Taking Chances

Angela Weber and Ben Cheney from the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer

Birth Control: /n/ regulation of the number of children born through the deliberate control or prevention of conception

Angela Weber was the good girl who never took unnecessary risks. Until she fell in love.

It had been years since she had caught that bouquet at a long forgotten friend's wedding. But Angela Cheney, né Weber, still thought about it sometimes. To her, it was the moment that brought her to where she was today. And she wouldn't change it for the world.

She smiled as she recalled that night – the night she had first made love to Ben. Ben, with his sweet smile and shy eyes – and his love of terrible movies.

After the dancing and the drinking, the gifts and the goodbyes, he had driven her home, the two of them wrapped in a tired, but comfortable silence. His hand rested warmly on her knee as he wound through the familiar streets toward home. She was surprised when they pulled up outside his house rather than hers, and she turned to him questioningly.

"I thought you might want to come up for a minute?" he mumbled, a light flush staining his cheeks. But when she opened her mouth to protest, he cut her off with a kiss that soon deepened enough to wipe any thoughts but him from her mind. He broke off and trailed kisses down her neck. When he pulled back, there was a spark of mischief in his eyes. "After all, you caught that flower thing. I figure we're as good as married already."

And with that, she had to laugh. A breathless laugh, as she began to gather her things and get out of the car, her hands trembling only slightly at the thought of what she was about to do. As Ben realized what she was doing and quickly scrambled out of his door to help her up the walk like the gentleman he was, she caught a glimpse of such hope in his eyes. She couldn't disappoint that look.

Ben's arm wrapped around her waist lending both support and body heat, and he placed soft kisses on her temple. And Angela's butterflies of anxiety slowly turned to one's of excitement. "I love you, Ben."

"I love you too, Ang."

And then the unthinkable had happened. She had gotten pregnant. When she first found out there was the usual emotions: shock, confusion, and anger. There had been plenty of anger. At herself, for forgetting to take her pill for nearly a week before the wedding. At Ben, for not using a condom. Again at herself, for agreeing to it in the first place.

But when she told Ben, his look of love transformed all her negative thoughts. He promised that he would always love her and look after her and their child. He claimed he'd marry her right then and there if he could. And she had laughed and realized that everything was going to be okay. As long as she was with Ben.

And twenty years and two more kids later, everything was still okay. She had a family, she had love. And she had her place in this world. And all because she took a chance.

A/N: I hoped you liked this romantic little work. I'm sorry if either Ben or Angela seem out of character, I haven't read this series in a long time and they weren't the main focus so we don't know a lot about their characters to begin with.