Chapter 3:

Stephanie arrived into North Carolina after 16 hours of driving. As she pulled into her new townhouse, Stephanie got the keys from the office and headed in to see her house. She was pleasantly surprised on how big the inside was compared to the outside. Stephanie called the moving company and gave them her new address so they could deliver her stuff.

Later that night after checking into a hotel room for the night, Stephanie decided that she had better text Jeff and let him know that she was in North Carolina and where she was staying for the night. She pulled out her phone and searched for Jeff's number.

Hey Jeff, I'm in town. SM

Great. Where are you staying? JH

Best western for tonight. I rented a townhouse nearby and my stuff gets delivered tomorrow morning. SM

Great. What room are you in? JH

301. Why? SM

I'll come see you tonight after Beth leaves for her mom's house for dinner. JH

Ok. I'll be here. SM

Stephanie looked at the time, and decided to order dinner and take a shower before Jeff got there. Stephanie waited as patiently as possible for Jeff to get there and soon there was a knock on her door. Stephanie opened the door and let Jeff in. He was wearing a hat and dark jacket so that he wouldn't be recognized.

"Hey beautiful." Jeff stated.

"Hey yourself." Stephanie responded as she hugged him.

"When did you get into town and how did Adam take it?" Jeff asked as he took off his hat and jacket.

"Today and I don't know. He was in Tallahassee and not returning my calls or text messages. He should be getting back into Tampa today sometime." Stephanie answered.

"Ahh. Well, hopefully he gets the message and realizes that he's lost a wonderful woman." Jeff responded.

"Thank you. I needed to hear that. So what are you going to do about Beth?" Stephanie asked.

"I will be breaking up with her very soon. I've been trying to assert my independace a lot lately and its starting to annoy her. I think a few more days of this and I will be able to call things off with her for good." Jeff answered.

"Ok. So what do you want to do?" Stephanie asked.

"I just want to be with you." Jeff answered as he pulled her close to him.

Stephanie and Jeff spent most the evening in each others arms. Jeff didn't want to leave Stephanie, but knew that he had to head home otherwise, Beth would start suspecting something was going on. Stephanie gave Jeff her new address and told him to come by tomorrow if he could get away.

Jeff agreed to meet Stephanie at her new place in the morning when Beth left. Jeff thought about Stephanie on the drive home and after Beth went to bed that night, Jeff stayed downstairs on the couch. He didn't want to sleep with her after having a wonderful evening with Stephanie.

As the weeks went by, Stephanie and Jeff spent as much time together as possible. There were times when Beth would go down to visit her brother and would be gone for days and Jeff spent every minute he could with Stephanie. Beth was starting to notice a change in Jeff and during her last trip to her brother's house, she realized that Jeff was moving away from her emotionally.

One morning Stephanie woke up and dashed to the bathroom. After puking up everything in her stomach, she brushed her teeth and crawled back into bed. It was a Saturday so she didn't have to be at work. Stephanie had given Jeff her spare key just in case. She was still laying in bed when Jeff let himself in.

"Hey you. Are you feeling ok?" Jeff asked.

"Hey. No. I feel like crap." Stephanie answered.

"What's going on? It's not like you to still be in bed at 10am even on a Saturday." Jeff asked.

"I don't know. I woke up at 8 and started throwing up. Then I crawled back into bed." Stephanie answered.

"Well I am here now. I will take care of you." Jeff responded as he wrapped an arm around her and laid down.

Stephanie sat up and bolted to the bathroom again. Jeff helped her as best he could before heading downstairs to get her some water and dry toast. Jeff was worried about her and decided to call his local doctor to see if she could see Stephanie.

"Hey babe. I made a doctor's appointment with my doctor for you this afternoon. I really think that you should be seen." Jeff told her.

"Thank you." Stephanie responded.

Later that afternoon, Jeff drove Stephanie to the clinic for her appointment. After getting her vitals taken and answering a few questions, Stephanie was asked to pee in a cup and wait for the doctor to come in. Jeff remained in the waiting room to give Stephanie some privacy.

"Hello, Ms Morris. I am Dr. Williams. What brings you in today?" Dr. Williams asked.

"I woke up this morning and started throwing up." Stephanie answered.

