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Maddie

I sighed as I tied Leah’s hair back while she continued to vomit into the toilet. I had come into her room after I put Jocelyn back down in her crib. I heard her vomiting when I woke up, but I had to tend to my daughter first. Leah was okay, while my daughter depended on me to survive. The choice was easy. I knelt beside Leah, rubbing her back as she laid her head on the arm that was resting on the toilet seat.

“I’m sorry, Maddie. You should go back to bed. I know you were up a lot last night with the kids,” she told me.

“It’s okay, Leah. Joey is awake. If the kids need one of us, he can tend to them,” I told her soothingly.

“But he’s in a meeting. I heard someone arrive,” she said softly before spewing colorful vomit all over the inside of the toilet bowl.

As the thought that this was exactly how I found out I was pregnant with Jocelyn hit me, I put my hand on her forehead before rocking back on my heels as I stared at her.

“Leah, I need to ask you something, and I need you to be honest with me.”

“O-okay,” she stammered before more bile exited her mouth.

“When you and Brennan had sex, did you use protection?” I asked.

She tensed up as her head whipped around to stare at me. “Wh-what?”

“Did you use condoms with Brennan?” I repeated.

“S-sometimes,” she mumbled.

“Fuck, Leah! This isn’t anxiety!” I informed her as I got to my feet.

“Wh-what do you mean? Wh-where are y-you g-going?”

“I’ll be right back. And I’ll explain everything.”

I hurried out of her room, heading straight for Joey’s home office. I knew that Dale and Caleb were in there with him, but I didn’t care. Just like I knew Joey wouldn’t care either. I never interrupted business meetings, so doing so now would let him know that this was important. But as I neared his office, I grew anxious for some reason. What if I was wrong? What if I was about to give Leah false hope? She had confided in me that she wanted a child. Hers had been stolen from her, and she missed her a lot. I paused outside of his door, hesitating as my worry over possibly hurting Leah more made me want to turn around. I took a deep breath before walking into Joey's office, twisting my hands together. He immediately focused all of his attention on me.

"Hey, babygirl. Are you okay?" He asked. 

"Hi, Dale. Hi, Caleb. Do pardon the intrusion. Do you think you can call a doctor?" I inquired softly, giving the other two a tense smile.

Joey immediately stood up, moving around the desk to me, where he pressed his hand to my forehead. 

"What's wrong?"

"It's not for me, or our kids," I giggled.

His face scrunched up in confusion, trying to switch his brain from business mode to head of the house mode. "Then wh—Leah. What's wrong with her? Does she need to go to the hospital?"

"Ummm, no, but I think she needs a doctor. She's been vomiting and sleeping a lot the last few days," I said.

Confusion crossed his face again. "I know. She said it was just because she missed Brennan. She's grieving."

I rolled my eyes. "You can't be this dense, Joey," I said, frustrated. "Intermittent vomiting, extreme tiredness, and she's been here for almost a month. She hasn't had a period. I think she's pregnant."

“I fucking knew it,” Caleb grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. “We just talked about this, Joey, remember?”

Joey's mouth dropped open as realization crossed his face. "Oh, I'm going to beat him twice," he grumbled as he stomped back around his desk.

"Twice?" I repeated. 

"Yep. Once for letting the love of his life go, and the second time if she's pregnant and he let her go."

I smiled as I leaned over the desk to peck his lips. "I remember once you refused to tell me that you loved me. It's just taking Brennan a little longer."

He sighed as he picked his phone up. "Maybe, but it's taking him too long. Tell me what you need, and I’ll get it for you.”

“I need a home pregnancy test and an appointment to get it confirmed by a blood test, even if the home test is negative,” I told him.

He nodded. “You’ll have it within half an hour,” he told me as he picked up the phone to call someone.

“Thank you, Daddy,” I purred as I leaned across the desk to peck his lips again. “You take such good care of us.”

“Madison!” Caleb groaned. “Can you two please get a room, and I do not mean this one!”

“Stop being jealous! You’ll have a butt to lick soon,” I retorted.

“MADISON!” Joey yelled exasperatedly.

“Sorry, not sorry, Daddy. Dale,” I giggled, saluting all of them before beaming at Joey.

I hurried out of the room and back to Leah’s room, where I immediately sat beside her. When she gave me a tense smile, I brushed loose tendrils of her hair out of her face.

“What’s going on, Maddie? Do I need to be worried?” She asked.

I sighed as I took her hands. “Listen to me, Leah, what I’m about to tell you is not meant to scare you, but I think you might be pregnant…”

“PREGNANT?!” She screamed. “HOW CAN I BE PREGNANT?! NO, NO, NO, NO! That can’t be,” she finished, her voice almost silent.

“If you and Brennan weren’t using protection every time you two had sex, it is very possible. I know that this is very scary, but if you are pregnant, then we need to make sure that you get the right care for both you and the baby,” I told her softly.

Tears filled her eyes before starting to trickle down her face. “I can’t be pregnant, Maddie. I just can’t be.”

“Why not?”

“Because if I am, and Brennan doesn’t come for me, I will be alone. My baby will only have me. They’ll never have a father in their life,” she sobbed. “And they deserve better than that. To be alone as a child… it’s- it’s horrible. No child should only have their mother in their corner.”

“If you are, your baby wouldn’t be alone, even if Brennan doesn’t grow up,” I murmured softly as I tugged her forward so that I could cradle her against my chest. I hated the heartbreak in her voice, and all I could think about was erasing it. “Your baby will be a Morgan, even if they don’t have the Morgan name. Just like you will always now be a Morgan. You and your baby will never be alone again. We will be here for you. Both of you. We are your family now. Just because Brennan is a coward doesn’t mean that the rest of us are. We love you. And we aren’t afraid to tell you.”

She jumped when the doorbell rang. I rubbed her back comfortingly, knowing exactly why it was ringing. The tests that Joey ordered for Leah had arrived, and I was anxious to have her take one. In less than a minute, there came a knock on the main bedroom door.

“Maddie, Leah, may I come in?” Joey called out.

“Yes,” I responded.

He walked into the bathroom, depositing the bag on the counter. “Today. 2 PM at Dr. Little’s office. You have an hour,” he told me before disappearing as fast as he appeared.

Leah eyed the bag anxiously. “What is that?”

“Pregnancy tests. I would like you to take one. And Joey got you an appointment to have a blood test done,” I said.

“Maddie?”

“Yes, Leah,” I replied as I got to my feet.

“Do you really think that I could be pregnant?”

“Yes. Before I found out I was pregnant with Jocelyn, I got really sick. I didn’t have a fever, but I was nauseous all night. The next morning, Joey ordered food from my favorite restaurant, and the food made me throw up. The few days leading up to that, I had been exhausted. That was how I found out I was pregnant. So, please, let me help you. Take this test,” I practically begged as I opened one of the tests before holding it out to her.

“Alright,” she agreed, taking the test from me.

I sat on the counter beside the toilet, walking her through taking the test. When she laid it on the counter next to me, she began to pace, stopping every few minutes to vomit, which I had no doubt was in part due to her being truly anxious.

“Has it registered?” Leah asked, and I would have had to be deaf to miss the panic in her voice.

“Let me check.”

I looked down at the test, my heart immediately sinking as the two lines in the windows were dark, telling me that my fears were right. Leah was pregnant, and my husband might just kill his brother.