Happy Halloween!

I guess it's fair to say that none of the chapters in this set will traditionally scare you, but I'm not promising that there will be no scares. Or tricks. Or treats.

I want to thank Cozy Shadow, Raquel the writer, NotBornHatched, Guest, xXDarkAngelKittenXx, x K.S.P forever x, Angelinx, MistyVoid48, FFLuvr, and Nouveau for your reviews. It's another new record! But in all seriousness, please review at will. That's my Halloween pass lol. Also, I want to apologize if I unleashed the sexiness without warning. I don't want to give things away, but please know that if it makes you uncomfortable, you won't be missing too much relevant content if you skip it. I also know that some of you are concerned about Amy, but as a biology major, I can tell you (with my potentially limited knowledge) that pregnant women can have sex. Also, first-time pregnant women begin to show a bump between 12-16 weeks (the end of 3 months to the end of 4 months). I believe Amy is just around three months so I think it makes sense for her not to be super showing or anything. And Scourge hasn't seen her in a while and is an oblivious male, so there's that.

Anyway, don't want to hold you up! Enjoy.

Chapter 27

"Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone," Clarissa said, dragging her suitcase toward the front door. "I mean it."

"What kind of idiot do you take me for?" I said, like a teenager fighting her over-protective mother. I took another bite of the dinner she cooked. It was still noon, but I had abandoned the notion of order in everything that wasn't law a long time ago.

"A fat one." She took the pot of rice from me and placed it in the fridge. "Parker should be here any minute."

"What are you really going to do in a cabin for the long weekend?" I found myself asking. The goofy grin on her face, however, answered my question. My face spoiled. She rolled her eyes.

"It's weird how well our relationship is going." She paused. "Not to rub it in your face."

"You're not." I took a seat at the kitchen counter. "I'm glad you guys are happy. I'm happy you're happy."

"Yeah, but it seems like we don't hang out anymore." She pursed her lips. "When we first got here we were practically attached at the hip."

"Time changes things," I replied. "But everything's fine for once. So please don't sweat it."

"That's good to hear." It was Parker who said this as he walked into the space. But the positive atmosphere died the second he laid his eyes on me."You look...different."

"I've been eating more," I pushed, trying not to freak out. I was forgetting Parker was a physician—and a gynecologist at that. "Nice seeing you, but you two should get going if you want to beat the traffic."

"Have you been seeing anyone?" He pursed his lips, moved closer as if to evaluate me. Like a doctor. Holy shit. He was on to me.

"Not since you." The air grew even more uncomfortable, but at least I had resumed some control. Parker stepped back, nodding slowly. But there was barely any relief in his eyes.

"That's good to hear."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Clarissa replied for me, somehow more annoyed than I was. Before Parker could probably spill his doctor inclinations, Clarissa pushed him out the door. "Save it. Let's just leave before you say something else you'll regret."

"Fair enough." He sighed before waving goodbye. "Be safe, Amy."

Clarissa shot me a look before shutting the door behind her. "Good luck on your case."

But I knew what that look meant. She was telling me not to fuck around with Scourge. I sighed—it was like she knew me as well as she didn't. Maybe if she actually said something, I wouldn't be okay with what was happening. A knock on the door assured me that she grew some balls and was ready to reprimand my behavior. But when I opened the door, a pair of lips met mine.

Scourge cupped my cheek, and I opened my mouth wider against his. The exchange continued for as long as I could stand, and I pulled away with a smack.

"I've been waiting a week to do that." He kissed my lips again. "How are you doing, beautiful?"

"I could be worse." I buried my head in his neck. "My roommate's on to us."

"The cat and her boyfriend?" he asked, pointing a thumb behind him. I nodded.

"Trust me, she's not that smart."

"What do you mean—"

He walked toward the coat hanger, pulled off my purse and punched his hand inside it. I heard a rip, and before I could object, he pulled out a small voice recorder. I blinked at the device as he clicked it on. There was mostly static until I heard it. Muffled voices. Then moaning. Mostly mine.

Scourge smirked. "Hell, I didn't know I was that good."

