Month Two: Part Two

Gwen hung up the phone, wiping away the few tears that dripped down, feeling a bit better after finally telling Duncan the truth.

"Sooo, how'd he take it?" Gwen jumped a little not having realized Jo still stood in the doorway. She'd probably stayed to make sure she didn't chicken out.

"Actually, he took it kinda well...he said he wanted to be a part of it and to keep him updated." Jo nodded.

"That's better than how I figured he'd take it."

"How did you think he would?"

"Ehh, I kinda thought he'd be a fainter. He seemed like the type to me." Gwen snorted, giggling at the thought of 'bad boy Duncan' fainting. Jo laughed along with her. "Come on, lets go down and eat, hopefully this'll pacify Sierra for now."

...Gwen was bored.

She was so done with this season. Total Drama All Stars was going by incredibly slow to her dismay; this season was as torturous to sit through as it was to compete in it. At this point all she wanted was to go home. She hadn't heard anything from her mother yet; she was always at work anyways, so Gwen assumed she hadn't seen the last episode she was in.

Time seemed to pass almost unbearably slow for Gwen at Playa Des Losers. Life there, while safe, was very uneventful. Really the only notable thing was that Alejandro and Heather were finally together now that they didn't have the competition setting them against each other. They were in the mushy, lovey-dovey stage of their relationship and geez, she thought the morning sickness had made her want to puke... Once they have to compete again, they'll be at each other's throats. She thought.

To make matters even worse, she was now nearing the halfway mark of her second month and her pregnancy was starting to become more noticeable. All of the normal symptoms were starting to hit at full force. Her mood swings were still there of course, but now Gwen got morning sickness more regularly, she slept in later, and she'd been eating,...a lot. Her appetite nearly could have rivaled Owen's, and that was saying something. She also began to notice her stomach change; while it normally had been flat, now her belly was beginning to turn round and soft, sticking out slightly from under her clothes, accommodating for the growing child inside her.

Gwen also never managed to stay alone. Every time she left her room she was usually approached by the other cast members; more often than not Sierra, but sometimes Lindsay and Jo hung around. Cameron was still in the hospital until he was healed enough to come to the resort.

Gwen sat with the others whenever a new episode premiered. As it turned out, Duncan had been right about Mal. While the other 3 contestants were still fairly oblivious - although Zoey finally seemed to be catching on - the cameras had caught every bit of his scheming. I should have listened to Duncan when he warned me and Courtney. She chastised herself. Then maybe...there would be a chance he wouldn't be in prison right now. Because of the unexpected double elimination in episode nine, no one got kicked off this week, keeping the final four for another episode. Only two more episodes, two more weeks of this damned show. She desperately hoped Courtney or Zoey would win.

Gwen walked back to her room that night, slightly irritated, with Lindsay trailing behind her. The blond was asking a bunch of questions about the baby and Duncan and etcetera. It was starting to grate on the Goth's nerves.

"So have you thought about what you're gonna name it yet?"

"No, names are the last thing on my mind right now."

"Well at least you're lucky on gaining baby weight!"

"I'm only two months along Lindsay..."

"I know, but so far you're all belly! My cousin Marsha had a baby last year and she gained like, everywhere...it was so bad. But on the upside, her little boy was so adorable and chubby..." Ramble, ramble, ramble. Some one make it stop. Gwen thought as she reached her room.

"Good night, Lindsay."

"I bet you're baby will be really adorable too! G'Night!" She waved going towards her own room. Gwen couldn't help but smile; as dim-witted as Lindsay was, she knew that the blond was sincere. Once she was in her room, she noticed a few envelopes on the dresser. She figured that an intern must have dropped them by.

The first one, a very thickly filled envelope with lovely cursive handwriting, was from Courtney. The second one was from her younger brother, Alex. The last one was from Duncan, delivered from the prison. "God his handwriting still sucks." She giggled as she started opening them. Courtney had smuggled her messages through the interns and had written nearly half a dozen lists and a separate letter.

"Boy names, girl names,...healthy foods during pregnancy,...colleges?..., Geez Courtney." She mumbled. She figured that Courtney would probably go a little overboard. Looking at it all nearly gave her a headache and she quickly moved on to her brother's letter. It was much shorter:

Dear Gwen,

YOU'RE PREGNANT?! I'm going to be an uncle?...Cool. Mom forgot to record the episode and has been really swamped at work, she doesn't know yet as far as I know. I figured you'd want to tell her, because I don't want to have to do it. Sorry. Good luck.

Alex.

P.S. I hope Duncan gets out of jail soon.

She finally moved on to Duncan's letter. This is the one she secretly feared reading. What if Duncan changed his mind? What if something bad happened to him in prison? She shook her head clear of anymore bad thoughts and started reading...

...\o/...

Two Days Earlier.

Duncan sat on his bed deep in thought for the god knows what day again. He'd tried to sound supportive on the phone to make Gwen feel better about this whole situation. In reality, he found himself scared shitless. It wasn't just for the fact Gwen was knocked up with his kid. He was terrified of what would happen after the baby was born. What if Gwen changed her mind and kept him away? What if the child hated him? What if his own kid thought he was nothing but a deadbeat? He didn't know how he would turn it all around, sure he could maybe stop trying to find himself in trouble with the law when he got out; but...then what? What place would hire a guy with his record? How was he going to make a living on his own? How the hell could he help support a child?

He had no fucking clue what he was going to do.

