The next morning I woke up feeling nauseous, spending the hours between 3 am and 5 am on the bathroom floor.

Ashton walked in there at about 4 am, sitting there with me while I tried not to throw up, and ultimately failed several times.

Once I was feeling better I showered and changed clothes before going out to the kitchenette to pour myself some coffee.

"What do you think you're doing?" Ashton asked me as I brought the cup to my lips.

"Drinking coffee? Like I do every morning?" I gave him a questioning look.

"Aren't you not supposed to drink caffeine when you're pregnant?"

"It's fine if I only have a cup a day, just not more than that."

He nodded and then pulled out his laptop, typing away at the keyboard.

"Whatcha doin?" I asked him and sat down next to him.

"Researching pregnancies. I want to know everything I can so I can help you."

"That's sweet." I smiled and leaned into his arm, watching the screen as he scrolled around.

"So how many weeks are you?" He asked.

"22."

"So when's the due date?"

"December 30th." I answered and he sent me down an adoring smile.

"So I have another doctors appointment next week if you want to go with me." I offered.

"Of course I want to go!" He put his arm around my shoulders.

I leaned against his side as he scrolled through different sites.

"Baby, this one says you're not supposed to drink coffee." He pointed at the screen.

"I'm pretty sure this baby is already thriving off of it. Take away the coffee from me and you're punishing the baby."

"I'm not punishing the baby." He rolled his eyes. "I'm protecting it."

"Maybe so but you're punishing me." I frowned. "Please don't take away my caffeine. If you take it away you won't like the person I am without it."

He laughed at this.

"Fine. One cup a day. That's it. Caffeine can affect the baby's birth weight and cause miscarriage so one cup and no more."

After a few more minutes Gracie and Ender entered the room, Gracie sleepily walking up to me.

"Morning, Mommy." She climbed up in my lap. "Morning, baby." She then patted my stomach.

"Are you telling your little brother or sister good morning?" Ashton smiled at her.

"Mhmm." She nodded. "Little sister."

"You think it's a girl?" I laughed while she nodded.

"I think it's a boy." Ender piped up as he came to sit next to me.

"No! Girl!" Gracie whined.

"Well Daddy and I can't control if it's a boy or girl." I said and Gracie pouted.

"What do you think it is?" Ashton smiled.

"I think it's a boy." I shrugged.

"Hmmm, my bet is on girl." He smirked. "A mini you running around, oh my God can you imagine how gorgeous this child is going to be?"

"Very cute." I kissed him. "But right now I am starving."

He set down his laptop and then stood up.

"I'll make you breakfast, what do you want?" He leaned over me, smirking away.

"Yogurt and a banana? Oh and toast."

"Got it." He kissed me before going to get my food.

After I had eaten I put on a hoodie and some yoga pants before dressing Gracie in shorts and a tee shirt.

I then walked out to Ashton who was back on his computer looking up things about pregnancies.

"Hey, so before we do anything else we need to tell your mom." I said.

"Oh my God, she's going to freak out." His eyes went wide. "Should we call her?"

"Yes." I laughed. "Do it now."

He pulled out his phone to call his mom, Ann picking up.

"Hello?"

"Hey, mum. So uh, Car and I have some news." He bit his lip.

"Is it good or bad news?"

"Well, good news." He smiled. "Um, Carter is pregnant."

We heard Ann screech and Ashton dropped the phone before rushing to pick it back up.

"Mom?!"

"Oh my gosh! I'm going to be a grandma!" Ann squealed and both Ashton and I sighed in relief.

"Oh my God mom you scared the hell out of me." Ashton said and Ann laughed.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She laughed. "But i'm so excited! How far along are you?"

"Five and a half months."

"Oh my goodness! And you just found out?!"

"Yeah a few days ago."

"Why didn't you tell me when you first found out?!" She exclaimed.

"I didn't even know how to tell Ashton, it took me three days. I just told him yesterday."

"Well I know this isn't expected but i'm so glad you two are pregnant. This will be amazing for both of you."

"We are definitely going to need some help from you in the parenting department. We are totally clueless on babies."

"Of course! I'll go shopping for baby books after work today. Do you know the sex yet?"

"No not yet."

"Well call me when you do! I want to know everything!"

After getting off the phone with Ann, Ashton and I felt great that Ann was so happy for us.

"We're gonna have to tell the kids to keep this a secret. Gracie will go tell a fan and then everyone will know. I don't think you're ready for anyone outside of the family to know yet." Ashton said.

"I know. And I don't even know what to say to Ari. Oh my God she's going lose her mind." I let my face fall into my hands.

