That fucking bitch! How could she do that?!" Patricia said in an angry tone.
"I mean, that's... But then again, he should have thought that his lifestyle would create some fucked up women. That is... Damn it, you really seem to have bad luck these days."
A knock at the door interrupts my story. I was at the end anyways.
Samuel walks in, "There are some photographers waiting for us... They want to take pictures of the whole family. You guys are missing. The most important part." he said grinning.
"Oh if only you knew how important those parts are." she says looking at me.
I blush and hit her slightly, "Just give us one more second. We'll be right there, okay?"
He nodded, "A minute not more. Or Richard is going to get you guys out of here and he won't be so sweet..." he says before he closes the door from outside again.
"Not a word, Patty. To no one. Everything I told you in this house won't leave it, alright?"
She nodded at me, "I promise."
"Good."
"But a Faulkerson baby! Ah! This is so amazing!" she says hugging me again.
"Keep your mouth shut, best friend." I say before I open my door.
"I won't say a word..." she says grinning as we walk out of the house.
The party is still going like there's no tomorrow. As we make our way through the crowd, we pass several rich people. Surgeons, lawyers, designers, musicians, politicians... Socialiates. You name it, and this person is here. Everyone worth knowing is at the party. Everyone who has any power in the world is at the party. Really everyone.
"Finally!" Valerie said as we reached the Faullerson/Sloane/Grey family. "We've waited an eternity for you two! What have you been doing there for two hours?!"
Two hours? We must have lost track of time. "I haven't seen my best friend for exactly seven weeks, so excuse me Valerie if we needed to catch up." Patricia hisses at her, rolling her eyes.
Valerie shuts her mouth right away.
Yeah, that's the Patricia I know. I grin as I walk over to Richard.
"You told her?" he asks me in a whisper.
"Of course I did." I say back and smile as I see Mark and Meredith. They seem in love. Or at least they act very well. How can Meredith betray Mark? They seem so perfect for each other. "Promise me you will never betray me."
"How-"
"Say it."
"I will never betray you." he promises me.
"Good." I say and see all the photographers making it's way over to us.
"Doctor Grey, could we take a picture of you and the family?"
"Of course." the doctor says smiling. "Let's get all together, guys." she says grinning. Yeah, a mother who is really proud of her family.
We all get together and smile into the flashing lights. If only they knew that they really would get a family picture. A picture of two families actually. The Faulkerson/Sloane/Grey family and the Faulkerson/Mendoza family. Gosh, they will freak out when we tell them!
"Thank you. And congratulations Mr. Faulkerson and Miss Mendoza on the engagement."
"Thank you." we both say at the same time.
As soon as the word engagement leaves the photographer's mouth, all eyes turn to us. About twenty photographers stormed over to us within a second, all wanting to take a picture of the new it-couple of New Yorker's society.
We smile into the camera and are suddenly in the spotlight. Something we both hate. All these flashlights are making me feel sick. Really sick.
After the 100th picture Richard looks at me, his worried eyes seem to look right into my soul. "Alright gentlemen, I think you have your pictures. It would be nice if my fiancé and I would get some privacy for the rest of the evening." he says to the photographers in a stiff voice.
He's no one to joke with. And they seem to know it, since all the photographers walk away nodding. "Are you okay?" he asks me in a whisper tone.
I shake my head, "All these flashlights gave me a headache. Not a strong one, but yet..." I say truthfully.
"You want me to get Addison?"
I raise an eyebrow at him, "Addison is here?"
"Of course she is. She's the best gynecologist in the States." he explains. "Everyone worth knowing is at this party. So, shall I?"
"No. Let's just... I don't know if I should go for a walk or something. I just need some fresh air." I say into his eyes.
"Okay..." he says nodding before he takes my hand and leads me out of the tent. Now they really stare at us. Every single person at this party stares at us. God, how much I hate those parties!
As soon as we're out of the tent, I take a deep breath in. "God, have you noticed how horrible some perfumes were?! Doesn't any of these women have style?!" I say causing him to laugh.
"Darling, your hormones are just messing with you." he says to me as we start walking around.
"Oh you have no idea." I say smiling as we reach the boathouse.
"Miss Mendoza, are you real-" I shut him off with a soft kiss.
