When they eventually make it back to the house - four hours later than planned, due to a diversion on the highway because of the snow - Conrad is relieved.
Driving isn't her favourite thing to do, even when it's in good conditions, and snow and ice make her heart go cold. She prefers to be a passenger, unless the weather is bad, then she prefers to be not driving at all.
"Straight to bed. I think we've both had a long day," Carlos laughs uneasily, rubbing his eyes.
"I agree with that," she sighs, looking at her watch.
It's 11 pm, and they both have work in the morning, which propels her out of the car at the thought of it.
"Take it easy," Carlos frowns, hurrying around to her side to give her a hand.
"I can get out of a car myself," she raises an eyebrow, walking towards the front door with her bag in hand.
"I know that, but I want to be helpful," he mumbles, unlocking the front door.
There are tiny battery-powered candles lining the hallway, and Carlos avoids her eyes as they walk in.
"Glad to see you weren't joking," she decides to say after a minute, walking towards the living room.
It's become her dumping ground for her bags, especially when they get in later than usual.
"Surprise!" Charlotte screeches, bouncing to her feet excitedly.
She was sitting in the dark, and Conrad has such a fright at the loud noise and sudden movement that she screams.
Carlos sprints into the room, his wolf taking over immediately.
He shifts as soon as he gets to the room, snarling at Charlotte, who looks terrified.
"It's just Charlotte," Conrad breathes after a minute, her heart racing.
"Yeah, it's just me. Your parents are on the way with Marcy; they'll be here tomorrow," Charlotte announces, taking Conrad's bag from her.
"Why are they coming? Why are you here?" Conrad asks, her tone coming out ruder than intended.
Charlotte stares at her for a moment with a frown, shaking her head.
"You may have been in the hospital all day, but I'm not afraid to shake sense into you," she says pointedly, waving her finger around.
As soon as she speaks, Carlos is growling quietly, standing in between Conrad and Charlotte.
"Why are you here?" Conrad asks again, her face set in a hard scowl.
"Carlos called me up here to surprise you. For a surprise," she says carefully, looking around the room, which is covered in lights and petals and confetti.
"I know about the surprise. He was going to propose. Why are you still here?" She asks, and Charlotte stares at her.
"Seriously, Con, stop being a bitch. I'm here because you're my best friend and you were in the hospital. I'll talk to you in the morning," Charlotte scowls, storming past her and walking up the stairs.
Carlos shifts back as soon as Charlotte is out of view, a frown on his face.
"Con, you were pretty rude to her," he points out, picking up the scraps of clothes on the floor.
"Carlos, why was she here? Why didn't she go home?" She asks, folding her arms.
"Because she loves you and was worried. I wouldn't let her go with me because I didn't know what was wrong, and I would have torn her to shreds on the three-hour drive. She wouldn't stop talking, and my wolf doesn't like talking when he's worried," Carlos explains, looking somewhat irritated.
Conrad stays quiet, walking into the kitchen to grab a snack. Her stomach is rumbling, and she doesn't want to be hungry all night.
As soon as she sinks her teeth into the roll of bread from the cupboard, she feels her eyes fill with tears.
Nothing feels real to her, and she feels entirely out of touch with reality.
"Connie, what's wrong? Please talk to me," Carlos pleads, turning her to face him.
"I want Charlotte," Conrad whispers, wiggling out of his hold as she trails down the hallway.
Carlos watches her walk away, shaking his head.
He scoops his hair into a ponytail, the little curls around his hairline looking like horns as he notices himself in the glass of the window.
Conrad walks up the stairs in the dark, her hands feeling for the rail.
Her tears begin to fall as she knocks on the door Charlotte is behind before she walks in, bread roll in hand.
"I'm sorry," she whispers, and Charlotte sighs.
"It's fine. What's wrong with you?" She asks, sitting on the bed and opening her arms.
Conrad puts the bread on the top of the chest of drawers, crawling into bed with Charlotte.
