Pops

by Screaming Mimi

  “We’ll be keeping you in the hospital for at least another day. Mrs. Stone you’ll need to make sure that he takes it easy at home. No heavy lifting or that sort of thing, until we see him two weeks from the time we release him.” Beth nodded and agreed to make sure I’d take it easy, it gave me hope that she planned on sticking around. After the doctor left, it wasn’t long before Bliss and Bart showed up, followed by several of the guys. Unfortunately, the pain meds the nurse had given me knocked me out shortly after they got here.

  Chapter Fifteen

  BETH

  Slipping back into Castor’s room after everyone left, I wasn’t surprised to see him out cold. That many people would wear out a healthy man, let alone one who went through what he had. Seeing him, lying there in the stark white bed, surrounded by machines, brought back the fear of losing him all over again. There were so many things left unsaid between us, if I lost him I’d never get a second chance.

  Sitting beside his bed, holding his hand, I allowed the tears to fall freely down my face. Life could change in the blink of an eye. People you loved could be torn from you without warning; life could throw you a curveball at any moment. Right now, I was fed up with curveballs; I just wanted a nice easy pitch coming my way for once. I had a feeling though, once I talked to him, everything was going to change between us, and my biggest fear was it wouldn’t be a good change.

  Brushing away the tears from my cheeks, I laid my head against his hand, kissing it gently. “You stupid, stupid man, I could have lost you.” I whispered against his hand. Kissing him again, I wanted so badly to say the things that lurked inside me. There was so much to say to him, words I haven’t even shared with my grandfather. No one had heard them yet, I wanted to tell Castor first.

  “What will you say when I say the words I have bundled up inside me?” Barely above a whisper, I asked the question to the room.

  “What words you got bundled up in there beautiful? Maybe an “I love you”, or perhaps an “I can’t live without you”. I’m alright with either of those two, but I’ll take a “fuck me silly”, or a “bend me over”. I’m not too picky when it comes to you.” Shocked that he was awake and that he’d heard me, I sat up quickly giving him my best eye roll to his response.

  “Seriously? Can you not think of something other than getting between my legs for five damn seconds?” I ignored the “I love you” comment completely, because there was no way he’d get those words out of me anytime soon with his attitude.

  “When it comes to you I have a hard time thinking of anything else but, maybe you could try not being so damn sexy all the time. That would be helpful.” I stood up and began to pace the room, how could he be so fucking flippant all the time. “Hey, I didn’t mean to get your feathers ruffled, calm down Bethy.” Calm down, was he serious, calm down? Didn’t he understand his lack of seriousness when it came to sex is what got us here in the first place? I growled at him with frustration.

  “Maybe if you weren’t so quick to think about sex all the damn time I wouldn’t be in the situation I’m in now, now would I?” I quickly slapped a hand over my mouth, hoping his brain was still a little slow to grasp things, no such luck.

  “And just what kind of situation do you find yourself in?” His tone and posture changed in an instant. Shit, this wasn’t how I wanted to tell him. He looked angry, like he was ready to rip someone's head off. I just hoped it wasn’t mine. When I didn’t answer right away, he lifted-up like he was going to get out of bed; I rushed over to make him stay where he was. “What. Kind. Of. Situation. Bethy. Tell me.” The anguish written across his face wasn’t something I anticipated, it was kind of baffling.

  “The kind that involves nine months of no drinking, that’s the kind of situation I find myself in. So, thank you Castor Stone for lying to me, but you’re going to be a father.” I pointed at my stomach in exasperation. A look of anger and guilt crossed his face.

  “So, you haven’t been back in three months, and when you do show up it’s to lie to me. I’m sorry I didn’t get to you in time to keep that scum off you but lying to me won’t make it better.” Oh no he didn’t!

  “Are you fucking kidding me now? You, actually think that this baby isn’t yours. You think that I’d allow another man to touch me, and now I’m trying to pawn the baby off on you. I knew you were a piece of work Castor, but this takes the fucking cake. IT'S YOUR KID DUMBASS!” I threw a pillow at him, wishing it was something harder.

