The Forgotten Night (20 page)

“Cass? Cass!” Rachel nearly screamed. She had managed to catch her before Cassidy hit the ground and set her gently on the bathroom floor. Rachel panicked and ran to her bedroom window, which faced the backyard. “Drew! Quick, get up here! It’s Cass!”

Andrew looked up at his sister’s frantic voice. He heard nothing after Cassidy’s name was mentioned. Quickly he stood up and ran toward the house, Ian in close pursuit.

Rachel took the test and the box and put them both in the trash before Andrew rushed in.

“What happened?” he asked, stooping at Cassidy’s side.

“She wasn’t feeling good and fainted or something. I’m not sure.”

Andrew picked up her limp body and carried her out of the bathroom. “Go get the car, we’re taking her to the hospital.”

Rachel and Ian exited the bedroom, followed by Andrew. He looked down at her relaxed features and prayed nothing was wrong with her. Everything had been perfect. No Robert, no drama. They were getting married and both their parents approved and they were actually happy too.

Andrew sat in the backseat with her and kissed her forehead. “You’ll be okay, baby. I’m here,” he whispered, holding her closely.

* * *

Andrew sat in Cassidy’s hospital room, along with Rachel and Ian. They had called Cassidy’s parents, but her father was in a business meeting “not to be disturbed” while her mother was downtown working on her charity’s dinner benefit.

Andrew rested his hand over hers and wanted nothing more than to see Cassidy open her eyes. The doctor was refusing to tell them what was wrong until Cassidy woke up.

Cassidy’s arm twitched and he knew it was only a matter of moments before she woke up.

“Drew, go get some coffee,” Rachel said, standing up.

“What? Rach, can’t you see I don’t want to leave Cassie?”

“Not for me, for Cass. She’ll want some when she wakes up. I’ll wait here in case she wakes up. Just coffee, go get some coffee.”

Andrew shot her a questioning glance but nevertheless stood up, planting a soft kiss on Cassidy’s forehead and walked out of the room. Rachel motioned for Ian to follow and he cooperated and walked out of the room with Andrew.

Cassidy stirred in the bed. Her body felt like it weighed a ton, and her arms felt heavy when she tried to move them. She opened her eyes and saw Rachel looking at her. “What happened? Where am I?” she asked, looking around the room.

“We’re in the hospital, you passed out. Oh, and it’s just me and you right now,” Rachel said simply, waiting for Cassidy’s reaction.

“Why? What. Oh. My. God. I’m pregnant! This can’t be happening. Does Andy know? Oh my God, did you let it slip? Is he even here? What am I going to do?”

“Relax, Drew doesn’t know, okay? And you’re going to be fine. So you’re pregnant, it’s not the end of the world. You and Drew are engaged. You’re getting married. I mean you both want kids, so why not sooner rather than later.”

“But we’re not even married. My dad is going to kill me, no scratch that, he’s going to kill Andy.”

“Your dad will be fine. You and Drew are getting married, relax. You are almost done with school. Drew is almost done with school. You’ll both be done before the baby comes and you’ll be married by then too. Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.”

Cassidy looked up at her friend and nodded, glad Rachel was there to calm her down. Glad she was so lucky to have her in her life. “I’m done with school, Rach. So is Andy.”

“Wait, what?”

“We both finished early. We were keeping it a secret until it was official. We told each other the night he proposed.”

“Really? You’re done? So that’s even more perfect.”

Cassidy smiled and suddenly the prospect of having a baby so soon didn’t make her nauseous. “I’m pregnant.”

Rachel smiled back at her friend. “See, nothing to be afraid of. You and Drew can tell our parents when you’re ready.”

Cassidy nodded then frowned. “Did the doctors say anything? What about the baby? Is it okay, am I okay?”

“They wouldn’t tell us anything until you woke up,” Rachel said. “But I’m sure everything is fine. You weren’t in pain, you just passed out. The only thing they said was that you probably had a minor panic attack and that you were dehydrated. Nothing about the baby, but I think if something was wrong they would have said something.”

