Five Weeks Later

Ana

"How are you feeling dear?" Grace asks while rubbing my back soothingly.

"Ugh, I feel like crap," I groan as I flush the toilet.

I am now thirty-two weeks pregnant, and the nausea has hit once again. I don't understand why the morning sickness has all of a sudden came back. I have been feeling great since I started my second trimester, but these last few days have been downright miserable.

"Here, take a sip of water," Grace hands me a cup.

"One second," I rinse my mouth out and brush my teeth before sipping the rest of the water.

"Are you only nauseous or do you have any other symptoms?" Grace asks while she walks me back to bed.

I have been in bed since last night. "Yes, nauseous. I also have diarrhea and burping. It's disgusting," I groan and lay back on my pillow.

"Does it taste a little like acid?" Grace asks while tucking the comforter around me.

I nod and burp once again. I groan as I put my hand over my mouth. Ugh, this burping is so disgusting.

"It does sound like acid reflux, which is very common in pregnancy," Grace murmurs.

"Is there anything I can take for it?" Please, let there be.

"You can take tums, or I can get you a prescription for Omeprazole, which helps with heartburn and acid reflux. I will put that in today for you," she smiles softly.

"Thank you, Grace. I appreciate it," I smile at her.

"It's no problem, dear. Try to get some sleep, and I will wake you when I have the prescription," she says while walking towards the door.

I nod, and she turns off the light and closes the door softly. I put my hand on stomach and turn to lay on my side. I sigh and try to drift off to sleep.

"Ana, honey?" Grace rouses me from sleep.

I open my eyes and see her smile down at me. I rise and stretch my arms over my head. I see that Grace has the prescription in her hand and a bottle of Tums. She sits down next to me on the bed and hands me a few.

"You can take the Omeprazole tomorrow morning before you eat breakfast, but you can take some Tums right now. Hopefully, that makes you feel a little better for the rest of the day," Grace explains.

"Thank you, Grace. I hate throwing up," I groan and chew the Tums.

"It's more than likely due to the reflux. We can try to incline your mattress, that should help the acid coming back up," Grace says while handing me a glass of water.

"Great, thank you," I smile in gratitude.

"Your welcome, honey."

Grace suddenly looks nervous. I frown at her when she fidgets with the end of the Tums cap.

"I got a call earlier today," she says hesitantly.

I raise my eyebrows at her but don't say anything.

"It was Eamon Kavanagh," she hesitates.

I stiffen, then sit up straight. "What did he want? Are the kids okay?"

"Yes, of course, they are. He was calling to say that they found Mia and Ethan."

"They did? Where are they? Are they okay?" I say in a rush.

"Yes, they are fine," she reassures me.

"Well, where were they all this time?" I say in confusion.

"They were in Cleveland," she sighs.

"Cleveland? Why would they be all the way in Ohio?" I frown.

"Eamon said that they hitched a ride from someone and stayed at one of the local shelters."

I shake my head. "Why would they go there? I don't understand why they would leave their children and just leave?" I say frantically.

"Honey, calm down. It's okay," Grace places her hand on my shoulder and squeezes gently.

I take a deep breath and then nod my head.

"Wait, their parents called CPS on them. Are they in trouble?"

"Actually, it was their daughter, Kate who called and not Eamon and Cheryl," Grace shakes her head.

"What? Kate? Are you serious?" I almost shout. Why the hell would that bitch call CPS on her own brother?

"I don't know all the specifics, but Kate hates her brother for whatever reason. I don't know, but his parents are trying to make amends. They talked with CPS, and got everything cleared away," she explains.

"I thought that his parents called CPS? Why would they lie about that?" I frown.

"I have no idea why they would lie, honey," she shrugs.

"So, where are they now?" I sigh.

"They are living with them. Since Kate is pregnant, Eamon sent her to live in one of his downtown apartments."

"So, they want to make amends? You believe that?" I say in confusion.

Grace hesitates before she sighs. "I have been seeing the Kavanaghs around the hospital recently. I talked with Cheryl who informed me that Eamon is sick."

