Marley sat on the kitchen counter, waiting for Abel to get home. In all of her 22 years, she had never been more terrified than she was right now. She glanced down at the box beside her on the counter and leaned back against the cupboards behind her. She closed her eyes when she heard the front door unlock. Listening closely, she heard the sound of Abel's keys hitting the hall table and the door click closed behind him.

"Mar? You up babe?" He called as he headed towards the bedroom.

"In here." She said quietly. A few seconds later, Abel's head popped into the doorway of the kitchen.

"Surprised you're not knocked out." Abel chuckled, checking his watch. It was a little after 2 AM and Abel was just coming home from a Tacoma run with the boys. He made his way over to her and pressed his lips to hers gently. "Did you miss me?" He asked, resting his hands on either side of her legs. His right hand nudged the little drugstore box and it caught his eye. His eyes widened as he realized what this little cardboard box meant. Without his eyes leaving Marley's face, he silently reached for the box and held it up between them. Marley avoided meeting Abel's eyes.

"I was gunna wait until you got home, but I couldn't sleep and…" Abel cut her off.

"Yes or no?" Marley started to fidget with the bracelet Abel had given her after they had been together for six months. She listened to the sound of the test sliding out of the box, and held her breath when Abel flipped over the box to look at the diagram on the back. He brought the test closer to his face, squinting before moving to stand under the light and tilting it in all different directions. Marley started to wonder if he was hoping that by some chance the very faint second line would fade away.

"Abel…" Marley started, what would she say? That she would get an abortion? That she understood that if he wasn't ready for the responsibility of having a child? They had been together for just under a year, and although she knew she loved him, she was often unsure if she would end up with him for the rest of her life. Abel slowly turned around and dropped the pregnancy test to the ground.

"I'M GUNNA BE A DAD!" He hollered, striding towards Marley and wrapping his arms around her waist lifting her off the counter. She wrapped her little legs around his waist, and her arms around his neck as he spun her around the kitchen. "No fuckin way Mar. No way. Seriously?" She thought his face would crack open because of his shit eating grin that was plastered from ear to ear. All thoughts of not keeping this baby vanished from her mind.

"Seriously." She let out a laugh. "I'm only a few days late so I don't know how far a long I am, but I'll probably book an appointment at St Thomas sometime this week. Get a blood test done, and maybe an ultrasound if I can." She felt Abel's soft lips on hers, for the first time in four days she felt herself relax. Abel shifted his arms so that he was holding her up by her ass, and freed up a hand to dig in his pocket and pull out his prepay. Although for the most part the Club's dealings were usually legal now, they still hadn't gotten out of the habit of pre paid phones. He flicked it open and hit the number one key, and Thomas answered on the second ring.

"Better be important Abel, I'm about to enjoy some dark meat." Marley heard a slap and a giggle from the other end of the phone and held back the urge to vomit. Tommy Teller was known for his love of women, specifically the Crow Eaters that hung around the clubhouse.

"Nah just calling to make sure you made it home alright, uncle Tommy." Abel couldn't keep the smile out of his voice.

"Shut up bitch, I'm on the phone." Thomas's voice was muffled. The other end of the line went silent and Thomas's voice came back clearer. "The fuck did you just say to me?"

"Said I called to make sure you got back whole, bonehead." Marley was trying her hardest to stifle her laugh.

"I called to make sure you got back whole bonehead.." Thomas mimicked in a high pitched girly voice through the phone. "Not that you dickwad, the other part."

"What other part?" Asked Abel.

"DID YOU, OR DID YOU NOT KNOCK UP MARLEY TANNER." Thomas's voice boomed from the other end of the line. Marley couldn't control her laugh, so she buried her face in Abel's shoulder to try to silence it.

"Well according to this stick thing that Mar pissed on yes." Abel's voice was so full of pride and love, it melted Marley's heart to hear it.

"I'M GUNNA BE AN UNCLE!" Thomas all but screamed into the phone.

"Suppose so." Abel said into the phone, slowly starting to carry Marley towards his bedroom.

"Dude that's fucking awesome. Tell Mar she's in for a wild ride, us Teller's are quite the handful." Abel winked at Marley.

"Something tells me she already knows that." He used his boot to knock the door to his bedroom shut behind him, making his way towards the bed

"Well I'm gunna see if I can go make him a cousin." Thomas chuckled through the phone. Abel let out a laugh and shook his head.

