Surprises

Author's note:

Takes place in Season 7, right after Inherit the Wine. The family is back from Italy. Tony and Angela have broken up with Kathleen and Andy respectively for over a month now and are slowly working back to what they had. A/U. . . the rest of Season 7 and all of 8 never happened, at least not in the way you remember them. These are the alternate schedule of events in my little parallel universe of sorts.

Disclaimers: I own nothing. Just borrowing the characters of WTB and taking them elsewhere. Everything belongs to ABC.

Chapter One:

Icy rain pellets were coalescing on the window panes outside, but Angela Bower and five year old Billy were cozy, cuddling on the couch when the doorbell rang suddenly, interrupting a crucial moment in their movie . . . Pinocchio had just made a wish to become a real boy. Hearing that somebody was at the door made Angela jump a bit. She'd been edgy since leaving a phone message for Andy a couple of hours earlier. She was waiting for his response and it made her tense and apprehensive.

Angela walked to the door with trepidation. The phone message she'd left for Andy would certainly be quite alarming for him considering that they'd broken up over a month ago. Had it been an entire month? Was it two months since the Tony and Kathleen fiasco from hell was over? Almost two months since Billy had come to live with them? Two weeks since she and Tony had finally made progress at the Starlight Ballroom, resolving to move slowly but together in the same direction. At last. And now, this? This was not in the plan. This was not supposed to happen. This did not happen to almost forty year old, responsible women who owned their own business while raising teenagers.

"Aren't you going to answer the door, Angela?" Billy queried. He was anxious to resume the movie and see if Pinocchio ever did become a real boy. He stood up and stared at Angela, who was standing at the door, hesitating. She saw it was Andy through the peephole. Oh god, why did he have to show up? Why hadn't he just called her back? She felt her heart start to hammer in her chest. She was literally fused to the ground, unable to move.

"Okay then, I can open the door Angela . . . do you want me to?" Billy started to lunge for the doorknob. He couldn't figure her out. Was she scared of the door? Whatever it was, the sooner they got rid of whoever it was, the sooner he could watch his video.

"No! Um . . . no Billy, thank you." She blurted, recovering her senses. "Billy, can you please wait in the kitchen? I'll be right there. "Here, take your colouring book and crayons and colour . . . colour this!" She practically shoved him towards the kitchen and randomly selected a page with fruit on it for him to colour.

"But what about the movie?" He protested. He wanted to obey but this was strange. And Angela was acting really weird, even for her. He found her a bit jumpy to begin with but this was too much. He was a bit scared now. Who was at the door?

Billy sprinted across the living room despite Angela's protestations and opened the door to get rid of the intruder. Oh no, not him! Billy knew this man. He'd seen him before, when he'd first arrived in Connecticut. He was the man who'd accused him of ruining his dates with Angela. Billy wished he hadn't opened the door after all.

"Hey kid. You still live here? Where's Angela?" Andy brushed past Billy and claimed his spot in the foyer spotting Angela near the kitchen door holding a colouring book, her face pale, dark eyes troubled.

"Billy, please go to the kitchen and wait for me there." Angela's directive was obeyed this time, without protest. He knew something was up and decided to make himself scarce. He would colour this page of fruit and make it really good and that would help Angela feel better, he told himself. They'd put it on the fridge like the drawing he'd made a few days earlier after returning from Italy. Billy didn't like the man at the door, he thought while trying to colour inside the lines, adding green to a bowl of fruit but he was having trouble with the pear. It was really hard to keep the colour from spilling out of the sides despite his valiant efforts. Billy felt tense and distracted because Angela was upset about the man showing up.

He wondered when Tony would be home. He didn't mind spending time alone with Angela but secretly, he liked Tony the best because he was funny and reminded him of the man in his dreams and photos. . Daddy.

Billy heard the man's loud voice coming from the living room. Then the man shouted a bad word, which made Billy jump up in his chair. He coloured faster then, the crayon slipping erratically across the page of fruit, turning the pear, the apple and the cherries all green. "Come back Tony! Hurry back from the grocery store please!" Billy pleaded silently in his head when the shouts started echoing beyond the kitchen door.

