Author's Note: Ok, sorry for the delay...I've had a rough couple of weeks. Emotionally and physically. But I'm back. Please review. I think I lost a few of you along the way. Sorry if the story got too dark.
Chapter 19: Beginnings
"Pregnant?" Mike asked stunned. "You think she's pregnant? Why?"
"She's been sick for a while now," Rose answered. "Weeks now."
"You said that already," Mike said. "That could be stress."
"It could be, but I don't think it is," Rose answered. "Robert was kind enough to leave feminine products for us and I noticed I'm the only one who used them and we've been here two months. Meaning she's late…"
"That could be stress, too," Mike said. "I don't know much about any of that, but I know stress can mess with that."
"Yes, it could," Rose said, "but have you noticed how her gait has changed?"
"No," Mike answered honestly. "Why would I notice that? How have you noticed that?"
"It's subtle, but I noticed it," Rose said. "It's helpful to pay attention to someone's gait in a fight."
"Yeah, but this isn't a fight," Mike said.
"Habit," Rose said. "Point is, her stance is wider. Her hips are wider. And her breasts look a little more firm."
"Ok, that I really didn't notice," Mike said.
"I see it better now," Rose said.
"You really think she's pregnant?" Mike asked.
"It looks like it," Rose answered.
"Oh God," Mike said. "This is bad. If only I'd tried a little harder…"
"What do you mean?" Rose asked.
"Robert," Mike answered. "When we first got here...her punishment...he…"
"I know what he did to her," Rose said solemnly. "But that doesn't mean it's his."
"Who else could it be?" Mike asked.
"Before Robert took us," Rose said. "Micky and Ginny...reconnected. Remember?"
"I forgot about that," Mike said feeling a slight sense of relief. "But even if it's Micky's, that's still bad. There's no telling what Robert will do to them."
"I know," Rose said.
"Should we tell them what we think?" Mike asked after a moment, looking down at Ginny's face. It looked a little fuller now that he was paying attention.
"Not yet," Rose said. "I don't know for sure and I don't want to stress them out if I'm wrong about this. We should just wait for now."
"You're right," Mike agreed. "We should get her to bed at least. She seems exhausted."
"I'll help you," Rose said. Together they carried Ginny out to one of the beds and laid her down near Micky. They explained she was just a little sick and that she'd be ok. Mike's mind raced as he pulled sheets over her and tucked her in. If she was pregnant, how could they be sure whose it was? What would she do when she found out? What would Micky do? What would Robert do?
Peter was in the kitchen making a sandwich, though not for himself. He, Davy, and Willow had sat only a few minutes ago at the table eating lunch, but Piper was in her room and hadn't come out. So Peter decided to bring her something to eat. Davy by now had become quite adept at fighting with his sword and Peter was very happy for that. He didn't want any harm to come to anyone, but he was really starting to believe these people deserved it. Piper and Willow told him, reluctantly, of course, about the other things the Templars did. He put the sandwich on the plate and walked over to Piper's door. He knocked a few times, but she didn't answer. He thought for a moment that he shouldn't, but he opened the door and called out to her. He didn't see her right away, but then he saw her sitting on the edge of her bed, crying.
"Piper?" Peter asked quietly.
"Oh, Peter," Piper said looking up at him. "Come in."
"Are you ok?" Peter asked closing the door behind him.
"Yeah," Piper said rather unconvincingly.
"I brought you lunch," Peter said putting the plate with the sandwich on it on the nightstand. "I wasn't sure if you were hungry."
"Not really," Piper said, wiping tears away from her cheek.
"Please talk to me," Peter said. "It's ok."
"I just…" Piper started then trailed off. Peter sat down on the bed next to her to try and encourage her a little. She smiled at him and sighed. "I feel terrible. I wasn't there for either of them."
"Didn't you already have this conversation with me?" Peter asked trying to sound reassuring. "Telling me that even if I'd been here, I wouldn't have been able to do anything."
"No," Piper said. "I mean, yes, you're right, but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about for the last 5 years. The last thing I said to Rose...I called her a "bitch". I hated her for turning her back on Micky and I thought she believed him a murderer. But I stayed behind, too. I did the same thing she did."
"I get that it bothers you, but I don't really think they care," Peter said.
"I care," Piper said.
"I don't know if you should," Peter said. "People do stupid things. Especially when they're young. That was five years ago."
"I should have been more supportive of Micky," Piper said. "And I shouldn't have said the things I said to Rose."
"Look, the fact that it bothers you shows how good of a person you are," Peter said. "But they wouldn't have come here if they didn't trust you. Micky just found out the truth about his father; the number of people he trusted severely plummeted that day. But he trusted you enough to bring us all here. To keep us all safe. And you made the right decision by staying with the Assassins. Micky had Mike and me and Davy. How many people have you saved by staying with them?"
"I don't know, maybe a hundred or more," Piper said.
"Wow," Peter breathed; he figured it was a lot, but didn't figure it was that much. "That's a lot of lives that would probably be dead now if you'd left with Micky. And I know that if given the choice, Micky wouldn't have wanted you to leave. Same thing goes for Rose. And I know she understands why you said what you said. She was in a really bad position and I'm sure she got a lot of grief from a lot of people."
"She didn't need it from family on top of everything else," Piper mumbled.
