Thank you all for the reviews, likes, follows! Enjoy!

Chapter 3

Anna sat back and rested her back against the bathroom wall. The nausea and vomiting had started a few days ago, making the pregnancy seem more real. Anna grabbed some tissue and wiped her mouth, before sighing. It was going to be that much harder to hide while they were on their holiday. Her father might not notice, but her mother definitely would.

For as long as Anna could remember, they had gone to Porthcurno Beach for a week long holiday. She knew it was all her mother's idea. Her father's idea of a good vacation would be traveling to museums and staying in the city. Anna had always loved these holidays. It was a time to relax, with no strict timeline. But now, she dreaded it. She didn't feel like sitting at the beach or any of that. Her nausea had already begun to take hold over her and she felt awful most hours of the day.

Two days ago, Anna had gone to her first doctor's appointment to confirm her pregnancy. As she expected, the test came back positive and they do an ultrasound that showed she was nearly ten weeks along. The baby had been there, moving around and with a strong heartbeat. It had made everything that much more real.

Anna was debating on using Sybil as her OBGYN. Sybil Branson, was her friend, Mary's, sister. She was a brilliant doctor and Anna knew she would be lucky to have her as her OBGYN. But she wasn't ready to tell anyone else about her pregnancy yet.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she pulled it out to see John had texted her.

I'm on my way to pick you up. Long drive ahead. Need me to grab you anything on the way?

I'm ready. No. Thank you, Anna replied. She gathered her hair into a ponytail and went to grab her bags from her room.

This was it. There was no turning back now. Anna had debated stepping out of the trip, but then her parents would only worry more. They would probably cancel it and come and stay with her if she was so sick she couldn't come. Several times, Anna had given John a chance to back out. But every time he said no.

A knock came at the door and Anna opened it to find John on the other side. His entire face fell when he saw Anna's ashen face.

"I know; I look awful," Anna told him.

"No, no," John quickly covered up. "But are you sure you are up for this drive?"

"I don't really have much of a choice," Anna replied, but then forced a smile. John took her bags from her and went to put them into the car.

When Anna had called her parents to tell them John would be coming along, her mother had been thrilled. Though they had never met John, they had heard about him. Elsie was always rooting for the two of them to get together. But Charles, well, he wasn't as thrilled. It wasn't the first time Anna would be bringing someone along on this trip, but it was the first time it was someone they hadn't met.

"We…we might have to tell them I'm pregnant while we're there," Anna informed John, biting down on her lower lip. "I….I…maybe I can get away with saying I have a stomach bug." John glanced over at Anna and nodded his head.

"Whatever you think is best, Anna."

"Are you sure you want to do this? You can still turn back," Anna told him.

"I am. How long will we say we've been dating again?"

"At least a few months, but we just got serious in the past month," Anna added. "Mum knows I have been on a dating app and went on dates in the past few months."

John's jaw clinched slightly. He remembered that now. Anna had been on one of those swipe right apps and had gone on a myriad of dates. He assumed one of those men were the father of Anna's baby. Of those dates, he had only met one and the guy had given him such a bad vibe. He really prayed that guy wasn't the father.

"Why don't you try to sleep?" John offered. Just looking at Anna, he could tell she hadn't been sleeping much and that she didn't feel well.

"I'll try," Anna answered. "But before we get to the condo, we should discuss all the small details."

"Small details?"

"My mum will want to know when we officially started dating, why we decided to make it official, and so forth."

"Ah, yes. Well rest now and we'll discuss that after we grab lunch."

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

When they finally arrived at the condo, Anna could feel her stomach tightening. It felt like those times when she was a teenager who had done something behind her parents' back and feared them finding out, but ten times worse. She tried to remind herself that she was an adult. But that didn't matter. They were her parents and she never wanted to disappoint them.

John came around to open her door and at that exact moment, her parents walked out to greet them.

"Anna!" Elsie called, rushing to her daughter and pulling her into a hug. Charles was a step behind her and gave Anna a tight hug next. Then they both turned to John.

"Mum, Dad, this is John. John this is my mum, Elsie, and this is my dad, Charles," Anna explained. Elsie quickly brought her arms around John and gave him a hug.

"So nice to finally meet you, John. We have heard so much about you," Elsie excitedly told him. She pulled back and Charles just stood and glanced at John.

"You look much older than Anna," he said, his eyes narrowing.

"I am," John uncomfortably replied. He stuck his hand out for Charles, but he didn't take his hand. "Hello, Charles."

"That'll be Mr. and Mrs. Carson to you," Charles gruffly stated.

"Ah, no, call me Elsie," Elsie said, dismissing her husband's words. Then she placed her hands on Charles' upper arms and chuckled. "Please forgive my Charlie, he has always been overprotective of our Anna."

Charles' cheeks reddened and he glanced down at Elsie.

"It's not a problem. He's her father. He should be," John answered.

"Can we go inside now?" Anna asked, hoping to get past this awkwardness. All she could think about was how much more awkward it would become when they found out she was pregnant. Hopefully, she could keep it under wraps this whole week.

As they stepped inside of the condo, Anna felt such a familiar feeling all over her. It was her home away from home. They always stayed in the same condo every year.

Anna closed her eyes, as a flash of nausea covered her, and prayed that it would disappear quickly.

