"Hey, wake up sweetheart."

My eyes began to flutter at the sound of Joe's voice creeping up from above me. When I opened my eyes, he was hovered over me with a smile on his face.

"Are you ready for today?"

"What's today?" I asked.

He chuckled, "It's the day where we invite our friends over and to announce your pregnancy, remember?"

"Oh, yeah! I forgot. I kind of had a hard time trying to sleep last night."

Joe looked over at me with concern on his face and his demeanor dropped, "What do you mean, babe? You were asleep when I came back to bed last night after cleaning the house."

"It's a sensitive topic to discuss."

Joe sat up from the bed and his eyes began to meet with mine with concern.

"Chloe, talk to me."

She sighs, "Last night, I started to wake up briefly and for no reason. I noticed that you were already in bed and fast asleep with your hair all over your face, and I couldn't stop smiling about the memories that we've shared over the past year and a half." I paused, "However, I started thinking some negative things."

"Like what?"

"The baby."

"Oh."

Joe immediately understood when I mentioned the baby. We weren't lucky the first time when I was pregnant and he continued to listen to me venting out my emotions to him.

"I'm fearing another miscarriage, Joe. I'm thrilled that we're going to be parents again, but the thought of enduring another miscarriage mortifies me in ways that I cannot explain."

"I know baby, I know." He says, pulling me into his embrace, "Our baby isn't going anywhere. With the way Emma and you put it back then, it's a miracle baby."

"You're right. I just worry myself to death when it comes to this pregnancy because of what happened the first time."

His hand gently pressed against my stomach as he leaned forward to press his lips against mine, "It's gonna be okay, Chloe."

The way Joe warmly smiled in attempt to comfort me brought me immense happiness. He always knew the right things to say; whereas his actions, too.

"You're the best husband I could ever ask for."

"And you're the best wife I could ever ask for."

During the day, we waited for everyone to make their way into our home. I was more than nervous to tell everyone the huge news when it came to my pregnancy.

I looked over from the top of the balcony to seeing Joe's three cousins making their way into the foyer.

"What's cracking man?" Josh asked, reeling Joe into a hug.

"Nothing much. I'm glad you, Jonathan, and Joseph could make it."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world, man." Said Joseph.

"Anyways, where's Chloe? You guys said there was an important announcement that you wanted to make at the house?" Jonathan asked.

"We're waiting for everyone else to arrive before we get to that." Joe chuckled, "Make yourselves feel at home, Uce."

Two hours went by as Jon and Renee's flight was delayed. They were the last ones to arrive, along with Colby, Rebecca, Adam, Brock, Emma, and Fergal; among many other co-workers that Joe was close with. Along with Joe's parents, too.

Everyone was seated in the living room. Thankfully, everyone had somewhere to sit and the living room was gigantic. I looked around the room and seen everyone looking towards me with smiles spreading across their faces.

"Alright everyone." Joe said, "This is an announcement that Chloe wanted to make regarding us."

"Are y'all divorcing?" Jonathan asked.

Josh gently smacked Jonathan's shoulder, "Man if you don't shut up." He scowled, "They ain't divorcing, Uce."

Joe laughed, "Y'all are doing the most."

"I brought everyone here because you guys are the ones that we hold close into our lives. You're like family to the both of us and speaking of family." I said.

I walked over and brought out a small picture that I combined together on a huge photo for everyone to see. It was a small collage that Joe and I put together a few days after I announced my pregnancy to him.

"We're expecting!" I said with glee, "Although the first pregnancy resulted in a miscarriage, Joe and I never expected to get pregnant just a few weeks after our honeymoon! It must be a blessing in disguise that I'd be pregnant again."

"That's amazing news!" Jon shouted, "Hopefully you both will have a girl. Because Joe, we can all be girl dads together!"

"And what makes that even better is that The Shield would all three have daughters." Colby smiled.

Joe laughed, "I can't determine the gender, but I'm happy with either a son or a daughter."

"Whatever you guys have, I'm excited to meet them when Chloe's due." Jon replied.

"Me too!" Everyone else said in sync.