"Turn it off!" I said, starting to wrestle him for the thing. How the hell did she do that? Why would she do that? I shook my head—I had no right to complain, other than the fact I now had a ruined purse. I was the only one who broke a promise. "How the hell did you know?"

"I have killer instincts," he replied, finally clicking the device off. I glared at him. "Nah, she was briefing her boyfriend on the details while I snuck in. Ironic, right?"

"More like mortifying."

"More like sexy." I was in his embrace again. "Besides, I thought you said you were going to tell your friends."

"That was when we weren't fucking." I turned, meeting his gaze. It didn't matter. It wasn't like I was going to tell the others—I just didn't want this to be a dirty secret. Now that it was, we were stuck. Literally and figuratively. It was only a matter of time until Blaze waltzed in here, after all.

"Then I guess there's no harm if I do this." His hands snuck under my shirt, my bra. He thumbed over my nipples, and I bit my lip when he cupped my breasts.

"What are you doing?" I said, arching my back into his chest. I closed my eyes and allowed the erotic sensation to wash over me.

"Doesn't matter." He bit my neck before kissing it slowly. I hissed. "Just tell me if you want me to stop."

"Don't stop," I sighed, turning toward him. We were lip locking again, until I was on my toes, biting his ear. "Which room do you want me?"

He smirked before picking me up in his arms, and throwing me down on my bed. Clothes were off in a flash, and I climbed on top of him, riding along his erect length.

"Rosie." He groaned as I rubbed his chest, stopping at his pelvis. He secured his hands on my hips, thrusting into them.

"Mmmm…" I said, pushing against him. The buildup was slow, but addictive. He kept hitting my button, the one that was only moments away from setting me off. My head fell back in euphoria.

"Your moaning's gonna make me loose it," Scourge said, moving up to kiss my neck.

"Can't help it," was my half-baked reply. A stray hand squeezed my breast again, and Scourge began to grind himself against me deeper. Harder. I choked on a moan. "I'm close."

"Ladies first." He rolled himself on top of me, seized my hands in his as his thrusts found a new, seductive rhythm. My ears were ringing when he suckled on my left breast.

"Damn," he said with a nipple in his mouth.

"Gentlemen first," I said with a pant of a laugh.

"No, did you hear that?" he shifted from me. The thrusting stopped, and I sighed an exhausted sigh as I strained my ears to listen. Then I realized my ears weren't ringing; I was hearing actual ringing.

"Amy?" I heard a subdued voice call. Shit.

I was locked in Scourge's embrace. As my panicked eyes met his, he drew a finger to his smirking lips in a shushing gesture.

"I know you're here," the voice said again. Cream? "And I know where you keep your spare key…"

Double shit.

I scoffed until I heard the door unlock. The unwelcomed footsteps invaded my space. "What smells so good?"

"Hide," I whispered, climbing out of him. I motioned dramatically to under bed, the closet, hell the ceiling. Scourge just rolled his eyes.

"You're lucky I put up with—"

"Shh!"

"Amy?"

I pulled on my silk robe. Until I realized it was Clarissa's. And that we were doing it in her room. I officially have no more shits to give.

"Cream," I said, closing the door behind me. But despite her presence being unexpected, I was more surprised by the tears in her eyes. Oh no. Cream wouldn't cry unless—I gasped.

"What did you do to Tails?"

"Why are you assuming it's my fault?" She sniffled. "He broke up with me!"

I was hardly in the mood to be sympathetic, but I accepted her hug anyway. I was also surprised when she pulled away.

"Why are you so sweaty?" Her brown eyes were suddenly as curious as they were dismal. "And why do you look so flushed?" The same eyes widened. "Were you masturbating?"

I think I heard Scourge snicker.

I shook my head rapidly, trying to think of something. "No. I just finished…exercising."

I definitely heard Scourge this time.

Thankfully, Cream was too distressed to hear him. I sat her down in the living room. "Why don't you give me the details and I'll try not to strangled myself?" I said. She rolled her eyes, burying her head in one of the couch pillows.

"Tails proposed to me!"

