Forever Young

Ember and I walked through the crowd, hand-in-hand. I knew she needed a night of fun, but I also didn't want to let her out of my sight for more than second. It's ridiculous, I know, she's pregnant - Not deathly ill, but still. She shouldn't be out in the heat too long and she shouldn't be lifting anything heavy. She's getting frustrated with all of us caring so much. I just don't think she understands how protective we all are of the baby, and her, and how much it would break our hearts if something happened to either of them. Plus, I didn't want her to go through any of this alone. If she got sick, it was my job to hold her hair. If she felt faint, it was my job to get her in the cold air before she passed out. Anything could happen, she just doesn't seem to understand that.


Sighing, I released her hand when I noticed Alex waving me over. I'd mentally promised myself I wouldn't get wasted while she was pregnant, for the simple fact that she couldn't drink and someone needed to be sober in case anything happened, but I never said anything about drinking a beer or two. Not only that, but it'd give her a chance to breathe and talk to Tay or something.


"I'm going to go grab a beer," I murmured, pressing my lips to her forehead. "I swear Alex needs my attention more than you do."


"Yeah, he's a bit needy," Ember giggled, "go ahead. I'll catch up to you later."


I gave her hand a light squeeze before we parted ways. From the corner of my eye, I could see her looking around for anyone she might know, then she started walking towards the same guys she introduced me to at the kick-off party. We'd hung out with them in between sets and they seemed pretty cool. The only thing that worried me is that, no many people outside of the band and crew knew that she was pregnant and I didn't want them to offer her drinks.


Still, I pushed my way over to Alex and took a beer from his hand. Popping the tab, I let the liquid flow down my throat and smiled to the taste. I'd been so worried about Ember lately that I hadn't had much time to just chill.


"Where's preggo?"


"She's not a sauce," I chuckled, rolling my eyes. "She went to talk to the Pierce the Veil boys. I figured we could both use a minute away from each other."


"That's the first time I've ever heard you say that," Alex slapped his hand on my back with a grin. "So now that we have time to talk, how does it feel, knowing that you're gonna be a dad soon?"


"I feel like I'm already a dad, it'll just be more real when the baby gets here," I shrugged, drinking more of my beer. "I guess it's weird. I'm worried about how we're going to manage things. There's no way we can bring a new born on tour, but I can't not work."


"I'm sure Matt will work something out. Might not be for as long as you want it to be, but hey."


"As long as I'm there to help her. I can't imagine how much pain she'll be in after she has the baby."


"Maybe you shouldn't mention that part to her. I'm sure she'll freak out enough when she hits the last month."


Alex and I shared a laugh as he popped open another beer. Words couldn't describe how thankful I was to have the support of the entire band and crew. We were definitely old enough to start a family, but the timing wasn't necessarily right. I honestly thought everyone would freak out about it, or at least worry about what it means for the future of the band, but everyone was more concerned about Ember and the baby. It was cute to see them rub or kiss her belly when they walked by her. Normally, it'd make me jealous, but it only filled me with pride. They'd love the baby as much as we did. That's something special.


Eventually Alex decided he wanted to take some shots and get the night really going, so we parted ways. He'd offered for me to come with him, and though it was tempting, I declined. Ember needed me more than I needed to party.


Pushing my way through the crowd, I kept an eye out for my wife. So far I hadn't found her, which bothered me, because I remembered exactly where she'd ventured off to. Then again, Vic was missing from the group, too. I assumed she was with him.


"What's the lost face for?"


I turned on my heel to see a small girl smiling at me. My face lit up when I realized it was Tay and I pulled her into a hug. You'd think, what with all of us being on tour together, we'd have more time to spend with each other. But that wasn't the case. Usually we were playing at different times or on the road. I'm sure things would be different if Ember wasn't pregnant, but because of the heat, we never wandered around the grounds until the sun went down.


"I'm looking for Ember," I sighed, pulling away from the hug. "Have you seen her?"


"No, actually, I haven't. She's a big girl, though. She can manage on her own."


