Part Six
Marcus placed a kiss on his sister's forehead. He had taken her back to her room at the Brownstone and tucked her into bed. "I left the pitcher of orange juice on your bedside table. Promise me that you'll have it empty by the time I get home."
Gia nodded. She let her brother treat her like she was a child again because she knew that he was worried about her. Heck, she was worried about herself! She hoped it was nothing serious. She watched her brother leave and then leaned back against her pillow. She waited a few minutes and then slowly made her way to her bathroom so she could brush away that acid taste in her mouth.
She looked in the mirror and groaned. For a person who had slept sixteen hours she looked like death warmed over. Big black circles outlined her eyes and she looked pale. Makeup would hide that. Maybe her initial diagnosis was right…maybe she was getting the flu. She rinsed out her mouth and threw herself back on her bed.
She was determined to make it over to Lucky and Sarah's that afternoon. She would just take it easy until then.
****
Sarah was finishing putting away the dishes when Lucky came into the kitchen. She looked back at him. "Is Gia coming this afternoon?"
Lucky nodded. "I just got off the phone with her. She should be over anytime now."
Sarah smiled. She and Gia were friends but they were nowhere as close as Lucky and Gia. Most girls would be jealous of a relationship like but Sarah knew whom Lucky loved.
"She is going to love the photos for the fall campaign." Lucky announced. He placed a thick envelope on the table. "Mom will too."
"Oh let me see." Sarah squealed reaching for the envelope which Lucky pulled away.
"Wait for Gia!" He laughed.
"You know, I am glad that Gia has you." Sarah said sitting across from him. "After what happened between Nikolas and her she was looking for a good friend. I am glad it's you." She took his hand. "She got lucky."
Lucky smiled at her. "That's nice of you to say. I'm glad she's my friend too. We may not have always gotten along and she may have done some bad things but when it comes down to it she's a pretty good person."
"I just don't understand Elizabeth." Sarah said. "When Jason first came back to town she said that she would never play with anyone's heart. She played with Jason's and Gia's. And she seems to have no remorse."
"I guess none of us really knew her." Lucky commented. "But Nikolas understands her." He said mocking Elizabeth. He had confronted his brother a week after the breakup after he found Gia crying outside of the Brownstone. His brother and his ex both had the same story. They understood each other.
The doorbell rang and Lucky sprang up. He pointed to the envelope. "No peaking!"
"I promise." Sarah reluctantly agreed. She heard Lucky greet Gia at the door and then the two appeared in the kitchen. Sarah frowned a little at Gia's appearance. She looked like she hadn't slept in awhile. "Hey you…remember what I said about a good night's sleep."
"I think I overslept. That's not good for you either." Gia plopped down in a chair at the table. She had managed to eat a little something for dinner and was feeling a lot better. Maybe she just had one of those 24-hour bugs. She touched the envelope on the table. "Are those my photos?"
Lucky nodded. "There amazing Gia. Some of the best I have taken yet." He spread them out over the table.
Gia had to admit they were pretty good. "Then again, I never expect anything less than 100% perfection from my photographer." She said picking up one of her. Her red dress blended in with fall leaves. She was looking up at the sun with her arms outstretched. The wind had rustled her dress. "I really like this one."
"I do too." Lucky said looking over her shoulder. "I think it will definitely be one of the candidates for the final ad. You know at first I thought this Princess of Seasons idea was pretty corny but looking at these photos I can't get over how great you look."
"Stop gushing, Lucky." Gia commanded pouring over the other pictures. "Make sure you tell me which one Laura picks."
"So how are you feeling today?" Lucky asked.
"Yeah, Lucky told me that you collapsed during the shoot." Sarah sounded concerned. "He said that you didn't eat dinner. That's dangerous, Gia."
"Save me the lecture, okay?" Gia begged. "I think it was the heat…" She trailed off. Sarah was her friend and she was also a doctor. She might be able to give her some insight to what was bothering her. "Although, now I am not so sure." She told her friends about her long sleep and being sick to her stomach that morning.
"If I didn't know better, it sounds like your pregnant." Lucky joked.
Gia and Sarah both had wide eyed stares. Gia felt herself begin to panic. Pregnant!
"It was just a joke. I'm sure it's just the flu or something." Lucky said noticing the look on the women's faces.
Pregnant! Gia couldn't be pregnant. She had been with Nikolas since the middle of the summer and they always used to protection…
Jason! Gia moaned and put her head on the table.
"Gia, is this a possibility?" Sarah asked watching her friend in distress.
"It could be." Gia said. She thought carefully about her night with Jason. Everything had been so fast and so passionate she really hadn't remembered all the little details. She concentrated. Nope, they hadn't used protection. "Oh God, it could be."
Sarah put her hand on Gia's back, looking at Lucky. Both could tell Gia was very upset about the possibility of her being pregnant. "Honey, it's okay. We can go to the hospital right now and then we'll know for sure. You have been under a lot of stress lately. When you're stressed out your immune system isn't as strong and it's easier for viruses to get a good hold on you. This is the first time you've felt like this."
Gia nodded. "It's the first time I've thrown up in the morning but I have been tired a lot lately. I guess I thought it was because I was trying to get used to having a whole new life. You know, like living in a new place, developing a new routine. I didn't sleep that well when I first came to Port Charles."
