A.N. Back again. Things are still looking a little murky, unfortunately. Be patient. On a sadder note, I have finally decided how to end this part of the story. Whether or not I'll write the sequel is still up in the air though. There's just not enough backbone for that part... Ugh. Maybe some drabbles? I just don't know.

And to BVRG0614, my only fan, you are either entirely to smart for your own good, or I'm a little too predictable. Lol

Chapter 12

The Fallout

That blinking light was still there when he woke up. Red and taunting him to pick up the phone, to press that button. As much as he wanted to, needed to, Roger couldn't bring himself to do it. Not today. Not without thinking everything through.

What would happen if he let the news spill? Would his father drop in and find a way to erase it all? Make it impossible to find Jack and keep his future securely where it was supposed to be placed, or would he force his hand, come up with a story that would force them all back to the city and leave Anita in the dust? Neither option was acceptable.

Instead, Roger would have to do things how he always had, on his own. He had to figure this mess out by himself, and if that meant keeping everyone else in the dark for the few days it would take him to come up with a good solution, if one could even be found, then that's what he was going to do. He couldn't risk the alternative.

With new determination, Roger went off to do his errands. College was still looming over his head, an unwanted burden that was weighing him down even farther. When had life gotten so damn hard? Three hours and two bookstores later, Roger pulled in front of the largest mall he could find, a two story, sprawling monster of a store.

This is what he had dreamed about the night before, once he had finally fallen into a fitful sleep. Shopping, making up for the past few years. Birthdays and Christmases and every other holiday he could imagine.

The money felt like it was burning through his pocket, and it would take all of his restraint not to blow a few thousand dollars in unnecessary mountains of toys or clothes. But he couldn't help the childish glee that filled his heart, Roger grinned at the glass fronted building. This, he thought. This is it.

o.O.o

This wasn't the way it was supposed to go. He wasn't supposed to get distracted and forget about the blinking light on his answering machine. But here it was, already three weeks later… He'd been so busy. There was always more to do, things to take care of.

Except today. Today he was going to lounge about. Take inventory. Make things right. And then the little flashing light was hovering over him again.

He took a deep breath and braced himself for the worst. Twelve missed calls. Most of them were from his mother, who sounded more and more worried each time, one was a long drawn out wrong number, and the last two were from Anita.

"Hello? Roger? Are you there? Call me back then, please," she said. Her voice soft and sweet, just like it had always been.

Her next call was a little more timid, "Roger? Your mother is making we worry. I know you're busy, but can't you call someone? Love you. Bye."

Roger picked up the phone after that, hesitating while he prepped his speech in his head, then he dialed the number and waited for the other one to be picked up.

"Evergreen Hill, this is Debbie speaking. How may I help you?"

Roger sighed, Debbie, his mother's personal assistant. As if she really needed one. "Hello, Debbie. Put my mother on, please."

"Oh Roger! Bella's been out of her head with worry!" she chided. He could just hear the tapping of her heels on some hard floor. "Bella! Bella, Roger finally -"

"Roger William Darling Jr. how dare you scare your poor mother like that!" Bella said angrily, she must have snatched the phone straight out of Debbie's hand.

"I'm fine, Mom. I'm sorry. I've been busy."

"Too busy to tell us you made it!"

"Surely the staff -" he tried again, only to be cut off.

"I don't care. You're the one that's supposed to call, Roger. So help me, next time, next time I'll -"

"There won't be a next time," he assured her. "I'm sorry I worried you."

"Good, good." She paused before asking, "Have you called Anita yet?"

"No…"

"She's in even more of a panic than I am, although she won't admit it, of course," his mother said affectionately. "That one's a little hard headed, don't you know?"

"Mhm. Well, I was just calling to check in. I have to go."

"Tuesday. Call me again on Tuesday."

"Yes, mother."

He hung the phone up quickly after that. The next phone call was going to be more difficult by far. His mother didn't have to know anything yet. She could be kept out of the loop for a while at least, but Anita… He could lie to her, and he couldn't tell her the truth yet either. He needed more time, the one thing he was quickly running out of.

