Hola mis amigos! I'm back! I'm surprised at how many people have read this story! :P So anyway, on with el cuento! If you haven't guessed, I'm learning Spanish. Badly. Back to the point: here's chapter 4!

Hand in hand, we stepped inside the building. It looked a lot more sanitary on the inside than it did outside: The walls were all scrubbed white with pregnancy and health posters dotted about and the floor was cream marble tiles. In a corner, a cascade of blue sofas leaned against some walls, and in another corner a woman in a blue dress sat behind a desk.

Hershel squeezed my hand as we approached the desk.

'I'm Claire Foley. I have an appointment at 12.05?' I told the woman with my heart in my mouth.

She nodded slightly. 'Yes. Take a seat over there and the doctor will call you in soon,' she gestured to the sofas in the corner, where we went to sit down.

It only took a few minutes for them to call my name, but it seemed as though an eternity passed. Curious, I spent the time examining the other people in the waiting area. Across from us was a heavily pregnant woman with a large stomach (would I grow to that size if I kept the baby?). In her hands rested a thick hardback book called 'Pregnancy 101: A New Mother's Guide'. Sat near the woman was a young girl, no older than sixteen, looking down into her lap, sobbing. With one hand she held her father's, and with the other she held her mother's.

My gut wrenched. Oh God. I'd have to tell my parents. Even if I had an abortion, I'd have to tell them. I couldn't just keep it a secret from them for the rest of my life, could I?

My search for an answer was interrupted by a voice calling out of a speaker 'Claire Foley to Dr Jacobs' office.'

I turned to look at Hershel. His face was coated in anticipation, and his hand had grown clammy. He was obviously nervous.

'It's okay,' I assured him, giving his hand a squeeze. 'We can do this.'

He sighed heavily, as though to calm me down, and we walked into the doctor's office.

A woman sat behind the desk in the office. She was quite mature, with slight creases on her face. She had her dirty blonde hair in a bun and a pair of round spectacles perched on her nose. Her smile was warm and welcoming, and made me feel comfortable.

'Hello, dear. My name is Sarah Jacobs, but around here I'm Doctor Jacobs. You must be Claire?'

I nodded at her meekly. 'Yes, I'm Claire, and this is Hershel. He's the…. the father.'

Dr Jacobs laughed slightly. 'I guessed that much Claire. Now, have you had any thoughts about your options?'

'Not really,' I shook my head.

'Well, there are three options. You could end your pregnancy and have an abortion. Or you could carry out your pregnancy and put the baby up for adoption. Or… you could keep the baby and raise it yourself. Do you know how far along you are?'

'Umm… no,' I blushed slightly.

'We'll have to do an ultra-scan then, just to check. We can only perform abortions before the legal limit. Just lie down on that examining table.'

I nodded and hopped on it, pulling my shirt up. Hershel stood next to me, his hand resting on my shoulder. Dr Jacobs slid a plastic glove on her hand and rubbed some clear gel on my stomach delicately.

'It should come up on this scanner,' she told us as an image appeared on the screen. It was difficult to see, but not impossible. I could make out a shape: a little body with a round head and ten tiny fingers and ten tiny toes. The machine thumped softly in a rhythm: a heartbeat. The little body inside of me had ten tiny fingers and ten tiny toes and a heartbeat. It was alive.

'Oh, God,' I muttered softly. I turned to Hershel. 'I can't do it. I can't kill it.'

He looked at me, with deadly seriousness plastered across his face and only said four words. But the four words made me even more confident with my decision.

'I'll stick by you.'

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'So, how did it go?' Brenda asked me as I walked into our bedroom.

'It… It went fine,' I said, sitting down on my bed. 'I've made a decision.'

Her eyes widened eagerly and she sat on the edge of her bed. 'And?'

'I-I'm not going to have an abortion,' I said, closing my eyes.

'Wow! Was not expecting that! What did the Doctor do to convince you?'

I sighed. 'Nothing, actually. It was the ultra-sound. There was a heartbeat, Bren. It's alive. I can't kill it!'

Brenda nodded slowly. 'So what are you going to do when little Pebbles is born?'

I furrowed my eyebrows. 'What did you just call it?'

'Pebbles. You know? Like Pebbles Flintstone off of the Flintstones? Now answer my question.'

'I haven't decided yet.'

'Well, you need to hurry up with that decision,' she paused for a moment, and then her face lit up as though it was Christmas morning. 'You're keeping the baby! You know what that means!?'

'I get fat?'

'No! Well, yes, but that's not what I'm saying. You're going to have to tell your parents!'

I paled drastically whilst she rolled about on the floor in a fit of laughter.

'This isn't funny Bren!'

'Isn't fun- You have to tell your parents, two of the most strict and judgemental creatures to have ever walked the Earth that you are pregnant whilst your unmarried and still in university! Of course it's funny!'

'Brenda! This is serious! I am having a baby!'

'You're having a baby?'

I spun around and Brenda stopped laughing and looked up to see Sabrina standing in the doorway.

'Sabrina!' I exclaimed. 'You're back from Edinburgh!'

'Yeah, Anne and I just got back,' she said, brushing the comment off lightly. 'You're pregnant?'

'Yes! OK? But listen, Sabrina, it's a secret, and you can't tell anybody! Understand?' I rushed out, my heart pounding.

'Yeah,' she said, still seeming shocked. 'I understand… but you? Not Ashley or Miranda? You?'

Brenda groaned impatiently. 'Yes, Sabby, we get the point, Claire's frigid,' I glared at Brenda. 'But either way, she's up the duff, so deal with it.'

'Umm… Okay.' Sabrina stumbled out of the room in a daze, only to duck back in a moment later. 'Oh, I came in here to ask whether you had any shampoo. I've not washed my hair in five days.'

Brenda grabbed a bottle of shampoo of the dresser and threw it at Sabrina (who surprisingly caught it). She left the room.

Breathing out an exhausted breath, Brenda turned to me. 'Never mind your bloody parents. You're going to have to tell everyone. I collapsed back onto my bed and groaned into my pillow.'

…And we're out! God, that took effort.

Yay! There's going to be a Lil' Layton! But I suppose that you already guessed that, because if she had an abortion there would be no story.

RedCoCo: I'm happy you're enjoying the story! Yeah, I love Clark and Brenda :)

So, anyway (still most used word), review, my pretties, otherwise I'll get you. And your little dog too! (May have just watched Wizard of Oz).

englishtiger

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