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Carrying the Flame Ch. 01

By: AshiraDatya



If you have NOT read "Life Lost and Love Gained" or "Life Goes On", please do NOT continue reading this story; you will not know the characters. Please read both stories before you read this story. Thank you.

Ashira

*

Callia walked into the high school, her eyes glued to the piece of paper that told her what her locker assignment was. "Hey, watch it!" an angry voice shouted.

"I'm sorry!" Callia apologized. The boy looked her up and down and grinned.

"Aren't you a hot little piece of ass," he commented, walking around her slowly. Callia swallowed hard and tried to walk around him. "Not so fast," he added.

"Leave her alone Brock, she's only fourteen," a voice from behind Callia said. Callia turned and nearly sighed in relief to see Cooper behind her. 

"You want her for yourself," Brock sneered.

"No, I don't. I've known her since she was in diapers, she's like a sister to me," Cooper said, rolling his eyes. It was his senior year and he'd been hoping to get through it without getting into any fights, but it appeared as if that wasn't meant to be. "C'mon Callie, I'll help you find your locker," he added, reaching his hand out toward hers. Callia smiled at him, took his hand and followed him down the hall. When they reached the locker and she'd opened it, Cooper waited until she put her purse inside it. "I want you to stay away from Brock, he has a reputation," Cooper told her. Callia's eyes flared at being told what to do.

"You aren't my father," she reminded him.

"But he works with mine and they both carry guns. Luke would take one look at Brock and shoot him if he even tried to date you," Cooper reminded her. Callia rolled her eyes and slammed the locker shut. "Please Cal, just promise me you'll avoid him if you can," Cooper said.

"Why do you care?" Callia wanted to know.

"I don't. Good luck this year Cal," Cooper retorted before storming away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Are you glad to be done with high school?" Callia asked, coming up behind Cooper. He turned around, surprised that she was even still speaking to him after thwarting every possible date she could have gotten.

"I'm very glad to be done with high school. I'm heading to Michigan in the fall," Cooper answered, taking the glass of punch she offered him.

"Are you still interested?" she wanted to know.

"Yes. I don't have the guts to become a cop though," Cooper said with a shrug. 

"How's your dad doing?" Callia asked, taking a sip of her own punch.

"Better. He hates being behind a desk, but at least he can still work," Cooper sighed.

"There he is!" Blythe shouted, limping towards them.

"Hi Dad," Cooper muttered, rolling his eyes.

"I'm proud of you Coop. Your mother would be proud too," Blythe told his son, clapping him on the shoulder.

"She is proud of me, she told me so this morning," Cooper said. Blythe smiled.

"I meant Lydia Coop, not Suzie," Blythe reminded him.

"I know. Both of my mothers are proud of me," Cooper said. Blythe nodded and hugged his son.

