Title: For the Love of Sanity
Rating: R mostly for language
Genre: Drama/ a little comedy to break it up
AN: Sorry it took so long! This summer was really hectic. I am getting ready to study abroad
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the concepts or characters from PB
Part 14
Anissa felt her flat stomach as she gazed into the mirror. She was holding the hem of her white t-shirt up and lowering the waist of her pants to see better. It was too early for her to be showing; it had been two weeks since she told Riddick that they were expecting. Things were now awkward. He hadn't touched her intimately since, but he was a loads more helpful when it came to chores around the house. Though, when they were in a room together the tension was visible… and everyone was starting to notice. Especially her father.
She had not told her father of her pregnancy yet. She didn't know why but every time she built up the courage to tell him her nerves would steal it away from her. But she couldn't keep this a secret forever. She needed to prepare things for the baby that was sure to come.
Anissa lowered her shirt and grabbed her purse off of the bed. She had a doctor appointment with an obstetrician gynecologist to figure out just how pregnant she was.
Riddick lay on his back in the bed staring at the ceiling. He couldn't sleep. He wasn't a creature who needed the necessary eight hours of sleep to be proficient… he only needed one, but that wasn't forth coming. Since Anissa had told him of her pregnancy that was all he would think of in the quiet hours of night as his body would physically rest but his mind was on overhaul.
The reoccurring question that failed to leave him was 'how to even be a father'. He had never had one and by hell all the fuckers at the foster homes that he was bounced in and out of were barely an example that he should follow. Then he thought of the relationship between Imam and Anissa. He guessed Imam was a good example of a father but he didn't know if he could be like that.
Riddick heaved a sigh causing the women next to him to stir. He made sure he used a condom with Janice or he pulled out quickly. He stared at her as she slept and wondered what it would be like to be a father… he wondered if he would be able to handle the responsibility that it involved. He had never taken care of anyone but himself and he didn't require anything emotionally. Could he truly raise a kid?
He averted his eyes from her sleeping form and continued looking at the invisible spot on the ceiling…. He just knew one thing: 'I don't what it to turn out like me…'
Seven weeks. Anissa learned that she was seven weeks pregnant from the OBGYN at the hospital. When the doctor told her the news, all her fears and worries that had been dragging her down for the last two weeks melted away and she was excited. 'I am going to have a baby' she thought to her self and that was the exact moment that she knew she could finally break the news to her father.
She waited for him at the kitchen table nursing a cup of tea in her hand. It was late on a school night so the girls where already asleep in bed and Riddick… God only knew where Riddick was…
Anissa looked up from her teacup upon hearing her father steps moving towards the kitchen. "Anissa, why do you look so heavy burden?" said Imam as he entered the room adjusting the lights to seventy percent.
"Oh, I am fine dad… why don't you have a cup of tea with me?" she pushed the chair out for him and began filling the extra cup from the old fashion kettle that she still used. Imam knew in fact there was something wrong and could fully tell that this wasn't a random meeting between father and daughter, but a planned sit down. He accepted the tea politely and began stirring sugar cubes into his cup as he watched Anissa fidget from the corner of his eye.
"What do you need to tell me Anissa?" he said not wanting to play the cat and mouse game.
"I am pregnant" she said bluntly before she lost the courage once again.
"Does Mr. Riddick know?" he asked before taking a small sip of his tea. He smirked at her shocked face as realization dawned that she wasn't as discrete as she thought.
"I have told him" at his look that obviously said 'And?' she continued "He is ready to step up to the plate" she strategically left out the part where he advised her to abort the child. A long awkward pause entered the conversation after this thought, which made Anissa very uncomfortable but didn't seem to affect Imam at all.
"So what is your opinion on all of this?" she finally asked when the tension, for her, was escalating. Imam placed his cup on the table and stared at her
"Who am I to voice my opinion?" he said after a pause
"You're my father!" Anissa was flustered at his indifference.
"Anissa, my child, you are a grown woman. I am going to stand by you no matter what decision you make. I can not say that I'm not disappointed that you aren't married and pregnant by a man who didn't have a criminal report the size of a dictionary, but what can I say…I'm a little old fashion." He said with a grin causing Anissa to truly laugh for the first time in days. "I have not known Mr. Riddick for very long, but he has shown to be a man of his word… so if he says that he will stand by you, he will stand by you" Anissa smiled through her tears at her father's reassuring words and she knew that everything would be fine.
Riddick leaned his head against the other side of the wall as he listened to father and daughter speak. He never knew that the holy man had so much faith in him… he only wished he had the same amount of faith in himself.