Contractual Agreements

PART 1: Momma!

"No, no, no! That can't be right Choie. Those are all wrong!" Normani continued to pace around the spacious bathroom muttering nonsensical things under her breath.

Choie calmly watched her best friend freak out for a moment before she rolled her eyes at the dramatic display from the petite woman.

"Mani...hun" Choie placed a warm hand on Normani's shoulder and gently turned her back around to look at the objects on the sink. "You may as well just stop and accept it. You took four tests girlie, and they all say the same damn thing: Momma, momma, momma, momma!" Choie said as she pointed at each test on the counter for emphasis.

This only caused Normani's breathing to quicken as her eyes became glossed over with fresh tears. "You don't understand. I can't be pregnant, Choie! I-I just can't!"

Normani's breathing got dangerously rapid and shallow. Choie could tell she was well on her way to a full blown panic attack. Choie simply wrapped her arms tightly around her friend. She forced Normani to breathe with her as she felt her release her emotions. Choie waited until Normani's breathing evened back out completely and the tears stemmed before she let her go and took a good look at her face. It stung her heart to see how scared and wild her eyes were, how sad Normani looked. She was a small woman to begin with, but all withdrawn into herself, she looked even smaller, more vulnerable.

Choie guided her to the chaise lounge in the corner while she grabbed a washcloth and dampened it with cool water. She made her way back over and knelt in front of her friend while she helped her wipe the tears and snot from off of her face. Once she was done, Normani gave her a grateful smile before taking a deep breath and standing up.

"Thank you" Normani whispered. The strain to her throat from crying made it incredibly difficult to talk. "I'm sorry I messed up your shirt". She grimaced as she looked at the huge damp spots all over Choie's shoulder and chest. Choie simply waved her off. "You forget I'm a nurse? I've been covered in much worse. Now talk to me. Why are you so scared to be pregnant? Does Dinah not want kids or something?"

Normani hung her head and let out a deep sigh. She couldn't tell Choie the whole reason why she was so scared and gutted about her pregnancy. She knew what she and Dinah had together was far from a conventional relationship. What could she possibly say that wouldn't make Choie look at her differently? "I accidentally got knocked up by my dom who I'm contractually bound to, and per our NDA I can't discuss the details of our union without threat of litigation??" Yeah that would go over swimmingly. Or even better "I fell in love with her knowing she isn't capable of returning it, and I'm terrified to tell her?"  No that wouldn't work either.

As badly as Normani wanted to tell Choie the complete truth, she knew she couldn't. So she settled for an abridged version. "No, Dinah doesn't want any kids. Like, she really doesn't want any small things running around. No pets, nothing. I swear I didn't get pregnant on purpose, Cho. I don't know how it happened."

Choie snorted at that. "Oh you know how it happened" she said around her laughter. Normani pinned her with a glare that immediately silenced her. Clearing her throat, Choie muttered out a 'sorry'. "Seriously though Mani. I don't understand any of this. You really had a panic attack. I know there's more to the story. I also know you though, and I know you won't tell what you're not comfortable saying, so I'll let it go...for now. Mainly just because you, the both of you, need your rest."

Checking the time on her watch, Choie cringed when she realized she had to head out before she was late for work. "I gotta go, Mani. Do me a favor and don't drive yourself crazy over this all night please. Take a quick shower and relax yourself, okay?" Normani numbly nodded. She was still very visibly in a daze. Choie sighed a bit. She hated leaving her friend in the state she was in, but duty called.

Normani was staring off into space, running her finger back and forth over the cross on the ring that her grandmother had given her as a teenager. This was one of her tells for when she was nervous. She didn't even realize Choie was standing right next to her until she felt the contact when the woman grabbed her hands. Choie easily pulled the petite woman to her feet and guided her to the huge bed in the adjacent room. She helped Normani out of her slippers and tucked her under the covers.

"The shower can wait a while. Just rest, okay?" Choie was using the gentle voice she'd adopted for the sick children at work. It seemed to work a bit as the frown on her friend's face got a tiny bit smaller. Normani simply nodded again, her voice feeling like it was stuck in a lump of bile in her throat. Choie looked her over pensively before opening her mouth. Whatever it was she wanted to say, she swallowed the words back and quickly clamped down on her tongue as she got up and prepared to leave. She moved to get her belongings from the chair in the corner of the room when her friend finally spoke again.

"Just ask it, Cho" came Normani's quiet voice from behind her.

The two made eye contact in the mirror for a long few silent moments before Choie phrased her question.

"Do you want to keep it?"

Another long silence ensued. That was something that had been going back and forth in Normani's mind for the last few days. She had to psych herself up to take the tests in the first place.

"I do, but I don't know if I can".

Choie nodded, eyeing her friend carefully a moment before she spoke again. "Don't make any decisions today. Sleep on it and think, okay? No matter what Dinah says, it's your body, your choice. I'm a phone call away if you need me, Bubbles".

Normani smiled at the childhood nickname. For a moment, it brought back happy memories from before her life became a fucking train wreck. If only things could be like they used to, she wouldn't be in this mess she was in now.

"Thank you, Choie. I'll be okay for now". Normani tried to smile, but it came off as more of a grimace. Choie understood though. The beauty of being such close friends is that they didn't have to verbalize everything to one another in order to get what the other was trying to say.

Choie leaned down and gave her friend a small hug before she gathered her belongings and prepared to exit the room. After she reached the doorway, she turned and gave Normani a small wave before rushing down the stairs and out the front door to her car.

Normani blew out the breath she had been holding as soon as she heard the front door shut. There were so many thoughts floating around in her head. She was beyond grateful for the fact that Dinah had to extend her work trip another two days. The silence would give her some much needed time to think. Normani slowly drifted off to sleep, the weight of her world on her shoulders.

Choie was deep in thought as she rushed to make it to work. The whole drive there and even while she was changing into her scrubs she was just thinking. Then she was doing more thinking in between patients. She had never been privy to much in regards to Dinah and Normani's private life. Given that she and Normani had just reunited a year ago, she tended to tread lightly in that department in order to avoid an explosion. They'd had one very serious argument about Choie meddling, so she just dropped it altogether. She knew Normani would crack eventually. Until then, she would just give her time and space.

It was three days later when Choie felt her phone going crazy in her pocket. She'd been assisting a doctor in a procedure, and hadn't been able to get it at the time. When she finally saw all the missed calls and one text from Normani, she immediately thought the worst. Opening the message, her eyes nearly bugged out of her head when she read it.

Bubbles: I'm done here. Dinah and I
                   are through

*Just an idea I have ticking around in my mind. If you like it, I'll continue it 💛