"I'll let you mingle with your friends, I just wanted to let you know how proud of you I am," Blythe told Cooper. He smiled at Callia then walked away.

~~~~~~~~~~

-years later-

"Hello?" Cooper asked with a groan.

"Coop, it's Callie, I need your help." Cooper sat up, turned on the light, looked at the time and swore under his breath.

"What's wrong?" Cooper wanted to know.

"I need for you to come get me. I'm outside my dorm but I can't go in," Callia's voice was shaky and he could hear the panic in her voice.

"Where's your dorm Cal?" Cooper asked. She gave him the name of her dorm and sat down to wait for Cooper to come get her.

"Callie, are you crazy? It's pouring rain out here!" Cooper exclaimed when he pulled the car to a stop outside the dorm. His eyes widened when he saw the bruises on her face. "What the hell happened?" Cooper demanded to know.

"Just get me out of here Coop, please," she whispered. He could see the fear in her eyes and turned towards the sound of approaching footsteps.

"Who's he Cal? I thought we agreed you wouldn't see anyone else?" the young man asked, angry.

"What did you do to her?" Cooper asked, his voice low and dangerous.

"Nothing she didn't ask for," the man answered. Callia whimpered when he took a step towards them.

"Just leave me alone Doug, please," she whispered. Cooper didn't know what had happened, but he had a pretty good idea and it made him want to strangle Doug. "Coop, please get me out of here," Callia said quietly. Cooper took a step back towards Callia, put his arm around her shoulder, when she flinched, he knew his suspicions were correct and he helped her into the car.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What happened?" Cooper asked, handing Callia a mug of hot cocoa.

"I said no and Doug didn't like that very much," she whispered.

"He raped you," Cooper stated. Callia nodded, a sob caught in her throat and he quickly pulled her into his arms. "You need to be looked at by a doctor," he told her.

"No! They'll tell my dad!" Callia exclaimed. Cooper winced at the shrillness of her voice.

"He has a right to know," Cooper pointed out.

"He'll be so angry Coop, please," Callia pleaded. Cooper sighed.

"I won't tell your dad, but you need to be looked at," Cooper compromised.

"I won't go to the hospital, they're required to report sexual assaults," Callia said firmly.

"This will kill my parents Coop, after what my mom went through, they can't find out," she added. 

Cooper sighed. "I'll make a few calls," he said, walking out of the kitchen.

"Why is Derek here?" Callia wanted to know.

"He's here with a doctor and a nurse from his clinic. They're going to take you into the bedroom and do the rape kit. Derek, by law can't tell anyone about who he councils, including your dad or my parents," Cooper told her. Derek gave Callia a compassionate smile, even though his eyes revealed just how much he hated the idea of lying to his friends. "It's okay Cal, go on," Cooper murmured. Callia stood up from the table and followed Derek, the doctor and the nurse into the bedroom. Cooper was a ball of nerves when they returned to the kitchen nearly two hours later, all but Callia. "Where's Callie?" Cooper wanted to know as the doctor and nurse left.

"Sleeping. We did the exam, took the pictures and took cultures. We had to give her a mild sedative, she's pretty shaken up. The bastard took her virginity and was rough about it too," Derek told Cooper. 

"Will she be okay?" Cooper asked.

"In time. We left some antibiotics in case he has anything but she'll need to get an HIV test done soon and another one in three months just to be sure," Derek answered. "I really don't like the idea of telling Suzie or Lucas about this. Try to get Callie to open up and tell her parents. That will make her recovery easier," Derek added.

"I will. Thanks Derek for coming. I couldn't get her to go to the hospital. Callie's convinced that this will just kill Olivia and Lucas," Cooper said.

"They'll be upset and angry, but not with Callia. Deep down, she knows that. Just continue to be her friend and be here for her," Derek told him. He handed Cooper a medicine bottle. "Here are some more of the sedatives, if Callie needs more, she can take one every twenty-four hours," he added before leaving. 

Cooper dozed in the chair by the bed and jumped when Callia screamed loudly. "Callie, what's the matter?" he asked, reaching for her. She fought him for a moment until she realized who it was then slumped against Cooper and began to cry. "It's okay Callie, just breathe and relax. Everything's okay," he murmured, rubbing her back softly.

"I'm sorry," Callia whispered.

"Don't be sorry, this is what friends are for," Cooper told her. 

"Will you hold me?" Callia asked. Cooper hesitated for a second then slid under the covers next to her. And as Callia fell back to sleep, Cooper was almost positive he'd heard her say, "I love you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Callia woke up slowly, panicked when she didn't recognize where she was, calmed down when she saw the photograph of Blythe, Suzie and Cooper. "I'm at Coop's, I'm okay," she thought, as she climbed out of bed. Sometime in the night, Cooper and helped her out of her jeans and Callia fought the panic that wanted to engulf her when she thought about what Cooper could have done to her while she was asleep. "Stop it, it's Cooper, not some creep," she muttered. She screamed when Cooper knocked on the door and he opened it quickly. "Are you okay?" Cooper asked, concern all over his face.

"I think so. You startled me," Callia answered.

"Your jeans were pretty nasty, they're in the washer. There's a pair of old sweats from my ex on the counter in the bathroom. I've made breakfast if you're hungry," Cooper told her before he backed out of the bedroom. Callia walked into the bathroom, pulled the sweat pants on and washed her face before joining Cooper in the kitchen. "There are eggs and turkey bacon and fried potatoes. Do you want coffee or hot chocolate?" Cooper asked.

"I'm not really hungry Coop, I'm sorry you went through the trouble of cooking all of it," Callia whispered.

"You need to eat something Cal. You have to keep your strength up or he'll win," Cooper told her. Callia sank down in a chair with a sob. "Callie, it wasn't your fault," Cooper said, crouching down next to her. 

"I feel so broken Coop," Callia wailed. Cooper gave her a gentle hug and kissed her forehead.

"I'm here for you Callie, for whatever you need. I'll do whatever you need," Cooper promised. When Callia had stopped crying, she reached for the bowl of potatoes. "Hungry?" Cooper asked with an amused smile when she began piling potatoes onto her plate.

"A little. I've always had a thing for fried food," Callia answered. Cooper laughed and handed over the platter of bacon and bowl of eggs. "You didn't tell my parents did you?" she wanted to know.

"I told you I wouldn't, but I think you should," Cooper said.

"It will kill my dad Coop. You know how protective he is. He's already threatened to have Jonah move to campus with me to keep the guys away and he's younger than I am!" Callia exclaimed.

"Calm down Cal, I didn't call your parents," Cooper said, his voice calm. He felt helpless when she started crying again. "Callie, please stop crying," he pleaded.

"I'm sorry Coop, I just can't help it. I feel like everything's falling apart," Callia whispered. "I can't even go back to my dorm," she added.

"Is that where it happened? Is that where he raped you?" Cooper demanded to know. Callia pushed her eggs around on the plate and nodded. "Was he your boyfriend?" Cooper asked.

"I'd only gone out on a few dates with him, but he thought he owned me. I was working in the library last night with a classmate on a group project and Doug didn't like it." Callia took a sip of the water that Cooper had given her then gave a hysterical laugh. "Doug is going to feel so stupid when he realizes that Jerry is gay and really into his boyfriend," she snorted. Cooper smiled at that, but sighed when the laughter turned back to tears. "I'm sorry Coop! I'm just a useless mess," she moaned.

"It's okay Callie. I won't judge you for being emotional," Cooper promised.

Cooper sat up in bed quietly, listening. Someone was crying loudly. "Shit," Cooper swore, propelling himself out of bed and into the guest bedroom where Callia was thrashing around wildly. "Callie!" Cooper exclaimed, sitting down on the bed and reaching for her. She sat up with an ear piercing scream. "Callie, it's okay! I'm here, it's okay," Cooper said soothingly. He rocked with her, rubbing her back softly. When she'd calmed down, Cooper tilted her face up towards him. "Do you want to tell me about it?" Cooper asked gently.

"I could feel him Coop, moving inside me. It hurt so badly. I can't get it out of my mind, I can't stop seeing it and feeling it," Callia wailed. 

It killed Cooper to see her hurting like this and not for the first time, he wished he could take the law into his own hands and kill Doug himself.

-The next morning-

Cooper sat on the couch while he watched Callia call home. He knew she was nervous, Lucas always overreacted where Callia was concerned. She could do no wrong as far as he was concerned and he'd vowed to kill any man that touched her.

"Mom, it's Callie, can I talk to you about something?" Callia asked when Olivia picked up the phone.

"Sure sweetie, I have a few minutes before I have to go get Jonah from school," Olivia said. "What's up?" she wanted to know.

"I just wanted to let you know that I'm moving out of the dorm and into an apartment with a friend," Callia answered.

"Why and which friend?" Olivia asked sharply.

"I don't like living in the dorm," Callia said.

"Which friend?" Olivia repeated.

"Cooper," Callia said quickly.

"I don't think so Callie," Olivia

"Mom, it's Cooper. He won't hurt me," Callia reminded her mother.

"Are you having sex with Cooper?" Olivia wanted to know.

"What? No!" Callia exclaimed.

"I won't be mad if you are, you're eighteen Callie, but I need to know if you're having sex," Olivia said.

"I'm not having sex mom," Callia assured her mother. "Ever," she thought to herself.

"Okay Callie. We'll talk about this later. Both of you come to dinner tonight," Olivia promised with a sigh.

"Why is Callie moving in with you?" Lucas asked Cooper later that night.

"She doesn't like living in the dorm and didn't want to move home," Cooper lied, hoping Lucas wouldn't be able to see through it.

"I don't like the idea of her living with you," Lucas said.

"Don't you trust Callie and me?" Cooper challenged. 

"I trust Callie and I trust you. I also know that Callie is a beautiful girl and you're a good looking guy and sometimes, hormones can cause smart people to make stupid decisions," Lucas answered after a moment. 

"Callie is beautiful and I respect her. I would never do anything to hurt her," Cooper promised. "I promised she could stay with me for as long she needs or wants to," he added.

"Needs to? What's happened?" Lucas asked.

"I can't tell you Luke, as much as I want to. I promised Callie and I won't break that. She trusts me and I won't betray that trust," Cooper said, he found it difficult to say those words, especially when Lucas went into cop mode.

"Is she in trouble?" Lucas asked.

"In trouble?" Cooper repeated.

"Pregnant," Lucas clarified. Cooper blinked fast and shook his head.

"No, not that I know of. Look Luke, all I can tell you is she had problems with a guy she was dating and doesn't want to live on campus now. Please don't ask me to betray her trust any more than I just have," Cooper said quietly.

"Why wouldn't she come to her mother or me?" Lucas wanted to know.

"Luke, you're so overly protective of her that half the time she feels like you're smothering her. She's eighteen Luke, she needs you but she also needs to live her own life," Cooper told him.

"Twenty two and full of wisdom," Lucas joked.

"Look at who my parents are," Cooper said dryly. Lucas laughed and nodded.

"If you touch or hurt my daughter Coop, or let anyone else hurt her, I'll kill you," Lucas promised before he and Cooper returned to the dining room. "You can live with Cooper Callie," Lucas consented when his daughter looked up at him. Callia breathed a sigh of relief and glanced at Cooper who had an unreadable expression on his face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cooper sighed as he followed Callia to her dorm room, hated seeing her whole body trembling with fear. "I can't do this Coop," she whispered, coming to a stop. He put his hand on her shoulder and rubbed her back gently.

"Yes you can," he assured her. "I'm right here." Cooper slipped his hand in hers and together, they walked into the dorm room. Callia's roommate Laura looked up when they walked in.

"There you are. Where have you been Callie?" Laura asked. "Doug's been by every day for the last few weeks looking for you. In fact, he should be here ..." Laura trailed off as Doug knocked on the door and opened it.

"Oh good, you're back! I'm glad you're okay. I've been worried about you." Doug looked at Cooper and his eyes narrowed. "You little slut! Wasn't I enough for you?" Doug sneered. Callia's knees buckled and Cooper eased her down to the bed before turning back to Doug, his eyes blazing.

"You son of a bitch! Do you get off on forcing women to have sex with you?" Cooper's voice was dangerously low.

"I don't see evidence of a rape," Doug said carefully.

"There's evidence all right," Cooper growled. "It's in the office of a rape councilor center and at a moment's notice it can be sent to the police station. The report has been made, so give me cause to have it put in front of Callie's father's desk or my father's desk," Cooper told Doug. Callia looked frightened at the thought of the report going on to her father's desk, knowing that he would force her to move back home.

"You lie," Doug's voice was quiet, nervous.

"I never lie," Cooper said. "Not about something this important," he added.

"What do you want?" Doug wanted to know.

"Leave Callie alone. Don't talk to her, call her or go anywhere near her. And if I find out you raped another woman on this campus, I will be coming for you," Cooper replied. "Now get out," he growled. Doug glanced at Callia and Laura before hurrying from the room.

"Oh my God Callie, I'm so sorry! If I had known he was going to do that, I never would have introduced you guys!" Laura exclaimed.

"It's okay," Callia whispered. "It isn't your fault," she added.

"You sit there and we'll get your stuff packed up for you," Laura told Callia. Laura and Cooper worked quietly to pack up Callia's belongings until an alarm went off. "I have to go to class, I'm sorry I can't help finish," Laura said.

"Thank you," Callia murmured. She blushed when Cooper began emptying the dresser, starting with her bras and panties.

"Are you feeling better? I heard you getting sick this morning," Cooper asked.

"I'm okay. I think I just have the flu," Callia answered. Cooper nodded, glanced at her and handed the suitcase.

"Can you carry that out?" he asked.

"Yeah. Let's get out of here," Callia told him.

Cooper woke up and frowned; Callia was sick again. He glanced at the clock as he slid out of bed; it was seven thirty in the morning. Sighing, Cooper pulled on a pair of sweat pants over his boxers and headed out to the kitchen to make breakfast. "Are you alright?" Cooper asked as Callia nibbled on a slice of lightly buttered toast. Callia nodded. 

"I don't know what's wrong with me," she whispered.

"I think I have an idea," Cooper said, even though the thought made his stomach curl. Callia wrinkled her nose at her toast, took sip of her tea and looked up at him expectantly. "When was your last period?" Cooper wanted to know. She choked on the tea and looked at him in surprise. "Well?" he asked. Callia swallowed hard, walked over to her back pack and pulled her planner out of the bag and flipped through it. Closed her eyes and dropped the planner onto the table. "Callie?" Cooper asked.

"Oh God." 

Cooper crouched down in front of her. "Callie, look at me." "How late are you?" Cooper wanted to know.

"Two weeks." Their eyes met and Cooper could see the panic and the fear in her eyes. "Coop, what am I going to do?" Callia whispered. Cooper couldn't answer, he didn't know what to say.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Callie?" Cooper called as he walked through the apartment. He frowned when he found it empty. Where was she? She didn't have a class today, and she said she'd be home all day. Cooper picked up his cell phone and started to dial her cell phone number when he saw the note on the table, swore under his breath. His phone rang, startling him. "Hello?"


Carrying the Flame Ch. 01



"You're in a lot of trouble Coop, Lucas is on his way over." Suzie's voice came over the line.

"Mom, what's going on?" Cooper asked, but he already knew the answer; Lucas had found out about Callia being pregnant and was going to kill him.

"Callie came in to have an abortion while I was helping Derek with a rape victim that Luke brought in. Luke's heading to the apartment to kick your ass," Suzie's anger was unmistakable. 

"I ... is Callie still there?"

"Yes and she couldn't go through with the abortion so she's still pregnant," Suzie answered. A knock at the door caught Cooper's attention. 

"Shit, I think Luke's here," he sounded panicked.

"He won't go away Coop, but your father is on his way and I'll be heading there with Callie as soon as she changes back into her clothes. Hang in there," Suzie told him before hanging up. Cooper put his cell phone down on the table before he walked into the hall and opened the door to the apartment.

"You little shit!" Lucas snarled, grabbing hold of the collar of Cooper's shirt and pushed him into the apartment.

"Lucas, I can explain," Cooper began.

"You got my daughter pregnant and all you can say is you can explain!" Lucas shouted.

"Let him go Luke," Blythe said from the doorway of the apartment. Despite his anger at his son, he wouldn't allow his friend to hurt Cooper.

"He got Callie pregnant Blythe. Shit Bly, she's only eighteen," Lucas retorted, glancing at his friend. He let Cooper go, his eyes were filled with anger and rage.

"That's right, she's eighteen. She made a choice, so you can't just be mad at Coop," Blythe agreed. Cooper opened his mouth to say something, but knew he couldn't defend himself without letting on to Lucas that Callia had been raped and he had promised that he wouldn't do that. 

"I'm not, but Cooper is older. He should have used a fucking condom, or better yet, HE SHOULD NOT HAVE TOUCHED MY DAUGHTER!" Lucas shouted.

"Daddy stop!" Callia exclaimed from behind him. "This isn't Coop's fault!" she added, glancing at Cooper, an unreadable expression on her face.

"He's twenty-two years old Callia, he knows better than to have unprotected sex and so should you," Lucas growled, giving his daughter a look that let her know he was not just angry with Cooper.

"It isn't what you think," Callia whispered.

"Then what is it?" Lucas wanted to know, oblivious to the look of fear on his daughter's face.

"Cal, you okay?" Cooper asked her.

"I ... " Cooper pushed past Lucas, took Callia's hand and led her out of the living room and into her bedroom and helped her to sit on the bed.

"Callie, breathe," Cooper instructed.

"I couldn't do it Coop, I'm sorry. And if I had known my dad was going to be there, I never would have gone in today," Callia whispered.

"It's okay Cal. Are you alright?" Cooper asked.

"No," she whimpered. "I don't know what to do. Tell me what to do," Callia pleaded.

"I can't tell you what to do, it's your decision to make," Cooper told her.

"I'm scared," she admitted.

"It's going to be okay," Cooper said, even though he didn't know if it would or wouldn't be. 

"You had better get back out there Coop before Luke comes and drags you out," Blythe warned from the bedroom doorway. Cooper glanced at Callia and followed his father back out to the dining room.

"Luke, I'm sorry that you found out this way. I didn't know what Callie was going to do this morning, she didn't talk to me about it before I left for class today," Cooper began.

"I hope you didn't like being single because your days of being single are over," Lucas said.

"What do you mean?" Cooper wanted to know, a bad feeling in his gut.

"You're going to be married by this time next week," Lucas told him.

"What?" Cooper asked.

"You'll be marrying Callia by this time next week or you'll regret it," Lucas answered.

"The days of shot gun weddings are over," Cooper reminded Lucas.

"I told you not to touch my daughter," Lucas retorted.

"It's up to Callie," Cooper said finally. "I won't force her to do anything she doesn't want to," he added. Lucas' eyes narrowed at Cooper's choice of words and he wondered what Cooper meant by them.

"I want to talk to my daughter," Lucas told Cooper.

"Second door on the left," Cooper said, stepping aside. When Lucas was gone, Blythe and Suzie corned Cooper and practically dragged him into the kitchen.

"What the hell is going on? Did you really get Callie pregnant?" Suzie hissed. Cooper hesitated and Blythe swore under his breath.

"What were you thinking? Are you crazy?" Blythe asked his son.

"Maybe," Cooper admitted.

"Why haven't you even offered to marry her yet?" Blythe wanted to know. 

"Because we hadn't figured out what to do," Cooper answered.

"Apparently Callie thought you had," Suzie said.

"We haven't even talked about it yet. Callie's been in shock over it," Cooper said.

"What, she didn't think that she could get pregnant?" Suzie asked sarcastically. Cooper shrugged; he knew that he was lying and he hated it, but he made a promise and he would keep it.

"What are you going to do?" Blythe asked. Cooper couldn't answer because he didn't know.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Callie, we need to talk." Lucas kept his voice as calm as he can even though he was angry both at his daughter and at Cooper.

"I don't want to marry Cooper," Callia said, not looking at her father.

"You should have thought about that before you had sex with him without protection," Lucas shot back. Callia wanted to tell her father that Cooper had never touched her, but she was afraid of what he would do to Doug and she didn't want Lucas to lose his job or land in jail.

"Daddy, please don't force Cooper into marrying me. He doesn't have to," Callia pleaded.

"He got you pregnant Callia and the baby will need a father," Lucas said firmly. Callia sighed, recognizing her father's no nonsense mood.

"He's right Cal, the baby will need a father," Cooper said from the doorway. Callia stared at him, her eyes wide with surprise.

"Coop, you don't have to do this," Callia whispered.

"I know. I won't force you to do this Callie, if you don't want to, it's your choice," Cooper kept his voice gentle, even though he wanted to shout from the roof top that he had not gotten Callia pregnant. He looked at the scared girl in front of him and his heart ached. He'd spent his whole life looking out for her and he wasn't about to stop now.

"If you're sure," Callia's voice was shaky and just loud enough to be heard.

"Good, it's settled then." Lucas turned towards Cooper and resisted the urge to growl. "I need to go talk to Livvy about all of this, call us when you've secured the marriage license," Lucas said before he stormed out of the apartment. Cooper left Callia curled up in a ball on the bed and returned to the living room where his parents waited.

Cooper decided to give Callia some time and began making dinner, figuring that a simple roasted chicken and rice would be mild enough to keep Callia's stomach calm.

"Coop?" she called out a few minutes later while he was seasoning up the chicken.

"Are you alright?" Cooper asked, turning towards her.

"I'm sorry for dragging you into this mess," Callia whispered.

"This isn't your fault. How are you feeling?"

"I'm seriously overwhelmed by all of this," Callia admitted.

"Callie, I can't pretend to know what you're going through and how you're feeling, but I will do whatever I can to help you," Cooper told her.

"Can you reverse time and make it so I never went out with Doug?" Callia asked bitterly.

"No, I can't do that, but I can be here for you," Cooper answered. He reached into the back of the pantry where he kept his small safe and opened it.

"What are you doing?" Callia asked suspiciously. Cooper sighed as he turned back towards her and placed a small box on the table.

"I'm leaving it up to you Callie, but if you want to keep the truth from your dad about the rape and exactly how you got pregnant, you'll need to marry me because your dad will kill me otherwise," Cooper said.

"You'll tell him?" Callia asked.

"No, you will," Cooper answered. Callia opened the box while Cooper went back to his cooking.

"Coop, this was your mother's ring," Callia breathed.

"Yes, I know. If you don't want it, I can get you a different one," Cooper offered.

"You don't love me, why would you do this?" Callia asked.

"I didn't say I didn't love you. I'm not in love with you Cal, but I do love you. And I promised to help you with this for however long you need," Cooper said. Callia began to cry and Cooper swore under his breath. "Callie, please, don't cry. It's going to be okay," he promised.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Are you sure about this? Wouldn't you rather tell your parents the truth?" Cooper asked as he tied his tie.

"Cooper, if you don't want to marry me, then don't, I'm not forcing you to do this," Callia reminded him.

"I know. I just wanted to make sure you were okay with this," Cooper said. In truth, Callia hated the idea of Cooper being forced into marriage because she was too chicken to tell her parents that she'd been raped, but she was too afraid of being alone that she said nothing, she just nodded. Cooper could see the truth in her eyes and hugged her gently. "It's okay Callie. You won't be alone, I promise," Cooper told her. Despite his nervousness about marrying and being a father to another man's child, something deep within him made him want to protect her and it was overriding his nerves. He looked up at her and smiled at her. "You look beautiful." And she did. Callia gave a nervous smile and smoothed a non-existent wrinkle in her pale blue dress. "Ready?" Cooper asked, holding out his hand. She nodded, took his hand and followed him out of the apartment to the car and they drove in silence to the synagogue where their families and the Rabbi waited.

~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm sorry mom," Callia whispered when she saw Olivia standing with her father and brother.

"Dick wad," Jonah hissed as Cooper came to a stop next to Callia.

"That's enough Jonah," Olivia scolded. She turned back to her daughter, her eyes full of sadness, lined with anger. She wanted to shake her daughter and Cooper too, to shout and scream, but she knew that would only make it worse; she knew what Lucas wanted to do and she sighed. "Is this what you want?" Olivia asked finally, after studying her daughter closely.

"Does it matter?" Callia asked softly.

"Yes," Olivia said firmly. Callia glanced at her father, the look on his face told her that if she didn't marry Cooper, he'd be unmanned.

"It's what I want," Callia lied as convincingly as she could.

"The Rabbi is ready," Kelsey said gently. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Callie?" Cooper asked, walking onto the balcony of the apartment later that night.

"I'm sorry Coop. If I had known this was going to happen, I wouldn't have moved in," she whispered.

"I know. It's okay, none of this is your fault," Cooper told her.

"I don't know what I'm going to do. I don't want this baby but I couldn't bring myself to have an abortion either," Callia whispered.

"Listen to me Callie." The firmness of Cooper's voice had her looking up at him. "What ever happens, we're still friends and I'm still here for you," he promised, pulling her in for a hug.

"Hey guys, we're all leaving so you can get back to the sex now," Jonah said with an evil grin from the doorway.

"Jonah!" Olivia and Lucas shouted from behind him; Callia blushed, unable to look at Cooper who found himself wondering what having sex with her would be like.

"Good night brat," Callia told her brother, ruffling his hair.

"I'm almost seventeen Cal, so stop that!" Jonah protested. He turned to his new brother. "Don't hurt her," he warned before walking away. 

Cooper walked everyone to the door and when he turned around, Callia was behind him crying. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"My parents are meddling pain in the asses! Yours too!" she shouted.

"What happened?" Cooper wanted to know.

"They turned your second bedroom into a nursery for the baby," Callia answered. Cooper couldn't help it, he laughed. "It isn't funny! Where am I supposed to sleep now?" she asked.

"In the other bedroom with me," Cooper suggested, regretted it instantly when he saw the look of fear on her face. "Callie, I won't touch you if you don't want me to," he promised.

"I'm scared Coop. What if I'm not good at it? I'm not even pretty. I don't even know what Doug saw in me," Callia whispered.

"Callie, you're an idiot," Cooper said with a laugh. She looked up at him sharply. "You're right, you aren't pretty. You're beautiful. And it doesn't matter what Doug saw in you, I know you; you're a sweet, caring and intelligent woman," Cooper told her.

"But what if I'm not good at it?" she wanted to know.

"There's only one way to find out," Cooper pointed out.

"I'm scared. It hurt so badly with Doug. I thought he was ripping me apart," Callia whimpered. Cooper's eyes flashed angrily. "He's an idiot Callie. Women deserve to be treated like queens in bed, not like a fuck toy," Cooper grumbled. He sighed when he saw the doubt and fear on her face. "Go get ready for bed Cal. I promise that I won't touch you unless you ask," Cooper told her. Callia walked into her new bedroom, the one she would share with Cooper and swallowed hard when she saw the white box on the bed. She lifted the note off the top of the box and sighed.

Callie,

Suzy picked out the gift, it's from all of us. Well, not your father, he'd lose his mind if he saw that this was your present. I wish you were getting married under different circumstances, but I hope things work out with you and Coop. 

I love you always.

Mom

Callia opened the box and blushed when she saw the sheer night gown, glanced back towards the living room and wondered what would happen if Cooper saw her in the night gown. She was curious to know what it would be like with someone who at least cared about her and wouldn't force her. Would it hurt or would it feel good? Suddenly, Callia was determined to find out and quickly changed out of her clothes and into the almost see through negligee. She took a deep breath and returned to the living room where Cooper was sitting, his head in his hands, contemplating on how his life had turned so crazy. "Are you okay?" Callia's voice was soft, her touch light as she put her hand on his shoulder. Cooper straightened quickly and swallowed hard when he saw what she was wearing.

"Where'd you get that?" Cooper asked, his mouth suddenly dry.

"Your mom and mine decided it was time I have something sexy," Callia said with a shrug. "What?" she asked looking at him.

"If you want me to be able to honor my promise to not touch you, you might want to change," Cooper warned. Callia swallowed.

"Would it hurt?" she asked.

"Would what hurt?" Cooper asked.

"Sex with you," Callia murmured.

"No," Cooper promised, his thoughts racing. When had he stopped thinking of her to be the bratty sister he'd always considered her to be.

"Show me," Callia whispered. He groaned, she had no idea what she was doing to him. "Coop, please. Show me it doesn't have to hurt." Her eyes widened when he stood up and she could see the bulge in the front of his pants.

"Are you sure?" Cooper asked.

"I think so," Callia admitted. Cooper swore under his breath then kissed her gently. "Show me," she murmured. Cooper swore again and led her into his room. Callia sat down on the bed and waited, watched as Cooper pulled his shirt over his head. This was nothing new, she'd seen him without a shirt before. She gave him a nervous look when he joined her on the bed.

"You need to relax Cal," Cooper instructed, he kissed her again, his lips soft against hers.

"I'm scared," she whispered.

"Don't be." His voice was hoarse and thick, like a man who hadn't had a drink in a year. "I'll tell you what I'm doing as I'm doing it until you relax," he added, kissed her again, brushed his thumb against her cheek. "Callie, relax. I'm just going to touch you," Cooper promised. He locked his gaze to hers as he ran his hands down her arms, stopping when his hands held hers. He kissed each hand gently before he slid his own hands back up her torso; traced the outline of her breasts with his thumbs causing her to shiver. "Is that okay?" Cooper asked. 

She nodded, her eyes never leaving his. "I'm going to kiss you again," he told her. Callia gasped and stiffened against him as his lips touched the material covering her left nipple. Cooper's head came back up and met her gaze head on. "Relax Callie," he murmured, stroking her body again. This time when Cooper's lips encircled the material over her breast, Callia gasped in surprise as pleasure shot through her. Cooper chuckled at her response and used his fingers to gently tweak the nipple his mouth wasn't devouring.

"Coop," she whispered, unsure of what she was feeling.

"It's okay," he promised. Callie whimpered as his hands drifted lower. Cooper groaned when he realized she didn't have anything on under the gown. Callia tensed when his fingers brushed her clit. It's alright," Cooper promised. "I'm just touching," he added. Callia took a deep breath and gasped when his lips pressed against her belly button. "Tell me if you aren't okay with something," Cooper murmured. He continued to press his lips lower, eliciting another startled gasp when his lips brushed by where his finger had touched just seconds before; his eyes never left her face as he began licking and sucking on her clit. Callia whimpered and lifted her hips off of the bed.

"What are you doing to me?" she wondered, her voice breathless.

"Just relax and enjoy it," Cooper instructed, chuckling. The vibrations from his laughter made her shiver as he slid a finger inside her; she tensed instantly. "Callie, breathe for me, it's okay," Cooper said, pulling his finger out of her and sitting up next to her.

"I'm sorry," Callia whispered.

"No, I'm sorry. I took it too far," Cooper told her.

"It felt good," she admitted.

"We can stop if you want," Cooper said, hoping she was okay to continue; he was rock hard in his boxers.

"I don't want to stop, not yet," Callia told him. Cooper groaned and his head disappeared under her night gown and slid his finger deep within her again; in and out, in and out until she was writhing against his hand and moaning. "I think I'm ready for more," she whimpered.

"Not yet," Cooper told her with a groan as he began licking again as he added a second then a third finger. 

"What are you waiting for?" Callia wanted to know. Cooper didn't answer, he just kept up with the foreplay until she cried out loudly, her hips bucked against his face. Cooper chuckled and pulled away from her.

"I was waiting for that," he told her, frowned at the tears in her eyes. "What's wrong?" Cooper wanted to know.

"Thank you," Callia whispered. 

Cooper smiled. "You're welcome," he told her, kissing her cheek.

"Coop?" Callia asked.

"Yeah?" Cooper shifted so that he was lounging next to her.

"Is there more?" she wanted to know. Cooper groaned. "Is there?"

"Yes, there's more. Are you sure you're ready?"

"I want to try," Callia whispered.

"Callie, I might not be able to stop," Cooper warned.

"That's okay," Callia murmured. Cooper groaned and pushed out of his jeans and boxers. 

Her eyes widened. 

"What's wrong?" Cooper asked.

"You're bigger than Doug," Callia whispered. Cooper laughed and kissed her.

"I think I love you," he said seriously, his eyes twinkling. "That's the best thing any guy can hear," he added, sliding his hand down to her pussy, groaned when he discovered she was still wet. "Tell me if you need me to stop. I make no promises, but I'll try," Cooper told her as he positioned himself over her, thrust inside her slowly. "Are you alright?" he wanted to know, his eyes closed.




Carrying the Flame Ch. 01



"I'm okay," Callia murmured, breathlessly. She lifted her hips tentatively and Cooper groaned.

"You're killing me Callie," he bit out.

"Coop," she said weakly as he began thrusting in and out of her slowly. "Oh my God Coop!" she wailed, her eyes wide.

"Are you okay?" Cooper asked, stopping, reached up a hand and cupped her face.

"Don't stop Coop, please," she whispered. Cooper groaned again and began thrusting, harder and faster with each thrust, loved the sounds that she was making, they were definitely good for his ego. He slid his hands under her hips, helped her meet him thrust for thrust, watched her eyes go blank as she screamed loudly; the muscles of her pussy clenched around him and Cooper cried out as his seed burst into her. Cooper pulled out of her and lay down next to her, brushed his thumb across her cheek. 

"Are you alright?" he asked, seeing the tears stream down her face.

"I'm okay." Callia sat up and blushed as their fluids poured out of her.

"What's wrong?" Cooper wanted to know.

"It didn't hurt," she whispered. Cooper resisted the urge to laugh and hugged her gently.

"It isn't supposed to," Cooper reminded her. "Except the first time, it's supposed to hurt a little, but not as badly as he hurt you," he added.

"Thank you," Callia whispered.

"Any time," Cooper said, pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "You should get some rest," he added. Callia glanced around the bed, blushed at the sight they made. "Don't be embarrassed Callie. Just lay down where you are, I'm going to go make sure the house is locked up, I'll be back in a few minutes," Cooper told her. Callia nodded and curled up on the bed, Cooper glanced at her once more before pulling on his boxers and padding out to the living room to make sure the door was locked.

Cooper smiled when he saw Callia asleep in the bed when he returned to the bedroom a few minutes later; she'd been under so much stress that she was constantly exhausted and was glad she was finally able to sleep. 

To his surprise, not long after he closed his eyes, Callia started thrashing in the bed, whimpering and crying in her sleep. Cooper sighed, sat up and shook her awake, held in his anger when she screamed in fear and pushed away from him, until she realized who was trying to hold her. The nightmare was back and he'd been the cause. "Oh God," she whispered.

"What happened?" Cooper asked, as he rubbed her back. 

"I could feel him." she looked up him for a second before practically jumping off of the bed, making a mad dash for the toilet; she barely made it. Cooper rubbed his hands over his face and sighed, slid off the bed as Callia returned to the bedroom, her face pale, her eyes red. "I'm sorry Coop, I didn't mean to ruin anything," she whispered.

"What are you sorry for? None of this is your fault. I never should have touched you," Cooper told her.

"I wanted you to. I wanted to know what it would be like without pain." Cooper looked at her carefully, relieved not to see any regret in her expression. 

"I still should have given you more time," Cooper insisted. Callia said nothing, sighed and curled up in a ball beside him. Cooper slid down onto his back and was surprised when she laid her head on his shoulder. And before he fell back o sleep, Cooper was almost sure she said, "Thank you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Callia fiddled with her fork the next morning, pushed the pieces of French Toast around the plate and avoided Cooper's eyes.

"Callie, you should eat," Cooper told her, taking a sip of his coffee.

"I can't. My stomach is in knots," she admitted.

"Eat a little," Cooper insisted. Callie sighed, took a few bites to placate him before pushing the plate away. "What are you nervous about?" he wanted to know.

"Whatever the doctor is going to say," Callia answered.

"Are you worried that something is wrong?" Cooper asked.

"No." Cooper sighed and resisted the urge to shake her; in the two weeks that they'd been married, she'd hardly eaten a thing and had refused to set up a prenatal appointment until he'd insisted upon it and threatened to call her parents, which would have been a dead give away. 

"Callie, you can't take your anger at Doug and your parents out on the baby, he or she is just as much of a victim as you are," Cooper pointed out.

"I don't want the baby!" Callia pointed out.

"Then put it up for adoption or have the abortion. But if you are going to put it up for adoption, then you need to stay as healthy as you can," Cooper told her. 

They didn't speak the entire ride to the doctor's office, Callia just glared at him angrily when he held the door open for her. They both stared at the pregnant woman sitting in the chairs, waiting to be seen by one of the doctors in the practice and Callia swallowed hard and glanced at Cooper who looked as unnerved as she did. "I can't do this," she whispered, trying to back out of the office.

"Yes you can," Cooper told her firmly but gently as he steered her over to a chair. When they were called back into the office, Cooper followed Callia and sighed when he saw all of the machinery in the room. Turned his back when the nurse left them for Callia to change out of her clothes and into the gown.

"Hi mom and dad, I'm Doctor Carson," the doctor introduced herself cheerfully as she walked into the room. Cooper and Callia looked at each other, her eyes wide. "Callia and Cooper Lee?" Doctor Carson asked, checking the information sheet Callia had filled out. Callia nodded. "We'll do an ultrasound to check, but given by the date of your last period as you remember it, I'd say you're about seven weeks along," Doctor Carson said.

"Isn't that too early for an ultrasound?" Callia asked.

"An abdominal ultrasound yes, it'll be a vaginal ultrasound," Doctor Carson answered. She answered questions and wrote down the answers and didn't see Callia tense; Cooper slid his hand into hers and squeezed it gently. "I'm a little concerned by your weight Callia."

"I've been having a hard time keeping things down," Callia said.

"You still need to eat a full meal at each meal, morning sickness or not. You'll get some of the nutrients and you actually need more calories than normal; the baby takes a lot from your body," Doctor Carson told her. She pulled out a small machine. "This is a Doppler, I'm going to use it to listen for the baby's heart beat," she added. She squirted a little gel on Callia's belly, turned the machine on and pressed the wand to the gel and a wooshing noise filled the air. "150 beats a minute, that's good."

"It's so fast," Cooper commented.

"It's supposed to be." Doctor Carson glanced at Callia and was surprised to see very little emotion on her face. "Callia, are you alright?" Doctor Carson asked. Cooper looked at Callia and sighed.

"Callie, relax," he whispered as Doctor Carson pulled out the vaginal ultrasound.

"This will feel a little cold," Doctor Carson commented as she slid the wand up inside Callia. Callia closed her eyes as she fought the memory of what Doug had done.

"Callie, it's okay. Deep breath. You should see this," Cooper whispered in her ear. Callia took a deep breath and opened her mouth, looked at the monitor in front of her.

"You're exactly seven and a half weeks along, and everything looks great with the baby," Doctor Carson said, keeping her voice calm and cheerful, even though suspicions were flying through her mind. "Mr. Lee, could you step out into the hall for a minute please?" she asked. Cooper looked at her in surprise and glanced at Callia.

"I want him to stay," Callia protested.

"I need to ask you a few questions and I need for him to step out," Doctor Carson insisted.

"It's okay Callie. I'll be right outside," Cooper promised. 

When Cooper left the room and Callia had sat up, Doctor Carson asked, "Did Cooper rape you?"

"What? No!" Callia explained.

"I have a hard time believing you after seeing your reactions today," Doctor Carson told her.

"Cooper has never touched me in anger!" Callia said loudly. Doctor Carson eyed her and sighed, not wanting to upset her patient even more than she already was.

"Alright Mrs. Lee, it's alright. Go ahead and get dressed. Here's a prescription for your prenatal vitamins, you need to take them. Make an appointment for next month," Doctor Carson said, walked out of the room and gave Cooper a dirty look on her way to her office.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"How are you doing?" Cooper asked when Callia walked into the living room after a nap.

"Better. I'm sorry about earlier Coop," Callia murmured.

"It's okay Callie. You're scared and you're unsure, but you aren't alone," Cooper promised. Callia smiled at that and sat on the couch next to him; he closed his text book and hugged her gently. "What are you thinking?" he wanted to know.

"Nothing seemed real until today," Callia admitted. "But hearing and seeing the baby ... now I really don't know what to do," she whispered, she was shaking, a bundle of nerves and uncertainty.

"Take it day by day Cal," Cooper advised. He inhaled the smell of her perfume when she laid her head on his shoulder and slid his arms around her, glad when she stopped shaking. "I won't go anywhere, I'm still here," he promised.

"Why? Why did you do all of this? You married me instead of telling my parents what happened, you've said you'll be a father to this baby if I keep it, why?" Callia wanted to know, moving so that she could look at him. Cooper sighed and faced her. "Why Coop?" she repeated.

"I care about you Cal. We grew up together. It drives me crazy knowing what happened to you and not be able to tell your parents what happened, but I've always kept my promises. I won't stop now," Cooper answered.

"But why marry me?" Callia asked.

