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Chapter Twenty-two
The days passed by quickly, and each one brought them closer together. Mark treated her like she was something special to him, and she responded to the gentle treatment far better than the harsher way he had been with her at first. But he didn't even think about the way he was acting; it just came naturally to him now. Home was becoming a far more attractive prospect than work for the first time in a long time, and he spent more and more time away from the office so he could take Piper out and have fun. The only slightly dark cloud hanging over them was the fact that Piper kept falling ill, and Mark was finding it hard to hide his worry from her. She refused to go to a doctor as she thought it was just a virus and would pass given time. But two weeks went by and still she felt ill. Her weight was starting to be affected by her lack of appetite and Mark finally took matters into his own hands.
"I'm taking you to the doctors office today," he told her whilst they were sitting eating breakfast.
Piper lifted lacklustre eyes to his and sighed. "I don't want to go to the doctors."
Mark smiled at her continued stubborn streak, even when she looked and felt awful. "It doesn't matter whether you want to go or not. You're going, and that's final."
"But Mark..."
"But nothing. You'll go if I have to carry you there, and you know good and well that I'll do it, too."
Piper saw the determination in his eyes and knew she wouldn't have a choice. She had been getting steadily sicker ever since her sister had visited, and it scared her to death. Her mother had died of cancer, and she had been sick like this for months. Piper was terrified that she had the same thing and so she had been too afraid to see a doctor in case he confirmed those fears. But now she had to go, and she wondered how she would cope with the treatment such an illness required.
Mark frowned as he saw the emotions crawling over her face and he stood up, moving around the table to sit next to her and take her hand. "Piper, tell me what's wrong." She shook her head silently and then lifted her eyes to his, not shielding her emotions this time and making him draw in a sharp breath. "Sweetheart, tell me."
"I'm scared Mark," she whispered, feeling the weight of her worry already lifting as she spoke. "What if I've got something serious? What if it's cancer?"
"Cancer? Why the hell would you think that?" he burst out, shocked.
"Because my mother died of it.....and she got sick like this too."
Mark shook his head and pulled her out of her seat and onto his lap so he could cuddle her, his big hands rubbing her back. "That's why you've been refusing to see a doctor isn't it?"
She nodded and snuggled closer to him. "I don't want to know."
"You can't bury your head in the sand, darlin', whatever it is that's making you sick. You have to know what's causing it so you can get better. And if it is something as awful as cancer, then we'll cope with it together. Okay?"
"Okay," she said softly, relaxing against him even more and sighing.
"Why didn't you tell me about this before now?" he asked her, looking down at her face and smiling gently.
"We didn't really talk much before, and I didn't know if you'd care or....well, I guess things are different now," she said.
"Yeah I guess they are. But you should have told me," he told her, feeling his chest tighten when he thought of her being ill. "Let's get this cleared up and we'll get to the doctors straight away. No point in putting it off any longer." He stood up, taking her with him and then cupped her face in one big hand as he gave her a reassuring smile. "Everything will be just fine."
For some reason, hearing those words from him made her relax as if he could really tell what the future held. She smiled back and started clearing the table, dreading what the following hours could hold.
*****
Mark guided Piper out of the doctor's surgery later and helped her into his truck, closing the door behind her and then moving around to the driver's side. He took a deep breath as he sat down and turned his head to look at her, finding her expression just as dazed as he knew his own must be. "Are you okay, darlin'?"
She nodded, still numb. "I......think so."
He smiled slowly and reached out to take her hand. "Are you feeling okay? Not sick still or anything?"
"No, I think I'm too stunned to feel anything right now," she murmured, looking at him and trying to gauge his reaction to the news.
"How about we drive over to your fathers and tell him he's going to be a grandfather in about seven months time?" Mark asked her, his smile broadening until it was a brilliant grin.
"I think I'd rather just go home, for now," she said, glancing at him and frowning at the way he was smiling. "Are you pleased about this?" she asked him, worried that he wouldn't be.
"Of course I'm pleased, I'm gonna be a Daddy. Aren't you happy about it?" he asked, frowning as he thought about how she might feel. He had forced her into the marriage in the first place and now she was carrying his child. There wasn't much hope of escape if that's what she still wanted.
