Title: The Hardest Part (1/2)

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters (including Maria. She's made it quite clear that she owns her own damn self, thank you very much.) I'm just borrowing them and will return them when I've had my fun, somewhat dazed and disheveled, but otherwise in their original condition. Also, Maria and I have decided to keep Eric for a while, and we're sending Tim to Yana... Rating: Uh...I dunno...there's some language...PG-13, I guess... Pairings: Eric/Maria

Summary: "We have to tell them eventually. Might as well get it over with."

Feedback: Hey, you! Yeah, I'm talking to you! You're reading this, right? Well then review it! Come on, pretty pleeeeeease? It only takes a minute or two, and it makes my day. Besides, we both know you've got the time. What else are you going to do, work? Dedication: Yana, for, as always, putting up with my crazy self. Jackie, Tina, Mel, Annie, Dorothy, Nonnie, and all my other loyal reviewers, what would I do without ya'll? I'll tell ya what; I'd stop writing! And that would suck. So, thanks!

Note: A few people have asked me about the stories that removed. muttermuttergrumble They aren't currently posted anywhere, but if you're interested in reading them (which I'd recommend since they are part of a series) my email can be found in my profile. Do keep in mind, they do contain graphic sex scenes, so let me know if you'd prefer to read an "edited" version.

Other Note: This fic is a detour from my series, but still a part of it, since I couldn't fit these scenes into "Cause and Effect," or into the next story, "Whoever Fights Monsters." It takes place about a month after the end of "Cause and Effect."

Soundtrack: "Everything" by Alanis Morrisette

"So, you're really going through with this." Tim said, watching Eric straighten his tie.

"We knew it had to happen sooner or later." Eric replied, shrugging. "Might as well be sooner."

"It's a big step." Tim pointed out. "I mean, once you guys have done this-"

"Yeah, we've talked it over." Eric interrupted. "We can't very well avoid her parents for the next six months, and they're going to notice when she starts showing. We gotta tell them eventually. Might as well get it over with."

"You guys aren't engaged yet, how are they gonna take that?" Tim asked.

"Okay, that's what I'm worried about." Eric admitted. "I mean, you've seen her dad. And her half-brother. And, hell, her sister and half-sister could probably do some damage. And...well, Yolanda probably wouldn't do anything to me physically, but I'll bet she could have me deported or something." He closed his locker and turned around. "How do I look?"

"Like a dead man walking." Tim smirked.

"You're enjoying this a little too much." Eric chuckled. "Any advice?"

"Glad I'm not you, man." Tim said. "And, uh, good luck."

Eric nodded. "Thanks. I think I'm gonna need it."

I can be a nightmare of the grandest kind
I can withhold like it's going out of style
I have the bravest heart that you've ever seen
And you've never met anyone

As positive as I am sometimes

You see everything, you see every part
You see all my light and you love my dark
You dig everything of which I'm ashamed
There's not anything to which you can't relate
And you're still here

"Damn it!" Maria whined, tugging at the zipper in the back of her sundress. "I can't be getting too big for my clothes already, I'm barely three months along!"

"Calm down." Calleigh said soothingly. She stood behind her friend. "It's just stuck. Here, let me get it."

"Thanks." Maria sighed, sitting down on the bench. "I'm nervous."

"Sweetie, your parents love you, and they are crazy about Eric." Calleigh assured her. "They're probably going to be floored at first, sure, but I'm sure that once they see how happy you guys are about this, and how committed and in love you are, they'll be happy for you."

"It's not that easy." Maria said. "Yolanda is a senator, she's running for re-election. Her family is held to a higher standard, whether we like it or not. But there's no way Eric and I are going to get married until we're ready, we already agreed."

"And your family is just going to have to understand that." Calleigh said. "You have to live your own life and do what's right for you."

"Yeah." Maria agreed. She leaned over and hugged her friend. "Thanks, Cal."

I blame everyone else, not my own partaking
My passive-aggressiveness can be devastating
I'm the most gorgeous woman that you've ever known
And you've never met anyone who's

As everything as I am sometimes

"We're here." Eric said.

Maria nodded. "Yup. Here we are." She started to unbuckle her seatbelt, then stopped. "We don't have to go in. We could just take off, change our names, and start over."

"Too late, we've been spotted." Eric said, pointing to the opening front door.

"Damn." Maria sighed. She forced a smile and got out of the car. "Hey you guys!" She greeted her parents and half-sister cheerfully.

"Maria." Yolanda reached the couple first and gave her stepdaughter a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Eric, it's good to see you again."

"Likewise, Senator." Eric replied, doing his best to seem casual. "Hello, sir."

