Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters; I just like to experiment with them.
Summary: What if Brenda really was pregnant in Head over Heels? What would happen to her relationship with Fritz? What would she be like during a pregnancy? The possibilities could be dangerous...
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-The story starts while Brenda is talking to Fritz in her office at the end of the episode, Head over Heels.
"So, are you pregnant?" He asked. She looked down awkwardly as her overly large smile quickly faded.
"How did you find out?" She asked quietly.
"Just a lucky guess," He answered. "Actually, I saw the test in your purse the other night."
"And why exactly were you looking through my purse?" She questioned him accusingly. "This is my business, and if this was just a false alarm, I didn't want to get you and myself all worked up!" She said, feeling guilty for snapping at him like that.
"Brenda, you haven't answered my question." Fritz pointed out softly. She looked down, feeling shame showing in her face. She could feel tears start to come to her again. Brenda took a breath before answering him.
"The answer is yes."
"And you were planning on telling me, when?" Fritz asked her.
"I was hoping for tonight."
"If you weren't pregnant, would you have told me that you might have been before the test?" He questioned her.
"Like I said, I didn't want to get everyone all worked up for nothing."
"I don't care if you were or not; I still would have liked to know that you were worried about it. You know, people mention this kind of stuff in a relationship." He stated.
"You're right." Brenda said with a nod. "From now on, I will always mention this kind of stuff." She smiled again, picked up her purse, and kissed him on the cheek before walking out the door.
"It's a little too late for that now." Fritz said under his breath.
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-It has now been seven months since that night. Brenda and Fritz have changed. The office has changed, as well as the people in it. Along with Brenda's pregnancy has come even more cravings for junk food, a lot of irritability from constant mood swings, and a lot of changes in the squad's behavior towards her.
The door into the office banged open. In response, everyone looked away from Brenda, afraid to infuriate her more than she already was. She stalked into her office, offended that everyone now refused to even look at her. She sat at her desk, a headache already threatening to ruin her day, again. Gabriel opened her door softly, closing it slowly behind him.
"Anything for your headache?" He asked her.
"By now, it's easy to tell if I've got a headache or not." She answered him with a smile.
"We've got a new case today." He stated, pulling out the police report.
"That's good! I've been bored stiff lately. What's this one about?"
"A girl was found murdered in her bedroom. The report states that she was strangled and then beaten with a baseball bat approximately five times in the head, and eight times in the hands and wrists." He explained to Brenda.
"Did they find the weapon?" She asked Gabriel, flipping through the pages of the report quickly.
"No." He answered flatly.
"Were there any traces of DNA from her attacker?" She asked him.
"They couldn't find anything worth looking into." Gabriel said.
"What was her name, and what part of LA did she live in?"
"Lydia Simonson, and the address should be in there."
"Well, if we're gonna find this killer before summer ends, we're gonna have to get a move on!" She said, snatching her coat from the chair. "And Sergeant…"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you very much." Brenda said, giving him a big smile.
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"Mrs. Simonson, I'm very sorry for the loss of your daughter." Brenda said, a large woman sobbing in front of her. "I can expect this can be very difficult for you, with it bein' so soon after her death. But, in order to get to the bottom of this murder, I've got to ask you some questions about your daughter." She stated.
"Both Tom and I have loved her so much, and she has accomplished so much-"The woman said before being interrupted.
"I want to ask you about what exactly Lydia has accomplished." Brenda said curiously.
"It's mostly been for her piano playing. She started taking lessons when she was six, and she's just been a wonderful musician since."
"Mrs. Simonson, can you think of anyone that was close to Lydia that could've possibly been jealous of her?" Brenda questioned. At that statement, the woman's eyes started to flood with tears again.
"N-no! Lydia has always h-had wonderful friends…" The woman sobbed. She calmed a little before speaking again. "All of her friends are great kids and smart and talented… None of them are messed up…"
"All of them have some kind of talent?" Brenda asked, a little surprised.
"Many of them do. They all have something going for them." The woman answered. Brenda looked down, puzzling thoughts clouding her mind. She sighed.
