~A Once and Again Series~
Where do we go from here?
Chapter 5//Don't Freak Out
Grace was in the kitchen, making a little snack for herself, while thinking of her plans for the day which consisted of: nothing and more nothing, when Eli came in. Grace looked up at him curiously. She hadn't seen him since the other night when she was pregnant. He had been avoiding her.
"Good morning," Eli said to Grace. He opened the fridge, and took out the orange juice.
Grace watched him, waiting for him to say something... anything. "Eli?"
Eli turned, looking at her. His eyes were blank. Grace had no idea what he was thinking. Eli drank his orange juice.
Grace put aside the sandwich she had been making and tried to think of the right words to say to Eli... 'Don't worry, I don't need you to be a part of the baby's life' and 'I know you don't want to be the father of my child, so you don't have to be' played on the tip of her tongue. Grace was decided between them when she heard Dominic crying in the living room.
Grace sighed, leaving Eli who had found her sandwich and was eating it. She went in the living room, and found Dominic just awake from his nap. Grace picked up the four and a half month year old, soothing him with gentle words. Dominic was a generally good baby, and Grace didn't mind that her mother had asked her to baby-sit a few days a week this summer, so Lily could focus more at work. It wasn't like Grace had other urgent plans.
And, besides it would be good practice, for when she had her own little guy or girl. Grace began singing Dominic the "Baby Beluga" song, and was rewarded with a happy chuckle from the baby. Grace smiled back, and then she caught site of Eli in the doorway, watching her.
Eli had stood in the doorway to the living room since he had finished off Grace's sandwich, and had seen Grace comforting the baby. The scene he saw before him brought forth an overwhelming rush of feelings. Thoughts of Grace comforting HIS baby came to his mind, and he was literally stricken motionless as reality hit him. Grace was going to be a mother to HIS child.
"Eli?" Grace asked, not realizing what Eli was seeing... her with a baby. She looked at him quizzically, "Are you okay?" She shifted Dominic to her other side and then she looked down at the baby in her arms in understanding. "Eli, about me being pregnant..."
Eli found his words, "You definitely are?"
"Yes," Grace answered. "And I don't expect you to be a part of the baby's life. I'd understand if you didn't want to be."
Eli frowned. Was that what Grace thought of him? Did Grace really think he would do that? Eli shook his head in anger, "You're just like the rest of them, Grace..."
"What?" Grace asked, hurt. She thought he was talking about her being like the rest of the other girls in Eli's life. But, to Grace's knowledge, none of them had gotten pregnant.
"You said you didn't think I was a loser," Eli said with a heavy sigh, "And yet, you think I would desert you and my child."
"I didn't mean it like that!" Grace insisted.
"Then how did you mean it?" Eli asked sharply. He turned and disappeared into the kitchen.
Grace sighed, and looked down at Dominic. "At least you still love me, Dom Dom."
* * *
Grace knocked on Eli's door that night. She didn't get an answer, but she could hear his music coming through the crack in the doors, and so she let herself in. The room was slightly dark, as the lights were dimmed, and there was a thick mixture of smoke and incense drifting in the air. Grace saw Eli lying on his bed, his eyes shut. She got up on the bed and crawled over to him.
"Eli?" She asked, shaking him.
Eli opened his eyes in surprise. He smiled at her, but his eyes were slightly unfocused, and Grace knew he was probably stoned or wasted... or both. "So, now you're the one coming out here, looking for a little action."
Grace rolled her eyes, "No. I needed to talk to you."
Eli shrugged, "Then talk."
"Hold on," Grace told him. She got off the bed, and went to the windows, opening both of them, and letting the fresh air come in. She looked back at Eli. "I didn't think all that smoke was good for the baby."
Eli nodded, "Whatever."
Grace went back to the bed, sitting down next to him. "Eli, I just wanted to tell you that I'm going to be telling my parents-- and Tiffany and your dad-- about me being pregnant..."
"Are you going to tell them about us?" Eli asked, concerned.
"No, but they're going to wonder who got me pregnant," Grace said.
"Hey!" Eli complained, "It takes two to make a baby, you know. It wasn't all my fault."
"I know," Grace assured him. "I didn't mean it like that."
"But you're not going to tell them about me?" Eli asked.
"No, I'm not... it's probably better this way, anyways," Grace said with a sigh, "I don't think they could deal with you and me being what we are... what we were... and deal with me being pregnant."
"Grace, they're going to be hassling you about who the father is..." Eli told her.
Grace nodded, "I know, but I won't tell them."
Eli reached for her hand, linking it with his. "Grace, I want to be some part of this baby's life, even if it's a small part."
"Really?" Grace asked, hopeful.
