A/N: Well, it's been forever since I've been on here, so hello again! I wrote this story a while back... it was a commission from my friend Rachel, who is a huge New Kids on the Block fan... and just now realized that I never posted it. This was my first ever songfic.

I know you must have had a long day

Cause at six o'clock I heard you say

There was something that was on your mind

But you ain't told me and it's almost nine

Sasha looked at his watch for approximately the twenty third time in the past hour. It was nearly six o'clock and Payson still wasn't home, which wouldn't have worried him if she hadn't been acting so weird all day. She'd stayed home sick from practice that morning, but then she texted him in the middle of the day saying she was going out but would be back in time for dinner. Skipping practice without a good reason went against everything he thought he knew about his wife. He'd spent half the day convinced that something was horribly wrong.

When she finally walked through the door, it took every inch of Sasha's self control not to berate her with questions. Instead he tried to sound casual as he said, "Hey, I'm glad you're home. I've been worried about you; are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, a little. I'm still feeling a little off, though."

Since she was staying so reticent, he tried a different tactic. There was one thing she would always talk about: "I hope you're feeling well enough to go to the gym tomorrow. The Olympic Trials are just around the corner."

Payson shrugged. "Yeah, I don't know. I'll have to see how I feel in the morning."

Those two short sentences sent Sasha into a spiral of panic. Never—never—had Payson blown off practice like that, much less when they were fifty two days away from the Olympic Trials. He stopped trying to be subtle and finally asked, "What's wrong, Payson? Where have you been all afternoon?"

She tried to give him a smile but wasn't quite successful. "Nothing's wrong, Sasha, other than just feeling a little sick. I've just got a lot on my mind right now, and I went over to my parents' house to talk to my mom. That's it; I'm fine. I promise."

Now it's nine o'clock and I thought we could talk

But you ain't givin' it, girl

Will this ever end? Girl, it's almost ten

Gotta know if you're mad at me before Grey's Anatomy

Cause we could drag this out all night

The pressure against his chest was far heavier than they weight of Payson's head resting against him had ever been. She'd barely spoken a word to him over dinner, and now she was curled up on the opposite side of the couch from him. The few feet between them might as well have been a mile. Since the night in the Olympic Village when she accidently fell asleep against him watching the Track and Field finals, her place on the couch had always been at his side, with her head on his chest and her arms wrapped around him. It was almost a ritual between them, to honor the night that they'd realized their feelings for each other. Now her choice to sit away from him felt intentional. He didn't understand what was happening between them.

When Payson stood up to go to bed without even speaking to him, he panicked. He grabbed her hand to stop her from going, desperately blurting out, "You're not going to stay up and watch Grey's Anatomy? You never miss it."

"No, I'm too tired. I just want to go to sleep." She pulled her hand out of his, leaving him staring after her as she walked away. He wanted to follow after her, but he wasn't sure he could handle watching her turn away from him in bed, so he stayed on the couch as long as he could manage.

Lights are out, don't wanna wake you so I'm creepin' in

I know you're hurt 'cause baby you're not sleepin' in

My favorite pair of boxers that you make look so hot, girl

Girl, you're playin' sleep but I know that you're not, girl

He drowsed on the couch for a while, afraid of the silent welcome he was going to get in his bedroom, before guilt finally drove him to bed. He kept thinking of Payson lying there shivering; whenever she was forced to sleep alone at competitions she always complained that she was cold because she'd gotten used to having his body heat next to her.

The lights were out so he undressed in the dark. He didn't want to wake his wife, because even though he felt certain that something else was going on, he also thought she might actually be sick. She'd looked terrible all day.

He crawled into their bed and slid over to wrap his arm around Payson. The way she relaxed against him eased his anxiety by the tiniest amount—hopefully that meant that she wasn't angry with him. Of course, that involuntary reaction didn't counter the realization that she was feigning sleep. He'd spent more than enough nights with her to know her breathing patterns, so he was well aware that she was awake. Awake but pretending not to be.

It took him about the same amount of time to realize that she wasn't wearing her typical attire. Payson's favorite pajamas were a tank top and a pair of his old boxers; she'd stolen them from him the after the first time they slept together and never given them back. Now, years later, they were worn out and the elastic was showing at the waistband, but she still managed to make them look sexy. Tonight she was wearing nothing but an oversized t-shirt, which should have turned him on, but at this point felt more confusing and upsetting than anything. He just wished she would talk to him and tell him what was going on. If she was angry with him he wanted to know about it.

And now it's 12 o'clock and I thought I should talk

But girl, you're not listening

Here we go again, you know I like it when

You got your back to me,

But not when you're mad at a me

Please look at me and say goodnight

"Pay, please talk to me."

He'd held out as long as he could, but the silence between them was killing him. She was still awake and still not talking, and he just couldn't handle it. They'd fought before—he'd actually fought more with her than any woman he'd ever been with—but those arguments were usually loud, not quiet. Payson had a fiery temper, and when she was mad she made it known. He'd never seen her withdraw like this, and it was terrifying him.

