Catharsis ; Zadison

ix

I recommend beginning the song when they make it to the park but you can listen to it while reading the chapter if you prefer that.

The next day came, and she woke up with a dark cloud hanging over her. Everywhere she went, the cloud followed, and she knew that it was her subconscious trying to guilt her out of getting the abortion, which she had spent all night researching on. She discovered that she needed to go to her doctor and talk to them about what she had planned to do, plus get an ultrasound to see how far she really was in her pregnancy. She texted Zoe and told her about the unexpected change of plans, to which she agreed to come with her nonetheless. Half an hour later, they found themselves sitting in the waiting room of the clinic, their hands intertwined tightly. She was scared, and the crying females surrounding her weren't helping to ease her nerves, and she began to doubt if this was the right decision or not.

"Hey, it's okay, I'm right here with you." She looked over at the brunette, who was attempting to give her a reassuring smile but it came out more like a grimace, and she looked down at the ugly carpet to calm herself down.

"Madison Montgomery!" She heard a voice from the door and she stood up, her hand still in the taller girl's, and they walked through the open door and into a small area where they took her weight and measured her height. The red haired nurse briefly left, only to return with three more nurses who did blood work on her and various lab tests to see if she was capable of going through with the procedure. Finally, they lead her back to the examination room, where her heart dropped into her stomach when she saw the ultrasound machine and a variety of various tools ranging in different sizes.

"Okay Miss Montgomery, please remove your jacket and lay back against the chair so we can move right along with the ultrasound and discussion that will follow. There's no need to be nervous dear, it won't hurt a bit." She wore a small smile, and she turned away from them to pull on a pair of latex gloves, the end of her braided hair whipping against the side of her face. She unbuttoned her jacket slowly and gave it to Zoe, who clutched it to her chest as she watched with careful eyes, ready to rush forward if the blonde needed any assistance. She got up on the chair and scooted so that her upper half was elevated, and she waited patiently for the nurse to begin. She turned back to the nervous teen and grabbed a bottle of a liquid and a wand, laying both on the chair next to her. She ordered her to lift her shirt and she did apprehensively, her stomach coiling when she felt the cold jelly make contact with her skin. The nurse then picked up the wand and began to move it in a circular motion on the bare skin of her stomach, trying to find the heartbeat of her baby. Her heartbeat soared as there was silence coming from the machine, until she heard the fainest little sound, her baby's heartbeat. She looked over at the monitor and she felt her stomach tighten as she saw the smallest little mass in black and white. It was small, like a blueberry, but she could tell some development had occurred, which made her heart hurt once more.

"Look at that. According to the ultrasound, you're a little over 7 weeks pregnant. That little sound that you hear that's faint? That's the heartbeat of your baby. Beautiful, isn't it?" The woman smiled at her brightly and she barely could force a smile herself, so she looked away from the monitor and at the taller girl standing on the other side of her, her hand moving her hair back away from her forehead. She offered her a sad smile, and she found it easy to let out a smile, although it was sad just like hers was. The nurse removed the wand from her stomach and she used a paper towel to wipe away any excess jelly from the ultrasound and she told her to move into a seating position, to which she obliged to.

"Now miss Montgomery, you mentioned over the phone that you would like to have a procedure to terminate the fetus, does that still stand true?" She looked at her expectantly, and Madison's mouth went dry. She wanted to say yes, to just tell her to get it over with, but she found her head shaking to the question.

"No ma'am, I don't think I want to have the procedure anymore. But I would like to talk about any other options that could be available to me." She said in a strong and clear voice, her hand moving down to cradle her stomach as she waited for the answer to her suggestion.

"Oh yes of course. Well, adoption is always a choice, I'm not sure how familiar you are with the whole process, but we'd be glad to point you in the direction of some helpful adoption centers so that you could get more information. Another option is, of course, keeping the child and raising it with the help of some organizations that are specifically dedicated to help out young and struggling teen mothers. We'd be happy to help you out with that as well. Those are really the only two options you have, as abortion is the third and that's already been ruled out." She had a quizzical expression on her face as the nurse relayed what options she had left, but she decided against both and once she had a normal checkup, she was given the okay to go home. School had long since been over, so they decided to drive up to the state park and chill out until their curfews. The drive there was silent, and her hand was itching to hold the brunette's, but she refrained from doing so until they had walked down the path and to the lone picnic table. They sat down across from one another, and the wind whistling through the trees captivated the two girls for a mere moment before they turned their attention to one another.

"Are you okay Mads? I know you're scared, but I'm with you." Her hand found her smaller one and squeezed it tightly, her eyes remaining locked on her green ones. Time stood still around them, and she felt as if she was on cloud nine as they both stood up to lean over the table, their lips brushing softly against one another.

"Zoe I-." But she cut her off when she sat down next to her, space being nonexistent between them in the moment. Their lips met once more, but there was passion it it, more than she had ever had with anyone else in her life. She cupped her face between her hands as they kissed, and the brunette wrapped her long arms around the shorter girl and pulled her closer than humanly possible, so close to the point where she had her legs wrapped around her waist to keep herself from falling backwards off of her lap. She felt her body grower warmer and warmer the longer their lips were pressed against one anothers, so she pulled away briefly to catch her breath, before her lips found hers yet again. She felt her hands on the skin of her waist and she shivered slightly, wanting to be even closer to her. When she tried to pull her shirt over her head, her arms went up to stop her and she shook her head once, moving to the edge of the picnic table.

"Firstly, we're in public so we'd surely be arrested for public indecency if we were to have sex right now. And secondly, I would like to go that far with you blondie, I really would, but I can't do that. You're in an emotionally sensitive spot right now, and I don't want you to feel like you're being pressured into this. When you're truly ready, you'll know, and I'll be there waiting for you." She pressed one more gentle kiss to the blonde's swollen lips and she stood up from the table, dusting her jeans off before offering her hand to her, which she gladly accepted. Their hands swung loosely between them on their walk back to the car, and she liked the feeling of her hand in the brunette's. She loved her, and she could only hope that she had the same love for her as well as they got into the car and drove down the road, her thoughts consuming her entirely.

A/N: Short but efficient, and the zadison kiss finally happened! I hope you all are pleased with this turn of events, and I hope to see you in the next chapter. Hope all of you are well. Vote and comment, they keep me motivated.

-Jaime