House of the Scotts

It was probably the hardest thing I've ever done in my life and yet I knew that I couldn't wait any longer. It would be even worse for my parents if they found out from someone else. So I mustered up all my courage after we had greeted each other and told them my secret that I had been carrying around with me for a few days now.

"I'm pregnant," I said quickly, then waited nervously of my parents' reaction.

My dad was rarely speechless, but now he apparently didn't know what to say. He just stood there with his mouth slightly open, staring at me. My mom had turned pale and had put her hand over her mouth as if stifling a scream. I knew what that confession meant to her. Her worst nightmare had become reality.

"Would you please say something?" I begged.

The silence was more depressing than any lecture she could have given me, but instead of giving me an answer, my mom suddenly ran out of the room, with her hand still over her mouth. And this time, I could clearly hear that she was sobbing. I wanted to follow her, but my dad held me back.

"Leave her alone for a while," he said quietly. "She has to get used to this news for herself, before she can talk to you about it."

I nodded. "I'm sorry," I said softly. "I wish I didn't have to tell you that."

"Let's sit down and talk, okay?"

I took a seat on the couch in the living room and waited for my dad to join me. "You have a lot of questions, right?" I asked hesitantly, nervously kneading my fingers.

"What does Davis say about that? He's the father, I assume?"

"I don't know. I mean... yes, of course he's the father," I corrected hastily. "We were at the Baker's earlier. Actually, I wanted to talk to him. But then Jamie came in and threatened to beat him up." I broke off and brushed a strand of hair behind my ear. At the thought of what had happened, my stomach was still clenching. I hoped that Jude would look after him. Such news wasn't easy to put up with. And I had a bad conscience anyway that I had to leave him alone with it.

"How long have you known?"

"I did the test on my birthday," I confessed to my dad. "I went to see Sawyer because everyone was here. I didn't want you to worry unnecessarily if it had been 'false alarm'."

"Well, apparently it wasn't a 'false alarm' after all," he said dryly.

I shook my head. "No it wasn't. Everything happened so fast. There simply wasn't time to tell you about it. I went with Aunt Quinn to the doctor's and got the confirmation that I was pregnant. I even got an ultrasound image."

"Can I see it?"

I pulled out my phone and then showed him the ultrasound picture. As he looked at it, a smile crossed his face, and I let out a sigh of relief. At least for my dad, it wasn't such a big shock that his daughter was pregnant.

"I didn't think I would become a grandfather in my early 40s," he said, sighing. "But I can't change that anymore. How are your plans for the future? Have you thought about it?"

He looked at me questioningly and I shook my head slowly. I wish I knew what to do next. In fact, I had no idea yet. And somehow I was hoping my mom could tell me what to do next. "All I know is that I want to keep it," I said in a low voice. "The doctor in Santa Barbara suggested I should give it up for adoption. But I don't want to give my baby away."

"You won't."

When he reached for my hand and held it firmly, I gratefully looked at him. I was happy to have such an amazing, understanding dad. And I hoped that my mother would recover from her shock too and would support me. The only question was if Davis's parents would react just like my dad.

"There are enough rooms in the house to arrange a nursery," he said. "And you don't have to worry about financial support either."

"The summer holidays will start in a few weeks. Nobody will know until then that I'm pregnant. And when school starts again..."

"... everyone will see it anyway," he finished the sentence and smiled." When your mom got pregnant with Jamie, her life had changed completely. She had to stop the cheerleading training and she couldn't attend physical education any more. At that time, she also missed a few lessons because she wasn't feeling well. And when Jamie was born, she stopped to go to school for a while. She had to catch up on all the exams later."

"But she accomplished it," I said with a frown. "Otherwise she never would have been able to become a teacher."

"Yes, she finished school and went to college. But the first years weren't easy. For both of us," he admitted.

"Mom told me once that she never regretted having Jamie," I said thoughtfully. "I hope I can say the same about my baby, too." I got up from the couch. "Should I talk to Mom or do you want to do that?" I asked hesitantly.

