It was only ten weeks until the baby's due date. Much to Spencer's dismay, Lacy was still bitching about having a boy and her diva behavior continued to escalate to near absurdity. There were too many days he found himself twitching to get his hands on Dilaudid. Anything to drown out her nagging voice. To drown out the hate he actually felt for her. To drown out the crippling ache in his heart as he watched Emily move on with Terrance.

He hated his life. There were moments when he heard the faint voice in the back of his head urging him to end it all. It wouldn't get better. If history was any indicator, he was bound to spend his life in misery. But then he'd look at the tiny picture of his son and remembered why he continued to fight to keep going.

That little innocent child didn't deserve to be abandoned, as Spencer had. He didn't make the choice to be born. Spencer refused to punish his son by leaving him to endure whatever hell Lacy might have to offer in the future. He would be there just as his Mom had been for him, through her own hell.

The hint of fall was in the air. Usually his favorite time of year, but even the excitement of cooler weather and Halloween, wasn't enough to cheer him up. Right now, he was a bundle of anxiety as he was about to introduce Lacy to his Mom for the first time.

He had been reluctant to introduce them for a number of reasons. At first, he hesitated because he was embarrassed to admit that he'd messed up and had a child out of wedlock. He knew his Mom was old school and would be disappointed in him. Then she had a month of episodes that resulted in her being medicated to the point of drooling. More often than not, she had no idea who was even around her.

She had finally gotten her medicine corrected and her mood stabilized, but by then, Spencer hated Lacy so much, he didn't want to even acknowledge her existence. But after a long debate with himself, he decided she deserved to know she was going to be a Grandma. It might actually give her something to be happy about.

"Eww, it smells like old people in here," Lacy said as they stepped onto his mother's floor.

"Can't imagine why," Spencer said sarcastically.

"Dr. Reid," a voice called out.

Spencer looked to the right to see Dr. Kardon, one of her new doctors, walking toward him. Spencer smiled and offered a wave as Dr. Kardon approached.

"Great to see you," he said as he stopped a few feet in front of Spencer and Lacy. "Your Mother is in a peaceful mood today. She will be very excited to see you."

"That's good to hear. Is she in her room?" he asked.

"I believe so. Last I saw her, she was reading as usual," Dr. Kardon said with a smile. "I'll gather up some of her recent reports and catch you before you leave."

"Thank you that would be appreciated."

With that Dr. Kardon gave a smile and walked off to tend to a patient.

"Rude," Lacy mumbled. "Didn't even say hi to me."

"He doesn't know you and doesn't have time for pleasantries," Spencer said as he walked off toward his Mom's room.

Her door was slightly ajar. He peeked through the crack to see her rocking in her chair with a book open on her lap. She had a serenity about her he hadn't seen in a while. He suddenly worried about breaking that mood with his news, but before he could change his mind, Diana looked up and saw him.

"Spencer!" she said as her smile widened. "Come in. It's so good to see you."

She scrambled to her feet and hurried over to wrap her arms around him. After their hug, she placed her hands on his cheeks. Her eyes sparkling as she surveyed him.

"You're too skinny. You need to eat more," she said softly, a smile still tugging at her lips.

"I will," he responded as he usually did. "How are you feeling? You look great."

She lightly slapped his shoulder and guffawed.

"I'm in a robe," she said. "How great can I look?"

"You look beautiful as always Mom," he replied.

"Shameless flatterer," she said, though her cheeks blushed a hint.

Their one-on-one conversation was interrupted by the sound of a throat clearing loudly behind Spencer. He turned to see Lacy staring at him with a silent 'hello' plastered on her overly-made-up face. Diana stiffened at the sight of a new person.

"Spencer? Who is that?" she asked suspiciously.

"Mom, this is Lacy," he began. "She … uh … she's the reason I stopped by to visit."

"Oh," Diana said still watching Lacy through leery eyes.

"Hi Mrs. Reid, it's a pleasure to meet you. Spencer has told me so much about you," she said with a big smile and her hand outstretched to shake Diana's hand.

"I don't shake hands. It's a germ thing," Diana replied.

Lacy pulled her hand back and pretended to not be offended.

"I see where Spencer gets that from," she said with forced grin.

"So, you two," Diana said pointing her finger between them. "Are you a couple?"

