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XXXI .. a first
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THIS ALL FELT SO UNREAL TO BELLA. she was expecting a baby and now, she was scheduled for the baby's sonogram. bella was six weeks along, which meant a small bump was starting to form. she laid in bed asleep while johnny laid beside her wide awake. he placed a hand on her stomach and traced his fingers along her sides as bella remained asleep.

just like bella, this felt surreal to him as well. after 20 minutes of a single day during a weekend, he was gonna become a father in 9 months. he felt some excitement, but most of all, he felt terrified. as he caressed bella's tiny bump, she slowly opened her eyes and looked up, smiling at johnny.

"hi." bella smiled as she softly yawned.

"hey beautiful." johnny smiled, placing a small kiss on her temple. "how're you feeling?"

"better." bella smiled. "a bit nervous."

"oh yeah, you have your appointment today." johnny sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "that sono-thing."

"sonogram." bella giggled as she caressed her boyfriend's cheek. "it's called a sonogram, babe."

"yeah, that thing." johnny chuckled as he sat up. "i'm picking you up right?"

"yeah, i'm getting the afternoon off." bella smiled as she sat up and began to make the bed. "the appointment's at noon. will you make it?"

"yeah." johnny said. "you sure you'll be fine?"

"yeah, will you?" bella smirked as she wrapped her arms around johnny's neck. "it's okay to be nervous."

"i'm not nervous." johnny said as he held bella. she shot him a look as his smile disappeared and nodded his head. "fine, i am."

"i think you're more nervous about this than i am." bella chuckled. "we're gonna be okay. you and me right?"

"you, me, and now, our kiddo." johnny softly smiled, placing his hand on her tiny bump and placing a kiss on her nose.

･ ⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･

"look at you!" jenna smiled as she walked into the showroom where bella was organizing inventory. "you're glowing."

bella smiled as she continued looking over the inventory again as fleetwood mac's gypsy played on the small radio in the showroom. "i'm kinda nervous about this." bella sighed as she sat down on a chair.

"it's gonna be fine." jenna smiled. "if you want, i'll take over inventory while you're gone. the paperwork passed by my desk, so i can take care of this."

"are you sure?" bella said. "i know you have other stuff to take care of and i don't want you to overwork yourself."

"i'll be fine." jenna said as she grabbed the lists. "i came in here to tell you that it's time for your appointment. i'll take care of it, everything's gonna be fine."

"wish me luck." bella smiled as jenna embraced her. bella walked out of the showroom and back to her office to grab her purse. she locked her office as she walked out of the office floor and into the elevator.

her palms began to sweat as she stood in the elevator and her heart began to race as she stepped off the elevator. she smiled as she found her boyfriend's red pontiac parked outside.

"you ready, princess?" johnny said as he gently placed a hand on bella's thigh.

"yeah." bella smiled as johnny drove into the highway. to calm herself, she turned up the volume on the radio, that was still playing gypsy by fleetwood mac. she turned to the side and looked out the window as johnny turned to look at her at the stoplight.

the couple finally arrived at the doctors office, but sat in the car for a few minutes. bella's father, being that he was a surgeon, he knew a couple of doctors around the valley. he recommended that bella go to a gynecologist up around sherman oaks.

surprisingly, the waiting room was empty. upon opening the front door, bella felt her heart race which was calmed by johnny intertwining his hand with hers.

"bella?"

she turned to find dr. jennifer sullivan, who was a close friend of her parents, step out into the waiting room. "hey doc." bella smiled as she greeted the woman. dr. sullivan was in her early to mid thirties, brunette, and was one of the best gynecologists in the valley.

"you're all grown." dr. sullivan smiled. "the last time i saw you was when you were a few years old."

"yeah, those were good times." bella chuckled. "doc, this is my boyfriend–"

"johnny, right?" she smiled. "you're laura's boy right? laura lawrence?"

"yeah, from encino." johnny smiled.

"it's nice to meet you." dr. sullivan smiled. "well, if you two would like to come in, we're just gonna check on the baby and how it's doing."

bella sighed as the doctor led them both into the office. bella walked through the office door with her heart racing. as the doctor prepared her station, she laid down on the little couch, as johnny placed a kiss on her temple, attempting to calm her down.

"so, when did you first find out you were pregnant?" dr. sullivan said as she finished preparing her station.

"a couple weeks ago. i was feeling nauseous and very tired. i was about a week late on my period, so during my lunch hour, i picked up a pregnancy test, just to check." bella sighed.

"this is just a formality and it's just between us, how long have you two been sexually active?" dr. sullivan sighed. "don't worry, this won't get back to your father or your mother."

the couple turned to each other as they both remembered their first time. senior year during spring break at seventeen-eighteen. "since i was seventeen." bella said as she softly bit her lip nervously.

