He follows her, slowly, back into their room. Cautious, he opens the door to find that she has made it to the side of the bed, but has sunk to the floor. Facing away from him, he sees that her arms stretch around her legs, reaching down to her feet. Her head rests on her knees letting her hair fall over. And her quick breathing tells him that she is crying.
He knows exactly how this went. She walked into the room, stumbling because she couldn't see. Tears fogged her sight as her legs began to give. She tried to sit on the bed, but the unsuitableness of the comforter forced her to the floor. Her stoic nature was crumbling underneath of her.
He's seen it before.
"Kate," he says, softly, pushing the door slightly.
He takes two steps into the room – his shoes echoing – as she sits too far from him.
"Kate," he repeats.
He slides next to her, pushing her further down the edge of the bed, and mirrors her position.
"Can we talk about this?" he intrudes, trying to hide his happiness. She can't see him smile, not while her face is buried in her knees.
She doesn't answer, but she wants to say yes. She needs to make sure he knows that she wants this: this family that they talked about. But words are far from her.
"I know you're scared. I am too – "
"I'm not scared. I mean," she breathes, "I'm not scared of what you think I'm scared of," she manages to say, sniffles and belated speech interfering with her.
"Well, can you tell me?"
She adjusts her back, straightens it against the bed frame, and lifts her tear streaked face from her hands. He moves with her, allowing one knee to fall to the ground.
"What if it happens again – not the, you know. But, what if it all happens again. We have this baby and then I'm upset. I don't want to leave my room. What if it happens before, while I'm pregnant."
She looks to him, hands moving with her talk, her eyes, vulnerable.
He sees it. Her flexible wall is down. It was fighting strong when she yelled at him, but now, she's her innocent self, trying to figure out how to feel this.
"Kate, I'm here. Are you worried about not loving this baby?"
Even as he says it his face brightens. A baby. They are going to have a baby.
"No. Yes. I don't know."
"I'm never leaving you or this child. I'm here the entire time. You and me. We can do this. And I'm not going to let you fall down again. We're going to make it through this together."
She clears her throat, face more determined, and shakes her head. His words reassuring her in every way possible.
"And you won't forget."
His words send a sting down her body, alerting her senses. He read her mind, but not about something miniscule. He realized that she was trying to not forget.
"I feel it too, Kate. But we won't forget. He's going to have a little brother or sister and they are going to know."
She folds her hands, gives her something to do, as she regains control of herself. A silent pause between them allows the mood to begin to change.
He rubs her knee, eyes gleaming up at her. He leans in, softly, "we're going to have a baby."
"Yes," she smiles back, sniffling, "we're going to have a baby."
A very short chapter, I apologize - I'm writing it on a rather busy day. But, here you go!
Also, as a side note - is there any other part of this story that you would like to know. Other characters, other times - other "branches" so to speak. I've been thinking about where to explore this and I think other parts that have been skipped over might be interesting. Let me know!
- Meg