January 9 – 18 weeks

Justin lay back on the table and got comfortable before rolling up his shirt and pushing his pants down until they were low on his hips. He smiled at Brian, his own excitement shining back at him as the tech got everything ready for their ultrasound. They were supposed to have done this during their last visit, but something on the machine had malfunctioned; and by the time it was up and running once more, Justin had to leave because he was meeting his agent.

And, given the fact that he’d already cancelled on her once due to morning sickness, he really wasn’t up to incurring her wrath by doing it again so soon; thus they made another appointment for the ultrasound. Luckily, his doctor had managed to squeeze them in today, and he couldn’t wait. They’d already been through this once before early in his first trimester; but today, if Sunbeam allowed it, they would be able to determine the sex.

Something that been a debate and a half the moment that Justin had brought it up; he and Brian had been torn on whether or not they wanted the tech to reveal the gender.

Justin had been firmly on the side of being surprised; he’d already planned out a gender-neutral nursery with a forest mural for the walls, filled with baby animals, and a morning sky for the ceiling. So, it wasn’t like the gender was necessary for his plans. Brian, on the other hand, was on the side of knowing, so they could plan properly and supplement whatever clothing and toys they got from the gang with more gender-based items.

It had been a long, heated debate, until finally; Justin had given in and agreed that he could see the sense of being prepared. But he had gotten Brian to agree that they would leave the family in the dark. He just thought it would be much more fun for everyone if they made a game of it. Plus, there was a pool going on at the diner for what the gender, day of birth and hour of birth would be, and the pot was growing daily.

“Alright, Justin,” Amy, the tech said, grabbing a bottle of gel. “I think we’re just about ready here. Shall we get you lubed up?”

Brian snickered at the wording, his tongue firmly planted into his cheek as he smirked at Justin. For his part, Justin just rolled his eyes and huffed at his husband’s one-track mind. Amy giggled, quite used to their banter by now, and squirted a large dollop of gel onto the middle of his stomach, making Justin hiss.

“Fuck that’s cold,” he said, shivering at the coolness of the gel.

“It will warm up,” Amy reassured him with a smile, making Brian snort.

“Don’t say it,” Justin said, pointing a warning finger at his husband.

“I have no idea what you mean,” Brian said, all faux innocence.

“Please,“ Justin snorted, resting his hand back on his shirt. “You aren’t fooling anyone with that smile, buster.”

Brian held his hands out in supplication and then turned his attention to Amy, who was pointing out the two screens where the images could be seen – one directly across from where Brian was sitting and the other on the wall in front of Justin.

“Shall we get started?” Amy asked, and then laughed when Justin nearly gave himself whiplash when he nodded in agreement. She put the wand on his stomach and moved it around a bit, lubing his stomach up and making Justin flinch as it was still a bit cool.

And then the monitor lit up and Justin didn’t care as his baby flickered to life on the screen. Choked up, his hand flew to Brian’s and grabbed it, needing something to anchor him as he stared at the tiny life they’d created. Flicking a glance over at his husband, he smiled shakily when he saw that, he too, was just as moved, his eyes bright with unshed tears as he stared at the screen.

Justin turned back to the screen, and couldn’t help but laugh with delight as the baby squirmed in his belly, and he could almost imagine he felt that. A tiny little hand appeared, splayed open, almost as if greeting its observers.

“Wow, someone sure is active today,” Amy said with a grin as the baby shifted again.

“Just like his papa,” Brian smirked, casting a mischievous glance Justin’s way; emphasizing the gender as it had been an ongoing debate between the two of them. Brian thought Sunbeam was a boy; Justin, on the other hand, was certain Sunbeam was a girl. “Can’t stay still to save his life.”

“Ha ha,” Justin mock laughed and rolled his eyes. “You’re as hilarious as ever, darling.”

Amy laughed and then pointed at the screen. “I see we have a little hand here. Awww…it looks like he’s waving to his daddies. And there are his four little fingers and... oh, looks like he’s closing them.”

“Is Sunbeam giving us a thumbs up?” Justin asked, squinting at the screen.

“Yeah, that definitely looks like a thumbs up to me,” Amy said with a giggle.

“See, even Sunbeam agrees with me, Sunshine,” Brian snickered, quickly dodging the slap Justin sent his way.

“Asshole,” Justin grumbled, but then went back to watching Sunbeam.

“You see that round thing right here; that is the baby’s head,” Amy said, tracing her finger over the indicated area.  “And here is Sunbeam’s tummy.”

