For muses_w_remotes - 6.4
6.4. "Love is not only blind but stupid."
| Married With Children
[Co-written with pullmysteth]
Tab couldn't think straight. She also wasn't sure if she was freaking out for no reason, or if she had a genuine reason to freak out. Maybe it was just all that talk with Luke about kids and how they both liked their lives as they were.
She needed her brother though. He could at least give her a mental slap to the head if she was just overreacting. She picked up her cell and punched the speed dial hopping anxiously from foot to foot. The second the line connected, she nearly yelled down the phone.
"Riley! Look, I know we agreed I wouldn't talk to you about girly stuff but I really need to talk to you. Are you sober?"
Riley held the phone a little way from his ear and scrunched his nose up. "Yeah, I'm sober," he said roughly and peered at the clock. Somewhere between making a coffee and watching re-runs of Knightrider on TV, he'd fallen asleep on the sofa. Likely from boredom. Lachlan, very much more worse for wear than Riley had been, was collected by his father-in-law earlier and shipped off home to probably make friends with the porcelain goddess. Riley was okay, realising he'd probably only had a small amount of booze, unlike Lachlan who seemed to have made a good hole in Riley's new bottle of Scotch all on his own.
He cleared his throat and sat up, scratching his stomach. "What girly stuff? I know you don't want to drag me along to buy your first bra. We already did that."
"Yeah, and I owe you my life for that. I was so not going through that particular shop with Mother Superior. She probably would have just moaned about how flat I was, and why couldn't I just plump up."
She took a deep breath and dropped down into the armchair in Luke's apartment. Well, their apartment. She ruffled her hair and squeezed her eyes shut.
"How late do you have to be before you need to start panicking?"
"Late for what?" Riley asked through a yawn. He stuck his finger into his half-finished coffee, which was cold now.
"Late-late!" Tab replied as if it would explain everything. "You know, late for my period?"
Riley made a small indignant squeak that she just threw the word at him like that. Again, it was much like she had when she first got them. "You're late-late?!" he gasped.
Tab hadn't really had a choice. He never really got it when she tried to be subtle, or use code words. "I don't know! That's why I'm asking. I mean, I'm late. But how late is late before I should freak out?"
Riley blinked at his wall, trying to process what she was saying and draw on the doctor inside him. The big brother inside him, however, was just kind of wanting to strangle Lucas Jackson for knocking his sister up. "Um... I, um..." he stammered. "Seven to ten days. Beyond seven, you're in danger territory."
Tab's brown eyes went wide as she let out a yelp. "I'm already up to six days. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Can it be... I mean, is it always pregnancy? Shit, I'm not ready for this! I take my bastard pill everyday. I've never missed it. I'm not mum material. I'm cool aunty material."
She curled in on herself as she hugged her knees to her chest. This wasn't happening. It couldn't be. Maybe she'd counted the days wrong. Maybe she'd forgot to turn one more page when she'd marked it in her planner. Yes, Tabitha London Browne had a planner. It helped when she had gigs to keep track of. She also tended to mark her cycle with a little red moon in the top corner of the date page.
"Six days? Shit." Riley put his thumb up to his mouth to chew on it for a moment. "Okay, listen, squirt. Don't freak out, alright? No, it's not always pregnancy. Sometimes it can just be late. Stress can be a big factor and we know you've had that. Have you been sick at all? Hungover? Anything to make you throw up in the last month or so?"
Tab closed her eyes as she thought about it. "The accident was a little over a month ago, and that was the last time I threw up. I don't drink heaps, so it's not like I get massively hungover. So no, no throwing up. Why? Are you thinking about morning sickness?" She huffed out a breath. "And the not freaking out is easy for you to say, beanpole. You'd be an awesome dad."
"You've had your period since you were sick?" Riley asked. "Not morning sickness. But if you're sick, you can puke the pill up without realising it. Same goes with antibiotics, it can stop the pill working. But you would've told me if you'd been on antibiotics."
Something in Riley's gut clenched when she said that, but he just closed his eyes and shoved it away. "I also don't have a uterus, so couldn't be in your predicament even if I wanted to." Couldn't even get Evie in that predicament anymore. "You have two choices. You can wait a few more days and see if you get it, or you can get a test. Does Luke know?"
She shook her head, and then realised he wouldn't have seen it. "Just before. That's why I should've got it last weekend, or something. I had it all figured out. At least I thought I did. The accident was like on the sixth of September. It's nearly the tenth of October." She pulled her mouth to the side in a trait both she and Riley shared. "Oh. No, no being sick. At least not since I've met Luke and Luke's been the only one. Well, besides my rebound horse but he was condom and pill. It's only... It's only recently me and Luke went without condoms."