I lifted a brow. "And you're upset because…"

"I told him I wasn't ready," she said with a sigh. "I wanted to be accomplished before I settled down. I mean, he revolutionized the world of technology at half my age. How can I be his wife when I can't even make a smoothie machine?"

"You're not a genius, you idiot," I responded. "And the only issue with his proposal would be if you didn't actually love him, you cheated on him, or if you didn't have the intent to eventually get married." I paused. "Do you?"

"Yes." She folded her arms with a huff. "It's just hard talking to the others about this. They're all married. And Clarissa's off with Parker."

"Good to know I'm your first choice."

"I'm serious," she pushed. "When I told him how I felt, he went off on me. Said he was tired of "fooling around". I mean, what the hell? I'm his girlfriend! I'm not his friend with benefits or something!" Her last comment hit home. I mean, what the hell was I doing? I shook my head—I could only think about what mattered. And what mattered was getting her the hell out of here.

"That doesn't sound like him." I rose to my feet. "He was probably just stressed out about something and was looking for some good news when you rejected his proposal. So why don't you set aside your insecurities and try to make it up to him? You love each other." I guess love really was wasted on the young.

"You're right. I'm overreacting." She wiped her eyes. "We did have a pregnancy scare last month. He's been acting a little weird ever since then."

"I'm pretty sure that's it." I smiled, opening the front door. "Take him out for a surprise date or recreate the proposal or something."

"That's genius!" She clasped her hands. "Why is everyone so much smarter than me?"

"Said the PhD candidate." I rolled my eyes. "I have to meet Blaze for her appointment, so I'm sorry to cut you short."

"No, thanks for listening to me." She hugged me again. "I'm glad things are finally normal between us."

"Me too," I replied, breathing her in.

"You'll find who you're looking for," she then assured me. "He's probably right under your nose."

"I hope so."

"I know so." With a wave she was off. And I would have liked to say that everything was back to normal, but duh.

With a sigh, I started for Clarissa's bedroom. I plopped down on her mattress. "She's gone." But I heard no reply. Instead a hand found my thigh; I laughed as I looked down.

He emerged from underneath the bed, and pushed me backward. He moved on top of me, but stopped at my lower region. His eyes hit mine as his mouth found my core.

"What—" his tongue flickered against my nub repeatedly, as he proceeded to eat me out. I bit my lip, as he licked my insides. I held his head closer to me as he snuck in a few fingers, and started stroking my walls. My mind shattered as I thrusted into him.

"Ahhhh," I cooed. "R-right there." His attention to my clitoris increased, and my orgasm hit me hard and all at once. I came with a deep moan.

"Scourge," I heaved, my glazed eyes watching him as he rose to his feet. It didn't take a second for me to pull him down. "Stay with me."

"I have to go," he replied as I secured my hands over his shoulders. I kissed his chin before moving back to his lips. He smirked before peeling me off of him. "I promised Sage I'd take him to the park before heading to the museum." He sighed, zipping up his jeans. Because I was a needy whore, I thought of coming with him. Until I remembered my unofficial restraining order.

"I'd invite you," he went on, "but unfortunately life's a bitch. And I did myself no favors by having a kid with one."

"Hey, Sage is a good thing," I said. "And I know Fiona's difficult, but it takes two."

He inhaled, closed his eyes. "Yeah."

I took hold of his hands. "Look, I don't know what we're doing. But I want you to know that everything's fine right now. I just want what's best." He opened his eyes.

"But I've always been unfair to you." He squeezed my hands. "We shouldn't be doing this. Your friend was right—even if she has no clue."

I scoffed. "Her little stint with Tails had to be her worst relationship issue. She doesn't really know what it's like for things not to work out. To not be with the one you care about." I sighed. "To constantly feel powerless, and suppress your feelings for the love of your life everyone says you'll find around the corner."

Scourge pressed his lips in a line. "You really aren't the girl I harassed at the bar four years ago."

"And you're not the guy I thought I hated four years ago."

He nodded, laughing. "I'll take what I can get." He rose to his feet. "But unfortunately, I really have to get going." But when he moved to my—Clarissa's—closet and threw a dress at me, I could only blink back in confusion.

