[Karie]

When I was little, when my cousins were all playing house and school, I was pretending to be the lead singer of Wilson Phillips or Loretta Lynn. I never wanted that domestic life. I never wanted the husband and the kids.

So why the hell has that been on my mind so much lately?

I sit at work, working on an article about a new album that’s coming out and all I can do is think about Becca, who is getting bigger every day, and the little girl she is carrying.

Then I think about Nick and it all comes crashing down.

I finally finished my work for the paper right at deadline. The copy editors and designers were not amused. My boss wasn’t happy with me because I couldn’t make a single news report about a rumored new Garth Brooks album take shape.

It’s so unlike me.

“I know something is going on with you, but really, keep your focus on your work,” Greg said as I nodded before stepping into the elevator, leaving the office. “You’re better than this, Karie!” he shouted as the doors closed.

I thought about what he said on the bus ride home. I didn’t feel like walking so I took the bus. I hardly ever take the bus unless it’s raining and there’s no cabs around. The office isn’t far from my apartment building but I didn’t have the energy.

Plus, when my brain is working overtime, I usually trip and fall a lot because I’m clumsy.

“Hey Miss Karie,” Mrs. Witherington, an older lady who lives in my building, said as I walked into the lobby of my apartment building.

“Hi Mrs. Witherington,” I replied. “How are you?” I asked, opening my mailbox, only to pull out a rose.

“Oh, a secret admirer?” she asked, closing her mailbox. “Maybe that young blonde guy I’ve seen you with a lot recently?”

“I doubt it. He probably just had someone bring it to me,” I smiled, smelling the rose. “He’s in California working.”

“Well take care sweetie, you work too hard,” she said, walking through the double doors that lead to her apartment that was on the first floor.

I closed my mailbox and began walking up the steps to my floor while sorting through my mail. Bills, bills, bills, college alumni crap… nothing really, except a rose. I smiled, smelling it again as I reached my floor and paused.

Rose petals on the floor, leading down the hallway.

I began walking, following the rose petals and smiled as I saw that they lead directly to my apartment door.

It had to be some cruel joke. There was no way Nick had come to Nashville. He couldn’t have.

I walked down to my apartment and unlocked the door, slowly opening it.  I noticed candles lit all around the room. The bastard was copying me. That or this really was some trick.

“Hello?” I asked as I put my things down on the floor and shut the door back. “Is anybody here?” I looked down, feeling Prue rub against my leg and sighed. She wasn’t purring like she normally would be so I knew that both she and Scarlett had been fed.

I walked towards my bedroom and paused, seeing Nick asleep in the soft, comfortable chair that sat in the corner of my room. I put my hand over my mouth, not believing that he was actually here.

“Nick,” I said, walking up to him. I put my hand on his face and moved the pillow in his lap so that I could straddle his waist. “Nick, wake up.”

“Karie?” he asked, opening his eyes to see me. “Damn, I fell asleep didn’t I? What time is it?”

“Almost midnight,” I said, kissing him deeply before either one of us could say anything else. He packed away from the kiss and stared at me. “What?”

“I didn’t get to surprise you like I wanted to,” he said. “Surprise,” he said, causing me to giggle slightly. “After your call, I had to come here.”

“Nick, it’s driving me crazy, I think,” I said as he nodded. “It’s all I’ve been thinking about lately. It wasn’t like this until I went out there and actually met Becca and saw her stomach and the sonogram video and it all became real to me.”

“Why didn’t you say something sooner?” he asked.

“I didn’t want to but now it’s affecting my work. That’s why I’m so late tonight because I barely made deadline and just, I don’t know Nick. I need to know what’s going to happen with this before it drives me crazy thinking about it,” I said as he nodded.

“Well what do you want to do?” Nick asked as I stared at him. “We’re both here and you’ve met Becca and you two seem to get along great and you know everything about the situation now.” I nodded. “What do you want to do, Karie?”

“I can’t make the decision on my own.”

“I can’t make it either because I don’t want to lose you,” he said as I looked down at his t-shirt, running my hand over it.

“What if I told you that no matter what you decided that you wouldn’t lose me?” I asked suddenly before looking up at him.

“Are you sure about that?”

“This has happened so fast, but I want you and if I have to do some things that I never planned on doing, then so be it,” I said as he smiled at me. “You’re doing things I’m sure that you never planned on by being with me.”

“All this country music stuff… absolutely,” he said, causing me to laugh. “Seriously, are you sure about this?”

“Whatever you decide,” I told him as he nodded. “I had an idea though.”

“What?”

“I can get Becca an internship here and that way she’s not totally wasting a semester by taking it off of college to have the baby,” I said as Nick raised an eyebrow. “She’s going to be out there by herself and you can’t be there or me, or Brian and Leighanne depending on our decision and her parents don’t know about the pregnancy, so that way she’s with someone no matter what our decision is.”

“That’s a good idea.”

“I thought so too.”

“And I think she’d like that.”

“Me too.”

“I know what I want to do, Karie,” he said as I stared him in the eyes. “I just, I don’t want to push you into anything.”

“You want to keep the baby, don’t you?” I asked as he nodded. “But why?”

“I thought you said -”

“No, no, I’m just asking why do you want to keep it,” I said, interrupting him. “I mean, keep her. Why? Why not let Brian and Leighanne adopt her?”

“Honestly?” he asked. “I don’t know, I just… I just can’t imagine seeing Brian and Leighanne raise the bay and knowing that she’s mine. I mean, if you didn’t want this, then I would put up with it because, well, it might be the best choice. They’re great parents to Baylee and they’re good people. Brian’s a better man than I’ll ever be, probably. They’re good parents.”

“They seem like it,” I said, not knowing them very well.

“Maybe it’s selfish of me because I know that I probably won’t be a good Dad and I won’t always be around probably and I never even thought about having kids but something is just telling me that this is what I need and now that I have you, I think I can do it,” he said, looking me in the eyes. “I think we can do it.”

“If I’m not good at it, do you promise you won’t hate me?” I asked as he nodded.

“As long as you promise me the same thing,” he said as I nodded, watching him sit up slightly, wrapping his arms around me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and smiled at him. “So I guess this means…. Wow, I don’t know if I can say it.”

“What are we getting ourselves into, Nick?” I asked as he smiled.

“Are you really sure?”

I nodded.

“Then, we’re having a baby, I guess,” he said as I closed my eyes and started to laugh.  “Holy shit, we’re having a baby.”

“We’re having a baby.”

“What made you change your mind?” he asked as I shrugged. “No, really, what is it?”

“I got to thinking about things and how if I love you, then I’ll do what you really want and like my Mom said, this might be my only chance and who knows what might happen in the future. I might change my mind and decide I want kids and we can’t have one, you know? We couldn’t adopt or something, so this might be my only shot at it,” I said as he nodded.

“Plus, it’s a little girl,” he said. “Admit it, that got to you.”

“Okay, so the girl part might have helped soften the decision,” I said. “I’m horrible with little boys.”

“We’re having a baby…”

“We’re having a baby,” I whispered as he wrapped his arms around me tightly, resting his head on my shoulder. I sat there, frozen, not believing the words that had just came out of my mouth.

We’re having a baby.

I’m having a baby. Okay, well not me technically but I will be the one taking care of it after it’s born. I’m going to be a mother.

Suddenly this wasn’t sitting well with me.

[/Karie]