So, I've been meaning to edit and upload this since December... Better late that never, am I right? Ahahahahaha...

Chapter 14

Seventeen weeks.

Today marked the start of the seventeenth week of Leaf's pregnancy. Her morning sickness, although had never been too much of a bother before had well and truly deserted her but her aversion to bacon - sight, taste and smell - still remained. She had on a casual pair of jeans (the only ones she could still zip up and cover the undone button with a belt) and an oversized jumper plus a pair of ankle boots to protect her feet from the inch of snow that formed overnight. She grabbed her bag and hurried out the door, assuming her keys and purse were packed.

She met Gary in his car which was parked round the corner and they drove off in a burst of chatter that had no end.

"So I made a list of things I need to buy." Leaf said, lifting her planner up for emphasis.

"You mean the list I told you to make last week so we could buy everything at once yesterday?"

"No, yesterday I mostly wanted cake. You just happened to take me to the mall for cake. Unexpectedly." Leaf said. "But FYI, the baby really appreciated it." she stroked her belly and smiled contentedly at Gary as he pulled his car into the car park and into an empty space.

"You know, you can't keep using the baby as an excuse for everything." Gary scolded, although, he didn't actually mind the insomniactic late night phone calls (Leaf seemed a lot more energetic than she did before) or the mid-study breaks that more often than not involved leaving campus to get whatever food she craves (which happened to be a very specific slice blueberry gateau yesterday).

"So what's on the list today?"

"Some oversized t-shirt, maybe a new pair of jeans that I can button up and a new cushion." Leaf said.

"And we couldn't get that stuff yesterday?" Gary asked as he turned the engine off.

"I get paid at the start of the month, not the end like everyone else." Leaf said.

"You know I could've bought that stuff for you, right?"

"But you bought me cake. It'd be greedy for me to let you pay for both." she said coyly, remembering the fact that Gary had paid for most of their takeaways and other food ventures.

"You let people buy you so many drinks when you're out."

"Drunk Leaf thinks everything is a good idea. Don't listen to her."

"No can do." Gary shook his head. "One of my cardinal rules of life is that you always listen to a drunk person because they don't lie."

Leaf pouted. "I don't believe that for a second. I can recall at least five lies I've told before while drunk." She purposely left out the fact that none of said lies happened to believable.

"Name one." Gary challenged.

"My dad owns the club Alakazam." Leaf smiled fondly. "The guy kept bragging about owning Sandstorm and we found him really irritating so I decided to one up him."

"Did he believe you?"

Leaf shrugged. "It definitely got to him though because he got me chucked out of the club."

Gary face palmed and entered the revolving door of the mall.

Leaf followed closely behind him and looked at the window display of the first shop. Everywhere her eyes landed on she saw red; red hearts, teddy bears with red bows, boxes of chocolate with red ribbon and of course, vivid red roses. It was the last day of January and Valentine's Day was fast approaching. Leaf looked at the shop on the other side; a jewellery shop advertising ten percent off diamond rings mounted in gold for that romantic proposal, and pendants in the shape of hearts and flowers for those new couples.

There was no denying that Valentine's Day was round the corner. Leaf was surprised at how quickly all the displays were changed, considering she noticed no romantic motif yesterday. Albeit, she only had cake on her mind. She looked up at Gary whose eyes was darting from window to window.

"Valentine's Day is coming up soon." Gary said, "How did you spend it last year?"

Leaf thought back. "I was working on actual Valentine's Day but the guy I was seeing at the time took me out for a surprise belated meal and bought me flowers too. What about you?"

"I went out with that girl Veronica from work. We had Italian food and a nice night in." Gary replied with a slight suggestive inflection.

Leaf rolled her eyes. "Of course you did."

"Jealous?" Gary teased, he draped an arm around her shoulder as they walked.

Leaf narrowed her eyes at him. "No." she replied. "It's just been a long time since I've had an actual date. He was the last guy I went out with before this happened." She decided that her night with Phineas didn't count as anything other than the night she realised her feelings for Gary.

"Why did you guys break up?" Gary pried.

"It's weird. He was one of the nicest guys ever but... He was just like Ash! Ritchie's behaviour and mannerisms were just like Ash's and I felt like I was dating my brother."

"When did you break up?"

