CHAPTER 33

I 3 review and I 3 my reviewers!

LOL elodie, you're too funny: "I want to see Adam Pascal's butt." I'd like to see his too, as well as Cary's..

"Oh my god."

Jackie looked up from the barstool, where she was propped up and had her chin resting on her knees. "What's wrong?" She took a sip of ginger ale and set the glass back down on the table.

Mimi stood up and started rubbing her back. "My. back. hurts. so. fucking. bad." She groaned and attempted to stretch out. "It's like someone is stabbing it. Jesus Christ kid," she added, rubbing her hand on her stomach. "And you—" she said, pointing at Jackie. "You just wait."

Jackie shrugged and took another sip of her drink. "I didn't say a word."

"I'm taking a bath in the new and improved, fully functional we-actually-have-lots-of-hot-water-now tub. If Roger comes home, tell him I hope he inseminates himself next time," she grumbled. She grabbed a towel and slammed the door behind her.

Jackie grabbed another cracker out of the box and forced herself to eat it. She had lost three pounds since her visit to the doctor and felt like complete shit. That was an understatement. She felt worse than shit. Like shit's second cousin.

She stood up to grab a bottle of water out of the fridge when she heard the loft door open. "Hey," Mark greeted, dropping his keys and a folder on the counter before wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Hi," she answered. "How was work?"

"Work was work. You weren't there, so I had no one to bother all day," he grinned, kissing her before opening the fridge again. "Want something to eat?"

She shook her head. "Nah. I'm fine."

He eyed the box of crackers on the counter and looked at her. "You did actually eat more than a roll of crackers today, right?"

"I told you I don't feel good."

"You've been eating nothing but crackers, soup, and water for at least two weeks," he protested. "At least let me make you something?"

"What's the point of making it if I can't eat it?" she asked sharply, grabbing the box of crackers and putting them back in the cabinet.

"Just come on Jac, eat something," Mark begged her. "You've lost weight already."

"I'm going to lay down." She walked away and into the other side of the loft. She climbed onto their bed and brought her knees up towards her chest as Mark followed.

"Jackie tell me what's wrong?" he asked, climbing onto the bed next to her. "Why can't you eat anything or keep anything down?"

Jackie shrugged and brought the sheets up to her chest. "Because I can't."

"Jac—" Mark groaned, burying his face in the pillow. "You know that whatever it is, I love you, right?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Then tell me."

Jackie sighed. "I'm—"

"Mark get the phone!" Mimi shouted. "If it's the florist then tell them to shove it!"

Mark reached over and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

Jackie glared at him. She stood up hesitantly and reached for the closet door. She pulled out a sweatshirt jacket and wrapped it around herself as she held her head. She really needed some sleep, considering she felt dizzy and about to throw up at the same time. Before she could even make it back to the bed, her vision started swimming. "Mark?"

He looked up and held up a finger before continuing the conversation. She reached out for the edge of the bed. "Mark," she said urgently. "MARK."

His head shot up again and shot her a look before realizing that she was about to fall over. "Jesus—" He dropped the phone and dove for her, catching her around the waist as she leaned back some against them. By this time she was crying, lying there on the floor with him. "We're going to the ER. Now."

She nodded weakly and closed her eyes. "I'm sorry Mark, I'm sorry—"

He picked her up and kicked the bedroom door back. "MIMI!"

She came around the corner toweling her hair off. "Yeah? Oh god Jackie, what happened?"

"I'm fine," was her answer.

"You're not fine!" Mark shouted at her. He placed her on the couch and grabbed his coat and wallet.

Jackie cradled her head in her hands. "Stop yelling at me. Please."

Mimi struggled into her own coat. "I'll call Roger and Collins and tell them to meet us there."

"Mark? Hello? Mark, where are you? Don't leave your mother hanging on the phone like this…"

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"Sir, we're going to have to ask you to wait outside—"

"Is there a specific reason I'm not allowed to be in there? Or are you just all being assholes?" Mark asked. Roger stood up and grabbed Mark by the arm and pulled him into the chair.

"I'm sorry sir, we'll let you know what's going on when we have all the test results back."

The doctor left and Collins passed a cup of coffee to Dan, who passed it to Mark. "Just calm down, okay?"

"Calm down? You want me to calm down?"

Mimi rested her head against Roger's chest. "Mark."

"There's something she's not telling me, right?" He looked from Mimi to Roger to Collins to Dan. All of them had been trying not to stare him exactly in the eye. "You all know why, don't you?"

"Mark look—" Mimi tried.

"Just save it Mimi."

Roger glared at him. He had gotten extremely protective of Mimi over the past few months. "Shut the fuck up Mark. Do you realize how much of an asshole you're sounding like now? That's my job."

"She's keeping shit from me and I'm not supposed to be an asshole about it?"

"Yeah."

"That's bullshit. Maybe one of you should try telling me what's going on?" Mark looked to Collins and Dan. "Collins? Dan?"

