~Audrey's POV~

This was it; I was having the abortion today. I wasn't sure how to feel about it suddenly. I spent the last two days setting everything up, and my parents bought me being sick easily since the morning sickness decided to make an appearance at the right time for once. The time now was 9:45 am, the taxi would be arriving in a few moments, and I was just sitting in the living room, with my hands on my stomach. I didn't even realize that I had started to cry until the tears were coming down my face.

"I-I'm sorry, little one. I don't...have another choice. No one would understand, and I'm not ready to be a mother just yet. I suppose that's...unfair to you since I'm the one who lied about being protected and my getting pregnant is my fault. No one can know about you; your father will never forgive me for lying to him," I whimpered while wiping my eyes to stop the tears. Maybe I shouldn't be doing this. I was...about to have my baby killed to protect myself, to be...selfish about not wanting my life to change due to having a baby.

The horn honked outside as I got up and got my purse to leave. No, I had to do this. It wouldn't be fair to the baby to possibly end up with only me as a parent because Hunter wouldn't want the baby or he could die while deployed. And it wasn't fair that I struggle to support a child when I'm still in school and have no job. This was how it had to be for everyone involved. I left the house and got in the back of the taxi.

"Archi Family Planning Clinic, please?" I said as the driver nodded and headed down the road to get on the highway. I closed my eyes; there was no turning back. I had to do this; it was the only way.

(The Clinic)

I paid the driver for the ride and said I'd call again when ready to leave. I took a deep breath and entered the small clinic, then moved to the desk.

"Hello. Can I help you?" asked the young woman while bringing her eyes up to look at me.

"Hi, I have an appointment for 10:30," I replied calmly.

"Audrey...Hofferson for a T.O.P?" the woman asked. I blinked a little. What was T.O.P? "It stands for Termination of Pregnancy," the receptionist added.

"Oh, yes. That's me," I nodded.

"Okay, I'll just get you checked in," the woman said while clicking a few things. "May 10th, 2000 is your birthday?" I nodded to her again, "And this is your first pregnancy?" she inquired.

"Yes," I answered. Five minutes went by of me just replying to her questions and then she gave me a clipboard with a few forms to fill out and sign. That took ten minutes for me, and I handed it back. Afterward, I was put in a room to have some blood drawn to look at my levels, then I changed into a gown and was placed in a room where the abortion would take place. I had elected to be asleep for it; I didn't want to be awake when it happened. The doctor came in and asked a few more things, then a mask was placed over my mouth and I was told to count back from ten. At four, I was out.

(An Hour Later)

I woke up slow and had to adjust to the light of the room, I was in a bed and didn't feel much right now. The nurse came in to explain that I would be a little uncomfortable as the anesthetic wore off and probably tired the rest of the day so to try and rest up through the night. I was informed the procedure was a success and what to expect the next few days of recovering. Also that I would be discharged in another hour or so when they made sure I was okay to leave. The ticked away as I sat there, eyes on my stomach where the baby had once been, and I felt empty and sad. The nurse said that might happened, a lot of young patients talked about that, but it was completely normal.

Finally, I was discharged and given back my things after getting dressed to leave. I called the cab company to send someone to take me home, and they said the taxi would arrive in ten minutes. I was giving my paperwork which included the sonogram right before the procedure, and then the one after when there was no more baby. I thanked them and left when the taxi arrived. Getting in, I gave the man my address and soon I was on my way back to Berkton. The total time I was there was about three and a half hours, I was tired and wanted to sleep.

(Berkton; Hofferson House)

Getting home, I paid the driver again and entered my house and went right to my room after getting the fire going and burning anything pregnancy related. Appointment cards, what to expect while pregnant, sonograms, the discharge paperwork. I got rid of everything, so there would never be a trace I was pregnant or that I had an abortion. Once in my room, I laid in my bed trying to sleep, the time was 2:40 pm and I knew I'd be getting calls or texts from my friends wondering if I was okay. My parents were working late, so it was just me for right now. As I was drifting off, my phone started to ring on the nightstand beside me. Reaching over, I peered at the screen and got nervous; it was Hunter.

Why now of all times did he have to call?! I couldn't ignore him, though, there weren't many times he got to talk so we had to take them when we could. I took a second to sit up, make myself look decent and then answered the call as it connected and showed his face, I gave him a smile.

"There you are. I called home first because I figured you'd be there on a Friday night, but Caitlyn said you weren't at school to-" Hunter paused a minute and leaned in closer to the camera. "Wait, have you been crying?"

Shit. I had been crying while burning the pregnancy stuff. "Y-Yeah, just a little. I'm okay, babe, don't worry," I tried to assure him.

