Just Friends?
Chapter Thirty-Five
Elly dropped her hand from Chloe's knee, shifting on the couch to face Mark again, "You want...to raise this baby? I just told you you're not the father..."
"Doesn't matter," Mark decided rashly, "This baby deserves two parents. I want to be a father. Shaun's not in the picture...no one else needs to know."
Elly replaced her hand against Chloe's knee, trying to show she hadn't lost her support, "Chloe is in the picture, Mark."
Mark ran his hand through his hair, "We keep the same arrangement we planned...we live together in this house and raise this baby as co-parents who are not in a relationship and you get to be with Chloe on the side."
It was now Elly's turn to blink wildly at Mark's decision, "Okay...Mark...do you not get that Chloe is more to me than...someone on the side that I sleep with every night? She's my family and my home. I love her."
"Yeah, whatever," Mark dismissed, "Just because you're in love with Chloe that still doesn't have to change things. Chloe doesn't want kids. I do. I can get past this not been my child. I can raise this baby with you. I can love this baby like it's my own."
Chloe bit her tongue, desperate to correct Mark that she did want to be a parent to this child, but couldn't do so as her brother was imploding. Chloe needed Mark to work out what he wanted and even though he was claiming to still want to raise this baby, she thought given a bit of space, a night to sleep on it, Mark might not feel the same way. Mark was spiraling from the loss of this baby that wasn't his and if this was his way of dealing with it in the immediate aftermath of been told the truth, Chloe couldn't tell her brother how it was that he was meant to react.
Elly pursed her lips, "Mark, Chloe and I still need to sit down and discuss...her role in my baby's life. Mark, I know you're desperate to be a father but..."
"Okay, fine, if Chloe wants to help the two of us raise this baby and is going to be sharing a bed with you every night, then she can play her part and help us. This baby is going to uproot all our lives and we need all the support we can get," Mark decided impetuously.
Elly took a deep breath, "Mark, I think you need to take some time to think about this. You're in shock now that you know you're not the biological father...you need to take some to-"
"I am not losing another child, Elly. You are not taking this away from me," Mark told her darkly, "We stick to our plan and the three of us have a place in this baby's life. You two can be all coupley at your remaining ultrasounds, I can actually attend them now I know the baby is younger than I thought, you two can go to your birthing classes and I can be there when you deliver the baby. Nobody else needs to know. If you want to tell Leo, Dr. Dietrich, David and Finn that I know the truth and have accepted it, we can keep this from getting out."
Chloe stared at her brother with sympathy, knowing he was acting irrationally to avoid feeling the true pain he was in, "Mark, Elly is right, you need to take a step back and think about this. You do not need to be making any decisions tonight after what Elly has told you."
"Mark, there is a difference of 6-weeks in my pregnancy," Elly told him honestly, "I was completely naive in my denial that you needed to know the truth but as Chloe pointed out to me...numerous times...I can't hide a difference of 6-weeks in the timing of when I give birth way after my due date."
"Who's going to be paying attention in your life that closely to know your exact due date? I know you're close to your family but it's not like you've confirmed to them your due date, right, especially since you've been trying to hide the details of your pregnancy?" Mark was clutching at straws.
"No, but according to them I fell pregnant before the wedding...and the wedding date...that's not exactly something they are going to forget due to how the day unfolded," Elly tried to explain rationally.
"Then we tell your family only the truth...Aaron too," Mark suggested, "Or closer to the due date...the three of us go to Adelaide to stay with my mum. Claim the three of us need to bond as a family. We'll pretend you gave birth when everyone was expecting you to and return once you have had the child. Our mum will help us keep this a secret."
Elly stared at Mark, completely unnerved that her need to tell Chloe she wanted the two of them to raise the baby together was coming apart at the seams by Mark unwilling to let this baby go, "Mark...that's not really going to work. Believe me, when I was in complete and utter denial over needing to tell you the truth that the baby isn't yours...the night I told Chloe the truth that Shaun is the father before she was with me for the ultrasound...I suggested the same thing to Chloe. That she and I could run away to my mum's, live with her for a couple months under the guise that Liz was sick and needed me to care for her...lie to you about the baby been born...until it truly had. Chloe made me see sense that it'll never work...the birth of this child can't be kept a secret for 6-weeks."
