*Mallory*

I took a deep breath as I pulled on my white fur jacket, taking a final look in the mirror as I zipped it up.

Ugh.... I look like an overweight Yeti....

I pulled it off and threw it aside, crossing my arms in a pout.

Note to self: If Nikki and I ever manage to have more kids in the future, I REALLY need to figure out my pregnancy wardrobe.

Sunday. Day off from everything.

Nikki and I decided to take today to have an ultrasound appointment for today since I'm now 26 weeks pregnant, 7 months to be exact.

I did want to see Skylar today, but Vince suggested I rest from all the hospital visits.

I've also been on the phone with Lexie trying to figure out what to do about my mother. Nobody really wanted to pay for any funeral, and she didn't exactly have much friends left, let alone at all.

Part of me is on the same page, though. This woman, who was supposed to love me and support me, just caused me so much pain throughout my life, extorted me for money, was a terrible person... Yet, what kind of example am I setting for my child if I don't forgive and move on for myself.....

Its so much to think about....

I sighed as I looked down at my baby bump, running his hands over it.

"You've made it so far.... Only 2 months to go," I sighed. "Do you think you can do it...?"

It was quiet for a while before I felt a soft kick against my palm.

I smiled as I looked down. "I have faith.... I don't know how, but... I believe in you...."

Another soft nudge gave my heart a little bit of warmth and I smiled before deciding to see if Nikki was ready.

Recently, we've been working on settling our arguments, and have honestly been doing better. Good enough that things are going back to how they used to be.

Him falling off the wagon caused a major riff, since there were times he was home way past midnight, John even having to bring him home one night hammered and high out of his mind.

Not a good night to think about....

He is scared and stressed, even if he'll never admit it, and I understand that, but I wish he found other ways to cope.

Thankfully, he's starting to try and get clean again and working make it up to me and our baby.

We both knew after leaving rehab six years ago that it was going to be an uphill battle to keep clean forever, especially after the massive rock bottom we hit.

Despite that, I know we can pull through.

I walked into the studio, seeing Nikki on the computer at the desk, a thinking look on his face.

I smiled and walked over, standing behind him and placing my hands over his shoulders. "Hey..."

He was pulled from his thoughts and looked up. "Hey," he said with a smile. "Almost ready?"

"Yeah, just need a jacket," I said, and looked at the screen. "What are you up to?"

"Well, uhhhh.... Writing a book.." He shrugged.

My eyes widen in surprise. "A book?"

"Yeah, well, trying to, at least.... I remembered the idea being thrown around a while back and I thought, you know, I work on something, but I'm coming up blank here.... I don't even know where to start honestly," he said with a frustrated sigh as he looked at the screen.

I pursed my lips in thought, rubbing his shoulders. "It does seem hard to think for that, huh?"

"Yeah..." he sighed, rubbing his temple, then looking up at me. "Have you ever thought of writing a book, too? I know you've been given the idea a few times, too."

I took a deep breath and shrugged. "I mean.... I've thought about it a bunch of times... I guess I don't know how I would start it, either," I said "In all honesty.... My life kind of had so many different restarts, I already lost track....."

He placed his hand over mine. "It started once you crossed the border into California," he said.

I frowned. "Pretty sure it started when I woke up seconds from a doctor my dad paid about to hit the power button on my ventilator...." I sighed, shaking my heard as I looked out the window of the studio room.

"Nah.... I think it definitely started that night in the diner," He said, smiling up at me.

I looked down and smiled at him. "Yeah... I met my prince charming after he got socked in the face by his former lead singer in a dress and 10 in heels if I remember that story right..."

He laughed as he pulled me forward and sitting me on his lap.

"My hair smelling like bacon grease and stale beer thanks to some drunk dumbass from earlier.... You asking for breakfast at almost 11 at night with a bloody nose and witty sarcasm..... Followed by a Jack and coke, where you neglected the coke....." I smirked, making him chuckle. "Then one thing lead to another, my ex-boss was lying on the ground with a broken nose and I was walking out of the diner with you and a scrawny drummer you had also just met, and holding my jar full of tips.... And you kinda walked out on a bill."

"Best love story ever," he said, making me laugh as we pulled each other into a kiss.

I smiled as I looked down at him.

"You know, you can be an ass sometimes, but I am really glad I met you in that diner that night," I said. "I wouldn't have wanted it any other way...."

He chuckled and smiled up at me. "I love you, Mal...."

"I love you, too, Nikki...." I smiled as we shared a kiss and then he looked down at my baby bump.

"And I love you, my little fighter," he said, softly kissing my baby bump. "God... You really made it far, huh, JellyBean?"

I smiled as I then felt him kick a little against Nikki's hand and he smiled as I stroked his hair.

"Do you think we should announce it, yet?" I asked.

