doppelgänger --> there's never just one {sequel}

dani

Ethan had come and gone, that meaning Dani had visited him at the recovery center he had stayed at for a few days from being bruised up and scarred. So, she was grateful that she at least got to spend a couple of hours with him before he left again to finish up his first block of time he spent away.

Now, as she sat in her room less than a week before he would come home to stay for several months, she waited again for him to pick up on FaceTime, hoping with all she had left that she could at least see him and hear his voice once more before he came back.

And he did end up picking up for her.

Right when he saw her face, he lit up, beaming, making her smile wide too.

"Hey, Dani. I can't wait to come home and see you. Well, in person I mean," he said with a small laugh. "And not just for a really short period of time, like at the recovery center."

She nodded vigorously in agreement. "Uh, yeah!"

They both laughed together, but she stifled her own so she could hear his, and it made her feel, somewhat.... refreshed, if that was the word. There were no words to describe how much she missed his laugh.

Oh, really, just....

Him.

All of him.

So they talked for a while, until he wasn't allowed to any longer (General's orders). Somehow he managed to fit it in that he loved her so much and again, that he missed her and he couldn't wait to hold her in his arms.

Dani couldn't believe how lucky she was to have found a guy that she loved more than anything else in the world, and that he felt the same way, and he constantly reminded her of it; treating her so well.

God sent the perfect kind of angel to her, and He couldn't have done it at a more perfect time.

*

Dani hadn't really thought of telling Ethan about how she'd been feeling lately because she didn't think it was anything specific; that it was pretty unimportant, but when she connected her symptoms to what it made sense it could be, she realized she should have told him, because this had to do with him completely. It had to do with him just as much as it had to do with her.

The past couple mornings, she felt sick and nauseous, and it was getting worse and more intense as the days went on. That morning, she came so close to vomiting, but didn't end up actually doing it. Also, her period was due two weeks ago, and still, there were no signs of it making a cameo anytime soon.

She was pregnant, and she knew it even before she snuck into her mother's cabinet under the sink in her parents' bathroom to take the last pregnancy test there was left in the box.

Dani couldn't believe it. How would she tell Ethan? How would she tell her parents? Or even her siblings? Her grandparents, or her friends? She didn't think it was possible to become pregnant so easily. But as her father would say, "Well, it looks like you've learned your lesson now, haven't you?"

Part of her wanted to just keep it quiet as long as possible, but she knew that wouldn't work, no matter how hard she tried to hide it.

So even as much as she feared what her parents' reaction would be, she ran downstairs to tell them. But just as she reached her father and opened her mouth to say his name, there was knocking at the front door, and without even seeing Dani there, her father cursed under his breath and made his way over to the door to see who was there.

When she heard Ethan's voice, she almost passed out. How would she tell him directly after he had just come home from something that was such a burden? He would probably be even more stressed.

Her stomach roiled, feeling like she couldn't take it anymore. But when Ethan walked in, still fully dressed in his camouflage uniform, boots and hat and all, adorned with a variety of metals and badges, she put on a smile to hide it, but also because she was so excited to see him.

Dani ran over to him, burying herself in his embrace, his arms almost crushing her; he hugged her so tight. Now she felt and saw everything differently, though -- her stomach pressed against him, knowing that soon she wouldn't be able to hug him so tightly. When they pulled apart and she saw his face, all she could think was that he would be called 'Daddy' by his own baby in just a matter of time.

"Dani," he said, holding her face in his hand, his eyes trained on hers.

Her heart sank as she thought this was it. He had noticed her thinking about it or acting differently, and it was time to tell him.

But he didn't say anything about that, much to her surprise, and to her relief and the same time. "I missed you so much," he told her, smiling and then pulling her to him again, so she was against him, her head resting on his shoulder.

Thank you, she thought.

"I missed you too, E. So much," she told him, relaxing in his arms.

She pulled away after a moment, looking him directly in the eyes and taking a deep breath.

Here goes nothing.

"Ethan, I have something super important to tell you. I'm sorry for the timing; you know, how you just got home and everything.... but it's a really big deal."

"Yeah. Okay, no problem," he said sympathetically, his expression looking worried to match his tone. He probably thought it was something with her mental issues again.

They went over to the living room, and she called her parents and Dennis, Bex, and Sadie in as well. It was better to tell them all at once, and her grandparents could come after, and then her friends. But for now, it was everyone who was at home.

She took another breath to prepare herself, wishing the shaking would subside. She decided it would be the easiest to just straight-out say it, and look somewhere else than at all of them. It was way too intimidating to look right at them, especially her father, with his resting stern expression and the way she knew he would react.

"So, I figured it's best to say this now that later.... I'm pregnant." She almost shuddered as she said the last few words, knowing that it wasn't ideal for a sixteen-year old girl to have a baby. She always expected to have kids after she was married, but here she was. It wasn't like it was an uncommon thing in her family, though.

Her father's eyes went wide, and he turned white, so much that Dani felt like any minute he would pass out. "You -- what.... how --?"

"It was when I went to the recovery home to go see Ethan -- I'm sorry, Dad, I --"

He shot up, out of the recliner in which he had already been sitting on the edge of, and stood over Ethan, his face furious. "You, I knew I could trust you with my daughter," he fumed. 

"Andy," Scout warned, setting her hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged her off.

"You knew damn well it wasn't right, but you did it anyway!" he yelled at Ethan.

"Dad!" Dani yelled, carving his attention and making him look over in her direction. "This was my fault, too, you know that! It was my choice just as much as it was his; you can't just blame it all on him!"

He looked back down at Ethan, not responding to what Dani said to him.

"Just know that what you did is not only unacceptable by me, but also not allowed according to the government. Because you're a legal adult, and she's not. You're eighteen, and she's only sixteen. You're lucky I'm not calling or telling anyone important about this," he seethed. He walked past him, his boots thumping on the hardwood, and it felt like everyone winced with every step he took. He grabbed a bottle of whiskey from the basement and took it outside, slamming the back door so hard the house shook on his was out.

Not two seconds later it opened again, and he walked into the kitchen, realizing he forgot his pack of cigarettes that were lying on the counter. He slowly opened the box, pulling one out and staring at it, seemingly deep in thought. "Well, it looks like you've learned your damn lesson now, haven't you?"