"Pack your bags"

"Okay...where are we going?"

Enjoy - Sydney XO

The next morning, once Alex left for work Norma was left to sit in bed. She wondered if work was really the issue that was tugging at her husband. Really, she wanted to believe his words but she couldn't say she did. He'd never acted so distant towards her, ever, not since they first met and at that time of course they weren't dating, they were nowhere near the prospect of union. It was odd, considering where they were now, married and fairly happy.

Silently, she wondered if this, him constantly turning her away when it came to sex, stemmed from some kind of...impotence? Had he been unable to perform and that was why he kept turning her down? Out of pure embarrassment? That had to be right, right? Yes. Of course they made pills for that though. But Alex being the stubborn guy he was would most definitely never ever stoop so low to call a doctor and ask for erection pills. Not his style, not at all.

In Norma's mind, the quickly pieced together plan was simple. She would just happen to have some kind of prescribed Viagra in her medicine cabinet from a previous relationship, Sam maybe? And she would just offer it to him and maybe with some luck and lots of convincing, he would agree and they could get back into normal routine with their sexual life. The only issue was going to the doctor to get some kind of male enhancement prescription.

Thinking of it now, she could always just call Dr. Rosewood, Alex had been going to see him since he was little, right? Would it be so weird to trust in her with this issue? She threw on her robe and went downstairs, pacing to the kitchen phone and looking to the scribe pad for her number. She remembered that Alex had it jotted down for emergency, in case Norma was ill and needed someone to call as she didn't have many medical trustees in White Pine Bay.

Once she found it and dialed, she waited. Was this the proper thing to do? No, but if it would help mend what was becoming of their relationship, then it was worth it 100%. She couldn't stand to see Alex so miserable, internally she believed that once they were back in the saddle of their great sexual relationship, things would slowly fall back on track.

"Hello, Dr. Rosewood's office," her voice was light and sweet, such a friendly woman, she was happy Alex convinced her to go visit.

"Hi, Dr. Rosewood. This is Norma Romero, Alex's wife."

"Oh! Yes! How are you feeling, dear?" she asked, eagerly excited to follow her on the journey to motherhood, she loved being a maternity doctor much more than a pediatrician but sometimes those two worlds had to combine. Typically, the mothers who let her take care of them during pregnancy would allow her to take care of their children later on.

"I'm fine. Those meds you prescribed a few weeks ago worked really well. Actually they kicked that flu within two or three days."

"Good, good. Happy to hear. And how has the pregnancy been so far, mama?" she joked, a smile breaking over her face, "I know it's still early but I like to keep track, especially for you bec-"

"I'm sorry," she laughed, crossing an arm over her waist, "You must have the wrong information. I am not pregnant, there's no way I could get pregnant. I'm not sure where you got that idea."

Her stomach dropped, Alex hadn't told her. She knew him all his life and was extremely disappointed in him. Not only was this embarrassing for her, but it was gonna be painful for Norma to hear.

"Alright honey...a few weeks ago when I called Alex about your prescription, I told him I looked through your urine and blood samples, and I did. Your results confirmed that you were well...expecting. I told Alex to tell you, dear. But um, I guess that plan fell through."

Norma was speechless. She couldn't believe that she was pregnant. She really didn't think that it was possible. "Well- I uh, are you sure about it? Like 100% sure that I'm pregnant?" she asked, nimble fingers clinging onto the telephone cord like a lifeline.

"Yes. Of course, I mean these results are always accurate, there is no way this could be false. You should come in and see me as soon as you can so I can do some kind of ultrasound, see how far along you are, give you prenatal vitamins. You...you want this baby, right?"

Without a second thought she answered, "Yes. Yes I want the baby, I'd never even think of doing that. Nor would I place it up for adoption. I'm lucky this could even happen at my age. And you're saying Alex knew?"

"I told him two weeks ago, sweetheart," she answered, her voice almost as upset as Norma felt.

She lacked words once again, upset towards Alex. The fact that he didn't tell her meant something, he wasn't happy about this, he was likely regretting telling her about the baby. "Okay, well...I'm gonna let you go. And um, I'll call you back tomorrow morning, okay? To set up an appointment and everything."

"Okay, hun. If you have any problems or if something doesn't feel right, please don't hesitate to call me. There will always be someone here to take your call. Good luck with Alex," she said, her voice returning to it's sweet nature.

"Thanks, Dr. Rosewood."

With that, she hung up the phone and planned something devious.

XXX

All she needed was an empty whiskey bottle and some warm water. If Alex wasn't gonna tell her she was pregnant, she was going to force the truth out of him. She was angry. Pissed actually. Why he wouldn't tell her was obvious. But they were married, they were supposed to talk to each other about everything. It was in their vows for Christ's sake.

When she heard his SUV pull up into her driveway, she sat at the kitchen table and took out a shot glass, pouring some of the mock whiskey inside and getting ready for the show. The glass rose firmly in her hand as she listened to his footsteps take over the linoleum tiles of the kitchen floor. She started sipping accordingly as he watched her with big eyes.

"Norma!" he yelled, dropping all of his work gear and walking over to her, snatching the glass out of her nimble hand. He poured the rest of the glass down the drain and moved the bottle to rest on the counter top.

"What the hell was that for?" she asked, immediately playing dumb.

It struck him, he knew he couldn't bring up her pregnancy. He hoped she hadn't been drinking for long. "Um...I was saving that bottle of whiskey for tomorrow night. I'm going on a stakeout and I have a tradition of sipping on a little something to keep me awake and alert."

"Sure. But is that why you don't want me drinking, Alex?" she stood from the table and drew closer to him, eyes completely darting him down.

He sighed, looking down to the floor to break eye contact, "What are you talking about, Norma? I told you I was saving the bottle."

She shook her head, "I already now, Alex. There's nothing to hide anymore."

There was a pause, but she broke it to lift up her sweater and turn to the side, "Look. There's no bump yet...there will be soon though. We can't go back. So if you don't want this, tell me right now," her voice was sadder than anything, as her eyes were trained on his face.

Still silence.

"Why didn't you tell me?" hushed, almost silent but her voice was still awake, wanting something out of him other than a shrug of the shoulders. Her bare stomach was still on display as she spoke to him.

With extreme hesitation, he reached out a hand and placed it on the layer of skin, "I'm sorry," he whispered. He fell to the floor then, on his knees, hugging her belly to his cheek as he swayed her hips bit by bit.

"I'm so sorry, baby."

Leave me a review and tell me what you thought. Tonight's episode had me in tears, never have I seen anything so beautiful on television before in my life … Thank you for reading :)