing here?" JC asked, pulling up to the curb.

"Oh come on, you don't know?"

JC shook his head, clueless,

"This is where you took me after we had our first date, you remember, later that night, when you sang to me."

JC looked up into the night sky and out into the wilderness as realization dawned on him. They were at Garfield Park. It was where he'd taken her four years ago on their first night out. Where she'd made him sing to her, and when he'd knew that she was the one.

"C'mon," Annah waved jovially, as she exited the car. "Let's take a walk."

 

 

The atmosphere was enchanting, almost the way it had been four years ago, minus the allergy inducing dogwoods. Music was playing and couples were strolling along leisurely, taking in the scenery. JC and Annah walked hand in hand enjoying their night out as a newly engaged couple.

"So, I know things didn't turn out exactly as planned, but I must say that I find spontaneity to be much more exciting," Annah said. "I am so happy."

"And I'm happy knowing that I can make you happy," JC replied, pulling her close.  

After a few minutes of walking, Annah and JC came to a stop underneath a large oak tree. "So here we are," JC announced. "The scene of the crime."

 "Where I first asked you to sing to me," Annah smiled, thinking back to that night.

"Only this time, I think we should dance." JC suggested, extending his hand out to Annah.

"And I think you're right," Annah replied, taking his hand. He pulled her close, as they gently swayed to the music.

Just as one song died down, another came on.

"Wow!" JC chuckled, as This I Promise You filled the sound system and played throughout the park, and other couples swayed along.

"Well hey, it's no Frankie Valli, but it holds up pretty nicely," Annah said playfully. "You know Josh, I couldn't possibly think of a better way to spend this Valentine's Day than here in the park with you as my fiancé, and our baby."

"Annah, what did you just say?"  JC stopped in his tracks to fix his eyes on hers.

"Well, you weren't the only one keeping a secret Josh. I'm pregnant." Annah carefully watched his face, trying to guage his emotions.

When he said nothing, she began to get nervous. "Josh?"

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

"We're having a baby?"

"Yes."

JC face slowly began to split into a smile. Just when he thought that his day had completely gone to hell, he now had a fiancée and a baby on the way.

"Josh, are you okay?"

"I couldn't be happier. We're having a baby!" He proudly exclaimed, before picking her up and spinning her around.

In that moment, JC felt like the luckiest man in the world. In a few short hours, life as he knew it had completely changed. He had the greatest woman in the world by his side, and she was having his child. He was doubly blessed, and knew that some people would never experience as much happiness as he had felt today, in a lifetime, and that made him all the more grateful.

"Joshua Scott! You put me down this instant; morning sickness is not reserved specifically for morning hours!" Annah said, laughing.

"Sorry, babe," JC replied, putting her back down, and kissing her. "C'mon let's get out of here."

"Mmm, yes, because I'm hungry and eating for two, now."

"And after all he is growing boy."

"Girl."

"Hey as long as it's healthy and happy, I'm happy!" If there's one thing JC wasn't gonna do was argue with a pregnant woman.

"That's right, Josh. And remember; Happy Mama, happy baby!"