She scrunched her nose up. Talking sex with her brother was usually enough to make her queasy but this was different. She had to give him the details so he could help her. "I haven't told him yet. I'm not ready for a joint freak out about me maybe being pregnant. Should I tell him?"
Riley pressed his lips together in thought. "Are you sure it's only been recently. No other slips?" His eyes dipped to the floor. "Breakages? Not that they are always easy to realise if they happen..."
"Yeah, you probably should, squirt. At the end of the day, whatever happens, it'd be a mistake you both made together."
"Oh, shit," she cursed softly. "Fuck. Atlantic City. The night before we got to your place. I--we--got carried away, there was no condom. Now I can't even remember if I took my pill. I'm always so good at it, but maybe I wasn't that one time."
"Bugger. Okay. Thanks for just letting me talk, beanpole. I didn't meant to drag you into the girly stuff."
"You should get a test, squirt, but if you want to wait a few days to see what happens, it's okay. If you are, you have... options. Just remember that," Riley told her. "I'm always here for whatever you need, even if it's not the easiest thing to talk about."
"I need to... I need to talk to Luke," she decided in a hoarse whisper. It was going to freak her the fuck out, but she still needed to talk to him. "I know you are, Big Bro. It's why you're my go to guy."
"I'll kill him if he hurts you," Riley felt the need to throw in. It was likely zero help to the situation, but vital in his eyes. "And that's better than your pain in the arse."
"Only after I kill him first," she replied, a slight smile in her tone. She couldn't blame Riley for issuing the threat. He was just looking after her. "You can be both. You're that skilled."
"I'm pretty fucking good, huh?" Riley said with a small smirk and shake of his head. "Call me, squirt. Let me know how you get on."
"You're awesome. And I will, I promise. Love you, beanpole." Tab let out a sigh and disconnected the call as she pressed the phone to her forehead. Now did she buy the test before she told Luke, or tell Luke and then buy the test?
Bugger. Fuck. Fuck. Bugger. Shit.
Tabitha London Browne (and Riley Browne)
Original Character
Words: 1414
notskywalker and drcampbell referenced with permission.
| Married With Children
[Co-written with pullmysteth]
Tab couldn't think straight. She also wasn't sure if she was freaking out for no reason, or if she had a genuine reason to freak out. Maybe it was just all that talk with Luke about kids and how they both liked their lives as they were.
She needed her brother though. He could at least give her a mental slap to the head if she was just overreacting. She picked up her cell and punched the speed dial hopping anxiously from foot to foot. The second the line connected, she nearly yelled down the phone.
"Riley! Look, I know we agreed I wouldn't talk to you about girly stuff but I really need to talk to you. Are you sober?"
Riley held the phone a little way from his ear and scrunched his nose up. "Yeah, I'm sober," he said roughly and peered at the clock. Somewhere between making a coffee and watching re-runs of Knightrider on TV, he'd fallen asleep on the sofa. Likely from boredom. Lachlan, very much more worse for wear than Riley had been, was collected by his father-in-law earlier and shipped off home to probably make friends with the porcelain goddess. Riley was okay, realising he'd probably only had a small amount of booze, unlike Lachlan who seemed to have made a good hole in Riley's new bottle of Scotch all on his own.
He cleared his throat and sat up, scratching his stomach. "What girly stuff? I know you don't want to drag me along to buy your first bra. We already did that."
"Yeah, and I owe you my life for that. I was so not going through that particular shop with Mother Superior. She probably would have just moaned about how flat I was, and why couldn't I just plump up."
She took a deep breath and dropped down into the armchair in Luke's apartment. Well, their apartment. She ruffled her hair and squeezed her eyes shut.
"How late do you have to be before you need to start panicking?"
"Late for what?" Riley asked through a yawn. He stuck his finger into his half-finished coffee, which was cold now.
"Late-late!" Tab replied as if it would explain everything. "You know, late for my period?"
Riley made a small indignant squeak that she just threw the word at him like that. Again, it was much like she had when she first got them. "You're late-late?!" he gasped.
Tab hadn't really had a choice. He never really got it when she tried to be subtle, or use code words. "I don't know! That's why I'm asking. I mean, I'm late. But how late is late before I should freak out?"
