Life's Choices

Chapter 21

Christening Ester

AN: Thanks for the reviews, I own nothing, hope you enjoy. Angst Ahead.

"I'm glad you are feeling better," Derek said when they were sitting in her car, they'd drove to the apartment and parked his truck before going to her car, for now till she could get her license.

"I'd feel a lot better if you were much closer," Pen said reaching over taking his hand, "If you get what I'm saying here," she said.

"Yeah I get it, you are craving me," Derek joked sliding over in the bench seat until he was closer to her, before she climbed onto his lap, "Would you like me to take my jeans off or we going with clothes on here?" he asked.

"Slide them down, but don't take them off just in case," Pen said moving back off till he could get his jeans half way down, it was dark behind the building and the street light was out so nobody could see them even if they drove by or looked out their back window of an apartment.

"We don't have to, if you don't want to," Derek said.

"I know that, but I want to be with you again like this, it's been almost three weeks," Penelope said.

"Just wanted you to know I wasn't expecting anything tonight," Derek said, sure he wanted her, but he didn't want her to feel like she had to put out.

"I'm taking charge this time, hot stuff, so just sit back and relax," Penelope said before she pulled the skirt she was wearing up, she'd wanted to be doing this in a bed, but she wasn't going to disrespect his mom's wishes so she'd worn a skirt instead of jeans.

Derek moved his hands up her legs looking up at her; he tucked the stray piece of hair behind her ear before she bent down for a kiss, he let his hand slid up her back undoing her bra, he wanted to feel her breasts in his hands, "Are you wet?" he asked against her ear.

"Dripping, my vision," she said back, letting him pull her shirt off, "Just don't toss it too far," she replied, they'd about gotten busted from one the local cops the week before thankfully they had just been kissing, he'd warned them to knock it off, and she was pretty sure that he didn't like Derek.

Derek took hold of her hips helping her sink down on him, "You're so tight, but I like it perfect fit," he said.

"I hope I stay that way, perfect fit for you," she said with smile, she hadn't moved yet, she was just sitting on him with her knees on either side of his legs. The back seat might have been better, but she wanted to be up here, she felt his hands cover her breasts and she leaned back some, "Can I just sit like this for little?" she asked, "I just really want you to hold me," she said.

He didn't answer her instead he wrapped his arms around her waist letting her rest her head against him, "What's wrong?" he asked.

"I don't know, I've just been really scared all day, and I can't shake the feeling, and then tonight when you hit the ground, but right here with you inside me, I feel like I'm safe and I'm not scared any more," Penelope said, "If I told you something would you not hate me, and still want to be with me, and let me show you how much I love you?" she asked letting the tears fall.

"I'm never going to hate you, Penelope, I promise you I'm not going anywhere, you are the only person I want to be with," Derek said, he didn't know what was wrong, but he could feel the tears when they hit his neck.

"I'm sorry, I thought that maybe if I believed it, then it would be true," Pen said, "I didn't have a stomach bug," she said, "If you don't want to be with me any more I already called Steven, he's the only one that knows, I couldn't tell Jamie," Pen said.

"Just tell me what's wrong," Derek said moving his hands up holding her to him as she cried, "I promise you, baby girl, I'm here, just please tell me what's wrong,"

"He said I could come home, but I want to stay here, but…" she said.

Derek pulled her back looking into her eyes, "Listen to me, I love you, this is your home, can you please just tell me, cause your scaring me now, whatever it is we can get through this, and I promise you Penelope Abigail Garcia, I'm not going to hate you, and I can't let you leave, I love you too much," he said wiping away the tears that were falling.

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"I went to the doctor Thursday after I started getting sick, I know it's only been like two weeks since my birthday, and… I'm pregnant, I've been trying to convince my self since the nurse told me that she was lying, we're seventeen, and we both want out of here, and I'm sorry, just please don't hate me," she couldn't control the tears, she was waiting for him to tell her to leave, or do anything to her, but when he reached up and pulled her back down into a kiss she kissed him back letting the rest her tears fall.

"I could never hate you, I told you I love you, just don't leave, please don't go back to California, and I want you here, I know we didn't plan this, but we can do this, and no matter what happens even if we have to run away, I'm going to be with you, just please don't leave," Derek pleaded, he knew if she left that she wouldn't come back, and he'd lose her, and probably forever.

"But what about your future, you want to play football, and you can't do that with a baby and girlfriend, you can't get out of here, with us, Steven said I can come home," she said.

"Listen to me, hard head, I'm only going to tell you this once more, and I want you to hear me," Derek said, he took her hand and put it under his shirt over his heart, "You feel that, until you came along, I thought my heart was dead, I could barely feel it anymore, I wanted to die every day, but now, now you're my world, and I can feel my heart and it is only wanting one thing, that's you, and I don't give a damn about that, I can still have that, we can both get out of here, just because we have a baby doesn't mean we can't get away in two years, as long as we have each other, the way I figure it, we can do anything, at least that's what really smart and beautiful person told me once,"

"They must lost there minds, because when your mom and Jamie finds out, they're going to make me go, and your mom's not going to forgive me," Penelope said.

"I told you, if we have to we can leave here, maybe both go to California, finish school there, but if you're willing, because I know I am, I want to stay here, and when we graduate go to college, I don't have to play football, I can do a lot of things like you told me I can," Derek said, "I want to keep this baby though, I don't want to give it up, I won't do that, and if we have to move out, we can find a place, but until we know what they are going to say, just don't think about it, I would like to if you want to still hold you, we don't have to do anything, we can just stay like this," Derek said.

