Yay, I'm back. You just can't get of me for long, can you? –wink-

Well, I had a vote on my profile concerning the writing of this story, and it was obviously given the go ahead! Thanks so much to all my readers who voted! (Whether you voted yes or no.) I'm just so excited for this story, because I've been planning out the plot of it for a long time. Ha-ha, I plan way too far ahead.

This will feature the PoVs of Nicole and Kathleen, plus one new PoV that hasn't been included in my prior stories. I'm hoping to include it in the next chapter.

And a big thanks to all of you who read Nicole and Kathleen 2! I received over 200 reviews, and I just wanted to give you all a big hug for supporting me and helping me out. –love-

Well, you're to read, so go ahead and do just that! Enjoy! :)

-Michelle

(DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything in here that you recognize except the OCs. All else is property of Disney or their respective companies. )

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"Kathleen, are you OK?"

I sighed, glancing up at the bathroom door in annoyance. "Yes." I called out. Okay, this was sort of a lie, but I didn't need her to know that I was actually flushing away what had once been my dinner. I shuddered. Trust me when I say that throwing up is not the most pleasant way to begin one's morning.

I heard the door handle turning and clicking, signaling Nicole's unsuccessful attempts to burst into the bathroom and check up on me, like she would do back home where I couldn't lock the door.

"It's locked." I sang out, and I could practically see her scowling on the other side of the door. I walked over to the sink, quickly rinsing the acidic taste from my mouth. I rolled my eyes, opening the door to stop Nicole's insistent banging on it. She stepped – well, more like fell – into the room, brushing some light brown hair out of her eyes as she glared at me, hands on her hips.

"Why'd you lock me out?!"

I shrugged, as I was in the process of brushing my teeth. She sighed, her eyebrows furrowing together like they did when she was worried. This was surprising to me, since she hardly ever worried about anything.

"What's the matter with you? You've been doing this for almost a week now, and I wanna know what's up." She paused for a second, and then continued talking. "I mean, you keep throwing up and you've been kind of… off. Do you have the flu or something?"

"Nope." I put away my toothbrush in the medicine cabinet. "I'm not sick. I keep telling you that."

"Then why do you keep-"

"I don't know!" I cried out, frustrated with her persistence. She walked into the bedroom, pacing and muttering things to herself that I couldn't hear. I ran the hairbrush through my hair, thinking through the possibilities.

Maybe I was sick. Or maybe I'd eaten something that had spoiled and I had food poisoning. Or maybe I was –

'No.'

No, it wasn't that. Was it?

I slowly looked up at my reflection in the mirror, my ice blue eyes staring back at me, questioning, wondering about what I'd tried 5 days ago. I suddenly felt sick again just thinking about it. It wasn't a possibility. It just couldn't be. I was sure that it wasn't possible.

Apparently the same thought had crossed Nicole's mind at about the same time. She abruptly stopped pacing, peering tentatively into the bathroom. "Kathleen?" Her voice was soft, and it scared me a little.

"What?"

"Have you been…?" She paused, looking slightly uncomfortable, before blurting out the rest of the sentence. "Have you been late this month?"

The bluntness of the question hit me like a truck. I stared at myself in the mirror, stunned. I knew exactly what she was referring to. And I panicked, because I knew the answer.

'Yes.'

"N-No!" I stepped out into my bedroom, my voice the exact opposite of how I wanted it to sound. "No, don't you even think that! It's not even possib-"

"Yes, it is!" She fired back. "It all fits, it explains everything! You know that as well as I do!"

I shook my head vigorously, my throat growing thick.

"No, no, you can't be saying that I…" I swallowed, my face toughening up again. "I'm not… You can't be saying that I'm… That I'm pregnant!" I threw my hands up, stalking towards the door. I couldn't stand to hear any more of it.

She winced slightly at the word. "How… How can you be so sure, Kathleen?"

I stopped in my tracks. I'd been expecting that question from her. Feeling the color drain from my face, I sighed, biting my lip and closing my eyes before answering faintly. "I… I've already checked."

