It's Always the Quiet Ones

[Silver Blackwood]

Silver wanted to argue, but he was too deeply shocked. "It could be a false positive or something, couldn't it?" he asked. He couldn't stand even the idea of terminating a pregnancy, but he also couldn't imagine Ayla agreeing to keep it. This was bad. This was bad, bad, bad.

[Abigail Reynolds]

"False negatives are possible, but false positives are not," Abigail explained. "You should talk to someone about your options, whether you plan on keeping the baby or giving it up for adoption, or terminating the pregnancy. Regardless of your choice, becoming pregnant at your age can cause a lot of emotional stress, and it's best if you have someone close, someone you can work things through with. Do you need a moment? Perhaps a Calming Draught?"

[Ayla Rose Blackwood]

Ayla nodded, not trusting herself to speak. There was a lump in her throat and she was sure that if she spoke her voice would crack or tears would fall, neither of which she wanted. None of the options sounded good. She'd been given up and she still had never met her parents, she didn't even know who her father was. Keeping it was terrifying, and getting rid of it? That would stay with her.

[Silver Blackwood]

After Ayla had been given the potion and they'd been left alone, it was very quiet for a moment. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if... if it's terminated." He even hated the sound of the euphemism, if it could be called that. Even euthanization sounded better.

Silver's eyes closed tightly at a thought that occurred to him. He'd wait and see if she was willing to keep it first. He'd wait, and if she was on the same page, then he'd tell her.

[Ayla Rose Blackwood]

Ayla nodded in agreement as the lump in her throat subsided and her mind began to clear. Slowly, she picked her head up and leaned back in her chair, letting her legs splay out in front of her. Her hands wanted to rest across her stomach, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Instead, they ruffled through her hair and she sniffed. "I can't do that," she said finally. "I don't know what to do, though."

[Silver Blackwood]

"You're not in this alone," Silver said. He wanted to hold her hand, but wasn't sure that was appropriate or wanted right now, so it hovered at his side, between them. "I'll... I'll talk to my brother. Maybe my dad." Maybe. He looked aside at her, debating, then dropped his voice to a whisper.

"Marry me," he suggested. It might be an impulse decision, but it was the right thing to do. "We can run off to London. We'll figure this out."

[Ayla Rose Blackwood]

Ayla laughed again. Perhaps the calming drought was still getting through her system a little. "We haven't even been together a day, Silver," she said, looking over at him. Wasn't the drought supposed to make her not want to cry? At least she didn't feel that desperate panic welling up anymore. She looked away again, up at the ceiling. "I didn't mean to laugh, it's just a lot to think about."

[Silver Blackwood]

Silver nodded, but his mind didn't shut down that easily. "You want to be a skater if you can't model, right?" he asked. "I can get a job and take care of all of us. There's... shops in Hogsmeade." He couldn't let her think he'd leave her to do it alone. "When you leave school we could go to university together or something, or I could go and you could skate or model."

[Ayla Rose Blackwood]

"I'm not stopping you from going to university," Ayla said. "And I'm gonna keep trying to do what I wanna do. I'm still in Hogwarts, so it's not like I need somewhere to live or whatever, and when's nine months from now?" She was silent a moment as she counted up, fingers and all. March. "Practically the end of school, right?" Silver was excited about going to university.

[Silver Blackwood]

Silver blinked at the thought. That was true. They wouldn't need to decide what to do with an actual baby until it was born. He was silent for some long moments before he spoke again. "I still think we should get married," he said. "We ought to do it right, at least try to give it a whole family."

[Ayla Rose Blackwood]

Ayla looked back over at Silver. "I never knew my parents. I'm sure I've told you I live with my aunt and uncle, but I've only ever saw pictures of my mum." She pulled her hair over her shoulder and started absently braiding it. "I never thought about gettin' married. Well, never thought about having a kid, either." It was just all so sudden.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare walked into the hospital wing totally unaware of his brother's presence. He had a bundled blanket tucked against his shoulder and glanced periodically from it to Michael and back. They hadn't gone shopping yet, but they'd agreed that checking the baby's health was a priority. "Abi?" he called.

[Silver Blackwood]

Silver's eyes widened at the highly recognizable sound of Dare's voice. There was no way he'd heard this fast! Of course, there was no way Ayla was pregnant, but somehow that had happened. "It's my brother," he whispered aside to her. He peeked out from behind the curtained-off area they were in.

[Abigail Reynolds]

Abigail had been preparing some information and other things for the young couple she'd been talking to a short time ago, but left the work in her office at the sound of more patients. She recognized them immediately. Well, she recognized two of them. "And who have we got here?" she asked, approaching to visit. It seemed this was one of those days where babies were everywhere.

[Ayla Rose Blackwood]

Ayla's eyes widened, as well. It was way too early to be telling people, but maybe they had no choice. Sure, they could hide away the whole time the professor was there, but he had to find out eventually. She leaned over to peek out, too. "Are you gonna tell him?" she asked.