A/N: As promised, I updated. Yay. Really, it was only fair since I have been updating another story in this fandom. For those of you who are still reading this, thanks for sticking it out and I promise I will finish this... even if I am a little sluggish in doing so. I hope you enjoy. :D

Musical Inspiration:

Dear Future Husband - by Meghan Trainor

Natural - by Imagine Dragons

Time To Say Goodbye

Chapter 17

Baby Fever

.~*~.

Sliding the strap over her ankle, Brenda stood from her bed and peered down to see her grey Milano slingbacks contrasting nicely against her black cocktail dress. Happy with her outfit for the evening, she snatched the purse off her dresser and headed down the steps to seek out her husband.

Much to her dismay, she did not find him dressed and waiting for her in the living room.

With a huff, she marched her way to the one place in their penthouse she hoped he wouldn't be.

Leaning against the office door frame, her face scowled at the sight of Jason sitting at her desk, scribbling away at whatever work he managed to drag home.

This had been a familiar sight over the past few weeks. He kept himself as busy as possible and widened his distance from Brenda. She had given him his space, figuring that he just needed time to get over the events of the hospital. The 'Text Message Killer' incident had shaken him to his core and scared him with the realization of just how dangerous it was to be linked to his world.

Brenda's patience was wearing thin. She wanted her husband back and was teetering on the edge of anger. He had enough time to wallow. In her opinion, his emo behavior was a step away from black eyeliner and hours of 'The Fray' on repeat.

Clearing her throat to get his attention, he put his pen down and looked up.

"You're not dressed," she said with a pointed look, making sure he knew she was not happy.

Jason sat up straighter and linked is fingers. "I'm not going."

"You've known about this fundraiser for a week." She crossed her arms. "I RSVP'ed for the both of us. Nikolas put a lot of work into the Veteran's Free Clinic and Carly has been running around making sure everything is perfect for tonight." Brenda paused and gave him a stern look. "You're going."

Her husband picked up his pen and began tapping it against the paper he had been writing on. "Bren, I have work that has to get done." He shrugged.

"No." She moved further into the room. "You're blowing me off— like you have been doing for weeks and it stops now."

With a sigh, Jason closed his eyes and rubbed his head. "I'm not blowing you off, I've been living here with you in this penthouse every day."

Brenda scoffed and planted herself right in front of the desk. "But you're not here. You're pulling away scared. Frankly, I'm surprised I haven't been shipped off to the island to raise our child alone with the natives."

"Brenda, what do you want from me? I am fighting my instincts as much as I possibly can. My entire body is screaming at me for being this close to you and putting you in danger," he defended and glared down at the desk.

Aggravated, she lifted his face to meet hers. "I want you to look at me," she said and eyed his confused gaze. "Do I look like Liz, Courtney, or Sam to you? Okay, well people see a resemblance with Sam but that's neither here nor there."

The brunette shook her head and continued, "My point is— I am not going to just roll over and let you even ponder that decision. Yes, we have all heard the 'my life is too dangerous blah, blah, blah, speech. Well, here's a news flash, sweetheart—" she narrowed her eyes, "so's mine. My life is just as dangerous. Do I need to remind you that some phantom villain wants my head on a pike?"

The mobster flinched at her words. "Brenda, you have to understand—"

"Nope," she cut him off and released her hold on him. "When you decide to start using the rational part of your brain, that's when you can weigh in. So— until then, you are staying my husband, we are going to be parents, and because of that— our child is going to be fucking awesome! Now, get that fine ass of yours upstairs and go put a suit on before I lose what little hold I have left on my temper. I am very close to taking a punch at that pretty face of yours. Okay, dear?" she ended with an antagonizing smile.

After a stare-down between the couple that seemed endless, Jason stood from his chair. "You're bossy when you're pregnant." When Jason noticed his wife's eyebrows raise in an unamused manner, he decided to add to his comment. "And beautiful— very beautiful." Leaning over the desk, he gave her a peck on the lips. "I'm going to go upstairs and get dressed," he stated before backing away.

"Smart move," she replied and watched him leave the office.

.~*~.

