-

"are you ready?" shawn asks anya gently, who continues to let her hands shake. "hey," shawn says, crouching down in front of her, and holding onto her hands. "we're only announcing it."

"but shawn," she whispers. "it-its just stressful," she admits, looking away from him. "w-what if it goes bad?"

"it won't," shawn tells her, letting go of one of her hands, and reaching into his pocket to pull the photo out, along with his phone. "nothing bad will happen. we have to tell the world at some point."

"okay," she sighs at last, squeezing shawns hand in hers. "just do it," shawn nods, clicking onto his camera, and holding out the ultrasound picture in front of anya, focusing the camera on the picture, and seeing anya slightly blurred behind it, but you can fairly make out her hands resting on her small mound. it's been three weeks since the scan in london, and they're finally back in toronto.

"all done," shawn mumbles, posting the picture on instagram, tagging anya, but not saying anything else. he turns his phone off completely, placing it on his coffee table, and not wanting to look at it.

anya sighs softly, smoothing her hands over her small bump, bringing her legs up on shawns couch. shawn looks down at her, and smiles gently, sitting down next to her, and placing his hands on her stomach.

"hey little one," he coos, making anya's heart swell wildly. "it's your dada here, i mean, you probably knew that, but i can't wait to see you. the world knows about you now, and i know that's scary, but please don't give your mom any trouble. we love you so much baby, but your mom needs to rest as much as she can to ensure you get as healthy as you can be. we love you, and we can't wait to see you in just under eight months time," he leans down completely, pressing his lips to her clothed abdomen, before sitting up, still having one of his hands resting over the bump protectively.

"camila said she'd come over to mine day after tomorrow," anya says to shawn, leaning her head on his shoulder. "she's so excited to be the godmother."

"she's gonna be the best one out there," shawn smiles, relaxing his shoulder slightly. "she got the picture, right?"

"yeah," anya nods, snuggling closer to shawn, her eyes fluttering shut. "shawn, i really don't want to leave my condo now."

"neither do i," he sighs gently. "it's okay. it'll all settle down soon enough, and things will be normal."

"normal? i'm pregnant, shawn," she whines, as shawn chuckles, wrapping his arm around her as if it's second nature to him. "can you give me a back rub?"

"sure thing, turn around," shawn nods, lifting his arm away from anya, who grins in response. she turns around, and shawn brings his hands to her back, massaging the tender skin with his soft fingers.

"mmm, feels so good," she moans, her eyes fluttering shut. "i'm only eight weeks in, and i'm getting back pain already."

"i'm sorry," shawn says to her, his smile faltering into a frown.

"it's okay, don't worry," anya sighs, opening her eyes and looking at her watch. "shit, i have to go."

"what? why?" shawn asks curiously, as she moves away from his grasp, leaving the living room to go put her shoes on.

"i have a hair appointment in about half an hour, and i need to go to the pharmacy to pick a couple things up," she sighs, folding her arms. "i'll see you tomorrow though, for that dinner thing."

"why don't you come over for dinner, here? i can cook something and we can just hang out," shawn suggests nervously, standing up from the couch and following anya.

"i don't know, shawn-"

"it's just dinner," he says softly to her. "okay, i won't cook. i'll get pizza, how does that sound?" anya can't help the smile that appears over her lips, as she nods her head in response.

"okay," she says to him. "i'll come over at 7?"

"7," he confirms, grinning at her. "have a good rest of the day."

"you too," she smiles at him, walking over and pressing a small kiss to his cheek. his cheeks flush completely, and he feels his heart skip a beat.

"see you later, baby mama," he smirks, using the nickname she hates from him. anya rolls her eyes, glaring at him playfully, before walking out of his condo, heading to do her errands for the day.

shawn shut the door with a smile on his face, feeling as though he was on cloud nine.

maybe things weren't so bad, after all.

-

anya got home from her chores, extremely exhausted, and her back groaning in pain. her feet ached, and her stomach was becoming really sore and itchy, due to the expanding skin. she's always been quite a small, definitely smaller than anyone of her age, girl, so the skin stretching definitely took its toll on her.

then she remembered the dinner with shawn. it was only dinner, surely he wouldn't be mad if she called it off, right? she was completely out of energy, and just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep for hours.

she sighed gently, flopping down onto her bed, and picking up her phone to cancel her plans with shawn. rain began to settle outside, as she rolled over onto her back, her hand resting over her womb.

"hey!" shawn says excitedly, answering the phone with a grin. "so i just ordered the pizza-"

"shawn, can we reschedule?" she asks him softly. "i'm so tired, and i'm in so much pain, i just want to go to sleep."

"oh," he says, the grin vanishing from his lips. "are you okay? do you want me to bring over some food?"

"no thank you, i'm sorry," she apologises quickly.

"not to worry," shawn says back to her. "have you eaten anything since you got back?"

"i mean i had a sandwich at the salon but-"

"i'm bringing you some food, anya," shawn cuts her off. "you have to eat for the baby."

"i can't exactly move from my bed, my back is hurting way too much to move," she frowns, wincing in pain. "it's okay, i'm not too hungry."

"i have your spare key, i'll let myself in," shawn compromises. "i'll see you in a bit, okay? just stay in bed, relax, don't move." anya feels a smile cover her lips.

"thank you," she sighs in bliss, her heart fluttering in her chest. "you really are the best person in the world."

"you're just saying that because i'm bringing you food," he chuckles, making her smile softly. "see you in a bit."

"bye," she hangs up, placing her phone back down next to her, and stroking her fingers over her bump. "who knew i would be in so much god damn pain?" she mumbles to the baby, letting a sigh pass her lips. "oh baby, why are you making me ache?"

"i bet it's because she's gonna be strong, like me," shawn says, making anya jump in shock. she looks at her door, and sees shawn standing there, holding the box of pizza.

"she? we don't even know the gender yet," anya blushes, turning her head to face shawn. "don't scare me like that."

"sorry hun," he chuckles, not realising the name that passed his lips. "anyway, i got a margherita since i knew you would like it."

"who doesn't like mozzarella and tomato on a pizza?" she lets out a laugh, sitting up slightly, wincing in pain. "jesus, you really are in pain, aren't you?"

"didn't think it would be this bad," she mumbles, making shawn smile sympathetically at her. "come and sit down, you're making me tired by standing up." shawn chuckles, sitting down on the other side of the bed, and placing the box of pizza down in between them. anya eagerly grabs a slice from the box, taking a bite and sighing in bliss.

"i-" anya starts, before she feels a sharp pain in her stomach. "oh."

"what's up?" shawn asks, concerned, and looking at anya curiously. "is everything okay?"

"mhm," anya nods, finishing the slice quickly, so she at least has something to fill her up, and reduce her feeling of hunger. "um, shawn, do you mind if we like watch a movie or something?" she asks, picking up her television remote, and turning on the device in front of her bed.

"not at all, you pick," she nods, quickly putting on an episode of friends instead of a movie, before curling up against her pillows. "anya, are you sure you're okay?"

"just not too hungry," she lies, resting her head against a pillow. "you eat, i'm okay."

"alright," shawn nods, still concerned, but not wanting to push her for an answer.

that night was the most unexpected night they've both ever experienced.