Pregnant Proportions

[mizziette]

Story Title: Pregnant proportions

Type of story: Long Fic

Main Characters: Bianca and Charlie

BTTB rating: A

Genre: Drama, Tragedy, Family, Romance.

Does story include spoilers: No

Any warnings: Will post before chapter.

Summary: Bianca is pregnant and confides in her best friend Charlie.

ONE

‘Charlie,’ Bianca breathed in deeply and put her coffee mug down on the counter in front of her best friend. ‘I’m pregnant.’

Charlie, who had been sipping her hot coffee at Bianca’s house froze and slowly put down her mug and looked up at her shocked. When Bianca had invited her to talk and catch up, she had assumed it was to vent about Liam. This was completely out of the blue.

‘With a baby?’ Charlie finally managed to spit out.

Bianca nodded. ‘Well, right now it probably looks more like a peanut but yes. I’m pregnant with a baby.’

‘And the father is?’

‘Heath Braxton.’

‘Oh. What are you going to do?’

Bianca sat on the counter stool. ‘What am I going to do? Why do you think I called you here?’ She buried her head in her hands. ‘This is such a mess.’

‘You’ll figure it out. But it’s up to you, not me.’ Charlie held her friend’s hand sympathetically. ‘I’m here if you need anything.’

‘I know. I know. Damn it.’ Bianca stood up and started pacing over to the couch. ‘What I really need right now is a drink but I can’t have one because I’m pregnant. And you know why I’m pregnant. Because that stupid Heath Braxton kept his rubber in his wallet way past their expiry dates because he is too damn lazy to go to the pharmacy to buy new ones.’

Charlie got up and put her arms around her guiding her to the couch. ‘It’s okay. It’s going to be okay. ‘You’re going to figure this out.’ She gave Bianca a quick squeeze. ‘Does Heath know?’

‘No. You’re the first. I needed someone to freak out to first. I cannot believe this is happening to me.’

‘Yeah, neither can I.’ Charlie looked hugged her friend, unsure whether she was referring to Bianca’s messy situation or the even bigger mess Charlie herself had gotten into.

The back door of the beach house opened and Lily ran into the house and upstairs to her room, as Gypsy and Heath walked through the door. Gypsy turned around and held the door close to her. ‘Thanks for doing this today. Lily’s been dying to learn how to surf ever since she found out VJ was doing it.’

‘Nah, don’t worry about it.’ Heath stood on the back porch. ‘I had a great time teaching her. I guess I’ll see you around.’ He leaned in to kiss her quickly.

Closing the door after he’d left, Gypsy found Bianca slaving herself over the stove in the kitchen. ‘You two going well, then?’ Bianca gestured to where Heath had been standing a second ago.

Gypsy put down her handbag and started helping her roommate. ‘Yeah, he’s cheeky and fun and surprisingly great with kids. He and Lily get along great.’ She saw the look on Bianca’s face as it dropped. ‘Everything okay?’

‘Yeah, everything’s fine. It’s just the onions. Gets to me every time.’ She held up the large vegetable and tried to smile. Hearing Heath’s name in reference with children was salt on the already sore wound. Gypsy had only been back a week and she was already settling in like she’d never left and Bianca was happy for her; Heath had not been a serious pursuit for her. She was still very much in love with Liam and this baby would only make rekindling their relationship that much harder.

When Irene and April got home from the diner, the five girls sat around the round dinner table and ate the delicious Italian meal that Bianca had made. Lily went on and on all throughout dinner about how great it was that Heath was teaching her how to surf; it seemed like the world didn’t want the fiery Italian woman to forget about her predicament for even a single second.

Clearing up the plates, Bianca saw the gooey leftovers on the plates and her stomach churned. Running past a worried April into the bathroom, she purged into the toilet over and over again. Just her luck that she would get morning sickness at night. Standing in front of the mirror, she noticed that the pregnancy test was very visible in the trash can and abruptly grabbed the trash bag and marched out to take it out, not wanting anyone else to see it.

Marching into the living area, Bianca dropped the bag in shock when she saw who had arrived during her bathroom break.

[mizziette]

TWO

‘Liam’s back.’ Bianca collapsed on Charlie’s couch in a slump. Last night, he’d walked up to her smiling with open arms and all she could think about was her betrayal. He was so happy to be back and she couldn’t believe how she could mess it all up so horribly.

‘Oh Bee.’ Charlie gave her the plate of shortbread that Leah had brought back from the diner last night and sat down, munching on one herself. ‘I wish I knew how to fix this for you.’

‘Maybe we could swap lives.’ Bianca stuffed the rest of her cookie into her mouth and laughed half-heartedly. ‘You could be the fat pregnant adulteress and I could be a hot skinny cop.’

‘I won’t be for long.’ Charlie grumbled to herself, referring to her petite body.

‘What?’

She quickly smiled, hoping her friend didn’t hear anything. ‘Oh, don’t worry, it’s nothing. I see your appetite’s getting a work out.’ She watched as Bianca stuffed herself with more shortbread.

‘Yeah. I have been eating like a horse lately. And throwing it all back up straight after too. My body’s gone haywire.’

