Disclaimer: I don't own Dirty Dancing or any of its characters, obviously; I'm only doing this for fun.

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Chapter 2

After the final show my family returned home to New York, Daddy went back to work, Mom resumed her busy schedule filled with charity meetings and luncheons and Lisa started working at an expensive boutique in downtown Manhattan, while I headed off to college all alone. I didn't really mind the fact that I was going to be on my own for the first time ever, my summer at Kellerman's had changed me in so many ways that I was almost glad to finally get out of the house and have some real freedom. My first couple of months at Mount Holyoke were actually pretty exciting, I was making new friends, really enjoying all my classes and getting to know my professors. Many of them already seemed extremely impressed with my work and it looked as though I was going to excel in college the same way I had in high school. This made Daddy extremely proud and in turn made me happy just knowing that the tension in our already strained relationship would finally be relieved.

In November of '63 I was asked to the fall formal by a rather handsome young freshman by the name of Scott Edwards. Scott had big aspirations of becoming captain of the football team, which really didn't interest me in the least but I was glad that he did have some goals set for himself and did not intend to ride through life based solely on his good looks and charm. And he did have plenty of that. Scott was tall, probably close to 6' 3", his dark shaggy hair hung loosely in his eyes most of the time except for these odd moments when he would run his fingers through it tussling it about and for a few seconds it would lay back from his face until finally falling forward and again finding its place covering his eyes. I think many of the girls thought he should cut it or gel it back to give him a more preppy clean cut look, but I sure didn't, somehow it was just the right touch for his rugged good looks and it set him apart from the rest. He also had the most amazing eyes, they were sort of a grayish blue color, but there was a depth to them that almost made it look as though you could walk right into them and never want to come back out. And when he smiled at me he would get this little twinkle in them that was nearly irresistible. Everything about him seemed to be perfect, his skin was perfectly tanned from the summer he'd just spent in Mexico with his family, his teeth were perfectly straight and white enough for Hollywood and he looked as though he exercised regularly, I suppose as part of his training to someday achieve his football dreams.

Everything about him seemed perfect, but for some reason, when he asked me to the dance I said no, "I'm sorry Scott, but I can't," I'd tried to sound as sorry as I could so he hopefully wouldn't get the impression that there was something wrong with him, 'cause that definitely wasn't the case.

"Baby come on," he smiled trying to convince me, "you can't study all the time you know, you are allowed to have some fun in college," he reached out taking my hand in his as my other was filled with books, "please."

"But I…" I stared at him blankly not sure what to say, I didn't want to hurt his feelings, but I really didn't feel up to going to a dance and especially not with someone other than Johnny. But I finally relented and with a smile replied, "you're right, I can't study all the time. I'd love to go."

"Great!" Scott replied happily, "I'll pick you up at 7 on Saturday then," and with that he was gone, I suppose he didn't want to stick around and give me the chance to change my mind.

I only sighed and headed down the long corridor towards my dorm room. I didn't know what was the matter with me, I mean, it had been over two months since my wonderful summer at Kellerman's had come to an abrupt halt. Two months since I'd seen or heard from Johnny Castle and two months since I'd even allowed myself to turn on a record player or the radio for fear of hearing a song that might remind me of him. I'd been telling myself for weeks that it was time to move on, I mean he obviously had, he hadn't tried to contact me so why should I be losing sleep over him? This date with Scott was exactly what I needed, I mean who knows, maybe Johnny was never "the one" and maybe Scott could be. I had to give it a try at least, if I didn't, I knew I'd drive myself completely insane thinking about all the what-ifs and could've-beens of my relationship with Johnny, it was time to let him go and I was bound and determined to do it.

Saturday night quickly arrived and I'd spent the entire day trying to decide what to wear and how to do my hair for the evenings date. Jenny, my roommate, had been helping me for hours and I think was beginning to get a little frustrated with my indecisiveness.

"Baby would you please just pick something, it's almost 6:30 you don't have much time!" She shrieked through the bathroom door at me, "all the dresses you've had on looked great, just pick one!"

"Ok, how about this one," I emerged from the bathroom in my pale yellow chiffon halter top dress, it was low cut in the front, totally open in the back and tied up around my neck, the skirt was layers upon layers of ruffled material making it one of my favorites to turn in, simply because of the beautiful way it flowed.

"Wow!" Jenny exclaimed, "that's a beautiful dress, where did you get that?"

