Two months Later…

 October 17th 1978

The sweethearts were settling into their new home and getting everything in-between prepared for the arrival of their little one.

They weren't alone in preparing the rest of the family when they had time would come over to help to ease the burden on their backs.

Apart from getting the house ready Michael spent his mornings in meetings and promotions for his single such as press conferences, appearing in commercials to get his face known and to get people talking.

Now he couldn't walk on his own anymore without a bodyguard to be extra careful in case the single released was an instant hit people would recognize his face instantly.
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It was a day or two before Amber's delivery so Michael had the chance to go to his promotional party since the company wanted to celebrate his first record jumping to the no.1 in only it's first week of release on the Billboard 100 chart which happened about two weeks ago.

He promised before he left that he would be back hopefully before midnight, Amber waved him away as she sat watching TV in their bedroom.

Twenty minutes into watching the film she felt a sharp pain around her lower back. She thought maybe a soak in the long and spacious bathtub would help reduce the pain.

She carefully stood from the coach and made her way to the bathroom; opening the door she walked in and stripped from the dress and grabbing a few towels to lay by the side of the tub. She carefully lowered herself into the tub and stretched her arm to turn the tap on.

She watched the water rush down the tape and waited till the water was levelled to her shoulders and used her toe to turn the tap off.

Sitting back comfortably back into the pool she closed her eyes as the water moved gently back and forth around her.

Until another stinging pain spammed her body, Amber whimpered at the pain but when she tried to move another intense pain consumed her yet again.

Oh hell no not now! Could this kid come at any time after Michael came home?! She thought panicking in her mind momentarily.

She breathed in several deep breaths to try and calm herself down which only helped a little.

Now a little calmer she thought that she might just have to deliver this child without Michael since there was no medical help around to help her.

Quickly grabbing the phone that was on the bathroom counter next to where she laid.

Dialling the number she quickly received a quick answer from the medical team.

"Hello whom might I be speaking to?" A female voice said emotionless to Amber.

"Amber Jackson can you please send someone to come help me I'm about to go into labour" she replied breathlessly.

The woman caught the word 'labour' and begun to give instructions to Amber and how long the medic team will be. Amber didn't have time for what they said ended the call and threw the phone away.

She hoped she was prepared she had read so many books on the different types of birth.

She chose to get it on with now the contractions started to kick in hard and heavy. Since she wasn't at the hospital there was no medication to help ease the pain so she had to stick through it.

Now holding onto the handles Amber begun to push with all her might. She could feel the sweat build on her body as she pushed and pushed until she saw the head appear.

She gave one more agonising push and the little Jackson slipped out of her crying for all its worth.

She gently pulled the child from the water mindful of the umbilical cord; She placed the bloody child on her bosom as she wiped the child to the best of her capabilities with one of the towels.

Afterwards she wrapped the cooing child in another towel, as she looked down in-between the legs to see she had given birth to a girl.

Now sitting in the pool mentally and physically exhausted from giving birth. She gazed down properly to look at her daughter who was almost a splitting image of her daddy.

It seemed she had a full head of hair with Michael's nose and eye shape but she wouldn't know until the little one opened her eyes. Currently her skin was light but eventually she would darken in complexion.

Amber could only stare at the bundle of joy she had waited to see for so long to see.
The newest Jackson yawned adorable blinking before she opened her eyes revealing Coca coloured doe like eyes looking back at her before she snuggled back into her mummy's chest.

Amber chuckled softly at her little girl and felt annoyed that she lost the bet that she would be having a boy but she was too tired to continue having any angry thoughts. She fell asleep almost immediately holding onto her little in her arms.


Meanwhile....

Michael was at the party with his co-workers and other celebrity friends he had made in his time so far in the company came together to celebrate with him.
But he wasn't focused solely on the party his mind drifted constantly back to how Amber was doing at home.

Quincy walking over slightly tipsy to Michael, smacked him hard on the back jolting him out of his thoughts.

Michael almost fell over from the force of the slap but he sidestepped his body in time.
Now glaring into Quincy's smiling eyes he could smell the alcohol on his breath.
"How drunk are you Quincy?" He asked impatiently.

"Slightly tipsy smelly" he replied slurring.

Before Michael could say anymore he felt a light tap on his shoulder. He turned around to face an employee who looked winded by the heavy panting.

"Mr.Jackson you have a telephone call about Eh about a woman called Amber?" She told him.

A pool of dread quickly formed in his stomach, leaving a tipsy Quincy behind he followed after the woman back to the office away from the party.
Now on the phone he spoke to the medical team he had hired from Doctor Alice who assured him they were the best at what they do.

"Mr. Jackson we received a call several hours by your wife who told us she was going into labour so we tried instructing her but she cut the call before--"

Michael swiftly cut her off calm "did you even bother to start going to my home to check on her immediately when she cut the call?"

Silence consumed the call shortly before the woman on the other line admitted that they hadn't.

"Well you better start making your way down now or so help me I will ruin your business if anything happens to my wife and baby" he threatened icily.

