Dave and Alicia Ch. 04

"You're not the one, what?"

"The one having your baby. It hurts that I can't give you that."

Dave smiled and traced her nose with a fingertip. "Why can't you give me that?"

"David, I'm you sister. It-it just wouldn't be right is all; I guess."

"Is this right, Alicia, what we're doing? Does it feel right to you?"

"Yes! I love you, you know that. But a baby, David, one of our own? I don't know... It's..." Alicia trailed off, not knowing how to express what she was feeling.

"A lot to think about right now?" Dave asked, and she nodded. "Will you at least think about it in the future?'

Alicia couldn't help but laugh. "You know, for a guy who always insisted he'd never have kids, you sure have done an about-face."

Dave thought about that for a few moments, then smiled softly. "Yeah, I guess I have."

*****

Thanksgiving was a pleasant and jovial affair at the Parker home. Grandma Ruth was there, and Brett, Elizabeth, and Samantha. As always, after dinner Alicia and Elizabeth hand-washed the heirloom china and Brett and Dave came in later to dry and put the dishes away. They watched the football game, and afterwards, Brett, Elizabeth and Samantha headed for home.

Alicia and Dave remained behind and watched the second football game. At halftime, the siblings went to the kitchen and hauled out the leftovers.

"How can you eat that?" Alicia asked in disgust as she watched her brother squirt mustard all over his bread, then glob on cold gravy, stuffing, and finally, cold turkey slices.

"My dear Alligator," Dave sighed, "Every year you ask me that, every year I offer you a bite, and you never try it. It's a culinary masterpiece, and you don't know what you're missing." He crammed a huge bite into his mouth. He held out the sandwich to her.

Alicia stared at the mess in front of her face. She opened her mouth, trying to will herself to take a taste. Just then, a congealed glob of gravy oozed out and fell to the floor with a splat. She snapped her mouth shut and took her plate out to the living room. As much as she loved her brother, sometimes he was so gross.

*****

"You can come in, if you want," Stephanie told Dave, as the nurse called her name.

Pregnant women of all shapes and sizes sat around him. Dave had only seen one other guy in the waiting room. The other guy looked up and nodded as Dave walked past. He was sitting next to a woman that looked like she was ready to go into labor at any second, at least to Dave's thinking.

The nurse busied herself taking Stephanie's weight and blood pressure, then ushered Stephanie and Dave into an exam room.

The doctor breezed in a few minutes later. She shook hands with Dave and Stephanie and sat down. "Pleased to meet you both. This is your first?" She looked from one to the other.

Dave shifted uncomfortably in his seat and smiled. "Yes."

Stephanie muttered a barely audible, "Yes."

If the doctor thought their behavior strange, she didn't show it. She conversed with them for several minutes about various things and asked if they had any questions. They didn't. "Shall we see if we can hear the heartbeat?"

"You can do that?" Dave asked. "I mean, you can hear it already?"

The doctor nodded. "Usually by nine weeks, sometimes eight weeks. Most always by ten, though don't be alarmed if we don't catch it today. Those little things can be tricky to pick up at this stage," she smiled at him. She motioned to Stephanie to lay back on the examining table.

The doctor moved with kind, gentle hands over Stephanie's still-flat belly. She lifted Stephanie's shirt and had her undo the top of her jeans and pull them down slightly. She took a small bottle and squirted some stuff that looked like KY on Stephanie's stomach and took out the fetal doppler. The doctor placed it in the middle of the goo and moved it around, searching for the heartbeat. Within seconds, she found it. "There it is," she smiled and looked at Dave. She always loved seeing the fathers' reaction the first time they heard the heartbeat.

Dave looked enthralled.

Stephanie looked appalled.

"It sounds like a rabbit," Dave said, not that he knew what a rabbits' heartbeat sounded like. It was the only comparison he could think of at the moment.

The doctor timed the heartbeat. "One fifty-five. A little slower than a rabbit." She let them listen a minute more.

Dave felt the back of his eyes begin to burn and prick.Jesus, don't let me start to cry now, he thought. He rubbed his eyelids and inhaled sharply through his nose.

"We'll do a pelvic now," the doctor informed them as she wiped the goo off Stephanie's belly.

Stephanie turned towards Dave and said, "You need to leave."