"I'm pregnant," she mumbles, and Charlotte sits up so fast that Conrad topples off her knee.
"I know," Conrad sighs, leaning against the wall behind her.
"You! Pregnant? Sorry, excuse me, what?!" Charlotte exclaims, getting up and pacing.
"I know," Conrad repeats.
"Are you okay? Shit, this isn't what you needed this week," Charlotte groans, sitting back down and resting her head in her hands.
"I don't know. It doesn't feel real. You know better than anyone that I don't want a baby yet, no matter who it's with. I'm so scared," Conrad frowns, shaking her head.
"With all of Carlos'... drama, I'd be afraid to bring a kid into his extended family," Charlotte points out with a frown.
"How do you know about that?" Conrad demands, sitting up.
"He told me about it when I was helping him get ready. I can't believe his mum was a mistress. I also can't believe she tried to steal his dad from his mate," Charlotte comments, reaching for the bread Conrad put down.
"Oh, is that all he told you?" Conrad pries, biting her lip.
"No, he mentioned the neglect stuff, too. And the abuse. And the alcoholism from his mother. It was a very interesting morning," Charlotte adds, shrugging her shoulders.
Charlotte gets off the bed reluctantly, swiping the bread from the drawers and eating it.
"Hey, that's my bread," Conrad blurts out, grabbing at it.
Charlotte holds it just out of her reach, smirking, "not anymore. You snooze, you lose."
"I'm the pregnant one!" Conrad exclaims, climbing across Charlotte to grab it.
"Low blow! I don't care; go be pregnant somewhere else," Charlotte grins, mockingly biting into it.
She breaks it in half and hands Conrad the untouched side, rolling her eyes.
"You're the best, and I love you," Conrad beams, munching away.
"But yeah, your lovely partner told me all about how his mother tried to steal Sabrina when she was a baby. I wouldn't want my baby to be exposed to that level of crazy," Charlotte commentates, swinging her legs.
Conrad shoots her a look.
"I'm sorry, but it's the truth. She sounds completely bat shit, and that's coming from me, the daughter of Crazy Callie," Charlotte shrugs.
Charlotte's mother had lost her mate in a rogue attack when Charlotte was young and had slowly devolved into insanity. Charlotte was practically raised in Conrad's house because of it.
"Well, Carlos is pretty normal," Conrad weakly points out.
"Yeah, after way too much therapy. He's a good guy Connie, but I don't know if he'd be the type of guy you have your first kid with," Charlotte says hesitantly, observing Conrad's face.
Usually, Conrad would leap to the defence of anyone being given out to, but she seems pretty blank.
That doesn't sit well with Charlotte, so she leans forward, prodding her shoulder.
"Connie, why do you look like you do?" Charlotte asks childishly, hoping it might make Conrad scowl or laugh.
"I'm just thinking. I don't want you to be right, because he's an amazing dad already. But neither of us are ready for a baby together; we've only been dating a few months again," Conrad sighs, rubbing her forehead.
"Well, maybe the Goddess thinks differently. You know she does everything for a reason. She put you with Atlas so you could break up, come here, find Carlos, and get this job. Nothing is done for no lessons," Charlotte shrugs.
"You've always just blindly trusted the Goddess. Maybe she's wrong about it this time," Conrad murmurs, and Charlotte turns to her sharply.
"Conrad, what the hell do you think you're going to do?" She asks harshly, her brows pulled into a scowl as she gazes at her best friend.
"I don't know. I'm going to go to the doctor and see what I can do," Conrad sighs.
"No, Conrad. You can't think like that, I love you, and I support you, but you'd regret it forever. You know you would; please don't do it without thinking about it," Charlotte pleads desperately, grabbing Conrad's hand.
Conrad pulls away from her with a matching scowl.
"Don't you think I have thought about it? I can't have a child right now; it would make me more of a target. I've already been kidnapped just for associating with Carlos. What would they do if they found out I was having his child?" Conrad hisses, running her hand through her hair.
