Here's a semi-fluffy part (at least toward the end). It gives some more insight on Ryan's side of things. I'll get back to the more pressing questions later. RL is kinda getting in the way, but I'll try to update soon.
Oh, and here's my crappy attempt at a banner! I am completely amateur so it's all done on paint instead of the good programs. Well, it's something and it's mine ....
Part 7
Ryan rushed to answer the persistent knocking on his door. Annoyed, he pulled the door open and uttered an angry, “What?”
May stepped back a little at his attitude. He then saw that it was his fiancé’s cousin and sighed.
“I’m sorry, May. Come on in,” he said, pushing the door back to let her enter. They made their way to the couch where Ryan slumped into his seat.
May had yet to say anything, but continued to study the man she thought of like a brother.
Normally he was full of life and extra gentle with people. Today, his dark blue eyes looked red and sunken in, with deep red circles underneath them. His complexion was pallor and had a gray tinge to it that spoke of sleepless nights. He appeared gaunt, as if he were fading away.
May sighed, and offered a smile that didn’t quite reach her deep emerald eyes. Ryan failed to give one back, but nodded his acknowledgement of it. She was in no doubt of why he appeared this way.
Her cousin was lying in their room, only really smiling when she spoke about the baby, taking care of herself if only for her child’s sake. She rarely left her place in the room, and hadn’t been to work in three days. It was taking a toll on her poor friend, as he was still kept in the dark about why his fiancée was acting as such.
“I’m not here to tell you,” she said softly, but with a meaningful glance to him. “Just know that you are not in the wrong at all. Too many things are going on in Ami’s mind right now, and she’s not able to deal so well. I mean, think about it Ryan. Her mother is in the hospital and now she has to deal with becoming a mother, and though it’s a blessing, it is also a stressor, Ryan.”
Ryan nodded at this. He knew it just made her life a little more complicated, but it did give her joy at the same time. He only had to glance at the love of his life once to understand that.
“But that’s not all, is it, May?” he said, his voice hoarse. Her eyes dropped to her lap, then she shook her head. Her eyes then met his again.
“She’ll tell you eventually, Ryan. She loves you and your baby with all she has in her. She just needs time.”
Again he nodded, his eyes solemn. “I love her and the baby with everything I have in me, too. I just can’t understand why she can tell you but not me,” he admitted quietly.
“Oh, Ryan. It’s not about that. It’s just … something she doesn’t want to have to explain to anyone, including herself. I knew the back-story, so it was easier to tell me. She needed someone who understood. I have no doubt she told her mom, too. I’m sure she would have told my mom if she wasn’t in Roswell.” She paused then, thinking about why her mother was there, of all places. She sighed. “Believe me. It’ll happen sooner rather than later. And I’m here to make sure of it.”
With that she sprung to her feet. Ryan looked at her, obviously confused. Then she headed toward their bedroom door. She paused again and looked to Ryan, her eyes bright and determined. “You get some rest. You look like death warmed over. I’ll talk to Ami.”
***
Ryan woke, startled, when the front door slammed shut. May had left. She always slammed doors, whatever mood she was in. Still, Ryan was almost afraid to enter the bedroom he and Ami shared.
May had an imposing presence sometimes. He knew she got most of it from her mother, but it was times like these that he saw something different, that must have come from her father.
May looked like a replica of his bubbly “Aunt” Maria, so much that he rarely thought about what her father had looked like. But then something would pass over her face, or she’d scratch her eyebrow, and suddenly it was as if she were a different person altogether. Her father, he assumed.
He had been kept in the dark about the cousins’ fathers. He just knew that May’s had passed before she was born and that Ami’s … well, actually, he knew nothing about Ami’s, but it had to be bad. All he really knew that they’d been “not of this earth.” Ami, while had a lot of her mother in her, had to have a lot of her father, too. Her eyes, for one, were a stranger’s, as was her smile and her cute little ears. Neither Ami nor her mother spoke of him, and his presence was hardly felt in the close-knit family.
After his parents had abandoned him at the age of two, he had bounced from home to home, never feeling quite comfortable. But when he met Ami and her interesting family of females, he felt like he had come home. Suddenly he had two “aunts” and a “sister” and the love of his life. They treated him like family, and it was the happiest feeling he had ever had.
Now he was building his own family, with his beautiful Ami. He just hoped she would open up to him before whatever this was consumed her.
With a sudden confidence, he opened the door and was met by a smiling Ami.
“I don’t know how you’ll forgive me,” she said softly, and then rested her hand unconsciously on her belly. He looked at her, confused.
“Forgive you?” he asked. She smiled again, sadly.
“For blocking you,” she replied. He knew she just wasn’t talking about not talking to him. She had also kept their bond on a block.
Suddenly the block opened and he could feel her pain, sadness, joy, love, and everything else she had been holding back.
His eyes closed. “Thank you,” he said, relishing in the feel of the bond. Then he felt her small, soft hands on his face. He slowly opened his eyes. Her were staring into his, filled with tears. “Ami,” he started, shaking his head.
“No,” she said, knowing what he would say already. “May was right. I need to tell you.”
