A/N: YES! The most anticipated chapter everyone has been eager to read. Thanks to those who've commented/messaged/voted I love you all! Please, please keep those reviews coming. The next chapter is the final chapter, despite the epilogue. Sadly…BUT do not fret Psych-o's a new romance is being written.

Review, let me know what you think! The more reviews I get, the faster the next one gets uploaded. Sorry it took so long, had hit a major writing block and work has been super busy at work due to elections. ENJOY!

Chapter 24: Positive

"Cass," Shawn said gently. "Maybe it's time you tell your mom about this. You've been puking your guts out all week."

Cassidy didn't even look at him, continuing gazing into the water inside the porcelain bowl. She knew Shawn was right. She'd been sick the majority of the week and it wasn't getting any better. Her enthusiastic, active and outgoing self was now replaced with constant fatigue, nausea, headaches and mood swings.

"For the hundredth time, Shawn, I'm fine," she said stubbornly. "I've probably caught that stupid bug that's been going around lately. It's just got to..."

Her sentence remained unfinished as she kneeled before the toilet bowl once again, retching and gagging.

Shawn placed a hand on her back as he asked if she was all right, his voice laced with concern.

"I'm fine," she said, trying to shrug him off. "I'll be good to go here in a few."

"You aren't going anywhere." The hazel eyed man said sternly. "You need to rest."

Cassidy tried to get to her feet and insist on continuing going to date night, but her knees buckled. Shawn caught her easily. "Cass," he chastised sternly. "You're too weak to even stand. There's no way in hell we're going out if you're this sick."

Cassidy went to protest again but he hushed her with his fingers to her lips. "I almost lost you once," he said softly. "I'll be damned if I let you slip away again because you're too damn stubborn to listen. Now, march into the bedroom and lay down."

Her expression softened as he brushed tangled brown strands away from her face. Cassidy sighed, a small pout forming on her lips. She knew he meant well and she loved him for that, but she didn't intend to spend their date night bed ridden.

"Fine," She said, exasperation taking the place of the dread in her voice and Shawn chuckled at her annoyance. "But not until I brush this disgusting taste out of my mouth."

Even though she didn't like it, Shawn carried Cassidy bridal style, stating that if she was too weak to stand, she certainly wouldn't be able to make it to their bedroom. She grumbled her protests, her pride objecting to having to be carried, but knowing there was no winning out against Shawn. He could be just as stubborn as herself when he wanted to be. And in all honesty, she rather liked the feel of his strong hands gripping her thighs to support her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, breathing in his scent and she found that it calmed her, gave her sense of security in a way she couldn't really explain.

Shawn sat on the bed next to Cassidy and hooked his thumbs in the side of the leggings she was wearing and pulled them down, slowly running his hands down her legs to take her feet out. He then slipped his hands under her top and unclasped her bra, tossing it onto the floor.

She wanted to shield herself from his eyes but knew he wouldn't allow it so she tried to calm her raging blush. Shawn chuckled softly and shook his head. "You're so cute when I make you blush." He said, his eyes looking straight into hers.

Cassidy's blush flared at his words.

Shawn bent his head and kissed her lips lightly then pulled away, flashing his beautiful smile that always made her heart skip a beat. He unbuttoned his jeans, slipping them off and throwing them on the floor, then removed his T-shirt before climbing in the bed with her.

Cassidy pressed her body to his, loving the feel of him against her. "Go to sleep," He whispered, kissing her forehead gently as he wrapped his arms around her in a gentle embrace, holding her close even as their bodies remained joined.

She pressed her face into his chest breathing him in. "I'm sorry," She mumbled against his skin.

He pulled away to look down at her. She looked so small and frail despite the fact that she was quite a formidable young woman.

"I didn't intend on ruining our night."

Shawn chuckled.

"With all the vomiting you've been doing lately you had me scared you were pregnant," He said. "That would suck."