"I....I think I am, it's just....it's a bit scary," she confessed, putting one hand on her still flat stomach and chewing her lip.
"I guess it is," he replied, wondering how to really get her to open up about how she felt. "I think we need to have a serious talk about this. About our marriage," he said reluctantly, knowing they had better sort out how they both really felt about their union before they even thought of bringing a child into it. If they couldn't be together, then at least the child could have two happy parents, regardless of the fact that they were separated. For his own part, he didn't want to lose Piper; not now.
Piper looked at him and nodded. "I suppose we do." She turned away and stared out of the window as he started the engine, feeling defeated. This was where he would tell her that they should get divorced, because he didn't love her and he never would. Then she'd be left to bring the baby up all on her own, with maybe a few cheques from him. The future stretched out in front of her drearily, and she wondered when exactly everything had changed. When she'd married him she'd hated the fact that her freedom was gone. Now she hated the fact that she might lose him.
She sat silently as he drove them back home and only realised where they were when her door opened and he gently lifted her out of the seat. When she was standing in front of him next to the truck, he smoothed his hand over her cheek and cocked his head to one side. "You look tired."
"I am tired," she said, her voice barely audible. She really didn't want to start talking about the dissolution of their marriage; not now. Any excuse that came up that would delay such a conversation was fine by her.
Mark grabbed her hand and led her indoors. "Let's both go and lay down," he said, drawing her up the stairs and into their room where he lifted her onto the bed and took her shoes off.
Tears misted her eyes and she quickly blinked them away. This was the gentlest and most caring he had been with her since they'd first met....and it had to be because she was pregnant. Why couldn't he just have acted like that before? She turned on her side so he couldn't examine her face too closely, and then she shivered as he lay down behind her, pulling her back into the curve of his body and dropping a small kiss on her neck. The extra attention only made her feel worse and she hoped he'd go to sleep soon or she'd end up howling like a baby.
******
Piper opened her eyes slowly and blinked up at the gathering shadows on the ceiling. Looking over to the window, she realised it was late afternoon and that she had slept most of the day away. After sitting up and yawning she noticed Mark wasn't anywhere to be seen and she moved slowly off the bed and padded out of the room. She could hear noises coming from downstairs and also the smell of something nice cooking, so she followed her nose and found him standing at the stove stirring a pan of something. He turned when he heard her soft movements and gave her a slow smile.
"You sure took your time having a nap," he murmured, reaching out one long arm and drawing her to his side so he could hug her and work at the same time.
"I guess I was more tired than I thought," she said, pressing against him and relaxing a little bit.
"I guess you were."
"What are you making?" she asked, looking into one pan and sniffing.
"Pasta. I thought it'd make a change, and you needed your rest," he said, watching with raised eyebrows when she stuck her finger in the pasta sauce and tasted it.
"It's good!"
"Don't sound so surprised," he said, chuckling as he stopped her from taking another taste and guided her over to the table instead. "You just sit yourself down right there and relax. It'll be ready soon."
As much as she enjoyed the attention, she couldn't help frowning. "Why are you doing all this?"
"All what? Cooking?"
"Being......well, being nice," she murmured, sighing.
Mark studied her and narrowed his eyes. "You preferred it when I was being mean?"
"No...no. But I at least knew where I stood then," she mumbled, chewing her thumbnail as she waited for him to speak.
"And now you don't," he said, pulling a chair out and sitting facing her. "I thought things were changing between us Piper. Don't you want things to get better?"
"I do....I've enjoyed..." she broke off and glanced at him, wondering whether to let him know how much she had liked his company lately. "It's been good."
"So why are you asking questions about my motives now?" he asked, watching her closely. She shrugged and didn't say anything, not wanting to confess what she was thinking. "Come on, Piper, you may as well tell me what's wrong. I'm not leaving this alone until you do."
She let her shoulders slump. The one thing she really knew about him was that he was like a dog with a bone when he got his teeth into a subject, and there was little chance that he'd let this drop. Well, why not just tell him straight out how you feel? she thought. "It just seems that now I'm pregnant you're being nicer, that's all."
Mark stared at her silently for a second and then shook his head. "And you think it's just because of the baby?"
