Gift of Sound

The next few weeks passed fairly uneventfully. Andy could see his sweetheart growing with every day that passed, meaning that both he and their child were doing well. They’d even managed to find a car they liked, which they’d start using within the next few weeks, although he was still free to ride his bike whenever he didn’t have his sweetheart with him, which wasn’t often.

Unfortunately, school started back all too soon for both their liking. While Andy was in school, Ash stayed at home with Miss Amy, who’d volunteered to babysit both Logan and CC’s baby sister, Casey. There was still a nurse who came by about halfway through the day to check on the little girl, who’d recently turned five, and thankfully, she knew sign language. Jinxx, Sammi, and CC were all thankful to the older woman for babysitting for them, although CC’d graduated when Ash did back in June. Still, he had to work to bring in money to take care of her, and it seemed he racked up more hours now than before he graduated, which was a good thing, financially.

At the moment, Ash was in the basement of the Biersacks’ house, trying to work on a song for his lover. It was getting more and more difficult to hold his bass, or even his guitar, properly as the baby grew, so he knew he’d have to give it up for a while soon. He was currently fifteen weeks along and had a nice-sized baby bump, so anyone who cared to look close enough could tell he was pregnant. He was just happy that he and their baby were doing so well.

“I cannot hide what’s on my mind; I feel it burning deep inside. A passion crime to take what’s mine; let us start living for today. Never gonna change my mind; we can leave it all behind. Nothing’s gonna stop us; no, not this time,” he sang as he struggled to lay down a bass line.

“That sounds really good, Ash.”

Startled, he whirled around in the office chair he’d brought into the basement. “Jesus Christ, Jake! You scared the hell outta me!”

“Sorry, man. I just wanted to come by and see how you were doing,” he apologized, throwing his hands up in surrender. “No one but Andy’s seen much of you lately, and we were starting to get worried.”

“Well, I haven’t really been feeling good until a couple weeks ago,” Ash admitted, keeping his bass in front of his belly. The guys didn’t know he was pregnant yet, and they hadn’t really been able to come over for band practice in a while, so they hadn’t had a chance to tell them.

“You’re not cutting or starving yourself again, are you?” his friend asked, sitting down next to him.

“No!” he denied. His denial was so quick that most would think he was lying.

“Lemme see your wrists,” he demanded. It wasn’t an unusual demand, especially considering he’d just said he hadn’t been feeling good and was wearing long sleeves, too.

Ash rolled up his sleeves and presented his forearms. The lack of fresh wounds satisfied his friend, and he didn’t bother asking to see his thighs.

“What about starving yourself? I know you did that once right after you got out of the hospital last fall,” he said.

“If anything’s starving me, it’s what I’ve been going through the past few months,” he said defensively.

“And that would be…?” Jake asked curiously, his eyebrow arched.

“Well, we haven’t had a chance to tell you guys, and we wanted to tell you all at once,” he began nervously.

His friend just sat there quietly, waiting for a decent response.

“Remember how sick I was at graduation? How it was so bad that I gave up the title of valedictorian to CC and the principals sent me home?” he asked.

“Yeah, I remember that. You were so sick you had all of us freaking out, even if we didn’t show it,” he answered.

“Well, a couple weeks later, when I hadn’t stopped waking up sick every morning, I broke down and went to my doctor,” Ash started. “Turns out that I’m pregnant.”

“Seriously?” Jake was shocked. “We knew you had the organs to manage it with; we just never thought it would happen.”

“Neither did Andy and I, so imagine how we felt,” he said dryly.

“Sorry.” He looked sheepish for a moment. “Anyway, how far along are you?”

“Fifteen weeks. I have an appointment with Dr. Morgan on the eighth, so Andy’s likely to skip school that day so he can be with me.”

“I’m surprised you can still play, if you’re that far along.”

“I’m not showing very much, considering my height, but enough that it does make playing kinda difficult.” Now that his friend knew, he gave up trying to hide his belly behind his bass and set it on its stand.

“Wow, you weren’t kidding. You’re not showing very much, but to anyone who knows or has a trained eye, you can tell you’re definitely pregnant.”

“Well, other than you, me, and Andy, no one knows yet, so please, keep your mouth shut until we can tell the rest of the guys,” Ash begged.

“I’ve kept all your secrets for years, Ash. This one won’t be any different,” he promised.

“Then how’d Andy figure out I cut when we first met?” he asked pointedly, a scowl crossing his face.

“Because he self-harmed, too. He showed me the scars and cuts,” Jake answered. “I never told him that you did, but he figured it out on his own since he did himself.”

“No wonder some parts of his arms don’t look quite right,” he mused.

“So are you guys gonna find out the sex at your next doctor’s appointment?”

