The Stacks

Chapter 44: Baby, It's Time

Song: "Unborn Heart" by Dan Hill (spoiler!)

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"What?" Harry asked in a hoarse voice and literally fell back onto his bum, his legs splayed out in front of him, as if I physically pushed him.

"I'm sorry," I said, now fighting real tears. I had no idea if he was going to be upset or pissed or just as shocked as I was. "I'm usually very careful to follow my body's signs. It's just...that night we were both kind of swept up in our apologies. I shouldn't have been so careless."

"So you are saying what I think you're saying," he gasped, shaking his head slowly.

"I'm sorry," I repeated and a tear slipped down my cheek. "It was all my fault."

He suddenly looked at me and his expression changed. "Don't cry, sweetie. Don't cry." He got on his knees and hugged me.

"So you're not mad?"

"Mad? How could I possibly be mad about a baby? That's what you mean, isn't it?" He looked at me now with clear excitement written across his face.

I nodded while still trying not to cry. "With everything else going on, I didn't even think about it until just now. I think I'm pregnant."

His hug almost crushed me as he buried his face into my neck. "Oh my god, Regan. Holy shit." I chuckled at his little swear word. Then he grabbed my cheeks and kissed my lips soundly. "I could never be mad about something like this. First of all, it's just as much my responsibility as it is yours, so it wasn't your mistake. And it wasn't even a mistake at all, just unexpected."

"I don't know for sure." No matter what I did, I couldn't get my voice to stop trembling. "I guess we'll have to stop by a drug store on the way home."

He nodded with a smile as wide as this massive house. "Let's go then." He held out his hand to me and I stood and followed him to the master bedroom. He put out the fire while I shakily gathered up our mess.

We arrived back at the loft, pregnancy test in hand, both of us smiling and jittery and nervous, yet unabashedly excited at the same time.

Harry stood there wearing a goofy smile while I went into the bathroom and shut the door behind me. I decided to brush my teeth first to wash away the lingering taste of vomit. Then I made sure I was doing exactly everything just right before I took the test.

I went rushing out of the bathroom and buried my face in Harry's chest. "I can't look. I'm too nervous," I told him.

"Let's look together."

"It needs three minutes. Set the timer on your watch."

Harry did as I asked and we waited for what seemed like an eternity until the high-pitched beep signaled that it was time.

"What are we looking for?" He asked as we stepped in.

I picked up the test and saw a plus sign. "This," I said, choking on a sob. "Plus means I'm pregnant."

Harry had never held me as tightly as he did in that moment, sobbing along with me and for the first time since I'd known him, they were completely happy tears. Somehow we wandered into the living where Harry sat us both down on the couch. The look on his face was indescribably peaceful, which was exactly what I needed because I was freaking out just a little. He kept stroking my hair and kissing all over my face. Finally, he asked, "Are you okay?"

I hesitantly nodded and then leaned into his embrace. "Yeah, I think so. I just...wow. It's going to take some getting used to." I took a deep breath and let it slip slowly out of my mouth. "What do we do now?" I asked.