Readers:
IMPORTANT NOTE—MJ from the last chapter, who was with Collin, is Nurse Lewis. I'm sorry I didn't say that before. Thanks so much for reading.
Also, thank you for the reviews. They were really great. I didn't think anybody would care about my story!
Awesome… here's the next chapter!
- -
"David," she said slowly, her adorable voice wrapping itself slowly around the word. She looked pale, and a little bigger. Her hair was still beautiful, and so was she. David gazed at her like the lovesick puppy he was, watching her stuff a whole piece of bread into her mouth anxiously.
"What's wrong?" he asked, half-dismayed and half-loving. "You need to tell me and stop eating. All this suspense! It's like a mystery novel that just spends a whole chapter leaving you on the edge of your seat."
Natalie looked down at her plate, and then began. "I've been feeling sick lately."
His stomach gave a lurch. Sick? Cancer? He waited.
"And, two weeks ago, I went to CVS…because the sickness was in the morning…and… I got a … um, a test."
Oh, no.
He knew.
He knew.
What…
When…
Who…
He waited.
"And… I'm positive. I'm… pregnant, David." She looked up, her blue eyes meeting his. "I'm going to have a baby."
He felt a chocking sensation, going from the bottom of his stomach and dribbling up into his mouth. His whole body seemed to quease and twist, and his mouth just blubbered instead of words. "Er….erumm…. yah…uuu…." His thoughts scrambled, and he focused on getting them back, even with all the shock rippling through him, slow-motion. Finally, he found his words enough to utter, very quietly, "Oh. That's cool."
Natalie knew by his facial expression that it was anything but cool. This was what she'd been afraid of. Quietly, she turned away from him, feeling tears wobbling in her eyes. Her stomach gave a loud groan, and then she said, "I think I'll leave you. I'll leave you, so there won't be any press, and they'll only say, 'She's chubby and they broke up. Is it because of weight?' And I'll be fine, okay? I can… raise this baby… because I can't… I can't abort it, and…" She was blubbering now, not even trying to hide the teariness etched in her words.
"No!" said David, so harshly that a few diners looked up nervously. David shrugged them off and then grabbed both her hands from across the table. "I love you. I… a little press doesn't bother me. They can say whatever they'd like. This baby is ours. And I want you to come live with me."
She gasped, bringing a hand to her chest. She was shocked, to say the least, and then a firework of excitement broke through her brain, then a grin showed through her tear-stained face. "Oh! Well! I… all right!"
- -
Judy took a deep, shivering breath. She'd made her decision, whether it ended the engagement or not. She met his gaze, trying at fearlessness, and watched him nervously nibble at a piece of bread. A cool, breezy classical piece of music flowed softly through the restaurant, setting a relaxed sort of setting, even if Judy's eyes and the whole atmosphere of the conversation was anything but relaxed. "John, I invited you here this evening because—"
"Do you want to cut off the wedding?" He burst out with it suddenly and awkwardly, jumpy as he usually was when anxious. "I don't want to! I love you! Whatever it is, we'll work it out."
"No. I really, really don't want… the wedding to be broken off. I love you, too, John, and that's why I'm telling you this. Because our relationship's about trust, and this is a secret that might ruin our marriage, so I want to tell you before it's started." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, knowing it would be easier. She felt the flashes of paparazzi cameras on them, and it felt unsettling. Their body guards, feeling this was a tense, important situation, shooed off the paparazzi. They reluctantly left, getting a few more snapshots before taking off down the street. All the customers in the restaurant were glancing at Judy and John excitedly, bringing out their pens and paper so the two could autograph it. John wondered why they hadn't chosen a celebrity's restaurant, as they usually did, so nobody would gawk at them. But instead of asking, he just waited for Judy to continue. And she did: "I… I've been… I've… there's this man. His name is Timothy. He's a businessman… a very… yes, anyways. He and I… we've… well, in the three years… Timothy and I have… been out. Um, several times. Like… ten. I… don't love him… and I realized this recently. I just feel awful and disgusting, like a piece of dirt, and I know I don't deserve anybody as kind as loving as you, John." She looked down at her plate, feeling the tears streaming down her cheeks. "I love you so much. Timothy is out of the picture, but I couldn't live with myself if… if it went on like this, with you not knowing. You can put me under lock-down, make sure that I don't see him, and I swear I won't. You don't even have to do a lock-down to see that, though. I want to spend my life with you, but you don't deserve me." She burst into a fresh burst of tears, and her bodyguard eyed her nervously. The customers looked at her unsurely, putting away their papers and pens. They all wondered what was going on, but nobody could hear them.
John sat there, open-mouthed. So many emotions rolled through his whole body, nearly knocking him over. He couldn't feel this much at once; he could barely handle one strong emotion. He burst into tears, too, covering his face, embarrassed, with a napkin. He felt trapped, afraid, alone. Betrayal. Betrayal. Betrayal. So, he stood up, threw the bread angrily across the table, but made sure it didn't hit her, and then stalked out, his bodyguard following closely behind him.
Judy sat there, broken, and waited for the waiter to come along so she could eat her feelings away. She wanted to order the whole menu.
- - -
Timothy had faced that it was officially over. Was it all right? No. He'd heard the message Judy sent him, teary and sad, but still final.
He didn't want to go back to Karen.
He didn't want to do anything.
Instead, he buried himself in work.
That's the only thing he had control of.
