A/N: I wish I owned the host, but I'll have to settle with owning a copy of the host.
It was true I was hungry.
I tried to eat my food with politeness, but I often caught myself tearing into the bread or drinking water as if my life depended on it. Well, my life did depend on it, but that's not the point.
Mel and Jamie were constantly getting me more food and when they hadn't I would complain. This was so unlike me. And after all that eating, I was still vomiting.
What the heck is wrong with me!?
Doc was getting desperate. So was everyone else. They were always asking me if I was hungry or thirsty, if I was comfortable, if I was sleepy.
It seemed like Mel, of all people was the only one not worried about me. Jeb was also not worried about me, but that was because he was constantly watching Melanie's strange reactions.
She wouldn't cry when I threw up; she seemed to be focusing on something really hard actually. I tried asking her why, but she would always say the same thing: "Of course I'm worried about you, Wanda. You're just imagining things." But when she would reurn with that hard mask, it was really hard to believe any of her words.
We were finally alone, when Doc had turned away to eat something. I was about to start questioning her again--to demand for an answer--but Sunny and Kyle had stepped in the room. I was already sitting up on the cot with my apple juice held tight in my hands (It had taken me forever to get across the whole "straw in the box" thing)
"Hello Wanda! I hope you're feeling better. I…didn't really know if I should come with a present or not, so I just got you this," Sunny said as she handed me a cake. It was chocolate. Extremely hard to not tear into it.
"Oh…you didn't need to get me anything. Hi, Kyle. How's your face?" I asked.
He smirked at me. "Not as bad as you think. Ian's kick in the face still hurts you know. He's got quite the strength. He got it from me, of course."
Melanie wasn't really paying any attention to our small talk, but she suddenly jerked her head towards him and gave him such a furious look, I couldn't imagine anyone stupid enough to cross her. Not even Kyle.
As I predicted, he looked terrified for a second. Then he stood up, causing Sunny to stand up as well. "Well, Wanda…it's nice to see you're okay. We should let Wanda get some sleep; haven't got much of that, right? Let's go, Sunny," Kyle said as he dragged Sunny along by the hand.
He may have been able to lie his way out of this, but Sunny couldn't. Before they were out of sight, she gave me a sympathetic look. She looked down and quickly whispered, "I'm sorry, Wanda." Kyle jerked her out of the room, before she could say any more.
I quickly looked at Melanie and questioned her with my eyes, as I so often did; "Why did that happen? Do you know?"
She simply gave me a blank look. The perfect poker face. I couldn't bear all this confusion! "What's going on, Melanie? You know it; why won't you tell me!?"
Her eyes narrowed. They practically shouted the words out to me; "It's nothing you need to know."
I've had it. I was about to snap, but Melanie's eyes raised and she exhaled. "Finally," she muttered. I turned around to see what had caught her attention. Jared had came in with a small paper bag.
He didn't look so happy. When he reached us, the first thing he did was pat my head. Then he tossed the bag to Mel. "Here you go, Mels,"
She gave him a tiny smile. "Thanks."
He was about to leave, but then he stopped to look at me. "Wanda…"
"What is it?"
His eyes looked saddened. He looked down at my stomach. Oh. He was upset about me keeping my sickness a secret. Or about the starving myself. Or both.
"Its…nothing." He waved goodbye and then quickly fled the room.
"What was that f--wait…, it's better if I don't even ask, since I'm not going to get an answer. Right, Mels?" I was still upset with her.
Her eyes suddenly looked terrifyingly agonized, like a child. The mask had been torn to shreds. "Don't be mad at me, Wanda. I was trying…to keep the pain away from you. But it looks like you're going to find out sooner or later."
She handed me the paper bag. I didn't look away from her face, not even to look inside the bag. "Will you answer me this time?" I asked, not needing to repeat the question I had already asked so many times.
She blew out a sigh. "Yes. Wanda…I'm pretty sure I know what's wrong with you. Well, I wouldn't use the word wrong," she said with a small smile. But even as she smiled, her eyes were agonized.
My horror grew worse and worse. "Tell me, Mel. What…is…happening!?" My eyes were getting so blurry now.
