A/N: Disclaimers are still in the same place. Check them out and don't sue. There's swearing. And things are intense.

Omigod! She's back. Yep. Sorry for the very long, long delay. Um. Soooo, while I was gone...had a baby. Yes, really. I'd been trying for awhile and finally! No, I was not pregnant when I started or planned this fic. Seriously. I'd pretty much given up. Anyhow, the pregnancy sucked all my energy away, so I basically crashed after work every night. No energy for general life, let alone fanfic. Sorry.

But I am back now and Perdita is playing nice, so I should get this train back on track. Not that things are pretty now. Bear with me and them.

Thank you sooo much to those that tripped over my fic while I was AWOL. It was nice the see the reviews pop up.

I hope it was worth the wait.

Don looked down at Tess. In the mostly dark room he could barely make out her features. Would the baby have Tess' nose? Don shifted to his back and stared at the ceiling. A baby. There was going to be a baby. Not in his wildest…Didn't matter. Would she have Tess' hair? Don closed his eyes and tried to picture a little girl with honey brown braids. It wasn't as hard as he thought. He watched the dream child run around. She looked over her shoulder and laughed. She wasn't such a child anymore. A guy ran to catch up with her. The guy pulled her close… Hey, get yer hands off. Don's eyes snapped open. He shook the ghosts out of his mind. Didn't even have the baby yet and here he was worrying about boys. Maybe the baby'd be a boy. That would be easier. Don pondered that for a bit. He wouldn't be so tough on his kid. Let him do what he wanted. So he'd grow up pansy-assed, growled voice from a dark corner. Don shook his head again. He glanced over at Tess. How could she sleep so peacefully? She's growing yer kid, Flack. Wears a body out. Don sighed.

Maybe we should get a house. A kid should have a yard. And a dog. You never had a dog, one of the voices in his head pointed out. Exactly, another countered. But this kid should have a dog. An apartment was no place for a kid and a dog. You haven't even gotten her to agree to move in wit ya. But she would wouldn't she. She had to. Why? Plenty of people have kids without living together or even seeing each other. Don scooted up and looked down at Tess. She wouldn't do that, would she? They'd get married. There was no way that his kid… Don eyes opened in panic for a moment. Tess said she'd been a t a clinic. Maybe, she… Don wiped his hand over his face.

Tess cracked an eye open. "Do you wanna talk?"

"I didn't mean to wake ya."

"I wasn't really sleeping anyhow." Tess half smiled at Don's incredulous look. "Really." Tess slid over and ran her hand over the floor until she found a shirt. She sat up, pulled it over her head and wrapped the bedding around her waist. "We should talk. Here? Or should we get some coffee and food?" Don's stomach growled. Tess grinned and shook her head. "Food it is then." Tess slid out of bed and started looking for her clothes. Don silently watched her. Tess finished dressing. She stood in the doorway watching Don for a bit. He sat watching her. Tess went over and sat on the edge of the bed. She started to reach for Don's hand, but then let hers drop to the comforter. Don stared at it. Tess pulled her legs up and crossed them. She folded her hands in her lap and watched Don. "Do you want to just go back to sleep? Or not sleeping, as the case may be?" Don didn't answer. Tess sighed, reached up and started to fiddle with her hair. "Should I just go?" Don still sat silently. Tess sighed and got up. She started for the door.

"Do ya want this baby?" he asked in almost a whisper. Tess paused in the doorway. She leaned her head against the door frame with her back to him. Several long moments passed. Don could feel his chest tighten.

"We've only known each other for what? About ten weeks or so?"

Don felt both body and soul slump. "So, ya don't."

Tess didn't turn around. "That's not what I said."

"I heard what ya said. It wasn't yes." Don's voice was sharp.

Tess slowly turned around. "Do you want this baby?"

"I don't…" Don looked at the ceiling. He could feel tears pricking his eyes. His baby. Did he want his baby? Who wouldn't want their own baby? Come on, Flack, you see it all the time. Some people… Don pushed down the sick feeling rising in his stomach. He looked at Tess. "Ya said ya went to a clinic…"

Tess shook her head and wrapped her arms around her body. "Just to find out. It's Saturday. Not like I can drop in at my regular doctor's office." Tess shook her head. "I didn't want to wait to find out."

