A/N: Thank you all for the reviews, I love getting each and every one of them.
Norman and Sig sat next to each other on the flight back to Seattle. Norman's ear was still ringing from Sig yelling into the phone when he'd told him about Samantha's pregnancy. The conversation had pretty much gone south from there, Sig had done a lot of swearing, mumbling and basically stopped making sense shortly after heard the news. Now that they were on the airplane he seemed to be in a slightly better mindset.
"Are you sure you want to tell Edgar?" asked Sig.
"Yes. He has a right to know and it may help him to realize he has responsibilities and other people to care for besides himself" said Norman.
"I think it's going to freak him out and he's going to go completely crazy" said Sig.
"I disagree" said Norman.
"Yeah well you haven't seen him. Wait to you see his new girlfriend and the state of his house" said Sig. "He's a mess."
"Sig, we've been home for 3 months and you've seen him once. Who knows maybe he's already starting to straighten up his act" said Norman.
"I'll believe it when I see it" said Sig doubtfully.
Norman and Sig sat in companionable silence for the rest of the flight. They signed a few autographs as they got off the plane and headed to Norman's house to regroup.
Sig and Norman walked up to Edgar's house, his always groomed lawn was completely overgrown. Sig knocked at the door and stepped back. After a few minutes without an answer Norman stepped forward and turned the handle, he was surprised that the door was unlocked. The brothers walked inside the house, it was even more filthy than when Sig had visited before. The first person they noticed was Matt, sitting on the couch holding a beer. Sig was aghast, Matt hadn't picked up a drink in years.
"Don't worry, I haven't fallen off the wagon or anything. Edgar insisted that I have one, I'm just holding it for looks" explained Matt with a grimace.
"Where's Edgar?" asked Norman.
"He and Starla are out back" said Matt.
"I'll go" said Norman.
Sig just nodded and sat down next to Matt. He looked around at the empty beer bottles scattered around the house as well as the pizza boxes and take out containers.
"Edgar isn't cooking?" asked Sig.
"I don't even know if Edgar is eating" said Matt. "I'm here because I'm his friend and I want to make sure he's ok, but he seems like he's going downhill fast."
"Thanks for keeping an eye on him" said Sig.
"It's payback for all the times he did the same for me" said Matt. "You want the beer, I'm not going to drink it."
"Sure" said Sig taking the proffered bottle.
"Why did you say that bullshit about Samantha on the boat?" asked Matt suddenly.
"I don't know, I guess I was jealous" said Sig. "If I could take it back I would. I never wanted Edgar to get hurt. I never expected this."
"It was a really shitty thing to do" continued Matt.
"I know. I already apologized to Antha" said Sig. "She even accepted it, but told me I owed Edgar more of an apology."
"Really? She's a better person than I would have been" said Matt.
"She's better than all of us" said Sig quietly.
"How is she doing?" asked Matt.
"She's fine. I was hoping she would come up and visit Edgar to help snap him out of this self destruction, but she said she's not the problem" said Sig.
"She's right" said Matt simply.
"I know and I hate it when I'm not right" said Sig.
"Well lucky you're the captain so even when you're wrong everyone still tells you you're right" said Matt.
"Thanks Matt" said Sig taking a swig of the beer.
Outside Norman lit a cigarette and exhaled a plumb of smoke. Edgar and Starla were sitting on the edge of the deck arguing. Norman listened to what they were saying trying to judge when it would be safe to interrupt. The ultrasound picture was burning a hole in his pocket. He hoped it would be the magic wand he needed it to be to snap Edgar back to reality.
"Starla, I'm not in the mood" said Edgar.
"You're never in the mood, it's not fair. You seem so virile on the show, I want that Edgar" whined Starla.
"I'm not a character from the show, I'm just me. Take it or leave it" said Edgar tiredly.
"I bet your brother is just like he is on tv" countered Starla.
"Then go fuck him" said Edgar.
"Fine, I will" said Starla.
She got up and flounced into the house pushing past Norman without noticing him. Edgar didn't even look up as she walked away, instead he dropped his head into his hands and sighed dejectedly. Norman decided it was now or never and walked over to take the seat next to Edgar.
"Hi Edgar" he said quietly.
"Oh, hey Norm. I didn't know you were here" said Edgar.
"Yeah, Sig and I just got back from LA" explained Norman.
"Why were you there? Stuff for the show? Sorry if I missed it, I didn't know" said Edgar in a rush.
"No, nothing for the show. We went to see Antha" said Norman.
Edgar turned slowly his eyes searching Norman's face for malice. When he found nothing but concern he turned back to face the ground.