"Alright man, what's been up with you?" Jon, his cell mate, jumped down from the top bunk and sat next to him. "You haven't been the same since you got that phone call, which you never told me about. You look like hell." He said noticing the stress in Duncan's face.

"I don't know what to do Jon."

"Well, I consider you my buddy now, so if I can help at all, it would help if you'd tell me what that call was about." Duncan sighed and spilled out the whole story to Jon who listened with wrapped attention. When he finished the first thing Jon could say was: "Damn."

"What am I gonna do Jon? The kid's going to think I'm just a worthless deadbeat just like my dad always said." Duncan growled, frustrated beyond belief. "Hell, who knows, Gwen could end up changing her mind while I'm stuck in here and never let me see it or anything."

"Listen, the first thing you gotta do is stop thinking so damn negatively or you'll drive yourself insane." Jon said, putting a hand on Duncan's shoulder. "Now, I can imagine the shit that you must be worried about, but don't let it overwhelm you or anything. From what you've ever said, this Gwen girl, she doesn't sound that cruel. Trust her on her promise. But...you should let her know how you really feel about all this."

"I don't know if I can on the phone with a guard watching."

"Then write a damn letter or something, they'll probably let you." As Duncan sat considering this a guard approached the cell.

"Duncan, your mom's here to see you." Duncan followed the guard to the visitation room. His mom; Teresa, sat on the other side of the glass wall with the phone already in hand. A stern look was plastered on her face. He picked up his own phone and sat down.

"Hey ma..."

"Hey. I saw the last episode Gwen was in...you have something you want to tell me?"

"Gwen already called me, so just get to saying how even more disappointed you and dad are." She pinched the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes. Duncan's mom let out steady sigh.

"To be clear, I'm not angry over this."

"Oh yeah? What about dad?"

"Duncan, sweetie, you know how your father can be sometimes." She said.

"He's pissed isn't he?"

"Pissed would be putting it lightly." Duncan groaned leaning back against the chair. "So, what are you planning to do? What did you tell Gwen?"

"I told her I wanted to be updated, you know so I could be somewhat involved. And I told her that everything was okay and that I was happy and gonna turn everything around when I get out."

"How do you really feel?" Duncan sighed, his mom could read him like a book sometimes.

"Terrified." Teresa looked sympathetically at her son and put her hand against the glass. Duncan moved his hand to match hers hoping for some sort of comfort. She gave him a small smile.

"I figured."

"So what should I do? Is there anything that can get me out of here sooner?"

"Well, I'll see what I can do, but I guess the best advice I can give you is to behave yourself." Duncan nodded. "Well, I'll see you later Duncan."

"Wait, Mom?"

"Yes?"

"If I wrote a letter to Gwen, would you make sure she gets it?" Teresa smiled and nodded.

"You bet." Teresa hung up the phone and exited out of the room. The guard led Duncan back to towards his cell and told him to wait. He came back a minute later with a piece of paper and pencil.

"Call when you're finished." Duncan sat on his bed contemplating for a long while on what to write. His hand shook as he started...

...\o/...

Dear Gwen,

Look, I know I said that everything was fine. But after talking with my cell-mate Jon, I figured I should be more honest about this. The truth is that I'm as scared as you probably are. I wish I hadn't been so stupid to get my ass landed in here, but as soon as I get out, I'll do whatever it takes to make things better. I can't promise everything will be fine, but I can try to make things better. Whenever you're free from being on that armpit of a show, I hope you come visit me. I really do want to be a part of the baby's life. I'm just afraid you'll change your mind...or that the baby will grow up thinking I'm worthless. Hope to see you soon. I wasn't lying when I said I was excited about the baby. It's certainly something to keep me motivated about actually doing something with my life when I'm out of here. I swear, I'll try my best.

- Duncan.

Gwen re-read over Duncan's letter a few times. She absent-mindly rubbed her stomach as she felt horrible for him. God, why couldn't Chris actually let them go home after they got kicked off the show instead of coming to this stupid resort? She would be going to visit right now if Chris would just let her leave. Her cell phone buzzed as she set the letter down.

Gwen's face paled more than normal. It was her mother... Shit, well it had to happen eventually. Gwen gulped and hit answer.

"Hello?"

"Gwendolyn Talia Evans." Crap, the full name usage. I'm in trouble. "I finally saw the 100th episode. When were you planning on telling me that I'm going to be a grandma?" She sighed.

"How mad are you?"

"Oh, I'm past mad. I'm disappointed, I'm still kinda in shock, but more than anything I am surprised. You know me, can't hold a grudge to save my life."

"So when I get home what's my punishment?"

"You're 18 almost 19 in about a month and you're out of highschool. There's not too much I can really do now."

"Let me guess; until I move out, stricter curfew?"

"You got it. How far are you?"

"I'll be two full months in in a few days or so."

"How long until you can come home?" Gwen's mom asked.

"Not for another two weeks."

"Alright, well, I'll see you in two weeks. Make sure you eat right and get plenty of rest." Gwen smiled.

"Okay. I love you mom."

"I love you too sweetheart." The two hung up and Gwen fell back in bed, ultimately relieved.

"That went better than expected." Gwen yawned. She had been getting ungodly tired this month. She looked towards her stomach and lightly patted it. "You're taking a lot out of me. You know that?" She mumbled to the unborn child inside her. Two months in, seven more to go.

How the hell am I going to do this?