I made it through the tunnels yesterday without incident. I didn't even have to wait at the final door because the coast was clear on all accounts when I looked up at the cameras. Ben was right to tell me to stay in bed and wait for my breakfast because by the time I made it back to the loft, the first thing I did was collapse on the couch I was so spent.
I spent my afternoon looking at baby things on my phone and dreaming about what Ben's and my baby would be like. Neither Claire nor Tripp came home until after I went to bed, which was quite early, so I didn't even need to lie about where I had been.
I woke up quite early this morning. I made myself some more broth and a couple of pieces of toast to switch things up this morning. Claire arrived in the kitchen shortly after my first bite along with Tripp. She wanted to know why I was having chicken broth for breakfast. I had to think of an excuse quickly and told her that what I had at Lydia's place yesterday must not have agreed with me and that I spent most of the night throwing up and added in that my stomach still was feeling a bit queasy.
She commented, "So that's where you went missing to. Did you spend all weekend there?"
I mentally patted myself on the back for leading her to this line of questioning because I'm ready with my story, "Yeah we had a big Bio Ethics project we needed to finish."
"Did you get it finished?" Tripp asked.
"We did," I smile over my mug of broth.
Claire quickly hooked her arm through Tripp's and announced that they had to get going to work and they left shortly after, leaving me in the apartment by myself.
I'm thankful to have the place to myself. I have time to think about how I want to tell my Aunt Kayla I'm pregnant and how I've been struggling with keeping food down. I had called her yesterday to ask if she would be able to squeeze me in tomorrow for an appointment. She instantly started to worry that something was terribly wrong. I assured her it wasn't that serious; I just had some questions for her. She said she would be able to see me right away in the morning at 8.
I have about 45 minutes to waste before I need to get ready and head out to see her. I spend some more time looking online at things that Ben and I are eventually going to need for the little one and favorite them in my account so I can show him what I've found and like so far. I want his opinion too and suddenly I'm very down that he's not here with me looking at the baby loot.
I snap out of it quickly when I realize it is time to get ready. I speedily take my shower and dress for the day. I wear looser clothes today because between talking to Aunt Kayla about my morning sickness, breaking it to my mom that I'm pregnant, and then having to spend time alone with Claire I'm going to want to feel as comfortable as possible.
I catch an Uber over to the hospital and arrive there shortly before 8 am. I walk into the hospital and sit in the waiting room until my Aunt Kayla comes to take me to an examination room.
"Hi Sweetie, it's good to see you," she states and gives me a quick hug.
When she releases me, I can tell that she's worried about what I want to talk to her about. I give her a smile because I'm actually quite excited about being pregnant, "Don't worry Aunt Kayla, it's really not anything serious, I promise."
We walk silently to the exam room she has waiting for me and shut the door behind us. "So, Ciara, what did you want to see me about?"
I take a deep breath before I blurt out the reason, "Aunt Kayla, I'm pregnant."
"Oh God, Ciara, no."
"I took a home test and it was positive."
"This can't be possible."
"Oh, it's very possible," my mind flashes to the last time Ben and I made love and I can feel the blush staining my cheeks.
"This can't be happening. I assume it's Ben's," she says his name with such venom, and it breaks my heart.
Tears are beginning to form in my eyes because I didn't expect her to react this way. "Yes, the baby is Ben's."
"This is horrible. That bastard tried to kill you."
"No Kayla, it's not horrible," I can't stop myself from blurting out the truth to her, "I love Ben, and I love our baby. He didn't try to kill me. He would never hurt me. Claire is the one who started these fucking fires." I am now fully sobbing I am so upset.
"What?"
"You heard me. I said Claire started the fires. It wasn't Ben. Claire was jealous when Tripp wanted me and then when she thought Tripp was into Haley, she was jealous of that too. It wasn't Ben."
"How can you know this? Ben had Marlena hypnotize him again to see if he could remember anything more and he did. He remembered hearing this music that kept repeating the same few bars over and over. It was Claire's ringtone, the one she wrote herself."
"Oh, God."
"Yeah, Ben is being framed. Eve won't listen to him because she wants revenge. That's why we are pretending to be broken up," I say through more tears, "We need Eve and Claire to think that they are safe and that no one is on Ben's side."
"I see. I don't know if I entirely believe this, but I'm sorry for how I reacted. You obviously need someone who is going to listen to you and not judge."
"That's why I wanted to talk to you. With everything that you and Uncle Steve went through I thought you would be understanding."
"And I wasn't. I'm sorry."
"It's okay," I sniffle.
"Well, let's do a blood test to confirm that you're pregnant."
Aunt Kayla grabs some supplies and returns to my side. She places a tourniquet around my arm and gently starts slapping around the bend in my elbow to make the veins more visible. "You must be dehydrated. I'm not getting any good veins to pop out."
"Probably because I have been having trouble keeping food down, which is part of the reason that Ben wanted me to see a doctor."
"I see. Ben huh?"
"Yeah, he takes really good care of me and worries over me." I can tell that she's not entirely convinced, but I don't want to argue with her.