"You don't have any bad neighbors, or enemies, or anyone of the sort?"
"No."
"Well, I really don't see a lot here, but could I ask if you could give me the phone numbers of some of Lydia's closest friends?"
"Of course. Let me write them down for you." The woman answered eagerly. Brenda read over the report again, shaking her head sadly.
"Sixteen years old, Sergeant, and so much talent in her. I just can't get some of these people that are willing to take the life of someone so young, and having so much going for them."
"I know," The black man answered softly. "It makes me sick to see just how young and innocent some of these victims are." She nodded, her mind deep in thought.
"Here you are Ms… um…" The woman faltered, handing Brenda a piece of paper.
"Johnson. Deputy Chief Johnson. Please call that number I gave you in case you've got any questions." She responded, giving the woman a large smile. She and Gabriel quickly walked down the steps of the porch and got into the squad car. As he drove, he noticed Brenda had a worried look on her face, along with the natural fatigue and stress of her pregnancy.
"You okay Chief?"
"I'm fine, Sergeant. Just ready to get home."
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When Brenda closed the door to her office, she quickly sat in her chair and let her head fall back. Exhausted, she was. She groaned when her phone rang right when she was ready to fall asleep.
"Deputy Chief Johnson's office. Brenda Johnson here."
"Hey, it's me." Fritz was calling her.
"Oh, hey. I was just getting ready to go home."
"Brenda, we really need to talk."
"About what?" She was confused as to what he meant.
"I've noticed that we've started to drift apart lately." He explained. She sighed with regret.
"Fritz, if I've been a bitch to you lately, I truly am sorry-"
"No. You've become obsessive with work. I don't see you… I worry about you, and with all the stress I'm under right now with my job, worrying about you is almost too much." He said softly. She stifled a small sob. She took a breath before answering him.
"Fritz, you have to know how crazy about you I am…"
"I know Brenda; trust me, I know. But I just don't feel close to you anymore, and I'm honestly not ready to raise a child with you." Brenda's hands shook at his last statement. "Are you there?" She shook her head as tears blinded her. She violently slammed down the phone with a large amount of force before grabbing her purse and almost running to her car so she could break down without shame.
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All that next week, Brenda went through all of the suspects she could think of, and none of them seemed to have a reason to killing Lydia. All that next week as well, she was not able to hide her anguish from Fritz leaving her from everyone. Thursday, she was looking over some of the suspects with Daniels, Gabriel, and Tao.
"I don't know why this case is gettin' so hard, but I just can't figure who would've murdered an innocent sixteen year-old girl." Brenda said, frustration showing in her face.
"You asked her mother if there were any enemies." Daniels stated.
"Yes. We've gone through everyone that could possibly be associated with Lydia. It seems like we're missing someone, but everyone seems clean." Gabriel said.
"Wait a minute." Brenda interrupted, an idea flashing in her mind. "Her hands and wrists were hit the most with the baseball bat."
"The killer wanted to make sure she couldn't use her hands to resist." Tao said.
"No. From what the report said, her hands were hit after her head."
"Then it had to be someone that didn't like her piano playing." Daniels said, catching on to what Brenda was getting at.
"Whoever this was, they wanted to make sure that she never played piano again; dead, alive, or in heaven." Brenda stated. "One of Lydia's friends mentioned that another one of her friends was secretly sick with envy for Lydia's piano playin'."
"Who?" Gabriel asked.
"Her only best friend." She said, breathing in when she realized who it was.
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After the squad looked more into Lydia's best friend, Brittany Altop, they finally got a break in the case. No longer would they have to be at the office late, looking over suspects and evidence over and over again. As Brenda was getting ready to go home, Gabriel walked into her office.
"Chief, Pope wants to see you in his office."
"Okay, tell him I'll be there in a few minutes." She answered while gathering her things together. After shutting her computer down and locking her door, she went to Will's office and quietly knocked. "You wanted to see me?"
"Yes. Please, sit." He answered her. "Brenda, I think I owe you an apology."
"For what? You've not done anything wrong."
