Our Ghost Adventures

I was feeling sick as soon as I woke up. My chest was congested, I was violently shivering, my throat hurt, my nose was stuffy, and I felt like I needed to throw up. This was not the first day that I'd felt like this, yesterday I had too, but not as extreme. Honestly, this had been going on for a few weeks-since the Griffen Orphanage. I knew what these symptoms meant-I had been a nurse-I likely had bacterial pneumonia. I just needed to go to the doctor to get antibiotics at the next chance that I had.

“Do you want me to make you anything? Bring you anything?” Zak asked. He'd been spending his time sitting in the front place of the RV, he didn't want to get sick and have to postpone our next lockdown, and I could understand that. It would be one thing if I had to sit one out, but we might as well cancel one without him.

“I'm okay,” I said. It was a good thing that I didn't plan on saying anything else after, I began a fit of violent coughing. As I continued to cough, I felt his hand rest on my back. “Go away, you'll get sick,” I told him.

“No,” he told me. He stood to his full height and went over to the skin. I knew what he was doing, he was putting toothpaste on my brush-he’d been doing this for the past few days, every time I’d lose my stomach contents. “Go back to bed, I’ll make you some hot tea.” He was so attentive and observant too! I loved it! I had said that once! Once! That hot tea made my stomach settle. “And pretzels,” he added. I hadn’t been eating much because I was nauseous and my throat hurt terribly.

When he came back and I thanked him. But this illness didn’t end, it just continued for a few more days…

“That’s it, I'm taking you to the doctor,” Zak said when he walked into my room nearly a month after the Griffen orphanage, I’d had to sit out the last lockdown and I had to leave early on the one before that. He pulled out his phone and dialed information-I guessed anyway. He didn’t even give me a moment to object. And the next thing I knew he was making me an appointment. “Yeah, I need to make an appointment for my girlfriend, Adrina McMurphy.”

“Tell them I think it's bacterial pneumonia.” He nodded and walked away, probably to tell whomever to drive to the doctor's office. I sighed and laid back in the bed. I was careful to avoid getting my sickly breath all over Zak's pillow.

***

“Do you have any medical allergies?” Zak asked, holding the clipboard.

“No,” I said. “I can do that a hell of a lot faster,” I said, sniffling, trying desperately to breath through my nose.

“I don't care,” he mumbled as he continued to fill out the paper. I sighed and looked towards the door that I'd have to go back through to get examined. He looked up at me suddenly after a minute. “Who's your contact in case of an emergency person?”

“I don't know...you?” I said. It didn't know if that was a 'big' thing. I just didn't have anybody else. What? Was I supposed to say Carlin and Daren? They live in Ireland...It doesn't work.

“Okay,” he said. He had this slight smile on his face, even though my terrible condition, I smiled too. He reached over with his left hand and have my leg a loving pat.

***

“Ms. McMurphy,” the doctor said, walking back in to see me. Zak was at my side. We both knew that if I did have bacterial pneumonia, it was going to be bad. But, that was what I was showing symptoms for. “Good news,” she said. “You don't have bacterial pneumonia.”

Zak and I both released a breath.

“You do however have pneumonia...”

“Wait,” I said. How can you explain the nausea?” I asked, realizing that didn't occur in non-bacterial pneumonia.

“See about that...When we ran you're urine test...We found something else.”

“Found what, exactly?” Zak asked.

“Are you the husband?” the doctor asked.

“Boyfriend,” he said.

“Well...Adrina, you my dear are pregnant...”

“I'm who do what now?” I asked. Instead of answering, the doctor frowned. This was a joke! I was going to slap whoever was playing this on us, so instead of acting like I was shocked for whomever’s sick pleasure, I began laughing.

Both Zak and the doctor looked at me like I was crazy. Of course they did! Zak had to be in on this. I wasn’t pregnant…I mean it had only been a few months…I couldn’t be having a kid with a guy that was my boyfriend. We weren’t married, we weren’t engaged…We had only been dating for what? Four months? Tops?

“Miss McMurphy, what is so funny?”

“Oh, like you don’t know! This is a joke and you’re in on it, right, Zak?” I asked him. Although I knew by his facial expression wasn’t one of humor or even happiness…He was shocked. My laughter died down quickly when I saw the look in his eyes. I couldn’t really describe it. Rather than then being just dark blue, they looked like the ocean during a bad storm. “This isn’t a joke…is it?”

“I’m afraid not. You two obviously have a choice to make here. You can of course have the baby…or there’s the alternative…”

“No, I won’t kill my baby,” I said. It wasn’t that I thought that abortion was wrong in general, I guess I could see how some people needed it…in extreme cases. But I’d already lost my own child and I didn’t want to lose another by my own hand.

“Well, if you plan on keeping the baby, I would recommend you gaining quite a bit of weight…You’re still underweight. Someone of your height should be at least 150-not 119. You’re not anorexic or bulimic, are you?” she asked me seriously.

“No!” I exclaimed. “I eat…It’s just taken me a while to even get to this weight,” I said.

“Okay, well have you ever been pregnant before?”

“Yeah. Nine-almost ten-years ago, but I have.”

