The Happiest I've Ever Been

It was great to be back home. But it was even better to play a show at home and that’s exactly what All Time Low were doing.

They were playing a show to celebrate the new year and because it had been a while since they’ve performed in their hometown, they were pretty excited about it. Most of their family and friends were coming, so they wanted the whole day to be all about fun. Nothing but good vibes and good company to start off 2015. Though the show wasn’t the only thing Alex was excited for. Not only was he back home to perform and hang out with everyone, but he was also going to be home for Meg’s due date.

She was due in about week, but they had heard that most first time mothers usually don’t give birth exactly on their date and commonly had the baby a few days after it. Still, it had been a long nine months for the both of them—really mostly for her—and they couldn’t wait for her to finally have the baby. The fact that they were told she was going to have a boy added more to Alex’s excitement and he couldn’t get over the realization that they were actually going to be parents.

As for their engagement, they hadn’t set a date yet and knew they were far too busy to be planning their wedding. In Meg’s words she also “wanted to be able to actually fit in her dress” and Alex was touring while writing music for the new album at the same time. Besides, preparing for the baby was way more important and once things were settled and less hectic, then they could return to wedding plans.

The show was going to start in a few hours and after soundcheck, the guys were all hanging out backstage while people started arriving. Alex was relaxing on a couch with Zack next to him, the other couch occupied by Jack, Tay, Rian, and Cassadee. Jack was holding up his phone and making one of his Keeks, filming himself as he went on about how hyped the band was to give Baltimore the first ATL show of the year. Tay just kept making funny faces and tried to get in his way, but he didn’t mind and ended up making faces with her. Rian and Cass were talking about what they could possibly do after New Year’s, leaning toward their plan of taking a little mini vacation.

“So is Meg coming tonight?” Zack asked.

Alex shook his head. “No, she’s not and neither is Dia.”

Having heard him, Tay stopped making faces and turned to Alex. “Aw, what? But everyone’s here and it’s New Year’s. It’s a big night for you guys and we can’t celebrate without them. It won’t be the same.”

“Yeah, come on,” Rian said. “We thought the whole group was going to get to hang out together.”

“Why didn’t they want to come?” Cass frowned.

“Alright, look.” Alex sighed. “Meg really wanted to come tonight, but we talked about this earlier and think it’s best she stays home. Yeah, it won’t be the same and I want her here as much as you guys, but she’s pregnant. Dia’s with her, so at least she won’t be all by herself.”

Jack scoffed. “So? She’s pregnant, not dead. She could still come and have a good time with everyone.”

“Her due date’s in a week, Jack,” Alex reminded him. “With all the drunk people and crazy fans and well, you, I don’t want her to be in all this chaos. That could stress her out and she’d end up having the baby here. Yeah, we don’t want that.”

“You’re being paranoid.” Tay rolled her eyes. “It’s not even that chaotic and she’d be backstage enjoying her time with us, not stressing out.”

“Though I gotta admit, it’s kind of cute how worried you’re being for her.” Cass giggled. “I’m even surprised she agreed to stay home. Knowing her, she usually wouldn’t want to miss seeing you when she has the chance.”

“I’d never miss seeing Alex when I have the chance, especially tonight.”

Everyone looked over to the door where Meg was standing, smiling at all of them with her hand placed on her round belly. Alex stared at her in awe, both from the surprise that she was actually there and the fact that she still looked so beautiful. Her hair was curled and styled into a half updo, her dark hair nicely falling over her shoulders. She had on her usual bold red lipstick and her eyes adorned with eyeshadow, eyeliner, and mascara. For the occasion, she was wearing a black dress that was loose enough so that it was comfortable yet still flattering and a white blazer. On her feet were black and gold flats instead of the usual brown lace-up boots she loved to wear. Next to her was Dia, who waved at everyone while she had her other hand on Meg’s back as her sister made her way to Alex.

He met her halfway and pecked her on the cheek, though he still wanted an explanation to why she wasn’t home. It was great that she wasn’t, he silently admitted. But all he could think about was how she was nearing the end of her pregnancy.

“Meg, what are you doing here?” Alex guided her to the couch.

She smirked at him. “I’m here to spend time with everyone. You didn’t really think I’d skip out on seeing you perform, did you?”

“Well...no,” he said and his eyes darted to her stomach. “But I thought that tonight would be an exception since you have a good reason to skip out.”

“I’ll be fine,” she assured him. “I know you’re a little anxious about this baby coming, but we still got a week left and we’ve even read up how it rarely happens on the due date. Don’t worry about me and relax. This is your night and I came here to be with you. If it makes you feel better, we’ve got the Go Bag in Dia’s car, but I’m okay. I’m pregnant, Alex. Not dead.”