"How's she doing?" asked Edgar.
"She's different" said Norman.
"She isn't sick or anything is she?" asked Edgar turning to face Norman.
Norman's eyes dropped to the side as he wondered how best to tell Edgar about the baby. Edgar took this as a sign that Samantha was sick.
"What's wrong with her?" he asked in a panic.
"Nothing, don't freak out. She's pregnant" said Norman gripping Edgar's shaking shoulders.
"Pregnant?" said Edgar in disbelief. "Well I guess Sig was right, she certainly didn't waste any time moving on."
"The baby is yours" said Norman in annoyance.
Edgar felt as if his whole world just tilted on its axis. The reality of how he'd spent the months since coming home from fishing hit him like a ton of bricks. His eyes surveyed his yard and for the first time he noticed the thousands of cigarette butts littering the ground, the beer bottles haphazardly placed on the deck.
"I have a picture if you want to see" said Norman.
Edgar turned back to Norman and looked down at the small paper in his hand.
"I don't deserve to see it" said Edgar. "Does Antha want me to see it?"
"No" said Norman with a sigh. "She didn't want to cause problems for you with your new girlfriend."
"She said that?" asked Edgar.
"Yes, she didn't want to add any burdens to you" said Norman.
"She thinks it would be a burden" said Edgar quietly.
"For you. She seems really excited. I got to see where the nursery is going to be" said Norman.
"You went to her house?" asked Edgar.
"Yes, Sig went to apologize" explained Norman.
"He apologized to her?" said Edgar in disbelief.
"Yes, but you should ask him for all the details. He's inside" said Norman.
"I need a minute" said Edgar.
"No problem" said Norman.
He stood up and clapped Edgar on the shoulder before heading back inside. As he opened the door he looked back and found Edgar starting to throw the beer bottles into a trash bag.
Sig and Matt turned at the sound of the screen door opening. They noticed Norman walking inside and were both disappointed to see he was alone. Starla was draped over Sig's shoulder whispering into his ear. Every time she did Sig would move a little closer to Matt in a vain attempt to put a little space between them.
"Sig, can I talk to you in the kitchen?" asked Norman.
"Sure" said Sig disentangling himself from Starla's grip.
"Matt, would you mind throwing away some of the trash? Edgar's starting to clean up outside and he could probably use the help" said Norman.
"Roger" said Matt.
Norman and Sig walked into the kitchen.
"What did he say?" asked Sig anxiously.
"He was surprised. At first he assumed it wasn't his" said Norman. "Mentioned something about you being right about her being a slut."
Sig's face burned with embarrassment.
"But after I explained it was his then he kind of just went quiet" said Norman.
"Did he look at the picture?" asked Sig.
"Not yet, he said he didn't deserve to" said Norman.
"What's he doing now?" asked Sig.
"Cleaning up the backyard" said Norman. "I think it would be nice to help him out, this place is a shit hole."
"What about Starla?" asked Sig.
"That is his problem" said Norman. "Although it sounds like she could be your problem next if you're not careful."
"Great, just what I need" said Sig.
Sig and Norman started to clean up the kitchen, throwing the old food into a trash bag and putting the few dishes they found in the dishwasher. It became clear to them that Edgar had probably not eaten any real food since he'd arrived home, the fridge was full of beer and wine coolers but nothing edible. They finished cleaning the kitchen and returned to the living room. Norman and Sig had both grabbed a beer from the fridge before heading in.
"Don't you two have any manners" said Starla from the couch. "It's customary to get a lady a drink."
"We know the rules, we just don't see any ladies" quipped Norman.
Starla's eyes narrowed and she was about to say something when Edgar and Matt walked in from outside.
"Edgar, your friend is being rude" said Starla with a pout.
"The only friend here is Matt, the other two are my brothers" said Edgar. "Come with me, we need to talk."
Edgar and Starla were gone for a few minutes before they reappeared. Edgar looked relieved while Starla looked a little shell shocked. Edgar walked her to the door and gave her a brief hug goodbye. Starla walked shakily to her car, got in and drove away. Edgar walked back into the living room surveying the clean up efforts.
"Thanks for helping me clean up" said Edgar. "I'm going to take a shower and change, don't go anywhere. I'm sure you all have some things to say."
Samantha shifted uncomfortably in her seat, she couldn't believe that Sig had asked her to fly up to Seattle when she was pregnant. She replayed the phone conversation in her head again trying to pin point the exact moment she'd completely lost her mind and agreed to visit. She shifted again and the flight attendant appeared at her side.
