Staring in the floor length mirror of her bedroom CC looked down at a figure that was still trim by anyone's standards excepts her own and sighed. The last two months of her pregnancy had forced her to assume a lifestyle she disliked intensely.
For once in her life impulses were guiding her. She never once doubted she wanted this baby. She refused to allow herself the luxury of making plans. They have a way of falling through, dragging disappointment in the wake.
CC sighed as she waited on Dr Kat to see her. She gained a good twenty-eight pounds the past two months. Before that, she'd stayed real thin actually losing weight because of an extra long amount of morning sickness and this morning was no exception, she threw up five times in the last hour. When is this going to stop? She asked herself. It' s all your fault Niles, you did this to me. She hadn't even told Max yet. What was he going to think and Niles was he going to tell them that he was the father, she hoped not but she knew Niles and his inability to keep secrets very long.
"CC it's good to see you again? How the little one." she touched CC's stomach "Good I hope."
"We are."
"You look tired this morning. You need to be staying off your feet." She opened a folder. "You are aren't you?"
"Mostly…" CC replied.
"Don't lie to me. You need to be resting a little more. Did you tell Maxwell yet?"
"Huh, no. Does he has to know at all?"
"Well, eventually he will need to. Like real soon. I don't want you to go into labor while on say a trip or something."
"But I…we work at home."
She smiled. The doctor sighed. "All right. You can wait another week then you will need to tell him." she helped CC up. "Everything seems to be in order. Be careful."
"I will and I will tell Max too."
"Yeah right," CC said under her breath leaving the office. "He doesn't need to know just yet." No one had a clue that she was pregnant or at least they didn't say anything to her about it. Niles knew of course but didn't tell any of them. He made sure that she took her vitamins and got the rest that she needed. He had to lie a few times to Max though.
CC sat on the couch in the living room waiting on Niles to bring her something for her morning sickness. She slipped her hand down over her belly in an eternal protective movement of expectant mothers everywhere as if trying to shield her baby from this kind of voice. The voices in the kitchen got louder as Nanny Fine and her mother strolled into the den area.
"No ma I wont."
"You can't do this to me Fran."
"I can and I will."
"You have hurt us." Fran's mother sits down in the chair across from CC.
"Don't try to use guilt with me. Ma the answers no!!!"
Sylvia saw that CC was spaced out.
"What's with her?" she asked pointing in CC's direction.
"I don't have a clue she's been like that for awhile now. I mean the spaced out looks. Don't change the subject like that." Sylva watched CC rub her hands down her belly again. "I used to do that."
"Do wha?"
"Do what she just did. I did that before…"
"Before wha ma?"
"When I was pregnate for the first time."
"Wha?" they both watched CC for a minute.
"Did you tell him yet?" Fran's mother walked over to CC.
"Huh?"
"Did you tell the father yet?"
"You're pregnant!" Fran shouted.
"Shh…Nanny Fine. I can't think."
"You're thinking about him aren't you and how to tell him." Sylva sat by her and pointed to her stomach. CC smiled. "Thought so." She turned to face her daughter, "see I'm right."
Sylva got up. "Well, got to go. Good luck." She skipped out the door.
"Is it true the ice queen is pregnant?" Fran sat next to CC on the couch. "Have you told the father?"
"He wouldn't care."
Again her hand went over her belly as if to block out any hurtful words the baby might hear. Niles came in with a drink for CC.
"Here drink this it will make you feel better."
"Thanks."
"You know."
"Know what?" Niles asked confused even though he already know what Fran was talking about.
"About Ms Babcock?" she pointed in her direction. CC was drinking the drink he just handed her.
"She said she was nauseated so I made her a drink and before you ask it has no alcohol in it."
"Oh," Niles left back towards the kitchen. So he doesn't know not yet anyway. She grinned. You will.
"So you think he wouldn't care huh."
"That's right." CC's voice started to get edgy.
"I just thought that after he got you…."
"No body got me anything. We took precautions," which CC knew they didn't but was lying to Fran. "They didn't work. It happens. It was an accident."
"An accident that changes your life along with Max's. Talking about Max did you tell him yet?"
"No! He doesn't need to know right now, if he's not the father…"
"I'm not going to judge you but you need to tell him and by the look of it soon."
"I have a ways to go still."
"What? Like a month if that."
"Two thank you."
Fran thought for a minute counting backwards some. That would mean that she got pregnant or close to the time that she went on that curse. The one that she had a fling on. That's why the father didn't care cause he doesn't even having a clue. But why wouldn't she tell him? That's not right for her to keep it from him unless she really doesn't know where he was. Is there something she not telling us?
"Wait till Niles finds out about this."
"Nanny fine don't. I want to tell them on…my own terms not yours."
"Getting snippety already."
Max walked in. "CC I was just about to call you to meet me at the airport." CC rolled her eyes.
"Not again. Where to now?"
"California."
"Now would be good time to tell him." Fran commented.
"No." CC shouted.
"Tell me what?"
"Ms Babcock's…" CC slapped her hand on Fran's mouth. "Don't say it." Fran mumbled something.
"You aren't going to back out of this deal are you? I need you on this one."
"Maxwell…" she swallowed. She let go of Fran and then glared up at him.
"You need to..." Fran whispered to her. Niles hearing all this over the intercom came into the room.
"Does everyone need to know?"
"What?" Niles asked all innocent like.
"I wanted to do this later." CC glared at Nanny Fine this time. Then sighed. "Maxwell," she blinked. CC hesitated.
"Fine, if you don't tell them I will." Fran interrupted.
"Leave it alone."
"I see the hormones are kicking in with you."
"What's going on? Why don't you just tell me CC? Is it serious?"
"Only to her." Fran got up and went over to him.
"I'm pregnant ok." She looked at Fran. "There are you happy." CC gets up. "I think I'm going to be sick again." she started to the bathroom under the stairs.
"That's makes two of us." Niles goes to the kitchen. Both Fran and Max just watched them.
"She got pregnant before me. I can't believe it," she told Max.
"Well, strangers things have happened." Max said as he went to the kitchen. They saw that Niles was staring into space. "Did you know about this?"
"I should have seen the signs. She's been tired all the time and complaining about nausea. I thought it was cause she was drunk a lot. How did you find out?" both faced Fran.
"Ma saw how she was rubbing her stomach and she told me that's what she used to do. CC just blurted it out."
"How far along is she?" Max asked.
"She told me about seven months." He nodded. "That was the time…."
"The time of the fling she had." Fran finished the sentence for him.
"Oh, You think…"
"Yes, there's no other explanation for it. She got pregnant on that trip."
"That's the one that you were on too." Max looked at Niles.
"I was. I told you that things were crazy on that trip."
"That changes everything."
"How so, I…." CC walks in.
"Max, can I…."
"Take the day off, yes."
"I'm fine and I can still go to California."
"Just be at the airport tomorrow then 2pm remember."
"I will."
Max met CC at the airport.
"Are you sure that you can handle this trip. I mean…we could cancel it."
"I'm fine Maxwell. We are only going to be gone a few days." Little did she know that those few days would be the ones that changed her life forever. "No big deal. We will be home in no time. We can't afford to cancel this, we worked to hard on it and I'm not giving it up."
"That's true enough we have worked all year for this and now it is here. I don't think that anything can rein this trip. But I'm worried…I'm worried about you."
"Don't be." Don't be…that's the first time his really shown me that he does care and shown me any attention. That's because the helps not here with us not even one of his kids. She sighed.
"What's wrong CC?"
"Uh? Nothing just thinking that's all." Max breathed in deeply. "Don't be such on edge with me."
"I just don't want anything to go wrong."
"Nothing will."