“If it’s possible. We both wanna know what we’re having so we can plan accordingly.” He paused thoughtfully. “I mean, we don’t wanna go with gender-neutral colors for everything, but we don’t wanna buy everything in pink or blue, only to find out we should’ve bought the opposite color.”

“What do you want? A boy, or a girl?”

“I don’t really care either way, as long as it’s healthy. And so far, both the baby and I are.”

“Has Andy said what he wanted?” Jake asked curiously.

“I’m pretty sure he wants a boy, but like me, couldn’t care less, so long as it’s healthy,” Ash answered honestly.

“Ash! Where are you, mio deviante?”

“In the basement, mio profeta!” He grinned at Jake. “Sorry. I’m usually upstairs when he gets home.”

Moments later, he heard his lover’s boots stomping down the stairs to the basement, as well as several other pairs of boots in the living room and coming down the hallway. He immediately picked up his bass to hide his belly again since he knew the guys were here, too, and after a moment, enlightenment dawned in Jake’s eyes. He grinned as his lover came into sight, reaching out to hug him once he squatted down, his bass strap holding his bass in place for him.

Andy leaned in close and pressed their lips together in a sweet kiss of greeting, and he felt his heart flutter at such a sign of affection from the one he loved. Just as they broke apart, Jinxx, Sammi, and CC all clambered into the basement behind him, making him glad he’d hidden his belly. His lover knew why his bass was resting where it was if he wasn’t playing it and just played along.

Everybody made themselves comfortable on the loveseats they’d moved down here shortly before graduation when they’d moved all their equipment out here from his cabin. His lover made him stand up, then pulled him down into his lap, since Jake was taking up the only other available chair. Ash gave a soft cry of surprise, but settled down and leaned against him rather quickly, enjoying the sensation of his hands resting gently on his growing belly.

“So, are we actually gonna practice today, or what?” CC asked excitedly. He’d checked on his sister before he came down, and was glad to know she was just napping.

“Maybe in a little bit,” Andy answered. “First of all, we’ve got something we wanna tell you.”

Jake tried to keep his expression neutrally innocent so he didn’t give away that he already knew.

“Well, if that’s the case, aren’t you going to put your bass down, Ash?” the drummer asked curiously. He’d noticed he was still holding the instrument.

Ash’s only answer was a deep crimson blush.

“Somebody’s embarrassed,” Jinxx said, although it wasn’t in a teasing way. More like a matter-of-fact way.

“Just shut up and let ’em talk,” Jake told them.

Sammi looked at them curiously until Jinxx signed the conversation to her, then she smiled a bit.
“You guys remember how sick Ash was at graduation, right?” Andy asked.

“Yeah. He had us freaking out, and the principals sent him home after he let me have the status of valedictorian since he couldn’t walk,” CC answered.

“Well, I kept waking up sick for two weeks, and even longer, actually, after that,” Ash piped up. “I finally broke down and went to my doctor because I couldn’t keep anything down.”

“I thought it looked like you’d lost some weight,” Jinxx said thoughtfully. “Although, it seems as though you’ve gained it back over the past couple months.”

“What I lost, and then some,” he chuckled. “But that’s to be expected for someone who’s pregnant.”

The guys and Sammi sat there, confused for a moment, until it clicked. Jake’s response was just a smile, and Ash mouthed “thank you” to him since he’d kept his mouth shut and let them do the talking.

“You told Jake already, didn’t you?” Andy murmured in his ear.

“I kinda had to,” he answered, turning his head so he could hear him. “He came to check on me and thought I was cutting and starving myself again.”

“Ah, so you had to let the cat outta the bag so he’d know that you weren’t intentionally starving yourself,” he said understandingly.

“Exactly. If anything, the morning sickness was starving me since I kept trying to eat.”

“Oh, I know that. I was the one who tried just about everything under the sun to keep food in you until Dr. Morgan prescribed that anti-nausea medication.”

“So you actually got him pregnant, Andy?” CC asked, a grin splitting his face.

“Unintentionally, but yes,” his lover answered, turning his attention back to their friends.

“So how far along are you? Kinda hard to tell when you’ve got your belly hidden,” Jinxx said.

“I’m fifteen weeks right now,” Ash answered, setting the bass on its stand again. Andy moved his hands, not only so he could move easier, but so they could see better. “I’ve got an appointment with my doctor on the eighth, so if Andy’s not at school, he’s likely skipping so he can be with me.”

“You planning on going to all of his appointments with him?” Jake asked curiously.

“Unless I have a really important test or something, yeah,” his lover answered. “This next appointment, for sure, though, because we should be able to find out the sex.”

“What are you guys hoping for?” Jinxx asked. “I know Sammi and I were hoping for a boy, and damned if we got one.”