"Yes, I have. When you came to me seven months ago about your pregnancy, I didn't even want to listen to you. If we're ever going to be comfortable with each other again, I want to know what is bothering you. A working profile, you know?" The man stated. He looked at her, sorrow showing in his blue eyes.
"There is nothing bothering me." She said forcefully.
"Oh, please. I've noticed- actually, everyone has noticed, you've being more… well… of a bitch this week, and I'm sorry to say this-"
"Do you really want to know, that bad?"
"Please."
"Fritz broke up with me." Brenda stated softly. Will looked up at her with shock in his eyes.
"Brenda, I'm very sorry to hear that." She wasn't really listening to his comments as she told him the entire story.
"And you know, the worst part of it is the fact that he was just willin' to leave me to have this child alone, raise it alone, and be with it, alone. That was one of his, "reasons" to leave me. He didn't feel ready to raise a child with me." She said, shaking her head with disgust. "He had all of his stuff out in two days."
"I'm surprised Fritz would do something like this; I believe you, of course, but I thought he was better than that."
"So did I. This shows just how much more luck I have with men than before." Brenda stated bitterly. Will looked down, knowing she meant the luck she had with him as well.
"Brenda, you know that the relationship we had wasn't going to work, right?"
"Of course I do. You were married, and… You're right. It couldn't have worked." She said, starting to feel more trusting with him than she had in a long time.
"Good. I do think you are a little eccentric, but no one would ever deserve the treatment you've received from men." He explained to her, a smile coming to his serious face. Brenda nodded, comforted by the fact that this man agreed with her.
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A young girl walked into the office, carrying a purse and a handwritten address.
"Hi. My name is Brittany Altop, and I'm here for an interview with someone." She said. Gabriel nodded and led her into the interrogation room. "Are you going to interview me?" The girl asked.
"No. Deputy Chief Johnson is." He explained.
"Is that the lady with the southern accent?"
"Yeah. That's her." He then shut the door and knocked on Brenda's door. "Chief?"
"Yes Sergeant?" Brenda responded absentmindedly.
"Brittany Altop is here. She's in the interrogation room right now."
"Okay! I just need to finish filling out these papers, and I'll be right there." She answered. Once finished with her task, she quickly walked to the room Brittany was in. "Well, hello there!" She stated, her southern charm showing through her warm smile.
"Hi. I think I met you the last time I was here." Brittany said, smiling with ease. Brenda sat in a chair and started writing some information on a piece of paper.
"Okay, Brittany. I know I've seen you once before, but I just need to verify a few things."
"That's fine. Did I do something wrong the last time?" The girl asked innocently.
"Oh, no. Everything you said was just fine and dandy, except for one thing that I'm a little confused about." Brenda answered. "You said before that Lydia's boyfriend was in LA the night she was found murdered."
"Yes, that's right."
"Well, that's not possible, because Micheal was in Montana with his parents a week before that night, during that night, and the week after as well. He and his parents signed to verify that statement. Now, why did you say that he was in town?" Brenda asked, her sweet southern charm quickly leaving her interrogation.
"I'm very sorry that I said that. I thought that I saw his car a few times when I was driving to work this week, but it must have been someone else."
"Oh, I see." Brenda said, her head nodding. She knew that Brittany trusted her, and it was now time to draw her into the trap. "Brittany, I want to know something. How long have you been best friends with Lydia?"
"Since first grade." The girl answered.
"And, how long have you taken piano lessons?"
"Also since first grade."
"I've found that Lydia started taking lessons the same time as you, and from the same teacher too. You must've gotten to know each other pretty quickly."
"Oh yes. She and I have done many of the same things since we first met." Brittany answered.
"So, you've both played the same amount of time and you've stayed at the same level. Has there ever been any competition between you two?" Brenda asked sweetly.
"Well, yes. Because we were at the same level and age, there's always been a little competition."
"And there hasn't been anything, like jealousy maybe?" Brenda questioned slyly.
"No. We've always been happy for whatever each of us has accomplished." Brittany said, getting a little impatient.