"Don't go stealing my thunder. I'll see you at Church." Abel flipped his phone closed, ending the call. He laid Marley down, and shrugged out of his kutte.

"It's been a long four days without you…"

Marley pulled her car into a parking spot at the hospital and killed the engine. She was waiting for Abel who was on his way from Teller-Morrow, to get the blood test done. She heard her phone ding and dug it out of her purse. It was a text from Abel, c u soon baby mama xo 3. She looked down at her still perfectly flat stomach and smiled, she hoped that they would be able to see Baby Teller today. She heard the sound of Abel's bike roar into the parking lot and opened the door to her car as he backed into the space beside her. He killed his engine, and hung his helmet before making his way over and pulling Marley in for a kiss.

"How you feeling babe?" He held her out at arms length to look her over, as if he hadn't seen her 5 hours ago when he left for work.

"Bit nauseous, but other than that I'm excited." Abel laced his fingers through hers and led her towards the hospital doors. Abel showed her the way towards the maternity ward, which left Marley wondering for a moment how he knew the way there without having to look at the hospital map. Then remembered that his step-mom was a neonatal surgeon here before she was killed. He didn't talk about her all that much, he hardly talked about his real mom either. She had never wanted to push the subject, and he never seemed to feel the need to discuss it.

"The Teller's. Here for some bloodwork." Abel smiled at the girl over the desk. She looked up from her computer and her jaw almost hit her keyboard.

"By the grace of God, Abel Teller?" She asked. He flashed the trademark Teller grin and nodded.

"Yes ma'am. Suppose you worked with my mom?" He asked.

"That's right hunny. I haven't seen you since you were just little. Goodness, you look just like your daddy. Is this your wife? She's gorgeous, your mother would be so proud." The nurse rambled, standing from her chair.

"I sure hope so." Abel kissed Marley's hand softly and she felt the butterflies in her stomach start to float around. It wasn't lost on her that he didn't correct the nurse when she asked if Marley was his wife. The nurse grabbed a clipboard off the desk and led Marley and Abel down the hall to an exam room.

"You just hop up on the bed there hunny, I just need to fill out some of these forms." Marley boosted herself up on to the table, and Abel leaned against it beside her.

"Full name?"

"Marley Leigh Tanner."

"Date of Birth?"

"April 1st 2010."

"What's your address?" Marley opened her mouth to answer the question but was surprised when she heard Abel's voice.

"528 Mapleview Crescent." He squeezed her hand reassuringly. The nurse continued to fill out the forms, occasionally asking Marley other questions. She took her blood pressure and her heart rate, scribbling both of them down. She wrapped the plastic band around Marley's arm and tapped the inside of her elbow to find a vein. Abel felt Marley tense beside him and knew that this was harder for her than she thought it would be. Her father was a crank addict and she had been the one to find him OD'd on the bathroom floor. It had done a number on her, and even though she was two years behind him in school Abel had always had his eye on her. The nurse pricked her with a needle and began to fill up a vile. Within a few seconds, she had enough for a sample and removed the needle, taping a cotton ball over the tiny hole. She made her way back over to the counter and dunked a little strip into the blood before laying it on the tray beside her.

"Just be a minute love and you'll have your answer. You said you've already taken a home test?" Marley nodded.

"I did about a week and a half ago, we just wanted to be sure." The nurse nodded smiling.

"Well congratulations, you two are most definitely expecting. How about we take you for an ultrasound so we can see how far along you are?" Marley almost couldn't contain her excitement.

"Can we please?" Her face was aching from smiling so much.

"No promises on getting a very good picture as we aren't too sure how far along you are yet. But you'll definitely get to hear the little one's heart beat." Marley hopped off the bed, and took Abel's hand. They followed the nurse to another room down the hall, where she instructed Marley to lay on the bed and pull her shirt up. Marley did as she was told, lifting her shirt and exposing her tan stomach. Abel rested a hand on her leg, as the ultrasound tech squirted the jelly on her tummy. Marley gasped and then giggled, surprised at the coolness.

