[A/N: Short one this time, but didn't want to leave you hanging for too long 😁]
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She looked at her friend as if she had lost her mind for good and was getting seriously red in the face. „Are you insane? I'm not pregnant!!"
„Really? And how do you know, have you already done a test?"
„I don't need to do a test, I know I'm not pregnant! I can't be pregnant."
„And why not?"
„I broke up with him."
„Yes, like, ten days ago! But before that you've been humping each other like rabbits for months, and without using protection if I'm not mistaken. So as far as I'm concerned, you can absolutely be pregnant, and I think you are."
„No!", she shook her head heavily and got up from the table, „That's ridiculous, stop saying I'm pregnant!"
„You may not want to be right now, but that doesn't mean it can't still be true."
The other three women had to hurry to follow her into the house where Lana sat down cross-legged with her back towards them on the couch in the living room, crossing her arms in front of her chest – ignoring her open blouse and sore breast. She felt tears burning in her eyes, but she didn't want to cry. Not now! This was all a bad dream, nothing more. Bex was wrong. She must be! This couldn't be happening...
„Lana, listen to me, please!", she sat down next to her, upon which Lana demonstratively turned her head in the other direction, „I know exactly how you feel... when you were describing your symptoms earlier, I've just been there, you know? I felt exactly the same. The hormones, the emotions, the indecisiveness, feeling like a stranger in your own body... let alone the tiredness and exhaustion, the nausea and the sore, swollen breasts. What else should it be, honestly?"
„I don't know, I don't care! And I don't want to talk about it anymore."
Bex sighed and turned to the others: „Would one of you be a dear and get something from the bathroom, bottom drawer underneath the sink. You'll know it when you see it."
Antoinette nodded and was on her way.
„If that's a pregnancy test she's getting you can keep it, I'm not doing it", Lana stated briefly.
„Wether you do it or not, that won't change the result, you know. Just because you refuse to do the test... that's like Trump saying that if we want fewer COVID cases we just need to test less. It's nonsense."
Finally, Lana looked back at her friend and colleague. „So you're honestly telling me that while I was breaking up with my boyfriend, the man I love more than anything, while I was breaking his heart and my own, all because I can't give him a family anymore, I was actually already carrying his child?"
„Well, that does sound crass, but actually, yes. Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. And even more than that – those suffocating feelings you have felt which ultimately made you break up with him... those could have just been pregnancy symptoms, nothing else."
„That is utterly ridiculous! I want to go home", she got up from the couch, but Trish grabbed her arm.
„I think Bex is right", she said, „Why not do the test, mhm? At least then you'd know."
„I just... I don't even want to know!... I can't... I can't do this, this can't be happening...", she mumbled, her eyes welling up again.
„I know, honey", said Bex, gently caressing her friend's hand that she was now holding, calmly looking into her red eyes that looked back at her completely terrified, „But do you honestly think I would cause you pain like this if I didn't seriously believe that I'm right? And you know what I think? I think you know I'm right too. You know your body well enough to know something's off, don't you? I think you've felt it for a while. Maybe you even knew what was going on already, either subconsciously, or you were purposefully trying to push it away... all of which I understand! But in the end, that's no solution, is it?"
Lana sobbed and inelegantly wiped her arm over her eyes and nose. „It wasn't supposed to be this way", she whispered.
„I know... I know, honey. It sucks! But if this is what it is, then you need to know eventually! And in general, all things aside... it's happy news, no?"
By now Antoinette was back, handing her one of the pregnancy tests Bex still had left, and Lana almost jumped out of her skin when she saw it as if she was holding some massive, disgusting and venomous insect or reptile.
„Put that away, I said I'm not doing it!"
Bex sighed, she was slowly losing her patience here, and she had little enough of it as it was. „Lana, we've just been there..."
„I'm not doing it, leave me alone!"
„Could you be a responsible adult for once, please? Do the fucking test!", she pushed the test into her hand.
„YOU do the test!", Lana pouted and threw the test back at her so that it bounced off her arm and fell down on the carpet.