“Told you.”

“Shut up, Jack.”

Alex then looked over at Dia, who just gave him a nod and a smile of reassurance. “She’s kind of right. Meg’s doing good right now and like you told us, you wanted this to be all about good vibes and good company. There’s no where else she’d rather be, so let’s enjoy ourselves.”

He faced Meg again and took a deep breath, relaxing like she told him to. “I guess I’ve been freaking out too much. I just wanted to make sure you were alright and I’m also excited. I mean, we’re actually having a little boy.”

Meg chuckled and cupped his cheek. “He’s coming soon, Lex. And he’ll be very happy to see you.”

With a smile, he placed his hand over hers. “For now, I’m very happy to see you. Good thing you’re so stubborn.”

“I’m guessing that was meant as a compliment, so I’m taking it as one,” she said and after a few minutes of waddling, she finally made it to the couch. Zack scooted over to give her some room on and Alex helped her as she lowered herself to sit down. When she sat, she put a hand behind her back and grimaced a little, causing Alex to freak out all over again.

He quickly bent down and put a hand on her shoulder. “What is it? Do you need to go to the hospital? We need to go to the hospital, I’ll drive you there-”

“I don’t need to go to the hospital,” she interrupted. “My back just aches, but it’s nothing big. I’m fine.”

“Are you sure you’re fine?” Alex raised an eyebrow. “Because if you’re fine, then why does your back ache?”

“Dude, there’s a baby in her stomach,” Zack told him. “If I was carrying a baby in my stomach, my back would hurt, too.”

“Yeah, just chill out,” Cass said. “It’s nothing serious, just her still dealing with the kid inside her. Gotta keep in mind that she’s the only one who’s pregnant, so she’ll know better than any of us when he’s coming.”

“Is nobody gonna mention that I was pregnant, too?” Jack cut in, his ridiculous statement causing everyone in the room to stare at him.

“You say that as if you carrying a sack of flour under your shirt actually counts.” Rian laughed, putting an arm around Cass.

Jack kept a straight face, trying to appear like he was serious. “Hey, I felt something when I had that sack of flour, okay?”

“Of course you felt something.” Cass rolled her eyes. “You felt all the flour spilling on you because you accidentally tore the bag, which is why you stopped doing that.”

Meg remembered when that happened, finding it pretty amusing that Jack wanted to do it due to him being Jack, even if that meant him wasting a good bag of a baking ingredient. Didn’t really help that the bag of flour came from Alex and Meg’s kitchen and he happened to be in their living room when the bag was torn. Thankfully he cleaned it and went out to buy them a new bag. It was fun while it lasted.

As hilarious as the memory was, she pushed it out of her mind and returned her focus back to Alex, grabbing his hand and intertwining her fingers with his.

“Don’t worry about me,” Meg said, feeling like she had said that for the hundredth time that day. “Remember what I said about relaxing. It’s just aches, nothing bad and definitely not a reason for me to head out anywhere. So please promise me you’ll only think about having a good time and getting out to play the first and greatest show of the year.”

He simply nodded this time, telling himself to breathe easy and keep it together. At the moment, it was Meg who was holding his hand while trying to keep him calm when he was supposed to be doing that to her in a week. This made him look pretty stupid and he was also kind of embarrassed for getting so tense. He shouldn’t be stressing out so much because it was making other people stress out and that was going against what he wanted for that day. He most certainly wasn’t giving off good vibes and good company.

Sitting beside her, he pressed his forehead to hers and leaned in to give her a quick kiss on the lips. “I promise. Sorry for being such a killjoy.”

“I forgive you.” She laughed softly. “It means a lot that you really care.”

Tay cleared her throat to get their attention. Once they looked at her, she spoke up. “Now that Alex’s panties are no longer in a bunch, how have you been, Meg?”

“I’ve been good,” Meg replied. “Just been working on some more Chandler the Robot jewelry since I’ve been home and of course, I’m preparing for the baby, too.”

As soon as Tay changed the subject and Meg began telling them all about what she’s been up to and how her last few weeks of pregnancy have been, they were back to having fun again. It was already nice enough that the whole group was together, but they were also waiting for the show to start and have a great start to the new year. The guys were going to be playing in their hometown in front of a huge audience that contained a lot of people they knew and loved while the girls would be cheering them on from the side of the stage, singing all the words and dancing to their favorite songs.