  “What part of there is no way I can have kids don’t you get sugar, it’s not possible.” He looked ready to snap someone's head off; he should aim directly for himself with the way he was acting. I could kill him; he was weak enough from his accident I could take him out with my bare hands.

  “And who exactly do you think put this baby in my belly, huh? Who was I with that could possibly be the father, other than you? Are you that fucking dense that you think I’d lie to you over something like this? You know what, never mind, I should have known you would act like this. For some reason I thought...yeah never mind that shit too, I was wrong.” Before he can say anything else, I grab my shit and storm out of the hospital room. I needed to get away from him before I broke down. There was no way I was going to let him know how much it hurt to have him deny our child. Running my hand over my stomach, I smile to myself, fuck him; if he didn’t want our baby then I’d raise it alone. I won’t lie, when I found out my first thought was I can’t do this, there’s no way I can be a good mom, but after asshole’s little outburst, I was determined to prove myself wrong.

  “Oh my God, you’re pregnant!” Bliss’ shout from down the hall scared the shit out of me, causing me to jump, grabbing my stomach in the process. “What’s wrong? Did he do something stupid? I swear if he’s being an asshole I’ll kick his ass.” Before I knew it, Bliss was hugging me to her; it made me feel better knowing I had her in my corner at least.

  “You’re not upset with me?” She would have every right to be upset, here she was pregnant herself, and then I show up knocked up by her dad. Ok so he wasn’t her biological father, but he was Bart’s and it could get weird. What was I saying it was already weird?

  “Why would I be upset? Now we can do this together, you have no idea how scared I was to do this alone. Just don’t make me call you mom that could be awkward even for me.” She laughed, but I could see the genuine relief in her eyes at the news. “Now tell me what the big bad biker did, so I can go kick his ass for you.”

  “You can’t fix this honey, but he made it very clear how he feels about this baby. Maybe someday he’ll change his mind, but I’m not waiting around for him to come to his senses. This baby deserves people who are going to love it without hesitation, if that has to be just me, then so be it.” Bliss hugged me tightly to her, she wasn’t who I wanted to be hugging me right then, but the comfort she gave me made me feel less like falling apart.

  “Hey, what’s going on? Bliss are you alright, is something wrong with the baby? Is Pops alright?” Bart said standing in front of us out of breath; he’d clearly rushed over to us when he saw us hugging. Before I could even get the words out Bliss spun around to face Bart.

  “Your father is being an asshole to the mother of his child, that is what’s going on!” She was poking him in his chest at each word to emphasize how pissed she was, not that her blazing eyes weren’t a dead giveaway. Bart’s shocked face was totally worth it though; he looked from Bliss to me, back to Bliss, back to me.

  Pops

  How could she think I’d believe that baby was mine? There was no way, no how. I’d been told by several doctors it wasn’t possible. The briefest thought that it could be Gargoyle’s passed through me, before I brushed it away. No way would he betray me like that, he was as loyal as they came. Could it be one of her grandfather’s men? No, I couldn’t see Gino allowing that to happen, his granddaughter would be off limits. It had to be one of her father’s men, which made me want to kill every last one of them, if they weren’t all pretty much de
ad already. Maybe that was why she was trying to pin it on me; maybe the father was dead?

  She’d always been honest with me, so it didn’t make much sense when I thought about it, but still there was no way in hell I could get anyone pregnant. There was just no way, or was there, could I be wrong. No, I wasn’t wrong, I’d been told by numerous doctors I couldn’t have any more children, I was shooting fucking blanks. It’s not like I didn’t want more kids, I’d wanted more, right after we had Isabel. After months of trying with no luck we had gone to the doctor to find out what the problem was. Turns out my swimmers weren’t that powerful to begin with, and we’d been lucky to have the two children we had.

  “What the hell are you doing? Do you know what you are giving away by not accepting that baby is yours?” Bliss came stomping into my hospital room giving me the stink eye, while yelling at me.

  “Bliss, honey Beth said it wasn’t up to us to help fix what was going on.” Bart looked like he was trying to calm her down but was failing miserably.

