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XXXIX .. what to expect
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THE HEAVY OPENING RIFF OF WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE was heard all through the apartment as bella groaned in annoyance. she turned to her side and pulled the sheets up to her face, attempting to cover her ears and block the noise coming from the radio. every morning, johnny woke up earlier than bella, turned the radio on, full blast and walked into the kitchen to make breakfast. although bella was used to it by now, her mood swings kicked in.

'every fucking morning.' bella thought to herself as she sat up and rubbed her eyes. as she got up from bed, she pulled down the oversized metallica t-shirt that belonged to her boyfriend and softly stretched. she then walked into the kitchen to find her boyfriend, standing in front of the fridge, in black calvins.

"good morning babe." johnny smiled as he stood in front of the stove, turning to look at bella who sat on a kitchen stool.

"morning." bella yawned as she walked to grab the carton of orange juice. johnny wrapped his arms around bella's waist as he placed soft kisses on her neck, then reached over to grab a beer. "a banquet? really, john? it's 7:30am."

"it's to wake me up." johnny said as he opened up the beer can and took a swig. bella simply rolled her eyes and walked over to the cabinet to grab a glass as well as a bowl and the box of cereal.

"beer for breakfast? i thought we went over this." bella said, serving herself some cereal and pouring milk. she began to eat her cereal as she then began to crave some of the bologna her boyfriend was heating up. she stood up and grabbed two slices of bread and placed them in the toaster, as johnny chuckled watching her walk around the kitchen.

"um, honey, you okay?" johnny said as bella grabbed her slices of toast.

"heat up some bologna for me." bella said as she wrapped her arms around the blonde. "please."

"but didn't you–" johnny said, then remembering about the random cravings bella gets. "never mind, how many?"

"just two." bella sighed as she sat back down. "i sometimes hate these cravings. i crave the weirdest things."

"yeah, chinese food at 4am." johnny chuckled as he placed the bologna slices on her plate. "how can you eat that at 4am?"

"how can you drink beer at 7am?" bella said. "these cravings and mood swings are killing me. i never eat bologna, i've never slept for 10 hours straight, but on the bright side, i haven't had morning sickness."

"you'll be fine." johnny smiled as he pecked bella's lips. deciding to tease her, he pulled her in for a long kiss. he ran his hands down her sides and pulled her in closer to him, by grabbing her waist. bella softly groaned in pleasure as johnny ran his hands up to her cheeks as he ran his tongue along her lips.

"you're such a tease." bella sighed as she pulled away from him. "i know you're trying to get me hot."

"and yet it worked." johnny smirked as bella playfully shoved him to the side. "so where are you heading today?"

"burbank, for like the thousandth time this week." bella chuckled as she took a bite of her toast. "i'm just glad that i get the afternoon off and that this is almost over."

"it's a lighter day for me too. let's get dinner if you're not busy later on tonight." johnny smiled as he intertwined his hand with hers. "it's alright, if you can't–"

"it's fine. i'd like that." bella smiled as she finished up her breakfast and placed the dishes in the sink. "well, i'm gonna hop into the shower, i need to head to burbank soon. thanks for breakfast, honey."

bella walked back into the bedroom and laid her clothing out on the bed before getting into her robe. she walked back into the kitchen as johnny finished up breakfast. "you wanna join me?" bella smiled. "i don't have to be in burbank until 9."

"hell yeah." johnny smiled as he pulled bella in for a kiss.

･ ⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･

"so how's it going? with bella and the baby?" chrissy sighed as she reached to grab the ketchup. "how've you been so patient with her?"

"we're trying. it's hard for her, y'know with like all the work she has to do for that show, but she's pulling through." johnny said as bobby took a seat next to him.

"the baby hasn't started kicking, right?" bobby said as he took some fries from chrissy's plate, chrissy rolling her eyes in annoyance.

"she's only a few weeks to a month." chrissy laughed. "how're you feeling? freaked out yet?"