It took all of his will power to dial her number. He prayed that she would be the one to pick up.

On the fourth ring the line clicked. "Hello?"

"Anita," he sighed with relief, even though the sound of her voice was sending shockwaves of guilt through his system.

"Oh my god. Roger, thank goodness you're okay! I mean, um…"

"It's all right. I should have called."

"Everything is all right isn't it?" she asked. He hated how frightened her voice sounded.

"Yes, no, I'm not really sure," he answered truthfully. "But its not something I can talk about, Anita."

"Okay." She sounded so sure, she trusted him too much. That only made him feel worse. "I'm here. Whatever you need."

Silence stretched. What did he need? "I just want you to be happy. Don't let me ruin you life, okay?"

"Ruin…? What on earth are you talking about?"

"This thing… If I let you get involved…I can't do that. I won't make you do this." He took a breath. "This isn't your fight." Anita seemed speechless, so he forced out more words. "I'm sorry. It's just, right now, I have to fix this by myself. It shouldn't take long, but… but it might be a little more complicated if things work out."

When Anita finally spoke, he could tell she was trying hard not to cry as his words sunk in. "I - I don't understand."

"I know," he breathed. He felt dangerously close to tears himself. Jack, he thought. This is for Jack. That didn't make it any easier.

o.O.o

Anita felt she had lived two separate lives, the one before the phone call and the one after it. She wanted to feel sorry for herself, but found she didn't have the time. Between the strange flu that still plagued her and the constant influx of work, her schedule was full. She still scrubbed house for Gretchen all week, the loveable hag wouldn't take no for an answer.

It was painful, rushing about his house, but she had become almost numb to it. At least she didn't have to suffer more by being in his space. The servants had taken it upon themselves to make her life as easy as possible when she was there, and for that she would be eternally grateful. Even Bella seemed keen on making her life better by inviting her out to lunch and tea. It seemed like every day she was coming around to ask Anita's opinions on colors and fabrics.

Even on a wet, cool, day like this one, she wouldn't let it ruin her. At lunch, Anita followed Gretchen into the kitchen where they propped themselves up on the stools around the island and listened to Chef's stories while he cooked. At one point the two of them got caught up in an argument over silly things that had happened many years before.

"Mmm… Chef, you are amazing, you know?" Anita said between bites of whatever delectable meal he had placed in front of her.

"I'd say, missy, you ate the entire thing by yourself!" Gretchen pointed out, gesturing at the silver platter piled high with dishes and crumbs. "Don't you ever eat anywhere else?" the older woman laughed.

"All the time," she replied. It was certainly true, she ate every chance she had anymore. Sometimes she even made herself sick from eating so much.

"Not pregnant are you?" Joseph asked as he slid into the room. He enjoyed goading her as much as physically possible these days. "Father might have a cow."

She ignored him the best she could. Pregnant? Certainly not.

"You do look a little bigger 'round the middle."

"Master Joseph, please leave her be," Gretchen said. She was much softer with him than she usually was with everyone else. "She's just a bit hungry."

"Hmph. I suppose. Don't want to harm my poor little niece or nephew, huh?"

"Go on now," she said again. "No need for this nonsense."

Joseph smirked, but disappeared back the way he came.

"He's just messing with you, girlie. No worries, you hear?"

"Yes, ma'am," Anita returned, suddenly a bit sick. No worries, right?

They hadn't tried to have sex again after the first time. She'd been too nervous and he'd been unwilling, but then again, how many girls did she know who had gotten pregnant? One time was plenty.

And it would certainly explain some things… Like the food, and the sickness. She had other symptoms, too, right? The achy feeling perhaps? And always being tired? Oh god, she thought, suddenly freezing. Not good, Anita.

