{UNEDITED} 

        No words were passed between both Matthew and myself, even when we were waiting for John to call the both of us in, we just sat in silence and admired the room around us.

        It was the same waiting room I had seen the inside of not a month ago when I was here for the first time. I had my fingers crossed that it was far less dramatic this time around, I don’t think I could be dealing with another massive argument about nothing. The only difference between this time and the last was that Scarlett wasn’t here to help pass the time, I assumed that her last scan must have been the one to tell her what she was having.

        “What are you thinking about?” Matthew suddenly asked.

        “Just the last time I was here,” I replied, turning my head so that I was looking at him now, “she gave me her number and I was just thinking about calling her when we were done here. I thought we could go and see her on the way home.”

        “If that’s what you want to do, then we can do that,” Matthew smiled and I was taken aback by his words. I never expected him to be that willing to do something I wanted to do, I thought he would think of some excuse as to why we couldn’t visit Scarlett or that he would promise me that we would do it another day because he was too busy today.

        “I thought you had things to do today though?” I asked. I didn’t want to stop him from doing what he needed to do if it was something which needed doing.

        “Nothing which can’t wait,” Matthew grinned. “If you want to see your friend, then we shall see your friend.”

        “Thanks,” was all I said. I pulled my phone from my bag and text Scarlett, it would be nice to see her again and actually meet her family properly. She might even be able to give me some tips on how to do it properly, or even tell me what I should never do as a mother. Anything was better than nothing and, right now, I had absolutely nothing and I didn’t have the first clue about what I was doing.

        I hoped today was a good time. I was supposed to be working on my final project for English, but this seemed more important, even more so since I had decided I wasn’t going to college until the baby was at least six months old and I had found someone I trusted to look after it. I had already told Matthew that he wasn’t to give up his place at college and he was to do what he needed do, it’s not like I was going anywhere.

        I was still going to be there when he got home. His wife and the mother of his baby, staying at home to do everything a good wife and mother should do. I had already decided on this and no one was going to change my mind, this is what I wanted and I wasn’t going to my own thing for a change.

        “What did she say then?” Matthew asked a couple of minutes later, obviously hearing my phone go off. I looked down at what she had replied, and it made me laugh a little, but I couldn’t help but smile in knowing that she still wanted to see me despite the fact I hadn’t bothered speaking to her in just over a month now.

        “She said her son is being a little rascal but she would love for us to pop round for a while,” I chuckled.

        “Great. You can introduce me to your friend properly.”

        “One thing. Can I just tell her you’re my boyfriend rather than my fiancé? I don’t want to answer a million questions,” I said.

        “Sure. That works for me,” Matthew smiled, still surprising me with his attitude and behaviour. I was waiting for the moment that he turned around and told me that he was only joking, that he was going to take me straight home once we were done here and I could see Scarlett in my own time. I knew he wasn’t going to say it, but I was still waiting for it to happen.

        He was acting so out of character that I wasn’t really sure what I was supposed to say or how I was supposed to act. I had become used to hating him that I wasn’t sure how to act now that I was starting to actually like him, not in a boyfriend way, but it was better than hating his guts. It was just a strange feeling, going from telling him to keep the hell away from him and our baby, to actually wanting him to be there and feeling lost whenever he’s not there.

        By the time the baby arrives, we may have progressed past the point of friendship and be heading towards something more. It would certainly make looking after the baby ten times better than if we were only trying to be friends, but I wasn’t hoping for much other than being able to get along with each other.

        “Chloe, Matthew. You two ready?” John smiled, appearing in the doorway with his clipboard and all the information which he needed.

        “Hey dad,” Matthew greeted his father with a wide grin as he walked towards the room John had emerged from not seconds beforehand.

        “Hey John. I hear you’re hoping for a granddaughter,” I chuckled, the two of us walking side by side down the corridor. Since my father had told me I was going to be getting married, John had been there for me a lot more. I wasn’t sure whether it’s because he felt guilty that I was being forced into something I really didn’t want or whether it was because he was trying to be a father figure for me, either way I didn’t really care, I was just grateful for him being there for me.

        “Yeah. Viv keeps seeing all these cute girls’ outfits and she is just dying to buy them,” John smiled. It was the exact same thing Jason had said before Matthew and I walked out of the garden, it would seem like they were all finding a girl easier to buy for.

        “Matthew wants a girl. He wants to spoil her rotten and keep guys like himself away from her apparently,” I laughed, remembering what he had said to me.

        I knew I shouldn’t laugh, but it was just the image of Matthew beating up guys who were just like he was. Heartbreakers who were waiting for the right girl to use and then laugh at when she thought he was different. A mother like me and a father like Matthew, this baby was in one hell of a ride as I grew up.

        “I know he’s made mistakes, but I think this baby might just be the chance he’s been waiting for,” John said as we walked into the room, closing the door behind us the moment I had followed him in. Matthew was already sitting on the chair beside the bed with a grin on his face.

        He was so excited that he reminded me of a kid at Christmas who was opening all of his presents from Santa. It was actually sweet to see him there and not running away, like Braydon had done when we were here for the first time.

        “Do you want to know what you’re having?” John asked, preparing the machine and pointing to the bed. I laid down, as I did before, revealing my stomach so that he could do what he needed to do.