"Well, one of Lydia's friends I talked to claimed that there was some jealousy, mainly coming from you." Brenda stated. "This person said, quote, "Brittany has never shown happiness, enthusiasm, or even interest into what Lydia has done. Sometimes, she even gets mad." Now tell me why this person would say this."
"Who was it?" Brittany asked, slight distress sounding in her voice.
"This person preferred that their profile not be disclosed. Answer the question." Brenda said.
"I don't know why this person said this, but I have never been jealous of Lydia."
"I'm surprised!" Brenda said, her southern charm coming back into the tone of her voice. "With you being at the same level, and, according to your teacher, playing the same music as her, I wouldn't understand why you wouldn't get any attention at all." Brittany looked down, and Brenda could see that her confession was imminent. "I've listened to recordings of both you and Lydia, and although I'm no musical genius myself, I never heard a difference in both of your playing. Why would she get so much recognition?"
"I don't know." Brittany responded quietly.
"Let's talk about the scholarship Lydia received." Brenda suggested. "How and when did you hear about it?"
"At the recital on the Sunday after guild, our piano teacher announced that Lydia received the scholarship."
"But didn't it just tork you to know that when you work just as hard as Lydia, if not harder, you play the same music, and both of you being at the same level, she got that scholarship instead of you?" Brenda questioned.
"I wasn't mad-" Brittany's voice was starting to rise.
"When you learned about it, you were so upset with yourself, and Lydia too, and you knew that you would never be able to get ahead of her."
"She was my best friend-"
"You knew the only way you could ever get ahead of her would be if she quit, and you knew that would never happen. You knew the only other way would be for her to die."
"No!-"
"That night, you snuck to Lydia's house, you went up to her room, and you attempted to strangle her. When she was still alive, you found a baseball bat-"
"I didn't do anything to her!"
"You hit her five times in the head, and just to make sure she could never play again, hit her hands and wrists eight times. That's what gave you away to me-"
"Stop it!" Brittany screamed. "You have no idea what it's like when whatever you do, someone can always do better and get rewarded for it! If I make all-district, she makes all-state. If I get a superior rating at guild, she gets a superior plus rating. If I get high honors on my report card, she gets straight A's. I could never win, or do anything to be better than her! I felt like I should just die because she would always be better than me! It was either me or her! I didn't know what to do!" The girl yelled, getting right in Brenda's face. Brittany shook her head and sat in a chair and sobbed with her head in her hands. She looked up tearfully, and said, "What's going to happen to me?"
"Brittany, I'm gonna charge you with man-slaughter 2, because it sounds like you were suffering from depression. You'll probably get five to ten years at the most." Brenda explained softly. "And once you go on trial, I advise you to plead guilty. Being proven guilty on trial is one of the most horrible experiences you'll ever have."
"Thank you." The girl said sadly.
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Once the charges were confirmed and all of the information signed, Brenda let out a sigh of relief. Afterwords, Gabriel and she sat talking in her office.
"I still couldn't believe it was her best friend, Chief." The black man stated.
"Sometimes, Sergeant, there's more than meets the eye with best friends." She said, nodding. "But, my eyes are telling me that I need to get home."
"Alrighty." He said, getting up from the chair he was sitting in. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, Chief." After he walked out of her office, Brenda started getting her things together and turned her computer off. For some reason, she felt a little bit jittery, but she thought it was just from the fatigue she was feeling. As she drove home, her hands shook rather badly on the steering wheel. After unlocking the door to her house, turning the lights on, and turning the heat on, she let out a breath of pleasure as her extremely uncomfortable shoes came off of her throbbing feet. As she was changing into her pajamas, she felt sever pain erupt from her lower abdomen. Brenda almost collapsed onto the floor from the sudden eruption of pain. After breathing in heavily for a minute, and with the pain dying away, she shook her head and thought that it was nothing. Then suddenly, it wracked through her small body again. As she attempted to recover from a third pain, she knew something was happening. She went to her phone as quickly as she could and dialed the first number that came to mind.
"Will Pope here." The man answered.