"I prefer future Mrs. Faulkerson." I correct him smiling as I open the door of the pool house and grab his tie to pull him into the house.
My lips find his again as my hand locks the front door of the poolhouse. His hand touches my cheek as he returns my kiss passionately. Our tongues start to battle with each other as he picks me up.
"I should have knocked you up earlier, future Mrs. Faulkerson." he says grinning as he walks with me in his arms in the direction of the bedroom.
I return his grin and stare into his bright blue eyes. I will never get sick of those eyes and it's intensity. How can anyone have such beautiful eyes?
"You're doing it again." he remarks as he places me on the edge of the soft king size bed.
"I'm doing what?" I ask him, confused.
He placed his long skinny fingers with mine, "You're staring right into my soul."
A soft smile reaches my lips. "If only I could read your eyes... Then I might be able to look right into your soul." I say and sigh, "Your eyes are like a shield. A shield which protects every single shade of you."
"You know every single shade of me - the bad ones and the good ones."
"And I love them all." I say and kiss him softly.
"I love you, too Maine. Every single day. twenty four hours a day since I met you." he whispers into my ear.
Aw! I feel the tears forming in my eyes right away. "And now you ruined the amazing sex I had in mind with you." I say with watery eyes to him.
He smiles softly at me before he puts a strand of hair behind my ear, "That's only half-bad."
"If you keep on being so understandable, I'll be crying within a second." I say to him, feeling the tears forming in my eyes again.
"Okay, come here." he says, pulling me into a hug.
"I hate you right now. I just wanted plain amazing sex with you. And you? You turn it into a love confession which is so good that it makes me cry!"
He chuckles, "Your hormones are really messing with you, Maine."
"I know."
"And I love it."
I pull myself out of his embrace, "Love it?! How can you love it! I have absolutely no control of my body! And you... Does it amuse you in some kind of way? Am I a freak show now?!" I almost yell at him.
"Maine, relax..."
"Don't tell me what to do! You might have a doctor's degree in psychology but that doesn't give you the right to freaking analyse me!" I hiss at him.
He is silent. "Maine..."
"Don't Maine me!" I said, rising up from the bed.
"Wait..." he says in a soft voice as I make my way out of the bedroom.
"What?" I ask him, turning around.
"I just meant... It's the baby's way of communicating with me. I mean, it can't kick or anything so I-"
"Communicating?! You want to know how it communicates with me?! By making me vomit every single day! Oh and giving mood swings!" I yell at him. "Something I could have missed in this pregnancy. Next thing you know I-" I stop as I feel my stomach turning around. No, not again!
With my hand covering my mouth, I run into the bathroom and vomit into the toilet. Stupid vomiting. I'm already so sick of it. So freaking sick of vomiting...
"See? You shouldn't argue with me - the baby agrees." he says as I wash my mouth.
"Oh shut up!" I say grinning as I see him in the mirror. "And I should have picked the Chanel dress." I say as I look at my reflection. The dark blue Chanel dress would have been a better choice - along with the black Louboutins. They're more comfortable than Jimmy Choo's.
His arms around my waist interrupt my thoughts. "You look beautiful no matter what you wear."
"I will get swollen feet, do you know that?" I say, resting my back against his strong body.
"Beautiful swollen feet."
"That's not the point. I won't fit into my shoes anymore."
"I'll buy you new ones."
"That's not the point either. I'm going to have to wear those ugly sandals..."
"I'll make sure you get beautiful sandals."
"Not the point, Richard."
He raises an eyebrow at me, "What's the point then?"
"The point is that I am pregnant. That my body will change. I will get fat and swollen feet." I say to him, "And I will get enormous boobs."
"Something I can deal with..." he whispers into my ear before he starts kissing my neck.
"Still not the point!" I hiss at him.
He sighs before he turns me around, "Yes, your body will undergo some changes. Some beautiful ones and some not so beautiful - but no matter how much you change, I will love you anyways. Just like our baby will love you as soon as it has been born."
"I still can't believe that I am really pregnant, Richard. This feels all so surreal."
"You should better get used to it." he says into my eyes, "Because I can't wait until we're a family."
"We need to get married first." I say, lacing my left hand with his. The engagement ring sparkles back at me. It's such a huge diamond!
