*I do not own the rights to Stranger Things

*I do not own the rights to any characters from Stranger Things

*I am not the creator of the character Autumn

*I do not own the rights to ANY music used or mentioned in this fan fiction

*This story is an extended ending to California Dreaming by brittyaustin89, please read her fanfiction first. Otherwise this might not make sense.

Monarch: Autumn's Butterfly Effect

Chapter 9: Keep On Loving You

"So what are you gonna tell him?" Max whispered into the phone. She was talking with her cousin, Autumn. Ever since the divorce, Neil was hell bent on keeping Max and Susan from contacting her. About a month ago, Neil caught Max talking with Autumn, and tore the entire phone off the wall. He had said some extremely unkind things about Autumn. He was mostly happy though, because it meant "No more of that damn race mixing!" his words.

"It has been about five months now..uhm like 18…" before Autumn could answer Max's question she heard Neil's voice in the background. "Sorry Autumn! Gotta hang up. The idiot is home." Autumn didn't even have a chance to say goodbye.

*Ding Dong*

"It's open!" Autumn called out. Stephy let herself into Autumn's house. She had always loved the Hargrove place. It was a little out of the way, but it was absolutely gorgeous. You would walk in through a small entryway that led to an open living room. There was a fireplace in the center of the room. It separated it from the open kitchen. There was an archway that branched off to a dining room, then upstairs had a loft and 4 bedrooms. "Im almost ready, just gotta put my shoes on." Stephy stood at the edge of the entryway and smiled at her friend. "No worries. I know you're more wobbly by the day." Stephy smirked. "Ha ha very funny." Autumn laughed at her friend. "OK, let's go to lunch now."

The two women went to one of their favorite pizzeria's for lunch. "UGH my gosh!" Autumn squeaked as she took a bite of her 3rd slice of cheesy pizza. "This is exactly what I've been hankering for." "Yes! Same here. I've needed an easy and fun relaxing day for a while. Things have been crazy at the boutique since they started the remodel." "Oh, yes! How's that going, Miss Manager?" Autumn asked. "I love it, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't stressful. But hopefully it'll help to bring in some new business. Especially with the 90s around the corner. Big boss at the top expects completely different styles to emerge." When Autumn heard this, she let out a long sigh. "Oh man. I'm gonna miss wearing regular clothes for a while." Stephy reached across the table and squeezed Autumn's hand. "Yea, but your…OH shit." Stephanie's eyes jumped out of her head. Across the restaurant, Billy and his friend Anthony walked through the doors. "What? What's wrong?" Autumn asked, turning to see what was behind her. "Fuck! Stephy quick, hide me hide me!" Autumn said with desperation in her voice. Stephanie quickly jumped up from her spot, and slid in the booth seat flush against Autumn. "Did they see us?" Autumn asked her friend, in a hushed tone. She was looking down and had her hand over the right side of her face. Stephy casually peeked back at the men. "No, I don't think they saw us, but they are getting a table right by the door." The ladies ducked down lower in the booth and started whispering to each other. "It's alright...uhm this is what we'll do. We just lay low until they leave. We can just wait them out." Stephanie felt confident in her plan. Autumn made a face and grumbled at her friend. "No, no, I don't think that's going to work, Steph." "Why?" "Because I need to pee." Autumn whined in a child-like way. "Bitch….I told you to go easy on the sodas." Stephy replied, pointing out the 3 empty cups. The bathrooms were across the restaurant, and there would be no hiding from Billy at all. "You really can't hold it?" Stephy asked, already halfway knowing the answer. Autumn sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes. "Ughh ok, well I don't know what to do then." Steph whispered. "Well...can't you cause a distraction or something?" Autumn asked. "Girl what do you think this is, a damn cartoon? Should I slip on a damn banana peel or something?" Stephy replied, playfully. Autumn let out a snort, and covered her mouth to stop from laughing. "Well I was thinking more of shaking your titties at them? You got your nipple tassels on, right?" Stephanie almost couldn't contain herself. Now both the women were huddled closer together, trying their hardest to keep from busting at the seams.

"Okay, okay, but seriously though. Maybe we just make a run for it, and I'll stop at the In-N-Out up the road. You can pee there." Steph suggested. Autumn sighed. She hadn't seen Billy in the 5 months since the divorce. And she surely didn't want to run into him this way, but the women were out of options. "OK, on three, we book it for the door. You stay as close to me as possible." Stephanie threw a 20 dollar bill on the table, then grabbed Autumn's right hand. "Here we go...1...2..3!" The women quickly slid out of their booth and speed walked to the doors. Autumn was ducked to the side of Steph trying not to look obvious. The ladies did their best to pass behind Billy unnoticed, but Antman spotted them. "Oh hey!" Anthony called out, waving his hand. Billy peered over his shoulder to see who Antman was talking to. Stephanie broke into what was almost a sprint. She still had Autumn's hand, but the sudden change in speed left Autumn a half step behind. As the women passed by their table, Billy jerked his head around fast enough to almost get whiplash. He had to do a double take, to make sure he was seeing what he just saw. "Hi, bye!" was all Steph could say to the guys. In one fluid motion she swung Autumn in front of her and pushed her out the door. But it was too late. Billy had already seen everything. Autumn glanced back to him as she was being shoved out the doors. Billy was mouthing the words, "What the fuck…" Antman had made the exact same realization as Billy had. It just took him a few seconds longer to process. "Yo Billy, is your ex pregnant?"