While everyone was beginning to celebrate the exciting news about Joe and I expecting our little bundle of joy in the next few months, I was approached by Jonathan and Josh while Joseph remained seated on the couch and scrolling through his phone.

"Chloe, I'm so happy that Joe married you." Josh said.

"Same here, guys." I say, "Between you both and I, I'm hoping that we have a daughter."

"That would be adorable, Uce. Joe's gonna make an amazing father. If you both end up having a daughter, I can see Joe doing those little pretend tea parties and playing Disney Princesses with her." Jonathan added.

"I'd love to see that. I've never seen Joe in his dad-mode before; only if he's worried about the pregnancy, that is."

"Fatherly instincts will always come out of nowhere. Take it from me!" Jon added.

While we continued to talk about the baby, I wondered what Joe was up to in the kitchen.

Joe
I was sitting in the kitchen on a barstool as I conversed with Brock, Adam, and Colby while everyone else was in the other room for awhile.

I brought out the champagne and beer to celebrate in the meantime with everyone. Although, I was still in deep thought about how I'd be as a father. I wouldn't want to be absent to the baby due to my hectic schedule in the WWE.

While I was remaining silent, I felt Colby gently shoving my shoulder to break me out of my sudden trance.

"Anything on your mind, bud?" Colby asked.

I shrugged, "A little. I'm nervous about being a dad because I don't want to be a shitty father if I'm always gone in the ring and doing shows back and forth all the time."

"Hey, I promise that it's gonna be okay. You must be forgetting, but I'm a father myself, Joe. I know you're worried and anxious, but this is going to be one of the best moments of your life."

"You're right, Colbs." I said, "I just worry about leaving my child and Chloe alone at home. I know I have security measures and Zeus to protect them, but I can't help to think that someday, someone's gonna cause them harm and it terrifies me, man."

"You could always take them on the road with you, man." Colby replied, scratching his beard, "I mean, I'm always doing that with Roux; and Rebecca and I always take turns taking care of our daughter on the road. Then again, we both wrestle. Chloe doesn't."

"I guess, but Chloe's wanting to start in her maternity modeling career for Victoria's Secret soon, and she might be getting into the modeling business even more after the baby is born."

"That's really rough. You should talk to her about it and see what happens from there. I know you're worried, but you're going to make an amazing father."

"I second that." Adam added.

"I know this is your first time being a father, Joe. But you're going to look back on this day and realize that there was nothing to truly worry about. You and Chloe are going to become amazing parents." Brock said.

"Thanks guys. I didn't want to mention anything to Chloe until after the celebration anyways. I couldn't ask for better friends."

"We'll always have your back, man." Adam replied.

After discussing my worries with the guys, we drank for awhile and had fun with everyone before they made their way back to their house.

It took awhile to discuss this with Chloe. After everyone said their goodbyes and headed out the door, I waited until we were all alone to talk to her.

I looked behind me to seeing Chloe sitting on the sectional and she was about to grab the remote and turn on the TV, until I stopped her in her tracks.

"Hey, I wanted to talk to you about something, babe."

She puts down the TV remote, "Yeah, what is it?"

"I'm honestly scared to become a dad."

"You are? How come, Joe?"

I nodded, "It's because I don't want to come off as an absent father to our baby. With me touring all across the world and wrestling from arena-to-arena, I worry about looking like a shitty father, and I..."

She pressed her finger against my lips, "Joe, you're gonna be an amazing father to our child. Don't ever doubt yourself for a second. You're just as nervous as I am, but we can take parenting classes or get some advice from our friends and your parents about how to raise a child on our own. We have nothing to fear about."

"You're right. I just overthink because I always want what's best for you and the baby."

"Then that's step-one to being an amazing parent already."

I smiled, "Thanks, babe. I've always wanted to become a dad, and I just want to be the perfect dad to our child. Whether it's a boy or a girl, I'm excited to meet them."

"Same here," she replied, "We have to set up an appointment to check the baby's gender and to see them on the ultrasound soon. Would you like that?"

I flashed a smile, "I'd love nothing more."