CW: Talks of abuse, nothing specific, but it's mentioned

Note: Contains swearing (it's The Almighty Johnsons, are you really surprised?)

Michele stared down at the stick in her hand, staring disbelievingly at the little plus sign staring back at her. She didn't really know why she surprised; she and Anders had a very healthy sex life. If anything, she felt she should be surprised this hadn't happened sooner.

"Michele?"

Shit. Anders was home.

Michele wrapped the stick in tissues and shoved it to the bottom of the trash can. She'd have to figure out the best way to tell him. Later. Not now, definitely later. She exited the bathroom, trying to make her expression neutral.

"Hey," Anders grabbed a drink from the fridge, "You will not believe the client Dawn and I dealt-"

"I'm pregnant!" Michele blurted, mentally cursing herself. Well, she supposed, that wasn't the best way to tell.

Anders froze with his back to her.

"Anders?" she said, doing her damndest to keep her voice even.

He turned to her, an unreadable expression on his face.

"Did you hear me?" she asked.

"Yeah, I… you're…" he trailed off, not looking at her. They stood in silence for a moment before he grabbed his keys and fled the apartment.

Michele stood there for a moment, staring in disbelief. She took a deep breath, refusing to get upset. She'd always been independent and just because she and Anders were together didn't change that. She would not get upset over a man walking out on her.

But… She sat on the couch, one hand resting on her still flat stomach. It wasn't just her now. She was strong and independent, but even she could admit she had no idea what to do right now. Michele waited for an hour before making a phone call.

"Ty," she said, "I need a favour."

Anders was leaning against the edge of the bar, nursing the glass in his hands, when the temperature in the room suddenly dropped.

"Fancy seeing you here Mr. Freeze," he said as Ty took the seat next to him.

"Michele called me," Ty said. "She's worried. Said you took off and she didn't know where you'd gone."

"And you immediately figured I'd be here?" Anders questioned.

"Nah, this was the fourth bar I checked," Ty told him.

"She tell you why I left?" Anders asked.

"No, she just said you'd left," Ty said, "I asked why, but she wouldn't say."

"Michele's pregnant," Anders informed him, "She just told me. I got home and she just blurted it out there."

Ty said nothing for a moment and Anders half expected a punch.

"You're a dick, you know that?" Ty said instead, though there was no malice behind his words. "Your girlfriend tells you she's pregnant and you run off and get drunk."

Anders said nothing.

"You want to tell me why you took off?" Ty pressed.

"Michele's pregnant," Anders repeated.

"Yeah, you sent that," Ty said, "So, what? You've decided to be an absentee father?"

"Better than an abusive one," Anders shrugged and suddenly Ty understood.

"Anders…" he sighed, "You're not him. You'll never be him."

"Gods and Goddesses are like a bomb waiting to go off," Anders said, "It might be good now, but eventually it'll explode. Better not to have a kid in the middle of that."

"You already have a kid in the middle of it," Ty pointed out, "And I get that you're scared, but you have the chance to prove you're nothing like him. You can, break the cycle, or whatever people say."

Anders scoffed, "Or I'll prove that I'm exactly like him."
"The only thing that makes you like him is what you're doing right now," Ty said, "Taking off and getting drunk? That's him, it doesn't have to be you."

"I'm not drunk," Anders said and Ty rolled his eyes.

"Drunk or not, coming her and drinking-"

"I didn't drink it," Anders said, and Ty stopped.

"What?"

"I ordered this when I first got here, but I didn't drink it," Anders said, "You can ask the bartender, test my breath, whatever you want. I haven't had a drink."

"Why?" Ty asked.

Anders didn't reply, staring at the glass in his hands.

"Because you knew it's what he would have done," Ty guessed, "He would have left all pissed off, got drunk, and then come home swinging. You're not him, Anders."

"And if I turn into him?" Anders asked, "If I start doing to Michele and my kid, what he did to us?"

"We won't let you," Ty assured him, "There was no one there to hold him accountable. You have us."

Michele was sitting on the couch, the TV on low, when Anders returned.

He walked over slowly and sat down next to her.

"I'm sorry," he murmured.

Michele muted the TV, turning to face him.

"Ty said I should tell you what's going on… why I left," he said.

"You don't have to tell me anything," Michele said, an edge to her voice, "But if you aren't planning on sticking around, I prefer to know now."

Anders took a deep breath.

"My father was an abusive prick," he finally said. He hated talking about this stuff, but forced himself to continue. He told her everything. All the years of abuse his father had put their mother and him through. How he and Mike had taken a lot of it for years until Mike was old enough to go off on his own. Then it was down to Anders to make sure that prick never put his hands on Ty or baby Axl.

Michele didn't say anything, but she grabbed his hand as he spoke.

"I don't want to be like him," he said, "I want you, and I want this kid, but… I can't be like him."

"Anders, did your father ever talk about his feelings with you? Or with your mother?" Michele asked.

"Not a chance," Anders scoffed and shook his head.

"Then you're already doing better than him," she said.

He still didn't look convinced.

Michele took his hand and placed it against her belly.

"You're not him," she said, "You came home. You're not him."

Thanks for reading!