‘Yeah, tell me about it. Me too.’ Bianca looked at Charlie wondering what she was going on about. ‘Oh, you know because I was pregnant before with Ruby. I was a mess too.’ She nervously rambled, hoping Bianca didn’t suspect anything.

‘Right.’ Bianca thought her friend was acting a little weirdly but didn’t read much into it. She got up. ‘I should go. I’m having dinner with Liam tonight while every one’s out of the house. We have a lot to catch up on.’

‘Good luck.’ Charlie rubbed her stomach calmingly as she left.

‘Yeah, I’ll need it. I’ll tell you how I go at lunch on Saturday.’

Bianca sat amongst the romantic candles that Liam had surprised her with, feeling a little guilty that she was going to ruin such a perfect date with her pregnant sized news. The whole house was empty; April and Lily sleeping over at their friends and Gypsy and Irene had strict orders to be home late. Liam sat next to her at the table and handed her the wine glass and she politely refused.

‘Are you sure? Not like you to turn down a good glass of wine.’ Liam took a sip of his and started eating the meal he had prepared for them.

Bianca was in a snappy mood. ‘Why? What exactly are you trying to imply?’ She thought about the last time she had gotten drunk and waking up in Heath’s bed the next morning. She was not enjoying this one bit. Poor Liam didn’t suspect a thing. ‘Sorry.’ She apologised. ‘I don’t mean to snap. I’m just not myself.’

‘That’s okay.’ Liam put down his glass and took her hand. ‘Listen, I know we left things a little unsettled and that I hurt you but I’m here now, and I’m not going anywhere.’

Bianca could feel tears sliding down her cheeks at the words and her boyfriend put his hands around her. ‘I’m not so sure about that.’ She whispered.

‘Hey baby, I didn’t mean to upset you. I mean what I said. I’m never going to leave you again.’

‘Not even if I hurt you.’ Bianca wiped her eyes and cleared her throat. ‘Liam, when we broke up seven weeks ago, and you left for rehab, I was a mess. I tried to tell myself that I’d get over you and move on but it was so hard.’

‘I know babe, but it was for the best.’

‘I know. I know, please just let me get this out. I need to get this out. This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. I need to tell you.’ She took a big breath. ‘I wanted to forget about you because it hurt so much and I drowned my sorrows in booze. And sex.’

‘You slept with some one?’ Bianca nodded her head ashamedly and Liam stood up. It was a lot to get his head around. He turned to face her. ‘Who?’

‘Heath Braxton.’

‘Great. I go away to rehab and you hop into bed with the one person who helped get me there.’

‘What?’ Bianca didn’t know about Heath’s dodgy dealings.

‘You’re right. I shouldn’t blame Heath for my addiction. It’s my fault I did what I did. But I have to say, he did make it a whole lot easier.’

‘Hang on; what the hell are you talking about?’

‘He’s the one who sold to me when I was high.’

‘Oh my god.’ Bianca walked up to Liam and sat on the couch he was standing near.

‘It’s not like I expected you to wait for me, I guess.’ He sat next to her. ‘I can’t say I’m glad you went and slept with Heath Braxton of all people but we’ll work through this.’

Bianca took her hand into his and looked him in the eye. ‘Actually there’s more to it.’ She inhaled deeply. ‘Liam, I’m pregnant.’

Liam dropped his hand away from hers and stood up abruptly.

[mizziette]

Thanks for the comments. I'm glad you're all enjoying this as much as i enjoy writing it.

THREE

Charlie got back from the bathroom at Angelo’s for the second time during her lunch with Bianca. As she walked back, Brax caught her eye from the bar as he gave her a worried look, silently asking if she was alright. She nodded and took her seat in front of Bianca. ‘Sorry about that. I haven’t been feeling the best lately.’

‘You want to get out of here?’ Bianca sipped her ice water, worried about her friend.

‘No, I’ll be fine.’ Charlie shook her head. ‘So, April’s not suspicious why you two are on the outs?’

‘She thinks it’s because of Heath. No one knows about the baby.’ Bianca and Liam had been giving each other space for the last few days and the young woman was getting anxious. ‘We’re keeping to ourselves until we figure everything out. He’s moved back in with Roo.’

‘I’m so sorry.’ Charlie sympathised and held her hand. ‘You can’t hide something like this forever. People will find out when there’s a baby in eight months.’ She glanced back at Brax at the bar again who was cleaning a glass. She really needed to start taking her own advice.

‘Yeah, I know. Liam’s coming with me to my first ultrasound appointment next Saturday. He’s not keen on it but at least he’s supportive, right.’ Bianca put the napkin on her plate and stood up. ‘Come on, let’s get out of here.’

The two women walked up to the bar to pay for their meals. Bianca put her hand over her mouth as her stomach protested and Charlie waved her into the restroom. ‘You go. Lunch’s on me.’

‘Is she okay?’ Brax asked taking her credit card after Bianca powerwalked into the restroom to be sick. Charlie nodded. ‘Are you okay?’

‘Yeah, there must be a bug going around.’ She lied. Sighing, she knew she had to tell him eventually. ‘Can you meet me at your motel later on? Casey’s out with Xavier and Ruby.’

Bianca returned after cleaning herself up and Brax nodded quickly before Charlie and Bianca turned to leave. Walking down the restaurant stairs into the surf club, the blonde beauty gulped as she saw Heath playing pool with his River Boy mates.

