(no subject)
Diana
Diana carries her suitcase up to the front of the house, it still looked relatively the same. She uses her key to open the front door, glancing around. So many memories. It had been months since she had been back. She isn't too sure if she is comfortable about it all yet.
Natalie
Natalie hears the front door open and climbs off her bed. She grabs a tissue and wipes her tear-stined cheeks before she slowly heads down the stairs to meet her mother, who is now standing in the front hall with a suitcase in hand. She wants this. She needs this.
Diana
Diana glances up, seeing her obviously upset daughter. She swallows, "Natalie." She says softly, opening her arms for her.
Natalie
Natalie tries to keep her cool in front of her fragile mother, but the lump in her throat decids to make itself known to her mother, and she breaks down in another fit of tears. She runs to her mother and throws her arms around her, and somehow manages to force out a barely audible "Mom..."
Diana
She tucks her face into her daughter's hair, tears springing to her eyes as she holds her closely. Slowly stroking the girl's dark hair, she clears her throat, "We should sit."
Natalie
Natalie pulls away from her mother and wipes the mascara running down her cheeks onto the sleeve of her white shirt. "Damn it," she thinks to herself as she looks down at the makeup stain. "I guess I should've washed my face before you came over, huh?" she tries to joke with her mother as they make their way into the den. She curls up on the couch and buries her face in her hands, not sure whether to start talking.
Diana
Diana hangs her coat, "You're perfect however you feel comfortable." She sits next to her, rubbing her back, "How are you feeling?"
Natalie
"Nauseous," she admits, "but I'm not sure if it's, like, the baby or just nerves. Did you feel like that when you were expecting Gabe or me?"
Diana
She snorts, "You don't know the half of it." She smiles, "Gabe was much worse because I was in school at the time." Diana watches her, "Tomorrow, I'll make you some doctors appointments so we can see what we're dealing with. How does that sound?"
Natalie
Natalie takes a full breath for the first time in what is probably hours. "Aren't we just dealing with a baby? Like, what else could be in there?" She raises a lone eyebrow at her mother, knowing she hates it when she does that.
Diana
"Might be the flu, or something else. Those tests can give false positives. Even five of them." Diana nods, "Or, if it is a baby, how far along you are."
Natalie
"Mom, they were error-proof, all four of them. It's definitely a baby." She folds her arms over her legs and picks at a loose thread on the couch. "I went to a clinic with Henry and they confirmed it. Dad's insurance covered it, too."
Diana
"So he'll know because of that." She nods, "I'd still like for you to have a steady doctor. Not a clinic." Diana keeps rubbing her back, "Everything will be okay, Natalie."
Natalie
"This is so fucked," she mutters as she pushes her mother's hand off and climbs off the couch, "Like, what the fuck, Mom? I'm seventeen, I can't raise a kid!"
Diana
"I was twenty-two and I didn't think I could either, but you know what...when they get here, it all falls into place." Diana stands, "I do want to know something though."
Natalie
"Yeah?" Natalie asks, her heart pounding.
Diana
"If you dislike me so much, why are you doing everything in your power to make all my same mistakes?" She asks honestly, not really thinking much of it.
Natalie
"What?!" Natalie asks in shock, "I'm NOTHING like you and I don't plan on ever being like you. One of you in this world is enough."
Diana
"You act like I did when I was your age. Nothing makes it better." She shakes her head, "Now, you're having a baby when you're still a baby yourself." Diana watches her, "You may not think you're like me, but you're exactly like me. Maybe not as high spirited, but spirited none the less."
Natalie
Natalie shakes her head, as if the things her mother just said to her will leave her brain so she won't have to deal with the fact that she might be right. "What if I...don't have it? What if I was just, uh, not pregnant?" she asks her mother, knowing she really doesn't want to do that.
Diana
"Sweetheart, it's entirely up to you. You have to weigh the pros and the cons. Maybe write them down so that you can actually see them. Do it for all your options."
Natalie
"See, it's times like this I wish you were like other moms. Just tell me what to do so I can be done with this!" she raises her voice without realizing it, "I...I'm sorry. I'm just freaked out about what Dad will say."
Diana
"He's not here right now. Worry about it when he is." She nods, watching her, "Other moms...other, good, mothers would actually tell their daughter the same thing, I think. You're smart and strong. I'm here to help you every step of the way, no matter what direction that be in." She nods, "I just...I don't want you to get married right now. That's all."
