Okay, so maybe Lightning taking her ring off and throwing it on the table WAS a little extreme. Every couple fights, and sometimes small fights end up turning into big ones where one leaves. Been there, done that. Anyway. I've had some interesting guesses about what happened to Serah. I must say I was amused with Devi-Art Chelisa1031's guess that it's not Snow's baby.

Many thanks to Baby Capri 1990 for helping me with the chapter.

The Simple Life
Chapter 8

Serah collapsed in my arms the minute I walked through the front door. She clung tightly to my shirt and cried. Off to the side, sitting on the sofa, I spied Snow. His head was buried in his hands. It was at that very moment, I completely forgot about the fight I just had with Fang. Fang was the furthest thing from my mind at that time.

"Serah, what's wrong?" I turned my attention back to my baby sister.

"I…" Every time she tried to speak, she broke down further. "I lost…"

My eyes grew wide. I was able to piece together what she was trying to say. "Oh Serah…" I closed my eyes, my arms wrapping tightly around her.

As much as I hated the idea of her being pregnant, it was something that made her very happy. If she was happy, then I was happy. But now, she's heartbroken and I had no clue what to do.

"I'm going out." He pushed past us and left without another word.

"Is there anything-"

"Stay with me." She slowly started to pull away. Her sobbing had subsided some. I stayed near her, a hand on her shoulder, letting her know I was there and I wasn't going to leave.

"What happened?" She just shook her head. It was her way of telling me she'll talk when she's ready. "Do you want me to make us a snack?"

She grabbed my arm before I had a chance to stand up. "Just stay with me, okay?" Her eyes fell closed before she placed her head against my shoulder.

"Alright, I'm right here for you. You know that," I encircled her in my arms as she broke down into tears yet again.

Between sobs, she found words to speak. Words that broke my heart. "You…you weren't," she paused to catch her breath, "you weren't there today…"

"But I'm here now. Serah what happened?"

"Ectopic Pregnancy." I looked at her oddly. I had heard the term before, but after searching my mind for its meaning, I found nothing. "The ultrasound…showed the baby was growing in the fallopian tubes." She clarified for me.

"Oh Serah, I'm so sorry…" I, too, closed my eyes, allowing my head to rest against the top of hers. Her body started shaking with sobs again, but I felt no dampness on my shirt. She had cried her eyes dry.

"They had to abort it Claire…My baby…our baby…it's gone."

We sat there in silence for I don't know how long. I wasn't going to leave her side, not for anything in this world. I knew I should have gone with her. Something about today didn't feel right from the moment I woke up. First Fang asked me to lie, just so I could stay with her. That should have been my first clue. I've crumbled around Fang to the point where I'm putting her before my own family. She's not even a part of my family. Not yet. Not for a while.

She pissed me off so much. I was simply trying to be caring and loving. Somewhere deep down inside of me, I am a bit of a caretaker. If the person is a major part of my life, I will go out of my way to make sure they're safe. Even Snow falls into that group now. Not many people see it, nor do I want them to see it. In a way, I consider it my weakness. A weakness I do not want people to exploit.

"Claire?" I barely reacted to her, until she spoke again, "Claire, your phone is ringing." I reached into my pocket for it and looked at the screen.

Incoming call: Fang

I hit the red button, rejecting the call. Serah just looked at me. "Who was that?"

"Fang." I kept my response short and to the point. Knowing though, that she'd ask me why I ignored it.

"Are you feeling alright?" I smiled softly when she rested the back of her hand against my forehead, then each of my cheeks in turn. "You never miss a call from Fang."

My phone came to life again, I glanced down at the screen.

Incoming call: Fang

Again I ignored it. "We had a fight and I'm not in the mood to talk to her right now. Not so soon."

"You had a fight? About what?"

"It really doesn't matter right now. What matters is that I need to be here for you for a few days…if you'll have me," I tossed my phone down on the table and stood up. "Do you want some coffee?" She nodded and I made my way into the kitchen. Once again my phone started to ring, I popped my head around the corner to see Serah reaching for it. "Don't you dare answer that."

"You have to talk to her sometime. She's going to start to worry about you."

"Well she should have thought about that before she pissed me off." I grabbed the small electronic device and shoved it in my pocket. "Where's your phone? She's going to try calling you next."

"I'm not giving you my phone. What if Snow calls?"

"Then I'll give it to you." I tried to take the phone from her but she refused. "Fine, just don't tell her I'm here, tell her you don't know where I am." I made my retreat into the kitchen to get a pot of coffee brewing. As if on cue, Serah's phone rang. I could hear her answering it.

"Hello?" She forced out her usual sweet voice, even though I knew it was faked right now. "No Fang…she's not here right now." She paused and looked at me while I stood in the doorway. "I've been trying to call her too," her voice grew softer with each word. It was obvious that the day's events were wearing her down yet again. "I'll make sure she calls you." She frowned up at me. She covered the receiver of the phone. "Lightning, she's practically in tears. Please…please talk to her."

I sighed in defeat. "Fine, give me the phone."

"Hey Fang, hang on. She just walked in the door." She stood up slowly and handed me the phone.

"Hey…" I turned my back to Serah, making my way out onto her balcony. I slid the door closed behind me and sat on one of the plastic chairs.

"Hey…" her response was just as plain as mine was. "I know you're at Serah's, know you've been there for a while. But that's not the point, I understand you not wanting to talk to me, hell I wouldn't want to talk to me either…" She paused.

"I do want to talk to you Fang. It's just…" I looked over my shoulder to see Serah doubled over on the sofa, gripping her stomach, her body shaking again with fresh tears. "I have to be here for Serah right now."

"Why, what's going on?"

"Fang, Serah lost the baby."

There was a long pause before either of us spoke up again. "She needs you Light. And…I'm sorry I tried to keep you from her earlier. Maybe we do need a few days apart."

As much as it pained me to admit it, I think she was right. Things just seemed to happen so fast between us. Maybe it was time to slow down and take a few days to ourselves. Or in my case, a few days to take care of my sister and brother-in-law. "Yea…I think that's a good idea Fang." After letting out a sigh I spoke again, "I'll call you tomorrow, alright?"

"Yea, sounds good."

"Fang…?"

"Yea?"

"I love you."

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