Cinematic Confessions

Autumn turned onto her side in bed, trying to find a comfortable position, something that was becoming harder and harder as her belly continued to grow. Finally, growing frustrated, she pulled the covers off of her and swung her feet around to the side of the bed, standing up and going out to the living room to sit in Corey's big chair.

She was surprised when Corey followed her out there a few minutes later. "Oh, Corey, I'm sorry to wake you up," she apologized as she saw his sleepy face and messy hair. He had a home game the next day, and she hated when she kept him awake the night before.

"You can't sleep?" he asked her.

She shook her head as she grabbed a blanket that was sitting on the couch and covered herself up with it, pulling it up to her chin. "I'm just so uncomfortable," she told him. "I want this baby out of me already," she mumbled.

Corey gave her a soft smile. "I know babe," he said, standing behind her and running his hands through her hair, massaging her scalp. "Just a few more weeks, you can do that no problem."

She closed her eyes, relaxing under his touch. "I know," she sighed. "I just want to be comfortable again."

He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "Just think about why you're doing this, why you're carrying this girl. She's going to be so cute and she's going to love her favorite Aunt Autumn," he said.

Autumn smiled. "More than her Aunt Bri?" she asked, knowing that she wasn't the only aunt this little girl was going to have. In fact, she wasn't even a biological aunt to the child. Not that that made a difference. Autumn had her own bond with little Harper from carrying her for nine months.

"She'll love you both," Corey replied. "But, she'll love you the most," he added.

Autumn reached up and patted Corey's hand, which was sitting on her shoulder. "Thank you, but you really should go to bed, you've got a game tomorrow, and I don't want to be the reason the team loses because their goalie is tired!"

Corey laughed. "You act like this would be the first time you've kept me up at night," he told her. "And that I’m not good enough to win with little sleep," he added.

"Go to bed," she repeated. "I'll be in there in a little bit."

"You need your sleep, too. You've got a big day tomorrow, too," he reminded her. They were having the baby shower tomorrow. Everyone was coming over to Corey's place since Autumn was on bed rest and not allowed to leave. She wasn't sure why Katherine had waited so long for the shower, but now that Autumn was ready to pop, they were finally having it.

"I am excited for that," she admitted. She hated being stuck in the condo all day long, and she looked forward to having all the girls coming over for the shower. They were having it before the game so that those who wanted to could still go to the Blackhawks game later that night.

"Good," Corey said, moving around to the front of the chair and leaning down to give her a kiss. "Come back to bed when you feel like it, okay?" he asked, and she nodded her head. "I love you," he told her.

"I love you, too," she smiled as he walked back to the bedroom.

Autumn stayed in the living room in the chair, finally drifting off to sleep after sitting there for a while. She woke up about an hour and a half later, her neck stiff from how she was sitting, and she slowly pushed herself up out of the chair and made her way back to the bedroom, finding Corey in there softly snoring.

She tried to ease her way into the bed, not wanting to disturb Corey, and she successfully made it in, all while he continued to snore. She moved over towards Corey and smiled when he subconsciously put his arm around her, all while still fast asleep. It wasn't too much longer before she finally fell asleep.

She woke up the next morning to Corey's alarm going off. He tried to turn it off quickly, and when he realized she had woken up, he cursed, "Shit. I'm sorry, Autumn."

"Don't be," she told him, raising up so she could see the clock, seeing that it was a quarter past eight. Corey had morning skate so he had to get up earlier. "You get in the shower and I'll make breakfast," she smiled.

"Autumn, you don't need to do that," he said as he stood up and stretched his arms above his head.

"I want to," she told him. He'd done so much for her over the past seven months they'd been dating that she wanted to do anything for him, even as small as making him breakfast. "Eggs okay?" she asked him.

He nodded his head, putting his hands on the bed and leaning down, giving her a kiss. "Thank you. I'm going to take a quick shower, and then I'll meet you out there," he told her.

She watched him walk into the bathroom before she stood up and walked out into the kitchen. She turned the television in the living room on, able to see it from in front of the stove. She had just finished making the second omelet when Corey came walking into the kitchen with just a pair of sweats on, showing off his bare chest. Autumn didn't even try to hide her checking out his body.

Corey wrapped his arm around her waist as he looked down at her with a grin. "Are you checking me out?" he asked her jokingly.

"Please, I'm an eight month pregnant lady. I'm always horny. Of course I'm checking you out," she stated.

Autumn saw a flash in Corey's eyes and she smiled. "If you felt like sex you know I'd have you on your back in a heartbeat," Corey said seriously. Autumn knew it was true, but they had talked a short while ago about how Autumn just wasn't comfortable with how pregnant she was, and she definitely didn't feel like sex, no matter how in the mood she was.

"Sorry," she apologized, knowing that he was suffering from the lack of sex. "You can always go out and have sex with someone else," she said plainly. "God knows there's a ton of girls in line for that," she muttered.

