𝔸 𝕃𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔻𝕒𝕣𝕜𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕤 ➁

49. Time For Arrival - ✭SEAN✭

Katie's been living with me for a few weeks now. It's getting more difficult for her to move around now with her giant belly ready to pop. I find myself watching her every now and again.

She hums when she cooks. She loves to read and she does this thing where she twists her hair in her fingers when it's a good part. She even nibbles her lip, that's when I know it's a really good part. She reminds me so much of Mon it's almost painful.

Currently, I'm sitting in the leather chair across from her. She's sitting on the couch in front of me nibbling on a piece of chocolate as she reads. Her eyes widen subtly as she pulls her lip between her teeth.

"Must be a good part." Her eyes flutter to mine and her cheeks automatically flush. "A really really good part then." I can't help but chuckle. "I don't think I've seen you without a book in front of your face since you've been here."

"Fiction is so much better than reality." She sighs, putting the book down. "Men in books are so much better than the real thing." I scoff. "Well, besides you, you've been pretty great. You're probably the nicest man I've ever met. I still can't believe everything you've done for me." She caresses her belly, "for us."

I give her a small smile. "I wasn't always so nice. When I was your age I was a mess, definitely not a nice dreamy book-worthy guy."

"But you are now." She blurts and her cheeks redden again.

I'm not entirely sure what to say to that. Im pretty sure she just hit on me. Under regular circumstances I'd find it flattering but these aren't regular circumstances. My son's pregnant one-night-stand just hit on me. Usually my big mouth would have something to say about that, anything, but not this time.

"Sorry," she gets up immediately and I can tell she's ridiculously embarrassed. "I'm just going to go to my room." She grabs her book off the couch and when she stands back up her face contorts.

"Katie?" I stand up from my seat automatically. "Sweetheart, are you alright?"

"Yeah," she gives me a weak smile, "I'm fine." She starts to walk down the hallway but her steps falter. I'm by her side right away.

"Contractions?"

"It's probably just-" she blows out a deep breath, "just Braxton Hicks. It's not-" she doubles over and clutches her abdomen. "Fuck, Jesus."

"Do you need me to take you to the hospital?" I ask worriedly.

"No, no, it's fine, Sean. I'm fine." She straightens herself out and takes a few more steps down the hallway. "I'm-" that's the moment her water breaks and she lets out a mortified scream. "No no no no." She looks at me helplessly. "I'm not ready. I'm... I'm...." She's crying now, looking absolutely petrified.

"Katie, it's okay. You're going to be okay." I walk towards her like I would toward a scared filly because that's exactly what she looks like. "Let me take you to the hospital. We need to go to the hospital."

"I... I don't even have a crib. I... where am I going to live? I can't do this. I... I can't, Sean..." She breaks down crying and saying ouch every now and again because she's probably contracting and in a fuckton of pain.

"I'll take care of it." I can't help but say. "It'll be alright. I will make sure everything is okay. I will take care of you. Do you hear me?" Her trembling form looks up at me and I feel so bad for this scared beautiful woman. "Trust me." I hold a hand out to her. "Please."

She takes ahold of my hand, "do you promise?" I nod and pull her into me for a hug. A hug. Touch. Something I never want to do but here I am. She clings to me and I'm thrown back into another lifetime, a memory of a pregnant Monica doing much the same thing.