What Goes Around...

Part Thirty Nine

Chapter Thirty Nine

"So you appear at midday?"

Freya greedily poured a stream of hot brown liquid from the teapot into the china cup Patricia had place in front of her. Once she'd filled the cup she looked across the table to the older woman and nodded, "yes. I have to speak, five minutes that's all. I won't be questioned...though he'll be there. Simon, watching me."

Her older friend sighed, "that'll be awful, but at least then it'll be done. Hopefully you'll never set foot in a courtroom again!"

Freya nodded, "at last. I mean it could have been so much worse. I'm just grateful that no one got really hurt."

"What about your landlord? I thought he got a hit to the head."

Freya laughed, "he's got such a thick head I doubt that a cast iron bar would deny it. Nope, he's fine, all healed and back to his annoying ways."

Patricia lifted an eyebrow, "not like you."

"What?" she paused in her action of lifting the tea to her lips.

"You sound a little bitter that's all. It's not like you; you're one of the most genuine people I've ever known."

Freya laughed, "well even I can have my patience tested beyond repair."

She wasn't about to get into THAT conversation. She'd come to the Tea Shoppe to avoid that exact topic.

"He came past here you know, when you were away. Looked devastated, really lost..."

Freya leaned back in her chair and stared at the older woman, "what does that mean?"

Patricia shrugged, "I'm just saying. You look sad too."

Laughing she drank her tea for a moment, "I'm having his baby...and he thinks I've set out to trap him. Work that one out!"

The words were met with silence and when she finally had the courage to lift her eyes to Patricia's she almost laughed at the expression of shock.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have snapped like that Patricia. I'm just a bit..."

"Hormonal? To be expected. You feeling ok?" When Freya nodded she smiled, "that's going to be one beautiful baby with you two as parents."

It was sweet and accepting and non-judgemental. Just what she needed to hear. And it set off a flood of tears which Pat dealt with equally efficiency by pulling her into a hug and whispering how useless men were when it came to emotions, and in particular surprises of the baby variety. The fact that they weren't in a relationship, that she'd not mentioned him before today, Patricia was perfect, even sharing the name of a good obstetrician.

As much as she wanted to avoid going home, no amount of tea could change the fact that there was a Mitchell Cooper shaped fight to have, and she couldn't put it off much longer.

Pushing yourself to the point of exhaustion SHOULD be enough to distract you from a living hell, shouldn't it? Coop swiped his forearm across his forehead and cleared the rivers of sweat from his eyes. He hated gyms, he'd always worked out on the ice...and when he lost his ability to go back to that, he ran, roads, hills. But today he seemed to be punishing himself, by using the exercise bike and cross trainer that were stored in the small airless basement. Dying whilst still being alive seemed wholly appropriate for him given the circumstances.

He'd had no choice but to relive the last two encounters with Freya, and whilst he still couldn't contemplate her being pregnant, he couldn't begin to imagine how he'd deal with that, but it was more than that. She had never lied to him, despite the fact that he'd repeatedly accused her of that, falsely, there was no reason to think that she was lying now. He knew her, knew that. But when she was around he panicked, he almost became schizophrenic, voicing his inner irrational demons. He was a grown man, she was having his baby. He had to stand up and face the music, regardless of how much it terrified him. And it did terrify him, he couldn't open his heart, he couldn't love again, he just couldn't do it.