So, I'm back with a new chapter! Sorry this update took so long. Thank you so much for your reviews; it's so, so nice to know that people are still reading. This is the last vacation chapter, enjoy!

Fragile, Part 2

"What kind do you want?"

"I don't care," Lola mumbled. They were standing in the medicine aisle of the supermarket, faced with a million different brands of pregnancy tests— earliest result, first response, 99% accuracy... why did there have to be so many? This obviously wasn't the first time Lola had bought one, but somehow it didn't feel any less scary now. She picked up the cheapest one. "They all tell you the same thing."

The cashier narrowed her eyes at Lola and Frankie as they checked out, like she was trying to hold back from saying something judgy. Lola could only imagine what the cashier would say if she knew she already had one baby. She missed the days when strangers only stared at her for her blue hair.

Frankie squeezed Lola's hand on the way out. "It'll be okay, you know."

Lola leaned into her and sighed. "Just be glad you're dating Esme and don't have to worry about getting pregnant."

"Amen to that."

Lola's plan had been to simply run into the bathroom and take the test as soon as they got back to the cottage. She didn't want to take it in the grocery store bathroom— she didn't need Frankie hovering over her and asking a million questions.

But as soon as Lola walked into the cottage, she saw Miles sitting on the floor with Hope. They were rolling a toy ball back and forth, looking like they'd both been bored for hours. Shit, it was already lunchtime, Lola realized. That meant she'd blown off Miles half the day. "Um... hey," she said, her voice cracking a little as she looked at Hope.

Hope. Her baby. Her beautiful, beautiful baby. She meant everything to Lola. But somehow, seeing her right now put knots in her stomach. As much as she loved Hope more than anything in the world, as much as she didn't regret a thing, all Lola could think of when she looked at her baby right now was how hard those nine months had been, how different everything was after she was born, how every possible thing in her life changed the second the test came back with two little pink lines. Keeping Hope has been the right choice for her— even if she couldn't entirely pinpoint why she'd made that decision, she'd never doubted it. But the idea of going through all that again? She couldn't stomach the thought.

"You didn't answer my texts all day," Miles said. He looked hurt. "I was worried."

Lola gulped. "Miles, I—"

Frankie brushed past them. "Okay, so, I'm just gonna go hide in my room now..."

"Wait!" Lola grabbed her shoulder. "Can you watch Hope for a minute so I can talk to Miles?" She glanced at him. "In private," she added quietly.

"Yeah. Sure." Frankie picked Hope up and carried her away, mumbling, "The things I do for your mommy and daddy..."

Lola and Miles went into his room and closed the door. She paced around the room for a second, unsure of how to say this. A part of her wished she had just taken the test before she got home so she could tell Miles for sure one way or another. But then, seeing him, she felt guilty hiding this potential secret for even one more minute. It wasn't like last time— they were a couple now, parents, engaged. And couples discussed these things together.

"What's going on, Lo?" Miles frowned. He was sitting on the bed, watching Lola pace around and looking all worried. "You're freaking me out."

"Um, the other day, when I told you..." Lola paused, catching her breath for a second. "When I told you I wasn't pregnant. Well, I... I might be."

Miles froze. "You... you might be...?"

"...pregnant, yeah," Lola said. She let out a deep breath. "Might be. Maybe. I haven't taken a test yet, but Frankie and I bought one."

Miles just clutched his forehead, looking like he couldn't breathe. "You're...you're...again..."

"I just realized I was a week late, and—" Lola sighed and joined him on the bed. Her whole body was trembling. "I'm sorry. I didn't want this anymore than you did."

"How? We've been careful, Lo. How could this possibly happen?" Miles said, his voice suddenly loud and all worked up. The harshness startled Lola.

"I don't know!" Lola snapped, much louder than she'd meant to. She lowered her voice, "I... I don't know." She leaned into Miles' shoulder, tearing up.

But then Miles got up. "Hang on," he managed. His face was pale as hell. "Sorry. I just need to..." He left the room suddenly.

Lola just sat there frozen, upset and honestly pissed off. Here she was crying on his bed and he was going to just walk out on her? She felt like she was back in the hallway at Degrassi all over again, totally alone and scared to tell him she was pregnant with Hope.

But then Miles walked in again a minute later. "I'm sorry," he said. "I just had to, um... well, I had to puke." He sat next to her on the bed again, his expression a little calmer and more collected now. "Look, it's... this isn't what either of us wanted. And I still don't understand how this could have happened. But... if you're really pregnant again..." He reached for her hand. "It's okay if you are."

