Rosablasifann08, you'll recognize the doctor's name in this chapter. This chapter's longer than usual, so enjoy.
The next morning, Roger woke with a start to someone knocking on their door. Roger rolled over and looked at the clock. It said 7:30.
"Shit, that's Mark," he murmured, and he slipped out of bed, careful not to wake Bridget. He went over to the door, opened it, and saw Mark standing there. "What do you want?" he asked.
"Get up, Roger, you're burning daylight," Mark said. "You two are the last to resurrect." Roger opened the door and Mark slipped into the room. "Wait, what's this?" he asked, seeing Bridget lying, asleep, in Roger's bed. "Did you two…?"
"Yeah, we did," Roger said, nodding.
Mark's eyebrows rose. "Really?" he asked. "Did you use protection?"
"What are you, my mother?" Roger asked irritably. "No, it happened too fast."
"But what about—" Mark began, but Roger cut him off.
"I know, Mark, I know, OK?" Roger said, annoyed. "Look, we're both 18 now, so if it happens, it happens. I know what I'm doing, OK?" He turned around to check on Bridget, realizing he'd unintentionally raised his voice, and he saw she was sitting up, her knees pulled up to her chest, looking at them both. "Bridget?" he asked, looking over at her.
"Is that all this was, Roger?" she asked, tears in her eyes. "Was it only a one-time thing? Maybe it shouldn't have happened? Is that what you meant?"
"No, Baby, that's not what I meant," Roger protested, looking at her.
"What did you mean, Roger?" she asked, looking up at him, as the tears began to fall down her voice.
"Well…" Roger realized now that he really didn't know what he meant. "What I mean, Baby, is I love you. I know you're scared it might happen… you getting pregnant, you know… but we'll use protection from now on and if it happens, we'll deal with it, OK?"
Bridget looked down. "You told Mark that you'd marry me if it happened, too," she said, trying not to sound accusatory. "Is that all?"
"Is that all?" Roger asked, stung by her words. "What do you mean, 'is that all'? Baby, if we're gonna get married someday, I'm gonna do it right, OK? You won't be disappointed." He held out his arms for her to come to him, and she did.
"I hope not, Roger," she said, snuggling close to him. "I really hope not."
Two months later…
"Hey, Cat?" Bridget called, as she kneeled over the toilet, with Maureen holding her hair, as she threw up.
"Yeah, sweetie?" Cat asked, coming into the bathroom to them. They were at the Johnson's, spending the weekend with Roger, Mark, and Benny. Collins was back at NYU until May, when he would graduate with a double major in computers and philosophy.
"Can you do me a favor?" Bridget asked, looking up at her.
"Sure, what?" Cat asked.
"I… I think I need a test," Bridget said. "Can you run to the drugstore and get it for me?"
"A pregnancy test, sweetie?" Cat asked, looking surprised and sympathetic. "Really?"
"Yes," Bridget said, collapsing against Maureen and breathing hard. "Please?"
"Well, I don't know, Bridget," Cat said hesitantly, looking nervous. "I don't know if I could be, you know, convincing enough… And Scarsdale's a small town— if anybody found out…"
"I'll do it, Bree," Maureen volunteered, throwing Cat a scowl. "Trickery is my specialty. Don't worry, I'll take care of it, OK?"
"OK, thank you," Bridget said, smiling weakly at her. "And you guys have to promise not to tell anyone, OK?" She looked at them seriously. Maureen and Cat were suddenly quiet. "I'm serious, you two," she added firmly. "No telling anyone— not my mom, not even Roger."
"What?" Maureen and Cat exclaimed, staring at her.
"No," Bridget said, "I don't want Roger to know… in case something bad happens, you know? That way, he won't be… attached to it, and it'll be easier."
"Bree, that's not right, and you know it," Maureen snapped, glaring at her. "Roger would want to know."
"I know," Bridget said, "but he's not going to. Not until I'm ready."
