Prompted Drabble: "False Alarm"
Fandom: Portal
Rating: T
Summary: From a prompt. "Caveline. Pregnancy scare."
Disclaimer: Portal and all associated characters belong to Valve. I just borrow them for my own sick pleasure.
Over a week.
She was never this late. Never. Her cycles were consistent as clockwork, and she couldn’t remember ever being further off than a day or two, and now it was over a week-but it was probably nothing. Hormonal fluctuations, that was all. She chalked it up to stress and carried on as usual, doing her best to ignore the knot of anxiety that twisted tighter in her stomach with each passing day. It was probably nothing.
For over a week she treated it like nothing, and she could barely look at him now. She hadn’t told him, of course. He didn’t need to know. Undisclosed it ate away at her, and each day it was harder not to shy from his kisses-but there was no use worrying him over nothing.
So she kept quiet. Every night for over a week she let him touch her as usual, let him hold her and have her as usual, and in blissful ignorance he fell asleep spooned around her while her thoughts kept her awake. She wanted kids, but not this way-she was supposed to be happily announcing the news to her husband, not hiding it from the man whose wife she’d never be. And she knew he’d never marry her, not even for this. He’d be angry. He would probably fire her.
And it was her fault. She was just another secretary stupid enough to get knocked up. A high-profile man like him couldn’t afford the scandal-of course she would have to go. In his warm embrace, she shivered with fear.
At last she couldn’t lie still any longer. Slipping out of his arms, careful not to wake him, she padded to the bathroom on bare feet and looked into the mirror. An exhausted face stared back at her. It shouldn’t be like this. Her hands moved to cover her belly, and she rested her forehead against her own reflection. It didn’t have to be like this. Maybe, if she found the right moment and the right words, maybe she could make this okay. She was sure he loved her. Maybe he loved her enough to accept… something they hadn’t planned.
The image rose to her mind of her boss holding a baby, smiling, a tiny hand wrapped around his finger. He would make a good father. And she wouldn’t want children with anyone but him.
For the first time in over a week, she felt her anxious tension begin to ebb. She opened her eyes with a sigh-and then she saw the blood.
Oh god, it was over now.
She slid her panties off her hips, staring down at the fabric, and the stain of red stared back. Her worries were over-it was nothing after all. Just stress. Thank god.
Her knees felt weak. Better late than never. Right?
A deep, shuddering breath escaped her lips. She couldn’t think anymore.
She sank down on the toilet seat, head in her hands, and cried.