Maria closed the door behind her as quietly as she could. She hoped her mom wouldn't be waiting up as she always did.
"Had troubles finding the way home?" a familiar voice asked. Maria stepped into the living room and found Kyle sitting in the couch.
"Kyle? What are you still doing up?" she asked.
"Oh, I'm just enjoying the cool night," he answered casually with a hint of sarcasm.
"Well, goodnight then," Maria said and quickly tiptoed towards her room.
"Not so fast miss," Kyle said and Maria stopped abruptly. "I want to know exactly what you did at Guerin's this late," he continued.
"Kyle, you're not my parent," Maria said. "You're not even my brother. What I do with Michael is my business. Not yours."
"Well, I told Amy I'd stay up until you got home," Kyle said and looked a little hurt.
"In that case I'm sorry for keeping you up so long," Maria said and let her guard down a little. It was really nice of Kyle to care so much.
"It's okay," Kyle said. "I just wanted to make sure you got home safely. And you're right, it's not my business what you do with Michael."
"Well, thanks for waiting up. I was afraid my mom would sit here waiting," Maria said and went to sit down on the couch.
"That I can understand," Kyle said. "Amy is pretty good at lecturing. Not that my dad isn't, but…"
"Mom is worse," Maria ended for him.
"Yeah."
They both sat in silence for a while. "So how are things with you?" Maria asked. "I mean you must have had it pretty bad since the whole Tess-thing."
"Well, I'm doing better now. It was pretty bad when it was just dad and I. It was kind of empty you know? We had gotten used to having her around."
"I'm sorry," Maria said and gently touched Kyle's arm.
"Don't be," Kyle said and sighed. "You and Amy has made it a whole lot easier. I'm glad to see my dad so happy again. Even though it grosses me out sometimes."
"Yeah, This move-in-thing hasn't been as bad as I thought," Maria said. "I think we can really make this work."
"Me too," Kyle agreed. "As long as you come home at a more decent hour," he added.
Maria got up from the couch. "Please, it's only like 4 am," she said.
"I need my beauty sleep," Kyle explained.
"You're so shallow," Maria said and walked towards her room.
"Oh, like you're the one to talk miss I-spend-two-hours-in-the-bathroom- every-morning," Kyle countered and opened the door to his room.
"Goodnight!" they both said at the same time and then got into their rooms…
The next morning Kyle got up later than usual. Maybe because he'd been up until 4 last night, he reminded himself. But he's had a nice talk with Maria and it was a Sunday with nothing to do so it didn't really matter.
He went to take a shower but found the bathroom taken. Maria must be in there, he thought, cause his dad and Amy had left early for a trip to spend some time alone. They were going to be gone for a couple of days or so.
Kyle went to make some breakfast when he heard a weird noise coming from the bathroom. It sounded like someone was throwing up.
Maria was sick? Kyle decided to skip breakfast after the sound she was making.
He was just about to turn around when the toilet was flushed and the faucet was turned on.
After a while the door opened and Maria came out.
"Are you okay?" Kyle immediately asked. Maria was silent for a while, just staring into space. Then she looked up at Kyle with unreadable eyes.
"Actually. I think I'm pregnant," she said flatly.
Kyle could almost feel his heart stop. "Pregnant?" he said. "Pregnant?"
"You know, it's the thing when after nine months you pop out a big watermelon," Maria said sarcastically.
"I know, I'm sorry," Kyle said and got control over himself again. He went to Maria and gave her a hug. "Are you okay?" he asked into her hair. He was about to pull away when she grabbed on harder and started to cry into his shoulder. Kyle could feel her trembling and his heart almost broke. "It's going to be okay," he said softly and stroked her golden hair.
"Everything is going to be okay. I'll help you. And Michael will too." He pulled away to look her in the eyes. "Michael is the father right?"
"Yeah…of course," Maria answered and wiped her eyes. "But I don't know how to tell him. I mean he's not exactly going to be thrilled and go out shopping for diapers."
"He's going to understand, it's his responsibility too," Kyle said. "But before you tell anyone else I want you to go see a doctor. I'm guessing you've only taken a home pregnancy test, right?"
"Yes, but I'm pretty sure," Maria said.
"Well, you have to go anyway to make sure everything's okay," Kyle insisted.
"Wait!" Maria exclaimed. "What if it's not human? I can't go to a doctor!" She started biting her nails. "Kyle, what if my baby is somehow different."
"I'm sure everything's fine," Kyle tried to reassure her. "But you're right, it's not safe to go to a doctor. Maybe Michael can connect and somehow see if it looks normal."
"No!" Maria immediately protested. "I'm not ready to tell him yet."
Kyle could see that she was really freaked about the situation. But then again, who wouldn't be? Maria was pregnant at 17 with a guy who was afraid just to be in a relationship. And to add to that the guy was an alien.
Kyle couldn't even imagine what Maria must be going through right now.
"Well, then I guess it's Isabel or Max," he said.
"I guess I have to huh?" Maria said. Kyle nodded. "In that case, maybe Isabel would be the best choice," she continued.
"I'll call her," Kyle offered. "Why don't you go get some rest for a little while."
"But…" Maria started.
"Just until she gets here," Kyle reassured her.
"Okay, doctor," Maria joked and went to her room…
TBC... If you want me to...