"OK…" Maureen said, still looking unconvinced. "I'll be back in fifteen minutes."
"OK, I'm not going anywhere," Bridget said, and she watched Maureen leave, closing the door behind herself.
"So what did you say to get them to give it to you to buy?" Cat asked, as Maureen returned with the pregnancy test.
"That my mom needed it, of course," Maureen said matter-of-factly, as she came into the bathroom, where Cat and Bridget still were sitting.
"Well, thanks," Bridget said, taking it from her. "I'll be out in a minute. And Maureen, you're still on a gag order," she added firmly.
"OK, OK, fine," Maureen said, and she stomped out of the bathroom. Cat placed a comforting arm on Bridget's shoulder and smiled sympathetically at her, before following Maureen out. Bridget attempted to smile back, and then she began to take the test.
A few minutes later, she came out of the bathroom. Maureen and Cat were standing nearby, waiting. "So…?" Maureen asked expectantly, her voice shaking with nervousness.
Bridget swallowed and nodded, her brain numb.
Maureen's face fell and then brightened a second later. "OK, so you know what you're gonna do?" she asked, looking at Bridget.
Bridget shook her head. "No, what?" she asked.
"You're gonna go to my doctor and get an exam," Maureen said.
As she said that, Roger came up the stairs. Bridget gasped. "Oh no," she said, and she ducked into the bathroom again.
"Where's Bridget?" Roger asked. "You three have been in there forever. If the bathroom is the social place these days, you could have let me know."
"No," Maureen said, and she was suddenly flustered. She put her face in her hands and sighed. "Oh, I'll be right back." She ducked quickly into the bathroom with Bridget as well.
Roger turned to Benny, Mark, and Cat, and gave them a perplexed look. "What's up with her?" he asked.
Mark shrugged. "She's probably just stressed from school," he said.
"Has Maureen ever been stressed about school?" Benny pointed out.
Mark frowned. "Good point," he said. "OK, so then I don't know."
"What about Bridget?" Roger asked. "Do you think she's OK?"
"She's fine," Cat said, a little too quickly.
Roger turned to her and gave her a look this time. "What do you and Mo know that we don't?" he asked.
"Nothing," Cat said, remembering to keep a straight face. "I'm not saying anything."
Roger sighed. "Fine," he said, and he went back downstairs with Benny and Mark.
"It's gonna be fine," Maureen whispered to Bridget, squeezing her hand encouragingly, as the orderly came out and called Bridget's name from the clipboard. "Doctor Campbell is great, I promise. You'll like her a lot."
"If you say so," Bridget murmured, and she went into Doctor Campbell's office with Maureen. A minute later, Doctor Campbell came in.
"Hi, I'm Doctor Andrea Campbell," she said. "I'm Maureen's regular doctor. She tells me I have a personal favor to do?"
Bridget blushed and looked at Maureen. "I guess so," she said quietly.
"Can you fill me in? Background information, I mean?" Doctor Campbell asked.
"Sure. My boyfriend and I had sex on Christmas Eve. I'm late for my period. I'm afraid I'm pregnant."
Doctor Campbell nodded. "When was your last period?" she asked.
"The fifth of December and I'm a twenty-one day cycle," Bridget answered.
"OK," Doctor Campbell said, and she wrote it down. "Is it OK if I do an ultrasound?"
"Um, yeah, sure, I guess," Bridget said, and she lay back on the table. She held Maureen's hand as Doctor Campbell spread the gel and ran the instrument over her stomach. A minute later, she stopped.
"What?" Bridget asked, sitting up slightly. "What is it?"
"You're definitely pregnant, Bridget. Look and see," Doctor Campbell said. "You're almost three months along, judging by your pelvic size."
Bridget lay back down and looked over at the screen. "That's my baby, Mo. That's our baby." Maureen nodded and smiled silently at Bridget, tears in her eyes.
"Does the father know?" Doctor Campbell asked, looking at Bridget.
