A/N: This is the dinner mentioned in chapter 10. So …yeah.

I am not going to write a disclaimer. No, not because Meg Cabot is ghost writing for me, I just thought everyone would know by now.

Acknowledgements:

Nefret8789 – I'm not sure if you meant it that way, but when Suze says "the only thing missing were our matching wedding rings…", she didn't say it in a way that meant she wished Jesse wold propose, just that she'd suddenly noticed the difference between them and the stereotypical couples. When she trailed off, it was as if she didn't want to think about it, because she was patient enough to wait. But now that she's noticed, she's not. Jesse hasn't proposed yet because he's waiting for the right moment, as seen in chapter 11… Thank you for reviewing though.

Chapter 10 – Always nice to see you, D-Brad

The day is here. The day when I finally tell my mother that I'm pregnant. I've been dreading this day ever since she made that phone call. If only there was some way of stopping her from getting so over-emotional. I could tell her then suddenly shift. You know those moments when people wish the ground would open up and swallow them? I could shift at those moments. I did once. In front of Jesse. I won't tell you what he caught me doing, but it wasn't too dirty. That's when I woke up in hospital.

I walked up to the house that I lived in for so many 'eventful' years. Most of the times I walked in, it was in the early hours of the morning, dirty, covered in whatever shit happened whilst I was mediating. In the later years, I was fortunate enough to have Jesse drop me off.

Jesse stood beside me and took a deep breath as the door opened to reveal…Dopey. "Oh. Hi Suze," he said, not even trying to hide his disappointment.

"Always nice to see you, D-Brad," I replied, sarcastically.

"Hi Jesse." He then gave him one of those man-hug things.

"Hello Brad."

"Come in," Dopey opened the door wider and stepped aside.

"I intended to," I said as I walked past.

"Suze, why are you walking so weird? What has he been doing to you?" He asked with a smile that lived up to his name. I was wearing a floaty sweater, to stop my bump from being so obvious. I sort of had to sway as I walked to keep it from clinging to my swollen stomach. That and the fact that I was waddling a little produced an incredibly weird way of walking. Sway. Waddle. Swish. Waddle. I might even have looked like a penguin.

"Shut up, D-Brad." Sometimes I don't even know how Andy managed to give him such a name when Dopey clearly suits his character so much more.

"SUUUUUUSSSSIIIIIIIEEEE!" My Mom yelled to the house across the street. Honestly, I'm sure they heard it anyway.

"Mom. It's been ages," I said, more enthusiastically than I was actually feeling.

"Hello, Suze," Andy said from his dark corner across the room. I hadn't even noticed him. I quickly stepped to the side, as if to greet Andy before Mom could give me a hug. Sleepy and Doc came running down the stairs and bounded into the living room. "Err.. Hi, Suze." Doc. Still a bit on the geeky side after all these months. "David, It's been ages!" I was genuinely really happy to see him.

"Jake."

"Suze."

I think Jesse must have greeted the family too, as we then sat down to eat. The table was spread with a lot of tasty-looking food. Or am I just saying that because I'm pregnant? Jesse sat on my right, and Doc on my left. "Suze," he whispered into my ear (am I getting shorter?), "are you… pregnant?"

"Don't tell a soul," I whispered back.

xXx

After the meal finished, the boys cleared up the table, Doc taking my plate specially. He smiled as he did so. Once everyone sat at the table, I gathered up the courage to say, "I'm pregnant."

Jesse smiled and squeezed my hand from under the table. Here it comes.

"SSSUUUUSSSSIIIIEEEE!" I winced. Dopey just grinned. I kicked him hard from under the table.

"Owww!" He yelled. No one paid attention, they were all just staring at mom to see what she'd say next. "This is wonderful! When did it happen? How far along are you?"

"Err… It kind of happened ages ago… I'm six months pregnant." I prepared myself for what was coming next. "Six months? It's been six months and you didn't tell me?" Her voice was still very high. I thought I could feel the glass vibrate in my hand as I took an awkward sip. "Mmm-hmmm." I said, around the glass. A sudden idea! "Jesse! I thought you told her!" I tried so desperately hard to salvage. His hand shot away from mine as if it was suddenly very hot. "Susannah," he said, chuckling, "I thought you wanted to tell them."

"No, Amoureux, I distinctly remember telling you-" I said through gritted teeth.

Jesse noticed the expressions on everyone's faces. "Excuse us." Jesse grabbed my arm and led me upstairs, to my former bedroom. It still looked the same, for those times when I want to stay over.

"Susannah, don't blame this on me. You were the one that didn't want to let them know."

"And with good reason!"

"Now it's even worse! She feels betrayed and upset!"

"If I told her earlier, I would've been the one betrayed and upset!"

"You would've gotten over it! This is something she'll remember forever! How her own daughter didn't want to tell her she was pregnant!"

"I've kept secrets from her before! This one is nowhere near as big as the other one! The one I've been keeping for eighteen years!"

"What secrets?" My mom asked, opening the door.

"Mom, we left the table for a private discussion, not so everyone could eavesdrop."

"Susie, we could hear you from downstairs." Oh, no. I can see it coming. A Talk. One of those with feelings and emotions. We'll both cry in the middle and then laugh at the end just as Andy walks in. I've seen many movies with such a scenario and this wasn't about to happen to me.

"Sorry, mom, I'm just feeling a little stressed." As soon as I said it, I instantly wanted to take it back. Every mother's automatically says, "Stress is bad for the baby."

"I know mom, it just doesn't seem to go away."

"It normally does, Susie. When you're stressed, you always faint and then wake up feeling happy."

Jesse stifled a giggle at the word faint, but straightened up once I shot him a death glare. "I'll just leave you to it," he said, winking on his way out. Merde.

"Susannah, you said you've been keeping secrets," mom prompted.

"You're not ready for that one, believe me."

"Can I decide when I'm ready?"

"Nope. With a secret as big as this, I'll be the judge."

"Of course, sweetie, when you're ready."

I tried not to sigh. She just wasn't getting it. She's not ready to handle The Secret. The fact that I'm a shifter. She'll never understand, then there'll be all the questions and she'll keep asking me whether I 'sense a presence' or she'll publicize it. Worse. She'll do both. People from all over the world will come to see me, and ask me to talk to their dead people. My worst nightmare, when ALL people, living and dead come to bother me about the other. To avoid another horrible conversation, I just said, "Of course."

At that moment, Jesse came back into the room. "What are you grinning about?"

"Nothing." He probably just heard that whole conversation.

A/N: That bit on the end there about Jesse may seem out of place, but it's there for a reason. See you in the next chapter.