The Talk

Chapter Three

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights or the characters associated with Strong Medicine.

Kayla stared at the dollar bill in disbelief. "Oh my God," she said. She read the writing on the bill again just to make sure she was reading it right. "Oh my God."

Andy looked at Kayla with concern. "Kayla, what's wrong?"

Kayla looked around her trying to see if Peter was anywhere around. "Andy, do you see Peter anywhere around?"

Andy looked around the diner. "Nope. I don't see him. Why? Is he supposed to be here?"

Kayla couldn't get words out. She was in shock. "He…he…." She hands the bill to Andy.

"Oh my God," Andy said. She read the writing on the bill again. "This is a marriage proposal."

Kayla had pulled herself together enough to drag Andy out of the diner. She pulled Andy by her arm away from the diner. "Yes, I know it's a marriage proposal."

"Is he really going to propose?"

"I guess so," Kayla said. She really didn't know what to think. She really loved Peter, but she didn't want to get her hopes up and make something out of nothing.

"How do you feel about all of this?"

"I don't know really. I mean…I can't believe he's going to propose." Kayla had no idea how she was feeling. She was happy, excited, nervous, anxious, and a little scared all at the same time. Suddenly, she smiled.

"You're going to say yes, aren't you?" Andy said in realization.

"If he asks, I will."

"What do you mean, if he asks? He's going to ask. He's already written out the proposal."

"Just because he's written it out doesn't mean that he's going to propose. He could be waiting for the perfect moment or until he gets the ring. It could just be a writing exercise like on Everybody Loves Raymond. You remember when he wrote out all of those eulogies just to see if he could do it? Maybe he's trying to decide if he's going to propose and wrote it out as a just-in-case thing?" Kayla held up the bill. "This doesn't mean anything."

"What do you mean it doesn't mean anything?" Andy said in exasperation. "Kayla, he's going to propose. Men don't just write out marriage proposals if they are not planning on proposing."

"I know," Kayla grinned wanting to jump up and down in excitement.

"Of course, I'm happy about this," Kayla said. She couldn't stop smiling. "He wants to marry me, Andy. I never thought that he would ever even give it a thought and he has." She couldn't believe this was happening. Kayla couldn't believe this was happening. She was so happy. Suddenly, her face fell. "What if he changes his mind?"

"He won't change his mind," Andy said. 'He better not,' Andy thought, 'or I'll kick his ass.'

"Well, what am I supposed to do when I see him? Am I supposed to hand him the bill and say 'I think you left this at the diner. By the way, I'd like my proposal now?' Am I supposed to pretend like I never saw it and act normal? How am I supposed to act normal when the man I love is going to propose to me?"

"You want my advice?" Andy asked concerned for the young doctor.

"Am I just talking to here myself speak?" Kayla snapped immediately regretting the words that had come out of her mouth. "I'm sorry, Andy. I'm just a little stressed. My period's late, I haven't been sleeping much, I'm worried about losing Peter, and now this whole proposal thing. It's just….it's a lot, you know?"

"You think you're pregnant?"

"Maybe….I don't know. I mean I've been late before, but not this late."

"How late are you?"

"Two months."

"You're two months late? Why did you wait so long?"

"Because I've missed a month before and have gotten it the next month. I'm two months late, Andy. I've never been two months late. What am I doing to do?"

"Have you taken a test yet?"

"No, I haven't. I've been too scared to. I've been hoping that it would come, but it hasn't. What am I going to do?

"The first thing that you're going to do is take a test." Andy took Kayla's arm. "Come on, let's go to the hospital. I'll give you the test. We'll wait for the results. And then you'll know for sure."

"You can't do it at the hospital. My name will be on the chart and everyone will find out."

"I can put it down as anonymous. No one will have to know."

"Andy, you can't do that. If you that everyone will get suspicious. What id Peter sees the results? He's going to freak."

"Is Peter the father?"

"Of course he is."

"Then, what's the problem?"

"I don't think he wants children and if he finds out that I'm pregnant, he'll leave."

"Peter loves kids and he's great with them."

"He loves them when you can send them home to their parents. Come on, all of his volunteering and mentoring and activism….what's going to happen to all of that? He's going to have to give it all up. That's not fair to him."

"What about you Kayla? What about how your life is going to change when you have this baby? It's not fair for him to expect you to give everything up...and Peter is not like that. He will stay by you no matter what. He's not going to leave you. If anything, the proposal solidifies his love for you. He loves you, Kayla. He wants to spend the rest of his life with you. I would imagine that would include a family."

"Andy, you're right. I know. I'm just scared…that's all."

"I know you are, but you could be getting all worked up over nothing."

"What are you talking about?"

"You said that you've been under a lot of stress, right? Did it ever occur to you that the reason that you've missed your period it stress?"

"I don't know…maybe?"

"Maybe you should go take a test?"

"I'll go to the drug store and buy one of those at-home pregnancy tests and I'll take it at home."

"Kayla, you're a doctor. You know how accurate those things are. The best thing for you to do is to come to the hospital and let me give you a test. You won't have to wait very long for the results and that way, you'll know for sure."

"What about Peter?"

"You really should tell him, but if you want to wait until you're sure, that's fine…..and don't tell him about the proposal. You'll only freak him out more."

"Thanks Andy," Kayla said sarcastically.

"What I mean is that you don't want to push him……I mean a baby and a marriage proposal is a lot at one time…..I mean, let's go to the hospital and I'll give you the test."

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