Where You Belong

"Maria, don't you think that this is more than enough stuff for now?" I asked Zack's mom as I watched her yank toy after toy, blanket after blanket, onesie after onesie off the store shelves and fling everything straight in the cart. I simply stood by it and watched in amusement.

"You can never have enough stuff for a baby, sweetie," she said with a smile, turning towards me and holing up a little stuffed giraffe. "He's gonna love this one!"

I laughed loudly, placing a hand on my stomach, "Where would I even put all this stuff? I live in an apartment!" I giggled at her enthusiasm as she began tossing bibs and socks over her shoulder and into the cart. It was clear that Zack was indeed her son, because he'd done the same thing a few days ago, when he'd taken me baby shopping. And my mother was no better when she dragged me out yesterday to the Baby GAP store.

Maria stopped for a moment, tilting her head to the side as she eyed me carefully, before turning away from me again with a smirk, "Well, you can just leave some of it at Zack's house."

I snorted at that. Zack had taken it upon himself to completely clear out a guest room in his house and turn it into a nursery of sorts. I couldn't understand his reasoning behind that, seeing as how I had my own place to live, but he firmly assured me that "his nephew would have everything he could ever want, even if that meant his own room at Uncle Zacky's house".

That sounded like a code for my baby ending up being a spoiled fucking brat, but who was I to deny my baby boy anything he wanted? Call me a hypocrite.

Zack had already had a team of painters come in and paint the walls a pale blue before putting up some kind of toy train wallpaper. He had a hardwood floor installed with a few soft, shaggy rugs, and he also forced the guys to help him put together a large, fancy crib. I didn't bother arguing with him, knowing he was in one of those irreversible do-it-all moods.

"If you say so," I sighed, knowing that Maria would buy all this stuff whether I was standing here now, or behind my back later on when I wasn't. I stifled a laugh as she let out a small squeal and continued ripping things off the shelves and adding them to the cart.

I felt my heart race and race as the Target employee in front of us rang up all the stuff Maria had chosen for the baby, and once she'd scanned the last item, I felt ready to hit the ground as I eyed the grand total.

"Ma'am, your total is seven twenty three, seventy six," the employee smiled. Maria whipped out a plastic card and swiped it without batting an eyelash. I grabbed onto the counter to keep from falling as the breath was knocked out of me.

"Maria," I groaned, looking at her pointedly as she turned to catch my gaze. She chuckled and shrugged, placing all of the bags back into the cart before grabbing my hand and pulling me along, "You spent way too much!"

"Sure, I didn't!" she protested with a grin as we stopped in front of her car. She opened the trunk and began throwing bags inside of it, causing me to sigh loudly.

"Yes, you did! You spent over seven hundred dollars!" I shrieked, causing her to roll her eyes before she returned the cart. With another sigh, I got in the car and sat with my arms crossed over my chest in defiance, waiting until she got back. Once she got in, I continued on with my rant, "You might as well have bought the whole store! That's too much money and you know it! Please take some of it back!"

I knew she wouldn't listen, "Nope, I'm like this baby's grandma in a sense! You're practically family, sweetie. And that means I'm spoiling him rotten whether you like it or not!"

Yep. Arguing with her wouldn't do me any good at this point.

It wasn't long before Maria was parked back in Zack's driveway, and I smiled when I saw several familiar cars parked along the street. Before I could even get out of the car, the front door was ripped open and Brian, Johnny, Matt, Jimmy, and Zack came barreling outside, headed straight for the car.

"How'd it go?" Zack asked, eying Maria with a knowing smirk. She smirked back and popped the trunk, causing me to huff loudly and cross my arms over my chest again.

Everyone laughed as Maria's trunk opened to reveal bags upon bags of baby items, and the boys quickly grabbed up the bags before lugging them inside. Zack grabbed the last few with one hand and took hold of my hand with his free one, smiling and bidding his mother goodbye before she drove off.

