Little Ones [A Vikklan, Poofless and Merome Fanfiction]

↞Chapter 4↠

Lachlan's P.O.V.

I was so glad that Vikk didn't decide to press me, leaving it up to me to tell him when I was ready. And Lord, I was not ready. Vikk's talking, stories and laughter kept my mind off it for a couple of hours but the second he was gone it was back again, weighing on my chest, choking me. I felt I could barely breathe, I was barely keeping my head above the water. And it was all because of one moment.

My girlfriend and I had been together for maybe a year and a half now and because of work, both mine and hers, we were only just getting settled in our relationship. I hadn't been entirely sure if she was the one, the one, but I was giving it time to work out if I really would be content here. I did love her, we got along well and fit like puzzle pieces, it was just there was so much in the way of us right then, namely work. Being a YouTuber came with an awful schedule and travelling all the time so I found there wasn't a lot of time to spend time with her, but on top that there was her work as well. She worked as a model, also travelling all the time and working at all hours of the day so her limited time combined with my limited time made for some very long stretches without interacting.

Despite this we did have a reasonably normal relationship, laughing and joking together, doing everything you might do as a couple. But that all fell apart.

Morgan had been working every day for two weeks straight when she finally had a break, coming to spend some time at mine. I was still working, recording and editing, so there wasn't too much time that we were together, but she just hung out at mine and occasionally sorted something out that I had procrastinated for far too long. It was much appreciated.

But one evening, about three days after she got off work and after I was wrapped up for the day, she pattered downstairs behind me. She was wringing her hands, nervous and looking away from me which immediately caught my attention because something was clearly wrong. I stood up from the couch where I was lying, approaching her.

"Morgy? What's wrong?" I managed to whisper, heart almost pounding out of my chest. "Somethings up, I can tell."

She managed to sigh but her voice was shaky, hands trembling.

"I- I need to tell you something." She mumbled, a moment before her knees almost gave out from underneath her. I managed to catch her, now even more panicked.

"Morgan!?" I breathed, helping her over to the couch.

And then she burst out crying. If I was scared before I was terrified now and every possible thought was rushing through my mind- what was going on? Did she want to break up? Had something happened at work? Did she have some sort of health problem? What was going on!?

"Morgan, please, tell me what's wrong?" I swallowed heavily. "I'm getting scared."

"I'm pregnant." She blurted out, between the tears and stifled sobs. "At least 4 months."

And that was the moment my entire world fell apart.

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She talked about abortion for a little while, but those conversations eventually trickled into nothing. It wasn't in her morale to have an abortion, she was liberal, yes, and didn't care about what anyone else did but I also knew that she couldn't do it herself. She was going to have this child, whatever the outcome.

I threw myself into my work. It was the only thing I could think of to do to distract myself from the reality that was staring me in the face- that I was going to be a father. But the thing was, I didn't know if it was going to turn out that way.

She didn't want the child. She was a model, her whole work life revolved around how her body looked and she was terrified that her new status would affect her hireability, would mean she wouldn't get work. She continued to work out for hours a day simply to hide the bump but it wasn't quite working- turns out she was further along than 4 months, she was almost 6. That gave me just three months to think about everything, including the time I tried to pretend it wasn't happening.

Even though I was indecisive about the whole thing, she didn't invite me to any of the scans or prenatal classes. Apparently it was a girl. That didn't make me feel anything if I was being honest, it only made me feel more numb and more scared for the future. We were drifting apart, since she had told me that she was pregnant it seemed like she was purposely avoiding me, almost never coming around to mine and whenever I invited her over she was "working". It seemed the bump wasn't effecting her ability to get work, at least for the time being.

Time continued to tick by. Before I knew it the seven month mark was passing, then the eighth, and the date of the birth drew closer. Morgan was pulling away even more. I was so scared that I was going to lose her as well as the child, that she would give the child up for adoption and then disappear and I would never either of them.

Talking to Vikk seemed to be the only thing that distracted me. He knew something was still up but again he didn't try to push me to tell him. But as the ninth month came and went, only a day before the due date, I noticed that Vikk was suddenly frazzled. He didn't have time for calls with me, he was always glancing over his shoulder and he just seemed... tired. But just as he had done for me, I didn't press him to tell me. Something had clearly happened suddenly and if he wanted to tell me, then he could.

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The last month was the worst for Morgan and I. Our relationship was falling apart at the seams, she was sick and tired and barely saw me. She could hardly work, even when it was offered to her.

I could tell she was more worried about work once the baby was born, when she wasn't right back to what she was before the pregnancy. I could also tell that she was only staying with me to validate herself. She didn't want to be with me. She might have only been using to me to keep herself steady until the baby was born but quite frankly, I didn't care. I just wanted to make sure she was okay through the moment she decided to leave. I knew it was coming.

She went into labour two days after the due date. I was stressed and terrified, Vikk hadn't talked to me in three days and Morgan was refusing to talk to me, but she fell right into my arms the second the pain begun. I had to hold her all through the ride to the hospital and it was horrific to see her in pain, but I had to sit through it all.

And of course, nothing went to plan. Something was up with the baby, her heartbeat was dangerously low to the point they were scared it was going to cause some sort of brain damage, so she was rushed off for an emergency C-section. I wasn't allowed to come. I had to sit there, eventually getting up and pacing and scared out of my mind until half an hour later a nurse came back, smiling.

"Congratulations, you've got a baby girl." I sighed in relief, and followed her to the nursery. "Morgan'll be moved into recovery after the surgery is finished." She paused. "I assume you know that she... doesn't want the child?"

I managed to nod, but my focus was more on the cot in which a child, my daughter laid. She was so... small, so much smaller than I expected. She was absolutely perfect in absolutely everyway- until the nurse began speaking to me again.

"We aren't sure if it was caused in the birth or if it was something else, a genetic defect or otherwise, but there's a high likelihood that she's deaf. We'll have to do more testing because it's a little early to tell."

I felt my blood freeze. She was... what?

"She's... deaf?" I managed to stutter, my world beginning to crumble again.

"We think so, yes. I'm so sorry. I know you'll be raising her mostly on your own so this will be a huge shock, just... make sure you have a support network, okay? You'll need it."

"Did... did Morgan decide on a name?" The nurse shook her head, sighing painfully.

"She didn't even want to see her, didn't want to hold her. She's left that all up to you." She paused. "Do you have a name?"

"Yeah... I think so." I whispered, hand resting on the edge of the cot. "Ella. Ella Ashlyn Naomi Power."

I had put a lot of thought into the name but even as I said that, I was feeling my entire world fall apart around me, again and again and again. First it was the pregnancy announcement, then the talk of abortion, then Morgan slowly drifting apart from me and now- discovering both that my daughter was deaf and that Morgan didn't want anything to do with her.

What was I going to do?