A/N: This chapter really takes a turn away from the actual episode, since most of it was not relevant to the situations in this story.

Turning Tables

Caught In The Act

"I'm a little busy this morning, Jack, so let's just cut to the chase: what do you want?" Adrian strode through the living room and into the kitchen, where she dropped into a chair at the table and waited for the jock's response.

Jack casually slid into the seat opposite the Latina. "Okay, fine," he agreed. "I know you don't like what's going on with Grace and Ricky and neither do I. I want Grace back and you want Ricky all for yourself." He held up his hand when she opened her mouth and continued: "And don't try to deny it, I know that look in your eyes, it's unadulterated jealousy. So what I'm proposing is very simple: you scratch my back, I scratch yours."

"And by your back you mean your penis?" she asked point blank. "Because newsflash: I don't have one of those, so that just doesn't work for me. And besides, Ricky isn't the jealous type. He just screws and moves on."

"He hasn't moved on from you."

"We have our arrangements," she replied, folding her hands together. "So spit it out: what are you asking here?"

"Sex."

"Sex!" she laughed. "If Grace broke up with you over a kiss, what on Earth makes you think having sex with me is going to have her running back to you?"

"But this is different: if we're with each other's people-"

"And that's your first mistake, Pappas. She's not interested in you. At all. You have nothing to offer to make her jealous with. And much as I'd like to," she rolled her eyes, "I can't help you." She stood up, signally the end of the conversation. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a big day ahead of me. You can see yourself out."

Jack stood up, but didn't leave. "What if – what if we just had sex then?"

"Just sex?"

"Yeah, you know, between two friends."

"We're not friends."

"We could be."

"No."

"Between two strangers?"

Adrian snorted. "Now you're just embarrassing yourself." She waved in the direction of the front door. "Go!"

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"So you and Alice, huh?"

"Yep!"

"I always sort of figured," Ben nodded, in between flossing his teeth. "You hooked up at the carnival? I didn't even see you there."

"Oh, we saw you. You were too busy making out on the carousel to notice us, though."

Ben saw his cheeks turn a little red in the mirror. "Good right, the carousel." He heard the door shut as he leaned over to throw his floss into the trash and then grabbed his cup to rinse his mouth out.

"So, things look like they're moving along nicely between you and Amy," Henry noted as he sauntered into the bathroom.

Ben nodded his head while swishing a cup full of water around in his mouth. He spat it out and turned on the faucet. "Swimmingly."

"So, have you, uh…you know."

Ben took a deep breath. "Going this afternoon," he said casually, as if he were talking about ordering a pizza or doing math homework. "I looked into it online, the results will take a few days, not counting the weekend, so I probably won't know anything until late next week."

Henry nodded understandingly and gave his friend a comforting pat on the shoulder. "Hopefully it's all good."

"Crossing my fingers," Ben said, emphasizing his words by holding up each hand where his middle fingers were crossed over the index fingers.

"When you find out-"

"You'll be the first to know."

"You, uh–" Henry looked back and forth "–don't want me to go with you or anything, do you?"

Ben smirked. "I think that would be a little awkward, don't you?"

Henry wiped his forehead. "Phew. No offense, but thanks!"

"None taken." Ben swept over to his bed and gathered up his backpack. "We pickin' up Alice this morning?"

"Nah, it's 'that time of the month' so-"

Ben held up his hand, wincing. "T-M-I, Henry! T-M-I!"

Henry shrugged and grabbed a bagel slice off Ben's breakfast plate. "I'll meet you down in the limo!"

Ben nodded shoved his school books into his backpack as Henry left, then collapsed onto the bed as soon as his friend was gone. As brave a front as he'd been putting up, the truth was that Henry's concerns had really begun to needle him, and he was terrified of what the results of the tests mind yield. The more he heard about Adrian around school and around town, the more the tests weighed like cinderblocks on his mind, and the more he regretted ever having lost his virginity to her.

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"Adrian."

The Latina jumped at the sound of her name. "Mom!" Adrian gasped, her eyes widening as she whipped around from digging in the backseat of her car. "I didn't know you were back!"

"My last flight got canceled due to weather, so I just got home maybe ten minutes ago. I thought you'd left already."

"No, just trying to find a school book. I could've sworn I left it back here, but-"

"We need to talk."

Adrian raised a skeptical eyebrow. "I'm going to be late," she said, tapping her wrist as if she had a watch.

"I think it's a little late for that, isn't it?"

"Excuse me?"

Cindy Lee scratched her eyebrow, then withdrew the arm she'd been holding behind her back, revealing an E.P.T. box.

