Regina woke up the next morning to a wave of nausea that left her feeling hot and weak. She wondered when the beautiful part of pregnancy would show up. All she had experienced so far was nothing, but a heart filled with insecurities and an empty stomach. The last thing she remembered was laying her head down for a moment after finishing a cup of tea. She had been stripped down to her camisole and boy shorts, her hair was put up into a loose lopsided ponytail. Regina laughed at Christian's failed attempt as she took down the ponytail. She gave him an 'A' for effort because he knew how much she hated to have her hair down as she slept. Walking out of the bathroom, she spotted her suitcase placed in the corner of the room.
Does this mean I can stay? She wondered as she rifled through the suitcase and found an outfit to put on before taking a shower.
*****
"Crap!" Christian exclaimed as he tossed the pot filled with burnt sausages into the sink. It was the third batch of sausages, he couldn't get his mind on the meal he was preparing. His mind was on the woman upstairs carrying his child. He had no words in his vocabulary that were efficient enough to express how he was feeling. Finally giving up on the home cooked meal, he settled for frozen hash-browns and scrambled eggs. Christian could hear Regina moving around upstairs and he thought about when he had put her to bed last night. It felt different holding her in his arms knowing that she was carrying his child and that she didn't want it.
"Something is burning." Regina said softly pulling Christian away from his thoughts. Christian looked up at her and saw her standing across from him looking very uncomfortable.
"I was trying to make some sausages." He confessed making her laugh.
"You know you have no place in the kitchen." She said as she walked around the island to him and nudged him out of the way. Christian watched silently as Regina went to work preparing breakfast and he thought about how he should learn how to cook more than just hash-browns and eggs if he was going to raise a family.
"Bon appetite," she said placing a plate full of cheesy eggs, hash-browns, and sausages before sitting across from him with only a cup of tea and two pieces of lightly buttered whole grain toast.
"Why aren't you eating?" he asked as he surveyed her plate knowing that Regina had an appetite on her.
"I am eating." She said holding up her plate of toast for emphasis.
"You usually eat more than that are you feeling alright?"
"I'm fine." She said with a shrug as she stuffed a piece of toast into her mouth as she stared blankly at him.
"You usually eat more than that." He repeated.
"You're child doesn't like breakfast apparently." She said dryly as she bit into her toast and gave him a look that dared him to say something else about it.
The doorbell rang and Christian went to answer the door, Regina could hear him talking to another man and she could tell it was something serious. Regina finished up her messily breakfast and proceeded to wash the dishes when Christian finally returned he was fully dressed.
"I have to go out," he said roughly causing Regina to look up at him and she could tell that he was upset.
"What's wrong?"
"It's nothing, just stay inside until I get back. Don't open the door for anyone." He said before walking out of the kitchen leaving Regina confused. With a sigh she finished drying off the dishes and put them away before she gave Sandra a call. The minute Regina heard her voice she let out a sigh and allowed her body to relax.
"What's wrong baby?"
"I don't know how to talk to him, he's really upset."
"I would expect so and he has every right to be. Just talk to him calmly."
"Christian and I don't know how to talk calmly to each other."
"Well then I think it's time you two learned. You made a mistake so do whatever you have to do to make it right."
"So what you're really saying is put my big girl pants on and suck it up."
"Exactly," Sandra said with a laugh. "I take it Christian's never been this upset with you."
"Mmmhm, I'm really out of my comfort zone."
"It takes a strong person to admit when they are wrong and correct their mistakes. Just take your time and get out everything you need to say. Everything will be just fine."
"I hope so."
After hanging up Regina decided to sit in the sunroom with a glass of iced tea and read a book Cookie had left behind. Halfway through the book she found herself nodding off. She didn't know how long she had been asleep but she had been awakened by Christian shouting her name. Regina jumped out of the chair, and rushed towards the front of the house and ran right into Christian. Regina looked up at him and gasped.
"What happened to your face man?" she asked as she held up her hand to touch his busted lip. "You look like you got into a fight, what happened?" Christian grabbed her wrist stopping her from touching him.
"I thought I told you to stay in the house, I've been looking all over for you"
"I did I was asleep in the sunroom. What's wrong with you? Why is your face all messed up?" she asked snatching her hand away from him.
"Get ready I'm taking you to the airport you're going home." He snapped as he grabbed her by the arm and began to pull her towards the stairs.
"I told you I'm not leaving until we talk."
"I don't want to see you, I don't want to talk to you, I don't want anything to do with you, just leave!" he yelled. Regina took a step back as his words hit her in the center of her chest. Tears filled her eyes, as her face grew hot.
"Fine," she croaked out as her voice wavered. Regina brushed passed him and rushed up the stairs.
Christian pulled as his hair as he groaned; he didn't mean to take his aggravation out on her. He knew that if he let Regina leave with the way things were he would risk losing her and his child. The stairs groaned under his weight as he slowly made his way up to Regina's room. The door was cracked open and he could see her violently packing her things into her suitcase. He pushed the door open as he stepped inside and he could see the tears glistening off her face making his heart lurch, he hated seeing her cry.
"Gina," he called out softly only for it to fall on deaf ears as Regina zipped up the suitcase, before pulling her phone charge out from the wall socket.
"Regina." He called out again and was answered by the phone charging hitting him in the shoulder.
"Don't say anything else to me, Christian," she mumbled as she pulled the suitcase off the bed by its handle. She walked up to Christian and waited for him to move out of the way.
