A Very Hungover Christmas

4. New Years Surprise

Ali's POV

Justin and I sat going through the photos the week after the wedding, he couldn't get over the love he saw on my face in every shot. The same love he felt.

According to Scooter, the social media outlets had gone crazy.

Justin just ignored the noise of the outside world as he and I cozily escaped to a spacious villa an hour from Los Angeles that I had rented so we could have a short honeymoon, free from media intrusion, before we went home to prepare for the baby's arrival. The baby was due in about two to three weeks, depending on if he or she decided on a little extra womb time.

Justin's dad Jeremy had dropped off Esther after they had kept her while we were on our honeymoon. I knew Justin would miss her if they were apart too long, and Esther had settled right in, she was currently curled up at Justin's side on the sofa, as interested in the photos as he was.

"'Jali' is now set in stone," Scooter had said when he came by with the photos a couple of hours earlier. "My favorite headline so far is: Wedding in Vegas Part 2!"

"What kinda ship name is 'Jali'? It sucks." Justin complained. "Kill it dead now."

"Too late." Scooter had responded laughing.

He didn't really mind the name. It's what his fans called us since they found out we were married.

"Justin." My voice was suddenly shaky.

He turned his head to look over the back of the sofa at me then got up as he got his first glimpse of my face. "What's wrong?" I had gone to the bathroom after a quick look at the photos, I was excited to come back and look through them more slowly, but something didn't feel right, I put my hand on my stomach.

"I think I just had a contraction." I swallowed, my fingers trembling. "It's too early."

"Only by a couple of weeks," he reassured me as my heart thumped. "You okay for me to drive you or should I call an ambulance?" Stay calm, Ali. Stay calm. I chanted to myself. "We're not that far from the hospital you wanted to use, we can go now if you want to."

"You drive." I winced as I felt another contraction but it passed quickly. "I don't think the baby's in a rush." My voice soft but nervous. "We should have plenty of time."

Taking his cue from me, Justin drove fast but not recklessly. At first it all proceeded slowly with my contractions quite far apart. I was beginning to calm down, thinking we'd have plenty of time to get settled in at the hospital—hell, the doctor might even send me home until the labor was more advanced. I read that some women were in labor for twenty-four hours or more.

All hell broke loose about twenty minutes later while Justin drove at normal speed. We weren't far from the hospital when my contractions suddenly started coming far too close together for my peace of mind.

"Another one?" Justin asked when I gasped, his hands tightly gripping the steering wheel.

I breathed in and out in short bursts. "Y-yes."

"We're almost there, baby, ok."

I kept breathing unevenly.

"Hey, yell at me, swear ok." Justin said without taking his eyes off the road. "I'm the one who put you in this position, right?"

"I-I... help—" The rest of my words were a scream.

Should I stop?" He asked flustered and unsure.

"No, just get me to the hospital."

I wanted the hospital and the doctors. Justin increased his speed... and just as he did, a police siren went off behind him. "Fuck."