Natalie
"I'm NOT marrying stoner, Mom." Natalie scoffs and rolls her eyes. She starts toward the kitchen to get some more tissues and a glass of water. Her throat feels like it's on fire from crying so much the past few days. She turns back to her mother, "Do you want anything? Water?"
Diana
"I married stoner." She smiles, snorting, "Water would be nice, thank you."
Natalie
"No way, Dad smoked the peace pipe?!" Natalie snorts with laughter; her hands fly up to her face, not to block another snort from happening, but to hide the enormous grin she is now sporting. She wipes her hands on a towel before grabbing one of the coffee cups from the cupboard. It's the one Natalie painted for Diana in kindergarten, the one with "#1 Mom" scrawled around it in juevenile script. She fills it with water, then throws in something extra. "Lemon, just how you like it," she smiles as she sets the cup on the table.
Diana
Diana grins, "Thank you...and it's my cup. Thank you."
Natalie
Natalie sits down at the table and motions for her mother to do the same. "I remember the day I brought this home from art class," she says softly as she stares at the cup in her mother's hands, "You had relapsed the week before, and I was pretty much hell-bent on making this thing perfect so you would feel better and play Barbies with me. That's where I got the idea to do the writing in pink."
Diana
Diana sits across from her, "I know...I remember." She smiles, "You never knew what it was, you just thought I had a cold."
Natalie
"Always a cold," Natalie remembers out loud, as a slight smile begins to appear on her face, "I can't believe how dumb I was." Realizing what just came out of her mouth, she buries her head in her arms on the table, "Nothing's changed in that department, obviously. This is bullshit."
Diana
"You were a kid. All you had to worry about was growing up." Diana tilts her head to the side, "Natalie, really...you'll figure it out. If you need help with your lists, I'll be glad to do so. I want what's best for you. Whether that be abortion, adoption, or raising the baby...it's up to you and Henry. I know what he wants, but in reality...it's your body that's going to be stretching among other things, so...it's your final say."
Natalie
"I'm still a kid, Mom. You said it when we first sat down. I just...don't want to have to go through this. I haven't even spoken to Henry since I told him about this thing," she admits, looking her mother in the eyes for the first time tonight.
Diana
"Why not? He helped you...right?"
Natalie
"I. DON'T. KNOW." she yells, feeling completely frustrated, "I don't know anything, I'm a stupid teenager who had sex with her stoner boyfriend and now I'm knocked up just like those girls on television!'
Diana
"You're not like them."
Natalie
"Really, Mom? How so?"
Diana
"You're smarter than them, first of all. Top of your class, colleges knocking down your door." She shakes her head, "You're different because I know that no matter what happens, you'll go back to school."
Natalie
Natalie pushes a stray hair away from her mother's face, "If, IF, if I do decided to...keep it? How will I take care of myself, go to school, and make sure this kid doesn't end up like...you know."
Diana
"Though it may not seem too encouraging...I don't work. I've been doing much better. I could watch them during the day while you're at school...at night while you do homework." She tucks her hair behind her ear, "I've come a long way since when you were a baby, believe it or not." She leans her face to her daughter's hand, "I'll even try with your father again if that would make you happy."
Natalie
Choking up with tears filling her eyes, Natalie squeaks out a pathetic "It would." That last statement from her mother hits her in such a way, she gets butterflies in her stomach. She puts her hands on her stomach to try to calm them, but it doesn't work. She starts feeling them creep their way slowly up into her chest, and begins to breathe heavily. "Mom," she gasps, "I think I'm going to be sick."
Diana
"Oh, um...bathroom?"
Natalie
Natalie tries to stand, but her legs give out underneath her. "Garbage can!" she whimpers, covering her mouth with one hand so she doesn't get sick on the table.
Diana
Diana jogs, getting one from the kitchen. She holds her daughter's hair back, "Okay."
Natalie
Natalie leans over and tries to prepare herself for the sickness she is about to endure. Gripping the rim of the can with one hand, she slips her free hand into her mothers. Her back arches rhythmically as the butterflies she felt just a few minutes before appeared in the bottom of the can. Finally, she is able to take a breath without having another wave of nausea crash over her. She reaches up to grab a tissue, never letting go of her the woman who endured the same thing for nine months before she was born. Wiping her mouth, she leans back onto her mother and sobs softly. "I can't do this, Mom. I have a hard enough time being nauseous, how am I going to deal with this on a regular basis?"
