Harry was up and out of the house by 7:30 am the next morning. He knew he had a lot of making up to do, and he wanted to start it off right. He had shared a couple of texts with his wife last night after he had woken to a pounding head and a body that felt like it had been hit by a truck. He couldn't even imagine what had all occurred the night before when he had gone out and shit went down. All he knew was he felt like complete shit, and he fucking deserved it. He had cleaned up his things that he found lying around. His phone screen was totally destroyed, and he couldn't for the life of him figure out how it happened. His clothes smelled so horrible that it made him sick before he could even get them in the washing machine. He half wondered if he'd had an out of body experience and wasn't really himself when he was out, because it all seemed completely out of reality.

He arrived at the florist the moment that the owner showed up at his shop. Harry had used this florist many times before and knew he would be able to get what he wanted and without a spectacle as they didn't open for the public for another hour or so. It was one of the perks of being him. After he purchased a large bouquet of colorful tulips, he made his way directly to the jewelry store. One, that again, he had used quite often. He had spoken to the owners the previous evening, and they were meeting him before the store opened so he could get what he wanted before he went to the hospital. He knew that none of this would make up for what happened, but he also knew that he needed to do something. If he couldn't remember what happened the night leading into his birthday, then he was sure it was something he shouldn't have been doing in the first place. He paused outside of Julie's door when he heard voices. It sounded like the doctor was in with her. As much as he wanted to hear what was being said, he didn't feel like interrupting would be his best option. He stepped back a moment later when he heard the door opening. He took a deep breath, said hello to the on call doctor, and stepped into the room. "Good Morning, baby." He gave the best smile his nerves would allow, and stepped closer to the bed.

Julie turned her head towards Harry when she heard his voice. Her eyes stopped at the large bouquet of flowers draped over his arm, and she shook her head. She wasn't looking for gifts of apology. "Good Morning." She watched him set the flowers next to her and pull a vase from the bag he had over his arm. Well, he had this all planned out. "Harry, I'm not looking for some grand gesture apology."

"I know." He filled the vase with water and emptied the packet of food into it. Before grabbing the flowers he bent down and kissed Julie's lips. "But, I feel I need to, and then some. I'm not gonna lie, the guilt is a bit overwhelming."

Julie sighed as she kept her eyes on his. "That's not...it's just...Yeah, I don't even know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything. Really." And she didn't. The look in her eyes last night was haunting him. The fear and the hurt he easily saw wouldn't leave him, not even in his slumber. He let her smell the flowers before taking them and placing them in the vase. They had been cut previously so he didn't have to do anything other then put them in water.

"They're beautiful. You know I love tulips, but it just, doesn't change anything." She said as she watched him. When he was done with the flowers, he reached into the bag and pulled out a small box, which she immediately recognized. It was from his favorite jewelry store in LA. She had received a few small pieces of jewelry from there throughout the years. "Seriously?"

"Look, I know it doesn't fix anything. But, my ass should be doing whatever I can to make it up to you." Harry sat on the edge of the bed and looked at her. "I fucked up, and I know it." He looked in her eyes, and it didn't take long before he saw the same fear and the same hurt he did when he'd first walked in yesterday. "And you don't have to say a word for me to realize it. The flowers, and this gift, don't even scratch the surface."

Julie shook her head. "It doesn't help, Harry. You showing up with this stuff." She looked down at the box as he opened it to a thin tennis bracelet. It was beautiful, and something she didn't have, nor would have ever bought. "It's beautiful."

"I know. And you deserved these things everyday. Not just when I'm being an idiot. But it seems I'm an idiot a lot, so, it just so happens to come when I'm an idiot." Harry took the bracelet from the box and took Julie's hand gently. He wrapped the bracelet around Julie's wrist and buckled the clasp. He turned her wrist back and forth a little. "Looks perfect."

Julie nodded and looked from the bracelet to Harry. "It is beautiful."

Harry picked up Julie's hand and kissed it. He held it in both of his. "I am sorry."

"I know. I know, but I just can't help the way I feel about it." Julie tried to stop the emotion from overtaking her. "It's been a long 24 hours. Well, more than that."

Harry sighed. He hated all of this. "Yeah, I'm surprised you're alone. I thought someone would be here with you. When you made me leave. I figured Marcus or Amanda would insist on staying with you."

"I made them leave. I threatened them and guilt tripped them. They needed to go. Marcus hadn't slept since I had woken him up at 3:30 in the morning. And he doesn't go to bed early so he didn't sleep much before that. And Amanda flew in from New York. There was no reason for anyone to stay." Julie took her hand gently from Harry and played with the bracelet on her wrist. It was beautiful, and probably too expensive to wear in a hospital bed, but for some reason she didn't want to take it off.

