Sydney was sitting on the floor of her bathroom with tears in her eyes as she sat with her knees up, and wrapped her arms around her legs. Suddenly Sydney heard the sound of her phone ring. Sydney checked to see who was calling, turned on the video chat mode, and said, "Hey Olive." Sydney then saw Olive on her screen say, "Hey. So... you told your family yet?" Sydney sighed and said, "No. You?" Then Olive said, "No. And I don't think Emmy or Sophia have either." Sydney then took a deep breath as she said, "Well... I have to tell them." Then Olive noticed something near Sydney and said, "Wait. Is that another pregnancy test I see near you? Wait. Did you think that maybe the last test was..." Sydney cut Olive off and said, "I had to be sure. I... I stopped at a store last night before getting home because... I honestly still couldn't believe it. It's like... the universe shouldn't have let me get pregnant. I mean I've never smoked, never drank, never cussed, never ditched school, never shop-lifted, never hit anybody, and... I just felt like... aren't I entitled to be given a little slack?" Tears appeared in Sydney's eyes as she finished her last sentence. But then Sydney saw tears in Olive's eyes too as Olive said, "I know Syd. This is really hard. I've been my mom's good girl for so long, I... I don't know if she will ever look at me the same again." Then Sydney said, "Well... lets be real. No one will ever look at us the same again. A short time ago we were just girls. And soon... we'll be mothers. And... it's time for us mothers to start acting responsible." Olive nodded and said, "You're right Syd. Good luck." Sydney nodded as well and said, "You too."

Emmy woke up in her bed as the sun was just beginning to shine from far away outside her bedroom window. Emmy then got up, stretched, and walked over to her bedroom door. Emmy then took a deep breath as she said to herself, "Okay girl. You can't change the past. It's time to make a difference for your future." Then Emmy opened the door to her bedroom to surprisingly see her mother sitting in a chair right outside her door. With a confused face, Emmy said, "Mom, what's going on?" Then Emmy's mother said, "Maybe you would like to explain this first." Then Emmy's mother held up a small trashcan and pulled out a discarded pregnancy test as she said, "Would you care to explain why I found this in the bathroom trash this morning?" Emmy's eyes widened as she said, "Oh no."

Sophia sat near the window sill in her kitchen as the sun began to rise from far away. From nearby, Sophia's mom entered the kitchen as she said, "Oh. You're up early for a Saturday Sophia. Everything okay?" Sophia took a deep breath, looked down, and softly said, "I'm pregnant." Sophia's mom looking confused said, "What was that Sophia?" Sophia cleared her throat and then said, "I'm pregnant." Sophia's mom then walked closer to Sophia and said, "What did you say?" Sophia then looked right into her mother's eyes and said, "Mom, I'm pregnant." Sophia's mother then backed away as she said with shock in her face, "Oh God. You're serious?" Sophia nodded and said, "Yeah." Then Sophia's mother turned her back to Sophia, and began to walk away. Sophia then stood up as she said, "Mom, wait." Then Sophia's mom just glanced back at Sophia as she said, "No. Just... just don't talk to me right now." Then Sophia's mom instantly headed up the stairs of the house leaving Sophia standing alone.

Sydney slowly walked into the kitchen of her home as she saw her father Max and grandmother Judy eating breakfast. Max then saw Sydney walk in and said, "There you are sleepy head. Already got plenty of food set up for you here. You hungry?" Then as Sydney slowly sat down she said, "Yes, but... there's something important I want to talk to you both about." Then Judy looking concerned said, "What's wrong Noodle? Is it your arm? It is shaking a bit." Sydney then noticed her right arm was shaking slightly as she said, "Um... it's more than just my arm. I, um... dad... grandma... I have something really difficult to tell you. This is really hard for me, but I'm telling you both because I know you both love me, and I trust you both very much." Then Max looking sympathetic said, "Syd, whatever it is, you can tell us anything." Sydney then looked down silently for a moment, but then lifted her head up and said, "I'm pregnant." Suddenly Max's eyes widened, and in an angry tone he said, "You're what?"

Olive came down the stairs of her house and saw her mother preparing breakfast as she said, "Oh good, you're finally up. I made sure your brothers didn't hog all the bacon this time." Olive then sat down as she said, "Thanks. Um... mom... can we talk about something?" Then Olive's mom said, "Sure. Just give me a second. I have to send one quick e-mail for work." Olive's mom then walked out of the room, as Olive started to do some heavy breathing. Then Olive felt a weird feeling in her stomach, suddenly realized what was happening, and then ran towards the bathroom. Olive then ran into the bathroom and began to start vomiting. After a few minutes, Olive then stepped out of the bathroom, only to see her mother standing right near the door. A confused looking Olive then said, "Hey mom. Everything okay?" Then Olive's mom in a straight forward tone said, "Oh, I'm okay. But I don't think you are considering that you're pregnant." Olive's eyes then widened as she said, "What?"

In Sydney's home, Max was out of his chair walking back and forth in the kitchen as Sydney and Judy remained seated. As Max was pacing he said, "Didn't we both tell you about the importance of protection, and more importantly abstinence Sydney? Did you think those were just suggestions? Did you think for just one second about the consequences to your choices?" Then Sydney with tears in her eyes said, "I know what you're saying dad. I really screwed up big time. And you have every right to be mad at me. I know this isn't what you wanted for me, I know this isn't what you expected, and I know this isn't the future you saw for this family." Max then looked at Sydney's sad face, calmed down, and said, "Sydney, I..." Sydney then began to cry as she said, "I'm sorry I screwed everything up. I know you taught me better, and I know I've hurt you even just as much as I've hurt myself. But as hard as this is gonna be, I need your help dad. I'm scared of what's going to happen to me; to my body, to my ability to finish school, to how my life is gonna turn out and..." Then Max suddenly reached out and hugged Sydney. Both the father and daughter began to cry together as Max said, "Sydney, I am always going to love you and be here to help you. Nothing you do will ever change that." Judy then reached out and hugged the two as she said, "Don't worry Sydney. This family has gotten through hard times before, and we'll do it again... together."

