"Matilda Jane Hunter! Get your lazy backside out of the bathroom right now! People have to leave for their honeymoon in an hour out here!" Robbie sung very irritatingly through the bathroom door.
"Shut up, Rob! I'll be out in a second," I snapped.
"Robbie, just leave it," I heard Cassie say from my bedroom, sounding concerned.
She had offered to postpone the honeymoon so she could be here for me, take me to the doctors and find out, but I refused and managed to persuade her to go, although she made me buy a pregnancy test that could detect the signs of pregnancy just two weeks in, and I should be around about four weeks in, if I was pregnant at all. It cost me a bomb, for such an accurate test, but it was worth it, seeing as Cassie refused to go on her honeymoon if I didn't find out now.
The nausea I had been feeling could just be a bug, as morning sickness usually doesn't occur until about seven weeks into the pregnancy, but as my mum used to tell us, not every pregnancy runs on time, and they are all different.
I stared down at the small piece of plastic that could change my life forever. How could such a small thing have such big consequences? In just fifteen seconds, I would know if I was going to be a mum or not. If Ric was going to be a dad or not.
-x-
Two blue lines.
What did that mean? I checked the box, studying every word as though it had a hidden meaning, leaving no gaps whatsoever.
"One blue line is negative, two blue lines in positive," I read aloud, in a whisper, to myself. It just took a second for my brain to process what I had just read, and when it did, my reaction was to instantly check the test again to make sure I was seeing things.
It was impossible. It couldn't happen to me, could it? The lines were as clear as glass. Two, big, blue lines staring me right back in the face. My future lay before me on the test I held in my hand.
-x-
"Well what's the verdict?" Cassie asked quietly and impatiently in my bedroom.
I tried to reply, but no matter what amount of effort I put into speaking, nothing could urge the words to come out of my mouth. After moments of silence I spoke in a hushed tone.
"I'm pregnant, Cass."
"Oh my God!" she screamed excitedly, only stopping when I put my fingers to my lips to signal for her to be quiet, otherwise everyone would come into the room wondering what the commotion was, and I was not ready to tell anyone other than Cassie yet.
"Please Cass, just shut up."
"I'm sorry, Mattie. Are you going to have to fly back out to France to tell the father or what?"
"Erm… no. He's here, in the Bay."
"Really?" Cassie looked shocked and surprised. "Who is it then?" she asked, eagerly.
"Look, I was going to wait to tell you about this, and then when I found out I was pregnant I told myself I would tell him first, before anyone else, but I suppose with you going away and all I might be able to-" I rambled on, trying to direct her away from this conversation, before she interrupted me.
"Stop stalling! Who is it?"
"It's Ric."
-x-
"Ric? You mean I'm going to be an auntie?" Cassie squealed.
"Yeah, you are. But don't you dare tell him."
"Wait a minute, is that why he and Tessa split up? You're together now? You sounded like you hated each other's guts the other day, what's happening?"
"Ric broke up with Tessa because he slept with me, we had to do the honest thing. The reason why there is so much tension between us is that I can't start our relationship up again, even though Ric's all for it,"
"Why not? You definitely sound like you still love him."
"Why does nobody understand?" I yelled. "I can't get hurt again, especially the way I did before. If Ric and I were meant to be together then I would not feel so much doubt about this. Our relationship is in the past Cassie," I quietened down so I didn't draw attention to our private conversation.
"Yeah but Mattie, this baby is in the future."
With that, Cassie walked out of my room to meet Lucas. Suitcases stood in the hallway, where goodbyes were being said cheerfully. Neither of the happy couple could wipe the grins off their faces, they were blissfully happy.
-x-
"Bye guys!" I waved as the car drove out from the driveway and down the road, before starting to walk to the diner. I had a sudden craving for chocolate cake.
While making my way there, I managed to reflect on my time back in the Bay and the time I had spent with Ric. His intense gaze, the mixture of love and lust lingering in his eyes, his sweet scent, the way he was so protective over me, and the way he was willing to sacrifice everything he had, just to be with me. Of course, once I pluck up enough courage to tell him my news, he'll probably run a mile, no matter what promises he's made in the past. If he is going to be just as scared as I was when I first found out, then it wouldn't surprise me in the least. It's exactly what I would do if I could, but I'm stuck with this baby inside me now, there's nothing I can do.
-x-
"Belle? Back on shift the morning after the wedding?" I asked as I walked into the deserted diner.
"Yeah, it sucks. There's no point in me even being here anyway, there's no customers to be seen," she joked.
