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Chapter forty-three
Kevin opened the door to his room and walked inside, frowning when he saw Amy and Paul sitting on the sofa twiddling their thumbs, but no sign of Lenny.
"Where is she?" he asked, and Paul stood up, shoving his hands deep in his pockets. Scott walked to the mini bar and got a small scotch for Kevin.
"She's being examined by a doctor at the moment," Amy told him, standing up to get a hug from Mark.
"A doctor?" Kevin said, looking stunned. "How bad was she hurt?"
"She's okay, I think. It's just a precaution," Amy said, wanting so much to tell Kevin about Lenny's condition, but knowing it wasn't her place.
Mark had no such worries. "Because she's pregnant."
Scott had just handed him the glass of scotch, and he watched as it fell out of Kevin's nerveless fingers and landed on the carpet with a thud. For a second he thought Kevin was going to follow it, judging by the paleness of his face.
"She's...she....what?"
"She's pregnant, you big dummy," Scott said, shaking his head and rolling his eyes.
Kevin looked at his friends and frowned. "You all knew?"
"I knew for sure, because Lenny told me," Amy said, shrugging.
"Amy told me today, but I think it was getting pretty obvious," Mark told him, raising his eyebrows and smiling.
"Yeah. Women suddenly start getting sick like that, usually there's an easy explanation," Scott said, looking at Paul and getting a nod from him in confirmation.
"That's why she keeps getting sick," Kevin said, looking stupid.
"Well...duh!" Scott said, slapping his friend around the back of the head and then laughing lightly. "Try using your brain for once."
Kevin stared at the carpet for a few seconds while everything clicked into place, then his head jerked up and he headed for the bedroom door, going inside before anyone could say another word.
The doctor looked up, startled as the big man rushed into the room, but he relaxed when he saw the genuine concern on his face for the woman he had just examined.
Kevin glanced at Lenny, his eyes taking in the bruise already forming on her soft skin, then he looked at the doctor. "How is she?"
"She's just fine. A little bruised, but otherwise perfectly healthy," the doctor said with a smile, packing his bag up and straightening. He looked at Lenny. "Now, remember to make an appointment with your own doctor as soon as you can."
"I will. Thank you," she said, barely managing to get the words out of a throat suddenly tight with anxiety.
Kevin opened the door for the doctor to leave and then closed it, turning and staring at Lenny for so long that she had to drop her eyes, unable to hold his intense gaze. "Why the hell didn't you tell me about Benoit?"
He sounded angry and Lenny started crying. "I didn't know how....he was going to hurt you..."
Kevin gave a deep sigh and felt tears sting his own eyes, blinking them away quickly. "He couldn't ever hurt me, babygirl, don't you know that?" he asked, moving to the bed and gathering her into his arms, his head resting on top of hers as he closed his eyes. "You should have told me. You shouldn't have tried to cope with this on your own."
"I know, but I was so worried," she mumbled, taking a shaky breath.
"Don't you know that when you have a 7 ft boyfriend, you can tell him anything and he'll deal with it for you?" he said softly, chuckling as he calmed down from his burst of temper.
"He said he'd break your legs, and he warned me not to say anything. I didn't know what to do," she said, sighing and giving a small shrug.
"I know, sweetiepie. But it's all over now, Benoit won't be troubling anyone again. And if anything like this ever happened again, what would you do?" he asked her, drawing back and raising an eyebrow.
"I'd tell you," she said straight away, glancing up at him. "Are you mad at me?"
Kevin smiled and lifted a hand to stroke her face. "No, I ain't mad. You were worried about me, how can I be mad about that? But you still shouldn't have tried keeping something that important from me."
"I know. I'm really sorry," she mumbled, swiping at her eyes.
He sighed and became serious again. "While we're getting things out in the open...is there anything else you want to tell me?"
Lenny's eyes widened and she swallowed. "You know?"
"Maybe. Why don't you try telling me," he replied, arching an eyebrow.
"I...I'm pregnant," she whispered, biting her lip so hard she almost cut through it as she waited for his explosion of anger. Her eyes closed as she waited....but when nothing happened she opened them and looked at him.
Kevin was grinning at her, his eyes sparkling warmly. "You are? The doctor confirmed it?"
"Yes....but...aren't you disappointed?"
"Disappointed?" he asked, honestly shocked that she would think that.
"You don't want children," she said, frowning.
"Who the hell says I don't? Of course I want children!"
"But you said....you bought those condoms..." she faltered.
"I wanted you to myself for as long as possible, sweetiepie, that's all. I fully intended to make you pregnant somewhere along the line."
"You did?"
"Oh, yeah, I sure did," he said, pulling her back into his arms. "Now, tell me that despite the fact I'm the biggest asshole on the planet, you still love me."
"You're not a..a..one of those. I love you, Kevin," she whispered, feeling her heart trying to beat her to death with hope at the way he was talking. He seemed almost...pleased.
He groaned and tightened his hold on her, nuzzling her neck. "I love you too, sweetheart. God, I love you so much!" he said fiercely, squeezing her even tighter and making her bones creak.
Lenny didn't protest his hold; she was too caught up in what he had said. "You love me?"
"Deathlessly," he admitted, pulling back so he could look at her. "I'm too damn old for you and I think you're going to get tired of me after a few years, but I can't let you go."