Spencer opened his mouth to respond, but in truth, he didn't know what they were. He guessed, technically she was his girlfriend, but he hated her, so was she really his girlfriend? Could he maybe call her his baby's temporary vessel? Or Mommy Motel? He smirked at the thought of all the ridiculous names he could call her besides girlfriend.

"Yes, we are," Lacy said for him. "In fact, we are more than just a couple."

She pulled her dress tighter to reveal the belly it had been hiding. For 30 weeks pregnant, she really didn't have much of a bump to show. Diana stared at her belly before glancing up at Spencer who still hadn't figured out what to say.

"Did I miss a wedding?" Diana said looking between the two of them.

"No, ma'am," Spencer said ducking his head.

"I see," Diana said curtly.

"We didn't plan on this happening," Lacy began, turning on her shy act.

"Oh, so, you tripped and fell naked into her and accidentally made a human?" Diana said as her arms folded over her chest.

"Um, no. Obviously, we chose to be intimate. We just didn't choose to have a baby," Lacy clarified as she tried to keep on the air of sweetness.

"If you choose to be intimate, you choose to accept responsibility that a child is a possibility," Diana replied.

"Ma'am, no offense, but I'm well aware of what could or couldn't happen during sex," Lacy said as her sweet demeanor started chipping away.

"Didn't seem that way when you suggested that you hadn't planned on this. If you are aware of the consequences of having sexual intercourse, then you surely acknowledge the fact that you planned on a child being a possibility."

Lacy shot Spencer a look. He just ignored it and continued to stare at his shoes. His face red with the shame he felt for disappointing her.

"Whatever, I didn't come here to be judged like this. Spencer, I'll meet you in the car," Lacy snapped as she stormed out of the room.

Spencer watched her go with no desire to run after her.

"Alright, out with it. What's going on?" Diana said making him turn back around to look at her.

His brow furrowed as he tried to understand what she meant.

"Spencer, I can read you like a book. If you had a bucket of water and that woman burst into flames, you'd kick it over before using even a drop to save her," she said as she sat down on her bed. "Now, tell me everything."

With that, the dam opened, and Spencer lost it. He dropped next to his Mom and cried harder than he had in years. He felt like a little fragile child again.

"My poor boy," she cooed. "You've gotten yourself into quite a pickle haven't you."

"What am I going to do?" Spencer sniffled as he wiped at his eyes. "I hate her Mom. She is a horrible person. I don't know why I ever liked her in the first place."

"Sometimes we overlook the bad in others until it's too late and sometimes people put on their best behavior in the beginning only letting out their true selves once they grow more comfortable in the relationship. I mean, look at your father. He was the funniest, smartest, sweetest man until I got sick. Then suddenly he had no time for me or you anymore."

"But that's the problem," Spencer said. "I can't leave her because then I'm abandoning my son, just like William did to us."

"Spencer, you are trying to compare your situation to my situation. They are completely different. Your father and I loved each other. We didn't know or anticipate what our future held for us. You, on the other hand, you don't even like her, let alone love her. There is nothing in your future that will be healthy for you or your son."

"If I leave her, I will have to fight for custody and the court systems don't look kindly on a father who leaves his child before birth," he said.

"You don't know that," she said.

Spencer sat quietly thinking over what she said. Maybe he was kidding himself that this was the best way. Maybe it was time to part ways with Lacy.

"Listen, baby," Diana said as she patted his hand and held it with her other. "You don't need to have the answers right now. But deep down, I think you know this isn't a healthy situation. Not for you and not for your son. I believe you will find the right thing to do and no matter what, I will support you."

Spencer gave her a small half smile.

"And most importantly, I am proud of you and I am thrilled to be a Grandma," she said.

This time a bigger smile reached his lips and his cheeks turned a soft shade of a pink.

"Thank you, Mom. I can't wait for you to meet him. He is so lucky to have you as his Grandma," he said wrapping his arms around her.

After a few kisses and more hugs, Diana sighed and let go of him.

"You better get going. You're already going to get an earful from the wicked witch," she said with a smirk.

"I don't care," he replied.

"It's ok. Go. You have some thinking to do and there's no better time than now to start. Keep me updated about my grandson," she said standing up and walking him to the door.

"I will. I promise," he said giving her another hug and a kiss. "I love you, Mom. So much."

"I love you too, Spencer."

(xxxxx)

A/N: sorry for the delay. It's been very busy the past month. I hope to update more now that things should slow down. Thanks for all the comments and all my readers! Let me know what you think! Happy New Year! xoxo