Here's chappie seven. Yep, already. At the moment, I have a lotta free time on my hands.
Hope this chap. makes y'all smile. Keep those reviews comin', peeps, 'cause it's my food, LOL. I'm still kinda new here and I'm in awe of the amazing support I've gotten. Love y'all lots. ;-) Oh, and I made up Kim's mom's name. I haven't watched old eppies in a while.
Okay, I'll shut up and get on with it. Here we go!
(Ms. Hart's House)
(Monday afternoon)
Kim'd come to her mom's straight from work. Actually, she hadn't worked today. No, she'd quit and her boss'd been very supportive. Too bad she couldn't say the same for Paige Hart. Whew! Kim and Ms. Hart- who'd reclaimed the last name after her second divorce five years ago- were in the kitchen. Kim sat at the table while her mother ranted.
"I just can't believe you've put yourself in this position, Kimberly Ann! You're pregnant with a married man's child!" Ms. Hart exclaimed, a look of horror on her face.
Kim rolled her eyes- wishing her mother hadn't been the first person she'd given the news to. "Mom, this is Jason. Jason. Not some random jerk I met in a club," she said.
"And Jason's still married," Ms. Hart said sharply. "How could you two be so irresponsible? It's so unlike Jason."
Kim's jaw clenched. "But not unlike me, right?" she said, a slight edge in her voice.
Ms. Hart sighed. "Don't do that. You know that's not what I meant," she said.
"What do you mean, Mom? Jase and I didn't plan this, okay? It just happened," Kim said, looking at her mother.
"It shouldn't have, Kim. You two shouldn't have... gotten together. He's married," Ms. Hart said.
"To a selfish, heartless witch who split on him and his daughter! And that marriage is over in every way that matters anyway," Kim said.
"But it's still not legally over! I just can't believe this. You really got yourself into a disaster of a situation. Kim, you don't need this right now and neither does Jason. You can't keep this baby," Ms. Hart said.
Kim looked at her mom in absolute disbelief and horror. "No abortion! No way! I can't believe you even-" she was saying.
"I meant adoption, sweetheart. I would never ask you to terminate the pregnancy," Ms. Hart said.
"Adoption's out, too. I'm keeping it," Kim said. If there was one thing she was completely sure about, it was that.
"And what about Jason? What if he doesn't want it?" Ms. Hart asked, cocking a brow.
Kim looked away. "Even if that's true, I know he'd never ditch me or his child," she said.
"When he does gets a divorce, do you think he's really gonna wanna jump into another marriage?" Ms. Hart asked.
"Who said anything about marriage?" Kim asked, whipping her head around to look at her mother.
Ms. Hart paled. "You wanna be an unwed mother," she said as if Kim'd just told her she now worshipped the devil.
Kim gasped. "Oh, my! Whatever will the neighbors think? I hope they don't stone me," she said in mock fear. Then, she laughed. "Mom, it's the 21st century. The shotgun weddings are pretty rare these days, ya know."
"I'm just appalled," Ms. Hart said whispered.
"Don't be. Most kids who are raised in single-parent homes turn out fine. Look at Jason! Some women want a husband, but, no baby and vice versa. Besides, I've always believed people should totally marry for love," Kim said.
"Kim, I want to be happy for you, but it's all so..." her mother's voice trailed off and she shook her head.
"Mom, I'll admit this isn't how I pictured I'd bring my first child into the world. I didn't dream of being in this kind of situation, but, like I said, it happened. And I've gotta deal with it. And so do you, Mom. I'm sorry," Kim said.
Ms. Hart sighed and shook her head. "I apologize for going off like that when you told me. And I'll stop trying to make you feel bad about anything because the last thing you need is stress. But, Kimberly, it's gonna take me awhile to adjust to this," she said, then, exited the kitchen.
"You and I both," Kim muttered.
(Adam and Tanya's House)
(Nearly a couple hours later)
Kim, Aisha, Kat, Trini, Tanya and Rachel Oliver sat in the Parks' living room, talking about everything and nothing. Kim hadn't brought up her pregnancy yet. Anyway, Tanya and Adam'd been married six years and had two kids. A son named Aidan- who was four- and a daughter named Tamia- who was two. Also, Rocky and Aisha'd gotten hitched three years earlier and- like Zack and Trini- had twins. Twin boys, though. Miguel and Jamal- they were eleven months old.