Meanwhile, in the living room, Angela was hoping that Tony wouldn't be back for a while longer. She had to get rid of Andy before Tony returned from running his Saturday errands. She had not expected Andy to show up nor had she expected a shouting match to ensue.

"Okay Angela, I got your message. So why did you call and why is it so urgent?" Andy seemed curious but also somewhat annoyed that Angela would dare call him after she'd dumped him so unceremoniously to care for a five year old who wasn't even her charge. This frustration was evident in his tone of voice when he confronted Angela.

"Andy, I was hoping you'd just call me back. You didn't have to come all the way over here." She wished he'd stayed home.

"Your house isn't that far Angela. Your phone message had me curious. I thought that maybe you'd come to your senses and decided to pursue our relationship anew. But I see you still have that kid living here. Is he still taking up all of your time? Or have you figured out how to manage that better and let your housekeeper take care of him? " Andy's suggestive emphasis on the word housekeeper gave Angela a jolt. There was a coldness to his face; an arrogance masking what? Hurt? His entire demeanor was confrontational and stony but Angela knew there were emotions brewing beneath the cool exterior.

Angela knew she'd hurt him after the Phantom incident. Cancelling date after date and making excuses. The fact was that she hadn't really want to date Andy anymore once Tony broke it off with Kathleen. But it would have looked too desperate to dump him instantly and rush into Tony's arms. Tony had hurt her and she needed time. Time to think, to regroup, to heal. She hadn't continued to date Andy in order to hurt Tony or to teach him a lesson, at least not consciously. It was Tony who had started the chain of events that led to her involvement with Andy. Tony had betrayed her and she was just trying to survive the worst summer of her life. And if a handsome, charming doctor wanted to take her on his yacht, ply her with champagne and treat her to Broadway shows while her heart was shattered, then it was her prerogative to do that.

Andy was staring at her, waiting for a response. Angela swallowed hard, resolving to get this over with before Tony came home. Courage. She needed to be brave and just say it. Say it and hoped he wouldn't be too upset, or worse, want to marry her.

"Um Andy. We do need to talk. No, I'm not seeking to resume our relationship. It's not about anything like that. But you have a right to know. I wanted to make sure first, of course. I. . . I . . . I wasn't sure and things were so hectic with Billy arriving, settling in, Samantha moving out and then our trip to Italy. So I didn't do anything about it but then I was late two months in a row and that never happens to me." She paused, looking up at him, hoping he would understand where she was going with this. Andy continued to stare at her, his expression unreadable. Angela continued, "I've been to the doctor. He confirmed it. I'm 10 weeks pregnant." She stopped talking and hung her head, waiting for his reaction.

A conflagration of wills was evident on Andy's face. The calm, rational doctor part of him was trying to keep the emotions at bay but the shocked, hurt ex-boyfriend part of him won out. "You're pregnant? What the hell, Angela!" Andy's voice started rising. "Oh this is just f***ing fantastic!" The last two words, he shouted loudly. Angela looked towards the kitchen door hoping that Billy was obliviously colouring and not hearing Andy's F-bomb.

"Do you have to swear? Billy will hear you!" Angela shushed him which only served to fan the flame on Andy's anger even more.

"Do I have to swear? Do I have to swear?!" The crescendo rose in his voice. He stepped closer to Angela to confront her. "Explain to me, Angela. Explain to me how you could get pregnant while you were on the Pill. A prescription I wrote for you myself if you recall, to save time, so we could be together. Did you not take it as I prescribed it?" Andy's face was so completely inside of Angela's comfort zone that she had to step back. She felt very intimidated and suddenly frightened. Alone at home with a 5-year old and a very angry ex-boyfriend.

"Enough, Andy!" she yelled. "For your information, I did take the Pill. I did. But I forgot a couple of them and doubled them up later. I'm almost 40. Women my age usually need medical intervention to get pregnant. I didn't think. . ." she practically whispered the last few words, wishing the floor would swallow her up or better yet, swallow Andy up. This was going a lot worse than she'd expected.