“Are you sure Drew doesn’t know?”

“I’m sure, we’ve both been in the room, although he’s outside with all those doctors and nurses who could potentially tell—”

“Get him in here!” Cassidy nearly yelled. “I have to tell him myself.”

Rachel laughed. “They wouldn’t tell him. But since you asked, I’ll get him.”

“Rach? Are my parents here?”

“No.”

“Good. I don’t think I could lie to them right now.”

Rachel smiled and walked over to the door. She peeked out and saw Andrew leaning against the wall. She pulled Andrew into the room quickly then turned around, winked at Cassidy then shut the door.

“What was that about?” Ian asked.

“Cass just has something she needs to tell Drew,” she smiled.

“Why do I get the feeling you aren’t telling me something.”

“Because I’m not,” she said. spotting Cassidy’s doctor. “Doctor?” The man turned around. “Is Cass going to be okay? I mean is the baby okay?”

“Oh, you know then?”

Rachel’s smile broadened.

“No one was asking so I figured you all didn’t know.”

“Well, she’s telling her fiancé right now.” Rachel beamed. “So is it going to be okay?”

“The baby is fine, healthy as well as the mother.”

“Thank you.”

“I’ll come back in a little bit to check up on her. She should probably make an appointment though, get her and the baby thoroughly checked out.”

Rachel nodded and watched as he walked off.

“Cass is pregnant?” Ian asked.

Rachel nodded.

“With Drew’s baby?”

“Of course it’s Drew’s, you dolt. Come on, we need to go set up an appointment.”

“Doesn’t Cass have to do that?”

“Believe me, I’ve pretended to be Cassidy over the phone before, all they really need is your birth date and a few other minor details.”

* * *

“Cassie?” Andrew said as he quietly entered the room. “Are you all right?”

Cassidy smiled. “Hey. I hope I didn’t scare you too bad.”

Andrew shook his head and walked over to her, taking her hand in his. He sat down in the chair next to the hospital bed. “Are you feeling better?”

“Yeah,” she said, trying to fight her growing smile. How was she going to tell Andrew, should she just do it bluntly or should she use the romantic ‘we’re going to be parents’ scenario?
Blunt, get it over with. Tell him quickly
.

“Baby, the doctor said you probably fainted because of dehydration and a minor panic attack, what were you scared of?”

Cassidy smiled and looked into his adoring and concerned eyes. He was going to be a great father.

“Cassie this isn’t something funny, it’s serious. What were you afraid of?”

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you,” she told him.

“If it’s about the phone calls, I’ve already talked to your dad. He’s having someone look into it.”

“Wait, what?” she asked, knocked out of her dream world—away from her ‘everything is perfect’ world—knocked back into reality.

“The phone calls.”

“Why did you do that?”

“Because you looked scared when you answered the phone. I was only trying to protect you.”

Cassidy nodded. “Do you think the person who’s been calling, will they know we’re looking?”

Andrew shook his head. “Are you sure you’re all right? Was that what was bothering you?”

Cassidy smiled again. “No, that’s not why I fainted.”

“Why did you panic then?”

“Andy, I love you.”

“Oh no, you’re going to tell me you cheated on me with Ian and you’re having his baby,” he joked.

Cassidy smiled and couldn’t resist playing with him. “No,” she said, looking down at him seriously. “Not exactly.”

Andrew’s hand stilled over hers. “What do you mean, not exactly?” He sounded hesitant.

“I’m…I
am
having a baby. Oh, and I didn’t cheat on you,” she said all at once.

Andrew looked at her and slowly comprehension dawned on him. He opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out.

“It’s yours,” Cassidy felt the need to clarify.

“Baby? We’re having a baby?” he finally asked.

Cassidy grinned and nodded her head. Andrew stood up with a huge smile on his face. “We’re having a baby,” he laughed then kissed Cassidy hard. “You nearly gave me a heart attack earlier. You know I might have to get admitted now.”

