Chapter 2 Silence in a Moment

Samuel took Felina into the house and up to is room so Felina could get some rest. Samuel need to watch over her because Felina was not just care for herself any more, now it was her and the baby her had to take care of now. In his room he saw her on is bed and try to get her to come down.

"Shh, Felina. Everything will be all right," he said as he stroked her hair and rocked her.

When Kathy had died, he had consigned himself to the fact that he was going to be alone for the rest of his life. At his age, it was much too late for him to start over. But now, here it was a little over a year later and he had a new love, a precious new life...a second chance at happiness. And he wasn't going to let it slip away. Kathy's death had taught him that you had to cherish those you loved because you never knew when they might be taken from you. And as he looked down at Felina, there was no doubt in his mind what he wanted.

"Marry me, Felina," he whispered in her hair as he kissed the top of her head.

"What?" She looked up at him in disbelief.

"Marry me. I love you and our child, and I'm going to take care of both of you. I want you to marry me."

"Oh, Samuel," she cried. "It's not that simple." She had been thinking about that, too.

"Felina, what do you mean?"

She slowly pulled away from his embrace to face him. "I mean I can't marry you, Samuel."

The sight of his stricken face nearly broke her heart. "But why, Felina?"

"Because, Samuel, if we do get married, pretty soon everyone will know why," she said quietly as she laid a hand on her abdomen. "And you know what will happen then. Can you imagine what people will say when they see the headline 'Famous Pokémon Researcher Involved in Sex Scandal with Student'?"

"Felina, if that's what you're worried about, then I can take care of that right now. I'm going to go downstairs right now and write a letter to the chancellor of Celadon University resigning my teaching position." As he hopped off of the bed, Felina frantically grabbed his arm.

"Samuel, no! If you do that, then I really will be responsible for destroying your career. And I can't live with knowing that because of me you can never teach again, can never work with Pokémon again, having people say terrible things about you. Please, Samuel. I'm begging you. Don't." She was clutching his arm so tightly that her fingernails were digging into his skin.

"All right, Felina. I won't say anything." He sat back down on the bed next to her and took her hand in his. "But I still want to marry you."

"Samuel, would you be asking me to marry you now if I weren't pregnant?"

He hesitated for a moment. "Felina, I..."

She cut him off. "Never mind, Samuel. Don't feel as if you have to marry me because you have to." His hesitation had told her exactly what she wanted to know. "I don't want to have short-term marriage."

"Felina, I would never do to you what Ken did! You have to believe me!" he pleaded desperately as he clutched her hand. ( Ken is Felina's ex- boyfriend. )

"It's not that, Samuel. I want a husband who married me out of love, not obligation. It's not fair to me, to you, or to our child."

"But Felina, I do love you! What more can I do to convince you of that? To hell with my career! I'd gladly give it up to be with you."

"And I just told you why you can't do that." She laid back down on the bed and buried her face in her pillow. "I think you'd better go. I just want to be alone now." The entire day -- throwing up all morning, learning that she was pregnant, crying all afternoon, and now the disappointment in learning that Samuel really didn't want to marry her – had left her drained. All she wanted to do now was cry herself to sleep.

"I'm not leaving you, Felina. Not when you're this upset. It's not good for you or the baby. Please let me stay here with you. Please," he pleaded as he started stroking her hair.

With a sarcastic laugh, she lifted her head. "But that's how we got into this situation in the first place! Oh, why weren't we more careful? Why?" She put her face back into her pillow and started weeping hysterically.

But we were careful, he thought as the entire bed started shaking from her sobbing. Except...

Except, he realized, for the first time they had made love. That evening under the tree when they had lost control.

That must've been when it happened.

"Felina, please don't cry," he begged as tried desperately to calm her down. "You're going to make yourself sick again. You've got to think of yourself and the baby now."

As if on cue, Felina's head shot up and she began to gag. "Oh no."

He held her as she retched in the wastebasket next to her bed, but there was nothing left in her stomach to throw up. Between being sick in the morning and being upset in the afternoon, she hadn't eaten anything the entire day. When she stopped heaving, she collapsed limply on the bed.

He was frightened by how pale she was. "That's it, I'm calling the doctor." He reached for the telephone on the nightstand.

"No, Samuel," she said weakly as she reached for his arm. "I just want to sleep now."

"And I'm staying here with you," he said as he laid down next to her and pulled the comforter over both of them. As he held her in his arms, her eyes closed and her breathing slowed until Samuel was certain that she was asleep.

Oh, Felina, forgive me, he thought as he tenderly kissed her forehead. This is all my fault.