  “Don’t you Bliss honey me mister! Do you think he’s right? Oh, don’t back down now buddy, you wanna take his side in this. Then I suggest you get nice and comfy in that chair right there, because I’m firmly team Beth.” Bart looked lost, as he glanced over at me, unsure of what to say. Clearly, they had run into Beth on the way in and she’d told them what an ass I’d been to her, and I had definitely been an ass. Why I felt guilty suddenly, I wasn’t sure.

  “That’s not what I said babe, come on, it’s not really any of our business what those two have going in their relationship. Just like it’s none of Pop’s business what goes on in ours. We can’t butt into their relationship, even though we think he’s making a terrible mistake, it’s not our place to say so. It’s also not our place to say what an asshole he is being, or the fact that a woman like that wouldn’t lie to him, ever. It’s just not our place to tell him that honey.” Slick, very slick my boy was, stabbing his own father in the back. He was right, but that didn’t mean I liked it. Bliss grinned knowingly at Bart before wrapping her arms around his waist.

  “You’re right my love, we also shouldn’t tell him what an amazing woman he let walk out on him without even a fight. That would be completely out of line.” Impertinent children, that’s what I had, completely impertinent.

  “Are you both through not telling me how you really feel about the situation? Bart, call my doctor I have some questions that need answered, and there’s no time to lose.” As much as I hated to admit it, they were right. Beth wouldn’t lie to me, especially not about something like this. Which meant one of two things, it was true, or she didn’t remember being with someone else. The thought that someone could have drugged and raped her made me want to lash out.

  Bart looked somewhat relieved to hear me ask for my doctor, like he was grateful not to have to openly take sides. I was grateful he wasn’t openly taking sides, but there was a part of me that wished if he did, he’d pick mine. He left my room to go find my doctor or figure out how to locate him at least. Meanwhile Bliss stayed, her arms crossed, giving me a go to hell look, that with anyone else might make them cringe, good thing I loved her.

  “Do you really blame me for being skeptical? Come on Bliss, I was told in no uncertain terms it’s not possible.” She started to pace the room, stopping every now and then to give me her patented look, which I’d determined her children would learn to hate. I was just hoping Bart got back as soon as possible with my doctor, so I could make her see the truth.

  “She loves you, you idiot! You hurt her. How could you hurt the woman who’s carrying your child? How could you take me in, and then deny your own child like that? I don’t understand, make me understand. Why was I so worthy, while your own child isn’t? I’m no one special; she’s carrying your blood.” She was crying, and I could never handle her crying, so I motioned her in for a hug, she didn’t even hesitate. It broke my heart hearing her talk about herself like that. I’d thought with the therapy she’d finally started seeing herself as someone worthy. This whole mess was bringing up all those feelings again for her, and I wanted to kick myself for causing her pain.

  “Oh honey, you are worth so much, never doubt that. You are more special than you will ever know; you have this inner light that shines. This thing between Beth and me has nothing to do with your worth. It has to do with the impossible, and until I’m told otherwise I have to stick with what I’ve been told. I’d love for her to be carrying my child, not that I’m a young guy anymore, but I’d still love it. Fuck, I think I’ve loved her since I first set eyes on her and she pulled that damn gun on me. Sexy and spunky, what’s not to love about that.” She dried her eyes, before looking at me with understanding, finally.

  “I think you’re wrong, but I won’t tell you “I told you so” until the test results come back, but I make no promises after that. That baby is yours, that woman is yours, the sooner you get your head out of your ass and realize that, the better off you will be.” She hugged me one last time before she got up to clean her face.

  There was a part of me that hoped she got to tell me she told me so. I wouldn’t get my hopes too high; the crash down to reality would hurt too much. Thankfully, my doctor arrived, or I should say showed up being dragged by my son through the door.

  “Found him! Ok honey; let Pops have some privacy with his doctor while we get you something to eat.” She rolled her eyes at him before leaning over to give me a kiss on the cheek.

  “He feeds me every hour on the hour; I swear by the time this kid gets here I’ll be as big as the house.” She yelped a little when Bart swatted her butt as she passed him giving me a wink before heading out the door behind her.

