Dear Mr Blind Date, Are You Mr Right? (Completed)

Pregnancy

"I will go and make you a glass of milk," Ed says softly before disappearing into my kitchen.

I start to protest but give up before lumbering towards my living room. After that...episode with Jack, Ed brought me home to rest and seeing my grotty little apartment almost choked me. It feels great to have some sense of normalcy at least. This is my haven, if you count a shoe-box apartment as an ideal place for refuge.

Suddenly, a wave of nausea comes over me and I dash to the toilet and hurl into the toilet bowl. Feeling slightly dazed, I sink down on the floor and try to keep myself from hurling my breakfast again.

"Chloe?" Ed's voice sounds out. "Where are you?"

"Over here," I croak out.

"Chloe!" Ed almost drops his glass of milk as he dashes to my side and lifts me up with his strong, steady hands. "What the hell happened?"

"I just felt like vomiting," I answer weakly as he leads me to the sofa and I try to lie down.

"Are you sick?" he asks worriedly. "Maybe you had food poisoning.....I told you not to eat that piece of rotten banana this morning."

Okay, this is one area Ed and I draw a line. He's a complete health freak. If the food's one day expired, he throws them already. I don't mind eating expired food. It's kind of how I survived through college on a few bucks per day.  

"It wasn't rotting," I protest weakly. "Besides, I don't have a stomachache. I just had this urge to vomit."

There's a beat of silence and I look up to see Ed's face scrunched up in concentration. There's a look of puzzlement on his face.

"Chloe..." he starts softly. "Are you pregnant?"

"What?" I stare at him and laugh. "Ed? Do you have a fever? We used protection all the time."

"No, we didn't," Ed answers. "Remember that one night after we had chinese takeout a few months back?"

Oh...Oh no. I remember that night. After finishing some Chinese noodles and a can of diet coke, we went on to ravish each other but his packet ran out then.....

Shit.

"No..no, it can't be." I shake my head. How can I be pregnant just from one night of non-protection? Impossible.

"Maybe it is." His face softens. "I'm ready for a baby, Chloe."

I feel a lurch of pleasure but I suppress that. In my mind, it's screaming: He wants a baby with me!

"Ed," I say tiredly. "Remember that episode with Hannah? I don't want the same thing to happen again. We need time."

"No, we don't," he says fiercely. "I have a gut feeling that this time would be different. I felt wary and scared when I heard Hannah was pregnant but I don't feel it right now. In fact, I feel hopeful." He comes over to my side and kisses me on the forehead.

"Ed..I'm...I'm confused." How did I go from a carefree girl to a mother within one day? "Maybe it's just a false alarm. Maybe I'm not pregnant," I say slightly hysterically.

"Do you not want to?" Ed's face crumples. "Is it because you realise you don't love? I understand how you feel, Chloe. I felt the same way with Hannah. Just tell me and I will g-"

I silence him with a kiss on the lips. "Don't worry, Ed. I love you. How could I not after all this time? I'm just...not sure that I'm ready for motherhood right now," I murmur.

"You will make the best mother and wife," Ed says earnestly. I can see the warmth and love in his eyes but...what if I can't? What if Hannah's right and that I don't deserve Ed?

I cough awkwardly and turn away. I still can't make out my relationship with Ed. It's pretty complicated and at the same time, I wonder: Am I ready to live out the rest of my life with him?

To my disappointment, he murmurs, "I need to head back to my office right now, see you tonight." He kisses me on the forehead, gazes at me for a moment and stands up.

As he walks out of the door, I stare at my stomach. Is there really a living being in there? But all of a sudden, I feel a wave of love for this little guy. Whoever he, or she is, both Ed and me made him. This baby will be a symbol of our love.

And just for a second, I feel like a mum already.