Richonne (Short Love Stories) Baby Father Mine (Chapter 10)
A/N: This story was inspired by the movie Whose Baby starring Andrew Lincoln and Sophie Okonedo. If anyone knows where I can see the entire movie, please let me know. Thanks.
"I can't believe you would deliberately keep something this important from me," Rick tries to contain his anger as he looks at his ex-girlfriend, Michonne.
She stands before him, allowing him this expression as if she deserves it. "It wasn't deliberate. I made a mistake and when I tried to fix it….well, you had already moved on. You seemed happy and I didn't want to derail any of that."
"My life, my decision. You keeping this from me….it just really hurts. What was your plan? Raise him without me? Tell him I died or something?" Rick wants to know.
Michonne sighs heavily. "I hadn't thought about it really."
"How can you treat this so casually?" He asks.
"I'm not. Look, I know I screwed up and I'm sorry, but I can't change anything. I can't take back what's already happened. If I could make this right, I would. You have to know that." She pleads.
"When did you find out?"
"Six weeks after we broke up," she answers.
"Don't you mean after you dumped me and walked out?" Rick retorts.
She moves over to the living room area to take a seat on the couch. He follows her and sits on the opposite end of the plush furniture.
"I don't know how to make this right. I won't keep you out of your child's life if that's what you're thinking. We can talk about it and come to some sort of agreement. Joint custody if you want." She is trying to be amicable with him because she realizes she is the cause of this non ideal situation. She never meant to cause any strife for him. She didn't plan any of this.
He watches with irritable interest as she burrows down deeper in the couch with a yawn. He frowns with disbelief as her eyes begin to close and she actually nods off. You have got to be kidding me.
She pops up suddenly, looking around in confusion. "I'm sorry. Did I fall asleep? She sighs. "That's all I do now is sleep and I fall asleep anywhere. It doesn't matter the time or the place."
Rick smiles slightly, taking in her round belly and the changes in her body. "I can come back later if you need me to."
"Thirty minutes. Just give me thirty minutes and I'll be good to go," she requests. She moves slowly as she removes herself from the couch and makes her way to her bedroom to lay down.
Rick scoffs, wondering if he is just supposed to sit there while she sleeps. It's obvious she doesn't care at this particular point. The little one is telling her to sleep, so that's what she is going to do. He can't leave until he knows they have some sort of plan in place. He has to be part of this child's life. He's the father and he can't just pretend like this situation doesn't exist. He takes the time to reflect and remember the relationship he and Michonne once had.
They met at a New Year's Eve party hosted by some mutual friends. He remembers getting into a debate with her about the judicial system and prison overcrowding and things kind of went from there. He was intrigued by her from the beginning. He asked her out for coffee after the party and that led to another date. After going on several dates, spending time together, and communicating each and every day for over a month, they slept together. The sex was so explosive that they couldn't stay away from each other.
They dated for well over six months and Rick thought everything was going great. He was in love with her, so it came as a complete shock when she came to his place one Friday night and told him she wasn't in love with him and that it was best if they parted ways. He couldn't believe it. He knew she was career oriented, being a lawyer and all, but he thought they had something special. She told him it just wasn't working for her and she didn't have the time to devote to a serious relationship.
He tried for several weeks after that to reach out to her, to let her know he was still in love with her, that he would always care for her. She wasn't receptive. It got to the point that she stopped accepting his calls at work, wouldn't answer her cell phone, and screened her calls at home, so he finally got the picture and gave up. Just a month ago, he met someone nice and was trying to build something new.
Imagine his surprise when his best friend, Shane , called him up to tell him that Michonne was pregnant and Andrea, Michonne's best friend, who put the bug in Shane's ear, was certain Rick was the father. Hence him just showing up unexpectantly at her apartment today. The first thing he noticed was her protruding belly and when he point blank asked her if he was the father, she didn't deny it. Now, he is sitting on her couch, wondering what's going to become of his life. He never planned to co-parent a child. He always thought he'd be happily married when he decided to have kids.
He sighs heavily as the realization hits him. He is going to be a father. He rubs his face absently, still pondering what all of this will mean for him. He hears her stirring around in the back, finally making her way to the living area after several minutes.
"Thanks. I needed that. Now, we're hungry for Chinese food. You wanna come with me?" She offers.
"We need to talk, Michonne."
She agrees. "I know, but whatever this little one wants, he gets." She rubs her belly, then grabs her purse and heads for the door.
Rick follows reluctantly, but ends up driving her to her favorite Chinese restaurant and pays for the meal. They bring the takeout back to her place, so they can finish their much needed talk.
"I know you have a lot to process, so I'll understand if you need to take some time and think all of this through." She relays.
"I just wish….things were different. I always envisioned being married when I brought children into the world." He sounds almost sad.
Michonne feels responsible for his sadness and wants so badly to make it right for him. "I never thought I'd want kids, but when I found out I was pregnant, it was like a light bulb went off and I realized what was really important in my life. I picked up the phone several times to call you, but I didn't know what to say."
"How about Rick I'm pregnant and it's yours?"
"I was afraid. What if you didn't believe me? What if you rejected me like I did you? By the time, I got up the courage to tell you, I found out you had met someone new and I thought it was only fair for me to let you have that chance since I kind of ruined things for us."
Rick looks deeply into her eyes. "You broke my heart, Michonne."
