Chapter 4

"Angela, are you awake?"

Angela immediately raised herself into a sitting position from where she'd collapsed on her bed. Oh no. She couldn't face her mother right now especially with the positive pregnancy test still sitting out in the open on the counter in her bathroom.

"Tony insisted that I come check on you today, but I'm not coming in there just for you to get me sick!" Mona huffed through the closed bedroom door. "I have a date tonight and this one might last awhile."

"Thanks for your concern, Mother," Angela replied with a roll of her eyes while she tried to keep her voice neutral. "I'm doing ok. I'm feeling better, so I'm going to come downstairs in a little while for some of the soup that Tony made. You don't need to worry about me."

"Ok, then. Get some sleep. The kids said you looked like death this morning," Mona responded as she turned and walked off towards the stairs.

As soon as Angela heard her mother's footsteps retreating, she pulled herself into a sitting position and leaned up against her headboard, as thoughts continued to shoot rapid-fire through her brain.

Her job. What was she going to do? She'd managed to climb the corporate ladder with a baby, but that was a big part of why she and Michael had put off having a second child when Jonathan was a toddler. Her career was finally taking off, and she knew she couldn't afford to slow down. Working had been almost impossible when Jonathan was a baby considering the office and the office policies were dictated by men. But now, she was president of Wallace & McQuade and planned to introduce some improvements like a better maternity leave and more resources for working mothers, so if and when she ever did have another baby, it would be that much easier. But, here she was, pregnant, before she'd been able to instigate any of those changes.

With a sigh, Angela realized she needed to let her mind go to the subject that she'd been avoiding. Her relationship with Tony. He was her best friend; there was no doubt about that. He saw the 'real' Angela or at least as much of herself as she was comfortable sharing. Even Michael had never known her this well. But beyond being her best friend was there more? It was obvious that they had feelings for each other otherwise they wouldn't be in this situation in the first place. But was it just forbidden lust? She'd never actually thought about a long-term relationship with Tony. This pregnancy was going to challenge the whole foundation of their relationship.

Was she in love with him or could she see herself falling in love with him? Potentially. In fact, the more she examined her feelings, the more she realized she was already on that path. She simply couldn't imagine her life without Tony in it. But, to force the issue because she was pregnant? She knew that wouldn't work. When they'd talked in the kitchen after her birthday, and then at the motel, they'd both agreed that they didn't want to mess up what they already had. That was still true, but now the stakes were so much higher. Should they raise this baby as a parenting team like they were raising Jonathan and Samantha? The more Angela thought about it, the more she realized that seemed like the best path forward; to remain friends and co-parent this child they had created together.

Just then Angela heard voices in the hallway. The kids were home from school.

"Hey Mom," Jonathan said through her closed door. "Are you awake? Can we come in?"

With a sigh, Angela realized that facing the kids would be easier than facing Tony or her mother.

"Sure, sweetheart," Angela replied as she sat up in bed straightening her nightgown.

"You look a little better, Angela," Sam said following Jonathan into the room.

"Yeah, Mom. Did you barf this morning?" Jonathan asked with a slight grin.

"As a matter of fact, I did not. I'm actually feeling a little hungry, so could you all warm up some of the soup that Tony made and bring me up a bowl?"

"No problem. Let us know if you need anything else," Sam said as she ushered Jonathan out of the room.

Once the kids left, Angela thoughts turned to how she was going to tell Tony. She knew they needed to be alone, where no one could interrupt or hear them, and that they would need time to talk. She also knew she needed to do it tonight if at all possible. They had to be in this together, right from the start, however that looked.

A little while later, after she'd eaten most of the bowl of soup that Sam had brought her, Angela managed to fall asleep; her mind and body exhausted from everything that had happened and was happening. She was surprised when she woke up to see that it was already past 7:30 in the evening. She knew she should go downstairs and see what was going on with the kids and if Tony was home yet, but the security that her bedroom provided, so that she didn't have to try and act like everything was normal, made her decide to stay exactly where she was. She had no doubt that Tony would come check on her at some point.

As if on cue, she heard Tony call out her name as he knocked softly on her door.

"Angela, are you awake?"

Taking a deep breath, Angela responded, "Come on in, Tony."

"Hey," he said with a concerned look on his face. "Sam said she brought you some soup earlier but that you'd been sleeping ever since. Is there anything I can do?"

"You've already done so much, Tony. The soup was delicious, and I'm definitely feeling better after eating it and getting a long nap in. What are the kids up to?"

"Jonathan is taking a bath, and Sam is in her room doing homework. Just another normal and quiet night at The Bower residence," Tony said with a grin.

Probably the last normal night for maybe ever, Angela thought to herself before responding to Tony.

"That's good. I think I'll probably just stay in bed for the rest of the evening and make sure I get a good night's sleep. Would you mind though bringing me some tea once the kids have gone to sleep?"

"Ay oh, oh ay, no problem," Tony said nodding. "We can have our nightly conversation about our day in here as long as you're up for that?"

Angela knew that's what he was probably going to offer, so she nodded her head with a smile.

"I would like that. I guess we really are that boring," she said with an ironic laugh.

The next couple of hours seemed to crawl by as Angela tried to figure out what she was going to say to Tony. No matter what she thought of nothing seemed right. It also didn't help that her adrenaline had kicked in again almost as soon as Tony had left her room earlier.

"Hey Angela, you still awake in there?" Tony said just then, pulling her out of her own head. "I have the tea if you still feel like talking?"

Angela closed her eyes. This was it. Nothing would ever be the same again.

"Come on in, Tony. I'm awake."

"Oh good," Tony said as he deposited the tray on her nightstand and handed her a cup of tea. He took the other one before realizing that there really was no other place for him to sit other than on the edge of her bed.

Angela saw the uncertain look in his eyes and immediately motioned to the foot of her bed.

"It's ok, Tony," she said.

"I'm glad you're feeling better, Angela," Tony said once he was situated. "Looks like it was just some 24-hour bug. And it's good that the kids don't seem to have caught it."

Taking a deep breath, Angela knew that was her opening.

"Tony, I wasn't, I mean I'm not, sick," she said, her heart hammering in her chest. "I'm pregnant…"