Chapter 9

Two weeks had passed since Big Time Rush went on their US tour. Every morning, the girls woke to the sound of 'Worldwide' as their boyfriends called them. It put a smile on their faces and made their day more bearable. Every Friday the girls huddled around the laptop for a live chat with the lads. The girls would tell them about their week filming and the guys would tell them about their tour.

Charlie had been filming her final scenes, but made Jo, Stephanie and Camille promise not to tell anybody what was happening to her character.

The girls woke, yet again to 'Worldwide'. Thirty minutes later, the girls were walking to the kitchen.

'Morning.' Yawned Jo as she gathered the ingredients for a fried breakfast.

She turned around after she only got two replies, raising her eyebrows at the girls in front of her. Stephanie and Camille both looked at Jo, shrugging their shoulders at the silent question.

'She'll come out when she's ready.' Camille said. 'Today's a big day.'

An hour later they decided to check on her.

'Charlie?' Jo called as she knocked on the bedroom door. No reply.

Camille, slowly opened the door. Charlie was lying in bed, James' hoody held tight to her body.

'Hey.' Stephanie said gently, walking over to the bed. She knelt in front of Charlie and waited for her eyes to meet hers. 'What's wrong?'

'He's going to miss it.' Charlie said quietly.

A week earlier, Charlie got a letter from the hospital to tell her she had an appointment. To hear her baby's heart for the first time. And James wasn't going to be there. They all agreed they wouldn't tell James about it as he would fly home to be there, tour or no tour. But that didn't stop Charlie feeling guilty and sad.

'We'll record it.' Jo said, sitting on the end of the bed.

'And you can surprise him when he comes home.' Finished Camille.

Charlie looked at all the faces in the room. 'Okay.'

She looked at the clock and groaned, she had an hour to get there.

'You guys better be ready by the time I'm ready or I'm leaving you behind.' She said smirking as they ran out of her room.

They nervously waited for Charlie's name to be called, any minute now. Jo squeezed her hand in comfort as it started to shake.

'Charlie Smith.' A kind looking nurse called, smiling as Charlie, Camille, Jo and Stephanie walked towards her. 'The father not joining us?'

'Not today.' Charlie sighed. 'He's... at work.'

She made sure Charlie was comfy before calling in the midwife .

'Hello. I'm Dr. Mason. I'll be your midwife.' She smiled warmly.

'Hi.' Charlie said timidly.

'So your eight weeks pregnant.' Charlie nodded. 'And you're having an early scan because of a fall?' Again Charlie nodded.

After a moment's pause, Dr. Mason turned on the ultra sound and asked Charlie to lift up her top. She didn't have a bump yet, but she noticed it had changed slightly.

'Okay, Charlie, this is going to be cold.' Dr. Mason squirted some blue gel onto her belly before spreading it with the special wand.

Charlie took a deep breath, letting it out slowly when she felt someone grip her hand. Looking up she half smiled at the owner of it. Jo smiled back.

A whooshing sound filled the room, making Charlie gasp. She smiled as she saw a bigger 'bean'. A graph under the picture showed the baby's heartbeat.

'Everything seems fine.' Dr. Mason said, interrupting the silence.

She handed a couple of scans to Camille since Charlie seemed to have frozen.

The nurse cleaned the gel off of Charlie's stomach as she stared at the monitor.

Jo pulled her into a sitting position, wiping the tears that had escaped. 'Earth to Charlie?'

Charlie blinked focusing her attention on Jo. 'Wow...'

'You can go home now. We'll make an appointment for your 12 week scan.' Said Dr. Mason now Charlie was paying attention. She shook her hand. 'Take care.'

Charlie nodded and weakly smiled, hopping off the bed in a complete daze.

They had got to the car, when she spoke up.

'I didn't record anything!' She said hysterically.

Stephanie handed Charlie a camera, smiling. 'Don't worry. I got you covered.'

Charlie pulled her into a hug. 'Thanks.'

They piled into the car, grinning.

'That was amazing.' Said Camille. Everybody nodded in agreement.

That Friday, the girls settled themselves on the sofa, laptop set up on the coffee table. As the request they had been waiting for popped up, they smiled.

'Hey.' Kendall, James, Logan and Carlos said in unison, looking exhausted but smiling all the same.

The guys talked about the tour and the girls told them their crazy experience on set.

'We had a power cut in the middle of Charlie's last scene,' Explained Camille. 'And the director tells the cast to stay still. So we're all standing in the dark, freezing.'