"Yeah." Eli answered. He turned his head, looking at Grace with a smile. He pulled her body against his. "So, is it okay for a pregnant woman to have sex?"
Grace nodded, "Yes."
Eli licked his lips and moved in, but Grace turned her head away. "But I think this pregnant woman shouldn't," She told him. Eli frowned.
"Why not? It's not like we haven't done it before... or like we won't do it again," Eli said.
Grace moved away from him. "Eli, we can't. We have to stop before we make things even more complicated."
"Grace, sex isn't complicated... it's just sex," Eli told her, reaching out for her again.
Grace moved out of his reach. She looked at him with hurt eyes. "Yeah, just sex..." She repeated. She shook her head. "Then go have with someone else... if it doesn't mean anything to you!"
"Grace...." Eli pleaded, but Grace was already heading out the door. She closed it hard behind her, and Eli sighed.
* * *
"Mom, Dad, Rick, Tiffany," Grace said, taking a deep breath. "You're probably wondering why I wanted to talk to you all together like this." Grace looked over her attentive audience. They were all smiling, not the least bit ready for the bombshell Grace had to drop on them. They had no clue that she had asked them here to tell them she was pregnant. Based on the looks on their faces, they thought she was going to tell them which college she decided to go to in the fall or something like that.
"And I just want you to remember that I'm your Grace, and I'll always be your Grace, no matter what. But, I have important news..." Grace said, taking another deep breath. "And don't freak out, okay?"
The smiles slid from their faces, expect for Tiffany's, who wasn't worried by Grace's words. Lily and Rick exchanged a worried look.
"Oh, damn, I'll just say it," Grace said, the obscenity slipping from her lips without realizing it. "I'm pregnant."
"What?" Jake cried, shocked.
Her mother gaped at her. Rick looked at her in surprise. Tiffany's eyebrow's raised, but that was it.
Grace looked at Tiffany, who she considered to be her biggest supporter of the group right now. Grace drew courage from Tiffany's calm expression and went on. "I know it's a shock, but it just happened. I'm going to have the baby, and I would really like your help and support. But I can understand if you aren't ready to give that to me."
"Grace! How could you get pregnant?" Lily cried.
"Things happen," Grace said with a shrug. She wasn't half as nervous or as scared as she was before she started talking, now that she had made her big statement. And, hey, she was an adult, and yes she didn't mean to get pregnant, but she was old enough where she could deal with it.
"Who's the father?" Jake asked. It was the question Grace had been dreading.
"Just a guy I was seeing."
"What guy??" Lily asked. "You haven't dating anyone in months!" Lily thought about it, her mouth dropping open in an O. "Actually, I don't remember you dating anyone since that Spencer kid."
Grace laughed at the mention of Spencer. She had gone out with him on one date in her sophomore year of high school. "Mom, it's not Spencer's...trust me."
"Grace, have you been hiding someone from us?" Lily cried out, upset.
"Well... yeah." Grace answered, edging around the truth. She couldn't tell them that the father was living under this very roof.
"Who is he?" Jake asked, pacing. He stopped and looked at Grace. "He better marry you!"
Lily was racking her brain to come up with a possible guy who could be to blame for this. She gasped as her mind hit a roadblock... remembering the events of only a year ago. With Grace and... "Grace, it's not HIS, is it??"
Grace looked at her mother in surprise. Had she been found out? Did her mother know that Eli was the one behind this? "Whose?" Grace asked nervously.
Lily paused, looking at Jake, knowing he was going to get angry. "Mr. Dimitri's??"
Jake looked up, fire in his eyes, "Oh, NO, Grace..."
Rick, and Tiffany, the only two had remained sitting on the couch shifted uneasily as they watched everything go down.
"No, mom," Grace answered honestly, "I haven't seen him since that day he left."
Jake pointed at her, "You better be telling the truth, because I don't want you to be marrying that teacher!"
"Dad," Grace tried to get through to him, "I'm not going to be marrying anyone. I'm going to do this on my own."
"No, you'll have our help," Tiffany added from the couch. Grace smiled gratefully at her. Jake shot an angry look at his wife. "What?" Tiffany asked. Jake looked away, shaking his head.
"Grace, tell us who the father is!" Jake insisted.
Grace shook her head, "That's not important."
"Like hell it is!" Jake cried.
"Grace, do you realize what this means?" Lily asked in despair. "You won't be able to go to college!"
Grace nodded, "I realized my plans will have to change, but I'm prepared to change them. I can always take a few classes at the tech or something..."
"Grace!" Lily complained. "You've ruined your life!"
"MOM!" Grace cried in disbelief. She hadn't expected such a harsh statement like that from her mother. "That's not true. I'm just embarking on a different life than you expected of me."
The four parents looked at each, wordlessly. Things were changing. Grace was going to have a baby.
