Page 55 of Beck and Call

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath in through his nose. "I'm sure they just want to see if the perpetual bachelor is actually going to get married, or if they are going to get a payday. Most of my cousins are decent people, but fucking Franklin took after his father more than my aunt Adela."

I put my hand on his arm and looked up at him. "You have nothing to worry about."

His hands dropped to my waist, and he pulled me into an embrace. "You've made your decision then?"

Before I answered, a bell dinged signaling the arrival of our floor, and the elevator doors slid open. He chuckled. After the romp in his office I'd avoided anything more than an innocent touch while we were at the office.

"Saved by the bell. For now, at least," he warned.

I was glad the elevator interrupted us. It had been two months since the night he found me freezing, and the time we’d spent together since had been exactly what I needed. After he told Grace we wanted to enjoy being engaged for a few months before we started plans, she backed off. The only concession we had to make was the engagement party she was throwing for us on Friday.

Getting married was a terrifying and exciting event. Nothing in my life up to this point had led me to believe in forever, and here I was preparing to promise another person exactly that. Except, the thought of not having Beckett in my life made me feel sick to my stomach.

We walked down the hallway to our connected offices. "I've got something to show you in my office."

"I'll bet you do," I muttered, and passed my office to enter his first.

In his office he had a kitchenette in the corner. On the counter he had a coffee maker set to start brewing coffee a few minutes before we arrived. The pungent aroma of coffee brewing filled the air. I wasn't a coffee drinker, but it had never turned my stomach before now.

I ran to his en-suite bathroom and purged the meager contents of my stomach. He followed me in and I feebly tried to wave him away.

Of course he didn't listen. He held my long hair away and gently rubbed my back. When the urge to retch passed I flushed and scooted away from the toilet. The odd thing was, away from the smell of coffee, I started feeling much better.

He laid his wrist against my forehead. "Are you feeling okay?”

My mind started cataloguing symptoms rapidly. I'd been increasingly exhausted over the last couple of weeks. This was the first time I'd actually puked, but I'd been experiencing random bouts of nausea for the same amount of time. The biggest symptom was my period was late. Despite taking my birth control pill at exactly the same time every day, without fail, it appeared I was one of the statistics for failure.

"I think," I took a deep breath, "I need to take a pregnancy test."

He shook his head. "It's not possible."

"Birth control does fail, and we haven't used condoms even once." I'd lecture myself about that later. I'd take a test, then go to a doctor, but I was suddenly very sure I was pregnant.

His jaw clenched, and he nodded once. "I'll have Rick go and pick some up now."

There was a tense silence between us. I pulled my knees up to my chest and hugged them tight. He was so still and he refused to look at me. We'd both basically said we didn't want children, but did he not want them to the point he'd reject me? I was starting to think he would.

Time dragged on for an eternity, but it was probably only ten minutes. Just as I was considering hiding in my office, Rick entered holding a small, discreet paper bag.

My smile was awkward, but I managed to show him some gratitude.

"Thank you, Rick, that will be all," Beckett clipped out.

Rick didn't respond to the brusque manner he spoke to him, only nodded and left. Once we were alone, I stood waiting for Beckett to leave. He didn't seem to take the hint. I'd just find another restroom to take the test if he was going to refuse to leave.

"Stay, I'll step out," he said, finally clueing in on my desire for privacy.

I opened the box and took out one of the two tests. This was a fairly simple version, at least judging from the advertisements I'd seen on television. There were digital tests, but this would show two lines if pregnant and one if not pregnant.

Stalling the inevitable, I read the directions twice. The only thing left was to take the test. Once I was finished I set it on top of the directions, washed my hands, and set a timer for three minutes. Beckett was likely getting angrier, but I couldn't handle him at the moment.

The timer dinged, and I held my breath and looked at the test. Two pink lines were clearly visible. My knees threatened to buckle, but I stiffened my spine and exited the bathroom.

Beckett leaned against his desk, his arms crossed against his chest. His entire demeanor was closed off and hostile. I almost didn't want to share this with him, but he had a right to know. What happened after this moment was hard to say, but at least I knew it wouldn't be the worst thing I'd ever experienced.

I held my head high and marched across the room until I was a couple feet away from him.

"Well?" he demanded.

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