The day was July 28, 2006. Mouth and Rachel had barely been talking since their big blow up the day of their graduation. Rachel was still staying with Brooke at the apartment and had been moping around for days. Presently she was alone in the apartment while Brooke was at the hospital with Avery. Mouth was supposed to be taking her to a doctor's appointment that afternoon but every time she called to make sure he hadn't forgot Rachel would get his voicemail. It was now 12:45 and the appointment was at 2:00. She didn't want to call Brooke away from Avery. She couldn't call Skills or Bevin because they were out in Colorado visiting Bevin's brother and his wife. The more time ticked off the clock the more it made Rachel angry. Mouth was supposed to be there for her and the baby and right now he was doing a lousy job of it.
"It's all right baby, Mommy won't abandon you—ever. I promise," Rachel said softly as she laid a hand on her stomach.
Rachel was about to give up and call Brooke when her phone rang. She was disappointed when she looked down and saw that it was Haley and not Mouth.
"Hello," she said.
"Hey Rachel. It's Haley. Brooke called and asked me to find out if you've gotten a hold of Mouth yet," Haley said.
"No I haven't. But please, tell Brooke I don't wanna call her away from Avery because my boyfriend is being an ass."
"You're not calling her away. Nathan and I will come get you. And if by some miracle Mouth decides to call or show up, then okay. But for now, just plan on seeing us. We'll pick you up at 1:30."
"Thanks Haley. I appreciate that. Oh and could you tell Brooke not to pick up anything for dinner, I'm taking care of it tonight whether she likes it or not."
"Sure I can but I can't promise she'll listen."
"Yeah I know. See you later."
"All right, bye Rachel."
Rachel closed her cell phone and opened it again. Her blood was boiling. Mouth wasn't just making this hard on her now but he was inconveniencing all of their friends as well. It was time for that to stop.
"Hey it's Mouth. Leave me something good and I'll get back to you."
"Mouth, it's Rachel, again. I think this is the fifth time I've called you today. Anyway I just wanted you to know that you don't have to worry about picking me up for the appointment because once again Nathan and Haley are gonna take me. I really appreciate your willingness to be there for me and for this baby. Oh and just so you know, today I'm finding out if the baby is a boy or a girl but I'm not gonna tell you. And don't tell me I have to because I don't have to do shit for you when you've been breaking promises and dodging my calls for over a month now. I should have known not to depend on you. You're just like all the rest. Thanks for that. I thought you were different, I thought you better. Boy was I wrong. Good bye," Rachel spat angrily.
She slammed her phone shut and threw it across the room. It hit the wall above the couch and landed in the middle of it. Rachel walked down the hall to change into something a little more presentable then an oversized t-shirt and men's boxers. She grabbed a pair of red velour exercise pants and a white maternity top. Looking at her reflection in the mirror Rachel smiled contentedly at herself.
"Just cause I'm pregnant doesn't mean I have to look gross," she mused.
The hard part was find shoes. Her stomach was big enough now that tying shoes was impossible and wearing heels were dangerous. Carefully she rifled through hers and Brooke's flip flops until she found a pair of red ones. She was just finished putting on the second flip flop when she heard the door opening.
"Rachel!" she heard Haley's voice call.
"In the bedroom!" Rachel shouted back.
Haley made her way through the apartment and stopped in the doorway of the bedroom.
"You know, I could have made a comment about that," she said with a grin.
"Shut up. Let's just go. I left Mouth a voicemail after I talked to you. I told him not to bother coming," Rachel said with a grin of her own.
"I'm sorry sweetie. Oh and we're under strict orders to bring you straight to the hospital when you're appointment is done. Brooke wants to see you and make sure you're okay."
"It's sad that she cares more about how I'm doing and this baby then Mouth does."
Haley didn't know how to respond to that. But she did agree. It was sad that Mouth, who had said he was going to stick by Rachel's side, was suddenly no where to be found. She decided right then as soon as they dropped Rachel off at the hospital she was gonna find Mouth and give him a piece of her mind.
"Come on, let's go. Nate's waiting downstairs," Haley said as she tried to be upbeat.
"Okay," Rachel agreed. She grabbed her purse and her cell phone and followed Haley out the door. She would have locked to door but Haley had already taken care of it. The two girls made their way down the steps and into the car where Nathan sat tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.
"How bad do I have to kick Mouth's ass now?" he asked.
"Nate, no. Don't be like that. Yes it's annoying and it hurts but don't kick his ass," Rachel insisted.
