November

Jodi rushed around her office looking for the third set of mock ups she had printed that morning. She didn’t have the faintest idea where the first set had gotten to, let alone the second. Her phone started ringing and she ignored it the first time, but not the second.

"Yeoboseyo?"

"Help me."

Jodi pressed the phone harder to her ear to hear the whispered voice. Then she checked the screen. "Luna? Are you alright?"

"You need to come and get me, Jodi. You have to come."

"Why? What’s the matter?"

"Maknae is here and he’s driving me crazy. Please, Jodi. I have to get out of here."

"I would love to help you out, honey, but I have a shoot with new clients in—"

"You said ‘Anything you need, any time you need it.’ Those were your words," Luna reminded her.

Jodi’s shoulders slumped because she clearly remembered saying it at the airport. She glanced at her watch and ran a hand through her hair. , , , she moaned in her head. Then sighed in defeat. "Okay. I’ll be there as soon as I can."

"Bless you, Jodi. My blood pressure and the baby thank you." Luna hung up quickly and Jodi groaned her frustration. She moved things around on her desk until she could find her Bluetooth and made a dreaded phone call.

"Hey, Soo? I need a favor . . ."

* * * * *

Jodi pulled into the driveway, and barely had a chance to stop the car before the front door was thrown open. Luna held her stomach with one hand and waddled as quickly as she could to the car. She jerked on the handle until Jodi unlocked it and launched herself into the backseat.

"Drive!"

Jodi threw the car in reverse and slammed on the gas. As she made the turn onto the street, she saw SeungRi come out of the house in a velour track suit, waving his arms frantically. Jodi sped off at Luna’s insistence and waited a few blocks before catching her eye in the rear view mirror. "Wanna tell me what that was about?"

"Stupid maknae!" Luna sat back and scrubbed her hands over her face. "He’s still on his ‘Vitorrio’ thing and it’s driving me crazy! I couldn’t take it anymore."

"Why was he there?"

The passenger rubbed her stomach and sighed heavily. "Bae’s making sure I’m never alone while I’m on house arrest. I appreciate everyone being so accommodating, but I would love it if Ri would take his back to Japan."

"I think it’s called 'bed rest'?" Jodi ventured.

"Honey, there’s hardly a difference at this point," Luna corrected. "I can’t go anywhere, I can’t do anything, I’m practically a prisoner! And Ri brought over three seasons of The Sopranos. Three! I can’t watch that show. All the cursing and violence makes my blood pressure too high. Dealing with him could honestly give me a ."

"You know he just does it to with you, right? He’s the annoying little brother. Once he knows he can do something to get under your skin, he’ll keep doing it. Either ignore him or encourage him, and it takes the fun out. He’ll stop. It’s worked for me."

"I hadn’t thought of that," Luna admitted.

"You see? That’s a plus of being a big sister. You learn a few tricks along the way."

"I always wanted a sister," Luna mused as she settled in more comfortably.

"I did too, but then I got Soo and wasn’t all that impressed," Jodi joked.

Luna laughed too. "She’s not all bad. I rather like her."

"Not all bad, but mostly and on most days," Jodi answered with a fond smile. "Today she seems okay at least. She’s got things set up for you so that you can be comfortable on set while I work. Sorry we can’t do anything more exciting, but bills keep coming."

Luna clapped her hands excitedly. "Oh no. It’s cool. I'd love to watch you work."

Jodi shrugged her shoulders. "Alright then."

* * * * *

And by ‘comfortable’, SooYoung rightly took that to mean ‘pampered.' Jodi was impressed by what she accomplished in the short amount of time. One of the prop chaises was brought from the basement and covered with pillows and blankets. SooYoung placed a table at arms reach and had it filled with fruits and vegetables for Luna to snack on. She even called in a staff member whose sole purpose for the day was to provide Luna with anything she could possibly need. Then she grunted and left before anyone could thank her too much.

The subjects of the shoot were the ladies of Apink. They had a ball fawning over Luna while asking her indelicate questions about pregnancy and marriage. They showered Luna with compliments and attention until she yawned in the middle of an answer. Despite all of her protests, Jodi sent Luna to take a nap upstairs.

She checked on her twenty minutes later and found her fast asleep.

* * * * *

Jodi could hear the shuffling of slippered feet from her seat in the office. She leaned back in time to see Luna making her way to the refrigerator. She watched Luna let out a jaw cracking yawn while scanning the contents, but eventually grabbing a bottle of water. Luna waddled to the counter and sat down carefully. Jodi stood and knocked lightly on the door frame to not scare her.