"No, you clearly didn't think." Andy's icy demeanor was back, his anger bubbling beneath the surface. But he had stepped away from her. He looked at her with contempt, took a deep breath and sat down on the couch, his face in his hands. He was in control of his emotions once more but Angela feared another outburst could happen again.

"Look", she said trying to pacify him. "I don't need or want anything from you. I'm financially secure and I'm already a single mom. I can do this again, on my own. I'm doing you the courtesy of informing you because you have the right to know but I don't expectanything." Letting him off the hook certainly was the best course of action. She didn't want Andy in her life anyway. Definitely not, and especially not around a baby with his potty mouth and outbursts of anger.

"You mean you're actually having it?" He asked incredulously. "Why would you have it, Angela? Your agency is busy and your kid is almost grown and you've inherited your housekeeper's charge too." He was genuinely puzzled. "Listen Angela, I have a doctor friend who can help you. I don't want to be a dad and you probably haven't thought this through and besides . . . . "Angela interrupted him. "You think I haven't thought this through? Do you seriously think that I haven't already agonized over this and gone over it a million times? I cannot- I will not get rid of this pregnancy. I could never do that, Andy. It's not me. Sure, it'll be hard but I'll make it work. You don't need to worry about me. I already said I didn't want anything from you."

Angela felt her courage rise and she knew she had made the right decision. This was her baby and she was standing her ground. Confronting Andy made her feel protective of her baby. It was her baby . . . the idea starting to sink in for real this time. Andy could fall off a cliff and she wouldn't care at this point. All the dread and trepidation began melting away, replaced instead by righteous indignation and self- preservation. For the first time since the positive pregnancy test, Angela felt at peace.

"I'm not going to change your mind, am I?"

"No. I've made my final decision. My body, my decision. Now, what do you want to do, Andy?"

"Honestly Angela, I just wanted to date and have fun. I have a busy practice and very little leisure time. I don't want to be changing diapers again. My kids are grown and I don't want to start again. If it were up to me, I'd terminate this pregnancy. But it's not up to me, is it? "The frustration in his voice was evident.

"No, Andy. It's not. But I'm letting you off the hook. I won't pursue you for anything." Angela didn't want ties to Andy. He seemed somewhat relieved by her words so she continued, "Andy, really, you can just go. It's ok. I'll manage." She wanted him to leave.

"I don't want you to put my name on the birth certificate, Angela. I am categorically rejecting this pregnancy. I wrote you a script for birth control. That was my decision. You must think I'm a real jerk but I never wanted this." Andy desperately wanted out of this situation and he was making sure that Angela did not misunderstand him. He looked at her for signs of understanding, still unable to believe that an intelligent woman her age could mess up so badly. None of this was his fault, after all. He truly believed that and it was that conviction that enabled him to completely discard any sense of responsibility towards Angela or the baby. With that, he took out his check book and decided that a one-time payment would keep his conscience clear and act as a contract of sorts, keeping Angela and the baby out of his life for good.

"Here's ten thousand dollars, Angela. I can get it certified if you want but the funds are there. Put it in the kid's college fund and let's leave it at that. He thrust the check at her but she just looked at him, her deep brown eyes filled with sadness and didn't take it from his hands. "You're paying me off?" she asked incredulously, sinking into the little foyer desk chair.

"No, no, think of it as my contribution to the kid's future. Here, just take the damned check. Then don't call me ever again. God, I can't believe you messed up the Pill." He slammed the check on the little desk and turned around to face her one last time. "I'm leaving now. Do not put my name on that birth certificate or tell me when it's born or anything. Just don't. You're having this baby without my consent or permission. Consider this my termination of responsibility. Good bye." And with that, he walked out of Angela's life and her baby's too.

With a slam of the door, it was over. With wobbly legs and a great sense of relief, Angela made her way to the kitchen to check on Billy. Poor kid; if he'd heard any of that, he'd probably be scarred for life. She took a deep breath, straightened out her shirt and walked into the kitchen. Tony had come home and was putting the groceries away while Billy munched on some crackers. Had he heard? Did he know? How was she going to tell him?