And Back Again

Chapter 20

"What?"

Angel looked at Zara with his adorably bewildered expression as she held out the test for him to see. There it was, in pink and white, a positive pregnancy test.

"I'm pregnant, Angel," she said more gently this time.

"Pregnant." He repeated, his jaw hanging open a bit. "You're pregnant. Shit. That vitamin, smoothie shit really worked?"

Zara's lips curled into a slight smile. "Could have been that or it could have been the hormones I've been taking." She saw his face twist up a bit and she knew he wanted every detail. "My periods have been messed up for a while. Couple months it's steady, then it's not, and I mentioned it. She put me on something to make me ovulate and uh, I guess it really worked."

"Z," he said with concern. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was embarrassed," she shrugged sadly. "I know you wouldn't care but I cared, I felt like I couldn't give you a baby."

Angel tenderly grabbed her, guiding her toward him and kissed her fervently. Molly and Bastian drifted away from their minds for that moment as they celebrated the news.

"I love you," he whispered.

Zara smiled. "I love you too. You're not mad? I know this is kind of a bad time."

"I'm not mad. This is what I wanted," he told her excitedly. "I can't wait to tell the guys."

"Angel, no," she said, pressing her palms against his chest. "Not yet. After what happened last time I'm terrified. I want to wait, I want to make sure everything is okay and let the baby grow before we say anything."

Nodding, Angel agreed knowing he couldn't fight her on it. The moment she told him he felt the tiny spark of fear in his heart and knew for her it was exponentially worse.

"Anything for you, mi amor," he crooned into her ear, "Both of you."

—

They returned home a little lighter but the weight of a baby would slowly start to grow and they knew that. Once Zara changed and grabbed a snack, she and Angel sat on the couch. She was leaning against the arm, her legs stretched out along the length of the cushions with her feet in his lap. Angel was, as usual, sitting slumped a bit, feet up on the coffee table.

"How'd shit go up north?"

"Lots of crying, lots of alcohol," Zara rolled her eyes, "But not bad. My mom actually spoke to me so I guess that's a step in the right direction."

"I talked to your dad," Angel told her. "He called, let me know you were okay and warned me not to get you into that shit again."

Zara just rolled her eyes. "Sorry."

Angel shrugged and pulled a face, "All good. I'll take the blame for you." He froze for a second before looking at her with concern. "Wait, how much did you drink?"

"A lot," she said honestly, "But the baby is so tiny it's okay, I won't do it again and I wouldn't have if I knew but it's fine."

Sliding to the side, Angel laid his hand on her stomach. "You scared, ya know, not even about what happened last time, just to have a baby?"

"Terrified," she admitted. "I'm not really one of those 'things happen for a reason' people but I have to be right now. Finding out right after that shit, there's gotta be a point there."

Angel nodded. "You talk to Bastian?"

"No. You?"

"No," Angel sighed heavily. "Heard Gabe is looking for his girlfriend though. He didn't put the club on it, too risky, but I heard he's flipping out."