This one's pretty long for me, but I tend to write short chapters in general, so you can be the judge of that, I guess.

Your reviews make me very happy :) Thankyou so much for them all, it honestly makes my day every time I read one. And I know, I know, I'm a bit eager with the story-posting... but what can I say? It's my calling ;)

They arrived together at the waiting room. Thomas was surprised when Effy was late, whereas Katie felt that it was typical of her. The texts exchanged before this appointment had been sparse, their elusiveness representative of Effy herself. They had met only once since their little 'party', just to go over the finer details, to sort out the legal aspects of the adoption. Now was a sort of a moment of truth for Katie and Thomas – the first scan. Would the baby be healthy? Would Effy still be willing to give her child up when she saw it for the first time?

Thomas, on the other hand, was perfectly calm. He was reading a gardening magazine, which Katie would once have found vaguely amusing, but by now it really didn't surpise her. She herself was flicking through a back copy of Bridal Guide. Wedding planning might have been her job, but it was her passion, too – and besides, she already had copies of all the Cosmo and Marie-Claire that was on offer back at home. (Katie greatly prided herself on being a women's magazine connoisseur.)

Katie was beginning to worry that the girl wouldn't actually turn up in time, and her suspicions were almost confirmed – almost – when a nurse put her head out of the surgery door. "Do we have an Elizabeth Stonem here?"

They looked at each other at precisely the same moment. "Er – "

And right then, right at that very fucking time, an insouciant Effy appeared in the doorway of the waiting room. She looked at Katie. She looked at Thomas. She looked at the nurse. And she smiled – or rather smirked – and said in an airy voice, "Yes, that's me."

Honestly, I don't think I've ever seen anyone look more pleased with themselves. The nurse appeared vaguely confused for a moment, then seemed to collect herself. "Right, anyone coming in with you, then?" Effy dragged her eyes over to where Thomas and Katie sat and nodded, as one might at a dog.

"These two."

Thomas jumped to his feet. "Thomas and Katherine Tomone. We're – "

"Going to take my baby," Effy finished with a deliciously teasing smile. Again, there was a look of faint surprise on the nurse's face, so Katie decided to clear it up for her just in case she really was as dim as she looked.

"What she means is we're going to adopt." A hurried Katie smile and the woman seemed satisfied, stepping back to let them into the room. Effy went first, walking with unmistakable panache, then Thomas, his eyes open with an oddly childish expression that was not unlike wonder – and that was another thing Katie loved about him; his way of looking at even the most simple situations as if they contained brilliance – and lastly Fitch herself, huffing slightly. Being out-done in attractiveness was not something she was keen on and Miss Mystery here was definitely threatening her throne. (But jealousy was stupid and immature and something Katie was not feeling at all. Absolutely no chance. Nope.)

They all knew the drill. Thomas and Katie took seats, Effy edged herself onto the weird-hospital-bed-chair-recliner thing and lay down. Maybe Katie was making it up, but she could have sworn she saw a moment of anxiety in the brunette's eyes as her hands went to the hem of her top. Of course, it wasn't exactly like Effy ever wore much anyway, but exposing her pregnant stomach was a different kind of vulnerability. And Katie no longer felt the savage pleasure of seeing the girl having to admit her humanity, just a faint sense of something that almost verged on sympathy.

The woman pulled on a pair of gloves, then turned to where her patient of sorts lay. She began to rub gel into her stomach with a no-nonsense attitude, and Effy visibly squirmed at the cold sensation. Katie, for her part, was fascinated with the whole procedure – not just because of her own longing for pregnancy, but because there was something strangely intimate about watching the woman apply the substance to Effy's stomach, her clever nurse's fingers expertly kneading the girl's skin. It was difficult not be impressed at the litheness of Effy's form, slender and athletic – the curve of her baby bump hardly visible, but Katie felt that even if it had been, it would have detracted nothing from her beauty.

She was shaken away from staring at Effy's stomach by a gentle nudge from her husband. The nurse was moving a sensor over the now gel-coated skin, and as such images (completely different from the images in Katie's head. Excited as she was at seeing what could be her baby for the first time, for some reason, she just couldn't stop replaying the nurse's fingers spreading the gel over Effy's stomach. Which was weird. And completely inexplicable) were beginning to be displayed on the screen.

Looking up at them, however, something very much akin to joy began to affect Katie. She'd done enough jealous research on pregnancy to know that the gender wouldn't be revealed at this scan, but that didn't stop her from internal speculation. She was rooting for a girl; a girl she could teach about lipstick, and leopard-print, and lusty teenage boys. And names? Maybe Jenna, after Mum, or... Holly or Megan or something. Yeah, Megan sounds good. Mr and Mrs Tomone with their daughter Meg.