"Well you're getting paid for it, that's what it all comes down to."
"Yeah you're right. Have you got any work lined up?" Belle asked, while turning the milkshake machine on.
"No, but I really need to start looking. I always fantasised about going to university after high school, but when I moved away that dream was crushed. Do you know of any jobs going around at the moment?" I asked quickly, thinking about my newfound situation that was causing my mind to think about making a living not just for myself, but also for the little person that would be joining me.
"No sorry, but what you said about university before. You could always start up a course at the local one, just a night course, doing a couple of hours a week. Drew did it and he finished off just a month before you came back. Now he's starting a position as an accountant. It's great!"
"I'll think about it Belle, thanks a million."
"Anytime. Now what can I get you?"
"Just a chocolate cake, please?"
"Coming up!"
-x-
I found myself knocking at the door of the Van Park House, this news was way too big to keep from Ric, even if I was dreading telling him.
"Oh hello, Matilda. What are you doing here?" Sally answered the door. "Did Cassie get off safely?"
"Yeah the plane was due to take off about an hour ago and we haven't heard anything from Lucas so I'm presuming they're in the air now. Anyway, I'm here to see Ric, is he in?" I replied, nervously.
"Sure, he's upstairs playing with Pippa."
"Thanks, Sal," I said as I made my way up the stairs to Pippa's room.
-x-
I was met with the sight of the beautiful seven year old pushing a dolly's pram around her room, and Ric sitting cross-legged on the floor, watching her contentedly.
"Ric, can you take Suzie now? She wants her bottle," Pippa said sweetly while lifting the doll out of the pram gently, and handing it to Ric. "Here's her bottle."
"She's a very good baby, isn't she Pip?" Ric asked, playing his part.
"Of course she is silly!" was Pippa's reply.
I watched silently as Ric cradled the doll, as if it were a real baby, feeding it the bottle gently, with Pippa watching his every move. He fit the part of a dad perfectly, which made the butterflies in my stomach subside for a second, until I saw Ric lay the doll back down in the pram and stand up. That's when I knew it was time for my entrance.
"Mattie!" Pippa squealed delightfully as I walked into the room. She ran up and gave me a huge hug, as if I hadn't seen her in years, even though I had seen her yesterday.
"Hi Pip! Are you having fun playing with Suzie and Ric?" I smirked across the room at Ric, whose horrified expression showed me that he had realised there was an audience watching his performance.
"Yes, Ric is pretending to be Suzie's daddy today," Pippa replied confidently.
"Anyway," Ric drew attention to himself. "What can I do for you Mattie?" he still spoke to me in a different way than he used to, he was still furious at me for not wanting to be with him.
"I need to talk to you, now, Ric." I said, looking at my feet shuffling uncomfortably on the floor.
"Sure follow me," he said as he walked out of Pippa's room and led me into his own.
-x-
"Look Mattie, if this is about you seeing that back there, and you know…" Ric said, extremely embarrassed.
"Don't worry Ric, it's nothing to do with my growing concern about your sexuality, that's the least of my problems right now," I sighed trying to make the situation a bit more humourous.
"Fine, but if it's another lecture about how we can't be in a relationship again, then I don't want to hear it. I've had enough of those," he said in a very hostile tone.
"Shut up about that Ric, seriously!" he looked quite taken aback by my snapping at him, but he deserved it, he wouldn't let it go.
"So… is there actually any point to this conversation?"
"Well yeah, there is. You might want to sit down." I took Ric's hand gently in my own and dragged him over to his bed where I sat down, and eventually so did he.
Ric had a very confused look across his face, which just added to my anxiety. How was I supposed to tell him?
"I've not been in here for a while, nothing's changed though I see… still as messy as ever!" I tried to change the subject.
"Yeah, last time you were in here was our last night together, before you left," Ric spoke sadly. I just wanted him to grab me in a hug, holding me tight and tell me everything was going to be okay, actually, just making everything go away altogether.
It was now or never. "Anyway… see the thing is Ric…"
-x-
A/N: Well that was the penultimate, the last one should be up tomorrow :( Thanks for sticking with me guys, it means a lot!
I have two fics in the pipeline now and they should be written up when I come home from my holiday. I think that's the 27th, but don't quote me on that!! One of them is a brand new fic, with a very AU storyline and the other is the sequel to my other fic, 'Stop Living A Lie'.
Finally, I'd just like to say how depressing the Aus spoilers sound for the next two weeks, which just happen to be the two weeks I'm in Florida :( I'm hoping everything will be okay but after seeing some magazine scans from TV week, I'm doubting it...