"During summer. I kind of dragged it along because I didn't know how to break things off. He's actually the closest guy I've ever dated to the perfect person so that made it really difficult." Leaf answered and looked up at Gary. "Why are you so interested?" she asked with a cheeky smile.

"We started hooking up at the end of summer. Just trying to work out if I'm a rebound."

"You're not a rebound, Gary." Leaf replied flatly.

"I don't believe you."

"You're not." Leaf nagged.

"Then why do I feel like one." Gary replied. He kept his gaze forward and an unreadable expression covered his face.

"What do I have to do to prove you're not? Create an exact timeline of events for you?" Leaf really hoped it wouldn't come to that, considering she didn't actually know when things started. She had only just found out that the first time was during summer but decided to leave finding out more about what happened to later date.

"No, just clear your night on the 14th for me." Gary replied casually. "No whys or buts."

Leaf looked suspiciously at him and suddenly noticed the mischievous glint in his eye. "Did you just..." She pointed an accusatory finger at him as she clocked on to his plan. "Ask me to spend Valentine's Day with you?"

"I'm asking you to prove that I'm not a rebound." he said trying to hide his smile.

"Fine." Leaf replied with pretence reluctance. "I'll see what I can do." when in reality she was going to do all she could to get the night off. She playfully pulled ahead and looked at the window displays, taking in the colours of fabric adorned by the posing mannequins, wondering if she would look good in those outfits too.

But then she remembered why she was shopping in the first place and laid a hand over her swollen tummy. She wasn't looking for something that would show off her figure; a top that would cling to her and show the world her lean stomach and toned back, she was after floating shirts that would be appropriate for the warming weather, an aerated sheath that will shield her stomach.

Gary gave her hand a gentle tug and directed her attention to a blue and white striped blouse inside a shop. "That would look good on you." He held her hand firmly and led her towards the rack and then held the blouse against her frame, pleased with his choice.

"It's not tight fitting, it's trendy..." Leaf measured the blouse against herself and shifted to gain side views in the nearest mirror. "But I think I'd only get to wear this a couple of times before I outgrow it." she said then hung the article back on its rightful spot.

"You can always wear it after the baby's born too." Gary pointed out. "But if you don't fancy it, we should move on."

Leaf said nothing but looked at Gary with a broad grin spread upon her face.

"What now?" he asked her suspiciously. The sight of her teeth usually meant she wanted something but coupled with her dimples always meant that she'd get it. "Whatever you're thinking I can tell you now it's probably a bad idea."

"I didn't say anything." her eyes darted to the rack behind Gary and back to him.

Gary looked behind him and back at Leaf. "No. We are not getting that."

"I didn't say anything!" Leaf defended.

"But you're thinking about it."

"But in my defence, I was really only thinking about how much you'd suit it."

"It's a couple tee." Gary pointed out.

"But it's cute. And that shade of blue really suits you."

"Sweet talking isn't going to help, as true as your compliments are."

Leaf pouted. "But the girl's one is exactly what I'm looking for. I even dreamt about a top just like that one last night."

"Is that so?" Gary raised an eyebrow at her and tried to suppress his amused smile.

"Of course, I think it's a sign that it's something I'm meant to have. I mean, a great philosopher once said," A dream is a wish your heart makes."

"Really? Cinderella? You made me watch it with you last night and you expect me to not remember that she said it."

"And you remembered it therefore it must be a great quote."

Gary let out an exasperated sigh. Debating with Leaf was always unpredictable and by the end of their long winded discussion, Leaf left without getting her way this time but instead, with couple mugs.

And still no new necessities.

"You know what?" Leaf concluded after thoroughly ransacking Gary's t-shirt drawer, "Why buy new t-shirt when I can borrow your ones."

"They're men's t-shirts." Gary pointed out.

"But they're plain so really nobody would know aaanndd oversized is the fashion right now." Leaf diverted her eyes over to Gary, giving him a matter of fact look as he laid on his bed with his back slouched against the headboard.

Gary had settled into his bed after making Leaf and himself a mug of tea. Leaf drank hers happily as she raided Gary's drawers. She may not have got her couple tee but a couple mug filled with tea was a close second after much convincing.

"How much of my stuff are you planning on stealing?"

"Borrowing." Leaf corrected. "The word you're looking for is borrowing."

Gary scoffed at that. He knew that after tonight he will never see his t-shirts in his drawer again.

Leaf stretched her arms and rolled her neck and yawned. "I better head, I'm super tired!"

