This is an episode addition to Season 3, Episode 10, "Ain't Loveth Grand?" I am changing canon from this episode on out. I am referencing Season 3, Episode 18, "The Eleven Year Itch," which occurs toward the end of March. The rest of Season 3 and none of Season 4 exist for this story. Some may think Laurie and Richard Lawrence are a bit out of character, but not for my canon. I'm preserving Laurie's sweetness and I never did like Richard Lawrence. Any additional author's notes will be listed in the review section. With that, happy reading!
Early February:
Laurie sits at her vanity, getting ready for her date with Greg. Nerves are threatening to get the best of her, as she thinks about the conversation she's about to have of her boyfriend of just over two months. "How am I going to tell him?" she thinks, through tears.
Tracy walks into their bedroom and sees her sister crying. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," she dismisses.
"Then, why are you crying?"
"Never mind. Just get whatever you're wanting to get and let me finish getting ready for my date."
Tracy shrugs her shoulders, retrieves her colouring book and crayons, and leaves the room. However, she immediately runs back in. "Greg's here!"
"Thanks!" Laurie responds, as she wipes her tears and repairs her makeup. After she's satisfied that she's sufficiently cleaned up, she stands and inhales, "Here it goes." She walks down the stairs and sees her mother and older brother talking to Greg.
"What are your plans for tonight?" Shirley asks Greg.
"Dinner and a movie." He looks up, sees his girlfriend descending the stairs, and sighs, relieved that he'll be able to escape another interrogation. The phone call he received from Laurie earlier that day still troubles him, and the expression on her face, concerns him. "You ready?"
"Yeah. Let's go."
"Don't stay out too late," Shirley directs.
"We won't," Laurie calls as she and Greg walk out the front door. She sighs, relieved to get out of the house, as they get in his car and drive off.
He notices that she looks worried. "You okay?"
"No, but I'll tell you when we get to Muldoon's Point."
"Fair enough." He drives to the taco stand, where they pick up a couple dinners and drive to Muldoon's Point. "Now," he begins, as he takes a bite of his taco, "what did we need to talk about?"
"Us," Laurie sighs, looking down at her hands, draped over her lap.
"What about 'us'?" he asks, alarmed. "You're not wanting to break up?"
"No! Not at all!" She corrects, kissing him on the cheek.
"Then what? You're scaring me."
"Greg," she sighs, "I'm pregnant."
"What?" He feels a lump forming in his throat.
"You and me," she begins, "we're going to have a baby."
"Since when?" he asks, dumbfounded.
"Since our first date a little over two months ago."
"Oh, wow!" He sighs, running his hand through his hair.
"I'm not getting rid of it and I don't want to give my baby away either."
"Good. Good. I don't want that either."
"I wanna keep our baby," Laurie states emphatically, as she places his hand over her midsection.
"Me too."
"What about your job?" she asks, panicked, "Will they fire you since we're not married?"
"Honestly, I don't know. But if they do," he assures, "I'll go to work for my father. You and the baby are more important to me than my job is."
"Aww!" She embraces her beloved. "I love you!"
"I hope we have a girl," he grins. "I want her to have your good looks."
"And your style!" she beams. "But I want to have a boy just like his daddy."
"Daddy! I love the sound of that. Hey, baby! I'm your daddy! I can't wait to meet you!"
Laurie giggles, however, she quickly turns serious. "How am I gonna tell my mom?"
"Do you want me there with you?"
"It may be better if I tell her by myself." She inhales. "It may be better if I tell my brothers and sister by myself too."
"That might be better."
"Afraid Keith and Danny will beat you up?" she smirks.
"Actually, yes," he gulps.
Laurie giggles. "I'll make sure they won't lay a hand on you."
"You can't be with me or them twenty-four, seven."
"Oh," she smiles, "I have my ways."
The couple kiss.
"What about the Band?" Greg ponders.
"I'm not looking forward to telling Reuben either. This is going to be hard on that too. We always do a summer tour, but it looks like we won't be able to do that this summer."
"I'm sorry," his face falls.
"Hey," she calls, stroking his cheek, "I played a part in this too. Don't blame yourself. We decided to go 'all the way.'"
"I still feel like it's my fault," he berates himself. "I'm older and was supposed to know better."
"When will tell your folks?" Laurie inquires.
"Probably next weekend when you're out of town."
"When we're out of town for a performance?" she quips.
"I know," he grins, "I'm a coward."
"No, you're not!" She kisses his cheek, grinning. "I'm telling my family by myself and it's okay with me that you'll do the same with yours."
They talk more about their future plans and their hopes for this child. It's getting late and time for Greg to take Laurie back home. She becomes increasingly somber as they get closer to her house. A tear escapes her eye.
"You okay?"
"I'm dreading telling my mom tonight."
"Do you have to tell her tonight?" He brushes a stray lock from her face.
"I might as well get it over with," she sighs. "It won't get any easier, so I might as well go ahead and tell her."
He parks the car in the driveway and gives her a quick peck on the lips, "Good luck!"
"Thanks!"
"Call me after you talk to your mom."