"That's my girl. And it doesn't surprise me." Harry shook his head. And it really didn't. "You should have told me, I'd have come back. But you probably wanted some time alone, didn't you? After everything that happened?" He knew her well enough to know that she would need some time to herself. That looking at him would have just made her think about the things that went wrong and not be able to sort through her emotions.

"Yeah, I guess. I didn't know how to feel, or what to do." She let go of the bracelet and dropped her hands. "I was scared, Harry." She looked up at him and finally let the emotions take over. "I didn't know what was happening, and you weren't there, and I couldn't get ahold of you, and I tried so hard to just be strong for the baby, and think positive, and I fooled everyone, maybe even myself, but I was scared." The words caught in her throat when the tears filled her eyes.

"I can imagine you were. And I will regret, forever, not being there for you." Harry swallowed the lump in his throat. "I don't know what I was thinking. I don't know what I was doing. I just, when you agreed it would be ok for me to go out, I just, let go. I went and let loose."

"I know. I'm not, I don't even know how to explain it, because I'm not mad you went out. Or had fun, or did whatever it is you did." Julie shook her head. "But I couldn't forget even for a night, and have fun one last time before the baby comes, and I definitely couldn't control having contractions and needing you, so I don't know how to change the way I feel not being able to get ahold of you. And just be ok with it."

"I'm not asking, nor expecting, you to be ok with it. Julie, I'm not ok with it, with the choices I made. The excuses I came up with after the fact. Like I didn't know it would happen. I should have made better choices. Plain and simple, but I didn't. I can't go back and change them now, even though I'd love to." Harry sighed. "It sucks, and if something would have happened to you or the baby, or if you would have had her without me....I would have never been able to forgive myself. I don't know if I can now."

Julie took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She was upset. She hated how things had gone down. Things hurt, and she worried about him and the baby and of everything he had just spoken about, but it was over, and she and Grace were ok, and everything else was okay. Well, as ok as they could be. Meaning, she didn't have the baby yet, and he was here. "Well, I'm upset, I can't deny it. It hurt, and I was scared, so much. But, it's over, and we are about to have a baby, and I love you. I guess I don't wanna go on about it forever. I just would appreciate it, if you would take better care to remember what else is going on in life, even when you're out. Even when we both agree it's ok for you to go."

"Trust me, baby. There is no way anything like this will ever happen again." Harry assured her with a heavy sigh, and an even heavier heart.

"No promises. We have a long life ahead of us. I imagine there will be a lot of imperfections from both of us to come." Julie closed her eyes, echoing Harry's sigh. "I'm not over it yet. I'm sorry, but I'll try not to be too bitchy about it."

"Listen, I think that's the first time you've truly talked about our future together as being long and lasting. I'll take it." Harry joked. He chuckled a little when Julie opened her eyes and glared at him. "And I probably can manage you being a bit bitchy. I've handled worse. Ouch!" He rubbed his bicep when Julie smacked him pretty hard if he had to admit it.

"Don't be a jackass, Harry. Go back to plying me with gifts and being overly apologetic." Julie moved The IV tubes out of her way as she shifted a little in the bed.

"You don't want that either. I'm not going to win today, so, I'll just accept it." Harry looked at the monitors as Julie settled back down. "So, how are you doing? Did the doctors say anything new this morning?"

"The contractions aren't gone completely. So, they've given me a steroid injection to help the baby's lungs develop a little faster. They would rather be safe than sorry, I guess. Just in case. Not sure if I'm going to be able to go home today or not." She sighed and put her hand on her stomach. She laughed softly when Harry jumped at the sound that came from the monitors placed on her stomach. "Grace is moving, she just kicked the monitor. That's what the sound was."

"Wow. All of this is amazing. Well, not you having to stay in the hospital, but everything else." Harry put his hand over Julie's. "But this baby thing is amazing." His eyes went soft and misty.

"Yeah, I'll think it's amazing when she's not bruising my insides, when I'm not stuck in a hospital bed, and when I'm not in so much pain. Right now, I'm just counting down the days until I can say it's amazing." Julie whined, bringing Harry back to reality.

"Alright, love. I won't say it's amazing out loud." Harry moved up on to the bed and gently scooted Julie over.

"What are you doing?" Julie asked as she watched Harry try to climb in next to her on the small hospital bed.

"I'm lying with you. And holding you. I'm gonna figure out a way. You'll see." Harry gave her a determined look and moved a few of the tubes and cables out of the way.

"Stop, there's not near enough room. You're being ridiculous." She tried to stop him.