She looks away, not wanting to accept the hurt she caused or the mess she created with her selfishness. The truth is she never stopped loving Rick. She wanted to focus on her career and she didn't know how to do that and be in a meaningful relationship at the same time, so she chose to let the relationship go which was the biggest mistake of her life. When she found out she was pregnant, it made her realize that all she wanted was a life with Rick. She knows now that she should have told him as soon as she found out. Maybe things would be different between them, but what's done is done and you can't go back.
"Rick, I'm sorry. I was selfish. I put my career first and I know now it was the wrong choice. I don't know how we'll figure this out, but we will. It'll be ok. I have a doctor's appointment next week. You're welcome to be there. Can I….share something with you right now?"
He nods, his mind taking in and processing all of this new information. He watches as she slowly leaves the room and returns with a small device that looks like an old portable CD player complete with headphones.
She hands the headphones to him and watches as he puts them on, then she places the round device on her stomach and flips a switch. "Can you hear anything?"
Rick shakes his head no as all he is picking up is a lot of static.
She moves the device around and smiles as Rick puts his finger up, alerting her that he is hearing something. He looks up at her in amazement as he hears the rapid thumping of what can only be his baby's heartbeat.
Tears spring to his eyes as he can't believe what his ears are hearing. The baby's heartbeat. He laughs as this little device makes the unseen so tangible, so real.
Michonne tries not to tear up as she witnesses the happiness on Rick's face. "I have to listen to him every day. Sometimes 5 and 6 times a day, especially right before I go to bed each night. As long as he's ok, I'm ok."
"You keep saying he, so do you know it's a boy?"
"I haven't found out yet. My mom says it's a boy because he's low, he's heavy, and I sleep all the time." She laughs as she shares that information, relieved that he finally knows and that she can freely share this experience with him.
Rick doesn't want to acknowledge the anger that rolls up at the mention of other people knowing about her pregnancy. He's the father and he just found out today. She is six months pregnant. "So, who else knows? Your mom, Andrea, Shane…all of these people knew before me that I was going to be a father. Geez! I have to tell my parents they're going to be grandparents."
Michonne is silent. Just when she thought they were kind of breaking the ice, she reminds him of the fact that she kept this from him.
"I think I should go. Call me with the information about your appointment. I'd like to drive you there if that's ok. Do you…do you need anything before I go?" Rick still wants to take care of her despite his anger.
"No, I'm fine." She accepts the headphones and places the heart monitor on the kitchen bar as she moves toward the door to show him out. "I'll be in touch." She has the overwhelming urge to kiss him, but realizes it would be too much with everything else he has going on. He still looks so good, so handsome and that body…..Damn, these hormones. She can't believe she walked away from him.
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They have just left the doctor's office and Rick is so excited to have pictures from the sonogram and the reveal of the baby's gender. They are definitely having a son.
"Have you thought of any names yet?" He asks.
"No, not really. I'm sure we'll come up with something." She tells him.
"Are you hungry?"
"Just sleepy. I should go back to work, but I could really use a nap right now," she informs.
"Well, I'll take you home. You should sleep."
An hour later, Michonne awakes from her nap and moves straight to the refrigerator. She jumps as Rick inquires about her nap. "Oh, I thought you were gone. It was fine except I started dreaming about dancing watermelon."
Rick laughs. "I'm having trouble with that visual."
"They were huge triangles with arms and legs, so I guess that means I need some watermelon." She removes a tray from the frig and starts eating at the counter. "Hmmm….that is so good." She pulls a water bottle from the freezer and takes a long swig. "Good stuff."
Rick moves into the kitchen. "Water is good stuff?"
"Weird, right? I just love it frozen just a bit. It is so good." She continues to eat her fruit as Rick watches.
"Can I ask you something?"
She nods.
"Did you ever love me?" He waits as she looks up at him, placing her fruit back in the tray.
"Rick, I made a mistake when I did what I did. I'm sorry I messed everything up. The truth is….I was in love with you, but I didn't think I could have you and a successful career. I regret that every day. This pregnancy has made me realize what's really important in life. I decided to keep this child because he was conceived in love, because I….I still love his father and I wanted to have a part of you always." She waits for his reaction. When none is forthcoming, she continues. "I understand that you have moved on. I don't know what you'll need from me to help your relationship along, but whatever you need, I'm there."
"So, you were in love with me and you still love me?"
"Yes," she whispers. "I don't want to cause you any more trouble. I just wanted to be honest, so we can kind of rebuild our relationship and get a fresh start for the little one here." She rubs her belly, smiling.
Rick closes the distance between them. "I don't want to cause you any trouble, but I never stopped loving you. When I told you that I would always love you, always care for you….I meant it with everything that I am."
Tears begin to stream down her face as she basks in his words. "What about your relationship?"
"Let me worry about that. She's a good person, but I know where my heart is. You just need to be 100% sure this time. There's no going back." He smiles as he gently wipes her tears away and leans in to kiss her tenderly on the lips.
"I love you. I never stopped loving you. I know what I want now, what I need. It's been you all along," she confesses.
Rick pulls her into his arms, hugging her to him. She returns the embrace, eagerly.
"I missed you so much," he admits.
"I missed you, too." She starts to cry she is so happy to have him back in her life.
He leans back, taking in her beautiful smile despite her tears. He kisses her softly then steps back as she gasps and grabs her stomach.
"You alright?"
"He's kicking." She takes his hand and places it on her stomach. Rick laughs as he feels the movement of his son.