"What's wrong? Talk to me, beautiful," Hunter asked.

"I-It's nothing, Hunter. I was...just missing you is all," I told him.

"Well, I'm here now so stop the tears and give me that smile that makes my day better," Hunter crooned with a light laugh. I didn't know if I could smile after what I just did a few hours ago. I killed mine and Hunter's baby, and he never knew I was pregnant because I decided to be a coward who didn't want to get caught in a lie about not being on birth control which is why I got pregnant in the first place. I had to play it off, or he would know something else was bothering me.

I smiled and wiped my eyes. "I'm sorry. It's been so long since we've talked, babe. I've gotten used to the fact that if you don't call for at least two weeks, then you might be hurt and that worries me to no end,"

"Hey, I'm okay over here. It just gets busy, or there's a crappy signal, I do the best I can. And just think. It's December now; I'll be home in May. Only five months to go and I'll be home," Hunter reminded.

"I can't wait. Are we still doing whatever I want on summer break?" I asked him.

"Of course, Love. Have you thought of any plans for us?" Hunter asked cheerfully.

"I was thinking we could go camping for a weekend? Maybe to the campground side of Thor's Edge, just us with a tent and some food to grill?" I suggested.

"Sounds like a great idea. We don't even need the tent, babe. I'll put a tarp over us, and we can sleep in the back of the truck with a foam pad and some blankets. Anything else you want to do?" Hunter inquired.

"I still prefer the tent, Hunt," I giggled a little. "I don't know. Couple picnics with friends, dates for us in the park. I don't care what we do as I get to do it with you,"

"Same goes for me. I can't wait to hold you in my arms again," Hunter murmured. "Sorry that I got called back early, and we didn't get to do our thing before I left," he added.

"It's okay, baby. I'm sure we'll have plenty of time when you get home. As you said, we'll be eighteen and can do whatever we want together. I know I miss sleeping in your arms," I replied.

"You'll see, babe. Everything is going to be a lot better when I get home; we'll have the life we always talked about. You'll graduate high school, go on to college; we'll get married, start a family," Hunter smiled wide, and I turned the phone a bit so he wouldn't see me start crying again. I didn't want to hear about a family right now, not after earlier. "Audrey? Where'd ya go? Can you still hear me?" he asked as I realized he probably thought that the signal was cutting out on him, so I wiped my eyes again and faced it the camera back to me.

"Sorry, I can still hear you. I just dropped the phone by accident because I'm laying in bed," I responded quickly to him.

"It's like 3 in the afternoon, why are you in bed? My sister said you weren't at school today, Love?" Hunter questioned with worry.

"I've been home sick all day. I was throwing up last night and again this morning with a fever of 101.7, so my parents told me to stay in bed and try to rest. I just woke up from a nap when you called," I cooed.

"You were sick a few weeks ago too, Audrey. This is starting to concern me. You've got my sister and our friends worried about you. They said you've been distant, moody, tired, and snappy since I got called back to Iraq so what's going on?" Hunter inquired sternly.

"Well, it was emotional, Hunter. We were all having such a good time, and then you got called back so quickly, we didn't hear from you for three weeks. The next update was from Treyden and even that night, you were in that ambush, and it was another week before we heard from you. And that was after Harry called to tell us you had been shot in the arm. Ever since then, you've been super busy, and it sometimes sucks, babe," I said with a sigh.

"I know but it's my job, Audrey and no matter how much it might suck for you guys not to hear from me, I still have a duty to fulfill while I'm here," Hunter reminded. "Regardless, I know there's more going on. Shane, Caitlyn, Renee, Heather, Travis, and Fisher have been keeping me updated with e-mail or Skype messages about how you've been doing and even though I don't reply to those messages, I still see them. Technically, I'm supposed to be getting ready for a routine patrol at 5:30, but after I had talked to Caitlyn before calling you, I asked Harry to give me two extra hours before the job so I could figure out what's going on,"

"Nothing is going on, Hunter. I promise. A few weeks ago it was just a twenty-four-hour thing where I wasn't feeling well, today it feels more like the flu. Puking, fever, tired, body aches, no appetite. I'm sure I'll be fine after the weekend passes," I enlightened.

"Audrey, I know what the flu is. That's not what I'm talking about, okay? I know you've been mega-moody since I left and maybe I could have bought that for two or so weeks, but it's now two months later, and our friends say it hasn't stopped. Renee and Travis have told me about the times you leave in the middle of the class looking like you're about to hurl. Fisher and Shane mentioned you seem to be wearing more concealing clothes the last month. Caitlyn said you're always tired with a headache and perhaps the most concerning message I've gotten is from Heather, who thinks you're pregnant," Hunter informed.

