groovygamers.com

OOC: I'm not sure whether this should be an actual chapter or an Out-of-frame post. I put it here, so there's room if you'd like to play it out. :)

Tuesday evening.

Alexandra Crow arrives home a little later than usual, she had some errands to run and got stuck in traffic. She felt a little guilty because Colin was still bandaged and he could hardly cook on his own. When she opens the door, though, she smells pizza, so she figures he already dealt with that. Mmm, she too wouldn't say no to some pizza now. Oh right. Sarah was coming to help him with homework. She probably stayed for dinner and they called for it. She hears music coming from Colin's room but not their voices, she's likely already gone.

"Colin, I'm home!" she calls.

Colin barely peeks out from his door. "Hi mom! I'm a little busy here. I'll join you as soon as I'm done."

"Ok" she sighs. She hangs her coat and her purse, and goes to her room to take off her shoes and get comfortable. Then she goes back to the kitchen. When she turns on the light, though, she's a bit surprised. The pizza box is there on the table, untouched and still hot. She opens it and sees it's for two, and as she orders it when she's with Chris.

There's also a gift-wrapped package, with a note -Don't open it until you're with Chris.-.

"Wha-"

The door bell rings, and she opens to Chris. She's quite puzzled, and so is he to see her in dressing gown and pajamas when he leans in to kiss her.

"So, what's up?" he asks.

"What do you mean what's up?"

"Colin called and said I should drop by. Uhmm, is that pizza? I haven't had dinner yet and I'm starving. I asked him if the world was about to end, and he said 'not literally'. So I hurried up."

"You're more informed than me. I figure the pizza is for us then. And so is this." she says, taking him to the kitchen and showing him the package.

"Ooh, a mysterious present. Well, I'm here. I guess you can open it now. He must have a reason for this setup. And I don't mind the pizza." he takes a slice. "I wonder how he got the timing right. No, on a second thought, I'd better not wonder."

She unwraps the package. Inside, there's a blank cardboard box, and Colin wrote something on top of it.
-I love you both. A lot. And you'll probably have a lot of talking to do, that should be done without me around. So I'll wait up in my room, until you'll feel like coming and talking about it with me too. Sit down. Take your time. Breathe. Eat the pizza while it's hot. And really, I love you. Whatever happens.-

"Uhm." says Chris. "The mystery deepens."

Alex says nothing, but sits down. More because she feels she needs to than because of the note. And she opens the box.

Inside, she finds another box, marked One Step Pregnancy Test Stick. And another note by Colin. -Congratulations. It's a girl.-

Chris sits down too.

"Oh god, Colin got Sarah pregnant!"  Alex says standing.  Chris has a hand on her wrist before she can get far.

"Don't take this as an insult to your motherly instincts, but I actually think he'd have come to me if that were the case."  Chris looks at the contents of the box again.  Then his eyes go to Alex.  "Ah.  I'm just throwing this out there."

"No."  she says before he can finish his thought.  "We've been very careful."

"Yeah, but they say that it's not one hundred percent effective."

"It's not like we rely on one thing Chris."

"I know.  But, humor me."  he says, handing her the pregnancy test.

Fifteen minutes later Alexandra emerges from the bathroom.  Chris notices she's been crying, he thought she was taking a long time.  He goes to her, putting his hands on her shoulders.  "Alex?"  She holds up the pregnancy test.  It has a plus sign in bright blue on it.  Chris looks at it, then points to himself and then the test and then to her, "Equals baby girl?"

She nods and puts her head on his chest.  "Yes."

OOC: Colin's mom comes in to see him later on, he's officially informed.  There is no other talk about it that night, she just tells him that Chris and her are going to try to work it out.

Colin too notices she's been crying. He's a child with perfect memory and remembers the times after his dad died, when she came to his bed, trying to conceal the red eyes, to cuddle with him a bit.

So he does the same thing. He gently pulls her down on his bed, hugs her, and keeps her there for a while, playing with her hair.

"I think it's going to be all right, mom." he says after a while. "Everything is going to be all right."