To Mai Surprise
Disclaimer: I do not own The Nine Lives of Chloe King, nor do I profit from any of my stories.
Warning: This story is rated M and is intended for mature audiences only. Reader discretion is advised.
Chapter 16
"Okay, so you're a fish? How does that work? An arranged marriage, what's that like? You're not human but you're not fish-like? Will you have fishy babies? What's the gestation period for OW, HEY!"
"Shut up Paul!" Amy raised her arm again, threatening to hit her boyfriend again if he didn't keep his mouth shut. Today is going to be a long day…
"Indeed Paul, no need to be rude," said a heavily-accented voice from behind him.
We were sitting in the cafeteria after school, talking to Lana and Rajiv. Arun wasn't much of a talker, more of the tall-dark-and-handsome type, and seemed to disappear whenever 'the kids' were talking. He talked with Aunt Val, Alek, and Lana, but only when discussing communication strategy or planning out research tactics. Rajiv spent the weekend setting base, or 'hacker's lair' as Paul put it, in Aunt Valentina's office, and then he and his brother moved into my old bedroom. I moved all of my stuff into Jasmine's, and took all the essentials (clothes, shoes, makeup, laptop, cell phone, etc) to Alek's house.
Lana had her own place, an apartment above Aunt Val's antique shop, and she was hired part-time at the little vintage clothing store next door.
"Well, I'm glad we met you guys, but the Sanchez needs me backstage," Lana said, waving a tanned arm in farewell. "I'll meet you guys at Stella's Coffee before my shift."
We watched her take off towards the drama room, her wavy, dark hair trailing down to her waist. She had an amazing fashion sense, a mix of vintage and steampunk. Lana is a sophomore at UCSF, but she volunteers in the costume department here at school. Mr. Sanchez, the hopeless drama teacher, needed all the help he could get.
Amy and Paul said goodbye, heading off for some much needed alone-time, while Rajiv and I left to watch the end of Alek's practice.
"So have you two…?" Rajiv whispered, raising his eyebrows suggestively, while reclining comfortably on the bleachers.
I sighed. "Well… yeah, but not recently. Alek hasn't really been in the mood."
"Hmmmm… well? Why's that? You two have great chemistry…" Rajiv whispered, careful to not alert the players in the gym below us.
"I've been sick recently, Aunt Val said that it's the flu." I shuddered at the thought. "I don't want to think about it…"
"I am truly sorry Miss Chloe, but I have to ask. Are you sure it was influenza? As far as I am aware, the Mai cannot contract 'the flu'" he continued, sending me a strange look.
"I don't know, that's what everyone thought it was…" I shrunk away from Rajiv, suspicious. "Why?"
"Because your sickness, plus Aleksander's low libido, I must ask, are you menstruating regularly?" Though Rajiv's voice was barely audible, I could make out what he was saying.
"Of course!"
Alek looked my way, so I flashed him a split-second smile, and gave him a reassuring wave.
"No," I whispered. "Oh no…"
I grabbed Rajiv's hand, sent a quick text to Alek, and then ran to the car.
"No! I can't be!" I slammed the passenger's side door and handed the keys to the KIA to Rajiv. "I'm on the pill! No! Turn left…"
I struggled to regain my composure as we pulled up to the RiteAid. After handing me a silk handkerchief, Rajiv calmly walked into the store.
He came back with three different tests, and drove us to Val's apartment. On the way there, I texted Amy and Jasmine, telling them to meet me, and that it was a matter of life and death. Well at least, a matter of life, and the life that might be inside my womb.
I waited on the couch next to Amy and Rajiv, while Jasmine paced the living room floor. We had three hours before Alek and Arun would be done with their meeting with Lana. Aunt Valentina was supposed to be home in less than an hour. We had three minutes to sweat before the tests would reveal the future.
"I don't understand! Chloe, I thought you were on the pill!" Amy screeched, though she was less than a foot from me. "Did you forget it or something?"
Rajiv looked up from his laptop, motioning to the medical records on the screen.
"How did you get this? It's Mai property…" Jasmine rattled off, but stilled when he highlighted a certain portion of text. "Oh, shit. Chloe, did the doctors tell you about the side effects when you went on all the medications?"
"Yeah, they must have. I would have noticed if they didn't… Wait. Why would you ask that?"
"The antibiotics, from the riot in New York? That week before Thanksgiving?" Jasmine pointed to the computer screen.
Certain antibiotics can interact with birth control pills, making the birth control pills less effective and pregnancy more likely. Spotting - or 'mid-cycle' bleeding - may be the first sign that an antibiotic is interfering with the effectiveness of your birth control pills. Antibiotics that have been shown to interact with birth control pills include rifampin, and to a lesser extent, penicillin, amoxicillin, ampicillin, sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim, tetracycline, minocycline, metronidazole, and nitrofurantoin. To help women avoid pregnancy while taking an antibiotic - and for at least one week afterward - doctors generally recommend they use a condom or spermicide as a back-up method of birth control. If you are taking both antibiotics and birth control pills, be sure to check with your doctor about how long you should continue to use a back-up method.
Blah, blah, blah, no wonder I didn't really remember any of it. Spotting? No wonder I didn't suspect anything…
"Hey! Hey! HEY!" We all looked at Amy, before she pushed us towards the counter. "It's been three minutes!"
Two purple lines.
A little pink plus.
'Pregnant.'
I fell against Rajiv's sturdy arms. Oh my God…. Oh my God. Oh my God! Oh my God! Everything felt surreal. I slumped against the couch, one hand on my tummy.