And that moving flicker of grey and white she saw on the monitor? That's my baby. That's Megan, or whatever. Whoever. Oh, fuck, this is surreal. As if reading her thoughts, Thomas gave her hand a gentle squeeze, and she was grateful, grateful for all the wonderful things that happened to bring her here, to this hospital room, at this very moment.

Effy, on the other hand, seemed mildly disinterested in whatever her unborn child was getting up to. Obviously for her this appointment was more for the benefit of Thomas and Katie than the elusive Stonem girl, because she had merely glanced at the monitor, then closed her eyes. Katie felt a stab of annoyance. She wasn't at all religious, but she still found it unfair that, somehow, this girl had been blessed with a pregnancy and just didn't fucking care, whereas Katie wanted a child more than anything in the world and would never be able to bear one herself.

Shut up, said a more rational – and more blunt – voice from inside her head. You're a lucky bitch for even having met this girl, so count your fucking blessings.

After what seemed like merely moments due to the sheer bliss of the event, but must have been much longer, Effy adjusted her shirt so that it once again covered (most of) her stomach and slipped artfully down from the bed-chair-thing. "A very healthy foetus; I wish you luck," burbled the nurse enthusiastically. Knowing that the comment was probably not intended for her, Katie kept quiet, and yet again felt that indignance when Effy didn't take the chance to acknowledge it either. Once again Thomas saved the day.

"Thankyou, Miss," was his eager reply, paired with a charming smile, and the tension was relieved as suddenly as it had arisen. He was making such an effort to make this work, and Katie realised that she should probably put a little more into it, too.

Thomas kissed Katie's cheek and disappeared to go running, and the two women were left in the waiting room. Katie had left her magazine lying open on the seat in which she had waited, and felt vaguely embarrassed at Effy's condescending smirk on noticing it. What's so wrong with liking flowers and pouffy dresses?

It occurred to Katie at this point that anyone but she and Effy would have made the situation vaguely awkward, but both girls were the sort to get straight to the point. As it was, Effy got there first, moving in closer to Katie like some lithe and hungry feline. "You don't like me, do you?" It wasn't self-conscious, it wasn't even an accusation. She wasn't hurt, or angry: merely observant. She's smart, Katie thought with a twinge, and for once she managed to admire the girl instead of envying her.

"Excuse me?" Katie tried to retain her dominance in the conversation. Effy merely smiled serenely. She obviously wasn't going to clarify herself. "I mean, I don't think that's a very – I think you're extremely – " Nope, formal Katie has left you firmly behind. "What the fuck do you mean?"

"Or maybe I'm wrong," Effy added suddenly, obviously bored of Katie's desperate attempts to rationalise her open distrust of the girl. "Maybe you like me... too much?"

"What?"

"Oh, I think you know what I mean." No, I fucking don't, actually.

She laughed, and it was a prettier noise than Kate had imagined – still enigmatic but there seemed to be an element of general amusement in it. Happiness. Does this girl know what it is? Does she even have emotions at all? Her mind strayed again to the dead boyfriend Naomi had mentioned, and she cringed.

"Whatever." Remembering her earlier resolution to be nicer to Effy, Katie decided to change the subject. "You up for grabbing a coffee?" she tried.

The look of mild surprise lasted only for a moment, before she was once again bearing an I-know-something-you-don't smile. She obviously couldn't think of a witty retort, however, because instead of answering she simply held eye contact expectantly. Katie took it as a yes – there wasn't exactly much else to assume, was there?

They walked out of the hospital room and down the street in silence, which was strangely comfortable. Effy was wearing strong perfume, and the fact that they were walking so close to one another meant that it easily masked the smell of cigarettes and sweat that pervaded an average pavement. Katie had expected Effy to be the smoking type herself, but hopefully she'd given up at least that on the advent of her pregnancy.

Starbucks was the closest to the hospital, so that's where they went. Katie ordered a cappuccino, Effy went for tea, stating that "caffeine can't exactly be good for baby darling." So no cigarettes, and no coffee, but drowning yourself in my husband's alcoholic concoctions is absolutely fine? Katie didn't voice her thoughts, trying to remember her promise to herself to be more welcoming to the girl – who was after all fulfilling pretty much everything she'd wanted since she was ten, and just beginning to notice boys for more than the inevitable primary school 'guess who's got a boyfriend' games. (Around the same time that Emily was beginning to notice something entirely different, but Katie wasn't sure why she was thinking about that.)

The silence became too long for Katie, so she finally brought up the only thing she could think of. "No coffee, given up smoking – very concerned about this baby, aren't you?"

A pause. Effy, obviously not knowing what to say, dipped one long, slender finger into her tea and began to stir it gently. After about twenty seconds of that, she lifted it into her mouth and licked it carefully from nail to base. "Mmm." Another pause. "I wonder, Katie, how you knew that I smoked?" One up to me. Katie's vow of friendliness was instantly forgotten. See, I can play the guessing game, too.

