The Ordinary Days
A/N: Once again, there are no warnings for this chapter.
Chapter Sixteen
"A baby shower? For me?"
"Yes, of course, you," laughed Angie as she wrapped her scarf tighter around her neck. "Who else do I know that's about to pop?"
"I really wouldn't want you to go to any trouble," said Peggy meekly. She tread carefully around the dark mud puddles that peppered the path upon which she and Angie were currently walking (more like hiking, an out-of-breath Peggy thought to herself). Benny was trotting behind them as the two women trekked toward Angie's farm with the promise of a steaming cup of hot chocolate awaiting them once they reached their destination.
"It's no trouble," replied Angie, who was also starting to get a little out of breath herself. "I knew you would protest, but I already called a couple of people to get an idea for dates and they're all on board. That way you can't back out."
"Oh, Angie," lamented Peggy, "who did you invite?"
"Just a few people. Your mom and sister, Steve's mom, Mrs. Jarvis, Mrs. Stark…"
"Is that all?" Peggy scoffed.
"C'mon, Peg, it's your first baby – and maybe your last if pregnancy is as horrible as you say it is."
"You got that right."
Finally, Angie's white farmhouse came into view and the two women (plus Benny) trudged inside, tracking mud onto the oak floors as they hung up their coats. Angie put on a pot of milk to boil and joined Peggy sitting at her kitchen table.
"Listen, English," she said as she began pulling off her muddy boots, "I know you've been pretty down-in-the-mouth lately so I planned this shower for you as a kind gesture. We don't have to do it if you don't want to, but I just thought it would cheer you up a bit to commiserate with other women and get some nice gifts for the baby."
Peggy sighed, then nodded. "I suppose you're right. No baby shower means no gifts."
"That's the spirit!" exclaimed Angie with a smile. "Just don't be expecting one from me because throwing the thing together is my gift to you."
A small laugh escaped from Peggy. "That's worth it to me."
November came upon the farm in full force as the temperature dropped suddenly with clouds threatening snow gathering on the horizon. Peggy lamented the fact that she will have to be cooped up inside once the weather becomes icy and cursed herself, once again, for being pregnant.
But the day of the baby shower arrived and thankfully the snow held off so every lady who was invited was able to come. Peggy sat in their living room with the most important women in her life surrounding her. She thought vaguely that she should be feeling happy and excited, but she found it hard to join in the jovial spirit as thoughts of Jack Thompson taking her baby away forced themselves into her mind.
"Oh, what a lovely blanket, Ana!" proclaimed Maria as Peggy unwrapped Ana's gift. It was a soft, blue and white knitted blanket with a picture of a reindeer on the front.
"I knitted it myself," said Ana beaming.
"Thank you, Ana," said Peggy, perhaps a little less enthusiastically than she should have. "It's beautiful. It must have taken you quite a long time to make."
Ana waved off her compliment. "It was nothing. I know you're not due 'till January, but I was hoping you'll be able to enjoy it with your little one every Christmas to come!"
The ladies' smiles all faded when tears suddenly sprang to Peggy's eyes. She looked around and noticed their shocked expressions.
"Peggy?" asked Maria gently. "Is something the matter?"
"I…I'm sorry, I…Please excuse me for a moment."
Peggy knew she could not hide her tears so she got up and hurried up the stairs to her bedroom. She shut the door behind her and sat on the bed, burying her face in her hands as she thought about Ana's remark of spending every Christmas with her baby. What if she never got to celebrate any Christmases with it? How would she explain to everyone why her baby was taken away by Jack Thompson? Would her plan of living a quiet, domestic life with Steve be uprooted once everyone found out their child was secretly conceived out of wedlock?
The thought was overwhelming and Peggy cried, letting her pent-up emotions take over as she flopped sideways onto the bed. There was a soft knock at the door and the person behind it pushed the door open gently.
"Margaret?" She recognized it was her mother's voice. "My dear, what on earth is going on?"
Peggy did not bother to sit up or look at Mrs. Carter. "It's complicated, Mother."
"Well then, explain it to me."
Mrs. Carter sat on the bed next to her and Peggy looked over at her in surprise. Her mother generally did not express much affection toward her in an effort to "toughen her up," as she put it, but just having her sit next to her and wanting to explain her troubles to her made Peggy feel a little stunned.
So she explained to her everything that had happened with Jack: the break-in, the threat of him taking her baby away, the proof he had with Steve's letter, and the constant surveillance Steve put her under to keep her safe. Mrs. Carter paused for a few minutes when Peggy was done with her story, her expression unreadable.
Finally, she asked, "What can I do to help?"
"There's really nothing you can do, Mother," replied Peggy with a small sigh. "Steve and I are worried constantly about the baby, but we're both powerless and I can't stand the feeling of not being able to do anything about it."
"I'm sure everything will be alright, dear–"
"But nobody knows for sure," interjected Peggy hotly. "Everyone keeps saying 'it'll be okay' but no one knows that! What if the baby gets taken away from us? What will we do then?"
Peggy waited for her mother to argue with her or tell her to calm down, but she did neither. Instead, she merely looked down at her hands deep in thought.
"I will see who your father recommends we talk to about this. I won't mention anything to anyone about the baby's paternity," she added when she saw Peggy's look of concern, "but I think we should see what our options are if there's a fight for custody."
"Thank you. That…that really means a lot that you'll help me."
"It's odd," she replied with a sudden upturn in the corners of her cheeks, "how several months ago your life was about to be ruined by the baby, but now you're fighting tooth and nail to keep it."
