Playing House

A couple days went by, and Ben was pretty quiet. I didn’t want to rush him into talking or anything, but his silence was kind of unnerving. He didn’t show signs of being angry or upset, but he was obviously not happy either. We had been sleeping in our separate rooms, although I wouldn’t classify the tossing and turning I did as ‘sleep.’

I just let him be, not wanting to set him off in any way.

We sat in the kitchen eating breakfast one day, with me feeding Maddie while he fed Beau. Ben didn’t talk at all, unless it was to tell Beau to chew before swallowing. Once everyone had finished up, I cleared the table and heard Ben usher the kids out of the kitchen and into the living room. I washed and dried the dishes, and I had a few plates in my hand as I turned around to put them in the cabinet. When I turned, I almost dropped the plates from being startled so badly.

I saw Ben leaning on the counter, watching me, and he easily took the plates and set them in the cabinet.

“You scared me,” I told him as he leaned back on the counter again, folding his arms. “I thought you were in the living room with Beau and Maddie.”

“Nope. I was in here the whole time,” he told me. He kept his penetrating gaze on me, and I couldn’t take it anymore.

“Is there something you wanted to talk about-”

“When are you going to find out? I mean, I know it takes time to…incubate, or whatever," he started.

Incubate? What on earth...

"But I mean, have you taken any tests? Have you gone to the doctor? No, you haven’t. You’ve just been sitting here, as if prolonging finding out is going to make it all go away,” he unloaded, yelling at me.

“I have a doctor’s appointment today,” I told him quietly. His features softened and he ran his hand along the back of his head and neck. “After the hearing.”

That’s right. It was the custody hearing today. As if I didn’t have enough on my plate.

“Mal, I’m sorry,” he said, looking away. “This has just been…I just, don’t know how I feel right now, you know?”

“Uh, yeah. Sure,” I sounded, not knowing what else to say. Nervousness shot through me, because his features were filled with uncertainty.

“We moved pretty fast, didn’t we?” He eventually murmured. It seemed like I had been here for ages, but once he pointed that out I realized he was right. I had only known him for a few months, and I was ready to have him be the father of my children?

I was ready to have his child?

No. Oh God, no. I was not ready. I barely knew the man!

How long did I wait before getting cozy with him? Like an hour?

…Actually, now that I thought about it, it was practically after an hour he came over to my apartment that one time. I had freakin’ straddled the man.

We had practically jumped each other the second night we were in the same house.

Oh my God. I’m a floozy.

I looked up at him, and by the way he was studying me I could tell he was thinking about the same things.

“Do you think I’m a floozy?” I asked him.

“A what?” He asked, trying to fight a smirk.

“A floozy. A slut. Promiscuous. Loose. A-”

“Amalia,” he interrupted, smirk disappearing. “No. Never.” He came over to me and put his hands on my hips.

“Ben, think about it. I…we…”

“I know. But it’s okay, I mean, we’ll just take it slow from here on in,” he said, kissing my forehead.

“Here on in?” I remarked. “Ben, I might be pregnant. We’ve basically gone as fast and far as we could go.” He pulled away from me, sighing.

“What do you want me to do? I am at a complete loss here. This whole situation is just…fucked,” he ranted. He stood for a moment shaking his head. “All because I needed a damn maid,” he muttered, walking out.

Wow.

Before I could react, the phone rang.

“Hello?” I answered softly.

“Ms. Williams?”

“Yes,” I replied.

“Jeff Lucas here, Ben’s lawyer,” he announced.

“Oh, hello. Do you need to speak with Ben?”

“No,” he told me. “I just wanted to let you know, the paperwork was processed and cleared. Ben is legally the father of your children. Congratulations.”

“Uh, yeah. Thanks,” I responded, catching him off guard. I think he expected me to be a lot more excited.

We exchanged a few more words about the hearing later before hanging up, and I went into the living room where Ben was sprawled out on the couch. Beau and Madeline were hopping all over him, but he didn’t seem affected by it.

“That was Jeff Lucas,” I told Ben.

“Oh yeah?” He sounded, seeming not to care.

“It’s official,” I said.

“Great,” Ben replied tonelessly. I stood there for a moment before going up to my room to get ready. I tried not to think about Ben, but it was practically impossible.

Fifteen minutes later I heard the doorbell ring, so I slipped on my shoes and headed downstairs. Ben had answered the door, revealing Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith.