"Thank you for not hating me," Penelope said before resting her forehead against his.

"Can we move into the back seat?" Derek asked, "I want to show you how much I want you to stay," he said moving his hands over her back.

"Yeah, just give me minute," she said moving off of him.

It only took a few minutes and they were both in the back seat, but after she got comfortable he slid inside her before kissing her and showing her how much he really loved her, he was scared he was going to lose her more than he was about trying to be everything that a baby would need, "Promise me you won't run," Derek said.

"I promise, I'm not going to run," She said looking up at him.

It was almost six when they walked in the apartment; they'd fallen asleep in the car holding each other. He knew his mom would be up soon, so they went to his room and got tin the bed pretending they'd stayed there. He knew that things were probably going to change, but she didn't want them to, he just didn't know how to be everything that she was going to need, but Derek knew he was going to try, she wanted to go to college still, and get out of here soon as they could, and he knew that football was the only way he knew how, he'd made that promise to her, he wasn't going to give it up, just like she promised not to run.

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It was almost ten when they woke up again finding Jamie and Whitney in the living room with Desiree and his mom. "What's going on?" Derek asked, he hadn't expected to see Jamie there, she was supposed to have gone with that Randy jerk for a weekend away or something.

"I think the four of us need to have a talk," Jamie said.

"I'm okay not having any talk right now," Pen said.

"I think you need to hear this," Jamie said, "I'm sorry about the last couple months, I guess I was fooling myself with Randy, I found that pregnancy test in the trash can, I knew it was yours, and I asked him if he knew anything, and he told me what he said to you," she said getting up and going over to Pen, "I'd never want you to leave, and I don't think you are a slut either, because your not," she said.

"I thought you were going to hate me, and I screwed everything up, for what you wanted for Derek," she said looking at Fran, "I had planned on running last night, after I told him, if he wanted to me to leave, but he talked me out of it," she said looking at Derek.

"I wasn't going to let you just leave, and I was hoping that somehow if I could get you to talk to my mom or Jamie that you would see that too," Derek said, "You haven't screwed up my life, don't you get it, I didn't have a life till you came along, not after my dad died, you are the only reason I didn't give up months ago when I was ready to just die," Derek said.

"Your mom had Steven when she was sixteen, year younger than you are, I had Whit at nineteen, and Fran had Sarah when she was eighteen," Jamie said, "We've been talking, and Steven called me this morning and yelled at me for about two hours on the phone, he told me if I didn't dumb Randy then he was coming here and physically removing them man from being near you, he also told me that you were going to runaway, that's why I came here this morning, I couldn't let you run," she said.

"Derek wasn't going to let me," Penelope said, "I want to keep it, that's why I was going to leave, I can't give him or her up," she said letting the tears start again, "Last night and this morning we talked things over, we're not dropping out school, case you two were worried about that, and if it doesn't get to complicated, I want him to still play, because I love it here, but I want to get out, and I know we don't got many options for that, and with a baby that is even more slim, but we want to try, and if it doesn't work, or we can't make it," she said.

"I got plenty options, if I can talk to Jeff, about maybe being cop or something long those line," Derek said, he hadn't let go of Pen's hand and he wasn't going to.

"You do know that a baby is a lot of responsibility, it isn't going to be like with Des or Whit, you can't give the baby back to one of us after so long," Fran said.

"We know that, but my mom did it," Penelope said, "She finished high school, and she got a job and they made it, I know it's going to be hard, and that this probably isn't the best timing, but we want to do this, raise the baby, please don't ask me to get rid of it, I don't' believe in that, and I can't give it up either,"

"When are you going to find the time to take care of the baby, you have school, and if you don't want him to stop playing football, he's got practice, and games,"

"We have nine months to think this through," Penelope said, "In June he'll be eighteen and come September again, I will be too, we can leave, go to San Fran and finish high school there, we'd have more options and Steven said I could, and he's already talked to the judge, just because he sent me here, didn't mean that he signed his rights away, I'm in Jamie's custody, but she's not my legal guardian, if I left and Steven could help me then…"

"Stop talking about leaving, you're not leaving," Derek said, "And we're not giving this baby up, I might be seventeen, and I don't know a whole lot, but I've taking care of Des since I was ten, I've been here for her, I've had job for two years now, and I've managed that, and I was on the team, it's not like I haven't had football before, and had to watch Des, I took her with me, and sometimes Ruth would watch her, but most the times I would go to practice, and have her with me, before we moved over here," Derek said, "The coach didn't mind her being there, and I got to play, it worked out," he said.

"This isn't just about you, Pen's…"

"I've baby sat Whitney for you since April, and most the time I was there with her all day long, I took care of her, because you had to work, then I started helping Derek with Des, and we'd watch them together, we already know how to take care of a child, and we can learn how to take care of a baby, I looked after my baby brother, helped my mom out and everything," Penelope said, "I'm done arguing this, and I know I'm only seventeen, and I didn't ask for a baby right now, but I'm not going to take back the last four or five months," she said before walking away.

"I thought you two would understand, I guess I should have told her I'd runaway with her," Derek said before he went after Penelope, he wasn't going to let her leave, he already knew if she got outside she'd start planning her escape.

TBC

AN: I've been planning on going here with the story since the beginning, if you don't like I'm sorry, but that was the whole idea behind this story, hope you will still read.