Now Bex had had enough. „Oh my God, stop being such a giant toddler, I'm begging you! Making Milo eat his spinach is seriously easier than arguing with you!"
„Sweetie, please", said Trish and tried the gentle, caring approach, laying a soft hand on her shoulder, repeating what she had tried to tell her before, „I know it's terrifying. But if there really, really is a little human in there, wouldn't you at least want to know? Wouldn't you owe it to yourself... and to him? Whatever happens, we can move on from there. But we can't help you, unless we know. And if you're right and it's nothing, well... then that's good to know too, right?"
Lana looked at her with puffy eyes and they were almost expecting steam to come out of her ears, at the same time she appeared so fragile, as if she was just about to break into a million pieces. Which she very likely was.
„Oh my God, FINE!", she yelled and jumped up, ripping the test out of Antoinette's hand who had just picked it up from the floor because Bex was incapable of doing so due to her round belly. „I need to pee anyway."
Demonstratively stomping her feet to show her disapproval, she disappeared in the bathroom.
The other women exchanged cautious looks, and each of them took a sigh of relief. They weren't even sure what they should be wishing for. Usually, Lana would have wanted a child no matter what, especially since her divorce and turning fourty. But now, having just broken up with the potential father... She was barely in the condition to take care of herself, let alone a baby growing inside her.
They could hear the toilet flush, and soon after Lana was back, sitting down on the couch again, pulling her knees up to her chest and hugging them, burying her face in her arms, drowning out everything and everyone. If she could just disappear... and nothing would matter anymore. Like on cue, she started feeling nauseous again.
Then, the front door opened, Marc was home, carrying a very sleepy Milo. „Hey, babe!", he said to his wife, greeting her with a kiss, „Hey Lana! Happy... birthday?"
He looked at Bex, slightly confused since the birthday girl didn't move at all and also looked as if someone had died, but she just shrugged and waved it off.
„Mommy?", Milo's tiny voice crept under Lana's skin and let her finally raise her head, looking at him with cried out eyes, starting to shake a little.
Trish put a blanket around her as Bex took her son from her husband's arms. „Awww, you're all sleepy, aren't you? Let's put you to bed, alright?", she looked at Marc and whispered, „This is not a good time... it's like, literally THE worst time."
„Got it! I'll leave you girls alone. Come on, buddy, we'll put on your Spiderman onesie, that's your favorite, isn't it?"
When the boys were gone, Antoinette checked her watch. „What time is it? Has it been five minutes?"
Trish nodded. „Definitely! Did you leave it in the bathroom?"
Suddenly, Lana shook her head and almost pressed herself into the couch, panicking. „I'm not looking! I can't! You look..."
„Are you sure?"
She nodded. „I can't do it", which was probably true since at this point she didn't even seem able to move at all, paralyzed out of sheer terror of what might be waiting for her in the bathroom, „You look... or no one looks, I don't care! But... I can't do it."
„Alright then", said Trish, „I can check if you want to..."
Suddenly, Marc was standing in the door laughing, holding up a pregnancy test. „Really, babe? What did you do the test for, I could have told you you're pregnant, you know? Why did you waste a perfectly good test, we may need it one day, or we can give it away to someone who needs it."
Lana just looked at him with big eyes and her mouth fell wide open in utter disbelief. What did he just say...?
„OH MY GOD, Marc!! I told you to leave us alone!", Bex jumped up – as fast as she could - and waddled over to him, hitting him on the arm and snatching the test out of his hands.
„Ouch!! Oh, wait... was it not..."
„JUST GET OUT!! Leave us alone for chrissake!"
Trish and Antoinette had sat down next to Lana on the couch, each to one side of her, both taking her into their arms to give her the support she needed. She herself just looked up at Bex with big eyes, crying again. „What...", she whispered hoarsely, „What does it say?"
Bex tried to smile after this disastrous accidental reveal and tried her best to save what could still be saved of this extremely special and private, life-changing moment as she carefully handed the expectant mother her test stick. „It's positive... congratulations, darling, you're pregnant."