I Choose You : A New Chapter

Australian Shepard

"Remember, just be straight forward with him," Jenna told Cassie as she waited with her at the terminal, while Mark and Jordan went to go get some airport food. "It's no use keeping it from him. He's the daddy and he needs to know. Right?"

Cassie nodded and let out a shaky breath, while clutching on to the pictures that were in her front sweater pocket. They were pictures from the ultrasound she got the day after Christmas. She was twelve weeks along when she found out (now she's fourteen), so she got pregnant before the wedding. 

Good news is, everything is fine and the baby is perfectly healthy. She also found out the sex because she thought that would make her decision easier...the decision on whether to keep the baby or not. She thought if she knew the gender, it would help. 

And it did. She wants to keep her son.

"I'm just so afraid," she told Jenna. "We're struggling to keep the house and--." Jenna shushed her because she's heard these worries for two straight weeks. "Cassie," she said, "don't worry about that. This is your baby and if you want to keep him, then you keep him. You know your dad and I will help you out with whatever you need; money, baby clothes, a crib, whatever you need."

Cassie nodded and told her, "Thank you. And you won't tell him yet, right?" Jenna looked back to see Mark and Jordan walk towards them. When she turned back to Cassie, she said, "Not until you're halfway across the Atlantic."

When Mark and Jordan came back, Mark handed her a coffee. "Um...this is decaf, right?" Cassie asked. Mark laughed, but then saw his wife and daughter's expressions. "Wait," he said, "you weren't kidding? You actually wanted decaf?"

Cassie nodded, then said, "Never mind, it's fine. You can have it." Mark took it suspiciously, but drank it anyways. When Cassie's flight was being called, she hugged her family goodbye and promised to see them soon. 

The flight back to London was the longest she'd ever had. Seven straight hours of thinking how to tell Ben they were having a baby. She couldn't come up with anything! She wasn't excited enough to do something special. She kind of just wanted to get it out. When? She had no idea. 

She'll just let the moment decide. 

When the plane landed, she trudged tiredly off and made her way through Heathrow to baggage claim. She tapped her foot impatiently, wanting to just get out of here and get home already. Suddenly, she felt a pair of arms slip around her and a voice in her ear say, "I'm sorry, but I'm looking for my incredibly sexy wife."

She turned around and saw Ben smiling wide down at her. "Ben," she breathed in relief, before giving him a much needed hug. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. He pressed kisses to her head and rocked her a bit. 

"I missed you," he murmured in her ear. "Two weeks is always far too long without you." He let her go when the baggage started making their way around the carousel. When he saw her bag, he grabbed it, then hooked his arm around her waist and led her out of the airport. 

As he was driving them home, he put his hand on her leg and said, "So, I didn't make dinner because I've been working all afternoon, but we have leftovers from Thanksgiving. Sound alright to you?"

She nodded, then turned her head to gaze out the window. Ben glanced over at her and could immediately see something was wrong. "Is something still bothering you?" He gently asked. He never got a clear answer on what was bothering her, so he was just as concerned as the night she called him. 

He felt her hand slide over his and give it a squeeze. "I'll tell you when we get home," she told him. He nodded and laced their fingers together for the rest of the ride home. When they got home, he grabbed her things and carried them inside.