"I'll talk to her later. Right now, it's better to give her time. And you should go upstairs now and unpack. The long flight must have been exhausting. You need rest."

I had to smile involuntarily. Dad was really sweet when he was so protective. But I also knew that he was right. I should really take it slow from now on. But first I had to do something else. I left the living room, went up the stairs to Jamie's room and opened the door without knocking.

"To clarify that," I began, pointing to his closet. "The condoms you've kept in there for a couple of years are to blame that I got pregnant!" I stifled a grin as he looked at me startled. "They are defective. So if you don't want to become a father at an early age, you should dump them in the trash."

Before I closed the door again, I saw how he had jumped up to run to his closet. Relieved that the conversation with my dad had gone so well, I went to my room and started to unpack my clothes.

House of the Scotts

In the evening

The entire rest of the day I tried to leave Haley alone. I hoped she wouldn't slip into a depression, as she had gotten after her mother's death. She was more unstable than usual since then, and I feared that the shock about Lydia's confession could cause another breakdown. It was finally in the evening when I entered our bedroom to talk to her. Haley was sitting on the bed, a photo album in her lap, flipping the pages. Hesitantly, I approached her and sat down on the bed. "What are you looking at?" I asked carefully.

"He was always there," she mumbled, pointing to a photo. "Here's Lydia's 6th birthday. And here…" She kept turning the pages. "This is her 8th birthday." She kept flipping through the pages. "Christmas, another birthday, Thanksgiving..." Moaning softly, she let the photo album sink. "Davis was present at all family gatherings," she said frustrated. "Why haven't I noticed that before?"

I frowned in confusion. "Of course he was there. We celebrated with Brooke and Julian together." I looked at another photo. "Here, there are Izzy, Justin and Jude, too. The two always brought their children with them when we were celebrating together. What's so unusual about that?"

"She didn't even like the boy," she said, wrinkling her nose. "She always said that Davis had a bad nature and that one should stay away from him as far as possible."

"Are you looking for a reason why she could get pregnant from him?" I asked slightly irritated. "Feelings can change. And apparently this is what had happened."

"Did they have to sleep together?" She sighed.

I took the photo album out of her hand and put it aside. "I hardly think they had planned that," I said with a shrug. "Those things just happen."

"Is that supposed to reassure me?"

I could tell by her sarcastic tone of voice that she still couldn't accept it. "This is not about you or me. It's about Lydia and Davis," I said calmly. "It's not easy to become a parent at such a young age. You know that just as well as I do. And what they don't need now is that we lecture them. They need our support."

"All the plans Lydia had for the future – they're all gone," she said desperately and sighed.

"She is not dying, Hales," I said, rolling my eyes. "She's having a baby. And when we help her, she can still achieve anything she wants." I gently put my arm around her. "You did it, too. You are a good example of how you can do anything if you want and if you have support."

"Why did it have to be Davis Baker?" She moaned softly. "Couldn't it be some other boy?"

"Look at the benefit," I said. "We already know his parents and get along great with them. And sharing a grandchild will make your relationship with Brooke even closer."

"Did she already know?" She asked with a frown. "Maybe I should call her."

"Leave that to the kids," I said quickly. "The whole thing is still quite fresh. Just give them some time."

"Did you talk to Lydia?"

I nodded. "Not only that, I also suggested that we make room for a nursery." I suddenly had to smile at the thought. "Can you imagine, Hales. There will be a baby in our house again. That will liven things up."

"And many sleepless nights," she added, rolling her eyes. "Maybe you forgot how demanding Jamie and Lydia were when they were babies. We couldn't sleep through the night."

I scratched my head thoughtfully. "Yes, I remember," I admitted. "But this time we don't need to get up. This will be Lydia's task."

"But we'll wake up anyway." She got up from the bed. "I'm going to Lydia now," she said firmly. "I think I should apologize for my behavior. You are right that she needs our support now."

I spontaneously pulled my wife into my arms and kissed her. "I love you," I mumbled softly.

"Let me talk to our daughter first," she smirked. "Then you can show me how much you love me."

I smiled after her as she left the bedroom and went to Lydia's room.