"I will," she replies as she gets out of the car, "if I'm able."
She watches her boyfriend and father of her child drive off. Then, she sighs as she opens the front door of the house, and plods up the stairs. "Here goes nothing!"
Laurie knocks on her mother's bedroom door, trying to blink back tears.
"Come in!" Shirley calls.
The young woman hesitantly opens the door, dreading the piece of news she'll have to share. She says a quick prayer and enters the room.
"How was your date?" the Partridge matriarch asks. She sees the tears. "Laurie, what's wrong?"
Laurie tries to speak, but the tears keep coming.
"What is it?" Shirley asks, concerned.
"Oh, mom!"
"Sweetheart, you can tell me anything."
"Mom," the brunette sighs, dreading the conversation. "Remember when Greg and I went out for the first time and we spent four hours at Muldoon's Point?"
"Yes." Shirley's not liking the way this conversation is heading.
"Well," she gulps, "it wasn't completely the truth."
"Oh?"
"I told you we 'talked the whole time,'" she sighs, "but we didn't 'talk the whole time.'"
"Oh, really." Shirley sternly utters, "What did happen?"
"We, uhhh," she stammers, "we did more than 'talk the whole time.' And..." she trails off.
"And?" The blonde's face falls, as she tries not to show the disappointment she's feeling inside.
Mustering up courage, Laurie blurts. "And, I'm pregnant."
"What?" Shirley sits straight up.
"I'm pregnant," she repeats.
"That's what I thought you said," Shirley sighs. "Laurie!"
"I'm sorry!" the young woman cries, as she paces the room. "Greg and I want to keep it."
"You know, babies are a lot of work."
"I know that, mom," she replies annoyed, "but I can't give my son or daughter up."
"Laurie, you're sixteen years old!" She groans, feeling her world crashing down around her.
"I know!" Laurie volleys.
"What does Greg say about it?"
"He's so excited," the brunette smiles. "He wants a little girl, but I want a little boy."
"But will he be here for you and the baby? Will he support the two of you? I can help, but I'm not going to raise this baby for you."
"It's my baby. I don't want you to raise it."
Shirley sighs and motions for her daughter to sit on the bed. "We need to talk about this."
"I've got my mind made up!" she interrupts.
"If you and Greg are keeping the baby, there's a lot we need to talk about." The older woman regroups, "First, there's school. You're not quitting school."
"I didn't say I was!"
"And, then there's the Band. This is really going to affect us. Reuben had planned for us to go on a tour of Asia this summer, but now, that's out."
"I'm sorry, mom! I didn't mean to get pregnant!"
"There's a thing called 'self-control.' I thought I'd taught you to use it," Shirley fires back.
"Sorry!"
"And furthermore, you lied to me."
"How did I lie to you?"
"You told me you and Greg 'talked the whole time.' Apparently, you did a lot more than that. How can I trust you?"
"You can trust me!"
"And, you said you and Greg had decided not to see as much of each other after your first few dates? Was that a lie too?"
"We'd planned on that, but with this new development, that's not really possible anymore."
The blonde sighs, "And what about Greg's job? You know he could lose his job at the church because of this."
"He said if he does, he'll go to work for his father." Laurie smiles, starry-eyed, "He said the baby and I are more important than his job. Isn't that sweet?"
"Very," she sarcastically replies, rolling her eyes. "We're not going to solve everything tonight." She kisses her daughter on the cheek. "I love you, and we'll get through this."
"I love you too."
"Try to get some sleep."
"I will," Laurie states as she leaves the room.
Shirley looks toward the closed door and sighs. "Dan," she whispers, "I really need your help. Why did you have to leave us? I'm heading into uncharted territory here."
The next morning, Laurie walks into the kitchen for breakfast. She spies her mother cooking French toast over the stove. Keith, Danny, Chris, Tracy and Reuben are sitting at the breakfast table.
"Here's your breakfast," Shirley greets her daughter, in a monotone voice, not even bothering to look at her.
"Thanks," she replies, as she takes her plate and sits at the table.
"Sleep well?"
"Guess so."
Reuben and her siblings watch the exchange with curiosity.
"How was your date last night?" Danny inquires. "You got home awfully late."
"It was fine," she begins, "and how would you know when I got in?"
Shirley stares at her middle son, also curious.
"I came down to get a drink of water and heard Greg drive up."
"And you came up with that piece of chocolate cake and didn't share with me," Chris pipes.
"I had to hurry. I couldn't bring up two plates," the red head explains.
"Right. You just wanted it all to yourself."
"All right, boys," Shirley warns, exasperated. She sits at the table.
"Have you thought any more about what dates you want to book for the summer tour?"
"I don't think we'll be able to do the summer tour," Shirley replies, her eyes trained on Laurie.
"Why not?"
"Ask Laurie."
Laurie looks down at her plate, and takes a couple bites of her toast, while Reuben and her siblings look at her and Shirley.
"Laurie?" Tracy voices, "what's mom talking about? Does this have anything to do with why you were crying before your date last night?"