"Move out of the way so I can leave." She said holding her head up high; ready to kick him in the appendage that started this mess. Christian pulled her into him as he caressed her face and Regina studied him as she tried to figure out what kind of game he was playing with her.
"I'm sorry," he murmured against her lips as he kissed her, his fingers threaded into her hair as he nipped at her bottom lip.
"No Christian stop," she begged as she tried to pull away from him determined not to let him cast his spell over her.
"You know I don't like that word." He said as his lips set into a frown as he pried Regina's hand away from the suitcase handle.
"You can't just talk to me like you just did and expect me to be okay with one I'm sorry." She said and Christian knew that it was true, he had to learn how to keep his emotions from ruling over him.
"Let go of me, you wanted me to leave so I'm leaving."
"You're not going anywhere. I'm sorry I shouldn't have said what I did I was just upset about something else." He said roughly.
"I don't care just let me go." She said as tears fell down her face Christian wiped her tears away as his mood softened towards her. He hated seeing her cry.
"Baby doll just talk to me," He said lifting her head so she could look him in the eyes. Regina studied him for a moment, his eyes pleaded with her to tell him everything.
"I'm sorry Christian it was wrong of me to try and make a decision for the both of us. I was angry but I was scared more than anything else. I never thought about having children because I know I will be a terrible mother."
"What do you mean? I think you would be a wonderful mother."
"How can I when I've never had a mother to show me how? My dad did the best he could but up until a few years ago, we didn't deal with emotions. I couldn't tell him about the days I just wanted to die because my own mother told me I was a useless and ugly child that would never amount to anything." She said as more hot tears cascaded down her face.
"I couldn't understand what I did to make her say something like that. You don't know how much that hurts whenever I think about it. If I came from a woman who could break her own daughter's heart then what about me, I could do the same thing."
Christian wrapped his arms around her and tried his best to comfort her, but he knew that the wounds she possessed he alone could not heal.
"You're not the same Regina. You are nothing like your mother."
"How do you know that?" she asked with a sniffle.
"Because you have a heart if you didn't you would have aborted the baby without a second thought. You wouldn't care about how our baby turns out." He said wiping her tears away.
"I'm sorry you had to go through something like that but I don't want you to ever think that you could ever be your mother. We'll figure out this whole parenting thing along the way, plus we have my mom and your step-mom, we will be fine." He said as he wrapped his arms around her. Regina buried her face into the curve of his neck as she hugged him.
"I'm not worried at all." He said as he rubbed her back and he wasn't just saying that to sedate her, he truly believed that everything would work out.
A few minutes passed before either of them spoke.
"What happened to your face and your hand?" Regina asked and Christian let out a sigh he had almost forgotten about the fight he had with one of his ranch hands.
"I got into it with one of my ranch hands, he got caught stealing some money, and when I confronted him about it he took a swing at me. I went to punch him and he dodged it, so my hand hit the wall."
"You should go to the hospital and get it checked out."
"It's not important." He said as he placed a kiss on her neck.
"What do you mean it's not important it could be broken." She said shrugging him off her.
"It's not broken, want me to show you?" he asked with a mischievous grin.
"No, I don't want you to show me I want you to go to the hospital."
"Who's the doctor in this relationship?"
"Who's the boss in this relationship?" Regina quipped back.
"Me," they both said in unison.
"I thought I cleared up this confusion a long time ago," Christian said as he leaned into Regina as she looped her arms around his neck.
"I thought so too," she said with a smirk as he hovered over her. She stroked the sharp line of his jaw and he turned, pressing a kiss to the inside of her palm.
"Do you remember the first time we made love?" Christian asked as he pulled his shirt off and Regina took in the sight of his smooth, tanned skin.
"I see someone has been working hard in the sun," she said as she trailed her finger down the center of his chest.
"Answer the question baby doll." He said as his eyes locked with hers.
"I'm not sure if I remember maybe you should refresh my memory." She said as she ran her fingers through his hair.
"Tsk, tsk how could you not remember such an important night."
"It was a long time ago my memory has gotten pretty bad." She giggled as Christian stroked the soft spot behind her ear, tickling her.
"Stop it that tickles." She said pushing his hand away.
"I get to tickle you all I want; you don't remember the first time we made love." He said running his hand along her thigh making her body jump.
"How did we get onto this topic, haven't you caused enough trouble for me?" she said trying to push him away from her. Christian pinned her hands over her head and smiled.
"To answer your question, no I haven't caused you enough trouble. Just shut up and let me love you," he said before kissing her lips. He continued to kiss her as he stretched out on the bed next to her, unwilling to separate from her for even a moment.
Christian kissed his way down her neck, gently sucking the soft skin where her throat met her collarbone as he rotated his hips in a slow, grinding rhythm hitting just the right spot. Christian pulled her shirt over her stomach before he planted kisses all over her abdomen. Regina closed her eyes as she relished in his touch, there was no doubt in her mind that she was with the right man. As much as she tried to deny it during their separation, Christian was the only man who made her feel complete.
"I have a feeling it's a girl." He said looking up at Regina as he drew little circles around her belly button.
"What makes you say that?"
"I just have a feeling." He said with a boyish grin before he kissed her again. The anger between them no longer the third member of their relationship Christian and Regina took their time showing each other how much they meant to each other. They knew that they had more things to talk about, issues to address but for now, they would let it go because in the end none of it mattered. They had found their way back to each other and neither was letting go.