He looked down, and nodded. They both needed this, and they both knew it. He looked at her, and then down to her flat belly. He smiled and covered his hand over it, and laughed when the glow came immediately. He looked up at her. “I just needed to see it again,” he shrugged and pulled her into a hug. She hugged him back tightly.
He pulled her down to the bed, and brushed her hair out of her eyes. He kissed her, sweetly yet deeply. “Are you ready?” he asked seriously. She took a deep breath, but then nodded.
“We never really talk about my father,” she started, taking in a big gulp of air. He nodded and waited for her to continue. “My mom and him loved each other, very much. But I was conceived in a time of grief, when Michael, May’s dad, died,” she said, and began to fidget with the hem of her shirt. He hugged her close to him, as reassurance.
“They had broken up afterward. Mom knew it was going to happen. Their connection was deep, and she had dreamt of something terrible happening to them the night they were together.
“She dreamt of an evil being coming in between them, preventing them from being happy. So when he avoided her for a few days, she knew there was more to it.” She paused, sighing. She felt heavy, as if the problems between her parents were weighing down on her.
“Another alien came to town, the only other they’d ever seen. She was evil. She had the ability to change memories and change a person’s reactions. She was controlling my father. And Alex,” she looked up at him then, her eyes questioning. “You remember what happened to my uncle, right?”
He nodded. “He was almost killed by an evil alien … Ami, I had no idea,” she cut him off.
“That was the point,” she said and sighed tiredly. He brought her back into his embrace. “He was with her when mom found out she was pregnant. Well, Auntie Maria found out she was pregnant first, then mom. Mom tried to tell him, but he was being controlled. So they decided to move.”
She looked up at him. “That’s when they found my uncle, in a little town in Colorado. He had been hiding there, because Tess, the other alien, thought he was dead and he wanted to keep her thinking that way. He took care of them, and when me and May were born, us too.” She held him close.
“That’s why I was crying when I moved in next door to you. I didn’t want to leave my uncle Alex, but he couldn’t move so far away and we couldn’t stay.” She smiled up at him. “You always had a way to make me feel better, though, even from the start.” She felt him smile against her cheek.
“I love you,” he said. She kissed him.
“I love you, too.” Then she frowned. “But this isn’t why I’m so upset.” He nodded, sending a burst of reassuring love through the open connection.
“The chief of staff, the one that told me I was pregnant?” she said and sighed.
“What about him?” he pressed gently.
“He’s my father, Ryan,” she finally confessed. He shut his eyes tightly. He was wondering where this was leading. He felt pained because he knew this knowledge was hurting her.
“Does he know?” he asked. She shook her head and he nodded. He figured as much, just needed the confirmation. “You’re not sure what to do?” he asked, knowing that could be what was plaguing her. She nodded. He sighed. “It’ll be okay, Ami. Remember what we used to say?” he asked.
“We can make it through anything as long as we’re together,” she replied, a sad smile on her face.
He nodded vigorously. “That’ll be true for this, too. No matter what happens, no matter what you decide,” he said seriously, looking into her amber eyes, bright with unshed tears. Then he kissed her forehead and closed his eyes. “For now, let’s sleep. You, me, and the baby need some rest.”
She smiled at that, and complied. She felt so lucky to have him, and she did feel better admitting everything to him. May’s forwardness really did pay off sometimes.
***
She awoke to Ryan singing their song to her stomach. He looked up and noticed she was awake with a bright smile on her face. He blushed, embarrassed to be caught.
“Um, so, what do you think we’re having?” he asked. She grinned at his sudden subject change and hit him with the green throw pillow. She laughed at the hurt expression on his face and placed a hand over her belly.
“We’ll have to wait and see, I suppose. Mom said after about five months she was able to connect with me,” she said, her face thoughtful. He placed his hand over her tiny one and smiled.
“Names?” he asked, happy for the bright mood she seemed to be in. Ever since she told him everything, it had been as if the world had been lifted from her shoulders. She cocked her head to the side, thinking. She began to bit her lip slightly in concentration.
“I was thinking something to do with the sun, well, because it’s our song. But most of the things I come up with are just too … I don’t know, hippy-sounding.”
He laughed out loud at this. “You know what? I agree. Maybe we should do something for a middle name, then? Like for a girl, Soleil?” he offered, looking up at her hopefully.
A grin broke out across her face and again he was struck by how beautiful she was. “I like that. It’s … fitting. Perfect,” she said, her eyes twinkling.
“Ha! I knew those French lessons would pay off somehow!” he exclaimed and pulled her into a hug. She rolled her eyes good-naturedly and kissed him.
“We can worry about first names and boy names later,” she said. Then suddenly her mood darkened. “I need to go to work,” she whispered, glancing at the clock.
He shook his head and pulled her close. “No. Stay. You need to,” he said, his voice serious.
“I can’t avoid it forever,” she whispered, shaking her head as well. He looked as if he were going to protest, but then nodded his understanding.
“I’ll be here. Call me if you need me. I’ll bring the phone into the darkroom,” he said. She knew how much he hated having the phone near him while he worked and was grateful for the gesture. She simply nodded.
“I promise,” she said, then headed for the shower.
TBC....
Well, here's more questions answered....