"Hmm," Peggy considered, tracing her hand softly over her swollen belly, "I suppose I've grown so fond of the idea of being a mother now that the idea of not becoming one makes me sad."
Mrs. Carter patted her hand on Peggy's. "That means you're going to make a good mother, dear."
"I just hope…" said Peggy in a small voice, "I hope the baby is a girl so we don't even have to deal with this mess."
Her mother smiled sadly but said nothing.
Peggy was finishing up putting away the last bit of new baby clothing in the second bedroom upstairs – which she and Steve had both been working to convert to the nursery – when she heard the telephone ring. She made her way down as quickly as her pregnant belly would allow and finally picked up the receiver.
"Hello?"
"Margaret? It's your mother."
"Mother?" repeated Peggy, bewildered. "Is everything alright?"
"Yes, but I wanted to tell you something your father's lawyer told us. We called on him this afternoon."
Peggy swallowed. "Go on, then."
"He said that the copy of Steve's letter that Jack has would not serve as a 'viable admission of paternity,' or something along those lines, because there would be no way to prove that the baby does or doesn't belong to him. If Steve swears the baby is his, even if Jack tries to prove otherwise, a letter to a friend wouldn't count as a written confession because there's no concrete way Steve could know the baby isn't his."
"But he does know the baby isn't his. I told him that."
"Yes, but as husband and wife, you can't testify against each other so as long as you both agree the baby is Steve's, they can't dispute that. And at any rate, Jack only has a copy of Steve's letter and not the original one, which the lawyer said the court may not even accept as evidence."
Peggy considered her mother's words carefully, and for the first time in weeks felt a warm glow of hope in her chest.
"Thank you, Mother. That…it really means a lot to me that you're helping me out with this."
"Of course, my dear," her mother said in a soft tone. "I feel as though I have some making up to do…I know I was harsh with you when you and Steve first married, but I can see your relationship has blossomed into something special. Your life looks a lot different now, but if you're happy, then that's all I need to know."
Peggy couldn't help but smile even though she knew her mother could not see her.
"Anyway, Margaret, our lawyer will look more into your case and I will telephone with any news."
"Thank you, Mother. Good-bye."
The news that they may have a case to fight back against Jack made Steve's heart lighten a little, but he did not want to let his guard down. As far as Steve knew, Jack was not aware that they were building a case against him so for now they still had to play it safe.
Peggy drifted off to sleep next to him with his arm wrapped securely around her. He listened to her even breathing and hoped the sound would lull him to sleep like a lullaby, but instead he found himself increasingly restless. Thoughts of Peggy giving birth and then Jack breaking in and stealing the baby while they were all asleep like some ghoulish fairytale villain kept creeping into Steve's mind until he couldn't take it anymore. He gently unpeeled himself from Peggy, taking care that she stayed asleep, and slid his slippers on to head downstairs.
Once in the kitchen, Steve remembered the trick his mother used to help him sleep when he was a child so he started heating a small pot of milk. He was reaching for a mug in the cupboard when he suddenly heard Benny barking outside, startling him.
Steve paused and listened. Benny continued to bark fiercely with no let up, and Steve became nervous.
Apprehension prickling at the back of his neck, Steve left the milk to sit on the stove and headed outside through the back door. He peered around in the dark, thankful for his enhanced vision from the serum, but could not see anything out of the ordinary.
He could tell from the volume of Benny's barking that the dog was further away toward the other side of the house, so Steve went back through the house to the front door, opening it cautiously. Once again, he saw nothing menacing waiting for him on the other side.
Benny's barking grew louder and it wasn't until Steve went outside and approached the barn that he realized Benny was barking from inside it. Steve undid the latch that kept the barn locked and, heart beating, flung open the double doors.
One or two of the cows sleepily stirred, but otherwise the barn was unoccupied. Benny rushed up to greet Steve and jumped onto his thighs, nipping at him excitedly. Steve mussed the fur on Benny's head to calm him down, but still felt tense himself.
"Who's there?" he called out, wondering if that would do any good. The wind picked up a little bit but otherwise the barn was peaceful. Steve exhaled a little in relief and led Benny outside, who trotted at his heels behind him.
He turned to shut the barn door and reached up to secure the latch, but stopped when he realized something. His eyes widened slightly as he looked at the latch but then the front door of the house slammed shut with a thud, startling Steve.
Peggy, he thought immediately, and sprinted to the door. He wrenched it open and hurtled up the stairs, praying he wasn't too late, if anything happened to her –
He flung open their bedroom door and saw Peggy still fast asleep in their bed, undisturbed. Steve glanced around the room in a panic but saw no tall dark figures, no shadows waiting to snatch up Peggy and their child.
Peggy stirred and raised her head slightly to look up at Steve.
"What's wrong?" she asked groggily.
Steve sighed in relief. "It's okay, Peg. I just thought I heard someone creeping around the barn, but it was just the wind."
Peggy's eyes widened slightly. "Are you sure? Did you check the house?"
"I'll go double check everything right now, but I'm sure it was nothing," replied Steve, hoping she didn't notice the little shiver that went down his spine just now. "Go back to sleep, sweetheart."
He walked over to her and bent down to kiss her on the forehead, smiling reassuringly. He softly closed the door behind him as he went downstairs to ensure the doors and windows were locked.
Steve felt his heart beginning to calm, but his mind kept nagging at him about one thing:
How did Benny get trapped in the barn with the door latched shut from the outside?
