There's a larger fanbase on AO3 for The Almighty Johnsons, but it takes a while to get an account, so here you go.
Dawn stops by the pharmacy on her lunch break, visits their toilet, packs the box again, and leaves it in her car without looking. She doesn't want to know yet, because if things get worse, she won't be able to take the rest of the day. So she works through the afternoon, leaves Anders to lock up, and drives home. In all, she hasn't deviated much from a normal day.
A couple hours later, she finally pulls open the box and checks. The pink lines stare up at her, and then she's kneeling over the trashcan. Her entire body is taunt as she vomits her dinner. She promised herself, PROMISED, that she would never let herself get into this situation.
She does not love Lance. But given her track record and the weekends spent at hen nights, she figures the chances of being in love are too small. She does not love Lance, but at the time she thought him better than nothing. But nothing wouldn't have gotten her here.
And now she's looking at him hanging around for the rest of her life. Even if she breaks up with him, she won't be able to cut him off completely. She doesn't want that. But it's what she's been given. Sliding over to a chair, she pulls herself up and puts her head in her hands. She's handled tough things. Ugly bridesmaid dresses, her father's illness, spray-painting an active volcano. Now she just has to handle a baby.
She doesn't want to tell Anders. But he's her boss and she does most of the work. Without her, the business will crumble even further. Not to mention Anders' will have to do his own costume shopping. He walks past her with a "Good morning, Dawnsie", and it's on the tip of her tongue. But she doesn't mention it.
Later, she regrets it. Its not like she can keep it a secret forever. But Dawn spends most of her time with Anders, and having the awkwardness of being knocked up by someone Anders only calls "dickhead" isn't appealing in the least. Especially since he's right.
She doesn't know why she was planning on telling Anders before Lance, who is staring into his refrigerator like food will start falling out of the light bulb. She shrugs on her coat and lets him kiss her goodbye. She's just about to turn to the door when it falls out.
"I'm pregnant."
Instantly, she knows that was the worst way to tell him. No one in her right mind just blurts out something like this. She watches him for a few seconds.
"Oh." Oh? That's what he has to say? "I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then."
He turns away and resumes his foot hunt. Dawn leaves and doesn't bother shutting the door.
Anders swears loudly when Dawn drops a box. The thud reverberates to her desk and rattles the phone. She picks it back up and sets it on the table.
"What's the matter with you today? Spend too much time getting laid last night?" Anders has made cruder and wittier jokes before, but for some reason she starts tearing up. He instantly backpedals. "Shit. Forget I said anything." She takes a shaky breath and watches him shuffle his feet under his desk.
Dawn has never cried in front of Anders, so neither of them knows how to act. Anders comes around his desk and stands in front of her, arms twitching because he's only hugged her twice and both were awful. But God, she needs one right now. Her arms snake around his chest and she pushes her cheek into his shoulder hard enough that she can feel the joint pressing into her teeth. He puts one arm around her shoulder and the other around her ribs. His touch is light and he clearly feels out of place, but he's trying and that's more than she could ask for.
"Dawn?" She can feel his question disturb the hair behind her ear. She hugs tighter and soaks the fabric of his jacket.
"I'm pregnant, and I told Lance a couple of days ago." She gasps. "And now he won't answer his phone and I can't find him at his house or work and I don't know what to do." The last bit comes out with a sob.
Anders' grip tightens on her so that he's actually holding her, and suddenly she's sobbing completely. She's hasn't slept well for weeks and now she's terrified and she's just so tired. Anders cheek rests on the top of her head and he starts smoothing a hand across her shoulders. They stay like this until she's done, and maybe a little bit after.
She takes a sip of water from the glass Anders hands her as he sits down. She can see the spot on his shirt where she had soaked through his jacket. He grinds his teeth for a moment and sucks in a breath.
"First thing: have you been to a doctor yet?" She shakes her head. "Alright. You can have some time off for that." He looks like he's mulling something over in his head. "Dawn, have you thought about all your options? All of them?"
"I don't know. I kept hoping it was a fluke, but then I kept getting even more late and I got scared." She gulps and takes some more water. Out of the corner of her eye, he laces his fingers together.
"I know a couple ways to track him down. Do you want me to do that?" Dawn mulls this over. She wants Lance to have to acknowledge that this is half his work. It's not fair that he gets to run away. She wants to so badly, but she can't and he doesn't deserve that luxury. But if she does see him, she thinks she might kill him.
"No. If he can't own up to this mistake, then I don't want him anywhere near me." She puffs air out between her teeth. "Plus, he's a dickhead." That has Anders laughing, all teeth. "I can handle this on my own. I can."
She looks over at him, and he's chewing the inside of his cheek. He opens his mouth a couple times, but doesn't say anything. She furrows her eyebrows.
"My dad was never around much. So my mother went through her pregnancies with just my brothers and me. I saw how hard it was." If this is a pep talk, she thinks, he's failing horribly. "So you don't get to do this alone. You have a problem or need help, you come to me."
She thinks he's lying and expects her to decline, but he holds her elbow to get her to look at him. In all the years they've worked together, she's never seen him look like this. "I 'don't get to'?"
"No." He's still looking at her. She puts her hand over his on her elbow and squeezes it. Finally, he looks away and stands up from the couch. "Now, let's make that doctor's appointment." He carries the phone over from his desk. "Do you know the phone number?"
She pulls it up from her own phone, but still accepts the receiver from him. The next open time slot is during the workday. She makes to refuse, but Anders tells her to take it or he'll make an appointment and drag her there. When she's finished she sets the phone back in its cradle and brushes her hair back from her face. Anders nods and returns to his desk while she starts around the corner.
"Anders?" She stops and turns. He looks up from his computer. "Thank you."
This smile is smaller, and she thinks it might be genuine. "Anytime, Dawnsie."