The Morgans walked hand in hand through the entrance of the Metro Court. Once inside the event hall, they stopped to browse over all the guests in attendance. Spotting Carly, Brenda gave her a little wave and her friend hurried away from the gentleman she was speaking with.

"Thank God you're both here. I can only take some of these people for so long," Carly said, out of breath from sprinting over.

Brenda let out a small laugh as she looked around. "What's the latest gossip?"

"And that would be my cue to go grab drinks." Jason gave them both a kiss on the cheek. "Enjoy your girl talk," he ended before wandering over to the bar.

Carly took a step next to Brenda and discreetly nodded to where Sonny was standing. "So— since the start of the night, I've had to deal with Sonny fawning all over Kate. I put them at our table though because I want to keep at eye on her. I don't trust that stuck-up bitch at all."

The model smirked. "Still don't like her, heh?"

"No, not one bit." Carly shook her head. "Aside from that, the only other interesting thing I've been seeing is who brought who tonight." The blonde gave a quick point in Sam's direction. "Look over there."

"Is that detective Cruz?"

"Yeah," Carly confirmed. "Didn't take her long to get over Lucky, did it?"

Brenda took on a thoughtful gaze as she glanced at the pair. "Well, maybe they're friends— I mean, he was Lucky's partner."

Carly snorted. "Please— I'm guessing he's just a new bed warmer."

"How's your family doing since Lucky?" Brenda asked while bringing her attention back to her friend.

With a shrug, Carly continued to survey the crowd. "Luke took off. Mom's been dealing. I wasn't really that close with Lucky but it's still hard to see my family so broken."

Brenda instinctively rubbed Carly's shoulder in support. Letting her eyes run over the guests, she spotted Elizabeth and Juan chatting alone at a table. She guessed they were now officially together. With some more scanning, she spotted Nik near the stage with a short blonde. "Who's that with Nikolas?"

Carly stood on the balls of her feet to see over the other guests. "Hm— that's Nadine. She's a pediatric nurse from the hospital."

"Oh, yeah," Brenda drew out in recognition, "she checked me out after the Logan thing. She seemed really nice."

"Yeah, a bit weird though." The pregnant blonde tilted her head. "I heard she's been a real help to Nikolas with the clinic. I think she has a bit of a crush but he's not ready for that."

Brenda nodded. "I agree. It's going to be a long time before he's up for any kind of relationship."

"We should get to our table. It looks like our host will be starting his speech soon," Carly said as she took her friend's arm and guided her to where they would be sitting.

Brenda gingerly walked around the long table and read the place cards of who would eating with them. Sonny and Kate, Spinelli and Georgie, Coop and Maxie, Patrick and— Robin. Brenda raised a brow to Carly. "You have Robin with us. That was nice of you."

"Yeah, well, it wasn't for her benefit, believe me. I just happen to like Patrick," Carly said with a waved hand gesture.

Brenda found her spot and sat just as her husband came over. He grazed her neck with his fingers while taking his seat. With a smile, he placed a full glass in front of her.

"I got you a water with lime," he said and took a sip of his own drink.

She winked at him in thanks and watched the others begin to sit. Carly angled herself next to Jason while Sonny pulled out a chair for Kate to sit down. The table was filling up quickly as Nikolas took to the stage.

"Thank you all for coming—" the prince began, standing in front of the podium. "The point of tonight's fundraiser is to raise money for the new Veteran's Free clinic."

When the applause died down, he continued on, "After the events that recently darkened our town, I wanted to turn my anger inward but a friend pointed out how destructive that would be. It wouldn't be helpful— it wouldn't bring my fiancée back or anyone else who this tragedy touched. She pleaded with me to take my pain and turn it into something productive. A way to help people." He paused briefly to smile at Nadine. "So that is what I did. The money raised tonight will help support the clinic that is opening next month. Our facility will offer free medical care, as well as mental health—"

While listening to Nikolas' speech, Brenda's eyes glanced over her tablemates. Zeroing in on Patrick, her concern piqued as she watched him finish one drink and start on another. She caught Robin watching her and her friend gave a subtle shake of the head, as if to say 'don't question it'.