"Well if that is the case, then I hope he continues to take care of you. Let's try your hand to get some blood. I'll use one of my handy dandy butterfly needles."
She begins the process again, but this time is able to find a vein that she can use. She takes an alcohol pad and rubs it on my hand and then uses her needle to draw the blood. Then she takes some gauze and covers the spot while she pulls out the needle. "Keep pressure on that," she directs me while she opens a bandage, and then takes the gauze to fold it and then tape it down to my hand with the bandage. "Well let me get this off to the lab."
Kayla leaves the room and before I know it, she is back with the results. "Well Ciara, you are definitely pregnant. Now, let's talk about you not being able to eat. Talk to me."
"Well the thought of Chinese makes me queasy and the smell of pancakes makes me want to hurl. All I have been able to find that I can keep down is saline crackers, chicken broth, and dry toast."
"That's definitely not enough to keep you or the baby strong and healthy. It's good that Ben told you to come and see me."
I can't help but smile. She took Ben's side and she probably doesn't even realize that she did it. "So, what can I do?"
"Well I want to start you on some prenatal vitamins. Take them when you have supper. When you take a vitamin in the morning it can make you nauseous especially on an empty stomach if you take it at night you're more likely to have food in your system, which will help to keep nausea at bay."
"Okay, prenatal vitamins, got it."
"I would stick to bland foods like dry cereal or pretzels. The crackers, broth, and toast are good options too. You need to eat fruits and vegetables at least 3 servings a day of both would be best, and to get some healthy fats into your body I would recommend eating nuts, seeds, or avocado. Oh, and I think ginger root is going to be your new best friend. You can grate it on top of what you are eating, or you can make yourself a ginger tea. This will probably help the most with nausea."
"So bland foods, lots of fruits and vegetables, healthy fats, and ginger tea is going to be my new best friend. Alright."
"Okay let's take a look at the baby and do an ultrasound."
I tense at the mention of this. If there is one thing I wanted Ben here for, it was this. I wanted to be able to look at his face the first time we saw our baby. "Do I have to Aunt Kayla? I really wanted Ben to be here for this."
"We really should Ciara. This will tell us approximately how far along you are and it will give us a first look at the baby to see if it looks to be healthy."
I reluctantly nod my head. I as much as I may hate that Ben is not here, I know that he would want to know everything is okay.
"Pull your shirt up a bit and then move the waistband of your pants down a bit more too."
I do as she asks.
"I'm going to put some gel on your belly it may feel a bit cold and then you're going to feel the transducer gliding over your abdomen. This will give us a picture of your baby."
I feel the wand sliding over my belly. I eagerly look at the screen waiting for the show to begin. Suddenly I hear a rapid bomp, bomp, bomp.
"It looks like you are about 12 weeks along."
"12 weeks, huh."
"Those are the heartbeats, and they are nice and strong."
"Heartbeats?"
"Yeah, honey. You're having twins. See." Aunt Kayla points out the two masses that are visible on the screen. I can see the heads and make out an arm on one of them and I think a leg on the other.
"Oh my gosh. Ben and I are going to have twins?" A small knowing smile spreads on my face. Not only did we get pregnant the first time we made love, but Ben also managed to do it twice.
"Yes, you are. Here I'll take a freezeframe of this shot so you can take it with you."
Kayla hits a button on the screen and it's not long before I am holding a picture of the babies.
"I'm going to want to see you again in about 4 weeks to make sure everything is progressing along. Congratulations Ciara!"
"Thanks, Aunt Kayla."
"I have to get moving on and see my patients. You take as much time as you need in here and take it easy," she kisses the top of my head and walks out the door.
I quickly reposition my clothes and grab my belongings. I can't believe Ben and I are going to have twins. I find myself feeling shocked, excited, and nervous as hell. I can't wait to tell Ben and show him our babies.
I leave the hospital and take the short walk to my mom's house. My visit with Aunt Kayla didn't go the way I was expecting so I'm certain that this visit with my mom is going to go the same way.
I walk up onto the porch, open the door and announce my presence, "Mom, are you home?"
"In the den sweetie."
I take a deep breath and hope for the best as I walk back there. I place my hand on my abdomen in the hopes of finding the courage to tell my mom this news, "Okay little ones, momma's going to tell your grandma our news."
I walk into the den and find my mom reading a book, "Hi Momma."
She closes her book and stands up to give me a hug. It feels good; I didn't realize how much I needed this from my mom. "What are you doing here baby? Not that I'm not happy to see you."
"I need to tell you something, and you're probably not going to like it."
"Okay, should I sit down?"
"Yeah, you probably should."
"Oh boy. What's going on?"
I sit down next to her and lower to boom, "Momma, I'm pregnant."
The color drains from my mom's face for a second and then she begins to laugh, "You're funny, now quit joking around and tell me what's going on."
"I'm pregnant."
She springs up off the couch and begins pacing in front of me, "No, you're not. You're not because that would mean that you are pregnant with Ben's baby and he tried to kill you. So no, you can't be pregnant."