The blood fell away from Adrian's face, making her look almost on par with a vampire. "You don't understand," she said, starting to shake her head.

"I think I do," Cindy nodded, breathing slowly. "Adrian, I wasn't snooping, I promise, I just decided to take the trash out after I got in and when I opened the lid to the dumpster, this was just sitting there on top." She didn't necessarily look angry, but said, with a touch of sympathetic. "I looked inside, Adrian…And it makes sense. I thought it was off that there was still a brand new box of tampons under the sink. I can only guess you weren't more careful because you figured trash day would've come and gone before I got back."

Adrian's lip quivered, then her eyes began to tear and she shook her head. "!Lo siento!"

Cindy embraced her daughter in a firm hug. "It's alright, Chica. I'm not judging you, I'm just here for you. Do you want to talk about it?"

Adrian whimpered into her mother's shirt. It was the first time she'd broken down since the night she'd taken the test. Grabbing fistfuls of her mother's blouse, she nodded, and allowed her mother to lead her back into their condo and ease her onto the couch. Adrian attempted to compose herself as Cindy moved into the kitchen, heating something up in the microwave. She waited until her mother returned and sat down beside her, handing her a hot cup of broth, to say anything. "I'm taking care of it."

"And by that you mean…"

"Yes," Adrian nodded. "Today, after school. I've had it planned for a week, so don't try to talk me out of it-"

"Of course I wouldn't, Adrian! It's your choice and yours alone."

Adrian closed her eyes and sipped the broth. "Well, how was I supposed to know that?" she asked rhetorically. "You got pregnant when you were just a year older than I am and you kept me, despite my father being nowhere in sight and your parents hating you for it."

Cindy turned her face away, looking almost guiltily. "I did and I don't regret that for a moment, but I wouldn't expect you to make the same choice."

"I – I appreciate that," Adrian said sincerely, surprised by her mother's acceptance of her decision. "Because I'm not going to. I can't. I just can't do what you did. And I won't sacrifice all I – and you – have worked for. It wouldn't be fair."

"Do you mind if I ask: how did it happen?"

Adrian shrugged. "I'm not sure, exactly. There were two guys." She immediately looked away from her mother to avoid the shamed look she was sure Cindy would have at hearing that. "About a week apart. One was at the majorette meet, the other at the start of school."

"I thought you were on birth control?"

"I forgot to pack my pills. I almost wrote you to have you send them, but I was at an all girls meet, so I didn't. But things with Ben – the first guy – happened completely by accident. I don't even know what I was thinking. He was just there and I was just…having a bad day I guess. And he had a condom, so I figured, why not? Estúpido. Plain and simple! And then low and behold, the condom broke."

"And the other boy?"

"Ricky," Adrian sighed. "I resumed taking my pills as soon as I got back, but-"

"Even if you miss one," Cindy nodded.

"Yeah. Well. We used a condom too and it didn't break, but there was one point where it got to full and we didn't realize that it was starting to slip until it was too late. I have no idea how much leaked, but that certainly brought things to a screeching halt. I did get Plan B the next day, but I read up on it that night after Ricky left, and there are women who have gotten pregnant in spite of Plan B. There are threads on pregnancy message boards dedicated to the topic, with post after post of people sharing their stories about getting pregnant in spite of Plan B." She shook her head. "Again, just fucking stupid! I was trying to hold off with him for a while, but, I really liked him. There was just something about him that I've never had with other guys and somehow, I ended up giving in. And now here I am."

"We all do stupid things sometimes," Cindy agreed. "We're only human."

"I never thought you'd be so understanding."

"I've done some pretty stupid things myself, Adrian. I may not understand exactly, but I have a pretty good idea of what you mean. Sometimes we think irrationally and worse do irrationally, and I don't just mean women, but all people, men included. But what's important is what we choose to do about our mistakes, not that we made them in the first place."

"Thanks."

Cindy nodded. "Do you want me to come with you?" she asked softly.

Adrian considered it for a moment, then shook her head. "No, I'll be fine, but thank you for asking."

"Of course." Cindy leaned in, giving her daughter another comforting hug. "I love you, Adrian. Always. No matter what you do, I love you and I'm here for you, okay?"

"Okay."

Cindy ran her hand through Adrian's hair, smiling a little. "I remember when I used to brush your hair every day before school. So long and pretty, just like your grandmother's."

Adrian sniffed. "Just like yours."

"Do you want to go to school today, Adrian?"

Slowly, she shook her head. "Will you just brush my hair instead?"

"Of course, Chica." Cindy smoothed the top of Adrian's head and rose from her seat, heading for the bathroom.

