Harry woke up about 15 minutes before his alarm, to the bathroom door shutting pretty hard which made him realize Julie was in a hurry. Damn, he didn't envy her right now. He hoped this didn't last too long for her. At least not all day, every day. He wondered how long was common. He would have to do some research about morning sickness and the various stages of pregnancy. He sat up, stretched, and turned off his alarm. When Julie came out of the bathroom, he reached his arms out for her. When she walked between his legs, he wrapped his arms around her. "I'm so sorry. I really wish there was something I could do for you."

"Well, you can't. So, you're just going to have to deal with me being miserable. And I've decided that I'm totally blaming you for this." Julie rested her forearms on his shoulders. "So, I'm going to be mad at you for awhile."

"Of course, you are." Harry laughed. "Blame me then, that's ok."

"You realize your sex life just drastically changed, right? Because right now, I don't even want you to touch me, or think about what we did to make this baby." Julie whined.

"That's ok. I already was so good – we made a baby while you were on birth control." Harry laughed harder when she pinched the back of his shoulder.

"Of course your narcissistic ass pats yourself on the back for breaking through the protection meant to prevent this." Julie tilted her head and looked into his eyes. "I know that I'm struggling a lot with this." She moved one of her hands to the side of his neck. "But, I can't imagine having a better man by my side while I do. You've been there for me through so much. You've supported me through so much." She once again fought the tears that threatened to spill onto her cheeks. "Somehow, knowing you'll be with me through this makes me think that maybe I can actually do this."

"Wow, listen to you." Harry closed his eyes when she wiped a tear from his cheek. "I know you can." He opened his eyes and pulled her slowly to sit on his lap. "I've seen you get through things you never thought you could. When you decide you can, you accomplish what you want, and I'm just hoping that will apply now. When you can accept this, when you can open your mind to the possibilities, I can't wait to see you in action. You never believe in yourself, but you should. Julie, the things you could accomplish if you accepted yourself, flaws and all, like you do others. You accept me and my imperfections, maybe with a bit of sass and a lot of sarcasm, but you do. Maybe start doing that with yourself. It's not about being perfect in others eyes. Not as yourself or as a mother. You learn, and do the best that YOU can."

"Ok, I can't handle any sweet pep talks right now." Julie rested her clasped hands on Harry's opposite shoulder. "I just want to get through day by day for now. It's new, and it's early. And only you and I know. It still seems a bit unreal, and I just need some time."

"I know you do. Baby, I still have my own doubts. But we've been together for a long time now. We know each other, we love each other, and we will work through this together." Harry looked in her eyes. "You're not thinking of anything other than doing this together, are you?"

Julie let out a breath slowly. "I'm not going to lie and say that every option out there didn't run through my mind when I found out. I am not ready. And it is scary. But right after they ran quickly through my mind, I knew that there was no other acceptable option other than to have this baby."

Harry nodded. "Ok, I understand that."

"I'm not sure you do. But that's ok. As long as you accept that we work differently, but in the end, we both came to the same conclusion. There's no discussion that needs to be had with you and I. I'm not ready and would have never planned this. But no matter how hard it's going to be, I know having you with me, we can somehow figure this out." Julie hugged him tightly. "You know, though, that this will not be a smooth ride. Because I'm still petrified that I will mess this up."

"Well, I don't think you will. No matter if you believe me or not, I've observed you and have even complimented you on your touch with children. Even though you tell me it's because you can play with them and give them back, I don't believe you." Harry cupped her cheek. "You have that instinct; you just have to accept it."

"You don't know that. But I don't want to argue with you. Right now my stomach is somewhat settled. I don't want to get worked up." She smiled and kissed him when he moved in with his lips puckered.

"Ok, well, Niall and Amanda should be here shortly, so let's get you settled on the couch with some ginger ale before they do." Harry gently helped her off his lap and stood up. "Good?"

Julie nodded. "You know I'm still not sure telling them is such a good idea. I feel, ok, so I could just have Amanda drive me, tell her I need to pick up some meds."

Harry took a deep breath. "It really bothers you having to tell other people, doesn't it? They are our best friends."