Alex was back to joking around and conversing with all of them. No longer worrying and remembering his promise to Meg. However, though he knew he wasn’t supposed to be thinking about Meg’s slight discomfort, it was impossible for him to ignore her stopping once in a while to put her hand behind her back as an attempt to soothe the aches she kept feeling.

Even with her brushing it off like it was nothing, deep down something was telling him that maybe it was a bigger deal than she made it out to be.


After another hour or so of being backstage, it was almost time for All Time Low to perform. Meg’s back aches weren’t bothering her as much anymore and they seemed to have completely gone away to Alex’s relief. She didn’t think about this and only cared about heading up to the stage so she could watch him. As she walked up the stairs that led to the stage with Cassadee assisting her, she smiled to herself and massaged the top of her belly. Just a few more days and she was actually going to be a mom. For the time being, though, the baby was going to enjoy his “first” concert and nothing was greater than the concert being his very own family.

But her thoughts came to a halt when her stomach started to feel like it was tightening, which was uncomfortable enough to make her stop halfway up the steps. Gripping tightly on the railing of the stairs, she clutched her stomach and let out a pained groan, capturing everyone’s attention. They all shot her looks of concern, Alex trying to keep himself under control because he was ready to push everybody out of his way so he could run down to where she was. It frustrated him that he was at the top of the stairs and it was worse that it was narrow.

“Meg?” Cass put an arm around her to make sure she didn’t stumble. “Meg, are you alright?”

“What’s going on?” Alex asked, his panic beginning to surface again.

Her face then softened and she let out a breath; whatever was happening with her stomach had passed and she nodded in response to Cass. “I’m fine! I’m fine, it’s nothing.”

This time, Alex wasn’t the only one worrying and there was no way that was just nothing. Sure, she was back to being okay but what occurred minutes earlier made them reluctant to just let it go. Rian, who was behind her, was the first to question this.

“You think you’ll be able to watch the show?” Rian asked. “Because that didn’t look so good.”

“I told you guys I’m fine,” she said sternly. “It was just another weird ache, but really, I don’t want to miss the show. Now you guys go out there and play. That can’t happen if we just stand here.”

She and Alex shared a held gaze, the smile her mouth formed and the sparkle in her eyes practically screaming for him to believe her. And he did. Like Cass said, she was the only one carrying the baby, therefore she would only know if it was serious or not.

“You heard her,” Alex said and all eyes were on him, everyone giving him puzzled looks considering his behavior earlier. “She said she’s fine and since she obviously knows her body signals more than any of us, I believe her. We’ve got a show to play.”

With that, they didn’t deny that he had a point and proceeded to head toward the stage. Before heading out, Alex went over to Meg and gave her another kiss.

“Good luck out there,” she told him.

“With you two here, I don’t need any luck.” He gently placed his hand on her stomach and grinned. Then he bent down so that his face was inches away from her belly and whispered, “Get ready to hear some awesome music, buddy. I hope you love it.”

Stepping away from her, he finally walked away from the wings and went onstage over to the microphone. The rest of the guys followed and all the cheering and chanting of the band’s name from the audience grew louder when the stage lights started flashing, letting the crowd know that after what seemed like a long night of waiting, the show was finally starting. The band started off with “The Reckless and the Brave” to which the fans screamed in appreciation. Alex looked to his right and winked at Meg who blew him a kiss. Tay was cheering along with the crowd and exchanged looks with Jack, who was glad that he was the closest to her while Cass was clapping her hands and Dia was mouthing the words already.

The first show of 2015 and already people were considering this moment a highlight of their year. Then again, it wasn’t like that was a bad thing because there was no doubt that it was an incredible show. It was like their energy increased with each song, giving off such an amazing and electrifying atmosphere. Hundreds of people were in the venue and they all had their hands raised in the air, their voices filling up the building as they sang with Alex and their smartphones providing light while they took pictures to gather as many memories they could get of the night. Alex was enjoying every single second of the love that the fans were giving them. Seeing all those overjoyed faces and reading all those signs with heartfelt (and humorous) messages made him feel like he was on top of the world.

As if that wasn’t enough, Meg’s presence added to that and he made sure to dart his eyes to her every few minutes. It was like he couldn’t grasp that she was actually there supporting him, but she was and he was very glad she was too stubborn and way too loving to just stay at home. It wouldn’t have been as much fun without her. He was thankful she was having a great time and that those aches that were bothering her had disappeared. She was having the time of her life by being there; why had they ever thought of making her not go?

Meg swayed a little to the music as she watched him. She never got tired of his shows and it always warmed her heart to see the band connecting with their audience and how all these people were inspired by them. Seeing how far they had come made her feel so proud of him. He deserved this. All of it. She was so lucky to call him hers and her heart fluttered at the thought of them finally getting married one day. After knowing him for almost nine years, she was going to be his wife.

