Catherine grabbed her keys and made her way hastily to the door. "I'm heading out, Matt. See you later. Bye," she said quickly.
"Hold on," Matt frowned, walking out of the bedroom. "Where are you going?"
"Out," Catherine stammered. "It's a surprise. I can't tell you."
"Alright," Matt chuckled.
Cath smiled softly and pulled him close. "Gosh, I love you."
"I love you too," Matt smiled, giving her a gentle kiss.
"I love you more," Catherine smiled. "I'll be back soon. See you later."
—————
"Hiya, Cathy," Jack grinned. "What brings you in today?"
"Hi, Jack," Cath smiled nervously, pulling out from her purse the three pregnancy tests she had taken the day before.
"Ah," Jack nodded, "you have a bun in the oven."
Catherine cringed. "Please don't say it like that, I beg you."
"Alright," Jack chuckled. "Well, let's run a blood test and see what's up."
The results of Catherine's blood test showed that she was in fact pregnant. When Jack gave her the news, she stared blankly at the floor. "I...I don't...I mean, I wanted this," she stammered.
"But?" Jack smirked.
"But Matt...we agreed to wait a year. What's he going to say?! He's going to freak out. I mean, when we were dating, even the mention of children would turn him a deathly shade of white, and...and oh god," Catherine said quickly.
Jack chuckled. "Come. I'm going to have an ultrasound done so that we can find out how many you're having," he nodded.
"W-what?" Cath said weakly.
"Twins run in your family," Jack said pointedly. "There's a chance-"
"No," Catherine moaned. "If it's twins, Matt will die."
"Well, then we'll need to know if you have to plan his funeral," Jack laughed. "Come on."
—————
"What?!"
"I'm having twins," Catherine sighed.
"Twins?" came Mari's surprised voice over the car speaker.
"Yeah. I'm driving home now," Catherine nodded. "I just d-"
Suddenly, an ear piercing scream came through the speaker of Mari's phone. "Cath?" She said worriedly. "Catherine? Catherine Collins, answer me!"
There was silence for a second and then heavy breathing. "I just got hit."
"Stay on the phone!" Mari said sternly as she grabbed her purse. "Talk to me, okay?! I'm getting Matt!"
"I...I'm on the corner of First and Main," Catherine stammered.
Mari pulled on her coat and rushed out the front door. "Are you hurt?!"
"I don't know, but my knee is killing me," Cath sighed. "I'm probably a bit bruised, but I think I'm fine."
"Do you need me to call nine one one?" Mari asked breathlessly.
"No, I will."
"Okay," Mari replied, fighting tears as she ran the two blocks to Matt and Catherine's apartment. "Matt, open up!"
Matt opened the door. "Hey, Mari. Is something wrong?" He frowned.
"Catherine was in a car accident," Mari said breathlessly.
The color drained from Matt's face. "What?" He asked weakly. "When?!"
"About ten minutes ago."
"Wha- is she- is she alright?!"
"She said she's fine," Mari nodded. "We need to get to the hospital."
Matt barely listened to her, a flood of memories paining his thoughts.
Mari grabbed his hand and the two made their way to the hospital as fast as possible.
"We're here for Catherine Collins," Mari told the nurse at the front desk.
"Ah, yes, Collins. She's in the ER. I was just heading that way, so I can take you there myself," the woman nodded. "Follow me."
Matt pushed ahead. "How is she?!"
"She injured her knee. Nothing major. She won't need surgery, but she'll need to stay off it for a couple weeks. Other than that, she's just a bit bruised."
"That's horrible," Matt whimpered.
"Not considering the circumstances," the nurse shrugged, stopping at a door. "Here we are."
"Thank you," Matt said breathlessly, pushing past her.
Another nurse was in the room talking to Catherine. "Well, congratulations," she smiled kindly.
"Thanks," Catherine chuckled.
"Catherine," Matt nearly yelped, running up to her, "I never should have let you take that stupid car alone."
"It's alright," she said softly. "I'm fine."
"Fine or fine?"
"I'm not hurt badly," Catherine shrugged.
"Are you sure?!"
Catherine nodded and grasped his hand. "Don't worry, alright?"
Matt took a deep breath. "Are you thirsty? Hungry?"
Catherine shook her head.
"Tired? Scared?" Matt asked frantically.
"I'm okay," Cath sighed, trying to sit up.
"Are you sure?"
Catherine smiled softly. "Baby, look at me. I'm alright. See? They even said that I can go home tomorrow."
"Alright," Matt sighed, feeling a bit faint. "God, I could have lost you."
"You didn't," Cath smiled, kissing him gently. "I'm right here...But I am actually a bit thirsty. Would you mind getting me some water?"
"Not at all," Matt replied quickly, going to the cafeteria to get her a bottle.
Mari approached her friend. "So," she sighed, "six weeks pregnant with twins."
"Yeah," Catherine moaned. "I can't believe it. I have no idea how I'll tell Matt."
"I wish I could help you," Mari sighed. "Hey, do you mind if I make a call really quickly?"
"Not at all," Catherine smiled. "I'm going to take a nap. Make sure Matt knows that I'm only sleeping and that I'm not dead."
"Okay," Mari chuckled, stepping out of the room to called Josh.
"Hey, Mari," Josh beamed when he picked up his phone. "Are you ready for tomorrow?"
"About that...we have to postpone. Catherine was in a car accident. She re-injured her knee and I want to wait until she's healed to go through with our plans," Mari sighed. "I think if we just push it back about two weeks, it'll be okay."
"That's fine. Is Cath alright?" Josh asked worriedly.
"She'll be fine," Mari assured. "Don't worry."
Author's Note: This chapter is dedicated to frozenfever1937. Thanks so much for your support!