Previously: "Of course I know who the father is. I only had sex one time. One fuckin' time. Literally! Yes, Spencer left me date, but I'm seventeen and about to graduate high school. Everyone dates. Even kids in Catholic school date. If I couldn't date or have some kind of fun, I might as well have went to military school or joined a goddamn convent."

"That's not a bad idea in hindsight. So, then who did it." He demanded, ignoring her language. "Who knocked up my little girl. Just tell me so I can deal with him."

And now, On with Chapter 3

"What do you mean deal with him? I don't want you or any of your friends doing anything to him. It was as much my idea as his. In fact, I - I sort of started the whole thing. He didn't even really want to at first. If anything he was a willing participant at best, but it certainly wasn't his fault or his suggestion. He didn't force me into anything I didn't want to do."

"Hell's bells, Carly! Listen to yourself. It's not his fault? Maybe he didn't force you but Jesus H. Christ! Don't they teach you about condoms and birth control in school these days? Let alone responsibility? It's as much his fault as anyone's!"

Carly settled down and stopped shouting. "Yes, of course I learned about condoms, and we did use one, I swear. Bu-but it slipped off or - or ripped or something. I don't know, maybe we didn't use it right. It's not like either of us knew what we were doing. We were both virgins, we didn't know what to do. I just know now I'm pregnant."

"Will you please not say that word." The middle aged man propped his hands on his hips. "You still haven't told me who he is and I'm waiting for an answer."

The girl again got loud and aggressive. "It's Freddie's, alright. It's not some random, asshole stranger's, it's Freddie's baby in my belly. The one decent boy I was always too stupid to see even though he was right in front of me."

"The Benson kid? That nerdy boy that lives across the hall from Spencer whose weird mother is always doing the fire drills and safety inspections? But why the hell would you be intimate with a kid like him? He's - he's a geek."

"Because he's my best friend and I didn't want to come to Italy, meet some guy and end up losing my virginity to someone who I wasn't sure about. I sort of always dreamed of my first time being with a sweet guy like Freddie. It was special. It was special for both of us. Or at least it was special for me. Honestly, I think it freaked him out."

"So are you dating him? I thought the way Spencer talked he was seeing your friend Sam. You never talk about anyone romantically, so I don't know what's going on in your life. Hell, you could be a lesbian for all I know, well for all I knew up until this afternoon. I guess that's one thing that's no longer in question."

"No, Freddie and I aren't together and neither are him and Sam. I don't think, anyway. But I want to be with him and I know he'll do the right thing and stand by me. He's a decent guy and he'll take care of me. I know he's got college and all but maybe we can both put off college for a year and we can get on our feet."

"No, he won't do any such thing because he isn't going to find out." Her dad countered, having quickly thought this through.

"What?" Carly questioned. "What's that supposed to mean? What do you mean he's not going to find out. He has to know, it's his child, too."

Stephen Shay was more concerned about his daughter's reputation, and his - by association - than anything else. Having a pregnant teenage daughter certainly wasn't going to jeopardize his career, but it would make him look like a bad parent and cause people to question his judgment. He was going to handle this situation in the best way possible - for him - no matter the effect on the father of his unborn grandchild.

"I think it might be best if we just keep this to ourselves. You only have a few months of school left, you probably won't be showing too bad before graduation and I'm sure you can defer your college plans for a semester. After the baby comes, you'll give it up and move on like this never happened. If you simply lie low and we play our cards right, this whole thing can go away without too much negative impact on your life. You have got to think about your future, Carly."

"But, Daddy, what if Freddie wants to keep it. I can't just give away his child without getting his input. Besides, I think I might actually want to keep it myself. I'm not the first woman to have a baby as soon as she's out of high school and make something of her life. I don't see what the big deal is. College isn't going anywhere."

"Will you get it through your head that Freddie has no say in this! I take it you haven't told him yet, have you?" He silently hoped she'd say no.

"No, but I need to. He needs to know about this so we can figure things out. I'm going to call him tomorrow and tell him. It's too late to call now." Unlike her dad, telling Freddie would be easy, he might get scared but he surely wouldn't blow his top at her.

"I don't think that's best for either of you." He frowned, holding out his hand. "Give me your phone."

"What, why?" Carly knew what he was implying, she was being cut off from her friends back home. "You can't do that."

"Dammit, Carly. Don't argue with me, I know what's best. Now give me the goddamn phone."

Carly reluctantly gave her father her new Pear-phone, the one with all her contacts in it. "Please don't do this, I don't want to be cut off from everyone I know. I have to talk to Freddie. He needs to hear this from me. I was wrong to just walk out of his life and to push him away all those years. I need to tell him how I feel about him, I just hope he hasn't moved on and he still feels the same way. Daddy, I need him and our baby needs a father. I think I might actually love him, I - I know I do."

"No you don't! And the baby needs to be adopted by a married couple who can give it a stable home. Now, you are to have no further contact with this young man or any of your friends from Seattle. Period. No one back home is going to find out about this and fill your head with delusions of grandeur. This is how it has to be. Understand?"

"But what about Spencer?" She cried. "He'll know something is wrong. We talk or text almost every day. He's having a hard enough time adjusting to life all alone. If I suddenly drop out of his life altogether what'll he do? He'll go off the deep end."

"I'll handle your brother. But you will not have any contact with him unless it's under my direct supervision and there will be absolutely no mention of this situation to him. He couldn't keep a secret if his life depended on it. You are not going to end up as some girl that everyone talks about and calls a slut. No contact means no calls, no texts, not so much as a damn letter, you hear me?"

"What? I'm not three! You can't treat me like a prisoner and keep me penned up. I'm pregnant, I didn't fail a math test. Grounding me isn't going to solve anything."

"You certainly aren't in any position to bargain, Carly. Now, you go to your room and let me think about what we have to do next. Oh, and I want your computer, too. From now on it will be right over there on my desk so you can use it for schoolwork. Only." He pointed to the desk in the corner of the living room. "Turned off and password protected until I turn it on for you."

"This is so jank. This isn't the fifties, you can't just lock me up in my room so no one finds out I'm pregnant. You have no right to treat me like a prisoner or a child."

"Stop saying that word! I'll treat you like a child since you're no more responsible than one. And irresponsible children are grounded. Now, please get out of my sight for a little while before I say something we'll both regret."

"Like you haven't already." She cried and stomped off. This was certainly not the way she had envisioned this day ending. For the first time, she wished she had never moved to Europe to be with her father.