Author's Note: Shorter than normal. I had more written out but then it didn't save. Still taking a few quotes from 'Four Percent Solution'.


Bombay couldn't move. He couldn't speak. He could barely breathe.

Casey? Pregnant? How could this be? She told him she was getting an abortion. He believed her.

"Are you okay, sir?" The doctor asked, seeing Bombay's reaction to hearing that Casey was expecting.

Casey, seeing Bombay starting to unravel, spoke up. "Wanna give us a moment alone?"

The doctor, knowing that he may have accidentally broken doctor-patient confidentiality, was only too happy to oblige Casey's request and left the room.

Once the doctor had left, Bombay rose to his feet and closed the door leaving the two of them alone.

"Unbelievable," was the only thing he could say. "Absolutely unbelievable."

Bombay slumped into the armchair and stared at the ceiling. "How far along are you?" He asked, already knowing the answer. He needed to hear her say it.

"Six months," Casey said.

Bombay closed his eyes, trying to talk it all in. He was going to be a father. A father!

"I thought you said you were going to have an abortion," Bombay said.

"I couldn't do it," Casey said. She sat up. "I tried. I even went to the clinic. I just couldn't. "

"Charlie talk you out of it?" Bombay asked.

"Charlie doesn't even know," Casey admitted.

Bombay's eyes widened. Charlie didn't even know! It was one thing to keep it from him. It was another thing to keep it from Charlie.

Casey saw Bombay's reaction to learning that she had hidden her pregnancy from Charlie as well. "I was on my way over to tell him," Casey explained. "I guess I was so distracted, trying to figure out how, or what to tell him, that I didn't see the dump truck until it was too late."

Bombay didn't know what to say. He was upset that Casey had kept this from him. From Charlie too.

But as he looked at her, and her small belly, he knew that he couldn't stay mad forever. She was the mother of his child and deep down, he still loved her. He had tried to move on but he couldn't. Casey was just one of those people he couldn't move on from. Charlie too.

"Is it really your birthday?" Bombay asked.

"Yeah," Casey said glumly. "I was looking forward to a foot rub and non-alcoholic beverage with my sister."

"While I don't have any non-alcoholic beverages on me, I'm told I'm good at massages," Bombay said taking a seat at the end of the bed.

"I got a better idea," Casey suggested, holding out her right hand. "Give me your hand."

Bombay shot her a confused look but took her anyway. Casey immediately took it, lifted up her hospital gown and placed Bombay's left hand on her stomach.

"Someone wants to say hello," she said to her stomach. "Meet your Daddy."

Bombay froze as he felt a small kick come from Casey's stomach. A rush of emotion came over him. That was his child. His own flesh and blood. If the unthinkable had happened, his child, along with Casey, would have died as well.

"You could have died. You both could have," Bombay said, this voice thick with emotion. Bombay knew he had to do something but he felt helpless. "I'll buy you a new car. One with all the newest safety features."

"Oh no you won't," Casey retorted. She liked being independent. She wasn't a charity case.

"There has to be something I can do," Bombay said. "I want to be in her life."

Casey could see the sincerity in Bombay's eyes. There just wasn't anything he could do. At least until after the baby was born.

"There's still the matter of Charlie not knowing," Casey said.

"I'll do it," Bombay said eagerly.

"What?"

"I said, I'll do it," Bombay said. "I'll talk to Charlie."

Casey shook her head. "It has to come from me," Casey said. "I'm his mother."

Although unintentional, Casey's words had stung. It only reminded him that despite everything, Charlie wasn't blood. But this child would be.

"Alright," Bombay conceded. "You have a week."

"A week?"

"One week. Or I'll tell him," Bombay said. "He deserves to know."

"One week," Casey nodded in agreement.

Bombay took his hand off Casey's stomach and held her hand it for a moment. "Let's just focus on the here and now," Bombay said remembering what the doctor had said earlier. "Happy Birthday. You're alive."

"You know what's better?" Casey said causing Bombay to look up. "We both are."


"You know, you could have told me," Charlie said as Bombay pulled up to Eden Hall Academy. "I'm not ten anymore."

Bombay looked over at Charlie as he parked his new SUV. He was wondering when Charlie was going to bring it up. It was two weeks since Casey's accident. While outright refusing any help from Bombay with regards to purchasing a new vehicle, Casey did relent and suggested that if Bombay wanted to help, he could drive Charlie back and forth to school.

"Your mother was the one who wanted to tell you," Bombay explained. "I wanted to tell you when it first happened but she didn't want to."

Charlie raised an eyebrow. "Relax man," Charlie said sensing Bombay's anxiety. "It's cool."

"It's cool?" Bombay repeated. He wasn't sure what to expect from Charlie but this wasn't it.

"Yeah," Charlie said opening the door to get out. "I didn't think she'd get into a relationship again after John but I'm glad it's with you."

"That's what she told you?" Bombay asked Charlie.

"She didn't say that exactly," Charlie admitted. "Between me finding the two of you holding hands and the hospital and how the two of you look at each other when you think no one is looking, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that there is something going on between the two of you. And why I asked her about it, she didn't deny it."

Bombay realized that Casey still had not told Charlie. He wanted to tell him but this was neither the time nor the place.

"There's definitely something going on between us," Bombay said.

Charlie frowned at that answer. It wasn't the response he was expecting. "This won't change anything between us, will it?"

Bombay could detect a slight bit of apprehension in Charlie's voice. He knew of Charlie's abandonment issues and experienced it firsthand when he first moved to California.

"I told you Charlie, I'm back because of you and the ducks," Bombay reassured him. "You guys are everything to me. Whatever happens between me and your mom is between me and your mom. I'm not going anywhere Charlie. I promise."