Riley blinked at his wall, trying to process what she was saying and draw on the doctor inside him. The big brother inside him, however, was just kind of wanting to strangle Lucas Jackson for knocking his sister up. "Um... I, um..." he stammered. "Seven to ten days. Beyond seven, you're in danger territory."
Tab's brown eyes went wide as she let out a yelp. "I'm already up to six days. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Can it be... I mean, is it always pregnancy? Shit, I'm not ready for this! I take my bastard pill everyday. I've never missed it. I'm not mum material. I'm cool aunty material."
She curled in on herself as she hugged her knees to her chest. This wasn't happening. It couldn't be. Maybe she'd counted the days wrong. Maybe she'd forgot to turn one more page when she'd marked it in her planner. Yes, Tabitha London Browne had a planner. It helped when she had gigs to keep track of. She also tended to mark her cycle with a little red moon in the top corner of the date page.
"Six days? Shit." Riley put his thumb up to his mouth to chew on it for a moment. "Okay, listen, squirt. Don't freak out, alright? No, it's not always pregnancy. Sometimes it can just be late. Stress can be a big factor and we know you've had that. Have you been sick at all? Hungover? Anything to make you throw up in the last month or so?"
Tab closed her eyes as she thought about it. "The accident was a little over a month ago, and that was the last time I threw up. I don't drink heaps, so it's not like I get massively hungover. So no, no throwing up. Why? Are you thinking about morning sickness?" She huffed out a breath. "And the not freaking out is easy for you to say, beanpole. You'd be an awesome dad."
"You've had your period since you were sick?" Riley asked. "Not morning sickness. But if you're sick, you can puke the pill up without realising it. Same goes with antibiotics, it can stop the pill working. But you would've told me if you'd been on antibiotics."
Something in Riley's gut clenched when she said that, but he just closed his eyes and shoved it away. "I also don't have a uterus, so couldn't be in your predicament even if I wanted to." Couldn't even get Evie in that predicament anymore. "You have two choices. You can wait a few more days and see if you get it, or you can get a test. Does Luke know?"
She shook her head, and then realised he wouldn't have seen it. "Just before. That's why I should've got it last weekend, or something. I had it all figured out. At least I thought I did. The accident was like on the sixth of September. It's nearly the tenth of October." She pulled her mouth to the side in a trait both she and Riley shared. "Oh. No, no being sick. At least not since I've met Luke and Luke's been the only one. Well, besides my rebound horse but he was condom and pill. It's only... It's only recently me and Luke went without condoms."
She scrunched her nose up. Talking sex with her brother was usually enough to make her queasy but this was different. She had to give him the details so he could help her. "I haven't told him yet. I'm not ready for a joint freak out about me maybe being pregnant. Should I tell him?"
Riley pressed his lips together in thought. "Are you sure it's only been recently. No other slips?" His eyes dipped to the floor. "Breakages? Not that they are always easy to realise if they happen..."
"Yeah, you probably should, squirt. At the end of the day, whatever happens, it'd be a mistake you both made together."
"Oh, shit," she cursed softly. "Fuck. Atlantic City. The night before we got to your place. I--we--got carried away, there was no condom. Now I can't even remember if I took my pill. I'm always so good at it, but maybe I wasn't that one time."
"Bugger. Okay. Thanks for just letting me talk, beanpole. I didn't meant to drag you into the girly stuff."
"You should get a test, squirt, but if you want to wait a few days to see what happens, it's okay. If you are, you have... options. Just remember that," Riley told her. "I'm always here for whatever you need, even if it's not the easiest thing to talk about."
"I need to... I need to talk to Luke," she decided in a hoarse whisper. It was going to freak her the fuck out, but she still needed to talk to him. "I know you are, Big Bro. It's why you're my go to guy."
"I'll kill him if he hurts you," Riley felt the need to throw in. It was likely zero help to the situation, but vital in his eyes. "And that's better than your pain in the arse."
"Only after I kill him first," she replied, a slight smile in her tone. She couldn't blame Riley for issuing the threat. He was just looking after her. "You can be both. You're that skilled."
"I'm pretty fucking good, huh?" Riley said with a small smirk and shake of his head. "Call me, squirt. Let me know how you get on."
"You're awesome. And I will, I promise. Love you, beanpole." Tab let out a sigh and disconnected the call as she pressed the phone to her forehead. Now did she buy the test before she told Luke, or tell Luke and then buy the test?
Bugger. Fuck. Fuck. Bugger. Shit.
Tabitha London Browne (and Riley Browne)
Original Character
Words: 1414
notskywalker and drcampbell referenced with permission.