"A lucky guess." Effy nodded slowly, not breaking eye contact for a second.

"If you must know," she drawled, "and I'm perfectly aware what you're insinuating, I drink because I have to. Cigarettes, coffee... I miss those. But if I didn't drink... " Her voice tailed off delicately: this confession was the closest Effy had come to emotional, Katie realised suddenly, but she was still betraying nothing. Katie felt her cheeks burn as she realised how intrusive she had been – once upon a time that would have been standard Katie behaviour (she cringed as she remembered her failed attempts to sabotage Emily and Naomi's relationship back in the early days) but she was trying to be a little more polite.

Still, the health of *her* unborn baby was something Katie was willing to fight for. "Don't you think you should cut down at all?"

"Month four now, isn't it? Out of my hands." She smirked in an annoying I've-won kind of way. Oh, fuck off. I'm willing to bet I know a hell of a lot more about this than you do.

"No, it isn't, actually. Even in the last six months of the pregnancy, drinking can cause a variety of harmful effects such as foetal alcohol syndrome, premature birth, low birth weight... " She chose not to finish her list when she saw the look Effy was giving her.

The girl obviously wasn't interested at all in anything Katie had to say – except for purposes of her own private analysis – because those snake-like blue eyes currently had more than a touch of a 'Seriously?' look in them. Finally she chose to speak. "There's two very different versions of you, aren't there, Katie? Katie fucking Fitch... " How the fuck does she know about that? "... and Katherine Tomone, all straight-laced and formal... and honestly, boring as fuck."

It was true. And Katie didn't really know what to say.

x

"... beginning to think I would have at least a little more fucking sympathy for her if she even tried to be polite, but no, it's all this stupid Freudian bullshit, and – "

"Freudian?" Naomi's eyes were glittering.

"Well, I don't know. She thinks she can like, psycho-analyse me, or some shit."

"Probably can. You're not that hard to figure out."

Katie turned to Emily, bearing a pleading expression. "Why do you have to be dating this bitch?" She shrugged, but there was a teasing look in those innocent brown eyes. Urgh, she's practically insufferable since she fell for the lezzer cunt.

Katie didn't exactly have much to defend herself with, so she tried collapsing onto the sofa opposite Mrs and Mrs Happy Families with an over-dramatic sigh. A note of sympathy crept into Emily's eyes – ha, she always weakens first – and she placed a hand on Naomi's knee, like they were Katie's parents, about to break some terrible news to her.

"Look, Katie, she's really helping you, isn't she? So why don't you just try to be nice to her?" I liked my sister so much better when she did whatever I said. "And she's obviously had some – trauma – in her life." She shot a glance at Naomi, obviously hoping for more information, but her girlfriend was absent-mindedly biting her nails, apparently having lost all interest in the conversation.

"Like I fucking said, I would – if she was anywhere near tolerable. I mean, she's alright when she tries to be, but it's like she gets a kick out off being a bitch."

"Sounds a bit like you, Katie. I'd have thought you'd get on perfectly." Nai-fucking-omi, a-fucking-gain. Emily shot her a reproachful look, Katie opted for a more simplistic approach – the finger.

"No, I'm serious. She gets on my fucking nerves and I think she actually enjoys it."

Now it was Emily's turn to sigh. Obviously, with me and Naomi biting each other's heads off every five seconds, she gets a little tired of being the voice of reason. Not that she has much. Ever since she set eyes on the blonde bitch it's like everything she does is driven by her fucking fanny – or her heart, I think she'd say, which is even more vomit-worthy.

"Can you two lay off each other for just one moment?"

Their no was simultaneous.

"Oh, for fuck's sake." She turned her attention back to Katie. "Kay, you only have to put up with her – um, just had the three month scan, isn't it? Yeah. So that's another six months of meetings, and then she fucks off and you have a pretty little baby.

"No, she doesn't," Katie mumbled. "We're doing an open adoption."

Emily looked surprised for a moment, but soon regained her composure. "Right. Well." She paused. "Do you want this baby?"

"Of course I fucking want the baby!"

"Then you're going to have to deal with the bitch – not that she is one, because I severely doubt that." They held eye contact for a moment... then she was distracted by Naomi, who was obviously feeling left out, nuzzling her neck.

"Ask her to go, babes?" Emily giggled – Katie snarled.

"Naoms... she's my sister... and she needs – " She was cut off by the nuzzle turning into a kiss. Oh, for fuck's sake. Emily giggled again. " – she needs some – " Yeah, seems she's pretty much given up on sanity for now. " – advice – oh – Naomi!"

After at least five minutes of excruciating PDA, Katie gave up, got to her feet and left. She wanted to be out of that place before they switched to horizontal.

How was that?