"Rach, this is the third appointment he's missed. In a row. That's not right. He should be the one taking you, not me and Hales. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to help but I shouldn't have to be taking you to the doctor's all the time. Mouth is plenty capable of doing that himself. What's his excuse this time?"
"I don't know. I kept getting his voicemail. I told him not to bother showing up this time and that I'm finding out the sex of the baby but because he can't be bothered to go with me, I'm not telling him."
"Good. You're right. If he can't be bothered to go he doesn't deserve to be told. I don't care if he is the baby's father. He's certainly not acting like it."
"Okay, enough talk about Mouth. It's making me hurt more."
"I'm sorry."
"You didn't mean it. I know you're just angry at him too. Everyone is."
Nathan nodded silently. He didn't want to say anything else to make Rachel more upset but he vowed to himself then when he got the chance, he was gonna beat the hell out of Mouth. The way he's been treating Rachel was making Nathan physically sick to think about it. It almost reminded him of how Dan treated Karen when she was pregnant with Lucas. Dan ran out on Karen to follow his dreams but ended up getting Deb pregnant and then they got married and the three of them became a family. If you could call us a family that is Nathan thought bitterly to himself. He was determined not to let Rachel go through all the shit he saw Karen go through with Dan.
"Hales you go ahead in with Rachel. I'll be there in a minute," Nathan said as he parked the car.
"Are you sure? What's the matter?" Haley replied skeptically.
"I'm sure. I just need a minute. But I promise I'll be right there."
"Okay. Come on Rach."
Haley helped Rachel out of the car and they walked into the building, arms linked. Nathan watched them for a minute and as soon as they were out of view he pulled out his cell phone. It was his turn to call Mouth. He had been real good about not calling him but now that was over. Mouth had pushed Nathan over the edge this time.
"Hey, it's Mouth. Leave me something good and I'll get back to you."
"Mouth it's Nate. What the hell is going on with you man? It's not like you to run from responsibility. If you really love Rachel and the baby you'll stop hiding from everyone and man up. Cause if you don't I swear to god I'll kick the living shit out of you. Rachel's my friend and I hate to see her in pain like this. She needs you Mouth. Get your act together man. This isn't a game. I know you've got dreams, everybody has them. But sometimes you have to sacrifice those dreams to do what's right. And let me tell you, it's not right that you dodge her phone calls. I don't care that you're dodging my call right now. But I do care that you never pick up the damn phone when Rachel calls you! That's just wrong dude. If you don't call me back by tonight I'll find you. And you won't like it. Peace dude," Nathan said in one angry breath.
He collected himself before going in to join Rachel and Haley as promised. He didn't think they should see him angry, it would only make Rachel more upset and that was the last thing Nathan wanted for her. He just hoped Mouth would call him back.
Meanwhile…Mouth was walking around Boston trying to figure out how he was gonna tell everyone that he was going to MIT. He knew it was gonna cause a big fight and probably end his relationship with Rachel but he just couldn't give up on MIT. He couldn't give up on Jimmy. They were supposed to go to MIT together but now that Jimmy was dead it couldn't happen. Mouth had to make sure at least one of them were there. Even if it meant running from Rachel and the baby; he hated doing it but he felt like he had to. He took his cell phone out of his pocket and saw that there were 6 voicemail messages. His heart dropped into his stomach as he wondered if they were all from Rachel or if maybe something was wrong with Rachel.
"Oh god, what am I doing?" Mouth asked himself aloud.
He opened his phone to listen to the messages. The first five were from Rachel. The last one was from Nathan. The first three from Rachel weren't terribly angry but the last one, he knew she was pissed. And then he heard Nathan's voice and what he said and he knew he had to do something quick. Before someone went looking for him and found out he wasn't there. With his hands shaking nervously Mouth dialed Nathan's cell phone. He groaned when it went to voicemail.
"Yo it's Nate. Leave me some love. Peace out."
"Nate, it's Mouth. I got your message. You won't find me because I'm not in Tree Hill. That's all I'm gonna say. Tell Rachel I'm sorry," Mouth said.
Back in Tree Hill at the doctor's office. Rachel, Haley and Nathan were sitting in the waiting area patiently waiting for someone to call Rachel's name when Nathan felt his phone vibrate. He took it out of his pocket but as soon as he did it stopped ringing.
"Shit," he said softly.
"Who was it?" Haley asked curiously.