Adrian reclined in the couch cushions and brushed her palm over her hair, recalling all the times Cindy had brushed her hair as a child. In the far back of her mind, she recalled an image of a little girl – not a real little girl, but one she'd imagined, with features similar to herself – that she and someone she'd loved and lost had dreamed up together. She used to imagine brushing that little girl's hair the same way Cindy had brushed hers. But as quickly as it emerged, Adrian pushed it back down again, because that little girl would was a product of two imaginations, one of whom didn't exist anymore, and thus, neither would that girl.

"I'll call the school in a while," Cindy said, returning with the hairbrush. She pressed it against Adrian's scalp and brought it down in firm strokes.

Adrian closed her eyes. She used to love it when her mother would brush her hair, there was a certain inner warmth that came whenever someone played with her hair that she couldn't quite describe, but it was like cuddling a bunny, and Adrian missed that feeling and relished having it again, even if it was under these circumstances. "Gracias, Mamá."

"Usted es bienvenido niña, bebé."

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As far as Fridays went, it passed surprisingly uneventfully. With Alice having not been at school, it had worked in Ben's favor to secure an excuse for why the driver didn't need to pick him up after school: he and Henry were catching a movie or two at the discount theater, so they would simply call when they were done, and Ben had even bought Henry a couple movie tickets in case anyone decided to go as far as to ask how they enjoyed the movies and what they were about.

Meanwhile, Ben caught a bus further into town, which almost took him right to the free clinic, and all he needed to do was a few blocks of legwork. Unfortunately, he was terrible at physical education – and he suspected, likely had exercised induced asthma – and was panting by the time he got to the front door. He desperately hoped they had a drinking fountain when he got inside, but there seemed to be no such luck, so he ducked into the bathroom and proceeded to splash his face with water until the flush began to fade away.

Exploding stars had nothing on the way he was feeling and it wasn't just because of all the running. "What if I have something?" He looked up at the ceiling, which was an off-white color and needed repainting. He wasn't particularly religious, but he did talk to his mother now and then, and not just at her grave. "Hey, Mom," he whispered. "If you can pull any strings for me – where ever you are – I'd really appreciate that right about now." Ben faced the mirror again and found his face to have returned to a decent fleshy color, so he gathered up his courage, and walked back into the waiting room.

It was a lovely shade of pink, which surprised when. When he thought of clinics like this, it wasn't exactly the décor he'd had in mind. "At least it's not an ominous black or something." He approached the counter, eyeing the woman behind it skeptically. "Excuse me, but I need some tests done."

The woman looked up at him with a bored expression, then handed him a clipboard with several pages. "You'll need to fill out your medical history and return it to me when you're done."

"Thanks," Ben mumbled as he took the forms and found an empty seat against the wall. He began to scribble his name down, then looked up again. There was a small child across the room, maybe four or so, sitting beside his mother, who was also filling out forms. "This isn't really the place for kids," he said under his breath, irritated that the boy wouldn't stop staring at him. The longer it wore on, the more frustrated Ben became. Finally, he picked up his backpack and returned to the bathroom to finish filling out the papers.

As the men's bathroom door closed, Adrian walked into the clinic alone. She hadn't eaten anything since her mother's broth that morning and her stomach was rumbling, but at the same time, she almost felt like she could vomit right then and there and maybe never stop. It wasn't the first time she'd been in the clinic, but it was the first time she'd been there for a medical procedure. Somehow it felt more comfortable to call it that, than anything else. She approached the counter cautiously, speaking in a low but firm tone. "I'm here for a procedure."

"What type of procedure?"

The receptionist's monotonous tone didn't help her nerves. "An abortion." It was strange, she'd been so confident about it before, but now she felt herself trying to hide her business in an office where nobody would even bat an eyelash.

"Fill out these forms and bring them back when you're done," the woman said, handing Adrian a clipboard identical to the one she'd given Ben.

"Thanks." Adrian took a seat along the wall and stared down at the forms: name, age, gender, reason for coming, etc… She'd filled countless similar forms out before, but this time, her hand quivered while she did it, leaving shaky streaks in the ink she left on the pages. The first two pages didn't take long and she was almost through reading the last one, a page outlining the privacy policy, when a familiar voice at the reception desk prompted her attention.

"How long is the wait time?"

"About twenty minutes, give or take."

Adrian froze, mid-sentence. Her eyes shifted upwards and her blood ran cold when she saw Ben standing there. She quickly looked down again, hoping to avoid eye contact and him noticing her altogether. But then something began to nag at her: he wasn't a woman, so he clearly wasn't here for the same thing she was, and he had no idea about the pregnancy, so he wasn't there to stop her. "So what is he here for?"