Halfway through the show, Alex had gotten his acoustic guitar out and stated to the crowd that things were going to “get mellow” and Meg knew exactly what song they were going to play next. It was the song that meant so much to him. The one that meant so much to her, too.

All those years ago when she was young and afraid of finding love, she had left him and he never saw it coming. After a spending the night together in Vegas, he woke up the next morning to find her gone without telling him where she had went. He was lost and empty without her, but he didn’t give up. He wanted to find her again and his only way of reaching out to her was to write her something: a song. A song all for her in hopes that she’d hear it. After listening to those heartbreaking lyrics he wrote to express his feelings he couldn’t get rid of, she realized that she never should’ve left him in the first place because her feelings for him had also never went away. That’s when she came back to him and from then on, she was there to stay.

Alex walked up to grab the mic and smiled at the audience before him. He didn’t plan this, but after thinking about how it was a new year and looking over at Meg, he wanted to say something to everybody before he played the song. It just felt right for him to do such a thing.

“Wow,” he breathed. “Another year gone by. That’s fucking crazy, I feel so old.”

They all laughed at this remark and he even laughed a little himself. “It’s been a pretty awesome year for us and we’re ready for another great year with all of you guys. For eleven years we’ve been doing this and I say this so many times, but we love you all for sticking by us and that’s the truth. Like, I really mean it. Even those of you who started listening to us just last year or even last month because who cares if you haven’t been a fan of us that long? You’re sticking by us now and that’s all that matters. You’ve grown up with us and watched us turn from idiots in bandanas to a older idiots in skinnier jeans.”

He stopped to laugh once more, but it was clear he also was getting emotional. After taking another look at the crowd, he spoke up again. “It’s been a long road so far and we’ve changed a lot, but you’ve all been so supporting along the way and now look at us. We’re doing what we love and we’re just so fucking happy right now, I can’t even handle it.”

Everyone applauded him, some people even wiping a few tears from their eyes as they had also gotten emotional. His speech meant so much to them and they couldn’t think of anything more memorable than this. When all the clapping and yelling had toned down, Alex put the mic back on the stand and put both his hands on his guitar, getting ready to play.

“This next song is one of my favorites that shows just how much has changed,” he began. “I wrote it all for a girl who I thought I’d never see again. I was hurt and I was even a little lost. But as you all know, she came back into my life and we’re still together and stronger than ever. Hell, we’re even gonna get married soon and we have a mini Gaskarth on the way. Next week, to be exact.”

Numerous “awwws” came from the audience and more continued to cheer. Meg blushed at this while Tay, Dia, and Cass just looked at her with smirks. The fans had been just as excited for this baby and they had been very sweet about it, actually. It was pretty nice and slightly amusing to see all these people react like this.

“She’s even here tonight,” he announced, casting a glance at her. People were delighted about this info and Meg stared at him, shaking her head at how much Alex was making people go crazy that night. At this rate, the poor fans were going to lose their voices before the show could even end. “I’m not sure if she wants to come out, but she’s watching me right now from the side of the stage and man, I wish you guys could see how beautiful she looks. Anyway, she loves this song to death and I’m more than happy to play it. This one’s for you, Meg. It’s called ‘Remembering Sunday’ and I want you all to sing it with me.”

As expected, there was a lot of screaming, which had gotten louder now that they knew Alex was finally going to start playing it. He started strumming and cellphones were raised up high, everyone showing off their modern day version of lighters and waiting for him to sing the first line.

And he did. His voice was strong as always and she wasn’t afraid to admit that she still melted whenever he sang like that. She started singing along and kept her eyes locked on Alex, remembering all the memories that came out of this song. Sometimes when she wasn’t touring herself, she had traveled with Alex and had sung this song with him. The first time she did was like a dream come true to him, as he had always meant to write that part for her voice and her voice only. It was always so breathtaking to have her sing for him and how this simple song had changed everything between them. He was no longer alone or empty inside and she was no longer hurt or scared. Them singing it together was a way of reminding themselves despite them believing it wouldn’t work, it did. Maybe one day, they’ll write a new song that could be some sort of follow-up. One that better illustrates their relationship and shows that the old wounds have been healed; that they were going to last because they truly loved each other. She refused to take her eyes off of him. It was such a special moment and she wanted to imprint it in her mind; replay it over and over again in her head.

But then she felt something and it threw her off, causing her smile to fade and her eyes to look down. She felt something running down her leg. Something wet.

