PART 3
Tom arrived and found Cassy quiet and withdrawn. He could tell from her voice on the phone that something was wrong. He postponed his meeting with the DA and headed for Cassy's house. It was all he could do not to put on the siren and run every red light to get there.
"Cass, what's wrong? You're scaring me." Tom sat down next to Cassy on the sofa.
Cassy looked at Tom and took a deep breath. "Tom, do you remember when we spent the night together after the benefit?
"Vaguely. We were a little wasted. What about it?" Tom began to relax. Cassy was calm so he knew the news wasn't life threatening.
Cassy got up and walked to the window. She could see the pretty blue sky. Everything looked so peaceful. "Thinking wasn't our top priority that night. All we wanted to do was dull the pain and forget that awful evening ever existed."
"Yeah." Tom was carefully following along, unsure of where she was going.
"I never thought this would happen. Not in a million years. It never entered my mind or a second."
"Cassy, tell me what you're talking about." Tom could feel a knot forming in his stomach.
Cassy turned away from the window and stared straight at Tom.
"I'm pregnant."
Seconds passed.
Tom swallowed once, then twice. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"Tom, did you hear me?"
"Yeah, I heard you. Are you sure you're pregnant?"
"I haven't been to the doctor yet, but I'm positive."
His eyes flew open. "How? How can you be positive? You haven't seen the doctor?"
"I'm pregnant and I have three tests in the bathroom to back me up. Go look."
Tom ran his hands through his hair to keep them from shaking. It was no use so he placed them in this lap. "No, that's not necessary. I believe you. And you're certain the baby is mine?" Tom bit his tongue, hard. He could not believe he just said that.
"Tom Ryan, how could you ask me such a question? Do you think I'm the kind of person who jumps in bed with every man I meet?" Cassy was not expecting this approach and it made her angry.
Tom tried to make amends. "I'm sorry Cass. I don't know why I said that. Of course you don't. But, come on Cass, weren't you still seeing Dalton Alexander during that time?"
Cassy took a deep breath and decided to forgive him instead of throwing something at him. "Okay, you're right. I can understand where you're coming from. But number one, Dalton had a vasectomy shortly after we met, which actually coincides with his daughter's birth so I'm guessing that he did it so his wife couldn't have any more of his kids and it had very little to do with me."
"I wouldn't take his word on anything like that Cass. The man is a known liar."
"I agree, which brings me to my second reason. Since he had been 'traveling' so much, it had been a few weeks since the last time we were together. My cycle had come and gone. I was not pregnant before that night and my doctor will verify that."
Tom went into the kitchen for a drink. He wanted a strong glass of whiskey but he settled for a coke. "Cass, I don't know what to say here. This was not something I was expecting."
"I wasn't planning this either."
"I know. It's just that this morning, the biggest thing in my life was a ten dollar rebate on my next pair of shoes and now you're telling me I'm going to be a father."
"I didn't say you were going to be a father."
A look of confusion crossed over Tom's face. "I don't understand. You just said we were having a baby."
"I said I was pregnant. I haven't decided what to do about it."
Confusion was replaced with anger. "What do you mean, you haven't decided? You're not considering....."
"I'm not considering anything, Tom." Tears threatened to flow down Cassy's angry face. "I have known about this baby for exactly two hours and ten minutes. I haven't decided if I'm going to keep this baby. I also haven't decided on a name, a preschool, or a college yet."
The tears came anyway and Cassy was too tired to fight them. Tom gathered her close while the tears continued to fall. He stroked her hair as he had done the night they were together. "I'm sorry, Cass. What I said was inexcusable. Just promise me you won't make any decisions without talking to me first, okay?"
Cassy looked up at Tom, the father of her baby and her very best friend. This wasn't his fault. They did this together and together they would get through it.
"Okay. We're in this together."
They agreed to take things slow, one day at a time. He immediately insisted that she schedule a doctor's appointment. The earliest opening wasn't until the following morning so they'd have twenty-four hours to know for sure. Tom wanted something sooner but Cassy assured him that she knew she was pregnant.
Looking at his watch, Tom realized he was going to be late for his meeting with Assistant District Attorney Johnson. He was expected at 12:00 and wasn't thrilled that Tom had to push back the meeting until 2:00. Johnson was a busy man and had no time for a cop's pathetic excuses.
