Smoke on the Water

Shortly after her mother left the living area, Natasha looked at Brody with tears in her eyes and ran off. She ran off through the kitchen and corridors and out to the back porch where the morning July weather welcomed her tear stained face. The weight of the world seemed to be on her shoulders so much so that she felt like she could almost collapse and sat down on the porch with the brick wall of the house against her back. She put her face in her hands and cried.

Natasha didn’t know what to say, or even think at that point. She understood what ultimately her mother meant. Either she gets an abortion, or her parents are going to cut her off; the ultimatum. Natasha thought about the repercussions of getting cut off. She wouldn’t be able to go to a decent university; she wouldn’t be able to afford it. It was as easy as that. And even if she got a job, she wouldn’t be able to split the rent with Brody plus cover tuition and cost of books.

She thought about her mother’s option, the abortion. God, Natasha hated that word. Just the thought of the doctor killing her baby provoked vomit to the back of her throat. Natasha thought back to yesterday. How happy Brody was yesterday when she told him; that face of his full of pure joy and delightment. And to think that Natasha was actually considering killing the very thing that brought him that beautiful happiness. No, it was impossible.

“Natasha!” Natasha heard Brody’s voice through her cries. “Natasha, where are you?” his voice got closer and closer. Natasha knew that she wanted to compose herself and so she quickly wiped the tears away with the palms of her hands and stoop up against the chilly bricks.

The balcony doors opened and Natasha knew she had been found. “Nat, there you are,” Brody said as he saw her standing up against the wall. Her cheeks were stained; her hands shaking. He placed his muscular hands around her small frame and hugged her tightly as she sobbed in the crook of his neck.

“It’ll be alright,” he soothed her.

“I… I just don’t know what to do anymore,” Natasha cried. “Did you hear her? If I don’t get an abortion she’s going to cut me off and never speak to me again.”

Brody continued hugging her until her sobs finally subsided.

“It’ll be alright. You’ll get a job before the baby comes, and I’ll work part-time. Together, we’ll make ends meet,” he suggested to her. “There are plenty of jobs available in Philadelphia. And everything is all close together. I can go to work and university and when I come home I’ll take care of the baby and….”

“No, Brody!” Natasha said sternly. “I can’t ask you to work twice as hard as you should just because of this baby. You have obligations to college. You worked so hard to get a scholarship; I’m not going to let you pass that opportunity up just so you can support me and this baby. I won’t let you do it.”

“Natasha, what are you saying?” Brody looked at her as she backed up further against the brick wall.

“Brody, I can’t ask you to work just to support this baby. Without my parents’ money we’ll never get by.”

“Are you… Are you actually considering the abortion?” he said shocked.

Natasha started to cry as Brody started furiously shaking his head.

“Natasha, please, listen to me baby. I will work part-time, full-time, around the clock if it’s what it takes, but please, please don’t get an abortion.” Natasha’s cries got harder.

Brody looked at her with desperation in his eyes. “Natasha, please,” he got down on his knees in front of her, an action which made Natasha’s sobs louder. “I’m begging you. I’m on my knees, please don’t get an abortion. We made this baby. We made this baby by making love. Please don’t tell me you regret that. I will work as much as it takes; I won’t even go to university if you need me to stay home to help with the baby. I’ll buy the diapers, and cribs, and car seats. Natasha, please. I love this baby. I love this baby more than anything in the world. You believe me don’t you?” Natasha nodded as she looked down on him. “Then please don’t have an abortion. Please.”

“I… I just need some time to think,” Natasha said quietly as Brody got up. “Alone.”

“Okay, I’ll wait as long as it takes, Nat,” Brody said earnestly. “But please remember what I told you. I love you and I love this baby. I can’t imagine my life without either two of you.”

Natasha nodded but kept her eyes away from his.

“I’m going to go back home with my parents and talk to them about what’s going on. Please call me if you need anything,” Brody said as he left Natasha alone on the back porch.

As soon as the balcony doors closed, Natasha sat back down on the wooden floor and cried harder into her hands. This was the ultimatum. This is the decision that Natasha has to make that would impact the rest of hers and Brody’s life and it was not an easy one.



The ride back to the Baxter’s house was eerily quiet. Neither, Mr. or Mrs. Baxter said a word. Brody was tempted to break the silence, but decided it would be best to wait until after his father and him were alone to avoid any unnecessary confrontation with his mother.

