The silence which filled the room was beginning to become unbearable.

     "This is bad." Roddrick's voice was horse as she stared at nothing in particular but the future that lied ahead of her. Her breathing became labored as her hands slowly touched her stomach.

    "I can't...there's no way that any of this can happen right now." She shook her head, tears continuing to fall.

    "You've known." Milo finally spoke up from his corner of the room.

    "How could I have known?"

    "You said you've taken tests at home." He was trying to recount all that he had heard when the doctor told them what their lust had brought them.

      "It was anything serious. Just suspicion! And not even mine-"

      "You still should have said something to me." Milo's face was contorted in visible anger.

    "They were all negative. I know they were negative." She cried to herself. "I can't have a baby right now." Climbing off of the bed, she repeated those same words to herself over and over again as she grabbed for her clothes, putting them on hurriedly.

     Milo felt small sitting in his chair as his head tried to comprehend everything.

     "Where are you going?" He asked her bitingly as Roddrick frantically dialed a number on her phone, leaving the room. His feet chased behind her as she ran into nurses and others during her escape into the hall.

    "Roddrick..." He called after her. She ignored him. She hadn't even managed to take off the gown completely, having put her jacket on over it. She fiddled with the buttons as she listened to the ring tone that seemed to go on forever.

    "Hey, I was just about to be on my way to get you." Danny answered.

    "I'm not at work anymore. Can you please come get me at the hospital?" She couldn't stop the shakiness of her voice from showing through, instilling worry in Danny as she became concerned.

    "The hospital? Why are you at the hospital? What happened, Roddrick?" She quickly began to move faster than before in order to pick up Roddrick. She rushed out of her apartment without even locking the door as she raced to her car.

    "Talk to me!"

     "I burned myself and fainted and-please just come and get me."

     "Tell me why you are crying, Roddrick." Danny's heart rate sped up as she began to worry about her friend. Not knowing or understanding everything that was going on with Roddrick caused her to become even more emotionally charged, demanding answers from her.

     "No." Roddrick looked from side to side, trying to figure out which way would be the fastest out of the building. Going right, she could see Milo close by out the corner of her eye.

    "I'm on my way now. So just-be where I can find you."

    "Please don't hang up on me."

    "I won't. I'll stay right here on the phone with you." Danny promised, hating to hear the tormented sound of Roddrick's voice.

     "Will you please stop running away and talk to me!" Danny's eyes narrowed at the sound of a man's voice.

      "I don't need you following me right now." Turning around sharply, Roddrick's fingers pointed at him, shaking as her scowl caught the attention of others around them. Halting for just a moment, Milo was taken aback by how angry she seemed to be.

    "You know, I'm starting to see you're a pro at ducking and dodging." Milo laughed sarcastically. Rolling her eyes, Roddrick continued on.

         "I really need you to just leave me alone right now." When Roddrick spoke, Danny realized that he was in fact speaking to her.

    "Do you really think I can do that right now? You're not the only one having to deal with this!" Milo had finally caught up with Roddrick as she found an exit; the night air blew against his face as he came near.

    "Is that the Milo guy? Why is he there with you, Roddrick? Is he the reason you're there?" Danny's fist tightened around the steering wheel as her foot pressed even more on the gas.

      "After a day like today, I really don't have the energy to fight with you right now." Roddrick's entire demeanor was downtrodden as her shoulders slumped forward, eyes red from tears and exhaustion.

     Somehow, Milo was able to see through his own haze of bewilderment and shock to see the stress that lied in her eyes.

     "I'm not here to fight with you. But we can't not talk about this. " Reigning in any hostility that would cause this situation to turn sour, Milo's voice lowered into a more reasonable tone. When his hands went to the outline of her jaw, Roddrick's head slunk towards his chest as silent cries escaped her. Her strength was gone, and she could no longer hold back the tears.

    "I don't know what's going on." She moaned into his shirt. Taking the phone from her hand, Milo pressed the ‘End' button, ceasing the screaming on the other end.

   "Neither do I." He guided them to a nearby bench, where another guest smoked a cigarette while watching the two in silence. He stood immediately, putting out the cigarette with a nod to Milo, before heading back into the hospital.

