"She says she's not leave. Dude, a chick is here."

I opened one eye. "Who?"

I heard him ask her for a name.

"She says her name is Purple."

I jumped up and bolted to the door. I looked at her and pulled her by the wrist into my room. "Thanks, uh, Pete?"

"You got it right."

"See ya," I said quickly shutting the door.

Mia stood in front of me with a big smile on her face. "Hey."

I stared at her bulging stomach. She wasn't hiding it anymore behind heavy sweaters. She had a tank top with a little American Flag on it. "You shouldn't be flying in your condition."

She rolled her eyes and took my wrist and led me to my bed. I had been resourceful and took two twin beds and made them into a big bed. Did it really matter if the kid down the hall who showed up half way through the semester had a bed? I mean, eventually we found one for him.

She plopped down onto the bed. "Be careful," I demanded. She did, after all, have precious cargo inside of her.

"Oh Michael, I've missed your protectiveness!" she gushed with a big grin. "Aren't you happy to see me?"

I knelt in front of her and placed my cheek on her belly. "You have no idea how good it is to see you. But what are you doing here? I mean, I was going to come to you I thought."

"Eh, bad idea. Grandmere and I had a fight. She couldn't understand why I was getting so big and why I wouldn't wear any tight shirts. I explained, or tried to at least, that I found it degrading to women to wear them, and Evan agreed with me. She started swearing at me in French about how it's almost like I'm pregnant or something and that if that ever were to happen she'd find a way to take care of it. Take care of it? Like what, send a mafia hit man after me and my baby? Oh please! So I'm starting to think that telling her isn't such a hot idea."

"So...she has an inkling?"

"No. I told her that I was just so happy with Evan that I was eating more than normal, you know like Daphne did on Frasier... But I've been hitting the gym so I don't gain too much. But enough to keep me and hte baby healthy. The doctor said it was okay. So, again, we're not telling Grandmere about it."

I took it all in pretty quickly. "Yeah, I would not think so....."

She nodded and squinted her eyes. "So there is basically ONE thing we can do."

"Run away and never come back?" I asked hopefully.

She gave me a skeptical look. "I talked to your uncle and he's agreed to help me give birth in a private setting....here in the city. He understands the privacy issue and offered to help me find an adoption serv-"

"What?" I snapped. She was not giving away our daughter. No. She couldn't.

"Let me finish," she said softly. "But I told him that you and Alex would be taking the baby for me. That you guys would raise her until I could explain the situation to my own family."

Be a single dad? Or wait, have a love child with a guy according to the public? Oh great. I love my kid, don't get me wrong, but I'd like it a whole lot more if it was with Mia. Not Alex. He's a great guy, but come on….well, he is kind of maternal. And I have seen him change his niece's diapers with the speed of Bo jangles. I guess that could work.

She wasn't being fair to me. How could she just throw this on me like this? "Would she get to see her mother?" I asked softly.

She shook her head. "Not until the wedding. We are being risky right now. Anyone could put two and two together here. I'm not going to leave this room."

I put on a mischevious grin. "That's good because I wasn't going to let you," I said leaning up for a kiss. "How long are you staying?" I asked, standing up so I could lay in the bed.

"Until after the baby is born. I'll stay for a little while but then I have to go home."

"How are you going to explain this to your mom? I mean, you can stay in my dorms for now but when I graduate…"

"I am staying in Evan's apartment here. It's really incredibly out of the way so no one will notice me. You could stay there too."

The thought of being in that apartment with her was…I dunno. Weird. Being in his bed where he most likely slept with Alex? Okay, stop thinking about that Michael. Stop it right now.

"Yes. We can figure out all the details later on over some take out. But for now," I started as she laid back next to me. "I have to tell you about something I read."

"Oh?" she asked with a knowing smile.

"I read in the book that a woman's sex drive gets HUGE while she is pregnant. And I'm thinking that Evan just wasn't doing it for ya, was he?" I asked, referring to What to Expect When Expecting, my personal Bible

She shook her head and held back a laugh. "And?"