"Zack," I whined, stamping my foot as he tried to pull me inside, "You knew she'd do that!"

"That I did," he chuckled, pulling me into his side as I waddled into the house.

"But why?" I sighed exasperatedly, throwing my arms up.

"Because," he answered simply, "We leave for tour in three fucking days, Britt. We'll be gone for a good six to eight months, and we'll miss everything from here on out." he answered, and I sighed.

"You're going to miss the birth?" I asked quietly, looking elsewhere. I heard him sigh before moving closer to me, and looked straight at him when he stood in front of me.

"We'll do everything we can to get here for the birth," he answered, but I knew that there was always a chance that management wouldn't let them cancel if their schedule conflicted with the birth. I was due mid-September, which was another fourteen or fifteen weeks or so from now, but even then, the baby could come a little earlier or a little later than expected.

I knew it was the best he could give me, and sighed softly, "Okay."

"We'll call you every day, you know that," Johnny smiled, catching our conversation as he walked into the kitchen. He pulled me into a quick hug and kissed my cheek before reaching into Zack's fridge and grabbing a beer.

"But you've gotta keep us updated with pictures!" Jimmy shouted wildly, rounding the corner and scooping me up into his arms. I felt slightly dizzy as my feet left the ground and Jimmy held me bridal-style to his chest, carrying me around like a small child. "Promise you will!"

I giggled, burying my face into his neck as I wrapped an arm around him to secure myself, "I will."

"Good!" he grinned, walking towards the living room as he began humming an innocent tune, "Now let's see what Maria got you!"

With that, he took a seat on Zack's couch, still cradling me to him like a child. I didn't complain, in all honesty, because I was tired after all the running around Maria had me do while we were shopping. I was in the perfect mood for someone to carry me, and if Jimmy wanted to do that, then God bless his little heart and so be it.

Matt and Zack sat on either side of Jimmy as Johnny and Brian sprawled out on the floor, pulling out everything Maria had bought. I decided I'd stretch out a little, and laid on my side across Matt, Jimmy, and Zack on the couch. Matt smiled and ruffled my hair while Jimmy began poking my stomach with his fingers, much to my discomfort, and Zack's hands found my aching legs and feet. I shot him a thankful smile as he began kneading my skin.

"Good shit," Brian whistled as he and Johnny'd finally finished emptying all the bags of their contents, "Did she buy the whole fucking store?"

I giggled, propping my head up as I leaned on my elbow, "Not quite, but pretty damn close." I snorted, thinking back to how Zack's mom had blindly tossed item after item over her shoulder, and into the cart.

"Well, you'll be prepared for anything, that's for sure," Matt chuckled, motioning towards some strange contraption that Johnny held up.

"I have no idea what half that shit is," I answered honestly, causing all of them to laugh, "I just stood by the cart and watched her."

"Sounds just like her," Zack smiled with a shake of his head.

I jolted as I felt another poke at my abdomen, and sighed loudly, "Baby boy, I love you more than you could possibly know, but you have got to stop kicking mommy like that; it hurts." I grumbled irritably towards the end, and Jimmy giggled.

"Uh oh," Johnny mumbled before getting up, leaving the room.

I braced myself as several more kicks nearly knocked the breath right out of me, and Jimmy excitedly lifted my shirt just in time to see the shape of the baby's foot run across my skin. They all began laughing, which somehow caused the baby to kick and squirm even more. I was glad they were having fun, because I sure wasn't.

"It's okay, Britt," Zack murmured as I squeezed my eyes shut, sensing my discomfort. I breathed in and out and the baby continued kicking, and Zack reached over and pulled me up, bringing me into his side. His hands found my stomach, and the kicking immediately stopped.

I sent him a thankful smile, "You're a live saver," I mumbled, lazily leaning up and pressing a kiss to the underside of his jaw.

He chuckled lightly, "I try, Britt, I try."

