Status: Complete - Check out the sequel :)
When Duty Calls
Chapter 15
Andrea watched silently as her words sank slowly into Brian’s head and he processed them. She watched as he began to realise exactly what she had said, opening and closing his mouth several times with no sound coming out. All she could do was wait. He still had hold of her shoulders as they started into each other’s eyes.
“You’re pregnant?” Brian finally asked in a barely audible whisper. Andie slowly began to nod.
“Shit. How did that happen?” he asked, his voice getting slightly louder.
“Well it wasn’t from baking fucking cookies with Connor was it?” she snapped sarcastically.
“You know that’s not what I meant, I thought you were on the pill?” he retorted his voice back to its normal level.
“I was, but I missed a few days a couple of months ago.” she replied.
“Why? What did you do that for?” he replied.
“Hey, it’s not as if I’ve planned this. Believe me, this isn’t what I wanted. It was after I’d called things off. I ran out of pills and didn’t get the chance to get more until after we’d slept together. I’d forgotten all about it. Until I found out I was pregnant that is.” She explained. For the first time, Brian’s hands left her shoulders and ran them through his dark hair.
“How long have you known?” he asked his voice low again.
“Two weeks.” Andie replied simply.
“Two weeks? Two fucking weeks? Have you been planning this for the past two weeks?” he asked, raising his voice again as he turned gesturing towards her suitcase.
“No! This wasn’t an easy decision to make Brian! But I thought it was my only option. If I stayed it would split up the entire family when Michelle found out and then I would have been homeless as well. I’ve thought about nothing else over the past two weeks Brian, and it’s killing me that I have to walk away from not only you but the kids as well.” She replied tears welling up in her eyes.
“I’m sorry, I’m just in shock right now.” He replied, taking half a step towards her again. “I’m going to be a dad again.” he whispered with a smile tugging at his thin lips.
“What are we going to do Bri?” she asked in a whisper as he stepped closer to her, wrapping his arms around her and ushering her head to his chest.
“We’ll think of something. I promise.” He replied as her arms snaked around his back, holding herself as close to him as possible.
They held each other in silence for a long while until Andie finally spoke.
“Do you want to see the scan photo?” she said quietly into his chest. Brian slowly pulled her away from him, staring down at her with a smile.
“Of course I do.” He whispered. She let go of him and walked over to her suitcase, removing the photo frame and undoing the back before taking out a small slip of paper. Before she could turn around, Brian’s arms were around her waist, his hands lying on her stomach as his chin rested on her shoulder. One of his large hands left her stomach and took hold of the photo.
“How far gone are you?” he asked.
“Eleven weeks. I had the scan yesterday.” She replied. They were silent for a long moment as Brian continued to stare at the black and white photo.
“I’m sorry for yelling.” He said suddenly as he turned his head to place a kiss on her cheek.
“No, I’m sorry. I just didn’t know what to say to any of you about why I was leaving. I still think it’s for the best now, and now that you know you can still…”
“Wow, wow, wow, you still want to leave?” Brian cut her off removing her from his embrace and turning her around to face him.
“What else can I do Brian? I’m not going to be able to hide the pregnancy for much longer, what would I say to Michelle? ‘Oh by the way, I’ve been fucking your husband and this is his baby’ I can’t see that conversation going too well. We’d both be kicked out and you’d be lucky to see Connor and Ella again. No if I leave, you still get to have your family and we can come to some kind of arrangement about you seeing this one.” She replied, her hands coming to rest on her stomach.
“We could lie to Michelle, tell her the baby is someone else’s, a one night stand, a guy you’ve been seeing who doesn’t want to know now you’re pregnant, I don’t know, anything as long as it means that you can stay here in Huntington with our baby.” He replied frantically.
“You want us to lie to your wife? What about Jimmy Bri? He knows about us, what happens when he finds out the baby? He’s not stupid; he’ll know whose baby it is.” She retorted.
“Shit, I don’t know! I could talk to him, Rhian could talk to him. All I know is that I don’t want you leaving.” He replied running his hand down his face.
