Moving Forward (Completed)

Chapter Sixty Two

Katherine stared at the little black boxes as they flashed along the built in screen of the pregnancy test. It sat on the counter, silently mocking her for even attempting before her cycle started. The third solid rectangle appeared and if possible, she stared harder. The fourth one flashing infinitely longer than the others had—she was sure of it. Her eyes shifted to the clock, checking that the three minutes hadn't actually passed and that the test was defective. It hadn't. When she looked at the stick again, not pregnant was clearly written on the tiny screen.

"So?" Rafael glanced up from his book when she rejoined him in the bedroom.

Katherine shook her head, climbing into to bed with him, "I shouldn't start for a couple more days... wishful thinking I guess."

"It could be too early to tell."

"Maybe." Katherine shrugged, snuggling under the arm he'd lifted for her.

She'd only took the test because she thought she felt different, that maybe it meant she was pregnant. The negative result had squashed whatever excitement she'd experienced, leaving her to question whether she'd truly felt different at all.

"How's your class this year?"

Katherine tilted her head back enough to see his face. "You never ask about my kids."

Rafael chuckled with his smirk. "That's because you usually talk about them."

She sighed resting her head on his chest again. "They all have little siblings on the way..."

"All of them?" She couldn't see the disbelief on his face, but she could hear it in his voice.

"Three of them, but it feels like more." Her response was grumbled and Rafael tugged her closer.

"It's only been a couple months of actual trying and both our doctors said we should be able to conceive."

"I'm just tired of waiting." She pulled herself from the bed, quickly slipping to the closet to change into something besides her pajamas.

Rafael watched her haphazardly pull her hair up into a ponytail when she reentered the room, her momentum headed toward the hall. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I just need to clear my head... maybe think... or overthink." The last two words were muttered to herself as she exited the bedroom.

Rafael sighed and pulled himself from bed after marking his place in the book he was reading. It was a little late for lunch, but he was pretty sure no one had eaten since their early morning walk to the coffee shop around the corner.

MJ was curled up on the couch with her own book when he entered living room. "Where you hungry?"

"I could eat." She sat her book down, joining him in the kitchen. "Are you thinking an early dinner or small snack?"

Rafael pushed his bottom lip up as he thought, unable to decide. "How hungry are you?"

"Pretty hungry."

He opened the fridge, taking in the options from their last grocery trip. "I could make lemon pepper chicken with asparagus and roasted potatoes."

"Will Kate be back by the time you finish?"

The potatoes would take forty minutes to cook alone, much less prep. "I think it's safe to say she will."

"Is she ok?"

Rafael exhaled and leaned across the counter so that he faced MJ. "She's a little stressed about something she can't control."

"At work?" He shook his head and MJ's brow knitted. "With me?"