"A-Adrian?"

Startled by his direct address, she dropped her pen, and as she leaned over to get it, her clipboard slipped from her lap too. She snapped up the pen, but as she reached for the clipboard, Ben's bony fingers grabbed it instead.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, fear permeating his words.

"None of your business!" she hissed, just loud and acidic enough for him to hear. She reached for the clipboard, but Ben pulled it out of her grasp.

"Are you kidding me?" he replied, also in a whisper. "If there's something wrong with you, it absolutely is my problem! We had sex, if you forgot!"

"Well then I guess I could demand the same thing of you then, couldn't I, Boykewich?" She grabbed for the clipboard again, but Ben pulled it back. She seethed as the papers that she'd folded back fell forward, revealing the information on the front page.

"I'm here because of you," Ben replied. Then an idea struck him and before Adrian could stop him, he was looking at the top form.

"Ben-"

The clipboard fell again, this time with a clatter. "Adrian-"

"It's none of your business, Ben. Just leave it alone!"

Ben just stood there, staring at her with his mouth half open, and his eyes slightly glazed like Krispy Kreme doughnuts. "You're here for an-"

Adrian slapped her hand to his mouth. "It's my business!"

"Like hell it is!" Ben suddenly shouted, causing everyone in the room to look their way. He grabbed her by the arm with surprising force and pulled her to the doors. "We need to talk."

"There's nothing to talk about!"

"Nothing to talk about?" Ben shoved her out the door and let it slam behind them. "You're here for an abortion!"

"And?"

"And! And you – you never even said-"

"And what makes you think it has anything at all to do with you?" she accused, folding her arms across her chest.

"Oh, I don't know!" he hollered. "Maybe that the condom burst!"

"And who's fault was that? Keeping it in your wallet, Jesus fucking Chris, Boykewich! Everyone knows-"

"Everyone knows what? Apparently you're so experienced that you knew something I didn't? Then why did you let me use that condom when we had sex in the first place?"

"Maybe I was already pregnant!" Adrian fired back.

Ben opened his mouth, then closed it, having no real comeback for that. It was plausible, sure, but, "I don't believe you."

"You don't have to believe me," she replied. "It's not your choice anyway, it's mine."

"It's takes two, Adrian."

"So? You're not the one carrying the baby for nine months and giving birth. It's my body, I can do what I want!"

"No. No, it's not! Your body isn't in question here: different DNA, different body! If you wanted to chop off your own arm, that would be one thing, but this-"

"Is not your call! You're not the only guy I've screwed!"

Ben winced. "How many others?"

"None of your business." Adrian touched her forehead, exhausted. "And besides, what would it change, anyway? Even if it was yours, would you really want me to keep it? What would you tell your precious little girlfriend? Face it, Boykewich: you don't want to be tied down to a baby for the next eighteen years, you just started high school! And you definitely don't want to be tied to me."

Ben recoiled: he hadn't even thought of Amy. And it was a valid point, Amy probably would dump him faster than lightning could strike if he suddenly announced that Adrian Lee was having his baby. If it was his baby. But that certainly left him between a rock and a hard place, because he still felt strongly about the issue of abortion, that it was the murder of an innocent life, and whether it was his baby or not, the idea of Adrian going through with it still tore him up inside.

"You know I'm right," she continued. "So just turn around and leave, Ben. This never happened. I never saw you, you never saw me."

Ben glared. "I still need to get tested," he replied bitterly. "Because of you. Because of sex with you. I'm not going anywhere."

Adrian held up her hand. "Fine. Fine! Screw it, go ahead!" She shoved the door open. "Waltz back in there, for all I care. I'll just come back later! I don't want you in the same building with me anyway."

Ben hesitated: it was either him or her. He still had no idea what he wanted to do, let alone should do, but if Adrian was willing to put off the abortion until he wasn't around, then at least it gave him a little time to think. "Okay," he agreed and stepped inside. He waited about ten minutes, then returned to the front doors, but Adrian was gone. When he stepped outside, he also noted that he didn't see her in any vehicles, which seemed like a pretty good indicator that she might have left. Finally he returned to the waiting room with a heavy heart and equally guilty consciousness.

"Benjamin Boykewich?"

"Great," he muttered, returning to the counter.

"The doctor will see you now."

The irony was that doctors were supposed to be able to fix things, but this was one dilemma that had no true fix under any circumstances. At least not unless his doctor could go back in time and somehow he doubted that his doctor just happened to have a TARDIS stashed the back of his or her office.