I heard a sharp gasp behind me, and turned around to see Nicole looking at me, her face softening. "You… You thought you were pregnant? When? Why didn't you say anything?"

I sighed. I'd been expecting a response like that. I sat down on the bed, drawing my legs to my chest. "A-About a week ago. I went to the drugstore, took the test, had the most nerve-wracking 5 minutes of my life, and…"

"And…?" She prompted.

"It was negative."

"Oh." She sat down next to me on the bed. "Did you tell Riley about it?"

"No, I-I couldn't. I mean, he'd probably freak out or something. And besides, he's been so busy working on his book and everything after Cibola. I mean, we all have, really. I don't think…" I frowned, trying to get the wording right. "I mean, a baby… That's probably the last thing we need."

"You could be right. But…"She paused. "Maybe you should try again?"

"No!" I cried out, jumping to my feet. "I…I…" I fell back on to the bed, thinking through it over and over. Then I finally decided that I couldn't hurt. It would come out negative, just like last time. Nothing to be afraid of.

"OK, fine. One more time. But I won't be, trust me."

Nicole shrugged. "You never know, Kathleen. Hell, with our 'luck'…" She put air quotes around the word. "With our luck, I wouldn't be surprised."

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Why did it have to take 5 whole minutes?! It was just too damn long!

I groaned, hitting my head against the medicine cabinet in agitation. I had never been extremely patient, and the weight of the situation didn't help at all. I hopped up onto the counter, taking a deep breath to calm myself.

'It won't be positive.'

I clutched the test tightly in my hand, wondering, my mind venturing into what I had deemed impossible. What if I was…?

In all honesty, I really didn't want to be. I was nineteen, totally not ready for that giant step. And Riley was only twenty-sev–

Riley.

I'd never been so glad that he was gone, to be honest. He and Ben had gone off to a conference in Boston that weekend, so no matter what happened, I had time to prepare before he came home.

Things between us had gotten even better, if that were even possible. Ever since my return, he'd been jokingly referring to me as his 'fiancée' (at least, I thought he was joking…). I didn't really know what to think of it, honestly. I thought he was only kidding around a little, but that promise he'd made almost 2 months earlier still rang in my ears.

'I want you to be mine. One day, you will be.'

So… Did that mean he was seriously considering marrying me? I often reminded him that he was crazy for even thinking I was pretty, let alone being that serious. He would just laugh and kiss my cheek and tell me that I had to be blind to not see it. Then I'd try to argue and he'd shush me and give me that silly little grin that he knew I loved.

That was the thing about him lately; he was so… optimistic. This was odd, because whenever I watched the movie, he always seemed like…well… a Johnny-Raincloud, for lack of a better term. I didn't see how I had the ability to change that. Especially considering the fact that I'd nearly gotten him killed twice.

And if I was pregnant, it would probably be a quick end to his optimism, especially after how'd panicked after my little joke a few months earlier. I had to wonder, though, what he'd think now compared to then. Would he still freak out, or would he be a little more…accepting of the situation because of how things were going right now?

The final two minutes inched by ever so slowly, as if Father Time was just trying to drive me insane or something. Finally, I glanced up at the clock on the bathroom wall, and found my five minutes were up. I jumped down off the counter, slowly releasing my crushing grip on the object on my hands. I stopped, squeezing my eyes shut. I needed a moment to stop panicking. Everything would be fine.

Finally I released the breath I'd been holding in, taking a slow peek at the test. And then I did a double take.

"Oh! Oh… Oh my god! Oh no…"

My thundering heart skipped a beat. I let out a small choked noise, gripping the counter as if I were holding on for dear life. My legs were suddenly about to give out beneath my shaking body.

And the tiny pink word on the little screen stung like a slap to my face.

'Pregnant.'

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Oh dear. Well, I've pretty much just jumped right in with this, haven't I? Well, we'll see how this turns out next time!