A few days later…
"No more chickening out," Ben said. "We just need to tell them."
Ava sighed and ate another saltine. She had started to feel nauseated over the last day or so. "Fine, let's get this over with."
She dialed and put it on speaker. It rang twice and then Rosemary answered.
"Hello, Ava."
"Hi, Mom. Is Dad around?"
"Yes. He's just in his den."
"Can you please go in there? Ben and I need to talk to both of you. It's important."
"Alright." They could hear her walking as she headed to the den. "Lee, Ava is on the phone. She needs to talk to us." They heard her put the phone down. "Alright, dear. We are listening."
"Ben and I have news."
"What's that?" Lee asked.
"Well, we are going to have a baby."
"What? Ava Francette Coulter! You better be playing some sort of joke!" Rosemary shrieked.
"Its true, Mrs. Coulter," Ben confirmed.
"I knew the moment you started seeing that Thornton boy he was going to get you into trouble. I told you, Lee!"
"Rosie, now let's hear them out."
"You hear them out. Ava, I've never been more disappointed in you."
They heard her walk away and the door slam. "Dad?"
"I'm here, sweetie. Your mom left."
"Dad, I know I screwed up and I'm sorry."
"Do you need money? I'll put some in your bank account."
"No, Dad. We are going to figure this out on our own. I'm an adult and I need to take care of myself."
"Ava, I love you, sweetheart. You tell me if you need any help and I'll do it. You name it."
"Thank you, Dad. I love you too."
Ava hung up and sighed, tears falling yet again. "Babe? You okay?" he asked, putting his arms around her.
"No. There is nothing worse than knowing I'm a disappointment." She walked into the bathroom that was connected to her dorm room.
Ben heard the water turn on and figured she was going to take a bath so he turned on the television while he waited.
His phone rang. "Hey, Kay."
"Hey. I just got an interesting phone call from Mom and Dad."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah. Apparently they are moving to town."
"Which town?"
"Ann Arbor."
"What? Why?"
"I'm guessing to help you and Ava."
"I didn't ask them to do that." He would never ask them to give up their retirement to help him just because he had a lapse in judgement.
"You didn't need to. You know our parents."
"I do." He was really lucky to have Jack and Elizabeth Thornton as parents and not Rosemary Coulter. "When are they moving?"
"As soon as they can. They'll stay with me and Drew until they find a house."
"I messed everything up. What is wrong with me?"
"Ben, you're human. It's as simple as that. Now you just need to make the best of your circumstances."
"Thanks, Kay. I need to go."
"Okay. Night."
"Night."
Ava came out a little later, in cozy pajamas and slippers, her hair in a towel. "Hey."
"Hey."
"Will you stay with me tonight?"
"I don't know if that's a good idea."
"What do you think is going to happen? I'll get pregnant?" she said with a smile, bumping him with her shoulder.
"I just need to go, Ava." He gave her a kiss. "I love you."
"I love you too. You'll still go to the doctor with me tomorrow?"
"Of course. It's at three, right?"
"Yeah."
"I'll pick you up at 2:30."
Drew and Kayla's house
Kayla put the baby monitor on the edge of the sink and climbed into the tub, leaning up against Drew's chest.
"There you are."
"Yes, sorry. Harlow wouldn't let me put her down."
"Sweetie, she is two years old. She needs to learn how to soothe herself. Otherwise she's going to be eighteen years old and you'll still be rocking her to sleep."
Kayla giggled at the visual and kissed his neck. "Truthfully, I can't find any part of my heart that wouldn't be alright with that."
He gently traced her arms with his fingertips, giving her goosebumps. "Let's talk about something else."
"Like?"
"Okay, actually what I have in mind doesn't involve a lot of talking."
She giggled again and turned to meet his lips with hers. "You read my mind, Dr. Shepherd."
The next morning…
Kayla and Harlow were sent by Jack and Elizabeth to go see a house they had found online. Since they were still in Arizona for another few days, Kayla agreed to help them out.
"Okay, buggy boo, let's go see a house!"
Harlow clapped and laughed in the backseat.
As they walked through the house with the realtor, Kayla could see it wouldn't work. They asked for a house with two completely separate living spaces. This did not have that. It had a basement, which they also didn't want, and no garage.
"Sorry, guys. It was a no go. But the realtor said he has a few more for us to see, including a duplex."
"Alright, sweetie. We trust you. You know what we want and need," Elizabeth told her.
"Yep. Harlow and I will keep going."
They looked at two more houses. The last one seemed perfect and within their price range. It was a duplex with two garages, one for each side. Each side also had two bedrooms, one full bath, one half bath, and a beautiful kitchen.