Mark blinked wildly, "You...were going to run away, pretend you've given birth to my baby and then return when you had to trick me into raising this baby with you?"
Elly sighed, "Mark, you just suggested a very similar plan to keep people from knowing the truth. When I was talking to Chloe about running away...it wasn't just a crazy plan to keep you not knowing about the baby's paternity...it...it had more to do with the fact I was falling in love with Chloe. I wanted to run away with her under the guise of keeping the baby secret from you. I wanted to spend time with Chloe on our own. I wanted...to go hideaway at my mum's 2-bedroom apartment with Chloe. I wanted to share a bed with Chloe...I wanted to hold her close every night as we slept. I was married to you but the only thing I wanted was to run away with your sister without anyone knowing until I was ready to accept, I was falling in love with her. Which I ended up doing a lot sooner than I first thought possible."
Mark rolled his eyes at Elly, still feeling so blinded by the way they had first slept together and once more when Elly had left their marriage for Chloe.
Elly blushed as she glanced at Chloe, "I needed you to know."
Chloe blushed back at Elly, before addressing Mark, "Mark, none of us can run away from Erinsborough. Not to keep this baby's birth a secret. If I had of known the real reason Elly wanted to run away with me...I probably wouldn't have turned her down...but that's not the point. The baby's birth can't be a secret. You're a cop, Mark. You know there's official documents, certificate of birth, hospital records etc that will uncover the truth if anyone was to look into why the three of us disappeared so close to Elly's due date."
Mark nodded, "Okay, no running away. We'll deal with any questions over the due date as they come up. I want to still raise this baby...I need to. This child deserves to have two parents in his or her life."
Elly looked over at Chloe, squeezing Chloe's knee before turning back to Mark, "Why don't we all sleep on it...take a few days to...think about...everything? We can keep the baby's paternity between us...and we can...in a few days...sit down and talk about how we all feel."
"Okay," Mark agreed immediately, "We can do this...we can find a way to all raise this baby together...in a way that we are all comfortable with. Elly and I can be parents and Chloe you can...be Elly's partner supporting her and if you want to chip in for the occasional middle of the night, trying to settle the baby back to sleep...we can make this work."
Elly and Chloe both hesitated, each not wanting to agree to Mark's suggestion, each knowing that they were desperate to raise the baby themselves as a couple, but not knowing that the other wanted the same thing.
"Now...is there anything else you've been keeping from me?" Mark asked, praying the two women wouldn't have any further secrets that would rip his heart out any further.
Elly stared into Chloe's eyes, feeling the pull to how strongly she felt for the blonde, wondering how Mark would react if she told him, she wanted Chloe to raise the child with her.
Elly addressed another matter instead, "I don't have a cold, Mark. I was in hospital last week because the stress I've been under keeping this secret from you...it caused another very minor tear in my placenta. David admitted me after Chloe told him the truth that you're not the father and my pregnancy isn't as advanced as he thought it was. I was trying not to worry you that I was going to lose this baby...I made Chloe and David lie to you about it."
"Is the baby okay?" Mark asked worriedly.
"I got the all clear this morning from David. I just got to focus on not having any more stress in my life," Elly reassured him, "Bea and Finn spotted Chloe and I in the hospital room...I told Bea not to tell you and I assume she asked Finn to keep it a secret too. Bea she ah...Bea walked into the hospital room when I was kissing Chloe...I told my sister I left you for Chloe. She supports my decision to be in a relationship with Chloe because she could see how much I love her."
Mark nodded, breathing deeply at the thought that Elly's love for Chloe was a visual fact that couldn't be hidden when people saw them together, "Anything else?"
"No," Elly answered.