"to tell you the truth, i'm terrified." johnny sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "we both are, but we're taking it a day at a time. it just doesn't feel real."

"i know bella's been reading those parenting books also those pregnancy books." chrissy said. "did she really sleep for 10 hours straight?"

"i couldn't get her out of bed. she was out." johnny said, taking a sip of his coke. "and now she's having all these weird cravings and mood swings."

"that's all normal." chrissy said laughing. "she's gonna feel like that for the next few months. her body's going through so many changes; the mood swings, she's gonna be bitchy for a few minutes then she'll be back to smiling again. the cravings, she might crave something crazy or have cravings at random times–"

"like the chinese food at 4am?" bobby laughed as he nudged johnny. "where'd you find chinese food at that time?"

"don't even ask." johnny sighed.

"isn't there a chinese place near the dojo? well, where the dojo was." chrissy said as she took a sip from her soda. "we used to get food there back in the day."

"that's the one." johnny said. "it was weird seeing the old place. it's all run down."

"anyway, bella's gonna be fine–"

"and if you have any doubts, pick up one of those parenting books." bobby said, stealing some more of chrissy's fries.

"you two are gonna be alright. it's a learning experience, for both of you. nobody wakes up knowing how to parent a kid. you learn as you go." chrissy smiled. "it's a lot of trial and error, trust me."

"besides, we got your back; chris, tommy, jim, jen, me. we'll help you guys along the way." bobby smiled as he grabbed some more of chrissy's fries.

"thanks." johnny smiled. "it means a lot man, i'm sure bella will appreciate it."

chrissy smiled as she finally caught bobby taking more fries. "bobby, quit taking my fries!" she said, smacking his hand away. "get your own."

"chris, you got large fries!" bobby said taking some more. "c'mon, sharing is caring."

･ ⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･

bella and johnny sat in the booth of the diner as the soft tune of head over heels by tears for fears was heard. the waitress came up to the table and placed the orders on the couple's table; two cheeseburgers with an order of fries.

"what'd you think the baby's gender is?" bella sighed as she grabbed the ketchup and poured some ketchup on the side of her plate.

"you're only a few months and you're already thinking about what the baby is?" johnny chuckled as bella passed him the ketchup. "a day at a time, princess."

"just tell me, what do you think it is?" bella laughed as she grabbed some fries. "honest."

"honest?" johnny laughed as bella nodded. "alright, i think it's a girl."

"a girl?" bella smiled.

"yeah, i think it's a little baby girl." johnny smiled as he placed a straw in his coke glass. "what about you? what's your guess?"

"baby boy." bella smiled as she dipped her fries in ketchup. "it's gonna be a little copy of its daddy."

"you really think so?" johnny laughed as he took a bite of his burger as bella did the same, pouring some ketchup onto her burger. "it's too small to be a boy though."

bella looked down at her bump and then back to her boyfriend, laughing as she grabbed some fries. "how do you know that?" she laughed.

"chris kinda explained it to me and i kinda read one of those books you had laying around the house." johnny said.

"okay, who are you and what did you do to my boyfriend, stranger?" bella laughed as she intertwined his hand with hers.

"i wanted to look into it and well, chrissy helped me out, mom too." johnny smiled. "i didn't really know what you were going through so i wanted to read up on it, even thought i kinda gave up halfway."

"i appreciate you trying to figure it out." bella smiled. "it's gonna be a new experience for both of us."

"chris also told me that pregnancy also causes you to get all hot." johnny chuckled as he softly bit his lip. "and that sex is good for the baby. so, when we get home, we could, y'know."

"well, there he is." bella laughed. "we can do this right?"

"yeah. we can do this." johnny smiled as he placed a small kiss on bella's palm then called over the waitress and ordered a milkshake. "for our kiddo."

"aren't you the sweetest." bella smiled. "i love you."

"i love you more, monroe."