"I know. But I screwed up. And I've been so high up on my high horse that I'd never let it happen, and now look at me. I'm the one that fucked up. I'm the one who got pregnant. Guess that's what I get." Julie shook her head. "I know they are our best friends, doesn't mean I feel any less anxious though."

"I don't think you were too far up on your high horse. It's not like we've had a discussion saying we absolutely positively need to make sure we don't have a kid." Harry wrinkled his eyebrows at her. This woman's brain was something else.

"Isn't that why I was on birth control?" Julie asked shrugging her shoulders.

"You need to slow that brain down. How many scenarios have you run through your head already? How many different ways has Amanda reacted in those scenarios?" Harry held her hands in front of her.

"A lot." Julie shrugged her shoulders again.

"And how many were good reactions?" Harry asked her.

"None." Julie admitted.

"You really are something else." He leaned down and kissed her lips. "Niall and Amanda will be here any minute. Let's get you settled on that couch before they do. Maybe your stomach can stay settled so that they don't have to guess by you running to the bathroom before we can tell them."

"They would just think I had the flu." Julie went and grabbed her glass of ginger ale as Harry took the tray and followed behind her. "No one is going to think that I am pregnant."

"But you are." Harry laughed as they walked down the steps.

"Yes, Harry, but everyone that knows me is going to be shocked. Just like we were." Julie set her glass on the table in front of the couch and sat back against the corner. "I'm saying this stomach shit better sort itself fast because I can't handle this."

Harry cleared the tray and then brought Julie some more ice for her drink. "You can, and you will. But I am sorry that it sucks."

"You do this to me, and all you have to do is sit back and watch. I get to get sick, blow up like a balloon, and have to push something out of my body that I know is going to hurt like hell." Julie looked at Harry. "How fair is that?"

Harry couldn't help but laugh at her. "It's not fair. So, I will do my best to take care of your every need."

"Liar." Julie pouted.

"Aww, look at you, you're so cute when you pout." Harry grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around her. "I will take care of you." He leaned down and kissed her lips again. "Can I get you anything else?"

Julie shook her head. "No, unless you can make this morning sickness disappear."

"I wish I could, love." Harry kissed her again and went to answer the door. He smiled when he saw Niall and Amanda standing there. "Hey. It's so good to see you. It's been awhile." Harry hugged Amanda and kissed her on the cheek before hugging Niall. He walked them in. "Julie's not feeling well. She's on the couch."

"Yeah, seems like everyone is all over the world these days." Amanda joked. "After the other night, I thought maybe you were calling me to come take her back."

"Yeah, she was a bit mouthy, but she stood her ground. She can handle me on her own." Harry walked towards the couch with them.

"Oh, I thought maybe you couldn't handle her." Amanda laughed over her shoulder at Harry. She looked back at the couch and sat at JJ's feet. "Well, he wasn't wrong. You look like hell." Amanda looked JJ over and rested her hand on JJ's knee.

"Yeah, not feeling the greatest. It's been a rough bit." Julie forced a smile at Amanda, but she had butterflies in her stomach, and it wasn't helping the nausea at all. This was her best friend, so why did it make her so nervous to tell her?

"I could tell when I got home. It's not like you to nap in the middle of the day, alone. Even with jet lag." Amanda leaned forward and touched JJ's forehead. "Ok, so you don't have a fever." She took Julie's wrist and placed her fingers on her pulse. "Your pulse is good."

Julie grabbed Amanda's hand to stop her from doing any other examination on her. "You weren't called to come so you could do a physical exam on me." Julie shook her head. "You're not on the job. Hell, you're not even a nurse anymore."

"I am. I still have my license." Amanda smiled. "Never know when it will come in handy."

"Well, so do I, but I don't expect you to call me over to do an exam." Julie looked at Amanda and then Niall. "But I can see your point. Your husband is a bit....accident prone?"

Niall groaned. "JJ, you can't even be nice when you're ill? See, there's nothing to worry about, she's going to be fine. She's still a smart ass. Exam over."

Julie rolled her eyes. "Yes, Dr. Horan."

Harry shook his head at the lot of them. He missed this. They hadn't seen a lot of each other because their albums and tours took them in opposite directions. No pun intended. He knew the girls missed each other, but when they were together, it didn't take them long to fall back into their routine. And apparently, the nonstop hell the boys got wasn't going to change either. "Ok, let's behave just a little bit."

