Unfortunately, I don't have a spiffy author's note to put here this week, other than thanks again for reading and reviewing; and to those of you who offered their condolences, I appreciate it more than you might think. So here's chapter tres!
Billie fell backwards and sat down heavily as unwanted thoughts invaded her mind.
What if it's not just sickness, what if it's morning sickness?
She held the offending box in shaking hands. Should I take it? But I could just be sick; maybe I'm overreacting. It could be nothing.
Or you could be carrying the offspring of a rapist.
Because that's what it was, wasn't it?
Rape.
It was such an ugly word. How could four little letters possibly convey all of the pain she went through? You couldn't put a freaking label on that.
She didn't think that she could take the test alone, and she debated asking Paige to come upstairs until she remembered that she hadn't told the sisters about what happened with Cal.
She sat there for a few more minutes until the door creaked open slowly. Snapping out of her thoughts, Billie stood up quickly and clutched the test behind her back.
"Billie, honey. I knocked twice, are you okay?" Paige asked as she pushed open the door a little further. "It's been like, ten minutes."
She stopped when she saw Billie; she expected the younger woman to be throwing up or something equally as bad, seeing as how long she had been in there for. Although Billie wasn't physically being sick, her heavy breathing and shaking didn't go unnoticed by the youngest Halliwell. However, it seemed that luck was with Billie, and Paige decided that the oddities came with her virus.
"Aw, sweetie, let's get you back downstairs," she said to Billie, who was still silent, trying to calm herself down and gather her thoughts. Paige approached her and put a comforting arm on Billie's shoulder, orbing them both out of the bathroom. At the last moment possible, Billie dropped the package she was holding and kicked it under the sink, unnoticed by Paige.
3x3x3x
"Alright guys, we've only got the best movies available for girl's night!" Phoebe declared as she and Piper came through the door.
"Ten bucks says she rented Kill it Before it Dies again," Paige whispered to Billie, rubbing her thumb and forefinger together to sign money.
"A-hah! You do not know me well enough, Paige!" Phoebe said, walking into the room over-dramatically. "I not only rented Kill it Before it Dies, but also Kill it Before it Dies II: The Resurrection of the Living. And there's Case Closed, Skeletons in the Closet, and Brainiac's Revenge."
"Wasn't Braniac some comic book bad guy?" Paige asked.
"Like I'd know," Phoebe replied.
"So Billie, which one do you want to watch first?"
"It doesn't matter, you guys can choose," Billie said.
Phoebe grinned and popped in Kill it Before it Dies, while Piper came in with popcorn and grilled cheese for everyone. As the beginning credits rolled, Billie was lost in her own thoughts. She knew that the next term was starting up again, and she'd have to start classes right away if she wanted any chance to catch up. That meant she'd have to deal with Cal and with Parker, who she still owed money to. She figured she could at least discuss her money situation with the sisters, if not her other, more serious condition.
She watched the movie in silence and noticed that each of the three sisters kept stealing glances at her, so she pretended to fall asleep halfway through. When the movie ended, she grabbed the remote to turn off the television and started to speak, but Phoebe shushed her.
"No way, honey. There's an extra scene after the credits."
"I'm sure Phoebe is the only person in the world who's watched this movie enough times to know that," Paige grumbled under her breath. Billie tried to smile, but she wasn't sure if the signal from her brain was received by the muscles in her face.
When the last, last scene was over, Phoebe finally allowed the TV to be turned off and happily munched away on the remaining kernels of popcorn while Paige and Piper rolled their eyes at each other. Billie was trying to gather enough strength to talk to the sisters about Parker and keep herself from chickening out.
"Um, guys," Billie trailed off, sill unsure if she wanted to go through with the discussion.
The Halliwells looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to finish.
"I'm going back to school in about a week and, um, I'll have to see… Parker."
Three identical blank expressions were looking in her direction.
"Parker was my, uh… dealer," she said quietly, her face turning red. She looked at her hands, playing with her rings and unable to look any of the sisters in the eyes.
"I'm just- It's just that- I still owe him money," she finished.
"Oh, honey, that's the last thing you should have to think about," Paige said hugging her. "We'll figure it out, don't worry." Billie struggled out of Paige's grasp in spite of herself, hoping she didn't hurt her friend's feelings.
"Yeah but… how? I mean if I'm right, we can't use magic to make him forget or anything, and I sure as hel- heck don't have the money to pay him," she switched her language after noticing Piper's disapproving look.
"You don't think about that, Billie. We'll take care of it, don't worry," Piper said. Billie believed her, but the look in Piper's eyes made her slightly apprehensive about it. She decided to trust her, though. Piper always seemed to know what she was doing.
