p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"A/N: span style="font-size: small;"So my therapist told me that it might help with some mental issues I've been having to go back and finish some unfinished projects. I'm unemployed and have severe asthma so I'm pretty much stuck at home with nothing but time on my hands. During these past 5 months I've picked up some bad habits that have really started to affect my health. I want to get better. And if going back and making myself finish these old fanfics will help, then I'm willing to try. I apologize if it's not great. I'm very out of practice with writing, and I don't have a proofreader. So, I hope you can find it enjoyable. /span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" Gabe was exhausted. After bringing Castiel and Claire some clothes and toiletries he was again making the long drive home. Dean had wanted to come with him, but Gabe knew the man was exhausted and had his business to think of./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" Though Gabe loved Claire like a daughter, and was very glad that she was going to be okay, he also had a bakery to run. Closing early wouldn't kill the business, but this early on they would definitely feel it. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" He had tons of baking to get to and was sure the shop was a mess. At least there would be coffee. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" When he finally arrived he was surprised to see a light on in the shop. He was pretty sure he had shut off all of the lights before they had left. He unlocked the door and was stunned to hear singing. Really bad singing, like even worse than his! The smell of fresh baked goods filled the air and the front of the shop was immaculate./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" Gabe slowly went behind the counter and stepped into the back. The shelves were filled with even more pastries, cookies, muffins, and cupcakes than he had been planning to make. Sam was standing in front of a sink piled with dirty bowls, pans, spoons and other baking equipment. He sang and even danced a little as he washed, rocking out to music through his ear pods. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" Sam must have sensed he was being watched because he turned his head and nearly jumped a foot in the air. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Gabe! You're back," he grinned, hastily drying his hands and pulling the ear pods out. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Sam? Did you do all this?" Gabe asked, still trying to wrap his head around everything. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Yeah- I mean, no! No I had a ton of help! Jo and Meg did most of the baking. We followed your recipes so they turned out pretty well. Not as well as when you…" Sam suddenly stopped talking and looked worried. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" Gabe was frozen in shock./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Oh, should we have not used your recipes? Jo was a little worried that you might not like us seeing them, but Meg said that you-"/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" This time Sam was cut off by Gabe throwing himself into the taller mans arms and planting a kiss on his lips. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" This time it was Sam who was stunned. Gabe flushed in embarrassment and started to pull away. Luckily Sam came to his senses and returned the kiss enthusiastically./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"-/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Claire? Sweetheart? Are you awake?" Amelia's voice pulled Claire out of a nice dream she'd been having. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Huh? Mom? Why are you here?" She asked groggily as she sat up in her hospital bed. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" A glance at the clock on the wall told her that she'd only been asleep for about an hour. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" Her Uncle Gabe had told her how Sam, Jo, and Meg had helped with the bakery when he had come back that morning. Jo had even let Meg have the day off so that she could handle the shop with Sam's assistance. The kindness of her new friends was touching. They would need to do something to show them how much they were appreciated. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" Gabe had taken her dad for an early lunch as they had both missed breakfast. She had insisted that she was just going to sleep so they could leave her alone. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" Her mom pulled her into a hug and Claire noticed her Uncle Micheal sitting in a chair in the corner. She stiffened and pulled away./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "I'm fine. You didn't need to come," she said, dropping her gaze to the blanket. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "/span/spanspan style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Oh Honey, you're in a hospital! You are not fine! The whole idea that you live in some hick town with your dad was absurd. I should never have allowed it."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" Claire blinked and looked back up. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "What? You didn't allow anything. I got to choose," She pointed out, feeling her temper start to flare. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "/span/spanspan style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Well, we all make mistakes. Don't worry, I've kept your bedroom the way it was and I'm sure we can get you back in your old school so you can be with your friends again. Doesn't that sound nice?"/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "No, it sounds like a freaking nightmare!"/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Hey, don't talk to your mother like that," /span/spanspan style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Michael interjected getting to his feet./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Excuse me? I can talk to my mom any way I want, /span/spanspan style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"emstrongUncle/strong/em/span/spanspan style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"," she said stressing the title. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Or maybe I'm supposed to call you /span/spanspan style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"emstrongFather/strong/em/span/spanspan style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;", now," she said words dripping with sarcasm./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Quit acting like a child," her mother scolded, though her hand had subconsciously moved in an attempt to hide the diamond ring. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Quit treating me like one!"/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" Micheal placed a hand on Amelia's back, halting her next retort. She sighed and turned away so Micheal could take her place by the bed./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Look Claire, we're not trying to upset you. We've been meaning to visit and make sure everything was okay with you. When we got the call that you were hurt, it scared us."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Claire gave him a skeptical look, but made herself calm down./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "You know I have a phone and email account, right? I even have a mailing address, but I haven't heard anything from you in over two months. And yet you were planning to visit soon?" She asked, warily./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" Amelia opened her mouth to reply but Micheal held out a hand and she obediently snapped her mouth shut. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "/span/spanspan style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"We wanted to wait until some plans were finalized before reaching out," he said, patiently./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Plans?"/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" Claire had a really bad feeling about where this was going. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" Her mother took a folder out of her bag and handed it to Micheal who gave it to Claire. She flipped it open and stared in confusion at a picture of a smiling couple who looked to be in their mid-30's. Behind the picture were several papers containing background checks, financial information and a personal questionnaire./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Martin and Cindy Allen from /span/spanspan style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Springfield, Illinois. They are really good people who have been trying for years to have a baby with no luck," Micheal said./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" Claire closed the folder as calmly as she could and thrust it back at him. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "No." /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" She was practically shaking with anger. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Claire-/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "NO! We've already had this discussion. It's my baby, and I'm keeping it. No abortion, no adoption!"/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" Keeping the baby had been one of many decisions she had made during the divorce settlement that had upset her mom and Michael./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "You're a sixteen year old kid. You have no business being a parent," Amelia snapped./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "These are good people! They can offer your child so much more than you can," Michael reasoned. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Claire /span/spanspan style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"suddenly /span/spanspan style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"felt as if all the air had been sucked out of the room at his words. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" Was he right? Was her desire to have and raise this baby going to hurt it in the long run? And if she were being honest with herself did she really want to be a mom? The whole pregnant thing hadn't felt real until that moment. When she had initially made the decision to keep the baby a big part had to do with the fact that it would upset her mom and Michael the most. They had hurt her and part of her decision had been a retaliation. But there was also this half-formed idea that a new baby could help her and her dad heal. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" Her breathing began to speed up. /span/spanspan style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"Michael frowned and place a hand on her shoulder. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Are you okay?" /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "What's going on?" Castiel demanded as he rushed into the room. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "It's fine, Castiel. Stop being so dramatic," Micheal said condescendingly./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" Castiel rushed over to Michael and physical/span/spanspan style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"ly/span/spanspan style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" moved him away from Claire with surprising strength. Amelia turned to Castiel and started /span/spanspan style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"accusing him of negligence/span/spanspan style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" while Gabriel stepped up to Michael, anger in his voice. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Claire is Cassie's daughter, not yours. You don't get to order him around here!"/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "You are the one who called me down here in the first place," Micheal retorted. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "I called /span/spanspan style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"emstrongAmelia /strong/em/span/spanspan style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"span style="font-style: normal;"span style="font-weight: normal;"as a courtesy! I didn't want you here. No one does!"/span/span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"span style="font-style: normal;"span style="font-weight: normal;" The arguing all around Claire grew louder, but she didn't notice. Her entire attention was suddenly captivated by the lightest of fluttering deep in her belly. It almost felt like butterfly wings. /span/span/span/spanspan style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"span style="font-style: normal;"span style="font-weight: normal;"It was the baby! She was feeling her baby. A warm joy spread through her as everything seemed to fall back into place. She thought of her dad and Dean, of Uncle Gabe and Sam. She thought of Meg and Jo and even Adam. All of these wonderful people who would be there for her and the baby. She smiled./span/span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" A shrill whistle sounded and Claire was pleasantly surprised to see her OB, Dr. Bradbury at the open door. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Everybody out! I need to examine my patient. You will find security officers in the waiting room who will remove you from the premises if this yelling continues," the petite red-head ordered. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "I want to stay for the exam, she is my daughter and a minor," Amelia insisted./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"span style="font-style: normal;"span style="font-weight: normal;"Dr. Bradbury turned to Claire./span/span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Do you want her to stay?"/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "No," Claire said shaking her head./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" Dr. Bradbury nodded. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Claire is 16 and is allowed to be examined without a parent present. Out," She said to Amelia, pointing at the door. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" Amelia huffed but reluctantly left the room. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Thank you," Claire said sagging in relief./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "That seemed pretty rough, but if helps you seem to be handling things well."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Thanks," Claire said./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Do you have any questions or concerns?" the doctor asked as she examined her. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Yeah, when can I go home?"/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" The doctor laughed and finished up by writing some notes in Claire's chart. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "How about now?"/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" Claire nodded and smiled./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Okay, get dressed and I'll go talk to your family."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"-/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"span style="font-style: normal;"span style="font-weight: normal;"The four adults in the waiting room sat stiffly and silently as they eyed the security guards. After several long minutes Micheal sighed and stood. /span/span/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "This was a mistake. Let's go, Amelia," he said./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" Amelia pouted, but didn't contradict him. She did take the folder from Micheal and handed it to Castiel. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "If you really love her, you will make her see reason," she insisted and then calmly followed her husband out of the hospital. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" Confused, Castiel opened the folder and then sighed. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "What is it?" Gabe asked./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Amelia and Micheal want Claire to give up the baby for adoption."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" Gabe nodded and leaned back in his chair. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Look, my position hasn't changed. I will be here for you and Claire whatever you decide."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" Castiel nodded his thanks and both men looked up when Dr. Bradbury walked out of Claire's room and over to them. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "She's doing very well. So is the baby. Initially we were concerned about her blood pressure, but she just went through an intense situation and it didn't spike at all. That's a very good sign, but I would still prefer that she avoid stress like that if possible."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" They both nodded./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Okay, I'm comfortable releasing her to your care. I think she'll rest better at home than here. I do want to see her in my office in one week, until then she needs to rest. No school, no work. Stay in bed or on the couch. Here is my card. Please call if anything concerns you, especially headaches or dizziness."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "I will, thank you Dr. Bradbury," Castiel said accepting her card and putting it in his pocket. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" The doctor left to start discharge paperwork and Gabe went to get the car. Castiel knocked and entered Claire's room. She had gotten dressed and was standing by the window looking out at a small garden full of bright flowers. The sunlight glinted off her blond curls and she had both hands resting on her belly. Her face was relaxed and there was a smile on her lips. Castiel couldn't remember the last time his daughter had looked so content. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Hey, you ready to get out of here?" He asked./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" She turned and gave him the most joyful smile he had ever seen./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Dad! I felt it! I felt my baby move," she proclaimed then looked down at her stomach in wonder./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" Castiel looked down at the folder in his hands for a moment and then tossed it in a trash can that was next to the door. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" Claire had already told him that she wanted to keep the baby and now he realized that he wanted it too. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" Her eyes went to the folder in the trash. A look of shock crossed her face quickly followed by one of happiness before she launched herself into his arms. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"-/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" Sam sat in a chair in front of his boss's desk and watched in silence as Crowley stood and headed for the whiskey decanter./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "And they are sure it's his?"/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" It was the first time Crowley spoke since Sam had informed him of Gavin's part in Claire's predicament. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Look, I work for you. I'm your lawyer and that's why I'm telling you this. I want to continue working for you but the Novak's are my friends. Hell at this point they are pretty much family to me. Claire is good kid that got caught up in a bad situation. I don't know your son well, but Claire insists that he didn't know how young she was. I believe her."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Not that it would make a difference in court if they decide to sue him for statutory rape," Crowley muttered filling two tumblers with the amber liquid and then drinking them both./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" Sam sighed and stood up./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "I haven't spoken with her father about that yet, but my impression is that he and Claire want to move on. I really don't see them pushing for a law suit. The problem is her mother. Right now Castiel has sole custody, but if her mother finds out she may be able to find a loophole."