"And I'm thinking you must be ready to burst. And that it is healthy for you, and the baby," I said putting my hand on her belly, "That I ravish you properly."

She giggled. "I am kind of tired right now Michael. I'm sorry. I haven't been sleeping well at all."

I had read that insomnia was also part of pregnancy. I kissed her forehead. I had only been half serious about all that stuff. I hadn't even showered yet. "Okay. I'm going to the communal bathroom to shower. You will be okay in here?"

She nodded as she yawned. I kissed her nose and then got up to slip on my shower flip flops. "I'll be back in a few minutes. Ignore anyone at the door."

I walked out into the hall with only my towel around my waist to find thirty of my residents staring at my door. "Hey boys, is there a problem?"

They all looked at one another. "Um, that's the first chick you've had around all year. What gives?" Pete asked. He was clearly their leader.

"So? Why does something have to give?" I asked in return.

"Did you just bang her?" another guy asked.

Pete nudged him to shut up. "Well, Dave, it's Dave right?"

"Yeah."

"Um, I don't know about YOU, but it takes me a little longer than oh, ten minutes."

Everyone laughed a little. "But who is she? Who knocked her up? Is it yours?"

I rolled my eyes. Yeah, I was really going to tell these guys about my becoming a father. " She's an old friend, that's all," I replied as I continued on my way to the bathroom. "Do not touch my door," I said as I glanced back to see them slowly making their way to my door.

She made herself scarce as my parents helped me move my stuff out of the building. She had bought a wig and went shopping for the afternoon for baby clothes. She knew I wouldn't want to do it myself, and that I'd probably buy clothes for a two year old boy.

"Michael, why is there a bra here?" my mother asked after a box fell and tossed the contents out of it.

Lilly looked at me with wide eyes. She wasn't sure if I had cheated on Mia or if Mia was here.

"Oh, one of my residents had to hide it when his parents came over," I lied easily. "I just never remembered it."

She looked at me skeptically. "It's okay if you had a girl over," she said finally. "At least you aren't gay."

Lilly burst out laughing, but hid it by dropping something on her foot. My parents went over to check on her and I retrieved the black bra from the desk where my mom dropped it. I slid it into my pocket to return to Mia.

Mia and I spent some time in Evan's apartment, alone, during the week before my graduation. I played her her song. "I hear music helps the baby," Mia said, rubbing her belly.

I put my guitar down and started rubbing her swollen ankles. "I do what I can to make my women happy."

She smirked. "For a guy that doesn't play anymore you sound good still."

I sighed. It was true. I had left the band and focused my efforts elsewhere. "Is it that obvious that I don't play much?"

"Naw, you don't suck that-"

"What?" I asked as she grabbed my hand.

The baby was moving, quickly around. "What...how...what does it feel like?" I asked, "I mean, inside there?"

"Like bubbles," she said with a smile. "She finally let you catch her moving."

Our dear daughter had been avoiding me. Whenever Mia felt her moving and she told me the baby would stop moving. It was really weird...her little foot could be seen in outline on Mia's belly.

And you could now notice Mia's stomach. She didn't have to hide it anymore. It wasn't big like you see in movies. It was pretty small, she had started working out when she found out she was pregnant so no one could notice.

But there was a little bubble. And now she wore tank tops...not sweaters like she'd been wearing in Genovia.

"Hey, do me a favor," she said when the baby stopped her show.

"Anything."

"Make me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich."

"I thought pregnant women craved weird foods?" I asked as I got up to leave the room.

"With sliced pickles and bananas."

I turned to her, "You, my girl, are lucky I love you enough to deal with such a disgusting combination."

She just smirked, "You are lucky that I love you enough to suffer through hours of intense labor and being ripped apart to give birth to your child."

I noted her sarcasm and shook my head. "I don't need the mental picture."