"Time to call in the troops…" Jasmine sat down next to me, texting Mimi. Rajiv wiped off tears from my cheeks, tears that I didn't even notice building up that now fell freely. Amy sat in silence, eyes bouncing back and forth between my stomach and the three tests on the counter.
Bing.
The elevator doors. Aunt Valentina.
Jasmine looked at me, and then went to meet her mother at the door as I stood up. I had all of three seconds to decide how to tell Aunt Val.
I opened my mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by a crushing hug. "Aunt Val? What…?"
She finally released me, pushing me back onto the couch. "I love you, Chloe. I love you, your fiancé, and…" She glanced down at the counter, and continued. "And, I love your baby. But, you are a very careless girl. This is going to change everything. If the other Prides find out, they will fight for you, and your baby." Aunt Val sat down. "You are going to be protected. There are very few I can trust with your life, let alone the life of your unborn child."
"Mimi says she will do anything to help, but who else? The Mai are few and far apart." Jasmine shook her head, texting Mimi on her phone.
"I'll put a few calls in, Mirella and Brian can be spared, I will tell the Vegas Pride that the Uniter needs more guards. I have friends in Las Angeles that I can trust; they can transfer up here by next week." Aunt Valentina gave my shoulder a quick squeeze, and then walked to her office to make the calls.
Amy was in shock still, staring at my flat stomach. Her eyes bugged out of her head as she reached forward to touch me. I raised an eyebrow at her, slowly leaning backwards while her hand crept toward my tummy.
"My brother and I will do anything to protect Miss Chloe. We came to the United States to assist the Uniter. I cannot see a better way to do so." Rajiv reached around me to gently swat Amy's hand away.
She seemed to snap out of it immediately, her usual crazed attitude returning. "What about Alek? You have to tell him! You only have a few hours 'til he gets home. He's going to expect you in pajamas, eating dinner, and picking out a movie on NetFlix." She grabbed my phone out of my hand and scrolled down to the text I sent Alek an hour ago.
"Rajiv wants to have 'girltalk' so I'll meet you at home."
Amy poked the screen, bringing up my message inbox.
"No problem love, I might be home a bit early. Try not to pick a chick-flick :P"
Movie night with Meredith! I'm not surprised that I forgot…
"I have to tell him. And Meredith, because she has to know that she's going to be a grandma…" Grabbing my jacket off of a chair, and my keys off the counter, I made my way towards the elevator. Amy and Rajiv wanted to go with me, but it was something I had to do alone. I'm going to be a mom now, so I have to be strong… I'm going to be a mom now… I'm going to be a mom.
I pulled into the driveway, relieved that Meredith's station wagon was the only car in the garage.
"Mer, there's sss-something I ne-need to tell you. Well, it's s-something I ne-need to… to tell Alek, but it's something that affects all of us so…"
Meredith took my hand and sat me down in the living room. "Chloe, baby, what is it? Please, it's okay, please tell me." She was worried, and I figured that it was better to just say it.
"I'm pregnant."
I am. I'm pregnant. It was the first time I'd said it out loud. All of a sudden, reality decided to kick in. Sobbing, I curled up in the chair while Meredith held me.
Planting a kiss on the top of my head, she said, "it'll be okay. You need to tell Alek, but it'll be okay, I promise. You're my baby girl, I love you. It'll be okay."
I don't know who she was trying to convince, herself or me, but it seemed to work. Meredith made me sit on the couch while she got out a giant tub of chocolate ice cream.
"So, over Christmas break, you didn't really have the flu?"
I shifted slightly, before nodding. "But, I didn't put all the pieces together until today. I thought I was sick! I didn't know! I swear!"
Meredith sent me a loving smile and nodded, dipping her spoon back into the tub of ice cream. "I know baby girl, I know. Alek called me; he said his meeting would be over by 7, he should be home soon. Why don't you go get cleaned up?" She motioned to the tear tracks on my cheeks and the melted chocolate on my shirt. "You head upstairs. I'll tell Alek you're waiting for him. Now go. It'll be okay."
I started up the stairs, got into the shower, and decided to tell Alek the same way I told Mer. Just spit it out, and hope for the best.
I was nervous, but I had calmed down enough by the time I got out of the shower. Alek's sweatpants and old basketball t-shirt sounded like a good way to soften the blow. He always loved it when I wore his clothes; it was some kind of Mai mate protectiveness. I heard the engine of his old VW as he pulled into the driveway. The grinding of the garage door was next, and then the engine turned off. The garage door closed as I heard Alek open the door and walk into the kitchen. Meredith didn't say much, just a pleasant "she's upstairs."
The sound of footsteps walking up the stairs made my nerves buzz with anxiety.
Alek opened the door looking exhausted. He was stressed out, but he still managed a small smile when he saw me. I felt guilty; I hated to add more to his burden. Being the Uniter is hard enough already. This week is final's week at school, only half of junior year left. Then, we had senior year. I didn't even know if I would be able to finish junior year, let alone graduate. And college? More like, community college.
Knowing the Mai, I will either have to go into hiding, or quit school to be protected.
Cliffhanger, hanging from cliff. Let me know what you guys think, if you love it, if you hate it, if anyone saw it coming. I know that kenhat did :)
Please, please, please review! I know there was some confusion with the new characters; I'm trying to build them up, as they will be important later. Let me know what you think, comments, concerns, questions, etc. If you review with question, I will reply (I PROMISE!)