What was I supposed to say? It's not like it wasn't true or it had been a few hours ago. Gods, that made it hurt more too. "Why in Odin's name would she think that?" I asked, trying to sound shocked at the assumption.

"Because she notices that you're wearing baggy clothes instead of what you typically wear such as the tight jeans and curve-hugging t-shirts. Heather said that you don't hang out with them anymore, you've been staying away from foods you love, you're always tired or not feeling well. All of our friends say it seems like you're hiding something," Hunter admitted truthfully, and I felt myself get nervous.

"Hunter, there's no way I'm pregnant. I have birth control, and you always use condoms," I reminded him with a smile.

"You and I both know those can fail, babe. I know we have safe sex, but it doesn't make us invincible to the possible consequences. It only takes one time every month for a girl to get pregnant and if both methods of protection fail, then you get a baby. Your IUD could have shifted, and one of my condoms might have broken during a session where we went nuts with it. I'm not trying to scare you, Audrey but please don't ever deny the chance that it could happen no matter what precautions we take," Hunter stated.

"Okay, I won't," I looked down sadly feeling like I upset him.

"I'm not angry with you, Audrey, so relax. Now, I want you to be honest with me; are you pregnant?" Hunter asked. "If you are, I need to know so I can make sure you and the baby are taken care of while I'm deployed until May. I won't be upset, babe. We both had a hand in it no matter how it happened, so we'll figure it out together, but I have to know if you are so I can make arrangements to be around for you and our child," he added.

Hunter just said everything I hoped he would if I told him I was pregnant. All my worries had been for nothing, but now, it didn't matter because of what I did. Gods, I wish I had known he wouldn't be upset about it! I'm such an idiot because now it was too late to go back. I couldn't tell him the truth, so I had to keep the lie going, right?

"I'm not pregnant, Hunter. I've gotten all my periods on time since you left," I finally said in a calm voice. I saw Hunter sigh with some relief.

"Good. As I said, I wouldn't have minded. It would have been a shock and something to adjust too, but things would have been okay. I had to make sure because if you were then when my tour ends, my hours would have been cut shorter so I'd be around to help you out, and go to the appointments too. I would have married you straight away, and the military would provide housing for us too if we wanted," Hunter informed.

That made it worse to know what I did. "So you...wouldn't have minded being seventeen and having a baby?" I asked.

"Not at all, silly. Besides, we'd be eighteen by the time you gave birth given the period of me being home for leave, and the tour ends. You and I said we'd get married and have a family, who cares if it would have been a little earlier than planned. I like to think that everything happens for a reason so I would have gone with the flow and been over the moon about it. I love kids; you know that and learning I'd have my own would be incredible. There's time for it, Love. If you want a baby, I'm happy to give you one once you're graduated from high school. For me though, I'm ready whenever. I love you, Audrey. A life and family with you would make everything perfect," Hunter said sweetly.

I couldn't help it; I lowered my head and started crying even though I knew Hunter could still see me. Gods, I hated myself right now. I did. I had the chance to give Hunter a perfect life, one he wanted to share with me...and I blew it. I didn't deserve to have Hunter, not after this.

"Babe? I didn't mean to make you cry, I'm just that happy with you is all, and I want to make sure you always know how much I love you," Hunter said, and I continued to cry soft whimpers without showing my face. "Baby? What's wrong?" he asked.

This is...one more thing I had to lie about and hide from him. When had I become such a dishonest, horrible person? "It...wasn't what you said, Hunter. That was the sweetest thing I've ever heard you say, it's just my stomach bothering me," I told him while hissing a bit.

"You should probably go to the hospital if the pain is bringing you to tears," Theo mentioned softly.

"No, I'm okay. It's been a long day of throwing up and different pains. I'm just going to go back to sleep once I get some water. Don't worry about me babe; I promise I'm gonna be okay. I'll e-mail you tomorrow and let you know how I'm feeling. It's all good. Go get ready for your guard," I assured my boyfriend and his friends.

"Alright, if you're sure. If you need anything, my Dad is home with Caitlyn. I love you, Audrey," Hunter crooned.

"I...love you too, Hunter. Be safe, and I'll talk to you soon,"I replied while blowing him a kiss and he did the same before smiling and hanging up. I put my phone on the nightstand and just started crying again. I couldn't help it; I'd done something unforgivable. If Hunter ever found out; it would break his heart, and I would never see him again. I was sure that he would hate me for the rest of his life knowing that I didn't try harder to get ahold of him, that I was afraid of so many things and didn't talk to him, that I made a decision regarding a child that was his too and aborted it. I was a despicable person, and what was worse, I still didn't have the guts to tell him the truth because I was terrified to lose him.