The three stood up and went outside to get into Gia's car. She handed Lucky the keys. "You know, I really don't think I want to drive." She said crawling into the passenger seat.
****
Lucky and Sarah waited outside while a doctor examined Gia. She lay there staring at the ceiling. She couldn't be pregnant! She wasn't ready for this. She hadn't planned this. She wanted children but she thought that was a few years off. She and Nikolas planned to have at least four but only after he had taken over Cassadine Industries completely and after she could give up modeling. Plus, she wasn't in a relationship right now. She blinked back a few tears and sat up. "Well?"
"We are going to run a urine test." Her doctor explained. She was a kind older woman who could tell right away that Gia was frightened by the idea. "It should take about an hour for the results. I could call you."
"My friend, Sarah Webber, is resident here. She has her pager with her and she asked if you would page her so we know the results are in." Gia explained.
"That would be fine." Dr. Meadows put a hand on Gia's shoulder. "No matter what the results are things will work out in the end. You'll see."
"I hope you're right." Gia said. The doctor left and Gia changed back into her clothes. She slowly went back out to her where her friends were waiting. Lucky put his arm around her and pulled her close.
"Let's go down to the cafeteria and get you something to eat." Sarah suggested.
Gia just nodded and allowed them to escort her to get some food. When they were seated, Gia poked at her fruit cup. "I can't believe this. Things were looking up, you know. I was really happy…"
"And now you're worried that you are going to have to deal with Nikolas again." Lucky finished for her.
Gia's head shot up. She had to remind herself that she hadn't told either of them about Jason. She knew that it if she was pregnant it had to be Jason's baby. They had unprotected sex. She and Nikolas were always so careful. Now would be the time to tell them. She shook her head. "No…if I am pregnant." She stuttered over the words not wanting to say the phrase 'I am pregnant'. "If it's true…then the baby isn't Nikolas'."
"What?" Lucky and Sarah both said at the same time.
"You guys promise not to be mad at me?" Gia asked. When they both nodded, she continued. "When I went to see Jason to tell him about Nikolas and Elizabeth, we ended up sleeping together…without protection."
Neither of her friends knew what to say.
"How could I be so stupid?" Gia cried. "I didn't think about the consequences when we kissed. I just wanted to be held. He wanted the same thing. It was a one night stand…and now look what happened!" She brushed away a few tears. She looked from Lucky to Sarah. "You guys aren't mad that I didn't tell you?"
"It's your business who you sleep with." Sarah pointed out. "If you are pregnant, are you going to tell Jason?"
"I can't think about that right now." Gia admitted. She forced a smile and popped a piece of fruit in her mouth. "Can we just talk about something fun?" Lucky started to talk about his sister's crush on one of the actors from 7th Heaven. She was barely aware of what he was saying as she sat in a numb. The minutes seemed to take forever. She felt like she had been sitting there all day when Sarah's pager finally went off.
The three fell silent and looked at each other.
"The moment of truth." Gia said as she forced herself to stand. They made the way back to Dr. Meadows' office. Gia looked back at Lucky and Sarah. "Come in with me?"
She found Dr. Meadows writing out a prescription. That had to be a good sign right. Maybe she had some kind of virus and needed medication. "Well?"
"I don't know if this is good news or not…but you're pregnant." Dr. Meadows said ripping off the prescription.
Gia felt herself fall back against Lucky. He was there to hold her up. She took a deep breath and repeated her diagnosis. "Pregnant…"
"I want you to come in sometime this week for a full examination. I should be able to tell you how far along you are." Dr. Meadows gave her the prescription. "This is for prenatal vitamins. I also want you to take some rest and begin to follow a strict diet. You fainting spell and extreme exhaustion were your body telling you to slow down and look after this baby."
Gia nodded and looked back at her friends. "Can we go?"
Lucky thanked the doctor and helped Gia out to her car. She was in a state of shock. He and Sarah got her prescription filled while Gia stood in the pharmacy staring at a picture of a mother holding a baby. Could she do that?
She asked them to take her back to the Brownstone. Once inside her apartment she turned back to them. "I really just want to be alone right now. I just need to think." She hugged them both. "Thank you."
"If you need anything, we're here." Lucky reminded her. "I mean anything. If you want someone to talk to or just someone to sit with you…call me."
She nodded and closed the door. She sank against it and felt tears slid down her face. Her hands went to her stomach where her baby was growing. Her baby with Jason…
How was she going to tell him? She barely talked to him so she just couldn't walk up to him and announce that she was pregnant.
"I'm so screwed." She said walking over to the couch. She pulled out her prescription and looked at the vitamins. Everything seemed surreal to her. She felt like she was in a dream and she would wake up any moment.
She jumped when someone knocked on the door.
"Gia!"
Marcus! Gia bit her lip. She couldn't face him…not yet. Maybe if she kept silent he would think she was sleeping and leave her be.
But that was not the case. "Gia, open up! I want to see if you're alright. If you don't open up I'm going to get Bobbie to come with the key."
Gia slowly made her way to the door and opened it.
Marcus took in her tear stained face. He felt his stomach flip. What was wrong with his baby sister? "Gia?"
"Come in, Marcus." Gia said opening the door wider. She couldn't hide it from him. Soon everyone would know. She went back over to couch and sat back down. Marcus sat next to her, confused.
"What's going on Gia?" Marcus asked, noticing the prescription bag. "Are you sick?"
"Marcus…I'm pregnant."