Cassidy burst out laughing. "Like that could ever happen," She said. "Besides, I'm on birth control and haven't missed…a cycle."

Cassidy's heart sunk…missed cycle?

Come to think of it when was the last time I had my period? She thought. I'm always four weeks on the dot. I've been so damn preoccupied lately it must've slipped my mind.

Cassidy could feel her pulse immediately quicken as she frantically tried to work it out in her head. If she calculated right she was late.

Everything I've been feeling this week….could it be that I'm…pregnant? Oh, god. Please no, please! What the hell am I going to do if I'm pregnant? I'm about to finish school this month, I'm supposed to start the academy. What about the job I was offered at the DEA? What's Miller going to think…let alone what are my parents going to think!? What would they say!? And Shawn….he just said it would suck if I was pregnant! What would he think!? What do I tell him? How could this have happen!? I never missed a pill, ever.

She could feel her whole future flushing down the toilet. What was she going to do? If she was pregnant, everything she'd worked so hard for would've been for nothing. She was seventeen for chrissake, she wasn't ready to be a mother! She didn't know the first thing about taking care of children. There was only one way to find out, she needed a pregnancy test. She needed to see, Becca.

He rested his chin on the top of her head, inhaling her sweet fragrance. "I love you," He mumbled tiredly.

She pulled herself back to the present when she heard Shawn's voice.

"I…love you too," She whispered.

~ANTIQUITY~

Cassidy reached Becca's address, a small bungalow a block from the ocean. There were three shallow steps leading up to a small porch in front of the door. And on the porch sitting on a glider, was Becca.

Cassidy jumped out of the car and ran up to the house.

"I know you have some," Cassidy said frantically. "Give me one!"

Becca gave Cassidy a puzzled looked. "I'm lost," She said. "One of what?"

Cassidy placed her hands on Becca's shoulders and shook her violently. "A pregnancy test!" She shrieked, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

Becca's eyes widen. "Dude," She said. "You're pregnant!? I thought you were using protection!?"

Cassidy clamped a hand over her mouth. "Shh," She hushed. "I'm not for sure, but I ran it through my head several times and I'm severely late! And I am using protection, I don't know how this could've happened!?"

Becca grabbed Cassidy's hand and pulled her inside the house. "Okay, okay, just calm down." Becca said, closing the door behind her. "You've been under a lot of stress lately with school, that smoking hot DEA Agent who's been schooling you, your dad and not to mention fitting Shawn into your busy life. It probably just threw your cycle off."

Cassidy frantically wiped at her eyes. "Becca, I'm scared."

Becca led her upstairs towards her room. "Take a test…or two and find out for sure," She said. "Though, it's probably nothing."

Cassidy's cell phone was going crazy in her back pocket. She pulled it out to see Shawn's number flashing on the screen. When she woke the following morning, she quickly got dressed and left the apartment without informing him she was leaving. She couldn't talk to him, not right now. She rejected the call and turned it off shoving it back into her pocket roughly.

Becca came back and handed her a bottle of water and pregnancy test kit containing two tests inside. Cassidy then ran to Becca's bathroom and slammed the door.

Her hands were shaking so badly that she could barely open the box and the packets. She did one test then downed the bottle of water before doing the other one almost immediately after. She placed the two tests on the sink and sat on the floor with her head in her hands, praying they would come out negative.

After three minutes she pushed herself up and turned the two tests over at the same time. Tears formed in her eyes and she clasped a hand over her mouth as she felt bile rise in the back of her throat.

"Well?" Becca said opening the door. "What's it say?"

Cassidy suddenly rushed to the trashcan, kneeling before it, retching and gagging until her stomach was completely emptied of its contents.

Becca slowly walked over to the sink and gasped at the results.

The tears in Cassidy's eyes finally fell. She welcomed the tears, putting her face in her hands and sobbing softly as the sheer helplessness of the situation overwhelmed her. She was…pregnant.