“Oh no,” she whispered.

Meg grabbed Dia’s arm, gripping it tightly. Her sister gasped a bit, but when she saw how wide Meg’s eyes were and how stiff she had become, she sensed this wasn’t some false alarm and definitely not another one of her back aches. Tay and Cass rushed to the other side of her and that’s when the tightening feeling in her stomach had returned, this time even worse. She let out another pained groan that was loud enough for Jack to notice and he didn’t hesitate to see what the hell was going on.

“I heard her yell,” Jack said. “What’s wrong with her now?”

People were confused as to why he had walked off stage and muttered into each other’s ears, wondering where he had gone. The rest of the band were just as questioning this, too. Alex shot them a quick glance and it wasn’t long enough for him to make out the situation. He reluctantly looked back at the audience and tried to keep his performance up, though it was difficult.

“We need to take her to the hospital,” Dia told him. Before she could say anything else, Jack turned around and started waving his hands in the air, trying to get Alex’s attention. Alex managed to catch this in the corner of his eye and looked over to the side. He wasn’t wearing a smile anymore at this point and his singing was a little off, making it very obvious to the crowd that something was up. Jack motioned for him to come over there, but Alex knew he couldn’t just leave in the middle of the song. But then he saw Meg behind him, holding her stomach and yelling in pain and that was it.

He stopped strumming and set the guitar down, immediately running toward her. Rian and Zack exchanged looks and were unsure on what to do next. People were staring and a few were attempting to climb over the barriers to get a better look at what was happening in the wings. Others were demanding an explanation while security just focused on keeping things from getting out of hand. Zack sighed and felt like there was nothing else to do but see what the commotion was and Rian followed him. In the midst of all the confusion, Jack slowly walked up to the mic.

“Uh, yeah, sorry to everyone right now.” He let out a nervous laugh and tugged at the collar of his shirt. “We’re trying to deal with some crazy baby shit and kindly ask you all to wait patiently until further notice okaythankyouandgoodbye.”

He ran off the stage again and all people could think about was what the fuck was going on because the whole band had walked off and they were only a little more than halfway through their set.

“I’ll take her there in my car,” Dia insisted. “We already have her Go Bag and I know how to get there faster.”

Alex nodded and proceeded to lead Meg toward the exit. “Sounds good, let’s go.”

But Meg stopped and looked at him incredulously. “W-wait, you’re just going to leave? What about your show? All those people...”

This time, it was his turn to give her an incredulous look and he grabbed her hand. “You’re more important, Meg. I’m sure they’ll understand, even if they’ll also be disappointed, but if you think you’re going to the hospital without me there with you, then you’re crazy. I’m not leaving your side because you know what we’re having?”

Her fingers laced with his and even with her slight pain, she was able to smile a bit. “A baby.”

“A baby,” Alex repeated with a smile. “And I’m going to be with you through it all. Don’t you ever think otherwise. Now, come on. We gotta get out of here.”

“Okay,” she said softly as Dia held the exit door open for her. She wanted to stay as calm as she possibly could, though if she could she wanted to scream it out to the world and rejoice that the biggest moment of her life that she had been anticipating had finally arrived. A week early at that.

As the three of them began leaving, Jack took Tay’s hand and followed. They had absolutely no idea what they were doing. Actually, they were very aware that this was what they shouldn’t be doing, especially since they still had a whole audience to deal with but Jack also didn’t want to miss out on this so he called after them.

“We’re coming with you guys!” Jack exclaimed and Tay rolled her eyes, going along with it.

“You guys go ahead,” Zack said. “We’ll stay behind to explain what’s going on to everyone. We’ll catch up with you later.”

“Thanks, Zack!” Dia yelled before they went through another door that led them outside.

Dia ran off to get her car while they waited outside glad that she and Meg had come early enough to be close to the venue. That way it didn’t take her that long to find her car and she came back to pick them up in no time. Jack sat in the passenger seat while Meg, Alex, and Tay got into the back. Meg was in the middle and Dia instructed Tay to time her contractions while Alex kept assuring her that they were going to “get there soon” and rubbed her leg to soothe her. She felt another contraction and when Tay checked to see how far apart they were, she informed them at they were seven minutes apart.

“A-are we almost t-there yet?” Meg’s eyes were shut. She tried to keep her mind elsewhere to distract herself from the pain. In an attempt to help her out, Jack decided to make it his job to entertain her through her labor.

He turned around in his seat to look at her. “Don’t think about the contractions, Meg! Until we get there, just keep looking at me and all the funny faces I make.”