"You're not too old for me," she whispered, lifting a hand and stroking his face. "You're just right."
"I'm old enough to be your father," he said, pursing his lips. "But if you're willing to have me, then I'm going to marry you, and to hell with the consequences!"
"Marry me?" she said in shock.
Kevin gave a slow smile. "Well, okay, if you insist."
Lenny found herself smiling stupidly back at him. "I wasn't asking."
"No, you were telling me, but that's okay. I mean, normally I'm the one issuing orders, but I don't mind if you want to turn the tables. Just don't make a habit of it," he warned her, raising one eyebrow and narrowing his eyes. "Actually, now I think about it, forget about turning the tables. I'm the boss around here and you'd better remember it. That being the case, you're going to marry me as soon as I can arrange it."
"I am?"
"Mmm-hmm. Any arguments?"
She looked at him for a long time and then threaded her fingers through his thick hair, toying with the silver strands of it at the roots where it was finally growing a little bit. "No."
"So...you will marry me then?"
"I guess that depends," she murmured.
"On what?"
"On whether or not you're going to make it worth my while. I would hate to get bored...." she said, trailing off as he squeezed her.
"Oh, you won't be getting bored, honey, not at all. When you're not in the bedroom, you'll be looking after the children," he told her, grinning at her wide eyes.
"Children? Plural?"
"Yeah, I was thinking maybe 4 or 5, possibly more depending on what you think about it," he said, narrowing his eyes and looking off into the distance.
"Oh, so I get some say in the matter then? What if I only want this one?" she asked, smiling as she placed a hand on her stomach, feeling like she was in a dream.
He went still and looked at her, serious all of a sudden. "Don't you want more?"
"Yes I do," she said instantly, unable to keep him waiting for an answer when he looked at her in that particular way.
"Good. Then we'll take care of you, make sure you're good and healthy, and then we'll start a whole breeding programme."
"I'm not a cow!"
"No, you're a very desirable, beautiful, woman. And you're all mine," he murmured, bending to cover her mouth with his and kiss her deeply, so relieved that she was okay that he could have cried. Finding out she was pregnant was possibly the biggest bonus ever. When he drew back he tilted his head and grinned. "Does Sam know?"
Lenny shook her head. "No, the only person I told was Amy. So no-one else knows about it yet."
Kevin chuckled. "I wouldn't be so sure about that. Amy told Mark, and Scott and Paul knew because of you getting sick. In fact, I think I'm the last to know."
"Well, you're the first to know now that it's official," she told him, smiling slowly.
"I guess I am," he said, grinning from ear to ear. "I'm going to be a daddy!"
"You can earn your name now. Big Daddy Cool," she said, smiling with absolute bliss when he put his hand over her still flat stomach and held it there.
"I can't wait," he said, his voice husky as he looked up at her. "If only I'd known all those years that you were the key to making me happy."
"I can say the same thing. I can't believe that I thought I hated you," she murmured, thinking to how they had fought each other.
"Me neither. Now I can't wait to make you my wife," he said, brushing her hair away from her face. "And as much as I'd like to make love to you right now, we have guests."
"Oh," she murmured, disappointed.
"Never mind babygirl. Soon, you'll be mine forever and we can make love until we get old and grey."
"Well, you've already got the grey part covered," she said, sliding out of his arms and off the bed.
Kevin chuckled and stood up, walking over to the door with her. "I guess I do. But don't go thinking I'm gonna let you get away with that little insult."
"You can't be mean to me, I'm a pregnant woman!"
"There's no rule anywhere that says I can't spank a pregnant woman, you might want to remember that, sweetiepie," he growled, leaning down and wrapping his arms around her.
"But you love me, so you wouldn't do that anyway, would you?" she asked, twining her arms around his neck when he lifted her up.
He smiled, all his feelings showing plainly on his face. "I could probably be persuaded not to. As long as you swear you're going to love me until the day I die. Go on, swear it!" he demanded.
"I swear I'll love until the day you die...or I die, whatever," she murmured, feeling her whole world becoming lighter by the second.
Kevin gave her a kiss and then grinned. "I'm gonna make you swear that in front of a minister as soon as I can, babygirl."
"I can't wait," she whispered back, drawing him into another kiss and completely forgetting about their friends.
Mark and Scott listened outside the door and looked at each other with huge grins on their faces. "Seems that everything worked out okay," Mark murmured, moving away to hug his wife.
Scott nodded and chuckled. "Yeah, seems like it did. Come on, let's give them some peace. Besides, I have to go find Paul and Shawn," he said, getting a wicked glint in his eye. "We have a wedding to arrange!"
Mark shook his head and laughed, moving towards the door with Amy as Paul and Scott left. "I actually feel sorry for Kevin. Once those lot get back together, he won't stand a chance. I think we're going to get an invite to the oddest wedding ever."
They both laughed as they left the room, completely unnoticed by the two people in the bedroom, who were now in a world of their own.
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The End
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*****Okay, I know, lame ending! Anyway, thanks for the reviews throughout this entire mammoth story. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Now all I have to do is finish 'The Boss', and then decide who to write a story on next! Suggestions have been made, but do continue to make them so I can decide who would be most popular!!!! :-)*****