"You needed me to. You need someone to protect you," Cooper said

-Two weeks later-

Cooper walked into the apartment exhausted from spending all day in class and dropped his bag just inside the door. "Long day?" Callie asked softly. Cooper looked up and groaned; Callie was wearing the same night gown she'd worn on their wedding night.

"You have no idea," Cooper groaned. "What are you doing?" he wanted to know, aching to touch her.

"I need your help with something," Callie said.

"Help with what?" Cooper asked. Callie walked over to him, took his hand and set it against a breast. "Cal, you're playing with fire," he warned.

"It didn't hurt with you, I even liked it. Please help me feel that way again," Callie pleaded.

"Callie, the last time gave you a nightmare," Cooper pointed out.

"Please Coop. I need you," her voice was breathless and he groaned when her nipple hardened beneath his hand. 

"Are you sure?" Cooper asked, his voice strained. Callie took a step back and Cooper felt a pang of disappointment until he watched Callie pull the night gown over her head.

"I'm sure Coop. Please," Callie said softly. Cooper groaned, lifted her into his arms and carried her into the bedroom, laid her gently on the bed, laid down next to her and kissed her hard. She pushed him away and laughed lightly. "You're over dressed," she murmured, reaching for the buttons on his jeans. Cooper watched, expected her to unbutton his pants, but instead, she slid her hand past the waist band of his jeans and boxers, cupped his straining cock in her hand.

"Jesus Cal," he groaned. Cooper pushed up and away from her and quickly pulled his clothes off, let them drop to the floor. He kissed her hard as he rejoined her on the bed.

"I need you Coop," Callie whimpered when his hand slid between her legs. His fingers dipped inside her and she shuddered against him as he began easing her clit. 

"Now Coop, please," she gasped, squirming against him. Cooper closed his eyes as he fought for control. It would be easy for him to take her hard and fast, but he didn't want to hurt or scare her and he gently spread her legs apart, lowered his head between her thighs and licked at her clit,sending her hips off of the bed. "Cooper!" she wailed as he placed his hands gently on her hips. Using just his fingers and his mouth, Cooper took her right to the edge of her orgasm then stopped. "What are you doing?" she whimpered.

"I'm taking you to the stars," Cooper promised as he slid his cock deep within her drenched pussy. The sensation of his cock sliding past her clit made Callie moan, her arms went around his back and her nails dug into his shoulders as his hands slid under her hips and they thrust together, hard, fast and furious. The sounds Callie was making deep in her throat were making him harder.

"Oh Coop, this feels amazing," Callie moaned, her eyes widened when he brushed against her g-spot. 

"So do you," he grunted, pounding into her. He grinned when she cried out, pressed her mouth against his shoulder to muffle her scream as his cum shot into her. "Are you alright?" Cooper asked, rolling off of her. He gathered Callie into his arms and kissed the top of her head.

"I feel amazing, I'm all tingly," Callie breathed. Cooper laughed.

"Good. And I must say that made my day a hell of a lot better," Cooper said, nuzzling her neck. Callie giggled. "Hey Coop?" Callie murmured sleepily.

"Yeah babe?" Cooper asked.

"I think I'm falling in love with you," Callie whispered. Cooper looked over at her and opened his mouth to say something, but she had already fallen asleep. 

-Two weeks later-

A pounding on the door shook Cooper from his sleep; he slid out of bed, pulled on his sweat pants and headed for the front door. Two uniformed officers stood there. "May I help you officers?" Cooper asked.

"Are you Cooper Lee?" one of the officers asked.

"Yes. Is my father alright? My mom?" Cooper's mind filled with possibilities he didn't want to think about.

"We have no idea, we aren't here about your parents, we're here for you." Cooper looked at them blankly.

"Coop, what's going on?" Callia asked groggily from behind him.

"I don't know Cal, it's okay, go back to sleep," Cooper told her.

"You're under arrest for spousal abuse and rape," one of the officers announced, pulling out his handcuffs. 

"What? That's insane!" Cooper shouted, but he didn't struggle as the handcuffs were slapped on him..

"He didn't do anything!" Callia exclaimed.

"Callie, it's alright. Call my dad or yours. And breathe," Cooper instructed before they led him away. Callia watched as the officers led Cooper away and grabbed her phone.

"Daddy, it's Callie." She was unable to keep the panic from her voice and Lucas frowned.

"What's wrong Callie? Is the baby okay?" Lucas asked.

"Coop was arrested," Callie said.

"Arrested? For what?" Lucas wanted to know.

"Spousal abuse and ..." Callie closed her eyes and fought the nausea that was rising within her.

"And what?" Lucas asked. "Callie, I can't help if you don't talk to me," he added.

"Rape," Callia said finally.

"I'll call Blythe and we'll get to the station. Your mother will come pick you up," Lucas told her before hanging up the phone.

By the time Olivia and Callia arrived at the police station, Callia felt awful; if it hadn't been for her, Cooper wouldn't be in this mess. "What happened Callie?" Blythe demanded to know.

"Two uniforms showed up and told Coop he was under arrest for spousal abuse and for rape," she whispered, unable to meet his eyes.

"Did Coop ever hit or rape you?" Blythe asked. Callie's wide eyes met his.

"You know Coop better than that Blythe, you tell me if Coop ever hit or raped me!" Callia hissed. 

"I have to ask Callie. I'm his father, but I'm also a cop," Blythe said.

"No, Coop never hit me and he has never raped me," Callia answered. She glared at the two uniformed cops that came out of the interrogation room.

"If I had known he was your son Blythe, I would have given you the heads up," one of them said.

"My son isn't capable of hurting anyone Gary," Blythe commented dryly.

"We were called by Callia's doctor, a Doctor Carson about an abnormal bruise," Gary said. 

"What bruise?" Olivia asked, looking at her daughter in concern. 

"I'd like to know the answer to that myself," Cooper said from the doorway.

"Sit your ass down!" Gary shouted.

"I ran into Doug yesterday," Callie admitted.

"What did he do to you?" Cooper asked, his eyes flashing with anger. "I told him not to come near you!" 

"Step back," Gary warned. Callie walked up to Cooper, her eyes full of regret.

"He wanted to talk to me. When I tried to walk away, he pushed me into the door; the door knob pushed into my chest and abdomen. He held me there and felt me up a little," Callia admitted.

"That son of a bitch!" Cooper shouted.

"Coop, I'm okay," Callia said softly. 

"That explains the flannel pajamas," Cooper commented and Callia blushed, glanced at her parents.

"Are you satisfied Gary?" Blythe asked the younger man.

"No," Gary said. Callia spun on the officer.

"My husband did NOT abuse me or rape me and I will not fill out a police report and if you do not release him RIGHT NOW, I will have a lawyer breathing down your neck so fast that you'll be working a desk for the next of your career!" Callia shouted.

"Callie, calm down," Cooper warned, placed his hands on her shoulders. 

Let him go," Callia repeated.

"Callie, you need to take a breath and take it easy," Cooper said as her face turned from red to white. "Cal? What's wrong?" Cooper asked, easing her into a chair.

"I don't feel so good," Callia admitted.

"Suzie, call the paramedics please," Lucas said, taking charge of the situation. He turned to Gary. "My daughter is correct, you do not have suitable evidence to hold my son and you will release him now," Lucas told the younger officer.

"The hell I will!" Gary exclaimed. Blythe turned on his heel and walked into the lieutenant's office; they both returned a moment later.

"Get the burr out of your ass Gary and let the boy go," the lieutenant instructed.

"Coop, I feel really strange," Callia whispered.

"Talk to me Callie," Cooper said, kneeling down in front of her. "Callie!" he shouted when her eyes rolled back and she slumped forward into his arms.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Cooper, what happened? How's Callie?" Olivia asked when he walked into the waiting room.

"Callie will be okay. Her blood pressure spiked. The doctors want to keep visitors to a minimum; would you guys mind waiting until tomorrow to talk to her? Callie's going to be here at least over night," Cooper answered.

"Of course. Please call us if anything changes," Olivia said, looking at Lucas in concern. 

Cooper waited for his parents ands to leave the waiting room before he returned to Callia's room where she was just waking up.

"Coop?" Callia asked groggily.

"Hey beautiful. You're going to be okay," Cooper murmured.

"What happened?" Callia wanted to know.

"Your blood pressure spiked." He hesitated and looked away.

"What?" Callia asked.

"Something happened with the baby Callie. His heart isn't beating. He's dead," Cooper said gently. Callia didn't know if she should laugh or cry. She was finally free of the last physical reminder of Doug's abuse, but it was also the only thing that kept her and Cooper together, if they didn't have the baby, would they be over or did they still have a chance? "Callie?" Cooper asked.

"I don't know if I should be happy or sad about that," she whispered.

"What do you mean?" Cooper asked.

"The baby was the only reason we're together, but I didn't want to have his baby," Callia whispered.

"I'm not going anywhere Callie, not unless you want me to," Cooper promised. Callia looked up at him.

"Do you mean it?" she asked.

"I'm not going anywhere Callie. I promised to be here for you, to help you no matter what. I don't go back on my promises Callie, which is the only reason why your parents and mine don't know you were raped," Cooper said gently.




Carrying the Flame Ch. 01



"So you won't leave me?" Callia asked, her voice shaky as reality began to set it.

"Never," Cooper promised, wrapped his arms around her as the dam broke, held her until she fell asleep.



Carrying the Flame Ch. 02-03



Cooper and Callia looked up as the doctor walked into her room and then looked at each other, the look on his face did not look like they were about to receive good news.

"What's up doc?" Callia asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Callia, your body isn't expelling the fetus," the doctor began.

"What does that mean?" Callia asked.

"Usually what happens in the case of a miscarriage is that the fetus is for a lack of a better term is delivered. Your body isn't doing that," he answered. "Since you are nearly twenty weeks pregnant, we need to induce labor and have you deliver the fetus," the doctor said.

"Are you sure that's the only option Doctor Wilson?" Cooper asked.

"Because of how far along you are, I don't want to take the chance of the body not expelling the fetus. It's rare, but there have been cases where a woman has miscarried and her body has not expelled the fetus and the fetus has calcified in the woman's body," Doctor Wilson said. "Now, obviously, the choice is up to you, Callia. You can decide to wait and see if your body will expel the fetus or you can play it safe," he added. "I'll give you some time to think," Doctor Wilson said, giving Callia a compassionate look before leaving the room.

"What did you decide?" Doctor Wilson asked a half hour later.

"I want to get this over with, I'll do the induction," Callia answered. 

"Okay. Here's what we're going to do. We're going to start you out on a medication called Cervidil which will get your cervix dilating so that you can vaginally deliver the fetus. You'll be on it for twelve hours and you won't be able to get out of bed. After twelve hours, we'll remove it. Once we remove it, you can get up and have a shower before we start the petocin. The petocin will start you contracting," Doctor Wilson said, his voice gentle.

"How long will this all last?" Cooper asked, glancing at Callia as her grip on his hand tightened. 

"Between twenty-four to thirty six hours," Doctor Wilson answered.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Mom, I'm scared," Callia whispered as her mother held her hand while the nurse inserted the IV.

"It's going to be okay Cal. You can do this," Olivia told her daughter.

"I don't think I can." Callia watched the nurse hook the IV up to the device would deliver the petocin.

"Yes you can. I know you won't get to take the baby home, but you and Coop can have try again. I can't believe I just said that. I don't want to think about you and Coop ..." Olivia trailed off as Lucas and Cooper walked back into the room, Blythe and Suzie behind them.

"Please, no discussion about our daughter's sex life," Lucas said with a groan. Callia giggled and glanced at Cooper who wore an unreadable expression on his face.

"Callia, Cooper, we need to discuss what is going to be happening," the nurse said, glancing at the people that filled the rooms.

"We'll be outside," Olivia told her daughter.

"Mom, don't go!" Callia exclaimed panicked. 

"Olivia, will you please stay?" Cooper asked. His face was pale, he didn't want to be here, he wished that Callia wasn't going through this; the thought of her having to deliver a dead child made him feel ill.

"Okay, I'll stay," Olivia agreed, winced as her daughter's hand clung tightly to hers. Lucas, Blythe and Suzie walked out of the room and closed the door behind them as the nurse began explaining what would happen.

Cooper ran his hand through his hair when Callia whimpered again as a contraction wracked her body. "I hate this Coop," she whined. Cooper looked at her, kissed her forehead and rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand.

"It's going to be okay," Cooper promised. 

It had been almost twenty-four hours since the induction had began, twelve hours since Callia had been taken off of the cervidil and put on the petocin to get the contractions going.

"I don't think I can do this," she whispered.

"Yes you can. Once you finish this, you can start recovering and get your life back," Cooper insisted. 

"Mom was talking about more children," Callia said, looking at him.

"I know, I heard. Your dad's reaction indicated he heard too," Cooper said with a grin. His grin faded when she groaned again and gripped his hand. They both looked up when the nurse walked into the room. "How much longer is this going to last?" he demanded to know.

"I'm going to check her progress now," the nurse told him. She pulled her gloves on and patted Callia on the knee. "I need for you to scoot all the way down until you can feel my fingers," she instructed. Once Callia had done as instructed, she pulled her knees all the way apart and cried out as the nurse dipped her gloved fingers inside Callia and felt her cervix.. "I know, I'm sorry," the nurse said softly. 

"How much longer am I going to have to suffer through this?" Callia wanted to know.

"You're only dilated five and a half centimeters, so you only have four and a half more to go," the nurse answered. Callia slid back against the pillow and cried out as another contraction gripped her body.

"I thought it meant you'd be delivering soon if the contractions were this close together," Callia said through gritted teeth.

"Sometimes Petocin can make the contractions closer together before you're ready to push. I'll talk with the doctor about breaking your water which should speed things up," the nurse answered.

"What about an epidural?" Cooper asked. Callia gave him a look of surprise. "What? I've been reading up on things," he said with a shrug. Callia laughed until a contraction hit and took her breath away.

"I'll check on that as well," the nurse answered.

Cooper waited for the nurse to leave the room and the contraction to end and smoothed a stray strand of hair behind Callia's ear. 

"I wish you didn't have to go through this," Cooper murmured, kissed her forehead. A knock on the door pulled them apart as the nurse walked back in with the doctor.

"I hear you're having some very strong contractions," Doctor Wilson said, looking over Callia's chart.

"They're about every three minutes," the nurse told him. "She just had one as I was checking her," she added.

"I'll authorize the epidural, but let's wait another hour or so before breaking the water," Doctor Wilson said. 

They had no sooner administered the epidural then Laura walked in. "Oh my God Callie, I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed as the doctor walked out of the room

"What's going on Laura?" Callia asked weakly. 

"I ran into Doug earlier in the waiting room. He was visiting his mom, he heard about the baby. He's on his way up," Laura warned.

"How the fuck did he hear about the baby?" Cooper wanted to know.

"Your dad is downstairs with Blythe. Don't worry, I didn't tell them who Doug is," Laura answered. Their conversation stopped when the door opened and Doug walked into the room.

"Stay back," Cooper warned.

"You little whore! Why didn't you tell me you were pregnant? It's mine, right?" Doug shouted.

"Step the fuck back!" Cooper exclaimed.

"What the hell is going on in here?" Lucas asked.

"Get him out of here Luke or so help me God I will hurt him," Cooper warned.

"Who is he?" Lucas wanted to know. 

Cooper glanced at Callia who was pleading with her eyes for him not to do this.

"He's the asshole that raped your daughter!" Laura shouted. Cooper's gaze shot from Callia's to Laura. 

"Laura, stop!" Callia pleaded.

"He what?" Lucas asked, his voice low.

"He raped Callie and that's why she moved out of the dorm!" Laura exclaimed.

"Callia, is this true? Did this asshat rape you?" Lucas asked his daughter. Tears filled Callia's eyes, but this time, they had nothing to do with labor pains.

"Yes daddy, Doug raped me," Callia's voice was just above a whisper.

"Then is Doug or Cooper the father of the baby?" Olivia asked, dreading the answer.

"Doug is," Callia answered. Cooper slid his hand into hers and squeezed it gently.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Olivia wanted to know as Lucas lunged at Doug.

"That's one reason," Callia sighed as Blythe pulled Lucas away from Doug.

"You're dead you little shit!" Lucas growled.

"Dad stop it!" Callia exclaimed. "I need you here, not in jail. Please dad, just leave him alone," she pleaded, tears streamed down her face. Lucas let Doug go and walked over to his daughter's side.

"I'm your father, you should have told me," Lucas said quietly.

"We'll have to do this later," Cooper told Lucas gently. Lucas nodded and turned to Blythe.

"Get him out of here Blythe before I kill him," Lucas announced.

"Do we have evidence to charge him with?" Blythe asked. Cooper turned to his father and grinned.

"I called Derek and he had his doctor and nurse from the center come to the apartment and do an entire rape kit. He should know where the file is," Cooper answered. As Blythe and Doug reached the door, Callia let out a shaky cry. "What happened?" Cooper asked, turning towards her.

"I think my water just broke," Callia told him.

"You may be sending me to jail bitch, but at least you're having my baby," Doug said with a grin. His grin faded as he did the math in his head. "Isn't it too soon?" he asked. 

Cooper squeezed Callia's hand before he walked over to Doug who backed away in fear.

"Your little stunt the other day with grabbing Callie and shoving her into a door created one hell of a bruise and her OB called the police on me for spousal abuse. The stress of carrying your spawn, the attack and my arrest cause Callie's blood pressure to spike. To make a long story short, your spawn is dead and she's too far gone to have a D&C or a regular miscarriage." Cooper glanced back at Callia and smiled gently before turning back to Doug. 

"The next child she conceives will be conceived with someone she doesn't have to fear and she'll want that child," Cooper said, his voice low, angry. He glanced at Doug "I'll hit him dad," he warned, turning his eyes towards Blythe. Blythe nodded and pulled Doug out of the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"How is she?" Lucas asked as Cooper walked into the waiting room. Cooper sighed, ran his hands through his hair

"Callie's resting. She asked me to give her some time to herself. Today was a little more emotional then she thought it would be," Cooper answered, thinking of Callia's reaction when the nine ounce boy had slipped out of her body and into the doctor's arms. "She didn't want the baby, Luke but she still cried at the loss of him," he added.

"It was an innocent baby, and it was hers no matter how she got it. Callie's a strong girl, she'll make it through this," Olivia said softly.

"Why did you allow me to force you into a marriage with Callie if the baby wasn't yours?" Lucas wanted to know. Blythe and Suzie walked over to them, wanting to know the same thing.

"Because I promised Callie I wouldn't say anything and I couldn't honor that if I refused to marry her," Cooper answered.

"What will you do now?" Suzie asked, placing her hand on Cooper's shoulder.

"I won't leave her when she needs all of her friends around her. We've gotten in a routine and we're comfortable around each other. If, after Callie has had a chance to recover and heal, she decides she doesn't want to stay married, then I'll walk away," Cooper answered. He didn't tell them that it would kill him to let her go.

"So you've never had sex with my daughter?" Lucas asked, his eyes narrowed.

"We have, but not until after she found out about the baby," Cooper told him. Lucas growled low in his throat. 

"Luke, Callie needed someone that cared about her. I care about Callie, I've been looking out for her since we were kids, I'm not about to stop now," Cooper retorted.

"Luke, enough. You're the one that forced them into a marriage. What, did you expect that they wouldn't have sex?" Olivia said, putting her hand on her husband's arm. Lucas opened his mouth to say something but Olivia elbowed him in the ribs.

"You're a good kid Coop, I'm proud of you," Suzie told Cooper.

"We're going to go, we have to pick Jonah up from mom's. Tell Callie that we'll be back tomorrow," Olivia said, giving Lucas a look.

"I will," Cooper assured Olivia. He watched his parents and hiss head out of the waiting room, Lucas stopped in the doorway and turned around.

"Coop, I wanted to thank you for looking after Callie. I'm glad she trusted you enough to go to you," Lucas said, his eyes were filled with tears he tried hard no to shed.

"I'd do it again if I had to," Cooper promised. Once everyone had left the living room, Cooper returned to Callia's room where she was picking at the dinner the nurse had brought. "That smells awful. Laura said she's going to bring by some Chinese food if you're hungry," Cooper told her.

"Honestly, I think I'd rather sleep," Callia admitted. Cooper smiled.

"I don't blame you for that one," he said. "You're quite the girl Cal," he added.

"I feel broken," Callia said with a sigh.

"You'll heal and don't forget, I'm right here with you," Cooper promised. He studied her face carefully. "What is it?" he asked.

"I didn't want the baby, but I didn't want this to happen," she admitted, her eyes filled with tears and he hugged her gently.

"It's going to be okay Callie, I promise," Cooper said, kissed her forehead.

CHAPTER THREE

"What's wrong Callie?" Cooper asked as he watched her from across the table. Callia looked up from her mostly untouched plate of food.

"I'm sorry Coop," she whispered.

"Sorry for what?" Cooper asked, setting his fork down and taking a sip of his soda.

"I should have told my parents what happened. You never should have had to marry me," Callia said, setting her own fork down and pushing her plate away.

"Callie, where's this coming from? You know I didn't mind marrying you," Cooper wanted to know.

"Christine called earlier. She wanted to know why you haven't been returning her calls or emails about going on a date with her," Callia told him. Cooper swore under his breath.

"I dated her two years ago Callie and broke up with her after three dates. She wanted more than a boyfriend, she wanted my soul," Cooper said with a chuckle.

"What? She wanted your soul?" Callia looked at him as if he were crazy.

"I'm joking. She wanted more than I was prepared or ready to give at that time," Cooper told her.

"She wanted a husband," Callia realized. Cooper nodded.

"And yet you married me just so I didn't have to tell my parents I'd been raped," she whispered.

"Callie, that's different. Christine wanted a sugar daddy, someone to work their ass off, a big up and coming lawyer that would support her enough to sit on her ass and eat bonbons all day. You needed me, actually needed me. You didn't want your mom to have to relive the emotions she went through when Patrick caught up with her, I can understand that and that's why I agreed to it. Yes, you were scared, and yes, you should have reported it, but you don't owe anyone anything. The only thing you owe anyone is you owe yourself some happiness," Cooper told her.

"You should probably hate me," she whispered. Cooper pushed himself away from the table, crouched down in front of Callia and took her hands in his.

"I don't hate you Callie. I love you," Cooper said firmly.

"You love me?" she echoed.

"Yes you silly goose, I love you. It took all of this for me to realize it. For years, I've seen you as a kid sister which means I've never really seen you. Now, I see you," Cooper said.

"What do you see?" Callia wanted to know.

"An amazingly sexy, beautiful woman," Cooper told her, kissed her tenderly. "I'm not glad you were raped Cal, but I am glad that it forced me to see you," he added. "Don't cry," Cooper pleaded when he saw the tears form in her eyes. "Callie, I love you and you know I hate seeing you cry," he murmured.

"I just feel like I forced you into marrying me," she whispered.

"You did, in a way, but Callie, if part of me didn't want to be with you, I wouldn't have agreed. I would have told your dad the truth, no matter that I promised I wouldn't," Cooper assured her.

"So you don't hate me?"

"No Callie, I don't hate you. Stop thinking that way. Yes, you should have said something to your parents, but I'm not angry at you and I don't hate you, and I don't regret anything. You're eighteen Cal, you shouldn't have had to go through any of what you've gone through," Cooper said. Callia wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him, her tears hot against his neck. "Don't cry Callie, please," he whispered, stroking her back gently. "Everything will work out, I promise."

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Callie?" Cooper called as he walked through the apartment.

"I'm in the bedroom!" Callia called back. Cooper dropped his bag and walked back into the bedroom. His eyes widened when he saw her laying naked on the bed, sliding a long, thick purple vibrator in and out of her pussy. 

"Callie, what are you ..." Cooper's voice caught in his voice.

"I was given the okay a month ago," she reminded him.

"I know," Cooper managed.

"I've tried just about everything else to show you I was interested, but so far, nothing else has caught your attention," Callia said with a pout.

"No, you've caught it, I've been ignoring it," Cooper admitted, closed his eyes when Callia shook her head and moaned as she rubbed the tip of the buzzing vibrator against her clit, her hips arched off the bed, panted as she drove herself to cum. Cooper swore under his breath as he tore his clothes off, dropped them to the floor, pulled the still buzzing vibrator from Callia's drenched and spasming pussy and thrust into her hard and fast. She moaned and moved her hips in time with his. 

"Callie, you're killing me here," he groaned as he slid his hands under her hips to give her leverage. 

"Make love to me Coop," Callia whispered, meeting him thrust for thrust. She cried out as he began brushing against her g-spot, dug her fingers into his shoulders as he began thrusting harder and faster.

"You're beautiful," Cooper whispered as his cum splattered hot inside her; Callia screamed loudly as she came with him. Cooper lay over her for a moment before he rolled off and propped himself up on an elbow to watch her.

"Why have you been ignoring me?" Callia asked.

"Not you, just your sexual advances," Cooper corrected.

"Why?" she wanted to know. Cooper sighed.

"After watching the pain you went through delivering Jamie, I didn't want to risk putting you through another pregnancy," Cooper admitted. Callia covered her mouth with her hand and laughed. "What?" Cooper asked.

"That's what they make condoms for you dumbass," she said through her laughter.

"We didn't use one tonight," Cooper pointed out. Callia laughed again, rolled over and reached into the night stand drawer.

"Birth control Coop. I'm a freshman in College and I don't want to risk a baby now either," Callia told him. Cooper breathed a sigh of relief and kissed her hard.

"I promise I won't ignore you again," he promised.

"Good," Callia said with a wicked grin as she straddled his hips; the head of his mostly hard cock sat at the entrance of her pussy. Cooper groaned as she lowered herself over him and soon, their moans filled the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Callie, over here!" Laura exclaimed as Callia walked through the food court at the mall.

"Hey Laura!" Callia said with a smile.

"You look great!" Laura told her friend.

"I feel great. I'm not living in fear any more and my dad said that there weren't any other reports of Doug raping another co-ed," Callia told her friend.

"That's awesome. How's Cooper?" Laura wanted to know.

"He's doing great. He graduates from his undergrad next month and he's applying to law schools," Callia answered.

"I wish him luck with that. How's your love life?" Laura asked with a wicked grin.




Carrying the Flame Ch. 02-03



"None of your business," Callia said with a laugh. 

"You don't have to answer, your skin looks all glowy and you look happy," Laura said. Callia blushed and looked away. "Don't be embarrassed Callie, I think it's great! And Cooper is a zillion times better than Doug any day," Laura told her friend.

"Yes, he really is," Callia agreed.

"C'mon, you should go buy something new and special," Laura said, pulling her friend towards the Victoria Secret store. "So what are you going to do if Coop doesn't get into law school?" Laura wanted to know.

"We haven't thought that far ahead," Callia answered, pulling her friend into Williams and Sonoma. 

"Just living in the moment?" Laura asked.

"Something like that." Callia studied a platter and placed it back on the shelf with a sigh.

"What are we looking for?" Laura wanted to know.

"I need some new kitchen stuff, Coop doesn't have a lot. The kitchen still looks like a bachelor pad," Callia answered. 

"How can you afford to shop here?" Laura asked.

"Dad gave me his credit card and said to buy whatever would make me happy," Callia said brightly.

"Lucky girl," Laura said with a grin. Callia nodded, and grabbed the attention of an associate.

"I have a lot of shopping to do. Do you have carts or how does it work?" Callia asked, smiled when the clerk said she would follow the girls around and take the tags of the items Callia wanted to get them from the back of the store.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Callie, what the hell?" Cooper asked when he walked into the kitchen.

"Dad told me I could furnish the kitchen with pots, pans and other required items," Callia answered, turning to look at him. "Are you angry?" she asked.

"You're tearing up my kitchen Cal," Cooper pointed out, glanced at the mix and match pots on the kitchen table.

"Most of the Teflon coating on these has pretty much worn away and the ones that don't have Teflon are all scratched to hell. I didn't think you would mind Coop, I'm sorry if I overstepped," Callia's voice dropped to a whisper. "I'll take them all back," she added. Cooper swore under his breath and took her hands in his.

"Stop Callie, I'm sorry. I was just surprised. And I'm on edge." Cooper held up a letter from Harvard and Callia swallowed hard.

"Did you open it?" Callia asked carefully.

"No, not yet. I wanted to be with you when I did," Cooper answered. Callia placed her hands on the back of a chair and waited while he opened the letter; grinned when he let out a loud whoop. "I got in!" he exclaimed excitedly, pulled her to him and hugged her tight.

"We're going to Boston then?" Callia asked, her voice soft. Cooper looked at her carefully.

"We don't have to go. I also was accepted to U of M law," he reminded her.

"Where do you really want to go?" Callia asked.

"Harvard would be preferable," Cooper admitted.

"Then we're going to Boston," Callia said.

"Are you sure Cal? You still have your undergrad to finish. I can start law school here and transfer when you graduate," Cooper offered.

"What, is Michigan the only state with undergrad programs?" Callia asked sarcastically. 

"Callie, I want you to think about this. This isn't just my life we're talking about, it's yours too," Cooper pointed out.

"Cooper, you went out on a limb for me, you married me when you could have told my dad about the rape and were prepared to be a father to his baby. I owe you Coop," Callia said. "I'll transfer to a school in Boston, it isn't a big deal," she added. Cooper smiled and kissed her tenderly.

"I love you Callie. Thank you for this," he murmured.

"There's nothing to thank me for," Callia said, repeating his earlier words to her. 

-Two months later-

"Thank you for helping us," Callia told her mother as she and Olivia packed up the newly purchased cooking equipment and plates.

"You're my daughter Callie, it's my job to help you when I can. Are you sure you want to move? You don't have to," Olivia said.

"I'm sure mom," Callia assured her mother.

"Okay," Olivia sighed as she tapped up a box.

Cooper walked into the kitchen. "Are you ready to go Cal?" he asked. Callia looked at her mom and at her father who walked in behind Cooper with Blythe and Suzie and nodded.

"Why are you guys making a big deal out of this?" Jonah asked, rolling his eyes, not looking up from his Nintendo DS.

"Because your sister is making a very large decision and moving quite a long distance from home," Lucas snapped. 

"Daddy, Boston isn't on the other side of the world and I'll come back for winter break, we both will," Callia said, giving her father a hug. 

"I know, but you're so young to be moving so far," Lucas sighed.

"I'm almost nineteen daddy, I'm not that young," Callia pointed out.

"Callie, we have a thirteen hour drive," Cooper said gently.

"And we're following with the furniture and kitchen stuff," Blythe reminded Lucas.

"Good God I forgot about that," Lucas joked.

"We'll see you when we stop for dinner," Cooper told Lucas. Lucas nodded and watched the younger man lead Callia to the old Volvo that Lucas drove, at Suzie's insistence.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Callie, we're stopping for dinner in ten minutes," Cooper said, shaking her awake.

"Can we stop for the night?" she grumbled, rubbing her eyes.

"We're just under half way there," Cooper told her. They drove in silence and Callia sighed in relief when he pulled into a TGI Fridays.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"It looks good in here," Cooper said, leaning against the doorway of the kitchen. Callia looked up and smiled.

"Thanks. The paint is finally dry and I can start moving things in. I can make dinner tonight," she told him.

"Sounds great," Cooper said, raked his gaze over her. "Do you want to know what sounds better?" he asked.

"And what's that?" Callia asked as she finished drying the plate in her hands and put it in the cupboard.

"Starting with dessert," Cooper answered. Callia squealed as Cooper lifted her into his arms and carried her into the bedroom. She shivered as he quickly unzipped and pulled her dress down her body before placing her gently in the center of the bed.

"You're insane," she said with a laugh.

"I've been meeting with advisers for two straight days and our parents just left," Cooper pointed out.

"Good point," Callia conceded, moaned when he kissed her hard as he undid his pants.

"No more talking," Cooper growled as he completely removed his clothing. In one swift move, Callia was on her back under him and he was moving deep within her. She moaned at the delicious sensations welling up inside her and wrapped her hips around his waist to pull him closer to her. Cooper shifted position and Callia gasped as he thrust deeper, it was almost as if he were in her womb. Her hips lifted off of the bed to meet his and he slid his hands under her ass, caressed the plump flesh lovingly, slid his fingers to where they were joined and became playing with her clit while the thick head of his cock assaulted her g-spot. 

"Coop," she moaned, bucking against him.

"Cum for me Callie, right now," Cooper's voice was ragged and husky as he plunged in and out of her. He was trying to hold back and it was difficult; she was hot and tight around him and he groaned when the walls of her pussy spasmed around his cock. She let out a loud satisfied wail as she came hard and fast. "You're beautiful when you come," he panted, nibbling on her ear, his cum burst into her body like a swollen river bursts through a dam making them both cry out loudly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Callie, what's going on?" Cooper asked, watching her dig through her over-sized makeup case. Foundation and blush landed on the bed next to her curling iron and hairspray. "It's only seven in the morning," he added.

"Have you seen my medication Coop?" she asked in turn.

"What medication?" Cooper wanted to know.

"The only medication I'm on," Callia answered, digging through the bag more.

"Your birth control?" Cooper asked, dread filling his stomach. Callia nodded. "How can you not know where it is?" he wanted to know.

"We got here at three in the morning thanks to our stop for dinner and last night you waylaid me and we stayed in bed all night," Callia reminded him.

"How much longer do you have before you're done with that packet?" Cooper wanted to know.

"I just started the packet." She growled, picked up the bag and dumped it on the bed, sighed when she saw it wasn't there. "Damn it," she whispered, dropping to her knees on the floor. Cooper sighed and pulled on a pair of sweat pants and a tee-shirt. "I'll go check the car, your bag came open in the drive over here," he told her. When he came back in a few minutes later, Callia was putting things back in the bag, tears down her face. "Callie, what's wrong?" Cooper asked, sitting down on the bed next to her.

"What if I left them in Michigan? I could be pregnant or get pregnant, I don't have the condoms either," she whispered. Nervousness burned in his gut at the prospect of Callia pregnant and he sighed.

"I packed the condoms Callie, so we can relax about that. And I don't think you'll get pregnant just on the first time without them," Cooper told her.

"I did get pregnant my first time having sex, which wasn't an enjoyable experience and the more pleasurable the sex is, the more likely pregnancy is," Callia reminded him. Cooper kissed her gently.

"Callie, you won't get pregnant," Cooper said.

"What, are you infertile or something?" Callia asked, raising her eye brow.

"Would you like to test that?" Cooper growled. She sighed and began tossing the rest of her stuff in the bag. "Callie, stop," Cooper instructed. Callia turned back to him. "You won't get pregnant Callie until you want to. I found this in the trunk of the car under the box of books that we haven't brought in yet," Cooper told her, handing her the pink packet. "And even if you'd left these in Ann Arbor, it would still be okay," Cooper added.

"Even if there was a baby?" Callia asked, sniffling.

"Callie, I told you once I'm not going anywhere, now stop crying, take your pill and relax," Cooper said firmly.



Carrying the Flame Ch. 04



"Where were you at?" Cooper asked when Callia walked into the apartment. She set her purse on the small table by the door before walking into the kitchen with the paper grocery bag.

"I was at Simmons College," Callia answered. "Applying for classes for the fall," she added.

"Good," Cooper said, unpacking the bag. Callia watched him for a moment before pulling out a large frying pan. 

"How was orientation?" Callia wanted to know.

"Long."

"What the hell is your problem Coop?" Callia asked, slamming the frying pan down on the stove.

"I'm just under a lot of stress right now Callie. The spring term starts tomorrow, I don't have any of my books, I haven't found a job and your panic last week about not knowing where your birth control was didn't exactly help," Cooper growled.

"I'm sorry not knowing where my medicine was added to your stress, but why won't you talk to me about anything? All we do these days when we're home together is eat or have sex," Callia said, taking the package of ground beef from him.

"I'll figure things out Callie, I just need some space," Cooper told her.

"Do you want me to go back to Ann Arbor? Or to my parents?" Callia asked, her voice soft.

"No!" Callia looked up at him, the sharpness of his voice making her jump. "Don't go Callie, this is your home and I'm sorry for jumping down your throat," Cooper said with a sigh. He ran his hand through his hair.

"Cooper, when we got married and when I lost Jamie, you told me we were in this together and you held everything together. You kept me from losing control and from wanting to die. You were there when I needed someone. Let me do the same for you," Callia murmured, reaching a hand out for his. "I love you Coop," she whispered. The look on his face softened and he sighed.

"I'm sorry Callie, I don't mean to be so short these days," Cooper said with a groan. "I love you too." Callia looked relived to hear that and allowed Cooper to pull her in for a hug.

"As for your text books, they came in this morning, they are on your desk in the office," she told him.

"You're a saint for putting up with me this week," Cooper said with a groan. Callia laughed and returned to cooking dinner while Cooper headed into the office to look at the books he needed for his classes.

When Cooper returned to the dining room outside of the kitchen, Callia was setting it for dinner.

"Let me do that," Cooper said, taking the plates from her. Callia turned back to the stove and put the finishing touches on the tacos before setting the frying pan on the hot pad on the table. "We make a pretty good team," Cooper commented when they'd sat down to eat. Callia took a sip of her soda and nodded.

"Yes, yes we do," she agreed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Long day?" Callia asked when Cooper dropped his back pack onto the floor and plopped down on the couch next to her.

"The longest. One of my professors is the biggest zombie maker since Resident Evil," Cooper groaned. Callia laughed at the analogy. 

"There's food in the oven," she told him.

"Too tired to eat," Cooper muttered.

"It's roast and potatoes," Callia said. Cooper looked at her with an appreciative smile when she got up and walked into the kitchen, returning a few moments later with a plate of piping hot food.

"What's the occasion?" Cooper wanted to know after he'd had a few bites.

"I got a job," Callia answered. He looked up at her in surprise. "I know you wanted me to be able to stay home like I did in Ann Arbor, but I want to help us out," she added.

"What will you be doing?" Cooper asked. Callia hesitated. "Callie?" he asked again.

"I'm going to be helping in the nursery at a local hospital," Callia answered. "Rocking the babies, feeding them, changing them," she added.

"Why there?" Cooper wanted to know. 

"They were hiring and it's a decent wage," Callia said with a shrug.

"There's nothing else behind it?" Cooper asked, setting his fork against his plate and putting them both on the tv tray.

"There's nothing else behind it. I'm not pregnant Coop and I don't want to be," Callia answered.

"Okay Okay," Cooper said, raising his hands above his head. He went back to his roast while Callia returned to her book. "Callie?" he asked after a moment. Callia sighed but put her book down and looked up at him. "If you were pregnant, would you be okay with it?" Cooper asked.

"I don't know Coop, why? Would you?" Callia shot back. Cooper thought about it for a moment and while part of him was thrilled with the thought of Callia carrying his child, the other half of him remembered the pain she had gone through and he shuddered.

"No, I don't think so," Cooper said after a moment. Callia sighed again and stood up.

"I'm going to go take a bath," Callia told him before leaving the room. Cooper sighed as he watched her leave.

"Callie, what did I say?" Cooper asked, stopping in the doorway of the bathroom.

"Nothing Coop, I'm just tired," Callia said, sinking down further into the water.

"You're lying," Cooper commented.

"I'm tired Coop," she murmured wearily.

"Are you sure that's the only thing wrong?" Cooper asked. She smiled at him and dipped her hair back into the water. "God Callie," he groaned as her nipples poked up out of the water. Callia sat up and smiled slightly. 

"You like looking at my body don't you?" Callia asked.

"Of course I do," Cooper answered with a cocky grin. Callia stood up, water dripping down her body, grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her.

"Good, you can have it tomorrow," she told him with an evil grin. Cooper's jaw dropped and he reached for her.

"Tomorrow? Why not tonight?" Cooper asked.

"Because I'm tired," Callia answered before walking out of the bathroom.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Hi, I'm Keely," a girl said as Callia sat down next to her.

"I'm Callie." Callia gave her a small smile and pulled her notebook out of her bag. 

"You aren't from Boston are you?" Keely asked.

"No, how can you tell?" Callia tried not to look annoyed.

"Your accent," Keely answered. Callia nodded and they both fell silent as the professor walked into the lecture hall.