"Its move in ready, Dad. It seems perfect. I think you should put in an offer."
"And it's just west of downtown?"
"Yeah. It will be a great location for you guys and for Ava and Ben."
"Alright. We will call Jerry."
"Awesome."
Ben and Ava sat in the waiting room at the clinic. "Are you okay, Ben?"
"Sure."
"I know you. Something's wrong."
"My parents."
"Are they sick?" she asked, concerned.
"No. They're fine. They're moving back. Because of me."
"What do you mean because of you?"
"They want to be closer to us, in case we need help. They are giving up their retirement plans because I made a stupid choice."
"Stupid choice? Really, Ben? Thanks a lot!"
"You don't think it was stupid?"
"No. Lots of people make the same decision we did. Maybe it wasn't wise, but stupid is harsh."
"You're right. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to use that word. I'm just feeling guilty."
"Ava Coulter?" the nurse said from the doorway.
Ben stood up with her. "Can I come in too?"
"It's up to Ava."
She nodded and he followed her in.
Ben listened as the doctor asked her personal questions and examined her. He felt uncomfortable being in the room but he knew that childbirth wasn't going to be a walk in the park for either of them so he kept his mouth shut.
Finally, the ultrasound technician had her lay back and lift her drape so she could squirt some sort of goo on her stomach.
"What's that?" he wondered.
"It's a special gel that lets the ultrasound waves transmit through her skin so we can see inside."
He nodded and watched the screen as she described what they were seeing. "According to your chart, you're about eight weeks pregnant."
"Yes."
"So that means your baby is about the size of a kidney bean."
"That small? You'll be able to see it on the screen?" Ben asked.
"Yes. Actually, right here." She pointed. "This is the head and the arms. This is your baby's spine and this little blip is the heartbeat."
"Heartbeat?" Ben whispered. Ava looked at him, tears rolling down her face. He took her hand and smiled.
"That's our baby, Ben. Isn't it beautiful?"
"Yeah. Just like you." He stood and gave her a kiss. "I love you."
"I love you too."
"Can you tell if it's a boy or girl?" he asked the technician.
"Not yet. In a few more months we can."
"Is the baby healthy?" Ava asked.
"From what we can tell now, yes. The heartbeat is good and the size is right for the age."
"Good."
About fifteen minutes later, they left the doctor with a prescription for prenatal vitamins and an appointment set up for a few months later to find out the gender.
Ava had asked about what she should be eating and how much weight she should be gaining so the doctor gave her a bunch of information to look over and read.
When they got to the car, Ben stopped walking and grabbed her fingers. "Ava, I want to apologize for earlier. I don't feel like we made a stupid decision."
She looked up at him. "You don't?"
"No. Being with you was wonderful. Maybe we should have waited but now we have a beautiful, healthy baby. I'll never regret that."
She stepped into his arms, laying her head against his heartbeat. "Me either."
He touched her cheek and lifted her lips to his. "I love you so much."
"I love you too."
"Tomorrow, I'm going out of town. I'll be back on Sunday night."
"Where are you going?"
"There's just something I need to do. It's important. I'll tell you all about it when I get home."
Ava's stomach growled loudly, making both of them laugh. "I guess baby is hungry."
He kissed her again and opened her door. "Let's feed baby then."
Hope Hills, U.P.
When Matt had come home a few days ago, they chatted and decided that it made more sense for Livy to move into the cabin. Why pay rent when there's a cabin that's paid for? So she began packing.
The few days she had with him were great but it made her miss him even more now. Every time she heard her phone ring, she hoped it was him. Every time she drove by the road the cabin was on, he was on her mind. When the sun caught the diamond on her engagement ring, it was all she could do not to fly down to Florida.
She decided that she was going to take a weekend and drive down to see Kayla. She thought they could make it a girl's day and shop for a wedding dress.
Her phone rang around dinner time. It wasn't Matt. "Hey, Ben."
"Hi, Liv. I need a favor."
"Sure."
"Can I stay at your apartment this weekend?"
"Um, sure. I won't be here but you're welcome to stay."
"Where will you be?"
"In Ann Arbor. Visiting Kay and Drew. Why will you be up here?"
"I need to talk to Lee Coulter."
"About what?"
"Kay didn't tell you what's going on?"
"Are you getting engaged?! That's so great."
"Well, hopefully, but there's more to it. Ava's pregnant."
"What? Are you serious?"
"Completely. About 8 weeks. We saw the heartbeat today."
"Ben."
"I know. Anyway, thanks for letting me stay at the apartment."
"You're welcome. Good luck."
"Thanks. I'm gonna need it."