'Basically, everybody starts feeling like there's something else there.' Interrupts Stephanie. 'And everybody's freaking out because they think it's something supernatural.'

'And it was you?' Logan asked, eyebrow raised.

'No!' Stephanie exclaimed, faking hurt.

'Actually the producer and the director were setting up a surprise send off for Charlie. They gave her some neutral baby stuff.' Said Jo. 'Steph took some really good pics to show you.'

The guys laughed.

'That's nice of them.' James said, smiling.

Charlie smiled. 'I had a scan the other day.'

Camille, who was on the end, jumped up and ran to the fridge, where the scan was on display.

'And?' James said excitedly. 'Is everything okay?'

'Everything is perfect.' She said as Camille returned with the scan.

James, Kendall, Logan and Carlos stared at it, with goofy grins plastered on their faces. A tear escaped down James' cheek.

'I can't wait for you to come home.' Charlie said softly.

'Me either.'

'Sorry guys, you're going to have to wrap this up. Concert starts in 30 minutes.'

The guys groaned. 'We'll text you later.'

The girls nodded.

After saying goodbye, Big Time Rush signed off.

A week and a half later, the girls came home from set. Charlie had gone with them to touch up on the audio recording for her last scene.

As soon as they stepped out of the elevator, guitar dude stepped up to them.

'Hey guys.' He said cheerfully. 'Charlie, I just wanted to congratulate you. It's all over the news. You and James' must be pretty happy right now, you know with the engagement and the baby. Anyway, congrats.'

'Uh... Thanks.' Charlie said awkwardly as he gave her a one armed hug.

As he skipped away, Charlie turned to face the others. 'What the hell does he mean it's all over the news?'

The girls just shrugged at her, confusion written all over their faces as they guided a ranting Charlie towards the apartment.

'Who left the TV on?' Jo said before realising there were four men sitting on their couch, who stood up at the sound of their voices and walked over to them.

'Oh my God. What are you doing here?' Camille said, practically jumping on Logan.

'Griffin let us home early.' Kendall said simply, spinning Jo around in his arms.

'Griffin? Why?' Asked Stephanie, her voice slightly muffled by Carlos' chest.

'Because he didn't realise that the last three venues cancelled due to storm forecasts.' Said James in between kissing Charlie.

'I've got something to show you.' Charlie said grabbing his hand and leading him back towards the sofa. She pushed him onto it, telling him to stay. 'Stephanie, where is it?'

'I'll get it.' She replied, pushing Carlos towards James before running to get the camera.

Kendall and Jo, sat on the other side of the couch, while Logan and Camille stood behind it. Charlie sat next to James, Carlos left a space next to him for Stephanie.

Stephanie came back in and plugged the camera into the TV and pressed play. A video of a summer concert began to play.

'What did you want to show me?' James asked, confused.

'Shh. Just watch.' Charlie said grabbing his hand and patting it, making him laugh.

They watched the TV as James and Logan both did a back flip, making the crowd go crazy.

'Wow.' Said Logan. 'It looks so weird looking at it this way.'

'Yeah, it does.'

The video suddenly crackled and morphed into a room the guys semi-recognised.

'Is that a hospital?' Asked Logan.

'Shh!' James hissed as he stared at the screen.

They watched as the midwife poured the gel onto Charlie's stomach and moved the wand across. James' breath hitched in his throat as he heard his baby's heartbeat for the first time.

'Is that...?' He said, turning to look at Charlie, who nodded.

James pulled Charlie into a hug, ignoring the tears falling freely.

'That's the best thing I've ever heard.'

The video stopped, automatically switching to the channel it was one before. Everybody looked up at the mention of Big Time Rush.

'It seems that a member of the band Big Time Rush will have more than music to worry about,' Said Ted, sitting behind the news desk. 'Band member James Diamond and his new fiancée, actress Charlie Smith, are expecting a baby, sources confirmed today. Will this be end of Big Time Rush? Or Miss Smith's acting career?'

James and Charlie stared at the now black screen with open mouths. Kendall threw the remote down on the coffee table.

James came back to earth when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket.

'Hello? Yeah, we just watched it... What do you mean you don't know what happened? They pretty much just ruined us...'

'James!' Kendall said in a firm tone, holding his hand out for the phone. James reluctantly gave the phone to Kendall as he walked to the kitchen.

'Hi Kelly... Yeah... No, I know that's not what he was supposed to say... Sure... Okay, see you tomorrow... Bye.' Kendall ended the call, put James' phone on the table and walked over to him.