~~~~~~~~~~ 

-Months later-

Callia squealed when she felt Cooper's arms encircle her waist, his lips on her neck. "What's going on?" she wanted to know, turning around to face him.

"I love you," Cooper breathed.

"I love you too," Callia murmured, shivering as his hands slipped under her shirt to cup her naked breast.

"You're beautiful," Cooper told her before pulling the night shirt off of her.

"You're going to be late for class," Callia reminded him as he pressed himself against her. Moaned when his lips closed over a pert nipple while a hand drifted down her body; he slipped two fingers inside her scorching pussy.

"I don't care," he grumbled, his breath hot against her skin. She moaned as he began fucking her with his fingers, cried out when his mouth joined his fingers in and on her pussy, driving her to distraction. 

"Cooper!" she wailed as she felt her climax building. 

"Just let go," Cooper groaned, feeling his cock harden more.

"I need you inside me, now," Callia panted, digging her fingers into his hair. Cooper gave one last flick of her clit with his tongue before pulling his body up over hers, his rock hard cock poised at the glistening entrance of her pussy. "Now!" Callia repeated, wrapping her legs around his hips, drawing him into her. She cried out loudly as he drove hard into her and tightened the grip her legs had on him as they began thrusting together hard and fast, arms and legs tangled together, panting for breath as their tongues dueled each other like master swordsmen. 

"I love you Callie, so much," Cooper's voice was harsh, filled with passion. She couldn't answer, her breathing was coming fast, too fast for words to form as the engorged head of his cock pounded against her g-spot, his balls slid across her clit. Callia's hips bucked off the bed and against his and she screamed her pleasure as his cum sloshed against the walls of her womb, Cooper's guttural moan sent shivers down her body, causing her pussy to clench around him. They laid there, bodies wrapped around each other, his cock still inside her until the phone rang, separating them. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You should slow down Cal, you're going to make yourself sick," Cooper observed.

"I want to graduate. I'm so tired of being a student, I want to be a teacher," Callia complained.

"Yeah, but you've already been acting tired and cranky lately," Cooper pointed out.

"I'm taking eighteen credit hours and working thirty hours a week," Callia reminded him.

"I know that. You need to slow down," Cooper repeated.

"I'm fine Coop, really, now will you let me get back to studying?" Callia asked. Cooper sighed and brushed his thumb over her cheek.

"I'm worried about you Callie," he murmured.

"I'm fine," Callia repeated. Cooper studied her for another moment before standing up.

"If you say so. I have to go to work, I'll be back tonight around six. Call me if you need me," Cooper told her, kissed her gently then walked out of the apartment.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey Coop, you've got a phone call!" one of his co-workers exclaimed. "It's some girl," he added.

"Callie?" Cooper asked.

"No, it's Keely. I had a few classes with Callie last semester and I work with her at the hospital. Callie passed out at work this afternoon," Keely told him.

"I'll be right there," Cooper said, hanging up the phone.

"Callie, what happened?" Cooper asked when he got into the emergency room twenty minutes later. She was sitting up in bed, still groggy. "Callie, talk to me," he said, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"One minute I was dizzy and the next minute I was laying here on a gurney with an IV in my arm," Callia answered. Cooper frowned and slipped his hand in hers.

"How are you feeling now?" Cooper asked.

"Sleepy," Callia admitted.  They both looked up as the doctor walked in.

"Hi Callia, I'm Doctor Rosenthal. This must be Cooper," he said, extending his hand out to them one at a time.

"What's wrong with me?" Callia wanted to know.

"You were dehydrated and exhausted for starters. I know you work upstairs in the nursery, I've seen you with the babies and their parents. How many hours do you work?" Doctor Rosenthal asked.

"Thirty hours here, but I'm taking eighteen credit hours at Simmons undergrad," Callia answered.

"That's a lot of work young lady," Doctor Rosenthal observed, looked down at her chart. "And I'm going to add to your work load," he added.

"What do you mean?" Cooper asked nervously looking at Callia.

"Congratulations, Callia, you're pregnant," Doctor Rosenthal told them.

"What?" Callia asked, her eyes wide with surprise. Cooper's hand fell from hers as he stood up in shock.

"You're having a baby," Doctor Rosenthal answered.

"But we've been careful," she whispered, her wide eyes met Cooper's and he swallowed hard.

"Birth control isn't full proof," the doctor reminded her.

"But ..." Callia trailed off as reality set in and started to hyperventilate. "I ... I don't ..."

"Calm down Callia," Doctor Rosenthal instructed. Cooper said nothing, just slipped his hand back into hers and rubbed his thumb across her knuckles. "Calm down Callia or you'll have to be given a sedative," Doctor Rosenthal warned. 

"I can't breathe!" Callia gasped, closed her eyes as dizziness set in again. Doctor Rosenthal frowned and grabbed a sedative from the medicine dispensary and injected it into her IV. Cooper watched helplessly as Callia drifted back to sleep.

"That's not a typical reaction to finding out you're going to be a mother," Doctor Rosenthal said to Cooper.

"I know. Callie was raped her freshman year at college and she got pregnant. She ended up having a still birth due to incredibly high blood pressure when she was under twenty weeks along," Cooper told the doctor. "She was in labor for almost thirty hours," he added.

"I'm sorry, that must have been hard for both of you," Doctor Rosenthal sympathized. Cooper nodded and glanced over at Callia where she was finally resting quietly. 

"Will she be okay?" Cooper asked quietly.

"I think so, and so will the baby if you chose to have it," Doctor Rosenthal answered. Cooper turned back to the doctor, his eyes narrow. "It's a decision the two of you have to make together," he added.

"If we do keep the baby, will it hurt Callie as much as the still birth did?" Cooper wanted to know.

"Each birth is different, so it's hard to tell," the doctor said. He patted Cooper on the shoulder. "I have other patients to look in on, I'll be back in a little while," he added before walking away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Coop?" Callia asked groggily, reaching for him.

"Hey, feeling better?" Cooper asked, sitting up.

"A little." Tears filled her eyes and some trailed down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"Sorry for what?" Cooper wanted to know. "For the baby?" She nodded and he sighed. "Callie, you didn't get pregnant by yourself, so you aren't to blame. You were on the pill but it isn't one hundred percent and we knew that. I don't blame you for this," Cooper told her gently.

"I'm not ready for a baby Coop, I'm twenty years old," she said softly.

"I know exactly how old you are," Cooper reminded her with a smile. "It's going to be okay Callie. I'm not going anywhere. We'll take this one day at a time, just like before," he added.

"I don't know if I want a baby and I know you don't. Your comments and actions have shown that you don't want a baby either," Callia told him.

"I would love a family with you," Cooper admitted. "I just don't want to cause you pain," he added. The panicked look on her face softened and she smiled slightly.

"So you want a baby with me?" Callia asked.

"If it didn't hurt you so damn much or cost so damn much to feed, I'd have a dozen with you," Cooper confirmed.

"I don't think so buster," she said with a laugh. 

"Yeah, I don't either," Cooper agreed. They both fell silent as a nurse walked into the room.

"Your vitals look good Callia, you're free to go home. Doctor Rosenthal doesn't want you to come back to work for a week and he wants you to take the next two days off of classes to catch up on rest. After that, you're to cut your hours at work to no more than twenty hours a week," the nurse said, going through the discharge papers, handed them to Callia to sign. "Here's a prescription for prenatal vitamins and you need to schedule an appointment with an OB as soon as possible," she added before walking out of the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Callie, its great to hear from you, how are classes going?" Olivia asked with a smile when she realized her oldest child was on the phone.

"School's good. I only have a few more semesters to go thanks to the insane course load I've been taking," Callia answered. "How are you guys doing? How's Jonah?" she wanted to know.

"We're doing well. Your dad got a promotion and is a detective now, finally. Jonah's doing well in school and I'm teaching again," Olivia said. "How are you doing? You sound tired," Olivia observed.

"I am tired. I've been working a lot and taking a ton of classes," Callia admitted. "Mom, I have something to tell you, are you sitting down?" she asked.

"I am, what's wrong Callie? Are you sick?" Olivia wanted to know.

"I'm not sick." Callia looked across the table at Cooper who gave her a small smile and squeezed her hand. 

"Then what is it?" Olivia demanded to know.

"I'm pregnant mom," Callia said finally.

"Callie, what were you thinking?" Olivia wanted to know.

"We didn't plan this mom. I was using birth control," Callia said with a sigh, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Please, don't lecture me now, I'm tired and I don't have the energy to fight with you," she added.

"What happened?" Olivia asked.

"I'm exhausted, I've been pushing myself to work and graduate," Callia answered. Cooper took the phone from her.

"Olivia, Callie's really tired, we just got home from the ER, she passed out from exhaustion and dehydration. I'll have Callie call you guys later," Cooper said, hanging up the phone without another word. He put the phone on the table and looked back at Callia. "Go lay down, I'll make you some soup," Cooper told her. Callia gave him a small smile and walked down the hall to the bedroom.

-Two days later-

"Hello Callia, I'm Doctor Hughes, lets get this exam underway shall we?" she asked, walking into the room. Cooper watched as Doctor Hughes began the physical exam and sat forward when she pulled the wand for the vaginal ultrasound. 

"Does everything look okay?" Cooper asked.

"Everything looks good," Doctor Hughes said. Cooper glanced at Callia who had a small smile on her face. "Callia, from the measurements I'm pulling, you're about nine and a half weeks, maybe ten weeks pregnant and due around March fifteenth," she added.

"That far?" Callia asked in surprise.

"How could we not know?" Cooper asked.

"The body reacts differently with every pregnancy," Doctor Hughes answered, taking a picture of the baby and pulled the ultrasound wand out of Callia's body. She squirted a cold, blue gel onto Callia's belly, pulled the fetal Doppler out and pressed it against Callia's abdomen, a loud whooshing noise filled the room. 

"Oh my God," Callia whispered. Doctor Hughes smiled as she pulled the Doppler away. 

"Everything looks and sounds great. Schedule an appointment for next week and don't forget to have your blood work done," Doctor Hughes told them, wiping the gel off of Callia's stomach. Callia waited for the doctor to leave the room before she began pulling on her clothes.

"Are you hungry?" Cooper asked as they left the office. 

"A little," Callia said softly.

"Let's go get some lunch before the parentals invade Boston," Cooper suggested. Callia laughed and sighed. "What?" Cooper asked, glancing at her.

"I'm nervous about what my parents will say," Callia admitted.

"Your parents won't do anything to upset or hurt you Callie," Cooper told her.

"My dad will want to hit you," Callia said. Cooper laughed.

"He won't. Not if he thinks it would upset you," Cooper said. Callia laughed at that and followed Cooper into their favorite diner and sank down onto the booth. "What looks good?" Cooper asked after Callia set the menu down.

"I think I'm going to get waffles with whipped cream, strawberries, hash browns and toast," Callia told him. Cooper stared at her in shock. "I'm starving," she said defensively.

"A few minutes ago, you said you were only a bit hungry," Cooper reminded her.

"It smells so good in here," Callia said sheepishly. Cooper laughed and watched the look of surprise on the waitresses face when she wrote down Callia's order.

"I'll just have waffle and bacon," Cooper said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Callie, will you calm down? You look fine," Cooper said, watching her paw through her closet.

"I look like I've been sleeping," Callia said grumpily. Cooper laughed.

"You have been sleeping. You look beautiful," he told her tenderly.

"I look like a mess," Callia groaned as the doorbell rang.

"Let's go Callie before they just barge in," Cooper said gently. Callia sighed but followed Cooper down the hall. "Hi dad," he greeted, opening the door, moved aside to let them all in.

"Hey Coop," Blythe said. Cooper swallowed when he saw the look on Lucas' face.

"He won't hurt you," Olivia told Cooper.

"You want to make a bet?" Lucas growled. 

"Luke," Olivia hissed, shooting him a look.

"Hi mom, hi dad," Callia said quietly.

"Hi sweetie," Olivia gave her daughter a kind smile.

"Dinner will be done in about a half hour," Cooper volunteered.

"Good," Suzie said, giving her son a hug and a smile.

"Dad, don't start," Callia warned later that night when Olivia and Lucas had cornered her on the back patio.




Carrying the Flame Ch. 04



"You're twenty years old Callie, you should not be having a baby now," Lucas growled.

"Isn't it a little late for this lecture? You didn't give it to me with Jamie!" Callia exclaimed.

"Because your mother asked me not to. And I'm glad that I didn't give it to you knowing that you'd been raped, but now, you were just careless!" Lucas exclaimed.

"I wasn't careless! I was on birth control and I NEVER missed a day!" Callia retorted.

"Then how did you get pregnant?" Lucas wanted to know.

"The same way mom did when you forgot to use a condom!" Callia shouted.

"Enough! Luke, Callie's an adult. She's married. You shouldn't get mad at her for being pregnant, and with the stress she had during her pregnancy with Jamie, you shouldn't stress her out now either," Olivia told her husband. She turned to her daughter. "That being said Callia, I am disappointed that you didn't have Cooper use a back up birth control method like a condom," she added.

"I'm sorry I disappointed you," Callia whispered.

"I didn't mean it that way Callie," Olivia sighed.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but Luke, Liv, could we speak to you in the living room?" Suzie asked from the doorway. Lucas and Olivia glanced at each other and followed their friend down the hall, Cooper slid into the bedroom. "Are you alright?" Cooper asked worriedly.

"I'm fine, just tired and overwhelmed and completely terrified. I don't know if I'm ready for this," Callia admitted, her voice was soft but strained.

"We'll be fine Callie, all three of us," Cooper promised. Callia looked at him, and he frowned at the exhaustion she saw in her eyes. "Go to sleep Callie, I'll deal with your dad," he added.

"Are you sure? Dad looked ready to kill you," Callia murmured.

"I'll be fine, just get some rest," Cooper said, pressing a gentle kiss to her lips. "I love you," he added before leaving the bedroom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Where's Callie?" Blythe asked when Cooper walked into the living room. 

Cooper ignored the angry look Lucas was giving him and turned to his father. "She's resting," Cooper answered.

"Why couldn't you have waited a few more years?" Lucas asked finally, his voice held a resigned tone with just a hint of anger.

"Luke, neither Callie or I planned on this happening, but I love Callie and she loves me. You need to trust me not to hurt her," Cooper said, turning to his father.

"What's the big deal dad? So what if Callie's only twenty, she's married, let her have a kid if she wants to," Jonah said from the recliner, not looking up from the hand held video game.

"Just because you're going on sixteen doesn't mean you know all," Lucas growled, glancing back at his son.

"Leave him alone Luke," Olivia sighed. She turned back to Cooper. "How is Callie doing, really?" she wanted to know. Cooper hesitated, glanced back towards the bedroom.

"Callie's nervous, obviously. We both are, she had a hard time with Jamie. Callie's been working herself to the bone lately, taking the class load she's taking and working the number of hours she's been working." Cooper shook his head. "I honestly think that while she didn't want Jamie, she's trying to make up for him not being here by throwing herself into working," Cooper said.

"She isn't ready for a baby," Lucas said stubbornly. "Neither are you," he added.

"Probably not, but for better or for worse, he or she is coming and I'm not going to leave Callie here high and dry to deal with it. I love Callie, and I know I'll love the baby," Cooper retorted. Finally, Lucas smiled. "That was exactly what I was looking for." Lucas looked over at Olivia who wore a small smile, reached for her hand. "When Liv got pregnant with Callie, I was terrified, we honestly hadn't been dating long and we were on the run from her psychotic ex-boyfriend. All I knew is how much I cared about Liv and that I cared about the baby." Lucas patted Cooper on the shoulder. "You'll be fine kid, you both will," he added. Cooper gave a sigh of relief, glad that the interrogation was over and glanced back toward the bedroom. "Promise me something," Lucas said. Cooper turned back to his father.

"What's that?" Cooper wanted to know.

"Take care of my little girl," Lucas murmured.

"Forever," Cooper promised.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm coming, I'm coming, keep your shirt on!" Callia grumbled as she walked down the hall way and flung the door open, let out a shriek when she saw her best friend from Michigan standing on her doorstep. "LAURA!"

"Hey Callie! Coop said it was okay to come out and visit, so here I am!" Laura said with a grin.

"Oh my God is it great to see you!" Callia squealed, letting her friend in.

"It's good to see you too, you look amazing! What's your secret?" Laura wanted to know as they sat down at the kitchen table, mugs of cocoa in hand.

"Not living in fear for one," Callia said with a smile.

"That helps for sure," Laura agreed. "But there's more, you're positively glowing," Laura murmured. Callia gave a soft smile and shrugged. "C'mon chica, spill," Laura instructed, taking a sip of her cocoa. 

"I'm pregnant," Callia said when Laura had set the mug back on the table. Laura stared at her friend in surprise then dashed around the table to give her a tight hug.

"Is everything okay? Are you okay?" Laura wanted to know. Callia nodded.

"I'm doing great. I'm excited even," Callia said, her voice was quiet. Laura gave another shriek and pulled her friend out of the chair. "Careful Laura, sudden movements aren't a good thing and I need my hearing," Callia warned with a laugh.

"We're going shopping! I want to help you pick out things for the baby's room," Laura said.

"Glad to hear it," Cooper said from behind her. 

"We have time. I don't want to jinx anything," Callia protested.

"Whatever you want," Cooper told Callia.

"How far along are you? When are you due?" Laura wanted to know.

"I'm due about March fifteenth, give or take a day or two," Callia answered.

"Just in time for my birthday," Cooper added with a grin. Now that he had warmed up to the fact that he was going to be a father, he was growing very excited, and couldn't wait to be able to feel the baby moving within the woman he loved. Callia smiled at that and toyed with her mug.

"We need to go shopping!" Laura insisted.

"Laura, not everything requires a shopping trip," Callia reminded her friend.

"Yeah but you're having a baby! In four months! And this is my first time in Boston!" Laura exclaimed. 

