( jamie ) the news will hit you like a punch

[piper mackenzie blake]

Piper had come home from Europe with Jamie about three months ago. For the last two weeks, she had been up and down with some sort of sickness. She figured it was a stomach bug but it kept coming in waves. The last few days she had been spending most of her time on the floor of her apartment building.

Jamie had been staying over to help take care of her but the day before, she was starting to feel a little better so Jamie went to his own home. Piper didn't want Jamie to feel obligated to constantly take care of her when he had his own life to live. They were in the beginning stages of going back into the studio and Jamie had a lot of things to take care of.

Piper woke up this particular morning, feeling sick once again. She had decided to not bother Jamie until she went to the doctor's to find out exactly what was wrong with her. She muscled her way through a shower just long enough before she was leaning over the toilet again.

She managed her get herself dressed, only being slightly dizzy. She finally left her apartment about an hour after she had started getting ready. She drove herself to the walk in clinic just in the next town, only having to stop once to throw up on the side of the highway.

After getting to the clinic, she walked in and noticed there was only one person ahead of her. She signed herself in, keeping her head low in case anyone decided to try to sneak a peek as to why she was there. It wasn't very long before she was walking down the halls to a room.

After some blood samples being taken and a pee-in-a-cup test, the doctor walked back in to inform her of what was going on. She was three months pregnant. She had to shake her head and blink her eyes a few times and ask the doctor to repeat himself. When he told her again that she was pregnant. She almost wanted to cry but when she looked at the doctor, he came over to put a hand on her shoulder.

She explained to him about miscarrying once before and questioned if it would happen again. She had already lost one of her and Jamie's children, she didn't want to lose another one. Especially now that they were officially together and everything. The doctor told her that there was an 80 percent chance that she would be able to carry the child full term. He then left the room and came back with pamphlets on how to take care of herself so that the baby would be healthy.

Leaving the doctor's office, Piper drove home and sat herself on the couch. After a few moments of crying, she calmed herself and placed on hand on her stomach as she pulled out her phone with the other. She texted Jamie that she would like to see him as soon as he could manage. She didn't want him to freak out nor did she want him to think that something was wrong, like her breaking up with him. After pressing send, she turned on the tv for some mindless watching as she rubbed her stomach.

[jamison evan anderson]

Sitting in the studio, recording a new track for his solo career, Jamie had finally seemed to get it right when his phone went off in his pocket. "Son of a bitch," he exclaimed. "Of course, I would leave the volume up on my phone. And, of course, it would go off when I finally got this right." Tossing the papers with his written lyrics on it to the floor, the male pulled his phone out of his pocket. Hearing the male voice coming out of the sound studio, Jamie looked up. It was just Johnny who had commented that he'd get it right the next time and just to put his phone on silent now.

Although, when Jamie read the text that he had gotten from Piper, he spoke, "There won't be a next time. At least not right now." When Jamie looked up and Johnny had looked confused, Jamie shoved his phone back in his pocket and leaned down to pick up the loose papers he had thrown there moments before. "The girlfriend has been really sick lately. She thinks it's the flu, but it's been going on for awhile now. She wants me to be with her right now," Jamie said. Then Johnny spoke again, "Sounds like she's pregnant. Sadie thought that she had the flu when she was pregnant with Gracie. Sounds like you're about to be a daddy," he commented. Nearly dropping the things in his hand, Jamie looked up at him and his heart sank. "I hope not," the male spoke. "I can't handle that right now. I finally just got back to normal," Jamie spoke. "I'll text you next time I'm free and we can figure out studio timing," the taller male spoke, walking out of the sound booth and then out of the studio.

Walking out to the parking lot, Jamie walked straight to his car and then drove directly to his girlfriend's apartment. After he parked the car, he practically ran to the front door. The male let himself in and heard the television playing in the background. Jamie walked over to see Piper laying on the couch, so he went over to her and knelt on the ground in front of the couch. "Hey, what's wrong?" the male questioned, taking notice of the female holding onto her stomach. That was when Johnny's comment bitch slapped Jamie again and once again, the male's heart sank. Trying not to show how badly he was freaking out in his head, Jamie just reached for Piper's hand and held it in his own, waiting for her to confirm what he was thinking about now.

[piper mackenzie blake]

After a while, Piper found that it would be more comfortable to lay down on the couch. She continued to hold her hand on her stomach but she didn't turn her head to watch the television. Instead, she used it as background white noise as she started to hum to calm herself. She wasn't upset that was pregnant again. She was more worried and sometimes, singing helped.

When she heard the door to her apartment open then shut, she knew right away from the footsteps that it was Jamie. He came to the side of the couch, kneeling down. The moment he asked what was wrong, the tears came flooding down Piper's cheeks. She sat up, still letting Jamie's hand rest on hers as she moved it to her stomach very slowly.