When they walked into the house, Mrs. Baxter kept her eyes deliberately off her son and walked off to her bedroom. He had shamed her. How could he get a girl like Natasha pregnant? Didn’t she teach him any morals? The thought of his son actually fathering a child with Natasha made Jeanine’s skin crawl. She thought about what Meredith said to her daughter, ‘abortion or I’m cutting you off’. In a way, Jeanine sort of felt relieved the Meredith offered such an ultimatum to her teenage daughter. No way, could Natasha support the baby by herself. But then again, Natasha had the option to keep the baby and Brody would have to pay his dues for that child. It was a decision that Brody and Natasha had to make by themselves.

“Dad, I think we need to talk,” Brody said quietly to his father who was brewing up some coffee in the kitchen.

“Yes son, I think we do.” Peter led them both out on the terrace where a couple of deck chairs and table were set up.

Peter didn’t seem mad or angry at Brody that he got his girlfriend pregnant. It was a quality that made Brody even more anxious. He was expecting a strict dressing down from his father about how much he had shamed his family. He even expected his father to become as angry as to throw him out of the house, but he did none of that. Peter just sat calmly on the deck chair, opposite of Brody and looked at the ground below him.

A couple of unnerving moments of silence passed between the two men. It was Peter who initiated the conversation. “When did you find out about the pregnancy?” he asked his son.

“Yesterday night,” he said calmly. “When I took Natasha out to dinner. She told me she found out at Amy’s house.”

Peter nodded but said nothing else. His face looked as though he was deep in thought.

“Why are you not yelling at me?” Brody asked simply.

“What do you mean, son?”

“Why are you not going crazy? Why are you not screaming at and punishing me? How can you be so calm about all of this?” Brody’s voice became louder. “I got my girlfriend pregnant, for God’s sake!”

“What would the use be in punishing you? We’ve punished you if you did something wrong before, but now…” Peter took a shaky breath before he continued. “Now you’re an adult. An adult that, granted, made some pretty bad decisions but now you have to own up to them. I’m not the one that should be punishing you. When you make mistakes, you have to find solutions to problems, not get punished by your parents.” Brody nodded. “And I figured that you could benefit from being spared of added stress in your life, right now,” Peter added.

“Well, the Hutchinson’s idea of a solution for this problem is for Natasha to get an abortion,” Brody said solemnly.

“Yes, I heard. What do you think of that?”

“God, I can’t believe that Mrs. Hutchinson would even say something like that. She told Natasha that if she doesn’t get an abortion that she’s going to cut her off and now Natasha’s actually considering it.”

“And you don’t want Natasha to get an abortion?”

“No, of course not,” Brody replied vehemently. “I love Natasha and I love that baby. Natasha and I, we made that baby. Sure, this wasn’t planned, but either way I love it with all I have. I know it will be hard supporting it and going to university at the same time but I’m willing to work as hard as it takes for as long as it takes to make sure I give that baby a good life.”

“And you honestly think that you can pull it all off? Buying everything, making money, getting an education, raising a child…. It’s a lot to do for two people your age.”

“I know but. I can’t not try. I love that child and I know that Natasha loves that child just as much as I do but…” Brody’s words ran off.

“But she’s worried that you two won’t be able to make it without her parent’s help,” he finished for his son.

“Yes,” Brody sighed. “I worry about making ends meet as well but I can’t think of Natasha just killing that baby. I just can’t.”

Peter looked at Brody dead in his eyes. “Brody, listen to me. You and Natasha have a lot to think about at the moment. Whether or not Natasha has the abortion rests on only you two. You two have to make the decision and nobody can make it for you.” Brody nodded in agreement. “But, if you and Natasha do decide to keep this baby, I am willing to do everything in my power to make sure to help you out and to make sure that this baby has a good future.”

Brody looked at him with shock in his eyes. “You’re willing to do that for us?”

“Yes. After all it is my grandchild,” he said with a sweet smile. “I’ll help you out financially as much as I can, because I believe that every child is a blessing, no matter if it was planned or not. You and Natasha made this baby and you deserve to give this baby as best of a life as you can.”

Brody and Peter both stood up and embraced. Brody whispered, “Thank you, dad,” before letting go.

“You’re welcome. Now, go try to relax and then try to call Natasha in the evening. I’ll go talk to your mother about all of this. Perhaps she can offer some words of wisdom for you and Natasha.”

At that moment, Brody was reminded just how lucky he was to have a father like his. No judgmental, or uncaring of anything Brody did. He let Brody make his mistakes and then help him figure out what was best and how to solve them. Not many children have fathers such as his, and Brody hoped that he would have the same relationship with his child as he did with his father.