Callia laughed. "All right, we'll go shopping, but Coop has to come too," Callia caved. Cooper groaned, knowing the girls could shop for hours if they weren't interrupted with other things needing to be done. "Call Gray," Callia told Cooper. Cooper grinned and winked at Callia over Laura's head.

"Gray, who's Gray?" Laura wanted to know as Cooper pulled out his cell phone and dialed.

"A friend," Cooper said while he waited for his friend to answer.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey Gray, this is my friend Laura," Callia introduced them with a smile.

"He's cute," Laura whispered as they started walking through the mall. 

Callia laughed and nodded. "Isn't he though?" Callia asked, her eyes twinkling.

"What are you up to?" Laura wanted to know.

"Not a thing," Callia said with a grin.

"The girls are plotting, aren't they?" Gray asked, not looking over his shoulder.

"Probably," Cooper acknowledged. He glanced back and met Callia's eyes, smiled at her. 

"How's Callie feeling? I know she's had a rough time," Gray asked, bringing Cooper's attention back to him.

"She's feeling better. The morning sickness should be ending soon, she's going on her fifth month." Cooper glanced back over his shoulder again. "We're hitting the same time in her pregnancy where she lost Jamie," Cooper answered.

"That's got to be rough," Gray sympathized. 

"Hey Coop, wait up!" Laura called. Cooper stopped and turned, surprised that he and Gray had walked so far away from the girls.

"What's up?" Cooper asked as he and Gray returned to the girls' sides.

"Callie just got fixated on something in the store," Laura answered. Cooper turned and followed Laura's gaze, saw Callia standing in the middle of a baby boutique. 

"Oh boy," Cooper groaned, walking into the store. "Callie?" he asked.

"Coop, it's perfect," Callia whispered. Cooper looked at the crib she was standing next to and smiled. The crib was beautiful, made from solid oak with a dark mahogany staining and had a changing table and dresser attached to it, and could be changed into a twin bed.

"Is this the crib you want for the baby?" Cooper asked. Callia turned to him and nodded. "How much?" he wanted to know. Callia reached for the price tag and sighed when she saw the price written down. "Callie? How much?" Cooper asked again.

"It's almost four hundred dollars," Callia whispered, with a sigh of disappointment. Cooper whistled, and Callia sighed again. "I'll keep looking," she added before walking out of the store. Cooper watched as Laura and Gray led Callia away and started to follow her out of the store when a clerk stopped him.

"Are you and your wife looking for a crib?" the clerk asked.

"Yes we are. My wife likes this one," Cooper answered.

"It's beautiful. Jewel is one of our most popular models and it's just about sold out; in fact, this is our last one," the clerk said, patting the crib she was standing by. She studied Cooper carefully. "I can give it to you on a discount," she added.

"How much of one?" Cooper asked.

"It's three seventy five right now, and I can take it down to three hundred," she told him. Cooper pursed his lips and thought about it for a moment.

"Can you take it to two seventy five?" Cooper asked.

"I don't know, that's a hundred dollars off," the clerk mused.

"Take it to your manager?" Cooper asked. The clerk sighed but returned to the back of the store.

"The lowest I can drop the price to is three hundred," the clerk said, the manager stood behind her.

"Look, my wife really loves this crib, she absolutely lit up when she saw it. I know you're out to make money, but this is your floor model, and while it's in excellent condition, and has been put together well. I want to make this as stress free of a time as possible. My wife had a still birth several years ago and is incredibly nervous about being pregnant again," Cooper told the manager. "But I just can't afford three hundred. Two fifty or two seventy five is my absolute limit," he added.

"She looks too young to have been pregnant before," the manager said, giving Cooper an odd look.

"She was eighteen, and yes, she's young, but it's true," Cooper said. He didn't know why he'd told the store manager about the still birth, but he was hoping that they'd lower the price of the crib.

"Two eighty," the manager said finally.

Cooper pulled out his wallet and handed over his credit card. "Sold," he agreed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What's going on?" Callia asked when Laura finally led her back into the apartment.

"I have a surprise for you," Cooper said when they walked into the kitchen. Callia couldn't help it and laughed at the excitement in his voice. 

"What'd you do?" Callia wanted to know. Cooper grinned. "Coop?"

"Close your eyes love," Cooper instructed. "Keep them closed," he added, taking her hand and leading her down the hallway. Callia waited impatiently as Cooper opened a door led her inside. "Go ahead and open your eyes," Cooper said. Callia growled when she saw the darkness around her.

"Coop," she groaned.

"Sorry," Cooper said with a grin, flipped on the light. 

"Coop, the crib! You bought it!" Callia breathed, her eyes going wide.

"You wanted it, and you're right, it's perfect," Cooper said softly. 

"How can we afford it? Coop, we can barely afford rent right now!" Callia exclaimed.

"Callie, it's going to be okay. Don't worry! We'll be fine," Cooper assured her.

"Is anyone home?" Callia sighed when she heard her father's voice echo down the hall.

"We're back here Luke," Cooper called back. Lucas headed down the hall, grumbling something about how they'd better both be dressed making Callia laugh softly.

"I see you're buying furniture already," Lucas observed with a smile. "What's wrong?" he wanted to know.

"We can't afford it, it was almost four hundred dollars," Callia said.

"No, it wasn't. I bought the floor model, and got a sizable discount. We'll be okay," Cooper promised. Callia looked relieved at that, squealed and threw her arms around Cooper's neck. Lucas couldn't help it, he laughed. "I guess I'm going to have to get over the fact that you and my daughter are having sex," Lucas said with a sigh.

"Because of the baby?" Cooper asked, raising an eye brow.

"No, because Callie is too much like her mother, and whenever I did something that right, I was always well rewarded," Lucas answered. Cooper laughed and Callia blushed as she pulled away from Cooper. "I wish I could have kept you my little girl forever," Lucas sighed, giving his daughter a gentle hug.

"I'm sorry," Callia murmured.

"Don't apologize. Just be happy," Lucas instructed. He looked up at Cooper. "Don't break her heart Coop," Lucas warned as Olivia walked into the apartment.

"Luke?" Olivia called.

"We're in the back," Lucas called back. Olivia walked into the bedroom and smiled when she saw the nursery was taking shape.

"It's beautiful in here," Olivia commented, laughed when Callia's stomach growled.

"C'mon, we'll buy you guys dinner," Lucas said with a grin.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You're Callia right?" a young man asked, grabbing her arm after class.

"Yes, what can I help you with?" Callia asked.

"I need help with this class. I hate literature, but I have to take it," he said. "I'm Greg," he added.

"I can't help you, I have enough on my plate already," Callia told him.

"Please. I can't afford to fail," Greg pleaded.

"C'mon Callie, I promised Coop I'd get you home right after class," Keely said, walking up to them.

"I'll pay you. A hundred dollars a day," Greg told Callia as she followed Keely towards the front of the room. Callia glanced at Keely and tore a piece of paper from her notebook, jotted something down and handed it to him.

"Be there in an hour," Callia said.

"Are you sure about this?" Keely asked as she watched her friend clear off the dining room table.

"You'll stay till Coop gets home?" Callia wanted to know. Keely nodded. "Then I'm sure," she answered. Looked up when Greg knocked on the door. Callia opened the door and let him in.

"This is a trial run. If, after a few sessions, if I get too exhausted or stressed, we'll have to stop," Callia told Greg as he set his bag down.

"How can you get too exhausted? Because you're pregnant?" Greg asked.

"It's more exhausting than you think," Callia said, her voice sharp.

"Okay, okay," Greg raised his hands in mock surrender.

"Let's get started," Callia told him, pulling her books out of her bag. "What are you having problems with?" she wanted to know. 

"I just hate reading unless it's a comic book," Greg said, pulled his own copy out.

"It's a modern fiction book," Callia pointed out, even though she wasn't thrilled with the book choice. While she loved John Grisham novels, and A Time to Kill was one of her favorite books and movies, she wasn't in the frame of mind to handle the book.

By the time Cooper got home from class, Callia was ready to scream. "Why are you making me go over the fucking rape scene over and over again? It's a scene about an eight year old girl being raped, abused and urinated on!" she asked, her voice going shrill.

"Callie, calm down," Cooper warned, placing his hands on her shoulders. He looked up at Greg through narrowed eyes, something about the younger man across from him made him want to strangle him, and it wasn't just how he had been stressing Callia out. "Pay Callie the money you promised her and get out, you're done for the day," Cooper told him, his eyes low, daring Greg to say no. Greg shrugged and tossed five twenties on the table and began gathering up his things.

"Greg, don't come back, I can't do this," Callia told him.

"What about helping me with the story?" Greg asked.

"Rent the movie, it follows the book closely," Callia answered, her eyes were closed, breathing shallow as she tried to get her emotions under control. Cooper watched until Greg got into his car and drove away before turning back to Callia.

"You okay Cal?" Cooper asked softly.

"He kept fixating on that damned rape scene. What a sicko!" Callia whispered.

"He's gone Cal, and it's okay," Cooper told her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"It's me," Greg said. "They're here alright," he added. 

"What is her condition? Is she still married to the Lee kid?" the voice at the other end asked.

"They're still married, and she's pregnant. It looks like she's about four and a half, maybe five months along. Under damned near constant supervision," Greg answered.

"It figures Olivia's daughter would be just as fertile as her mother," the voice grumbled. "This changes nothing, you have two weeks to take her," he added.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I can't believe you transferred out here!" Callia exclaimed as she helped Laura decorate her apartment and set up the kitchen.

"I missed my best friend, besides, Gray is really hot," Laura said, her eyes twinkling. 

"Yes, yes he is," Callia agreed, rubbing her back.

"It looks good in here," Laura observed. The walls were a pale blue with cream trim.

"Good afternoon ladies," Gray said as he and Cooper walked into the apartment.

"Hi Gray," Laura said shyly. Cooper and Callia glanced at each other and grinned, it was very obvious that their friends were attracted to each other.

"We're going to go, I have the ultrasound," Callia told her friends. Laura gave Callia a tight hug.

"Thanks for helping me unpack," Laura murmured.

"Anytime Laura," Callia assured her. She turned to Gray and gave him a big smile and a hug. "I'll leave Gray to help with the heavy lifting," Callia added before she followed Cooper out of the apartment.

"So, what do you want to do now?" Gray asked as he and Laura brought in the last box of books. He wiped the sweat off of his forehead as he studied her carefully.

"Eat, I'm starving," Laura answered. Gray laughed and washed his hands in the sink.

"I'll buy you dinner," Gray said as he dried his hands on a paper towel.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Is everything okay with the baby?" Callia asked nervously, her eyes focused on the monitor in front of her.

"Looks okay as far as I can tell," the technician answered. "There's the heart beating," she answered, pointing to a small but quick moving object. Callia glanced at Cooper who wore a stunned expression on his face. "Let's get some measurements," the technician said as she went about her work.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Cooper wanted to know. 

"I'll look for that in a minute," the technician promised with a laugh. She finished up the measurements then moved the wand to the ultrasound. "The baby's legs are splayed open. Tell me, what do you see?" she asked Cooper. Cooper and Callia studied the screen before looking at each other with a grin before Cooper gave his guess to the technician. "You're exactly right. I'll print out a few copies for you," she told them.

"Mom, are you and Dad with Blythe and Suzie?" Callia asked.

"We are actually, we just sat down to eat, why, is everything okay?" Olivia wanted to know.

"Can you put the phone on speaker?" Callia asked. 

Callia heard a click then Lucas' voice came on the line. "Callie, what's wrong?" he wanted to know.

"Nothing dad, I promise. We're all fine. I just wanted to tell you that we had the ultrasound today. The baby looks great dad, perfectly formed, the heart beat sounds perfect," Callia said excitedly.




Carrying the Flame Ch. 04



"That's great Callie," Suzie said.

"And here's the best part." Cooper glanced up at Callia who grinned and nodded for him to go ahead. "It's a boy," Cooper announced.



Carrying the Flame Ch. 05



"Callie, wait!" Greg called as he ran after her.

"I don't want to talk Greg," Callia said

"I'm sorry about the other day," Greg said after he'd caught up to her.

"About going over a rape scene until I wanted to vomit?" Callia asked grumpily.

"For being an inconsiderate jerk. I know most women don't like the idea of rape," Greg answered.

Cal, we're late," Keely said as she and Laura walked up to their friend.

"Do you guys really think this is necessary?" Callia asked as her friend dragged her away.

"Yes!" Laura exclaimed.

"He gives me the creeps," Keely agreed.

"He is weird," Callia said glancing over her shoulder, shuddered when she saw the look on Greg's face as he watched them walk away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Did you get her?"

"No, not yet. Her friends intervened," Greg said, grumpily.

"Don't fail me Gregory. That little bitch's family cost me everything!" the man on the other end shouted angrily.

"I won't fail," Greg promised. He hung up the phone and glanced at the clock with a sigh. He had one last class with Callia today, and he knew Laura and Keely weren't in this class, they were across campus. This was his last chance for two weeks to fulfill his promise to his older brother.

"What do you want Greg?" Callia asked, her heart pounding as he lifted her bag up off of the floor.

"I wanted to apologize for the other day. I was out of line and more than a little creepy," Greg told her.

"You could say that again," Callia grumbled, taking her bag from him and slinging it over her shoulder.

"You shouldn't carry that," Greg said.

"I'm fine," Callia retorted stubbornly.

"You're what, six months?" Greg wanted to know.

"What do you care?" Callia asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"I'm just asking. You look ready to drop," Greg observed.

"It was a late night," Callia admitted, walking out of the class room.

"Callie, please, just give me five minutes," Greg said, panic in his voice. He knew his brother wouldn't be at the class room for another few minutes and he needed the leverage to get Callia out of the building without detection. 

"I can't. I have a doctors appointment and then I have to work," Callia answered, picking up her pace when she looked back and saw the look on his face.

"You look so much like your mother." Callia stopped short and looked up, her eyes narrowing suspiciously at the man in front of her. "And so healthy for being so premature," the man in front of her added.

"You're Patrick," Callia realized, her eyes widening.

"Smart too," Patrick said with a grin. Callia took a few steps back and bumped into Greg.

"I'm sorry Callie," Greg said quietly. "You're going to come with me and do so quietly," he added.

"And if I scream?" Callia asked.

"I'll kill your baby," Patrick told her. Callia swallowed hard and watched as Patrick walk across the hall to the door. He turned and looked back at her one last time. "You have two minutes," he added before walking out the door.

"Let's go Cal," Greg said.

"I need to call my doctor and reschedule my appointment. If I just don't show up, they'll call Coop," Callia told him.

"Quickly," Greg consented. Callia dug her phone out of her purse and dialed a number quickly.

"This is Callie Lee. I need to reschedule my appointment. My grandmother Lisa died and I need to return to Phoenix. I'll call when I get back from Arizona." Callia listened to the sputtering on the other end of the line. "Thank you Craig," Callia said before hanging up the phone.

"Is he going to hurt me?" Callia asked softly as she and Greg left the building.

"I don't know," Greg admitted as he opened the back door to the car, pushed her in gently before climbing in after her. Patrick peeled away from the parking lot quickly and the smell of burning rubber filled the air.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What's up Gray?" Cooper asked, putting his law book down on the desk, grateful for a momentary break. He felt awful for not being able to make Callia's OB appointment, but he had a major exam that he had to pass or he couldn't take the next level class and she'd insisted he stay home and study.

"Laura just got a call from Callie. She used the code that you developed for her after Doug," Gray answered. Cooper slammed the book shut, not caring about the pencil that he had sitting inside it.

"What did she say?" Cooper wanted to know.

"She called Laura Craig and that she had to go back to Phoenix for her grandmother Lisa's funeral," Gray said. Cooper swore loudly and grabbed the phone.

"Dad, we've got trouble. I need you and dad to find out all you can about a kid named Greg Porter," Cooper said, a million different things running through his head.

"What's going on Coop?" Blythe asked.

"Callie called Laura and used her distress words. I think Greg took Callia," Cooper answered.

"Luke, Suzie and I will be there as soon as we can," Blythe promised.

By the time that his parents ands had arrived in Boston, Cooper was nearly tearing his hair out. "Any word?" Lucas asked, his voice low and dangerous.

"No," Cooper answered. He felt sick, like he'd let Callia down. 

"Don't," Lucas advised. "I know exactly what you're feeling and don't. You did all you could or else I'd be killing you right now," he told him.

"Cut yourself some slack," Derek agreed from behind Lucas.

"What are you doing here?" Cooper asked, looking at his parents' friend in surprise.

"Moral support and in case I'm needed," Derek answered. He knew Cooper didn't have all of the details of what had happened the last time Patrick had been around, just that Patrick had kidnapped Olivia and caused her to go into premature labor.

"What happened?" Olivia asked Laura who was sitting on the sofa, Gray's arm around her. Haltingly, Laura told them what Olivia had said to her on the phone.

"You did the right thing calling Cooper right away," Lucas said; his voice was strong, but everyone in the room could see the fear and anger in his eyes. All eyes turned to Blythe when his cell phone rang. 

"What do you got?" Blythe asked, pulling the phone open and placing it next to his ear instantly. Cooper waited impatiently for his dad to finish the phone call, and swallowed back a groan when he recognized the look on Blythe's face. "Greg Cooper is the half brother of Patrick Jefferson," Blythe announced. All of the color left Olivia's face and she sank into the nearest chair.

"Patrick always swore he'd get even," Olivia whispered.

"Not like this he won't, I promise," Cooper said as he clenched and unclenched his fists in rage.

"What exactly did Patrick do to be such a threat, other than to kidnap Callie?" Laura asked, her voice soft.

"He was my ex-boyfriend, and he got pissed that I refused to have sex with him. After I graduated college, he tried to rape me, but I resisted so instead, he hit me. I left Arizona and went back to Michigan where I ran, literally into Luke. Eventually, Patrick caught up with me, but by this time, I was pregnant with Callie. He raped and beat me, and caused me to go into premature labor. Callie nearly died before she was even born," Olivia's voice was shaky but strong. Derek gave her a hug; he was proud of her, just a year earlier, Olivia would not have been able to talk about it.

"So that's why you're here. In case he rapes Callie," Cooper realized, looking at his mother's best friend. Derek nodded slowly and Cooper felt sick to his stomach; Callia had been through enough.

"If he touches Callie, I will kill him," Cooper promised. He gave one last look at hiss and parents before he walked down the hall and into the bedroom he and Callia shared.

~~~~~~~~~~

"What are you going to do to me?" Callia wanted to know when she had been practically dragged into a house and thrown onto the couch.

"That depends on you and your parents," Patrick answered. "Greg, go get some food, anything, I don't care, I'm starving. I'll take care of little miss Princess," he told his brother. Greg hesitated but nodded and left the house.

"What do you want?" Callia asked cautiously.

"To see how much you look like your mother," Patrick told her, leering at her as he unbuttoned her blouse.

"Don't touch me!" Callia shouted as she twisted her body and pushed her knee into his chest. Patrick grunted as he fell off the couch and roared when she jumped up and tried to run for the door.

"You will pay for that you bitch!" Patrick shouted. He lunged after her, grabbed her by her hair and yanked her back down on the couch, slammed his fist into her cheek. Callia's eyes closed as all thoughts left her and her world went black.

"You will not try that again," Patrick said when Callia regained consciousness. 

"I want to go home," Callia grumbled, wincing at the pain that moved through her as she talked.

"Try another stunt like that and I'll send you home in pieces," Patrick threatened.

"Please just let me go," Callia whispered, her eyes filling with tears.

"Like I said, that depends on you and your parents," Patrick repeated. Callia shivered and closed her eyes, trying to block out the sensation of Patrick's hands on her breasts. "You are such a pretty thing," he commented, squeezing a nipple hard enough to make her yelp.

"Is she awake?" Greg asked from the doorway. Patrick growled and cursed his brother's timing.

"Yes. Get her a burger, I'll be back later," Patrick answered, pushing himself away from her. Callia watched as Patrick walked out the door before looking at Greg. She shivered again, both from cold and from the intensity of his stare.

"Haven't you ever seen a naked woman before?" she snapped, looking around for her clothes. Callia nearly sighed in relief when Greg handed her a bathrobe.

"Not a pregnant one," Greg admitted, setting a paper bag and can of soda in front of her. "Eat," he added.

"Please help me get out of here," Callia pleaded.

"Pat's my brother Callie, I can't go against my family," Greg protested.

"Your brother is an awful person Greg! He used to date my mother! He did terrible things to her and nearly killed me when I was a baby!" Callia exclaimed.

"He isn't an awful person! He's a great brother!" Greg's voice got shrill as he reached the last syllable of the word brother.

"If he's so wonderful, why did he have you help him kidnap me? And why was I unconscious when you got back from getting food, and why did I wake up completely FUCKING NAKED!?" Callia shouted.

"I don't know," Greg admitted.

"He kidnapped and raped my mother, and now that he's kidnapped me for revenge, he's going to rape me too!" Callia was on the verge of tears and she started to shake as realization set in that she would probably never get to hold her baby or see Cooper, let alone her parents and brother again.

"No he won't, and he never did anything that horrible!" Greg protested.

"Ask him," Callia challenged, rubbing her abdomen.

"What's wrong?" Greg asked nervously.

"Other than you and your psycho ass brother kidnapped me, I'm peachy keen!" Callia said sarcastically.

"You are such a bitch," Greg grumbled, but he watched Callia out of the corner of his eye, suddenly concerned about her medical condition. "Callie, when are you due?" he wanted to know.

"I'm five and a half, almost six months pregnant, so unless I endure too much trauma, I won't be going into labor any time soon," Callia answered, glancing at him.

Both of them looked up when Patrick walked back in with a pack of beer. "What are you two talking about?" Patrick wanted to know.

"My due date. Your brother here wanted to know if I was going to pop soon," Callia answered with a sarcastic sneer.

"And are you?" Patrick asked.

"Not unless you do to me what you did to my mother," Callia snapped.

"Don't get haughty with me you little bitch," Patrick warned.

"You really should let me go Patrick. Don't forget, my dad's a cop," Callia said.

"I can handle one little cop and we're out of his jurisdiction," Patrick reminded her.

"My father is also a cop and they both have friends here in Boston," Callia told him with a grin.

"They'll never find me," Patrick vowed. He headed for the kitchen and with one last glance at Callia, Greg followed him.

"Did you really rape her mother?" Greg wanted to know.

"So what if I did? That was twenty-one years ago. I want my revenge for her parents ruining my life and I'm going to get it," Patrick vowed, popping open a beer and taking a long swig.

"I won't be able to go to class," Greg grumbled when he looked at his backpack in the chair by the stove.

"Big deal. College is for wimps. The real college is the real world," Patrick proclaimed. Greg wasn't sure but he didn't say anything. "Go get some sleep kid, we're getting the bitch up early in the morning," he added. Greg looked at his brother for a minute then turned and walked up the stairs to the bedroom. When Greg was out of sight, Patrick returned to the living room and grabbed Callia's arm. "Come with me," he grumbled. Callia stumbled as she followed Patrick down the stairs into the basement, shivered when the cool air touched her skin. Patrick ripped the robe from her body and pushed her roughly onto the couch, chained her legs to the support beams holding up the basement. Callia winced and tried to close her knees, but the posts were far enough apart that her legs were splayed open as far as they could go.

"You're a bastard!" Callia shouted as Patrick grabbed one of her arms and secured it over her head.

"Yeah, I know. Mama never told me who my daddy was," Patrick drawled in a lazy voice. He pulled a large vibrator out of a drawer from the black desk in the corner, shoved it roughly inside Callia's dry as sandpaper pussy. She cried out from the pain and squeezed her eyes shut as Patrick reached between her legs and turned the vibrator on full. "By morning, you're going to be so horny that I won't have to rape you, you'll beg me to fuck you," Patrick promised.

"Like hell I will!" Callia protested. Patrick laughed and turned on the tv in front of her. Callia rolled her eyes as the cheesy porno flick started playing. 

"It's on repeat. You'll get to see the sex, hear the noises and have the added stimulation of the vibe. You will not cum without me," Patrick told her before walking up the stairs. He stopped a few steps up. "There's a call button on the floor next to you, you'll just be able to reach. Push it if you need me before morning," he added before disappearing into the night.

"Good morning Callia," Patrick said the next morning.

"Go to hell," Callia bit out.

"Still feisty I see," he mused as he knelt down between her legs. "But so very wet," Patrick murmured with a grin, he reached out and brushed his finger against her clit and Callia's entire body lurched. "You feel very ready," he told her, pulled the vibrator out and slammed it back in making her gasp. 

"Go to hell!" Callia snapped. Patrick chuckled and leaned over and pressed a cruel kiss to her lips, shoved his tongue into her mouth. Callia had had enough and bit down on his tongue, hard, prayed he didn't have any contagious illness.

"You fucking bitch!" Patrick shouted, slapping her across the face. He ran up the stairs to check on his tongue.

"You shouldn't have done that," Greg said as he walked down the stairs with a tray of food. "Pat says when you behave you can have this," he added. 

Callia cried softly when Patrick came back down the stairs, she could see how angry he was and was terrified that he would hurt her unborn son.

"You have spirit Callie, I love the fight within you, but if you ever try to injure me again, your baby won't live long enough to breath a breath," Patrick warned as he changed the way the chains holding her legs into place were positioned. Callia screamed as her legs protested the sudden movement.

"What are you going to do to me?" she whimpered. The change in position changed the way the vibrator moved within her.

"You'll find out. Do you want it the easy way or the hard way?" Patrick asked.

"Please don't hurt me anymore," Callia whispered. Patrick chuckled and she heard him drop his pants to the floor. "Not again, please," she murmured, her eyes wide. 

"Just relax," Patrick instructed as he poured lube over his stone hard cock. Callia tensed up as she felt the head of his cock press against her ass.

"Please don't!" Callia begged. She screamed as he pushed into her in one swift thrust and was surprised when he held still, giving her time to adjust. "Please don't. I can't survive being raped again," she whispered, all fight leaving her. Patrick frowned.

"Again?" he asked.

"I was raped before, in my freshman year of college. I can't go through that again," Callia's voice was shaky and the tears were streaming down her face.

"Hey Pat, I need some help up here!" Greg called from the top of the stairs. Patrick grumbled but pulled out of Callia's ass, redressed himself and headed for the stairs.

"You do know that if my mom hadn't left you and had had sex with you earlier, I could have been your daughter," Callia called after him. Patrick stopped short, turned and looked at her before he continued up the stairs.

"Get her some fresh food, clean her up and bring her upstairs," Patrick told his brother before leaving the house. 

When he returned to the house an hour later, he sat down on the couch next to Callia who was sitting there, her knees hugged to her chest and rocking back and forth. "You're right, you could have been my daughter. For that reason, and for that reason alone, I will let you go. I will leave you and your family alone, but only if you make me a promise," Patrick said.

"What's that?" Callia asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Have your father leave us alone. I don't want Greg punished for what I made him do," Patrick answered.

"I'll do my best to make sure Greg isn't in too much trouble, but my father is more over protective than a mama bear and I'm his little girl," Callia promised. Patrick smiled at that and sighed.

"As well he should be. You are a beautiful woman Callia, just like your mom," Patrick agreed, handing her a bag. "Get dressed, we'll take you home," he added.