“Jack, is this really necessary?” Alex glared at him. “You’re not really helping-”

Meg put a hand up. “No, no, he’s kind of helping. K-keep making your faces, Jack.”

“Trust me, he’s got a lot of ‘em.” Tay smirked. “If there’s anyone that could distract you away from your labor with funny faces, it’s Jack. I gotta keep that in mind when I have a kid of my own.”

“Wait.” Jack stopped making faces and turned to her. “Are you saying that you wanna make babies with me?”

Tay’s cheeks flushed red at his words and she shrugged, looking at him sheepishly. “I mean, uh, if I actually want babies. And I didn’t really say that I’d have a baby with- no, wait. What I meant was-”

“Hey, relax. I was just screwing with ya,” Jack interrupted, grinning widely. “But really, do you think of having kids some day?”

“Maybe,” Tay muttered, still blushing. “It’s too early for us to think about that, but it’s a possibility...”

“It is,” Jack agreed and they smiled at each other for a few minutes until another sharp cry from Meg, who was experiencing yet another contraction, snapped them out of it.

“I thought you were distracting me!” Meg said through clenched teeth.

“Right, sorry!” Jack apologized. “Okay, I know you’ll love this one. I’m gonna do an eyebrow dance like Alex did that one time even if it was kind of stupid.”

“Blame the absinthe!”

“Whatever, Meg said she liked it anyway so I’m doing it!”

“Guys, yelling at each other isn’t making anything better,” Tay said. “We’re trying to help her through this, not stress her out even more.”

“Hate to interrupt this so-called eyebrow dance,” Dia turned to them. “But we’re here.”

Everyone looked out the window to see that yes, they had in fact made it to the hospital and it was a wonder they had gotten there so fast.

“I told you guys I knew a shortcut,” Dia said, feeling pretty damn proud of herself for speeding and driving through some red lights without any trouble. “Now go get her inside while I park the car. Make sure to grab her bag, too.”

Alex practically jumped out, then helped Meg get out while Tay grabbed the bag. Once Jack got out as well, Dia drove off to look for parking.

“We made it.” Alex let out a sigh of relief. He didn’t know what he would do if they had gotten stuck in traffic or a car accident occurred. “Holy shit, we’re having a baby.”

Meg smiled for a brief second and muttered to herself, “Holy shit is right.”


Alex was going to cut his hand off.

They were in the delivery room and she had been in labor for hours. Her contractions had gotten even stronger and more regular, causing her breathing to become shallow. Though that was nothing to worry too much about, she knew she had to keep her breathing rhythmical otherwise she might end up over-breathing and cutting down her oxygen. She had to conserve her energy so that way there was enough oxygen to give the baby. After about a million years, they had then informed them that she was finally ten centimeters dilated and it was time for her to start pushing.

That’s when she started squeezing his hand. No, actually, she was crushing his hand and he was beginning to think that maybe having no hand was better than having Meg hold it.

He had joined her screams with his own yells, unable to escape her grip that was pretty much cutting off all circulation. He knew that cracking sound was coming from his poor suffering hand. All the nurses, the midwife, and the doctor in that room knew it, too.

“Ah, fuck!” he groaned when her hand tightened around his, earning him a weird look from one of the nurses. “That hurt so bad, you have no idea.”

Meg’s eyes narrowed as if they were daggers ready to pierce through his body and he realized that he should’ve kept his mouth shut. “You have got to be kidding me right now. I’m dealing with a baby that you put in my belly and you think I don’t understand your pain? When you have a living being coming out of your vagina, then you can complain! For now, you can’t.”

He sighed. “‘I know, I’m sorr- ow!”

Another contraction hit and she pushed as hard as she could, letting out another scream and bruising Alex’s hand even more. He bit his lip, not making the mistake of complaining again since Meg had a point, even though she responded to him so harshly. He took a look at her and had to admit that he admired her for going through this. Her chest was rising and falling slowly, which was a good sign since she had finally gotten a breathing technique down. Her wavy hair was tied back, though there were a few loose strands that stuck to her forehead thanks to the beads of sweat and she of course had on a hospital gown. Meg had been like this for a long time and he could only imagine how tired she must be, but despite all that, she was still happy and excited to bring this baby into the world.

“No, I’m s-sorry,” she stuttered, taking a deep breath. “I didn’t mean to snap at you. It’s just I don’t know how much longer I can do this.”

Moving a strand of hair out of her face, he kissed her hand and leaned in closer toward her. “You’re doing great. I know you. You’re stronger than I could ever be.”

“Really?” she breathed.

“Really,” he said.

