The Lab Rats Ch. 07 - In a Barrel?

Rowan saw the change in Alex's face and relaxed as at least one of her children seemed to be taking a positive stance on it. However, the silence became unbearable.

"Somebody say something... please."

Both of them started cycling through a possible responses which ranged from 'you must be delighted' to 'are you keeping it?' passing by 'whose is it?'... OK, maybe not the last one, especially as both of them had a fairly good idea who the father might be.

Saskia stood up and went to her mother and gave her hug.

"We will support you whatever you decide to do. Won't we Alex? I'm sure he will act as a surrogate father for it if you decide to keep it."

The last was said over Rowan's shoulder with a big grin on her face. Alex decided that he had enough of his sister taking the piss on what was still an unproven hunch. He too stood up and came to join the group hug, kissing his mother gently on the cheek when he did so at the same time he pinched Saskia's shoulder to get her attention and giving him time to mouth 'Behave' at her.

They stood in the group hug for a while before Alex looked up at his sister and mouthed 'we have to tell her about leaving Dad' and he saw her mulling this over before eventually she nodded her agreement.

"Mum, I think there's something... in fact a lot of things... that you need to know. Things that have happened in the six weeks that our memories have been wiped. I spoke to Dad earlier... while you were asleep... like you suggested and things are... umm... different."

Rowan looked at her with confusion showing in her face.

"What do you mean... 'different'?"

Saskia took a deep breath.

"You left Dad two weeks ago and are getting a divorce."

Rowan was totally gobsmacked for a second and then smiled.

"Good... I finally got the courage to do it."

She looks at their faces but still doesn't see disapproval but she does need to grasp a particular nettle.

"Ah... but now I have a child on the way so you guys think I've been having an affair? That would be my immediate reaction too so I don't blame you but unfortunately, I don't know who the father is. Hopefully that will become clearer in time. OK, next question... where am I living?"

"With me... in my flat in York."

Rowan processed this with less difficulty than the fact she had left her husband and smiled brightly at Alex.

"That's OK, you are house trained and give good cuddles, so what's not to like? However, can we get rid of the grey tiles in the bathroom... and change the wallpaper in the... "

Her smile suddenly froze on her face and she turned and ran to the bathroom and dry heaved into the toilet. The children looked at her retreating back both immediately thinking 'morning sickness' while Rowan was thinking 'it was his bedroom in the dream... he has a mirror over the bed... Yes, baby, knock me up... breed me... make me a mummy again... you motherfucker... is that Alex... that I'm fucking?... it is if you want it to be.

Her son was the father of her child.

Chapter 63

The journey back to York was a quiet affair especially as Alex chose to go a different route which bypassed the spot where the light had taken them.

After Rowan had come back from the bathroom she had asked a few questions about what Mike had said regarding the period before the separation. Saskia was nervous while she was relating the story and tried to avoid anything salacious or speculative which surprised Alex who was dreading any reference to the titty-fuck with Emma. However, Saskia simply referred to Alex flirting with girls as being a cause for an argument between Rowan and Mike at the wedding. He nodded his thanks for her discretion to his sister who had decided that she would not try to screw up the future relationship between her mother and brother as there was now an innocent unborn child to consider. She smiled back at the look of relief on his face but still felt a twinge of envy that her mother was going to spend the rest of her life with her wonderful brother.

Rowan asked a few questions about the timeline as she was mentally evaluating the facts against her belief that Alex was the father and was trying to identify the point that they became lovers. They certainly had not been on the Friday afternoon before the wedding as she could remember the frosty atmosphere between them when he picked her up as she had moaned at him about his shitty car.

'Christ what a bitch I was... and yet here we are, I'm carrying his baby. How the hell did that happen?'

Hearing that they had broken down on the way to the wedding and had spent an enforced night together set her wondering what had occurred during that period because it would appear to be 'the moment'. The fact that she had been alternately angry and then delighted and then angry again with Alex at the wedding caused her to think what she would have been like under the circumstances.