     Out of all of the things Milo had envisioned doing with Roddrick, having a baby hadn't been a part of his plans this early-if at all.

     A painful silence fell over the expecting pair as the fear of a child began to settle in.

     "We can't have a baby. I don't know you. You don't know me. "Pushing off of him, her hands fell into her lap as she shrugged hopelessly.

     "We don't have time to think about that right now, Roddrick. I know this is upsetting-I'm just as surprised and scared shitless as you are, but this isn't something that you can just make go away." Milo paused as his mind raced with all of the possible endings this pregnancy could have." Right?" he asked sounding unsure.

   Roddrick's arms were crossed as she picked up on the hint in his voice. Her movements along with her tears stopped as she was faced with the one option that could put an end to this quickly-abortion.

      "We have to make a decision that makes sense. A responsible one for the both of us even though we are far from that." Her eyes flitted over to Milo as his jaw tightened. The mixture of emotions on her face told her he had something to say, but instead he kept quiet.

   It was her right to choose, it was her body and therefore she could-should have the ultimate decision in this. The right for a woman to choose had always been something she stood by, and undoubtedly believed in. Being in the shoes that many women before her have found themselves in situations like this proved to be a lot easier said than done.

    "There's no way you think I can afford to take care of a baby." She saw the distant look of restraint in Milo's eyes as he sighed heavily, standing to only walk away and crouch close to the sidewalk, locking his fingers behind his head.

    When Roddrick went to sit on the curb, she had to fight through the heavy weight which made her body tremble as she sat before him.

     "If we were smart about this, we would already know how everything should be...handled." When Roddrick's words met her own ears, they sounded like a stranger had been the one to speak. The suggestion of abortion rolling off her tongue seemed bitter and foreign. When she looked to Milo, she saw that he didn't believe in her words any more than she did.

    "Are we on the same page about what that even means?" Milo scooted closer, sitting shoulder to shoulder with Roddrick. She naturally gravitated towards leaning her head into his opened and welcoming chest as a strong hand gripped her arm in the cool dark night.

      She looked to the fingertips that had turned white from the pressure he applied with his grip.

     "What do you think we should do? Honestly." For some reason, Roddrick felt that if Milo's words mirrored her thoughts of owning up and going through with the pregnancy, she would be able to feel less like a fool for deciding she could bear undergoing an abortion.

     His silence drew Roddrick away from his chest as she watched his head shake from side to side.

     Her heart dropped.

     "We can't run from this. We can't make this disappear, or ignore it. I've done that way too many times before," Running one hand over his face, he locked his eyes with Roddrick's," I can't do that ever again."

     "You would want to keep it? The baby?" She spoke with abated breath.

      "Yes." He replied without hesitation.

       "Are you saying this now...or do you really mean it? Because...Milo I can't bring a baby into my life thinking you'll be there to help and then have you go back on your promise. We could co-parent-- do whatever we have to but I'm not going to do this on my own. I'm not going to be that, I've always sworn to myself-"

      "I wouldn't do that to you, Roddrick. You're worrying about something that would never happen." He held her chin between his fingers as he steadied her face. She had begun to speak faster and more frantically as she thought of all of the ways he could back out of it all 6 months down the road, leaving her to fall flat on her face.

     "But you-"

      "But nothing. That's the end of that, okay?" His thumb ran gentle strokes along the outline of her jaw as she nodded in agreement. Tear residue still resided in her eyes, spilling to the brim of her lids only to fall down silently again.

    "Roddrick. Roddrick, you don't have to worry about me leaving you to deal with this all by yourself-"

    "I'm not crying about that." She waved him away as she tried her best to wipe away the wetness against her skin, causing it to redden. "I'm crying because holy fuck, Milo, I've got to do so much now." Her shoulders slouched as she turned to him, incredulous laughter building from the pit of her stomach, moving its way up and raddling her chest along with it."Holy. Fuck."

     Milo wasn't able to share in her laughter of comfort-though it bordered more along the lines of insanity-- as he too realized, there was a lot to figure out. The income he had now was just enough to support him alone and nothing more. He had never held a job before in his life, and just barely got by with his paid gigs now. They were something but not enough to take on two more beings with needs and necessities.

