Sequel: Non Sequitur

Cinematic Confessions

Love Actually

Autumn woke up and immediately felt the body heat coming from Corey lying next to her. She smiled as she sat up in bed, swinging her legs over the edge. "Don't go," she heard Corey mumble as he put an arm around her waist.

She turned her head around to see his eyes were still closed. He had the morning off before they had their practice in the afternoon, so she wanted him to sleep in. "I've got to get up. I have my doctor's appointment, remember?" she asked him.

His eyes suddenly shot open. "Oh, I forgot about that!" he said, wakening up. He halfway sat up in bed, resting his upper back against the headboard. "Do you want me to go with you?"

She smiled at him. "Thanks, but Kat's already going," she told him. "She's so excited, we're getting the ultrasound today."

"You'll find out the sex of the baby?" Corey asked.

Autumn shook her head. "Not yet, but we'll get to see the baby. I'm so excited for Katherine and Cade!" she said, and Corey could tell she really was. He had worried that she might become attached to the baby since she was carrying it, but she truly saw the baby as Katherine and Cade's. "It's the first time they're going to see the baby!" she added.

Corey leaned over and kissed the side of her head. "Have I ever told you that you are amazing for doing this for them?" he asked her, and she shrugged him off. He knew she wasn't doing it for the attention, and she didn't really like to talk about what a great deed she was doing for them. "Do you feel like dinner tonight?" he asked her.

"How would you feel about dinner at Katherine and Cade's?" she inquired. "Katherine's been wanting to spend more time getting to know you, and since you're free tonight, it could be a good time," she said. She felt that they spent more time as a couple with his friends and teammates. She knew he didn't do that on purpose, and she spent plenty of one-on-one time with Katherine and Cade, but she'd like to have him around when she saw them as well.

Corey nodded his head. "Sure, if Katherine doesn't still hate me," he added jokingly. He knew she had forgiven him already for him misinterpreting Autumn's pregnancy several weeks ago.

Autumn rolled her eyes. "Of course she doesn't hate you," she told him. "Though I'd make sure to watch your food and drink, she may try to drug you," she added with a wink.

Now it was Corey's turn to roll his eyes. "Get in the shower or you're going to be late," he told her, giving her back a slight shove. She smiled at him, but got out of the bed nonetheless, making her way into the bathroom.

Her stomach was just starting to show, but with the majority of the clothes she wore, hardly anyone could tell that she was pregnant. She knew that wouldn't last very much longer so she savored the time. She got in the shower quickly and then went back into her bedroom with a towel wrapped around her as she looked for something to wear. She chuckled to herself when she saw Corey was back to sleep. She couldn't really blame him. She knew he was exhausted from all the traveling and games they were playing right now, and he needed some extra sleep.

She tried to stay quiet as she rifled through her closet, finally picking on a dress that she paired with a pair of boots. It was getting colder outside, but she could still pull off the dress as long as she had her pea coat as well. She finished getting ready in the bathroom and left without Corey ever waking up.

Autumn made it to the hospital way ahead of her scheduled appointment, so she sat down in the waiting area, grabbing a magazine from the rack and flipping through it. "Hey Autumn," she heard Cade say, and she glanced up to see him in his scrubs, a stethoscope around his neck. She knew he had to work today, but she was happy he was able to get away long enough for the ultrasound.

She smiled at him as she set the magazine down on the chair next to her. "Hey, you made it!" she exclaimed.

"And miss the first ultrasound of my baby, never!" he told her with a laugh. "Where's Kat?" he asked.

Autumn shrugged. "She texted me and said she'd be here any minute but that was like ten minutes ago. She probably got caught in traffic," she told him.

"Well she better not miss this, I think she'd die if she did," he laughed. Autumn couldn't help but think he was probably right. Katherine wanted to be a part of every stage of this pregnancy with good reason. She may not be able to carry the baby, but it was hers nonetheless. And while she couldn't be the one to get the ultrasound done, she sure as hell was going to be there to watch it.

"Oh, I invited Corey to dinner with us tonight," Autumn told Cade, remembering her conversation with Corey earlier that morning. "You don't mind, do you?"

Cade kept a straight face. "Should I prepare myself for the talk with him?" he asked her, and she burst out laughing. Cade could intimidate some people, but she didn't have much confidence in him scaring Corey. "Yeah, you're right, he could probably kick my ass," Cade laughed.