Shirley's face falls, seeing the concern from her younger daughter. "We'll need to do something else for the summer tour, Reuben," she sighs.
"Anyone care to tell me why?"
"Because I'm pregnant," Laurie blurts, "I'm having a baby."
"What?" Chris pipes.
"I'll kill him!" Keith growls.
"You're having a baby?" Tracy squeals.
"You know, Keith's gonna kill 'em," Danny supplies.
"Shirley?" Reuben utters.
"Yes," she sighs, eyes mixed with anger and disappointment. "She and Greg are having a baby."
"I'm a little over two months along."
"So, that would put the birth right in the middle of summer tour," the manager calculates.
"More like the end of tour," the matriarch corrects, "but this means we'll either need to cancel summer tour altogether or have a very short one."
"Maybe we can reschedule the Pacific tour for the next summer."
"I'm sorry!" Laurie bursts into tears. "I'm sorry that I'm ruining everything for the family!" She stands up and clears her plate. "Yes, we made a mistake. We didn't plan on this, but like it or not, mom, the baby's coming this summer." She storms off.
"Laurie!" Shirley calls after her. "I really blew it." She clears her plate. "I'll go talk to her. I'll be back in a few minutes and we can go over performance dates then."
Shirley sees her daughters' bedroom door slightly ajar and Laurie draped across her bed. The young woman cries into her pillow. "Laurie?" she knocks on the door. "Can I come in?"
"Why?" she barks, "so you can tell me again how disappointed you are in me? If so, please leave me alone."
"No," the blonde woman replies, contrite, "I want to tell you I'm sorry." She sits on the bed and strokes her daughter's hair. "I really blew it last night and this morning. I could've handled things better and I didn't."
"You really embarrassed me at breakfast," she spits, looking her mother directly in the eye.
"I'm sorry."
"This is already difficult for me," she sobs, "and you just made things harder."
Shirley's face falls, eyes welling with tears.
"You blame me for having to alter the Band's performance schedule. Are you going to blame me the whole pregnancy? If so, I'm moving out and will move in with Greg."
"You will not!" she fires back. The tension builds, so the matriarch takes a couple deep breaths, says a silent prayer, and continues, "I am so sorry I made you think I'm blaming you."
"You do blame me."
"Laurie, I really don't blame you."
"You could've fooled me."
"Give me strength!" she whispers as she regroups. "I really don't blame you. Last night when you told me you were pregnant, I was in shock. I never expected any of my kids to drop news like that." She sighs. "And, you betrayed my trust. After you came home from that first date and told me you and Greg spent four hours at Muldoon's Point, I was afraid you were going to tell me that you'd done more than 'talk the whole time.' I was so relieved when you assured me nothing more had gone on. Then, last night, you reveal that yes, more did go on and now my daughter is pregnant. Do you see my point?"
"I guess so," she concedes.
Shirley smiles, "I promise I'll do my best not to make you feel embarrassed or like you've ruined everything. You haven't ruined everything. Yes, things are a lot different than what I'd hoped or expected they'd be, but we'll manage."
"Thanks, mom. That really means a lot."
"I love you." She embraces her daughter. "And even though I'm not thrilled with how things have happened, I love my new grandchild very much."
"I love you too, mom!"
The women embrace.
"How are you feeling? Any morning sickness?"
"No. Other than just being a little tired, I feel fine."
"That's great!" the matriarch grins. "I hope you'll have an easier time than I did. I had constant morning sickness with all five of you."
"Then why have five kids?" Laurie giggles in disbelief.
"Because your father and I loved kids," she chuckles. "We wanted to have eight, but..."
"Eight?"
"Yes, eight. I had a miscarriage after Tracy and it put our childbearing years to an end. I got sick about ten weeks into my pregnancy. It scared your father so much, that he got a vasectomy."
"Uhhh, mom, that's too much information," Laurie blushes.
"I'm sorry." She clasps her daughter's hand. "Monday, I'll call Dr. Lucas's office to get you an appointment set up."
"Okay. Thanks, mom."
"I've got to get down and talk to Reuben about our schedule for the next year."
"I am sorry about summer tour."
"Don't worry about it. You and the baby are much more important than any tour. I love you."
"I love you too, mom."
The women embrace.
Shirley goes back into the kitchen and sees that Reuben is sitting alone at the breakfast table, drinking a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper. He looks up. "Is everything all right?"
"It will be."
"Care to talk about it?"
"I never thought one of my children would tell me that they either got pregnant or got a girl pregnant." She buries her face in her hands, trying to regain her composure.
"It's not the end of the world."
"I know. I'm just so disappointed."
"You'll get through this. And besides," he grins, "you'll have a new grandbaby to love."
"Thanks, Reuben," she smiles, putting her hand over his. "I think I needed that."
"Anytime." He exhales, changing the subject. "Now, let's talk about the Band's schedule. I'll inform the record producer that the Pacific tour is out. Maybe we could have a couple brief local tours, and base the schedule on how Laurie and the baby are faring."
"I'll set up an appointment with Dr. Lucas next week and we'll go from there."
"Fair enough. Now, about next weekend's concert..."