     "It's going to work out, Roddrick." He spoke seriously.  The words were not only for Roddrick, but for himself as well. His initial thought had been to keep the baby no matter what, but now he saw that there was much more to that and he had barely wrapped his head around preparing for what lied ahead.

     Feeling his arm curl around her waist, Roddrick slowly reached out to grasp the hand that lied at her side. The instant their fingers met, they intertwined against the tremble of her stomach as she took a deep breath.    

     "I had no idea something like this would have happened. I was just-I was just trying to---"Months ago, allowing herself to want and indulge in Milo had been her own mini revolt against the bondage she kept herself trapped in. She had snuck away for just one night from herself in order to be free.

     Now it seemed she had bound herself forever-except in a very different way.

    "Who would have known? "

   "We did. We knew better even back then..."

    "Roddrick!" The sound of a car door slamming and feet hitting the pavement echoed through the dead silence of the hospital parking lot. Moving her hair from her face, Roddrick felt a rush of relief enter her at the sight of Danny. She had forgotten how desperate she had been to have her friend there to save her just moments ago.

    When she stood and waited for Danny run towards her with open arms ran, Milo allowed his hand and hold to coast down her side; he wanted to keep her close, afraid that they would lose the little progress they had just made with each other as he was thrown back into the shadow of a stranger as Roddrick began crying into her friend's shoulder.

    "What happened to you?" Lightly touching the bandages around Roddrick's hand, Danny began shaking her head.

     "It was an accident. I touched a hotplate and it burned the shit out of me." Roddrick could taste the salt of her tears seeping between her lips as she let Danny turn her hand over to inspect the handiwork.

    "And you're still crying about it?" Cutting her eyes to Milo as he stood, she waved her hand before him to keep him from coming close.

    "Danny..." Roddrick could see her chest swell and nose flare as she pointed at Milo menacingly.

     "What the hell are you doing here?" Her voice seemed to ricochet off of everything near them and even sent a shiver down Roddrick's back.

     "We didn't get to really introduce ourselves before. I'm Milo and-"

      "I know who you are so just save it. I want to know why you are still harassing her." As Danny stood guard of Roddrick, she could see the best friend who would help her fight her problems at the drop of a hat back in high school.

     Milo pursed his lips, knowing that anything he was to say would be bullshit to Danny's ears.

     "Roddrick can explain...all of this to you."

     "What the hell does she have to tell me?" Danny's neck snapped to the side as she sneered at Milo.

     "I don't think this is the best place to tell you everything, or the best time. She's been through enough tonight and I really think she should rest before she gets even more upset." Milo's eyes never left Roddrick's as he spoke, wanting to see that she hadn't gone back to blocking him out. The small nod helped to reassure him as she began pulling Danny aside.

     "He's right. I don't feel up to talking about everything again."

     "Just tell me what you need to say." Danny urged. She couldn't shake the anticipation she felt waiting to find out

     "Not now, Danny."

     "Not now? I drove all the way over here like I lost my mind and now you're telling me you don't want to tell me whatever it is you need to tell me? Are you kidding me right now, Roddrick?" Danny brought a hand to the side of her face as she took a deep breath.

    "You can't just get me all hyped up and not expect me to want an answer."

     "You know I wouldn't keep anything from you."

     "Then what do you call this?" Her eyes widened as she looked at Roddrick bewildered.

      "Milo was right about this not being the place to talk."

      "Then what would be better for you? See, you're playing too much Roddrick. I don't get why it's so damn difficult to-"

     "She's pregnant." Milo wanted the yelling to end as he saw the flushed look on Roddrick's face as she shrunk back from Danny." And we're handling it." He cut her off before she could respond as he stood between the two women

     Danny simmered down, now able to see the worn look Roddrick had.

     "But...just the other day you said you weren't."

     "As far as the home tests went, that was true." Uncrossing her hands, she rubbed the sides of her legs as she shrugged." They ran other tests here and ... turns out that the ones I had bought had been faulty."

