The Exchange Year

Chapter 19: The Pregnancy

*Niall's P.O.V*

It has been 7 months since Marah announced she is pregnant and I would be lying if I said it has been a smooth sailing pregnancy. I remember when Denise and Greg were pregnant...they would come over every once in a while and she was always so emotional; the smallest things would set her off. I thought I was prepared for Marah's pregnancy because of that, but boy was I wrong! Marah is way more emotional than Denise ever was and being paralyzed really isn't helping anything. She is constantly stressing over literally everything, but more specifically, how she thinks sitting in a chair every day, all day, is going to make our baby weirdly shaped. I have tried to tell her that that isn't going to happen, but she is convinced and there is nothing I can say to make her feel better.

The first few months of her pregnancy were pretty okay for her, emotional wise, but not so much for her physically...let's just say the toilet was our best friend. I say 'our' because I was with her the whole time, refusing to leave her side for barely even a second. I know that may seem like a little much, but this is the first time for both of us and I'm just as worried about her as I am about our unborn baby. So of course I stayed on the floor with her and held her hair back. It's the least I could do for the woman I love, the woman who is carrying my baby inside of her.

The next three months of her pregnancy, up until now, have been pretty rough. She started gaining more weight as the baby really began to grow, causing her to become very self conscious. Let me tell you right now, a self conscious, overly emotional, overly hormonal wife is not very much fun to be around. However, I have survived thus far and I hope to survive the next two months...wish me luck because I am going to need it! Right now I am chilling out in the living room with Hale, Cliff, and Leo, while Marah is upstairs in a nice, warm bubble bath.

"BABE!!" Marah yells, making all of us jump. "Help!!"

"Oh crap!!" I shout, jumping off the couch.

"Good luck, brother!" Cliff yells as I rush up the stairs.

"He's gonna need it," I hear Leo murmur, making me chuckle a little.

I quickly run to our room and throw open the door, making a break for the bathroom. Running inside, I stop beside the tub, looking her over frantically. Once I have determined that she isn't hurt, I quickly meet her eyes.

"What's wrong, baby??" I ask as she grabs both my hands.

"Well, I'm starting to turn into a prune so I need your help getting out of the tub...my arms aren't strong enough anymore," she sighs, squeezing my hands as tears come to her eyes. "I'm sorry...I'm so needy all the dang time and you are probably so sick of helping my pathetic, paralyzed, pregnant butt with every little thing. Please don't hate me...I love you..."

"Oh, baby, I love you too," I say softly, bending forward and placing a soft kiss on her forehead. "And I have told you this a million times, I really don't mind helping you out. You are carrying my baby inside of you, YOU are the one doing all of the hard work. I could never hate you...I love you way too much. Now come here."

She quickly loops her arms around my neck as I reach down and pick her up out of the tub. I set her on the edge of the tub before grabbing a towel and wrapping it around her. Once she is wrapped up inside, like a burrito, I pick her up and carry her back into our room. I lay her down on the bed and let her dry off while I head to the closet to grab her some clothes. As per her request, I grab her a sports bra, underwear, and a pair of her elastic, daisy-duke shorts. Once she has put them on, she lays down on the bed and I quickly lay beside her.

"You okay, sweetheart?" I ask softly, pulling her closer to me.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she whispers back, snuggling her head into my chest.