"Wanda, I know this is rude, since you asked me all these questions and I refused to answer…, but can I ask you something? It will clear things up, I promise," she said as she put a hand to her chest. Further emphasis to the promise.
"Yes," I whispered.
Her question was quite frank. Well, maybe not "quite frank," more like, "very frank."
"When was your last menstrual cycle?"
My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. I did manage to get a word out, though.
"Huh?"
Although it was only minutes, it felt like hours to me. I sat in a daze after her question. I could only come up with a question, so stupid as it was honest…
"Was I supposed to count?"
It was Melanie's eye's turn to pop. "What-Huh-Of-What?" she stuttered. I couldn't make it out.
She finally got her grip and shouted," OF COURSE YOU WERE!!"
"Oh, sorry, sorry! Um, uh…" I put a finger to my lips and looked up in a such a girly kind of daze. I didn't normally act like this; I was just frustrating Melanie for frustrating me so much. "You know what, I can't remember!"
"Quit the sissy act, Wanda! This is serious!" Mel shouted. But I could tell her cheeks were red. Ha.
"Okay, okay…" I put on my serious face and thought back…I thought and thought…
"Can you think any faster, Wanda!?" Mel suddenly shouted.
I slowly opened my eyes. "I've…been wondering why it so suddenly stopped. It's been…3 months?"
Mel gawked at me. "And why haven't you told me this before?"
I looked away, "Too embarrassed."
She sighed deeply and put her face in her hand. "You know what this means, right?"
"Um…will you get mad if I say, 'What?'" I asked nervously.
Her glare clearly answered the question. She tore into the paper bag and handed me a little white stick. "Here. Pee on this."
Was Melanie just getting franker by the second? "Um…"
"PEE!" she shouted.
"O-Okay," I said, stuttering.
"In the bucket. I'll turn away," she said as she crossed her arms in front of her and turned her back to me.
I quickly accomplished the task and handed her the stick.
She looked at it through narrow eyes. She sighed. "What're we gonna do now?" I heard her whisper.
"What? What does it say?" I asked trying to look at it, but my short complexion made it impossible.
"It says positive…" Mel quietly whispered. She was smiling, but her eyes weren't. "You're pregnant."
My eyes widened. I immediately looked down at my stomach. My slightly bulging stomach. Inside of it was a little baby. A little baby that looked like Ian and me.
I put my hands around it and cradled it. My eyesight was getting blurry and I gave a small laugh as the tears fell. A baby!? Did I seriously deserve a baby!?
I looked up with the stupid smile still plastered on my face. "Are you telling me the truth!? I'm seriously going to be a mother!?"
She gave a short nod. I squealed in joy. I ran to her and threw my arms around her. "I can't believe this, Mel! Can you!? I'm gonna be a mother! You're gonna be an aunt! And I'm gonna have a baby that looks just like Ian!! I'm the happiest person in the world!!!" I shouted.
It took me quite a while to realize Melanie was not sharing in my happiness. "Mel?" I whispered.
She refused to look at me.
"What is it?" I snuck a peek at her face. Her lips were trembling--sealed in a tight line. Her eyes were tightened in agony; it was as if she was keeping something locked in her eyes--something like tears.
"Mel? Won't you tell me?" I asked her, my own happiness forgotten.
She shook her head rapidly.
"Well, if you won't tell me, I'll go ask Ian."
That struck a nerve. I heard her whimper.
"Mely?" I whispered. I was truly terrified now. "Does it have to do with Ian?" I hadn't seen him in such a long time. The last time…he injected me with morphine and…he had told me…
I gasped in realization. I let go of Melanie's arms and fell to my knees. My knees were not strong enough to hold me. Now my hands fell to the floor, trying to support my weight. I felt something bubbling up inside me. Was it a scream? No…it had a faint…drowsiness to it. I had to ask one last question before I was lost.
"Mel?" I whispered.
"...Hmm?"
"Where is he?"
I could barely make out her quiet voice. "I don't know."
I smiled softly before my weight collapsed. "Of course…"
A/N: (sighs deeply) How sad. Stupid, noble Ian. He's making our lovely Wanda cry. And where could he be? Please give me your thoughts and I'll give you more updates. (sad mood~_~)