"No, I'm not. I'm going to get in this bed with you; you wait and see." Harry insisted, a determined glint in his eye.

"Well, what's going on here?" Julie's OBGYN asked as she walked into the room.

"Just, Harry, being his typical pain in the ass." Julie explained as Harry stood up from the bed.

"Hey, be nice. I was just trying to help you get comfortable." Harry smiled at the doctor. "Good Morning."

"Good Morning." The doctor shook her head. She had witnessed a few of the back and forth teasing sessions from the two of them before. "I think I need to order you to stay out of your wife's bed for the time being. She seems to be causing us a little bit of trouble. By the looks of her blood pressure, there's got to be a contributing factor to cause it to be high, and I'm guessing that's you?"

"Hey, you're not supposed to get in on the bash the husband game." Harry responded pulling the chair next to the bed and sitting down.

"Oh, husbands are always to blame." The doctor nodded sagely, coming over and doing some routine checks on Julie. "I know that from experience." She smiled at Julie before she continued. "I know this is the last place you want to be, but I'd feel more comfortable keeping you here, at least for now. Your blood pressure isn't responding as we'd hoped, and even though they aren't coming closer together right now, you're still having more contractions then I'd like to see. I'd like to be able to track the progress closely so we can make the best decisions at the proper times for both you and the baby."

Julie took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "My husband promised not to leave my side again until I had Grace." She spoke for Harry. He hadn't technically said that exactly, but it was close enough. "If something happens, he could have me back here quickly." She knew the doctor was being cautious and looking out for her, but spending more time in the hospital was not something she wanted to do. She'd had enough of them both as a nurse and as a patient in her lifetime.

"I understand your reluctance, but I do feel it's best. We have to be careful of pre-eclampsia, and we don't want anything to happen to you or that precious bundle of joy you've carried so well for so long." The doctor had Harry move to the head of the bed and grabbed some gloves. "I'm going to check to see if you've progressed any further. Then we can talk a bit later this afternoon. But let me keep you for one more night at least, ok?"

Harry looked at Julie as he sat near her head. "It's for the best, baby. That way if something happens, you're already here. You'll have the best care right away."

"I know, I'm just, I've sort of had my fill of hospital stays. I expected to have her and be out within like a day or two, and now, here I am." Julie pouted as she looked at Harry's face. She put her feet in the stirrups as the doctor directed her and prepared for the exam.

"I know. But, as you said, I won't leave your side. You can't get rid of me. Hospital or home. So, you won't be alone, even when you're here." Harry kissed Julie's head and rested his hand on her shoulder.

"You can't climb in bed with her, Harry. We will set you up, but you stay out of her bed." The doctor said as sternly as she could through her smile. She finished the exam and took off the gloves. "You're about 2 centimeters dilated, about 70 percent effaced, and her head's about negative 2 still. That's further along than you were last night. But still nothing to be concerned about yet."

Harry looked from the doctor to Julie and then back again. "Um, I know I'm supposed to know all of this, but can someone please explain?"

"I'll explain it, thank you, doctor. I guess I'll see you this afternoon. And hope that maybe I'll get to go home." She smiled at the doctor and then turned back to Harry. "Just means the contractions are starting to get my body ready to deliver her, and she's making her way down to her position. I need to be 10 cm, 100 percent effaced, and at a zero for the action to really start. You apparently didn't study your books as much as you let on."

"Look, there's only so much a man can learn when he doesn't own those specific body parts. I do know more about the female anatomy than I ever did before, and let me tell you, it's intriguing for sure." Harry laughed. "But it's also a bit scary."

Julie shook her head. "Ok, even I don't want to talk about it with you. So, let's just hope she doesn't come for a little bit yet, and that I get to go home and not have to spend days in the hospital."

Harry moved the chair now that Julie was snuggled back in the bed comfortable so that he could look at her better. "You'll do what you need to for Grace. And I know that because I've never seen anyone as focused as you on making sure you do what's right for her. I know you'll do what's best for her, so if you think it's ok to go home, I'll support that. I know you wouldn't do anything to hurt her. Just please, make that decision for yourself too. If it could hurt you to go, please don't. I need you both, so much. I don't want anything to happen to either of you, especially when we could prevent it." He looked at Julie when she raised her eyebrows at him. "And yes, I realize how ironic that is coming from me right now. But it's true. And just because I was a jackass recently, doesn't mean you have to teach me a lesson. I've learned it on my own. Trust me."

"Too bad you can't remember if you had a good time or not, because I was going to say I hope it was worth it. But, I guess you will never know." Julie gave him a side eyed glance.

"What I remember was fun. But, that's not very nice. You're going to use this against me for awhile, aren't you?" Harry asked ruefully sitting back in his chair.