"Or you could stay." Gary offered. "Drew's away with some other law students for a few days."

Leaf eyed him up. Gary had not yet undressed down to his boxers for bed but he had kicked off his shoes and had his laptop on his lap. His new mug, drained of its contents rested on the bedside table underneath the warm glow of the lamp.

"You know you want to." he winked at her and Leaf tried not to let it show how much his one small action had an effect on her. Her heart sped up again, her cheeks resembled the sweet colours of the roses they had seen earlier and she turned her head away and picked up her mug instead, draining the remaining drizzle of milky sweet tea.

Gary had hit the nail on the head. She really did want to stay with him. The opportunity rarely presented itself and she felt like she should take advantage of it every time it became available. She craved the feeling of falling asleep next to Gary and knowing that he'd be there throughout the night, an extra bit of warmth and protection from the external world.

And she'd get to wake up to his scent.

"Okay." she replied.

"Excellent." Gary said then got up from his position and removed his shirt and changed his bottoms, fully unwinding knowing that he wouldn't need to leave his flat again for the rest of the night.

Leaf closed the drawers and sat on the other half of the bed, the half by the window that she'd take every time she stayed with him – her half.

"What're you doing?" Leaf asked, referring to his laptop.

Gary raised a brow at Leaf. "I forget how nosy you are sometimes."

Leaf narrowed her eyes at him. "You're keeping a secret from me?"

Gary closed his laptop over. "I never said anything!" he protested with a laugh. He leaned over, hooking a playful arm around Leaf and pulled her further onto the bed until her head replaced the laptop on his lap.

"Are you harbouring a secret girlfriend?"

"We had that discussion already."

"Secret boyfriend?"

"No, but funny you should ask that. A couple of guys in the bio soc made some very suggestive passes at me. This your doing?"

"Funny you should ask." Leaf gave Gary an innocent smile. She grabbed the pillow and hugged it close to her chest. "Melody was suspecting that you were getting close to someone in the bio soc..."

"And what did you say?" Gary prompted but he already knew.

"I merely pointed out all possibilities."

"Except the real one."

Leaf shrugged. "I never not said it was me. I simply broadened her way of thinking." She grinned at him.

"By insinuating that I could be gay."

"Melody is a beauty. A lot of guys would love to have her admiring them like she does you."

"So you want me to date Melody instead? Take her away on Valentine's instead of you?

"No, I never said- Wait. Away for Valentines? What's that?" Leaf sprung up and sat face to face with Gary. She leaned forward trying to ensure they made eye contact when he replied. She tried to trap Gary between her arms, her left acting as a support by leaning on the bedside table while the rest of her body was on the bed.

"I was merely insinuating a possibility." Gary lifted his mug to his lips to mask his smile and create a small gap between himself and Leaf.

"I know your mug's empty." Leaf pushed the mug down and out of the way. "Now, were you insinuating the possibility because it's the truth? What are you thinking? Have you planned it already? Is that what you were doing?" Leaf tried to stretch over Gary and grab his laptop.

Gary suppressed a laugh at Leaf's wild curiosity. "Let's just say you'll need an overnight bag." He put both hands round her waist and pulled her back onto the bed and off of him.

Leaf's jaw dropped open. She sat up against Gary's side and wrapped her arms around his arm, her head pressed up against his chest and her eyes sparkling at him. And for the rest of the night, she pestered Gary about the plan until she could keep her eyes open no more, leaving Gary to tuck her in.

Her pen glided across her page in coherent, swift strokes, filling a page of her lab book within minutes of starting it.

Gary found it easy to tell that she was in a good mood by the little hum of music coming from her direction and the quick glances she would cast in his direction when she thought he wasn't doing the same.

Leaf really enjoyed the lab sessions for her honours project, studying under Professor Elm was rewarding and more enjoyable than she ever thought it would be. Most sessions involved her and Gary in a lab with Professor Elm occasionally sticking his head in to check up on the project work, leaving the pair time to talk and play the occasional game.

"Is it somewhere with a beach?" Leaf asked.

"You already asked that." Gary continued writing.

"But you never answered me."

"I told you, I'm not answering your questions. You'll need to wait and see."

"I'll take that as a yes." Leaf flicked to the back page of her lab book and jotted down a couple of notes down then flicked back to her current page of work.