'Let's assume that the start point is that we had mind-blowing sex sometime in the previous 24 hours and Alex starts flirting with other girls at the wedding... how am I going to react? I would be pissed off, that's how! But is he doing it to make me jealous or to throw other people off the scent? Either way we obviously sneak off somewhere to have make-up sex... which makes me Mrs. Happy... then he leaves without saying a thing and stays out of contact with anyone for 2 weeks... that would make me really miserable. However, I think there is a future for us and this is enough to stop taking the pill because I want his child... it must have been really great sex! Mike and Saskia contrive for us to be alone for a whole weekend and I manage to dispel any reservations he had... Jesus, I'm surprised that either of us could walk after that! That weekend is the clincher and I go back to Suffolk and tell Mike I'm leaving him and one week later move in with Alex. It fits... but what happened that first Friday night?'

The others were also occupied with their thoughts and none more so than Alex who was worrying about whether the sleeping arrangements they would find when they got to the flat would betray the fact that he and his mother were sharing a bed... would betray the fact that they were lovers and that he was the father of her unborn child.

Rowan for her part was worrying along similar lines as she too was now convinced that the child developing in her womb was her son's. She was surprised by her lack of guilt over that fact as it did not worry her at all. On the contrary, she was actually pleased because she loved her son with all her heart and had done so since he came into the world. It was not a difficult mental step to move from loving to being in love and once she knew it was Alex, the conundrum of who she could have met in a 6 week span that she would learn enough about to trust that he would be in it for the long haul, was answered. The answer was simple, this was not a case of first meeting to procreation in a matter of weeks, this was someone who she knew, loved and trusted for as long as he had been on the planet. The only question was how or why they had become lovers and maybe that would never be answered.

They both had a subsidiary question remaining that they needed an answer to... would they be able to recreate the conditions for them to become lovers all over again?

+++++++++

Alex opened the front door to the apartment and dropped his bags and hurried into the main bedroom and scanned the room... lots of Rowan's stuff and not much of his... good... good.... he turned and saw Saskia leaning on the door frame smirking at him. She knew what he was doing and why but at least she hadn't stirred the pot.. He stuck his tongue out at her and pushed past her to get to the spare room but it looked like it always did... not lived in! He opened a drawer and was relieved to see some of his stuff... logical... he would have had to free space for Rowan's stuff in the main bedroom. OK... he could do this. He went to collect the bags and was relieved to see Rowan in the living room talking on her phone to her sister, his Aunt Becky.

".... yes, just got back. We went to the hotel where the wedding was for a weekend break but unfortunately there was another wedding party so we cut it short and came back today."

Alex marvelled at his mother's ability to lie and not seem the least bit contrite.

....

"No it wasn't just Alex and me, Saskia came as well."

....

"What do you mean, three's a crowd?"

....

"Ohh, don't be so disgusting. No we did not go for a romantic weekend together. He's my wonderful son!"

....

Bex, if you keep this up I shall put the phone down."

....

"Nope haven't spoken to him for a while... I guess he's sitting down in Suffolk plotting how to find out about my mythical secret lover. Anyway must dash as I need the loo. Love you... bye."

He waited until she had disconnected the call and tried to look relaxed when he spoke to her.

"Mum, I've put your bags in your room. There is still some of my stuff that I need to clear out if you need more drawer space."

She smiled sweetly and walked towards him and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thanks babe... "

She blushed and stammered out an apology.

"... oh... sorry... err... darling, that's a bit intimate... did that offend you?"

He smiled and shook his head.

"No Mum... err... babe... that was rather nice. I'll make some tea.

Rowan headed for the spare room and Alex called after her.

"No, you are in the main bedroom. I'm in the spare... although Sask can have it tonight and I'll take the couch."

His mother turned and looked back at him with a smile that he found difficult to decipher but he had no trouble in working out what his sister's grin meant as she watched him trying to prevent the big secret from being revealed. He stuck his tongue out her.

