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Showing him her rigid back, she muttered, "Shut up."
An amused grin spread across his face. He probably would've laughed except he looked down and saw the broken prophylactic. That sobered him instantly.
"Jesus," he said, and finished pulling off the last chunk of condom.
Willow finally glanced back to watch him throw the remains in the trash. "What's the name of that morning-after pill?" she asked, slipping off the bed. "Plan B?"
Raith lifted his face, which rapidly drained of color. Oh, hell. It finally dawned on him what this meant. The condom broke. His little troops were inside her right now, marching a determined path in search of a nice ripe egg.
God in heaven. He couldn't breathe very well.
"You think that'll work?" he asked.
Willow shrugged. "If I'm already pregnant, no, it won't work. But it might stop my egg from dropping so I won't become fertile until after your semen dies."
He just stared at her, so sick over the idea of possibly getting her pregnant he couldn't comment.
She took in the look on his face and scowled. "Oh, calm down, Malloy." She turned to a calendar on the wall. "Don't worry so much. My most fertile time isn't for another..."
She put her finger on the calendar and counted out the days.
Raith came up beside her. When her finger paused on the next day, her face turned a pale white.
"Another couple hours," she admitted weakly and looked up at him like a frightened child seeking help.
"You've got to be kidding me!"
Willow mutely shook her head. Her eyes were large and her face completely void of color. She opened her mouth to say something, but no sound came out.
Suddenly, a multitude of images zipped through his head like a slideshow playing in fast forward. He could see himself easing onto a couch next to her and lifting the bottom of her shirt so he could try to span the swollen expanse with his palm. Then he saw her pale and sweating in a brightly lit hospital room, cursing him as she gritted and strained through a contraction. And then there was a baby and he was holding it, looking down in awe at the new life he'd helped to create. He could see the baby take her first steps, say her first word. And then he could see himself squeezing Willow's hand as they sat together in a hot auditorium, watching their child graduate high school.
In a microsecond, all those visions flashed through him. And the hell of it was, they felt kind of nice. Damned good, actually. There was a contented peacefulness to that life.
But then he blinked and reality slammed through him. God. What was he thinking? He'd make an awful father. And what about Willow? He'd tried marriage before and sucked at that too. No way could he be the kind of husband she deserved.
"What do we do?" she whispered, looking completely horrified.
Raith snapped, "Get the damn pill. Now."
Willow swallowed. "I... I... Don't I need a prescription to buy it?"
He sputtered, "How the hell should I know?"
Her eyes were wide and frightened as she stared at him. He wanted to pull her into a tight hug and comfort both of them. Yet he also wanted to turn tail and run for the hills.
Suddenly her eyes widened. She looked down. "I need to clean this stuff off." Spinning from him, she hurried into the bathroom. He stood there a moment after the door closed behind her, wishing there was something he could do. Thinking he'd probably repulse her if she came out and found him still undressed and was reminded of what had just happened, he quickly pulled his clothes on. His stomach turned queasier by the second and he tried to swallow down the nausea, but it rose up his throat with each gulp.
She'd looked so appalled by the idea of carrying his baby. He wasn't ready for a kid either, but it stung a little to know she obviously hadn't experienced the same split-second vision he had.
Don't think about it, he commanded himself. As soon as she was out of the shower, they'd calmly talk this through. Everything would be okay.
But the moment she opened the door and saw him sitting there, fully clothed and keys in hand, she paused in drying her hair to narrow her eyes.
~ * ~
When Willow opened the bathroom door, wearing nothing but a robe and squeezing water out of her hair with a towel, Raith jerked his head up. He had dressed and was sitting on her bed, resting his elbows on his knees, as if he was deep in thought. But his knee kept jiggling as if he couldn't wait to get the hell out of there. The ass even had his shoes on.
Willow stopped dead in the doorway, unable to take her eyes off the keys in his hand.
