Lulu rolled over in bed and groaned as the sunlight spilled into her bedroom at Wyndamere. Her first thought, as it had been for the past month since she left him, was Johnny. Thinking of him brought, as it usually did, a sick feeling. But this feeling was different.
After spending most of the morning in the bathroom feeling nauseous and dizzy, Lulu returned to bed. The stomach bug was going around and as if things weren't bad enough for Lulu, she apparently had caught it. She instantly thought about the last time she was sick. Johnny had been so cute trying to be supportive.
"Are you sure you don't want some soup or something?" Johnny asked the question with wary eyes, obviously not wanting to get too close in case Lulu decided on another quick trip to the bathroom.
"I'll be fine, Johnny. I don't want you to see me like this. Just go and do something with Spinelli or anyone," Lulu begged. She felt terrible and she couldn't stand to have Johnny see her at her worst.
"I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to take care of you forever, which means in sickness and in health. And just so you know, you are the most beautiful sick person I have ever seen."
The way Johnny spoke the words made Lulu feel so loved. The way he looked at her and rubbed her arm as he spoke told her that she was beat. He would stay by her side no matter how many times she objected and that made her want to be sick more often. Lulu would do anything to make sure that Johnny was always by her side.
"I think crackers would be helpful," she said, conceding to his help.
"Crackers it is," Johnny smiled and left to retrieve her request.
The smile dropped from Lulu's face as the nausea returned. This sickness was so familiar to her, but it wasn't like the time she had been sick and Johnny had taken care of her.
It was something else.
Johnny looked around at the empty barn. He had lost count of the number of days he had been here. The only thing he could think clearly about was the first time he had been here. The night he met her. The first night his life changed forever. That thought led him to think about the second night it changed. The night he lost her. The cycle of thought was familiar to him. It was what he always did when he ran out of the whiskey that made him forget.
Johnny heard the familiar sound of Spinelli approaching the door. He performed his secret knock, as if anyone else might be here. Johnny rolled his eyes and spoke clearly.
"The Jackal's request is granted," repeating the phrase that Spinelli had coined as another part of their secret code.
"Mob Prince. If the Jackal may be so bold, the Dark One looks particularly dark today."
"I feel dark. I want to know why Sonny hasn't found me yet. Could you shed some light on that for me?"
"Mr. Sir has extended his minions to look beyond the Mob Prince's current abode. This sacred hiding place has proven to suit its name. Mr. Sir knows not your location," Spinelli answered.
Johnny was tired of having this conversation. He wondered how far Sonny would look before he realized Johnny wasn't really hiding. He wasn't even twenty miles outside of town.
"Did you bring me what I asked for?" Johnny asked.
"The Jackal admits he failed in his task to procure liquid courage for the Dark One. He was busy assisting Stone Cold. Would the Dark One like the Jackal to return later with the requested alcoholic beverage?"
"No, Spinelli. Don't go out of your way," he paused and then asked the question burning on his mind. "Have you seen her? Since the last time we spoke?"
"Fair Lulu?"
"Who else?"
"Regrettably no. She terminated her employment with the Glacial One before the Fashionista and Maximista departed for Manhattan. Otherwise, recent activities of the Blonde One remain unknown," said Spinelli.
Johnny nodded and looked down. Not only had he ruined his own relationship, he had destroyed many of the other things in Lulu's life.
"Mob prince?"
"Yah?"
"Why does the Dark One always use 'she' and 'her' in reference to Fair Lulu?" Spinelli's question brought out pain that Johnny was continually trying to bury.
"It hurts too much. To actually say her name out loud brings out emotions. I gave up feeling and I can't do that if I say her name. Thinking about the love I felt – feel for her is too much," Johnny said sadly.
"The Jackal's heart hurts for the Mob Prince. He will exit the premises now and leave the Mob Prince to his thoughts," Spinelli said as he left the barn.
It was too late. Spinelli had unknowingly turned on the water of hurt and Johnny was already drowning in pain. Without the whiskey for distraction, thoughts of Lulu and their life together were once again taking him over. He closed his eyes and lay back on the makeshift bed.
And let the pain take him over.
Lulu sat on the cold table and held the flimsy hospital gown to her body. She had never wanted to be wrong more in her life. After almost a week of the strangely familiar nausea, Lulu had gone to the doctor. While she was in the waiting room, she remembered the last time she felt this way. It was when she was pregnant. An event she did not want to repeat.
She waited for the doctor to return and she couldn't help but to think of Johnny. Where he was and what he was doing at this minute. She could be pregnant with his child and she hadn't seen him in over a month. She had no idea how to get in touch with him to tell him or if she even wanted to. He didn't want to be a father or at least that is what he had said. With all the lies he told, maybe being a father was at the top of his list of goals.
The doctor came into the room and pulled Lulu out of her thoughts.
"I've set an appointment for you with Dr. Kelly Lee, the OBGYN here. It seems that you are pregnant Ms. Spencer," the doctor said.
The doctor started talking again, but Lulu wasn't listening. She was pregnant.
There was a baby inside of her.
She brought her hand to her stomach and began to feel very dizzy. In her mind she saw an image of Johnny holding a baby next to Lulu's hospital bed and smiling a proud dad grin.
Then she fainted.