"Sorry buddy," Autumn told him, putting a hand on his shoulder just as Katherine ran through the door. "Hey, chill there, Kat," Autumn told her. "I haven't even been called back yet!"

"Traffic was a bitch," Katherine told them, out of breath. It was clear she had ran up the stairs instead of taking the elevator, afraid she was going to be late for the ultrasound. "And then there was like no parking spots in the lot. But, I'm here and that's all that matters so we can see the baby," she beamed.

As if they heard her, one of the nurses came out and called Autumn's name, taking her back to get her ready for the doctor. She changed in the room by herself before Cade and Katherine came into the room to join her to wait for Dr. Shively. "Corey's joining us tonight?" Katherine asked as she walked into the room. Autumn nodded her head. "Good, that will be fun!" Katherine exclaimed.

Autumn smiled at her. "I think he's still scared of you," she laughed, pointing at Katherine.

"Oh he should be," Katherine said with a mischievous smile.

Autumn rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to start to say something as there was a knock on the door and Dr. Shively came in moments later. "Hello, family," she said to them. "We're here for the first ultrasound, right?" Autumn nodded her head, and Dr. Shively spent the next several minutes explaining the procedure before getting the gel out and putting it on Autumn's stomach.

Then they were all looking at the baby. "There he or she is, right there," Dr. Shively said, pointing at the screen. Autumn smiled as she saw the tiny baby on the screen. She could see Katherine out of the corner of her eye holding onto Cade's hands, a huge smile on her face.

"Oh my God," Katherine breathed out. "Look at that! It's our baby, Cade!" she said excitedly before she surprised Autumn by enveloping her in a huge hug. "Autumn! That's our baby!" she exclaimed.

Autumn laughed. "I know," she said, patting Katherine's forearm. She felt a little intrusive with Cade and Katherine seeing their baby for the first time, but it wasn't like she could leave the room. So, she sat there quietly as the two of them celebrated. A nurse came over and cleaned the ultrasound gel off of Autumn's stomach, and she helped her sit up as she gave her her clothes so she could get dressed.

Cade and Katherine left the room to give Autumn some privacy as she changed out of the hospital gown and into her own clothes. She slipped her shoes on and then walked out of the room to meet them in the hallway. She handed Katherine the ultrasound photo the nurse had given her. "I believe this is yours," she smiled at her.

Katherine pulled her in for a hug. "Have I told you how grateful we are that you're doing this for us?" she asked her.

"Maybe once or twice," Autumn smiled as she pulled away.

Katherine returned the smile. "So what time will you and Corey be over tonight?" she asked as Cade said goodbye, needing to get back down to the emergency room for his shift. "Let me know what you're craving, and I'll make sure we have it tonight," she said as the two of them began walking towards the parking garage.

"I've got to work until five. Corey will be done with practice before that, but I'll need to go home and shower and change and stuff. So maybe around six-thirty or seven?" Autumn said, cocking her head to one side as she tried to calculate the time.

"Come over whenever you two are ready. Cade's off all tonight, so we'll have dinner whenever you guys get there," Katherine told her as they stopped at Autumn's car, which was much closer to the building than Katherine's SUV. "And like I said, let me know whatever you're craving!" she added as she kept walking towards her vehicle.

●●●


Time at the pharmacy seemed to pass by extra slowly for Autumn during the day. Her feet were starting to hurt, and she was ready to get home and shower so she and Corey could go over to Cade and Katherine's.

She was surprised to find Corey at her place waiting for her when she got home at twenty after five. They had exchanged keys to their apartments the week before, but neither of them had utilized them up until this point. "Hey, what are you doing here?" she asked him as she put her keys and bag on the couch before taking off her jacket. She was surprised at how quickly it was getting colder in the Windy City.

"I thought we were going to dinner?" he asked.

Autumn laughed. "Yeah, we are, but I need to take a shower and change first."

"Need help?" he asked, lifting an eyebrow at her.

She laughed again. "I don't think we'd ever make it to Kat's if you helped me," she smiled at him. "Why don't you wait here and watch some tv while I go get ready. I'll try to hurry," she told him before walking down the hallway to her bedroom to get her robe before heading into the bathroom and starting the shower.