"Sick? What do you mean?" I frown.

"He found out that he has cancer. Prostate cancer to be specific," She sighs.

"Woah," I murmured after a few seconds of silence.

"He is starting his treatment soon. I don't know how serious his case is, but they have been looking back at their earlier behavior towards their son and wanted to try to mend their relationship," she nods.

We sit in silence once more; both lost in our own thoughts. I am relieved that they found Mia and Ethan and I am shocked to hear that his father is sick. I'm also disgusted that his own sister would call CPS on him. I mean, what did he ever do to her for her to do something like that? Why would his parents lie in the first place? Suddenly, I feel sorry for her child who must grow up with her as an influence.

My mind immediately goes back to the dinner a few weeks ago when Elliot was acting strangely after he found out that Kate is pregnant. What was all that about?

My eyes widen when a terrifying thought hits me. Oh, my God.

Did Elliot get Kate pregnant? His reaction to her pregnancy was bizarre. I mean why else would he look horrified at the thought of her pregnant?

Could he really cheat on Addison? No, he wouldn't. Elliot is not like that, we know him. Something else is going on because I know that Elliot would never betray someone who he cares about.

Especially not someone like that bitch, Kate. Yes, something else is going on.

"Hey, baby," Christian says while walking into our room.

I am leaning against the headboard of our bed, reading a book.

"Hey. How was your day?" I ask while placing the bookmark on the page I was reading.

"It was good. Are you feeling any better?" He frowns while taking off his work boots.

"Yes, definitely better than I was this morning. Grace said it was more than likely acid reflux, so she got me a prescription. I can start taking it in the morning," I explain.

"That's good. I was worried about you," he sighs in relief.

"I'm okay. Eight weeks to go," I smile as I rub my protruding belly.

"I can't wait until the little guy is here. Feels like you have been pregnant forever," he teases.

"Don't I know it," I roll my eyes.

Christian laughs as he undresses out of his work clothes and into some jeans and a plain T-shirt.

"I have something I want to talk to you about."

I pat the spot right next to me. He frowns and comes over and sits down beside me. He takes my hand and runs his thumb over my knuckles. I take a deep breath and take a minute to get my thoughts together.

"Do you remember when we had that dinner a few weeks ago? When Jack came over?" I say after a few minutes of silence.

Christian frowns in confusion. "Yeah, what about it?"

"Remember when Addison told Elliot that Kate was at the store, and she was pregnant?" I murmur.

"Vaguely," he shakes his head after a few seconds.

"Elliot's reaction to it. Didn't you find it strange?" I ask.

Christian frowns deeply before his eyes widen. "Are you saying that Elliot is the father of Kate's baby?" He says in horror.

"No! I know Elliot wouldn't cheat on Addison. I just found it weird that he would act like that," I say quickly.

"There has to be an explanation, but I can guarantee that he wouldn't cheat on her, especially with that bitch," he shrugs his shoulders.

"I know. What else could it be though?" I bite my nails.

Christian scowls and takes my hand away from my mouth. He always hates it when I bite my nails.

"No clue, but I will talk with him and well sort it out. Don't worry about it, baby."

I nod and sit up again when I realize I didn't tell him about Mia and Ethan.

"Grace told me that Ethan and Mia were found," I blurt out.

"You're kidding? Where are they?" Christian freezes.

I tell him what Grace informed me about Eamon and about how he was diagnosed with cancer, and how we wanted to make amends.

"Do you think they are sincere?" I ask.

"Who knows. They were fucking assholes to Mia and Ethan and to us, but on the other hand it makes sense if he is sick and wants to have a relationship with his son," he sighs.

"Kate is also an even bigger bitch than I thought," Christian scowls.

"Tell me about it," I agree.

"Come. I want to show you something," Christian beams at me and gets up off the bed.

"What is it?" I smile and get up.

"You'll see. Come," He smiles back and takes my hand and leads me out of the room.

He stops at the room next to ours, which is our son's nursery. I beam up at him.

"Did they finish it?" I giggle.

"This morning," he nods and opens the door.