"On the fifteenth." he says into my eyes.
"March fifteenth?" I ask him, surprised. When did we set a date?
He nodded, "It's the perfect date. Your family is free and mine is as well."
"How do you know?"
"You were two hours in this pool house with Patricia. While you girls talked, I did some talking as well." he explains and I pull myself out of his hug.
"You informed my parents?" I ask him, surprised.
"Well, I asked for your mother's blessing and Ray's of course... They kind of already knew."
"But you... You called them?"
"I... Yes."
"I should have done that!" I yell at him. "This should have been my job! I should have told them! Informed them!"
"Maine, calm down..."
"No!" I yell at him. "I can't believe you told them!"
"Maine, try to lower your stress level please."
"Lower my stress level?! You're the one who's causing this stress!" I hiss at him and brush through my locks. Out of the sudden everything starts to spin around. Oh, this isn't good. I grab his arm right away, in order to stand straight.
"What's wrong?" his worried voice reaches my ears in echos.
"I... I don't know." I say, taking deep breaths to calm down.
"Sit down." he orders as he places a chair next to me. Where did he get this chair?
I sit down and continue taking deep breaths.
He knees down in front of me, "Do you want a glass of water?"
"No, I am fine... It's getting better." I say and look into his scared eyes. "I am okay."
"Are you sure?"
I nodded as everything started to 'normalize' again. "Yes. I am okay." I say and smile softly at him. "You're right. We shouldn't fight. Our child doesn't like when we fight."
He returns my smile, "No more fights."
"No more fights, Mr. Faulkerson." I agree with him grinning. Then my stomach turns around once more. I ran quickly back to the marble toilet and vomit...and vomit...and vomit.
While I am emptying my stomach, Richard is holding back my hair.
"Maine, this isn't normal. You haven't vomited so much in the last weeks. Maybe we should get you into the hospital." he suggests as I cool my face with water.
"You want to put me into the hospital on New Year's Eve?!" I raise an eyebrow at him.
"If this-"
"No!" I say to him, turning around so I can face him. Oh, he's having two heads again... "Chair..." I mumble as I hold onto the sink.
"What?"
"Chair!" I say in a louder voice.
"Oh right... Sit down." he says before I sit down on the chair.
I take deep breaths, trying to calm down. Trying to breath away the dizziness.
"Maine..." he starts in a soft voice.
"Oh, not again!" I say as I feel my stomach turning around again before I start vomiting again.
After minutes, I'm not only feeling dizzy - no my stomach is empty as well. At least, I hope.
"I'll go get Addison." he says to me as I am, once again, seated on the chair.
"Wait, what?" I ask him as he's walking out of the bathroom. I rise from the chair and follow him. "Addison's here?"
"Of course she is. Everyone worth knowing is here." he says in a calm voice before he turns around. "Sit down." he says pointing at the armchair in the living room.
"But I-"
"No. I will get Addison and if she can't help you, then I am sorry Maine but we will be spending New Year's Eve in the hospital. You have no say in this."
I have no what?! "WHAT?! I have no say in this?! What the hell do you think-"
He raises his hand, causing me to stop talking. "Sit down and wait. Don't you dare get your stress level up again, Ms. Mendoza."
"But I-"
"Sit and wait. I'll be back." he says before he leaves me.
"I actually do have a say in this as well, Mr. Faulkerson!" I yell at the closed door. He's unbelievable! How could he say something like this! And then he tops it by calling me Miss Mendoza!
But he is right. Whatever I am going through right now, is not normal. That kind of vomiting is not normal. This dizziness is not normal. This headache is not normal. Feeling so sick is not normal. God, why does this pregnancy have to be so hard?!
Maybe because it's a Faulkerson baby. Maybe every mother of a Faulkerson baby had a hard pregnancy. Too bad Lilly's dead - I could have asked her then.
The doors open again and Richard walks in. Behind him is Addison, wearing a beautiful dark blue floor length dress. A dress from Dior.
"Maine," she breathes out, smiling sadly.
"Do I look so bad?"
She shrugs, "A little pale maybe. How are you feeling?"
"I feel dizzy and my fingertips feel a little numb. Plus, I feel sick and I have a headache. I feel like I could start vomiting right away... All together, everything but fine."
