Bella had one week left until her due date, and she was running around the house, driving everybody mental. Jack and Rian had said that they weren't going to come round anymore, until she had calmed down, and Zack and Paige were keeping well out of the way. This meant that Alex was left to deal with her all by himself. Bella had held the hospital bag up and said she needed to repack it and that she trusted Alex but she wanted to do it herself, because she knew that everything she needed would be in there. Alex had done his best to not be offended and shrugged it off, laughing slightly at his darling fiancee running wild as she tried to find all the things she thought she would need.

Alex walked downstairs from their bedroom, and found her sitting on the sofa in front of the television. Her legs were crossed and her bump made her look like a Buddha of some sort, but he thought to himself that he had better not say it. Her hormones were everywhere and he didn't fancy a slap round the face. Alex laughed to himself quietly as he walked up behind Bella, kissing her on the back of the head and smiling as he felt her warm against him, leaning back and grabbing his hands that were on her shoulders.

"Alex. Baby." She whispered.

"Yes, sweetheart?" Alex replied, coming from behind the sofa to sit down next to her.

"I'm scared. Really scared."

"Why, princess?"

"What the fuck is going to happen?"

"What do you mean?" Alex questioned, looking very confused.

"Obviously, I have never given birth before. And I'm just scared. I don't want it to hurt and I know that it will, no matter how many drugs they give me. I want life to go back to normal afterwards, straight away but I don't think it will. Like, my body. That will take ages to go back to normal, won't it?"

"I don't know, Bella. I wish I could tell you, but I can't. You're just gonna have to take every single day as it comes. And quit your worrying, alright? You have another week left until your due date."

"Oh my fucking God, ow!" Bella screamed, as she cursed, clutching her bump.

"What's wrong?" Alex's face turned to worry. "Is the baby coming? Oh God, is it? Shit!"

"Alex, calm your tits. She kicked, that's all. The little bitch."

Alex relaxed and wiped his brow, feeling silly. Bella chuckled, knowing that she wasn't the only one who was worrying. She knew that Alex was trying to keep a brave face for her sake, and she knew that he was going to panic just as much as she would. She grabbed Alex's hand and placed it on her bump, kissing him and feeling him smile against her lips when Isobel kicked.

Alex felt his phone vibrate against his leg, as he clutched Bella's hand. Reluctantly, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his ringing phone, looking at the caller display. It was Matt.

"Who is it?" Bella hummed.

He raised his hand and answered the phone, giving Bella a kiss on the cheek as he rose from his seat and started to pace as he spoke. "Oh, really?! Today of all days? Matt, why?"

Bella looked over at Alex, confused. He returned the look and smiled, blowing her a kiss. She giggled and kept her hands on her bump.

"Yeah, yeah. Alright, Matt. You've made your point. Alright. We'll be ready. Are you going to let Rian and Jack know?" Alex sighed a heavy breath. "Yep. Alright. See you then. Bye." Alex hung up the phone. "Dickhead."

"What's up, baby?"

"Matt has put us on a meet and greet, everyday for the next three days. Starting from today, in two hours time. And it takes an hour to get to the first venue."

"Oh." Bella frowned. "Okay."

"Don't be sad, beautiful. Those three days will pass before you know it." He watched as Bella smirked slightly, a small tear forming in her eye and the lump in her throat as she tried to stay calm. "Think of it this way. In three days time, we'll all be back and you'll only have four days left until your due date, okay? So don't be sad, just think of it as something to look forward to. Look, I need to go and get ready. I really don't wanna go, Bella, but I have to. So do me a favour?" Alex leaned down to look Bella in the eyes, lifting her chin up so that she started directly at him. She tilted her head. "Give me the biggest smile you could possibly manage, so I can remember it until I get back." Bella shook her head.

"I don't want to smile right now, Alex."

He carried on staring her in the eyes, stroking her cheek with his thumb and leaning closer to her. "Okay.. how about you think about how in three days time, you'll only have four days left until your due date? And that when you have OUR little girl, I shall be there through every step of the way, holding your hand and letting you break it off, if you have to? Although, I hope you don't because then I won't be able to play music to get her to sleep at night.. and who knows, it might work.. you better not be laughing at me!" Alex watched as Bella tried to stifle her laughter. "That's better. That's the smile I know and love so much."

Alex made his way upstairs to get a bag packed, greeting Zack in the hallway who shared the same look of frustration. Paige went downstairs and plonked herself down on the sofa next to Bella, beckoning her over for a cuddle and watching as Alex and Zack met Rian and Jack at the door; the four of them waiting for the transport to come and pick them up.

- - - - - - - - - -

Two days later, and the girls were anticipating the return of their partners. Paige was worrying about Bella, as she had started to get what she described as cramps. And whilst they hadn't been frequent enough for either of them to worry that they were contractions, Paige still had Bella's hospital bag waiting at the front door, just in case. She hadn't let Bella move a muscle, confining her to the sofa and demanding that she didn't move. Paige had waited on Bella for the past two days and she would continue to do so until Bella finally went into labour.

Paige had started to cook some dinner for the both of them, hoping that it would settle both of their nerves. She looked over at Bella, who was slumped on the sofa, clutching her bump every now and then and noticeably trying not to wince. Paige frowned and got back to her cooking, finishing off by putting the food on the plates that she had set out for them.

"Paige, I feel really sick. I don't know if I can eat right now." Bella winced as Paige put their dinner on the coffee table. She clutched her bump once again.

"Bella, are you sure you're alright?" Paige asked, cautiously.