Chapter Fourteen:

Seasons with no Summer

Tracy was sitting on the table in the examination room, with Link sitting beside her on a chair.

"You're gonna be just fine, darlin'," he murmured, bringing her hand to his lips. "It's probably just a little bug."

"Thank you," she whispered. Although it will probably last longer than twenty-four hours…she added silently.

Dr. Brown reentered without warning, causing Tracy and Link to jump. "I'm not licensed to prescribe anything for what you have," he said, "but I can refer you to someone who can." He handed her a slip of paper with an address on it. She read it and looked up at the doctor in astonishment.

"Oh my goodness." She could barely get her voice above a whisper.

Dr. Brown smiled. "I'd go see that doctor as soon as possible, tomorrow if you can."

Tracy nodded, struggling to keep herself from doing anything unprofessional (such as what she felt like doing: jumping up and down and screaming). "All right."

"You're free to go," the doctor said, waving at the door and scribbling notes in a file.

"Okay. Thank you!" She hopped down from the table and led Link out of the room, out of the office, and onto the street…

Where she promptly threw her arms around his neck, kissed him, and screamed joyfully in his ear.

Link nearly fell flat on his back from surprise (although the sudden impact may have had something to do with it, too). "What's going on?" he asked, confused.

Tracy took the slip of paper out of her pocket and gave it to Link. "Do you know what this is?"

He looked at it. "An address?" he guessed.

Tracy groaned inwardly. "Yes, but the address of what?"

He opened his mouth like he was going to answer, then shut it again. "I don't know," he admitted sheepishly.

Tracy huffed, took the paper back, and pointed a finger at it. "It's in the first line! 'Dr. Jane Eden, O.B.!'"

Link's mouth fell open. "You mean…"

"Yes!" Tracy sang out. "We're pregnant!"

Tracy lay awake a week later, considering the recent behavior of the man sleeping beside her. He had been helpful and gentle… but distant. He was acting very strangely—once or twice she had actually caught him getting lost in thought, which was something she had never seen him do. He cooked and cleaned and wouldn't let her lift a finger, which was something that most husbands would do after discovering their wives were pregnant, so that was a credit to him. But the few hugs and kisses he had given her over the past few days felt… cold. Emotionless. Almost forced.

She turned over and looked at Link. He was mumbling in his sleep, but she couldn't hear what he was saying.

She sighed. He was probably still in shock. He'd be fine if she'd give him time…

She glanced at the clock: one a.m. Six hours of sleep left till she needed to get up. She turned back over and drifted away into deep, dreamless slumber…

PENNY'S POV

Penny awoke to the sound of the telephone ringing in the next room. She looked at the clock and groaned. Four in the morning?! Who could possibly be calling this early?

Reluctantly she got up and answered the phone. "H'lo?"

"Penny?" It was Tracy. "Oh, thank goodness you picked up…" Her breath sounded wet, and she was gasping between words. Her voice was frantic.

"Tracy? Tracy, are you okay?"

"Oh, Penny, I just can't believe it…"

"What?" Groggy as she was, Penny was really getting worried. "What is it?"

"He's gone!"

"Who's gone?" Penny knew the answer before Tracy even said it.

"Link! He just took off… he left a note… he said he didn't know when he'd be back… that he'd call me… Oh, Penny, what if something happens to him? I don't know what I'll do…" Tracy sounded like she was about to start sobbing.

Penny suddenly remembered a conversation she'd had with Tracy when they were in junior high that sounded very similar to this one. It had been a different boy, and Tracy had been snubbed in the cafeteria at lunch instead of left alone in her apartment, but the crying and the frantic voice sounded much the same. In fact, the only thing that was really different between the past phone call and the present one was the seriousness of the conversation.

Suddenly she was fourteen again. "Tracy, stay at your apartment. I'll come get you."

Tracy sniffled. "Thank you." She paused. "And, Penny?"

"Yes?"

"I'm pregnant."

Penny nearly dropped the phone. This was more serious than she'd thought. "When did you find out?"

"A week ago. Link has been acting strange lately, but I never imagined he would just leave."

Penny's eyes narrowed. What kind of husband would leave his pregnant wife alone? She did not let any of her anger spread into her voice. "We can sort all this out when we get back to my apartment, okay? I'll be there in twenty minutes—start packing."

In forty minutes, Penny and Tracy had a basic plan. "All right, it's settled. You're staying with me until Link gets back."

Tracy could only nod. Penny put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly and continued.

"Tomorrow you're going to call your school and get a substitute so you can take your time off."

"They're going to keep paying me, right?" Penny could see that Tracy really didn't want to be a burden to her, even though it wouldn't have been a problem.

"Yes," she said patiently. "And after that, I'll take you to your doctor's appointment."

"Okay." Tracy paused. "Penny, thank you so much. You didn't have to do this—"

"I know," Penny said quietly. "I wanted to. You're my best friend, Tracy. Did you really think I was going to leave you out in the cold?"

"No," Tracy admitted. "That's why I called you before my mother. That, and the fact that you probably aren't going to hire someone to hunt Link down or anything." She smiled weakly.

No, Penny thought angrily, though I did briefly consider doing it myself… "You do need to tell her about it, okay? At least call and tell her you're pregnant after your appointment tomorrow."

Tracy bit her lip. "Well… okay." Suddenly her eyes widened. "Penny, what are you going to do? You certainly can't go on maternity leave… can you?" She stared at Penny suspiciously.

Penny laughed it off and looked at her hands. "No, I guess I can't. The chorus is doing very well, and the competition isn't for two months. Your doctor's appointments are probably going to be once every month for now, and they can do without me for nine days this year… I'm not exactly an indispensable teacher, which is why it'll be easy for me to get an O.K. from my boss." She looked up and noticed that Tracy was barely keeping her eyes open. "You need sleep."

Tracy shook her head. "No, I need to use a bathroom." She stood up and added, "Although sleep would be nice, too."

Penny smiled. "I knew it. I'll open the foldout couch while you're in the bathroom, okay?" Tracy nodded and made a beeline for the bathroom. Penny noticed that she left a piece of paper, folded up into a tiny square, on the couch. She glanced around, picked it up, and read:

Dear Tracy,

I don't know exactly how to tell you this, so I'm just going to come out and say it: I don't know if I'm ready to be a dad. I have to figure some things out first… I'm going on the road, and I don't know when I'll be back. I'll call you when I find a place to stay.

I love you. Never, ever forget that. I promise I'll come back… I just don't know when.

Link

Penny shook her head, disgusted. What a complete jerk, she thought as she unfolded the hide-a-bed for Tracy.

A/N: All right, you guys were nice enough not to send any reviews with sharp edges after Penny's accident in Chapter Five. I can tell you right now that I don't have similar expectations for the reviews on this chapter. -shaky smile- Although, it would be nice if you'd count to ten before reviewing...