Corey grabbed her face with both of his hands, forcing her to look up at him. "And, I don't want any of them. I want you," he said clearly, leaving no question about it.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. She knew he hated when she said things like that, but sometimes she couldn't help it. She had a bad habit of looking on that message board online at all the things they said about her and Corey. It was worse now that she was home alone all the time and had nothing better to do. "I know you love me. It's just, I know you've got to be dying without sex," she added.

Corey laughed. "I can handle another month with no sex," he told her.

"Another two and a half months," she corrected him. He gave her a confused look as he grabbed the orange juice out of the refrigerator for her, while making coffee for himself. He tried to not drink coffee around her too much since he knew she missed it while being pregnant, but since he didn't get the best night of sleep the night before, he'd need it for morning skate. "No sex for six weeks after having the baby," she clarified.

"Damn," he muttered. "Guess we'll just have to find something else to do," he said vaguely, but Autumn could tell he had something up his sleeve. Before she could ask, he changed subjects. "So you're excited for the shower today?"

She nodded her head. "It'll be fun," she told him as she sat down at the table across from him and switched the plates on the table that he had set down so that she had the omelet she had made for herself in front of her. Something told her that he wouldn't enjoy an omelet with pizza sauce and dill pickles as much as he'd enjoy the normal ham, bacon, and cheese omelet she'd made for him.

"Good," he told her, digging into his omelet. He was happy that she'd have the girls with her today. He was going over to Brent's place that afternoon so he wasn't around when they were having their baby shower. As much as he loved Autumn, he really just didn't want to go to the shower, and thankfully, she had told him he didn't need to be there.

They continued eating, talking about random things, before he had to leave for morning skate. "I'll see you tonight," he told her, leaning down to give her a kiss.

"I'll be watching the game," she smiled at him. "Win it for me," she added.

"I will," he winked at her as he grabbed his duffle bag and walked out the door. Autumn went back into the kitchen to clean up their breakfast and then made her way to the bathroom to get ready for the shower.

It was just after two when everyone started to arrive for the baby shower. Katherine had been over since eleven, getting everything set up, while Autumn sat on the couch, watching her and talking with her.

Everyone came inside, putting their gifts in the corner of the living room as they took seats all around the room. Autumn had Katherine on one side and Abby Sharp on the other side. Brianna and a few of Katherine's friends were in the kitchen, getting the food all set up and ready, and several of the other Blackhawks players' wives and girlfriends were scattered around the room. Even Vanessa, Andrew Shaw's girlfriend, had showed up, though no one knew why or how she had even known about the shower. No one had invited her.

"Let's play a game!" Zoey said, standing up from her spot.

Katherine nodded her head in agreement as she passed out games for everyone to play. Everyone got into it--except for Vanessa, who constantly complained about everything they did and how stupid it was--and they ate through all the food that had been put out, including the pink polka dot cake that Abby had picked up from a local bakery.

"I think it's time for gifts!" Katherine's friend, Jamie, said.

"Ooh yes!" Katherine said, going over to the pile and grabbing a couple of gifts, bringing them over to Autumn.

Autumn laughed as she looked at her best friend. "I don't know why you're giving these to me, you're the mama!" she exclaimed. She saw the huge smile that spread across Katherine's face at the nickname, and she knew how excited she was to be a mother.

"But, you're carrying her!" Katherine insisted, pushing the gifts back towards Autumn.

"Yeah, and you'll be the one taking her home and taking all these home!" Autumn responded, putting the box back into Katherine's lap. "Open them!" she said excitedly, watching as Katherine happily opened the box, finding a tiny pink onesie inside. She squealed as Autumn gave her the next gift.

They continued through them all, gathering a nice big pile of gifts. Katherine thanked everyone before several of the girls left so they could make it to the game to watch their men play. Before long, it was just Katherine and Autumn left. Autumn looked over at Kat, smiling. "Thank you for today, it was really fun."

"It was!" Katherine agreed. "And thank you for doing this. I know that Cade and I have said it before, but we really are grateful for what you're doing for us," she told her, sitting down on the couch next to her. She reached for the remote to turn it to the game and Autumn put her hand on top of Katherine's.

"You're my best friend, I'd do anything for you," Autumn told her, and it was true. She'd do anything for Katherine, which was exactly why she was carrying her child for her.

Katherine didn't say anything for a few minutes while they watched the pre-show for the game. When it went to a commercial, Katherine broke the silence. "So, Cade and I finally decided on a middle name," she commented.

Autumn turned her head towards Katherine. "Oh? What's little Harper's middle name going to be?" she inquired.

"Harper Autumn Woods," Katherine said, and Autumn's eyes grew wide. "What do you think of that name?"

Autumn leaned over and grabbed Katherine in a tight hug. "Oh my God, I love it. Thank you, Kat! That's the sweetest thing ever," she said, not letting her go just yet.

Katherine laughed. "We just thought that the name really sounded perfect," she told her.

Autumn finally let go of her and leaned her head on Katherine's shoulder. "It is perfect, she's perfect. Now she just needs to get here!" she said, putting her hand on her stomach and turning her attention towards the television, ready to watch Corey play, hoping for a win to end the good day.