"Well isn't it? You're never normally like this."
"Wasn't I being nice to you before I found out about it? Weren't we getting closer? Or was it just my damn imagination?" he asked her, ignoring her question as studied her mutinous expression and got angrier. "I just can't win with you, can I? Well fine. You think things were better before, then that's what we'll go back to. Here," he said, standing up and flinging the spoon on the table. "Get dinner ready, and be quick about it." With that said he stormed out of the room and she heard his study door slam closed.
Great, she thought. Way to ruin everything. But she couldn't help the thoughts running through her head. She was pretty certain that she had fallen in love with her husband, and she was equally sure that he didn't feel the same way about her. Even with the way things had been getting better, she couldn't be sure how he felt and she knew she would always be waiting for him to become an ogre again. She sat staring blankly at the table until the furious bubbling of the pasta brought her out of her thoughts and she picked the spoon up and moved to the cooker to stir the food. A tear formed in her eye and she blinked it away, frowning. She was an emotional wreck lately, and she didn't like the feeling. Rather than getting angry, she found herself near tears all too often, and the little argument she and Mark had just had wasn't helping. She sniffed as her eyes continued to fill and cursed herself for being weak. It didn't matter if they argued. Good God, they'd done it enough since they'd married, what did one little row matter? But no matter how much she told herself that, it didn't help.
By the time the food was done she had managed to calm herself down somewhat and she served the food up before reluctantly going in search of Mark. A knock on his study door went unanswered and she cautiously opened the door so she could look inside, but he wasn't there. After looking upstairs and making herself feel tired again, she hesitantly went to the basement door and opened it. The light was on, so she knew he was down there, but she really didn't want to intrude. Calling his name, she waited a few seconds and then frowned. She called again and still nothing and she knew she'd have to go down there. It would serve him right if she just let his food get cold, she told herself, welcoming the surge of anger that briefly flooded her system. But the anger disappeared the moment she set foot in the basement and saw him going at the punch bag with his huge fists. For a big man he moved surprisingly quickly, and he was currently dodging around the bag like a professional boxer. She couldn't help but admire him, and her eyes went to his big arms with the intriguing tattoos all over them. He wasn't wearing a shirt and she sighed unconsciously as she looked her fill at his broad chest and firm stomach.
As if he could feel her gaze, he suddenly stopped moving and turned to look in her direction, his eyes cold. "I thought you knew not to come down here?" he asked her, his voice low and angry.
"I only came down because you didn't hear me call you," Piper said, seeing he was still spoiling for a fight. "Your dinner's on the table," she said abruptly and turned her back, rushing back up the stairs as fast as she could. She didn't think her emotions could handle another argument right now, not after the day she'd had. First there was the worry of being ill, then the shock of being pregnant and now she'd managed to put them on a bad footing again.
She made her way back to the table and sat down in front of her own dinner, swallowing rapidly as she looked at it. Great! she thought. Now she felt ill as well. Mark walked into the room and sat down opposite her, pulling his own food towards him and starting to eat without saying a word to her. Not that she wanted him to, she thought, trying to take deep breaths that weren't too noisy so he didn't notice her. Eventually she stood up and fetched herself a glass of water, taking small sips to try and throw off the nausea. It didn't really help and she became aware that Mark was watching her.
"Why aren't you eating your dinner?" he asked her, his voice still harsh and the concern she could detect was obviously reluctant.
She shrugged. "I'm not hungry."
"You haven't eaten much all day," he said, frowning and looking at her plate. "You have to eat something."
"I can't eat if I'm not hungry," she mumbled, taking another sip and wishing she didn't feel so rough. She couldn't put up with Mark if he was going to be difficult.
"It doesn't matter if you feel hungry or not. If you don't eat, you can't nourish the baby," he said, putting his own fork down and staring openly at her now.
Piper put her glass down and wiped a hand over her forehead, feeling worse by the second. She just wished he'd let it drop, but obviously he was hoping for an argument. "I know that, but I can't force the food down my throat," she tried to explain patiently.
He stared at her silently, scowling. "Are you doing this on purpose? Is that it?"
"What do you mean? You think I'd purposely not eat to try and harm the baby? Why the hell would I do that?" she asked him, amazed he could even think such a thing.