"Oh, he can stay, if he'd like to," the doctor informed her pleasantly. She retrieved a cloth gown from a lower drawer.

"No, he can't," Stephanie insisted. "I want him to leave.

"No problem, I'll be in the waiting room." Dave thanked the doctor and took his leave.

*****

For Alicia, Monday morning came too soon. Dave was meeting Stephanie at the doctor's office and Alicia was feeling apprehensive about it. She went to her classes, but could hardly concentrate. The entire day passed by in a blur.

Late that afternoon, Alicia went to Brett and Elizabeth's to see her best friend, but no one was in the house when she called inside. The radio in the garage was blaring, so she headed that way.

Alicia stuck her head in the side door to see Brett bent over the hood of his car, cranking on only God knew what. She walked up next to him. She tapped his shoulder and yelled over the music, "Hey!"

Brett startled and dropped the wrench; it fell to the garage floor with a loud clatter. "Jesus, Alli, you scared me!" He walked over and turned the radio down.

Alicia picked up the wrench and handed it to him. "Sorry, Brett. Is Elizabeth around? I checked inside and didn't see her."

"She left with Sam a while ago to go shopping. She'll be back soon. You can wait here, if you want." He waved a hand towards an old lawn chair in the corner and grinned. "Or you can wait inside, if that's more to your liking."

"This is fine." She went and sat in the lawn chair. It was freezing outside, but the garage was toasty warm from the tiny furnace that burned in the corner "What're you doing?" Alicia knew absolutely nothing about cars. She only knew how to fill hers up with gas and check the oil, her brother took care of the rest. Dave had made sure ages ago she at least knew how to check the oil; the ancient ragtop burned about a quart a week.

"Changing the oil and coolant. It's going into your brother's pole barn tonight for its long winter's nap" Brett told her. He never drove the Charger in the winter.

"Oh." Alicia watched him for a few minutes while she worked something over in her mind. "Brett?"

"Yeah?" He glanced over at her.

"Can I ask you something?"

Brett straightened and turned to face Alicia. He folded his arms and leaned against the front quarter panel. "Sure, what's up?"

"When Elizabeth was pregnant with Sammi, did you have a hard time with it? I mean, with Sam being Jim's baby and not yours?"

Brett nodded. "Sometimes, yeah. Well, not at first," he qualified. "At first I was just pissed as hell that he ditched her. But then, after a while, I began to wish the baby was mine and not his." He paused and ruffled a hand through his dark hair. "You know, though, it didn't take long to realize that it didn't matter if Sam wasn't mine. Especially after she was born. The second I held her there in the nursery she became mine, and I haven't looked back since."

Alicia remembered that day, that awful, horrible day when Elizabeth had nearly died giving birth to Samantha. Samantha had nearly died, too. Brett and Alicia were both silent for a few seconds as they thought about it.

"Are you having a hard time, Alli?" Brett asked her quietly.

"I'm trying not to, but I feel jealous sometimes," she admitted.

Brett smiled. "I know how you feel. I did too," he shrugged. "It's to be expected."

"You did?" That actually made Alicia feel slightly better, to know that her feelings were normal. She'd been feeling guilty about it.

"Sure. I think it's a little different for you, though. I mean, Stephanie's the one having the baby, not you. And she's going to be around for a long time. Jim took off, and we never heard from him again. I don't think you're going to be that lucky with Miss Stephanie. Just between you and me, Alli? I always thought she was a whack job."

Alicia laughed at Brett, but she appreciated his honesty and told him so.

"You're doing alright, Alli. I'm proud of you, both of you. You've been strong through all of this, and you're going to have to continue to be strong, not only for yourself, but for Dave, too. He's going to need you to be." Brett had an uneasy feeling things weren't going to go well for Dave. No matter what happened, whatever way the whole mess went, someone was going to get hurt.

Elizabeth pulled in the drive. Alicia rose from the lawn chair to help her friend with the baby and the groceries. But first, she went to Brett. "Thank you for talking to me about this."

"Hope I was helpful," he smiled down at her gently. "It's not easy, is it?"

Alicia shook her head. "It sure isn't."

Brett chucked her under her chin. "Keep your chin up, camper."

Alicia laughed and hugged him. "I will; I promise."