"at eighteen." johnny said as he took a deep breath. "she was seventeen and i had just turned eighteen."

the doctor nodded as she began to check bella. "alright, how have you been feeling? any symptoms?" dr. sullivan said as she continued to check bella and look at how the baby's doing.

"a lot of vomiting." bella chuckled. "fatigue, a few mood swings here and there."

"a few?" johnny muttered to bella who glared at him and softly smacked his arm.

"okay, yeah that's totally normal, the morning sickness should go away in about 12-14 weeks, but everybody's different." dr. sullivan said as she then moved to the screen. "so baby's doing good and here it is. right now, it's about the size of a sweet pea, but come next sonogram, it's gonna grow a little more."

bella stared in awe at the as the image of the tiny baby appeared on the monitor. "oh, wow." she smiled as her eyes watered.

"congratulations." she smiled. "i'll give you two a minute alone, i'll be right back."

bella intertwined her hand with johnny's as she wiped a couple of tears from her eyes. "oh honey, look." she smiled.

"what am i looking at?" johnny said as he tightened the grip on bella's hand. bella sighed as she rolled her eyes. "it's a tiny little thing, i can't see it."

"okay, look at the monitor." bella said as she pointed to the monitor. "you see that little thing on the bottom? that's it."

"that-that's our kid?" johnny said as he wrapped an arm around bella. she simply nodded as she placed her head on his shoulder.

"that's it. that's our kiddo."

･ ⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･

FLASHBACK — NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CA; 1985

the couple laid nude, side by side trying to catch their breath after having sex. there was a benefit going on tonight and both bella and johnny were supposed to be there with their parents and because they were country club employees, but instead they snuck off and headed back to north hollywood, where they grabbed a bottle of champagne and spent the rest of the night beneath the sheets.

their clothes; bella's dress and johnny's suit were scattered around the floor of bella's bedroom as the couple laid in bella's queen bed, undone. after catching their breath, bella rolled onto johnny's chest, slowly placing kisses all over his torso.

"what's on your mind, handsome?" bella sighed as she grabbed her half-empty champagne glass then tracing her fingers along his abs. "where'd you get the bottle anyway?"

"you know that guy, joey? works around the golf course?" johnny said. "he swiped a few bottles from the bar for a party he's having tonight and i took this one from him."

bella giggled as she shook her head. she drank the remaining champagne that was in her glass before laying back down on the bed. "do you remember our first time?" bella smiled as she propped herself up on her elbows and faced him.

"how could i forget?" johnny smiled as he laid back, placing his hands behind his head.

"was it your first time? like ever?" bella said as she laid back down onto her pillow. it was no secret that bella had never slept with anyone before him, but johnny; he was a virgin as well. sure, he had seen a naked chick or two on the playboy magazines that he hid under his bed, but he had never slept with a girl. "you don't have to tell me–"

"yeah." johnny said as he ran a hand through his long golden hair.  "it was. but y'know, i've seen a rack before and i've jerked off before–"

"johnny." bella said. "being a virgin doesn't make you less of a man. i was just asking and i'm glad you were honest with me."

"you were my first." johnny said. "i almost did it, with, uh, ali, but she wasn't ready and to be honest, i wasn't either. so we decided to wait until we were both ready, but it never happened. i was tempted to with some chicks but i never acted on it because i know how delicate that can be for a girl. now when i met you, i felt ready, but i wouldn't give in until you were ready."

bella smiled as she leaned in to kiss him. their lips moved in sync as they wrapped their arms around each other. "thank you for being honest with me." bella smiled as she leaned her forehead against his. "i'm glad you were my first."

"so am i."

･ ⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･

PRESENT DAY — VAN NUYS, CA; 1990

"look at how small." bella smiled as she held a copy of the sonogram in her hands, laying in between johnny's legs as he held her belly. after arriving home from sherman oaks, the couple laid on the sofa, with the radio playing. "just to think this is gonna come out of me in a few months."

"a month at a time, isabella." johnny chuckled as he took the sonogram from bella and stared at it. "this little thing can't be so bad, right?"

"you say that because you're not gonna be the one carrying this little thing around for 9 months." bella said as she leaned back onto his torso. "wait until it starts kicking."

"isn't that until the second half?" johnny said.

"yeah–how would you know?" bella teased.

"chrissy kinda explained it to me." johnny said as he held bella close to him. "i didn't really know what to expect so she kinda explained it to me. i'm learning."

bella smiled as she placed a small kiss on his cheek. "i'm gonna take a small nap." she softly yawned as she cuddled up to the blonde and softly closed her eyes. johnny smiled as he placed a kiss on the top of her head and held her as bella fell fast asleep.