“Oh, poor baby,” she said, cupping his face. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I love you Andy.”

“I love you too, Cassie. A baby?”

“Yes.” She laughed at him.

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck affectionately.

“You’ve made me even happier. I can’t believe we’re going to have a baby, too.”

Cassidy smiled at Andrew and just watched as he gushed over her.

“Are you sure you’re okay? The baby?”

“I’m fine, Andy. Stop fussing over me and start freaking out about what my father is going to say.”

“What if we don’t tell him?”

“You know that’s a horrible idea.” She hit him lightly on the arm. “Maybe we could all go out to dinner, your parents and mine. It’d be a public place, so he couldn’t kill you.”

“That’s comforting.”

“I’m just saying, you know my dad is going to kill you. We aren’t even married yet.”

“Yes, but we are getting married. What if we move the wedding date to…tomorrow?”

Cassidy genuinely laughed. “I think he would be a little suspicious.”

“You’re right, your idea was pretty good. I’ll sit next to you and if it looks like he’s going after me with the steak knife, just intervene. He wouldn’t hurt his pregnant daughter to get to the bastard who made her that way.”

They heard a knock on the door before it opened. “Good, you’re awake,” the doctor said, walking into the room. “Miss Ames, I’m Dr. Michaels. Are you feeling any better?”

“Yes, I’m feeling fine.”

“Everything looks normal,” the doctor said kindly.

“Is the baby okay?” Andrew asked.

“I believe so. I advised your friend that you should set up an appointment, get you and your baby more thoroughly examined. They would be able to answer all your questions and give you more details on your baby and the due date, things like that, okay? Do you have anything else?”

“When can I leave?” Cassidy asked.

“Just fill out these release forms and everything should be set for you to leave.”

“Thank you,” Andrew said, shaking the doctor’s hand before he left.

“See, you have nothing to worry about,” Cassidy said.

“We still need to set up that appointment. We’ll do it before we tell your parents, so we have a little more to tell them other than you’re pregnant.”

“Hey, guys!” Rachel said, opening the door. “You tell him?”

Cassidy nodded.

“Good, I’ve just set up a doctor’s appointment for you, tomorrow. I asked around and I got you scheduled in last minute with, apparently, the best women’s doctor in town.”

“Now how did you do that? Don’t they have to actually talk to the person who’s visiting?” Andrew asked.

“Yes, well, we’ve done this sort of thing before. Comes in handy, you know?” Rachel said, smiling at Cassidy.

“I’m not even going to ask,” he sighed.

“So did they say when you could leave?”

“As soon as I’m finished with these papers,” she said, holding up a clipboard full of release papers.

* * *

“Baby, you’ve made me so happy,” Andrew whispered into Cassidy’s ear as they snuggled closer on his bed that night. “Are you happy?”

“Extremely,” she said, shifting to turn toward him. “What are you thinking?”

“I was thinking how lucky I am,”

“Stop being such a cheese, what are you really thinking?”

Andrew laughed. “Okay, I was thinking about the baby.”

“What would you name it if it was a boy?”

Andrew looked at her. “Didn’t we already decide on Benjamin?”

“That was nearly three years ago, you still remember that?”

“Yes. Does that mean you have changed your mind?”

“No, I like the name Benjamin Lukas.”

“Benjamin Lukas Winbright. Sounds good, I like it. What about for a girl?”

“Mikayla.”

“Mikalya Mariah-Faith Winbright.”

“Mariah-Faith?” Cassidy asked.

“Yeah, I kind of like it.”

“Me too,” she said, kissing him

“Are you anxious about tomorrow?”

“A little. I still can’t believe that I didn’t realize that I was pregnant. The doctor’s going to think I’m a complete idiot.”

Andrew caressed her cheek and kissed her softly. “She’s not going to think that, Cassie. Everything will be fine.”

Chapter Fourteen

I
t was a long appointment and even Cassidy was beginning to get restless.

“I’m sorry about all the questions, but since this is your first visit,” the doctor said, “I want to make sure I know about everything.”