C A Star is Born (closed with SazzyP260)

"Of course not," Zach said, leaning over to kiss Caleb goodnight. He did the same for Noah before settling on his side like he was supposed to. "I'm happy we're all here."

A moment later the bed dipped as Leo jumped up and settled himself on the foot of the bed. "And now everyone is here," Zach said warmly. "Good thing we have such a big bed."
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Caleb nodded and snuggled into his pillow and Noah's side, continuing to soothingly rub their son's stomach - Noah was already passed out, thumb in his mouth and head turned into Zach's chest, feet off at an awkward angle against Caleb's legs "Mhmm. I was going to suggest getting another dog... but if we're going to be sleeping with the human clock hands here..." Caleb laughed softly.

"I still would like to get another dog though... Maybe something a bit smaller than Leo?"

[Image: 8Ww3nNU.png]
You can lead a horse to water, but cannot force a horse to drink.


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"After the baby," Zach said easily. "I'm not going to say no to another dog. But smaller then Leo? We're going to have to discuss that. Leo was the smaller dog that I picked at the shelter."

Zach yawned widely. It had been a long day and he was tired. "We can talk about it tomorrow."
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Two months had gone by since the interview with Sam and the pictures with Dean.  Zach was now seven and a half months pregnant, *finally* showing a lot more baby bump as their unborn child continues to grow inside of him.  Zach was at the point where he could no longer actively film, so he was sticking at home and taking care of Noah on a more permanent basis. 

After the split-lip incident, they actually decided that taking Noah out of daycare was for the best.  Jen was the one who actually confirmed that it would not be good for Noah to be seen in a public setting like that, especially after Noah's lip swelled triple the size, just from that one incident. 

Zach finally saw, first hand, what Caleb had meant by having to call CPS every time a child was brought into the hospital with any sort of injury, as well - it happened to be a day that Zach brought lunch, and Noah, up to the hospital, wanting to surprise Caleb on his first successful week of Hospital rounds.  It was a *very* busy day for the entire hospital... Being in Central Los Angeles, there was no shortage of emergencies.  Two kids - high school aged - had gotten into a brutal fight at the local high school, and still CPS had to be called over it.

Zach had been monumentally confused as to why CPS needed to be called over a school fight, and then Caleb, as well as a officer who had been nearby, explained the situation as to why they had to be called.  The fact that the two kids, who were previously best friends, got into a fight - could be that there was something more too it.  Problems at home, school, or just in general.  CPS was a contact point between the child and parents, not always looking to tear a family a part, but just looking to resolve issues or tensions that could not otherwise be solved by themselves.

Caleb was happy with his work, he was busy *a lot* but he was always happy.  He loved going to work, every day, and despite being exhausted at the end of every shift, he still came home with a smile and a bundle of energy.  He had now been working St. Vincent Medical Center for a total of two months now, and there was nothing Caleb wanted more than just to keep going back to work, every day he was scheduled to do so.  It also helped that he was working twelve hour shifts, so he was home a lot as well - working only four days out of a seven day week.

Of course, just because their personal family life and Caleb's work life were going strong - didn't always mean that Zach's work life was.  The article about Zach being pregnant had been released about two weeks after Sam and Dean had left LA.  Zach and Caleb had both approved the pictures used and the article itself - Even Jen, while skeptical about publishing it at all, approved that it was a beautifully written piece.  Now, while it *was* true that no one gave flax to Zach about being gay... Well, being gay, pregnant, and married -- That was getting a lot of backlash, even two months later.

The producers and directors of Danger Zone: Red were still supportive of Zach and his goals, but they were seeing a drastic decrease in box-office views because their 'Main Actor' was apparently pregnant during filming, and this was not acceptable.  Zach had to disable and shut-down *all* of his social media accounts because of all of the hate mail, threatening letters, and people graphically mutilating the pictures of him and his family.  It was even a shock to see actual, physical letters being written.  Jen fielded all of those letters though - some were supporters, some were haters, some were downright criminal.

They - Caleb and Jen - had tried warning Zach that going public would be a new sort of hellfire rained down upon them; Zach specifically... but, they could do nothing more than support the man's decision.  And Caleb was doing much more than just supporting the decision now... Zach was in a funk since the hate started pouring in, and Caleb was trying his damnedest not to lose it completely.  For both their sakes.  

After a long day of work, Caleb returned home to a pitch-black and silent home.  It was unusual, especially with a two-year-old running around the house and an over-active dog who thought he was still a puppy sometimes.  Caleb quietly walked through the house, flicking on lights as he went.  By the time he got to the Den, he found Zach, curled up on the couch, tablet in his hand and eyes bloodshot red "Oh Zach..." Caleb sighed, dropping his bag, jacket and keys on the chair, before moving over to his husband and sitting down on the floor in front of him "What's happened now?"

