Wow! Thank you all! Enjoy!

Chapter 8

She was fired up. How had she lost that one?

Anna let out a loud moan and turned the corner down the aisle of the courthouse. Immediately, she ran right into John Bates. Her anger grew. Just last week, Alex Green had tried to assault her and she found that she was struggling even more with her emotions. There was this sense of control that she had lost.

"You!" Anna growled. "Move!"

John threw his hands up in surrender, but scoffed as he stepped to the side.

"Not my fault," he stated, whispering into her ear, before walking around her.

Anna spun around toward him.

"Not your fault? You blindsided my client!"

"That's my job," John reminded her. His hand came out to steady her shoulder and a shot of electricity flew through her. She either wanted to slap him or take him right then and there.

Their eyes met and Anna could tell he was thinking the exact same thing as she was.

"Hotel across the street? Ten minutes?"

"Yes," John agreed. "I'll text you the room number."

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Anna rolled over in her fitful sleep and opened her eyes. She pressed the heel of her hand against her forehead and thought about how their first rendezvous was supposed to be their only and now look at them.

How was she going to tell John she was pregnant? They had been taking precautions. She was on birth control. A month ago she had been sick and needed antibiotics, but during that time she made sure they used extra precautions, warning John that her birth control would be affected by the antibiotics.

"Oh shit," Anna mumbled to herself. The supply closet and Sybil's wedding. They had forgotten about the precautions both of those times.

She had been sure that she was wrong about the possibility of being pregnant. Her only symptom (other than her missed period, which she attributed to stress) had been the tiredness. But then Mary kept talking about how tired she had been her entire pregnancy. Anna had thought it was a long shot and she couldn't be pregnant, but three pregnancy tests later and they all said the same thing.

She had absolutely no intention of lying to John about the baby, but she also didn't know how to tell him. Did she just blurt it out? Send a text? No. She sighed.

After a little thought, she did decide to go to the doctor's office to have it confirmed before telling him. That way she would know with absolute certainty. Sybil was her OBGYN, but did she want her knowing that she was pregnant?

Again, Anna sighed.

She was overcome by a myriad of emotions. A baby was the last thing she needed right now. John was going to be shocked. Mary was going to kill her. This was a huge mess. How had they been so reckless?

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Once more, Mary found Anna lost in her own thoughts. She had walked down the hallway of their place and glanced into Anna's office. Her eyes were off somewhere. Mary wondered if she should go in and check on her.

Did any of this have to do with Alex Green being out of prison? She knew that Anna had played it as though it hadn't rattled her to her core, but Mary knew differently. She had known Anna for a very long time and could read her decently well.

Knocking on the frame of Anna's door, Mary stepped in slightly. Anna turned to face her.

"Yes, Mary," Anna was not in a good mood. Mary paused and pursed her lips.

"Are you alright? You've been out of sorts lately."

"I'm fine."

"Is it Alex Green?"

"What?"
"Alex Green being out of prison." Anna seemed to mull over this question, as though it could be a reason, at least partly, for her most recent behavior.

"Perhaps," Anna replied, glancing down at her fingers. "But he hasn't contacted me at all. I read up on his parole rules and if he comes near me or any of the other women he attacked, he goes right back to prison. So I don't think he'll be that stupid."

"Let's hope not," Mary agreed. "But you know you can talk to me about anything that is bothering you, right? We aren't just business partners; we're best friends."

"I know," Anna said, meeting her eyes and giving her a small smile. "Just a lot on my mind."

"You should call up the mystery man for a hook-up. Your itch needs scratching it seems."

"God Mary, must you be so crass?" But Anna was laughing.

"Yes, I must. Plus, I'm married; I know everything now." Anna's laugh grew. Good, Mary thought, at least Anna seemed to have some light back in her. "Alright, well if you need me, you know where I am."

"Thank you, Mary, truly. But I really am fine. You're a good friend."

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

After much deliberation, Anna did decide to go to Sybil about her newest….predicament. She trusted Sybil. And Sybil was the best doctor for the job. She would want Sybil to be the one beside her through her pregnancy journey. Even though she was struggling wrapping her mind around it all. It just didn't seem real.