‘Hey.’ Heath walked up to the girls and Charlie excused herself and left them to it. ‘She couldn’t wait to get away fast enough, could she?’ He watched as the cop walked off.

Bianca just smiled. ‘I should get going too, actually. I have a stack of papers to mark before Monday.’ She moved to walk past but he stood at the foot of the stairs, blocking her on the stairs.

‘I saw your boy Liam at the diner the other day. You must be happy now that he’s here.’

‘I guess I should be. He came back last week.’

‘Now why don’t you sound like a happy camper? After all that fuss you made over him. Trouble in paradise?’

‘Something like that.’ Bianca was uncomfortable with where the conversation was going. ‘He wasn’t too happy when I told him about you.’

Heath frowned. ‘Oh. If I were you, I wouldn’t have told him, but that’s just me, I guess. Anything I can do to help?’

‘You could stay out of the way. I’m pretty sure the last thing he needs is you rubbing it in his face by being around.’

Heath stepped out of the way to let Bianca out and she tripped and fell into his arms. ‘Sorry.’ She mumbled as he set her upright. At that most inopportune moment, Liam walked into the surf club and saw his pregnant girlfriend in Heath Braxton’s arms. Marching up to them, he snapped and grabbed Heath’s shirtless arm and pulled him to face him.

‘You stay away from her, you hear me?’ The two men squared off, as the River boys encouraged their mate from the sidelines.

‘Or what, rock star? What are you going to do, strum a little tune and sing me to death? I bet my ears would burn right off if you did that. But that’s right; you’re not a rock star anymore are you?’

‘Stop it, both of you.’ Bianca pleaded but the boys wouldn’t listen.

‘No. He doesn’t get to mess with you.’ Liam punched Heath squarely in the face but the only reaction he received was a wince. The guy was a rock and Liam tried to hide the pain in his fist unsuccessfully.

Around them, the onlooking Rover boys laughed, including Heath. He retaliated with a blood curdling punch right in Liam’s nose but before he could do anymore damage, Brax walked up behind and nudged his little brother aside. ‘You take the bar.’

He ordered. ‘And stay clear of Liam.’

Heath frowned and scoffed. ‘Where are you going? Oh, that’s right. Its top secret isn’t it?’

Brax walked past Bianca as she guided a bleeding Liam outside and made sure Heath was going upstairs before he headed to Charlie’s. He was worried about her erratic behaviour lately and he had a feeling she was going to tell him what was wrong tonight.

[mizziette]

FOUR

‘Hey.’ Charlie spoke on the phone to Bianca while looking nervously at her boyfriend who was pacing anxiously. ‘It’s not really a good time right now. Can I call you back?’

Bianca sobbed into the phone. ‘Sorry, I know we just saw each other an hour ago but I really needed to talk to someone.’

Charlie sensed her distress worriedly. ‘What’s wrong? Did something happen?’

‘Heath and Liam butted heads after you left and I just took Liam to the hospital so Sid could reset his nose. He didn’t talk to me once the entire time, it was horrible.’

‘I’m so sorry. Listen, I’m in the middle of something right now, but I’ll bring over some take out later and we’ll eat our problems away, okay?’

‘That sounds good.’ Bianca sighed. ‘What would I do without you?’

‘I have no idea.’ Brax looked at Charlie impatiently and the young brunette decided it was time to wrap it up. ‘I’m sorry. I really have to go. I’ll see you in a bit.’

‘Yeah, I’ll be waiting.’ The women hung up the phone.

Charlie sighed as she turned her phone off and set it back down on the breakfast table. ‘Sorry about that.’ She whispered to Brax who looked like he was deep in reflection. ‘A penny for your thoughts?’ She asked.

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The doorbell rang and Bianca anxiously wiped her tears and opened the door to find someone she hadn’t been expecting. ‘Heath.’ She sighed, having hoped that it would be Charlie. ‘Gypsy’s not here.’

‘It’s nice to see you too, princess.’ Heath didn’t wait for an answer and barged straight past the woman knocking her and the door backwards. Regaining her footing, she scoffed worriedly and hoped Charlie would get there soon. ‘I’m not here for Gypsy. I’m here for you.’ He made himself comfortable on the arm of the couch.

‘Why do you want me?’

Heath checked out the curvy blonde, eyeing her from head to toe. ‘I think that would be pretty obvious don’t you? But that’s not why I’m here.’ He stood up and walked towards her and stopped less than a metre away. ‘I want you to do something for me.’

‘Why would I do that?’ She took a fearful step backwards.

‘Because, I’m asking nicely.’ Heath took an intimidating step forward and pulled her close. Bianca struggled but was forced to give in to the river boy’s strength as he held her waist and breathed into her ear. ‘You and Murphy, you’re tight?’

Before he could get another word in, feeling the bile creep up her throat, Bianca tried to run to the bathroom but Heath gripped her tighter and pulled her back. ‘Where’d you think you’re going?’

‘Bathroom.’ The young woman barely managed to turn her head away from her captor before regurgitating what was left of her lunch onto the hardwood flooring. Heath immediately let go and stepped back in disgust, unaware of the pregnant cause of her nausea.

‘What’s up with you?’