With the sound of clapping, she realized the speech was over. The chattering from different tables could now be heard over the music that resumed. Their own table was oddly quiet and Brenda could only assume it was due to the animosity of certain individuals.

Surprisingly, it was Kate Howard who spoke up first. "So, Brenda—" She turned to the brunette. "What are you going to do now that you are on a hiatus from modeling?"

Brenda took a quick sip of her water before answering. "Actually— I was thinking about starting my own line."

Kate's eyes lit up with opportunity. "Oh, that sounds marvelous."

"It's going to definitely take some work to pull together though. Location, merchandisers, suppliers, marketing, a full staff— I'm also going to need an assistant." Brenda looked toward the youngest female at the table with a smile. "What do you think, Georgie? Are you interested?"

Before the girl could open her mouth, her sister jumped in with her own response. "If I didn't love my job so much, I would hate you right now, Georgianna."

Kate gave her newly hired assistant a smirk. "Wise response, Miss Jones."

Shooting an excited grin to Brenda, Georgie practically bounced in her seat. "I would love to, thank you, Brenda, I won't let you down."

The model nodded in acceptance as Kate continued on, "You will have to make sure you give 'Crimson' your first exclusive."

"Sure," Brenda replied as she recalled that Sonny's girlfriend had recently begun the popular fashion magazine.

Patrick leaned forward and gave Brenda a devilish smile. "I better get tickets to your first runway show."

Jax quirked an eyebrow at the doctor. "I didn't know you were into fashion, Drake."

"Oh, not fashion, my friend." Patrick took back another shot while Robin eyed him wearily. "Models— I'm into models. At least I try to get into models." He put his hand up in a high five motion to Cooper. "Ah— who's with me?"

Maxie pulled her boyfriend's hand down slowly when she saw he began to raise it. "No, Coop." She shook her gently. "Just, no," she said and watched Cooper pout.

"Patrick, you're drunk," Robin tried to whisper discreetly.

The doctor refused to lower his voice. "What's wrong, Robin?" He gave her a condescending look. "Isn't this what you wanted? You told me to enjoy my bachelor life. We're having a baby and you won't let me be a father— you won't even give me a chance." Stealing Jax's drink, he chugged it back and stood up. "Maybe another baby-mama will."

The group watched as Patrick Drake walked across the dance floor and began speaking to a woman who was clearly pregnant.

"Err—" Georgie started, "this is not going to end well."

"Who is he even talking to?" Brenda questioned.

Carly snorted. "That's the mayor's wife."

Sonny squinted his eyes to get a better look. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, that's her." Jason nodded in agreement.

"Oh dear God, what is he doing now?" Maxie practically screeched.

All eyes at the table widened in shock. The view of Patrick Drake, on his knees, with his hands on the surprised woman's belly, sent a wave of gasps around them.

Carly slapped her knee and lost herself to laughter. "He's negotiating with the fetus."

Sure enough, the doctor's drunken babbling could be overheard. "I'm telling you, kid, I would be an amazing father. I'm handsome, brilliant— I mean I'm a neurosurgeon for Christ's sake. I have a bitchin' suite in this very hotel. I can make you up a room, it would be awesome."

"And— here come's security," Jax said and stood from the table. "I better go sort this out."

Carly shook her head and wiped the tears of humor from her cheeks. "God, I love Patrick. That man's a hoot."

Most of the table continued to watch the spectacle before them. Robin embarrassingly stood and followed out the security guards who had an unruly Patrick in their grips. Now that the noise had quieted down, many of the couples found it hard to comment on what they had just seen.

Brenda took this opportunity to go visit the silent auction table. Letting her husband know where she would be, she gracefully glided herself over and viewed the items offered. She noticed Sam and Elizabeth with their dates so she pointed herself toward the opposite end. Passing over donated airline tickets and a painting by a local artist, she settled herself in front of an antique necklace that had caught her eye. The striking blue sapphires and diamonds were nestled in gold and she found it lovely. Picking up the pen, she signed her name and wrote down her bid.

"That would look stunning on you."

Looking up to see who addressed her, Brenda found the confident smile of one Johnny Zaccara. "I thought so too," she replied.