"Anna," Sybil brightly said, walking into the room. "What brings you in? You have another three months until your yearly checkup. Are you wanting to try out a new birth control?"

Anna's head shook. "I'm afraid it's a little late for that."

Sybil narrowed her eyes, "Are you….?"

"Three pregnancy tests say I am, but I have come to you for the confirmation."

"And how to you feel about this?"

Anna was grateful for Sybil's approach. She didn't immediately go to congratulations. Anna had to bite down on her lower lip to keep from crying. Shaking her head, she also shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know."

"Does John know? I mea…"

"No, not yet. And yes, he is the father," Anna answered. "I was waiting..." Anna brought her face into her hands. "I've gotten myself into such a tangled mess."

"Anna," Sybil's voice was calm. "You know, there are lots of options. And you don't have to decide right now."

Anna lifted her head and nodded. "I do know that, but I want to keep this baby. I know that much. I just….it's scary."

"John will be there with you," Sybil strongly stated. "He'll be a good father."

Anna's lips just twitched. She didn't even know if he'd want to be involved. Her heart told her he would, but there was a part of her brain that was saying she was going to be doing this on her own.

"We're not even dating. We're only rivals with benefits," Anna explained. Sybil let out a small chuckle. "It's a term I came up with. It's like friends with benefits, except we're work rivals."

"Oh, I got what it meant. But I think he'll surprise you. Why don't we do a pregnancy test and then an ultrasound? When was your last period?"

"I can't remember."

"No worries, we can measure the baby to see around how far along you are."

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Anna held the ultrasound within her hands. Sybil said she was around 6 weeks. That would make the broom closet or wedding the most likely candidate for her pregnancy. The baby had a strong heartbeat and Sybil said everything looked wonderful.

With a new prescription of prenatal vitamins and some paper work from Sybil, she could no longer put off telling John the truth.

She lifted up her phone and typed him an ominous message.

Will you meet me at the apartment we started meeting at? This evening? Around 7? We need to talk.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

John stared at the message from Anna for a long while. This was it. Anna was going to end it with him.

Yes, see you there, he quickly responded. Then he sat his phone down on the table and took a seat on his couch. His hands ran through his hair. He should have seen this coming earlier.

When he and Anna had hooked up for the first time, he had just come out of his divorce from Vera. She had been a vile thing, taking nearly everything from him, hurting him in any way. The meet ups with Anna had been freeing, but he should have known they wouldn't last. And hadn't that been the point anyway? He hadn't been looking for love, either. It was a mutual distain for one another that led to great sex, right? That's all it was.

But why did it sting with her wanting to end it? Hadn't he given up on love?

John just let out a loud breath. He had been such an idiot.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Anna waited anxiously outside of the small apartment John owned. She still didn't know John's story about why he owned this place. Maybe she could ask him later. It hadn't come up before. It wasn't as if they really talked about anything.

John came around the corner. He quickly unlocked the door and motioned for Anna to walk inside first.

Anna stepped inside and began to pace. She did not know how to begin this conversation. They were two adults who had sex; they should be mature enough to talk about a baby. It was always a possible ending to sex. But still, the words got caught in her throat.

Her eyes glanced up to John's face and she could tell that his jaw was clinched. It made her swallow hard.

"I…." she stumbled, feeling foolish.

"It's alright," John quickly stated. "I'll say it. This is done."

"Wh…what?"

"You and me….whatever this is, it's over. It has obviously run its course," John continued on. Anna tried to open her mouth to tell him about the baby, but she was so shocked by his words, that her mouth remained closed. "I think it was fun while it lasted."

"Right," Anna finally whispered. "I….."

"We'll just go back to how things were before this all started."

Anna could only nod. She tucked the small ultrasound that was in her hand back into her purse and met his eyes.

"Alright. Goodbye, John."

"Goodbye, Anna."

Anna stepped out of the small flat and around the corner, resting her back against the building. Now what? He was obviously over her. How did she tell him now?

Tears filled her eyes, but she blinked harshly to hold them in and headed back home.

To be continued...

More of a tangled mess. More soon :)