3x3x3x
It was one in the morning, and Phoebe couldn't sleep. Something was wrong in the house, but she had no idea what it was or which person the feeling she had should be associated with. She tossed and turned for a good forty five minutes before giving up and putting on her slippers to leave her room. Plodding to the bathroom, she was about to get a drink of water when she realized that warm milk would probably be a better choice.
As she turned to leave the room, she spotted something under the sink. Upon closer inspection, she realized that it was a packet of paper. Opening it up, she saw that they were instructions for a pregnancy test. She snorted at the multiple page pamphlet.
It's not like these things require a rocket scientist to figure it out, she thought, looking at all the warnings that were obviously there just so that the company couldn't be sued for any obscure reasons.
She moved to put the paper back in the box it came from, but when she looked through the cabinet, she couldn't find one. Frowning, she wondered if Piper or Paige thought they were pregnant, but she was sure they'd tell her or at least be more careful about keeping their secret if they felt they needed to. To further this argument, the feeling she could sense in the house was one of fear, not happiness or excitement, which was what her sisters would be feeling if they were pregnant. She dismissed it as an old packet and took it to throw away downstairs.
Phoebe frowned when she saw a light on and hoped that Paige's nightmares hadn't started up again; they had been prominent since she had gone back in the past and relived the day of her parents' deaths. She was surprised to find Billie in the kitchen, apparently lost in thought, with her back to Phoebe. She hadn't changed into pajamas, so Phoebe guessed that she never went to bed.
"Hey," Phoebe prompted softly, trying not to scare the young girl.
When Billie didn't answer, Phoebe walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
Billie jumped a mile in her seat and whipped around to face Phoebe, her hand jerking something off of the table and hiding it underneath. Phoebe frowned in confusion, but let it slide for the moment.
"Honey, are you alright?"
Billie took a few deep breaths, visibly trying to calm down. "Yeah, I'm fine. You just scared the hell out of me."
"Sorry about that. I couldn't sleep. You either?" she asked.
"No, I guess not," Billie replied.
"You know you don't have to be worried about Parker, we told you we'd take care of it."
"I'm not scared of Parker," the younger witch protested quickly. She seemed to be thinking for a moment and then shook her head. "Maybe I am," she admitted.
"He won't bother you again, sweetie. I promise."
"Yeah… I know."
Phoebe moved to the refrigerator and got out some milk to heat up. While she was at the stove, something clicked. It was so simple and obvious. Billie had the pregnancy test under the table.
Oh my god.
She almost dropped the carton she was holding but managed to regain her grip on it before it hit the ground. Pouring the milk into the pan, Phoebe worked to keep her face passive. She casually went back to the table and sat down across from the blonde. They sat in silence as Billie sipped on her water and fidgeted, obviously wanting to get up, but refraining from doing so in case Phoebe saw what she was holding. The milk was ready, but Phoebe ignored it, looking at Billie and hoping she wouldn't have to ask her about it. Unfortunately, Billie wasn't giving up any information voluntarily, so Phoebe took a leap of faith.
"Have you taken it yet, sweetie?"
Billie's eyes shot up to meet hers and then quickly went back to watch her drink as she splashed it around in the glass, obviously hoping to give an air of normalcy.
"Taken what?" she asked.
"The test, Billie, I know you have it."
Billie didn't respond, but Phoebe saw her jaw clench, so she continued.
"Do you want me to be with you while you wait, or do you already know what it says?"
Silence greeted her again, so she stood up and poured herself the now very warm milk. She sat next to Billie this time, and gently pulled the test from her hands. It was unused. Phoebe let out a breath she didn't know she was holding; if Billie wasn't speaking and she had already taken the test, then the answer would have been evident, but now Phoebe knew her friend's silence was because she was scared to take the test at all.
"Okay, okay. Don't worry, honey, I'm sure it's nothing. You can just take it and I'm sure you're fine."
"This is the second one," Billie whispered so quietly that Phoebe didn't hear.
"What?"
"This is the second test," her voice broke and tears started streaming down her face. "I know what the first said. I took it after you guys went to bed."
"Are you…"
Billie just nodded, hiccupping in a vain attempt to calm down. Phoebe felt tears in her own eyes as she thought of what the young girl must have been going through. She'd had a few pregnancy scares as a teen, but she had always dispelled them with a few tests.
"Do you know who the father is, honey?" she desperately wanted to hug Billie, but she wasn't sure how she would react to it.
"There's only one person it could be," she answered bitterly.
One down, two to go. Things aren't looking good for Billie right about now, and we still haven't seen the reactions of Paige and Piper. What does this mean for their friendships and what does it mean for Billie's future as a person and a witch? Is this real, or is it some sort of whacked-out nightmare? Only time will tell. (Heavy bribes will tell, too. Maybe some reviews. Or cookies. I'm not picky, really.)