Becca pulled Cassidy into a comforting embrace, stoking her back soothingly.

"Everything's going to be okay, Cassidy." She reassured. "I promise."

~ANTIQUITY~

Closing the door behind her, Cassidy moped toward the kitchen. Her parents were already seated at the table, a plate of meat loaf, mashed potatoes and peas in front of them. She found the smell in the kitchen, repulsive.

"Well, look who decided to come home after three days and join us for dinner." David said with a growl, not bothering to avert his attention away from his book to even glance at her.

No words needed to be spoken as Evelyn studied her daughter's outward behavior as she stood in ratty sweats looking freshly showered. Her face was blotchy and her eyes were red and puffy from crying. Something was wrong.

Evelyn quickly stood from her chair and ran to her daughter's side. "Honey, what's wrong?" She said worriedly causing David to finally lift his gaze from his book. "What happened?"

The teenager's eyes suddenly dropped to the floor as she bit her lower lip. David had seen that particular behavior enough to know that she only did it when extremely nervous and he had a sinking feeling in his gut that warned that he wasn't going to like what he was about to hear.

"I…um…"

She was still refusing to look at her mother.

"Cassidy," he said, his voice a low growl of impatience and anxiety. "If you got something you need to say, say it. Stop standing there like a dumbass and just spit it out."

She said nothing, eyes still fixed on the floor.

"Cassidy, sweetie—"

"I'm pregnant," she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

David couldn't believe what he was hearing. Not only had she been dating a nincompoop, he managed to defile his one and only child, his daughter. He had assumptions she was having sex, but couldn't bring himself to accept it.

"What!?" David growled as his disbelief turned to anger. "How could you…Cassidy, how could you have been so irresponsible, so stupid! Do you realize you just ruined your future!? I've spent years molding you into the perfect weapon, an asset, and for what, for you to lay on your back while he screwed you senseless!"

"David!"

"I know," she replied, at least lifting her eyes to meet his furious pair. "I'm sorry."

"This was your chance to do something great, and now you have nothing. Nothing."

She winced at his words, looking absolutely miserable. She was perfectly aware that the opportunity she was given at the DEA was probably a lost cause now, but that didn't make it any easier to listen to her father berate her.

"You're a disgrace to this family, to me!" He yelled. "What are you going to do now, huh? You're seventeen years old! Are you going to go back to wiping down tables again!? Hell, you might as well just stand at a street corner and make a living as a whore because that's all you're good for now."

Cassidy wrapped her arms around herself as if they would protect her from her father's painful words, but she couldn't stop the tears from forming in her eyes. She had let everyone down. Her father was furious with her, furious and disappointed, and that knowledge only compounded the pain gripping her chest.

Evelyn could see her daughter's golden eyes glistening with unshed tears. Her body posture betrayed how dejected she felt, her heart ached for her. Everyone made mistakes, although it was uncharacteristic for Cassidy to make one so big, but yelling at her was solving nothing. Her dismal expression evaporated her anger and suddenly, all she wanted to do was hold her close and comfort her. Her situation was certainly bleak, but she had faced worse odds in her lifetime, and maybe if they put their heads together, they could figure this out.

"David, that's enough!" Evelyn shouted. "You will not talk to her like that, especially in her condition! She was placed on birth control. She takes it daily and never misses a dose. It's not always 100% effective. More than 40 out of 100 couples become pregnant while using it effectively. It happens. The only thing we can do right now is just support her as best we can. I'll take her by the office and run some tests. But right now you need to calm down. So please, just leave before you do something you might regret later."

Abruptly, David stood up, reached for his scotch glass and threw it against the wall, shattering the glass into hundreds of tiny fragments. "Fuck!"

Evelyn quickly pulled Cassidy behind her protectively as David stormed out of the room, noting that he didn't even spare them a second glance as he left.