"But would ya…" Don watched Tess. He took several deep breaths. "If ya don't want the baby, please don't get rid of it. Him. Her. Whatever. I don't want ya to get rid of the baby. Please." Tess bit her lip. She dug at her eyes with a fist.

"You didn't ask for this. It's not…"

"My responsibility? Yeah, it is. This is my baby."

"I don't want you to feel obligated."

"Throwin' out the big words now?"

Tess shrugged. "It's true. You didn't ask for this."

"You didn't either. Too late for that though, ya know?"

Tess nodded. "I know," she answered quietly. "But it's not so simple, you and I. I mean, we want to avoid talking, we have sex. Look at tonight. How healthy of a relationship is that?"

"We don't yell at each other. Tear each other apart."

"Yet."

"Your folks like that?"

Tess shook her head. "No, my parents and great together. They're best friends. But they've known each other almost forever. My mom was one of the first people my dad met when he escaped to Toledo."

"So, only people who've known each other forever should be together?"

"That's not what I said."

"Sounds like that. You'd kind of be stuck seeing as how you ain't from New York. 'Sides a little late for that now. We've got a forever kind of link. Unless…" Don's gut got that queasy, sinking feeling again.

Tess sighed. She shook her head silently for a few moments. She looked carefully at Don. "I couldn't. So whatever else, there's going to be a baby." Don let out an audible breath. Tess closed her eyes briefly and bit her lip. She looked at Don again. "You really thought I might…"

"Well, ya weren't exactly saying no."

"Don, whatever else shakes out of this, I could never do that." Tess waved her hand at him. "And it's not just a being raised Catholic thing. I…I just couldn't do that."

"Good," he said nodding. "I mean…" Don stopped. "Well, just good." Don looked down and then back up at Tess. "I meant it about ya movin' in here. Even before ya told me about the baby. I mean I really do want ya here."

Tess looked down at the floor and didn't say anything for several moments. "I'm not sure that's such a good idea right now." Tess didn't look up.

"Whatdaya mean that's not such a good idea?" Don felt his temper rising and tried to keep it in check. "I asked ya before…before."

"I know, I just don't think that it's such a great idea right now."

"Well, when do ya think it might be a great idea?" Don growled. "When our kid's in high school or somethin'?"

Tess took several deep breaths. "I just don't want to jump into anything."

"So yer sayin' that ya just want to live across town and raise my baby…"

"That's not at all what I said. I just said that I don't want to jump into anything…"

"A little late for that."

"No, it isn't. I'm not going to move in with you or marry you just because I'm having your baby."

"I asked ya before I knew about the baby."

"But I already knew. I can't make this decision right now. Please…"

"Well, don't take too much time over it. It'll be pretty obvious in not too long…"

Tess straightened up. She dug her fists into her hips. "No kidding? Will it?" Tess ground out sarcastically. "I'm not some stupid teenager that let her boyfriend knock her up. I'm just a careless adult that let her boyfriend knock her up. I've passed the Health Ed class. I know what happens. I'm just not running right down to city hall just so you can satisfy some honor thing you have going right now."

"No. Yer just saying that you wanna let my kid grow up without his father."

"Or her father. And I didn't say that at all." Tess looked up at the ceiling and took several deep breaths. "This is exactly why I'm not going to just get married."

"Whatdaya mean by that?" Tess didn't answer. Don fought hard to control his temper. She just wasn't getting it. "I love you, Tess. I've told ya that. I've shown ya that. We're gonna have a baby. Why shouldn't we get married?"

Tess pinned Don with her gaze. "If we weren't going to have a baby would you be asking me to marry you right now?" After a couple of heartbeats, Don looked away. "Exactly. Listen, I'm going to head home."

"It's late, Sweetheart. Don't go." Tess shook her head. "Come on. I don't want ya out and about by yerself at this hour."

"I'll be fine. I'll call you when I get back to my apartment."

"Please stay, Tess."

"I can't. I've got to go for a bit. Clear my head."

"Run away, ya mean."

Tess flashed Don a sad smile. "Yeah, I guess I do mean that. I'm sorry. I am. Really. Sorry." Tess turned and headed for the coat closet.

Don sat there and listened to Tess gather her things and leave. He closed his eyes and banged his head against the wall a couple of times. I gotta get her to change her mind.