"I mean, that's up to you," he shrugged. "We did agree to make the announcement at around this time... You ready to do it?"

She shrugged. "I am kind of tired looking like I stuffed an entire convenient store under a trench coat," I admitted.

He burst out laughing and pulled me into his arms.

"Okay, you are not fat, Mal," he said.

"Tell that to JellyBean here," I scoffed, pointing at my bump. "I just tried on a parka and looked like a sleeping bag for an SUV."

He snickered, looking up at me. "Okay, you're exaggerating, baby. You look amazing. No one can pull off pregnancy like you can."

I scoffed and rolled my eyes.

"In all seriousness, though," he said. "You are gorgeous, Mal... Always are."

I smiled down at him. "Thank you... That actually helps me feel better..." I said.

He smiled as we shared a kiss.

"Why not wear that leather jacket I got you for your birthday?" He suggested. "If we're gonna go public... Let's do it by surprise."

My eyes widen at his words, then I couldn't help but laugh. "I think that sounds like a good idea."

He smiled. "Come on, I'll help you out," He said, patting my thigh before helping me up and then following me out of the studio.

***

*Nikki*

We were in the waiting room to be called. It was me and Mal, and another couple that came in not long after we did.

Mal wore her regular leather jacket with a white Sex Pistols shirt and black jeans and sneakers, her baby bump now totally showing. Some nearby paparazzi that seem to always be around my neighborhood caught a glimpse and went nuts as they snapped some pictures before we managed to climb into our car and drive off to the clinic.

I usually just read through the brochures here every once in a while, but there's a lot of words that I don't even think are english at all.

"Baby, all these pregnancy terms are so weird," I said, flipping through one of the booklets. "All this just to push out a kid?"

"Its a lot more complicated than that, Nikki," she said. "Its a long process, and there's a lot of factors to it. Its not always just scream and push and boom, there's a baby, you know."

"Yeah, but.... There's so much to keep track of for it?" I asked. "Like, jaundice? Babies can come out yellow? I thought that was just some junkies who would get it."

"Well, not all babies get jaundice, honey. Eitherway, but its nothing to worry about," she said calmly.

"You could be popping out a Simpson baby, and you're not worried?" I asked.

She scoffed a laugh and rolled her eyes. "They don't come out that yellow either, you doof. Besides, its a temporary thing that eventually goes away as they grow."

"Stilll.... Really fucking weird," I said, flipping through more pages. "Or.... Baby, what the hell is crowning?"

Her eyes widen and she pursed her lips.

"Uhhh.... That's mostly for the day of birth, so.... You don't have to worry about that for now," she said, kinda laughing nervously.

"Why? What happens there?" I asked curiously.

She seemed to be trying to come up with an answer. "Well....."

"Sixx," a voice called and we looked, seeing we were called.

Mal sighed with relief for some reason, but I shrugged it off as I got up, helping Mal to stand before we headed inside and Dr. Langdon met with us.

I'm sure it can't be that bad.

"Hello Mallory, Nikki, how are you?" she greeted with a smile.

"Doing well," Mal smiled as she rubbed her bump.

"I'm glad. I have a room ready, if you can just follow me," she said, motioning us to follow.

We were lead to the examination room, already prepped with the screens and stuff.

"You can go ahead and have a seat while I take your vitals, Mallory," Dr. Langdon said.

"Okay," she said as I helped her onto the examination bed.

She took off her jacket and handed it to me before Dr. Langdon took her blood pressure and stuff.

"Alright, so far everything's good," she said. "And, also, congrats! You are now on your third and final trimester."

We smiled as Mal placed her hand over her bump.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Anxious mostly," she said. "But overall, fine."

"Alright, and your diet?" She asked. "Any cravings?"

Mal looked up, as if thinking about it. "Mostly fried pickles.... And ice cream," she said, then pursed her lips. "Which doesn't sound so bad right now....."

Dr. Langdon laughed.

"Don't forget the beef jerky you almost killed Tommy for two weeks ago," I scoffed.

"Not my fault I wanted some," she shrugged with a laugh.

I couldn't help but laugh, and then they continued the questions.

Mostly if Mal's been hormonal (which she does have her moments, and it has scared the living hell out of Tommy, Zutaut and even me a few times), any pains, stuff like that.

"Alright, good," she said. "Let's get to it. "You can lie down, and lift your shirt and unzip your jeans just a little bit."

Mal laid down on the examination bed, pulling her shirt up to expose her baby bump as she got comfortable.

She was taking slow steady breaths as she tried to calm herself, so I reached up and held her hand.

"Its gonna be okay," I assured her.

She nodded, smiling at me as Dr. Langdon stepped up with the bottle of jelly stuff.

