Okay, I know you all saw this one coming. This chapter is from Terry's point-of-view, just because it's extremely hard to write about one's pregnancy from someone else's point of view. Try it sometime. I challenge you. D And a warning, this chapter is LONG. Sorry, but the fluff just wouldn't stop. I really should stop writing at three in the morning.
NEW GAME! There's a quote borrowed from somewhere hidden in the chapter. If you can find it, tell me what it is and where it came from, you get a big box of e-cookies and next chapter dedicated to you. Fun, huh? Humor me! ;)
Disclaimer: Sings La la laaaaaaaaaaaaa…don't own, please don't suuuuuuue me….I can't pay because I'm just a poor almost-college student that can't even pay for her colllllllllllllllege education……
Dedication: This is to all of you who wished to see Don 'do SOMETHING to' (Thanks, Denaliyasha!) Marie and Jamie (the cafeteria girls) last chapter. You really thought I would pass up an opportunity like that? LOL, just you wait.
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Each child is an adventure into a better life, an opportunity to change the old pattern and make it new. Hubert H. Humphrey
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"Lake, get to my office. Eppes, you too. Now." Merrick barks as he storms past my desk, looking mad enough to spit nails. I send Don a confused glance, which he counters with one that clearly says, What did you do this time?
I give him a quick exasperated look and follow our unhappy boss down the hall, trying to avoid the half-sympathetic, half-curious stares of our fellow workers. When we're safely locked behind the heavy oak door of Merrick's inner sanctum, he gestures to a pair of grey upholstered chairs standing before the imposing desk. "Have a seat, Agents."
We do as he commands, being careful not to look at each other. My stomach is sinking through the floor and my face is flaming; I must look like a flamingo. I can feel Merrick's eyes on me.
"I've gotten a disturbing report this morning." Somehow, I just know he's talking to me.
"A report?" I haven't been on the field for over a month, since the night I told Don I was thinking about quitting, and I haven't had an argument worth reporting with anyone recently. That leaves only one option for this, and I'm not liking it.
"Yes, Lake." He snarls. "Stand up."
"Sir?" I blink, surprised.
"Stand up, Agent Lake!"
I do, and my heart falls even more as I look down at myself. At just under nineteen weeks into my pregnancy, it's getting painfully obvious what the 'report' my boss received was concerning.
"Okay, I think my point has been made. You may take your seat." He folds his hands on the desktop. "But that's only half of it." He says as his knowing gaze shifts between Don and me.
A thousand words that would horrify my mother cross my mind. I feel like bursting into tears. I knew I should have quit when I had the chance. If he fires Don, too, I'll never forgive myself.
Don is more level-headed than I am, though. Thinking fast, he speaks up, "Really? What else is there?"
"Don't play with me, Eppes. You know exactly what I'm talking about."
Don meets Merrick's gaze squarely for far too long. A silent battle of wills ensues, and I do my best to stay out of it.
Finally, Milner looks away, glancing down to rearrange some papers on his desktop. "I'll be looking into this matter thoroughly. Until such a time as these issues are cleared up, I'll be assigning someone to take temporary control of your unit, Eppes." Don may have won the staring contest, but he can't win this war. However, there is something I can do…
"That won't be necessary, Sir." I'm speaking before I can even realize it.
"Really, Lake? And why would that be?" Surprise makes his eyebrows climb his forehead.
I try to speak, but my voice catches. Clearing my throat, I meet Don's eyes and plead silently for forgiveness for what I'm about to do. His gaze is hard, almost angry, but there's no going back now. "Because…because I'm resigning."
He blinks at me for a few long moments, and I continue, unable to stand the oppressive silence in the office. "I am not confirming or denying your report, sir, though I hardly think that it's relevant now or that it really was before. I am doing this because I believe this is what would be best for me and for my child."
"Do you realize what you're doing?" He asks, dumbfounded. His eyes are wide and practically bulging from his bald head.
I glance down at my hands, clutched together in my lap. "Yes."
He shakes his head at me, and the room is silent again for the longest time. "I won't try to stop you, then." he finally says, rising. Don and I follow his lead. "I'll expect the paperwork tomorrow, Lake." He says, his voice uncharacteristically soft and almost kind as he ushers us out his door.
Once we're in the hall, I find that I've got nothing to say to Don. I avoid his eyes, dropping my gaze to the floor and walking beside him in silence. He's seething, I can almost feel the anger rolling off him in waves.
