Love or Hate

The new few days dragged by for Rachel. She did her best to avoid Jake. She couldn't face him, not yet at least. She needed to tell Tobias first. He deserved to know. She was sitting in study hall trying to get some homework done but her mind kept drifting the new life growing within her. She couldn't be more than a couple weeks along. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice Marco sit down next to her.

"Hey Rach," he said, tapping her on the shoulder. Rachel jumped at the gesture.

"You scared me," she grumbled.

"Sorry. You've been kind of avoiding us lately. Just wanted to tell you that we're worried," Marco relayed. She was sure he was worried about her, but Jake was a different question. He probably just wanted to yell at her for acting like Tobias.

"Thanks, but I'm fine. Just a little distracted I guess," Rachel answered just as the bell rang. They stood and headed out into the hallway. Rachel went one way and Marco started to follow her when he caught Jake's eye. He jogged the short distance.

"She says she is ok but I don't know, dude," Marco muttered.

"Something is wrong with her," Jake asserted.

"You don't think...she got Yeerked do you?" Marco whispered.

"No..." Jake murmured, sot sounding very sure of his reply. The school day ended and Rachel headed in the direction of home, just in case Jake or Marco was following her. She veered off into the woods and took of at a run, ducking under branches. She dropped her back pack in some bushes and morphed into a cat.

Tobias, she called out in thought-speech. She got no answered. She ran a little further, looking around, trying to find him.

Tobias, please. I need to talk to you, she sent out. Rachel reached the clearing where they had met so many times before. She sat, her sensitive feline ears listening for any sign of him. After a agonizingly long wait she heard wings flapping nearby. She turned her head to see Tobias land on a low branch. She demorphed, walking towards him slowly.

What? he asked, his tone sharp. She took a step back, hearing the tone of his voice. What had him all grumpy?

"What's wrong?" she murmured. Tobias let out a squawk and morphed into his human form.

"I hear things, Rachel," he said.

"Looks I try to stop Jake from bad-mouthing you," Rachel said defensively.

"He thinks he is so special. He doesn't give a shit about anybody else if it doesn't directly effect him. He's so self-center," Tobias griped.

"I agree with you," Rachel sighed. He raised an eyebrow at her. His featured softened as he placed a hand on her arm.

"And here I am bad-mouthing him. I'm no better than he is," he groaned. Rachel shook her head. She had to tell him what she'd come to tell him before she chickened out. He pulled her to him, just holding her close. He hadn't wanted to stay away but he knew it would be better for them all if he did.

"I'm sorry I left you," he breathed in her ear. Rachel looked up at him and smiled a little.

"I'm glad you're back," she whispered, kissing him lightly on the lips. He immediately tried to deepen the kiss but she stopped him.

"You are back right?" she asked. He pulled away completely and looked away. Rachel opened her mouth to speak but closed it again. 'Come on Rachel, just tell him,' she thought to herself.

"You have a reason, you know," she called. He looked at her.

"Yeah? What reason? So I can sit and listen to Jake trash talk me?" he shot, that anger back in his voice.

"No...because I need you," Rachel murmured. His brow knit together in curiosity.

"Rachel..." he trailed off.

"Tobias...I'm pregnant," Rachel finally managed to get the words out. He stood there, staring at her. It seemed like an eternity before he spoke.

"You can't be serious," he finally babbled.

"I am serious, Tobias. And Im really scared," she voiced. He turned his back to her. Thoughts bounced around at lightning speed in his brain. He was his, he knew it. She wouldn't tell him if it wasn't. But he hadn't meant for it to happen, not consciously at least. He spun back around.

"You have to know that I didn't mean for this to happen, I swear," he begged, taking her hands in his. She looked at him, desperately wanting to believe the words coming out of his mouth.

"I really want t believe you but I don't know if I can," she murmured.

"Rachel, please. I honestly didn't mean for this happen...not consciously at least," he swore.

"I just don't know what to do. I can't have a baby...I'm only 16 years old," she admitted.

"How long have you known?" he asked.

"A couple days. I'm only a few weeks along...I can...I can end it...and we can pretend like nothing happened," she suggest.

"No. We'll get through it. Whatever you need," he promised, pulling her to him again. She just clung to him for a minute. It had gone better than she had expected.

"I love you Rachel. That will never change," he murmured, resting his forehead against hers.

"Even when I'm fat?" she asked with a small laugh.

"You are beautiful no matter what you lok like," he told her. She sighed, realizing she needed to head over to Cassie's barn before they thought she'd been kidnaped by Controllers.

"I have to go," she murmured and he nodded, walking with her to where she'd left her backpack.

She waved goodbye and headed up the road away from the forest. She finally reached the barn. Everyone else was there and Jake looked surprised to see her. He eyed her suspiciously.

"I'm not a Controller, Jake," she spat, knowing what he was thinking. Jake looked at Ax.

"Is she telling the truth?" he asked of the Andalite. Ax peered into Rachel's eyes.

"She has not, as you say, been Yeerked," he informed them.

"So where were you?" her cousin probed.

"I was with Tobias. And I don't want to hear another word out of your mouth about him," she answered.

"I will not have my baby exposed to those kind of feelings about its father," she aded. Jake's eyes bugged out.

"W-what...did you just..." Jake rambled, clearly in shock.

"Yes Jake...I definitely just told you that I'm pregnant and that Tobias is the father," Rachel answered coolly.

"I'm going to kill him," Jake growled. Rachel attempted to stop him but there was a flutter of wings.

Go ahead then. I won't stop you, Tobias remarked, morphing into his human self.

"I won't even fight back. How's that?" he continued, arms outstretched.

"Tobias, don't," Rachel pleaded.

"Rach, it's fine. He clearly needs to get some pent up anger out. We should let him," Tobias replied. Jake turned on him, landing a punch to his jaw. Tobias stumbled backwards a fe3w paces.

"You hit like a girl," Tobias egged him on. Jake tackled him, punching him squarely in the nose this time. They let the two duke it out for a little longer before Marco had to pull Jake off. He couldn't watch this anymore.

"That's enough," Marco ordered. Tobias stood up, wiping the blood from his lip and nose. Rachel ran to him, pressing a cloth to his nose.

"Happy now?" Tobias asked.

"I can't believe you got my cousin pregnant," Jake spat.

"Well guess what, I just found myself, ok. So don't act like it was some huge secret for months," he responded. Jake just shook his head, running a hand through his hair. This was going to be a really long nine months.