"Oh well!" I began excitedly, but then suddenly remembered when and why I had bought that dress, it had been for Johnny, I'd bought it with the anticipation that he would hunt me down and show up at my door after we'd arrived back at home at the end of the summer. He would kiss me and I'd hug him tightly, then he'd sweep me off my feet and we'd run away somewhere together, somewhere where we could dance in each others arms always and forever. Thinking back on it now it sounds completely ridiculous but at the time it was the perfect plan, until he never showed up to get me.

So I decided to downplay the story and keep my dignity in tact, "it's nothing special, just a dress I picked up on sale somewhere before school started. Do you think Scott will like it?"

"It's perfect Baby, now come on!" Jenny grabbed my hand dragging me down the hall back to our room from the community bathroom. She quickly touched up my make-up, which I'd begun wearing as part of my regular routine since the summer and helped me fix my hair up into the silver clip she'd loaned me for the evening.

Before I knew it 7:00 had arrived and there was a knock at the door, "oh god!" I breathed nervously, "he's here." I could only stare back at my reflection in the vanity mirror wondering what on earth I was getting myself into, "was I ready for this?" I wondered silently.

"Wow, Baby you look amazing!"

I finally managed to free myself from my zombie like state and turned to see Scott standing at the door. Just seeing him standing there dressed in his black suit and white dress shirt with all his rebel-without-a-cause hair slicked back I almost couldn't breathe, he looked incredible, almost irresistible. My nerves began to calm as I stood from the chair at the vanity making my way over to him with a smile, "thank you, you don't look too shabby yourself." He only smiled shyly at my comment then held out his elbow for me to take his arm.

"You two kids have fun now," Jenny smirked as we headed out the door.

The entire evening was amazing, Scott was the perfect gentleman and much to my surprise, actually not to bad a dancer. I almost felt as though I were the queen of the night or something, all evening I noticed many of the other girls eyeing up Scott while they wondered what such a handsome rogue was doing with a bookworm like me. I think the old Baby may have been intimidated by such thoughts, but not now, I'd changed and grown in so many ways that their glances and snide remarks only made me more and more confident.

It was the perfect night, well perfect until about 11:00 that is. Scott and I were slow dancing in the middle of the crowded room when I suddenly felt this sudden nausea come over me, "oh god," I gasped.

"Baby what's wrong?" Worry consumed Scotts face, "you look pale."

"Oh no!" I gasped again as I pulled away from him and ran out of the room as quickly as I could.

I slammed through the bathroom door not even taking the time to lock it behind me and collapsed in front of the toilet instantly vomiting up my dinner and I think most of lunch as well. I don't think I'd ever felt so sick in my entire life, I just sat there on the cold tile floor for close to twenty minutes, just leaning up against the wall trying to relax. I was freezing and consumed with a cold sweat, my stomach was so turned into knots I wasn't even sure if I dare leave the room for fear of not making it back in time if I felt the nausea come over me again.

"Baby are you alright?" I heard Scott calling me from out in the hallway, "can I come in?"

"No!" I yelled, "I'll be alright just give me a minute." Just knowing that he was standing out in the hall waiting, somehow gave me the strength to stand and make my way over to the sink to clean up. Fortunately I'd managed not to ruin my dress but my makeup and hair was completely destroyed. I tried to repair the damage to my hair and face as best and as quickly as I could, but I definitely didn't feel up to going back to the party. So when I felt I'd made myself look as good as possible under the circumstances I finally emerged from the bathroom to see Scott sitting on the floor leaning against the wall just outside.

"Oh no Baby!" He immediately stood and came over to me, "are you ok?"

"I'm not feeling so hot," I replied forcing a smile, "would you mind taking me home?"

"Of course, come on," he quickly slipped off his suit jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders, then tucked his arm around my waist and led me down the hall and out into the cool night air.

Over the next few days my illness continued, every morning it was the same thing, I'd wake up and feel not too bad thinking, "oh good, I'll be fine to go to class today," but then as though my body heard me making plans to leave the house, the nausea would kick in and I'd spend the next hour in the bathroom throwing up. I'd missed three of my morning classes already and knew that I was starting to fall behind. Jenny would bring me my assignments to help me keep up as much as possible but I knew I couldn't go on like this for much longer. I needed to see a doctor.

"So what did the doctor say?" Jenny asked when I arrived home that day after my appointment.