She nodded and smiled sadly at me. "Maine, we-"
"Oh please don't. It's New Year's Eve."
"I'm sorry, but I think we should get you to the hospital. You have hyperemesis gravidarum. And it could get a lot worse. Which we don't want."
"But I..." I stop as I feel my stomach turning around again. I get up and run into the bathroom to vomit into the toilet. God, when will this stop?!
"Fine." I agree as I walk back into the living room. "But I don't want to make a huge scene out of it..."
"Of course."
"I'll drive." Richard said. The first time. What made him so silent? "The car is already waiting behind the house."
Again, I wonder what was he is thinking? "Okay..." I said, sighing.
The next time I wake up into silence. There's a lamp shining in the back of the hospital bed. It's a nice room. A room with dark wooded elements on the wall. A room for the high society, if they would ever get sick. Guess now I'm a part of it as well - of the high society. What a year could do...
That's when I noticed his sleeping head rested on my stomach. He's holding my right hand, sleeping on me. I have no idea how long I have been sleeping. How long I have been here. How long he has been worrying like crazy about me... Us.
I smile softly and notice that I'm connected to several infusions via my left hand. I look at them and now right away what it is. Saltine solution for my fluid balance. Vitamins to keep me nourished.
Good, that doesn't seem so bad. My eyes move back to the sleeping head and I raise my left hand to brush through his chestnut brown hair. Gosh, he even looks sexy when he's sleeping face down on me. Only a Faulkerson is able to do that. Able to look so sexy.
I wonder if our child will have the same abilities. If it will, then it would have less problems than others...
He shivers before he raises his head from my stomach. I still feel his weight on me as he stares surprised in my brown orbs.
"Good morning sleepy head." I say smiling softly.
"Maine..." he breathes out before he hugs me softly. Oh, did I worry him too much again?
"How are you?"
I shrugg, "I still feel sick. The headache is gone. The numbness as well."
He nodded, "Good. That's at least an improvement."
"A tiny one, but yet."
"You want to drink something?"
I shake my head.
"Are you hungry?"
I nodd, "But I doubt, I can keep anything in my stomach." I say, feeling the sickness reaching a whole new level. God, this is insane!
"What do you want?"
"Chicken soup." I say smiling as he already gets out his cellphone. "What time is it?"
"11:30." he says, texting someone. Is it Mrs. Santos?
"That means it's not the new year yet."
He nodded, "It'll be here in twenty minutes."
"I could just get something out of-"
"The cafeteria's meals are awful. Trust me, I tried them once and never again."
I smile softly at him, "Okay."
"Good."
"How long have I been sleeping?"
"You fell asleep in the car when I drove you to the hospital which was three hours ago."
"At least I didn't oversleep on New Year's Eve. Have you told anyone that I am here?"
"Patricia of course. And Patricia only. She told my parents some lies to keep them from looking for us. So you have nothing to worry about."
"When will I be able to leave?"
He sighs before he brushes through his chestnut brown hair, "Whenever the strong nausea is gone."
As if our little horserace heard him, my stomach turns around and I start to choke. I quickly ran into the bathroom and vomited into the marble toilet - who knew that hospitals also have marble toilets?!
"That won't be any soon." I say to my reflection as I cool my face. I sigh, no the chicken soup probably is not going to be eaten by me today...
"Text whoever you just texted and cancel the chicken soup. I doubt I'll be able to eat it tonight. Sadly." I add as I walk back to the bed.
He smiles sadly at me before he hugs me softly. God, his aftershave is horrible! "If only I could take this nausea from you..."
"Guess it's a thing between me and your child. And don't you worry little horserace, I will not forget. We'll be having a discussion once you're born, my dear."
He chuckles, "God, I love you so much Maine."
"I love you, too." I say, returning his smile. Suddenly there are fireworks outside of the house. They look so amazing! Blue, red, green, yellow and purple fireworks are coating the sky in bright lights. My eyes move over to the watch. It's midnight.
"Happy new year." I say and smile.
"Happy new year, my love." he says before he kisses me.
"I'm sorry for starting the new year in a hospital and not with your family."
"I am starting the new year with my family. With the most important family members." he says smiling.