'Hey.' He said, putting a hand on his shoulder to stop him from pacing. 'What Ted said was out of line. Kelly is talking to the producer of that news show as we speak.'

'What if Big Time Rush goes down the drain, or Charlie gets blackballed in Hollywood because of his influence?' James said, panic written all over his face.

'Our true fans wouldn't do that to us. And neither would Charlie's. She has too much talent for them to worry about her having a baby. I mean look how supportive Elaine and the crew have been.' Kendall said softly.

'You're right.' James sighed. 'Thanks.'

'I'm always right.' Kendall smirked before turning serious. 'Anytime buddy.'

He patted James' shoulder as they went back to the couch. After the initial shock, the others seemed okay. Even Charlie seemed over it, which made James feel like he over-reacted.

As he sat down on the couch, Charlie rested her chin on his shoulder. 'Don't believe everything the news reports.' She whispered.

After ordering a take-away, since nobody felt like cooking and making idol conversation about the tour, filming and the baby, four pairs retired to their rooms, to have some alone time with their partners.

James and Charlie were snuggled in bed, watching a movie. James had his hand gently resting on the unnoticeable bump, occasionally moving his fingers to draw patterns on her skin.

James rose an eyebrow as Charlie's stomach rumbled. She giggled and rolled on her side to face him, her best puppy dog eyes taking over her features.

'What do you want?' James asked lightly, laughing as she paused to think about what she wanted to eat.

'Phish Food, a raspberry jam donut and a pepperoni pizza.'

James sat up, looking skeptical. 'Really?'

Charlie laughed, 'Really! I'm craving all three so bad and I'm not going to choose one.'

'It's...' James rolled over to look at the clock. '10pm.'

Charlie sat on James' abdomen and started to poke him in the sides. 'If you leave now, you can make it to the shop on the corner before it closes.'

Both of them laughing as James tickled her back, eventually flipping her so that he hovered over her. He gave her a passionate kiss before jumping off and going to the closet to get his shoes.

'I'll pick up a pepperoni pizza from Chico's on the way back.' He said smiling as Charlie crawled to the end of the bed and wrapped her arms around his waist.

'Hurry back.'

James kissed Charlie again before grabbing his wallet and keys from the bedside table and heading out of the door.

Half an hour later James came back. He grabbed a spoon and headed toward his bedroom. He handed Charlie the bag, raising an eyebrow as she immediately opened the ice cream, eating a little bit of everything at once.

'What?' She said with her mouth full.

James shook his head, chuckling. 'Nothing. It's just that I have never seen you eat like this.'

'I'm eating for two now. I blame you.' She replied smirking at him.

James put his hand to his chest, faking a look of horror.

Before either one could respond, a scream echoed through the apartment, from the room next door.

'Was that Stephanie?' Charlie asked as James hopped up.

'I think so. I've never heard her scream before.'

James walked out of the door. Charlie saw him disappear into Carlos and Stephanie's room and heard a sharp gasp.

'Carlos? Charlie call an ambulance!' She heard James shout.

Charlie grabbed her mobile from the night stand, dialing 911 as she ran towards the bedroom next door. James ran out.

'What's wrong?'

'Just keep them talking. I've got to get Logan.' He said, before running towards the end of the hall.

When she entered, she recoiled in horror as she saw Stephanie sat in the middle of her bed with Carlos' head in her lap. He was semi conscious with blood dripping out of his ear.

'What happened?' Charlie asked Stephanie, who was trying to keep Carlos awake.

'I don't know!' She sobbed.

Charlie was telling the operator their address as Logan ran in closely followed by Camille, Kendall and Jo, all of them pulling on dressing gowns.

'Carlos? Carlos, if you can hear me squeeze my hand?' Logan said, taking charge of the situation. He sighed in relief as Carlos let him know he was still listening. 'I need you to stay awake for me buddy, okay?'

'Sure.' Carlos muttered, just loud enough for Logan and Stephanie to hear.

'The ambulance will be here in five minutes.' Charlie told Logan, still clutching the phone to her ear.

James ran in with towels, water and the first aid kit, Logan had asked for. He loaded them on to the bed.

'I'll wait out front, guide the paramedic's in.' He said before running back out.

As soon as James ran out of the room, Stephanie let out another shriek.

'Carlos. No! Stay with me.'

Logan had his hands either side of Carlos' face as his eyes rolled into the back of his head.

'Come on buddy. Look at me. Stay with me.'