‘What can I say? You make me sick.’ Bianca sarcastically wiped off her mouth with the back of her hand.

Heath scoffed, still reluctant to go anyway near her. ‘Yeah, whatever. You just tell your little rock star he owes me, right? He’ll know what I mean.’

‘What are you talking about?’

‘Like I said, he’ll know what I mean.’ He shuffled past her to the back door. ‘Got a little chewed up pasta on your nose.’ With that the River boy walked out the door chuckling.

Bianca ungratefully wiped her face with a tissue and grabbed a wet cloth from the kitchen grumpily. ‘I should’ve thrown up on you.’ She grumbled to herself as she scrubbed the floor squeaky clean. She was not happy with her cocky unexpected visitor, who had only made her life more complex. What was it exactly that Liam owed?

[mizziette]

FIVE

‘I’m sorry I didn’t come over last night, I know I promised I would.’ Charlie walked into the beach house and sat on the couch. She had an uneasy night with Brax trying to come to terms with their messy situation. He had taken it a little better than Charlie herself had when she first found out and she didn’t know if he grasped the severity of the situation. It had never been smooth sailing for the incognito couple and it would only continue to get rougher.

Bianca sat next to her and patted her kindly. ‘That’s okay. I managed without you. Is everything alright with you, Charlie? I know I’ve got a few problems but that doesn’t mean you can’t unload on me. I’m here to listen.’ She had sensed some concern in her friend for some time now and wanted her to feel comfortable confiding in her.

The offer was tempting but Charlie knew better than to put Bianca in danger by revealing such hazardous knowledge. Instead she smiled. ‘I’m fine, thank you. I was just a little busy with some personal stuff last night.’

‘Okay.’ Bianca sighed. ‘Heath came over last night.’ Charlie gasped. ‘Yeah, I know. He came looking for Liam. Nothing happened but it just made me realise how much I don’t want this kid to take after its dad. And what if he wants to be a part of this? I’ll be stuck with a thug knocking on my door for the next eighteen years.’

‘Heath Braxton doesn’t really strike me as the paternal type. Maybe he’ll just leave you be.’

‘Yeah, well you never know, do you? Oh god, what if my kid grows up to be a river boy?’

‘He won’t.’ Charlie put her hand on top of Bianca’s. ‘Bianca, you’re the most loving and considerate person I know. I’ve seen how you look after April. You’re going to be a great mother and an unfortunate father figure won’t make a difference.’

‘I hope you’re right.’

‘I know I’m right.’ Charlie whispered unsurely and hoped she was right. Bianca’s baby wasn’t the only little person connected to Heath Braxton; he had a niece or nephew growing inside the concerned sergeant as well. She could only hope that she hadn’t put her friends, family and baby at risk due to her sketchy taste in men. But she highly doubted it. Heath was going to flip out if he ever found out.

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She walked through the caravan park and winced uncomfortably as she saw a wallaby hopping through the scrubs. Bianca Scott was most definitely not the outdoorsy type. Dodging past various sizes of poop, she managed to reach Liam’s caravan and knocked on the door.

‘Hey, how’s your nose?’ She asked as Liam let her in sleepily.

‘Fine. What’re you doing here?’

Bianca winced at his brashness and gulped. ‘Heath came over last night.’

‘You two have fun?’ Liam said sarcastically, still very much clearly upset about his girlfriend’s betrayal. ‘Make another baby?’

‘He wanted me to give you a message.’ She tried not to take his snipe to heart unsuccessfully. ‘He says you owe him.’

Liam sat on the uncomfortable bed and put his head in his hands. He had tried so hard in rehab to put all his problems in a box but it was as if he could never escape the past. ‘This is just perfect, isn’t it?’

‘Liam, what does he mean?’

Sighing, he looked up. ‘He wants money. After Gina fired me, I was running a little low on money so I couldn’t pay off for what I had bought.’

Bianca gulped worriedly. ‘How much?’

‘Enough to make a dent.’

‘How much?’

‘Does it matter?’ Liam raised his voice in frustration. Seeing the upset look on Bianca’s face, he calmed himself down and lowered his voice. ‘Without a job at hand, more than I can afford right now.’

[mizziette]

SIX

‘You know what we need, Bee? Roo and Romeo had the right idea. A holiday in Hawaii, get a little sun, surf, shopping.’

‘Can’t we get all that here?’ Bianca raised her eyebrows as she sat talking on the phone to Charlie in the diner during her lunch break. ‘And in case you didn't realise, we don’t surf.’

‘We could learn. And you forget, there won’t be any baby daddy’s and disgruntled boyfriends in Hawaii.’

‘Good point.’ She took another bite of her garden salad. ‘What’re you up to today?’

‘I called my bosses in Area Command this morning and asked for a leave of absence. I think I need a break.’ Both Charlie and Brax had agreed the night before that this was the best way to avoid dangerous field work and it would be easier to hide a pregnancy in flowing clothes than a police uniform. It was crucial for their safety that her fragile condition remained hidden for as long as possible.

‘Good for you. What are you going to do on your holiday? Go to Hawaii?’

‘Tempting. You have no idea how tempting that sounds to run away. No, I can’t leave Ruby, especially since she’s doing her HSC and all. She needs me.’

