** MEG **

[…] She walked straight to the backyard, opened the fence and walked in the Laurences' garden. A large table was already set near the kitchen's door. There was a big gazebo covered in daisies and red roses (which were Meg's favorites) and a red carpet that led to it. White chairs were at both sides of the carpet, adorned with daisies and lilies. John was standing on a ladder as he hung a string of big, rose-shaped lights, helped by his brother and Laurie. The boys looked at her as soon as they noticed her standing there. John looked at her too and smiled, but his smile started to fade away when he saw her face. She looked serious, and worried. Even scared, he noticed.

"We need to talk, John." she just said. Laurie and Brandon looked at each other, then at John. Did she discover something about him while she was at their apartment? Was she going to call off the wedding? Or was there something more that was needed to be talked about? John went down the ladder and stood next to her, then took her hand and walked her inside the Laurences' house. Yes. They needed to talk. […]*

As soon as they got to John's old room and he closed the door behind them, Meg panicked. She knew this wasn't the same as the first time: it was different moment, a different place, and a different person, but she couldn't help it. She was about to say two words that would change everything. Two words that she had uttered 5 years ago and that had actually changed her life forever. But when she had said them all those many years before, she had been pounded, hit violently, called names (not very pretty ones), and left like a ragged doll after being thrown to the mud on a rainy day. She remembered that day vividly. The anxiety, the pain, the uncertainty.

She glanced around the room, her eyes landing on the bags on John's bed, the book he had been reading and that he had brought in case he couldn't sleep, the suit he would wear tomorrow. Everything seemed so perfect, so ready for a new beginning, and she was about to change it all with a few words.

"Is everything alright, Meg?" John's question made her snap back to reality. Meg nervously twisted her engagement ring, her eyes darting around the room as if looking for a way to escape. "Are you... Are you having second thoughts about tomorrow?" he asked gently, trying to keep his voice calm despite the anxiety gnawing at him. It was true that they had been dating for less than a year when he they had decided to get married, but he knew it in his heart that she was the only one for him, and he was sure of her feelings for him... or at least, that's what he thought.

"It's not that," she started, her voice trembling. She kept wringing her hands together, her knuckles white. "I-I... I love you, John. And I want to marry you more than anything. It's just..." She paused, her eyes welling up with tears. John reached out his hand to hold hers immediately, but Meg didn't grab it.

"Is it because of the dress? I know you and your sisters went to pick it up and everything, but when Rosie told me about it and I saw it, I just..." he started again before she cut him in.

"It's not the dress... John. The dress is beautiful." she reassured him.

"Then, what is it, Meg? whatever it is, we can manage it together." he said, softly. Meg looked down, wringing her hands together. Her mouth was dry, her palms were sweaty, and her heart was racing so fast she was sure it was going to get out of her chest any time soon. She hesitated, the fear from her past gripping her. She could barely breathe, so she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It was now or never.

She looked at him, her voice trembling. "I'm... I'm pregnant. I just found out a few hours ago."

For a moment, there was silence. John's eyes widened, and Meg's heart sank. She bit her lip, trying to hold back the sob that was threatening to escape. She looked down, unable to meet his eyes. Memories of the time she told Mark about Rose flooded her mind, the fear and the violence she had endured vivid like a horrible dream from which she had just woken up. She couldn't bear the thought of facing that kind of anger again. Then, the words tumbled out before she could stop them, tears streaming down her cheeks like a waterfall. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I know this isn't what we planned. I know this is terrible timing, and that you might be angry with me because I-I should have..." she buried her head in her hands, crying so hard it broke John's heart in million pieces. "I'm sorry," she kept repeating. "I'm so, so sorry."

John stood silent for a moment, processing her words. Why would he be angry? This was unexpected news, of course. But they were amazing. So amazing! He had been dreaming about this moment since the moment they met each other, and now... now she feared him. She thought he was angry at her for getting pregnant. And he didn't understand why. John took a step closer to her, putting his arms around her. Meg pulled her hands from his grasp, wrapping her arms around herself protectively.

"Why would I be angry, Meg? This is..." He looked at her, how vulnerable and scared she looked, how she retrieved herself thinking he would hurt her. And then it clicked. John's jaw clenched as he remembered the stories Meg had told him about her ex-boyfriend Mark, the way he had treated her. He felt a surge of anger, but it was directed entirely at the man who had hurt the woman he loved.

"Son of a b...," he muttered under his breath, but then he stopped when he saw Meg. She flinched at his tone and stepped further from him.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it." she cried desperately, misinterpreting his words and tone.

Realizing his mistake, John quickly softened his tone, moving to sit beside her on the bed. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close.

"Meg, sweetheart. It's not... I'm not angry at you. I swear! This... anger, it's not against you. I'm angry at Mark for hurting you the way he did, for making you feel this way, for ruining this moment for you. But never, never, ever at you, you understand? Never angry at you." he said, cupping her face in his hands.

Meg sobbed into his chest, the tension and fear slowly melting away. "You... you're not mad? Y-You mean it?"

He looked at her in the eye and smiled.

"I love you, so much, Meg March, and I'm thrilled about this baby." he said.

She looked up at him, her eyes shining with hope. "Really? You're really happy about this?"

John smiled, wiping her tears away with his thumb. "Yes, really. Meg, we're having a baby! We're adding a new member to our family! You have no idea how many times I've dreamed about the day you'd tell me those words."

Meg felt relief flooding through her veins. She smiled for the first time since she had seen the two pink lines on the pregnancy tests.

"I love you so much, John Brooke. I can't wait to start this new chapter with you." she said. He smiled and kissed her with so much love and passion, that all her bad memories about her first pregnancy announcement vanished and, for the first time in a long time, she was feeling hopeful and happy.

As they walked back to the garden, hand in hand, Meg felt a weight lift off her shoulders. She knew she had found a true partner in John, someone who would stand by her no matter what. And that made all the difference.

* Extract from Chapter 25 from the story "Love Meetings".