I rolled my eyes, looking back to the others just as Johnny came in and handed me a bowl of chocolate ice cream. I squealed and hugged him tightly, eating a scoop right away. With a soft moan, I spoke, "So, what've you boys been up to today?"

Matt reached forward and grabbed his beer off the coffee table, taking a drink or two of it before setting it down again. "Hangin' out, I guess," he answered simply with a shrug of his shoulders. "A couple of people from management are supposed to be dropping by to give us a few details about the tour in about an hour or so."

"An hour or so?!" I nearly shrieked, sitting up. The guys eyed me curiously as I stood on my feet and waddled in the direction of the kitchen. "Y'all are expecting company and you don't have any food to offer them?! I just have to do everything, don't I?"

I set to work in the kitchen, removing all the dirty dishes from the sink and setting them in the dishwasher. I added some detergent and started a new cycle before going to wipe down the counter tops and the bar.

"You doin okay, short stuff?" Brian asked, walking into the kitchen a little while later.
I looked up from the cake batter I was adding orange juice to, grabbing a nearby spoon and stirring it up some. I smiled as Brian walked over and dipped his pinky into the batter, groaning as he tasted it for himself.

"Good?" I asked, gauging his reaction.

"So fucking good!" he chuckled, hopping up on the counter. I cocked an eyebrow as he watched me bustle about, finding two round cake pans that I could use and quickly washing them off in the sink. I set them aside to dry as Brian cleared his throat. "So..."

"So?" I mocked, turning to face him as I took a quick break. "What's on your mind, Haner?"

"Well, we leave in just three days..."

"I know," I smiled lightly, knowing how excited all the boys were to be getting back on the road, "I'm sure y'all will have loads of fun. I'll miss you guys."

He chuckled, "We'll miss you too, Britt...especially Zack."

I smiled at that, before grabbing the now dry cake pans and pouring the batter into the both of them. I then leaned forward and opened the oven, setting them both inside before shutting the door and setting the kitchen timer for half an hour.

"Won't you miss him too?" Brian asked, and I looked at him strangely.

"Huh?" I asked, feeling a little confused.

He rolled his eyes, "Zack," he said slowly, "Won't you miss him?"

I laughed at that, "Of course I'll miss Zack. He's my best friend."

"Is that all he is to you?"

I sighed, feeling that he and I were on two separate pages at the moment, "Bri, what are you talking about?"

"You and Zack." he answered simply with a smirk.

"What about me and Zack?" I asked, causing his smirk to widen even more. "Seriously, what are you getting at, Bri?"

"You two have been pretty close lately," he observed, and I rolled my eyes.

"We've always been close." I answered slowly, throwing him a confused look.

He nodded, "True. But you're even more close now."

I tilted my head, stopping to look at him, "How so?"

"Oh, I don't know," he sighed dramatically, "You're both attached at the hip. You both spend several nights in a row at one another's houses. You can never keep your hands off one another--"

I laughed, "But we've always been inseparable," I reasoned, cocking an eyebrow at him, "We've always practically lived at each other's houses, and I've always been more comfortable with him than anyone else. He's my best friend!"

"Right," he drawled with a smirk, "If you say so."

I rolled my eyes, "Brian Elwin, I don't know what's going through that mind of yours, and I'm not sure I wanna know. You're being so fucking cryptic!" I snorted, pulling out several steaks from the fridge, as well as some chicken breasts.

"Okay, well how 'bout this?" he grinned, moving closer to me. I eyed him wearily, "You two are closer now than I've ever seen you two, and everyone notices. The way you do things for him that you never do for anyone else, and the way he looks at you when you walk into a room...there's bound to be something between you two."

"But there's not!" I argued, looking at him incredulously. Zack and I were just friends, and everyone knew that. We'd both just gotten out of bad relationships, so of course we were probably a little closer than usual. What was the big deal?

Brian just smirked, "Oh, but there will be."