Bianca thought she sounded a little resigned but didn’t dwell on it? ‘Is it hard? Having to consider Ruby all the time, I mean? Having someone solely depend on you?’

Charlie smiled briefly as Bianca exhibited interest in motherhood. ‘No, it feels completely natural. She’s always number one and I wouldn’t have it any other way. You’ll understand soon enough.’

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Liam walked along the beach, feeling quite stressed and confused. He had just been to see Gina about reclaiming his teaching position and had received his job back but still felt uneasy about the substantial debt he owed. All he wanted was to escape his past but it seemed to him like everything was against him; his girlfriend was pregnant to his thug dealer, who he owed a great deal of money, and he was still worried.

‘Hey Murphy, how’s it going?’ Heath and his river boy mates walked dripping out of the water towards him. There was no escaping it. ‘Looks like your nose is all healed.’

‘Nothing I can’t handle.’ Liam was clearly now uncomfortable.

‘I asked Bianca to give you a message.’ Heath put his board down and stood intimidatingly close to his former client. ‘Did you get it?’

‘Yeah, I got it.’

‘Good.’ He grinned threateningly. ‘We can meet up on Saturday then to end our business, once and for all. We wouldn’t want that nose of yours to crack again would we?’

‘I can’t do Saturday. I need more time.’ Liam wasn’t getting his pay check til next week.

‘You know what they say, if you really value something, you’ll find a way to keep it. How’s Bianca doing?’

‘Stay away from her.’ Liam gritted his teeth at his implication.

‘You really care about her, don’t you? It would be a shame if you lost her. See you Saturday.’ With that they walked away leaving Liam uneasy. If Heath had been trying to rattle him, it had worked.

Later that day, Liam and Bianca sat on the couch in the beach house sullenly. Gypsy and Lily walked into the house through the front door, breaking the discomfort. ‘Hey.’ Lily grinned as she saw Liam and flung her bag down on the floor. ‘Do you want to play Wii with me?’

‘Not now, Lil.’ Gypsy interrupted before Liam could answer. ‘You need to go do your homework first.’ Sighing, the girl took her bag and ran upstairs half-heartedly. ‘I was going to get dinner started. I was going to make fish. You staying, Liam?’

‘No.’ Liam smiled. ‘Thanks though.’

‘I think I’m going to pass on the fish too.’ Bianca rubbed her flat baby belly. She couldn’t stand sea food these days; even the smell of it made her sick. When her roommate had disappeared from view into the kitchen, she whispered to Liam, alone again. ‘I could always loan you the money.’

‘I already told you. No.’ Liam was adamant about this. At this moment in their unstable relationship, he didn’t want to feel like he owed her anything. He was still wary about the baby situation and didn’t feel comfortable taking money from someone he wasn’t on good terms with.

‘So what are you going to do?’

‘I don’t know.’

The two jumped as they heard the loud sound of glass breaking and rushed to the source of the noise. Looking into the kitchen, they found Gypsy carefully extracting a shard of glass from her arm as she stood among the broken remnants of their window. Things just got a whole lot more dangerous.

[mizziette]

SEVEN

Charlie turned the corner of the hospital hallway and ran straight into Bianca. ‘Bianca, you scared me.’

‘Hey, I was just booking an appointment with my doctor. What are you doing in the prenatal ward?’

Charlie scrambled for words. ‘Oh, I was just visiting a friend.’ She hated lying to everyone. In reality, she had been having her first prenatal check-up and it was just luck that she had told Brax that they shouldn’t come in together; it would be too risky if someone saw them walk in at the same time.

‘Oh, okay.’ Bianca smiled and accepted the excuse. ‘Anyone I know?’

‘No. I heard you had a little bit of a situation at your place a few weeks ago. Do they know who did it?’ Charlie tried to change the subject.

‘No, they don’t. It was probably some river boy nitwit though. I wouldn’t worry about it. It’s not like Gypsy was hurt; only a few scratches.’ Bianca had a few secrets of her own; Liam had made it very clear that the cops couldn’t be involved. The cardinal rule of the drug world; one never dobs in a dealer.

‘Still, people shouldn’t be allowed to get away with it. Especially the river boys. Georgina mentioned the other day that one of them wound up in hospital the day after your place got thrashed. Those guys aren’t meant to be messed with.’

Bianca nodded in agreement but before she could say anything, she found the most unlikely person walking past. ‘Speaking of river boys, what’s Darryl Braxton doing in the maternity ward? I was under the impression this floor was exclusively a women’s club.’

‘Even river boys know women, Bianca.’ Charlie gulped at the close call. ‘He’s probably visiting some one.’

‘Or maybe he knocked someone up.’ Bianca joked.

‘Yeah, maybe.’

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Bianca slipped into her most comfortable sweats and sprawled herself on the couch anxiously. The other day, Liam had managed to convincing Heath into giving him more time by bribing him with more money than he owed. Sure, it would mean he’d have to live off dirt for the next few weeks, but it was worth the peace of mind to know that the river boys wouldn’t hassle them anymore.

‘Hey, you’re back.’ Bianca sat up as Liam walked into the beach house. He had been sleeping on her couch the last few days since he wouldn’t be able to afford rent and food for a while. He was lucky to have someone like Irene to give him charity in his time of need. ‘How’d it go?’