"He took some blood and urine samples, he's gonna call me in a few days with the results," I replied throwing my jacket over the back of a nearby chair.

"Oh no!" She nearly shrieked, "does he think it's something serious?"

"I'm not sure, he wouldn't really say, he just told me not to worry and that he'd get back to me as soon as he knew something. I'm supposed to get lots of rest, he even suggested missing class for the next few days until he knows more, but I can't do that, I've missed enough class, I need to get back or I'll flunk out for sure!"

I flopped back onto my bed and almost instantly fell asleep, all this being sick and worrying about school was exhausting, I could only hope that it would be over soon and my life could get back to normal.

Three days later, which felt like an eternity, I finally got a call from the doctor, "hello?" I spoke into the receiver.

"May I speak to Frances Houseman please?" The womans voice was clear and sharp on the other end of the line.

"Yes this is Frances."

"Frances this is Jeanine from doctor Cardinals office calling, the doctor has your test results back and would like you to come in to discuss them."

I couldn't speak, I could barely even move, doctors only wanted to you come in for results when there was something seriously wrong! My mind was racing and I think I even felt a tear trickle down my cheek as I sat there in silence.

"Frances are you there?" She asked.

"Um yes, sorry I'm here," I managed to force the words out of my mouth, still stunned that the results were so serious that I would have to go in to get them.

"Can you come today? The doctor has an opening a three."

"Of course, I'll be there at three," I replied automatically.

The rest of that day was a complete mess, I couldn't think or concentrate on anything, the fear that something was really truly wrong with me was just too much to comprehend. What if I was going to die? I hadn't done any of the things I'd planned, all my goals and dreams would go unfulfilled, what would my family think? Daddy would be heartbroken. And what about Scott? We'd only been dating for a week but we were already so close, how would he take this news?

"May I help you?" The older heavyset woman behind the desk looked up at me as I entered the doctors office later that day. Her dark almost black hair was tied back neatly in a bun and peppered with grays, while her face showed signs of definite aging, the lines were well defined and when she smiled her dark grey eyes nearly disappeared into her many wrinkles.

"I'm Frances Houseman, I have an appointment with doctor Cardinal at three."

"Oh yes Miss Houseman, he's running a little late, please have a seat."

I sat quietly in the waiting room for nearly an hour but when the doctor finally emerged from the back hall and called my name, I think my heart nearly stopped. I followed close behind him down the long corridor toward one of the back exam rooms and sat up on the table waiting for the bad news.

"So how have you been feeling since I last saw you?" He asked.

"The same pretty much doctor, sick most of the morning and somedays well into the afternoon," I replied nervously, "please just be straight with me doc, am I dying? I need to know."

Doctor Cardinal immediately turned back to look at me with a chuckle, "gosh no," he smiled obviously amused by my comment, "you're not going to die, in fact you're in perfect health."

"I am?" I replied in shock, "how can that be? I feel terrible."

"Well that's normal, it'll go away in time."

Somehow this conversation really wasn't helping my peace of mind at all, why had the doctor asked me to come down here if there was nothing wrong with me, couldn't he have told me that over the phone?

But then suddenly everything became clear, "you're pregnant Frances."

My face dropped and I replied blankly, "what?"

"I assume you noticed that your periods were late?" He asked noticing my surprise.

"Uh yeah I guess so," I replied trying to think of the last time I'd had one. My cycle was frequently irregular anyway so I hadn't even noticed that I was so late, I suppose with school being so busy and all I hadn't had time to think about much else, but now that he mentioned it I knew he was right. I hadn't had a period since we'd first arrived at Kellerman's the beginning of August.

"Here are some information sheets for you Frances," he smiled handing me a stack of papers, "I'd like you to read through them and come to me if you have any questions, I'd also like you to set up another appointment with Jeanine before you leave, alright?"

"Mmm hmm," I nodded staring blankly down at the pile of paper that now rested in my hands, "uh thanks," I mumbled as I walked slowly out of the office.

All the way back to the dorm I could only stare dazedly out the window of the bus, I couldn't believe this was happening to me, what would I do now? How could I manage to finish school and raise a baby all on my own? What about all the things I had planned to do, how would I accomplish any of those? Then there was daddy, what on earth would he have to say about this? He'd be furious, I knew it for sure. My mind raced through all the 'ifs', 'ands' and 'buts' of what would come next for my life and that's when it came to me, I needed to tell Johnny.