Johnny eyed her waistline and swished around the drink in his hand. "Not quite ready to pop yet I see so how much longer until baby Morgan, there, makes an appearance?" he asked with a hand gesture to her stomach.

The mother-to-be instinctively rubbed the sides of her belly. "Still have some time to go. How are you, Johnny? I know Lulu's death must have been hard on you."

"Please, I knew that girl for like a month," he replied, feigning nonchalance. He was unable to keep eye contact as he did so.

Brenda's brows knit in concern. "Don't do that, don't demean your feelings."

Johnny glared in response. "And don't you pretend you know me."

"Fair enough." Brenda felt she may have overstepped. Her plan was to remedy the situation but she didn't get the chance. Her husband and her ex had intervened.

"What's going on here?" Sonny asked, his stance aggressive.

Back in his overconfident mask, Johnny put his drink on the table and crossed his arms. "Just having a chat with the lovely Mrs. Morgan."

With his lip curled into a snarl, Sonny leaned forward into the younger man's space. "You shouldn't be here."

"He was just leaving," Brenda said, trying to break the tension, "I was just thanking him for the flowers, right, Johnny?"

"Right, flowers," Zacchara smirked, "glad you liked them," he said to Brenda before nodding goodbye to the other men. "Corinthos, Morgan."

Sighing, the mother-to-be straightened her shoulders and waited for the inevitable scolding she would surely get. It didn't take long.

"You shouldn't be talking to him."

"I recall specifically asking you to stay away from him."

"It was a public place," Brenda defended, focusing on Jason. "What did you want me to do? Pull the fire alarm and scream there was a Zacchara in the room? He was civil and I was close enough to get you if there was a problem. It's done, he's gone. No one was murdered, now, can we try to enjoy the rest of the evening?"

Jason looked like he was far from finished so Brenda searched for an escape. It appeared in the form of her brother who was across the room. "Oh, look, there's Coop. I should go say hi." Not waiting for his reply, she took off.

"Hey, little brother," she greeted, sliding into the chair next to him. Brenda discreetly looked over his head to see if her husband was still scowling at her. Yup, indeed he was.

Copper stared at her with his hamster cheeks full of food.

"So, what's new?" she asked.

Her brother swallowed and took a sip of water before answering, "Not much. I heard from Julia."

"Oh, how is she?"

"Still a bitch," Cooper replied.

Brenda nodded. "I'm glad she's well."

He snorted in response.

Bumping him in the shoulder, Brenda gave him a smile. "Try not to take anything she says to heart. In her eyes, her mother was the only woman to give Harlan a true Barrett heir."

Cooper rubbed the back of his neck. "Um," he began and nervously laughed, "speaking of an heir"

"Is Maxie pregnant?" Brenda asked, her voice low.

"No, no." Her brother shook his head swiftly. "But a couple of weeks ago, we did have a scare. We both decided weren't really ready for kids," he assured. "I did realize something though."

Brenda watched her brother pull a box from his pocket and gasped in surprise.

With a smile, he showed her the ring. "I want to marry her."

Smothering her brother in a hug, Brenda whispered excitedly in his ear, "Oh my God, this is wonderful, Coop." Pulling back, she gave him time to put the ring away. "When are you asking her?"

"See the thing is," Copper began, scratching the back of his head, "I've tried asking her but every time I make a plan to do it, something goes wrong."

"You just have to do it," she insisted. Pausing in thought, Brenda looked around the room and saw opportunity. "Do it now."

Coop's eyes widened. "What, like, now, now?"

"Yeah, it's a fancy place you can do it in front of her friends and family. Maxie is a 'center of attention' type of girl. She'll love it."

After a moment of battling with himself, her brother smiled. "You're right, I'm going to do it," he said determined.

Brenda wished him good luck and her eyes followed him as he walked onto the stage.

With a few taps of the microphone, Cooper cleared his throat. "Excuse me, may I have everyone's attention?" He paused and waited for the room to quiet down. "Some of you might not know me, my name is Cooper Barrett." He took a deep breath and grinned when he saw Brenda give him a 'thumbs up'. "I haven't been a resident of Port Charles long, but I'm glad I stayed because I found something here that I don't think I could have lived without. It all comes down to one person. Ma—

"Georgie!" A man yelled, running into the room.

