San-Li ladled the steaming ramen noodles into a bowl and poured in the beaten eggs. She stirred until the egg mixture curdled and she felt her stomach turn. It seemed like everything made her nauseous even when she was close to her fifth month of pregnancy. She took several deep breaths and glanced over into the living room.

Alex was sitting on the floor while Sam sat on the couch. They were working together on a thousand piece puzzle while watching Star Trek. San-Li and Alex had only been back for two weeks and even though Alex still wasn't speaking, he and Sam seemed to get along pretty well.

"Oh geez." San-Li pressed her lips together as another wave of nausea came over her.

She slipped her hand under her sweatshirt to touch the hard curve of her protruding stomach. She still hadn't had the courage to tell Sam that in less than five months he would be a father.

"Hey, San-Li," Sam called from the living room. "Alex wants to know if his food is ready yet."

"Maybe Alex would like to ask me himself." San-Li called over her shoulder.

There was a brief silence and Sam chuckled. "He stuck his tongue out at you."

"Well same to him too." San-Li mumbled with a small smile.

She pulled a box of juice out of the fridge and carried both the noodles and the juice to Alex. Before she was able to fully set it down he grabbed the bowl from her and hungrily started to devour the noodles. Dragon sized appetite for a boy who was half dragon.

"Hey Sam," San-Li bit her lip and wrung her hands nervously. "Can I talk to you for a sec? In my room please?"

"Okay, sure." Sam smiled and stood up.

"Be right back Alex." She said ruffling his hair fondly.

They went into her room and she slid the door shut behind her. Sam sat on her bed and smiled at her fondly.

"You know, at first I thought that things would be awkward with you suddenly having a little brother and having him live with you, but I think we're really starting to like each other." Sam said happily and adjusted his glasses. "I mean, he doesn't speak or anything, but I think he actually likes me."

"That's great." San-Li smiled and sat down next to him. "But there's um... something else I need to talk to you about."

"I know what you're going to say." Sam laid his hand on top of hers. "But I just want you to know that I don't think Alex will come between us and I'm happy that you have a at least small part of your family."

"Well," San-Li bit her lip. "My family might be a little bigger than you think."

Sam tilted his head to the side and looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"

San-Li took a deep breath and slowly peeled off her sweatshirt, leaving her in just a tank top. Sam's smile slowly faded as he stared at her undeniably swollen stomach. His jaw dropped in shock and he snatched his hand away from hers.

"H-how?" He said in a small whisper.

San-Li groaned. "Geez Sam, you know the answer to that."

"B-but." Sam blinked at her. "W-we used protection. We used condoms a-and when we didn't you said that you used birth control pills."

"Um..." San-Li pressed her lips together and looked away. "Sorta."

"Sorta?" Sam's voice went up an octave. "What do you mean sorta? Did you get birth control pills or not?"

"No."

"No!?"

San-Li groaned and rubbed her forehead. "No alright? Regular birth control pills require prescriptions and I didn't want to go to the doctors or risk getting caught with a fake one, and morning after pills were too expensive."

"But you said you had it handled." Sam's face started to turn red with anger. "Were you just lying to me, San-Li?"

"No I wasn't, Sam." San-Li flinched at his anger. "I used Chinese herbs that's supposed to prevent pregnancy. It worked the first time when we were in Japan-"

"Well obviously they didn't!" Sam yelled gesturing to her stomach.

"Sam, please." San-Li said through clenched teeth, tears welling up in her eyes.

Sam groaned and buried his face in his hands. "I can't believe this happening to me."

"You know, you aren't the only one this is affecting, Sam." San-Li's eyes narrowed. "I'm the one who's going to be carrying it for nine months. I'm the one who has to give birth!"

"I'm supposed to be going to college in a year!" Sam continued to rant. "I don't even have a part time job. How am I supposed to take care of a baby!?"

"You don't have to take care of anyone." San-Li said tightly. "I don't need you help and the baby doesn't either."

Sam's voice dropped to a whisper. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I want you to leave." San-Li mumbled. "I don't need you and neither does my baby."

Sam reached out to touch her, but dropped his hand to his side. He looked at her for a long moment before abruptly getting up and walking out of her room. San-Li heard him sharing a few brief words with Alex before she heard the front door open and slam shut.

The tears that she had been trying to hold back burst to the surface and she buried her face in the pillow to muffle her sobs.