They both looked at each other and shook their heads. "It's really not our place," Dan said quietly.


"Mimi?"

She shrugged and Roger wrapped his arm tighter around her shoulder.

"Roger?" Roger said nothing. "You all are a bunch of assholes and I can't believe I still associate myself with you. And you, especially." He pointed to Roger before taking off.

"You're a fuck, Mark." Roger stood up and walked after him. "You're being selfish. Your girlfriend is in there and all you can think about is yourself."

"Myself? You all know what's going on and won't tell me! Now who's being selfish?"

"Mr. Cohen?"

"Because it's not our business!"

"See? That's selfish. You're supposed to be my best friend."

"Mr. Cohen?" the nurse tried again, tapping her foot impatiently.

"SHE'S PREGNANT!" Roger screamed at him.

"MR. COHEN!"

Mark looked from Roger to the nurse. "What?"

"Dr. Rodriguez can see you now, if you can pull yourself away from causing a scene in the hallway," she said politely. Mark shot a look back at everyone before following the nurse to the reception desk.

"Dr. Rodriguez, this is Mark Cohen, the boyfriend of Jacqueline Ferrell," she said before leaving.

Dr. Rodriguez stuck out his hand and Mark shook it. "Is Jackie okay?"

He nodded and stopped in front of Jackie's closed exam room door. "She was severely anemic and dehydrated, both caused from the extreme morning sickness she's been having. We've hooked her up to IV fluid, which should suppress the morning sickness for now. She's actually awake and eating the atrocious hospital food, which really says something," he smiled.

Mark nodded. "And what about the baby?"

"The baby has a strong heartbeat and Jackie's around 10 weeks now. She's progressing normally, although we're going to need to see her increase her eating habits, which means no more living off of soup and crackers as she told us. You can try giving her small meals throughout the day and have her drink water and ginger ale. The morning sickness should pass in the upcoming weeks, but I want her to work from home until the second trimester if she can manage it."

"Okay."

The doctor wrote out a quick prescription and handed it to Mark. "Here's the prescription for the iron pills. Her OB/GYN Dr. Chesek is on call tonight and will be down as soon as she can."

"I can see her?"

"Sure can. We're holding her for observation until her levels stabilize, which probably means she'll be released sometime tomorrow morning. She'll be moved to a room upstairs in a little bit, but if there's anything you need just let the nurse know and she'll track me down. I'll be in to check on her in a few."

Mark nodded. "Thanks." He walked into the curtained exam room. Jackie was curled up into the fetal position with her back facing towards him. "Jac?"

She shifted onto her back and looked at him. "Hi."

He sat down on the bed. "How do you feel?"

"Okay. Not dizzy. And not about to pass out. Better, I guess." She looked over at him. "So you know? About the baby? And do you hate me?"

Mark stretched out on the bed next to her and shook his head. "I know. I don't hate you. Why would you think that?"

Jackie shrugged. "Because of a lot of reasons. My last ex boyfriend hated me enough to throw me down a flight of stairs. And there's the fact that we've only been together for a little over three months."

Mark drew himself closer to her and she instinctively pressed her head against his shoulder. "Jackie, I love you. I care so much about you. So fucking much. Half the time I can't stop thinking about you, and the other half of the time I want to be with you. I mean, I have you, right?"

"Right."

"And having a kid is like having me and you put together, so why would I hate you? Or hate that for any matter?"

"I don't know."

"We can do this Jac. Together. It's not going to be one-sided parenting. I'll be there for you—I'll take care of you through everything. I promise."

Jackie nodded. "You promise? Because you're not making me cry for nothing, right?" she laughed.

"I promise." He kissed her on the forehead. "How do you feel about it?"

"Scared, but happy at the same time. Really scared, I guess."

"So am I, but we can do this together. Seriously, I think it's about time that I started having kids. My younger sister beat me to it. Cindy has two with another on the way. Even Roger and Mimi beat us to it. I always wanted to have kids before I turned 30."

"Mark, you're not going to be 30 for another 5 years."

" 4 and a ½. And you're not going to be 30 for another 8," he reminded her.

"Nyah nyah," she teased, kissing him lightly. "It's a little cold in here."

He stood up and grabbed a heavy blanket off of the empty bed and placed it over her before climbing back underneath it, pulling her into him. "So Mom, whose parents do we call first?"

"Yours."

"Hah." He kissed her again. "You know I'm gonna get the speech, right?"

"I think it's too late for the sex speech," Jackie added.

"Oh you're funny."

"Wanna see how funny I can get?" she asked, playfully reaching her hand towards his pants. Mark blushed. "Oh yeah, forgot I can't do that for another month!"

Mark's mouth dropped open. "You can't? We can't?"

"Well that I can do. We can't do the other thing until I'm in the second trimester. Doctor's orders."