Nathan opened the phone and showed it to Haley.
"Mouth," she said quietly.
Nathan just nodded. Obviously his voicemail struck a nerve with Mouth. Nathan felt it vibrate again, this time to let him know there was a voicemail. He opened his phone to listen and felt his blood boil as he heard Mouth say that he wouldn't find him because he wasn't in Tree Hill and then Nathan got even angrier when he heard Mouth asking him to apologize to Rachel for him. He was about to get up and go call Mouth back when a nurse came out and said, "Rachel Gattina." The three of them rose to their feet and followed the nurse into a room.
"The doctor will be with you in a minute. But first let me check your vitals," she said as Haley and Nathan helped Rachel onto the bed.
When the nurse was done and had left the room Rachel looked at Nathan. She knew his phone had gone off in the waiting room but she didn't know who it was but something told her to ask him.
"Nate who called you before?" she asked.
"It was my mom," Nathan lied. He felt bad lying to Rachel but he didn't want to be the one to tell her that Mouth was gone. He felt that Mouth should do it himself and there was no way Nathan was gonna apologize for Mouth.
Rachel was about to say something again when the doctor walked into the room.
"Rachel, nice to see you again," Dr. Cole said with a smile.
"You too Dr. Cole," Rachel replied sweetly.
"How are you feeling lately?"
"Much better, I think this little one decided it was time for morning sickness to end."
"I'm glad to hear that. If I remember right you said that you want to know the sex of the baby?"
"Yes."
"Mouth couldn't make it today?" Dr. Cole asked when he saw Nathan and Haley rather than Mouth sitting in the plastic chairs.
"No. He's not feeling well so I told him to stay home and rest," Rachel replied.
"Well that's a shame. I hope he's well enough to come next time."
"Me too."
Nathan and Haley felt horrible that Rachel felt she had to lie to the doctor about where Mouth was. They looked at each other and shook their heads. It was tough to watch Rachel go through this again. Today was the third appointment that one or both of them had been to with Rachel. Before that Brooke had gone with Rachel.
"All right, well I'm gonna go get the sonogram machine. I'll be right back," Dr. Cole said before he left the room.
"Nate, it wasn't your mom was it?" Rachel asked suddenly.
"What?" he replied.
"The phone call earlier. Your mom didn't call. Who was it?"
"Rachel, don't do this to yourself."
"Nathan, please, if it was Mouth I need to know."
"It was."
"What did he say? Did he say where he is? Why hasn't he answered my calls?"
"All he said was he got my message and I won't find him cause he's not in Tree Hill and then he asked me to tell you he's sorry."
"That little prick. He went to Boston. I know he did. That's why he won't pick up when I call him. He doesn't wanna have to worry about getting caught in a lie. I'm such an idiot. I never should have trusted him to stay by my side."
Haley was about to say something but Dr. Cole came back in with the machine. She closed her mouth and made sure not to forget what she was going to say so she could tell Rachel later.
"Are we ready to find out if this little one is a boy or girl?" Dr. Cole asked after he had helped Rachel lay back.
"Absolutely," Rachel said as she smiled.
"Remember, the gel is cold."
Rachel nodded. She gasped when she felt the substance come in contact with her skin. Her head was turned so she could see the baby on the screen and her eyes lit up when she spotted the baby. Nathan and Haley watched in silent awe as the baby moved on the screen. Dr. Cole moved the wand around on Rachel's stomach as he tried to get the baby to turn so he could determine the sex.
"Come on baby," Rachel coaxed, "turn for Mommy."
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, the baby turned. Dr. Cole smiled as he took a close look.
"How do you feel about boys Rachel?" he asked.
"I like them just fine," Rachel replied.
"I'm glad to hear that and I'm sure your son is too."
"It's a boy?"
Dr. Cole nodded. Rachel smiled but she couldn't help the tears that had formed in her eyes. The baby was a boy and unless Mouth came to his senses, she was never gonna tell him that he has a son. Just thinking about that made the tears roll down her cheeks. Haley saw this and was next to Rachel, holding her hand on instinct.
"It's a boy, Haley. A boy," Rachel said with a sad smile.
"I know. He's a lucky boy," Haley answered with a smile of her own.
"Yeah, Rach. He's one lucky boy. When he's older, him and Avery can be best buddies. Or whatever. You and Brooke can help each other out and obviously, Hales and I will help out too," Nathan said as he stood up to go give Rachel a hug, which was almost impossible but they made it work.