Diana
"I did it twice. It gets better." She holds the girl.
Natalie
Natalie heaves a big sigh as she tries to think of what to say next. "You...you'd really support me if I decided to keep the baby? Like, seriously. No jokes?"
Diana
"What else do I have to do that's remotely more important than my girl?"
Natalie
"Gee, I don't know...yourself, maybe?" she asks, as she gets suddenly feels more comfortable with her mother than she has in years, "I mean, you can't just give up on getting yourself better to help me out. I can't let you do that."
Diana
"Who said anything about giving up on what I'm doing? Part of what I'm doing means to come here...to come home, and actually try to learn and remember being content with your father." Diana nods, stroking Natalie's hair still, "That Little Fish in there is going to need all the love...and sanity, it can get."
Natalie
Chuckling, Natalie looks into her mothers eyes and sees a bit of herself in them. "I...I know it's only been a couple days since I found out, but I think I might want to keep the baby. I mean, I'll make a list of my options and stuff if you still want tot help with that, but I don't want to feel like a murderer or have this kid growing up thinking that their parents never loved them," she explains.
Diana
"A murderer? Since when have you been so...not liberal?" She smiles, "You'll make a great mother...and hopefully I'll make a good..." Diana shakes her head a little, almost like she's finding the words, "Grandmother."
Natalie
Natalie looks down at her hands, twisting the ring Henry gave her last Christmas on her left ring finger. "I really hope Henry will want to keep the baby. He'd be such a good daddy," she smiles as she looks back up at Diana, "Can you imagine us having this gorgeous little dark-haired baby that grows up loving poetry and playing music? It'd be like having another me running around."
Diana
She chuckles, "Don't make plans...because when they're born, they're all shot to hell."
Natalie
Natalie lets out a nervous giggle, "It would be nice, though, to have this perfect little family. You'd spoil the baby rotten, that's for sure."
Diana
"Oh you think so?" She sits back, folding her arms with a smirk, "All I'm asking, Natalie, All I'm asking is that you wait to get married until you're finished school...and don't get married because of the baby. Get married because you love one another."
Natalie
"I won't do that, I promise you," she says as she rests a hand on her mother's arm, "But I do love him, Mom. A lot. He's my best friend and has been for a while. He's not going to make me marry him if I don't want to. We're young, we have our whole lives to get married and...have another kid, but right now I just want to focus on making sure me and the baby are okay, and I want to finish school," she explains, "Juilliard will have to wait, I guess."
Diana
"You're already planning for more kids? Let's work on this one first." She smiles, "Julliard will not wait. You'll go and we'll stay near you."
Natalie
"I'm not like, planning for more, but if it does happen, I want to make sure it doesn't happen for like, 7 or 8 more years," she clarifies, "It's gonna be weird, going to school and raising a baby. I mean, we obviously have less than nine months before it gets here, and I'm supposed to start at Juilliard next fall. How can I do that with a baby who will only be a couple of months old?"
Diana
"We'll make it work." Diana watches her daughter intently, pushing a stray hair behind her ear, "I can promise you that."
Natalie
Natalie inhales deeply, looking at the watch on her mother's wrist. "It's getting kinda late. Would you mind staying in my room with me tonight so I don't have to be alone?"
Diana
"Sweetheart, I'd like nothing more."
Natalie
She stands, holding out a hand for her mother. As a few tears begin to make themselves known, Natalie wraps her arms around Diana, believing that everything will indeed turn out okay. At that moment, nothing else mattered. Natalie has her mother back. "I'll go get some extra pillows," she says with a smile as she wipes her eyes with her sleeve, "Grab your bag and I'll meet you upstairs. Want to watch a movie?"
Diana
Diana smiles, looking down to her daughter, "Sure. Something stupid so we can laugh."
Natalie
"You got it," Natalie winks at her mother as she heads for the stairs, stopping at the bottom. "Thanks, Mom. Thanks a lot for helping me," she says, pondering to herself what the next several months will do to her and her family.
Diana
"Thank you, Natalie." Diana nods, glancing to her daughter once more before turning around to get her suitcases.