"Are you doing ok?" she asked.
"Yes, just a little uncomfortable" answered Samantha.
"Let me get you something that may help" said the flight attendant.
She returned in a moment with a bottle of water and a few pillows. The woman wedged a couple of pillows behind Samantha's back and put another under her knees before handing her the bottle of water.
"Make sure you stay hydrated" she said helpfully.
"Thank you" said Samantha as she took a deep swallow of water.
"So when are you due?" asked the flight attendant.
"The middle of August" said Samantha.
"That's great, do you know what you are having?" asked the flight attendant.
"A boy" said Samantha.
"I'm sure you and your husband are really excited" she said.
"Yes" replied Samantha.
A call button rang somewhere behind Samantha and the flight attendant got up to check it out. Samantha let out a sigh of relief that the round of 20 questions was over. She found it was just easier to lie about being married than try to explain her situation to some total stranger. The only people who knew what was really going on were the Hansen brothers and her family. She'd basically cut ties with her friends and acquaintances while she was depressed. She fought back another sigh, not wanting another visit from the questioning flight attendant. As if giving her reassurance that everything was fine the baby kicked. She placed her hand over her belly and closed her eyes reveling in the life growing inside her. The plane touched down in Seattle and Samantha happily let every single person off the plane before she finally got up from her seat. Now that she was just moments away from seeing Sig she found herself horribly nervous. She stood up and straightened her dress before grabbing her small carryon bag and heading to the exit doors. Before she reached them the flight attendant came up to her holding a small set of wings.
"For the little aviator" she said.
"Thank you" said Samantha tears welling in her eyes.
As she walked down the ramp to baggage claim she clutched the wings in her hand while her heart hammered in her chest.
All 3 Hansen brothers were sitting in the SUV waiting for Samantha's plane to arrive. They were in the middle of heated argument about who was going in to meet her. They'd been discussing it since they left Edgar's house an hour ago.
"I think I should go because I was the one who called and invited her" said Sig.
"Yes, but she's probably still mad at you" replied Norman. "I think Edgar should go since he hasn't seen her in a while and she's carrying his baby."
"She's probably definitely still mad at him" interjected Sig.
"Norman just go, she likes you. You've done nothing to upset or offend her which puts you ahead of both of us" said Edgar.
"Why don't we all go in together" suggested Norman.
"Because we are very minor celebrities in this place and I don't want to miss her because we are meeting fans. If one of us is there no one will even notice, all three and someone is going to get suspicious" explained Sig.
"Besides Norm, if someone hears you say something they certainly aren't going to recognize your voice" quipped Edgar.
"It's nice to know you are basically back to your normal smart ass self" said Norman.
"Norman, please go in and get the mother of my child" said Edgar.
"I will since you asked so nicely" said Norman.
"Take the flowers" said Sig.
"No, we can give them to her in the car. She's going to be carrying a bunch of stuff" said Norman.
"Just get going, I don't want her to have to wait for us" said Edgar.
Norman got out of the car and walked slowly towards baggage claim. He was secretly relieved that he was going in to get Samantha. He actually hoped to talk to her a little before she saw his brothers. He wanted her to be prepared for their idiocy and make sure she would have a good time. Sig had a fourth of July party every year, this year they were going to have it on the boat.
Samantha slowly walked towards the carousel, she'd already stopped at the bathroom, then a gift shop and had run out opportunities to procrastinate. She expected Sig to be waiting for her, anxiously pacing back and forth with a snarl on his face. However, she was pleasantly surprised to see Norman standing slightly off to the side. He noticed her immediately and quickly walked towards her. Stopping a few feet in front of her he smiled, clearly unsure of how to greet her.
"Hi Norman" said Samantha.
"Hi Antha" he replied.
Samantha stepped forward and enveloped him in a gentle hug. Norman returned the hug giving her a few gentle pats on the back. When they separated both were smiling wider.
"I'm kind of glad it's just you" said Samantha as they walked to retrieve her suitcase.
"Let me get it" said Norman.
"Ok, it's the pink one" said Samantha.
Samantha's suitcase came sailing by and Norman had to stifle a groan as he hefted the pink Hello Kitty suitcase off the conveyor belt.
"Please tell me it's the only suitcase you own" said Norman.
"Nope, I picked it because I knew it would drive Sig crazy" said Samantha.
"It certainly will. It's surprisingly light" noted Norman.
"It has to be, I can't lift anything heavy and I had to carry it downstairs" explained Samantha. "I can roll it if you want."