Brent’s girlfriend Erin and Duncan’s girlfriend Lyss were with them, since I had bonded with them and they offered to be there with me today. Tina couldn’t come, and I needed all the moral support I could get.

“Hey,” I greeted, giving them each a hug. They had offered to watch my kids in the courtroom during the hearing, since I’d have to be at the bench and stuff. I wasn’t sure what Ben and the other two men were planning on doing, but when I noticed Ben had dressed up too I figured he was coming along.

Ben, the kids, and I took one car while everyone else went in another. Ben and I stayed completely quiet, which did more harm than good to me. It gave me time to think, it gave me time to worry, it gave me time to imagine the worst outcomes.

Ben pulled into the courthouse and parked before getting the kids out of the back. Brent pulled up soon after and we all made our way inside. We met Ben’s lawyer, Jeff, and went over a few things. As we walked inside the courtroom, I couldn’t take it anymore and I grabbed Ben’s hand. I didn’t care that he was upset. I needed the contact. I felt him squeeze it back, reassuring me.

I knew he was still not happy, but I was thankful he could put it aside a bit for me.

Jake was, unsurprisingly, late, and his lawyer nodded discreetly at me as they walked in. The judge, who was a woman, was definitely not amused by Jake’s lateness, and I smirked to myself. The judge started reading aloud the facts, and I tried to calm my breathing.

“Mr. Fiore,” the judge called, looking at him. “From what I can tell, you have never wanted contact with your children before. What’s changed?”

“Amalia was doing fine with them before,” Jake started. “But then she lost both her jobs. I didn’t feel comfortable leaving them in her care anymore.”

My head snapped over to him, glaring. That little bastard-

“Ms. Williams, you have found alternate employment, correct?” She asked, looking over the papers.

“Yes, your honor,” I answered. She looked back over at Jake expectantly, almost asking him what he had to say now.

“She’s a housekeeper, for a guy she’s sleeping with,” Jake remarked. “I’d hardly call that stable.”

The judge looked back at me expectantly this time, and I froze.

“Your honor,” Ben’s lawyer interjected. “Ms. Williams and her employer are seeing each other. But, he is the legal guardian of her children now, so her situation is indeed stable.”

“What?” Jake exclaimed, looking over at all of us dumbstruck.

“Mr. Fiore,” the judge started, looking over a few of her papers. “Is it true that you never showed up to a custody meeting that you demanded? Considering you were late today, it wouldn’t surprise me.” She didn’t let him answer as she continued. “So it would seem you, in fact, are the irresponsible one.”

Jake looked like he was hit by a freight train. I turned around towards Lyss and Erin to look at my children, only to see them both on Ben’s lap. I turned back towards the judge, who was looking over papers again.

“Well, it seems here that Ms. Williams had full custody and Mr. Fiore got visiting rights on the weekend. I’m amending that, so Ms. Williams get’s full custody, and your visiting rights, Mr. Fiore, consider them stripped. If Ms. Williams or Mr…..” she scanned the page, looking for Ben’s name. “...Eager wants to let you see them, they will decide when and where.”

Relief coursed through my body, and I looked over behind me and saw everyone else’s smiling faces as well.

“Oh, and Mr. Fiore,” the judge called, just as Jake was about to storm out. “You still have to pay your child support.”

Jake huffed out after that, and his lawyer followed, winking at me. Erin and Lyss immediately engulfed me in hugs, and soon Brent and Duncan did as well. They all pulled away and soon I was left facing Ben, who held my children. He closed the gap between us slowly, letting me kiss each child before he kissed my forehead.

This win was supposed to be relieving. It was supposed to be the end of my problems.

But no, I still had one more to worry about.

I looked down at my stomach as Ben drove me to the doctor’s office. Brent and all of them followed, but once we reached our destination Brent and Duncan went home with Ben and the kids in his car while Lyss and Erin stayed with me. Those four were the only others who really knew about my possible pregnancy, besides Tina. And whoever else Ben told.

We sat in the waiting room until my name was called. I followed the nurse back and she administered the tests, and I sat in the office and waited. Erin and Lyss came in when it was done and waited with me.

It seemed like we had been waiting for hours, even though it had only been a few minutes. They tried taking my mind off of it by starting other conversations, but I couldn’t focus.

After what seemed like eons, a doctor came into the room.

“Ms. Williams?” He confirmed. I nodded. “Alright, we’ve got the results of your pregnancy test.”

I breathed in deeply.

“And?”