Shotgun Love (Shelby & Minamoto Thunder)

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"Emma, Amaterasu, Sarah, Claire and Yuna." She shared the names with him. Between those five, Nicole didn't know where she was leaning towards. However, she really did like the name 'Amaterasu' very much. When she was around seventeen, she said that if she every had a daughter, she'd name her Amaterasu, after the Japanese Goddess of the Sun. Of course, since its a mouthful to people who aren't Asian, Nicole would call her Terra for short. However, she decided that she'd finalize it on the honeymoon. She then moved her hand from her stomach to Matt's hair.
 
Matt let the five names muddle through his mind, each, he figured, having their own advantages, each having their own differences. He liked them, though if he was being completely honest the name 'Amaterasu' rang through his mind a little more. It was definitely a different name, one that he didn't completely understand the meaning to, then again one that he probably couldn't pronounce properly either. Still, it was definitely unique, much like the situation they found themselves in despite that he knew there were other people in the world who had been through what they were going through.

"Emma and Amaterasu... I like those two." Sure, he fumbled around a little with the latter name, but he did like those two the most. "Definitely better than any name I could have thought of." He chuckled lightly, sighing as Nicole ran her hand through his hair. Believe it or not, that was definitely a bit of a relaxer for him. "Any of them that you're leaning more towards?"
 
"Not really sure." She then sat up, feeling semi-well rested. When she looked outside, the sun was close to setting. While playing around with Matt's hair, she wished that she could lean down and kiss him. Sadly, that was now made impossible because her stomach would get in the way. She started feeling a dull pain in her lower back. It became evident when she placed her free hand on her back to where it hurt, not to mention her smile faded. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her lower stomach, so when she winced in pain, she ended up kind of pulling Matt's hair, just not strong enough to pull is hair out, but enough to where it would hurt. She took a deep breath. "Sorry..." she apologized before letting go to feel around her stomach. She seemed to be on the verge of tears. That kind of pain was expected. For most of the day, her contractions were up to half an hour apart, so there was no need to worry, not to mention they weren't close together, because that would be bad. She tried to relax herself while letting out slow, deep breaths. Whenever a baby is kicking, it sure wouldn't kick that hard...
 
Well, they still had time to try and figure out a name for the baby, so he figured there was no rush for it. After all, they still had two months, and though he knew that that time would probably go by quickly, because to him it seemed as if this entire pregnancy had been going by relatively quickly, there was no need to come to a decision at this moment. Just thinking about how quickly things seemed to be moving for him made Matt wonder if it was the same feeling for Nicole. He wouldn't be surprised it if hadn't, especially considering she was the one carrying the baby, the one feeling all the pains that went along with it and all the symptoms.

He moved a little when he felt Nicole shift into a sitting position, his head tilting up a bit before he started to furrow his brows, watching as she started to reach around to her lower back, the smile dropping from her lips. Something didn't seem right, and that fact only became more apparent as she gripped his hair a bit. It hurt, definitely, and it made him wince a bit and suck in a breath, but otherwise he was fine. "Babe?" He sat on his knees at that moment, a look of concern crossing his expression as he looked at her, a sense of worry washing over him as he watched his fiance, herself obviously being in pain. "Are you okay?" Stupid question, even he knew that. "What's wrong?" He looked from her to her stomach and then back again before he reached one of his hands out, gently running his thumb along her cheek. Maybe that would help calm her down, he figured.
 
She let out another deep breath before relaxing herself. Her backache was gone, but her stomach still hurt. "Yeah, I'm okay. I just had another contraction. That's why I try not to stand all the time." She clasped her hands together beneath her stomach, as if it felt heavy...which it was. "Or maybe our little girl is just anxious to meet her parents." She then smiled when looking down. "Its okay, Mommy still loves you." One thing she really didn't like was when the baby grabs onto her ribs, which is not often. She sighed upon the thought of childbirth. Seeing how she heard a lot of labor horror stories, especially from her older sister, sister-in-law and her cousins, she was actually a bit frightened of giving birth, but at the same time, she didn't want a C-Section either. "So are you off tomorrow?" She asked.
 