Outside the door to our section of offices, he suddenly stops and catches my arm. "Clean out your desk and head home." His voice is angry, but softer than I'd expected. "I'll come to your place after work--early--and we'll talk about this."
"I know you're angry with me, Don, I'm sorry, I just had to do something, I wasn't--"
"Terry, stop. Breathe, relax. We'll discuss it later, I promise." His voice drops to a whisper. "I love you…now go, okay? I don't want you to get in any more trouble."
Knowing that he's still angry at me, I sigh, but obey. Twenty minutes later, my desk is clean. As I debate on how to pick up the heavy carton, it's suddenly lifted off the desk by a pair of familiar and strong hands. "I'll carry it." Don says, giving me an exasperated look. "You weren't really thinking about trying to do it yourself, were you? You know what the doctor told you…"
"Yes, Don." I huff teasingly, blowing a strand of hair off my forehead.
"Good." He smiles at me and I follow him to the elevator. Once inside, however, conversation freezes. I can't think of anything to say, and he is stonily silent. I play absently with the buttons on the front of my shirt, he shifts uncomfortably from foot to foot.
When the doors finally ding open, he exits first, striding across the lobby with a purposeful air. I follow, a knot of fear still tight in my stomach. Once we pass through the wide glass front doors, however, Don stops so suddenly that I nearly crash into him.
"What?" I whisper, glancing around for the reason. All I can see are two young women standing nearby, lit cigarettes dangling from their fingers. However, it seems that they are what has caught Don's attention, and not in a good way. One of them glances up, says something to her partner, and they both drop and grind out their cigarettes before making their way over to us, bringing a strong smell of nicotine with them.
"Hello, Agent Eppes. Hi...Terry, isn't it?"
I nod as Don answers, "Hello, Marie…Jamie."
"We heard what happened this morning. Did you really tell Merrick to go to hell?" The brunette, referred to as Jamie, I assumed by Don's comment, giggles and turns to me.
I gape at her, dumbfounded, cheeks flaming, "Of course not! I'm more professional than that!"
"But you did quit?" The other one, a tall and slim blonde with too much makeup on, asks, smirking.
"Yes, I did."
"Well, how much longer do you have?" Marie asks snarkily, sniggering.
"Sorry?"
"Until the baby, silly."
I'm about to give a not-so-nice retort when Don cuts right over me.
"About twenty-one weeks, right, honey?" He asks, giving me a sly wink. I nod, fuming silently. What is he getting at?
He smiles down at me, bending to plant a quick kiss on my lips. The girls in front of us are frozen, looking shocked and scandalized. I'm feeling the same way until I notice the devilish glint in his eyes…the jerk! He's playing with them! Suddenly, I feel like laughing, but I try to conceal it as best I can. Apparently, I pass, because the girls have no idea what's going on.
Finally, one of them--Jamie, the brunette-- moves. "You--you're--her…the…"
Don nods, "Sorry, ladies, but we've got to go, this box is heavy. I'll be taking the weekend off, so I suppose I'll be seeing you on Monday."
With that, he motions for me to lead the way to the car, and I do so, still shaking with mirth. Without explanation, Don drops the carton in the backseat of my car and plants a kiss on my lips. "I love you." He tells me, wrapping his arms around my waist and apparently content to just hold me for a minute.
"I love you too…what was that all about?" I'm bursting with curiosity…obviously there was something more to that story than Don being amused by a couple of airheaded receptionists.
He doesn't answer for a few seconds. Finally, he pulls away from me with a sigh. "I'll tell you later, okay?"
"Okay…" I make sure that my tone lets him know that this isn't over. "Are you really taking the weekend off?"
"Hoping to. I don't think Merrick will give me much problem." he answers thoughtfully.
I nod. "I'm going to run in and say goodbye, then…head back to my apartment, I guess." I force a brave smile, but the numbness is wearing off and realization is hitting me…I have no job. I'm out of work and there's no money coming in from anywhere. I know I told Don that I had a sizable savings account, but not that sizable, and no one is going to want to hire someone that's going to have to turn around in a month and go on maternity leave. There aren't many options now.
Still, I know that I wouldn't take back my decision for the world. Don is in no danger of losing his job now, and that's worth all the pain, hands down.
