xiv.

Cleo was puzzled. "But my blood pressure's fine. Dad says I have the lowest in the whole family! Although compared to Lewis's, it is pretty high..."

"No," Rikki grumbled at her new friend's denseness, "Not that kind of test." She despaired of every being able to have a full conversation with Cleo or Lewis that didn't require her spelling things out in full. She dropped her voice to a whisper, even though no one else was around. "I need a pregnancy test."

"You...!" Cleo's eyes went wide and she gulped. "I don't want to go in there and buy one!"

"Neither do I! But that's why I need you to go in with me. If there's two of us and we get caught buying one they'll be kept guessing at whose it is. Please, Cleo!" she begged, "I don't have anyone else to ask. Isn't this what friends are supposed to do for each other?" She supposed most friendships were based on feelings aside from desperation and intimidation, but she couldn't bring herself to pretend to be sugar and spice. "Do you really want to be my friend, or not?"

"Okay," Cleo sighed. "But if someone recognises me..."

"They won't! I'll take you to the one furthest from your place."

"I guess that would be alright."

The two of them dillydallied outside the door for much longer than was necessary, both working up the courage to make the first step. Finally, Rikki grabbed Cleo's wrist and hauled her inside. She went directly to the aisle she needed, grabbed the cheapest test, and after choosing a few more innocent looking items proceeded to the queue. The way Cleo shuffled behind her, small and embarrassed, it would have seemed like she was the one considering the possibility of having been knocked up.

She was three feet behind, fiddling with her fingers when Rikki stepped up to the checker.

"Cleo," she hissed, "Get over here."

Cleo jumped a little and ran up alongside Rikki. She kept her eyes trained on the checker's hands as he scanned each item. When he reached for the pregnancy test, she blurted, "That's not for us!"

The bored looking checker raised an eyebrow. He seemed completely unconcerned, but Cleo was in a panic and words were spilling out of her mouth without filter.

"Our friend was too shy to come buy her own test, so she sent us to get it. It isn't for us. Really. It's for our friend. Emma," she said with conviction.

He raised his eyebrows in disinterested confusion, finally swiping the test over the scanner and placing it in the bag with everything else.

Rikki could not leave fast enough.

"What were you doing in there?" she insisted once outside the shop, "He didn't even notice anything weird until you said something!"

"I'm sorry, I panicked! When I'm nervous I just... say a lot of things."

"Apparently," Rikki said dully.

"Well..." Cleo shifted from foot to foot, eyeing the bag that held an assortment of random items, a few snacks, and one pregnancy test. "I guess... since you have that now, I'll be heading home. Tell me if you need... anything else."

"Wait," Rikki stopped her before she'd gone too far, "Would you..." she wasn't used to all this asking and it was starting to unnerve her, "Do you think you could stay a little longer? Until I've taken it?"

Cleo brightened as if she was hoping to be asked. "Of course! And don't worry, I won't tell anyone you're pregnant. I mean, if you are! If you aren't, I won't tell anyone you thought you were. Just... I'll be totally secretive!"

Rikki didn't want to risk taking the test at her trailer as her dad was expected home at any moment, and she certainly had no intention of using Lewis's place for such a venture so Cleo offered to let her make use of her bathroom at home.

The ten minutes it was supposed to take the test to show results was the longest Rikki had ever lived. She sat with Cleo at the end of her bed, trying not to think of what that second line might mean if it appeared, trying to focus instead on the nail polish stain on the carpet, the seashell chains hanging on the door, or anything besides the little strip in her hand.

Cleo found it impossible to remain quiet however, and soon brought her back to the reason they were there. "Do you mind if I ask... if there is a baby, whose it is?"

"I'd rather not say."

Cleo nodded and her eyes wandered aimlessly around the room for a few seconds. "What are you going to do? If... if it's positive?"

Rikki stood up, unable to sit still any longer. "I don't know, Cleo! Okay? I have no idea what I'm going to do if I find out I'm pregnant." She began to pace back and forth across the room, "My dad and I can barely afford to feed ourselves, let alone take care of a baby. We live in a trailer with just enough room not to knock into each other if we're careful. I don't do the whole... children thing at all. I never even had a doll when I was little. I don't know how to raise a kid. I have no idea."

Rikki stopped in front of Cleo, breathing heavily. She expected Cleo to respond with some ridiculously optimistic notion about how everything would be fine, how babies were just so cute and Rikki had nothing at all to worry about. But to her surprise, Cleo merely took her hand and gave it a firm squeeze. "I'll help you. Whatever you need, if I possibly can, I'll help you."

"Why?"

"Because that's what friends do," she said, offering a small smile.

"Cleo," Rikki said with a hitch in her throat and tears forming in her eyes.

"What is it?"

She held the test out to show her the results.

"There are two lines."

A/N: Well, you know what they say about friendships borne of disasters! Actually... I don't know if there's a saying about friendships formed through disasters. It just seemed like a good time to try being clever. I've failed. My apologies.

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