"But I am Momma, 12 weeks."
"What the hell Ciara. How could you let this happen? Weren't you using protection?"
"We were Momma, but apparently it didn't work."
"So, you're pregnant with the murdering monster's baby? What are you going to do?"
I knew she wasn't going to take this well, little does she know I'm going to make it worse. "What do you mean what am I going to do? I'm going to love them. They are my babies."
"Babies…"
"Yeah, babies. I'm having twins Momma."
"Oh, God…Ciara Alice Brady…how do you plan on doing this? You know I wasn't pleased when I found out the two of you were sleeping together. Now, he's knocked you up, with twins no less, and he's going to be going back to prison for not only attempting to murder you but Tripp and Haley too."
I wish I could tell her how Ben is innocent and how it's Claire who set the fires, but I know that it would be falling on deaf ears. I just have to wait until we have the proof we need to free Ben completely.
I have to play the game and lie to my mom and make her think for now that I believe Ben tried to kill me, "I know Momma. I know you hate Ben and I can't believe what he did to me either, but I'm not going to get rid of these babies. I don't believe in that and I know you don't either, even if you think that their father is a vile monster. I need you, Momma. I need your support more than ever right now because I can't do this alone," I begin to tear up and hold them in as best I can.
She takes a few moments to mull this over and sighs, "Of course, baby. I'm not happy about this, but I love you and I'll help you. I'm just going to need some time to wrap my head around this situation."
"Tell me about. I'm trying to do the same."
"Come here honey," she sits down on the couch and opens her arms for me. I lean in, let the floodgates open and just cry. She thinks I'm crying because I'm upset about being pregnant, but little does she know that I'm crying because I can't be with Ben right now to tell him our news. I cry until I have no tears left to cry.
"Momma, how am I going to do this?"
"I don't know, but I'll help you however I can. Do you want to move back home?
"No, I need my own space and I don't want to impose."
"You wouldn't be imposing."
"Can you just promise me that you aren't going to bring up the bad things that the father of these babies has done. I have to accept what he did, I know that, but I also don't need you to constantly be reminding me and rubbing it in my face."
"Done. I'll do my best."
"Thank you. I have a question for you."
"Shoot."
"Did you have bad morning sickness when you were pregnant with any of us and if you did, what did you do?"
She softly laughs, "I had horrible morning sickness with all of you. Your dad would make me ginger root tea all the time. It was the only thing that helped."
Daddy…I wish he were still alive. And I wonder, not for the first time, what he would think of Ben. In my heart I know that he would accept Ben because of the way that he treats me, like his queen.
"I'll give that a try. Thanks Momma."
I see the clock hanging on the wall and realize that I have about an hour before Ben plans on planting the bugs at the loft.
"I've gotta get going. I need to do some studying before Claire and Tripp get back to the loft. I can never concentrate as well with them there."
She squeezes me tighter for a moment and then kisses my cheek, "Okay, honey. Call me if you need help with anything. I'll do what I can to help you. I love you."
"I love you too Momma," I say and squeeze her back.
I get up from the couch and grab my purse, "Bye Momma."
"Bye baby."
I place a request for another Uber and head out the door. While I'm riding to the loft, I take the time to mentally prepare for the afternoon I am going to have to spend with Claire to make this plan work. My driver delivers me quickly to the loft. When I open the door, Claire is already there, which I wasn't expecting. I was thinking I would have another 10 minutes or so before she arrived. Oh well, time for another Emmy Award-winning performance by Ciara Alice Brady.
"Claire, thank God you're here."
"What's wrong Ciara?"
"I just can't stop thinking about what Ben tried to do to me. Or to Tripp and Haley," I begin to think about Ben and not being able to see him and the tears begin to well up in my eyes, "I need you to distract me and get my mind off of this mess. Will you go out with me? We can do whatever you want. We can go shopping, watch a movie, your choice."
"Sure. I could use a new handbag and some new shoes too."
"Great."
"Just let me change and we can head out."
Claire heads to her room and I quickly text Ben: Claire is changing and then we'll be heading out. Leaving in 5 minutes. I wait until she begins to open the door and then send the message.
Claire saunters out of her room, "I want to put a snack together too for our adventure. I haven't eaten anything since my break at work."
"Yeah, sure." I roll my eyes when she turns her back to me. Of course, she would need to put a damn snack together for herself. She grabs one of her yogurts and then measures out a cup of sunflower seeds. Next, she has to fill a blender bottle with water along with cucumber, lemon, and mint. I keep looking at the clock and I know time is ticking and we need to be out of this apartment in a minute. I can't get a message off to Ben because she'll want to know who I'm texting.
She finishes her snack and we are about to head out the door when Claire says, "Shoot, my phone is about to die. I need to go and grab my pocket charger."
I get frustrated, but this gives me a chance to shoot off a message while she's in her room to Ben telling him to delay for another 5 minutes. I press the send button just as the door to the loft opens and Ben walks inside.
