Pro Con list

Matt couldn't believe it... Lou was pregnant! He'd been on the road for two hours having stalked out of Jimmy's house like a man on a mission and he was exactly that, a man on a mission to get Louise to talk to him. Although he had no idea how he was going to do that, seen as she hadn't breathed a word to him since she came home that night and found him and Val in bed; she wouldn't answer his calls, his texts had gone unread and he was barred from Jimmy's when she was there. But he would have to make her talk, they were having a baby and whether she liked it or not the situation had changed and he had an in.

They were going to be in each other's lives for the next 21 years at least, and she was wrong if she thought she was keeping him away whilst she was growing their child or when their child was born. He was determined to be there when they found out the gender, or to feel the little squirt kick for the first time, he would be there to see his baby come screaming into the world and they would be together when it took its first steps. They had no option but to move past his transgressions and bring up baby together; there would be no solo parenting or co-parenting or whatever divorced parents called their relationships with their children. No, he had decided in the whole two hours and five minutes since he'd known about their baby, that they were going to be together; mummy, daddy and baby all under one roof experiencing the joys of a happy family life. Matt smirked in spite of himself, yes they were going to be a proper family and whilst it will be be a challenge to get Lou to believe in their relationship and give it another go he would wear her down - he always got his own way and everyone knew it!

He hated this drive, he always had, it took far too long to get from Huntington Beach to Stanford. Her choice of school had been a bone of contention when they first got together in what was the epic fuck fest of the early stages of their relationship.

Before they were official they spent months fucking each other wherever they could; the tour bus, the bathroom of Johnny's Bar, the sun lounger in his garden or even Papa Gates couch whilst they 'minded' Mac. They just couldn't get enough of each other but they were NOT together they were both happy with no labels- he had just come out of the relationship with Val and she was still months off turning 19, they didn't need anything serious. But one morning, out of the blue and after a night of the most sensual sex they had shared, she told him with tears in her eyes that she couldn't do the 'meaningless' hookups anymore. She was in love with him and if she couldn't have it all she didn't want any of it.

They spent the following six weeks pissing each other off by ignoring one an others presence, inciting jealousy by bringing new dates to parties and arguing when they spent more than 5 minutes in close proximity. This was brought to a head when Lou announced in the middle of an argument that he could fuck whoever he wanted, she was getting as far away from him as possible by leaving to study at Stanford in the Fall and train with her coach. That had stunned him, the argument ended on the spot before she turned and ran. He chased after her, crashing into their shocked friends whose eyes were glued to the drama taking place in front of them, she got as far as the beach before he grabbed her and kissed her. They ended up back at his, sharing his bed, but when she got up to go back home he wrapped her in his arms and spooned her. One of his arms had a vice like grip on her waist and his leg was clamped on top of hers and before she could protest he whispered "stay, I want us together, no-one else", she nodded and relaxed into his arms before falling asleep.

That was history from then on everyone knew they were a couple and he spent the next couple of weeks trying to convince her to go to USC, so she could stay at home. He knew that it wouldn't cause an issue with her training, as she was so good her coach, Tony, would follow her rather than the other way round. However, when his ministrations failed, something that on this occasion he expected because "its Stanford, duh", he dutifully played the good boyfriend and helped pack her bags and drove her the almost 7 hour journey to the Bay Area.
They had made it almost 18 months and he knew, or thought he knew, she was for keeps. All the guys knew it too, they had been together less than a year when Jimmy and Haner had started teasing them about wedding bells. The former of the two referring to he and Lou as 'Mommy and Daddy' due to her caring nature and the seriousness of their grown up relationship. This past Christmas when Lou had turned 20 they had hashed it out; Matt having turned 27 earlier that summer expressed his desires for a meaningful commitment. He wanted marriage and a baby. When he first raised the topic Lou turned ashen faced, there was so much she wanted to do and those concepts scared her, but they had talked it out. Lou knew that she wanted to be with Matt forever, she told him that he was the one she saw herself having kids with but she needed time to achieve her goal of the World Championships and Olympics first. The idea of marriage she was more amenable to but she joked that she wanted to wait until she was old enough to drink (legally) at the reception. Whilst no real time limit was set, in Matt's mind he would be ready to propose not long after her 21st birthday.

That plan had been working so well, Lou had become the Heptathlon World Champion, the band was more successful than ever,Lou was only a few months off turning 21 and he'd asked her dad for permission to marry his daughter. However, in the middle of all this Val had returned and he'd had a weak moment when his drive for commitment scared him. Val just happened to be there for him in that time and was shining a light on the unfinished business they had. So he slept with her. Once whilst Lou was at training camp and then Zacky had caught them at it again a few days later after the gang, minus Lou, had gone on a night out and he quickly told the other guys. He knew it was wrong and started to let Val down gently, before he left to watch Lou compete at the World Championships in Berlin. After he and Lou had returned, Val had asked for one last night with him and at a loss for the best thing to do he agreed for sex to be the way they said goodbye for good. What he hadn't banked on was Lou's promotional event ending so soon, and her walking in on them. Obviously his actions had destroyed the plan and he now only had 2 hours of his drive left to figure out how to get it and them back on track before he turned up cap in hand.

As he drove closer and closer to the city limits of the Bay Area, Matt's head filled with more and more questions: how pregnant was she? was she looking after herself and the baby?had she had a scan? but most importantly what Cons did he have to counter act on her list and which side was winning at the moment?

Notes