"Why—" We were in a lip-lock again, but he parted almost as quickly as it started before stroking my cheek.

"We can discuss the case at our next meeting."

I nodded. "Are you sure you didn't want some food or something before you go?"

He wrinkled his nose. "Can't. Another one is here."

"What?"

Just then there was a knock. And my harlequin heartthrob was nowhere to be seen.

I was in the happy clinic again, feeling anything but. Blaze was tense the entire ride here, so I was glad she didn't prod me about my appearance or something. I mean I had showered—I was clean. But if anyone could sniff out a dirty secret, it was her.

"Dr. Merecat will see you now." One of the nurses guided us to a room. But Blaze was still high on anxiety.

"Will you calm down?" I said, patting her shoulder. "The doctor didn't say anything was wrong."

"It's not that," she replied, sighing. "We just never got this far. It's nerve wrecking."

It took a moment for her words to hit me. "Oh."

Before the air could grow anymore hostile or toxic, Dr. Merecat stepped into view.

"Hello, ladies." She stopped at Blaze. "Why the glum look?"

"Could you please just get on with the examination?" Blaze snapped. "Sorry, I'm just anxious."

"Perfectly understandable." For once Dr. Merecat's smile looked natural. She turned to me. "Shall we?"

She poured some cold gel on my stomach and slid the transducer. I saw a blobby blob.

"Everything looks normal," the woman said, pointing at the image. "In a month we'll be able to determine the gender."

"Wait, I thought we'd be able to do that now?" I turned to Blaze. "Didn't you want to know?"

"It's still too early." the doctor responded on Blaze's behalf. Her eyes then widened. "Shoot, I think one of the nurses accidently used Blaze's chart. She'd be a little more than five months now."

I was surprised when Blaze scoffed. "Well thanks for wasting our time."

"It's fine, Blaze," I assured her. "At least we know the baby's still okay."

The fire in her eyes died down, but she still looked pissed as hell. It didn't help that Dr. Merecat was now smiling like she was the Goddess of Everlasting Sunshine and Sparkles.

"You're right—" Just then a phone seized the air. Blaze sighed, stepping out of the room. "Sorry, I have to take this."

Then I was stuck with what's-her-smiling-face.

"You look too happy." I narrowed my eyes. "Something's wrong. Spill. I'm an attorney."

Dr. Merecat wrinkled her nose. "So? Dr. Hedgehog has a PhD in neuroscience and she's not prying my brain."

"So you admit there's something wrong?"

The woman sighed, clearing off the gel. "Look, she's been through a lot. I can't tell her any of my hunches until I know for sure." Her eyes hit mine. "Besides, you don't look like you're very good at keeping secrets."

I shook my head. "I wouldn't play with something like this."

A staring battle started, and it ended with her rolling her eyes. "Fine. I believe I see an abnormality."

My body froze. Abnormality?

"If it's what I think it is, then it's completely harmless. I'm just wondering why I didn't notice it earlier…"

"What do you think it is then?" I had to stop myself from yelling.

"Unfortunately, I can't disclose that with you just yet." She picked up a file. "But it's nothing to worry about for now."

"Was it something that I did?" She shook her head.

"Not unless you went skydiving." She almost laughed. "But nothing's really off the table for pregnant women except overexerting themselves and drinking. Sex and other social activities are more than acceptable for low-risk pregnancies such as your own."

"But what if it's bad?" I placed my hand on my stomach before deciding against it. No. Nothing was wrong—For once, everything seemed all right. The universe couldn't be that cruel.

"It probably isn't," She decided. Just then, the door opened and Blaze stepped in. She blinked at us.

"Is everything alright?"

"Perfect," I said perhaps too quickly. "Dr. Merecat was just telling me how low-risk this pregnancy is."

There was a bit of relief in her eyes. "That's good to hear."

And truthfully, everything could be good. Dr. Merecat's hunch could be correct, and then nothing would be wrong. But I couldn't shake off the sensation that this was just the beginning of something beyond horrible happening.

~KB