*****

"It was amazing, Alligator, and really fast. I didn't think it would sound like that; it was pretty cool. She's going to have an ultrasound in a few weeks for some kind of test and she said I could go. I'll be able to see it."

Alicia smiled at her brother's enthusiasm but felt a knife twist in her heart. Brett's words rang in her head,Keep your chin up. She wondered how long she could keep her chin up before she started to get tired. Alicia went to Dave and laid her head against his chest. She sighed, content for the moment. He felt so good.

"You okay, Alli?" Dave's arms tightened about her. "Does it bother you?"

"Yeah, a little. But I'll be fine, I promise. I can tell you're excited, and I'm glad about that." She certainly didn't want to dampen his enthusiasm. "How was Stephanie?"

"Weird-acting, especially after the appointment. She came out, then went back in to talk to the doctor for a little while. Then, when she came out again, she wouldn't even look at me."

"Huh. Wonder what that was all about," Alicia mused.

Dave shrugged. "I don't know, she wouldn't tell me."

*****

Dave didn't see or hear from Stephanie for nearly three weeks. He knew the ultrasound was coming up and he planned to call her to see when it was. She showed up at his house before he got the chance.

Alicia answered the door, then went to get Dave when she saw who it was. As much as she wanted to leave Stephanie standing on the porch, Alicia let her in.

Dave was in the kitchen cleaning up after dinner. He smiled at Alicia when she entered. "Hey, I told you I'd clean the dishes."

"Stephanie's here. I'm going to Mom and Dad's for a while."

"Alli, you don't have to leave."

"I think it's best that I do, David." If Alicia had to keep looking at Stephanie, she'd puke.

"Okay, I'll call after she leaves, then."

*****

Alicia was sitting on the bed in her old room going through a photo album from her high school years. Most of the pictures were of her and Elizabeth. A few included some other people, as well as a couple pictures of an old boyfriend. She gave an involuntary shudder when she looked at him. "What a jerk he was," Alicia muttered. She set the album aside, planning to take it to Dave's. She still had a hard time thinking of his house astheir house.

She heard a car in the drive and glanced out her window. It was Dave. She frowned, even as her heart gave a little leap. Being together around their parents was becoming increasingly difficult. She'd caught both of them closely watching her and Dave on several occasions. They were going to have to tell them soon; there was no way to avoid it.

The front door slammed shut with such force the house shook. From downstairs she heard Dave shout, "Alli! Alicia, where the hell are you!"

Alicia heard her brother pounding up the stairs. His voice cracked. He sounded so hoarse, she thought, as he yelled her name. She was about to call back when her door crashed open. Dave stood in the doorway, chest heaving, a wild look in his eyes.

"David! What wrong?"

Dave made his way to her bed and sank to his knees in front of her. To Alicia's utter horror he began to cry.

"David, oh my God, what the hell happened? What's wrong?" Alicia drew his head down to her lap and cradled it there while he continued to sob. In her entire life she had never once seen him cry. She stroked his soft blond locks and tried to quiet him. "David, please, tell me what's wrong," she begged. "Please, why are you crying?"

"Stephanie had a-an abor-ortion, Alli," Dave stammered out. He looked up at his sister, his face streaked with tears. "She got rid of it, she--" he couldn't continue and buried his face in her lap once more.

*****

"Was that David?" Blaire asked her husband.

Thom gave his wife a strange look. "I'd certainly think so."

"Hm, he sounds upset. We should go see what's wrong." Blaire started to rise.

"It sounded to me like he was looking for Alicia, not us, dear."

Blaire gave him a pointed look. "All the more reason to go see, then; don't you think?"

Thom frowned, then nodded. Husband and wife exited the den and made their way down the hall and paused outside their daughter's bedroom door. As much as they hated to eavesdrop, there really was nothing else to be done. They had to. They needed answers, badly.

From where they stood they could observe their children without being seen. The reflection from Alicia's vanity mirror showed them everything.

*****

Alicia slid off her bed and onto the floor next to her brother. She wrapped her arms around him, pulled his head down and cradled him to her breast.

Dave felt his guts churning. He was afraid he would vomit again. He sucked in several deep breaths of air in an effort to keep the bile from rising. Alicia held him while he sobbed like a child. His baby was gone, before he'd even gotten a chance to know it. He'd heard its heartbeat, and that was all.