[Image: 8Ww3nNU.png]
You can lead a horse to water, but cannot force a horse to drink.


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Zach had an idealized version of what his pregnancy was going to be when he told the world about it. Yeah, some people were going to have a problem with it but for the most part everything would be fine. He would get to go about his life like normal, go on hikes with Leo and Noah, take Noah out playing, and just have fun being a dad and not have the responsibilities of being an actor. Instead he couldn't go anywhere without a bodyguard, he and Noah spent all their time at home, and Jen had gotten no calls about future work for him.

Today he had let Jen take Noah out for a few hours and he'd stupidly checked Twitter to see what was being said about him. It had been difficult to see and then he'd made it worse by activating his Twitter account and responding to a few tweets. People had immediately jumped on him and Zach felt like he was an idiot for wanting this, for ever feeling good about having a baby.

Then Jen had called him, wanting him to hear it from her first, and told him that he was being dropped from his next film. The producer didn't outright say it was because he was pregnant but claimed they wanted to go in a different direction even though they had previously courted him hard.

"I ... uh, they dropped me from Starshine," Zach said hoarsely. "They paid the fee to break the contract this morning."
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Caleb sighed softly, extracting the tablet from Zach's hand and putting it on the end table, he noticed that it was still stuck on Twitter, but that wasn't unusual - Zach had an addiction to Twitter and Instagram like no one Caleb had ever seen before; and despite the fact that Zach was being blasted hard on both platforms, it still didn't stop him from browsing. Caleb scooted closer to the couch and turned so he was sideways, laying his head next to Zach's.

"I'm sorry, baby. I know how much you were looking forward to filming that one..." Caleb said quietly, reaching up to gently stroke Zach's hand. He hated the 'I told you so' tone of his voice, but... He did tell Zach that it was going to be rough, if not outright evil. "I'm sure, somewhere out there, there is a producer who doesn't care about you being pregnant, gay, married, or anything else - You'll get another chance, Zach... You're an amazing actor, and before all this - people loved you, they will love you again." Caleb kissed Zach lightly and smiled softly "I still do."

[Image: 8Ww3nNU.png]
You can lead a horse to water, but cannot force a horse to drink.


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"What is so bad about wanting to have a baby?" Zach asked, his voice cracking. He put a hand on his belly, the baby kicking against his hand. "Did I really do something so awful that I deserve to be blacklisted and told that they hope my baby dies?"
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Caleb shook his head and kissed Zach softly on the forehead "No, and no, baby. You didn't do anything wrong, or awful. There is also *nothing* wrong with wanting to have a baby." Caleb said quietly, gently carding his fingers through Zach's hair.

"You deserve to have this baby, more than anyone, because of all that you have gone through these past few months. Don't listen to those idiots on the internet... You know we're supposed to be avoiding all social media platforms... So, no more until *after* the baby is born, Okay?"

[Image: 8Ww3nNU.png]
You can lead a horse to water, but cannot force a horse to drink.


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"I thought that if I said something, told them why I was having a baby, it would help," Zach wiped at his eyes, shaking his head. "So I answered a tweet someone sent to me. I said I was thrilled to be having a baby and no man should be ashamed of having a child. I'm still the same guy I was before I got pregnant."

He lifted his head to look at Caleb. "It didn't help. I think it made things worse."
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Caleb sighed softly and reached up, wiping away the tears on Zach's face "Alright... It's okay, babe. We'll figure something out... Maybe we can take a break from LA for a little while, still." Caleb said thoughtfully, still gently rubbing Zach's cheek with his thumb "We can go back to Spring Grove... or somewhere else in the world... Just until after the baby is born... and the heat dies down..."

Caleb slowly stood up and maneuvered himself onto the couch, laying down behind Zach and wrapping his husband up in his arms "We'll figure it out Zach, I promise we will."

[Image: 8Ww3nNU.png]
You can lead a horse to water, but cannot force a horse to drink.


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Zach shook his head. "This is our home. I don't want to be chased from our home and from our doctor. I at least want to give birth the way I want to and I don't know if I'll get to do that with another doctor."

He relaxed into Caleb's arms, letting him hold him. He felt so miserable and lost.
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Caleb sighed and kissed the back of Zach's head, nuzzling his nose into the short but soft hairs there "You know what I think we need?" he waited until Zach grunted that he heard what Caleb had said. Caleb smiled softly, rubbing his hand gently over Zach's rounded belly "I think we need to have a day to ourselves. Just you and me - We can go shopping, go to the spa... Or anything else you want."