Chapter 64

The living area was at the front of the house and the lights from the cobbled road that ran along the riverbank in front of his apartment block cast bright beams in through any gap in the heavy curtains. Alex had always hated bright bedrooms and found it difficult to sleep even though the couch was long enough for him to lay out fully. He looked at the digital clock on the kitchen wall which let him know that it was 4minutes and 36 seconds since he last looked at 23:54:17. He had tried his autogenics routine several times without achieving either mind relaxation or sleep. The others had gone to bed about 10:00 and he'd seen their lights go out soon after. Unable to sleep he had thought about putting the TV on but did not want to make too much noise and had lain in bed wondering what the hell was going to happen now. He knew that at some point he needed to have a conversation with his mother to try to explain that he was the father of her child. He tried to imagine her response... accepting or rejecting... positive or negative... stoical or hysterical... he had no idea how it would go. Thoughts of his mother quickly led to images of his mother's sexy body laying between the sheets of what presumably had been 'their' bed and started to get hard until he had sudden thought.

'Shit... she will smell me in the bed! Fuck! Too late now.'

At 00:36:25 he finally fell asleep only to be woken at 00:49:47 by someone sitting on the edge of the couch. He opened groggy eyes to see Rowan, dressed in an old T shirt of his, with a very worried look on her face. He sat up quickly.

"Mum, are you OK Is something the matter? Are you feeling ill?"

She shook her head and immediately broke the eye contact, shrugged nervously before scratching the back of head head and then looking up at the ceiling. Her voice betrayed the deep emotions coursing through her mind.

"Umm... Alex... darling... I've been lying awake in there wondering what to do because I think you will hate me for what I'm about to tell you..."

Alex reached over and took hold of both her hands as she looked petrified and close to tears.

"Mum, I could never hate you... what is it... what's worrying you? Please tell me."

She looked down at their clasped hands and then back up at his face. She held his gaze this time

"I will but... this is like no conversation that a mother should have with their son... so please don't... err... please... listen to what I have to say before reacting... I... ummm.... Oh my god... here goes... I-think-that-we've-been-having-sex-and-you-are the father-of-my-baby."

The last was said very quickly and she flinched away from him and shut her eyes as though that would mitigate the pain of any physical attack he might make.

He said nothing and she cautiously opened her eyes to see him smiling at her.

"Thank Christ for that. I thought it was something serious..."

Alex's laugh betrayed his release of tension which stunned Rowan as his response was not like any of the possible scenarios that had gone through her mind as she tried to decide what to do.

"... I know and... I was trying to pluck up courage to tell you."

Chapter 65

The following morning Saskia woke early and despite needing to go to the loo, she decided not to go to the toilet as she did not want to wake the others. However, her bladder eventually got the better of her and she crept stealthily from the spare room towards the bathroom coming to a surprised halt when she glanced into the living area and saw that Alex was not on the couch. She stepped into the living area to see into the kitchen space and that was empty as well so she looked back at the couch where a blanket lay on the floor and a knowing smile crossed her face. Moving quietly she crossed the room to the main bedroom and slowly opened the door far enough to see Alex and Rowan entwined on the bed. Saskia could not suppress the wave of emotion that flowed through her as she looked at the couple.

'Oh My God... they look so beautiful together.

She could see they were both naked to the waist as the sheet was pulled back and Rowan lay in the crook of Alex's arm which was thrown protectively around her. Her own arm lay across her son's belly and her upper leg was hooked across Alex's thigh. The only way they could be closer was if they were making love. Saskia could detect the heady smell of sweaty sex and chuckled to herself.

'She obviously worked it out for herself... or he told her and she believed him... either way... so far so good!'

She closed the door and completed her journey to the bathroom.

Rowan, who had been watching her with slitted eyes. smiled to herself.

'Oh well, Saskia had to find out sometime and at least she didn't freak out, but from what Alex said last night he thought she had worked it out already.'