Ten minutes later, the three of them were out in the car. Rachel had a stack of pictures of her son clasped tightly in her hands. They were going to the hospital to see Brooke and Avery.
"What are you going to name him?" Haley asked cautiously.
"We were thinking about Lucas Scott but I dunno. It might change now," Rachel answered.
"Are you gonna tell Mouth it's a boy?"
"I wasn't, but the more I think about it, the more I know it's wrong to keep that from him. Even if he is being an ass, he still deserves to know the sex of his child."
"You're nicer than I'd be."
Rachel laughed. She found that hard to believe. Haley didn't have a mean bone in her body.
"Hales you're crazy. Nobody is nicer than you," Nathan said with a lopsided grin.
"You're married to me you have to say that."
"Even if we weren't married I'd still say it. So you're wrong, I don't have to I choose to because I know it's true."
Rachel laughed as she listened to them go back and forth. Was she being too nice? Did Mouth really deserve to know that the baby is a boy? Rachel was beginning to have doubts. Maybe she should just keep it to herself. No, don't be stupid. You know he deserves to know. Just call him and tell him. Maybe that's all he needs is to hear you still think he deserves to know and he'll come back. Yeah, but then again maybe he won't come back Rachel thought to herself.
Brooke was up in the NICU watching Avery sleep. She had been there all morning. And Avery had been asleep for most of that time. Dr. Andrews had been in to check on Avery a few times and told Brooke that if he gained about 6 ounces they were going to see how he did without a breathing tube. Hearing that news excited her immensely. If they were close to taking the breathing tube that meant she would be able to take him home soon.
"Baby, just gain some more weight for Mommy. If you can do that then you can come home with me soon. And I would really love that. Auntie Rachel has been staying with me lately. Speaking of Auntie Rachel, she should be here soon. Auntie Haley and Uncle Nathan took her to the doctor so she could find out if you're gonna have a boy or girl cousin," Brooke said as she stroked Avery's cheek gently.
He stirred a little bit and slowly opened his eyes. They shone bright blue when he recognized Brooke sitting there and then slowly a tiny smile crept up into his eyes. Brooke loved to see Avery's face light up when he looked at her. It was as if he knew who she was and that made her feel good. She was still sitting there staring at her little boy when she heard footsteps behind her and then felt someone's arms around her neck.
"It's a boy," Rachel whispered excitedly in Brooke's ear.
"Rachel! Aww, I'm so excited for you!" Brooke squealed as she turned around and wrapped Rachel into a hug.
"How's my nephew?"
"He's been sleeping a lot today but he just woke up. Oh and guess what?"
"What?"
"Dr. Andrews said if Avery gains another 6 ounces or so they're going to remove the breathing tube and see how he does on his own. Which means, if he does well I can take him home soon. I've been waiting so long for this."
"That's awesome Brookie! Good job Avery. Way to make Mommy happy."
"I know. Okay so tell me, what's my nephew's name gonna be?"
"Well Mouth and I thought about Lucas Scott but I'm not sure I want that now. I was kinda thinking maybe you could help me?"
"Of course I'll help you. We'll go get a baby name book later and we can get Haley and Peyton to come over and we'll look through it."
"Sounds good to me. You don't think Peyton will get jealous of all the time you've spent with me lately do you?"
"No I think she understands that you and I have this unique bond that's different from what her and I have. The only thing I'll never understand is why she didn't get jealous of my friendship with Haley."
"Maybe because she likes Haley?"
"I never thought of that."
"No kidding."
Brooke stuck her tongue out at Rachel who stuck her tongue out at Brooke. They continued to stick their tongues out at each other for a good five minutes before they were interrupted by Rachel's cell phone. Her heart skipped a beat when she recognized Mouth's ring tone.
"I'll be right back," she said as she jumped to her feet and ran out to the waiting room.
"Please don't hang up, please don't hang up," she said as she dug through her bag for her phone.
"Hello," she said when she finally reached it.
"Rachel?" Mouth said nervously.
"Where have you been and why are you ignoring my calls?"
"I need to tell you something but I need you not to hate me."
"Mouth I don't hate you I'm just pissed off that you haven't been around. Oh and don't bother, I know you're in Boston. Nate told me you left him a voicemail that said he won't find you cause you're not in Tree Hill. I'm not stupid I know that means you went to Boston."
"Rachel, don't be like that. Please."