(Five Months Later; May 10th, 2018)

~Normal POV~

Everyone who knew what this month was couldn't contain their excitement! It was finally May 2018, and Hunter's eighteen-month tour of duty was going to end sometime before June began! Today was the 10th, Audrey's eighteenth birthday. Hunter's had passed in February; thankfully he was able to get through this time and spend a good twenty-five minute being able to talk to his family, friends, and girlfriend. Audrey got herself together after that conversation with Hunter the day of the abortion; she had to keep telling herself that it was too late to change it and just move on with life. There would be another chance to have a baby between then, Audrey was confident in that. Hunter already offered for after she graduated high school.

For the time being, two months after the procedure; Audrey got on birth control. The five-year IUD that was inserted into the vagina and gave off a hormone to halt ovulation to prevent pregnancy, with this in, Audrey felt a little bit better. Hunter wouldn't be able to question if she had it or not because it was there now. The time was 6 pm, a Thursday night as the friends had gotten together to throw Audrey a birthday party along with her family included. Being the Haddock's had a bigger yard, and it was warm enough, the celebration was being held there. Music, food, drinks, cake, and some presents but all Audrey wanted was to hear from Hunter. The last time any of them heard from him had been a month and a half ago, so the worry was beginning to grow into wondering if he was all right.

"So, how's it feel to be eighteen, Audrey?" Heather asked.

"I don't know, still settling with the fact I'm an adult now," Audrey giggled a bit. In the silence, the Skype call sounded off, and they all snapped their heads to it. Normally, Salvatore was first to answer it, but since it was Audrey's birthday, he let her take the main seat to have the honors. Audrey pressed accept, and they waited for it to connect.

"Finally! Jeeze, it's so long to fix the fucking wifi since that attack a few weeks ago," Hunter grumbled.

"Should I even ask?" Caitlyn blinked at her brother's way of answering the phone.

"For the love of Thor, please don't. A dangerous attack, the service, and wifi have been down for three weeks, and the only communication we had was radios. It was horrible, and I gotta keep this short because Hooligan is about to go out on baseline patrol for sixteen hours. Also, please don't ask why so long. We've had a lot of...issues lately, and there's a lot of time slots to fill in with those available to do it," Hunter explained quickly.

"We're glad you could get through, even if it has to be quick," Violet stated to him with a smile.

"I have like, five minutes at best so let me say what I've been sitting here for three hours trying to get through to say," Hunter took a breath as they were able to see only his face with a little light behind him while he was walking. It was odd, the reception he had made it seem like there wasn't any lag at all.

"Go ahead, son," Salvatore motioned.

"Thanks. First off, good to see everyone is okay. I've missed you like crazy and sorry if I worried about with the lack of communication, but I just mentioned why that happened, aside from being ultra, mega busy over here. Secondly, there was no way I wasn't going to call to wish my girl a happy eighteenth birthday," Hunter smiled as Audrey blushed.

"Thank you, baby. You calling has officially made it the best birthday ever," Audrey told him.

"Don't be so sure. I think my gift will top the phone call. Ready?" Hunter asked as Audrey nodded excitedly. "Good because your gift should be arriving-" Suddenly, the call cut out, and Audrey frowned some but then her cell phone rang, and she grabbed it to see Hunter calling. "Sorry about that, damn service. Anyway, your gift should be coming through the gate in the backyard. That's where I had them send it to you. I hope you'll like it, babe. Took a lot of planning to make sure it arrived on time," Hunter said after she answered.

"You always make it happen though," Audrey laughed a little.

"Oh, and there wasn't time to wrap it either. Sorry, I was lazy," Hunter shrugged.

"That's okay, baby," Audrey replied.

"The tracker says it's arrived so why don't you focus on the gate?" Hunter suggested as Audrey looked to the gate now with the rest of them. Unknown to any of them, Hunter was already there as he jumped the fence silently and made his way to sneak up behind Audrey while no one was paying attention to him since they thought a gift was arriving through the gate. Hunter ended the call as Audrey glanced down seeing it stopped, but Hunter got right beside her with a smile and kissed her cheek then stepped back.

"Just who the hell do you think you are to kiss my-" Audrey started to snap while whipping around fast to see Hunter standing there, still in uniform with a backpack and longer bag over his shoulder. At Audrey's yelling, the rest turned quickly to see him there as mouths dropped open. Instantly, Audrey got to her feet while tears formed in her eyes.

"Surprise. Happy Birthday, Milady," Hunter murmured with a broad smile.