Disclaimer: Don't Own, Don't Sue! ;D
A/N: An especially longer chapter. Happy New Year!
Chapter 37: Here Is Gone
Jess had spent the majority of the day off today cleaning and taking care of Connor, who was still sick.
It had been three days since she had taken the test.
She had called off for the past three days to take care of Connor. At least, that's what she told herself.
Truth was, she couldn't face Abby or the others knowing what she now knew. She still hadn't told Connor of all people; but it wasn't exactly the news someone needed to hear when they were sick from readjusting to the time.
Jess collected the laundry and headed to the laundry room.
She had been so caught up in her thoughts and putting stuff into the washing machine that she hadn't noticed Abby enter the laundry room and shut the door behind her.
"Jess, I wanted to know if we could talk for a bit." She spoke quietly.
Jess jumped from surprise, as she closed the washing machine.
"Abby, I thought—" She cleared her throat. "I thought you were with Matt."
"I had to stop here to pick up some things." Abby replied.
"Oh," Was all Jess said in reply as she began to put damp clothes into the dryer.
"Jess, I—I saw the test. I know." Abby said hesitantly after a few moments of silence.
Jess paused what she was doing in anger, before continuing. "That's none of your business Abby."
"I'm—I'm only looking out for you, Jess."
"I can look out for myself." Jess retorted, shutting the dryer and starting it.
Abby could only hope she was doing the right thing by confronting Jess about this; not that it really mattered now.
"Does Connor know?" Abby inquired.
Jess didn't reply. If Connor was to find out, he'd hear it from Jess; no one else.
"Jess, he needs to know."
"Don't you think I know that, Abby?" Jess asked incredulously.
"I'm not here to fight." Abby admitted. "I'm only here to help, because I thought you could use someone to talk to."
Jess remained quiet.
"Even if you choose not to tell him, he will figure it out himself. I'm not sure how far along you are; but I do know that it will start showing eventually."
"What would you do if you were in my position, hm?" Jess asked.
Abby stopped to take in Jess's words.
"I would be scared. But I wouldn't hide it from him." Abby answered honestly. "Connor's not the type to up and leave someone because of a baby."
Abby turned and left without waiting for a response from Jess.
Jess stood there for several minutes in shock before trying to calm herself down to go check on Connor.
Later that night, Jess laid a cool rag on Connor's head to help keep his fever down before climbing into bed.
"I hate being sick." Connor commented as Jess moved close to him.
"I can't do anything and I'll probably end up getting you sick for just being by me." He continued.
"I'll be fine." Jess answered, reaching over and taking hold of his hand. "Besides, I don't think you're contagious. You'll be better in a few days."
"I may not be contagious; but maybe you were." Connor said in a mock menacing voice as he quickly turned his head to Jess, tossing the rag onto her face.
"Yes, you caught it from me." Jess stuck her tongue out as she placed the rag back on his forehead. "Now, keep this on your head to keep the fever down."
"First step is admitting, Jess." Connor joked, a grin tickling his lips.
Jess moved closer and rested her head on his chest, feeling Connor wrap his arm around her.
"How different do you think we might have been if we'd have just ignored the anomaly and stayed in the 1500s?" Jess asked quietly.
"Where did that come from?" Connor asked curiously.
"Just curious." She stated.
Connor cringed inwardly, remembering the coffin building he had done during their time there. He was over ecstatic when he was able to do something more to his liking when they came back.
"Coming back made me realize more—important things." Connor answered.
If he would have found a different job in the 1500s, he would have stayed there with Jess forever. Being Gallant's apprentice was much too trying at times for Connor.
"Like what?"
"It's—complicated."
"You never told me why you told Gallant we were married." Jess noted, as she heard Connor's heart skip a beat.
"Because—because."
"We weren't even together when that happened." Jess recalled.
"I'm under the weather and I can't escape an Inquisition?" Connor asked jokingly.
"As I've said." Jess spoke, kissing Connor's jaw line. "I'm only curious."
"Someone had to keep you from being taken as someone else's wife. I didn't want to end up living with Gallant all by myself. Seemed like a good idea at the time." Connor rambled.
"How far do you think our charade would have gone had we stayed?"
"What do you mean?"
"Would we have gotten married for real?"
"To them, we would've been married twice and probably broken a law or two." Connor noted.
"What about kids?"
Again, his heart skipped.
"Pirates, Jess." Connor reminded.
"What if pirates weren't an excuse?"
"I never really thought about it." Connor replied truthfully.