‘As well as can be expected.’ He was returning from the meeting spot where he had given Heath’s muscle the pay from the last two weeks of work at the school. As he handed the envelope over, he felt like a heavy weight had been removed from his shoulders but deep down, he knew this to be untrue. Bianca was still unfaithful and there was no putting it off anymore; they had to deal with the consequences of her actions and work through it.

‘At least this whole horrible river boy saga is over now.

‘Not over yet.’ He gestured to her stomach and Bianca looked down in shame.

‘I didn’t plan for this to happen you know.’ There was silence. ‘Have you thought about what this means for you?’

‘I’ve been a little busy keeping you safe these last couple of weeks, so no. But I guess we should start dealing with this, right.’

‘How are we supposed to do that?’

‘I have no idea.’ Liam sat on the couch next to Bianca. ‘What do you want?’

‘I know I don’t want Heath. Honestly, I don’t even know if I want this baby. It’s like I want this baby for myself but don’t want it because of its father.’ This was the first time she had admitted it out loud. ‘I always thought I’d be having your baby and spend the rest of my life with you. How things change.’

‘My music life on the road never allowed me to make long term decisions. I never planned ahead before I met you. Just goes to show you can’t control things, no matter how settled you are.’

‘I wish I knew what to do.’

‘Yeah, me too.’ Liam stared ahead. ‘We’ll figure this out. One way or the other.’

[mizziette]

EIGHT

The doorbell rang and Charlie stood abruptly from her position on the couch. Hastily, she grabbed the pregnancy pamphlets on the table and shoved then in the drawer before making sure her bump was covered and opened the door. ‘Bianca, what’re you doing here so early?’

‘Sorry, I need to vent again. You okay? You look flushed.’ Bianca saw her friend’s puffy eyes and ruffled hair; she looked a mess.

‘I’m fine. Come in, do you want some cake? It’s chocolate.’

‘Yeah, thanks.’ Bianca stood in the kitchen as Charlie cut two large pieces. ‘Liam came over again yesterday but we didn’t talk. I mean, we talked but we didn’t talk about the stuff we need to talk about. He kept being so trivial; I just wanted to scream at him. It’s like he’s purposely avoiding the issue.’

The girls took their plates of chocolate cake and went to sit on the couch. ‘Anyone would be disoriented. I’m sure he’ll come around. He just needs some space.’

‘There’s only so much space he can have. There’s going to be a baby in eight months. He needs to figure out what he wants and soon. I wish I knew what was going through his mind.’

Charlie realised that this applied to her as well. She needed to figure this all out. ‘The truth hurts.’ She whispered mostly to herself.

‘Yeah, it does, doesn’t it? No getting around that.’ Bianca stuffed another fork of chocolate cake in her mouth and stroked her belly. ‘I can’t believe I’m saying this but I’m starting to get attached to this baby idea.’

Charlie lost the strength to resist her emotions and desperately sought the blonde woman’s comforting embrace, sobbing against her shoulder. ‘I’m scared.’ She admitted hesitantly. ‘I’m so scared, Bianca.’

‘Scared of what? Charlie, talk to me. What’s wrong?’

But the brunette remained silent; knowing any revelation to Bianca would be fatal, not only to her safety but to her vulnerability. To Charlie Buckton, after her traumatic teenage years, pregnancy only rekindled torturous memories and emotional trauma. It had been an ordeal eighteen years ago and she found it hard to find any joy in child bearing, and watching Bianca become attached and happy made her feel beyond guilty for not being able to enjoy her pregnancy.

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Liam sat on the beach and watched the waves, hoping it would wash up some sort of revelation but no answers arrived. He was still as lost and uncertain as he had been the last six weeks, ever since he had returned from rehab. His girlfriend was pregnant with someone else’s baby. He loved Bianca more than anything in the world but he didn’t know if he could love a Braxton baby. He was torn between his love for Bianca and his hatred for all things Braxton; he could only pray for clarity as he cursed silently.

‘You look like Dex when he’s trying to figure out a Rubik’s cube.’ Liam looked up to find April stroll up to him, sitting down next to the tortured artist. ‘Only his concentrating frown is a lot less serious looking. What’s on your mind?’

‘Bianca. What else?’ He shrugged.

‘You know, Bianca loves you. You’ll get through this. You’re Liam and Bianca. You have to.’

‘You know what’s going on?’ Liam looked surprised, thinking she was talking about the baby.

‘Sorry Liam, but I think the whole town knows about Bianca and Heath. He had no trouble boasting about it to everyone he knew. I’m just glad he won’t be knocking on our doorstep anytime soon.’ April was unaware about the baby, and Liam sighed. He barely knew how to handle this himself, the last thing he needed was to help others deal with it too.

April looked at her phone and tapped her thumb on it impatiently. ‘Are you expecting a call?’ Liam asked.

The young girl smiled weakly. ‘My dad was supposed to call today but he still hasn’t. It’s okay. I’m used to it. Mum and dad split up before I was even born and I’d only hear from him once or twice a year when I was a kid. He doesn’t have time for me, we both get it.’

‘That doesn’t mean it doesn’t have to hurt. You must’ve missed out on a lot.’