"I don't think she cares," Peter repeated. "She didn't seem to have any issues with you the entire time we were here."
"We acted like none of us did anything to each other," Piper said. "Like none of it ever happened."
"Maybe cause in their minds, none of it did," Peter offered. "I mean, it did, but it didn't matter. Rose knew you didn't mean it. They left you and Willow alone with me and Davy. They didn't know Willow, but you trusted Willow and they trusted you. They wouldn't have left us alone with either of you if they didn't."
"I get that," Piper said. "But…"
"When we find them, you can apologize to them," Peter said when she trailed off. "I don't think they're gonna care, but if it'll make you feel better, when we find them, you'll talk to them. I know everything will be ok." She finally turned and looked at him. And smiled. Peter offered a smile back, encouraging her a little. He wasn't sure why suddenly he thought everything was going to be ok, but he felt like he at least had to say it. If nothing more than to try and convince himself. He didn't expect Piper to lean over and kiss him. He relished in it for a few moments, not thinking very clearly. He found himself very attracted to her, of that he was sure, but he couldn't right now. He couldn't kiss her. He pushed her away slightly with a soft apology.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean-"
"No, no," Peter said. "It's not...I like you, I really do and I liked the kiss and all, but…"
"But what?" She asked.
"I don't want you to kiss me because you're grieving," Peter said. "I want you to want to kiss me."
"But I do want to kiss you," Piper said. "I have wanted to kiss you. You remind me of everything I want to be and can't."
"How so?" Peter asked.
"I want to be a peaceful person, Peter," Piper said. "I don't want to spend my nights training in some basement. I want to have a normal life with a family and friends. I want to not have to worry about who I have to kill next or who's going to die if I don't kill someone. I want to be normal. And I can't. But you can help me feel at least a little normal. You remind me that there can be peace sometimes."
"I do?" Peter blushed a little. "So you wanted to kiss me? Not just out of grief?"
"Maybe a little of both," Piper said. "I've thought about it for a while. And yes, I'm upset and that may be what's making me finally do it, but it's not the only reason. I do like you."
"Oh," Peter said blushing more. Piper smiled again and kissed him. This time he didn't fight her. He kissed her back, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her tight. He hadn't kissed many girls, but he'd gotten better over the years. Especially with his friends teaching him what they knew after the fiasco with Valerie Cartwright. And this felt natural to him. Like he didn't need to know what to do. Piper seemed to take the lead anyway. As much as he didn't want to go any further at this moment, but he couldn't help the pull he felt in his loins. She leaned over him and pushed him down onto the bed and pressed her body into his. He felt her breasts push into his chest and felt his desire heighten. She moaned slightly as his hands stroked her hair softly. He wasn't sure if Piper was wanting this to go any further, but he knew he didn't so he pulled his hips away from her slightly. He didn't want her to feel his desire. It didn't matter anyway cause they both stopped when they heard Davy outside the room.
"Piper! Peter!" he called sounding very desperate. "Come out here and help me!" Piper jumped off Peter and he ran after her. He was afraid they were being attacked. When they got out into the living room, they saw Willow and Davy standing by the front door.
"What's going on?" Piper asked sounding a little annoyed.
"Willow's leaving," Davy answered.
"Leaving?" Peter asked confused. They were told to stay together.
"Where are you going?" Piper asked.
"Looking for my father," Willow answered exasperated.
"I'm sure he's fine," Davy said.
"Why?" Peter asked.
"He was supposed to call me this morning," Willow said.
"Maybe he got hung up," Peter said. "We shouldn't be leaving right now."
"No," Willow said. "Ever since I was a little girl I was so worried about whether or not he'd come home, so he set a system in place. He'd give me a time and day he'd call and he'd always find a way to contact me and let me know he's ok. Always. He has never been late until today. He was supposed to call me this morning."
"I agree with Peter," Davy said. "He probably got hung up. Can't get to a phone or something."
"No, I feel like something's wrong," Willow said. "I can't explain it, but something's wrong. He ALWAYS calls."
"How would you even know where to start looking for him?" Peter asked.
"He told me a few days ago he was following a lead in Arizona," Willow said. "He said there were reports of unauthorized digging. Probably Robert trying to find the artifact."
"Why didn't you tell us that?" Piper asked.
"We didn't want to get your hopes up," Willow said.
"Did he tell you exactly where he was going?" Piper asked.
"Yes," Willow answered. "That's where I'm going. I need to find him."
"You can't go alone," Piper said. "It's too dangerous."
"I've made up my mind, Piper," Willow said. "I'm going to find my father."
"But you're not doing it alone," Piper said. "We're going with you."
"We are?" Davy asked.
"We can't let her go alone," Piper said. "And we need to stick together. All four of us. We'll go and check this place out, but that's as far as it goes. We aren't going on a wild goose chase. If there's no sign of him, we come back."
"What if he calls while we're gone?" Peter asked.
"He'd know I'd go looking for him if he were late," Willow said. "He'll stay and wait for me."
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Davy asked.
"She has a point," Piper said. "A lot of parents worked out systems with their kids. My mom would call me every Friday if she went out. Missing a drop like that is bad. The only reason he wouldn't contact her is if he were in trouble."
"Let's hope it's not too much, then," Peter said.