“I don’t really care, so long as it’s healthy,” Ash answered, snuggling into his lover.

“I’d prefer a boy, but so long as it’s healthy, it doesn’t matter to me,” Andy agreed.

They sat there talking for a while longer about how things would really change now that yet another one of their band members was going to have a baby. Well, technically two, since Andy was their frontman and one of their main songwriters, alongside Ash, and he was this baby’s other parent. They definitely decided that holding off until all of them had graduated high school would be the best option, especially considering that their frontman had only just started his junior year and still had to get through his senior year before he could graduate.

Besides, Jinxx, Jake, and Sammi had just started their senior year, and Jinxx was working hard to provide for his girlfriend and newborn son. He couldn’t be dragged away from them for extended periods of time because of a tour just yet, and they all knew it. Nor could CC be dragged away from Casey for too long, or have to drag a nurse on the road with them to care for her. And he really didn’t want to do that because of her health.

Once they’d nailed down their game plan, so to speak, they decided that it would probably be best to get a bit of practicing in since they hadn’t done so in a while and they were all here. Sammi told them she was going upstairs to help Amy, considering that she’d been more or less alone with Logan and Casey all day. Ash apologized for not being able to do much to help, but Jinxx told him that it was okay. He’d been dealing with morning sickness for several weeks, on top of adjusting to the biological changes his body was going through because of his pregnancy. Knowing that his brothers understood why he couldn’t help much made him feel a little better, but not much since he still wasn’t used to not quite being able-bodied.

He picked up his bass once again after he got up to let his lover up while Jake and Jinxx grabbed their guitars, CC grabbed his drumsticks and took a seat behind his kit, and Andy went to stand in front of his mic. They launched into a song they were calling Never Give In, which was a reminder to them all, especially Ash, not to give up just because times were tough. They’d already released their Sex & Hollywood EP, one edition of which was actually called the “Never Give In” Edition. They were thinking about re-recording some of the songs from the “Never Give In” Edition, such as The Mortician’s Daughter, written for Ash as a take about his dad being a mortician before his death, and We Stitch These Wounds, but weren’t entirely sure yet. Nothing was set in stone, and that was just how they liked it.

After band practice came to an end when Jake’s, Jinxx’s, and Ash’s hands and wrists got too sore to play, they decided to stay over for dinner before they left. It was already that late, and Amy and Sammi had food on the table anyway, so they figured they might as well. Little Casey was sitting on a pile of phone books since they didn’t have a booster seat for her and Logan was laying in the playpen Amy’d bought, his belly already full since Sammi’d fed him before helping out in the kitchen. The guys all crowded around the table, Sammi sitting on Jinxx’s knee while Ash sat on Andy’s since they ran out of chairs, but over all, it was a nice affair filled with good food, equally good drinks, and rowdy laughter and chatter from all.

“See ya later, guys!” Andy called out the front door. He and his sweetheart stood there waving bye to their brothers, little Casey, and baby Logan.

“Good grief, I’m tired,” Ash said softly, leaning against his lover.

“You’ve had a long day, and I’m sure not having a nap doesn’t help,” he sympathized, gently kissing his temple as he closed the door.

“Yeah, Jake kinda ruined that for me,” he chuckled. “But it was worth it. I’d already stayed up past my naptime working on a song for you; I saw no point in trying to take one by then, anyway.”

“A song for me, eh?” he asked curiously, arching a brow.

“Yeah.” He blushed furiously. “And no, you can’t hear it. Not until I get the musical arrangement finished, and until I get the bass line laid down, it won’t be finished.”

“What about percussion? Or are you secretly a drummer, too?”

“Naw, I had CC help me out with that one day. But I’ve laid down all the guitar and bass lines myself so far.”

“I didn’t know you played guitar, too, mio deviante.”

“Had to start somewhere before I moved on to bass, mio profeta.”

“Well, let’s get upstairs and shower. I bet the warm water will help the backache you undoubtedly have by now.”

“Sounds great, although I wish I could have the water as hot as I used to make it.”

“You can’t do that because of the baby, though.”

“I know. It’ll just be yet another thing to look forward to by the time he or she arrives.”

Chuckling, his lover wrapped his arm around his shoulders and guided him up the stairs after they checked on Amy, who was sleeping soundly in the master bedroom. Once up there, they made quick work of getting clean before Ash merely enjoyed the warm water running over his tired, aching body while his lover gave him a back rub. Andy was glad to do anything he could to lessen his discomfort, considering that without his sperm, he wouldn’t have gotten pregnant, so he didn’t mind. After their shower, he helped him to their room, where they both collapsed on their bed in the nude and fell into a deep, restful slumber.

Notes