“No. I’m calling you pregnant, Sadie,” he laughs.
“How are you so sure?” I ask.
“The prenatals in your bathroom, for one.”
“So? They’re good for your hair,” I shrug.
“All eight of us see you every day. We pay attention to you, and we see the changes in your body. I understand why you are in denial, but something has to give,” he says carefully.
“I’m just not ready to be a shitty mother yet,” I admit. All the other guys come from behind me and sit on the large sectional couch. I didn’t even know they were close by and listening.
“You stopped your birth control months ago and have been taking the prenatals. Obviously, you care about this baby. You are not and will not be a shitty mother to our child,” Del says.
“I don’t know who the father is, and there is a good chance it could be Leo’s. I don’t want to fuck this kid up like my mom did to me,” I admit.
“There is a test you can get done to find out who the biological father is. You don’t have to know the specific results, but you can find out if it is biologically his or not,” Todd says.
“We will be beside you every step of the way, no matter what you decide for your pregnancy,” Jake says. “You are our first priority right now.”
“I’m not giving up my baby,” I snap, instinctively cradling my belly. They all smile softly at me.
“See? You are already a better mother than her. You know what you want for our baby, but you are afraid of all the possibilities,” Lance says.
“The first step needs to be to make sure you and the baby are healthy,” Ben says.
“I have some connections to trusted people who have helped some of my clients,” Todd says. “I can probably get you seen in the next few days. You can do the paternal DNA test then as well.”
“What if it’s Leo’s?” I ask.
“Baby,” Dean says, taking my hands. “This child has one mom and eight dads. None of us cares who got you pregnant. We all know that me, Lance, and Dean could be fertile since our quack doctor was apparently doing botched jobs on vasectomies. The only reason it matters is for health reasons if something comes up with the child, but even if we know for sure that it’s his biologically, it doesn’t change that we are all here for you and the baby. We will take care of the two of you, and you will never have to worry about doing any of this alone.”
“I’m sorry,” I say as I start crying. “I don’t know why I’m crying.”
“It’s okay,” Dean smiles and wipes my cheeks. “Sadie… you are far enough along to show. Your cute little bump is growing every day. You need to make sure that you are both healthy.”
“I can feel them kicking,” I say. “I usually try to talk myself out of accepting that it’s the baby, though.”
“You know you rub your belly when you are lost in thought?” Jake asks.
“Do I?” I ask.
“Mhmm. It’s precious,” he smiles.
“Stand up,” Dean says.
“I’m comfortable,” I say with a frown.
“I’ll give you your gross snack back,” he laughs.
“It’s not gross. It’s good,” I say with a grin. “Try it, and I’ll stand.”
“That’s not how this works, Little Demon,” Dean smirks.
“Is it because you can’t roughhouse with me now?” I cackle. “Try it.”
“I don’t have to be rough to make you scream, Sadie… but fine. I’ll try it because I know you won’t give up.”
Dean takes a pickle from my bowl and playfully glares at me for a moment before dipping it into the peanut butter.
