For the third time that morning, Nathan heard his mother run into the bathroom quickly followed by the sound of vomiting. Nathan rolled out of bed and reached for a bottle of water from his mini-refrigerator and followed Deb into the bathroom.
"Is it physically possible to puke as much as you have these past few weeks and yet still have a stomach left in your body?"
Deb looked up from the toilet bowl and shot her son an evil look.
"It's called being four months pregnant, Nate." She stood up and took the bottle of water from him. "I was much, much worse when I was pregnant with you."
"I'd rather not know" Nathan wrinkled his nose in disgust. "You're ultrasound is at 11am. Are you still meeting Dad after?"
"Yes. He thinks we're meeting to negotiate the division of our assets, which in a creepy kind of way, I guess we are."
"Mom, could you please not refer to my unborn sibling as an asset."
"I was kidding. I'm just really nervous. Your father and I didn't plan on having anymore children and this is so unexpected. When I tell him, the first thing he'll do is demand a paternity test and then he'll demand custody. It's a good thing that our lawyers will be there. It could get ugly."
"Are you sure you don't want me to go with you? I'm bringing you to the hospital so it wouldn't be a problem taking you to the lawyer's office. He's gonna throw everything at you, Mom. The affair years ago, being in rehab. He won't let up." Nathan looked at his mother, meeting her eyes. "I'm behind you 100. He's not going to win this time."
Deb smiled warmly at her 17 year old. She couldn't describe the joy she felt when she found out that Nathan had moved home while she was in rehab. She finally had her boy back and she was going to make sure that Dan Scott never hurt her son again. Or the baby she was carrying inside her.
Later that morning, Deb was leaning back on an uncomfortable hospital gurney as the doctor spread the cold jelly across her almost flat stomach. Nathan sat beside her and took her hand in his and gave her a reassuring smile. A few minutes later and a shape began to form on the screen above her.
"Do you want to know the sex of your baby, Mrs Scott?" The doctor asked , a knowing smile playing on his lips.
"Of course we do!" Nathan answered for her. "But first tell us if it has 10 fingers and 10 toes" Nathan looked nervously at his mother.
"Your baby sister looks perfectly healthy." He smiled at the awestruck faces of the mother and son before him.
Deb burst into tears as Nathan hugged her, smearing his shirt with the jelly. "Oh my God, Nathan, I'm going to have a little girl!" For the first time since she took the pregnancy test, Deb cried tears of joy. She was now actually excited about this baby, this new life that she had created. She touched her tiny bump and thought of the little girl growing inside. Her daughter. Not even Dan could take away what she was feeling at that moment.
Deb was walking on air by the time she reached the lawyers office to meet with Dan. As she and her lawyer sat across from Dan and his own representation, she smiled politely at them both.
"Why Deb, you look like the cat that got the cream. I wouldn't be too confident if I were you. You should know, Deb, that I'm prepared to fight you all the way on this. I built Dan Scott Motors from nothing. You could hardly run the place without Dan Scott." Dan smirked at his wife, waiting for her reaction.
"That's true, Dan. I really think that Dan Scott should run Dan Scott Motors. You can have it. I'm more than willing to sign the company over to you." Dan and his lawyer looked at Deb, both startled.
"On one condition of course…" Now it was Deb's turn to look smug.
"I should've known you would have something up your sleeve, Deb. After 18 years of marriage to me I would've been disappointed if you hadn't." Deb couldn't wait to wipe that smirk off his face.
"You can have Scott Motors on the condition that you agree not to attempt to gain custody of my child."
"OUR child is emancipated, Deb. That's a bit of a stupid demand, wouldn't you agree honey?" Dan laughed and his lawyer joined in.
"I'm not talking about Nathan."
The laughing stopped and Dan's eyes levelled on his wife. "What are you talking about?" He looked confused.
Deb took out the ultrasound picture the doctor had given her that morning and pushed it across the desk toward Dan. He slowly picked it up and stared at it, his face now expressionless.
"So the question is, Dan, how much does Scott Motors mean to you?" Deb smirked at her husband. You can have Scott Motors but only after giving up all parental rights to the child that I'm carrying. I'll let you visit the child of course, I realise that every little girl needs a Daddy. However, you will not have any say in how I raise our daughter."
Dan looked as if he had been punched in the stomach. "How do I even know it's mine?" he managed to spit out.
"You don't. All that you have is my word. I'm four months, you do the math, Dan. I'll give you 48 hours to decide." Deb gathered her coat and bag and stood to leave. "The chances of you getting Scott Motors any other way is slim to none and I think you realise that. It was my money that started that company and my name it's registered in. Think about it." Deb took one last look at the man she used to love before walking out of the lawyer's office.