Strength Of The World

Since their doctor's appointment, Peyton and Zack had been on cloud nine. They had decided to wait until after Matt and Val's wedding, which was coming up this weekend, to tell their friends. It was currently Thursday, which meant Taco and margarita night at their favorite Mexican restaurant with the gang. Everyone arrived at the same time, and once they were seated the server came to take their drink order. When Peyton ordered an iced tea, she received some strange looks from her friends. "You not drinking today, P?" Johnny asked her. "Nah, I'm not feeling it today." She replied with a shrug. "Uh, what?" Jimmy asked, "You work in a pediatrician's office, you never don't drink on Tequila Thursdays, hence the name..." Jimmy trailed off. Peyton sighed and looked at Zack, who smiled at her and shrugged. "Well," she said sarcastically, "I would really fucking love a margarita. But seeing as how there's a tiny human growing inside me, I think I'm gonna have to pass." The entire table grew silent, with the exception of Johnny, who spit his water across the table. "Holy shit, you're pregnant?!" Val squealed. "Yup." Zack grinned proudly. "Around 8 weeks." Peyton smiled, placing a hand on her stomach. "Due in early July." Everyone was offering their congratulations and getting up to hug Peyton or pat Zack on the back, except for Brian, who was sitting quietly beside Peyton looking at his hands. "Bri, you okay?" She asked him quietly, placing a hand on his shoulder. Her pseudo-brother looked up from his lap with a huge smile. "I can't wait to teach that kid everything I know. I'm so happy for you, Peanut." He said, pulling the younger woman into a hug. "Thanks big bro." She whispered with tears in her eyes. "Hey don't cry!" He said with a laugh, wiping a stray tear. "These are happy times! Matt and Val are finally getting married after 55 years and I'm getting a nephew!" "Or a niece!" Michelle spoke up. "No. It's a boy. I can feel it. And he's gonna be awesome just like his favorite uncle Brian." "Get outta here, Gates." Jimmy said. "Everyone here knows I'm gonna be the kid's favorite. Whether it's a boy or a girl!" "Alright alright before you two start arguing, I propose a toast." Matt said, holding his glass up. "To Zack, Peyton, and baby Vengeance. Here's to expanding the Sevenfold family. Congratulations guys, we love you." Everyone held their glasses up and said "cheers." The rest of their dinner was full of conversation and laughter. At the end of the evening everyone went their separate ways, the girls promising Val they would be at her house by 9 for a spa day before the wedding, and the guys saying they would be at the studio in the morning. By the time Zack pulled in the driveway, Peyton could hardly hold her eyes open. "Come on sleeping beauty, let's get you to bed." He said, helping. Her out of the car. She drug herself up the stairs and to their bedroom, where she stripped down to her underwear and pulled one of Zack's old tshirts out of his drawer. Turning on the tv, she laid down and fell asleep almost immediately.

The next morning, Peyton woke up around 7:30 and made a beeline for the bathroom to throw up. "Fucking morning sickness." She groaned. Once she was finished, she brushed her teeth and took some nausea medication that her doctor prescribed her earlier in the week. She had been pretty nauseous for most mornings, but this was the first time she had actually thrown up. She laid back down in the bed and rolled on her side, accidentally waking Zack up in the process. "Baby you okay?" He asked, eyes still closed. "Yeah, just a little morning sickness. I'm fine." She said weakly. Upon hearing her voice, Zack's eyes popped open and he got out of bed and walked down to the kitchen, getting her a Gatorade and grabbing some saltine crackers. He brought them back upstairs and sat them on her nightstand, kissing her on the side of her head. "These are for when you feel like trying to eat or drink. Don't force it. But you do need to stay hydrated." "Thanks babe. I'm gonna try to get a little more sleep before I have to be up." She said, closing her eyes and quickly falling back to sleep. Zack smiled down at her, knowing how exhausted she had been lately. Since their weekend at the lake house she seemed to be feeling better, she wasn't so anxious and she had been sleeping again. Which is a good thing, because he was definitely worried about her. Walking into his office he sat down at his desk and unlocked the bottom drawer. Inside he pulled out a box and opened it. He sat there and stared at the rose gold engagement ring for the longest time, before closing the box and putting it back in his desk. He bought that ring right after they got back together, he was just waiting for the perfect time to give it to her. He puddled around in the office for a little while longer, playing a few songs on his guitar, until he heard Peyton get it out of bed again. "Baby you good?" He asked concerned. "Yeah, I'm just getting in the shower." She replied as he heard the water turn on. "I'm feeling a lot better, that medicine works wonders." Opening the bathroom door he smiled to himself, seeing the outline of her body through the frosted glass. He shrugged his shoulders, stripped off his clothes, and followed her into the shower.

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