- -
MJ visited Collin all free hours she had in a day. He was rapidly recovering, and the doctors guessed he'd be out within the week. MJ didn't mind, really; she liked just having long, wonderful conversations, her perched at the edge of his bed. Perhaps it was a bit weird when she assumed the role of Nurse Lewis, giving him his medications and rubbing alcohol on his wounds, and seeing his progress, but that didn't stop her from liking him. The other nurses and doctors disapproved, and voiced their opinions—very loudly. She didn't care. She didn't kiss him when she was nurse, but when her shift was over, she'd go home, freshen up, and return in good clothing and a giant smile.
When Collin got out, he promised her he'd take her to a large dinner, so expensive that it made up for all the other dates that they hadn't had. He also promised, however reluctantly, that he'd try very hard for the position as chef at his catering company, instead of serving little finger-foods to people at parties, like he always did. MJ knew he hated his job, and she just wanted a better life for him, with her in it. He was already beginning to cook up recipes in his head.
Maybe it wasn't love yet, but it was such a like that it felt like it could knock the two over.
If it wasn't love, it was something powerful, and it was wonderful—something that neither of them had ever felt.
- - -
"…Which means," finished Dr. McNaw, "you can't reproduce."
"Come again?" asked Jamie quickly, and Dr. McNaw looked at him sourly.
"You can't have a baby. You're unable, Jamie."
Jamie let himself gape, and Aurelia let herself sob hysterically. Dr. McNaw sat in an awkward silence for a while longer. "If you have questions," he said quietly, "feel free to call. I'm very sorry." And with that, he was gone, out the door, leaving them distraught.
"We'll adopt!" said Jamie quickly.
"But… I have to wait! I can't wait any longer!"
"If you were going to have an actual baby, you'd have to wait. You know, the normal nine months—I mean, if it was a usual baby."
"But adopting sometimes takes years! It can take years and years to find a match! Foda! Eu quero um bebê agora, deus-do caralho-damnit!" She cried into his shoulder, reaching out and pulling him close to her.
"No need to curse… we'll… we'll find a way, Jamie. I'll find a way. We'll have a baby. I promise."
"I love you," she whispered through raspy sobs.
"Me, too," he said, and kissed her hair.
- -
Karen had decided it. She'd gone through options and options and options, thought of plans and plans, and this was the one she'd chosen. Slowly, she rose from the bed, feeling achey but well-rested, because she'd been lying and sleeping and crying in a bed for two weeks. Outside, her children groaned. "I'll be out," she called, "in an hour!"
She heard the children murmur, and then the stampede of their footsteps down the stairs. Who knew two children could make so much noise?
Slowly, she let the shower water run, warming the body that she'd let stay cold for so long. She noticed that she was a lot thinner, just because she hadn't eaten more than a carrot and a sandwich in the two weeks she'd taken to bed. Also, her hair was longer and was doing an attractive flippy thing at the end, which she much liked. After she'd shampooed and conditioned her hair twice over, then washed her body four times, then shaved her legs thoroughly, she got out. She dried completely, blow-dried, put deodorant on, and went through any other necessary thing she had to do. At the end, she even put on mascara and eyeliner, a little lipstick, and to her astonishment, she looked great. She rifled through her closet, and found nothing that she much liked. Most of it was much too big and not at all flattering. Finally, she chose a grey shirt that fit her just barely, and her one pair of jeans that weren't completely baggy. Then, she slipped her feet into penny loafers.
Feeling light-headed and a bit dizzy, she came down, feeling stunning and unbeatable, the check in her hands. Her children were waiting in the living room, and they looked shocked. "Mum?" cried Bernard, looking confused. "What happened?"
She said nothing, and instead kissed them both on the cheeks, and then hugged them to her like a crazy woman. After she'd squeezed the life out of them, she looked at both of them, taking a deep breath. "I called your Aunt Susan." The two nodded, waiting expectantly. "I'm going to leave for a while, guys." She looked away, feeling emotional and sensitive and suddenly, in her almost-fitting clothes, a little exposed. "I'm going to travel a bit, find myself, get my head together. My head's like a broken puzzle right now, and I'm going to fit all the pieces together, and then come back and get you guys."
Her kids knew what she meant. They stared at her with confused faces.
"You two need to pack right now. Pack… everything you own. Well, not everything. Whatever you don't need, leave her. Bring enough clothes for… well, ever, even though it won't be ever." She couldn't promise that, but she did anyways. "Pack enough for months and months. Take whatever you want, whatever you need. The suitcases are in the closet. Then, I'm going to pick you guys up and take you to Aunt Susan's. You're going to stay at the same schools, okay?"
Then, she turned around, leaving her children sobbing, and went to the door. Outside, she slid into her car, feeling tears choking up at the bottom of her throat. But she wasn't so sad that she couldn't open the windows, crank up the radio. She was getting away.
Well, at the moment, she was going to cash in the check, and then give the money to Susan. And then, she was going to take every last penny she had and go somewhere.
She was going to fly.
- -
Harry let his kisses travel all the way up Mia's bare arm, and then he lay next to her, his arm crossed across her exposed stomach. "I love you, Mia."
"I love you too, Harry," she said easily.
"I mean, I love you." And with that, he got down on the floor, shirtless but with his work slacks on, and picked up a little ring box that he'd kept on his nightside table, hidden because of a washcloth laid skillfully on top of it. Mia's hands went to her mouth, gasping. "Will you marry me, Mia?"
"Oh!" She leapt up, and even if she didn't have any clothes on, she hugged him freely, grabbing the ring and beginning to cry of the joy that made her whole body feel warm, even if it was downright chilly. "Of course! Of course I'll marry you!"