Cassidy sniffled softly, finally raising her head to look at her mother. "Everything's going to be okay, Sweetheart." Evelyn murmured, her voice brimming with sincerity as she wrapped her arms around her daughter in a comforting embrace. "We'll figure this out."

"I'm so scared, mom." She cried. "I don't know if I can do this."

Tears fell from her eyes, cutting wet trails down her cheeks and Evelyn was once again struck by that cursed feeling of helplessness as she held her without a clue as to what to do. All she could think of was to hold her close and let her cry, her tears soaking her blouse as she trembled in her arms.

"We'll get through this…together."

~ANTIQUITY~

"Well, you're defiantly pregnant," Evelyn said as she removed the transducer from Cassidy's stomach and turned the screen around for her to see. "Judging from the amount of weeks that have passed since your normal menstrual period and from the baby's measurements you look to be around six weeks, February 18th is the baby's due date."

The tears came unbidden, but she didn't try to stop them, knowing her mother confirmed that she was indeed pregnant. She let them flow down her cheeks as silent sobs wracked her body.

"You have three options you and Shawn need to consider." Evelyn said. "There's abortion, adoption or the two of you could be parents to this life growing inside of you. The both of you need to sit down and discuss what you're going to do and soon."

She pulled her shirt down and slowly got off the exam table, wiping the remnants of her tears with the back of her hand, "You already know my thoughts on abortion, mom." She said. "It has a heartbeat. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I went through with it."

"Adoption?"

Cassidy shook her head. "What if the adoptive parents turned out to be rapists, abusers, or serial killers?" She said. "No adoption."

"Well." Evelyn said with a sigh. "That leaves you with one final option, parenting."

Cassidy buried her face in her hands and sighed. "I don't know the first thing about taking care of a baby, mom." She said. "I have no maternal instincts whatsoever."

"Well it's not just going to go away, Cassidy." Evelyn said. "There's a little peanut growing inside of you as we speak. When he or she is born and you hold him or her for the first time you will know exactly what to do. Though I'm not too keen about becoming a grandmother at thirty-eight, Cassidy but if it's what the two of you want I'll support you both all the way. Yes, a child means you have to your plans on hold, but that doesn't mean it'll destroy your future. You can still do the things you want to do. It's just going to take a little more time."

Cassidy stood in front of the sink, grimacing at her tear-streaked reflection. She was a mess.

"What if…what if I decided not to mention the pregnancy to Shawn?" Cassidy said. "Do you think I could do it, by myself I mean?"

"You're kidding right, Cassidy?" Evelyn said in disbelief. "He's the father of that child, your child. He has a right to know."

"I-I know…" She stammered, her tears once again flowing and choking on her speech as she was overwhelmed by the situation. "It's just…I have a feeling he's not going to be happy when he hears the news. I'm afraid once I tell him he'll leave me alone with this child."

Evelyn shook her head. "Sweetie, he loves you more than you know." She said. "I wasn't going to tell you, but that night you were admitted at the hospital I wanted him to end the relationship between the two of you."

"You what…why…how-"

Evelyn held up a hand, silencing her before she could even finish the question. "That doesn't matter now." She said. "What I'm trying to tell you is that he fought tooth and nail to be with you. You're everything to him, Cassidy. Give him a chance to prove himself. You might just be surprised at what you hear."

Cassidy hung her head in defeat. "Fine," She said. "But answer this. Do you think I have what it takes to be a good mom?"

Evelyn smiled. "I think you have everything it takes to be a great mother." She said. "And the answer to your first question, yes. You're strong and always have been independent. I know for a fact you can do this on your own, but it's not something I would recommend doing by all yourself."

Cassidy sighed and lifted her head, glancing at her reflection once more. Her decision had been made. She was keeping this child. Her mother was right. She would have to put her plans on hold for a while but it didn't mean her life was over. It was just beginning.

She was determined to give this child everything she never had, a childhood. But a problem still remained…Shawn. How would he react? Was he ready to become a father? There was only one way to tell. She had to know, she had to ask.