“Okay, okay, we’ll do it your way. I’ll stay, just don’t go changing your mind a few months down the line.” She replied after a moment of silence.
“I’m not changing my mind about anything.” He replied with a faint smile as he enveloped her in a hug again, kissing the top of her head.
“Good, now I’ve got some unpacking to do.” She replied. “Fancy helping?”
****
After prolonging Connor’s bedtime story for as long as possible by giving in twice to his pleas for one more chapter, Andrea slowly made her way downstairs into the living room where Michelle and Brian were sat watching TV. She and Brian had decided that she should tell Michelle about the baby, with Brian acting as if he knew nothing about it. They had spent some time that afternoon working out what she was going to say.
She paused at the foot of the stairs, taking a deep breath before making her way into the living room.
“Um, could I talk to you both for a moment?” she asked nervously as she sat down on the edge of the sofa.
“Sure.” Brian said calmly, raising the remote to mute the TV.
“Sounds ominous. You’re not planning on leaving are you?” Michelle added with a nervous chuckle as she turned to face Andie who was blushing slightly as she picked at her finger nails.
“No, I’m not leaving, but I’ve got something I need to tell you.” she replied forcing herself to look up to make eye contact.
“Go on.” Brian said quietly and encouragingly.
“Well, um, please don’t think badly of me, but a few months back, when I was out with Rhian, I did something I don’t normally do, I hooked up with someone.” She paused to take a breath, noticing how Brian discreetly nodded.
“Hun, we’ve all done that at some point I’m sure. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about.” Michelle said before she could continue.
“It is if you get pregnant.” She muttered quietly, quickly lowering her eyes.
“Pregnant?” Michelle asked quietly. Andie looked up at her and nodded.
“With no idea who the father is. I can’t even remember his name.” she muttered, tears forming in her eyes through the guilt of blatantly lying.
“Oh Hun, it’ll be okay, I promise. There’s no need to cry.” Michelle said scooting over to wrap her arms around her.
“I’m sorry, I just don’t know what I’m going to do.” She said through tears.
“Well, you don’t have to worry about that just yet, you can stay here as long as you need to, even after the baby’s born if needs be, can’t she Brian?” Michelle assured her.
“Of course you can, you didn’t think we’d turn you out onto the street did you?” Brian replied with a chuckle.
“Of course we wouldn’t, we’ll help you through this, and after all, if you’re up to it we would like it if you continued to work for us for a long while yet…I know Connor would be devastated if we had to find a new nanny for him.” Michelle continued.
“I want to stay too, and to be honest I did have visions of you telling me to pack my things and leave.” Andie replied with not a complete lie. She had had visions of Michelle telling her to pack her things and leave, just after finding out who the father of her baby was.
“Oh, Hun, what do you take me for. I don’t want you to leave, Connor and Ella adore you and they’ll be lost with out you, as would Brian and I. As I said, we’ll support you through this pregnancy. It’s a good thing I kept all of their baby clothes and toys really; you’re more than welcome to them, I know how expensive they can be.”
“Michelle, no, there’s no need really, I can-“
“I insist. Now, we’ve got plenty of time for sorting all of that out closer to the birth. By the way, how far along are you?” Michelle replied.
“Eleven weeks.” Andie replied with a faint smile.
“Have you been for an ultrasound yet?” Michelle asked excitement in her eyes.
“Yeah, yesterday.” She replied.
“Did you get a picture?” Michelle asked.
“Yeah, it’s upstairs. Do you want me to fetch it down?” Andie asked.
“Please, oh I remember my first ultra sound when I was expecting Connor, it was the most amazing feeling in the world.” Michelle reminisced as Andie stood up, catching the small wink Brian sent her way as she turned to get her scan photo. As she climbed the stairs, listening to Michelle tell Brian how they were both going to have to make things as easy as possible for her through this pregnancy Andie felt a smile appear on her lips. Michelle had believed her. Maybe things weren’t going to be as bad as she first thought.
