Boy Next Door

Prescription

Camila and Shawn sat on the floor of the living room facing each other with their legs extended out in front of them.

"C'mon babygirl, you've got this," Shawn said as he held Quinn up on her feet. He cautiously removed his hands from her and watched as she took a couple wobbly steps before falling back on her butt. They had been at this for about half an hour now and although she had yet to take any more than a couple steps she had definitely improved at her walking skills. 

"You know once she starts walking she's never gonna stop...she's gonna be a wild little uncontrollable explorer," Camila chuckled.

"I can't wait," Shawn said as he picked up their daughter and hugged her close to his chest. "She's my favorite girl in the world."

"Wow, rude. I'm sitting right here..." Camila scoffed in fake offense.

"You're my favorite woman," he said with a wink and a smirk. Camila immediately shook her head and blushed. Shawn loved that his flirting could still make her flustered. He chuckled at her reaction before giving the tiny girl in his arms a kiss on the top of her head. "Dada loves you," he cooed.

"Dada," she said quietly as she laid her head on his chest. Although it wasn't her first word, it was her second and that was good enough for him. He had gotten emotional the first time he ever heard her say it and now he tried to get her to say it all of the time. "Here," he said as he pulled her off of his chest and stood her up in front of him again. "Go say hi to mama."

"Mama," she mumbled as she took a few steps towards Camila. After about three steps, she stopped and her little legs began to wobble. They both figured that would be the point where she would fall down again, but she managed to steady herself and remain standing before taking a couple more steps. She still didn't make it all the way to Camila, but she made it further than she had before and for that they were thrilled. 

"Good job, baby!" Camila said excitedly as she picked Quinn up from the floor and hugged her close.

"Mamamamamamama..." Quinn giggled. She hadn't quite figured out yet that she only needed to say 'mama', so it often came out as a drawn out version of the nickname. 

"You're gonna be a little walking maniac here soon, aren't you?" Camila asked before covering her daughter's face with kisses. Quinn giggled endlessly as Shawn just admired the sight of the two most important girls in his life.

----

It had been about two months since they had started trying for a baby, even though secretly that wasn't actually happening. Camila was still harboring her secret from him and although the guilt was eating her up inside she still was too scared to tell him the truth. There was nothing he loved more than being a dad and she didn't want to let him down by denying him that joy. She considered telling him one day when he came home with a box of pregnancy tests and a ton of excitement about her taking one of the tests. She tried to get out of it by telling him that her period wasn't late and she didn't feel any symptoms, but he insisted she take one anyway.

"Just don't get your hopes up, okay? I really don't feel pregnant..." she said as she took the test out of the packaging. She took the test and was unsurprised when it came back negative. Shawn tried not to be disappointed but he couldn't help it. The only good thing that came out of taking that test was the fact that Shawn realized that taking pregnancy tests without any symptoms would likely just end in disappointment, so he didn't try to convince her to take any more after that. Their already active sex life had definitely picked up the pace recently - and although Camila knew it had to do with him thinking they were trying to make a baby, she wasn't complaining.

One evening, Shawn was standing in front of the fridge with the door open trying to figure what he could make for their dinner. After deciding that they didn't have enough groceries, he slipped his sneakers on and grabbed his keys, phone and wallet.

"Babe, I'm going to the store real quick to get some stuff for dinner. Need anything?" He walked into the living room to see Camila laying on the couch with Quinn sleeping on her chest.

"Not that I can think of," she said. "If I do think of something I'll just text you."

Shawn left for the grocery store and got everything he needed to make some stir fry - Camila's favorite. As he stood in the produce section getting the veggies he needed, he got a text from Camila.

C: We're almost out of coffee creamer! I also think my prescription is ready if you could pick that up too. 😘

After everything that had happened with Zachary, Camila's doctor had prescribed her some anti-anxiety medication to help with the PTSD and anxiety that the entire situation had caused. Although she didn't intend on being on the medication long-term, she at least wanted to be on it until she felt comfortable and confident without it. After getting the groceries, Shawn made his way to the pharmacy to get her prescription. 

"I'm here to pick up a prescription," he said to the older woman working at the counter.

"Last name?" 

"Mendes."

The woman turned around and sifted through the orders that were ready for pickup before pulling out Camila's and scanning it on her computer. 

"It looks like her birth control prescription is set to be refilled in about four days. If you give me about ten minutes I can go ahead and fill that for you now that way you don't have to come back later just for that...?" she suggested. Shawn stared at the woman with a dumbfounded look on his face before slowly nodding.

"Yeah," he said quietly. "That'd be great."

"Fantastic! If you wanna wander around the store you can. I'll page you back up here when it's ready."

"Thanks," he mumbled under his breath as backed away from the counter. He walked around the store aimlessly, weaving in and out of the various aisles as his mind ran a mile a minute. He tried to convince himself that maybe it was an old prescription, but for as long as he knew her she had never been on the pill...so it had to be new, right? Before he could even fully process this new information he heard over the intercom that her prescriptions were ready for pickup. He walked back over to the counter and paid for the two medications before heading back out to his car to head home. He was hurt. He was disappointed. But more than those, he was confused. She had never seemed put off by the idea of having a baby with him - in fact, she seemed excited about the idea. Was it all fake? Did she not actually want to have kids with him? Did he not live up to her expectations of what a dad should be? 

He had so many questions. Now he just had to get home and hope she had answers for each one.