He gave her a sympathetic gaze when she seemed to relax after the pain started to ebb away, the sight alone making Matt sigh as he, too, relaxed. Oh, how he definitely had a greater appreciation for the female body throughout the whole experience. Just with everything they had to handle, the pain that they had to endure with a child, the fact that they had to carry something within them for roughly nine months... It was kind of amazing. "I really don't understand how you're able to do all of this," he spoke, mostly as an after though, but nevertheless he spoke it. "You sure you're fine though? No need to take you to the doctor or hospital or anything?"

Dropping his hands, Matt rested them on Nicole's legs then, giving off a soft chuckle as he looked back down at her stomach. "Ahh, we'll you'll be out soon enough, don't worry about that." He leaned a little closer to her stomach. "And then you'll get to see the craziness that are your parents," he teased, pulling his head back as he sat up a little straighter. A bit of a frown fell on his face at the mention of work, but he shook his head to her question. "I actually have to be there a little early in the morning. They're having a meeting for something, and I've got to be there." He shrugged.
 
"Yeah, I'll be okay. My Sister's off tomorrow, so I guess you can she's gonna be keeping me company while you're gone." Being home alone wasn't the best thing in the world, even though she technically had company, which was her baby. Luckily for Nicole, her Older Sister, Nina was a Midwife, so she's been taking care of her little sister while she's expecting, which did make Nicole happy. By this time, next to Nicole and Matt themselves, the baby also recognized Nina's voice, but has yet to recognize the rest of her relatives and even in-laws. "But when will you be home?"
 
The thought of Nicole being alone, especially this far into her pregnancy, worried Matt greatly, but at least they had Nina in their lives, and at least she was one of the ones who actually accepted what they were doing. He was extremely grateful for the fact too, especially seeing as how much help Nicole's older sister had been throughout this whole thing. She knew what to do better than he did, as well as just how to handle a pregnant woman better than he did though he had been trying his best. At least he had been trying to go along with the pointers and tips the midwife had given him to keep Nicole happy and okay.

"I'm sorry that I can't be here more, especially now." He gave another shrug. That was something he was beginning to realize; the closer to the due date came, the more he felt bad for being at work so much, as well as just paying so much attention to it. But... It was a source of income, he had to do it. He was going to have a family to provide for, and he'd be damned if he didn't do that for them. "But I don't know; probably around the normal time I'm usually home unless something happens and I have to be there longer." That had happened on occasions, a late meeting on a game being called, him having to attend it. Some of those meetings could last a while too; hopefully the one tomorrow morning wouldn't. "I'll try to be back early though." He gave her a smile. "And then we can just sit back and relax with each other."
 
When Matt said he'd try to come home early, Nicole thought of something that may benefit them both. Nina herself was a Mother of Three and her husband Emmett could help Matt with advice on being a Father. Her Eldest Brother Jin could do the same because he was a Father of Two. "Well, maybe you'll get to see Nina before she heads home." She was somewhat happy, because Matt and Nina got along well. When Matt sat down with her, she wrapped her arm around him and rested her head on his shoulder before rubbing her forehead against his cheek while resting her hand on her stomach because she felt the baby kick. She then rubbed her thumb back and forth on her stomach, then smiled.
 
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Matt nodded his head, smiling as he went to sit next to Nicole. He wrapped one of his arms around her shoulders, giving it a reassuring squeeze as he rested his cheek against the top of his head. "Yeah... Maybe she'll be able to give me some more pointer or tips to help you get through this a little easier." He felt that you could never really have too much knowledge about it, right? Besides, he do just about anything to try and make her happy, as well as the baby. That was what a father and a soon to be husband did, right? Made sure that his loved ones were safe and happy.