“You’re pregnant?” Brian finally asked in a barely audible whisper. Andie slowly began to nod.
“Shit. How did that happen?” he asked, his voice getting slightly louder.
“Well it wasn’t from baking fucking cookies with Connor was it?” she snapped sarcastically.
“You know that’s not what I meant, I thought you were on the pill?” he retorted his voice back to its normal level.
“I was, but I missed a few days a couple of months ago.” she replied.
“Why? What did you do that for?” he replied.
“Hey, it’s not as if I’ve planned this. Believe me, this isn’t what I wanted. It was after I’d called things off. I ran out of pills and didn’t get the chance to get more until after we’d slept together. I’d forgotten all about it. Until I found out I was pregnant that is.” She explained. For the first time, Brian’s hands left her shoulders and ran them through his dark hair.
“How long have you known?” he asked his voice low again.
“Two weeks.” Andie replied simply.
“Two weeks? Two fucking weeks? Have you been planning this for the past two weeks?” he asked, raising his voice again as he turned gesturing towards her suitcase.
“No! This wasn’t an easy decision to make Brian! But I thought it was my only option. If I stayed it would split up the entire family when Michelle found out and then I would have been homeless as well. I’ve thought about nothing else over the past two weeks Brian, and it’s killing me that I have to walk away from not only you but the kids as well.” She replied tears welling up in her eyes.
“I’m sorry, I’m just in shock right now.” He replied, taking half a step towards her again. “I’m going to be a dad again.” he whispered with a smile tugging at his thin lips.
“What are we going to do Bri?” she asked in a whisper as he stepped closer to her, wrapping his arms around her and ushering her head to his chest.
“We’ll think of something. I promise.” He replied as her arms snaked around his back, holding herself as close to him as possible.
They held each other in silence for a long while until Andie finally spoke.
“Do you want to see the scan photo?” she said quietly into his chest. Brian slowly pulled her away from him, staring down at her with a smile.
“Of course I do.” He whispered. She let go of him and walked over to her suitcase, removing the photo frame and undoing the back before taking out a small slip of paper. Before she could turn around, Brian’s arms were around her waist, his hands lying on her stomach as his chin rested on her shoulder. One of his large hands left her stomach and took hold of the photo.
“How far gone are you?” he asked.
“Eleven weeks. I had the scan yesterday.” She replied. They were silent for a long moment as Brian continued to stare at the black and white photo.
“I’m sorry for yelling.” He said suddenly as he turned his head to place a kiss on her cheek.
“No, I’m sorry. I just didn’t know what to say to any of you about why I was leaving. I still think it’s for the best now, and now that you know you can still…”
“Wow, wow, wow, you still want to leave?” Brian cut her off removing her from his embrace and turning her around to face him.
“What else can I do Brian? I’m not going to be able to hide the pregnancy for much longer, what would I say to Michelle? ‘Oh by the way, I’ve been fucking your husband and this is his baby’ I can’t see that conversation going too well. We’d both be kicked out and you’d be lucky to see Connor and Ella again. No if I leave, you still get to have your family and we can come to some kind of arrangement about you seeing this one.” She replied, her hands coming to rest on her stomach.
“We could lie to Michelle, tell her the baby is someone else’s, a one night stand, a guy you’ve been seeing who doesn’t want to know now you’re pregnant, I don’t know, anything as long as it means that you can stay here in Huntington with our baby.” He replied frantically.
“You want us to lie to your wife? What about Jimmy Bri? He knows about us, what happens when he finds out the baby? He’s not stupid; he’ll know whose baby it is.” She retorted.
“Shit, I don’t know! I could talk to him, Rhian could talk to him. All I know is that I don’t want you leaving.” He replied running his hand down his face.
“Okay, okay, we’ll do it your way. I’ll stay, just don’t go changing your mind a few months down the line.” She replied after a moment of silence.
“I’m not changing my mind about anything.” He replied with a faint smile as he enveloped her in a hug again, kissing the top of her head.