You need to wash your hair, Jane comments irritably.
Her wolf has been largely silent since they found out, because she just doesn't know what to say, something Conrad understands.
"You won't start showing for at least like four months. In that four months, you can sort everything out. You can find out who's trying to kill Carlos, and you can find who kidnapped you. I know you can; you just need to try and have some faith," Charlotte begs, standing up.
"Charlotte, please don't preach to me right now. I'll see you in the morning, but I can't have this conversation right now," she whispers, walking out of the bedroom.
Carlos is waiting in their bedroom for her, a frown on his face.
"What was all that about?" He asks in concern, already in his pyjamas.
"Just an argument. Goodnight," Conrad mutters, slipping into one of his jumpers after stripping off in the corner.
"Conrad, please turn around," he sighs.
"Carlos, I'm not like you. I can't just suddenly be happy about news that will change my life," she mumbles, her arms folded and her body curled up.
"You don't have to be happy straight away. We know we have all of the options out there. I'm just happy you're okay," Carlos murmurs to her, kissing her shoulder.
"It just isn't what I planned," she whispers.
"I know. We didn't plan it, but we can do something about it. We can make the best of it, no matter what. I love you, and will continue to love you no matter what happens. I will make sure nobody can hurt our family," he declares, his voice rising a little.
"Thank you," she mumbles, closing her eyes.
Carlos rolls over, biting his lip.
His stomach is in knots, and he feels sick at the mere thought of a baby.
He wasn't allowed to be involved in Lauren's pregnancy; he wasn't even the first person she told.
He slides out of bed once Conrad's breathing becomes even, telling him she's fallen asleep.
Carlos tiptoes down the stairs, his wolf completely mute.
He usually has something to say about everything, but he's been entirely emotionless the entire afternoon. Carlos knows he's been extra energetic and forced himself to be excited to compensate for his silent wolf.
"I take it you're as shocked as she is," Charlotte comments from the corner of the kitchen, looking up at him as he walks in.
"I would say I'm more shocked, but I don't think that's possible," he sighs, leaning against the wall after closing the door.
Charlotte looks up at the ceiling, and then back at him.
"I think she wants to kill it," she mutters, her eyes red.
"Char, if she wants to, that's her choice. We should support her either way," he frowns, walking over to sit beside her.
She offers him her glass, which he now realises is whiskey by the scent coming from it. He shakes his head, scrunching his nose up.
"Oh, alcoholism, I forgot," she mumbles, putting the glass on her other side.
"She's always wanted to be a mom. She'd be a brilliant one; you should see the way she takes the kids at home under her wing. They love her, she gets so many Christmas and birthday presents each year from them," Charlotte muses, staring at her glass.
"I've heard. Her mum asked about Sabrina, telling me how much Conrad talked about her last week when she did well on her exams. I was given a list of well-wishes to pass on," he chuckles, folding his arms as he slumps in his chair.
"I don't know how you two do it," Charlotte hesitates, pursing her lips for a moment.
"Do what?" He asks, looking over to her.
"Like each other. I barely speak to Matt, and I don't think I want to," she whispers, chewing on her lip.
He raises an eyebrow, hoping she'll continue. While he's very in touch with his own emotions, the emotions of his girlfriend's best friend are some he doesn't know how to navigate.
"I need to go to sleep. I'll figure it out. I'm sure there's a way to fix it," Charlotte mutters, downing the rest of the brown liquid.
She gets up, putting the glass into the sink while mumbling to herself under her breath.
Carlos watches her carefully, his brows furrowed.
He makes a mental note to bring this up with Conrad - maybe after tomorrow, which he predicts to be a stressful day.
"Goodnight," Charlotte hisses to him, sneaking out of the room.
"Night," he calls after her, staring at the door as she closes it.
Two in a row, a thank you for more of you voting!
I edited this on my kitchen floor.
Stay well!
- Aoife :) xx