Jumping on the Train (Thomas Sangster fanfic)

Strong

Deep breaths, Iris. Deep breaths.

You slam the strip down on the counter and fling open the bathroom door, rushing into the family room.

Sidney and Juliette sit laughing. When Juliette sees you she says, "Hey, Iris! I-"

You cut her off, "I'm pregnant!"

They both blink in surprise. It takes a moment for the information to sink in.

Juliette beams and let's loose a quick squeal, "THAT'S GREAT!"

Sidney sits there frowning, "Like, with a baby?"

You roll your eyes, "Well, I HOPE it's a baby!"

Juliette yells again, "THIS IS SO AWESOME!"

You shake your head and walk over the the couch sitting next to them, "It's NOT awesome! Thomas is in a COMA! I will be a fatherless pregnant woman and I'll live alone with a kid that I am not even prepared to have! I'm not ready to be a MOM!"

Sidney shakes her head, "No woman is ever READY to be a Mom. But what are you going to do? Get rid of it?"

You frown and look at your feet, "No. Of course not."

Sidney puts her hand on your shoulder, "Well, then, you've just got to deal with it. You're a strong woman, Iris. I've seen you do so much growing up. All the lead rolls you got in plays. All those boys in middle school and high school that just wouldn't leave you alone. That one girl that kept pulling your hair months after you told her to stop and then finally you grabbed the hair on the back of her neck, held her to the ground and you told her 'try that one more time, genius. See what happens' and you did that in front of the Bishop and afterwards he laughed. Shoot, you've done some pretty crazy things. At the time you wouldve thought they were impossible, but you pushed through because that's who you ARE."

You shake your head, your stress level rising. When you speak your voice cracks, "This is going to be so hard without Thomas."

"Hey, you have us...." Juliette offers.

You laugh, darkly, "Yeah, I have you guys off in college."

They think, "What about Dylan and Ki?"

You shake your head, "Filming is done. They'll only be here for another month at the most."

Sidney bites her lip, "I'm sure you'll figure something out...."

All three of you sit quietly for a minute. Until Juliette squeals again, "OH, MY GOSH! THIS IS SO EXCITING!"

She throws her arms around you, embracing you. Her hair gets in your face and you squeeze your eyes shut so it doesn't tickle your face so much.

You sigh, "Yeah.... Exciting...."

- - - -

You sit in the uncomfortable hospital chair, holding Toms hand. You listen as the moniter beeps and his chest rises and falls every few seconds. It's just like he's sleeping. A tube is hooked into him, giving him food, but his cheeks have still started to look hollow. His skin a sickly pale, making his hair look unhealthy, not with the shine it used to have. He also smells kind of funny. I mean, what do you expect? He only receives a sponge bath once a week and he has a bucket under his butt so he doesn't crap himself. It really kinda sucks.

Vanessa and Willa sit on the other side of the bed, talking. Honestly, you think Willa has had a hay day with this whole hospital thing. Since she's going to be a doctor, she looks at the equipment and judges weather she thinks it's good or not. She's actually ratted out a couple nurses for not doing some of the proper rituals normally done in a hospital. In fact, she's changed Toms equipment and 'crap bucket' as you call it, several times. You think she's pretty proud of herself.