"Suppose, it would have been nice. Someone to keep ya company while I was away with gallant all day." Connor mused. "Another happy face to greet me when I came home. Then, I wouldn't have felt so bad leaving ya on your own all the time. But then I would have had more to worry about."
"Like what?"
"You being on your own, carrying him or her, and the whole medieval birth—thing." Connor rambled.
"Oh, right." Jess whispered.
"Why?" Connor turned on his side, pulling Jess close to him. "Would you have wanted kids?" He asked with a smirk.
Connor's cologne, that Jess loved so much, was making Jess suddenly nauseous.
"Hold that thought." Jess spoke tight-lipped before pushing away and dashing for the restroom.
About a week or so later, things seemed to be getting back on track. Matt and Connor were back at the ARC and cleared for field work; but Jess had been finding excuses to stay out of the field.
She'd finally gotten around to getting her hair cut back to its original length and did her best to steer clear of Abby and Matt, unsure of how to go about normal conversation anymore.
Jess knew she needed to return to the Medical Bay and speak with the doctor, but had been having trouble finding the courage to.
Connor was still in the dark about their baby and Jess planned to keep it that way until she could figure something out.
During some downtime, when a majority of the staff was out of the building, excluding medical staff, Jess worked up the courage to finally speak to the doctor in the Medical Bay.
As she entered the Medical Bay, she found the doctor at his desk going over some files and approached him.
Jess apologized for fainting the last time they had spoken.
"It's alright and completely understandable." He assured her. "What can I help you with?"
"I—" She took a deep breath. "I really need to know how far along I am."
Twenty minutes later, after a couple short tests and a sonogram, Jess got her answer.
"Not very far," the doctor explained. "At a guess, I'd say no more than a few weeks."
"Thanks." Jess nodded. "And, could we please keep all of this under wraps?"
"You're the second person to ask me that." The doctor said clearing his throat, having said something he wasn't supposed to.
"Second?" Jess asked quizzically. "Who else knows?"
The doctor sighed. "When the tests first came back, I found Captain Becker in here going through medical files and he knew of your pregnancy not long after myself. He practically begged that I hold off on revealing anything for at least twenty-four hours."
Jess felt anger bottle up inside. Who was Becker to decide such things for her?
Jess thanked the doctor once more before heading off in search of Becker.
Jess found Becker on patrol the floor below the Medical Bay.
"Becker," she called to him, keeping the anger out of her voice.
"Jess, how are you?" He asked.
"Can I speak to you in private?" She brushed off his question.
Becker became immediately alarmed, but nodded.
"Of course."
Jess led them to a lounge that was rarely ever used by anyone on staff.
At this point, the suspense was killing Becker. He was worried about what was so terrible that she had to speak with him in private.
"What's wrong?"
Jess closed the door to the lounge.
Jess folded her arms.
"I'm pregnant." She spoke softly, gauging Becker's reaction.
Becker tried to act surprised, but to no avail. It was something that was always on his mind since he had found out about it.
"But you already knew that. Didn't you?" Jess asked.
"I—" Becker sighed. "I saw the test the day they conducted the blood work and I couldn't believe it myself. You and Connor had only just gotten back a several days previous and all I did was ask the doctor to hold off on the results for twenty-four hours."
"I think the term the doctor used was 'beg'."
Becker remained silent.
"You had no right to go through my personal files, Becker."
"I know."
"Then, why did you do it? I went out into the field last week thinking I only had some sort of bug from traveling back from the past. Something could have happened and I would not have know until it was too late!" Jess fumed, tears trickling down her eyes.
"I wanted to tell you, but I didn't know if everyone else knew. I didn't want to call you out, which was why I kept hinting that you shouldn't be there."
Jess only shook her head, wiping the tears from her eyes.
"Who's—" Becker swallowed the lump in his throat.
"Who's the father?" He asked sheepishly.
"Connor, who else would it be?" Jess retorted, more sharply than intended.
"Temple?"
That now explained everything in the puzzle that had been turning Becker's mind. Jess and Connor had obviously become much closer than he'd originally thought during their time on the other side of the anomaly. Abby's interest in Anderson obviously stemmed from their absence and strengthened by their return.
"One thing you didn't know?" Jess inquired.
"Does he know?"
"Of course—not."
"Why not?"
"Another thing that's none of your business."
"I thought we were friends?" Becker asked.
"We are; but friends don't go behind each other's backs." Jess spoke before leaving the lounge.
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