Julie and Amanda both rolled their eyes and chuckled at the same time looking at each other.

"I didn't call them to come over, so that you could knock down Niall's and my egos." He shook his head. "Let's stay on track here."

"Stay on track? So, if it wasn't just to hang out and make fun of you boys, why are we here?" Amanda looked from JJ to Harry. "Come on, spill. You're not going to make me guess are you?" Amanda reached over and inspected JJ's left hand. Specifically her ring finger.

"No, Panda. I don't have a ring." Julie shook her head. "I just, I need a favor."

Amanda dropped JJ's hand. "Well, damn it." She looked at JJ's face. "Ok, a favor? What do you need?"

"Harry doesn't think I should go to the pharmacy myself, and I don't really want to send him out with my scripts. I was wondering if you would go to the hospital pharmacy and get them for me. Discreetly?" Julie explained.

Amanda's eyebrows crinkled her eyebrows. "Why can't Harry get your scripts?"

"I mean, he could, but he is always spotted everywhere. And I just, don't want people to know." Julie started to get extremely nervous. "You know what. He shouldn't have called. I can do it. It would be a short trip, and it wouldn't be unusual for me to be seen in the hospital." Julie took the blanket off her legs and started to get up when a wave of nausea hit her. She sat back down and tried to calm it.

Harry came over to Julie and gently moved her back to the corner of the couch and covered her back up. "See, you can't even move without feeling sick. You need to let me take care of you."

"I would have gotten over it." Julie took a deep breath and watched Amanda look from her to Niall and then back to her. "Ok, fine. Panda, I don't want Harry seen with my scripts, because....." Fuck! Did she really have to do this?. She didn't want to. But now Amanda and Niall were both staring at her. She swallowed hard. "Because...." Julie tried again, but it just wouldn't come out.

"Because what? Why?" Amanda frustratingly said to JJ. "Spit it out. What's wrong with you? If you have scripts, you obviously went to the doctor. And you wouldn't do that for just the flu."

"I know." Julie took a deep breath. "Harry made me go last night because I passed out in his arms."

"What?!?" Amanda moved closer to JJ. "Why? What the hell, JJ. Why didn't you call me last night?"

"Because I woke up pretty quickly, and Harry made me go see Dr. Mansfield." Julie was stalling. She knew it, and she could tell Harry knew it, too.

"And? What's wrong with you?" Amanda asked impatiently. "Why do you need scripts?"

Julie looked at Harry who went and picked the scripts up off the counter and handed them to her. She took a deep breath and handed them to Amanda. The antibiotic was on top. "Well, first. I have a UTI." She knew as soon as Amanda flipped to the second script things would be that much more real when someone other than Harry, the doctor, and herself knew. She watched Amanda put the top script behind the bottom one and stare at the piece of paper now in front of her eyes. "And, I'm pregnant so I need prenatal vitamins."

Niall stared at JJ when the words came out of her mouth and then looked at Harry who was looking at JJ with the softest look he'd ever seen. "Say, what?" Niall asked looking down to JJ again.

Amanda's jaw dropped open as she stared at the paper. The words JJ spoke were bouncing around her brain, but she was having a hard time with comprehending the reality of it. She slowly raised her eyes from the paper to JJ's face. "You're pregnant? Like for real?"

Julie nodded and then looked down at her hands. "Yeah, I'm waiting for the blood test results, but the doctor ran the test twice and assures me it's positive. And I was really, really shocked." She looked up at Harry who had now sat on the edge of the coffee table near her and took her hand.

Amanda was shocked, and she could only imagine how shocked JJ was. "Well, I can't say that I'm not extremely shocked myself." This was not something Amanda had seen coming when they'd gotten the call to come over. Not with JJ. "I didn't know you were trying."

Julie was sipping her ginger ale when she heard Amanda, and she about choked. "Trying? Uh, no. We were NOT trying."

Harry patted Julie's back when she all but choked on her drink. "Yeah, we weren't trying. It just sort of happened."

Niall came and sat next to Amanda and put his arm around her shoulders. "Well, this is not what I expected to hear today. This is huge." He smiled at JJ in encouragement.