*Mallory*

I shivered softly as the nurse squeezed the clear jelly on my stomach and Nikki rubbed my arm.

No matter how many times I do this, a part of me still gets so nervous of what could be on that screen.

The nurse then traced the transducer probe around my baby bump as she clicked some buttons on the monitor.

That's when an image finally popped up and my chest immediately went warm.

"There's our little bundle of joy..." Dr. Langdon smiled.

(Gif: Example of Nikki & Mallory's Baby's Ultrasound; Note - I don't know exactly how many months old the fetus in this is, but let's just assume around 7 months for the chapter)

We looked at the screen as Nikki moved closer to get a better look.

"Our baby..." I mumbled, looking at Nikki

"Hey there, JellyBean," Nikki smiled

"And... here's the heartbeat," she said, and clicked another button and....

Du-Dun... Du-Dun... Du-Dun.... Du-Dun.....

"O-Oh my gosh..." I murmured in amazement.

I then looked over at Nikki, who's eyes were getting watery.

He then noticed I was watching him and quickly wiped his tears away, trying to put a tough face for me.

I giggled softly and stroked his hair a little.

"T-That's our baby," he said with a big smile.

I nodded as he leaned over and kissed my cheek before looking back at the screen, little JellyBean moving around a little as Dr. Langdon moved the transducer probe some more.

"Little one's got a strong, steady heartbeat," She said.

"E-Everything looks okay? T-There's nothing wrong with the baby?" I asked.

"So far, everything looks great, Mallory. Placenta is intact, umbilical cord is also untangled, there are no signs of tears or any damage whatsoever, the amniotic sac is intact as well," The nurse said. "No signs of hemorrhaging of any sort either, and no signs of any defects with your baby either."

I nodded with a sigh of relief as I realized Nikki was flipping through a booklet he had before looking up confused at us.

"I knew I should have gone to college at least once back then," he grumbled quietly, closing the booklet and pouting..

I laughed and brushed my fingers through his hair, Dr. Langdon chuckling softly.

"It means overall, everything is fine, Mr. Sixx. Not even a beat out of rhythm," she said. "Despite of Mallory's condition, the baby is very healthy, pretty much just relaxing in there, and our future mommy's vitals are also on the positive side."

Mal sighed with relief as I smiled, holding her hand.

"Now, would you like to know the gender?" Dr. Langdon asked.

Nikki and I looked at each other.

"What do you think?" Nikki asked.

"I kind of want it to be a surprise," I admitted. "It helps keep our minds off any nervousness."

He thought about it, then nodded. "Good point..."

I nodded and looked over. "We'll keep it a surprise," I assured.

"Okay," she said, and started to turn off the machines before handing me some napkins to wipe

"I do suggest following a healthy diet regiment continuously, get plenty of exercise as well, but don't exert yourself," Dr. Landgon said

I nodded as I sat up, pulling my shirt down.

"I also should warn you, there may be a chance, Mallory, that if anything happens, you might have to give birth via cesarean section delivery," Dr. Langdon said.

My eyes widen as Nikki frowned.

"Wait, what? Does that mean...." He asked, looking nervous.

"Yes... an operation may need to be performed to deliver the baby," Dr. Langdon said. "Despite all going well, there may still be risks, considering her reproductive system may not be strong enough to handle natural birth."

I took a deep breath as Nikki looked on the verge of freaking out.

"I understand the worry, but it's fine. There's also the bigger chance that Mallory can be able to deliver naturally. Everything seems fine, as I said, so there's a chance she may not need to go under the knife. Only in the scenario that there's any complications, then she will need to for both her safety and the baby's. You may need to prepare yourselves in case it does come to that... It will take more time to recover from that than a vaginal birth."

Nikki gulped nervously as I looked over and held his hand.

"Baby, its fine," I said. "We just got to be positive and prepared."

He took a deep breath and nodded. calming down as I stood up.

"Is it safe?" he asked, his arm looping around me. "Y-You know, in case...."

"Complications during this procedure are rare, but not unheard of," Dr. Langdon said. "However, I've preformed many cesareans before and have had no major complications or problems during them, and many women have had health conditions of different sorts, some worse than Mallory's."

He let out a shaky breath as I rubbed his arm before taking his hand and holding it against my chest to help him calm down a little.

Luckily he did relax once he felt my heartbeat.

"Like I said, everything is fine. I only say this as a precaution, because things can always be unpredictable on the day of a delivery," Dr. Langdon said. "As said, Mallory and baby are doing just fine."

Nikki nodded. "Thank you."

"Anytime. We are always a call away if you need anything," she said.

We nodded her, thanking her again before heading out and getting in the car.

That's when our phones then rang at the same time.

"Its Mick," I said, seeing the caller ID in my phone.

"Zutaut," Nikki sighed as we both answered.