Once their hands were there, she looked to Jamie with worry-filled eyes that were watering. She figured that would have been enough of a sign for him since he had already been with a girlfriend who was pregnant. Piper couldn't keep her on eyes on Jamie in fear of his reaction. She closed her eyes and looked down to her hands that were now both on her stomach along with Jamie's on top of her right hand.

Telling him that she was pregnant was scary enough. Telling him that there was only an eighty percent chance that she could carry full term, was going to be worse. She started actually crying as she thought about how scared she was. She loved Jamie and had dreamed of being his girlfriend for so many years but for this to happen to him, especially right after he got his life back on track after losing Karissa and her baby. It was just too much.

[jamison evan anderson]

The more that Jamie knelt next to the couch, the more real everything was turning out to be. Johnny was right, as per usual, but that little heads up didn't make the impact of the unspoken words for the twenty year old any softer. When Piper moved their hands to her stomach, Jamie just knew that she was pregnant, as well as knowing exactly when their baby had been conceived too.

Standing up, Jamie pulled Piper up so that he was able to sit on the couch and she could use his lap to lean on like a pillow. Once he was sitting with Piper's body laying against his, Jamie looked into her eyes, smiled, then brought his hand up to wipe the tears off of her face. "Hey, no crying," the male said, wiping away her tear stained cheeks. He then put his hand back on her stomach when she had placed it, but this time, Jamie put his hand under her shirt and against her bare skin. "We're going to be fine," he said. "You're going to be fine," he continued. Pausing for a few extra seconds before speaking again, Jamie took a deep breath in and exhaled. "I'm going to be fine," the male stated.

Looking to his girlfriend, Jamie bent down and kissed her forehead, then looked in her eyes. "Everything happens for a reason, remember?" he said. "But if it's a boy, he's playing hockey and he'll be the best center the Red Wings and NHL have seen since The Great One," Jamie spoke, a smile lighting up his face.

[piper mackenzie blake]

When Jamie moved onto the couch and pulled Piper into him, she muffled her tears into his shirt. It was then that he pulled back slightly to look at her and make her face look up at him. She couldn't help but crack a small half-hearted smile at him. Hearing his words of assurance made her fall even deeper in love with him. Even more so when he told that he was going to be fine. That took a lot for him to say and she knew it. Jamie has been a broken man when she got to Europe to see him.

Piper felt his hand go under her shirt to rest on her bare skinned stomach. She almost broke into tears again but held them back strongly as she looked to her boyfriend as he continued to move to kiss her forehead then continue speaking. He told her that everything happened for a reason and she nodded, agreeing. It was then that Jamie went into his old self and told her about if the baby was a boy. She couldn't help but let out a small yet weak laugh. "And what if it's a girl?" she asked as she moved her hand to cover Jamie's through her shirt.

[jamison evan anderson]

As the male sat there with his very emotional girlfriend, Jamie couldn't help but feel a little guilty. It had been because of his stupid self that she was crying so much and forced into carrying a child for the next nine months. If he had only kept his pants on, neither of them would be the wreck that they were just sitting there together. Jamie knew that Piper wasn't showing all of how she was feeling and that she was only hiding it to protect him from going off the deep end again, which was something that Jamie was thankful for, but felt guilty about.

When the conversation turned a little bit, Jamie just laughed. "Well, then I guess if it's a girl, she's not going to play hockey. She'll just marry a hockey player instead," the male said. "And she's not allowed to marry anyone that's not on the Red Wings," Jamie spoke. "Other than that, she's not allowed to date or go out or anything," the male spoke with a grin. He wasn't going to be one of those dads that wasn't going to allow his daughter to go out with a boy, he was just going to be a bit protective of her, because he knew how boys treated girls. They weren't all as nice as he was growing up, but there were something that definitely did only things that he did as a teenager also and that was what worried Jamie the most if he were to have a daughter.

[piper mackenzie blake]

Over the years of knowing each other and Piper slowly falling in love with Jamie, she could sense that something was nagging at him. It probably wasn't the same thing that was nagging at her, but she wasn't about to spill everything. Telling Jamie that he once again may lose a child would destroy and she knew it. Whether or not he was sensing that she was holding something back, Piper knew that Jamie was going to be there for her and the baby.

When Piper heard what Jamie said their possible daughter would have to do because she wouldn't be able to play hockey, Piper giggled. Jamie certainly was a super fan of the Red Wings but seeing his passion for the sport and for his music, was something that Piper had always and probably always would admire about him.