"Don't be like what? Don't be upset that the one person I thought I could count on bailed out on me? No, Mouth, you don't get to tell me I have no right to be upset. Cause I do, I have every damn right to be upset and I don't care if you don't like it. It's because of you that I'm upset in the first place."
"I'm sorry Rachel. For everything."
"Sorry doesn't fix a damn thing Mouth. I want the truth and I want it now. Why are you going to MIT? And don't tell me because it's a dream."
Mouth swallowed hard. She was gonna hate this but he owed her the truth after everything he had been putting her through.
"Because Jimmy and I"
"You gotta be kidding me! You're bailing on me because of something you and Jimmy were supposed to do? Mouth do you not remember the reason Lucas is dead?" Rachel interrupted angrily.
"I know Jimmy shot Lucas. I know that Rachel. But Jimmy was my friend too. I can't ignore that just because of what happened."
"But you think that makes leaving me alone to take care of your son okay? You promised you wouldn't leave me. It's nice to know the dead mean more to you than living."
Rachel slammed her phone shut and walked back to sit with Brooke. She flopped into the chair angrily and Brooke turned to look at her.
"What happened?" Brooke asked gently.
"He went to Boston. And do you wanna know why?" Rachel answered.
"I'm not sure I do. But you can tell me if you want to."
"He went to Boston because of some stupid deal that he had with Jimmy."
"What?"
"I know. I yelled at him. I can't believe he's being like this. I get it that he was friends with Jimmy but he was friends with Lucas too."
"Can you sit here with Avery for a minute?"
"Yeah sure. Where are you going?"
"To call Mouth. I've been good about not calling him it's time to change that."
Rachel nodded. She knew that Brooke was trying not to get involved but there was no way she could stop her friend from calling Mouth now. And she wasn't gonna try to either. Brooke stormed into the waiting area and whipped out her cell phone and angrily dialed Mouth's cell phone number.
"She told you, didn't she?" Mouth said as he answered the phone.
"Yes she told me. What the hell are you thinking? You're ditching your pregnant girlfriend to honor some deal you made with that asshole who killed my boyfriend? That's really low Mouth, especially for you," Brooke snapped.
"You wanna know something? I'm really sick of everybody calling me to bitch at me for making a choice. I'm sorry if you don't like it but this is how it's gonna be. End of story."
"Do you think I'm gonna feel bad for you?"
"No I know you're not. Tell Rachel"
"I'm not telling Rachel a damn thing for you! If you think I'm gonna be your messenger you're wrong. You want her to know something you call her and tell her yourself."
Brooke didn't care if Mouth had anything else to say. She slammed her phone shut and went back to see Avery.
"Avery, I hope you know how much your mommy loves you," Brooke heard Rachel saying to Avery as she walked in and sat next to her friend.
"Come on, let's go. We need to talk," Brooke said gently.
"Don't you wanna spend some more time with Avery?" Rachel asked as she turned her attention to Brooke.
"We'll come back tomorrow. Right now you and I need to go out."
Rachel nodded. She knew it wasn't good for either one of them to stay couped up in the hospital all day long. Avery wasn't going anywhere and it wasn't like nobody else went to visit him. Rachel knew that Nathan and Haley were there as much as they could be. The same was true for Karen and Keith.
"Ave, Mommy and Auntie Rachel will be back tomorrow. You be a good boy for the doctors and nurses. I love you baby boy," Brooke said as she reached her hand into the crib and stroked his hair.
"Bye Avery. See you tomorrow pal. I love you," Rachel said as she waved at the baby who lie sleeping in the crib.
The two girls linked arms and walked out to Brooke's car. They were back at the apartment a half hour later, after stopping to pick up some baby name books, waiting for Peyton and Haley to come over. They thought that going through baby name books was a great idea. Brooke was in the bedroom changing when the two girls walked in.
"Hey Rachel," Haley said as she walked over and hugged the girl.
"Hey," Peyton said as she sat in the chair.
"Brooke! Get your butt out here!" Haley yelled after she asked Rachel where she was at.
"I'm coming, I'm coming," Brooke said as she walked into the room with two books in her hand.
After the four girls tossed around some names they came up with a list of possibilities; not including the original thought of naming the baby Lucas Scott. On the list were Trevor Michael, Dean Jeffrey, Riley Adam and Shane Everett.
Okay so you guys decide…what name do you like the most (not counting Lucas Scott)? After I get the results of this I'll ask again between whatever you decide and Lucas Scott and whatever gets the most love will be the baby's name. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!