"Anna, love? Are you okay? You look peaky."

"I…I think I might be coming down with something," Anna said with a shake of her head. She forced a smile. "I'll be fine." John walked up behind her and placed his hand on her lower back. Anna immediately melted back against him and thought how it felt so right.

Charles cleared his throat and John dropped his hand from Anna's back. Well, Anna thought, at least her father already wasn't a fan of John. Perhaps that would make everything more believable when she told him that John left her and the baby in a few weeks. Of course, her father never liked anyone she dated.

"John, you'll be staying down here," Charles quickly informed him. "It'll be next to our bedroom. Anna's room is down the other hallway."

John was actually grateful for the separate rooms. It would be hard to hide the fact they weren't actually dating if they had to share a one bed bedroom.

"Oh, Charlie, honestly. They are adults. They can both stay in the same room."

"No!"
"No, it's alright," John said at the same time Anna screamed her no.

"We….we will be okay in different rooms, Mum, but thanks," Anna added. "I…I think I'll go have a lie down before our traditional family meal down by the beach."

Glad she had avoided any more questioned, Anna made her way down to her bedroom. She hoped she hadn't thrown John into the lions' den with her parents. Maybe he was going to go and hide in his room as well.

Once she was safely in her room, she was able to go into her bathroom. She had made it just in time to empty her lunch from earlier. Anna had no idea how she would make it through dinner tonight.

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

"When did the two of you start dating?" Elsie innocently asked them both, right after they sat down at the table at the restaurant. Even though they had planned for this, Anna's cheeks blanched slightly.

"Um….a few months ago," Anna answered. She grabbed her glass of water and took a small sip. The smells of the restaurant were already getting to her and it wouldn't be long before there would be food at their own table.

"But we only became official a month ago," John quickly added.

"Ah yes," Elsie said. "I'm so glad you are done with that swiping app. You never seemed happy after any of those dates, except after that one with that one guy….um, what's his name….?"

John could see Anna shifting uncomfortably in her chair.

"Mum, it doesn't matter. John and I are dating now."

"Charles, do you remember who I am talking about? Remember Anna? You called us up, said he taught you a fun card game? That you laughed so much you got a headache?"

"Allen?" Charles tried.

"No…no, not Allen, but that does sound close….maybe it was…."

"Alex, his name was Alex, Mum. And no, we only went on one more date and I decided he wasn't the one. John is, alright?!" Anna sharply snipped.

Elsie's lips fell into a straight line and Anna could tell she had hurt her feelings. Elsie sighed, but thankfully the waiter came up to take their orders.

As the waiter was taking orders, John watched Anna carefully. Between her outburst at her mother and the look on her face, John was pretty sure that Alex was the father of the baby.

The rest of the dinner was uncomfortable. Elsie was upset with Anna and Anna was too stuck within her own thoughts to try to apologize. So neither of them talked, leaving John to try to start some small talk with Charles, which went about as well as one would think.

Finally at the end of dinner, Anna met her mother's eyes and gave her a small smile.

"I….I'm sorry, Mum. I didn't mean to snap at you. I…It just wasn't a good date," Anna explained. Elsie's face softened and she reached over to take Anna's hand.

"You still look sickly, love. I think you should go to bed early tonight."

"Yes," Anna agreed. "I should."

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

That night, Anna couldn't sleep. She rolled out of bed and made her way to the back porch that faced the beach. When she stepped outside, she saw that John was already out there watching the waves beneath the moonlight.

"Sorry," Anna said. "I didn't mean to interrupt your time."

"Nothing to apologize for. I don't own the porch. There is plenty of space for the both of us." Anna nodded. She walked to the edge of the railing and rested her elbows against the wood.

"Six more days. I've been so sick. I don't know how to hide it for that many more days. My mum keeps pointing out how badly I look. She's going to know."

"Anna," John slowly began, "Is Alex….is he the father?"

"I….can we not talk about that, please?" Anna asked. "It…it doesn't matter."

"But it does, Anna. Did he…..?"

Anna didn't let him finish his question, "Look," she started, pulling a small picture out of her pocket. "I meant to show you on the ride here."

She handed him a small black and white ultrasound, while pointing to the small baby. "There's the baby. It's really real. I…holding the picture helps to calm my nerves, ground me."

"It's beautiful, Anna. You're going to be a good Mum," he said. Anna anxiously took the photo back from John and placed it back into her small pocket.

"Can you do me a favor? Another favor, that is?" Anna asked John. He nodded. "Please don't ask me about the father or anything. I…I don't want to talk about it and at the end of the day, it doesn't matter. I'm pregnant and I have a baby to raise, on my own. That's all that the focus needs to be on. Okay?"

John clinched his jaw, but nodded again.

"Plus, you need to put all your energy on the next several days. My mum loves you, but my dad….well, he's going to be tough. We've only made it through one dinner so far. Tomorrow is our first full day."

"I'm not worried about it. I'll be fine." At that, Anna chuckled.

"Oh, how very sure of yourself you are there, Mr. Bates." John couldn't help but smile at her words and the lightness that was now on her face.

"I am."

"Well, good luck. I'm going to try to sleep. Good night."

"Good night, Anna."

To be continued...