Arranged

Change

The doctor comes back in with a small computer with the ultrasound already set up on it. I look over at Vixen sitting next to me as I lie down, waiting to see what happens.

"I'm gonna take a urine sample to test you for pregnancy, then I'll do an ultrasound, okay? So I need you to-"

"Okay." I say.

I take the little cup and I go to use the bathroom and when I'm back, he takes the sample and then he puts in a little stick and leaves it there for a minute or two.

He takes it out and shows me a pink stick.

"One line means not pregnant. Two means pregnant. Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Reed. You're having a baby!"

I start to hyperventilate. Then I cry. Not sad tears. Not angry tears. Happy tears.

Even though me and Vixen haven't been in this long, the thought of having his child makes me happy, not just because it's a baby and it's mine, but because it might change the way he looks at things, positively, hopefully. And because I know he's gonna take care of it. Of course he's never showed me that, but I just... I have a good feeling about it.

Vixen looks over at the pregnancy test while he holds my hand and I can tell he's conflicted. The doctor asks me to lie back and so I do. Vixen looks from the pregnancy test to the ultrasound screen and back to the pregnancy test as tears continue to fall from my eyes. The doctor puts some cold gel on my stomach and then takes the transducer out and moves it over my stomach.

"Well. There you go. That's the baby right there in that little sac." the doctor says. "And it looks like you're three weeks in!"

Then something catches my attention.

"Boom boom, boom boom, boom boom."

That's the heartbeat. That's the actual heartbeat.

I look over at Vixen and his eyes light up as he looks at the screen, listening to the baby's heart beat.

"That's the heartbeat?" Vixen asks, looking at me.

"Yeah. That's the heartbeat." I say, crying.

He looks over to me, looking in my eyes, a smile on his face. He looks back at the screen as the doctor prints out pictures of the ultrasound. After he finishes, he wipes the gel off my stomach and then leaves after telling us "congratulations" again. We sit there, looking at the pictures, and the whole time we sit there looking, I feel his eyes on me. I look over to him and he looks at me, a frown on his face.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"Nothing. I just... are you sure about this? We've only been together for a month, three altogether, two of which, we hated each other. Are you sure we can do this?"

I look at him, unsure. I understand, fully, where he's coming from.

"I don't really know." I say, honestly. "We fell for each other after two months and I don't know about you, but that's pretty fast. The 'I love yous' and the sex, and the kisses and all that won't mean as much now as it will if we make it far together, and I don't know what'll become of that... but all we can do is hope that the love we have for each other now can move us along later." I say, being completely open.

He looks me up and down and smiles. "I have a child on the way." he says. "I actually have a child on the way." he says again.

I smile at him. "Who would've thought? Vixen Reed of all people." I say, laughing and smiling. He smiles and my heart melts. "You should smile a lot more." I say. "It looks good on you."

"It's because of you." he says, looking over at me with his hand on my thigh.

I sigh and I get up, holding my hand out to him. "Come on." I say.

"What?" he says, scrunching up his face.

"Let's go. We have to let them know."

"Are you sure?" he asks.

"Yes, I am."

He sighs and grabs my hand, getting off the bed. "Alright. Let's go."

We walk downstairs and I hide the ultrasound pictures as we arrive in the living room where Daxine, Kayno, Zeno, and Mark are sitting.

"Hey guys." I say.

"Hey princess." Kayno says.

"What's going on?" Mark asks.

"Nothing. We just wanted to announce something." Vixen says.

"Is the wedding coming sooner?" Daxine guesses.

"No. That's plan is still intact." Vixen says back.

"So what is it?" Zeno asks.

I hold up the ultrasound pictures and everyone's eyes go wide. "No way, man." Zeno says, surprised. The boys wrestle to get to the ultrasound and they knock Vixen to the side, everyone, including him, laughing at their excitement. They analyze the pictures and they look back up at me. Daxine grabs them and drops her glass on the floor, covering her mouth in shock.

"Oh my god. I'm so happy for you two!" she says, running to hug me.

"Yes!" all the boys shout as they jump up and down, hugging me tightly and patting Vixen on the back. Kayno picks me up and puts me on his shoulder, cheering for me and Vixen and I laugh, the shower of love and affection warming my heart.

"Congrats, brother." Leo suddenly says, appearing out of nowhere. Then, all of a sudden, the room goes quiet.

I stop laughing to look over, and Finn stands in the entrance to the living room. It's the first time in days that I've seen him. Kayno puts me down and I walk over to Vixen, hiding behind him.

"I came to uh... to apologize... to you, Mrs. Reed." he says.

Where did all this respect come from? I step from Vixen's shadow and I start to walk toward him, but he puts a hand on my hip, stopping me from going any further, while shooting his father a cautious look.

"I realized my faults and I admit to the fact that the way I treated you has not been fair. You've already gone through so much, being here with Vixen and I made it harder for you to be comfortable in this household. So I apologize. To you and to my son. I'm terribly sorry, and although I've been this cruel, arrogant, and evil person my whole life, I think it's time I straighten up. Again, I'm horribly sorry for the inconvenience I've caused, and I hope you may forgive me." he says, putting his head down.

This is more than my father's ever done. The fact that he put his pride away to apologize means the world to me. I start to walk towards him again and Vixen stops me, once again. Instead, he walks up to him and looks into his eyes.

"You're serious. You'd better not be fucking with me, Finn." Vixen warns.

"Mi hijo. I'm very serious." Finn says.
[my son.]

I walk up to him and I hug him. Vixen's eyes widen in fear of him hurting me, but they soften when Finn hugs me back, tears forming in his eyes. He pulls away and smiles. "I'm so very sorry darling." he apologizes again.

"It's okay. Thank you." I say back, crying a little. "You've done something I never expected from a father, mine specifically. Thank you. For stepping up and becoming the father figure I've always needed in my life, Finn. Really. Thank you." I say.

"All's well that ends well." Mark says.

"She's made the dad cry. She surprises me every hour it seems." Zeno says, laughing.

Leo just sits on the couch, sipping a beer, a disgusted look on his face. I don't care though. Tonight's about change, in some places more than others. It's a night of celebration, so that's what we're gonna do.

Celebrate.