~~~~~~~~

Cooper sighed as he popped a Hungry Man frozen dinner into the microwave; sat down at the table. He'd skipped dinner and now, despite how upset he was about Callia's kidnapping, he was starving. His parents, Luke, Olivia and his friends had all gone back to their homes and hotels, and he was feeling so alone and angry. He looked up when he heard the door open and close. "Luke, Liv? What'd you forget?" Cooper asked, pushing himself up from the kitchen table. "Mom, dad?" he asked, concerned when he didn't get an answer. He'd taken no more than three steps into the hall when he saw her and breathed a worried sigh of relief. "Callie?" Cooper didn't bother keeping the surprise from his voice.

"He let me go," Callia whispered, winced when he grabbed her and squeezed her tightly. "Coop, I can't breathe," she managed. Cooper released his hold on her and literally pulled her into the living room. 

"I'll call our parents, you sit down," Cooper instructed as he reached for his cell phone.

"Cooper, it's ten at night, what do you want?" Lucas grumbled.

"Callie's back. She literally just walked in, says that Patrick let her go," Cooper said in a rush.

"We'll be there in twenty minutes," Lucas promised.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Did he rape you Callie?" Derek asked gently as he examined her carefully.

"Patrick started to rape my ass, but Greg stopped him. He had no idea Patrick was going to do any of this," Callia answered.

"Why did he let you go?" Olivia wanted to know.

"Because Callie reminded me that I could have been her father, had things been differently," Patrick said from the doorway. He held up his hands as Lucas, Blythe and Suzie stood up and pulled their guns from the holsters. "I'm turning myself in, but leave Greg out of this, he is as innocent in this as Callie is," Patrick told them. 




Carrying the Flame Ch. 05



"Coop, call the police and have them come with a squad car for our friend here," Lucas instructed, keeping his gun trained on Patrick. 

The police arrived quickly and slapped handcuffs on Patrick. "Olivia," Patrick said before he was pulled from the room. She looked up, a look of fierce anger on her face. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry. For everything," he told her before allowing himself to be led away.



Carrying the Flame Ch. 06



"Hey Laura, Coop just called. Callie's home and she's safe. Patrick let her go, I guess he has a conscious after all," Gray called as he walked into Laura's apartment.

"Thank God!" Laura exclaimed. She stood up and threw her arms around Gray's neck. "We should go over there," she added.

"Laura, give them the rest of the night to themselves," Gray said as she pulled away from him.

"I want to make sure she's okay," Laura protested.

"She has some bruises and some scrapes, but Callie and the baby are going to be fine," Gray told her.

"But ..." Laura moaned as Gray quieted her the only way he could think of, by covering her lips with his as he pulled her against him.

"She's fine," Gray repeated. He kissed her again and his was his turn to moan as he felt her unbutton his jeans and slide her hands inside to cup his cock through his boxers. Gray pulled away from her, pulled Laura's hands from his pants, scooped her up into his arms and carried her into the bedroom. "You're beautiful," he mumbled as he set her down gently in front of the bed. Laura giggled as Gray's fingers brushed down her body, tickling her sides gently as his fingers made their way to the button of her jeans. "You're beautiful and over dressed," he commented as he popped the button free.

"Gray," she whispered as he pressed kisses down her body. 

Their eyes met and he gave her a mischievous grin before he slid the jeans and thong down Laura's legs, letting them drop to the floor. "Gray," Laura's voice was louder this time, but not by much and Gray reluctantly pulled his head up to look at her. "Gray, I've never, I'm a ..." Laura was unable to finish the sentence and her eyes dropped to the floor as her face burned with embarrassment. 

"Laura, look at me," Gray said, tilting her face back towards his. "You have nothing to be ashamed of. So you're a virgin, every one is at one point or the other," Gray said gently. 

"I'm almost twenty-two years old," Laura reminded him.

"So what? Don't be ashamed of the choices you've made. You made them for a reason, and that doesn't mean they were the wrong choices." Gray kissed her again and hugged her tightly to him. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to," he added, though he silently prayed she wanted to. The sight of her naked body had him harder than he'd ever been before in his life and he desperately wanted to be the one to divest her of her virginity. "It's up to you Laura, but if you're going to say no, you need to put your clothes back on," Gray added, pulling her hard against him. Laura blushed at the feeling of his engorged cock pressed against her.

"I'm not saying no," Laura whispered, her voice so soft that Gray could hardly hear her.

"Laura, are you sure?" Gray asked gently. 

Laura kissed him and nodded. "I want to make love with you Gray." Laura's voice was quiet, but steady as she fumbled with the buttons on his shirt. When she finally managed to unbutton the shirt, he groaned at the feather like touch of her fingers on his chest, held his breath when he felt Laura pull away. "I'm sorry, I don't know what to ..." she trailed off and Gray chuckled lightly, kissed her again.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Gray asked again.

"Love me Gray," Laura whispered. Gray groaned and quickly rid himself of his pants and boxers before he kissed her hard and eased her back onto the bed.

"Lay back," he murmured, kissed her neck then lowered his mouth over a hard nipple and sucked lightly, eliciting a sharp gasp from Laura. "You're beautiful," Gray murmured before he moved down to nibble on her clit.

"Oh God Gray!" Laura sobbed as the sensations raced through her, pushed her higher and higher by his ministrations until finally, she screamed as she came, her juices flooded into Gray's mouth.

"You okay?" Gray asked, his voice hoarse, sincerely hoping she said yes.

"I'm better than okay," Laura's voice was husky and Gray couldn't miss how her body trembled against his. "Please make love to me Gray," she whispered. Gray pushed himself up off of the floor and into a standing position, hoping that the sight of his cock, twice as hard as it had been when he undressed didn't scare Laura away. Her eyes widened at the sight of him and swallowed. "We don't have to," he said quickly. Laura smiled at him and repositioned herself on the bed.

"Make love to me," she repeated, her eyes hazy with desire. Gray bit back a curse as he covered her body with his, the head of his cock brushed against her still tingling clit. Laura gasped and arched against him. "Oh my God," she whispered as he pushed the head of his cock just inside her drenched pussy.

"I second that. You feel incredible," Gray murmured as he eased deeper inside her. She was warm and tight and he hoped that he could last long enough to turn the pain of losing her virginity to pleasure.

"Don't stop," Laura moaned, thrusting her hips against his. Gray's eyes met hers as his cock pressed against her hymen.

"Are you sure?" Gray asked, giving her one last chance to change her mind. He groaned when the muscles of her pussy clenched his cock tightly and as a reflex, he thrust hard, pushing past the thin barrier. Laura winced and cried out softly, clung to his back. Gray kissed her gently and held still until she adjusted to the invasion; when she began to move against him, Gray knew she was okay and began to pump his cock in and out of her, slowly, gently at first then faster and harder. The moans and whimpers coming from Laura's throat spurred him on; they moved against each other, Laura met him thrust for thrust, and Gray tweaked a nipple with his fingers, eliciting another moan. She closed her eyes and arched her back. Gray took advantage of the sudden change of her body position and slid his arms behind her while he drew the hardened nipple into his mouth and sucked it gently but firmly.

"Gray," she whispered, her voice was shaking and he could tell she was close.

"Cum for me Laura," Gray ordered and went back to feasting on her nipple. He thrust deeply within her, grinned against her nipple as Laura cried out loudly, her nails dug into his shoulder. Gray groaned when the walls of her pussy clenched and spasmed around his cock and he let out a low growl as his seed pulsed into the tight canal. Gray held himself there for a minute, then, rolled off of Laura.

"What's wrong?" Laura asked in confusion as Gray stood up and walked away. Through her confusion, she watched him quickly pull on his clothing. "Gray, what's wrong? Did I do something wrong?" Laura wanted to know, her eyes filling with panic. "I know I'm new at this and probably am not very good, but please, talk to me." 

Gray knelt down in front of where Laura sat on the bed.

"You didn't do anything wrong, you were perfect, and it was amazing, but I need to think, and I can't do that here," Gray said gently.

"Think about what?" Laura asked. With his eyes, Gray gestured to the combination of fluids that was now oozing out of her body.

"I didn't use a condom Laura. I could have gotten you pregnant," Gray told her, the anxiousness in his eyes and voice made something inside her melt, and made her fall head over heels in love with him. Gray stood up and headed for the bedroom door.

"Gray stop, please," Laura pleaded.

"I need to go Laura," Gray repeated, reached for the door handle. "I need to think."

"I can't get pregnant!" Laura blurted out. Gray stopped, turned and stared at her.

"What?" Gray asked.

"I can't get pregnant. I had an Ovarian cyst when I was sixteen and it ruptured. They had to remove an entire ovary. The other ovary wasn't destroyed but it was damaged. They left it in so that I didn't go into menopause. I mean, I guess I can still get pregnant, but the odds are microscopic, that's how small they are. I don't even have regular periods," Laura said in a rush.

"How irregular is irregular?" Gray asked, keeping his voice carefully neutral.

"Once every three months or so," Laura answered. "Please don't leave," she whispered, her eyes filling with tears. Gray crossed the room in three steps and sank down next to her on the bed, and not knowing what to say, just pulled her in for a hug. 



Carrying the Flame Ch. 09



"Oh my God, what did you say??!" Callia asked, stunned at her friend's announcement. "Did you just say that Gray proposed to you?" Callia shared a look of absolute shock with Cooper who had just walked into the kitchen after putting Mason down for a nap.

"You heard me correctly, Gray proposed to me," Laura sighed.

"What did you say?" Callia wanted to know. 

"I told him I'd think about it." Laura accepted the mug of tea from her friend and took a soothing sip. "I never wanted to get married because someone felt obligated, I wanted to get married for love. Gray doesn't love me, he just feels responsible for the baby which I appreciate, but that's not what I want," Laura said with a groan.

"Laura, Gray has feelings for you or he never would have had sex with you in the first place," Cooper said carefully.

"That's easy for you to say, you're in love with Callie, and you always have been," Laura said grumpily

"No, I haven't always been in love with Callie. I've always loved Callie, but until she was raped and moved in with me, I saw her as an annoying younger sister. I'm not sure when that changed, but I'm glad it did," Cooper told Laura.

"Really?" Laura asked.

"I'm not kidding. I'm not saying you shouldn't think about this, because it's a huge step to take. You've already made the decision to have the baby and raise him or her. You've agreed to let Gray be there. Do you think he even would have offered if he didn't care?" Cooper's voice was gentle and he gave Laura a light hug. "Give Gray a chance to surprise you," he added. 

Callia carefully watched the look on Laura's face. "Go home Laura, take a warm bath and take a nap and just pamper yourself. Then, after your bath and nap, think about things and then talk to Gray," Callia told her friend. 

Laura finished her tea and gave each of her friend a hug. "Give Mason a hug for me please," she said quietly before leaving the apartment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Laura stretched and opened her eyes, blinked and sat up, looked around, wondering where that smell was coming from. "I thought you'd never wake up sleepy head," Gray teased from the doorway, tray in hand.

"When did you get here?" Laura asked, her voice was lower than normal, still husky with sleep.

"About an hour ago. You were so out of it that I decided to make you dinner," Gray answered.

"That's sweet of you. It smells amazing," Laura murmured, smiled at him when he carried the tray over to the bedside table and set it down. "Where are you going?" she asked when Gray started to leave the room.

"To let you eat," Gray answered.

"Aren't you eating?" Laura asked.

"I was going to eat in the dining room," Gray admitted.

"Please stay and eat with me, I think we need to talk things through and I hate eating alone," Laura murmured. 

Gray smiled and nodded. "I'll be right back," he promised. Laura took a deep breath when Gray slipped from the room and offered a shaky smile when he reappeared in the doorway with a tray of his own. "How are you feeling?" Gray asked, seeing the look on her face; it was a look nervousness and apprehension.

"I feel fine, a little sleepy, but I'm feeling good," Laura said with a soft smile, lowered her hand to her growing abdomen.

"Good." Laura's smile turned shy when Gray covered her hand with his own. "Eat," Gray said huskily. 

Laura took a small bite of the the chicken that rested on her plate and smiled. "It's good Gray," she murmured. Gray smiled back and said nothing as he watched her eat. "Gray, I have to ask you something," Laura said haltingly.

"What's that?" Gray asked, taking a bite of his own chicken.

"Why did you propose to me?" Laura wanted to know. Gray nearly choked on his chicken. "I know you want to be here for the baby, and I'm fine with that, relieved by it, but you didn't need to propose for that. You know I'd never keep the baby from you," Laura added in a ramble.

"I want you Laura. I care about you. You're a beautiful woman and you're the mother of my child," Gray began.

"Do you love me?" Laura asked suddenly.

"Love you like Cooper loves Callie?" Gray asked carefully.

"I didn't ask if you were in love with me. I asked if you love me. Cooper loved Callie like a brother loves a sister until he was helping her through the rape, as weird as that sounds. Do you love me?" Laura knew she was rambling, but she didn't care. Gray sighed, not knowing how to answer Laura's question. "I'll take that as an answer," Laura said with a sigh. She pushed her tray away, no longer hungry. "I think you should go," she added, trying hard not to cry.

"Damn it Laura, you can't spring that question on someone and expect them not to be thrown by it!" Gray exclaimed. 

"I don't know if I'm in love with you Laura, not like Cooper loves Callie, but I do have some pretty strong feelings for you that go beyond lust," he told her. "I never would have made love to you if I didn't," Gray said. Laura took a deep breath and studied Gray carefully. "What are you thinking?" he wanted to know, trying to read the expression on her face.

"Do you still have the ring?" Laura asked. 

Gray nodded. "May I see it again?" Gray nodded again, pulled the box from his pocket and handed it to her. Laura opened the box, lifted the ring out of it, studied it for a moment and slid it onto the ring finger of her left hand.

"Laura?" Gray asked cautiously, swallowed hard, suddenly incredibly nervous.

"I'll marry you, if you still want me," Laura said, her voice was quiet. Suddenly, both trays of food were put on the floor, and Gray was on her in a second, his lips covered hers, covering the squeal of surprise that escaped her lips.

"I want you alright," Gray growled, pulling her against him. Laura could feel how hard his cock was as he pushed it against her and moaned when he slid his hands up her tee-shirt to cup her breasts.

"Gray," Laura whispered, her eyes wide with arousal.

"Tell me you want," Gray commanded.

"Make love to me," Laura pleaded, moaned loudly when one of Gray's slid his hand to the apex of her thigh, cupped her pussy and pushed two fingers inside her wet core. "Gray please!" she whimpered. Gray pulled away long enough to pull the rest of her clothes and his clothes off then rejoined her on the bed.

"You are absolutely beautiful," Gray's voice was rough, the desire flashed through his eyes as he positioned his achingly hard cock at the entrance of Laura's pussy.

"Gray, now, please!" Laura begged, cried out loudly when he thrust hard and fast into her. They moved together hard and fast, arms and legs tangled together, Laura's hips rose to meet his and Gray gave what only could be described as a triumphant growl, his cum flooding into her when Laura came and bit down on his shoulder to muffle her screams of pleasure. 

"Are you alright?" Gray asked, his voice was husky, as he rolled off of her to avoid crushing her.

"I'm wonderful," Laura said dreamily. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Laura fidgeted with her bracelet as the hair stylist curled her hair and pinned it into a sophisticated updo. She glanced at Callia who was sitting on the unstained seat of the bay window, staring serenely out at the lake before her. It appeared her friend was completely lost in the beauty of the clear blue water and the sight of children laughing and playing on the beach.

"How much longer?" Laura asked the stylist, causing Callia to look at her friend with bemused concern.

"Afraid Gray won't wait for your hair to be finished?" Callia asked, knowing full well that wasn't her friend's worry.

"No, I'm afraid I'll change my mind," Laura admitted.

"Everything will work out," Callia assured her friend. She smiled as the stylist pinned back the final section of hair and stepped back. "You look beautiful," Callia told her friend with a wide smile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Where are they?" Gray asked impatiently. Cooper glanced at his friend and shook his head with a chuckle before checking on Mason who slept on a large quilt on the sand behind them.

"I'm sure the hair appointment is just taking a little longer than expected," Cooper told his friend.

"Laura's going to change her mind, I just know it." Cooper frowned at the certainty in his friend's voice.

"No she won't," Cooper argued, hoping he was right and that Gray was wrong. 

In the three months since Laura had accepted Gray's proposal, they'd fallen into an easy routine and while things seemed like they were getting better, it was easy for anyone who knew Laura to see that she was uneasy and worried. She worried over being hurt, over Gray not caring for her as much as he said he did, and that he would resent the baby for his or her place in the decision to get married.

"Laura still isn't sure about getting married," Gray said.

"I know." Gray stared at Cooper in surprise, unaware anyone else had picked up on Laura's nerves. "Being nervous about getting married is normal, even if a couple is one hundred percent, totally in love with each other," Cooper told his friend. He looked up and smiled. "Here they come now," he added. Gray looked up and swallowed hard. "Laura looks beautiful," Cooper observed. Gray nodded, unable to speak or take his eyes off of her as the girls came to a stop beside them. "You both look amazing," Cooper proclaimed. He gave Laura a kiss on the cheek then turned his attention to Callia, kissing her hard. 

"Isn't that how you got that beautiful little boy behind you?" Gray asked with a laugh.

"Well, that's how it started," Callia said with a devilish grin.

"Are you ready?" Cooper asked Laura as the minister stepped up to them. Laura glanced at Gray then at Callia and nodded.

"Let's do this," she murmured.

"I thought Laura was going to say no," Callia told Cooper while Laura and Gray were signing the marriage papers.

"What happened at the salon?" Cooper asked.

"Laura got a giant case of the nervous and started rambling about Gray not loving her," Callia answered with a sigh and rubbed her forehead tiredly.

"Are you alright?" Cooper asked. Callia nodded.

"It was a long morning with Laura's breakdown, and I didn't sleep well last night," Callia murmured.

"I noticed," Cooper said dryly.

"I'm sorry if I kept you up," Callia's voice was soft.

"I'm just worried about you," Cooper told her.

"I'm fine," Callia said with a smile, moaned when he kissed her, his hands cupped her ass and pulled her against him. "Do we have to go with them to dinner?" Callia asked quietly, her voice husky with desire.

"Yeah, we have to feed Mason before we take him to mom's," Cooper said regretfully.

"Then can we go back to our hotel and make love until we're too sore and tired to move?" Callia's eyes were twinkling devilishly as she undid the buttons on Cooper's button down and traced his nipple through his undershirt with her finger nail, eliciting a deep moan. Gray and Laura looked at each other and chuckled as they walked over to their friends.

"Hey you two, can't you keep your hands off each other?" Gray teased.

"The day I don't want to touch my beautiful wife is the day you're to shoot me Gray," Cooper answered before he swatted Callia's bottom. "I'm going to get you for being a little tease Callia," Cooper warned. 

She grinned at him and slid her hand down his body to cup his already achingly hard cock through his khakis and boxers. "I'll hold you to that," she murmured before she pulled her hand away and turned to give Laura a hug. 

"I suggest we go eat before they start tearing off each other's clothes," Laura told Gray. Gray laughed and nodded, not missing the wistful look on Laura's face. He knew Laura wanted what Cooper and Callia had; it hurt knowing he couldn't give that to her ... yet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Are you feeling alright?" Gray asked Laura, stepped out onto the balcony and put his hands on her shoulders.

"I'm just overwhelmed by everything," Laura admitted.

"Did I rush you?" Gray wanted to know.

"No, I'm glad we got married before the baby came," Laura said softly, smiled when Gray pressed a kiss to the back of her neck and slid his arms around her waist. She knew Gray wasn't madly in love with her, but she knew he cared deeply and was attracted to her.

"You looked beautiful today," Gray murmured, slid his hands under Laura's skirt, past her panties and dipped his fingers inside her. Laura moaned and arched against him, wanted more.

"Are you sure?" he asked. 

"Please," Laura moaned. She was so hot and so wet, in part because of how much Gray turned her on by touching her and being with her, and partly because of the hormones flooding her body.

"So beautiful," Gray said again before nibbling on her neck and turning her to face him.

"What are you doing?" Laura asked.

"I'm going to make love to my wife," Gray answered, before he pulled her shirt over her head.

"We're on the balcony! Anyone could see!" Laura protested.

"And that's the point beautiful," Gray said with a wicked grin as he pulled her against him as he delved his fingers in and out of her. Laura cried out as he began playing with her clit, and was glad when she felt his other arm tighten around her. 

"Don't stop," Laura pleaded when Gray pulled away from her. Gray smiled at her, kissed her and quickly pulled her skirt down her legs and allowed them to drop to the floor at her feet.

"Oh God Laura," Gray groaned at the sight of the thong and garters that Laura wore.

"What?" Laura asked with an impish smile.

"So sexy." Gray unhooked the straps that connected the garter to the thong and slid the thong down Laura's legs and let it drop with the skirt.

"Gray," Laura whimpered when his fingers found her again. Gray chuckled, knelt in front of her and licked her clit softly, eliciting another whimper from Laura. The frequency of her moans increased with the intensity of Gray's assault of her clit and soaking wet pussy. "Gray please," Laura moaned, digging her fingers into his hair.

Gray pulled away long enough to say, "Cum for me Laura." With that, Gray attacked her clit again, alternating between licking, sucking and nibbling as he thrust his fingers in and out of her urgently. A scream burst from her lips as he sent her over the edge, her pussy clenched Gray's fingers and he groaned, wanting desperately to have his cock buried deep inside her. Gray stood up, dropped his pants and boxers and kissed Laura hard, their tongues mingled briefly until he pulled away. "Turn around," Gray instructed. Laura looked at him suspiciously, but was too turned on to question it and turned away from him. She smiled at the sight of the large lake that stood before her, the waves crashed on the beach. 

"Hold onto the rail and don't let go," Gray added. Before Laura could say anything, Gray lined the head of his cock up with her opening and slammed into her making her cry out loudly. "Did I hurt you?" Gray asked, holding still.

"No," she moaned, her eyes closed partially and she pushed back against him. As Gray thrust into her, Laura pushed back and rubbed her ass against him; between her movements and the noises she was making, Laura was driving him absolutely crazy. "Oh God Gray!" Laura gasped as her climax climbed higher and higher within her. 

"I'm right here with you," Gray's deep voice rumbled in her ear. "Cum Laura, now," he added, thrusting harder as he reached around and tweaked a hardened nipple. 

Laura screamed loudly and Gray clamped his hand over her mouth to muffle the sound as best as he could, knowing they'd probably be getting a visit from the manager. "Are you alright?" Gray asked in concern when Laura sagged shakily against him.

"I feel wonderful," Laura said softly. Gray smiled and helped her back into the hotel room, eased her down onto the bed.

"I'll go start a bath for you, just wait here," Gray told her. Laura nodded, afraid that if she tried to stand that she'd fall over.

Gray no sooner got the bath water going and Laura's favorite bath salts into the water when there was a knock on the door. Gray chuckled and quickly pulled on a pair of sweat pants. "I'll be right there," he called through the door as he walked back to the main sleeping area. "C'mon beautiful, bath time," Gray said with a smile. He helped Laura off of the bed, into the bathroom and into the tub. 

"I'll be back in a minute," he added, walked to the door and pulled it open; as he expected, the manager was standing there with a security guard.

"Is everything alright sir? We got reports of screaming," the manager asked politely. Gray couldn't help but see the way the security guard scanned the room, grinned knowing that Laura's under clothes could be seen on the floor by the balcony door.

"Everything's fine. I apologize for the noise. My wife and I are on our honeymoon," Gray answered.

