Chapter 6

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Andrea walked down the stairs to the breakfast area at the hotel and had a girlish smile on her face. A smile she hadn't had for a long time. It was that smile when something was still new and exciting, before a relationship got more familiar, comfortable and that first smile changed into a different smile. She bit her lip with thought as she reminisced back to the early morning and how Mike had looked sad. She was sure he was thinking about Christine at the moment, trying to find his footing in the situation they were in at.

"You have always been there for me." Andrea looked at him and saw that her words had a positive effect on him.

He gave her a smile and leaned to kiss her lips. She wasn't sure whether she should allow it, but she held steady and followed his movements with her eyes, and as their lips met, she closed her eyes and let her enjoy the kiss. A kiss that brought warm feelings inside of her, she couldn't help but feel like a teenager with her first boyfriend. Somehow Mike was making her feel like she was experiencing this for the first time, even though her round belly was a proof that they had done much more before. And her pregnant body was starting to feel a craving for something more, something that she knew Mike could definitely deliver, but as their kiss might have gotten slightly out of hand, it was interrupted by Mike's phone and he broke off the kiss with a grunt as he got up and went to see who was calling him.

It had been Tom, insisting a meeting about a plan to spread the cure. She saw that Mike had trouble leaving her after their shared kiss, but she hoped they might have a new moment later. Even though she did wonder if this was something they should rush into. He was still married, and who knew when he could get a divorce, and even though his relationship with Christine might be over, there was still emotions to be dealt with. He and Christine had after all been married for over 10 years and had three kids together. And she was still grieving for the loss of her husband and daughter.

"Just a heads up.." She noted Kara's voice as she saw her come up the stairs and meet her halfway.

"Hmm?" Andrea came out of her thoughts and looked at her in wonder.

"What is it?"

Kara seemed to look slightly troubled and she glanced around but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"Christine came with the kids last night." Kara finally said and she understood why she felt nervous of the situation. She wanted her to know, so the news wouldn't come out of the blue to her. After all Kara had sensed that there might be something growing between her and Mike. Something else than a baby.

"She drove from Norfolk?" Andrea asked, wondering how she got here. Kara nodded and Andrea continued her way to the restaurant that served the breakfast of the day. She held her other hand on her belly protectively as she walked to get a tray.

"You okay?" Kara asked after they got seated at a table and Andrea glanced briefly around her, but saw no one. She didn't see Christine. She had to admit to herself that she felt restless of the thought that she was here. Why had she come? To get back together with Mike? She didn't even know if there ever would be something between her and Mike, or if this thing was just a physical attraction. But she couldn't help but feel a slight hope growing inside of her that she and Mike would end up together.

She ate breakfast more silently, half-listening to what Kara was telling her about Danny and just as they were almost out of the dining area, they ran into Christine and the girls.

"Christine.. Nice to see you." Andrea tried to act like she wasn't taken off guard by meeting her in the moment.

"Andrea. How are you feeling? I remember that it's not all peachy being preg.." Christine said but felt she couldn't finish the sentence as she realized who's baby was growing inside of her belly. She couldn't help but glance awkwardly at Andrea's round belly.

"Is it a girl or a boy?" Sophie, the youngest of Mike's daughters asked and she hesitated but gave her answer with a smile "A girl. We found out just the other day."

"Who's we? I thought your family was gone.." Laura asked and Christine bumped her oldest daughter slightly and whispered something to her.

"I'm sorry about Lily and Bill." Laura said in a sad tone. "We lost our little brother too."

Andrea wasn't sure if she could manage more of this strange encounter and luckily for her Kara excused them by telling they had work to take care of.

Andrea and Kara got to the first floor and could hear footsteps behind them.

"The kids wanted to be close to their dad." She heard Christine explain as she rushed to catch up with her and Kara. From the sound of Christine's voice, she sensed that she was trying to calm her down. That it was because of the kids that she was here. But there was nothing between her and Mike, she thought.

"There's nothing between Mike and me." Andrea ended up saying quick in the moment, regretting almost immediately what she had said. But there was a flicker of joy on Christine's face as she said the words. Was she hoping there still might be a chance for her and Mike?

Later in the evening Andrea heard a knock on her door and went to open it.

Staring at Mike, she didn't know what to say. He looked rather guilty, she wasn't sure why.

"I heard about your talk with Christine." He started with a heavy voice.

Andrea walked to the middle of the room and just listened to Mike. He came in and closed the door.

"I can't be with you." Andrea let out and turned to face him. She saw that he was puzzled by her words.

"It's not that I don't feel the attraction here, but as long as you have unfinished business with Christine, I can't allow myself to be in the middle." Andrea added quickly, hoping Mike would understand what she meant.

"Christine said she's here because my kids want to be near me."

"She's the one who said everything is over. She doesn't want me." Mike explained.

"I told her that there's nothing between you and me.. and I saw it on her face." Andrea told him and hesitated to move on.

"She was relieved to hear it from me." Andrea said and Mike sighed at the situation.

"Was it true? What you said to her?" Mike asked in a melancholic tone and she thought about her answer.

If she said 'yes', it would mean she would have to move on, and possibly give them both more heart ache and trouble. Not to mention awkward moments as they would still have to communicate. They were despite of everything going to have a baby together.

If she said 'no', she would be putting Mike in the middle of her and Christine. And she didn't want to take him away from his family if there still might be a chance that he could make things right after all. Would he even choose her over Christine? The fear of being rejected was even higher in her thoughts. Would she have chosen Mike over Bill if the situation was reversed?