Page 2 of Daddy's Reckoning

“Theo,” she groaned. “I think we have a problem.”

“Do you think it was something you ate?” I asked hopefully. We’d been together all weekend, but I stuck to a strict diet and rarely strayed from it. We hadn’t eaten many of the same things.

Food poisoning would suck, but at least it wasn’t contagious.

“What do you think the culprit was?” I asked, walking into the bathroom to rummage through my medicine cabinet until I found a bottle of Pepto.

Holding it up triumphantly, I walked out to find her crying. I liked tears about as much as I liked puke. I didn't.

“Maybe Indian food?” I questioned worriedly. If it was the Indian, I’d likely end up sick, too. How long did it take food poisoning to hit? Did it affect people differently? If you had a good immune system, were you less susceptible?

She shook her head at my suggestion.

“I guess it could have been the salad or eggs,” I said with a frown. Neither were things generally associated with the ailment, but it wasn't unheard of.

“Theo!” she cried, looking exasperated. “Stop! I don’t think it’s food poisoning.”

Well, crap.

“The stomach flu, then,” I concluded with a decisive nod, training my expression to stay neutral so she wouldn't know what a heartless germaphobe I really was.

To cover my fear, I jumped into action. “Well, here. Get back in bed, then.” I fluffed pillows and straightened the covers, pulling them back and patting the mattress. “I’ll run out and pick you up some Gatorade and…” I trailed off. What did one usually offer someone with the stomach flu, aside from electrolytes? “Whatever else you need,” I finished lamely. I patted the bed again, but Erin made no move to get in it. Maybe she was gearing up for another bathroom run.

“Theo, stop!” she cried just as I opened my mouth to ask if she needed saltines or herbal tea, or if she wanted to put pajamas on before she climbed back in bed. “I don’t have the stomach flu, or food poisoning, okay?”

“You don’t?” I furrowed my brow in confusion. “What is it, then?”

I racked my brain, fully expecting her to say something off the wall and rare that was totally unlikely. Were most med students hypochondriacs? It would make sense.

“I’m late,” she finally said, her dull gaze boring into me.

“Late? For class? Does that matter right now? I know med school is hard, but surely they don’t expect you to come in—” Something about the way she was looking at me stopped me in my tracks. “What?”

“My period, Theo. My period is late.”

My mouth fell open. I tried to close it, but it was working on its own, opening and closing like a fish gasping for air. Made sense since that was exactly what I was doing right about now.

Ignoring the fact that I was about to hyperventilate, she continued. “I noticed like a week ago, but I figured it was midterm stress or not getting enough sleep. That happens sometimes, and honestly, my cycle isn't that regular to begin with. But now I'm not so sure.”

She looked at me with a panicked expression, and I could relate. I wanted to panic, too. Suddenly food poisoning and the stomach flu weren't looking so bad after all.

I couldn't panic. I had to stay strong for her. I was her Daddy, and that was what a Daddy would do. Pasting on what I hoped was a comforting smile, I knelt by the bed and took her hand in mine.

“What am I going to do?” she wailed. “I'm a med student. I barely have time to take care of myself! I can't have a baby right now!”

“Hey, it’s okay. We can cross that bridge if we come to it. For now, we need to find out for sure.” Jumping to my feet, I grabbed my phone and placed an instacart order for a pregnancy test. Two of them, actually. Just to be on the safe side.

Thirty minutes later, we were staring down at four pink lines, and life as I knew it had flipped on its axis.

ERIN

Pregnant. In my second year of med school. And all I’d wanted was the accountability of someone to care if I was slacking off in school.

Obviously, I’d gotten a hell of a lot more than I bargained for.

“Oh god,” I groaned, staring down at the plastic sticks that announced my fate. “How could I have been so stupid? How did this even happen? I thought we were so careful.”

“We were,” Theo stammered, across from me.