        “Is the sky blue?” I chuckled.

        He did what he needed to do so that we could see the image of our baby on the screen. I had seen it before, but it was still amazing and there weren’t really any words for it, Matthew was in a total state of speechless shock. He was looking at the picture in awe, taking in our baby as John moved across my stomach, stopping when he found the heartbeat.

        “It has a good, strong heartbeat so there’s nothing to worry about there,” John grinned. “It is now 10.3cm long, if you are interested in that.”

        “Wow. This, I, it’s, wow,” I heard Matthew mutter from beside me. He was unable to physically put a sentence together as his grip on my hand tightened a little, I could feel him shaking as the nerves really hit him for the first time since he wanted something to do with the baby.

        He had been so calm and collected about the whole thing, it was my job to panic and worry about what was going to happen. It was his job to keep me together and make me see how stupid I was being, nothing was going to happen to the baby as long as I looked after myself.

        “My son speechless, there’s a first time for everything,” John chuckled, handing over the picture of our baby to the both of us. I allowed Matthew to have it so that he could have a proper look at the life which was growing within me, we had created something special and it was going to be the thing which made the both of us grow up. “Say hello to your daughter Matthew.”

        “A girl? We’re having a girl?” I asked. It was a stupid question and I’m not sure where it even came from, John had just told Matthew that it was his daughter.

        “Yes, Chloe. Apparently the world is ready for another you,” John joked.

        “If she turns out anything like you, the world will be grateful for another you in this place,” Matthew uttered next to me, not even looking up from the image from our daughter. I don’t think I had seen him happier than he was in that moment when he was fully appreciating our daughter.

        “Amanda Jodie Jenkinson,” I said, it came out quieter than I had anticipated though, so it sounded more like an awkward whisper than anything.

        “Your mother will be happy, Matthew. She can buy the outfit she saw now,” John said.

        “Jason can also buy the things he has been looking at. I am sure he will be over the moon, though not as happy as Jodie will be in discovering our daughter is going to have her name as her middle name.”

        “She will a daddy’s girl. I will make sure of that,” Matthew laughed, finally handing the picture back to me as I sat up on the bed. I couldn’t wait to get to Scarlett’s place now, I would be able to tell her that I am going to have a little girl and I would ask what she was having at the same time. I could imagine our kids being friends in the future, especially since they were only going to be a month apart.

        “If that’s how you want to play it, we will have to have a son just so he can be a mummy’s boy,” I shrugged.

        “One at a time please babe,” Matthew said, going off with the ‘babe’ again at the same time. I was going to have to mention something about that, but when his father wasn’t around because I didn’t want him to make a comment on it. I would have to tell Matthew that I hated being called that, to me it was only something you used when you were in a committed and loving relationship with the person, not when you were only friends who were marrying for convenience. “Anyway, we had better be going, Chloe is going to introduce me to one of her friends.”

        “She’s pregnant with a boyfriend and three year old son. You sure you’re ready?” I laughed.

        “You’re pregnant with a boyfriend, I am sure I’ll be able to manage,” Matthew replied and, with that comment, he walked out of the room with a smile on his face. I wasn’t sure who he was referring to as my boyfriend, I was technically still with Braydon since neither of us had ended it, but I was going to be introducing Matthew to Scarlett as my boyfriend.

        “You know, even if you don’t feel the same, Matthew is actually starting to fall for you Chloe,” John said and those were words which I didn’t want to hear, not for another couple of months anyway. I wanted time to get to the friendship stage before I even considered the case that Matthew was actually falling for me.

        “It’s only because he’s stuck with me for the next sixteen years,” I sighed.

        “I know this marriage isn’t something either of you want but, I know my son, and I know when he is in love with someone. He doesn’t love you because he’s marrying you, he loves you because you are the right girl for him,” John paused for a moment, giving me time to digest what he was saying, before he continued with his speech. “I know you don’t like him but, even if you only do it for me, just give him a chance. I know you will start to feel the same way.”

        “I don’t hate him John, I’ve never really hated him, he’s just a difficult person to like,” I said.

        “I never said it was going to be easy. In the last month though, both Vivienne and I have seen a change within Matthew and you’re the only person he’s been spending any time with. I don’t know what you’re doing, just keep on doing it,” John smiled as he held the door open for me. I walked out and looked down the bottom of the corridor, seeing Matthew stood there waiting for me to join him.

        “I haven’t been doing anything. He is the one who has been doing everything,” I replied. I decided I would leave John with that thought and then walked off to join Matthew where he stood, I couldn’t help but smile at him as we walked out of the hospital and towards where we had left the car.

        For the last month, I hadn’t done anything besides moan and complain, even about the smallest of things. Matthew was the one who told me what an idiot I was being and how I just needed to shut the hell up, if I wanted to prove people wrong then I needed to act rather than constantly complaining about it all. He had been there for me and I hadn’t really done anything for him to show him how much that all meant to me.

        I may not have felt the same way about him as he apparently felt about me, but I owed it to him to show him how much I appreciated him and everything he had done for me. I wouldn’t be able to do it alone though, so I was going to have to hope that Jason would help me out with what I wanted to do.

        “Where to then?” Matthew asked.