"Ok. Let me look at your initial intake for today. It says here that your last period was November 9th 2009 correct?" Dr. Williams asked.

"Yes. I have been very stressed with moving and getting away from a bad relationship." Stephanie answered.

"Ok. I would like to run a pregnancy test just to be on the safe side. It will only take a few minutes." Dr. Williams stated.

"Sure." Stephanie responded.

Dr. Williams ran the pregnancy test and while they waited, she continued her exam on Stephanie. Dr. Williams left the room for a few minutes while she checked on the test results. When Dr. Williams walked back into the room, Stephanie noticed the look on her face and somehow already knew the results.

"Ms. Morris, you pregancy test has come back positive. I would like to do a quick ultrasound to see exactly how far along you are." Dr. Williams stated.

"Ok." Stephanie responded as she laid back.

"The gel will be a little cold." Dr. Williams stated as she started the ultrasound. "Ok. It looks like you are about 7 weeks along. I would estimate your due date at August 25th. Congratulations."

"Thank you." Stephanie responded to the news.

Once Stephanie was cleaned off she headed back towards the waiting room. Jeff was still sitting there waiting for her. Once they left the clinic, Jeff noticed that Stephanie was unusally quiet and that she just stared out the window as he drove.

"Is everything ok?" Jeff asked once they were back at Stephanie's house.

"I don't know." Stephanie answered as tears filled her eyes.

"Dr. Williams couldn't tell you why you are sick?" Jeff asked.

"No. She told me why I am feeling sick, but I just don't know how to tell you or anyone else." Stephanie started crying.

"Baby, you can tell me anything. What's going on?" Jeff asked.

"Jeff, I'm pregnant." Stephanie answered.

"Really? How far? When are you due?" Jeff asked excitedly.

"Yes. I'm 7 weeks and due August 25th." Stephanie answered.

"That's great news!" Jeff exclaimed.

"Really? You're actually excited about this?" Stephanie asked.

"Of course I am. Aren't you?" Jeff answered.

"I am as long as this baby is yours. There is still a chance that Adam could be the father." Stephanie stated.

"I don't care, I promise I will help you raise this baby no matter what." Jeff responded.

"Are you sure about that? What if this baby is Adam's?" Stephanie asked.

"I am 100% sure. Whether the baby is mine or not doesn't matter. I will still be here for him or her." Jeff answered.

"Thank you." Stephanie responded as she hugged him.

Later that afternoon, Jeff headed home knowing what he needed to do. Beth was home and laying on the couch not doing a damn thing. Jeff walked into the livingroom and shut off the TV. Beth started to protest but she saw the look on Jeff's face.

"What are you doing?" Jeff asked.

"Relaxing. Why?" Beth answered.

"It seems that's all you do lately. I haven't seen you do anything around the house in weeks. Not only that, but you are always questioning me everytime I leave the house." Jeff responded.

"I have a right to know where you are going, don't I?" Beth argued.

"No. Not anymore. I'm done. You need to get your stuff and move out. I need my space and I need my time." Jeff responded.

"Fine. I'm done dealing with your precious life." Beth stated.

"My life? I've given you everything you could ask for and you take it for granted. Well, now you don't have me to pay your way. Lock up before you leave and give the key to Matt or my dad." Jeff responded before leaving the house again.

Jeff drove as quickly as he could back to Stephanie's house. He wanted nothing more than to hold her in his arms and love her. He was glad that he was able to break up with Beth without telling her about Stephanie and the baby.

Stephanie was in the kitchen making dinner when she saw Jeff pull up. She opened the garage door so he could pull his car in and hide it. Jeff walked through the garage door and wrapped his arms around Stephanie's waist.

"I told Beth that she and I are done and over with and told her to get her stuff and move out." Jeff told her.

"Did she ask why?" Stephanie asked.

"Nope. I didn't give her a chance." Jeff answered.

"Good." Stephanie responded as she went back to making dinner.

After they finished dinner, Jeff headed back to his house to see if Beth was done moving out. All her personal belongings were gone and the house was locked. Jeff was glad that nothing of his was taken by mistake. Jeff spent the rest of the evening cleaning the house and taking down pictures of Beth and him.