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" Crowley nodded and refilled the tumblers this time handing one to Sam. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "I'll talk to Gavin. You arrange a meeting with the girl and her father. I know small town gossip spreads like wildfire here, but we need to keep this private for as long as possible."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Agreed."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"-/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" Claire lounged on the couch flipping through Netflix options without real interest. It was late morning of day 2 of her week long bed and couch rest and she was bored. Meg had come by yesterday afternoon and hoped to come back after work. Until then it was just her. All the men in her life were back at work, though she was sure one of them would be by to check on her at lunch. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" It was almost 11am when she heard a knock on the door. Assuming it was Sam or Dean as her Dad and Uncle wouldn't knock, she called out for them to come in. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" Glad of a distraction she switched the TV off and turned to greet her visitor. It was Gavin./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" She froze in shock, and he held up his hands in an 'I'm harmless' gesture. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Sorry, I would have called first but I don't have your number."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "What are you doing here?" She asked, her voice sounding hoarse./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" He glanced at the floor and put a hand on the back of his neck. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Well, I wanted to make sure that you're okay."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "I am," She answered quickly./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "So your father's boyfriend's brother who works for my dad said that you're pregnant, and I'm the father," he said in a rush./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" Claire swallowed and the color drained from her face. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" Gavin hurried forward reaching out a hand toward her shoulder, but dropped it before it could make contact. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "I'm sorry, please don't get upset. The last thing I want is to hurt you in any way," he pleaded. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" Claire shut her eyes and took a deep breath. After a moment she opened them and nodded. She gestured for him to sit in one of the chairs opposite the couch and shifted to a more comfortable position./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Sam told me that your father wanted to have a meeting with my dad and me. I wasn't expecting you to just show up here," she told him, but not in an accusatory way. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" He nodded and sat down./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Yes, but before we go through the legal stuff I wanted to talk to you by myself. Just for a minute."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" Claire nodded. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Sam said you want to keep the baby. That's fine and I can get you any financial help you need. I just… Claire I am not cut out to be anyone's father. At least not right now. I've been reckless and acting out like a spoiled brat. I realize that I'm not a kid anymore and I've decided to make some changes in my life."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" He cleared his throat and continued./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "To start with I am leaving town and you will never need to worry about accidentally running into me. My Grandmother owns a bookstore in Galway. I'm going to help her out and stay with her for a while. I promise that I will not move back here, it isn't really my scene anyway."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "And what about the baby?" She asked, heart racing./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" He sighed and then looked her in eyes. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "I am going to sign away all of my parental rights. You will never need my approval to do anything with the baby and I will never attempt any contact with them. However, I know that one day your child will probably want to know who I am. You can tell them, or choose to not tell them. That's up to you, but I will make sure to keep you updated with my contact information should the child want to reach out. Maybe at that point I'll be a better person."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" Claire felt her eyes fill at his words. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Oh Gavin, you aren't a bad person!"/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Maybe not, but I could be better."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" Claire sniffed and swallowed back more tears. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Please keep in touch. I want my child to know you when they are ready. I have no intention of hiding anything from them. As far as finances go, I'm pretty sure we'll be fine, but that's something our dads and lawyers will have to figure out." /span/span/p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" Gavin nodded and stood./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Okay then. I won't be at the meeting so I wanted you to know how I really felt about everything."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Thank you for telling me," she replied./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" He pulled a slip of paper from his pocket and handed it to her. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "My cell and email. I'll send you a postcard when I get to Grandmother's."/span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" She nodded and smiled up at him. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "Take care and good luck with everything," she said./span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;" "You too," he said smiling back at her before turning and walking back out the door. /span/span/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;" /p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"End/span/span/p
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p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 100%;"span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"span style="font-size: medium;"A/N: So this is the last chapter. I will be posting the epilogue in a few minutes./span/span/p
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