“Well prenatal vitamins, eat well, no alcohol, no smoking, or anything of the sort. Understood?”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said.

“I must ask, do you work?”

“Yes, I’m an investigator of sorts…”

“Well, you must take it easy, Mr. Bagans, I want you to take good care of her, okay?”

Zak didn’t say anything. In fact he hadn’t said anything since the doctor gave us the news. He was just sitting, leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and his legs bouncing continuously. “Zak,” I said softly, touching his arm.

He blinked his eyes quickly and looked at me as if coming out of a daze. “Hm?” he asked. Well, it was something…I bit my lip nervously as the doctor repeated her request. “Yeah,” he said numbly.

“I’m going to request that you come back in about a week so that we can do an ultrasound.”

“I don’t know if I can do that, with our jobs, we’re traveling constantly. We’re just passing through here, actually. We’re going to Virginia…” This was Pennsylvania.

“Oh…What kind of investigator are you?”

“We’re paranormal investigators for the show Ghost Adventures,” Zak said, finally saying a full sentence.

“Oh!” The doctor said. “I’ve never seen it but wow…Umm, well you have to take it easy. No stress either. You are about a month along...And I do believe that your due date should fall right around Halloween.

***

Zak was a lot quieter in the car ride back then I would’ve liked. He just sat there, eyes fixed on the road. Usually he acknowledged his presence with a hand attached to mine, or on my leg. But he was silent and I felt like he was mad or something…It wasn’t like it was any more my fault than his. I was never the type to just sit there and take the silent treatment. So, I was going to say what I was going to say no matter what because I knew damn good and well that he could hear me talking.

“I don’t understand why you’re mad at me or shutting me out or whatever the hell this is. It’s not exactly the best time for me to have a kid either! At least it won’t affect your job like it will mine. How-”

“You’re wrong,” he said.

“About what?” I asked, humoring him.

He pulled the car to the side of the road and turned to face me. “You’re wrong that this won’t affect my job! Okay? I have to worry about you and the baby ever second of ever goddamn day! It was bad enough that I had to worry about you with you being in the same building as me! What am I going to do if our baby is half across the country back home in Vegas or right there in the RV waiting for us to come out. Shit follows me home-I’m sure it has followed you too, what if it were to hurt my child?”

His intensity kind of scared me a first. He seemed like he didn’t want a kid just because he didn’t want kids…but I understood his logic. “So it’s not me that you’re mad at? Or do you hate me for being pregnant?”

“Don’t you ever say that! I could never hate you, Adrina!” he exclaimed, his hands taking hold on my cheeks. “I love you more than anything. I just…I’m worried about our child being affected by the job we do, okay?”

“I’m sorry,” I murmured.

“Don’t ever be sorry for speaking your mind,” he grasped my lips with his quickly. “I love you,” he said, resting his forehead against mine. I gave him a weak smile.

“I love you.”

***Zak's POV***

After picking up Adrina's prescriptions, we went back to the RV where it was parked at a campsite where we'd be staying tonight. It was a drive into the woods of Pennsylvania, it wasn't like we were in Pittsburgh or Harrisburg. No, we were in the middle of the country. I wasn't really sure how I felt about being a dad...I mean it was a fucking scary thought. I love Adrina, she's an amazing woman and I feel blessed that she was the one that would be having my child...not any of my passed girlfriends, but this wasn't how I pictured life going. I wanted to have a less dangerous job and to actually be at home and married before I had children.

I knew that when we walked into the RV we'd have to tell Nick and Aaron. I didn't even know if I wanted to call my mom or Stephanie anytime soon. My mom hadn't said much about what she thought of Adrina and I took that as a bad thing. But, for once, I didn't care. I loved my mom but she wasn't going to run my life.

“What are we going to do about the show?” Adrina asked, shortly before we pulled up to the site.

“You can be in it for as long as you feel comfortable. But, we know how dangerous it's going to be. The pregnancy can intesify the spirits.”

“I signed a contract, Zak,” she countered.

“You could hang out with Billy, help from the outside.”

“I'll be okay for a while,” she said, giving me a smile. “Once I get to be about six/seven months then I can sit out some lockdowns.”

“Well, you're sitting out the next one. You've got pneumonia and I'm not risking you getting any worse, or hurting the baby,” I told her.

“Zak...”

“Don't do that, Adri. I'm not making this decision as your boyfriend, but your boss.” She didn't say anything further; instead when we arrived at the campsite she hopped out of the car. I followed suit. “Why don't you take your antibiotics and go lie down with the dogs?”

“Okay,” she agreed. Usually she was stubborn as hell. I knew that she wasn't being on this because she was exhausted. (Still not too exhausted to argue over something that won't affect us for months but, that was Adri).

“Hey!” Aaron called from the couch as he sat with one ear bud in his ear and his laptop in his lap. He was probably analyzing footage. That was pretty much what we did on down time.

“Hey man, how’d it go?” Nick asked, in the same situation as Aaron.

“Good, she’s got pneumonia, but we have her antibiotics.” I knew that I’d have to tell them about the baby someday, but that day wasn’t today. I hadn’t even began to really understand it and mentally prepare for this. Besides, I didn’t know how Nick and Aaron would react.