Rachel was Tommy's wife of one year and they lived in Reefside. No kids yet. Tanya looked over at Kat- who was now five months pregnant with a girl. "Have you and Billy thought of any names already?" she asked her best friend.
"Well, Billy says whatever I want is fine with him. I've narrowed it down to Erica, Natalia and Amber," Kat said, gently rubbing her slightly rounded belly.
"They're all cute, but, go with Amber. Because it starts with an "A" and everyone knows "A" is a good luck letter," Aisha said with a wide grin. Her friends laughed.
"You are definitely Rocky's wife," Rachel said with a laugh.
"Rocky. Did I ever tell y'all what he really wanted to name the twins?" Aisha asked.
"Nope. Do share," Trini said before sipping her water.
"Cobra and Steel," Aisha said seriously. Her friends burst out laughing and shook their heads.
"Gotta love Rocky," Tanya said, grinning at the thought of the love of her life's best friend.
"Yeah. I hope he never changes," Kat said.
"So do I. Rocky changing should be against the law," Tanya said.
"Agreed," Trini said, nodding.
Rachel looked at Kim- who'd been a little half-hearted since she'd stepped into the house. Not like the gymnast at all. "Are you okay, Kim?" she asked in genuine concern. Rachel was glad she got along so well with her husband's exes.
Kim sighed. "I'm everything, Rach. You just name it," she said.
"Girl, give it to us straight," Aisha ordered her friend and favorite shopping partner.
"Yeah, Kim. What's up?" Tanya asked.
"Did you have another run-in with Derek?" Kat asked, sitting up a little straighter.
"Are you having problems at work?" Trini asked her lifelong gal-pal.
"No, I haven't seen Derek- thank God- and no problems at work. As for what's up... okay, Jason and I slept together about two months ago," Kim said.
Her friends just looked at her. Heck, Jason and Kim'd been spending a lotta time together over the last few months, so, this came as no shock to any of the other women. Kim looked at them carefully.
"And?" Aisha said expectantly.
"Well?" Rachel said at the same time.
Kim blinked. Okay, so her girls weren't stunned outta their minds, but, they were about to be. Kim took a deep breath. "There's more. Two days ago, I... well, I'd been kinda suspecting it and the doctor confirmed it. I'm six weeks pregnant, girlfriends," she said.
Kat's and Tanya's eyes widened, Aisha gasped, Rachel and Trini's jaws dropped.
"Yeah, I know," Kim said with a little laugh.
"This is really... wow," Trini said, sitting back in her chair. Wow.
"That pretty much sums it up," Rachel said with a soft chuckle.
"Tell me about it," Tanya and Aisha agreed.
"Definitely," Kat said.
Then, the women just sat in silence. Kim was dying to know what was going through her friends' heads. But, she'd just wait til they spoke. She knew she'd just dropped a crazy bombshell.
Finally... Tanya grinned at Kim. "Well, you know what? I think it's fantastic, girl," she said honestly. A baby always was. No matter the circumstances.
Kat smiled brightly in total agreement. "Absolutely. It's wonderful, Kim," she said.
Aisha nodded and grinned. "I'm with Tanya and Kitty. I'm happy for you, Crane," she said sincerely.
Trini smiled. "So am I," she said.
Rachel grinned. "I think it's great, too," she said.
Kim grinned gratefully. "Thanks, guys. I knew you'd support me," she said.
"No doubt. Have you talked to Jason?" Tanya asked.
"No. He's next," Kim said.
"Well, you know he'll be supportive and understanding, too," Trini said.
"So now we have two mothers-to-be. Outta sight," Aisha said happily.
(Jason's House)
(About an hour later)
Jason sat on his bed staring at the papers in his hand. The divorce papers had appeared in his mailbox a few hours earlier, of course. He'd been staring at them since he'd freed his mail from the mailbox. So, they'd finally come.
He didn't feel how he'd expected to feel, though. Hell, truth was, he didn't really know what he'd expected to feel exactly.