She didn't respond in any way other than to take several deep breaths as if this would convince him she was asleep. At almost any other time he would have respected this clear indication that she didn't want to talk, but the later it got the more freaked out he was, so he did something stupid. He rested his hand on her shoulder and said, "I know you're awake. I just want to know what's wrong—you've never shut down like this before. Please just talk to me."

Payson finally stopped feigning sleep and turned in his arms. He could barely see her in the dark, but it looked like she'd been crying. "I'm sorry, Sasha. I know I've been weird all day and I'm sure you're probably having a panic attack right now trying to figure out what's going on, but I'm not ready to talk about it yet. I'm still processing. I need you to give me time."

Her simple words made him feel like an ass for pushing her. Clearly she wanted some privacy, and he would have to force himself to give it to her, no matter how worried he was. "Just answer one question and then I promise I'll leave you alone... are you okay?"

She paused for a long moment before answering, "I'm not really sure."

It's 2 in the morning

Girl, what do you wanna do?

Do you wanna fight?

Wanna say goodnight?

If you tell me you want it,

This could be over

Worry cut into his sleep so that he woke repeatedly, always with Payson curled against him but never with her asleep. She didn't speak so neither did he; he was determined to give her whatever she needed, even if that was silence from him. He managed this fairly well until the time he woke up alone.

Absolute panic set in.

He found her in the kitchen. Here he was freaking out, and she was having a midnight snack—or a 2 am snack, to be more precise.

"Did you get a little hungry?" He only kind of kept the sarcasm out of his voice; Payson knew what she'd married.

She snorted, which was the first sign of the normal Payson he'd seen all day. "Not hungry, nauseous. I'm just trying to settle my stomach."

He took in the box of saltine crackers in front of her as he sat down at their table. "Ah, so you are sick. I've not been able to tell for sure if you were sick or upset."

"Honestly, both," she answered. He hardly dared to breathe in case she stopped opening up to him. She, on the other hand, took a deep breath before she started talking. "Listen, I'm sorry for the way I've been acting all day. I know I've been freaking you out. I've been freaking out. And kind of—I don't know, mourning, I guess. Because I've worked really hard but now I'm not going to make it to Rio."

He moved from anxious to confused. "What do you mean? You're the reigning National and World Champion and you've been perfect in practice. Why wouldn't you make the Olympic Team?"

She bit her lip and looked away from him, like she was afraid to answer. He reached out to take her hand, and this seemed to give her the courage she needed. "Sasha... I'm pregnant."

"You're pregnant?" He wasn't sure how long he stared at her as he tried to process her news, but eventually he managed to wrap his head around it and exclaim, "Oh my God, you're pregnant!" He pulled her out of her chair and into his arms so that he could kiss her soundly.

She returned the kiss wholeheartedly, which was a profound relief after her distance throughout the day. It was the happiest she's looked all day. "So you're okay with this? You're not upset? I know this wasn't planned, and the timing is so bad, and..."

She trailed off as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Upset? Payson, we're having a baby, how could I possibly be upset? This is the most amazing gift you've ever given me. I don't care about the timing—" It finally hit him like slap in the face; she's said that she was in mourning. "Oh God, I'm such an ass. You're upset. You've lost out on going to the Olympics."

"I'm kind of really happy and really sad and really scared at the same time... Does that make sense? I love you and I'm so happy that we're going to have a baby, but I just didn't expect that to happen three months before the Olympics. I was so close."

"I'm sorry, Pay. I hate that you're losing your dream, even for something as amazing as this." He felt suddenly guilty. They'd always been careful, but was there something more he could have done?

Payson wiped away the tears that had sprung suddenly to her eyes. "Okay, I've spent the whole day coming to terms with this, and yeah, I was really sad about not going to Rio, but now I just want to be happy. No more talk about the Olympics."

"How about one last bit of Olympic talk... since you can't go to Rio, why don't you just go to Tokyo?"

She laughed. "You're crazy. I'll be twenty seven."

"A lot of people said it was crazy for you to go at twenty three," he pointed out. "So this is what I'm promising you: I'll support you in whatever you want to do. If you want to retire and move on, I'll be there by your side, and if you want to get back in the gym after the baby is born, I'll be right there coaching you. You can still be a two time Olympic Champion if you want to be."

She pressed a kiss to his lips before saying, "You are the best husband in the world. I've been acting like an ass all day but all you're doing is supporting me."

"You weren't acting like an ass, and even if you were, I think an unexpected pregnancy and complete change of your future plans is a pretty good excuse." It was true that she had him panicking all day, but now he felt sure that she'd been panicking even more. "It's been a long day, and it's past two in the morning. Let's go to bed."

The first time he'd gone to bed that night he'd been alone and frightened that he was somehow losing his wife. The second time, he walked hand in hand with Payson, looking to the future with a child that he already loved. He was still scared, but on this side of 2 a.m. it was a good kind of scared.