Still, he couldn't help but wonder how much things would change once the baby was here. Would they be able to do this anymore? Just sit on the cough with one another and relax, or even just laze around in bed when the two felt like not doing much during the day if they didn't have any prior commitments? Probably not, he figured. With a baby came a lot of work, as well as a lot of sleepless nights, or so he had heard anyway, and babies needed attention, probably lots of it too. "Is it bad that I'm still kind of scared about all of this? With the baby, and everything?" He mumbled, furrowing his brows a bit. He normally wouldn't have admitted that to anyone. After all, he was supposed to be a man; he wasn't supposed to be afraid of a baby, he wasn't supposed to be afraid of the responsibilities that came with it. He was supposed to be strong, tough even. But he was scared, scared of all of that. This was his first born child, an unplanned one at that, and he didn't want to screw it up. The thought of marriage didn't scare him really, it actually kind of excited him. Nicole was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life yet, despite them maybe rushing into this a bit, but it just seemed right.
 
When Matt said that he was scared, Nicole could easily relate. "No, I don't think its bad that you're still kinda scared. I am too." She admitted. Although it was surprising, she was actually more scared of giving birth then dying. But since it was Nina that was going to be helping her deliver the baby, she wasn't as scared. But what made her scared was all the labor horror stories she had been hearing, mainly from her cousins and ironically one from Nina herself. Even the thought of losing sleep made her feel afraid. However, with all the insomnia, the heartburn, the backache, she would most likely prefer to sleep after the baby is born, even if there was less of it. But at least her younger sister Mei offered to be her nanny for a little while, because in particular, Mei was excited to become an aunt, despite already having three nephews and two nieces, because Nina and Jin were the ones that were married with children. She remembered her cousin Tasha talking about how she broke her husband's hand when she had her first child, then there was her cousin Lily berating, beating and pulling on her husband's hair. Would her labor be the same? Hopefully not.
 
Despite himself, Matt smiled when she admitted that she too was afraid about all of this. Then again, wasn't that to be expected? They were going to be first time parents, parents who would be bringing life into this world, a life that was their sole responsibility to take care of, a life that could be shaped into so many different things given its environment. He just wanted to be good, afraid to make any mistakes that could impact on his little girl's life negatively. He wasn't sure though... He didn't really have the best role models as parents, or rather his father hadn't been that good of a figure to try and be a father figure like. No, his dad hadn't ever really been that supportive of what he wanted to do, always saying that he was wasting his life away with playing video games as often as he did, saying that those things were just a waste of time... But look at him now; he had made a career out of it, making games for his own self! Apparently that still wasn't enough.

At least there was someone who agreed with him, was actually happy about this situation for him, and that person being his older brother. Sure, he still got a lot of crap from the guy, just because he was the younger brother, and his older brother, Josh, said that despite the fact he was getting married and having a kid didn't mean he still couldn't joke around with him. Yeah, he was just happy the guy was going to be the best man for the wedding.

"Well then I guess we'll just be scared together." He kissed the top of her lead before resting his cheek against it again. "We'll learn together, get through this together, be the best parents that we can be together..." He trailed off a bit, closing his eyes as he sighed. "Everything will work out, hopefully."
 
"Oh, you're flattering me." she responded, then smiled. Seeing that it was getting late and that Matt had to get up early tomorrow, Nicole figured maybe its time to go to bed...Not in that way because harm might come to the baby. Thanks to Nina, Nicole has been taking very good care of herself in terms of nutrition, rest, etc. "Hey, honey, can you help me up?" she asked, wrapping her arm around his shoulder before putting her free hand on her stomach. 'Ugh, I feel like a whale...' she thought. 'I don't think I can get much bigger...Though I probably will within the next two months.'
 
"Isn't that part of my job? To flatter you and take care of you?" He chuckled a bit, shaking his head slightly. This was nice though, he figured, the the moment. Matt even started closing his eyes, a tiredness that he didn't even realize he held within him beginning to sweep through his body. Today had been a pretty busy though, then again every day was was pretty busy at work. New excitement floating around as people rushed around to do their jobs, his eyes either trained on a computer screen or his notepad, always listening to what others were saying around him, listening to their ideas, doing the things that he was told to do while bringing out a few of his own ideas when ever asked. He liked it though; like the environment that was presented to him, like the fact that he was lucky enough that they asked him to come back after he graduated from college.