‘You know what, I’m actually glad he wasn’t in my life that much. He was always fighting with mum when he came to visit. They were horrible for each other, always will be. Mum had a boyfriend from when I was two to eight and I think he was the closest I came to a live in dad. We made breakfast together and did all that father daughter stuff I never got with my real dad. I just wish he was still here.’ April smiled as tears fell from her face. ‘I’m sorry. Look at me, telling my sob story, when you’re the one who really needs to talk.’

‘Don’t worry about it. I’m happy to listen.’ Liam was interested in her story. ‘He didn’t care that you weren’t his real daughter?’

‘No, we were a family, the three of us and Bianca when she was gracious enough to show her face after her many travels. Biology doesn’t matter; it’s the love that really counts. Even with me and Bianca, we’re only half-sisters but that’s not really relevant to us.’

‘You’re too smart for your own good, you know that.’ Liam smiled at the young girl who had become like a little sister to him. ‘Maybe you should start an advice agency or something.’

April looked surprised. ‘I wasn’t aware that I had helped.’

‘More than you realise. Listen I should get going. I’ll see you around, okay?’

Liam walked off after the two had said their goodbyes. The young teenager had given him something to think about.

Everything she had said made so much sense and thinking back, he couldn’t believe he had been so closed minded about this whole situation. Walking to his motorbike, he hopped on and headed for the beach house.

[mizziette]

NINE

‘Oh my god, he really said that?’ Bianca sat on the kitchen counter and swindled her legs as Charlie sat on the table, both sharing a tub of ice cream between each other.

Bianca nodded eagerly as her friend gave her the ice cream tub. ‘He said that biology doesn’t matter. And that it was love that really counts. I don’t know where he got that from because it really doesn’t sound like something Liam Murphy would say, but he said it. And more importantly he meant it.’ She beamed gleefully.

‘I’m so happy for you, Bee.’

‘I know. I’m happy for me too. I can’t believe I’m having a baby. Liam and I are going to have a baby. Are you happy for me?’ Her happiness was delirious.

Charlie laughed. ‘I just said I was.’

‘Right’ Bianca happily put another spoonful of ice cream into her mouth. ‘Who’s having a baby again?’

‘You are.’

‘Yes, I am! I’m having a baby!’ She sang at the top of her voice.

‘You are?’

Both women looked at the doorway where the simultaneous high pitched voices had come from to find Ruby and April with their mouths hanging on the floor. ‘Oh my god, Bianca, you and Liam are having a baby?’ April yelped and went to bear hug her big sister. ‘That’s so- Oh my god! I’m going to be an aunt!’

‘Yeah I know!’ Bianca’s happiness had clouded her judgement and the tiny little factor of Heath hadn’t factored into her mind yet. Her delirium was so infective that Ruby and April joined in too; neither making the connection of the baby to Heath and Ruby walked over to the iPod dock and hit the play button, dance music bellowing throughout the house. For the next hour, the four women danced their hearts out to the music and left their inhibitions. worries and baby drama at the door.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Bianca Scott was still deliriously happy when she opened her house door that night to see who was at the door. ‘It’s you.’ Her smile immediately left her face as she realised that it was Heath at the door. For the first time in days, since Liam had told her that he wanted them to be a family, she had kidded herself and pretended that everything was perfect but it wasn’t. She still had to figure out what to do with Heath, the biological father of her baby.

‘Not even a hello? I was beginning to think you were warming up to me but I guess I was wrong.’ He let himself in and strolled around.

‘What do you want?’

‘Is Gypsy around? We were supposed to meet up.’ Bianca shook her head. ‘Well, I guess I’ll just have to wait for her then. Gee, you’re getting a little soft around the edges, aren’t you? Oh well, I like my women with a bit on meat in them anyway. Get us a beer would you, princess?’

‘I told you before; we don’t keep alcohol in the house.’ Bianca pursed her lips at the fat comment, and wanted to scream the truth to him but didn’t dare be so impulsive.

‘No matter, I got to use the little girl’s room anyway.’ Heath walked off without permission into the hall and into the bathroom.

A few moments later, the doorbell rang. ‘I can’t do this anymore. Keeping this bottled up is killing me.’ Charlie barged into the house as Bianca opened the door and started pacing.

‘Charlie, what’s wrong?’ She kept pacing nervously. ‘Charlie, listen to me, you’ve been acting erratic for weeks. Just tell me what’s bothering you. I’m your friend; you don’t have to hide anything from me.’

‘I think I’m pregnant.’ Bianca’s jaw dropped twice as low as Ruby’s and April’s had in the morning. ‘Actually I don’t think I’m pregnant, I know I’m pregnant.’ She lifted up her baby doll top partially to reveal a large baby bump.

‘That’s a big bump. How long have you been hiding this? More importantly, why have you been hiding this? And who’s the father?’ Bianca had so many questions.

‘I’m five months pregnant.’ Charlie whispered and inhaled deeply. ‘And the reason I haven’t told anyone is because it’s Brax’ baby.’

‘You’re having Darryl Braxton’s baby?’ Charlie nodded. ‘Oh my god, that’s huge! I’m assuming you too are together? I can see the attraction I guess. I mean, confident, easy on the eye, what’s not to love? Five months is a long time to keep something this big a secret. No wonder you’re a mess.’