"I guess we're just going to have to find other ways to entertain ourselves," he grinned. "Hey, did you find out when you were due? And how long have you been keeping me in the dark?"

"I found out a few days before we left Sydney. I went to the doctor a few days after we got back and she confirmed it. I was 8 ½ weeks by then, and I didn't know how to tell you. Jillian and my sister were the first ones to know, and then Mimi, who told Roger, who apparently told Collins, who obviously told Dan, who probably told—"

Mark playfully kissed her. "Okay I get it. So basically the father didn't get to know, right?"

"Right. And I'm due December 15th. A nice Hanukkah and Christmas present, depending on how you look at it."

"Wow. This is really—really—I love you," he said, grasping her hand in his.

"Good, because I love you too. Now what speech were you talking about?"

"The whole marriage speech. My mother's going to rag on me about it," he joked. "Then she'll bring up Rabbi Himmelfarb."

"Oh." Jackie looked down at their hands. "Well, um."

Mark looked over at her. "I'm not saying that we have to get married—or anything," he blurted out, blushing once again. "Sorry, that was stupid of me."

"No, it's not. I just haven't thought much about the 'm' word. Not until I met you, at least." She nuzzled up against him. "I just didn't think I'd be pregnant so soon again. I was only 20 the first time around. I just turned 22 years old. I didn't think I would actually find someone to be married to."

Mark laughed. "Neither did I. Come on, I'm this geeky loser who loves to make films on a Friday night. There's something seriously wrong with that."

Jackie shook her head. "I don't see anything wrong with that. But seriously, we're going to have a baby together, so why not get married? And if your parents are anything like mine, they'll rag on us to get married until we're blue in the face. By that point, we'll do it Vegas style drive-thru," she laughed.

"Ohh classy. Very stylish."

"I know you aren't."

Mark grinned. "I'm glad you're feeling better."

"So am I. I just wish I didn't have to stay here overnight," she complained. "I feel like an invalid."

"Aww Jac. I'll be an invalid with you overnight. It'll be fun."

"Only if you get me a soda and McDonald's french fries?" she pouted, kissing him on the cheek. "Please baby?"

Mark groaned. "Alright alright. I'll have Roger sit in here with you."

"Oh fun."

He leaned over to kiss her. "I'll be back in twenty."

Mark walked out of the room. Roger was sitting against the wall making small conversation with Dan. "Hey, where's Mimi and Collins?"

"At the cafeteria. Mimi said she was starved, and Collins wanted another cup of coffee. How's Jac?"

"I'm on a mission to get her Mickey D's fries and a soda. I think she's better."

Roger grinned. "I'd say so. Want me to go sit with her?"

"Thanks."

"I'm heading to the cafeteria. Want anything Roger?" Dan yawned.

"Um, maybe a coffee. Yeah, coffee's good," he answered.

________________________________________________________________________

LATER THAT NIGHT

"Hey, you're home," Mimi said. She was tucked under the sheets in their bed when Roger came in. He stripped down to his boxers and climbed in next to her.

"Hi baby," he said to her. "Hi baby," he added, kissing her stomach as Mimi giggled.

"Pretty soon you're going to have two babies," she added. "Did you take your pills?"

"As soon as I got through the door."

"Mark staying overnight with Jackie?"

Roger nodded and wrapped his arm around her. "Yeah. They're supposed to discharge her tomorrow morning or afternoon."

"That's good."

"She was anemic just like you were."

"They gave her the iron pills then?"

Roger nodded again. "Yeah. I think so."

"Good."

She started rubbing her feet against his legs. "My feet are cold."

He reached for his drawer and dug out a pair of his socks. "Here." He reached over and put them on her feet. "Better?"

"There's something in the left one?" she said, itching at her foot. She dug around inside of it and started giggling. "Roger."

He looked over. "What?"

"There's a condom in your sock," she said, holding her side as she laughed. She unwrapped it and smelled it.

Roger stared at her. "Did you just smell that? You don't know where that's been!"

"It's new. I think." She shrugged. "Yeah. It's flavored, or don't you know?" She shot it at him and it bounced off his chest. "Oh my god! It's glow in the dark!"

"Yeah…"

"Sorry."

Roger laughed and propped himself up on his elbow. "You're cute when you do things like that. Laugh and use your imagination and everything."

"Thanks baby."

"We're getting married next weekend," he said suddenly. "Does it seem real to you yet?"

Mimi looked at him and linked her fingers through his. "It's starting to."

He kissed her and ran his fingers up her back. "I know. I can't wait."

"Oh, there goes the bad boy image. Out the window, man. Like man, I'm getting married to my girlfriend next Sunday. Like oh man, rock on!" she imitated.

"You are too cute. I don't know what I'm going to do with you."

"We can play with the glow in the dark condom? I wonder if your sperm glows in the dark?"

He grinned and started kissing down her neck." We could always find out…"

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NEXT UP: The bachelor party and the wedding!