Small side note: any text with this is symbol (') around it, means that the contained words are thoughts. And this (") means actual dialogue.

The young woman sat on the large bed, her head in her hands, tears stinging the back of her eyes. She didn't move, didn't speak, didn't even breathe loudly. She thought that if she sat in that spot long enough, maybe things would become clearer, easier. Or maybe the exact opposite would be better. Maybe if everything became harder and more confusing, the one problem weighing down her mind wouldn't seem so bad. No, that wouldn't work. Nothing could minimize this. 'I suppose I deserve it. You're only allowed to have so much happiness in your life. Everything else was going so well.' Or maybe it would be best if she could just disappear.

But how would she ever be able to explain it to her mother. 'She doesn't even know that Josh and I are living together.' Her parents were exceedingly religious, and pretty snoody about it. They used their faith in a bad way, to judge others. Shutting out everyone and everything sinful. Despising others for their imperfection, while they themselves were anything but perfect. She could just imagine her parents� reaction to the news. They would think so little of their flawed daughter. In her head, she could see her father's mortified face and hear her mother's stern voice. The turmoil was enough to make the young girl's heart twist, and stomach lurch. She stood abruptly, almost falling forward, then made a quick dash for the connecting bathroom. She dropped to her knees in front of the toilet. Just as her head came into the proper position, she began to heave. One hand held her dark hair back while the other clutched the porcelain bowl so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

After a few drug out minutes of this, she moved her body away from the toilet to gently rest her back against the wall. Her stomach ached, and her throat was sore. When her racing heart finally slowed to a quiet, steady thud, she made an attempt to stand. With one hand on the counter and one on the toilet tank, she pulled herself up. As soon as she was in a standing position, she became lightheaded, and things behind her eyes became black for a few seconds at a time. She clenched her eyes shut, and leaned her weight on her arms, which were now both supported by the white marble counter, breathing deeply.

She opened her eyes several moments later when the front door slammed shut, and a male voice floated up the stairs, to her ears. Luckily, her vision was clear once again. She reached over the counter to turn the faucet on. She rinsed out her mouth and quickly splashed water over her pale face, then gently patting a cotton towel on her skin.

"Gabby?" His voice was closer, as he entered the living room to stand at the foot of the staircase. She shakily made her way out of the bathroom, and walked across the bedroom to stand at the door, just inside of the room. She breathed deeply once again to try to gain some sense of composure before facing him.

As she heard heavy footsteps start to fall on the stairs, she stepped out of the room, and into his view. She stood silently at the top of the staircase looking down on JC's frozen form. She had been acting strange all week. When he had started questioning her about her behavior, she had brushed it off as nothing, leading him to think that maybe he was just imagining things. Now, staring at her, and paused in his descent to the second floor, he was positive that something had to be wrong. Her eyes were puffy and red, as if she had been crying. Her nose was slightly pink, her expression was somber, her hair less than perfect, and she was wearing pajamas at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. This woman who was normally so put together, looked.....frazzled. "Gabby, baby, what's wrong?" His voice was soft and unsure, wondering what could have caused her to look like this.

She couldn't have this conversation on the stairs. Not that there was an ideal place to talk about it, but the stairs were definitely not an option. She slowly made her way down the steps, toward him. When she reached the one he was standing on, she took his hand, and led him the rest of the way down. Together, they walked into the large, white kitchen with wooden countertops. She walked over to the snack bar, falling into one of the stools, JC sitting on the one next to her. For several moments, she simply sat there, staring straight ahead, out the floor-to-ceiling window. JC kept his gaze on her, his azure eyes burning holes into her skin. A million thoughts were running through her head at one time, and she wasn't sure which to choose. She didn't know how to explain something like this to him. He sat and waited, patiently, but after five minutes had passed, he started to get anxious. He knew that if it really was a big thing, then he probably shouldn't push her to talk, but he was also fearful of what it could be. He really had to know. So, he also sat there contemplating on how to choose his words. How he could show support and encourage her to talk at the same time.

Finally, after she had gathered up some small portion of courage, she spoke. �Josh, I�m late. By two months, actually.� Her hands fisted in her lap. Her thin fingers clung together until her hands were white, almost completely drained of blood. And she let those two phrases sit for a few short moments before she dared to attempt to use her voice again. �I�m pregnant.�

JC�s face was the perfect picture to describe �shock�. In the instant that the words fell from her lips, his eyes went wide, his jaw dropped slightly, his heartbeat sped up a few notches, and there was no air making its way in or out of his starved lungs. �I�..I�.just..don�t..,� he stumbled over the words as if they were in a foreign language. �How did this happen?� It was an unnecessary question. It didn�t matter how it happened. The point was simply that it had happened, and this was a hard reality that they were facing together, alone.