Said girl stood from her seat in shock. "Dillon?"

"Film Guy?" Spinelli said, joining his friend's state.

"Georgie, I'm sorry I didn't call first," Dillon said, attempting to catch his breath as he rambled on, "We were wrapping things up on set and I was feeling horrible about not being able to get home for Lulu's funeral. I was sitting there, thinking about the things that are important in life, because it is so short and really, even Robin Williams knew you're supposed to seize the day."

He took a thoughtful moment to get back on track. "But that's not important. What is, is that I realized something. I realized that I may have given up my one true chance at happiness. I let you go, Georgie, and I shouldn't have."

"Dillon," the youngest Jones looked around awkwardly at the silent room, "this is very inappropriate time."

Her ex-husband shook his head. "I don't care about any of that. This is our moment. Marry me again, Georgie."

"What?" Georgie asked, dazed

Spinelli began to stutter together sounds but nothing coming out of his mouth was forming any words. The poor guy didn't know how to handle this situation.

Georgie grabbed Dillon's arm. "Let's go discuss this outside," she said and led him from the room. Spinelli's chair nearly flew backward in his attempts to follow.

The rest of the room was silent but their eyes soon found their way back to Coop. With a sigh, the young cop spoke again into the microphone. "Uh, this is just an announcement to inform everyone that the buffet will be opened shortly."

Brenda frowned as she watched her brother leave the stage.

.~*~.

It had been a few days since the fundraiser and the Morgans were back at General Hospital. Brenda's checkup had gone smoothly, and now, they were eagerly awaiting the reveal.

"I still don't understand why we can't open it," Jason said as he and his wife exited the exam room.

Brenda folded her sweater over her arm and slowed her pace to whisper, "I promised Carly we would find out the gender together. Docter Lee knew about her situation, but with this new obstetrician, Carly had to come up with something so Jax wouldn't be in the room for the exam."

Jason took her hand as they continued to walk down the hall. "How did she pull that off— he's been at every appointment." The mob enforcer really wished Carly would stop repeating her past mistakes.

Smiling at her friends standing in the waiting area, Brenda spoke through her teeth in a low tone. "She told him that with her pregnancy history, this exam would be an internal but they could most likely tell what the gender was."

Carly didn't wait for them to reach her. She bounded over to them in excitement. "Did you ask for it to be written down? Do you have the envelope?" she questioned, raising her own.

"Yes, please tell her you have it. I have been waiting for an hour to find out the gender of my child. It's not like the father should know before the best friends— that would be ridiculous," Jax joked.

Brenda pulled out the envelope that held her results from under her sweater. "Yup, right here. You ready?"

The blonde nodded and the four parents-to-be huddled around. On the count of three, the girls ripped into the folded paper.

Reading it, both women looked to each other and smiled. Brenda's announcement of, "girl" and Carly's "boy" overlapped.

Jason smiled so wide his face hurt. A girl, he was having a girl.

As both men moved in to embrace their wives, they were completely ignored as the ladies squealed and hugged each other. They also paid no attention to the other hospital occupants who stared in their direction.

Jason saw that Jax's amusement mirrored his own. Though the pair rarely got along, they put their differences aside to congratulate the other with a handshake and patiently wait for their significant others to remember they were there.

Brenda turned first. "We're having a girl, Jase. Can you believe it? A little girl— tiny dresses, bows, and dolls. And when she's older we can have fun with makeup. Oh—" She twisted in Jason's arms and pointed to Carly. "Our children can be best friends, maybe they will go to prom together."

"Let's not think about that, please," Jason begged while Jax intervened with his own, "I think we are getting ahead of ourselves."

Carly and Brenda laughed at their husbands' sour looks. The idea of their children dating in the far-off future did not go over well.

"We need to go shopping this instant. This new little guy needs a boatload of stuff," Carly insisted.

Jason looked down to see his wife giving him innocent doe eyes, waiting for permission. With a resigned sigh, he nodded. "Just make sure you have your guards and don't go crazy. I mean it, Bren, we have plenty of time to get everything we need."