"Is she here? I'd like to check and make sure she's alright," the manager wanted to know.

"Laura's in the bath, soaking. I can assure you, she's better than alright at the moment," Gray said. The manager scowled at the answer and opened his mouth to protest. "Laura love, the manager to the hotel is here, can you call out so we know that you're okay in there?" Gray called. 

"I'm fine!" Laura called back. Gray grinned, knew she was blushing and hiding her face in her hands.

"Keep it down or we'll have to ask you to leave," the manager told Gray before he and the security guard left. Gray laughed and walked into the bathroom.

"Why so embarrassed?" Gray asked.

"Were we really that loud?" Laura looked at him, mortified.

"You screamed loudly enough to rival an opera singer," Gray confirmed, a wicked grin on his face.

"Oh my God!" Laura groaned.

"You said that too," Gray added.

"Stop it!" Laura wailed, completely mortified.

"Don't be embarrassed Laura," Gray said softly.

"Too late," Laura moaned. Gray chuckled again and kissed her softly.

"I didn't hurt you did I?" Gray asked suddenly.

"No, I'm fine," Laura told him, leaned back in the tub and moaned when the warm water slid over her still sensitive body.

"The baby's okay too?" Gray seemed anxious.

"Sex isn't going to hurt the baby," Laura told him, reached up with her foot and turned the faucet off.

"We were pretty intense out there," Gray reminded her. Laura blushed, not needing the reminder.

"We're both fine Gray, but it's sweet of you to worry," Laura told him. 

Gray studied her for a moment before he nodded and stood up. 

"I'll let you finish relaxing. Are you hungry?" he asked.

"Starving," Laura admitted.

"I'll have room service bring up a dessert. Take your time," Gray said before he walked out of the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Well, no need to guess what you two have been doing," Cooper said with a grin when he and Callia joined Gray and Laura at the hotel restaurant that morning.

"You either," Gray shot back with a laugh.

"Yeah, Callie looks exhausted," Laura observed.

"I know. Something's bothering her, but she won't tell me," Cooper said with a sigh.

"She got you to forget about it last night though," Gray chuckled. Cooper laughed and nodded, frowned when Callia turned down the coffee the waitress offered.

"Are you okay Callie?" Laura asked softly.

"I'm fine, just a little upset stomach this morning," Callia answered. Cooper frowned and opened his mouth to say something but the look Callia gave him shut him up. "Coop, I'm fine. I always get an upset stomach after flying," she told him.

"This has nothing to do with you flying from Boston to Detroit," Laura said later that afternoon while she and Callia were relaxing in Laura's hotel room while Cooper and Gray worked out in the weight room.

"I'm not sick Laura, if that's what you're asking," Callia grumbled, toyed with her necklace.

"What's wrong Cal?" Laura wanted to know. 

"Nothing Laura, really," Callia said wearily.




Carrying the Flame Ch. 09



"Talk to me Cal, please. I know Coop's worried about you," Laura pleaded.

"You won't tell Gray? I know if Gray knows, he'll tell Cooper and I want to tell him," Callia murmured. 

"Promise," Laura said, feeling a bit uneasy about the idea of keeping something from her new husband.

"I'm pregnant," Callia admitted.

"Why don't you seem happy about it?" Laura asked, the bright smile that had formed when the words first left her friend's mouth disappeared when the tears started.

"I just got my teaching degree Laura, and Mason isn't even a year old yet!" Callia wailed.

"Oh Callie, it's going to be okay!" Laura exclaimed, giving her friend a hug.

"I don't even know if I want another baby," Callia whispered.

"Stop!" Laura said, giving her friend a gentle shake. "What are you thinking!? You're married to the man you love and you're not sure if you want his baby?" Laura's voice was so shrill that Callia winced at the sound.

"I want his baby Laura, I'm just not sure if I'm ready for it now," Callia clarified. 

"You need to talk to Coop, Cal, and you need to do it soon," Laura said. Callia nodded and sighed. "The guys will be back soon, go wash your face," she added.

"What's up?" Cooper asked when he and Gray walked into the hotel room. The strained atmosphere was hard to miss.

"Nothing's wrong," Laura said slowly.

"Baby!" Mason exclaimed, clapping his hands on the tray of his high chair. Callia froze, the spoonful of apple sauce poised in the air.

"Oh my God, he's talking!" Cooper said excitedly. Callia smiled at that and cheered a little. "What's wrong Callie? Are you still sick?" he asked, studying his wife carefully.

"No Coop, I'm not sick," Callia said slowly, exchanging a glance with Laura.

"Hey Gray, can we go get some Chinese food?" Laura asked. Gray glanced at Laura in surprise then shrugged and nodded. "We'll be back later. Can we take Mason?" Laura rambled. Callia nodded and watched as her friend scooped up the babbling baby and all but fled from the room.

"What the hell is going on Callie?" Cooper wanted to know.

"What the hell was that about and why are we taking Mason with us? Come to think of it, why are we going to get Chinese food when we just finished breakfast an hour ago?" Gray asked.

"I can't tell you yet Gray, not until Callie and Cooper talk," Laura said softly.

"Keeping things from me now? That's not cool Laura," Gray murmured.

"Only things that aren't mine to tell," Laura answered. Gray nodded, satisfied with her answer.

"So where are we going?" he asked.

"How about we just take Mason out for a walk?" Laura suggested. Gray nodded again and they continued walking.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What the hell is going on Callie?" Cooper asked again, the worry he felt gave his voice an edge and his tone was harsher than he intended. "Are you sick?"

"I'm not sick Coop," Callia murmured.

"Then what is it? C'mon Cal, tell me, it can't be that bad," Cooper grumbled. He frowned when Callia said something so low he couldn't hear her. "I can't hear you," he told her. 

Callia sighed and looked up at him, swallowed hard. "I'm pregnant again Coop," she said finally.

Cooper said nothing for several minutes and sank down onto the bed. "Are you sure?" he asked finally.

"I haven't taken a test yet, but I'm late and I have been feeling sick lately, so I'm pretty sure," Callia admitted.

"How late?" Cooper wanted to know, a million thoughts running through his head.

"Almost seven weeks." Cooper swore loudly and Callia looked away. "I'm sorry Coop," she said weakly.

"Sorry? Damn it Callie, what are you sorry for?" Cooper asked.

"I missed a few days when Mason was sick and ..." Callia swallowed hard and fought the nausea that was welling within her. "I know we can't afford another baby, not until I've been teaching for a few years and you graduate," she whispered, her voice was shaky and there were silent tears streaming down her face.

"Callie, it's okay," Cooper murmured, knelt down in front of her and hugged her tightly. "I love you Callia, and nothing is going to change that. So things will be a little tight for awhile, we'll manage," Cooper promised. Callia sobbed loudly as she buried her face in Cooper's shoulder. "What?" Cooper asked, concerned at how quickly Callia had become hysterical.

"I don't know if I want another baby right now Coop. I wanted to wait a little while," Callia admitted. Cooper froze and carefully pulled away from his wife. "I love Mason, Coop, and I don't regret having him for a second, and I would love to have more children with you, but I'm not sure if I'm ready for a second baby at this exact moment," Callia clarified. 

Some of the tension left Cooper's body and he sighed. "I love you," she whispered, unsure of what else to say.

"I love you too Callie, more than you'll ever fully know, and I agree, this isn't the greatest timing, but we'd have some time to get ready for another baby," Cooper said slowly. Callia gave a crooked smile but before she could say anything else, Laura, Gray and Mason returned to the hotel room.

"What's wrong?" Cooper asked, seeing the look of panic on both Gray and Laura's faces.

"I started cramping," Laura whispered, terrified. Callia took a deep breath and pulled herself together.

"It's probably just Braxton-Hicks, but we should get you to the hospital anyway." Callia took her friend's hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Take a deep breath Laura and relax. I know you're scared and I know it hurts, but relax, it's going to be okay. I survived this twice, and so will you," Callia told her friend. "Gray, get her down to the car. Coop, do you mind if I ride with Laura and Gray?" Callia asked.

"Go ahead. Mason and I will follow," Cooper agreed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So what's up with you and Callie?" Gray asked while he and Cooper waited in the hall way for Callia to help Laura get dressed. They'd been in the hospital for several hours before the doctors determined that it was indeed Braxton-Hicks and that Laura was not in real labor at all and could go home.

"Callie thinks she's pregnant," Cooper said and dropped his head into his hands.

"Woah," Gray murmured. "I take it she isn't taking it well?" he asked.

"No, not well at all," Cooper agreed. Both of them stopped talking as Callia and Laura walked out of the triage room. "Ready to go?" Cooper asked, concerned at how worn out Callia looked.

"Ready," she agreed, a small smile on her face.

"Is Mason okay with your parents?" Callia asked as she and Cooper drove back to the hotel room.

"Yeah. So, Gray said you talked to one of the doctors when I took Mason over, are you feeling okay?" Cooper asked.

"Yeah. I asked if they could administer a pregnancy test," Callia said. Cooper stopped at a stop light, turned and looked at her expectantly. "I'm not pregnant Coop. He said something about all of the stress with graduation. And my hormone levels are finally going back to normal since Mason finally stopped nursing and I've stopped pumping," Callia rambled. Cooper couldn't help it, he let out a sigh of relief. "I thought you wanted another baby," Callia said, raising an eyebrow.

"I do Callie, a ton of them, but not before you're ready for more, and not before we have a little money saved up," Cooper admitted. The light changed and Cooper continued down the street. Cooper pulled into the lot, parked the car, turned toward Callia and hugged her close. "I love you Callie, I always will. And I want as many more children as you're willing to carry and give birth to. When we're ready, when you're ready, we'll have another baby," Cooper promised. A low sob tore from her throat and Cooper sighed again, wondering what to do. 

"I'm sorry," Callia said with a laugh. "I think part of me was excited about having another baby," she sighed. Cooper smiled, kissed her and brushed back a strand of hair that escaped her ponytail. "I love you," Callia murmured.

"I love you too Callie, forever," Cooper promised.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Welcome back to reality," Laura sighed when she and Gray walked into the apartment.

"Tell me about it. I have to go back to work tomorrow, are you going to be okay?" Gray asked, eyeing her expanded abdomen nervously.

"I'm fine Gray, really. If anything happens, I'll call you, and if I can't get a hold of you, Callie's my backup," Laura promised.

"Okay," Gray said with a laugh. "If you're sure you're fine ..." Laura squealed when Gray lifted her into his arms and carried her into her, their bedroom.



Carrying the Flame Ch. 10



The End

"Have you had enough shopping?" Callia asked Laura as she pushed a sleeping Mason in his stroller.

"I think so," Laura said as she released a deep breath. 

"Are you alright?" Callia inquired.

"I hurt and I feel achy. Like something is squeezing me and letting go," Laura answered, stopped and grabbed the railing next to her.

"It sounds like you're in labor Laura," Callia said excitedly. 

"Oh God," Laura moaned.

"It's okay Laura, just breathe," Callia coached. "I'm going to take Mason over to that table there and then I'll help you sit down," she added. 

"Hey Callie, now isn't a good time. I'm in the middle of a really important lecture, can I call you back in a half hour?" Gray asked.

"Well, I suppose you can, but I'm kind of in a bind and stuck at the mall," Callia said and rolled her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Gray asked, a feeling of dread welled up within him.

"Nothing's wrong, but if you don't come pick us up from the mall, you may miss the birth of your child," Callia answered.

"I'll be there in twenty minutes," Gray promised.

"Take your time Gray, first time labor can take hours," Callia suggested, laughed when Gray swore loudly and hung up. "He's on his way sweetie, just keep breathing," Callia told her friend. Laura looked up and grumbled under her breath.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"What is the problem Mr. Hanlon?" the professor asked, frowning at the disruption.

"I'm sorry Professor Avery, but I need to leave. My girlfriend, wait, she's my wife now, my wife is in labor," Gray rambled. 

Professor Avery, who had been told of the situation by Gray when he'd come back from Michigan chuckled. "Congratulations Mr. Hanlon. Go, get to your wife and email me later to let me know how things go and I will tell you when you can retake the test," Professor Avery told him. Gray nodded and all but ran from the lecture hall.

"Callie, where are you?" Gray barked into his phone.

"Jesus Gray, it's only been fifteen minutes, you can't be here yet!" Callia exclaimed.

"Where are you?" Gray asked again.

"In the food court, by the Starbucks," Callia answered. "Gray, how did you ..." she was greeted by a dial tone and couldn't help but laugh when Gray all but ran to where they were sitting moments later. "Jesus Christ on a stick Gray, are you trying to get somebody killed?" Callia scolded.

"Shut up," Gray grumbled. He knelt down in front of Laura. "How are you doing?" he stupidly.

"How am I doing?" Laura repeated.

"Not know Laura," Callia said wisely. "Let's just get out of here," she added.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"How are you holding up?" Cooper asked after Keely had left with Mason.

"I'm fine Coop, why?" Callia wanted to know.

"Well, just a few months ago, you thought you were pregnant," Cooper pointed out.

"I'm excited for them, and maybe a little jealous," Callia admitted.

"Jealous?" Cooper asked.

"Mason isn't a little baby any more, he's walking, and talking, and soon, he's going to be a big boy," Callia clarified.

"I know what you mean," Cooper agreed, sinking into a chair with a sigh. They both stood up in surprise when Gray walked into the hall and flopped into a chair next to him.

"Laura kicked me out of the room, said I was being too big of a pain in the ass," Gray grumbled. Callia burst out laughing and earned a dirty look from Gray.

"What were you saying?" Callia wanted to know.

"I don't know!" Gray exclaimed. "She just said I was being annoying."

"Callie nearly kicked me out," Cooper said with a grin.

"Literally. If it hadn't been for Mason crowning at that exact moment, which is insanely uncomfortable, I would have literally gotten off of that bed and kicked at Cooper until he'd left the room," Callia remembered with a grin. 

"Go back in there, and when you do, apologize for being annoying then don't say ANYTHING else until the baby is actually born," Cooper advised. Gray gave each of his friends a look that expressed his nervousness, his fear and his excitement and walked back into the delivery room.

"Still jealous?" Cooper asked Callia.

"A little, but not enough to want another baby right this exact second," Callia answered.

"But practicing is an acceptable past time, right?" Cooper asked. 

Callia grinned. "Acceptable and highly encouraged," she agreed. Cooper laughed and kissed her hard. "I love you Coop," Callia murmured.

"I love you too Callie." Cooper's voice was husky and rich with love for his wife. 

"Wake up!" Gray shouted. Callia and Cooper's eyes shot open and they nearly jumped out of their chairs, straight through the ceiling. "It's a girl!" Gray chanted over and over. Callia and Cooper exchanged glances and laughed as they stood up and hugged Gray.

"How's Laura?" Callia asked.

"Asking for you," Gray answered. Callia glanced at Cooper and Gray. "Go ahead, I need a minute," Gray added. Callia smiled knowingly, hugged Gray again and sprinted the ten feet to the delivery room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Baby!" Mason exclaimed when Callia carried him into Laura's hospital room the next day.

"That's right Mason, a baby," Callia agreed with a laugh. She gave her friend a smile and a hug and sat down in the chair by the bed. "How are you feeling?" Callia asked her friend.

"I'm tired, but I'm happier than I thought I would be," Laura answered, glanced at the small baby in her arms.

"She's absolutely beautiful Laura," Callia murmured. "Have you and Gray decided on a name yet?" she wanted to know.

"We think so." Laura and Callia looked up when Gray and Cooper walked into the room.

"Daddy!" Mason squealed, struggling to get out of Callia's arms. Callia put him down and laughed as Mason tottered to Cooper.

"I think someone is going to be a daddy's girl," Cooper observed as Gray scooped his daughter out of Laura's arms. 

"What are you naming her?" Callia asked again.

"Dalia Rose," Gray answered, snuggling his new daughter tight.

"That's a beautiful name," Cooper said, bounced Mason in his arms.

"Maybe someday Mason and Dalia will get married," Callia suggested.

"I love you Callie, but Dalia is getting locked in a tower," Gray growled. Callia giggled and glanced at Cooper who grinned back wickedly.

"I think that's what Luke said about Callie," Cooper said.

"I mean it. I'll build a tower and lock her in it," Gray threatened.

"Enough," Laura said with a laugh.

"I think it would be kind of sweet if Dalia and Mason got married when they are old enough," Laura murmured.

"She ..." Gray stopped talking at the look on Laura's face, sighed and shrugged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Daddy, wake up!" Cooper groaned and pushed his head up off of the pillow.

"What is it Mason?" Cooper asked.

"Mommy's sick again," Mason reported, his brown eyes wide. Cooper sat up and frowned. 

"Mace, go into your room and play while I check on mommy," Cooper instructed. Mason nodded and ran to his room while Cooper padded his way into the bathroom. "Callie, what's wrong?" Cooper asked, crouching down behind her. He rubbed her back softly as she sat up and pulled away from the toilet.

"I didn't mean to wake you up," Callia said softly.

"You didn't. Mace did. What's wrong?" Cooper repeated.

"Nothing," she murmured.

"Bull. You're throwing up Callia," Cooper grumbled. 

"Coop, really, I'm fine," Callia told him. 

Cooper glanced at his watch. "Then why don't you tell me why you're up at seven in the morning puking your guts out," he challenged. Callia smiled, pushed herself up off of the floor, reached for something on the back of the toilet and handed it to him. 

"I was going to tell you after your graduation ceremony later, but since you insist ..." Callia's voice trailed off as Cooper pulled her into his arms and held her tight.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Cooper asked. Callia was relieved that he sounded less anxious and she nodded.

"I feel fine, except for ..." Cooper closed his eyes when Callia retook her position in front of the toilet. 

"When you're feeling better, rinse your mouth out and I'll make you some toast," Cooper told her.

"It's your graduation from law school Coop, I should be pampering you today," Callia protested.

"No way Callie, after that announcement, it's all about you," Cooper said with a chuckle.

"Good job Coop," Lucas said, shaking his son's hand.

"Thanks Luke," Cooper beamed.

"Where's Callie?" Olivia asked, walking over to her husband and son.

"She's probably getting more food. She's been cooking almost non-stop for three days," Cooper answered. 

"Dinner is on!" Laura called out as she, Callia and Keely carried out trays of food.

"Are you feeling alright?" Keely whispered to Callia.

"Never better," Callia whispered back with a wide grin.

"What's up?" Laura asked.

"You'll see," Callia promised. "Oh, look at Mason and Dalia, they look so cute!" she squealed. Laura looked over at the blanket where the two kids napped together and laughed.

"Don't let Gray see," Keely warned.

"Yeah, he's very overprotective," Laura agreed; squealed when Gray walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

"What are you ladies yammering about?" Gray asked.

"Nothing," Laura said with a laugh. Her eyes narrowed when Cooper walked over to Callia and gave her a gentle hug, as if he were afraid of breaking her. "Is everything okay?" Laura asked.

"Everything's fine," Cooper assured his friend. He waited for everyone to have food and drink before raising up his hand to capture everyone's attention. "I just wanted to thank all of you for your love and support while Callie and I worked our way through school. It hasn't been an easy road, there have been a lot of obstacles, but we made it. Callie's a teacher and I finally graduated from law school!" Cooper exclaimed. "When we started out planning, this party, it was a celebration of our success, and our future. This morning, the meaning of this party changed. It's no longer just a graduation party, it's also a celebration of the expansion of my family. This morning, we found out that Callie's pregnant," Cooper announced, reached for Callia's hand and squeezed it. 

Laura let out a squeal and hugged her friend tightly. "Easy Laura," Callia groaned, paling a little as a wave of nausea swept over her. Cooper handed Callia his bottle of water and she took several small sips, handed it back when the feeling passed.

The rest of the party passed without incident and word of congratulations swept through the crowd, and when the last guest, Callia and Cooper's parents had gone back to their hotel and they sank against each other on the couch.

"That was exhausting," Callia murmured. Cooper laughed and looked at her in concern. "I'm alright Coop, just tired," she assured him.

"Have I told you lately how much I love you?" Cooper asked huskily as he lowered his head and kissed her gently.

"Not since this morning," Callia said with a saucy grin, gasped when he lifted her into his arms and stood up.

"I love you," Cooper said as he carried her into the bedroom and laid her gently on the bed.

"I love you too," Callia murmured.

EPILOGUE

"Mr. Lee, my name is Derek St. Paul. I work for St. Paul, McGivins and Lawson. We would like to offer you a job," Derek St. Paul told Cooper. Cooper's eyes widened when the job description was given to him.

"What's the catch?" Cooper asked.

"No catch. You do as you're told, you don't ask questions and we'll get along great," Derek answered.

"May I talk this over with my wife?" Cooper wanted to know.

"You have forty-eight hours to make your decision," Derek answered and he handed Cooper a folder. "If I don't hear from you by noon the day after tomorrow, consider this offer null and void," he added.

"Mr. St. Paul, this is Cooper Lee. If the job offer is still available, I accept it," Cooper said.

"I'm glad to hear that Mr. Lee. We'll expect you in New York in two weeks for training and searching for a house," Mr. St. Paul told Cooper.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Cooper Lee has accepted the offer, Joe. We will have to be on our toes, he's a smart one, but controlling him should be easy enough if he becomes a problem. His wife and children will be key in keeping him in line," Mr. Cooper told his associate.

"Let's hope so Derek, because if he gets out of line or starts questioning the wrong people about the wrong thing, I will hold you personally accountable," Joe threatened.

"Understood," Derek said with a nod.



Thanks for reading Callia's and Cooper's story, I hope you enjoyed it. I encourage and welcome all comments, as long as they are constructive and not destructive. If you think my writing is boring, like anonymous commented on Fighting for Love (Jake and Jessica's story, please don't bother commenting, just stop reading. 

I appreciate all of you that continued to read and support my work while my life has been going through this upheaval. Things are getting better. You guys rock! Thanks again for reading!

Ashira



Carrying the Flame Ch. 07-08



Cooper sat in the chair next to the bed and watched Callia sleep, afraid that if he took his eyes off of her that she would disappear but a sound in the doorway had him looking up. "Hey Luke," Cooper said quietly. He stood up and slid out of the room, not wanting to wake Callia.

"How is she?" Lucas asked.

"Sleeping finally," Cooper answered, followed his father to the kitchen where Olivia was making a pot of tea.

"What did the doctor say?" Olivia wanted to know.

"Callie and the baby are fine. Some bruising around Callie's ..." Cooper couldn't bring himself to say it and was glad when he saw Olivia and Lucas nod knowingly.

"How did she seem after we left last night?" Lucas asked.

"I'm fine dad, how many times do we have to go over this?" Callia said from the doorway.

"We're just worried sweetie," Olivia murmured. She smiled when she saw Callia come to a stop next to Cooper and slide an arm around his waist.

"I'm fine. I have Coop and I have you guys, and Pat, didn't really hurt me as much as he scared me. I'm bruised and I'm a little battered, but I'm fine," Callia said, smiled when Cooper gave her a gentle hug.

"We'll go back to the hotel then. We'll see you later on," Lucas said. 

"Now what?" Cooper asked when hiss left the apartment. Callia took a sip of the cup of tea her mother had made and then turned to Cooper, slid her robe down her body and let it pool to the floor. "Callie," he groaned.

"Love me Coop, please."

"Callie, you just ..." Cooper stopped talking when she sniffled, gathered her robe and ran up the stairs and into the bedroom, slamming the door behind her. Cooper swore under his breath before he followed her. "Callie, I don't want to over do things," he murmured.

"Do you love me?" Callia asked.

"More than anything," Cooper assured her.

"Then show me damn it!"

"Callie, he tried to rape you," Cooper said.

"Coop, I'm fine, just please, make love to me," Callia pleaded.

"I'm sorry Callie, I can't, not until you have had a full medical evaluation by your doctor. I don't want to risk hurting you or the baby," Cooper said with a sigh.

"Get out," Callia grumbled.

"Callie, don't be like this," Cooper pleaded, sat down on the edge of the bed and placed his hand on her back. Callia rolled over to face him and pushed him away.

"Get out Coop!" she screamed, beating at him with her fists. "If you don't want me anymore, then just get out!"

"Callie, stop!" Cooper grabbed her fists gently and pulled her to him when she burst into tears.

"You don't want me because of what he did to me!" she wailed. Cooper sighed and held her tight, rocked back and forth like you would with a small child until the tears stopped.

"Look at me Cal," he said softly, tilting her face towards his. He waited until her eyes met his. "I love you Callie. And I want you more than you know. Being kidnapped, hit and nearly raped isn't going to change that. I will always want you, even when we're both getting around using walkers and canes," Cooper told her gently.

"Then why won't you make love to me?" Callia whimpered.

"Because you aren't ready for that yet. You want me to because you want to escape, but I know you Cal. I know you're not ready for this. I love you enough to give you the time you need," Cooper said softly. Callia burst into tears again and Cooper held her until she fell asleep before he eased her down on the bed. Quietly, Cooper slipped from the bedroom, down the stairs and into the back yard where he wailed on the punching bag.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Laura, wake up," Gray said softly.

"Morning," Laura murmured with a smile.

"I'm sorry about freaking out last night," Gray began, looked down at his hands, embarrassed at how he'd behaved.

"It's okay. I don't know many guys that would be worried at if they'd gotten someone pregnant or not. Most would just shrug it off and leave it to the woman to deal with," Laura said.

"I'm not most guys," Gray told her before he bent down and kissed her gently. "You're absolutely beautiful," he said quietly.

