A/N: *This chapter has been slightly revised*

* Betty and Leo had married already (Adrian didn't go) But Adrian's parents haven't gotten married yet. They postponed because of Adrian's situation, money problems and Cindy lost her job (only in my story of course).*


I've dealt with my ghosts and I've faced all my demons,

Finally content with a past I regret,

I've found you find strength in your moments of weakness,

Finally at peace with myself,

-Rascal Flatts

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

5 months and 13 days pregnant

Adrian Lee was making herself breakfast on this Saturday morning. She was livelier and she actually felt great today. She had been feeling better ever since her friends and family had made a special get together. It truly astonished Adrian at how something so simple as releasing balloons could be so uplifting and helpful. She finally came to the realization that she couldn't save her child, and she had to forgive herself.

Adrian stirred the yogurt she had put in a bowl with strawberries, and sat at the table enjoying the calmness of the house. She ate up her meal and still felt hungry at the same time, she had a craving for cheese puffs but she knew it was morning and she had to keep healthy for the baby in her stomach.

Her hands dropped to her stomach and began feeling the now large bump that had grown there. She missed her flat stomach but she knew that the miracle of life is a beautiful thing.

She put her dishes away and sauntered upstairs to go have a shower. She walked in her room and saw her book sitting on her bed and she was immediately intrigued. She figured she had all day so she could shower later. She crawled to her-now very inviting-bed. She pulled the blankets over herself and grabbed her book and began reading.

She felt her eyes becoming heavier and slowly closing. She eventually closed her eyes and fell gently into unconsciousness.

Meanwhile…

"Thank you guys for coming over… its way overdue."

Cindy, Rueben, Betty and Leo all came into Cindy and Reuben's home taking off their jackets and setting them down on the chair beside the door. Cindy had gone to their house to get them to speak with them in person and inquire where they wanted to do this. She was hoping they would have said their house but they had painters inside their home, so it was decided they would all go back to Cindy and Reuben's home.

Cindy and Reuben felt it was time to finally discuss Ben and Adrian's situation seeing as they had been putting it off for quite some time now.

"I agree. It is time we finally talked and came to an understanding." Leo had been having a drama filled 4 months. Between Betty and his wedding, Betty's pregnancy scare, Ben impregnating another teenager, problems with the butcher shop , and losing a grandchild… the parent's hadn't exactly had time to sit down and truly discuss the matter.

Cindy lead them to the kitchen table where he motioned for them to sit down while she got them all some tea.

"Oh! No thank-you. You guys are nice enough to let me into your home." Cindy smiled at Leo's words.

"Leo, you have to try my mother's tea recipe." Leo gave a gracious smile and nodded.

Cindy fixed the water to let it boil and sat down with the other parents. She had a feeling they probably would be having many more talks with them all being grandparents, she shivered at the fact she was still young and going to be a grandmother.

"So how's everyone?" Betty asked trying to spark conversation.

"Let's just get down to what really needs to be talked about," Reuben said.

"What is there to say?" Cindy wondered. She knew they were supposed to talk but she had no idea how to get into it.

"What are Adrian's plans for this child?" Leo asked seeing as Ben hardly told him anything anymore.

"I believe she is leaning more towards keeping it but I still want her to consider adoption," Cindy replied. The look Leo gave her made her wonder what was so wrong about that sentence.

"Didn't she just loose a baby? Why would she give the other one away after everything she went through?" Leo told his true input. He had a feeling she was going to keep it to be truthfully honest. She had just gone through a mental depression and is currently getting out of that state and Cindy would like her to just give the other one away.

"Leo, understand my daughter does have a career ahead of her. This put a lot on her. She has missed a lot of school and summer is only a few weeks away. She already has so much to catch up on and I want her to be successful in life and have a promising future… it would be very hard for her to do so with a child." Cindy was a mother, a mother who only wanted her daughter to be successful and happy with tons of love in her life.

"We are blessed with a child. A healthy child who would have a loving family and loving parents. I also believe it would be hard for her to give another child up." Leo and Cindy had both been doing most of the talking.

Reuben had truly had enough by this point.

"Adrian is a big girl. She's old enough to have sex and she's old enough to make her own decisions. Whether she wants to keep the baby or give it up for adoption is her choice, don't you think she could make that decision for herself?" Cindy looked down to the ground and Leo grabbed Betty's hand. They all sat in silence until Betty spoke.

"I hope she keeps it… I love babies." Everyone looked up at Betty and stifled a giggle. It was just like Betty to lighten a mood; that was one of the many things Leo loved about her.

…..

Adrian woke up abruptly remembering she had fallen asleep. She looked over at her alarm clock. 3:30 pm.

She sighed and lifted the blankets off of her body. He heard the faint noises of voices and people moving around in the kitchen. She jumped out of bed and slowly walked through the hallway. Her hair was a mess and falling down her shoulders and she didn't feel that great. Her stomach was tossing and turning. She ignored it because she needed to hear what and who her parents were talking to.

She slowly sauntered down the stairs, being as quiet as she could. She sat on the steps half way down and listened to her parents talk to Betty and Leo.

"Leo, understand my daughter does have a career ahead of her. This put a lot on her. She has missed a lot of school and summer is only a few weeks away. She already has so much to catch up on and I want her to be successful in life and have a promising future… it would be very hard for her to do so with a child." Adrian briefly considered that. It was true in many ways.

"We were blessed with a child. A healthy child who could have a loving family and loving parents. I believe it would also be hard for her to give another child up." Adrian totally agreed with this. She would have such a hard time giving him or her up. She hoped it was a girl. Her hands went to her stomach and felt the bump. It actually had grown on her, sure she missed her sculpted body but she knew something beautiful was in her stomach.