"You sleep okay?" Jodi asked once Luna looked in her direction.

"Like an exhausted pregnant woman," Luna responded with a smile. She made herself comfortable and absently rubbed her protruding belly.

"Are you hungry?"

"Not really, but I know I need to have something."

"Have a taste for anything in particular?" Jodi asked while heading to the fridge.

"A double bacon cheese burger."

Jodi looked back at her with a confused expression. "Aren't you a vegetarian?"

"I am a pregnant vegetarian," Luna corrected.

Jodi rolled her eyes. "So that's a salt craving, obviously. How about half of an avocado with some Adobo seasoning?"

"I suppose it'll have to do." Luna looked positively dejected. Jodi prepared the snack and slid it to her across the bar. Luna moaned and hummed while she the spoon. "Thanks for getting me today. I'm getting stir-crazy sitting around the house all day. I appreciate everyone coming to keep me company, but I'm sick of staring at the walls, you know? I needed to get out."

Jodi nodded and sank a spoon into her own half of the avocado. "How's the nursery coming along?"

"Oh it's been done for months. Bae's had it picked out since I told him I was pregnant. It's a neutral tone jungle theme. Yellow, green, purple, and chocolate brown," she explained. Her smile turned soft as she continued talking. "He put the crib together and painted everything himself. He goes in there sometimes and sits on the floor. Like he's just waiting for the baby to come. He's super excited."

"I can tell." Jodi tilted her head to look at Luna closely. "What about you though? How are you holding up?"

Luna smiled, but dropped her head down. "I'm scared," she admitted quietly. She looked up with watery eyes and bit her lip. "This isn't the pregnancy I imagined, you know? I thought I would get the baby-bump and eat whatever I want. Not . . .this. I don't think I've ever said that out loud before. Not even to Bae. Especially not to him. I can't tell him that."

"Of course you can."

Luna shook her head. "No I can't. He so happy, Jodi! I wake up some nights and I hear him talking to the baby. Making promises and plans with his cheek on my stomach. He sings to the baby and scolds it for giving me a hard time." She held her stomach with both hands and smiled down at it. "He’s so positive about things. He's being so strong. How can I give him less than that?"

"Silly woman," she said fondly. Jodi walked behind her and held her about the shoulders. "Your husband loves you. He knows exactly what you feel whether you say it or not." Luna leaned into her and squeezed her hand. Jodi let go and rubbed her arms comfortingly. "Come on."

"Where?"

"To my room first, then back down to the studio."

"Why?"

"Because pregnant women are beautiful and I want to photograph you," Jodi explained. "Come on! I had them ready the set for a shoot I have on Tuesday. It'll be perfect for this."

Luna let herself be dragged about and primped. Jodi dressed her simply in a pair of boxers and a large white Oxford shirt. She only buttoned two buttons along the bra so that Luna's stomach could be seen.

In the studio, a wrought iron bed was covered in clean white sheets. She had Luna sit on it first as she adjusted the lighting around her. When Jodi was satisfied, she had Luna rub her stomach and tell the baby jokes while she shot from various angles. She laid Luna down after that and took pictures from her perch on a ladder. Jodi was pleased. Pleased indeed.

Laughter at the door made both women look up. YoungBae walked in with JiYong at his side. He smiled when he saw his wife and moved to her side. "What's going on here?"

"Boredom shoot. Get up there too," Jodi ordered. YoungBae shrugged, took his shoes off and got in the bed with his wife. Jodi started off posing them, and then let them interact naturally. Her favorite moment was when YoungBae kissed on Luna's belly and the baby kicked him. The look of surprise and delight on his face was simply beautiful.

They shot for so long that Luna began to tire. YoungBae joined Luna under the sheets after that and cuddled his drowsy wife. Jodi took one or two more pictures before laying her camera down and going over to her husband. JiYong had his eyes on the couple; a smile on his lips and a tear on his cheek. Jodi touched his waist and he jolted out his daze. Jodi stood in front of him and wiped his face.

"Hey," she greeted softly.

"Hey back," he whispered. Jodi reached for his hand and guided him out of the studio. On the way up the stairs to her apartment, JiYong tugged until she stopped. He went one step above her so he could look down into her eyes. With his hands on her cheeks he kissed her sweetly.

"I'm going to marry you," he informed her seriously.

Jodi's lips pulled into a smirk