Month Eight: March 30

"What are you doing?"

No answer.

"Cammie?" I watched her go back and forth between the closet and suitcase lying open on our bed. "Did I forget something?" I asked out of courtesy, knowing our Friday night plans would never slip my trained memory.

She didn't even make eye contact. I had adapted to moodiness, but this was a whole different level of hormones.

"Cam," I took a step forward, and caught her waist. "Are we going somewhere?"

She didn't even glance up from the clothes she'd stacked up neatly on the bed. "I am." She slapped my hand off her now beach ball-sized belly.

I blocked her path back to the closet, holding my hands up in an 'I surrender' way. "Easy there Gallagher Girl. No need to get feisty." I winked. "I'm all yours."

She growled and stepped around me, grabbing a pair of combat boots and dropping them next to the rest of her wardrobe.

I raised my eyebrows. "This is gonna be a long trip, huh?"

"Very long." She agreed.

"Well babe, James is due in three weeks." I set my hands on her shoulders and rubbed my thumbs back and forth. She walked out of my touch and into the bathroom like I wasn't there. "We should be home when our little guy comes." I followed her in.

"I will be home." She grabbed the blow dryer on the counter and tucked it inside her suitcase.

"Cam…" I reached for her hand, but she didn't give me a chance. She was already out the door and in the kitchen. I followed. "You don't need to take your blow dryer to a hotel. They provide them."

For the first time since I'd gotten home she met my eyes. With a glare. "I'm aware."

"You're confusing me Gallagher Girl."

She breezed past me, holding the toaster. The toaster. Was one of the pregnancy side effects dementia?

I met her in the bedroom again, not even bothering to try a hug. She was clearly not in the mood. "Gallagher Girl?"

She dropped the toaster. It bounced on the mattress. Her hands pulled up to rest on her hips and she turned to meet me with a scary look: liberation. "I'm leaving you Zachary."

I think I choked.

"What?"

"I'm leaving." She restated. "I'm going to stay at Macey's until I get my own place. I'll figure out the divorce papers and all the legal stuff. I don't want anything from you, just don't follow me and stay away from James."

My throat went dry. I'm pretty sure I would have started hyperventilating if I hadn't been trained with breathing techniques. Leaving? Divorce?

She saw my expression, which must have been quite a sight, and gave me a smug smile.

I leaned against the door, not trusting my legs to hold me up. Was this some kind of sick joke? She couldn't leave.

Cammie zipped the suitcase and tucked the toaster between her arm and side. "Maybe you'll learn a lesson." She dragged the suitcase behind her and tried to slip by me.

But if she thought she could just walk out on me without a fight... then I might as well go ahead and diagnose her with mental illness.

I grabbed her arm, not roughly, but with enough force to stop her. She tried to pull away. I kept my grip.

"Zach, I swear if-"

"What on God's green earth do you think you're doing?" I tried to refrain from any vulgar language. There was a little one on the way.

She narrowed her eyes. "Excuse me?"

I wanted to laugh. Because this was ridiculous. Absurd. Clinically insane. I didn't laugh though. My Gallagher Girl was trying to leave me.

"Let go of me." She yanked her arm out of my hand and I let her, not wanting to hurt her. "Just let me go Zach."

"NO. I'm not letting you go."

Then she cut me a look, one I was unaware she could make. It was pure, murderous hate.

"I'm leaving. And you can't change that. What's done is done."

I stepped in front of, blocking the small hallway. "What the heck has been done Cam?"

She seemed to soften a bit, but there was still a little anger lingering when she spoke. "Don't make me say it."

I took her hands again. She didn't pull away this time. "Say what?"

Her eyes started to filling with tears. Can you say mood swing?

"That you cheated!" She sobbed out. She pulled her hands from mine and rubbed them across her eyes. She was crying hard, like a little kid when they stub their toe.