"Hey Mick," I said.

"M-Mallory... I-I need help...." he said, his voice strained.

I frowned, placing my hand on Nikki's arm. "Mick? Are you alright? What happened?" I asked, worried as Nikki looked over at me in confusion.

"I-It hurts...."

***

*Nikki*

I nervously sat in the waiting room, Mal gripping my hand as she sat next to me.

After that call, we hurried to Mick's house, and what we found shocked us both.

Mick looked so sick and weak.... He was in severe point, to a point where he could barely even move. 

It was clear the AS hit him hard at some point but he didn't want anyone to know.

Apparently he dropped the clinical trial because there were no results and the drugs he was prescribed were only making his joints hurt more.

"Chief," Mick's doctor said as he finally showed up and approached us.

"Yes? I-Is he going to be okay?" Mal asked.

"We have him resting and on pain medication," He said. "We also took some x-rays, the condition has worsened a lot, more in his pelvic area."

"Oh my god... He never said anything...." Mal said, obviously in complete shock.

I put my arm around her and rub her back to calm her down.

"What do you suggest can be done then?" I asked him.

"He'll need a hip replacement, but he's lost some weight recently, he'll need to be at a certain limit for us to be able to perform it," he said. "He'll also need a lot of bed rest, but small walks can help as well. He'll need lots of care, too."

"He can stay home with us," Mal immediately said.

"Absolutely," I added.

"We've got plenty of free time at home right now, we can watch him for his surgery, and after," Mal said. "Umm, can we see him now?"

"Of course. Follow me," he motioned, and he lead us to Mick's room.

As we approached the room, though.....

"THAT'S IT!!!" a woman's voice snapped and we stopped as an older nurse stepped out in a huff, looking mad as hell.

"Nurse Danvers, what is wrong!?" the doctor asked in shock.

"What is wrong, Doctor, is that if I have to put up with that foul-mouthed bastard again, I'm gonna end up pumping him full of morphine until he finally shuts up, damn it!!" she snapped.

I snickered quietly as Mal face palmed before walking into the room, me following as the doctor tried to calm down the raging nurse.

We walked in, seeing Mick was in the bed.

"Mick..." Mal scolded. "Really? The nurses?"

"What? She was annoying me anyway," he grumbled.

"Good one, old man," I snickered, making Mal smack my arm. "Ow! What?" I said, trying not to laugh but failing.

Mal then walked over and sat at his side.

"How are you feeling?" She asked.

He sighed, settling into bed. "A little better than before..."

"Mick, why didn't you call us, man?" I asked

He took a deep breath. "Mal worked hard getting me to that clinical trial... How was I supposed to tell her after everything that it wasn't working?"

"So, pumping yourself full of pain killers and your old medication was the answer?" she frowned. "Mick, I would have been sad it didn't work, yeah, but we could have kept looking...."

He sighed. "You had other things to worry about, Mallory..."

She frowned, looking down, but then gave him a stern look and held his hand. "You are still my family.... No matter what, I have time for you..."

He sighed and nodded. "I'm sorry..."

"It's okay... So long as you're alright," Mal said, giving him a small smile.

He smiled softly at her. "You guys went for a check up today?" He asked, I'm guessing wanting to change the subject. "How's the kid?"

Mal looked down and placed her hand over her baby bump. "Well.... The world knows... We went public..."

"Really?" he asked, surprised. 

"We figured it was time," I shrugged.

"He's doing okay in there?" he asked.

Mal smiled and nodded. "Yeah.... Everything's good...."

He nodded. "Do you know what you're having yet?" he asked curiously.

We both looked at each other.

"We, uhhh... We decided to keep it a surprise," I said.

He looked at us confused. "Really?"

"We still don't know if my condition is gonna affect us between now and the due date.... We rather just have something positive to look forward, too..."

He nodded in understand. "Little shit made it this far, though... I'm sure it'll be fine."

Mal and I smiled as then Mal held his hand again.

"You're gonna be staying with us for a while, so we help you get ready for the surgery," she said. "And, its not up for debate, so don't try to argue."

He sighed and laid his head back. "Fine... But Jack doesn't share the bed with me... He snores too damn loud for it to be considered healthy."

Mal and I laughed as we stayed some more time with Mick before visiting hours were over (Mal making Mick promise he wouldn't piss off any nurses again), and then heading home.

~~~~~

What do you think Nikki and Mal are having? 👶🏻

⚾️ Boy ♂️

or

🎀 Girl ♀️

Might stop here for a little to start drafting and organizing the next few chapters. I'll be back very soon once I'm done, though! 🌻

🎼Currently in Sapph's playlist:

CNCO "Se Vuelve Loca"
(Translation: She Goes Crazy)

https://youtu.be/y3QQvajXWUk

♡~ sapphire.