She excused herself as quickly as possible, faking a smile to ease the tension. Anita went around the corner to the back staircase, and curled up in the corner. It seemed so impossible, like a dirty trick. The universe certainly had it out for her it seemed. She lifted her shirt, staring at her stomach, but it really didn't look any different.

Anita ran her hand over her skin, poking and prodding trying to feel anything different. And then, there it was, right around the waist band of her pants, a hard knot. It wasn't very big, almost impossible to notice it was so tiny. Pregnant. Just thinking the word made her head spin. She couldn't possible have a baby now, especially when she was all alone. The first tears slipped past her defenses then, bubbling up and spilling over her cheeks.

She was crying so hard she didn't even realize that the last person she wanted to see at that moment had happened upon her. "I – Oh god, Mrs. Darling! I'm so, so sorry," Anita said hastily, swiping at her tears as she stood up. "I'll get right back to work."

Bella gave her a stern look. "Sit back down," she ordered. Anita complied, slumping back onto the plush carpet. "Now tell me, what's the matter? So help me, my son hasn't gone and done something else has he?"

Anita shook her head, but a silent sob shook her body.

"You know I don't agree with everything he's done it the last few weeks. He's just got caught up in his new life. Don't you worry, he'll be back soon, and then he'll realize the error of his ways."

Still, Anita couldn't mutter more than a few jumbled syllables.

"Did he call you again?"

"N-No…" she whispered.

Bella didn't seem pleased with that answer. "Chin up, Anita. You have more back bone than this. Just spit it out. Whatever it is, we can always fix it."

Yeah right, she thought, but resisted the next wave of sobs. "I – I think, maybe, I might be pregnant," she whispered after a few calming breaths and a long stretch of silence.

To her credit, Bella remained completely neutral. In fact her face didn't even twitch.

"You're - You're sure about this?" Bella finally commented. "Roger's already been gone a month now."

"I think so." Sudden she felt like her honor was in question, and she needed to defend it. "I'm not a very, uh, regular person. It hadn't occurred to me."

Bella looked a little uncomfortable after that, but was trying hard to conceal it. "Oh, well, thing happen, I suppose." She paused for a moment, maybe hoping Anita would fill the silence, but when she didn't, Bella continued. "Do you need anything?"

"No, ma'am. I'll be fine," she lied. She might never be fine again. "Now if you'll excuse me…"

"Of course. Stay away from the chemicals, won't you?"

Anita nodded and disappeared. If only she could find a better place to hide.

o.O.o

Gretchen had a lot of years under her belt. She had a baby of her own, of course, but she was all grown up with babies of her own, living halfway across the country. Instead she like to take over other people's babies.

Roger had been her first, he was a tiny thing, only three years old when she came in. A rough time for the family… She became his unofficial caretaker while his own mother had put herself back together.

Gretchen hadn't been there for the before, something she had thanked her lucky stars for, but she suspected that her employers were very different people than they had been.

And then little Joseph. The accidental one. She had always been softer on Joseph that she should have been. Roger never needed a strong hand, but his brother could have used four of five.

While the boys had grown up, she still cared for them, a second mother, or a devoted aunt. Soon they'd be having of their own, too, sooner than expected judging by the startled look in Anita's eyes when Joseph had been picking on her.

She hadn't wanted to pry, so Gretchen let Anita be, but she never reappeared. Not even when the car was brought to take her home. Concerned, Gretchen dropped what she was doing and started searching the house. No one had seen her since lunch, and it was too nasty to be outside, but there were still plenty of little nooks she could be hiding in.

Eventually she found her, naturally in the last place left to look, Roger's bedroom. Anita was curled up, fast asleep. It was a sight, the girl even looked pained in her slumber. Roger's massive bed had engulfed her, as if the very room was desperate to comfort her.

Gretchen hated to disturb her, to ruin what little peace she had found. With a heavy heart, the old maid stepped back out of the room, closing the door with a soft click. She could give her this, for now, and let reality haunt her another day.

She had to pull many favors, but Gretchen got everything settled. Tomorrow. They would deal with the fallout tomorrow.