"Thanks, hubby," she said, giving him a quick smacking kiss on the lips. "I'll be home soon."

Leaving Jason's embrace, Brenda hooked an arm with Carly. "Have you seen the new Gucci diaper bags? They're gorgeous," she said, turning a deaf ear to her husband's defeated groan.

"No, but I have been looking at the new Fendi strollers," the blonde replied, gaining a sigh from her own husband.

Watching the ladies leave, both men gave each other a shrug of the shoulders.

"Work?" Jax questioned.

"Work." Jason agreed.

They both knew they might as well get started on trying to earn back some of what the girls were going to be out spending.

.~*~.

Among the racks of clothes inside Wyndham's department store, a lone female stood watching. She had received a tip that the model would be here. It proved to be a successful lead.

She really didn't understand what all the fuss was about, sure Morgan's wife was attractive but she was also carrying a bowling ball underneath that designer top. At least the girl had decent fashion sense.

Still, she was here for a reason and it had nothing to do with shopping. Although, the shoes in front of her were on sale. She decided to double back after this was over.

Focusing on her reason for being here, she continued to watch the brunette fawn over baby items with her blonde friend. Groaning in annoyance, she decided this was taking longer than she expected.

Seeing her target going in a separate direction, she thought she would get the chance to catch her alone. Unfortunately, it looked like the model saw someone else she knew and headed in their direction. It was another woman with a baby and a child next to her.

Stalking closer, she was able to overhear the women's conversation.

"Elizabeth, I would really like to bury the hatchet. Things are different now."

She watched as the woman, Elizabeth, glanced down at the model's stomach. She wondered just what that was all about.

"I suppose it would be wise if we talked."

"Good," Mrs. Morgan said, "There really are some things we need to discuss. How about in an hour, at Kelly's?"

"I just need to drop the children off with my gram but I can meet you after."

Seeing both women part ways, she waited a few moments before casually inching up to the brunette as she was looking over an infant dress.

"That's adorable," she said, leaning in and seeming interested in the item the model held.

"Yeah," Mrs. Morgan said with a sigh, "Now, maybe you can do me a favor and tell me what color it is.

When she raised her eyebrows in surprise, the model explained further. "I'm kinda colorblind. I can't see red or green."

"No red? she asked, appalled. "That sucks ass."

Morgan nodded. "It really does," she agreed and looked down. "Your shoes are amazing, please tell me they are red."

That made her smirk. "There are indeed."

"Nice." The model nodded and held out her to shake. "I'm Brenda, by the way."

She gripped her hand and reciprocated the handshake. "Claudia, my name's Claudia."

.~*~.

Brenda was thrilled to see she reached her penthouse door. Though the guards had carried her bags, her feet were killing her. It would be a wise decision to retire her heeled boots for the rest of her pregnancy.

She smiled when she saw her husband coming down the stairs. It loosened slightly when she saw the trepidation on his face as he watched the guards place all her bags down. She may have overdone it just a little.

"They had a sale," she defended.

He raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. Instead, he comforted her with a hug she easily melted into. "What took you so long? I know Carly came back before you, she stopped at the coffee house."

Brenda stiffened. "I just had some extra errands to run and stopped to get something to eat." She had no intention of telling Jason about her meeting with Elizabeth— at least not yet.

"What errands?" he asked suspiciously.

Not sure how she was going to answer his question, Brenda was relieved when Phil interrupted them.

"Mrs. Morgan, a package was just delivered for you. It was scanned and it checked out fine."

Pulling away from her husband, Brenda eyed her guard. "I didn't order anything."

Hearing that, put Jason on alarm. "Let me see it," he said taking the box.

Brenda moved to his side as he placed it on the table. "Maybe someone sent a baby gift."

Her husband opened the package to find a velvet box inside. When he lifted the lid, the same sapphire necklace from the fundraiser sat inside. "That was from the silent auction," she revealed, "but my bid didn't win."

"Who's did?" Jason asked.

"I don't know," Brenda replied and picked up the card.

It read:

Wouldn't this look lovely wrapped around your pretty little neck?