"I want you to take it easy. Watch soap operas, knit, read a good romance novel."
Cassy pushed her hair from her face. "Tom, I don't like soap operas, I don't knit and if I'm going to read something, it's going to be a mystery."
"You always have to make things difficult, don't you?"
"I work better that way."
"All right. Avoid the soaps and the knitting. Read all the mysteries you want. Just promise me you will be good."
"Good? You mean like no back flips off the couch? Or juggling knives? Or borrowing my neighbor Paul's motorcycle and driving around town looking for fun?"
He kissed her on the forehead. "Forget the teenage years, you're going to give me a head of gray hair before the child even gets here."
Tom came back after his shift was over. He found Cassy in the front yard in her flowerbed. "Are you sure you should be doing that?"
She looked up and smiled at him. She should have known Tom would return.
"Pull weeds? Yeah if I want my pretty little flowers to grow."
"I mean, bending over and doing such physical labor."
"Tom," she chuckled, "I'm not building a house just pulling weeds." She stood up and stretched her legs. "Since you're here, you want to stay for dinner? I think I have some hamburger meat in the freezer." She headed inside the house.
"How can you be so calm and casual? You're having a baby, my baby, and all you can think about are weeds and hamburgers? We should be discussing this pregnancy not dinner. We have a decision to make."
Cassy took the meat out of the freezer. "There's not enough meat here for hamburgers. How does spaghetti sound?"
"Cassy." Tom had a very dangerous tone to his voice.
"Tom, I'm having this baby."
A look of relief washed over him. "You are?"
"Yes. This baby is a part of me. There never was any other answer. I'm keeping this baby. I'm going to raise this baby and be the best mother for my baby." She looked over at Tom and smiled. "Our baby."
He smiled back. "Our baby."
Cassy returned the next day from her appointment to find Tom reviewing a case report that on which he was going to testify. He saw her walk in and immediately walked her to interrogation room two. He closed the door behind him to ensure privacy.
"Well?"
Cassy sighed. "Welcome to parenthood, Dad."
Tom couldn't hide his grin. "Really? You are? You really are?"
"I am. I really am." Her grin matched his.
"Wow. I'm going to be a dad." He threw his arms around her and swung her around. He stopped and looked guilty. "Maybe I shouldn't have done that."
Cassy smiled. "I think it's okay."
"Wait until I tell my parents." He reached over and picked up the phone.
She took the phone out of his hand. "Tom, wait."
"What for? You're definitely pregnant and I'm definitely going to be a dad."
"Yes, but I think we should wait to tell people."
"Why?"
Cassy leaned in towards Tom. "Tom, how do you think people are going to react when they find out that the ex-Mr. and Mrs. Ryan are expecting a baby when there has been no inclination that there was anything going on between them? Especially Harry."
Tom began to catch on. "If Harry finds out, he won't be happy. He'll think we've been carrying on behind his back. He hates that."
Cassy grabbed the candy bar Tom had been eating on and took a bite. "Things relaxed a little after Chris and Rita but this won't be easy. We're not seeing each other, just having a baby together. And Harry is a family man.
He'll probably expect you to do the honorable thing and marry me."
Tom took the candy bar away from Cassy and took a bite. He handed it back to her. "I've made the sacrifice before. As painful as it was."
"Very funny." Cassy ate the last bite and threw the wrapper in the garbage.
"Don't you think we ought to work out the details before people find out?"
"Yes. I'll come over..."
The door opened and Harry walked inside. Tom cursed himself for not locking the door. "I hope I'm not interrupting the two of you."
Cassy smiled her best smile. "No, Harry, not at all."
"Why are the two of you in my interrogation room?"
"I thought I left something in here." She turned to Tom. "Thanks for helping me look."
"Anytime, Cass."
Harry looked at her. Something was off. "Glad to see you're feeling better, Cassy. A twenty-four bug?"
"Something like that. What have you got?"
"A young woman washed up on the beach this morning. The Medical Examiner is already there. I suggest you get moving." He dropped the file in front of Tom and headed back to his office.
Tom opened the file and got the location. "Ready?"
"Let's go."
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End of part 3
To Part 4