"She might actually duct tape my zipper shut." Ashton's eyes went wide.

I whined as I fell into his lap, Ashton putting his arms around me.

"So if you're five and half months pregnant...that means this baby was conceived around April, right? So...your birthday?"

"That was our first time." I smiled.

"Then we started out with a bang." He laughed.

"Oh shut up." I giggled. "I still can't believe i've been pregnant this whole time. It explains so much but it's still so hard to believe. All those times we've talked about having kids and we were already expecting. I feel like i've been robbed of my own pregnancy."

"I know how you feel, but this just means we have to make up for it in the three months we have left. We're going to make this baby feel so loved."

I nodded my head.

"I just wish I had more time to know I was actually pregnant. I would've done so many things differently."

"Me too." He sighed. "But we can't take back time, all we can do is be in the present."

"You're right."

I called Gracie and Ender into the room and had them sit in front of Ashton and I.

"Okay. So Daddy and I know you're very excited about the baby, but you can't tell anyone outside our family about it. This has to be a secret."

"Secret?" Gracie asked.

"Yes, so you don't tell anyone that Mommy is having a baby until we say you can." Ashton said.

She nodded.

"I keep secret."

"Good." I took her face in my hands and kissed her.

Luke walked in the room and Gracie held her finger up to her lips and shushed Ender who was talking to Ashton.

"Remember Gracie, your Uncles know about the baby and so does Aunt Becca." I laughed. "You can talk about the baby to them."

Gracie grinned at this and ran up to Luke.

"Uncle Lukey I have baby sister." She smiled up at him.

"It's a girl?" Luke asked us.

"We don't know, but Gracie thinks it is." Ashton laughed.

"You know, I can make a doctors appointment when we get to the next city and we can go get a better idea of how far along the baby is and find out the sex." I suggested. "You could come if you want."

"Of course I want to go!" He put his arm around my shoulders.

So for the next few days, every moment that Ashton wasn't playing a show, doing an interview, or sitting with me on the bathroom floor, he spent researching pregnancies.

He would tell me of all of the information he found, reading certain myths and seeing if they were true or not.

Finally the day came for my doctors appointment and Ashton literally couldn't stop talking about it.

We had a car take us to the OBGYN I had made an appointment with and Ashton and I waited in the waiting room along with all of the other women who looked way more pregnant than I did.

I shifted around uncomfortably in my seat until they finally called my name and Ashton took my hand, following me into the back with the nurse.

"Okay Halle, step on the scale for me." The nurse directed me and I did as she said, awkwardly folding my arms in front of my stomach.

"118." The nurse said I turned around to Ashton with a wide grin and an excited gasp.

"That's three more than last time!"

"Congratulations babe." He laughed and then picked me up off the scale while the nurse smiled at us.

She led us back to a consultation room where she had me sit on the stupid paper covered bed.

"So since you found so late into pregnancy, we are going to run some tests today just to make sure that everything is okay." She told me.

"Alright." I nodded.

"We will start with blood work and then take you for another ultrasound."

I nodded and then she began to take blood, both Ashton and I wincing when she stuck me with the needle.

Ashton sat in the green leather chair, watching the entire time.

The door opened and the OB Dr. Wallace walked into the room. I had spoken to her in the phone when I had called to see if she could get me in under the radar.

"Hello Halle, how are you?" She asked me with a smile.

"I'm good." I smiled back, the stupid needle still in my arm.

"You must be the fiancé I heard so much about." Dr. Wallace said to Ashton and he stood up to shake her hand.

"Yes ma'am. I'm Ashton."

"Nice to meet you. Are you excited about the baby?"

"Extremely." He grinned and continued standing by the side of my bed just like the nurse and Doctor Wallace.

"So Halle, how are you feeling?" Dr. Wallace asked me.

"I'm feeling alright." I shrugged.

"Any nausea, spotting, or pain?"

"Nausea yeah, but that's about it."

"Have you felt any movement?"

"He moved a few days ago but that was the only time I felt anything."

"Okay then. Well I'm a little concerned about your weight, most women at your conception weight and height would've gained about 15-18 pounds by now and you've only gained 8."

"Is that bad?" Ashton asked.

"Not necessarily bad, but gaining a healthy amount of weight is good for the growth of the baby, but some women who are especially active won't gain as much. But I just want to do an ultrasound today to make sure the baby is growing properly."

"Okay." I nodded.

The nurse finished my blood work and then we went to the ultrasound room, Ashton holding my hand.

When we got there I laid down on the table bed and raised my shirt a little and lowered my yoga pants a bit so the ultrasound technician could begin to put the extremely cold gel on my naval.