Not counting all the people that were helping her deliver, Alex was the only one with her in the room. Jack and Tay stayed in the waiting room for a majority of the time while Dia had come in briefly when Meg was first brought into the room. As for Rian, Cass, and Zack, they eventually made it to the hospital, too. It wasn’t easy and it wasn’t something they liked doing, but they announced to everyone at the show that Meg was in labor and Alex had gone with her. Like he said, they were disappointed that the concert had to be cut short, but at the same time they understood and were even happy that Alex made the decision to go. Despite it not being a full show, they all still considered the night unforgettable.

Before they came, though, Alex had called Rian and asked him to stop by the house to bring a few more things. One important item they definitely needed was the car seat and other items included extra clothes, toiletries, and headphones. Most of these things were for Alex, as Meg already had everything she needed in her bag. Cass even suggested they stop by the store to pick up balloons and a stuffed animal.

After a few naps and a few trips to the cafeteria, they didn’t want to just sit around and wait anymore, so Jack got up and told them all that he was going in. They tried to play it cool and act like they weren’t also anxious to check on the parents to be, but failed. Right when Jack left, they all got up and went after him, only to find him arguing with one of the nurses who wouldn’t let him in.

Thankfully, Meg and Alex had somehow convinced them—probably because Meg was yelling—to let them come into the room. What soon followed was an endless amount of yelling.

“We’re here for you guys!” Jack exclaimed as he burst through the door. “Is the baby out? Am I an uncle yet?”

Alex gestured to Meg, who was still pushing and had gotten more irritable. Needless to say, they both couldn’t believe he had bothered to ask that. “I don’t know, Jack. Does it look like the baby came out?”

Dia moved past Jack so that she was also by Meg’s side. “You got this, sis.”

“I just want this baby out,” Meg said to her. Then she turned to the midwife and raised her voice. “Get this baby out of me. Get it out of me now.”

“He’s coming out soon,” Alex assured her, even though he wasn’t even sure how much longer this was going to take. “Just calm down.”

Another thing he realized he shouldn’t have said.

“Calm down?” Meg glowered at him. “You’re telling me to calm down? This is all your fault I’m here in the first place, so don’t you tell me to calm down, you jerk. I hate you.”

He was a taken aback by those three words. Although he was prepared to be hit with a few outbursts, it still was a surprise to receive that from her. But he had no time to be hurt by it, as she was told to give a big push and another cry escaped her lips, prompting her to grasp his fingers tightly and suffocate them for the umpteenth time.

Alex bit down on his lip to prevent himself from making noise since the medical workers were already dealing with enough shouting from Meg. He also looked at the midwife and pleaded, “Please tell me the baby’s coming soon.”

“She’s crowning,” a nurse informed him and looked back at Meg. “We need you to give us another big push. Can you do that?”

Meg just nodded and inhaled deeply, getting ready. Once the nurse instructed her to push, she did so and hoped to God that all of this was coming to an end. While she was doing this, Alex felt a hand on his shoulder and looked over it to see Cass and Rian giving him a sympathetic looks.

“Don’t worry about her yelling at you,” Cass said. “Everyone knows she doesn’t mean any of it.”

“On the upside, it looks like she won’t be yelling at you for long,” Rian added.

To his surprise, their words helped and Alex was grateful that even in the most stressful and chaotic situations, those two had the amazing ability to keep him cool. He was beginning to relax again, only for Jack to start doing another one of his attempts to take Meg’s mind off the discomforting and torturing sensation known as labor.

“I can distract you from the pain again.” Jack turned his back on her. “But instead of an eyebrow dance, I’ll do a real dance.”

Zack, who had made his way next to Dia, crossed his arms and shook his head. “Please don’t tell me you’re doing the dance I think you’re doing.”

“I think he is...” Dia mused.

Meg’s eyes widened when she saw that Jack had bent his knees and started moving his hips. Yes, it distracted her from the pain but she honestly didn’t know whether to laugh or be embarrassed as the medical workers were giving Jack’s dance the biggest “WTF” looks ever. Alex muttered numerous apologies to all of them and as much as he wanted to laugh, he knew this wasn’t the right time.

“Are you seriously twerking?” Alex smacked his forehead.

“Just keep dancing.” Meg urged. “It’s keeping me occupied and I need that.”

Jack stopped for a moment and spun around to put his hands on his hips. “See, Alex? She needs me to keep dancing because the baby’s head is showing right now. Wait, shit, I can actually see the baby’s head. Holy fuck-”

Tay glanced over at her and let out a small shriek. “Oh wow, I can see it, too!”