"Eric, Maria." Alejandro greeted his daughter and her boyfriend. "Ten-hut!"

"Daddy, chill, it was only funny the first ten or so times." Maria admonished him playfully.

"Yo, what's with the Sunday best?" Lara asked.

"Let's go inside, huh?" Maria suggested, ignoring the question.

"So, Maria, you said on the phone you had something important to discuss with us." Yolanda said.

Maria noticed that her stepmother was trying to be inconspicuous as she glanced at her left hand. "We're not engaged. Not yet."

"Oh my God." Lara blurted out. "You're knocked up, aren't you?"

"Well, I was going to put it a little more tactfully." Maria said, casting an annoyed glance at the younger woman. "But yes, I am three months pregnant. Eric and I have moved in together, and we're going to have this baby together."

"And I just what to assure you all that I love Maria more than anything." Eric added, reaching over and taking Maria's hand. "And I have every intention of marrying her just as soon as she's ready for that. Nothing in my life is more important now than Maria and our child."

There was absolute silence in the room for a minute, then Maria cleared her throat and shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "Could somebody please say something?"

"You mean you knocked her up and you haven't married her already?" Lara asked. "Damn, you guys really are a couple of sluts."

"Lara!" Yolanda said sharply. She took a deep breath. "Obviously, Maria, this comes as a shock to us, but what matters is that you're both happy. And it's good to know that there will be a wedding at some point."

"There will be." Maria assured her. She glanced nervously at her father. His expression was absolutely impossible to read. "Daddy? Are you...okay?"

"I don't really have much of a choice." Alejandro finally said. "It would be hypocritical of me to get upset with you two."

Maria shook her head, confused. "Wait a minute, what?"

You see everything, you see every part
You see all my light and you love my dark
You dig everything of which I'm ashamed
There's not anything to which you can't relate
And you're still here

"Hey, slow down!" Eric said, practically tripping down the front steps as he tried to keep up with Maria. "I think you need to go back in there and talk to your father about this."

"Get in the car!" Maria snapped, climbing into the driver's seat.

"Okay." Eric got into the passenger seat and quickly buckled his seatbelt, not liking the look on Maria's face. "Are you sure you want to be driving when you're this upset?"

"Upset? I'm not upset!" Maria laughed. "I'm a bastard! You know, you'd think that in twenty-five damn years, my dad might have thought to mention it. Just casually even. 'Oh, by the way Maria, thought you might like to know, your mother and I never actually got married.'"

"Baby, I think you're overreacting a little." Eric said nervously.

"Easy for you to say!" Maria shot back. "You're not a bastard!"

"That's not what Lara just said." Eric joked.

"Oh my God, this is funny to you, isn't it?" Maria abruptly pulled the car over and practically ripped the key out of the ignition.

"No, baby, it's not funny." Eric reached over and unbuckled her seatbelt, then quickly pulled her into his arms. "It's not funny." He repeated, holding her close as she started to cry.

What I resist, persists

And speaks louder than I know
What I resist, you love

No matter how low or high I go

"Eric, wake up!" Maria whispered.

"What?" Eric groaned sleepily. "Maria, baby, I know you're upset, but you gotta give it a rest or it's gonna fall off or something."

"No, you dope." Maria sighed, hitting him on the shoulder. "We have to get married right away."

"It's two in the morning and we're both naked. I don't think they're gonna let us in the church." Eric yawned.

"Eric, I'm serious." Maria whined. "My mom was twenty-five and unmarried when she had her first kid. Sound familiar? I've become my mother!"

"All right, that's it." Eric sat up and turned on the lamp next to the bed. "Babe, listen to me, I know I don't have any idea what you're going through right now. All I know is that it doesn't really matter that your dad never married your mom. You've said yourself that you don't even think of her as your mother. Yolanda's the one who raised you, and she and your dad seem like they have a really good marriage. And the truth is, they could have done a lot worse with you."

Maria sighed and leaned against him. "I know, you're right. It's just...I'm just in shock, I guess."

"I don't blame you." Eric admitted.

"You're amazing, you know that?" Maria sighed, moving onto his lap. "I know that loving me hasn't always been easy..."

"Not true." Eric countered. "Loving you is completely easy. Being in a relationship with you...well, okay, that's been a challenge at times. But hey, I happen to like challenges."

Maria shoved him playfully and climbed fully on top of him. "Well, the hardest part's over now."

Eric shook his head. "Not so fast, gorgeous. We still have to tell my family."

"Fuck." Maria sighed, slumping against him.

You see everything, you see every part
You see all my light and you love my dark
You dig everything of which I'm ashamed
There's not anything to which you can't relate
And you're still here

TBC...