Charlie nodded again, trying to fight back the tears that were teasing its way to the surface. ‘Hey, Charlie, come here.’ Bianca took the tearful girl in her arms and held her tightly. ‘It’s okay, sweetie. I’m here for you, whatever you need.’

The girls were interrupted by the flush of the toilet, unceremoniously reminding Bianca of the guest in the bathroom. In the midst of everything she had completely forgotten about Heath and hoped he hadn’t heard anything as the smug man walked out into the living area.

‘Sergeant, you’re looking a little worse for wear today?’ He spoke with a cheeky grin, prompting both girls to the conclusion that he hadn’t overheard their conversation. Heath patted his shoulder. ‘Tell you what, if you need a shoulder to lean on, you call me, eh? You tell Gypsy I came by.’

Heath let himself out of the house and closed the door behind him, his grin instantly turning into a frown. He was known for his quick temper but had decided to play it cool in this particular instant. It amazed him the kinds of information people divulged when they didn’t know anyone was listening. Frowning, he marched over to his car, determined to get to the bottom of the mystery that revolved around his brother and the law.

[mizziette]

TEN

‘How’d you sleep?’ Charlie opened her puffy red eyes at the question. After having a heart felt teary conversation about both their babies, they had ended up falling asleep on Bianca’s bed.

‘Better than I have in a while.’ Charlie pulled up the blanket higher over the both of them, yawning heavily.

‘Good. Listen, I ran into April while on a midnight chocolate binge last night and told her to keep my baby thing hush for now. She seemed to have realised about Heath by then and said she’d talk to Ruby about keeping quiet too.’

‘That’s good, I guess. But you know you’ll have to tell him sooner or later. I don’t think even Heath Braxton’s that bad at math to figure out he’s the father.’

‘I know. I just want to enjoy the serenity before my life becomes confined into a zoo enclosure for all of Summer Bay to gawk at.’

‘Don’t worry, once I enter the exhibit, no one would even notice you were there. Who ever heard of a cop and a gang leader having a baby together?’

Bianca looked at her friend worryingly as she half laughed and cried at the same time. Reaching across the pillow, she wiped the tears off her delicate face. ‘You know I’m here for you, anything you need.’

‘Thank you.’ Charlie whispered. ‘I can’t believe I let it get this far. I’m putting so many people in danger, it’s not funny. Why am I doing this?’

‘People do crazy things for love.’ Bianca smiled sympathetically.

‘Yeah, we sure do.’

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Colleen served the coffee and listened in curiosity April and Ruby lean in close in secrecy as she hesitantly walked away behind a nearby plant. ‘So you’re not going to tell anyone, right? Not a word?’

‘I wouldn’t dream of it.’ Ruby reassured her friend for the hundredth time. ‘Nobody will hear about any Braxton-Scott hybrid from me. Scouts honour’

April scrunched up her face delicately. ‘Do you have to call it that? You make it sound like Bianca’s having some crazed abomination instead of a baby.’

A gasp sounded from behind a plant but the girls were too engrossed in their conversation to notice it. ‘Well it is Heath Braxton’s baby. It wouldn’t surprise me if it was a crazed abundination.’

‘It’s abomination Ruby.’

‘Yeah, that’s what I said, abundination. I never understood how you and Dex can use such big words.’

April rolled her eyes good naturedly. ‘Look who just rocked up.’ The girls looked at the entrance to find Heath stroll in a mood.

‘What do you think’s up with him? He looks more worked up than usual.’ Ruby observed as he waited impatiently while Colleen hassled Leah excitedly, anxiously glancing at the teenagers as she did so. ‘And why the hell does Colleen keep looking this way?’

‘Colleen will be Colleen I guess. Check out the grazes on Heath’s knuckles. You know, I could’ve sworn I saw Brax this morning on the way to meet you with a black eye. You think it’s connected somehow?’

Ruby looked alarmed. ‘Brax got beat up?’ This worried her because it meant Heath might know about his brother and Charlie. She had to admit she wasn’t too thrilled when she first found out, but any fool could see that they loved each other. And any fool like Heath and the river boys could see that as a threat and hurt them.

April looked confused. ‘Yeah, are you okay? You cheeks suddenly went from rosy red to snow white.’

Ruby abruptly stood up. ‘I will be. Listen, I just remembered I have to go see Charlie. I’ll call you later, okay?’

‘Okay. Bye.’ April watched her friend practically run out the door. Sighing she turned back to the counter where Heath was still waiting.

‘What did you just say?’ He demanded as Colleen told Leah what she had just overheard.

‘I’ll have you know, boy, that I don’t condone eaves dropping. It’s a nasty habit if you ask me.’

Heath ignored the old lady’s hypocritical chastising and turned around almost in shock, locking his eyes on April. Storming over, he leant his hands on the table, making the young girl retreat back into her chair.

‘Did you know?’ His voice sounded threatening but mostly just shocked.

April looked uncomfortable. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

‘Bianca. Is the old hag over there telling the truth or not?’ He pointed back at Colleen. ‘Is your sister pregnant?’

‘I don’t know.’ April was scared at Heath’s growing shock but he sighed and abruptly stormed out without another word. Frightened, she reached for her phone and hastily texted Bianca, warning her of this newest development.