She was so cold. She used her vacation week off work to stop her addictions, hoping it wouldn't take much longer. Will would leave for work at seven o'clock and Jack would come over to the manse at seven thirty to wake her. For hours after she woke she would make continuous trips between the bathroom and her bed, shivering and shaking beneath the heavy comforter. Her stomach hurt, she had a headache, and sweat was drenching her clothing.

Jack never left her side, and he helped her hide it all from Will. He came home around five thirty every night, and she could convince him that she was just tired or had the flu, possibly cramps. He always took her excuse at face value, never questioning her pale features or the fact that she was barely eating.

"How do you feel today?" Jack smiled and crawled into bed with her, seven thirty had just appeared upon the face of the alarm clock. He pulled her close and she wrapped her arm around his waist. Her voice returned to him in a sleepy, quiet tone.

"I don't have to throw up, so I guess that's a good sign." She closed her eyes and pressed her face against his chest. "Did you make sure the kids got off to school?"

"Yeah, they just left." She smiled and took a deep breath before falling asleep again, in Jack's arms.

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Rosario's knock on the bedroom door caused her to wake with a jolt. She looked to her side, but Jack must have gotten up to get a snack, or something. The maid entered and began tidying the room. Karen sat up in her bed and gave the woman a dirty look.

"What the hell are you doing? I'm trying to sleep." The maid rolled her eyes and placed her hands upon her hips.

"Listen, Lady, I have a job to do, and you need to get your Gin-soaked ass out of bed so I can clean the sheets." She tossed the covers from her body and stomped from the room, grabbing her glasses from the table on her way. "Jack's in the library." The door slammed to stifle Rosario's voice.

She huffed down the hallway, down the stairs, and turned down another hallway. After a distant walk to the library, she finally found Jack. He was seated at her desk, playing games on her computer. Her mouth was in a firm line, and he could tell that she was a bit angry about something.

"Good morning, Karebear. Are you feeling better?" He smiled, hoping to bring a bit of light to her mood.

"No." Her words were sharp. "Rosario woke me."

"Well, to be fair, it is eleven o'clock. You should probable be up anyway." She scoffed and flopped down on the couch next to the desk, pulling her bare feet next to her.

"Of course you're going to take her side, queer-bait. Fuck you." He continued to look at her for a moment, astonished. She had never spoken to him in such a way, not unless they were joking.

"Don't talk to me like PMS just took over your mind. I'm not one of your maids, Karen." His words were sharp as well, but she didn't say anything in return. She bit her bottom lip, his words causing her to think.

She realized that she didn't remember the last time she had her minstrel cycle. She had continued to take her oral contraceptives, but she wasn't sure what was happening with her body. It never occurred to her that she had gone so long without a period. Though, it could have just been the stress and outtake of the drugs in her body, doing strange things to her. She had a feeling that wasn't it.

"Jackie…" She ran her hands through her hair and adjusted her glasses, trying to calm her mind. "I think I might be pregnant." His eyes widened and she held back a tear, sighing.