"You tell me."
Piper closed her eyes for a second and then glanced at him briefly. "I'm not telling you anything. I'm not hungry, that's all," she said, standing up and moving to leave the room.
"Where the hell do you think you're going?" he asked, standing up and stopping her with his hand on her arm in a tight grip.
"I'm going to lie down," she said coldly, trying to tug out of his hold.
"You'll sit down and eat your damn food is what you'll do, girl," he growled, dragging her back to her chair and pushing her down onto it. "I'm not having something happen to the baby because you're sulking."
He pushed her plate back in front of her and she frowned. "I really can't...."
"You'll damn well eat it. Now!" he barked, holding the fork out to her.
All of a sudden it became too much for her and she dropped her head to her chest, her mouth turning down in misery. "Leave me alone Mark," she whispered, trying to stop the threatening tears.
He shifted slightly as he watched her, his eyes narrowing as he tried to decide if she was putting it on. He judged that she probably was. "Don't act like a child Piper, eat the food."
"No!"
"You want me to feed you?" he asked, prepared to do just that. His eyes widened with surprise when she suddenly burst into tears and covered her face with both hands. "Piper?"
"Go 'way," she gulped, hating being weak, hating feeling ill, and hating him all at the same time. The slowly mounting nausea became worse and she stood up shakily, one hand leaving her face to clutch her stomach.
Mark watched her and realised he'd been wrong; again. When would he ever learn to read the situation properly where she was concerned? he thought, rolling his eyes and then looking at her with very real concern. "You feel sick?"
She nodded and got a panicked look on her face as she looked frantically around. Mark scooped her up and ran with her into the downstairs bathroom, getting there just in time and holding her over the toilet as she was sick. He rubbed her back gently until she'd finally finished and then he cleaned her up and flushed the toilet before picking her up again and carrying her upstairs. Piper felt so awful that she just curled against him and cried, her face buried in the crook of his neck. By the time he got her to the bedroom he felt like the most evil monster on the face of the earth, and he sat down next to her once he'd laid her on the bed.
"I'm sorry, darlin', I didn't mean to act like such a bastard," he said, stroking her hair back from her face and trying to soothe her a little bit. He sighed deeply when she didn't answer and he felt even worse. "Piper? Baby, do you feel any better? Can I get you anything?"
Piper sniffed and wiped her eyes, giving him a suspicious look. "No."
"No you don't feel better or no you don't want anything?" he asked, studying her expression closely. "And I'm not asking just because I'm worried about the baby. I'm not. I'm worried about you."
She knew she shouldn't let him get to her, but she couldn't help the warm feeling she got from his words. "Me?"
"Yes you," he said, stroking her face tenderly and smiling. "I hate seeing you upset and I hate seeing you feeling so ill."
"Oh."
He smiled slowly. "Is there anything I can do?"
She sniffed again and dried her face, feeling a little better. "I wouldn't mind a cuddle," she mumbled, feeling inexplicably shy asking him for anything like that, but she needed it.
"Now that's something I can do with pleasure," he said softly, easing full length onto the bed and pulling her into his arms. He sighed with something approaching relief when she curled against him and rested her head on his chest. "Okay?"
"Mmm. Mark? I'm sorry I couldn't eat anything," she said tiredly, relaxing against him and feeling her stomach settle down now the tension was easing.
"It's okay darlin'. I'm sorry I tried to make you, and I'm sorry for what I said," he told her, surprised that apologising wasn't as hard as he would have thought. "Get some sleep, maybe you'll feel better afterwards."
"You won't go anywhere?" she whispered on a yawn.
"I'm not going anywhere, sweetheart," he murmured, holding her tighter and looking down at her face as she fell asleep. He moved one big hand and stroked it gently over her stomach, wondering what she'd look like when she was heavily pregnant. He couldn't believe that she was actually carrying his child, or that he was still acting like such an idiot when it was so hard on her. She had enough to cope with at the moment. Whatever happened from now on, he thought, he was going to make damn sure he treated her better. He never wanted to make her cry again, that was for sure.
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*****There ya go! Hope it was okay......maybe not long to go now on this story hmm?****