I follow Don back inside the building, ducking my head as we pass back by Jamie and Marie, knowing that we're the topic of their whispered conversation. I feel piercing gazes burning into my back as I make my way through the door Don holds open for me.
As we step off the elevator back onto our--er, his--floor, Don gives my shoulder a comforting squeeze. I offer him a watery smile and square my shoulders. I can do this.
As I step through the doorway, I see David, Kylie, and Charlie all gathered around my now-empty desk, talking quietly between themselves. Don and I make our way over to them.
Kylie catches me in a swift embrace before I even have the chance to say a word. "What am I supposed to do without you, Lake? I'll be overpowered by the testosterone!" She wails teasingly, burying her face in my shoulder, but I can sense that she's genuinely saddened by my leaving.
"It's okay, Ky! You're always welcome to come over to my house and talk out your frustration. Besides, someone's got to keep these trigger-happy idiots in line." I smile, hugging her. In just the few short months she's been with our unit, I've come to wonder how we ever got along without her. She's become the ray of sunshine that's made our team more like family.
"True." She pretends to straighten up and dry her tears. "So how's little Jamie doing?"
I huff. "Oh, haven't you heard? We've moved past Jamie. Too masculine for a girl, too feminine for a boy. At the moment, we're arguing about Alan slash Charles Jr."
"Just what the world needs. Another Charlie." David teases, giving Charlie a not-so-subtle nudge in the ribs. He then ignores Charlie's joking retaliatory shove and turns to me, pulling me from Kylie's arms and into his own. "You take care of yourself and Jamie Charles Allyson Christine."
I chuckle. "I'm impressed that you remember all of those. I will." I promise.
"Good."
Charlie gives me a quick, awkward hug. "It'll be strange not seeing you around here." He pauses for a moment, then smiles shyly. "I'll miss you." In his own sweet way, he has, once again, said just the right thing. I embrace him tightly for a moment, then release him. "I'll see you at dinner tonight." I tell him, blinking back tears.
"I had better go so all of you can get back to work. Work hard; stay safe." I kiss each of them on the cheek, Don included, swing my purse pointedly over my shoulder, and stride out, proud of myself for holding my head up high.
The drive home is hazy. I manage to hold in the tears until I am safely behind my apartment door. Then I curl up on the couch and cry myself to sleep.
I awake to the sound of my phone ringing shrilly. Without opening my eyes, I fumble around the coffee table for my cordless, "Lake." I answer sleepily.
"Hey, beautiful. Were you sleeping?"
"Yeah." I smile groggily.
"Awe, I'm sorry." He says, sounding not at all so. "Listen, I'm on my way to your place. Get dressed."
"Dressed?" I repeat, blinking.
"Yes. As in, put some clothes on that gorgeous body of yours. We have somewhere to be in one hour."
"Where?"
"That's for me to know. I'm almost there; hurry up."
"Dammit, Don! You know I hate it when you do this to me! What am I supposed to wear? Where are we going? Don! Don!"
I curse quietly, jump to my feet, and take off through the living room back to my bedroom, where I rifle through my closet in search of a pair of comfortable maternity jeans and an oversized angora sweater. Pink, of course.
Tugging my sweater over my head with one hand, I use the other to dig through the drawer of my dresser for a pair of black knee-highs, which I tug on under my jeans. Once that's done, it's off to find my mary-janes and then to the bathroom to fix my hair.
Just as I'm putting the finishing touches on my makeup, a knock comes at the front door. Grumbling darkly under my breath, I march off to answer it.
"This had better be good, Donald Eppes, or your--" He cuts me off with a quick kiss and produces a bouquet of lilies from behind his back.
"Lilies? In November?" I ask, delightedly taking them from his hands and hurrying to the kitchen to carefully place them in a vase on the windowsill.
"I'm just that good." He teases, wrapping his arms around me. "You're getting bigger."
"Thank you. You know, that does generally happen when you've got a growing baby inside of you. Not to mention, comments like that do wonders for a girl's ego." I nod, relaxing in his embrace.
"And you're growing more beautiful all the time. Come on, let's go." He releases me and places a hand in the small of my back, guiding me toward the door.
"Where are we going?"
"We are going to dinner." He tells me with a secretive little smirk.
"Where?"
"Give up on the third degree, Terry. Just relax and enjoy the ride."
I sigh and do as he says. "Fine, fine."
"Okay…open your eyes." His voice is immensely pleased.