     Danny took a deep breath as her shoulders fell. "What are you going to do?" Though her eyes met Milo's, her question was directed towards Roddrick.

    "We're handling it." She answered.

     "Meaning?"

     "Meaning. Meaning we're keeping the baby." Roddrick said with finality. She watched as Danny rolled her eyes but held her tongue.

    "Girl, I can't tell you what to do or how to live-"

    "No, you can't." Roddrick said as calmly as possible.

     "But are you sure about this?" Danny knew that Roddrick was a grown woman and had made a grown woman decision. Both when she met Milo and now as she said she would keep the baby she now carried. After being friends for ten years, she just wanted to make sure that Roddrick knew that she would support her in any way she could.

     "Danny, honestly I don't know what I'm doing but I know this is what I want to do. I just would hope that you would understand that and-"

     "Of course I understand that. You don't think I'd be right there changing shitty diapers with you? Actually, I wouldn't be changing any as I would be handing you the new ones." The furrowed brow on Danny's face relaxed. With a sigh of relief Roddrick smiled genuinely for the first time, glad that she had her best friend's support.

    "Why are you making all that noise? You act like you're 16 and pregnant and just had to tell your mom you got knocked up by some random guy." Danny nudged her as Rockelle's face entered her thoughts.

    "My mom." She groaned as she held her head between her hands, laughing." She's going to have so much shit to say when she finds out."

    "She's going to trash talk for the rest of the pregnancy. Good thing you're getting out of there, right?" Danny's eyes lost their humor as she looked over Roddrick's shoulder to a quiet Milo.

     "Hey asshole," She called.

      "Danny..." Roddrick scolded.

     "When it comes time to decorate the nursery, I'll stop by and help. It's going to be glorious, right?" Danny was testing Milo as he stood wide eye. She knew the two of them had no plans set up at all, but she got a kick out of the realization of such a big responsibility in Milo's eyes.

    "We actually hadn't gotten around to talking about all of that yet."

    "So you're just going to have her out on the streets? Pregnant? Where she gonna live, huh? You know there are freaks out here that will pay some cash for a pregnant woman to give them a cup of titty milk--"

     "What Danny is trying to say is she wishes us the best of luck as we figure everything out." Roddrick was so used to her outlandish ways, but saw that Milo wasn't as amused.

     "You know, that's very thoughtful of you." Milo responded, placing his hands in his pockets.

     "Oh." Danny raised her brows with a small smile to Roddrick."I don't think he likes me." She whispered as she waved to Milo.

     "Don't worry! You'll be seeing me a lot more. It will give us some time to bond. You get want Roddrick, then you have to take the whole package..."

     "I'm gonna discontinue your ass if you don't chill..." Roddrick playfully threatened. As the two began to settle down, she thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to offer him a ride home.

       "I've had enough for one night-I think it's time for me to go home."

        Walking to her slowly, Milo nodded. "You should get some rest."

         Resisting the urge to twiddle her fingers, Roddrick spoke with a straight face." Do you need a ride? Danny can drop you off."

     "Did you just volunteer my gas?" Ignoring Danny, she waited for his response.

     "As gracious as that sounds, I'll have to decline the offer, thanks Danny." Milo's smile could easily be mistaken for a grimace as he sent it her way." I think I can find my way back."

    "If you say so." Roddrick shrugged as they locked gazes.

    "I would really appreciate it if you'd call and let me know you're home safe." Milo's eyes sparked with care. Just before she nodded in agreement, she realized that she wouldn't be able to after losing his number months ago.

    "Well, in that case..." Pulling her phone from her bag, she handed it to him as he shook with soft laughter.

    "I see you didn't keep my number..."

    "Oh, you know how things get sometimes." Taking the phone back from him, Roddrick gave one final goodbye as she began walking away with Danny. As they drove away from the parking lot, Roddrick could still spot Milo's figure in the side view mirror, never having left his spot. Sitting back in her seat, she closed her eyes as she held on hand to her forehead, and the other just barely hovering over her stomach.

    Danny was the first to break the silence as she noticed her tenderly touching her belly.

    "Well, at least he's cute."