* * *
Where do we go from here?
Chapter 5//Don't Freak Out
Grace was in the kitchen, making a little snack for herself, while thinking of her plans for the day which consisted of: nothing and more nothing, when Eli came in. Grace looked up at him curiously. She hadn't seen him since the other night when she was pregnant. He had been avoiding her.
"Good morning," Eli said to Grace. He opened the fridge, and took out the orange juice.
Grace watched him, waiting for him to say something... anything. "Eli?"
Eli turned, looking at her. His eyes were blank. Grace had no idea what he was thinking. Eli drank his orange juice.
Grace put aside the sandwich she had been making and tried to think of the right words to say to Eli... 'Don't worry, I don't need you to be a part of the baby's life' and 'I know you don't want to be the father of my child, so you don't have to be' played on the tip of her tongue. Grace was decided between them when she heard Dominic crying in the living room.
Grace sighed, leaving Eli who had found her sandwich and was eating it. She went in the living room, and found Dominic just awake from his nap. Grace picked up the four and a half month year old, soothing him with gentle words. Dominic was a generally good baby, and Grace didn't mind that her mother had asked her to baby-sit a few days a week this summer, so Lily could focus more at work. It wasn't like Grace had other urgent plans.
And, besides it would be good practice, for when she had her own little guy or girl. Grace began singing Dominic the "Baby Beluga" song, and was rewarded with a happy chuckle from the baby. Grace smiled back, and then she caught site of Eli in the doorway, watching her.
Eli had stood in the doorway to the living room since he had finished off Grace's sandwich, and had seen Grace comforting the baby. The scene he saw before him brought forth an overwhelming rush of feelings. Thoughts of Grace comforting HIS baby came to his mind, and he was literally stricken motionless as reality hit him. Grace was going to be a mother to HIS child.
"Eli?" Grace asked, not realizing what Eli was seeing... her with a baby. She looked at him quizzically, "Are you okay?" She shifted Dominic to her other side and then she looked down at the baby in her arms in understanding. "Eli, about me being pregnant..."
Eli found his words, "You definitely are?"
"Yes," Grace answered. "And I don't expect you to be a part of the baby's life. I'd understand if you didn't want to be."
Eli frowned. Was that what Grace thought of him? Did Grace really think he would do that? Eli shook his head in anger, "You're just like the rest of them, Grace..."
"What?" Grace asked, hurt. She thought he was talking about her being like the rest of the other girls in Eli's life. But, to Grace's knowledge, none of them had gotten pregnant.
"You said you didn't think I was a loser," Eli said with a heavy sigh, "And yet, you think I would desert you and my child."
"I didn't mean it like that!" Grace insisted.
"Then how did you mean it?" Eli asked sharply. He turned and disappeared into the kitchen.
Grace sighed, and looked down at Dominic. "At least you still love me, Dom Dom."
* * *
Grace knocked on Eli's door that night. She didn't get an answer, but she could hear his music coming through the crack in the doors, and so she let herself in. The room was slightly dark, as the lights were dimmed, and there was a thick mixture of smoke and incense drifting in the air. Grace saw Eli lying on his bed, his eyes shut. She got up on the bed and crawled over to him.
"Eli?" She asked, shaking him.
Eli opened his eyes in surprise. He smiled at her, but his eyes were slightly unfocused, and Grace knew he was probably stoned or wasted... or both. "So, now you're the one coming out here, looking for a little action."
Grace rolled her eyes, "No. I needed to talk to you."
Eli shrugged, "Then talk."
"Hold on," Grace told him. She got off the bed, and went to the windows, opening both of them, and letting the fresh air come in. She looked back at Eli. "I didn't think all that smoke was good for the baby."
Eli nodded, "Whatever."
Grace went back to the bed, sitting down next to him. "Eli, I just wanted to tell you that I'm going to be telling my parents-- and Tiffany and your dad-- about me being pregnant..."
"Are you going to tell them about us?" Eli asked, concerned.
"No, but they're going to wonder who got me pregnant," Grace said.
"Hey!" Eli complained, "It takes two to make a baby, you know. It wasn't all my fault."
"I know," Grace assured him. "I didn't mean it like that."
"But you're not going to tell them about me?" Eli asked.
"No, I'm not... it's probably better this way, anyways," Grace said with a sigh, "I don't think they could deal with you and me being what we are... what we were... and deal with me being pregnant."
"Grace, they're going to be hassling you about who the father is..." Eli told her.
Grace nodded, "I know, but I won't tell them."
Eli reached for her hand, linking it with his. "Grace, I want to be some part of this baby's life, even if it's a small part."
"Really?" Grace asked, hopeful.
"Yeah." Eli answered. He turned his head, looking at Grace with a smile. He pulled her body against his. "So, is it okay for a pregnant woman to have sex?"