Jade ran in, then. "Daddy, can I have gummi bears?" she asked eagerly.
He smiled at her. "It's almost dinnertime, baby," he said, setting the papers on the bed and pulling her onto her lap. He just needed her close to him right now.
"Can we have gummi bears for dinner?" she asked cheerfully.
He laughed. "Sorry, baby girl, but, no," he said.
"But they're good," she whined.
"True. But you know what else is good? Spaghetti," he said.
"We're having pasghetti? Yay!" she said happily, the gummi bears now forgotten.
He chuckled and kissed her forehead lightly. "I love you, cupcake," he said.
"I love you, too, Daddy," she said, kissing his cheek. The doorbell rang, then. "Aunt Kim!" Jade said, hopping up and down happily.
"I hope so," he muttered as he stood. Kim'd been kind of avoiding him- it seemed- all weekend and he wanted to get to the bottom of it. The former ranger leader headed for the front door- Jade in his arms. He unlocked and opened the door to find none other than Kim there.
"Told ya it was Aunt Kim!" Jade said brightly.
"You're a very smart little girl," Jason said.
Kim smiled. "Hey, guys," she said, stepping in.
"I missed you," Jade said. "Daddy did, too. Right, Daddy?"
Jason's face flushed a little for some reason and Kim couldn't help giggling.
"I missed you, too, sweetie. I'm sorry I didn't call or come by. I had grownup things to deal with," Kim said, gently tugging on Jade's ponytail.
"Is everything all right?" Jason asked in concern.
"In a way," Kim said.
"Daddy, I wanna watch Cinderella," Jade said.
"Okay. I'll go pop in the DVD," he said, turning and heading for the den.
Kim sighed deeply and leaned against the door. Jason returned a minute later.
"I got the divorce papers today," he said quietly.
"Jase, we really need to-" Kim began at the same time. Then, she frowned. "You got the- oh, man. Are you okay?"
He shrugged. "Better than I'd expected to be," he said.
"Are you sure?" she asked, cocking a brow.
"Yeah. What were you about to say?" he asked.
"It can wait. If you wanna talk more about Gina-" she began.
"Not even a little. Kim, what's the deal?" he asked.
She stared at him for several moments, then, took his hand and led him towards the kitchen. When they reached the room, Jason sat down in a chair and looked at his friend. Kim leaned against the counter and closed her eyes. "You should sit down," she said.
"I am sitting, Kim," he said with a laugh. "What's going on?"
She opened her eyes and looked at his expectant face. And here it came."Jason, I went to the doctor two days ago and found out I'm... six weeks pregnant," she said.
Jason just stared at her as if she'd just revealed she hadn't been Kimberly Hart all these years, but, her evil twin sister.
Kim shook her head. "I know it's wild, but, not exactly a shock since we didn't use anything," she said.
Jason blinked. Pregnant. She was... carrying his child. Like, right now! This was turning out to be a helluva day for him. He'd lost a wife and gained a baby. With his friend. Guilt replaced his shock quickly. "Oh, man. I'm sorry, Pinky," he said slowly.
"Jase, we're both responsible here," she said.
"Yeah, but... a baby. Wow," he said, shaking his head.
"I know it's a lot to take in," she said. "I'm keeping it, Jason."
"Of course you are. Kim, come on. I don't want you to get rid of it. You know me better than that," he said. This was mind-blowing, but, he'd be a hands-on father to him or her.
"Yeah," Kim said, nodding.
Jason nodded, also. A baby. A baby. He'd created another human being with Kim. Truth was, he hadn't been thinking of having more kids, but, he was feeling strangely happy. He smiled at Kim. "We're gonna have a baby," he said.
She grinned, then, sighed. "You know I had to quit my job. I'm gonna have to find something temporary 'cause babies aren't exactly free. And I' m gonna have to find a bigger place. Geez. There's a lot that's gonna need to be done," she said.
A thought sprang into Jason's mind suddenly. "Move in with me," he said before he knew it.
Kim's jaw hit the floor.
If it wasn't the best, forgive me. It's really late right now and I'm not all there. Anyway, if ya liked it, I love ya.