Greta Van Fleet Imagines

im so scared-jmk

oh man. I have intense baby fever right now

Warnings: pregnancy, child birth

Word count: 1519

I'm so scared. The three words were on your tongue for the last seven months.

They were on the verge of slipping out at any moment, in the checkout line of the grocery store, after Lamaze class, during breakfast. The only thing stopping you was the way Josh acted during the entire pregnancy. He was so excited, beaming and pulling you into a hug. You always wanted to plan a big surprise to tell him, like a cute picture or a game. But instead, you ran from the bathroom, carrying the uncapped stick and shoving it into his hands, screaming and unable to form coherent words. After a quick moment of disgust from accidentally touching the uncapped portion, he pulled you into his arms, declaring his love for you and it took everything in his body to not call his family, to not tweet it to the world.

Telling his family was much similar. A simple statement over dinner.

"We're having a baby," Josh grinned, gripping your hand tightly. His palm was sweaty, and his leg was bouncing with nerves. Nearly every fork at the table dropped, except for Sam's. He was the only one who knew, noticing the crackers and nausea lollipops you had in your purse. Jake was the first out of his chair, pulling you into a tight hug before going to his twin, whispering something. Josh's eyes went wide as he shook his head.

During the second trimester, you began to really show, practically growing overnight. Even though you were a private person, the idea of everyone knowing freaked you out. Just the thought of coworkers in your business when last month they couldn't bother to ask for your coffee order when the interns went out. You began buying baggier clothes to try and hide as much as you could, but Josh convinced you to announce it officially. The sense of pride he had for this baby was insane. His hand was always on your bump, softly caressing, when you were sitting with him on the couch. He always made sure to lead you in crowded places, keeping you close to him. On more occasions than you can count, you woke up to him talking to your belly, though it wasn't his voice that woke you up, but the little feet, or maybe fists, roughly punching/kicking your organs.

Now it was near the end of your pregnancy, almost time to hold the bundle of joy properly. You'd been experiencing false contractions all week, Braxton-Hicks, that were more of a nuisance than painful. The first day, Josh groggily rushed you to the hospital at three in the morning in a panic. The nurses and doctors signed you in, examining your nether regions and concluding that it was a false alarm. You were relieved, excited to be back in the comfort of your own home. That was Tuesday morning, and ever since being discharged, Josh had made it a point to call you anytime he could.

Once you made it to Friday, you were in substantial pain, basically every step being agony. Shoving the pain away was difficult as the week progressed. Either way, like clockwork, you drove yourself to the studio anyway. Every week, you had lunch with the guys, listening to that week's progress. This week, you were adamant in going, knowing it would be the last time for a while. You made it to the studio just fine, but you had to stop three times on the way in, clutching the railing on the wall for support. With multiple breaks and huffs and puffs, you made it to the conference room where the takeout was sitting on the table. Everyone looked shocked to see you there, taking a moment to greet you.

Josh hugged you last, practically pushing you to sit down. He gave you a silent once over, beginning with your tired face and ending with your swollen ankles. Pregnancy was a rude woman. You hoped it would be easy the first time around, praying that mother nature would be kind. If the pregnancy was anything like how the kid would be when they came out, you were in for a wild ride, not to mention the Kiszka blood in their veins.

Sam and Jake excused themselves, going to do something in the studio. They were quick eaters, going back to work on something they left before lunch. Josh left as well, something about going to see his brothers and use the restroom before letting you go home. You talked with Danny, making light conversation about what sounded good for dinner. Near the end of the meal, you alarmed the remaining band member with a sharp inhale, a contraction coming through. He moved to stand behind you, glancing at the clock on the wall.

"Y/N, I think you should really go to the hospital," Danny said softly, rubbing your shoulder. Even though you were starving, the waves of pain and nausea kept you from eating.

"No," you squeaked out, fingers wrapped around the armrest of the chair you were sitting in. The contraction was the strongest one yet. You had been enduring the pain all day, trying to convince yourself that they weren't serious, but they were coming more and more frequent. Your anxiety raised with each contraction. The pain passed, letting you relax. "I'm fine, I promise. There have been worse."

Josh came back from the restroom. He softly sighed out your name, "we should really go." Despite his soft tone and smile, his eyes were angry and stressed, understandably so. He never pushed or forced you to do anything, but now he was sternly encouraging a trip to the hospital.

"Those aren't Braxton-Hicks anymore, Y/N," Danny interjected, saying what everyone was thinking but no one wanted to put in the air. You turned to look up at him, unsure of how he knew the signs. "Yeah, you left the book in the bathroom, and I couldn't put it down."

"Is that why you spent like two hours in there last week?" Josh asked, chuckling lightly. Danny nodded, pushing his hair from his face to paint a picture. Their conversation was cut short as an involuntary scream came from your lips. The attention was back on you, Sam and Jake rushing in as well. "Yeah, Y/N, baby. I'm sorry, but we're going now," Josh said, reaching for your arm to pull you up.

You refused. Light chatter and encouragements and congratulations ensued over your protests and refusals. Danny had your left arm, Josh your right and Sam was picking up the bag with all the hospital gear. Jake was searching for his car keys. His car was the only one that anyone was willing to let you give birth in if needed.

"I'm not going!" You shouted, bringing all conversation to an end. The room stilled, everyone making sure to tread lightly with the pregnant woman. They dropped you back into the cushioned seat. The small bounce sent a rip of fire between your legs. You winced, gripping your baby bump, mentally cursing the baby out, and then yourself for cursing out the unborn child.

"Why not?" Josh asked, kneeling in front of you. His hands took yours, squeezing tightly. "We agreed against a home birth."

"I'm so scared," you sobbed. Every tear held back for the last seven months came out at once. Your face became hot and sticky.

He gripped your hand. "I'm so scared too. Mama, I love you so much, but when we get to have this baby-"

"I can't," you wailed. The three others excused themselves from the room, leaving you and Josh alone. "I don't deserve this."

Josh moved so you could look at him in the eyes. "Y/N, look at me. All you have to do, right now, in this moment, is have this baby." He pushed your hair back, keeping his attention on you. "We can worry about it all later. Do you think our parents had it easy? We all turned out alright."

You nodded. "Not Sam, though."

"Right," he chuckled. "Mom and dad just let him run wild, so we can't do that." His serious tone returned, his words instantly calming you down. "That's it. We'll just take it one step at a time."

You nodded again, letting him help you up. Another contraction came through, keeping you from making it too far. He ignored your fingers digging into his shoulder, the pain a fraction of what you were feeling.

Even though the pregnancy was a rough ride from start to finish, the finish line was much faster. The actual labor process, while painful, was fairly short. Josh stood beside you, practically waiting on you hand and foot while you were in the bed. All was worth it, finally seeing the bundle of love in his arms. The nurses handed you the baby first. They offered him to clip the cord, but the starstruck look of love left his eyes, a shade of green appearing on his face. You laughed lightly as he tried to forget the image of the afterbirth.