Having Adam's Baby

His mother’s voice carried over the inner balcony that circled the second floor and looked down on the great room, but Adam’s focus remained on the unconscious woman in his arms. He grabbed the vase of flowers now wedged between their bodies and set it aside.

“Fay?” Cradling her shoulders with one arm, he gently tapped her soft cheek with his fingers. Her normally fair skin was a deeper shade of pale. “Honey, wake up.”

When she didn’t respond, he pushed away the panic that flared in his gut and easily hefted her into his arms. Turning, he continued up the stairs as Nolan and his dad returned to the room.

“What’s going on?” Nolan asked.

“Fay passed out,” Adam offered, but didn’t stop as he heard his brother and father start up the stairs behind him.

He headed to the open door to the guest room his mother was pointing to. Making sure not to catch Fay’s heels on the doorway, he walked into the room and laid her gently on the queen-size bed.

Fay’s eyelids fluttered open and he started to breathe again.

“What … what happened?”

Her soft whisper cut through his concern. “It’s okay. You fainted right in the middle of talking to me.”

Panic filled her beautiful eyes. “Fainted?”

“Don’t worry, sweetie.” Elise stepped in front of Adam and laid a hand on Fay’s arm. “Adam caught you as soon as your knees buckled.”

“I—I don’t understand.” Fay’s soft voice grabbed at his heart. “I don’t remember.”

“It’s all right, dear. You just take a few moments to lie here and relax. We know you’ve been battling the flu for a while now ….” Adam’s mother looked back at him over her shoulder. “Why don’t you go downstairs and get Fay a glass of cool water?”

Leaving was the last thing he wanted to do, but he read the unspoken demand to get out in his mother’s eyes. Adam did what he was told, closing the door behind him, only to meet his brother and dad just outside the door.

“Is she okay?” Alistair asked.

“What the hell happened?” Nolan demanded.

“I don’t know.” Adam answered both questions at the same time. “One minute we were talking and the next her eyes closed and she dropped.”

The two men opposite him shared a look. If one more family member shared a look with another he’d hit something. Or someone. He’d rather someone start talking. Pronto.

“I’m going to put together a tray with a light lunch for Fay. She didn’t get a chance to eat while she was visiting Walter and Mavis,” Elise said, joining them as she too closed the door behind her. “You three leave that girl alone and let her rest.”

“What’s going on?” Adam asked. “You mentioned the flu. Is Fay sick?”

His mother continued on her way while his brother and father remained silent. Determined to find out how she was doing, Adam reached for the door, but his father’s hand on his shoulder stopped him.

“Son, wait.”

Adam turned back. “Wait for what?”

“I don’t think you should go charging in there before we’ve had a chance to talk.”

“About what?”

“There’s something you should—” Nolan paused, then lowered his voice. “Over the last month or so I’ve noticed Fay hasn’t been feeling well. She says it’s a cold she can’t shake, but when I mentioned it to Dad during our weekly phone calls he said the craziest thing I’ve ever heard. Then again, seeing the two of you together—”

“You only saw me carry her up the stairs. What the hell are you talking about?”

His father motioned Adam to follow him away from the door and down the hall. As much as he didn’t want to, he went, his brother at his side.

“Son, during your last visit home in April I headed for your place early, wanting to spend some one-on-one time with you before we took you to the airport. Then I saw Fay’s van in your driveway and hightailed it back home.”

Every muscle in Adam’s body stilled, even his heart for a moment. Then it began to slam inside his chest.

“You’ve always had a thing for her,” Nolan added.

Adam’s gaze shot to his brother, who only shrugged and continued. “Hey, I remember you telling me what happened between you two. Down by the river? The night of your twenty-first birthday?”

“Geez, that was years ago,” Adam said. “We were just kids.”

“Besides, between Dad and me we’ve been through this nine times—”

“Through what?”

“If we didn’t know any better, your brother and I would both swear Fay is pregnant.” His father once again placed a hand on his shoulder. “What happened that night? Is it possible you’re the father?”

Pregnant?

His father’s soft words exploded inside Adam’s head. He braced himself, his posture ramrod straight against his father’s touch, but the detonation continued, a powerful roar that flowed outward until it reached every inch of his body.

He’d felt this way only twice before in his life, most recently just a few short weeks ago when he’d had the harrowing experience of barely missing an IED—or improvised explosive device—that thankfully exploded after their transport of construction equipment had passed and was a few precious miles away.

Adam tried to form the word he hadn’t spoken in five long years, but he couldn’t put the syllables together aloud. That didn’t stop the utterance from vibrating inside his head again.

Pregnant?

Because of the night they spent together?

He’d insisted they use protection, both times, even after Fay had whispered something about it not being necessary as she couldn’t get …

Fay being sick yesterday morning at his place. The way she held one hand protectively over her stomach. The paleness of her skin, the tiredness in her eyes.

The way she pulled from his touch.