One Night Stand

Chapter 25; The End

Morning came far too quickly for Ashlee's tastes and the low, repetitive buzzing of the alarm woke her rudely from sleep. Spared the blinding sunlight that streamed in through the bedroom window since she had her back to it this time, she began to shift to wake up, yet suddenly (even in her tired state) she realized something was not right. Why am I..? she thought brokenly, hesitantly lifting the blanket to stare through blurred vision down at herself. Her instinctive response was a sharp gasp at what she saw, oblivious of whether or not Gavin was still asleep.

Ashlee's shifting easily pulled Gavin from sleep and with furrowed brows as he lifted his head, Gavin licked his lips and brought a hand up to rake his hair back from his face groggily. "What's wrong..?" he muttered as he tried to wake himself enough to comprehend her quick reaction to something. His eyes slowly sild down her body as she kept the sheet held upwards and at the sight of blood, he instantly awoke.

"-What is-?" he began, quickly pushing himself up despite his disoriented state. "What happened?" he questioned next admidst his quick blinking and uncertain tired stare. Was something wrong with the baby? Or with Ashlee?

She wasn't in pain... and Ashlee was well aware that with a miscarriage, you were supposed to be in a lot of pain. So then... it was just her period?

The sense of relief that washed over her entire body was almost tiring as she fell back to the bed, her head returning to the pillow. Gavin was kneeling up, raking his hands back through his hair in panic, yet Ashlee didn't have the sense to reassure him for another few moments yet. The alarm continued to buzz annoyingly, yet Ashlee could pay no attention to it. Finally, with a weak smile, her eyes shifted over to Gavin beside her in the bed. "I'm not pregnant..." she breathed out, reaching out to hold his arm. "Sorry about your bed, but… the test must have been a false positive."

Confused at first, still worried over what he saw and Ashlee's fatigued reaction to it, Gavin began to shake his head a little as he licked his lips. "What?" he questioned quietly, his voice low and uncertain as he found himself unable to simply believe her. "You're not..? What do you mean, false positive? Why are you bleeding?" he simply couldn't accept her saying such a thing when he'd seen the pregnancy test. How could she have never been pregnant? Weren't those tests error-proof? He kept himself for reaching for her, but was obviously uneasy as he watched her.

"The test... it was wrong, Gavin," Ashlee sighed in utter relief, draping the back of her forearm over her eyes. Any sense she had to get up and strip his bed of the sheets had yet to settle in. It really was just like a bad dream that she'd been able to wake up from. "Gav, no, really..." she began, moving her arm away from her eyes as she reached out to grab his wrist to pull him closer gently with a smile, "Nothing's wrong."

Gavin had never heard of anyone actually receiving a false response to a pregnancy test, but he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. "You're sure?" he asked, slowly sitting again as he felt relief start to wash over him. "No baby?"

Ashlee needed as she stared up at him. They had no reason to be concerned any longer and nothing between them had to change. "It's just my period."

It was tough, but Gavin slowly accepted it and nodded at length as he let his panicked look turn to a tired one once again. "Oh. Wow."

Finally, an embarrassed blush surfaced on her cheeks and she grew perfectly still. "I'll... um, I'll clean these before you get back today... sorry..." She knew it wasn't as if she could control such a thing, but... they were a nice set of sheets.

Gavin couldn't care less about the sheets, he would have given up a lot more to receive the news she'd just given him. She wasn't pregnant. "Forget the damn sheets," he scoffed in disbelief, something between a smile and uncertainty on his face. "You're not pregnant? Everything's fine?" He was mere inches from her, a hand easily moving to the side of her face to brush her hair back as he stared down at her, searching her face for some sort of sign.

Ashlee remained sill against the bed, sighing as her own smile continued to grow. "Not. Everything's fine." Then, as an afterthought, she added, "...We can still go to the doctor if you want. Maybe I should go on the pill or something..?"

Gavin instantly thought it a fabulous idea and he began to nod as he calmed his racing heart. "Yeah," he agreed. "We'll get you on the pill."

A heavy breath left him, this time accompanied by laughter. "Ash. No joke, I want to buy you a car. Or a yacht or something to thank you for this," he admitted, his face warm. Was it wrong that the day his girlfriend told him she wasn't pregnant was the happiest day of his life?

Ashlee playfully slapped him upside the head. "I don't want a car," she laughed. "And stop being so happy, already." But her smile was wide – she was just as relieved.

Catching her wrist and pinning it to the bed, Gavin slowly grinned. "No car," he agreed. "What does my girlfriend want instead? A key?"

Ashlee's smile grew in pleasant surprise. He was using the term so freely – he didn't seem to be bothered in the least by it any longer. "Girlfriend? …key?"

"What?" Gavin smirked. "Did I get you one of those already?" He rolled his eyes. "All that baby talk and you think I'm going to have a cow over these stupid things anymore?"

Ashlee shoved at his shoulder, pushing him away as she sat up. "All it took was a baby scare?!" she demanded, though she was clearly joking. She shook her head, starting to tug the sheets off the corners of the bed to pull them off as she got to her feet with a smile.

Gavin rolled off the bed and started for the bathroom to shower before work. Things weren't perfect, but they were back to a 'normal' that Gavin could live with. More than that, it was a 'normal' he looked forward to.

THE END

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Please check back for our newest story soon to be posted, Cloud 9!

Excerpt of Cloud 9:

Brooke was just arriving home on the dark city streets. Covering her motorcycle in the alley, she spotted a cab slowing to a stop outside her apartment building. What she saw climbing out of the back seat was an unsettling surprise. She could hear the quiet sobs from where she stood and the sight of Abby in merely a pair of silk pajamas and pale blue converse caused Brooke to hurry over somewhat quickly. "Abby? What the-" she attempted to question but then, thought better of herself. She quickly shrugged out of her leather jacket to leave herself in only a black t-shirt before she wrapped Abby in it. Brooke couldn't recall the last time someone had shown up at her doorstep crying... if ever.

"Come on. Inside." With an arm securely around the younger girl's shoulders, she walked her around towards the freight elevator.

It was a greeting she'd never expected and kindness she didn't deserve. Abby's tears only intensified beneath her blonde hair as Brooke guided her inside and she leaned against her heavily, body shaking from her sobs. Two years... gone. She didn't even have the strength or ability to speak at the moment.

There was simply no denying it by then. The more time Brooke found herself in Abby's presence, the less of a mere 'hook-up' she seemed to her. The girl was young, impressionable, flighty and impulsive. Brooke had been twenty once. It wasn't difficult to relate to Abby.

Once the elevator let them off at Brooke's apartment, she led the shivering girl to the couch and crossed over to her bed to grab the soft comforter from it. Appearing behind the couch, she wrapped the blanket around Abby and proceeded to retrieve the girl a glass of cold water.

"What's all this about?" she asked as she took a seat beside the blonde and offered her the glass of water. "It's half past midnight and you're showing up here a total wreck."

Brooke may have essentialy been a tall-dark-and-hot stranger, but Abby didn't want to lose her either. She wanted to come clean the way she should have come clean to Rachel - she owed them that much.

She took a long sip of water, sniffling as she wiped the back of her hand across her cheek and then let it all out. "My... my girlfriend kicked me out," Abby confessed, features scrunching as she lowered her stare to the glass she held. "I couldn't stay away from you," she cried, shoulders shaking. "I wanted to, but I couldn't. And she found out."