"No, it's fine. Horribly embarrassing but fine" said Norman. "I need to tell you about a few things."
"Oh really? Should I be worried?" asked Samantha.
"Not really. But Edgar and Sig are waiting in the car right now" said Norman.
"Ok" said Samantha. "Is that it? Because I had to assume that I would see both of them at some point."
"And, we're having party on the boat for fourth of July" said Norman.
"Am I invited?" asked Samantha.
"Yes" said Norman.
"Is it formal or something? Do I need a specific type of outfit?" asked Samantha.
"Nope, just a regular party. I just wanted you to know about it. I want you to have a good time with no surprises."
"Thanks, I appreciate you letting me know" said Samantha.
Norman and Samantha walked out of the airport towards the waiting car. Sig saw them first and couldn't help but snicker at Norman. He hoped out of the car to open the trunk, Edgar stayed in the car unsure whether he was wanted. The closer Samantha got to the car the more pregnant she looked. She was wearing a yellow sun dress with a little sweater over her shoulders. The dress showed off her big baby bump and the closer she got the more Edgar wanted to jump out of the car to touch her. Norman handed Sig the suitcase with a wide smile. Finally loosing his battle Edgar jumped out of the car.
"Hi" he said suddenly.
"Hi Edgar, how are you?" asked Samantha.
Edgar couldn't speak he just shrugged a little before taking a small step forward.
"Antha, how are you doing? I must say that you are looking very pregnant. Are you sure you don't have twins in there?" said Sig.
"Sig, I'm going to give you a little life advice. Don't ever ask a pregnant lady if she's having twins, because you are basically just calling her huge, with is something no woman every wants to hear. And with all the hormones swimming around those types of comments could be hazardous to your health" said Samantha her voice like steel.
"You look good, very pregnant" said Sig.
"Sig, you should stop while you still have teeth in your mouth" said Norman.
"Oh whatever, what would you have said" asked Sig.
"Antha, you look absolutely beautiful" said Norman.
"Thank you" said Antha with a soft smile.
"Suck up" muttered Sig.
Samantha's hand moved to her belly and she grimaced slightly.
"What's wrong?" asked Edgar.
"He's hungry" said Samantha.
"Everybody in the car, lets get Antha something to eat" said Edgar.
They piled into the car, Sig and Norman in the front and Samantha and Edgar sitting together in the back. They drove out of the airport in an uneasy silence. Samantha shifted uncomfortably and placed her hand on her tummy in an effort to calm the kicking baby. She usually talked to him to calm him but she was uncomfortable doing it in front of others. Edgar reached out his hand to touch her stomach but stopped. Samantha looked up and smiled.
"Are you ok?" asked Edgar pulling his hand back.
"Yes, he's just kicking" said Samantha.
After a moment she pulled Edgar's hand into hers and set it on the top of her stomach. The baby kicked directly under his hand causing Edgar to jerk his hand back.
"What was that!?" said Edgar.
"The baby, it's pretty crowded in there so he kicks a lot" said Samantha. "Especially when he's hungry."
Edgar's hand returned to her stomach running over it until he felt the kicks again.
"What do you think he's hungry for?" asked Edgar.
"A bacon maple donut from Voodoo donuts" said Samantha firmly.
"Did you hear that Sig?" asked Edgar.
"Roger, first stop Voodoo donuts" said Sig.
"I hope you haven't been craving that the whole time" said Edgar. "Because it would have been quite a drive for you to come up and get one."
"Yeah, well I haven't really had many cravings or if I have I haven't really been in the mood to satisfy them" said Samantha, her voice slightly sad. Edgar took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry about what happened" said Edgar. "I made the wrong choice. I hope you can forgive me."
"I" began Samantha.
"I know and I don't expect you to forgive me anytime soon, I just hope someday you can" interrupted Edgar.
"Well" started Samantha.
"Although I'll understand if you never want to, I did a terrible thing and you deserved and deserve better" said Edgar.
"Stop" said Samantha. "I forgive you, I actually forgave you a long time ago. We went to fast and I think your brother was just worried about you getting hurt. Whether that was true or not was kind of immaterial."
"You can't seriously have forgiven me" said Edgar in disbelief. "I haven't even forgiven myself."
"I have" said Samantha simply.
"Thank you" said Edgar. "You are amazing."
Samantha smiled and closed her eyes, a few tears slipped down her cheeks unchecked and she felt Edgar's roughened fingers swiping them away. When the tears were removed his hand moved back to her belly. In the rearview mirror Sig noticed the tableau, he said a prayer that everything would work out between them.