geeky_agent | (no subject)

Current Mood: sleepy

(no subject)

Chris rolls over in bed, trying to hide from the creeping sun. Suddenly she's sitting up in bed looking for the clock, certain that she's slept through the alarm because it's so sunny out and it must be later in the morning than...

Then she finds the clock, realizes she still has a good while before she has to get up and sighs with relief. Collapsing onto the bed, she pulls the covers over her head and goes back to sleep.

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Michelle wasn't sure where to go when she came back from Milliways. Somehow, she got in her car and started driving and found herself in front of Chris's building.

It's still early, Chris might be at work, and she should have called, but she needs to see Chris and needs to tell her.

She's not sure whether she wants it to be real or a hallucination, but she knows it happened. A strange cold woman told her she was pregnant, she watched Jack crumble in front of her, told him how she felt until the words were just sounds and she wanted to stop and the mourning continued, but she knew he understood in a way that few could - few would want to.

At Chris's door, she takes out her cell phone and dials, listening to the phone ring on the other side.

It is still early. She has the blanket pulled over her head, trying to block out the sun peeking in through the curtains. There's still fifteen minutes before she has to get up for the day.

That plan is shot to Hell when the phone rings. Without hesitating, she reaches out to grab it, fumbling with the receiver before answering. "Hello?"

"Chris, it's Michelle, I'm...standing outside your apartment." She takes a breath. "Can I come in?"

"You're --" She pushes up from the bed, looking around as if she expected to see Michelle in the same room with her.

"Yeah. Ok. I'm coming." Chris gets up out of bed, stumbling as she makes her way to the door. She'd been in a deep sleep, thanks to the medication and was always unsteady when she first woke.

Michelle hangs up the phone and pushes the sleeves of her shirt up past her forearms. Chris sounds tired, Michelle has a moment to wonder how she's coping before memories of the events of last night make thinking difficult.

The door opens.

"Hey," Chris says as she opens the door, a knot forming in her stomach as she sees Michelle. Something's wrong. Stepping aside so the other woman can enter, Chris asks, "Is everything ok?"

She shakes her head slowly as she enters the apartment.

Where to even begin?

"I went back to Milliways last night."

"You did?" And suddenly she's more alert and things make more sense. With a wave to the couch she says, "Take a seat. I'm going to put on a pot of coffee, do you want some?"

"Yes, I did," she's unable to say more, afraid she'll start crying again.

One cup should be okay. Can you drink coffee during the first trimester? How do I not know this. I have so much research I need to do.

"That would be great, thank you." Michelle sits down, leaning forward slightly and clasping her hands together.

Chris goes to the kitchen, putting the coffee and refilling Coco's dish, hoping the food would distract her for now.

That done, she returns to the living room and takes a seat next to Michelle on the couch. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Michelle glances at Chris, feeling tears sting her eyes, so looks away. She presses her lips together, her neck muscles tensing and jaw tightening. "He wasn't there," she swallows a sob. "He wasn't."

"I know," Chris whispers, touching Michelle's shoulder. All that time waiting, hoping, she couldn't imagine the sadness Michelle felt when she realized Tony wasn't waiting for her at the bar.

"I should have realized that you - you told me not to get my hopes up, but I thought when I got to the bar that -- " she closes her eyes, tries to regain control. "I wanted to see him again so badly."

It's tempting to tell her that maybe he would show up, maybe it would just take a little more time but she couldn't give her that kind of empty hope.

"I know, I'm sorry," Chris says, voice soft. "Did you stay there long?"

She nods, "I was going to leave when I couldn't find him but I felt dizzy and then when I opened my eyes, I was in a room. Jack was there so I - I knew I wasn't in danger." She takes another breath.

"Chris -- I -- the Healer said that I'm pregnant. I'm...pregnant."

"Y-you are?" There's a hint of a smile on her face, a reflex, till she remembers this might not be good news.

"How do you feel about it?"

"I don't know," she says honestly. "Tony - he would - he would be so happy and I'd wanted to have his children so badly, and now I'm carrying his child but he'll never -- and I'm -- " She looks down.

If one thing had turn out differently, if they had waited before going into the mine, if she had waited to get more people, anything, maybe things would be different.

It shouldn't be this way.

Glancing over, Chris asks, "Do you know what you're going to do?"

"What do you mean?" Michelle doesn't look up at her.

Chris still looks at her, almost afraid to say it but she's come this far. "About the pregnancy."

"About...? Oh." Michelle realizes what she means.

"I want this baby. It's...not even a question."

Which is true, she can't imagine losing her last chance to fulfill their dream.

"All right. Just thought I'd ask." After everything she'd been through, raising a child alone might be too much.

Touching her arm she adds, "You know whatever you need, anything, I'll be there.

Michelle gives her a shaky barely there smile, "That's the same thing Jack said." She takes another breath.

"I don't know what I'd do if you weren't here."

"So Jack knows too?" She had mentioned him being there but Chris wasn't sure what that meant.

"He does, he was there when I found out and we...talked later on," Michelle hesitates a little at the end, hoping Chris doesn't ask questions.