Amanda looked at JJ. "Niall, Harry, do you think you could give us a little girl time?"

Harry looked at Julie. "You ok?"

Julie chuckled. "Yes, Harry, it's Panda. I think I can manage."

"Not what I meant." He kissed her and then got up and went to the kitchen with Niall. He grabbed Niall and himself each a water, and looked at Niall ruefully.

Niall opened the water Harry gave him and took a drink. "Pregnant, huh?"

Harry shook his head and let out a breath. "Yeah, man. When the doctor said it, I thought I was in some alternate reality. I heard him, and I just froze. I did not think I would be hearing those words for a very long time. Sometimes I wondered if I would ever hear them at all. She was even more shocked than I was." Harry leaned on the counter and looked over at Julie in conversation with Amanda. "But, it's not the worst news I could have gotten." He smiled and took a drink of his water. Definitely not the worst news.

"How did this happen?" Amanda asked Julie holding the scripts in her hand. "I know you. You over plan for everything. If you weren't planning on getting pregnant, then how?"

Julie sighed. "I was on the pill. I took it every day, and I never missed one. But, I was dumb and didn't look at the new anxiety medication's side effects closely. Apparently, it decreases the effectiveness of the pill. So, here I am. At least 8 weeks pregnant."

Amanda shook her head. "I'm with Niall on this. I did not expect to come here and have you tell me this." She reached over for JJ's hand when she saw the tears fill JJ's eyes. "Hey, come on. Don't do that. It's not your fault. Things happen."

"I should have known better." Julie shook her head as she wiped the tear from her cheek. "It's all my fault, and I'm not ready for this. I can't be a mom. Hell, you and Niall still act like my parents."

"No, JJ. We joke around about it." Amanda moved closer and wrapped her arms around JJ's shoulders and pulled JJ to her. "Everything will be ok. You guys are great together. You're already moving in with him. It will be fine."

"It should be you. You're happily married and have been for a year and a half. You should be having a baby and starting your family together. Not me." Julie sniffled.

"Just because I'm married doesn't mean I'm any more ready for a baby than you are." Amanda tried to comfort JJ, but she could tell JJ wasn't buying it. "Look, sometimes things don't always work out the way you plan. This was unexpected, and trust me, it was definitely unexpected for me to hear, but it's not horrible news, JJ."

"This isn't just an unplanned trip across town. I'm pregnant. In 7 months or so I'm going to be responsible for a new life. Me?! I can't even be responsible for myself." Julie tried to control her emotions.

"JJ. I imagine getting upset isn't helping your health." Amanda squeezed JJ again. "Let me get your scripts for you. I'll be happy to. I'll take them straight to the pharmacy, and wait for them to be filled. It will be quiet, quick, and discreet." She kissed JJ's head and got up. "Niall, walk me to the car?" She walked towards the door and looked back at Harry already at JJ's side. Harry would be a great doting boyfriend. The problem was going to be JJ. Harry would try hard to take care of her, and the baby, but JJ might feel a little smothered by it. She looked at Niall when they got outside.

Niall opened the driver's side door for Amanda and stood there with his arm on the door. He looked down into Amanda's eyes when she stopped before getting into the car. "What's wrong?"

Amanda let out a breath. "Do you think they'll be ok? This isn't exactly news I expected to hear."

Niall put his hand on Amanda's cheek and kissed her. "I think they will be just fine. Give them some time. It's a shock, but they've been good, for quite awhile. We have all grown a lot over the past few years. Besides, they have us. We'd never let them drown."

Amanda smiled up into her husbands eyes. "You are right about that. Your constant wisdom, it's why I married you." Amanda laughed as Niall slapped her ass. "I'll be back. I love you." She got into the car and drove the familiar route to the hospital. Wow. Not what she was expecting. She just hoped JJ could get through her pregnancy without too much questioning. She hoped JJ would lean on Harry. This could be a crazy ride. But they'd done it before. She just had to buckle up and wait to see which way the road turned first.

Well, we are getting there. Acceptance may happen after all? However, we do know our sweet, confused, stubborn, scared JJ.

Thank you all so so so much for continuing it read every crazy word....