"Gracious Cam." I blew a breath out, relieved. My muscled relaxed and I picked up her suitcase, taking it back to our room.

"Hey!" She yelled through her tears. "Give me that! I'm leaving Zach!" She ran up behind me, and tried to pry away the suitcase.

"Cammie." I put down her luggage and held her waist instead. "You are not leaving."

Her face scrunched up angrily. The last tears were rolling away. "I'm not staying with a man who doesn't love me."

"But I love you."

She pushed her little fists against my chest. "Don't say that. You're lying."

"Cam, stop it. This is ridiculous." I pulled her closer, as close as her baby bump would allow. She'd scared the living daylights out of me, talking the way she was. The thought of her walking out… it was terrifying.

"No. You know what's ridiculous? An affair with your secretary!" She thrashed against my body, but I held her tight, brushing the ends of her hair with my fingers.

I couldn't help it. I cracked a chuckle at that one. "Really? Erica?"

Her bright eyes peeked up and glared. "Yes, your little Malibu Barbie doll."

"Were you watching Oprah again?"

"No!" Cam snapped. "Gosh, Zach!" She shoved her fists back into my chest.

"Hey, hey…" I kept one hand on the middle of her back to prevent escape and risked pulling away the other to touch her belly. "Careful now. You don't want to hurt the little guy."

Cammie's eyes darkened. "You can't say that. You can't talk about him."

"For crying out loud Gallagher Girl, I didn't cheat on you." I kept my voice even and tried not to be annoyed at the lack of trust she had in me.

"Why should I believe you?"

I raised my eyebrows. "Why would I have an affair?"

She opened her mouth to spit accusations at me, but nothing came out. "You-" She started and faultered. "Because you…"

"Because I didn't." I finished for her, taking her by the waist and leading my hormonal- mess of a wife into the living room.

She let me drag her, but she still wasn't totally convinced. "I think you're lying." She gave me a hard look, trying to find evidence that supported her argument.

"Funny." I murmured, pulling her onto the couch beside me. "I've never been able to lie to you."

She pouted. "But-"

"Give it up Gallagher Girl."

She huffed and finally let me wrap my arms around her very pregnant stomach.

It was almost an hour later when she confessed. I had her trapped in my arms, my finger drumming over the big bump that was our little James. She'd long given up her accusations.

"I was watching Desperate Housewives this morning." She mumbled quietly.

My fingers stopped their rhythm.

"I'm sorry." She whispered. "This pregnancy has been throwing my emotions out of whack."

I laughed to myself and let my head cave into the crook of her neck. "I told you that show was rubbish."

"I know. It was just so addictive and then the husband was spending nights with his secretary, but he told his wife that it was just a business trip so she-"

"Cam." I cut off her babbling. "It's okay. Just please don't scare me like that again." I turned my head and placed a light kiss.

"Okay." She agreed.

Then a thought occurred to me. "Can I ask you one thing though?"

She turned her body to face me. Her belly was so big I had to squish into the couch just to accommodate it. "Anything." She smiled.

"Why in the world did you take the toaster? Why not the blender? Or the coffee maker?"

She smiled. "Because you love toast. I wanted to make you suffer."

I snorted, shaking my head. "You're so evil."

She shrugged.

I splayed my hands over her belly. "You hear that buddy?" I asked James. "You're mommy's a cruel woman, so you better be good when you get here."

Cammie whacked my head. "Shut up." She muttered. I smirked.

So I'm not exactly proud of this, but I felt guilty and needed to put something up. Sorry! James comes in the next chapter. WOOHOO! I'm so happy! So in case it wasn't clear, Cammie gets emotional when she watches soap operas and dramas because of her wacky pregnancy hormones. She ignored Zach's warning about Desperate Housewives (which, by the way, I've never actually watched) and ends up a bit hysterical. Thanks for reading guys. Please leave a review! They are so encouraging and I like feedback, positive or negative. God bless you beautiful people!

~SpaceNut