As quickly as Bridget's face had lit up when she had seen her baby for the first time, her eyes filled with tears at the mention of Roger. "Bridget?" Doctor Campbell asked, looking at her with concern.
"No," she sobbed, "he doesn't. But forget Roger, how am I gonna tell my mom? I graduate in May and then I'm supposed to go to college. How do I tell her, Doctor Campbell?"
"Straight-up, Bridget," Doctor Campbell said, looking at her seriously. "It will only be harder if you avoid the truth. Unless, do you maybe want me to tell her?"
"No, no, I will," Bridget sobbed, and she wiped her eyes. "What am I supposed to do, Doctor Campbell? I mean, don't I have to follow a special diet and stuff?"
"I'm going to refer you to a nutritionist, who will help you with that," Doctor Campbell said, "and I'm going to give you pre-natal vitamins to take twice a day, OK?"
"OK," Bridget said, nodding, as Maureen held her close.
On Sunday, Bridget went into the kitchen. Leaning against the doorframe, she looked at Mrs. Kincaid. "Mom?" she asked.
"Yes, sweetie?" Mrs. Kincaid asked, looking up from washing dishes. "Could you come dry, please?"
Bridget nodded and went over to her mother and began to dry the dishes. "I have to tell you something," she said, not meeting her mother's gaze.
"What?" Mrs. Kincaid asked, looking out at her as she set a glass into the right side of the sink for Bridget to dry.
Bridget picked up the glass and dried it with the towel, her hands shaking badly. She couldn't meet her mother's gaze as she suddenly blurted out, "I'm pregnant."
Her hands shook even worse for a second, as a stunned silence came over the kitchen. Bridget's hands went weak and she dropped the glass. She glanced at her mother, whom she saw was furious, and then she whirled around and ran out of the room, tears streaming down her face, as the glass shattered on the floor.
Bridget was still lying on her bed, crying, when Mrs. Kincaid came into her room. She sat down on the bed next to Bridget and rubbed her back. She didn't say anything for several moments, thinking, and then she spoke.
"Bridget, I can't say I'm not disappointed, because I am. You didn't use protection, like I would have expected, did you?" Bridget shook her head. "What do you want to do?"
"I don't know, Mom," Bridget sobbed. "I'm so sorry this happened. What can I do?"
"Well, how far along are you?"
"Almost three months," Bridget answered. "Maureen's doctor did me a favor. You would have found out eventually, because they're gonna bill you."
"OK, so you can either keep the baby, since you'll be graduated by the time the baby comes, or you can get an abortion? I doubt you'll consent to that."
"No, Mom, absolutely not," Bridget said, burying her face in her pillow.
"I didn't think so, but I had to ask. So there's only one thing I can think of you to do."
Bridget lifted her head off the pillow. "What?" she asked.
"I'm so sorry I have to do this, Bridget, but there's a home for unwed mothers in New York City, for you to stay at and you can finish school there, too." Mrs. Kincaid looked down at her daughter, her expression begging for forgiveness.
"What?" Bridget yelled, glaring at her. "You're kicking me out?"
"No, you'll come home as soon as you make the decision to keep him or her, or give the baby up. But please don't make that decision until then, OK?" Mrs. Kincaid asked.
Bridget buried her face in her pillow again. "Mom, I can't believe you're fucking making me do that," she sobbed. "How can you do something like that?"
Mrs. Kincaid rubbed her daughter's back some more, but Bridget slapped her hand away. Mrs. Kincaid started to choke up and tried to hide her tears. "Bridget, it's all I can think of to do," she said. "If I have to send you away for you to be safe, then I will."
But she could see that her daughter would not be consoled, so eventually, she stood up and left the room.
As always, don't forget to review. Thank you to all who have reviewed so far. I love feedback. This story will end in one more chapter. The sequel, mostly post-Rent, will be up ASAP. But since it's not even started yet, I won't make any promises as to when that will be. Please continue being patient with me. Thanks.
Until next time, lots of love,
Renthead07