Gary looked at his watch. "It's five o'clock. Let's go get some food and discuss where you think we'll be going." He packed up his belongings and headed towards the door, holding it open for Leaf as she followed suit.

Leaf put on a straight face when they left the lab and opened her locker outside, pulling out her bag and dropping off a few books. A few students drifted by on their way out but none of them paid any attention to Leaf or Gary, who blended in perfectly as normal classmates, not a couple. Leaf shot Gary a giddy look, excited by their farce of being classmates and nothing more.

"That was a good lab session today." Leaf said in her most professional voice.

Gary raised an eyebrow at Leaf and walked alongside her as they left the wing of the building and onto the main atrium where several students loitered about, waiting for friends to finish classes.

They walked along the bridge overlooking the main atrium, noting a few familiar faces and greeting a few friendly faces as they passed by. Leaf flicked through her planner as they went, trying to organise her night of work ahead.

"Let's see, I've still got a bit to do on my immunology paper before hand-in tomorrow."

"Hand-in isn't until the after tomorrow." Gary pointed out.

"I know but I've got work the night before the deadline so I really only have tonight to finish it." Leaf replied and ticked of some things from her planner.

"Speaking of your work, have you told them yet?"

Leaf looked up from her planner. "I've not even told Misty and Ash yet."

"Misty hasn't caught on? She seems bright enough to."

"Ash has been closer to catching on than Misty."

"I don't know what to say to that." Gary looked speechless but recovered quickly. "So what do you fancy for dinner?"

Leaf opened her mouth to reply but was cut short.

"Gary! Leaf!"

Both brunets looked forward to see a short skirt, pretty blouse wearing brunette. Melody smiled fondly at Gary, flashing her perfectly straight teeth and folded a strand of hair behind her ear.

Leaf was slightly surprised to see her at this part of campus and at this time of day no less. The only conclusions Leaf could surmise was that Melody was either (a) stalking Gary to find out who his current interest is or (b) trying to deduce what Gary was going for Valentine's Day and most probably ask him to spend it with her. None of the options sat well with Leaf, especially knowing that her plans may be under jeopardy. She cast a quick, subtle glance at Gary, who seemed indifferent to her sudden appearance.

"Melody, hey." Leaf smiled while juggling her planner. "What're you doing here?"

"Just passing by." Melody said. "Must be fate that I bumped into you, Gary." Melody looked at Leaf, conveying her need to be alone with Gary.

Leaf got the message loud and clear but wavered on her action. She looked at Gary, trying to send a telepathic message of her own to him. We need to send her away.

"Considering we attend the same uni, I'd call it coincidence rather than fate." Gary said matter-of-factly.

Melody pouted then tried again. "Fate, coincidence, whatever you want to call it, we're now face to face here. Want to go for a coffee and a chat?"

Gary inconspicuously looked at Leaf. We may be here for a while.

Hurry, I'm hungry for pizza.

Again?

Yes. Got a problem? You pick it up with baby when she's born.

Why is the baby a she?

Because I say so. Leaf defiantly turned her head away.

Melody looked confused. "Are you two okay?"

"Actually, you've caught us at a bad time. We have more project work to do and Leaf seems to need a hand." Gary said and shot Leaf a superior look, to which the brunette responded by sticking her tongue out at him.

Melody let out a groan then regained her composure. "I'll call you later."

Leaf and Gary watched as she sauntered between them and down the main stairwell. Leaf let out a sigh of relief, knowing that her plans tonight, and Valentine's, were safe for now.

"Shall we go get dinner?" Gary suggested.

"Sure, maybe then you can give me a hand with my work." Leaf replied straight-faced. Her pride was slightly bruised at the insinuation of being overcome by her papers.

Gary laughed and gave her a nudge. If they were anywhere else, Gary would've pulled her into him.

To whoever is still reading this story/ reads my little notes at the end, thanks for sticking by me! I love you guys so much and I promise I am still actively writing, only very slowly these days because I work etc. I have about 70% of the next chapter written up already and I have some really good ideas coming up that I guarantee will have you hanging on to the edge of your seats! Trust me!

Anyway, enough of the teasing and back to the writing for me! If anyone here reads my story 'Business in LaRousse', you'll be pleased to know that I intend to update that this coming week at some point! If you don't already read it and like contestshipping, you should totally check it out! XP

Love you all,

silver-hedgehog

x x x