Ashton scooted the chair up so he could sit next to me and then took my hand in his.

I bit my lip as she began to roll the probe around on my skin, the black and white image coming to the screen.

"Oh my God, Carter that's our baby!" Ashton gasped, squeezing my hand. "Oh my God!"

I laughed at his expression.

"Oh my God, this is amazing!" He exclaimed, his eyes glued to the screen.

"Everything is looking good so far." The technician smiled.

You could see the head, body, and one of the little hands. She moved the probe around and the feet appeared on the screen as well.

"Despite your lack of weight gain, the baby is looking very healthy. It's growing right on schedule." She smiled at me.

"The baby's head is right here." She moved the probe to a certain spot on my stomach. Then she did something on the machine and suddenly a very rhythmic thudding was heard. "That's the baby's heartbeat."

I looked to Ashton with a little smile, this didn't feel real. There was actually a living person inside me.

"Carter this is so great." Ashton beamed at me.

"Would you two like to know the sex?" The lady asked us and I looked to Ashton again.

"Do you want to know?" I asked him.

"If you want to find out then do it, whatever you want." He smiled.

"I want to know." I turned to the technician.

"Alright then." She smiled and moved the probe around a little more until she pressed into one spot, then pointed at the screen.

"It's a boy." She turned to look at both of us and my mouth dropped open.

"It's a boy?" I managed to get out in a whisper.

"It is." She gave me a grin.

"Oh my God...Ashton. We're having a boy!" I turned to him with the happiest expression on my face.

He was looking at me with the most loving eyes I had ever seen. His hazel irises were a bit watery and he moved in to hug my upper half, burying his face in my neck.

"I'm so happy." He whispered, squeezing me to him and I felt something wet against my neck.

"Are you crying?" I asked him, teary eyed myself.

He nodded and I began to laugh.

"Why are you crying?"

"Because I'm going to have a son." He answered, his voice cracking and I just giggled, holding him tighter to me.

Once he finally let go and wiped his eyes, he stood next to me as we both looked at the screen.

Suddenly the baby made a jerking motion and I felt something slightly move.

"What was that?" Ashton asked.

"He hiccuped." The lady said and I began to laugh, Ashton joining in.

The lady congratulated us on a baby boy and then finished the ultrasound, printing out pictures of our baby for us and then wiped the gel off my stomach so I could fix my clothes and stand up, immediately hugging Ashton properly.

We made our way back to the consultation room where Dr.Wallace went over the ultrasound.

"Everything is looking good. I'd like for you to gain at least five more pounds if possible, the more the merrier though, but just for a precaution during birth."

I nodded while Ashton took down notes on his phone.

"Also, I would recommend going back to Australia sooner rather than later. It should be completely safe for you to fly right now but I'd rather you be there before your third trimester starts so you can be with a doctor there."

"Okay. Is there anything special I have to do?"

"I'll get you a list of information about flying while pregnant, but you should be fine. You don't look to be preterm which is good for someone as small as you."

"Can we get copies of her records here to take back with us?" Ashton asked.

"Yes, we can get those for you as well."

Dr.Wallace gave me a list of prenatal vitamins to take and gave me a hug, wishing me well on my pregnancy.

We went to a desk where they gave me the flying while pregnant information and also made copies of my records and information.

Once we were done with that we left the OBGYN, Ashton having the driver take us to a grocery store so we could get the vitamins on the list.

We made it back to the bus where I proceeded to take a nap until dinner time, Ashton waking me up.

We went out to a restaurant with the guys, crowding in a booth and Ashton sat on the end with me next to him so I could easily get out if I needed to.

He had a list on his phone of foods that I should stay away from so we began to pick through the menu to find something for me to eat.

We settled on chicken tortilla soup and I tapped Ashton on the shoulder to signal I needed to leave to go to the bathroom.

When I came back Ashton put his arm around my shoulders while we waited for our food.

"So have you two decided when you're going to tell the fans?" Michael asked.

"Well soon obviously, but I'm a little more focused on getting Car back home." Ashton answered.

"We're going home?" Ender asked.

"Me, you, and Gracie are." I answered.

"Your sister needs to get home before it's too late for her to fly." Ashton told him.

"And plus I need your help getting a nursery together and everything." I explained.

Ender nodded. "When are we leaving?"

"Probably in a week." Ashton said.

The rest of dinner went by smoothly and when we got back to the tour bus I was ready to shower and get into bed.

"Goodnight Gracie." I tucked her into her bunk.

"Goodnight Mommy! Goodnight baby!" She smiled and placed her hand on my tummy which made me laugh.