Caleb hooked his chin over Zach's shoulder and sighed softly "I heard about this spa that's about six hours from here... we can drive up, spend the weekend, just get away from all this stress and... relax... reconnect with each other."

[Image: 8Ww3nNU.png]
You can lead a horse to water, but cannot force a horse to drink.


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"Yeah?" Zach sniffled a little, watching Caleb's hand move on his belly. The baby kicked against his hand. "Who would watch Noah? I don't think it's fair to ask Jen to watch him for a whole weekend. I guess we could see if my parents could come down. He loves spending time with his Gammy and G-pa."

Zach tipped his head back to look at Caleb. "I want to post a picture of us on Instagram. Just like this. You holding me instead of the other way around."
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Caleb sighed heavily but nodded his head. He grabbed the tablet and turned the lamp on over them "Alright... Take as many pictures as you want. Pose me how you need me." Caleb said quietly.

"And yeah, I'm serious about us getting away - After our impromptu photo OP, call your parents and see if they'll come down and watch Noah and Leo... We need a small vacation. We did it with Noah when I was about this far along... Why should it be any different with this one?" Caleb asked as he continued gently soothing his hand over Zach's stomach, following the movements of their unborn child with his palm.

[Image: 8Ww3nNU.png]
You can lead a horse to water, but cannot force a horse to drink.


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Zach angled the tablet so it got both of them, Caleb clearly holding him as well as the top curve of his belly. He didn't look happy but he didn't want to fake it either. Caleb looked strong and serious, his hair in a tight braid and his scrub top showing. He didn't throw a filter on it or change anything, just leaving it the way it was, both of them looking tired and a little sad, Zach's eyes still red and puffy from crying. He added the caption 'he's always here to hold me on the tough days' before posting it. It automatically got sent to Twitter as well. He dropped the tablet on the table.

"Okay yeah. Let's go to the spa and relax together for a weekend. Get mud masks and pedicures."
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"And full body massages!" Caleb said happily, lightly patting Zach on the belly and then slapping his ass gently "Up you go, put a smile on - we are going to have a stress free weekend!"

[Image: 8Ww3nNU.png]
You can lead a horse to water, but cannot force a horse to drink.


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"Let me call my parents," Zach said, sitting up with less struggle than he should considering how pregnant he was. He had kept up with his yoga and running so he was still in great shape. "You find the spa and pick out the package we want. Once they give us the okay, we can book it."

Zach stretched his arms over his head, his shirt riding up. "Jen and Noah should be back soon. They went to a petting zoo for the afternoon."
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Caleb slipped out from behind Zach and grabbed the tablet, he had saved the website so all he had to do was pull it back up again.

While Zach was confirming with his parents that they were free and available to come down and watch Noah, Caleb pulled the information about the Spa Resort up - they had a couples package that was absolutely perfect for them, considering one partner was pregnant whilst the other wasn't -- it was title the Mommy and Daddy package, but they did not care about the gender of the two bookers, just that one of the two were pregnant - for said pregnant person had to receive different oils and treatments than the other. It also was the most expensive package and included *a lot* more than just manicures, pedicures and massages - it was just the best package for any two parents.


Caleb waited until Zach was off the phone before smiling up at his husband "This one - I know it's the most expensive... but it's the best. I already called ahead, and they have a separate entrance for celebrities, we won't be near anyone who has 'fan qualities' or the opposite, now... about you. Everything will be completely stress-free, and... bonus? We get a resort cottage right on the water... It's a water resort. How cool?!" Caleb said excitedly -- it was an Oceanside Resort that boasted a lot more amenities than just the spa treatments.

[Image: 8Ww3nNU.png]
You can lead a horse to water, but cannot force a horse to drink.


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Zach smiled at him, pressing a kiss to the top of Caleb's head. It was still amazing to him that Caleb seemed to forget just how much money they were worth. Even if Zach never did work again - and that was a horrible thought - they had more money then they would ever need.

"Book it. The cost is fine," Zach said easily. "My parents are very excited to come spend the weekend with Noah."
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Caleb smiled up at Zach and nodded his head "I'm excited to just get away. It has been a really tough week and I cannot *wait* to get me some sun and relaxation." Caleb said happily as he clicked the 'Book Now' button on the tablet and started filling in all the necessary information - since it was a pay-on-site resort, all Caleb really had to do was fill out their names and what package they were coming for and at what time and day... and then he was done.

"Okay, we're all booked. They'll expect payment the second we walk through the door!"

[Image: 8Ww3nNU.png]
You can lead a horse to water, but cannot force a horse to drink.


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