"Oh, yeah. Count on it. In fact, anticipate it. It would be in your best interest to just head off any potential problems for awhile by assuming I'll bring it up." Julie advised. She raised one eyebrow and shrugged. "But, I bet I could tell you what kind of time you had."

"What? What's that mean?" Harry asked sitting up straighter in his chair. He knew it was some kind of trap, but he didn't know exactly what she was getting at.

"I'm thinking you had a wonderful time. Filled with lots of laughter and love. Good times and friends." Julie reached over for her phone.

"Ok, well, yeah I know I was with friends, so that would make sense, but I'm guessing there's more to it then that. And now I'm scared." Harry closed his eyes for a second when Julie started scrolling through her phone. There were pictures. He just knew it, even before she showed him. When he heard her move, he opened his eyes and took her phone. Sure enough, there they were. He sighed as he scrolled through a number of pictures and then a few articles. He locked the phone and held it in his hands. "You saw this last night?"

"I couldn't sleep after everyone left, so I got curious and decided to look. I know I shouldn't have. But I've never been great at staying offline. I knew I probably wouldn't like everything I saw." Julie admitted to him. "And that was the truth."

"Baby, they're just pictures. They don't tell the story." Harry gave her, her phone back. He couldn't figure out why she wasn't more angry at him.

"I know. I was livid at first. I was ready to not let you anywhere near me. It shocked me and hurt, even more than I was hurting already. But, I decided when I agreed to get back together with you, and marry you, that I trusted you. And I believe in our love. I need to believe that even though you were drunk that you would know where you belonged, and that just because Kendall was there, doesn't mean anything would happen." Julie shook her head. "Trust me, it wasn't easy. She fucks with me just by existing, the articles didn't bother me, they'll always write about the two of you, it was the pictures. But then, I saw these ones." Julie scrolled through the pictures of him and Kendall at the party and stopped at the ones she was talking about. They were pictures in succession where he was obviously drunk, but he was removing her hand from his arm and stepping away from her. And the next pictures showed her with a dumbfounded look on her face as he made his way towards the door.

Harry looked at the pictures and tried to remember the details. He recognized the club, and it took awhile, but he pieced enough of it together. "Yeah, we left not long after she showed up. I remember now. It's hard since she's friends with the Azoff's and we sometimes end up in the same places, but after she wished me a Happy Birthday, we decided to leave. I was already pretty drunk, but I guess after that I decided I needed more to drink."

"Yeah, she could do that to a person." Julie just shrugged when Harry looked at her and chuckled. "I'll never, ever, in a million years like that woman, or tolerate her. She could fall into an abyss, and I'd be happy, but since I can't wish nastiness on anyone, I'll just keep that to myself."

"To yourself, huh?" Harry asked looking at his wife with a humored expression on his face.

"Yeah, you're married to me, so whatever I say to you, is like keeping it to myself." Julie shrugged again, smiling at him. "I swear it was in the marriage vows. Or something like that."

"Or something like that." Harry laughed and leaned over and kissed his wife. "I love you, so much. Drunk or not, I still know where my love lies, where my heart belongs, and where my soul lives. That's with you. Don't doubt that."

"Oh, but she's not the only one you're rumored to be with, by the way." Julie looked him in the eyes as he pulled back slightly from her.

"What? Really?" Harry asked. He looked at the phone when she turned it to him to see him standing there leaning on his friend, Karen. This must have been later in the night, or early in the morning, because it looked like Karen was holding him on his feet. "Oh, for fucks sake."

"Yeah, I'll have to ask Karen next time I see her how your date went. And if Kendall was too much competition for her." Julie locked her phone and set it aside. "You just get too much action. I swear."

"Shut up, would you?" Harry sighed. "I am sorry for that night. But if you think for a second...."

"That Karen would be interested in you? Never. She has much better taste." Julie laughed as Harry pinched her forearm gently.

"Yeah, because she'd much rather be with you, than me." Harry laughed.

"Exactly, much better taste." Julie laughed harder. She could have been upset with the pictures of him and Kendall together in the same club, and she was at first, but she needed to trust Harry even with Kendall. Even on a night that he went MIA. Seeing the pictures of him walking away helped, but seeing a story from the same night of him and his new fling with Karen reminded her of how crazy the media stories could get when it came to Harry. She loved him, and she trusted him, and until he gave her a real reason not to, that's how it was going to be.

Are y'all still enjoying this story?  Or is it about time to end their journey?
I do have a few more ideas, but I'm not sure if their journey has played out to y'all or not.
Let me know what you think....
Thank you all for everything!  I adore every single read and every single vote!
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