"Ah sorry, forgot to warn you that the goo's a little on the chilly side." The tech smiled before pressing the wand into Marley's stomach, moving it around and then pressing a button on the machine. The most glorious sound filled the room, and Marley felt her eyes begin to well with tears. Thump….Thump….Thump. She glanced at Abel who was trying his hardest to keep from crying and she could only wonder what was running through his head. Was he upset that his mom and dad wouldn't be here to watch his children grow? Was he regretting having a baby so young? Was- Her thoughts were cut off when the ultrasound tech made a hmm noise and leaned closer to the screen.

"What is it? Is everything okay?" Marley blurted, voice laced with fear and concern.

"Everything looks fine, all in all the baby looks healthy. You're about eleven weeks but.." The lady paused to move the wand to another spot on Marley's stomach. "The heartbeat is irregular." Marley glanced at Abel's, who's face had become pale, back to the technician.

"What does that mean?" Abel asked quietly.

"It could mean anything. Let me grab the doctor real quick" She laid down the wand, and hustled out the door to hunt down the doctor on call.

"Abel…" Marley started to say, sitting up. "What if…" Abel shook his head, reaching out to take her face in his hands.

"It's probably just the family flaw babe, it's alright. We'll just wait to see what the doctor says before we get worked up, okay? I promise you, peanut is gunna be okay." Marley leaned her face into Abel's hand, closing her eyes and taking comfort in the fact that Abel was her rock. She heard the sound of the door opening again as the doctor entered with the technician hot on his heels.

"Hello there Ms. Tanner, my name is Dr. Jarvis. Let's have a listen to that heartbeat again shall we?" Marley nodded, laying back down. The doctor applied some more goo to her stomach, that wasn't as shockingly cold this time around. Picking up the wand, the doctor searched around until he found what he was looing for and the thump, thump, thump sound filled the air again. The doctor leaned in closer to the screen, and began clacking away at the keyboard.

"Dr. Jarvis?" Abel said.

"Yes, son?" The doctor looked back down at the keyboard, pressing another sequence of buttons before glancing back up to see if anything had changed.

"I was born with a congenital heart defect. It runs in my family, do you think that could be causing the irregular heartbeat?" Dr. Jarvis turned to look at Abel, and then back to the screen.

"That's very likely son. How severe was your defect?" He laid down the wand, turning to focus instead on Abel.

"My mom was a recovering crank addict and I was born 10 weeks early with a hole in my heart and gastroschisis. Dr Namid was the one to perform my surgery here at St Thomas and I spent the first few months in a toaster, and then a few in the NICU after that. They said that the CHD was genetic but the drugs made it worse. Both my Gram and my uncle Tommy had corrective surgery, and my dad's CHD was minor enough to live with." Abel explained. Dr. Jarvis nodded and sucked his teeth for a minute.

"Okay, know that we have a rough idea what we're dealing with. I want Marley in once a week to check the heartbeat for the next six weeks. If things carry on well enough then we can see about regular visits once a month, and if the fetus's condition worsens we'll talk about bed rest or having her admitted here for observation." Marley nodded her head, chewing her lip.

"Is there anything that I should avoid? That could make the CHD worse?" She asked. Dr. Jarvis shrugged.

"Just try to take it easy for the next little bit sweetheart, don't overwork or overstress yourself and we'll go from there. We'll see you in a week." Dr. Jarvis stood, shook both their hands and left the room.

Not long later, they walked out of the hospital studying the pictures the nurse had printed out. Marley was a little shy of three months, which she never would have guessed thanks to her irregular periods. Baby Teller was hardly much more than a blob of white against a black background but her heart soared when she looked at their baby.

"I still can't make out it's ass from it's head." Abel admitted. This earned him a hearty laugh from his girlfriend and a swat at his arm. "Oh c'mon Mar don't act like you can either!" She took the picture from his hands, and pointed out what she thought was the head.

"See there's her head." Abel raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.

"What makes you so sure it's a she? Teller's only make boys." He said with a wink.

"I guess we'll find out in a couple of months now won't we." She rolled her eyes playfully. "Now c'mon take your baby mama out for lunch to celebrate." Marley said, bending to dig her helmet out of Abel's saddle bag. Taking advantage of his opportunity, Abel slapped her ass before swinging his leg over his bike.

"Yes ma'am." He chuckled before pulling on his own helmet.

Author's Note:

Not sure why when I first uploaded this it had formatting issues but let's hope it works out this time! Feel free to leave a review and tell me what you think! Do you like Marley? Are you excited for Abel to become a father? Do you think this will effect his relationship with Thomas? Chapter Two will be posted soon!