"Adrian is a big girl. She's old enough to have sex and she's old enough to make her own decisions. Whether she wants to keep the baby or give it up for adoption… don't you think she could make that decision for herself?"

Adrian was happy that someone finally said something along those lines. She could make her own decisions and not have her parents to behind her back and talk to Ben's parents behind his back. Adrian was kind of annoyed and upset because they didn't include her and Ben in this important conversation.

"I hope she keeps it… I love babies" Adrian giggled lightly to herself and heard the others giggle quietly as well. Adrian got up from the steps and walked downstairs into the kitchen to be greeted with the faces of her mother, father, Leo and Betty. They smiled at her and she noticed everyone's eyes fell to her stomach. She rolled her eyes and walked to the fridge. She grabbed a bottle of water and gulped it back. She put the bottle back on the counter and looked at her parents.

"Next conversation, I would like Ben and me to be there. Better yet, it will only be Ben and I. We are the parents in this situation and we fully intend to take responsibility and make our own decisions for our lives and our own child." Adrian turned around and walked upstairs as fast as she could. She felt empowered yet scared at the same time. Empowered because she stood up for herself and scared because she was didn't know if she was the motherly type, or even have the potential to be a good mom.

She opened her door and closed it immediately. She put her back against it for a brief second and took a deep breath. She looked up at the ceiling while breathing heavily. She needed the one person that would make her feel better right now.

She walked over to her cell phone that was sitting on the ledge of her window and dialled his number.

Ring! Ring! Ring!

"Hey," Ben knew it was Adrian from his caller ID.

"Hi Ben. Is there any way I could see you right now?" Adrian asked him.

"Of course. I'll come pick you up. We'll go for ice-cream." Adrian let go a breath of relief.

"See you soon."

7 minutes later.

Adrian waited outside on her steps. She had told her parents she was going out for ice-cream with Ben and that she'll be back later. Betty and Leo suggested that everyone went out for supper but Adrian declined saying that she wasn't hungry… more in the mood for ice-cream and just talking to Ben. Of course they didn't force it upon her and instead, the parents all went out together just to talk.

Ben pulled up in front of Adrian's house and she stood immediately wasting no time to go to his car. She reached his vehicle, opened the door and sat inside. She looked at him and forced a smile.

"What's wrong Adrian?" Ben asked out of pure curiosity.

"Our parents met and talked about us, without us and it seems like they want to make our decisions for us. Your parents say we should keep it… my parents say adoption is best. The only person who really seemed to say something that meant anything to me was my dad." Adrian felt her lip tremble. Everything was getting to her.

"Adrian, it is our decision. Don't let them get to you." Ben reached over and embraced her in a loving hug. They stayed in that position for a few minutes until Ben let go and started his car. He pulled out from the side of the street and drove towards the dairy shack. Adrian looked out the window and seen the sun shining bright and no clouds in the sky. She rolled down the window enjoying the breeze that was lightly hitting her face.

Ben pulled up to the dairy shack. He slowly parked it and him and Adrian and got out of the car. They walked towards the small place and seen the man standing there waiting to take their order.

"What might I interest you two in today?" The tall, long black haired man asked. His eyes were small and he had light freckles, you could tell he colours his hair.

"Can I have a vanilla-strawberry, you Adrian?" Adrian contemplated all the flavours of ice-cream.

"Can I have a triple chocolate with rainbow sprinkles and a cherry on top please?" The man nodded and looked down at her pregnant stomach. He rolled his eyes and muttered something about the 'pregnant teenage rate increasing.' Adrian's jaw dropped. How could he be so rude and ignorant with her standing right there? She crossed her arms and Ben immediately wrapped his arms around her waist. He held her close and she laid her head against his shoulder.

The man came back with their ice-cream and Ben grabbed Adrian's and handed it to her then he grabbed his.

"That will be four dollars please." Ben reached in his pocket and pulled out exactly four dollars. The man cocked and eye brow. Ben smirked.

"No tip." Adrian and Ben turned around; Ben still had his arm around her waist. They walked over to his car and hopped in.

"Can we go somewhere to eat this… like the beach?" Ben nodded.

"I'll turn on the air conditioning, good thing the beach isn't far from here." Ben turned up the air conditioning and pulled out the parking lot. They drove their in complete silence for 2 minutes until they reached the beach. He pulled in and parked the car. They both took off their shoes and got out and walked over to the water.

The sun was beginning to set and the sand was quite warm from the hot day. They walked towards the shore, hands linked while licking their now melting ice-cream. They walked right to the water line and slowly sauntered in. They tightened the grip on each other's hands and walked with their feet in the water swinging their hands back and forth.

They walked in complete silence for quite some time in the now completely set sun. The sky was pink and orange with a tint of yellow and the bird were flying around. Adrian was walked and she tripped over her feet, luckily Ben caught her but a huge splash soaked him from his waist down. His jaw dropped and he splashed at Adrian. She laughed and they both splashed water at each other until they were both soaking wet.

They both burst out laughing and walked further out into the water. They both were now up to their shoulders and just floating in the warm, soft water.

They floated closer to each other and their faces were now inches apart. They gazed into each other's deep eyes.

"Thank you Ben, for being here for me now," Ben smiled. Adrian bit her lip while they continued to stare deeply into each other's eyes.

Under the water their fingers intertwined.

Adrian leaned in closer to Ben and they could feel each other's breath on their faces. Ben took his hand and ran it down Adrian's cheek to her jaw line. His fingers gently brushed across her lips.

Adrian leaned in and touched her lips with Ben's. Ben deepened the kiss and let out a loud moan as they continued kissing in the warm water surrounded by a sunset.

Their hands let go and Ben wrapped his arms around Adrian's waist. Adrian fisted her hands in Ben's hair and drew him closer.

They both didn't want this moment to end…


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