“Wow, that’s kind of a big head, isn’t it?” Brian cut in, sounding a bit concerned.

“Takes after her daddy,” Justin drawled, paying his husband back in kind; and then yelped when Brian pinched him on the arm. “Ow! Spousal abuse!”

“I’ll show you spousal abuse later, twat,” Brian whispered in his ear, sending a shiver of anticipation tripping down his spine.

Amy laughed as she swished the wand a bit. “It’s perfectly normal at this stage, I assure you. Continuing on, see this fluttering thing right here – that is your baby’s heart. Shall we give it a listen?”

“Yes, please,” Justin nodded his hand squeezing Brian’s in his excitement; Brian’s squeezed back just as tightly as the sound of Sunbeam’s heartbeat surrounded them.

Justin closed his eyes, his throat constricting as that precious sound filled the room; he couldn’t hold back the tears any longer and one slid down his cheek. Sniffling, he startled when he felt a light touch on his face and opened his eyes to meet misty hazel as Brian desperately fought back tears of his own. Brian brushed the tear away and mouthed, ’I love you,’ before turning back to the screen.

Accepting a tissue from Amy, Justin dabbed at his eyes and returned his attention back to the monitor, where Sunbeam was once again moving around. He heard a click as Amy took  several screenshots for them to have later, along with the video.

“Hmmm…I was hoping that hearing the heartbeat would settle Sunbeam down,” Amy said as she flicked the sound off. “Often times the sound will soothe them and they’ll calm down; but it looks like Sunbeam is being a bit stubborn.”

“Like I said, just like his Papa,” Brian said, tongue in cheek.

“Oh, like you’re one to talk, Mr. Taylor-Kinney,” Justin retorted, pinching him in the side. “I’m pretty sure you invented the phase ‘stubborn as a mule.’”

“And that’s a nice, strong heartbeat, fluctuating between 145-150 beats per minute,” Amy said, cutting off their banter before they could get started again. A wise move, otherwise they’d never get done. “Which is right where we want it to be. So, were you hoping to find out the sex today?”

“Yes,” Justin said, a bit grudgingly; he still thought it would be fun to be surprised, but he had agreed and he’d stick to his word. Amy looked between the two of them questioningly and Justin smiled and nodded, waving off her concern. “We do want to find out if Sunbeam will let us.

“Okay,” Amy nodded; moving the wand around, trying to get a better view, but Sunbeam just kept shifting. “Such stubborn little tyke today. “

Justin shot Brian a warning glance and Brian just grinned and mimed a zipping motion over his lips.

“Can you shift to the other side, Justin,” Amy asked, pulling the wand away so that Justin could move on to his left side. “Maybe if we come at it this way, we’ll have better luck.”

Justin watched the screen from his new position, laughing as Amy tried and failed to get a clear vision of the baby’s genitals, until finally, she pressed the wand a bit firmer into Justin’s side and suddenly Sunbeam shifted.

“Ah, there we go!” Amy cried gleefully. “I thought that might do it; alright, are you boys ready to know what you’re having?”

… … … … …

Justin and Brian walked out of the doctor’s office, Justin tucked under Brian’s arm so that his husband could steer him as he beamed down at the stack of pictures in his hands. God, Sunbeam was already so beautiful to him and he couldn’t believe that this was really happening. It still seemed a bit surreal to him.

Only, now that they knew what they were having, he was feeling a bit guilty about not telling the others. He wanted to shout the news from the rooftop, but at the same time, he also wanted to tease his family just a little for all the hovering. Chewing on his bottom lip, he turned to Brian.

“I’ve been thinking,” he said, and then paused, making Brian turn to him in concern. “Should we tell everyone the gender? I mean, part of me really wants them to suffer because of all this hovering nonsense; but the other part of me wants to stand on top of Babylon and shout it to the world.”

Brian laughed and kissed his cheek.

“Nah,” Brian snickered, pulling him tighter into his body. “Let them suffer. Besides, I hear that the pot has reached over five thousand recently; why spoil their fun? It will give someone a nice chunk of change if they can nail the sex, date and hour of birth.”

Justin chewed on his bottom lip some more and then nodded.

“You realize Deb is going to kill us,” Justin said with a grimace.

“Are you kidding?” Brian snorted as they came up to Justin’s SUV. “Who do you think started the pool? She’s set to make a mint off of this the longer it goes.” He paused to open the car door for Justin; and then continued as Justin got in. “Mother Taylor on the other hand; that is all on you, Sunshine.”