“Okaaayyy, I think it’s time for us to go,” Zack got behind Jack and started rushing him out the door. Dia did the same with Tay and like Alex, apologized to the employees for their friends’ behavior. Rian and Cass wished the two the best one more time and soon left the room as well.

With everyone gone, Meg tried focus all her attention on pushing again. It was already made clear that the baby was visible and she told herself over and over that enough was enough. No more complaining about how it hurt, no more yelling at the one person who stuck by her side all night, and no more being afraid of entering parenthood. The midwife told her that she had to give her just one more push, so she squeezed Alex’s hand one more time, took another deep breath and pushed, letting out a long and draining scream. She shut her eyes and fell back on the pillows, feeling like she was going to pass out.

But then she heard the baby crying.

When she opened her eyes, she saw the midwife standing in front of her and Meg’s eyes lit up at the small child she was holding in her arms. Tears fell from her eyes and she laughed a little, looking at her newborn son who had finally made it.

“Look at him,” she whispered. “He’s so handsome.”

They placed a towel on her stomach and the midwife slowly placed her baby on it while one of the nurses wrapped the towel around him. Meg let go of Alex’s hand so that she could wrap her arms around her child, the tears falling even more as she looked down at him in wonder.

“You did it,” Alex rejoiced, gently placed a hand on her cheek and met her lips with his. “We’re parents...we’re...we’re a family now.”

Meg beamed at him. “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too.” Alex smiled back and kissed her again.

They took the time to admire their baby, who had eventually stopped crying. Both were exhausted but couldn’t even think of sleeping; not when they were holding the bundle of joy they had been waiting for all these months. Everything hectic that had happened in the hours leading up to the birth of their son was worth it. It was official. They were parents.

Later, the others were still lounging around in the waiting room, hoping Alex would come out soon to tell them the great news. Tay was leaning against Jack, looking at her phone to check the time, amazed by how long they had all been there. Zack was slumped back in his seat and looking up at the ceiling while Rian had an elbow propped up on the arm of his chair with his chin resting in his hand, on the brink of giving into slumber. Cass was holding the balloons she had bought and sat next to Dia, who was writing something on the little card that was attached to the stuffed bear that Cass had also purchased.

“So, after seeing the baby’s head do you still want kids?” Jack teased.

“Oh, shut up,” Tay nudged him.

They continued to bump shoulders until Alex came out and they could already tell from how his eyes were shining and how his smile reached his eyes that everything was all good. More than good, actually.

“You guys ready to see him?” Alex asked.

Jack was the first to get up. “Duh, of course we are.”

Everybody else stood up and followed him to Meg’s room, where they found her looking much more composed and happier than she was earlier. Her hair was down and she had on Alex’s old red hoodie for comfort, which had gradually become hers over the years. The baby had been cleaned up and wrapped nicely in a small blanket, sound asleep while his mother tenderly cradled him.

“He’s so adorable,” Dia gushed, setting the bear down near the bed and walking up to Meg. Alex returned to Meg’s side and put an arm around her, all the while encouraging the others to come closer so they could all see the baby.

“Congratulations to both of you,” Zack enthused. “It’s great to finally be meeting him.”

Jack sat at the end of the bed. “What’s his name?”

“James,” Meg replied. “James Thomas Gaskarth.”

“We’ve thought about it for a while,” Alex said.

Tay tilted her head and hummed. “I love it.”

“It’s a really nice name,” Rian agreed.

“Welcome to the family, James.” Cass bent down to hold his tiny and soft hand.

Meg lightly pressed her lips to James’ head. “I hope you’re ready. Because from now on, you’re going to be surrounded by all these people a lot and we’re all going to love you until the end of time.”

“You mean everything to us,” Alex said. “And I’m sure as hell the happiest I’ve ever been.”

She looked up at him. “Quoting your own lyrics again?”

“I can’t help it,” he admitted. “That’s exactly how I feel right now.”

Giggling, she nodded. “I couldn’t have said it better myself.”

Alex held her close and sighed contentedly. This truly was the best moment in his life and he wanted to savor it. He thought back at that big speech he made during the show about how much had changed since starting the band and without a doubt, this was the biggest and most amazing change he had ever gone through. All those years he had been so afraid of being alone; he thought he was getting no where and that he was a loser. But he was glad to see how wrong he was about all those things. He had made it past all his struggles and was with a girl who had loved him enough to help him overcome his fears and like he always dreamed, they had started a family together. Looking at James, Meg, and all his friends gathered around them while chatting on and on about all the great times yet to come, he couldn’t help but shed a tear.

They were all one big happy family and he was so blessed to be apart of it.