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Will quickly drove through the traffic and followed Brenda's directions to her home as accurately as he could. As he slowly drove through the neighborhood, he pulled into her driveway once he saw her car. He quickly got out of his vehicle and knocked on the front door, feeling a little awkward doing so at eleven o'clock at night. Brenda answered, letting him come in. Will started to worry when he saw how afraid she seemed. She spoke quickly, hoping to get it all in before another pain.
"Brenda, how long have you been pregnant?" He asked her.
"About eight and a half months."
"Do you think, maybe, that these pains could be contractions?"
"I don't know!" She exclaimed. "I have no idea what is going on or what to do."
"What hospital do you go to?" He asked. She cringed as another contraction to hold of her.
"The one closest to here." Brenda explained after, breathing in deeply.
"Do you have a bag?" Will asked her.
"I think I've got one in my closet." She said.
"Alright. Go out to my car, and I'll get your bag." He said quickly. She walked out as briskly as she could, but started to feel tears of distress come when she got into Will's car. "Brenda, listen to me." He got into the car and threw the bag into the backseat. "You've just got to stay calm."
"Okay." She responded. Once they arrived at the hospital and got a room, she was able to become somewhat calm. After about an hour of horrible contractions, her doctor finally gave her some drugs to ease the pain.
"So, what did the rest of them say when you walked out?" Brenda asked Will.
"Well, they were looking at me kind of strangely, but they didn't say anything."
"I'm surprised. They want to know everything else that goes on in that office-"
"Brenda?" Her doctor came in. "How are you feeling right now?"
"I'm feelin' a lot better since you gave me that drug."
"I bet you do. I'm sorry to tell you this, but it's sure not going to help when you're having your baby, which should be pretty soon." The woman explained. "And sir, are you the father?"
"Um, no." Will responded awkwardly.
"The father isn't going to be here for this, but this is Will, and he's gonna help get me through it." Brenda said brightly.
"Okay, that's fine." The doctor said with a smile. "We're going to have to start some pushing in about ten minutes, okay?" The doctor said. Brenda nodded nervously.
"Are you scared?" Will asked her, somewhat amused.
"Like you wouldn't believe." She responded, shaking her head vigorously.
"Don't be. It's going to take about five minutes, and then it will all be over." He assured her.
"How do you know so much about it?"
"I've been through it twice."
"Oh." She said, nodding with approval. She suddenly felt a different pain, more in the place that she feared. The doctor then walked into the room again.
"Well, how do you feel?" The woman asked.
"Scared to death." Brenda answered shakily. Once the doctor got her into the pushing, Brenda wanted to stop immediately. The pain she had started to feel slowly got worse and more intense. When she thought she couldn't take it, she vaguely heard someone say something about a head. When the pain got even worse than that, Brenda screamed and threw her head back onto the pillow. Suddenly, the pain stopped completely. As she came back to reality, no one was saying anything. "W-what's goin' on?" She asked. When she looked at Will, Brenda started to panic. No crying of a baby filled her ears, or sounds that she heard in movies. The doctors and nurses took the baby into another room, and Will wrapped his arms around Brenda. "What's wrong? There's something wrong…" She said, a few tears coming to her eyes. The doctors then brought a pink bundle to Brenda. She took it, her eyes filling with happiness at seeing her new daughter.
"I've never seen many babies that don't cry." The doctor said softly.
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After that night, Brenda took a few weeks off to get used to the baby, and her mother came to help her. It was established that her mother would stay in LA with Brenda for a year to help take care of the baby. The first day of getting ready for work for over two weeks was a pleasurable one for Brenda. She smiled when she found that her old clothing still fit her. As she walked into the office, the entire squad looked at her and gave her one of the warmest smiles that she had ever seen since working there.
"So…" Gabriel inquired. "Is it… a girl, or a boy?" Brenda smiled at him.
"A girl." She answered softly.
"And her name is what?" Daniels asked her.
"Lydia."
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THE END
Yes, yes, I know the breakup was horrible. I'm not particularly crazy about Fritz, but that's just my opinion. I've worked hard on this story, and I know it got a little bit lengthy, but please review!