"I'm just... I'm glad that you're not upset about having a child with me," Piper spoke honestly, looking down to her stomach and placing her hands on it. She didn't even have a bump yet but she knew that the baby was in there. She looked to Jamie again. "Just, don't stop loving me when I get fat, okay?" Piper said. She was semi joking because she knew she wasn't going to be fat forever but she also wanted to be re-assured that Jamie wasn't going to chicken out when it became more of a reality for the both of them that they were going to be parents.

[jamison evan anderson]

As the pair sat there in silence for a few seconds, Jamie knew that this was the second chance that he had been given. Though, when Piper started speaking, the male listened intently. Hearing what his girlfriend had to say to him only made Jamie feel a little more guilty. "Why would I be upset?" the male questioned. "I admit this may not have been the best time or planned, but I'd never be upset about it, Pip," the male spoke. Though, the next thing that Piper had to say made the male laugh and lose his serious persona. Laughing slightly, Jamie spoke, "You're not going to be fat and I'll love you regardless." Shaking his head slightly as he felt Piper's hand on his own, Jamie couldn't help but think. "Why is it that all of you females think that you get fat when you're pregnant? I mean, you're housing a human in there. You're not fat, you're just expanding to make room. There's a pretty big difference between the two," Jamie spoke. He may not have always said the smartest things or admitted to being a smart kid, but the male definitely wasn't dumb in the least bit. His only weakness was math. It had been since first grade and it still was the enemy when he graduated his senior year of high school. That was one of the other many reasons that Jamie had kept Piper around when they were younger.

[piper mackenzie blake]

When Piper looked over at her boyfriend, she saw that he was sincere about wanting the baby growing inside of her. She agreed that now was not necessarily the best time for them, particularly Jamie. The band was about to go back into the studio now that Jamie was feeling more and more like himself. Piper smiled at him when he started to speak in response to her feeling like she was going to get fat. Jamie really did love her and she was confident that the baby was going to be just as loved.

After Jamie finished speaking, she looked to him for a few moments, just taking in everything about him. All those years of secretly loving him, watching him go from girl to girl. When Piper had gotten pregnant the first time they had had sex, she was hoping he would have settled down but because there were no signs of him calming down, she didn't tell him that she had even been pregnant.

They were older now. Jamie was much more mature and they were an actual couple. Piper smiled and leaned over to kiss Jamie's lips. She left her lips loose as she kissed him softly, letting their lips part for a millisecond before landing her lips back onto his. This was that kind of kiss that would give a girl butterflies. Piper couldn't really tell if she had butterflies but she did know that she would not get enough kissing from Jamie that night from what she wanted.

When she finally pulled back slowly, Piper looked at Jamie. "Do you want to go with me in a few days? Apparently, we can find out the gender of the baby but the doctor said it'd be okay if I came home to ask you if you wanted to be there," the female explained, hoping that Jamie would be able to be there. It would be so special and mean so much to Piper to be able to do things the right way, as a couple.

[jamison evan anderson]

Being older now that he was with Piper really helped the male figure things out. He wasn't one hundred percent sure how he felt about being a father so quickly after things with Karissa had gone sour and how long it took him to find himself again, but now that fatherhood was staring him down, Jamie knew that he had to man up about it. He wasn't going to tell Piper any of this, because he knew that she was already worried about the baby and she didn't want her worrying about him on top of that. It was going to take the male a little bit to get used to the idea of being a dad, but he knew the downside of having a pregnant girlfriend and how quickly everything could be taken from him. Jamie knew that he shouldn't be cold to their child, but it was going to be his defense mechanism; if Piper should lose the baby, he wouldn't know what to do if he had gotten attached to it during pregnancy. He would be overprotective of Piper, then the baby once it was born, but until then, Jamie wasn't going to let himself get too emotionally attached to the child until he was able to hold it in his arms.

Once Piper kissed Jamie and pulled back from him, Jamie just stared into her eyes, longingly. He was utterly in love with the girl and he was willing to do anything and everything for the girl. After staring into her eyes for a few seconds, Jamie brought his hand up to the back of his girlfriend's head and pulled it forward gently until their lips met. He kissed her so lovingly and passionately all in that one kiss that when their lips parted, their foreheads rested against the other's for a moment until Jamie broke the silence. "I love you, Pip," the male spoke honestly.

Then the female brought up the subject about finding out the sex of the baby. Honestly, it scared Jamie to find out the sex of the baby, but he wasn't sure how Piper was going to feel if he said no to her. Instead of coming out right and telling his girlfriend that he didn't want to go to the appointment to find out the gender of their potential child, Jamie thought for a couple of seconds before speaking. "Do you want to know the sex of the baby or do you just want to wait until it's born to find out?" the male asked, answering her question with his own. Jamie was going to have to be pretty slick about the entire baby situation with Piper, because it wasn't that he didn't want this child, it was just that he didn't want to get his hopes up to get the idea of being a father ripped out of his hands again.