"Support"
Part 1/1
By Diana ([email protected])

Rating: PG
Spoilers: "Baby It�s You."
Summary: How does Kyle react to Tess� pregnancy?



�Mrs. Maxwell Evans� No. Mrs. Tess Evans� No. Mrs. Tess Harding-Evans� That�s the worst one yet.�

Tess Harding stood in front of her mirror and gazed the reflection staring back at her.

Maybe I should just keep my name. Or maybe, she thought, maybe Max and I don�t have to get married at all. I mean, the destiny book never said we had to get married. I don�t know if I even want to.] Tess dropped her hands to her stomach. Plenty of people make single parenthood work. Besides, what if I want to marry someone else someday?] She shook her head. [What am I thinking? Tess lifted her shirt and looked down at a glow that had spread from her belly to her fingertips. I�m having his baby and it�s our destiny and I� I love him. Or at least I�m supposed to. So that�s it then. I�m keeping this baby and I�m going to marry Max and go home someday. There�s nothing to stay here for anyway. No one will ever love me the way Max used to.

�What the hell is going on Tess?�

The girl jumped at the sound of someone else�s voice. She spun around and saw Kyle standing in her doorway.

�Don�t you ever knock?� She asked as she scrambled to pull her shirttail down.

�Not when it�s important. Now what�s going on?�

�What do you mean?�

�I mean why is Evans hanging around here all the time. What�s up with you two?�

�I don�t think that�s any of your business, Kyle.�

�It�s my house. It�s my business.�

Tess glared at him. �Fine. I�ll leave. I�m sure I won�t have any trouble finding my own place anyway.�

�Tess, come on,� Kyle huffed, �You know that�s not what I meant. I just need to know what�s going on here. Are� are you and Evans seeing each other?�

�Kyle--�

�Please, Tess. Just answer the question.�

�Fine. Yeah. Max and I are seeing each other. Anything else you want to know?� She asked. She walked across the room and flopped down on her bed.

�Did you have sex with him?�

She shook her head and laughed a little. �I cannot believe you�re asking me this.�

�I woke up at 6:57 on Saturday morning and see you and Evans getting pretty cozy on my doorstep. What the hell am I supposed to think, Tess?�

�Why are you even worrying about this? Like I said, it is none of your business, Kyle. What Max and I do has absolutely nothing to do with you.�

�I think it has something to do with all of us now that you�re pregnant.�

Tess froze. �Excuse me?�

�You heard me. You know, if you�re trying to keep this thing a secret, you�re doing a pretty piss poor job of it. You are Evans have been sneaking around here for a week now and as soon as he leaves, you lock yourself in your room. It�s kinda hard not to notice that something�s going on, Tess.�

�That... that doesn�t prove that I�m pregnant.�

Kyle folded his arms across his chest. �Stand up.�

�I don�t see why I should.�

�Hey, you said that other stuff wouldn�t prove that you�re pregnant. Stand up and prove that you�re not.�

Tess huffed and glared at him again before she stood up. �There. Now what�s that going to prove?�

Kyle inched closer to her. He unfolded his arms, lightly touched his hand to her stomach, and then pulled up her shirttail a little. A fading glow peeked out from under her shirt.

�You�re glowing, Tess,� He sighed. �I didn�t want to believe it but I guess that proves that you really are pregnant.�

Tess laughed bitterly. �You didn�t want to believe it? So what the hell is that supposed to mean, Kyle?�

�It means I�m just a little upset that Evans knocked you up.�

�So you�ve got something against my baby?�

Kyle sighed. �Look, Tess. That�s not what I mean and you know it. You know, I�m just trying to look out for you here.�

�I can look out for myself,� Tess shot back.

�Will you just stop being so damn defensive? I mean, have you even thought about this?�

�Of course I have.�

�So what�s your plan, huh? I�m guessing that you�re keeping the baby. So what�s next? You and Evans going to get married?�

�Would it be so bad if we did?�

�You know what? I guess it wouldn�t. Especially since you�ve built your whole damn life around that idea.�

�Look, Kyle--�

�No, you look, Tess. Take a good look at yourself. I mean is this what you really want to do?�

�I�m having this baby and there�s nothing that�s going to change that.�

�I�m not talking about the baby, Tess, I�m talking about you. You�ve probably had this destiny thing drilled in your head for your entire life. Have you ever stopped to think about it? You�re Max�s wife. You�re having Max�s kid. The whole thing is based around him. What about what you want to do? What about your life?�

Tess looked away. �Kyle--�

�I�m serious, Tess,� He said. He lifted her chin so her eyes would meet his again. �You deserve to have your own life. You don�t just have to be a little piece of his.�

�I like my life. And I think I�d like it� even if Max wasn�t in it,� She said as she smiled at him a little. �But he�s there. And this little piece of our destiny has been fulfilled. I�m going to have a baby. That�s what I have to think about right now.�

Kyle brushed his thumb against her cheek and then dropped his hand and started out of the room. He stopped just outside of the doorway.

�One more thing� does he love you?�

Tess looked away.

�That's what I thought...� Kyle said quietly. He perked up after a moment. �Well, um� I�m not all that great with babies or anything but I did baby-sit my little cousin once. �Course he was, like, five at the time, but taking care of a baby can�t be that much harder, right?�

Tess smiled a little. �I guess we�ll find out.�

�Yeah,� Kyle said as he left the room.

Tess went back to her mirror and started brushing her hair. She turned around when she saw Kyle�s reflection behind hers.

�Tess?� He said.

�Yeah, Kyle?�

�I�m here for you.�

She nodded. �Thank you.�

A brightening glow peeked out from under her shirt.

The End