Carrying the Flame Ch. 09

"Talk to me Cal, please. I know Coop's worried about you," Laura pleaded.

"You won't tell Gray? I know if Gray knows, he'll tell Cooper and I want to tell him," Callia murmured.

"Promise," Laura said, feeling a bit uneasy about the idea of keeping something from her new husband.

"I'm pregnant," Callia admitted.

"Why don't you seem happy about it?" Laura asked, the bright smile that had formed when the words first left her friend's mouth disappeared when the tears started.

"I just got my teaching degree Laura, and Mason isn't even a year old yet!" Callia wailed.

"Oh Callie, it's going to be okay!" Laura exclaimed, giving her friend a hug.

"I don't even know if I want another baby," Callia whispered.

"Stop!" Laura said, giving her friend a gentle shake. "What are you thinking!? You're married to the man you love and you're not sure if you want his baby?" Laura's voice was so shrill that Callia winced at the sound.

"I want his baby Laura, I'm just not sure if I'm ready for it now," Callia clarified.

"You need to talk to Coop, Cal, and you need to do it soon," Laura said. Callia nodded and sighed. "The guys will be back soon, go wash your face," she added.

"What's up?" Cooper asked when he and Gray walked into the hotel room. The strained atmosphere was hard to miss.

"Nothing's wrong," Laura said slowly.

"Baby!" Mason exclaimed, clapping his hands on the tray of his high chair. Callia froze, the spoonful of apple sauce poised in the air.

"Oh my God, he's talking!" Cooper said excitedly. Callia smiled at that and cheered a little. "What's wrong Callie? Are you still sick?" he asked, studying his wife carefully.

"No Coop, I'm not sick," Callia said slowly, exchanging a glance with Laura.

"Hey Gray, can we go get some Chinese food?" Laura asked. Gray glanced at Laura in surprise then shrugged and nodded. "We'll be back later. Can we take Mason?" Laura rambled. Callia nodded and watched as her friend scooped up the babbling baby and all but fled from the room.

"What the hell is going on Callie?" Cooper wanted to know.

"What the hell was that about and why are we taking Mason with us? Come to think of it, why are we going to get Chinese food when we just finished breakfast an hour ago?" Gray asked.

"I can't tell you yet Gray, not until Callie and Cooper talk," Laura said softly.

"Keeping things from me now? That's not cool Laura," Gray murmured.

"Only things that aren't mine to tell," Laura answered. Gray nodded, satisfied with her answer.

"So where are we going?" he asked.

"How about we just take Mason out for a walk?" Laura suggested. Gray nodded again and they continued walking.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What the hell is going on Callie?" Cooper asked again, the worry he felt gave his voice an edge and his tone was harsher than he intended. "Are you sick?"

"I'm not sick Coop," Callia murmured.

"Then what is it? C'mon Cal, tell me, it can't be that bad," Cooper grumbled. He frowned when Callia said something so low he couldn't hear her. "I can't hear you," he told her.

Callia sighed and looked up at him, swallowed hard. "I'm pregnant again Coop," she said finally.

Cooper said nothing for several minutes and sank down onto the bed. "Are you sure?" he asked finally.

"I haven't taken a test yet, but I'm late and I have been feeling sick lately, so I'm pretty sure," Callia admitted.

"How late?" Cooper wanted to know, a million thoughts running through his head.

"Almost seven weeks." Cooper swore loudly and Callia looked away. "I'm sorry Coop," she said weakly.

"Sorry? Damn it Callie, what are you sorry for?" Cooper asked.

"I missed a few days when Mason was sick and ..." Callia swallowed hard and fought the nausea that was welling within her. "I know we can't afford another baby, not until I've been teaching for a few years and you graduate," she whispered, her voice was shaky and there were silent tears streaming down her face.