He heard the loud gulp from the woman and she answered stuttering "W-We are on our way sir"

Michael cut the call quickly thanking the assistant who left to give him privacy on his way out. Finding one of the bodyguards he gave him instructions that he obeyed immediately gathering the rest of the men.

Michael announced a quick thank you speech before he left the party luckily no cared too much because they were all too intoxicated to care.

An hour later he arrived back home he banged the front door open and went into the bathroom to find Amber and their child sleeping in the blood-stained tub.

His loud footsteps woke up her from her slumber she didn’t recognise where she was until her blurry vision cleared up to see Michael standing there gazing with mixed emotions expressed freely in his eyes.

Amber's eyes narrowed as she glared at him whispering heatedly "look who finally turned up when the show ended how lucky of you to miss the birth of the child I carried for nine months because of you! If you couldn't make it for her birth then this shows will you able to for the rest?! Take her"

"I'm sorry I truly am.. no one told me until the last minute till you gave birth but you weren't even supposed to be two early days early" he said trying to apologize.

"You can shove that apology up your ass! Please just take her away" she replied hissing venomously ignoring his attempt at an apology.

Michael eyes widened in shock, all the years he's known Amber as his friend and now wife, she has never used that type of language towards him.

Wordlessly he obeyed her taking the new-born child wrapped in the towel to her bedroom.

He held her gently in his arms as he walked to her bedroom, he gently dropped her on the changing table and bent down to grab the baby tub then filled it with warm water.

He held her in his large palm as he washed her, talking to her as she cried at the feel of the warm water splashing on her sensitive skin.

She continued to whimper in her daddy's arms until he placed her on the changing table with a fresh set of clothes.

As the newest Jackson looked up into the same brown eyes looking down at her smiling tenderly.

"You look so much like me I thought you'd come out look liking your mother my little buttercup at least I won the bet" he crooned to her lovingly as he put her in the grey and giraffe printed onsie.

He bent down cradling her fragile head and laid her head on his strong lean shoulder as she cooed cutely on her daddy's back.

He held her body and head with both arms as he made his way back into the living room to hear the doorbell ring. He slowly made his way to the door but a bodyguard who saw he was struggling opened the door for him.

He stepped back to see the medical team walk into his home.

"She's in the bathroom on the right and here she is check her quickly she needs to eat" he said to them coolly.

He hesitated to hand her over to them but the woman's eyes showed she could be trusted, he handed her over reluctantly.

The lady went to the coach where she laid the child on the coach seat and begun her check-up while the other medic went to check on Amber.

Thirty minutes later the medics were finished, Michael had gone back and forth checking.
The last ten minutes he sensed his little girl needed something to eat she had been deprived long enough.

He walked back into the room with a warm bottle in hand as the female medic finished with her examination.

"Mr.Jackson your little girl is healthy no symptoms to be concerned apart from keeping her warm also I removed the umbilical cord” she responded.

"Thanks" he replied politely.

The woman moved away to give him room to sit down and he sat holding her carefully in his lap, her fragile head spotted by his long arms.

He placed the bottle in her mouth that silenced her whimpering the only sound in the room was the loud suckling from her. He pulled away every now and then to allow her breath.

The last medic came out of the bathroom and roughly told him the same thing, he nodded at them and without any excuses they let themselves out.

Michael looked down to see his sweet angel had fallen asleep in his arms. As she slept he hummed an old Stevie song to her as he carried back to her room where he laid her down for the night and placing a semi thick blanket over her body.
He made sure the baby monitors were switched on all over the house just in case she woke up.

Now he was scared to go back and face his emotional wife but he had to suck it up and be a man (as Joseph always told him to stop acting like a wimp)

He steadily went to their bedroom where she now sat on their bed relatively cleaner then previously before.

Amber’s distance gaze drifted from the wall to look into the concerned eyes of her husband. She stared into his eyes while Michael tried not to fidget under her frosty stare.

“how are you love?” Michael said in attempt to try and get her to say something he felt unnerved about her current state of mind she only gave birth sometime ago.

“How about I’m feeling just peachy hm? PEACHY is what you want to hear Michael? I gave birth to your apple sized child should I be rejoicing? oh whoopee do!” she replied sarcastic.

Why was she acting this way? What could have changed roughly several hours ago? What happened to the excitement we both shared to see our little one? Where did it all go? The questions buzzing around in his mind taken back by her attitude.

He swallowed nervously before replying “I understand you gave birth love but---“ but she cut him off swiftly replying “NO you will never understand what I went through on my own to give birth… which I never want to go through again!” the volume of her voice raising with every breath she took in.

“but please im sorry love! Please find it in your heart to forgive me” Michael begged his voice cracking in despair.

“I DON’T WANT TO HEAR YOUR APOLOGY GET OUT OF MY FACE!” she replied screaming at him.

The noise woke up the youngest Jackson whose cries of fear rose from the baby monitors alerting the new parents and stopping the argument momentarily.

“Go..” she replied and turned away from him.

With a heavy heart Michael walked away to attend to their child and went to stay with her until she fell asleep in his arms thirty minutes later, when he returned he saw Amber had fallen asleep, he chose to sleep in the guest room next to the little one’s.