Gabriella offered no answer to his softly spoken question. She only bowed her head slightly in fear and disappointment. How could they possibly overcome this? How could his career ever survive such a devastating blow? It was in that moment that she realized that her having this baby was going to end up hurting him so much more than it would her. It would hurt not only his friends and family, but also his career and his dreams. How could she ever be so selfish as to take those precious things away from him? The thoughts were meant to stay in her head, and only heard by her, but a soft whisper escaped her before she could realize that she was even speaking. � I don�t want to hurt you.�

JC�s heart squeezed when her scared, emotional words reached his ears. All of this was happening to her, to them, and all she was thinking about was him and his pain. It was rather strange because he had always thought of an unwanted pregnancy as being so much more burdening and hurtful to the woman instead of the man. Ultimately, a man who was not married to a woman had no obligation to stick around. There was no way for her to escape this. But he knew without a doubt that there was no way he was escaping this either. It wouldn�t matter what it cost him. He could never leave her to deal with this alone. Especially not when it was his child that was growing inside of her. He reached over and gently took both of her nervous hands into both of his. He entwined their fingers, and brought their hands back to rest in his own lap. �Gabby, this isn�t your fault. We�re both responsible. No one can blame you and you alone. I don�t, the guys won�t, management won�t, and no one else will.� When she continued to look down, he freed one of his hands from hers to softly turn her chin left and upward until her watery green eyes were looking into his. When he was satisfied with her attention, he brought his hand back down to clasp with hers. �We�re going to be okay. We can deal with this. It�s not like we�re just a couple of teenagers who have no way of handling a kid on their own. It is possible, and I promise you that we�ll get through this no matter what, together.� He hoped that his words had reached her, even if only in a small way.

�What about the group,�.a-and the fans? What will everyone think about us?� At that point, he wasn�t too sure whether it was her image or his career that she was concerned about. She had never been overly concerned about how the fans viewed her or their relationship in the past.

�It doesn�t matter, Gabby. The fans probably won�t be too happy in the beginning, but we don�t have to go around publicizing it a lot at first either. Maybe we can wait closer to the baby�s due date before we mention anything to the press. And you know the guys will be okay about this. They love you. We�re a family, and it�s really not the end of the world just because you�re having a baby and we aren�t married.� At the end of that last sentence, her head went down again. Thoughts of her parents� disappointment entered her mind once again. �Oh, it�s not that I don�t want to marry you. I just don�t think it�s something we�re ready for. But I guess we�re not really ready for a baby either.� A rather long moment of silence overtook them at that moment. There were a million different thoughts swimming in JC�s mind, and he wanted to think them through before putting anything into words for her to hear. �But what if we did it? Maybe a few months after the baby is born?�

�What? Josh, what are you talking about? We can�t get married. You just said we weren�t ready.� Gabriella felt panic and excitement both pumping through her veins at the same time. She really wanted to marry this man, but what if they really truly weren�t ready for something like that.

�Baby, the only reason that we haven�t really talked about marriage yet is because I didn�t think I could be around enough right now. I don�t want to be the kind of husband who just leaves his wife by herself all the time. But when the baby comes, I�m going to need and want to be home a lot more. I�m completely serious. What if we actually did this?� He was smiling now, and his eyes were shining bright blue. The excitement clearly showed on his face.

Her face was now one of realization and hopefulness, but he could also see the apparent hesitation that clouded her eyes. He slowly slid off of the stool and stood in front of it for an instant, before dropping to his knees right in front of her feet.

�Gabriella, I love you. And I want to be your husband. I�m not doing this because we�re having a baby, and I�m not doing this just because I feel obligated to take care of you. I�m doing this because you mean the world to me, and I can�t imagine spending the rest of my life with any woman other than you.� He spoke the words directly from his soul, hoping that they sounded as sincere as they were felt. He paused for a few moments before continuing. �At this exact time in my life and my career, I may not be able to give you all the time in the world. But I do swear, that if you let me, I will spend the rest of my life trying to make your dreams come true. And I swear that I will take care of this family. I want us to be together under one roof for the rest of our lives. I want us to watch our son or daughter grow up together, as husband and wife, and as mother and father. I want to wake up next to you in bed every morning, and eat breakfast together. I want us to be rushing around on weekday mornings trying to get the kids dressed and fed so they can get to school. I want us to grow old together, and maybe we�ll even die on the same day.� He paused for a moment after that comment, thinking of how absurd it really sounded. �I love you, Gabriella. Will you share the rest of your life with me? Will you marry me?� His eyes were completely focused on hers from where he was kneeling on the floor. He was hopeful and desperate, praying that she say �yes�.

Tears were silently streaming down her face. She felt like the same hopeless situation from that morning had been turned into a pure miracle that she was utterly thankful to have taking place in her life. This talented, loving, beautiful man was on his knees in front of her. He was here begging and pleading with her to spend the rest of her life with him. At that moment, she couldn�t have asked for a greater gift than him. So, her answer finally came. �Yes. Yes, Josh, I�ll marry you.�

JC felt his heart leap. His eyes became brighter, and a smile quickly overtook his handsome face. He stood up to reach his full height. In the process of getting up, he swept Gabriella off of her stool, and into his arms. Her arms wrapped around his neck securely, and he slowly twirled both of them around in the center of the kitchen.

Her heart felt pounds lighter than it had only an hour ago. In a year�s time, the two of them would be planning a wedding after she had recently given birth to their first precious child. The future was bright, and for the first time in a while, she couldn�t wait for it to arrive.

fin