She dropped a gentle kiss on her lover's chest and clasped him tighter and thought back to her surprise when he had smiled warmly at the news that he was the father of her... their... baby. She had agonised for a long time after she had worked out that they were lovers and came to the conclusion that they must have discussed having a baby. She knew she would not have done it unilaterally as that would have destroyed any trust in their developing relationship as lovers and partners!

After the initial revelation... but not the bombshell she had psyched herself up to expect... they had sat and discussed all they knew about the past six weeks and both agreed that something must have kick-started their relationship on the night before the wedding. She had been amazed (and aroused) at Alex's description of the vision of them having wild uninhibited sex in the summerhouse on the evening of the wedding and from what he could remember she demanded that he make her pregnant on that occasion.

They analysed their behaviour over the course of those initial days and agreed that Rowan's behaviour on the night of the wedding would have been as a result of her jealousy about his behaviour with Emma, especially when he filled in the blank about the titty-fuck that Saskia had glossed over. It also brought out an acknowledgement from both of them about the way their relationship had deteriorated was probably due to mutual sexual attraction that they knew to be unattainable.

By now they were sitting close together on the couch and still holding hands as they looked each other in the eye. Rowan lifted both of his hands to her lips and kissed them as she told him that she was proud that he resisted for those two weeks.

"From what Mike said about you leaving without telling anybody, you must have had reservations straight after the summerhouse... err... episode (cue: mutual giggling at the euphemism). I can understand that I would have been miserable if the episode (more giggling) was as great as how you described it. Isn't it ironic that Mike, by trying to make me happy by engineering a rapprochement between us, was the instigator of us finally becoming lovers? I don't suppose he ever envisaged that outcome."

Alex smiled mischievously.

"I think there was probably a whole new season of episodes over that weekend that would have caused that?"

This time their laughter was in danger of waking the neighbourhood and they found themselves holding on to each other as they slid down onto the couch, their faces close together. Rowan reached a hand up to lovingly stroke her son's face as a playful smile curled at her lips and sparkled in her eyes.

"Babe... I suspect there may have been a few... it's a shame that neither of us remember them or the season finale that created our baby... but we could at least try out a pilot for the new series."

Alex smiled down at her.

"You called me 'babe' again, I love that you do. Maybe we haven't had everything wiped from our minds. You have a point there about a pilot show so maybe we should try each other on for size... you know, just to make sure everything fits together as it should."

Rowan nodded with smoky eyes.

"Yes, I want to check what I saw in my dreams as whether it was the real McCoy because that will be a tight fit."

"You had dreams about us? Maybe you can remember some episodes after all."

"Let's go and get into 'our' bed... I knew pretty much straight away that we slept in it together because I could smell 'you' all over it. It was what convinced me that I needed to come and tell you what I thought."

Alex grinned sheepishly.

"You don't know how much I worried that you would see that we shared the room and wonder what that meant, but you have obviously been thinking long and hard..."

Rowan giggled.

"Babe, the only long and hard thinking I've been doing is about what I saw in my dreams. Now, are you go to keep talking out here or take your mummy-slut into the bedroom and fuck her brains out?"

Alex pretended to think about it for all of a nano-second and rolled off the couch before standing and scooping the small, lithe figure of his gorgeous mother up in his arms. She squealed happily at the thought that her son was taking charge as he carried her through to the bedroom and gently deposited her on their bed.

Chapter 66

Unsurprisingly, their 'second first' love making was remarkably similar to their 'first first' although some of the hesitancy and nervousness was no longer in the forefront of their minds.

Rowan propped herself up, resting on her elbows, as she watched Alex remove his T shirt leaving him in just his boxer shorts which bulged healthily. She did a circular gesture with her hand and he laughingly turned a full circle as he showed his firm body.

"Nice bum, babe! You are a beautiful looking man, good enough to eat. Now get rid of those boxers and get over here, mummy needs some loving."

He shook his head as he grinned down at her.

"You've got too many clothes on. I'll show you mine if you show me yours."