"Hmm?" He opened his eyes back up when one of her arms went around his shoulders, himself becoming a bit more alert now as he nodded to her request. "Oh yeah, sure." He stood up carefully then, helping Nicole stand as he placed one of his hands against her hip, trying to help her keep balance as he started guiding her back to their bedroom. He figured that was where she wanted to go, after all it was getting late, and they both probably needed some sleep. When they made it to the room he helped her sit on the bed, figuring that she could and would situation her own self on it the way she wanted to, before he headed into the bathroom, readying himself for bed.
 
Since she already showered and everything, all Nicole had to do was brush her teeth. While Matt got ready for bed, she seized the opportunity to do so. Afterwards, she relaxed herself in bed, waiting for Matt to come join her. Hopefully tonight there wouldn't be any insomnia, let alone nightmares or vivid dreams, because she had more then her fair share. But Nina did say that the Insomnia and Vivid Dreams were normal, because she went through the same thing three times. Half the time, Nicole felt indifferent about the vivid dreams, because they were always about the baby. She then pulled the covers over her legs, starting to feel a little cold. When she relaxed, Nicole felt more kicking. Great, the baby was awake...Would she have to endure another sleepless night? Hopefully not. To pass the time, she decided to grab something to read. In particular, she grabbed a pregnancy guide sitting on her Nightstand as well as her reading glasses. Since she was starting the third trimester, Nicole flipped over to that chapter so she can see what to expect.
 
Matt went about his regular night routine, or at least the routine that he would do when not working all not on an assignment he was given, which merely consisted of him washing his face, brushing his teeth, and putting his night clothes on which really just consisted of a t shirt and a pair of pajama pants. He'd take a shower in the morning, which is what he preferred more often than not, mostly because it woke him up too. He wasn't much of a morning person, and even knowing that he figured that with the baby things would get very interesting during the morning, or middle of the night too. It would definitely be a change of pace.

He turned the light off to the bathroom and headed to be then, climbing into it as he laid down with a sigh, his eyes going over to Nicole to see her reading a book. "Baby not sleeping?"
 
"Yeah, she was kicking quite a bit while you were in the bathroom." She looked up from her book the second she heard his voice. She then took off her reading glasses and placed a bookmark in the book before closing it and setting it on the nightstand. Afterwards, she took a sip from the glass of water that was sitting by the lamp. She then turned the lamp off, leaving only Moonlight to be the only light source, even though the curtains were closed. She then grabbed a pillow to put in between her legs before pulling the covers over herself, then lay down on her left side, facing away from her fiancée. She then looked down at her stomach. "Alright, Mommy needs to sleep, so no kicking." When she closed her eyes, her baby kicked only once. She smiled then tried to go to sleep.
 
((Again, sorry for the delay in reply. Things have been a little crazy here, but they're beginning to calm down a bit. And my muse has decided that it's wanted to come back, so that's a good thing. (: ))

Most nights Matt definitely felt bad for Nicole. While he was usually able to sleep well and all throughout the night, she was the on struggling for sleep because of the baby, hardly being able to sleep most nights. There were times when he wished there was something he could do about that, to help her a little bit, but he knew there wasn't. It all just depended on what the baby did, as well as if Nicole was just going to be able to get herself to sleep. He gave her a bit of a sympathetic smile as she turned her back to him, turning the light off to have little to no light in the room anymore. Sighing, he rolled over a bit and leaned over, kissing Nicole's shoulder before pulling back. "Good night."

---

When the next morning came around, just around four thirty in the morning Matt had woken up to the sound of the alarm clock beeping right by his ear. Groaning, he quickly put his hand over to stop button to stop the noise, his eyes turning over to look at Nicole. Hopefully he hadn't waken her up; she deserved to get a lot of sleep, and he didn't want to disturb that.

As quietly as he could, he got himself out of bed, headed to the bathroom, and just started getting himself ready for the day, as well as just trying to wake himself up. He hated having to go in to work early, though he wasn't about to complain about it; at least he had a job with a steady pay. He figured he didn't have much to complain about. He ended up staying in the shower a little bit longer before finally getting out, drying himself off before he didn't his other morning routine which consisted of brushing his hair, brushing his teeth, getting dressed, and all of that other stuff. When all was said and done he headed into his makeshift office and grabbed his tablet, notepad and sketch pad, his eyes flipping over the sketches he had drawn the previous day. They were well enough, though, not that he looked at them, he couldn't help but think he could have done a little better. Ahh well, he'd have time to look over it again.

