CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO

Website where all photos of all outfits mentioned is on my profile. Short ish chapter...

Abel surprises both Jax and I by sleeping through till 9am, but then he wakes up screaming, Jax jams a bottle in his mouth while I change his nappy. Our eyes meet over the flailing arms of our son and all I can do is crack up laughing.

"Thank god every morning isn't like this." Jax eventually says when the bottle is half empty and Abel is in a clean nappy and clothes.

I nod as I slide off the bed, leaving Jax and Abel to finish the bottle "I'm going to jump in the shower baby."

Abel squawks around the bottle in his mouth and Jax frowns "Seems someone doesn't like that idea." The small arms and legs are back waving around madly.

"It's not going to kill you Jax to spend a bit of time with him while I shower. Besides, you've done it before." Jax pouts at me and I shake my head "Not gonna work, go see if Ope and the kids are up, have breakfast or something. I won't be long."

Hearing the door open and close a few minutes later I don't think much of it till the bathroom door opens "S, can I come in?"

"Sure D. What's wrong?" My concern for her is at the forefront of my mind when I heard her voice, she sounds scared and that worries me.

Watching as she crosses the bathroom to sit on the closed toilet lid I wait quietly, the water hitting my back and rinsing off the soap bubbles. More time passes and she still hasn't said a word when I push the shower door open and step out "Donna. What the fuck is wrong?"

She looks up at me and frowns "I'm not sure."

Wrapping one of the huge towels around myself I cross to the vanity and sit on it "Okay, so tell me what's going on then."

"I feel sick, like all the time." I nod silently as she looks up at me "When I am hungry all I want is ice cream." I nod again, my mind already working out what's wrong with her. She stops and looks at me blankly.

"And all you want to do is have sex and sleep?" She nods and I chuckle "How late are you?"

She pokes her tongue out at me "A few weeks. How do I know it's not just cause of how worried I've been about you with this whole trial shit?"

I shrug "Go get dressed, I'll make excuses and we'll go find out." Donna gets up and walks towards the door, pausing with her hand on the handle when I call her name "D, you'll be fine."

She nods half distractedly as I gather clothes from the dresser, already putting together a story that will seem believable as to why Donna and I have to run to the nearest store.

Meeting her on the stairs 10 minutes later I can see she's not feeling well at all, her face is pale and slightly green if I have to be honest. Salvation comes in the form of Cam appearing behind us "Good morning. How are we today, looking forward to tonight?"

I turn around and smile brightly at her "Cammy, where's the Escalade?"

Her eyes narrow slightly and she looks between us "It's in the back garage. Why?"

"Cause I need it, and in the interest of plausible deniability I'm not going to tell you why. Just that D and I have to go out for a while. So pretty please can I have the keys?"

Cam chuckles, waving towards the stairs "They're already in it. Garage code is the same as the house code. But if you get caught I know nothing." Donna and I both nod and leave the house quietly.

Waiting till we're out in the car and the garage door is opening I write a text to Jax letting him know that I forgot something I needed for the dinner that night and Donna had gone with me. The reply I get a while later makes Donna laugh as she reads it to me.

"Apparently you shouldn't have gone without him; he said that you told him you wouldn't leave."

Shaking my head I steer Cam's SUV through the streets to the pharmacy that's less than ten blocks away "He'll get over it. Of course that means I'll have to actually buy something for tonight to cover myself."

Donna shrugs "Pantyhose. They always ladder when you put them on. Don't know how you manage it, but every time you go through at least 2 pairs."

Poking my tongue out at her I nod "I have no idea how I do it either, but you're right. I only have one pair better get some more."

Parking in the angle parking out the front Donna sits glued to her seat while I put the car in park and pull the key from the ignition. "You okay?"

She shakes her head "Nope. Not at all. I'm terrified that I'm not ready for more kids. What if it's twins again, or triplets, or quintuplets. Oh god! What if I give birth to an entire Sons Charter?!"

I reach over and grab her hand, tapping the back of it lightly till her eyes regain focus and she looks at me "D, if it's another multiple birth it's not gonna matter. I'll be there, Al, Cam, Lyla, Cherry, Gemma, they'll all be there. Mary will come down for a day, pretend to be an amazing grandmother then disappear again. Neeta is always going to be around as well, and you've got Ope, Kenny, Ellie, Jax, Piney. All of us."

"On great big happy fucked up family." She says grinning at me as she finally throws the car door open.

"Exactly."

Donna doesn't waste any time in the store, picking up four different tests, two the same as she used when she tested for the twins, and two that promise to give results in the first 4 weeks of pregnancy.

The woman behind the counter looks at Donna's nervous face and smiles "We have a bathroom here if you'd like to find out now?"

I smile hugely at her "Thank you. That would be great." Paying for the four tests, three pairs of pantyhose and the tube of lip gloss I'd grabbed I follow Donna through the door to the bathroom where she rips open the boxes straight away.

Looking up at me she frowns "You're gonna watch?"

I nod and giggle, leaning against the door "Only fitting, I watched you do this five years ago."

Donna pokes her tongue out at me and reads over the instructions once more before undoing her jeans and hovering over the toilet.