“Good, now I’ve got some unpacking to do.” She replied. “Fancy helping?”
****
After prolonging Connor’s bedtime story for as long as possible by giving in twice to his pleas for one more chapter, Andrea slowly made her way downstairs into the living room where Michelle and Brian were sat watching TV. She and Brian had decided that she should tell Michelle about the baby, with Brian acting as if he knew nothing about it. They had spent some time that afternoon working out what she was going to say.
She paused at the foot of the stairs, taking a deep breath before making her way into the living room.
“Um, could I talk to you both for a moment?” she asked nervously as she sat down on the edge of the sofa.
“Sure.” Brian said calmly, raising the remote to mute the TV.
“Sounds ominous. You’re not planning on leaving are you?” Michelle added with a nervous chuckle as she turned to face Andie who was blushing slightly as she picked at her finger nails.
“No, I’m not leaving, but I’ve got something I need to tell you.” she replied forcing herself to look up to make eye contact.
“Go on.” Brian said quietly and encouragingly.
“Well, um, please don’t think badly of me, but a few months back, when I was out with Rhian, I did something I don’t normally do, I hooked up with someone.” She paused to take a breath, noticing how Brian discreetly nodded.
“Hun, we’ve all done that at some point I’m sure. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about.” Michelle said before she could continue.
“It is if you get pregnant.” She muttered quietly, quickly lowering her eyes.
“Pregnant?” Michelle asked quietly. Andie looked up at her and nodded.
“With no idea who the father is. I can’t even remember his name.” she muttered, tears forming in her eyes through the guilt of blatantly lying.
“Oh Hun, it’ll be okay, I promise. There’s no need to cry.” Michelle said scooting over to wrap her arms around her.
“I’m sorry, I just don’t know what I’m going to do.” She said through tears.
“Well, you don’t have to worry about that just yet, you can stay here as long as you need to, even after the baby’s born if needs be, can’t she Brian?” Michelle assured her.
“Of course you can, you didn’t think we’d turn you out onto the street did you?” Brian replied with a chuckle.
“Of course we wouldn’t, we’ll help you through this, and after all, if you’re up to it we would like it if you continued to work for us for a long while yet…I know Connor would be devastated if we had to find a new nanny for him.” Michelle continued.
“I want to stay too, and to be honest I did have visions of you telling me to pack my things and leave.” Andie replied with not a complete lie. She had had visions of Michelle telling her to pack her things and leave, just after finding out who the father of her baby was.
“Oh, Hun, what do you take me for. I don’t want you to leave, Connor and Ella adore you and they’ll be lost with out you, as would Brian and I. As I said, we’ll support you through this pregnancy. It’s a good thing I kept all of their baby clothes and toys really; you’re more than welcome to them, I know how expensive they can be.”
“Michelle, no, there’s no need really, I can-“
“I insist. Now, we’ve got plenty of time for sorting all of that out closer to the birth. By the way, how far along are you?” Michelle replied.
“Eleven weeks.” Andie replied with a faint smile.
“Have you been for an ultrasound yet?” Michelle asked excitement in her eyes.
“Yeah, yesterday.” She replied.
“Did you get a picture?” Michelle asked.
“Yeah, it’s upstairs. Do you want me to fetch it down?” Andie asked.
“Please, oh I remember my first ultra sound when I was expecting Connor, it was the most amazing feeling in the world.” Michelle reminisced as Andie stood up, catching the small wink Brian sent her way as she turned to get her scan photo. As she climbed the stairs, listening to Michelle tell Brian how they were both going to have to make things as easy as possible for her through this pregnancy Andie felt a smile appear on her lips. Michelle had believed her. Maybe things weren’t going to be as bad as she first thought.
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Poor Michelle is so clueless isn't she?You guys were awesome after the last chapter, I only usually get 10 comments after each chapter by 15 of you took the time to leave a comment after the last chapter...keep it up guys....
Also as a Christmas present to all my wonderful readers I have written a one shot for you....Double Booked Hope you enjoy :)