"Did she say why she had an abortion, David?" Alicia asked him quietly.

Out in the hall, the elder Parkers turned to each other, wide-eyed. Blaire started forward, but Thom held her back. She looked up at him questioningly; he shook his head at her and raised a finger to his lips.

"She didn't want it, Alli. She didn't even tell me until after it was done. She didn't--oh God, Alli, she said she didn't want to ruin her body." Sobs racked Dave's body anew as he spoke. The words sounded awful to him and to his sister.

They sounded awful to Thom and Blaire, as well. Thom pulled his wife into his arms and held her close as they listened to their children.

"I would've kept the baby, Alli, if she didn't want it. We could've raised it ourselves. She didn't have to do that. She didn't have to kill it." Dave began to tremble violently.

Alicia rained gentle kisses here and there on his forehead and continued to smooth his flaxen hair. She tightened her hold on him as she felt him start to shake. "I'm so sorry, David," she whispered, as her own tears began to fall.

"I know it was her choice, but she didn't even ask me what I thought. I would've been a good dad, Alli."

"I know you would have, David."

"You would've been a good mom."

"Yes," Alicia smiled sadly. She turned her brother's face up to hers and kissed him full on the lips. Slow and gentle, with not even a hint of passion. She wanted to bring him some small measure of comfort, if she could. It seemed to work, as Dave let out a long, shuddering sigh. His body began to relax, and the shaking subsided. He nestled his head back down against the soft fullness of her breasts, as Alicia continued to hold and caress him. "I love you, David," she murmured into his hair.

"Love you, too, Alligator."

"Come on, Blaire," Thom whispered, pull his wife from the heartbreaking scene. It was now confirmed that their children felt more than mere sibling love. Their children had fallenin love. How it happened, Thom wasn't sure. When it happened, he had no idea, either. He'd known for a long time that Brett and Elizabeth's relationship had changed, especially after Samantha was born. Now it had happened to his own children. Part of him was shocked; the other part conceded that they were still his children.

"Thom, I should go talk to them," Blaire protested, as her husband led her quietly back down the hall to the den.

"Leave them be, Blaire. They're adults now, with adult problems that their parents can't solve for them."

"We should really talk to them, Thom."

As they entered the warm, cozy den, Thom pulled his wife into his arms. "No, Blaire," Thom insisted.

"But there's something going on between them." Blaire was quite surprised that her husband was taking the revelation so calmly.

"There likely is, sweetheart, but honestly, what can we do? Push them away? Go in there, start yelling at them, and demand that they stop feeling the way they do about one another? My God, Stephanie just tore David's heart out. I think Alicia's the only one that can make things right. Would you deny him that?"

Slowly, thoughtfully, Blaire shook her head no. No, she couldn't do that to her children. She loved them so much. She'd carried them for nine months each, gone through agonizing hours of labor, brought them into the world. She'd watched them grow, take their first steps. Her children's entire lives seemed to flash through her head in seconds. She knew she could never turn them away, not ever, not for anything.

*****

"Happy Birthday," Alicia cooed into her brothers' ear.

Dave slowly opened his eyes to see his sister hovering over him, completely naked. A grin split his face as the night before came back to him. Oh God, had Alicia really donethat to him? He felt heat build in his loins and thought about asking her for a repeat performance.

She pushed a prettily wrapped gift in front of his face. "Here."

"What is it?"

"A surprise, you dope. I'm not going to tell you."

Dave sat up in bed and tugged at the ribbon. He ripped off the paper and opened the lid of the small cardboard box. He dug through a few layers of tissue paper until he came to two tiny pairs of shoes. He withdrew them and held them up between him and Alicia. "Alligator?" He looked up at her. "What are these for?"

Alicia took one pair and said gently, "This pair is for the baby you didn't have. I bought them be--before..." She saw the look of sorrow cross his face and spoke again, "And this pair..." She took the second pair from him. "This pair is for the baby you're going to have."

Dave's head snapped up. " Are you--Alli? Seriously?"

She smiled shyly and nodded. "Happy Birthday, David."

The End

Thanks for reading Dave and Alicia's story. I hope you enjoyed it. Feedback is important, so don't be shy. If you'd like some background on Brett, Elizabeth, and Samantha, you can read the three chapters titled, "Brett and Elizabeth". ~Chargergirl