Chimney didn't sleep at all that night. He was kept awake, thinking about Maddie's odd behavior, and then whenever he did briefly drop off, he was visited by memories of their night together. He could see Maddie's body beneath his, he could feel her soft skin, his hands were burned by the memory of her, he was jerked awake every time to feel his erection raging, and his thoughts swirling wildly.

He couldn't forget those moments, he felt they were burned into his brain. The look on her face when he'd made her come, the whispered curse on her lips, her fingers scraping his shoulders. "Chim," she'd panted. "Chim."

The words had been close to a sob. Chimney could still hear her voice in his room.

He finally got up around six, giving up on trying to sleep as he put on running shoes and shorts.

He would take a jog, see if that could clear his head. Usually he'd grab his airpods too, so that he could listen to music, but his head felt too busy to even think about crowding it with more sound.

Maddie sat at her breakfast that morning, realizing how quiet the apartment was now. Buck wasn't there. He finally had his new place, was waking his first morning there. And she was alone again.

This was crazy. Crazy and lonely.

She sipped at her tea, wishing it was coffee, knowing that she'd end up giving in to the desire for caffeine eventually once this pregnancy was farther along and she needed it more, but for right now, she was resisting.

She picked up her phone, looking again at Chimney's name in her contacts. She knew that she should tell him, should let him know what was happening, but just like last night, she was caught in a vision of what that would look like, and couldn't imagine that reality.

There was a knock at her door, and her phone chimed to show the visitor. She hit on the alert, wondering if Buck had wandered over for brunch (she'd be shocked if he'd made it out of bed this early after last night) but her heart skipped a beat when she saw who it was.

Chimney.

She slid out of her chair, walking to the door with shaking hands, wondering what he'd say to her. Had he guessed? Was he going to demand his jacket back and then storm away?

More than that, there was a good ten miles between their two apartments.

She swung the door open, not knowing what to say, but Chimney didn't give her a chance. "I just ran ten miles," he said. "And my thoughtless self didn't bring any water. Can I trouble you for some?"

"Yeah," she said, startled, but moved aside to let him in. He walked straight to the kitchen, he knew her apartment well.

She followed after him, watching him silently chug a glass of water, before setting the glass down, placing his hands on the counter in front of him, and staring at her.

"What brought you here?" She asked, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

"You were drinking water last night," he said flatly. "And I was going to be patient, I was going to give you time, I was going to let you tell me yourself, and you know, I had myself almost convinced that I was imagining things because there is no way that you wouldn't tell me if you were, but maybe you wouldn't, and I don't know, last night was weird."

She stared right at him, and he looked back at her.

"I asked you something last night," he said. "And I'm not sure you told me the truth."

"I might not have," she said, her body beginning to shake. She placed her mug on the counter a little too heavily, and maybe Chimney saw something she didn't, because he was stepping forward, and when she lost her balance, he darted forward with a curse.

He was an asshole. He'd just confronted Maddie, a possibly pregnant Maddie, treated her like this, and he was an asshole. She'd lost consciousness, due to nerves, due to being confronted like this, due to innumerable reasons that he couldn't be sure of.

He was an ass.

Her body was limp in his arms, and Chimney maneuvered her over to the couch, laying her down. Her face was flushed, but her hands were clammy and cold.

He felt for her pulse, ready to start procedures, but she was already stirring.

He stayed silent this time, feeling awful for what he'd already done, going to grab a new glass of water for her. When he got back, she was starting to sit up. "Stay still," he cautioned, handing her the glass. "Drink this. And I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come in here like this."

She started to speak, but he nodded at the glass, and she sighed, draining it. "You had every right," she finally said. "I'm the one who should be sorry."

"No, you're fine," he said. "I didn't have a reason to come in here like this, I should have been patient."

"Okay, one of us has to stop apologizing," she said, and he could see her words surprised her by the way she raised her hand to her mouth.

"Okay, so," Chimney said. "I can get out of your way."

She shook her head. "No, I...I do have something to tell you," she said slowly. Her hands worked; he could see the tension present everywhere in her body. Her jaw was tensed, her shoulders were up protectively.

"Maddie, you don't have to," he said.

"I should, though," she said. "God. Okay. Chimney. I'm pregnant."

She looked up at him, tears brimming in her eyes. "It's yours," she whispered. "And I should have told you last night but I didn't know how, and I still don't know how, and I wish I knew what to say, and I'm sorry, I swear I didn't do this to trap you, I hate that you're put in this position. I can't believe that I was so sloppy, I knew better."

"Maddie," he began.

"I'm sorry," she repeated, the tears that had brimmed finally falling, and she was beginning to cry in earnest. "I'm sorry."