"I'm aware of that. I just worry about her a lot more these days, ya know?"


"No.. ?"


A smile came to my lips when it hit me that Tay didn't know about the baby. I considered not saying anything, since she was Ember's friend, but hey. She let it slip to the guys when I wasn't even around. Also, have I mentioned how excited I am?


"That's right, you haven't heard yet," I beamed, "she's pregnant!"


"What? No freaking way!"


I nodded my head like a small child as Tay brought her hands to her chest and started bouncing up and down. Of course, the thing girls do when they get excited. Sqeals came from her lips before she jumped into my arms and gave me the biggest bear hug a girl of her size could manage.


"I'm so happy for you guys!"


"Thank you," I laughed, putting her back on the ground. "We're pretty happy, too."


"Why didn't she tell me?!"


"We actually just told the guys, so she hasn't had a chance. Care to help me find her now?"


"I'd like to see you try and stop me."


Tay, being overly excited now, decided to lead the way through the crowd. I followed close behind her, afraid that I'd lose her in the sea of people. It was crazy to see everyone gathered around like they are now. Between the bands and crews, there were more people here than I could even try to count. It didn't help that some of the bands invited friends or guests to come see them while we had the night off. We all knew someone in every town, but I'm pretty sure they didn't belong here.


Then again, it was a warm night and I couldn't blame them. Being away from family and friends is hard. If I could offer an all access pass to my friends to come hang for a night, I'd do it, too. Just like I'm sure Ember would when it came to Dalton or Hayley.


"Hey, isn't that Vic?"


I rose an eyebrow and got to eye-level with Tay. Through the crowd, I could see a small fire going and Vic sitting close to it, tapping his fingers to a beat going on in his head. It wasn't hard to sense that he was about to start singing. An almost glazed look took over his eyes and I saw his throat shift. Two seconds later, I could faintly hear him making music through the crowd.


My focused move from him, to the short fireball beside him. Ember was clinging to a water bottle, her eyes closed as she swayed to his voice. A smile came to my lips. Nothing made me happier than seeing her so peaceful. Sometimes she gets the same look when Alex sings in his bunk. It was a small moment when we could all feel like normal people, enjoying the small things in life.


However, what worried me was the fact that a crowd was forming around my wife and her friend. Other bands, crew members, giddy girls who had come to see their friends and got thrown into a pit of semi-famous people. Yeah, it was definitely the giddy girls that put me on edge.


When one of them pushed past Ember to get close to Vic, I understood why.


Ember stumbled back, water spilling down her shirt as she lost her footing. A moment later, she was on the ground. I couldn't see through the sea of people how she'd fallen or how she'd landed, but it didn't matter. Someone just knocked my pregnant wife to the ground and I don't give a fuck if it was an accident or not.


I began pushing my way roughly through the crowd and I could hear Tay calling after me, obviously keeping up. We made it to Ember in a matter of seconds, who was trying to scrape bits of rocks out of her hands. She didn't appear hurt, but I could see from the dust on her shirt that she'd hit on her side.


"Baby, are you okay?"


"I think so," Ember frowned, tossing the bottle at the girl who knocked her over. Said girl turned on her heel and opened her mouth to speak harshly to my wife, but Tay cut her off.
"She's pregnant, you tramp!"


This caused Vic to stop singing and the girl to back off. Everyone turned their attention to my wife as I brought her to her feet and helped her shake off the dust and rocks. She was still wobbly and soaked from the water, though she appeared to fine, but I wanted to get her back to the bus and let her sit down to see if anything feels weird with her body.


"Let's get you back to the bus."


"Jack, I'm fine, really."


"You don't know that. Please, just for a few minutes, even. Just to see if anything feels weird when you relax."


"Fine."


And as we made our way back through the crowd, all eyes on us and some whispers chirping around, I knew I'd be more protective of her. Not because I couldn't trust her, but because I didn't trust anyone else with her.

Notes

My internet situation still isn't sorted, but here's an update because I love you guys sooo much! Please don't hate me for not being able to update as often as I used to. <3.
-Jess.