Hesitantly, I do, and I'm greeted with a chorus of, "Surprise!" About thirty or forty people are standing around the room, looking very proud of themselves.
My jaw drops. "I--you--DON!" I exclaim.
He laughs. "I told you!" He exclaims to the nearest person, who turns out to be Kylie. "She thought you knew about it." He tells me.
"No!" I cry, my hands lifting, of their own accord, to cover my mouth as I'm surrounded by laughing family and friends. I hug everyone, then round on Don once more. "You! You knew about this?"
"Of course I knew about this." He says proudly. "It was my idea."
Kylie clears her throat, loudly, and gives him a pointed look.
"Well, Kylie helped. A little. And David, too, I guess." He admits sheepishly, and the pair smirk. "Were you surprised?" Don continues.
"What, my yelling at you wasn't enough of an indication? I am…I'm so shocked." I feel myself tearing up. To stem the flow of emotional tears, I give Don a shove, which sends him stumbling comically into David, and I laugh.
"Told you she was a handful." David comments cheerfully, righting him.
"You don't know a handful." Don retorts, rolling his eyes affectionately. "She's beyond a handful."
"Cake!" My mother appears from the kitchenette, carrying a large cake covered with pink and blue icing roses. Across the top is written, "Good Luck Don, Terry, and Baby."
As my mother cuts the cake up, I gaze around the room. It's decorated in the typical pink-and-blue crepe paper and balloons. The tables are dusted with silver foil cutouts of rocking horses, ABC blocks, and rattles. I trail my hand over them, picking up the tiny particles of foil, and smile, my head still reeling from the shock of it all. For the first time since I found out I was pregnant, I feel like I'm really going to be okay. Maybe…I glance at Don, who has a cup of red punch in one hand and a square of cake in the other. Maybe the three of us are going to be okay after all.
"Terry, Terry, open the presents!" My sister, Lara (whose own son is almost a year old now), makes her way over to me. Nicky leans over from his place on his mother's hip, extending pudgy baby arms to me. I take him and cuddle him for a few moments before handing him back to Lara.
"Okay, okay!" I laugh as Kylie pointedly hands me a colorfully-wrapped box.
A mountain of unisex baby clothes, a bassinette, a stroller, a changing table, a swing, and tons of toys sits before me by the time Don and I have finished unwrapping the pile. My eyes are moist with tears, and I realize that I don't know what to say. As I sit in front of the pile of baby gifts, Don at my side, my family and friends around me, I realize that words aren't necessary. These people--my friends, my family, my coworkers…they already know how deep my feelings run. I try to find words to express my gratitude, but after a few attempts, I give up.
"What is it?" My mother asks to break the silence.
I wrap my arms around my swollen belly, feeling the glow that has settled inside me spread. "It's a girl." I tell them all, but I'm looking at Don. "I just found out this weekend." I say, smiling shyly at him. He grins and kisses my cheek, looking at a loss for words.
My mother laughs, clapping her hands together delightedly. "I was right! Wasn't I right, Lara?" She asks.
Lara nods patiently. "Yes, mother." She chuckles, then rises. "Congrats, Terry. And you, too, Don. I'm sure she's going to be absolutely beautiful. As for this one…" She gestures to the squirming boy on her hip, who yawns, "I need to get him home for his nap. Give me a call sometime, okay?" She leans over to give me a quick kiss on the cheek, which Nicky mimics.
I laugh, "I promise. Bye, Lara."
Two hours later, the hall is clean and everyone has left. I sink wearily into a chair and smile fondly at the leftover cake and pile of baby gifts on the table in front of me.
Suddenly, a thought that hadn't yet occurred to me does so. "Don, where am I going to put all of this? It's never going to fit in my apartment!" I groan, mentally trying to calculate where I can put everything.
"Well..." Don pulls a chair out beside me and sinks into it. "I've been meaning to talk to you about that, actually."
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Hmm…wonder what he's got to say?
Guess you'll just have to wait and see:-D I'm planning on updating this at the end of this month, one more time, and then there'll be a one-month-long hiatus so I can work on my NaNoWriMo novel. Wish me luck, maybe I'll actually win this year!
Thanks to everyone who reviewed!
Review replies, after this, will be posted on my LiveJournal (www. livejournal. com / users / silaninque) Minus the spaces, of course. All reviews left here will be answered individually there…since I just learned last week that we're not really supposed to do individual replies here.
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