I love this photo of Layne ❤️

Briana and Layne were both laying down on the bed.  They had a long, exhausting night of pregnancy classes.  Afterwards, they did visitation with Mike.  Fortunately for them, Mike was doing a lot better.  The clinic was even considering discharging him in the next week.  They had already made plans for him to attend intensive outpatient once as he got out.

It was drawing nearer and nearer to their baby's due date—which was on February 11th.  Time seemed to have gone way too fast.  And it made the couple increasingly nervous about it.  Briana was already close to nine months pregnant and was as big as a house.  The hospital tried to put her on medical leave, considering that her ankles were swelling from the pregnancy.  But she refused.  She just used one of the wheelchairs if she felt pained.  A lot of the patients on the unit would joke with her about it.  She didn't care, though.  She wanted to stay as active as possible to attempt to stay somewhat in shape.

"I'm getting fat," Briana whined as she looked down at her baby bump.

Layne grinned down at her, giving her a long kiss as he rested his hand on her belly.  "It's actually kind of hot," he commented.

Briana couldn't help but to giggle.  "You're just saying that to make me feel better."

He shook his head as he rubbed her belly.  "No, I'm serious.  I think I might have a kink..."  His face burnt red in embarrassment when she laughed at him.

"You're a weirdo," she kidded.

Both of their eyes widened when they felt movement in her stomach.  Layne smiled wide as he moved his hand to the spot.

"Our baby girl is restless tonight..." he murmured.  He bent down to kiss where the baby was kicking.  A small chuckle escaped him when the kicking seemed to get more vigorous.  "What the hell is she doing, playing soccer in there?"

Briana laughed.  She quickly cringed though when the kicking moved up higher in her abdomen.  She hugged her stomach, her expression now pained. 

"Holy crap, she's kicking so hard that my lungs hurt," she screeched out.

They, at first, didn't want to know the sex of the baby.  They wanted it to be a surprise.  It didn't last too long, though, once they began to argue what to name her.  Briana kept telling Layne his names were too predicable—and Layne kept complaining that her names were too weird and that the poor kid would get made fun of for it.

"Aniston is a feisty little one," Briana grumbled out.

Layne gave her a wince.  "I fucking HATE that name."

She laughed.  "Stop cussing."

"I will once you stop calling our baby that RETARDED name."

She shrugged.  "It's better than Ashley."

"Hey, it's a pretty name," he argued.  He sat up and crossed his arms stubbornly.  "It's better than naming her after a red-headed orphan."

"It's Aniston, not Annie," she spat back at him.

He raised a brow at her.  "Other kids will start calling her Annie for short."  He caught a look from her.  Still, he stood his ground.  "It's gonna happen.  And then kids will start singing It's A Hard Not Life to her all the time.  I got made fun of for my name."

Briana giggled.  "What did they used to say?"

"They said I had a girl's name," Layne grumbled.  He grinned, though, when Briana laughed at that.

The baby kicked again.  Briana swore under her breath.  "Ugh.  I can't wait until I can pop her out already."

"Hey!" Layne snapped.  "I thought we weren't going to cuss anymore."

She shrugged.  "Our girl isn't out yet."

"So, you can say fuck and shit, but I can't, huh?" He slurred out.  He smirked.  "The hypocrisy is astounding."

She let out a sigh.  She struggled to sit up on the bed, pouting when Layne had to reach over and help her.  "I'm so FAT I can barely even freaking walk anymore," she whined as Layne got up and took her hand to help her stand up.  "I waddle."

Layne laughed as he followed her down the hall into the kitchen.  "It's cute."

She rolled her eyes as she opened up the fridge.  She pulled out a jar of pickles and a bottle of ranch.  "Whatever you say.  Weirdo."

Layne's eyebrows raised as he watched her dunk a pickle into the small cup of ranch she poured.  "What in the ever living heck are you eating?"

A sigh escaped her as she plopped down on a chair at the kitchen table.  She hugged her belly for a moment, eyebrows furrowed as she continued to eat the strange combination.  When she peered up at Layne, an innocent and shy smile grew on her face.

"Can you get out the strawberry ice cream for me?" She cooed.

Layne opened the freezer and sat the ice cream on the table.  He gave her a look like she was deranged once he took a seat next to her.  "And you think I'm the weirdo?" He asked, gesturing to her food.

"Hey, I'm pregnant," she defended.  She popped the lid off of the tub of ice cream and scooped out a bite with her fork.  "I can't help it that I'm craving pickled food and surgary food.  It's what Aniston wants."

Layne cringed all over again.

It was silent as he watched her eat for a while.  Suddenly, his eyebrows raised as an imaginary light bulb hovered over his head.  "What about Mia?"

She shot him a look of disgust.  "No."

He pouted.  "Why not?!  It's different AND it's pretty."

"No way hoe-zay," she blurted out with her mouth full.  "It sounds stupid."