  “So, Mr. Stone, your son seems to think you might need some more tests run. I tried to assure him that I’d run all the tests I could to make sure you were healing fine, but he was very adamant that I come see you immediately.” For a man that had been unwillingly dragged into my hospital room he seemed rather calm, almost like it was an everyday occurrence. I wasn’t exactly sure how to start, so I decided the best option was to just bite the bullet.

  “I need to find out if I’m fertile, or not.” He looked slightly puzzled but didn’t even bat an eye at my request.

  “According to your charts you aren’t, but I’m assuming you are aware of that already. I’ll refer you to a specialist, they’ll be able to do the test in their office and have results back pretty fast.” Fuck, I’d have to wait to get the testing done, not the answer I was hoping for, but it would have to do.

  “I was hoping you could do it here, but I get it. If you could, please try to make it happen as soon as possible I’d really appreciate it.”

  “I’ll see what I can do, I know a doctor locally that might be able to get you in tomorrow. As soon as I know for sure, I’ll get back with you. And next time you need me Mr. Stone, simply have the nurse page me. Being pulled out of the cafeteria during my dinner was not pleasant.” Guilt washed over me, here he was doing everything he could for me, and Bart had treated him like crap.

  “Sorry about that, my son can be a little overzealous sometimes. I do appreciate your help though, thanks doc.” Long after he left, I lay there staring up at the ceiling. I was finding it harder and harder not to have hope that Bethy was having my baby. What if the baby was mine, and I’d fucked up the best thing to happen to me since, well since ever? No, I had to stick to the facts, if I stuck to the facts this would be easier, unfortunately neither my heart, nor my head seemed to be listening.

  Chapter Sixteen

  BETH

  Watching the tiny little dot on the ultrasound machine made me want to cry, hearing the heartbeat sealed the deal. Tears were streaming down my face as I watched it move on the screen, just this tiny little peanut moving around. Then I was angry, Castor should have been here, he should have been here seeing our baby for the first time with me, not being an asshole.

  “Do you want some pictures to take with you today? Everything is looking
good, that is a healthy-looking baby you got in there. We will make your next appointment in four weeks, make sure you are taking your prenatal vitamins, avoid stress, and eat healthy. Do you have any questions?” I shook my head as she handed me the pictures of my baby, who knew you could love someone you hadn’t even met yet. “Ok, then I’ll let you get dressed and just stop by the desk up front to make that next appointment. Congratulations.” I took a few minutes to just stare at that tiny picture before I got dressed, rubbing my hand against my belly just a little.

  I briefly had doubts enter my head, thinking how I was going to raise a baby on my own. Frustration and anger flowed through me at Castor’s complete lack of trust and faith in me. Who did he think this baby belonged to, Gargoyle? Was he insane? It broke a little piece of me to know he didn’t want our baby, didn’t believe it was our baby, well fuck him. As soon as I got dressed my phone pinged, I picked it up quickly thinking it was probably my grandfather asking me how I was doing like he did five times a day. If I didn’t message him back quickly he’d start having Lucian call me, I swear the old guy was worse than some moms I knew.

  Looking at the screen my face lit up, it was Bliss wanting to know how my appointment went, and at least she believed me. Although I was pretty sure Bart did too but doubted he would tell his father what an idiot he was being.

  Bliss: “Hey little momma how is the tiny person?”

  Me: “Tiny person is a wiggle worm. Heading out now, I’ll call you later.”

  Bliss: “K”

  It felt good to have someone else to be excited with, even though I wanted Castor to be that person. It wasn’t going to happen, so I’d take Bliss. She was just as nervous as I was, but on top of having a baby, she was planning a wedding. I envied her and Bart’s relationship a little, it was a struggle for them to get where they were, but they loved each other fully. Maybe someday I’d have that with someone. One thing was clear. Castor, most definitely wouldn’t be that person. He’d made clear what he thought of me and our baby. Damn these fucking hormones, I felt tears welling up on me again. I needed to figure out how to turn them off for the duration of this pregnancy.