By the time he was ready to leave, grabbing himself a granola bar from the kitchen as a little breakfast for himself, having half a mind to hope that Nicole wouldn't be too upset that he took one, he headed back into the room and went to the bed. Smiling, he bent don and gently places a kiss against his fiance's cheek, pulling back before he took one more glance and headed out. It was a thirty minute commute to work, and it it being fie thirty now, he'd be there by six. Perfect timing.
 
Around 11am, Nicole was woken up by a decently strong contraction. As she relaxed herself to ease the pain, she grabbed her cellphone to call her sister. "Hello?"

"Hey, Nina, its Nikki, you can come over...I just got up."

"Alright, I'm on my way over."

After the phone call, Nicole got up so she can get ready for the day, even though she was going to be at home the whole time, she still didn't want to be in her pajamas. Maybe Nina might take her somewhere. Who knows. After taking a shower, she got on a Maternity Maxi Dress that she's been wanting to try on, but hasn't gotten the chance. She then started cleaning up around the house. After she finished doing the dishes, she heard the doorbell ring. When she looked through the peephole, she saw Nina, her big sister. She smiled upon opening the door. "Hi!"

"Hey Nikki, I've missed you!"

The two sisters gave each other a hug before Nina looked down at Nicole's belly. "Wow. I'm sorry, but just...Oh my."

"I know, every day I think I couldn't possibly get any bigger and then I do."

"Oh, what are you talking about, you look great!" Nina then put her hand on Nicole's belly.

Nicole didn't really mind, not only because Nina was her sister, but also her midwife. Of course, Nina also had children of her own, so she was no stranger to how Nicole was feeling, because she went through it...More then once. Afterwards, the two walked into the Living Room, where they relaxed. Because her back started hurting, Nina started giving her a massage. Afterwards, she got down on her knees and gently leaned her ear into Nicole's stomach before resting her hands on her hips. Nicole smiled, seeing that her sister was happy. Not to mention the pregnancy has been going well thanks to her.
 
It had definitely been one of the longer type of meetings, it lasting over a little over two hours, though he mostly just sat back and listened to the others go back and forth with what they were saying. It was mostly a meeting about the finances with the company, them going over charts with how their profits were doing with the games, how much money they were putting into things, and the like. Sure, Matt didn't necessarily understand why he was there, seeing as this wasn't his department or necessarily his worries, however he had been doing this since he was an intern, and his boss said he wanted him there. He didn't argue against it.

When all was said in done, and after a little more chatting with a few of his co workers, he went back to his own work. He showed the 'lead' person for this new game concept, showing him what he had come up with, what needed to be changed, and what else he could do with it. They worked on it for a little before he headed to one of the other people who were working with the characters, them melding their ideas together as they tried to figure what would and wouldn't work. The game was still a work in progress, but even with that they weren't even sure whether or not the game would become an actual thing. That was why they were pushing this project so quickly, Matt realized; because they needed to have a good original concept, a god background as well as just basic ideas such as characters, environment, and the like with the kind of game that they wanted to create before they showed it to the president of the company. It needed to be good, it needed to be entertaining, and it needed to fit the demands of what kind of game people wanted most now a days. He liked the idea though; the open world adventure concept that came with the game, but again, it wasn't him that they were trying to sway. If the approval was actually given, then so many more things would be brought into the project, fine details put into it, the concept and complete story line being edited and though about... It was a lot, but they had to make it to that point before hand.

By the time his break had come around, Matt knew that he wasn't going to be able to get off work early. If anything, he might even be a little late getting home, that meeting having taken up a few hours of his time before hand. Great... It frustrated him, yes, but what could he do? Besides, Nina was with Nicole, that thought consoled him a little bit, though he still couldn't help but feel bad about it. He figured he should call. So, with that thought in mind, he walked outside, pulled his phone out, and dialed her cell, hoping that she had it on her as he put the phone up to his ear, listening to the ring back.
 
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