"My hair's a mess," Laura protested.

"You're beautiful," Gray repeated. Before Laura could say anything else, Gray slid his hand between her legs, dipped a finger inside her already wet pussy; she moaned and arched against him. 

"Gray please," Laura begged, her voice suddenly husky. Gray groaned, positioned himself over her and slid into her hard and fast. "Oh Gray," she whimpered, thrusting up to meet him. They moved and clung together, their moans mingled in the air, Laura's moan turned to a scream as she bucked against him, cumming hard when Gray's seed splashed hot into her. Laura winced when they pulled apart and Gray looked at her in concern.

"Are you alright?" Gray asked.

"I'm alright, nothing a hot bath won't fix," Laura said with a blush. Gray nodded and pressed a soft kiss to her lips and pulled her off the bed.

"You go take that bath and I'll call Cooper and check on Callie," Gray said.

"Deal," Laura agreed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"God I feel like a beached whale," Callia grumbled as she sank on the couch next to her friend.

"You aren't a beached whale," Laura scolded. 

"I've gained like thirty pounds!" Callia complained.

"You're almost nine months pregnant, what did you expect?" Keely asked. Callia grumbled again and took the offered glass of water.

"Are you feeling okay Laura? You look really pale and you're being really quiet," Callia asked, looking at Laura carefully.

"Yeah, I'm just getting over a nasty case of food poisoning," Laura answered.

"That sucks," Keely sympathized. Laura groaned, pushed off of the couch and sprinted to the bathroom, making it just in time. 

"If I didn't know any better ..." Callia pushed herself off of the couch and grabbed her car keys. "Keep Laura here, I'll be back in ten minutes," she told Keely.

"What's this?" Laura asked when Callia dropped a bag in her lap.

"You and Gray have been getting pelvic since Patrick let me go two months ago, take the test," Callia said when Laura pulled the test out of the bag.

"I'm not pregnant Callie. I can't be," Laura said with a sigh.

"Why not?" Keely wanted to know. Laura sighed and explained about the cyst and the surgery.

"You still have one working ovary and Gray seems like he's very ... healthy," Callia pointed out. Laura blushed and giggled. "Go take the test, if for no other reason than to humor me. You've been sick all week and food poisoning doesn't usually take this long," she added.

"If it'll make you shut up, fine," Laura sighed. She had an odd expression on her face when she returned to the living room but it changed to a look of concern when she saw Callia's face. "What's wrong?" Laura asked.

"I think I'm in labor," Callia said, her eyes wide.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You've been awfully quiet, are you okay?" Gray asked Laura as he handed Laura and Keely each a cup of tea.

"I'm fine, I'm just worried about Callie. She's already had one traumatic birth, and from the screams coming from the delivery room, this one isn't any better either," Laura said. Gray took her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Callie and the baby will be just fine," Gray assured her, brought Laura's hand up and kissed it gently.

"I wish I had a guy like Coop," Keely said with a sigh. Laura glanced at her friend in amusement.

"Someone hot?" Laura teased.

"And caring, gentle and loving. Callie is one lucky girl," Keely shot back.

"He loves her, that's for sure," Gray agreed. "Cheer up, you'll find your guy," he added. They all looked up when Cooper burst into the hallway, a look of excitement on his face.

"He's here and he's perfect!" Cooper exclaimed. 

"How's Callie?" Laura wanted to know.

"She's doing great! Sore, and exhausted, but she's great! If you guys can wait another twenty minutes, you can come in and see both of them," Cooper answered, practically bouncing up and down like a kid in a candy store.

"Callie!" Laura screeched when they were finally allowed in the room.

"Hey guys," Callia said with a tired smile. "I'd like for you to meet Mason Christopher Lee," she added.

"He's beautiful Callie," Laura murmured.

"I'm going to go call the parents." Cooper turned toward their friends. "Not too long guys okay?" he murmured.

"Course," Gray agreed.

"Oh hey, Laura, I've been wondering, what were the results of the test?" Callia wanted to know.

"What test? Laura, are you okay?" Gray asked. 

"Oops," Callia's eyes widened and she slapped her hand over her face.

"What test?" Gray repeated.

"I've been sick, but I'm fine," Laura said.

"What test? And what did it say?" Gray asked. Laura gave Callia an annoyed look and turned to look at Gray and swallowed hard.

"I'm pregnant," Laura said softly. Gray stared at her, stunned but before he could say anything, Cooper walked back into the room.

"Everything okay?" Cooper asked, looking at his friends in concern.

"Everything's fine. Callie, I'll come back and visit you tomorrow, I'm sure you need your rest. I have to go, I work in a few hours," Laura said and darted from the room.

"Gray, are you okay?" Callia asked.

"I have to go Cal. I'll be by later. I need to think and find Laura," Gray told his friend. "Kee, are you coming?" he asked.

"Yeah, I need a ride back to Callie's anyway," Keely said, giving Callia a gentle hug. "He's beautiful Cal. I'll bring you dinner tonight," she added before following her friend out of the room.

"What was that about?" Cooper asked.

"I'll tell you later," Callia murmured, glanced down at her son before looking back at her husband. "You look terrified," she said quietly.

"I'm nervous," Cooper admitted. He ran a finger down the tiny boy's nose and kissed his wife softly. "I love you Callie, so much," he murmured.

"I love you too," Callia whispered and tried to hide a yawn.

"May I hold him?" Cooper asked nervously.

"Of course," Callia said with a smile. She slid the baby into Cooper's arms.

"I'll hold him for a while, you get some rest," Cooper told her. Callia nodded, slid down into the bed, closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Open up Laura! I know you aren't working today!" Gray shouted, pounding on the apartment door. Laura pulled the heavy door open and Gray's heart clenched when he saw how red her eyes were. "Let me in Laura, we need to talk," he said softly. Laura stepped aside and let Gray in, closed the door behind him. "Why didn't you tell me you thought you were pregnant?" Gray asked.

"I didn't think I was pregnant, I thought I had food poisoning but Callie bought the test and insisted I take it," Laura told him.

"Are you alright?" Gray asked, trying to stamp down the anxiety he was feeling. He wanted to run, to get as far away from Laura as possible, but he wouldn't, couldn't do it. 

"I don't want to talk right now Gray," Laura sighed.

"Too bad, we're going to talk. You told me you couldn't get pregnant," Gray reminded her.

"Because my doctor told me that it would be almost impossible for me to do so!" Laura exclaimed. "It could be a false positive," she added.

"False positive?" Gray asked.

"Yeah. Every once in a while, a test will come back positive but it'll be false and there is no pregnancy," Laura explained.

"How will you know? Just wait until you start gaining weight?" he wanted to know.

"I have a doctor's appointment in an hour," Laura said.

"I want to be there," Gray told her, surprising them both.

"Why? You don't want a baby Gray, at least not now you don't," Laura reminded him.

"That's besides the point. If you're pregnant, I want to be a part of his or her life," Gray said.

"I'm going alone Gray, if I'm really pregnant, I'll let you know," Laura told him.

"I won't let you go alone," Gray argued.

"Just go home Gray, please," Laura murmured. Gray opened his mouth to say something else but stopped when Laura made for the bathroom and dropped to her knees in front of the toilet. 

"Easy," Gray murmured, eased onto his knees behind her, pulled her hair back away from her face. "Take it easy," he murmured.

"Why are you being so nice to me? You should hate me. If I am pregnant, I've screwed up both of our lives," Laura whispered.

"What, are you an amoeba?" Gray asked in amusement. He sighed and kissed the top of her head. "Let me come with you Laura, please," he murmured.

"Okay," Laura agreed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Let me see my grandson!" Olivia exclaimed, waltzing into the house.

"It's good to see you too mom," Callia teased.

"Of course I'm glad to see you," Olivia said, gave her daughter a hug. "Now let me see my grandson," she added. Callia laughed and passed the sleeping baby off to her mother. "He's beautiful," Olivia murmured. 

"Hopefully he'll look like his daddy when he's older," Callia said. Olivia glanced over at Cooper who was sleeping in the beside chair and nodded.

"That would be a good thing," Olivia agreed, laughing with her daughter, looked up when Lucas walked into the room. "Oh Luke, look at him, isn't he precious?" she whispered, tears in her eyes. Lucas studied his grandson closely before giving Callia a tight hug.

"How are you princess?" Lucas asked, not answering his wife's question.

"I'm sore, but I feel great," Callia answered.

"I'm proud of you baby girl," Lucas said.

"Glad you approve," Cooper grumbled from the chair before he stood up.

"Rough night?" Lucas asked with a knowing grin.

"Not too bad, except for the food," Cooper said with a laugh. He kissed Callia and sat down on the bed next to her. "Where's Jonah?" he asked.

"Stayed in Ann Arbor with Derek. Your parents will be here tonight, your mom was finishing up a case," Lucas answered.

"How did he sleep last night?" Olivia asked Callia.

"Off and on for about an hour at a time," Cooper answered. Olivia winced and laughed, remembering how little Callia had slept when they'd first brought her home.

"It gets better," Olivia promised, pressed a kiss to her grandson's forehead. Mason opened his eyes and yawned, reached up and grabbed Olivia's outstretched finger. "Oh precious," she murmured, snuggled with him again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Will you relax?" Gray asked Laura, trying to avoid pulling her into the chair to stop the pacing.

"I can't help being nervous," Laura grumbled, but she stopped pacing and sat down on the exam table as they waited for the doctor to come into the room with the results of the blood pregnancy test. She studied Gray and sighed when she saw the look of determination on his face, trying to hide his look of anxiety. "You don't have to be here Gray. I won't blame you if you don't want any part of this," she murmured.

"If you're pregnant, I won't leave you to do have the baby alone," Gray told her.

"Gray ..." Laura's voice trailed off as the doctor walked back into the room.

"What outcome are you hoping for?" the doctor asked, glancing down at the paper in his hand.

"Negative would be nice," Laura admitted. She took a deep, shaky breath when the doctor set the paper down and looked at her compassionately. 

"I'm sorry Miss Monroe, the test was positive. You are pregnant," the doctor told her.

"Laura, stop!" Gray exclaimed as Laura flung the car door open and jumped out; he hadn't even put the car in park. He grumbled under his breath, parked, turned off the car and followed her into the apartment building. "Laura, talk to me!" Gray demanded, catching up to her as she fumbled with the locks on her door.

"There's nothing to say Gray. I screwed up, I'll fix it," Laura whispered, shoved her key into the lock and pushed the door open.

"Fix it? You'll fix it? How?" Gray demanded to know, growled when Laura tried to shut the door on him, pushed it open and walked into the apartment as if he owned the place, closing the door behind him.

"Go away," Laura pleaded.

"Laura, what do you mean you'll fix it?" Gray asked. Laura glared at him and dropped into an oversized chair.

"Please Gray, let me alone, I need to think," Laura pleaded.

"Promise me something," Gray said, kneeling down in front of the chair.

"What?" Laura asked.

"Don't do anything without talking to me first," he murmured. Laura studied him carefully and nodded. Satisfied, Gray squeezed her hand and walked out of the apartment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What are you going to do?" Callia asked Laura softly as she rocked Mason gently.

"I don't know. I'm not ready for a baby, but what if this is my only chance at having a baby?" Laura's voice was full of terror, nerves and anxiety and the dark circles under her eyes told Callia that her friend was not sleeping much or at all.

"Have you talked to Gray?" Callia wanted to know.

"Not since the pregnancy was confirmed. He's tried calling but I've ignored his calls and every time he's come by the apartment, I've been super quiet so he'd think I wasn't there. In fact, this is the first time, aside from doctor's appointments that I've been out of the apartment in months," Laura admitted.

"Honey, you need to talk to Gray. Don't make this decision on your own," Callia told her friend.

"I'm not forcing him into parenthood Callie! I'm not ..." she trailed off before she said something she'd regret. Callia sighed, carefully stood up and laid Mason in his crib.

"You're not me," Callia finished her friend's sentence, with a carefully guarded expression on her face.

"I'm sorry Callie, I didn't ..."

"I think you need to go Laura. Go home, take a nap, and when you're feeling more rested, then we'll talk," Callia interrupted.

"Callie," Laura pleaded.

"Before I say something we'll both regret, I suggest you take Callie's advice," Cooper said from the doorway, his voice was low and full of annoyance. Laura gave her friend one more apologetic glance and fled the apartment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Laura swallowed nervously at the knock at the door and pushed herself off of the couch to answer it. Ever since she'd gotten the call from Callia saying that she wanted to talk about the day before, Laura had been on pins and needles; she knew she'd overstepped her bounds big time and owed her friend one hell of an apology. 

There was another knock at the door, this one more impatient than the first; Laura shrugged and hurried her pace. "Callie must have Mason with her," she thought as she unlocked the door and pulled it open. She gasped in surprise when she saw Gray and Cooper standing there.

"What are you ..." Laura shook her head and gave a squeak of surprise when Cooper put a hand on each arm and carefully moved her out of the way so he and Gray could walk into the apartment. "I don't like being manhandled in my own home Cooper Lee," Laura grumbled.

"Deal with it," Cooper said, clearly irritated at being there.

"What's going on?" Laura asked, wrapping her robe more tightly around her.

"Callie sent us. She sent Gray over so you can talk and she sent me here to make sure you talked," Cooper answered.

"I'm a big girl," Laura said grumpily.

"Yeah, I'm aware of that. But you're acting like a child." Cooper glanced at Gray. "Both of you are. You had sex, you created a baby and now, you're going to talk about what you're planning on doing," he declared.

"I don't need a baby-sitter," Laura murmured, casting her eyes down to the floor, pulled on the belt of the robe, tightening it more.

"All you're doing right now sweetie, is making your condition more apparent," Cooper said gently. Laura's eyes shot forward and she blushed when she saw Gray studying her.

"How far?" Gray swallowed nervously.

"Four and a half months," Laura murmured. Cooper glanced between his friends and let out an exasperated growl.

"I'm going to make some cocoa, you two, sit down and talk or I'm not getting any tonight, or any other night for that matter, because Callie will rip off my nuts and roast them over an open fire," Cooper stated firmly. Laura and Gray both turned and looked at him in surprise. "She's tired of two of her best friends pussy footing around each other," he added with a chuckle before he walked into Laura's spacious kitchen.




Carrying the Flame Ch. 07-08



"I'm glad to see you haven't had an abortion," Gray said after they'd sat down.

"I almost did," Laura admitted. Gray looked at her in surprise. "I was scared and I felt alone, even though you promised to be here if I wanted you here." She stopped, looked down at her hands and sighed. "Now, I'm heavily leaning on adoption," she murmured. Before Gray could say anything else, Laura sniffled. "But I don't know if I can go through with that either," she wailed.

"What did you do?" Cooper asked before Gray could say anything.

"Nothing!" Gray denied as Cooper set the tray of drinks down on the coffee table and knelt down in front of Laura, pulling her in for a gentle hug.

"He didn't do anything Coop," Laura murmured, grateful for the friendly embrace. "I'm okay, really," she added when the tears subsided. Cooper gave her a knowing smile and handed her a mug of cocoa.

"Now, if I go back to my wife and help her with the teething infant we have at home, will the two of you actually talk and resolve something? I expect to see you both at the apartment for brunch tomorrow," Cooper wanted to know. 

"We'll be there," Gray said. Cooper gave them one last glance, nodded and walked out of the apartment.

"Laura, I'm sorry, I should have tried harder to get in touch with you," Gray said softly.

"You tried pretty hard. I was just better at avoiding you and using the back door," Laura admitted.

"You were here?" Gray asked in surprise.

"Most of the time," she answered.

"So explain to me why you didn't go through with the abortion and aren't sure if you can go through with the adoption? Because I'll sign papers if you decide to go that route," Gray wanted to know.

"What if this is my only chance to have a baby?" Laura asked quietly, tears filling her eyes at the prospect.

"Oh Laura," Gray sighed. He gave her a hug then pulled away to study her. Her face was fuller, but still slender and the dark circles under her eyes worried him, but she was still beautiful. Gray's breath caught in his throat when his gaze dropped to her slightly rounded abdomen, not concealed one iota by the bathrobe.

"I knew I should have worn something baggy," Laura grumbled, misinterpreting Gray's gaze.

"Laura, you're so beautiful," Gray told her.

"Stop," Laura snapped, finishing her cocoa and setting the mug down.

"You are. If it wasn't for your obvious stress and exhaustion, you'd be glowing," Gray insisted. "In fact, you're going to take a nap and then we'll talk," he added.

"Do we have to talk?" Laura asked.

"We promised Coop," Gray reminded her.

"You promised Coop," Laura pointed out.

"Did you really want to live with the knowledge that Callie would deny him sex?" Gray asked.

"The threat of castration," Laura chuckled. Gray winced and Laura laughed. "No, I think they like sex too much," Laura said with a grin.

"Who doesn't?" Gray asked with a wicked grin. Laura blushed and tried to hide the yawn that escaped. "Go get some rest Laura, we can talk later," Gray advised.

"When you say talk, you don't me you'll be telling me to keep the baby or put the baby up for adoption do you?" Laura asked worriedly.

"No, I mean actually talk. If you want to go with adoption, then I'll sign anything you want, but if you want to keep the baby, then I'll be here for that too," Gray promised. "No judgements, no accusations, just conversation," he added. Laura pushed herself out of the chair and headed for her room, stopped just outside the door.

"Gray?" Laura asked quietly. Gray, who was heading to the kitchen with the tray, stopped and looked at her. "Will you lay with me?" she asked hesitantly. Gray swallowed and stared at her. "Will you hold me, please?" Gray gave her a warm smile, set the tray on the breakfast nook and followed her into the bedroom. "I've missed you," she whispered when she settled against the pillow, and snuggled up against Gray. Gray took a deep breath as he snaked an arm around her middle, pulling Laura closer to him. 

"I've missed you too," he admitted. "Sleep now," Gray said, pressing a soft kiss to the back of her head.

Laura woke up slowly, blinked, winced at the bright light that flooded her bedroom and sat up slowly. "Gray, wake up," she said, glancing at him.

"What's wrong?" Gray asked.

"We slept all through the night, it's almost nine thirty in the morning!" Laura exclaimed.

"We have to be at Callie's and Cooper's in an hour," Gray groaned. 

"Good, I'm starving," Laura said, pushing herself out of bed. "I'm going to take a shower, I'll be out soon," she added. Gray watched her walk into the bathroom and fell back against the pillows with a groan, imagining Laura naked in the shower was killing him and when she returned from the bathroom in nothing but a towel, Gray had to hide his face in a pillow.

"What's wrong?" Laura wanted to know. Gray looked up, took a deep breath which caught in his throat as the towel slid down her body. "Gray?" Laura looked at him in concern.

"You're beautiful," Gray murmured. "Absolutely beautiful." Unable to stop himself, he reached up, pulled Laura down on the bed and kissed her hard.

"Gray," Laura murmured.

"Don't think, just feel," Gray advised, kissed her again, groaned when he felt Laura's hands fumbling with the buckle of his belt. He kissed her again and helped her remove his clothing, enjoyed the sounds she made as he slid home, deep within her. They moved together as if they had never spent a day apart, came together, and loud moans echoed through the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"We were beginning to think you'd killed each other," Cooper commented as he opened the door to let his friends in. Laura blushed, and glanced at Gray who laughed.

"We're fine. I made Laura take a nap and I fell asleep too. We woke up at nine thirty this morning," Gray answered.

"Uh-huh," Cooper said with a grin as he closed the door behind him. 

"Brunch will be done soon, I got sidetracked," Callia said, looking up as her friends walked into the living room. "Mason wanted to eat and refused to wait," she added, putting the now empty bottle on the end table. "As soon as I burp him, I'll be able to finish cooking," Callia said.

"I'll burp him," Laura offered.

"You sure?" Callia asked. Laura nodded and reached for Mason who laughed, squealed and reached back. "You are so your father's son," Callia said with a chuckle as she passed her son off to Laura.

"Hey there cutie," Laura murmured, giving Mason a kiss on the cheek before she slid the burp rag onto her shoulder, placed Mason against her shoulder and began gently patting his back until he burped. Laura was concentrating so deeply on Mason that she didn't see Gray watching her or Cooper and Callia watching them.

CHAPTER EIGHT

"Laura, we still need to talk about what we're going to do," Gray said softly as he held the apartment door open for her.

"I know," Laura said with a sigh.

"What's with the sigh?" Gray asked. 

"It felt so right holding Mason, but ..."

"But what?" Gray prodded.

"I don't want to be a single mom and I don't want to trap you into anything," Laura murmured.

"Laura, do you want to keep the baby?" Gray asked. Unable to deny the truth from herself any longer, Laura nodded. "Then keep the baby. I'm not going anywhere," he told her.

"I don't want to trap you," Laura protested.

"Laura, I don't feel trapped. I knew the risks of not using any form of birth control and I chose to take them, same as you did. I've had plenty of time to think about this and I want to be a part of our baby's life," Gray said, his voice was low, gentle and the words, 'our baby's life' sent a shiver down Laura's spine and tears came to her eyes. "Don't cry," he murmured.

"I ... I don't know what to say," Laura whispered.

"Don't say anything, just take a deep breath and relax knowing that you don't have to do this alone any more," Gray told her. With those words, the dam broke and the tears streamed down Laura's face like a raging river. Gray swore under his breath and pulled Laura in for a hug. "Please stop crying," he murmured, a helpless feeling over took him until Laura's sobs subsided and she gave him a wry grin. 

"I'm sorry, I'm really hormonal right now," Laura said with a laugh.

"It's okay," Gray assured her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So what's going on with you and Gray?" Callia asked while she and Laura waited for their lunch at a local Chinese restaurant.

"He's moved in and says he wants to be involved," Laura answered, taking a sip of her soda.

"That's good," Callia murmured, spooned a bit of baby carrots into Mason's mouth. 

"I guess, but I still feel like I'm trapping him," Laura sighed.

"Laura, if he didn't want to be involved, he wouldn't be," Callia gently scolded her friend. "You aren't trapping him," she added. They stopped talking as the waiter brought out their food and set it down in front of them.

"I know, but ..."

"No buts! Stop being such a baby about this Laura and accept that he doesn't feel trapped and that he wants to be with you!" Callia exclaimed. Laura sighed, took a bite of her food and said nothing. "Laura, I mean it. You're acting like you have to do this on your own, that you're going to burden anyone who tries to help you and you're not," Callia said more gently. 

Before Laura could say anything, an older couple walked past the table, stopped and walked over to the girls.

"This restaurant is too classy for a couple of whores and their spawn!" the old woman snapped. 

"Excuse me?" Callia asked, raising an eye brow, a spoonful of baby food poised in the air. Mason squealed and lunged forward in the high chair; Callia spooned the baby food into her son's mouth and set the spoon down in the jar.

"You heard me. You little sluts need to leave this restaurant and not come back!" the woman exclaimed.

"Sorry we're late," Gray and Cooper said, coming to a stop beside the table. Cooper glanced between Callia and the old couple.

"What's going on?" Cooper asked.

"We've been insulted by an old biddy," Callia answered, trying to control her anger. "How were classes?" she asked.

"How have you been insulted?" Cooper asked, refusing to let it go.

"These little sluts came into this restaurant and ..." the old woman gasped as Cooper turned to her, a look of intense anger in his eyes.

"That is my wife and my friend you are talking about," Cooper's voice was low and dangerous.

"Neither of them are sluts," Gray added.

"Unmarried and pregnant makes you a slut," the woman said, refusing to back down.

"Look lady, your opinion is your opinion, however, when you go around and verbally attacking people, you cross a line. As a future lawyer, I can tell you can be sued for slander," Cooper told her.

"Is there a problem here?" an Asian man asked, walking up to them, introduced himself as the manager.

"Yes, there is. This woman is insulting my wife and my friend here," Cooper answered.

"I can't believe you let whores and sluts into this restaurant! It used to be such an upscale establishment," the woman sniffed. The manager turned to the woman in surprise and sighed.

"Ma'am, I can't have you insulting patrons. I'm afraid I have to ask you to leave," the manager told her. The woman opened her mouth to argue. "I'll call the police if you don't leave," the manager added. The old woman sniffed again but stalked from the dining room. "I apologize ladies. Your meals today will be free, is there anything else I can do for you?" the manager asked.

"A couple carry out boxes. I'm not hungry anymore," Laura said.

"Neither am I," Callia admitted.

"Are you okay?" Gray asked Laura that night as they got ready for bed. Ever since the incident at the Chinese restaurant, Laura had been very quiet, smiling only when she felt the baby move within her or when Mason did something cute.

"I'm just thinking. Maybe she's right, maybe I am a slut. I'm pregnant, and I'm not in a relationship with the father, let alone married to him," Laura sighed.

"What do you mean we aren't in a relationship? Laura, I've moved in, I've gone to your doctor's appointments, we've gone on dates, we've made love," Gray reminded her.

"I know," Laura whispered.

"Do you want more?" Gray asked.

"What do you mean, do I want more?" Laura asked. 

"Do you want marriage?" Gray asked.

"I don't want to force you into anything," Laura said softly.

"You aren't forcing me into anything. Just answer the question; do you want marriage?" Gray asked again.

"I don't know," Laura murmured. "Why?" she asked. Gray reached into his coat pocket as Laura sank down into the couch. "Gray?" Laura asked. 

Her eyes widened when Gray dropped down on one knee in front of her and opened a small box. "Laura, will you marry me?" Gray asked.