Grace nodded, "Yes."
Eli licked his lips and moved in, but Grace turned her head away. "But I think this pregnant woman shouldn't," She told him. Eli frowned.
"Why not? It's not like we haven't done it before... or like we won't do it again," Eli said.
Grace moved away from him. "Eli, we can't. We have to stop before we make things even more complicated."
"Grace, sex isn't complicated... it's just sex," Eli told her, reaching out for her again.
Grace moved out of his reach. She looked at him with hurt eyes. "Yeah, just sex..." She repeated. She shook her head. "Then go have with someone else... if it doesn't mean anything to you!"
"Grace...." Eli pleaded, but Grace was already heading out the door. She closed it hard behind her, and Eli sighed.
* * *
"Mom, Dad, Rick, Tiffany," Grace said, taking a deep breath. "You're probably wondering why I wanted to talk to you all together like this." Grace looked over her attentive audience. They were all smiling, not the least bit ready for the bombshell Grace had to drop on them. They had no clue that she had asked them here to tell them she was pregnant. Based on the looks on their faces, they thought she was going to tell them which college she decided to go to in the fall or something like that.
"And I just want you to remember that I'm your Grace, and I'll always be your Grace, no matter what. But, I have important news..." Grace said, taking another deep breath. "And don't freak out, okay?"
The smiles slid from their faces, expect for Tiffany's, who wasn't worried by Grace's words. Lily and Rick exchanged a worried look.
"Oh, damn, I'll just say it," Grace said, the obscenity slipping from her lips without realizing it. "I'm pregnant."
"What?" Jake cried, shocked.
Her mother gaped at her. Rick looked at her in surprise. Tiffany's eyebrow's raised, but that was it.
Grace looked at Tiffany, who she considered to be her biggest supporter of the group right now. Grace drew courage from Tiffany's calm expression and went on. "I know it's a shock, but it just happened. I'm going to have the baby, and I would really like your help and support. But I can understand if you aren't ready to give that to me."
"Grace! How could you get pregnant?" Lily cried.
"Things happen," Grace said with a shrug. She wasn't half as nervous or as scared as she was before she started talking, now that she had made her big statement. And, hey, she was an adult, and yes she didn't mean to get pregnant, but she was old enough where she could deal with it.
"Who's the father?" Jake asked. It was the question Grace had been dreading.
"Just a guy I was seeing."
"What guy??" Lily asked. "You haven't dating anyone in months!" Lily thought about it, her mouth dropping open in an O. "Actually, I don't remember you dating anyone since that Spencer kid."
Grace laughed at the mention of Spencer. She had gone out with him on one date in her sophomore year of high school. "Mom, it's not Spencer's...trust me."
"Grace, have you been hiding someone from us?" Lily cried out, upset.
"Well... yeah." Grace answered, edging around the truth. She couldn't tell them that the father was living under this very roof.
"Who is he?" Jake asked, pacing. He stopped and looked at Grace. "He better marry you!"
Lily was racking her brain to come up with a possible guy who could be to blame for this. She gasped as her mind hit a roadblock... remembering the events of only a year ago. With Grace and... "Grace, it's not HIS, is it??"
Grace looked at her mother in surprise. Had she been found out? Did her mother know that Eli was the one behind this? "Whose?" Grace asked nervously.
Lily paused, looking at Jake, knowing he was going to get angry. "Mr. Dimitri's??"
Jake looked up, fire in his eyes, "Oh, NO, Grace..."
Rick, and Tiffany, the only two had remained sitting on the couch shifted uneasily as they watched everything go down.
"No, mom," Grace answered honestly, "I haven't seen him since that day he left."
Jake pointed at her, "You better be telling the truth, because I don't want you to be marrying that teacher!"
"Dad," Grace tried to get through to him, "I'm not going to be marrying anyone. I'm going to do this on my own."
"No, you'll have our help," Tiffany added from the couch. Grace smiled gratefully at her. Jake shot an angry look at his wife. "What?" Tiffany asked. Jake looked away, shaking his head.
"Grace, tell us who the father is!" Jake insisted.
Grace shook her head, "That's not important."
"Like hell it is!" Jake cried.
"Grace, do you realize what this means?" Lily asked in despair. "You won't be able to go to college!"
Grace nodded, "I realized my plans will have to change, but I'm prepared to change them. I can always take a few classes at the tech or something..."
"Grace!" Lily complained. "You've ruined your life!"
"MOM!" Grace cried in disbelief. She hadn't expected such a harsh statement like that from her mother. "That's not true. I'm just embarking on a different life than you expected of me."
The four parents looked at each, wordlessly. Things were changing. Grace was going to have a baby.
* * *