Walking Fragile Lines

I Will Change

Brian had had the best weekend taking Zac to his parents. He wished Maci had joined them, but he understood that she was annoyed at him; he was too. Driving back to Staten Island, Zac had fallen asleep in the car which left Brian alone with his thoughts for a little while. He wondered if Liv was any closer to knowing what she wanted to do. Of course, Brian wanted her to forgive him more than anything, but it was the not knowing in that moment that was driving him insane. His guilt was only intensifying whilst he was living under Joe's roof and he just wanted to know where his life was going to go next whilst also wanting to give Liv the time she needed.

Pulling up into the driveway, Brian smiled at his sleeping son for a moment before gently ruffling his hair.

"You're home super dude", he spoke softly. Zac's eyes flittered open as he rubbed them, smiling sleepily at his dad.

"Are you staying home dad?", he asked. Brian sighed as he shook his head.

"Still got some work to do buddy", he lied. He hated lying to his son. Gathering Zac's stuff from the trunk, Brian followed him into the house, smiling warmly as he watched him excitedly greet his mom.

"Hey little bear", Liv said happily as she wrapped her arms around their little boy. "Did you have a good time at grandma and grandpa's?", she asked. Zac nodded enthusiastically.

"Grandpa showed me some magic tricks!", he told her.

"Really!?", she said matching his enthusiasm. "You're gonna have to show me later! You know how much I love magic", she grinned before smothering his cheek in kisses. Brian loved watching Liv like this. She was such an amazing mother. And suddenly, her eyes met his and Brian got the feeling that something was afoot as he spotted the dread in her eyes. "Go on and take your stuff upstairs while I talk to your dad please baby", she said sweetly. Zac nodded before doing as he was told before rushing up the stairs with his Iron Man backpack in tow.

"He's been really great this weekend", Brian smiled warmly as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. Liv nodded as she sighed, and Brian wondered whether this was it; had she made a decision?

"I need to talk to you", she said, a hint of nerves in her voice. "Can we sit? We should sit", she continued, her nerves now evident. Brian nodded, silently taking a seat with her at the dinner table. He couldn't think of a single word to say as he sat anxiously waiting for her to say something, going through a million and one scenarios in his head. "So, you remember a couple of weeks ago you mentioned I didn't look so good?", she suddenly asked. Brian was instantly confused. She was clearly nervous, and her question now lead him to believe that this wasn't about a decision at all.

"Yeah? I'm sorry", he apologised, not entirely sure what he was apologising for in that respect but eager to not make anything worse.

"No, don't. It's okay", she gave a nervous scoff. "It's just - well, you weren't the only one who brought it up and - and I haven't been feeling so great so I went to see a doctor", she told him. Brian's heart was in his throat. Was something seriously wrong? Why would she be telling him of a trip to the doctor if it wasn't serious? Was his wife about to tell him that she had some sort of terminal illness? His imagination ran wild as he remained silent, willing her to continue. "I really thought she was gonna tell me it was just stress", she shook her head as she ran her fingers through her hair; a telltale sign that she was really nervous.

"Liv", Brian said, his voice a little shaky as he feared what she was going to say next. "Is everything okay? What's going on? Are you sick?", he asked nervously himself.

"No. No I'm not sick", she gave a breathy chuckle before taking a deep breath. "I'm pregnant", she said. Brian wasn't sure that he'd heard her right. It was the very last thing he had expected and he couldn't believe he was hearing it.