I kissed her cheek and then made my way to mine and Ashton's bunk, him joining me in a few minutes after he had said goodnight to Gracie.

I turned on my side and curled into him.

"So I have a question." I began to play with the fabric of his shirt.

"Go." He chuckled.

"I was wondering what you thought about a name for our little friend here." I placed a hand on my stomach.

"I haven't really thought about it, what about you?" He moved his hand down to cover mine.

I thought for a moment. "I like names that are also places."

"Names that are places?" He quirked an eyebrow.

"Yeah, like for a girl I like the names Britain, or Ireland, or Hudson...something like that." I answered.

"But we're not having a girl." He chuckled.

"I know but I was just giving you an idea." I giggled. "Tell me what you think."

"I like the named after a place idea, let's explore that one a little." He said and I began to think.

"Austin." He threw out there.

"Yeah." I said, iffy.

"Oh, Memphis." He laughed.

"Hell no." I replied with a smile.

"Vegas?" He smirked and I smacked his arm.

"Okay, you're officially not allowed to name our child."

He laughed at this and I continued thinking.

"Hudson could work for a boy too." I said and he nodded.

"What about Sydney, or Scotland?"

"That's nice. They're unique for a boy."

I sat on names for a little longer.

"What about Brooklyn?"

"Brooklyn." He hummed. "I really like Brooklyn."

We laid there for a few more minutes before he spoke.

"What about Brooklyn James?"

"James?" I asked, raising my head.

"Yeah, after your dad." He said and I sucked in a breath.

"That's so sweet." I smiled and he bent down to kiss my lips.

"Brooklyn James..." I mulled it over, "I like that."

"Me too." He pressed another kiss on my mouth.

"So what are we going to do about last name?" I asked him.

"Well, since we aren't married, technically he would have your last name until we did." He replied, his fingers twisting at my engagement ring.

"I want him to have your last name." I looked up at him.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I mean I'm going to marry you someday.
I wish we could do it before the baby arrived but we just won't have enough time."

"That sounds nice, but you're right, it would be impossible to plan so quickly." He smiled and pressed a few more kisses to my face.

"Goodnight babe." He snuggled into me. "Goodnight Brooklyn James Irwin." He rubbed his hand across my stomach.

"I love you." I giggled.

"I love you too, the both of you." He began to stroke his thumb across the skin of my stomach and I soon drifted off to sleep.

In the morning after I had showered and dressed, I found a my phone stuffed in between two couch cushions as I was cleaning.

Knowing one of the kids had probably put it there I rolled my eyes and turned it on to see I had messages from Harry.

It was one text, a missed call, and then a voicemail.

I went to the text first.

'Do you have an answer?'

My heart sank in my chest and I closed my eyes as I held up the phone to my ear to listen to his voicemail.

"Hey." His voice breathed out and my stomach clenched. "I just found the ring in my mail, so I guess that's your way of saying no. I'm sorry about the way things ended that night- I mean about the fighting. I'm not sorry for telling you I love you, or for kissing you. I keep replaying that night over and over in my head, wondering what else I could've said. But I don't know..."

I exhaled, praying I wouldn't start crying.

"I guess what you need is time, time to understand what I said and understand why I did what I did. So i'll wait for you. Um, I feel like i'm rambling so i'll hang up now. I love you. Bye."

I set my phone down on the counter and blinked away the few tears that had arrived.

Oh Harry.

He just couldn't understand that I wasn't in love with him too.

I immediately called his sister Gemma, knowing I had to stop something bad before it started.

"Carter?" She answered.

"Gemma I need your help."

"Okay....? What's wrong?"

I took a deep breath.

"Did Harry tell you what happened?"

"Yeah, I'm the one who told him not to propose." She sighed. "He's insane that boy is. A mess too, right now. Won't leave his bedroom and stares at all his photos of you it's-"

"Gemma." I interrupted her. I couldn't hear about that.

"Oh, sorry."

"Gemma I need you to keep Harry away from the television, his laptop and his phone for a while. Can you do that?"

"Why? And keeping his phone away from him?"

"Because in a few days Ashton and I are going to announce that i'm pregnant and I don't want Harry to see."

"Oh." Gemma said and then gasped. "Now I get it."

"Please Gemma, I need you to do this. I can't hurt him more than I already have."

"I will. I'll do my best I promise."

"Thank you." I whispered.

"Of course." She said.

I was about to hang up when her voice stopped me.

"Oh and Carter?"

I pulled the phone back up to my ear.

"Congratulations."

--

How do you think Harry will react if he finds out Carter is pregnant?

and also ITS A BOY!!!!

Yay!

More to come!

Much love xx-m