Mark nodded once more, gritting his teeth, "You tore my heart to shreds tonight, Elly. I wanted this baby so badly...you lied to me that you were pregnant with my child for over 5-months...I'm not capable of forgiving you for that yet...but I will not blame this child for what you decided to do. I've been in love with this baby from the moment you told me you were pregnant...even though the baby didn't exist then. I'm not giving up on this baby because of DNA. I love this child and that won't change. The three of us...we'll make this work."
Elly nodded awkwardly, then running her hand against Chloe's knee, "We should...go to bed. We'll see you in the morning, Mark."
Mark stood there awkwardly as the couple stood up from the couch and walked away from him. He continued blinking his eyes, still in complete disbelief that Elly had lied to him for so many months and wasn't carrying his child. He had longed to be a father and was determined not to give that up even though it was clear Elly did have Chloe's support.
Would things have been different without Chloe been around? Would he have yelled and screamed at Elly more than he had? Would he have run away from Elly? Would he have thrown things at her or around the house? Would he have kicked her out of his house? Wanted to smash Elly's teapot collection when he packed up her stuff to get her out of his life as soon as possible? Gotten annulment papers drawn up in less than 48 hours of learning her horrible shame?
Is knowing Elly might not be a single parent with Chloe around the only reason why he felt determined not to let this baby go?
Or if Elly had told him the truth months ago…before her 3-month ultrasound with Chloe would he instead have made the decision to have nothing to do with Elly and her baby...? Before Elly had been given Caitlyn's ultrasound photo? When she was in hospital after the attack at the school? When she first found herself pregnant to her one-night-stand?
Five and a half months was a long time that Mark had been planning for this baby, loving this child, even though now he knew the truth that Elly was only four months pregnant. Had he not spent that length of time, devoting his thoughts to been a father, Mark's reaction might have been different and he might have turned away from raising this child. He was determined to fight through his anger at the situation Elly had placed him in and be a good father to this child.
Elly and Chloe walked back to Elly's room in silence. Closing the door behind them, they found themselves seated on the edge of the bed next to one another.
Elly turned to Chloe and took her hand in her own, "What the hell just happened?"
"I have no idea," Chloe answered in shock.
"Mark...he..." Elly struggled to convey her thoughts to her girlfriend.
"Mark still wants to raise this baby with you," Chloe re-affirmed, "I thought for sure he would..."
"I've spent more than four months dreading telling him I'm not pregnant with his child...five months dreading since I first learnt I wasn't pregnant in the first place...I had pictured a thousand different ways of Mark throwing me out of his life...not once did I..." Elly was in shock.
"Me either," Chloe confirmed.
Elly re-affirmed, "I broke his heart but he still wants to raise this baby with me...how did this happen?"
Chloe squeezed Elly's hand, repeating, "I have no idea...I guess we need to sleep on this revelation too...and deal with it again in the morning...maybe once Mark has had a chance to think about it...he'll change his mind."
"Maybe," Elly replied.
A few minutes later, the couple were lying in bed together. Chloe and Elly were on their sides, facing one another, with their arms wrapped around each other's hips and their legs were entangled.
Elly stared into Chloe's eyes, "Chlo...I want Mark to change his mind."
"You do?" Chloe asked.
Elly nodded gently, "If he doesn't...if Mark wants to raise this baby with me...I'll...I'll have to break his heart all over again."
Chloe ran her fingertips against Elly's hip, "Why?"
Elly lent up and held her hand to Chloe's cheek, "Because I don't want to raise this baby with Mark...in any kind of co-parenting way."
Chloe continued staring at Elly.
Elly bit her lip before admitting, "I want to raise this baby with you."
You do? I want the same thing...how am I going to deal with destroying Mark by taking this away from him? He'll never forgive me...I have to do what is right for me, Elly and our baby, even if it'll hurt him...I just called the baby 'ours' and it feels so right, Chloe thought.
Please Chlo, tell me you want the same thing too. I know I need to talk to you about how much pain I've put you through and tell you I overheard what you said to David but this is so important to me to discuss with you first. I know this will officially destroy Mark by taking this away from him. He'll never forgive me...I have to do what is right for us and our baby, even if it'll hurt him...I just called the baby 'ours' and it feels so right, Elly thought.