Page 21 of Friar
When the door closed behind her, silence fell, broken only by Cheri’s shaky breathing.She was still staring at the ultrasound images, tracing the outline of the baby with one fingertip.
“You okay?”I asked, moving closer to the examination table.
She nodded, not looking up.“It’s real,” she whispered.“It’s really in there.Alive.”
I watched her face -- the wonder, the fear, the raw emotion that made her look both younger and older than her years.And I knew, with a certainty that surprised me, that whatever the paternity test showed, I couldn’t let her face this alone.
* * *
The truck cab felt too small on the drive back, like the air itself had thickened with all the things we weren’t saying.Cheri stared out the passenger window, her profile etched against the passing landscape.The ultrasound photos were clutched in her hand, her grip so tight the edges had started to crease.I kept my gaze on the road, but my mind was everywhere at once -- on the rapid heartbeat we’d heard in that sterile room, on Beast’s deadline looming ever closer, on the woman beside me who’d stumbled into my life with nowhere else to go.
That heartbeat had changed something.I couldn’t name it exactly, but I felt it like a physical shift inside my chest.Fast and strong and undeniably real.A life that might be connected to mine through blood, through choices made in a single reckless night.Or a life connected to Nugget, to Nigel.The thought made my jaws clench, my fingers tighten on the steering wheel.
I stole another glance at Cheri.Her blonde hair caught the sunlight streaming through the window, turning it to pale gold.There was a softness to her face now that hadn’t been there when she’d first shown up at the clubhouse -- something beyond the obvious exhaustion.A kind of wonder, mixed with fear.Her fingertips traced small circles on her stomach, an unconscious gesture of connection to the baby growing inside.
What would happen if the test showed the baby wasn’t mine?The question had been circling my mind since we first thought about having a test done.Nigel was a Prospect, hungry to prove himself, eager to earn his place in the club.Would he step up if the baby was his?Or would he see it as a burden, an obstacle on his path to a full patch?And Nugget -- solid, reliable, but with no interest in settling down.Would he want the responsibility of a child?Of Cheri?
The baby’s heartbeat echoed in my memory, drowning out the engine’s rumble.Fast and fierce and fighting.A life that hadn’t asked to be created, that deserved better than to be a burden, an inconvenience, a club obligation.
A decision crystallized in my mind as I turned onto the road leading to my house.Not a decision at all, really.Just a recognition of something that had already taken root days ago when Cheri had first appeared in the clubhouse parking lot with nowhere else to go.
She was mine now.The baby was mine.Regardless of blood, regardless of biology.
The tires crunched on the gravel as I pulled up to the house, cutting the engine.Cheri didn’t move immediately, her gaze still fixed on something distant, unseeable.When she finally turned to me, her eyes were dry but red-rimmed, her expression carefully blank.
“Thank you,” she said softly.“For taking me to the doctor.For paying for everything.”
I nodded, not trusting my voice yet.We entered the house in silence.Home.It felt different now, knowing what I was about to do.
Cheri moved toward the hallway, her steps hesitant.“I should pack my things,” she said, not meeting my eyes.“Start looking for somewhere else to stay.”
“What?”I frowned, watching as she twisted her hands together.Where was this coming from?What the hell was she even saying right now?
“The two weeks Beast gave you.I don’t want to wait until the last minute, make it harder than it needs to be.”Her voice was steady, controlled, but her fingers trembled.“I understand if you don’t want to claim me, claim us.It’s a huge responsibility, and you don’t even know if --”
I crossed the room in three strides, my hand catching her arm gently, stopping her mid-sentence.“Cheri,” I said, waiting until she looked up at me.“You don’t have to go anywhere.I’m keeping you both.”
She froze, her eyes widening as she processed my words.“What?”
“I’m claiming you and the baby,” I said, the words feeling right as they left my mouth.“No matter what the test shows.I’m having that done more for you than me.It just feels like you really need to know who the father is.”
Her lips parted, the careful mask she’d been wearing crumbling as tears welled in her eyes.“Are you sure?”she asked, her voice breaking.“You don’t have to do this, Friar.You don’t owe me anything.”
“I’m sure.”I held her gaze, letting her see the certainty in my eyes.“This isn’t about owing.This is about choosing.”
A tear spilled down her cheek, then another, and suddenly she was crying in earnest, her shoulders shaking with the force of it.I hesitated only a moment before pulling her against my chest, one hand cupping the back of her head, the other wrapping around her waist.She felt small in my arms, fragile yet somehow stronger than she knew.
“No matter who the biological father is for the baby, I’m going to claim the both of you,” I promised.“To the club, to the town, to anyone who matters.You’re mine now.Both of you.”
She clutched at my shirt, her face pressed against my chest, tears soaking through the fabric.I could feel her heartbeat against mine, fast like the baby’s had been.I tightened my hold, something fierce and protective surging through me.
“Why?”she whispered against my chest.“Why would you do this?”
I didn’t have a simple answer.Because of the heartbeat.Because of the way she’d looked at those ultrasound photos.Because the thought of her alone, struggling to raise a child with no support, made something in me rage against the unfairness of it.Because I couldn’t stand the thought of Nigel claiming her, of her becoming his old lady when he couldn’t even take care of himself yet.
“Because it’s right,” I said finally, the words inadequate but true.“Because you both deserve better than uncertainty.And because…” I hesitated, treading into territory I wasn’t ready to fully explore.“Because I want to.”
She pulled back enough to look up at me, her face tear-streaked but her eyes clear.“What will the club say?What will Nugget and Nigel think?I haven’t talked to either of them and…”