After they left the pizzeria, Autumn did her best avoiding going home. She knew Billy was probably calling and blowing up her answering machine. She stayed and hung out at Stephanie's house until 10 o'clock that evening, but to her surprise there wasn't a single missed call on her phone. Autumn thought she was in the clear. So she decided to run herself a nice bubble bath. She lit herself some candles, got a magazine, and laid out her softest robe for later. But just as she was about to get in the tub, her doorbell rang for the second time that day. It startled her. At first she didn't know who the hell it could have been, but reality soon sank in. She slowly cracked the front door.

Standing there on her porch was Billy. Sunglasses on the top of his shaggy hair. Torn up jeans, and a black tee. "So you gonna let me in, or what?" he said, arms folded across his chest. Autumn opened the door and made her way back to the living room, sitting down on the arm of the love seat. Billy followed behind her, tossing his sunglasses on the lamp stand by the entryway, then leaning up against the wall. He slid his hands in his pockets, and just stared at her. There was a long silence between the two of them. Autumn was embarrassed, but she spoke first. Her voice was shaky. "I...I was gonna tell you. I swear. Just...after the divorce. I didn't think you wanted anything to do with me anymore. I didn't think.." Billy put his hand up, signaling her to stop. "NO! You didn't think. You didn't think to tell me you were having my kid? I mean...after everything that happened. This was the whole reason we divorced in the first place. Jesus fucking Christ...like how long have you known?" Autumn rubbed her belly through her robe. "5...almost 5 months. I didn't know how to tell you. It was the day you left, alright." Billy scoffed at her. "Damn...it wasn't even good that time." Autumn rolled her eyes at him and looked away. Billy took a few steps closer to her before speaking again. "Look, I never wanted things to end like that with us. You're my fucking girl. You've been my day one since forever. You think I could just let you go so easy?" Autumn exhaled sharply. "Oh but, haven't you. Tell me right now that you haven't slept with other women since we've been apart?" Billy threw his hands up. "Well you got me there. Yes, okay, yes, I've fucked around since then, but damn it Autumn when I saw you today…" He stopped himself and hung his head. He had to take a moment and compose himself. "You looked beautiful today..er uhm..I mean you are beautiful. Damn it Autumn. I fucking love you." Billy walked over to Autumn. She was looking away, so he gently cupped his hands around her cheeks. "Please look at me baby...I'm sorry. I'm so fucking sorry for everything. But I want this life with you more than anything. I want to fix us. I want to make this right. I can change. I can be fucking better for you." At this point Autumn was in tears. She had missed Billy so much, and it had been so long since he was this sincere with her. "Billy...I love you babe. I want to fix us. I...I just want things to go back to the way they were." Billy could see the pain in her eyes, and he knew he had to do a better job from now on. He slowly leaned down and placed a kiss on Autumn's lips. He was soft at first, but soon Autumn was running her fingers through his hair. Their kiss became more passionate, and their tongues were soon intertwined. But, Autumn suddenly pulled away. She started laughing, and the biggest smile broke across her face. She clenched her belly and gasped. "Billy! Billy, feel! The baby is moving!" She grabbed his hand and placed it on her stomach. "Holy shit! Has...has that ever...ever happened before?" Billy stammered. "No. This is the first time!" Autumn continued to hold Billy's hand on her belly. Pretty soon he couldn't help himself, he got down on one knee, pushed her robe aside, and started kissing where the baby was moving. Now it was Autumn's turn to caress Billy. She picked his head up, and they started kissing once more. Shortly after, Billy had carried Autumn upstairs, and they made love like never before. Billy was very gentle with Autumn, which ended up being a turn on for her. He was delicate and sensitive to all her needs. It was very unlike the animals sex they had in the past.

Billy stayed the night, and the next morning brought Autumn breakfast in bed. She had requested pancakes. The only breakfast food she ever craved anymore. He brought her 5 extra large flapjacks soaked in butter and syrup.

"Babe, you really didn't have to do this. It's a little much don't you think?" Billy handed her the plate of food, and gave her a funny look. "Nah...not at all. You're eating for two now. I gotta keep my baby and my baby baby fed. Billy sat on the bed with Autumn and watched her eat. "So do you know what you're having?" "No...I mean, the doctors know, but I didn't want to find out." Billy gave her another look. "What? You want it to be like a surprise, or something?" Autumn shook her head and swallowed a big bite of pancakes. "Not that. It just didn't feel right without you. I was already keeping this secret for so long. I couldn't live with myself if I found out the sex of the baby too. Actually, I have an appointment in the middle of next week. Would you want to come? I don't really know your work schedule anymore." Billy shook his head. "I'll be there. I'm not leaving your side ever again."

"OK Mrs. Hargrove, this is gonna be a little cold." The doctor said, as she placed the ultrasound jelly on Autumn's stomach. The doctor placed the wand across Autumn's belly and began to slowly move it back and forth. "OK, so the baby has a good strong heartbeat. Arms and legs all still growing. You measured right on track for almost 19 weeks now. Baby looks to be good and healthy." Billy was completely enamored, watching his baby move around on the black and white screen. "Oh your baby is moving alot! Can you feel that?" "Yep. I definitely feel it. We got to feel the first flutters last week!" Autumn was absolutely beaming. "And it's my understanding that you wanted pictures today, and you wanted to know the sex as well?" Autumn was bursting with excitement. She squeezed Billy's hand and shook her head, "yes" for the doctor. "Alright then, let me just see if we can get the baby to be still for a moment." The doctor continued to roll the wand of the ultrasound machine this way and that way. It took a few minutes to get in the right position. "OK, there we go. Do you two have any bets on what your baby might be?" "Boy...we both are thinking it's a boy." Autumn replied. The doctor smiled at them then gave Billy a wink. "Well congratulations momma. It's a healthy baby boy." It wasn't often that Billy got emotional, but when Autumn looked back up at him, he was wiping away tears with his t-shirt.