Corey did as told and flipped through the channels as he waited for Autumn to finish in the shower. He had watched an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond when Autumn walked back out into the living room. "Can you help me?" she asked, and he turned his head to see her struggling with a zipper on the back of her dress. "I don't know if it'll even fit," she told him, putting her hands on her stomach.

"You need to stop stressing about your belly growing," he told her as he worked the zipper, getting it all the way up. "It's what's supposed to happen when you're pregnant," he said as he kissed the back of her neck. "We can go get you new clothes if you need some," he added with another kiss.

Autumn spun around and put her hands on Corey's chest. "I have other clothes, I just really like my old clothes," she explained. "And if you kiss me like that again, we're not going to make it to Kat's," she warned him.

"Fine," he said, backing away and holding his hands up in front of him. "Why don't you get your shoes on and we'll head over there," he told her, and she made her way to her bedroom to slip on a pair of blue flats which she hoped wouldn't be killing her feet by the end of the night. She wasn't optimistic, though, after her feet were already sore from the workday.

Corey helped her get her coat on before holding her hand as they walked down the street. Autumn had insisted that they walked to Cade and Katherine's since it was just a couple of blocks away and before long, snow would be covering the ground and it would be more difficult to get outside.

They walked up the stairs to the front door and Autumn knocked, waiting only a few seconds before Katherine opened it. "Hey," she smiled at the couple as she ushered them in. "I can't believe how cold it's getting out there," she added as she rubbed up and down her bare arms as she shut the door behind them.

"Hey Cade," Autumn said, seeing him in the kitchen.

"Perfect timing," he smiled as she carried a pot out to the dining room and set it on the table. "We just finished dinner."

Corey and Autumn sat down at the table, and Cade revealed everything he and Katherine had made. "We weren't sure what you would be hungry for, so we made a little bit of everything," he told her. He wasn't exaggerating. They really had a ton of food, ranging from spaghetti to chicken to fish to Chinese.

"Can we get rid of the fish?" Autumn requested, a wave of nausea coming over her.

"Done," Katherine said, quickly grabbing the dish of fish and taking it into the kitchen.

"Two weeks ago that's all you wanted to eat," Corey commented.

"The life of a pregnant woman," Katherine chuckled. "I read that cravings can come and go in an instant. That what you crave one day can become repulsive the next."

Autumn couldn’t help but smile at her best friend. Katherine had read up more on pregnancy than Autumn had, and if she ever had any pregnancy questions, she was sure Katherine would be the person to ask. "What she said," Autumn agreed as she grabbed the dish that held orange chicken. She used to never really be a fan of Chinese food, but it sounded so good right now. She piled it onto her plate before grabbing the green beans next to it and mixing them together.

"Okay, that just looks disgusting," Corey commented before grabbing the spaghetti and putting it on his plate.

"I'm not forcing you to eat it," Autumn replied with her mouth full of the mixture.

Cade laughed. "Good?" he asked her, and Autumn nodded enthusiastically. "I don't know how you put up with this on a daily basis," he pointed towards her as he looked at Corey.

"Because somehow I still love her and her crazy food combinations," Corey spoke the words without thinking. He saw the moment it registered with Autumn, and he felt like his heart stopped beating. Her fork clanked to the plate, her mouth wide open, showing the food she had just shoveled in it.

Cade looked at Autumn, trying to figure out what had just happened, but his wife had already figured it out. "That's the first time, isn't it?" Katherine asked, and Autumn just nodded her head.

"Wait, what?" Cade asked, completely confused as he turned his head to look at Katherine, hoping for an answer, but she didn't respond to him.

Instead, she continued to look at Autumn. "Well say it back! I mean, c'mon, you're leaving him waiting!"

Autumn seemed to snap out of it at those words, and she swallowed the food that was still in her mouth as she turned to look at Corey.

"Autumn, I--" Corey began, but she shook her head, cutting him off.

"I love you, too," she rushed out.

"Ohhh!" Cade said, finally understanding what he had been missing out on.

Corey smiled at Autumn, reaching over and grabbing her hand, giving it a squeeze. She smiled back before looking up at Cade and Katherine across the table. "So, now that we've got the mushy part of the evening out of the way, why don't we talk about something else?" she asked. "How's that crib looking?" she continued, changing subjects, while Corey continued to hold her hand under the table.