Author's note: Belated? Yes. My apologies. Its gonna get fluffy for a bit. The calm before the storm. Heh. Sorry it took so long, GoddessLaughs.

Chapter VI

She was throwing up again, more violent than last morning. Murphy twisted her hair back, brushing wisps of curls from the back of her neck. "What did you have last night?"

Two beers. One when they got there and the one she made Connor buy her. Not even a happy buzz from that, but she was puking her insides out like a frat boy the Sunday after. "God. Kill me." She groaned.

"Maybe you should go see a doctor. Maybe it's a stomach virus or something." Connor suggested, chugging down his grind free coffee, casually leaned up against the doorway.

"I got work." She gripped the sides of the toilet, her knuckles white.

"I'll call it off," Murphy offered. "You should probably go down to the free clinic this afternoon."

She forced herself to stand; she fell back against the wall and rubbed her hand over her face, "I will before I go in. I promise."

Later that afternoon, she was surrounded by thin blue lines. The knot that had formed in her stomach had moved up into her throat. Fuck me.

She had left the clinic, determined to prove him wrong. You fucking idiot, she had screamed at him. She took six pregnancy tests from the shelves in the convenience store she and Murphy were in just last night and all six said the same thing the doctor had.

Miss Keese, you're pregnant.

She called bullshit. She hadn't missed a cycle in her life.
He explained bleeding and spotting was normal during the first trimester and that'll reduce to infrequent spotting during her last two trimesters.

She sunk to the floor in the bathroom. She brought her knees to her chin and rested on them. Fucking pregnant. It was Eddie's, she was sure, he'd been the only one she had been fucking the past two years. How her parents will love her having a little mixed baby.

Does this mean I'm keeping it? Abortion was always something that didn't settle with her. Her entire life she was raised right wing, full on Republican.

And the twins. She couldn't stay there. She had hardly even been there three weeks and now she had to drop this?

Oh God. Tears started to roll down her cheeks. Her drinking and smoking and even her and Eddie's cocaine binge. How long had she been pregnant? How much of that had affected her baby?

My baby.

She laid her hands on her stomach. No bulge, no kicking. Yet.

Mario's was extremely slow that night, making her incredibly long day longer. The snow fell heavily outside, keeping everyone home. Brodie would be excited if she broke fifty in tips.

Murphy came in the last fifteen minutes and sat at her table. Mario piled food on his table and Murphy told jokes and stories, trying to get Brodie to crack a smile. When they left Murphy grabbed her, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Don't fucking pull that shit with me. You barely looked me in the eye all night long." He pulled her closer till she was forced to look him in the eye. "You gonna tell me?"

She held his stare. His eyes were intense, such a clear blue there were streaks of white that swirled around his pupil. She would admit she had a crush on this Saint. He probably realized it too, used it to his advantage, teasing her and flirting with her. The idea of an actual relationship with Murphy MacManus would never happy especially with the little miracle brewing inside her abdomen right then. "Fuck, Muprh. I'm pregnant."

His eyes widen and he stepped back. "Congratulations."

She rolled her eyes and started walking to the apartment.

"Wait!" He jogged up to her. "Chrissake, Brodie, wait for me. " He grabbed her arm. "Its Eddie's, right?"

She pulled away, "Of course it's fucking his! Who else would it fucking belong to?"

"No reason to get all pissy with me, Rod."

She was about to snap back but stopped. "Rod?"

"I'm Murph and Connor's Con—"

She stared at him, unsure of to cry or laugh. He pulled her in for hug, kissing the top of her forehead. The contact of his lips on her skin caused goose bumps to break out all over her body. "Its all right, you have us." He titled her head up. "It's a loyalty thing. Once you get us you have us."

"A fucking kid won't cramp the Saints style?"

"It'll be like Three Men and a Baby but instead of Steve Guttenberg, we have a Miss Bettie Page."

"Bettie Page?"

Murphy blushed, "It's what me and Con call you."

"I like it better than Rod anyway." She sighed. "But I won't be that much longer." She laid her hands on her stomach.

He laughed, "You'll still be beautiful if that's what you're worried about." He said before he caught himself. She looked up at him, her breath caught in her throat.

Damn you, Murph. She turned away. "What do I tell Connor?"

"Let me break it to him. He'll expect you to get emotional or something. He'll stress out about it." He looked over at her. "You keeping it then?"

"Yes," she wrapped her arms around herself. "That is, if I haven't already killed it."

He peeled off his coat and wrapped it around her, "What do you mean?"

"I've been drinking and smoking and me and Eddie had a drug binge a while back," she looked at Murphy. "What if that causes a miscarriage? What if I already killed my baby?"

"Wouldn't the doctor have realized that?"

She smiled and wrapped her arm around his waist. "Thank you."

"Come on, let's get you inside and get you a big, cool glass of milk."

"Wait," off to the side, a small head popped up from debris by a trash can. Brodie struggled not to squeal. "It's a German Shepherd!" It trotted over, no older than three months, its paws big and awkward with the bloated puppy stomach. It sniffed Brodie's ankles and she quickly dropped to one knee and scratched it behind its ears. "Oh God, I love German Shepherds. Look at its big bat ears." She looked up at Murphy. "It has no collar."

Murphy shook his head, "Fuck it. Grab it. We're coming home with a baby, might as well get a dog as well."