Papa Don't Preach

"Dad, Can we talk for a moment."

"Yeah Princess what's up." Ray said putting down the newspaper he was reading.

Reggie took a seat next to him at the table.

"I have some news."

"Un huh." Ray replied, growing concerned by the seriousness in Reggie's voice. "Is it good news or bad news?"

"Um, well it certainly is news…" She said trailing off. Ray frowned wondering what all this could possibly be about.

"You see..the thing is…" Reggie held her head in her hands. She felt like she might throw up. Before she could stop herself she began to cry.

Ray moved closer to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. He desperately wanted to know what happened to his baby girl.

"What's wrong Rocket Girl? Was it Twister? Did that little punk break your heart!"

Reggie stopped sobbing for a moment wiping away her tears that continued to fall. After a few moments she finally calmed herself enough to speak.

"No it wasn't anything wrong Twister did. He's amazing and we're really in love." She said between quiet sniffles.

"Then what's troubling you?" Ray asked worriedly.

"That's the thing. I'm in trouble." Her tears starting up again.

"Oh no. You don't mean-" Reggie nodded affirming one of Ray's worst fears.

"How could this have happened. Weren't you two being, ya know, careful?" A few months ago Ray and Reggie had a talk about her going on birth control. It had been one of the most uncomfortable conversations of Ray's life but he was relieved that his daughter seemingly wanted to be responsible. So much for that.

"I mean we were. I just sorta, accidentally skipped a pill."

"What about condoms?"

"We weren't using them. I mean we've only been with each other!" Reggie shouted.

Ray realized that making his daughter defend her actions wasn't the support she needed right. She'd have a lot of difficult choices to make and she would be the only one deciding on them. So Ray did the one thing that made sense in that moment and hugged his child. Silent tears rolled down Reggie's cheek.

Otto walked into the kitchen and poured himself a glass of orange juice. As he closed the refrigerator door he noticed the scene before him.

"What's with Reg?" he asked out of genuine concern.

Reggie looked at her father for a moment before taking a deep breath.

He's gonna find out anyways. Reggie thought.

"I'm pregnant."

Otto dropped his glass of orange juice.

Later in the day Twister stopped by. Reggie had spent the day nauseous not sure if it was the baby or the prospect of telling Twister she was pregnant. In lieu of actually calling him she decided the best course of action was to wait for him to show up at her window like he usually did when they hadn't seen each other all day. She had made Otto and Raymundo promise to allow her to tell Twister on her own. Otto already threatened to kill him three times before breakfast was even over. She knew that was his way of being protective but she kind of needed her boyfriend alive for this next chapter in her life. A knock at the window took her away from thoughts. She went over to open it and allowed Twister in.

He smiled at her and for a second she forgot about the huge weight on her shoulders. He took her into his arms and gave her a kiss. She deepened the kiss. Long, lingering, slow, sweet. Their preferred way of kissing. When they broke apart Reggie studied Twister's face. His deep brown eyes and freckles spread sporadically across his cheeks. He leaned down and rested his forehead against hers.

"I missed you today." He said so softly Reggie felt like crying again.

"I missed you too." That was the honest to God truth. She always missed him when they weren't together.

Maybe we'll be together forever someday. She thought to herself. Maybe. First they'd have to get over this next hurdle.

"The waves were awesome today and they were calling your name all afternoon." Twister said, still blissfully unaware that his entire life was going to change very soon.

"I know. I just had some stuff to take care of." She particularly whispered.

"Zine stuff?" Twister asked.

"Not quite. Look we should probably sit down." Reggie said breaking the embrace and leading him to her bed.

"Twister I have to tell you something." You can do this Reggie. Now or never. She took a deep breath and calmly said, "I'm pregnant."

"Oh." he replied.

"Yeah, I'm going to have our baby." she said. It suddenly dawned on her that she wasn't just pregnant. She was having a baby.

With Twister.

At seventeen.

She wished he'd say something other than 'oh'. She wished she knew what he was thinking. Was he angry? Upset? Shocked? She wanted, needed, to hear something other than 'oh'.

"Please say something Twister. Anything." she begged.

"I love you Reg. And I meant it when I said I'll love you forever. No matter how rough things get I'll always be there. Whatever decision you make I'll support it. You're the one I want and need in my life." He said looking into her eyes.

She gingerly grabbed his hand and traced invisible patterns into his palm. "Even if I decide to keep the baby."

"Especially if you keep the baby. I want to be there for you both." He said as he kissed her hand.

Reggie smiled. This was the man that she loved and he was willing to make a huge commitment to her at a moment's notice.

"You seem so okay with everything." Reggie thought aloud.

"Honestly? I am freaking out on the inside. I mean fuck. What are we going to do?" Twister said holding his forehead in his hand.

The confession made Reggie feel closer to Twister. It felt comforting to know she wasn't the only unsure of where to go from here.

In the end the two decided that there was nothing that they could do about their situation that night and they settled down to get some sleep. Ray didn't mind Twister staying the night since the damage had already been done.

As Reggie laid in her boyfriend's arms that night she tried to picture herself six months pregnant with his arms wrapped around her growing stomach. She shook the thought away. She would just focus on tomorrow. Tomorrow would be another day.

A/N: Alright I don't have much to say here other than I hope you enjoyed it. The song this story was inspired by is Papa Don't Preach by MaDonna. Make sure you're taking your birth control and other meds everyday. There's apps that can help you track whether or not you took your meds. Stay safe y'all and happy Halloween. Don't forget to review.