Layne grunted out in irritation.  "It seems like everything I say around you is stupid anymore," he kidded, though was half serious.

Suddenly, the phone rang, interrupting their conversation

Before Briana could attempt to get up again, Layne lifted a hand up to stop her. "I'll get it," he said. He couldn't help but to eye her strange spread of food. "Just keep eating...whatever the hell youre eating."

Briana laughed. "Shut up."

He slid over to the phone, a grin on his face. It immediately fell, though, when he answered the phone.

"Dad...?" He sputtered out.

"Hey, kiddo! How are ya doing?"

Layne tapped out into the living room. He fidgeted with the hem of his t-shirt. "How did you get my number?"

"Oh, I talked to Jerry," his voice rung out. "He told me that your girlfriend is pregnant! I couldn't believe him, so I asked for your number so I could see for myself..." his tone seemed to grow anxious. "Why...?  Do you not want to talk to me again?"

"I'm just surprised I guess," Layne mumbled. His brow wrinkled in anger at the fact that Jerry would tell his father the news. "And, yes, Briana is pregnant. With a girl."

"Oh wow! A little girl!" He sounded excited. "Man, that brings me back memories of when we had your sister, Liz..."

Layne's face twitched in irritation. Too bad his father was never there to actually watch her grow up. Along with Layne.

"Dad," Layne started. He rubbed his temple for a moment, trying to place his thoughts into words that wouldn't harm his father's feelings too much. He sighed when he realized that no matter how he could put it, it would upset Phil either way. "I know you're still using. If you're thinking about driving all the way here to see her... You better not be high as hell. I refuse to have that around my kid."

It was silent for a moment on the other line.

"I understand," Phil finally responded. He was hurt. And for some strange reason, it made Layne feel guilty, despite the fact that he was simply just looking after his family. "But I'm planning on seeing you. I want to see my grand daughter. I don't even care if Nancy is there... I know she will be, anyways..."

Layne nodded his head. "Yeah, she plans on coming here next week. Briana's having our girl most likely on the 11th."

"Wow, that's only nine days away..." Phil's voice trailed off for a minute. "Are you nervous?"

"Extremely." Layne let out an anxious laugh. "We haven't even agreed on a name yet."

Layne turned towards the entry way of the living room when he heard the floor boards creaking. He mouthed at Briana that he was talking to his dad. It made her face wrinkle in concern.

"Ahhh... Nancy and I were like that about your name. I wanted to name you after your grandfather, Thomas."

Layne cringed. "Thank god you didn't." He smirked when he heard his father chuckle.

"You really hate your middle name, huh?" He sighed when Layne didn't say anything. "...what about Ashley?"

The blonde cringed even harder. He glanced over at Briana, who was laughing way too hard. She overheard his father's recommendation. "I told you it was a crappy name," she whispered.

Layne rolled his eyes at her and mouthed 'fuck you'. It only made her laugh even harder.

"Or Melissa?"

He just laughed. He couldn't seem to take his father seriously at any of his ideas—it just made him hate the names even more.

"God, you sound like freaking Nancy."

"Thank you!" Layne squeaked between laughter. He smirked when he caught Briana giggling all over again.

"Is it okay if I drive out there on Friday...?"

Layne's smile dropped. "That's in three days, dad. And we don't have any room for you to stay over. Mom and Jim and Liz are gonna be staying here."

"I planned on getting a motel room, anyways..." Phil let out a loud sigh. "I promise I'm NOT gonna be high around you. I've cut back, anyways. I've been going back to NA."

The vocalist couldn't help but to roll his eyes. It was the classic addict talk. He's heard this kind of crap from his father for years.

"I'm serious, Layne," his father went on. "I don't want to trigger you. You're doing so good. I don't want to ever hear that you're back on that JUNK."

"I wish you could listen to your own advice," he grumbled out.

"...I'm working on it..."

Layne glanced back over at his lover. He moved the phone away from his face and rose an eyebrow at her. "Do you think it's a good idea if Phil comes? He wants to be there to see our baby when she's born."

Briana quickly nodded her head.

"Are you sure...?" He was hesitant. "You can tell me if you're uncomfortable with this. I'm not going to be mad at you."

She nodded her head again. "Your dad should be there. I think it'll be good for him. He promised he's not going to be high around you. I would take his word."

Layne raised his brow even further. "...do you really believe him on that?"

She shrugged. "If he shows up high, just tell him to leave."

He let out an anxious sigh and raised the phone back up to his ear. "Yeah, dad... You can come down..."

Phil was so ecstatic that he shouted. It caused Layne to flinch, which made Briana laugh all over again.

He told Phil his address. And stressed, once again, that if he even attempted to show up high instead of just well, that he was going to boot him out the door.

"I'm not gonna do that, kiddo... I want to support you, be there for you. Like I should've been a long time ago... I love you, son."

Layne told him he loved him, too, before hanging up the phone.

And when he did, he couldn't stop his mind from wandering deep into the corners of his past...