I walk inside and gasp at how beautiful it all came together. The walls are a fresh gray color, with various animal artwork that are displayed around the room. The crib is placed in the middle of the room, which is also a warm gray color. For the crib bedding, we went with dark gray crib sheets and a blue and white stripped crib bumper. The other nursery furniture matches the color of the crib.

Our son's nursery is beautiful, and exactly what we wanted.

"It's perfect," I whisper as Christian kisses my temple softly.

"It sure is," Christian agrees.

Two Weeks Later

"Well, everything looks good, Ana. Right on schedule," the doctor smiles at me.

"That's great," I sigh in relief.

I am thirty-four weeks today, and I just finished my routine appointment.

"How is the reflux? Is that medication helping any?" the doctor asks.

"Yes, it is. No more throwing up," I nod. Thank Heavens!

"Okay, we will see you two weeks from now. After that appointment, we will see you every week until you deliver," he explains.

"Okay," I nod and step down off the table.

"Just go ahead and make your next appointment," he says and gives me a paper to hand to the receptionist.

I thank him and head out of the room and make my next appointment. I look around the lobby and smile at my surroundings.

Grace referred me to another OBGYN who is closer to their house, so we wouldn't have to drive all the way to the clinic in the city, which I'm grateful.

The receptionist gives me an appointment reminder card, and I thank her before I walk out of the office. I smile when I see my new car parked on the sidewalk. Carrick and Grace gifted it to me for an early birthday present, even though my birthday isn't until September, I am incredibly thankful.

I stand there and admire the car; a silver Audi A8. I smile, and when I am about to open the driver's side door, I hear my name being called behind me.

I turn around and freeze when I see Mia walking towards me with Lola on her hip. My mouth drops open when I see her all dressed up. She is wearing a black lace-up top, ripped skinny jeans, and brown lace up sandals. Her brown hair is down in soft waves, and her makeup is light. She is holding Lola who is dressed in a cute purple and white polka dot romper with brown sandals.

They both look happy and healthy.

"Hey," she says hesitantly.

I shake my head and then stare at her emotionless. I didn't think I would feel this angry when I would see her again, but I do. I felt angry and betrayed of what they did to their kids. I feel angry that they left them without an explanation.

She looks down when I see a look of shame pass through her face.

"I like your dress," she murmurs.

I sigh and look down at my outfit. It's one of my new maxi dresses. It's white on top and sage green on the bottom. I look up and get pissed seeing that this is the first thing she says to me after what she did.

"That's all you have to say to me after what you did?" I hiss.

She cringes and then looks at me with regret. "I'm sorry, Ana. We didn't know what else to do. We thought they would be safe with you," she pleads.

I shake my head, and I can't help but scoff. "Mia, I'm sorry for everything that happened, but you can't expect me to be happy. You left your kids! Abandoned them and I can't just forget that!" I shout but immediately regret it when Lola jumps in her arms.

She sniffs and nods her head. "I know, and I didn't expect you to forgive me right away. I just wanted to say thank you for taking care of my kids. I know what we did was wrong. I know that now, but we did what we thought was best at the time. I…I just wanted to say thank you."

I sigh and push my purse up my shoulder. "Mia, I am glad you are here and safe. I'm glad everything seemed to work out for you guys."

She smiles, but her face falls when I continue.

"I'm sorry. Maybe in the future, but I can't right now," I murmur and look down at my keys that I am holding in my hand.

She nods and wipes a tear from her eye. "Okay. It was good to see you. Take care," she says hesitantly.

"You too," I give her a small smile.

She gives me one back as I wave goodbye to Lola. She gives me her beautiful baby smile as Mia turns around and walks off.

I sigh and watch her walk away down the street and out of view.

I really want to forgive them. Maybe in time we can all get together and be friends again, but right now, I think it's best to go our separate ways.

I reluctantly turn around and get in the car and drive back home.

AN: Just wanted to let you all know even though I am officially back to writing, the updates will more than likely be slow going. It's been challenging trying to write with a fussy baby.

Pinterest is updated. Thank you all for hanging in there with me. See you all next time.