Olive sat in front of her mother in the kitchen as she said, "How did you find out? Did someone call you, or did you find..." Olive's mother then cut Olive off and said, "Please Olive. I've been pregnant five times already. I know what morning sickness looks like." Olive then looked down as she said, "I was about to tell you. But it felt like the world was about to end so..." Olive's mom then held a hand up as she said, "But all the truth is out in the open now. So... are you planning to keep the baby?" Olive nodded her head and said, "Yes. Of course. I mean I couldn't just..." Olive's mother then took out her phone as she said, "That's all I wanted to hear. Okay, listen, here's the plan. I am already starting to search for some of the best nannies in Portland. They'll take care of your baby while you finish high school. But here's the deal. You will only be provided this benefit, along with all other baby related expenses, free of charge on the condition that whenever you are not doing your school work, you will be taking on your full duties of motherhood. Any break you want from your mothering duties outside of school work: you will have to arrange yourself with your own expenses. Understood?" Olive nodded and said, "Yes m'am." Olive's mom then looked right at Olive in the face as she said, "Olive... your brothers don't even realize this but I've been lying about my age to you all for years. I'm not 50. I'm 40." With a surprised look on her face Olive said, "Wait. But Owen just turned 25, so that means you were pregnant with him when you were..." Olive's mom nodded her face and said, "Yes. I thought the world was going to end for me then too. But luckily I got a lot of help from my mother, and now I'm providing that same level of help for you; on the condition that you work no less harder than I do at making this work. Understood?" Olive nodded as she made a little smile and said, "Thank you mom."

Emmy sat in her kitchen as her mother and father were standing in front of her. Emmy's mother then began to pace back and forth as she said, "¡Dios mio! ¿Qué demonio se ha apoderado de mi hija?" With an upset look Emmy said, "Nothing possessed me to do it. I made a mistake. A really, really, really huge mistake." Then Emmy's father looked at Emmy as he said, "Do you know what you're done to yourself Emmy. You've destroyed your life, destroyed this family, and have created an unholy bastard child!" Emmy then began to cry as she said, "I'm sorry dad. I know I've done a horrible thing. I've shamed you all, and..." Then Emmy's mother cut Emmy off and with hatred in her face she said, "Silence! You no longer go to school. You no longer go to malls, or friends' houses', or wherever else you were planing to sell your body. You stay home from now on and will raise your child here. And while me and your father work to pay for the expenses you have now created for us, you shall clean and cook for this family every day. Do you understand?" Emmy looked down in shame as she said, "Yes m'am." Then Emmy's mother angerly said, "Then start by cleaning the dishes." Emmy then got up as she walked towards the kitchen sink with head hung low while saying, "Yes m'am."

Sophia slowly opened the door to her mother's room and saw her mother was sitting on her bed in silence. Sophia slowly approached her mother as she said, "Mom? Are you okay?" Sophia's mother then turned to look at Sophia as she said, "No. I... Sophia... what were you thinking? What stupid thoughts were going through your head that made you want to get pregnant?" Then Sophia with a determined look on her face said, "Maybe what I was thinking was... I wanted to get pregnant." Sophia's mother had a look of shock as she said, "What?" Then Sophia took a step forward and said, "Mom, you've been controlling me all of my life. Telling me what classes I have to take, what after school clubs I can join, when I can even have free time on the weekend; all in the name of trying to plan my whole future. It's driven me insane. You think your way of being a mother is the only way of being a mother. But I'm going to show you there's a better way. I am going to become a mother myself soon, and I won't over-protect my child or plan out every step of their lives. I am going to properly love them, nurture them, and give them more freedom like I always deserved." Sophia's mother then with anger in her voice said, "How dare you talk to me like that Sophia!? Do you even know what you're saying? Do you even have a real plan? Like how are you going to afford to take care of your child, or pay for their schooling while you're still paying for yours? What kind of job do you even plan to get to pay your expenses?" Then Sophia with anger in her own voice said, "I'll figure something out. I'll show you! I'll show the whole world I can be a better mother than you!" Then Sophia stormed out of the room slamming the door behind her.

Sydney was still sitting at the kitchen table with Max and Judy as Max who was looking at his phone said, "And so if we use all of your college fund, and based on your mom's old spreadsheet of how much we spent raising you for the first five years... I think we're gonna have just enough to be able to raise this child till your high school graduation." Sydney made a little smile as she said, "That's great, but... what about after high school? I won't be able to afford either college or child care at that point." Judy then put a hand on Sydney's shoulder and said, "Well we'll figure out a way when we get there." Max then looked at Sydney as he said, "That's right. Your grandma helped me with raising you after your mother died, and I'll do just as much to help raise your child when it arrives too." Sydney sighed in relief as she said, "Thanks dad." Then Judy said, "So, speaking of dads... have you told..." Sydney sighed and then said, "No. But the plan was to talk to him next. Oh boy. I don't even know how I'm gonna tell him. I mean... how did I tell Harry he's about to be the father of four children?"

TO BE CONTINUED...

*Author's Note - For those that don't already realize it, this multi-chapter story is a continuation of one of my other stories: "Sydney and Harry and the Amigas". While you don't have to read that story to understand this one, it will give you more context for this tale. However, be aware that story is rated M. For those readers who never read anything more mature that rated T stories, don't feel like you're missing out on anything important. All other background details will be explained tastefully in the next chapter.