"Callie, it's okay," Cooper murmured, knelt down in front of her and hugged her tightly. "I love you Callia, and nothing is going to change that. So things will be a little tight for awhile, we'll manage," Cooper promised. Callia sobbed loudly as she buried her face in Cooper's shoulder. "What?" Cooper asked, concerned at how quickly Callia had become hysterical.

"I don't know if I want another baby right now Coop. I wanted to wait a little while," Callia admitted. Cooper froze and carefully pulled away from his wife. "I love Mason, Coop, and I don't regret having him for a second, and I would love to have more children with you, but I'm not sure if I'm ready for a second baby at this exact moment," Callia clarified.

Some of the tension left Cooper's body and he sighed. "I love you," she whispered, unsure of what else to say.

"I love you too Callie, more than you'll ever fully know, and I agree, this isn't the greatest timing, but we'd have some time to get ready for another baby," Cooper said slowly. Callia gave a crooked smile but before she could say anything else, Laura, Gray and Mason returned to the hotel room.

"What's wrong?" Cooper asked, seeing the look of panic on both Gray and Laura's faces.

"I started cramping," Laura whispered, terrified. Callia took a deep breath and pulled herself together.

"It's probably just Braxton-Hicks, but we should get you to the hospital anyway." Callia took her friend's hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Take a deep breath Laura and relax. I know you're scared and I know it hurts, but relax, it's going to be okay. I survived this twice, and so will you," Callia told her friend. "Gray, get her down to the car. Coop, do you mind if I ride with Laura and Gray?" Callia asked.

"Go ahead. Mason and I will follow," Cooper agreed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So what's up with you and Callie?" Gray asked while he and Cooper waited in the hall way for Callia to help Laura get dressed. They'd been in the hospital for several hours before the doctors determined that it was indeed Braxton-Hicks and that Laura was not in real labor at all and could go home.

"Callie thinks she's pregnant," Cooper said and dropped his head into his hands.

"Woah," Gray murmured. "I take it she isn't taking it well?" he asked.

"No, not well at all," Cooper agreed. Both of them stopped talking as Callia and Laura walked out of the triage room. "Ready to go?" Cooper asked, concerned at how worn out Callia looked.

"Ready," she agreed, a small smile on her face.

"Is Mason okay with your parents?" Callia asked as she and Cooper drove back to the hotel room.

"Yeah. So, Gray said you talked to one of the doctors when I took Mason over, are you feeling okay?" Cooper asked.

"Yeah. I asked if they could administer a pregnancy test," Callia said. Cooper stopped at a stop light, turned and looked at her expectantly. "I'm not pregnant Coop. He said something about all of the stress with graduation. And my hormone levels are finally going back to normal since Mason finally stopped nursing and I've stopped pumping," Callia rambled. Cooper couldn't help it, he let out a sigh of relief. "I thought you wanted another baby," Callia said, raising an eyebrow.

"I do Callie, a ton of them, but not before you're ready for more, and not before we have a little money saved up," Cooper admitted. The light changed and Cooper continued down the street. Cooper pulled into the lot, parked the car, turned toward Callia and hugged her close. "I love you Callie, I always will. And I want as many more children as you're willing to carry and give birth to. When we're ready, when you're ready, we'll have another baby," Cooper promised. A low sob tore from her throat and Cooper sighed again, wondering what to do.

"I'm sorry," Callia said with a laugh. "I think part of me was excited about having another baby," she sighed. Cooper smiled, kissed her and brushed back a strand of hair that escaped her ponytail. "I love you," Callia murmured.

"I love you too Callie, forever," Cooper promised.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Welcome back to reality," Laura sighed when she and Gray walked into the apartment.

"Tell me about it. I have to go back to work tomorrow, are you going to be okay?" Gray asked, eyeing her expanded abdomen nervously.

"I'm fine Gray, really. If anything happens, I'll call you, and if I can't get a hold of you, Callie's my backup," Laura promised.

"Okay," Gray said with a laugh. "If you're sure you're fine ..." Laura squealed when Gray lifted her into his arms and carried her into her, their bedroom.