Lola wanted to feel reassured by that. This wasn't like before. Miles didn't have a boyfriend recovering from a coma this time, he wasn't going to blow her off, he wasn't going to leave her. But somehow she still didn't feel much better. "No," she finally managed. "No, it's really not okay. Miles, I... I love you. And I love Hope. I've never regretted keeping her, not even for a second. But this, this isn't what I want right now." She met his eyes, still a little shaky. "Having a baby turned our worlds upside down. Adding another? We can't do that, not now. I'm not even out of high school yet. I barely have enough time to balance school with Hope as it is. I mean, my mom was young when she had me. Not this young, but young. And she wasn't happy. She left me and my dad because she wasn't ready, she didn't want to be a mom yet. I don't wanna ever feel that way about our kids."

Miles was quiet for a minute. Lola couldn't read his expression. "So you're saying that if you are pregnant again, then you want to..."

Lola nodded slowly. "An abortion," she said, her voice quiet. "Yeah." She wrapped her fingers around his. "I'm sorry, if I... you know, I don't mean to make this decision without you. It's... if we're... it's yours too. But I just think it's what's best right now for—"

"No, I- I agree," Miles said suddenly. They met each other's eyes for a second. "I mean, you said it yourself. Having a baby turned our worlds upside down. And I love Hope, but having another baby right now? My mom would murder me. If your dad didn't kill me first." He cracked a small smile, then squeezed her hand. "I'm with you, Lo. And I'll be here for every step— I'll go to the clinic with you, get you your favorite takeout afterwards, whatever you need."

Lola hugged him suddenly, tearing up. To say she was relieved was an understatement. Not that she'd expected him to flip out or tell her what to do with her body or anything like that. But she wasn't sure how he'd feel or if he would want to keep it or if he'd be upset with her for not talking to him before she made up her mind. But he was just Miles, perfect, supportive Miles. And even though all of this was way beyond what they should have been worrying about at their age, she was glad she had him by her side. As she melted into his arms and he rubbed her back, she felt more certain than ever that this was the guy she wanted to be with forever.

"Um, so," Lola finally broke away from their hug and wiped her eyes. "We should probably, uh, make sure I'm actually knocked up again first."

Miles wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead. "Right, yeah. You have a test?"

They locked themselves in the bathroom and set a timer on their phones, anxiously waiting for the result. Luckily, Miles' mom was out with her boyfriend, so they didn't have to worry about her accusing them of having shower sex or something.

Waiting on the test results still didn't feel any less nerve wrecking this time around, if Lola was honest. But at least this time she had Miles by her side, holding her hand. "Did you really puke?" she asked him.

"Um, yeah," Miles said. He looked down at the floor, like he was embarrassed, but still grinned. "Hey, you know I have a weak stomach."

Lola smiled teasingly. "I'm surprised you didn't barf when I was in labor with Hope, then."

"Me too, frankly."

The timer on Lola's phone went off. She felt her heart beat fast and her stomach drop. "I can't even look," she winced. She squeezed her eyes shut, still sitting on the toilet. "Can you... can you check it for me?"

"Yeah. But only because I'm the reason you're taking this in the first place." Lola wasn't looking at him but she could tell from his voice that he was smiling. But also just as nervous as her. Oh, god. She waited for Miles to say something, hating the silence. But then...

"Well. Looks like Hope is our only baby."

Lola opened her eyes and glanced at the test— one line. Not two. Not pregnant. "Oh my god!" she leaped up and wrapped her arms around him, crying. "Oh my god. I'm so relieved. Oh my god—" She kissed him, hard. "Thank you," she whispered. "Thanks for being here."

Miles hugged her back harder than ever. "I guess there's nothing like a scare to make us be extra careful." He kissed the top of her head. "I love you, Lo. But God, I'm glad we're not having another baby right now."

"Me too," Lola said. Her heart felt like it worked again. "Me too." She paused for a second. "But someday, when we're older... I could totally have another baby with you. Maybe even a boy this time."

Miles smiled. "Yeah. Me too." He booped her nose, adding, "When we're way older."

"Obviously," Lola said. She just stood there for a moment and caught her breath. Let her heart beat again. "Um. I was thinking. You know how we talked about getting Hope in daycare? Maybe I'll think about going to university after all. I mean, it's not too late to apply to some programs. Not full-time. But maybe a couple of classes?"

"Sure. Yeah. That's great, Lo. We'll figure out a way to make it work."

Lola nodded. "I love being a mom. But it's not all I want to be." She paused. "But, speaking of. Can we go get our baby right now and take her to the beach one more time? It's been a heck of a vacation and I think we deserve some fun."

Miles gave her a goofy grin. "Yeah. We really do."