Um, surprise?

[Leah Bennet]

Leah Finch sat with her knees hugged to her chest, sunken amongst a plush two-seater couch that nearly looked as if it had swallowed her whole. The azure of her eyes caught on almost everything in the quaint little coffee shop, everything from the rich colours of the mugs to the beaming faces of the joyful people surrounding her, suffocating her. But they did not, or at least they tried not, to venture anyway near the door. She had owled Keith the day before yesterday, explaining that she had something important to tell him and given him the address of her favourite Bondi coffee shop. And although he did not at all seem like a man who would stand up women, Leah was feeling particularly jittery and uncertain.

Not wanting him to step inside and first see her in a protective huddle, Leah stretched out her legs, taking a quick moment to admire the splurge she had made on the washed out denim before crossing them at the knees. Her delicate hands instantly went to her growing baby bump which was lost amongst the loose fabric of her teal shirt. Thoughts filled her mind, anxious ones that filled her with fear as she cast her eyes out to the waves that were rolling over the beach, hoping that the notion might soothe her frantic state. Would Keith accept her news? Would he turn and run? Would they perhaps enter into a relationship just for the security of it all? Leah shook her head lightly and drew in a deep breath of the coffee aroma, hoping he’d turn up soon so that she could get rid of the awful churning in her stomach.

 

[Keith Mercer]

Keith had read through Leah's owl with uncertainty. Something important to tell him didn't sound reassuring and try as Keith might he couldn't push his negative thoughts to the side. After everything with Avory and Taylor he found himself worrying more and more about trivial issues. He tried to convince himself that 'something' wouldn't be drastic, but Keith couldn't rely on false hope. Maybe it was better to enter the coffee shop expecting the worst, at least he would be prepared. Dressing in dark denim jeans and a white button down shirt, Keith ran a palm down his cheek, feeling the scratch of his light stubble, before apparating with a 'pop' at a point a little walk away from the coffee shop that was away from muggle eyes.

As he emerged from the alleyway, Keith absently smoothed down his shirt as he walked briskly up the street, allowing himself a moment to admire the beautiful Bondi beach. His face was a composed mask, but his insides were squirming with both worry and anticipation. As he approached the door to the coffee shop, he managed to squash a small amount of his anxiety, before entering. He noticed Leah immediately and a small smile settled on his lips. He walked over to the armchair she was seated in and bent down to give her a swift peck on the cheek, muttering a 'hey' as he pulled away to slump down into a chair next to hers. He looked into the woman's face, not wanting to press the issues she needed to discuss. In truth, he would avoid the whole conversation entirely if he could manage.

 

[Leah Bennet]

Leah’s head snapped instantly at the sound of the door swinging open, and cursed herself before she could even lay eyes on the figure entering. Calm down, it’s probably not even… Both her heart and her stomach lurched as her azure eyes fell hopelessly to the familiar frame of a man she was both yearning and dreading to see. They skipped across every piece of him; the light dusting of stubble across his jaw, the smile that had been imprinted onto his lips, his cool, collected stride but most of all his lips in the moment before they came to touch briefly against her cheek. She remembered how he had kissed her before on that night they had dizzied themselves up on firewhiskey and so brashly ravaged one another. She remembered how she had felt about him before the bomb had dropped and the excitement that had rode high within her body. But now all she felt was anxiety. “Hey” Leah mouthed back silently, not trusting herself to speak just yet.

Her wide, doe-like eyes whipped over him as she tried to weigh up his reaction to her news. But she could only fear the worst, no comfort, no words, not even bare acknowledgement. The possibility pricked her eyes uncomfortably with unwanted tears. “So um,” The young woman gulped, opening her mouth to begin her confession but was surprised to find something much less heavy tumble out instead. “How are you?” A lump obscured itself in her throat and Leah knew that her next words would be choked, there was already a glisten of tears in her beautiful eyes as they washed over Keith.

 

[Keith Mercer]

Keith pulled himself up in his chair a little, straightening his posture and resting his hands in his lap. He scanned Leah's delicate features with his pale blue eyes, trying to determine if the news was something he wanted to hear or not and as Leah asked how he had been, he determined that, no, he didn't want to hear what she had to say at all. Her eyes sparkled with unshed tears and Keith wanted to turn his face away and exclaim that he was doing quite well, so she shouldn't bring him down with her bad news, but her expression tugged too firmly at his heart strings and his previous plan of avoiding the issue as long as possible slipped from his grasp, as his mask faded away to reveal his worry. However his worry wasn't for the 'something' anymore, it was for the woman that was struggling with this 'something'. Was it really that big of a deal? Keith couldn't fathom what subject was bad enough to bring Leah to tears that involved him in some way... Perhaps it didn't even involve Keith at all, but once again he didn't want to cling to false hope, so he quickly dismissed the possibility.

Catching sight of Leah's face again, Keith steered away from his thoughts and scooted forward in his chair, his eyes soft as he reached out and layed a hand on Leah's knee as comfort. "I'm..." He began, although wasn't really sure how to answer. He couldn't recognise the emotions surging through him. The only one he knew was definitely there was concern. "I'm okay." He decided, but shook his head slightly to say that it didn't matter. "What's wrong?" He asked gently, tentively raising a hand to place on her cheek.

 

[Leah Bennet]

Leah felt her breathing begin to shallow in fear as the watered blue of Keith’s eyes swept over her, perhaps trying to seek out what she was hiding. And as much as the young woman had convinced herself that she wouldn't crumble in front of him, those rough features that suddenly seemed softer with concern just made it all the more harder. One hand reached foolishly for the slight bump in her abdomen which, although lost amongst the folds of her clothing, might raise some questions once she began to cradle it for security. But even as the tears welled in her eyes, even as her vision blurred over and the only things she was aware of was his strong palm gentle against her knee and the tentative question posed, Leah did not care if he became suspicious. It would be mere seconds until he knew the truth.

She caught her lower lip between her teeth as Keith’s hand cupped her cheek, near engulfing it; a gesture that in any other situation would have made her smile, maybe even caused her heart to skip a beat. But all she could think about now was the impending rejection and the scowl that would surely taint the kindness in his face. “I’m...” Leah croaked wearily before choking on her confession and breaking into a few coughs to compose herself. “I’m pregnant.” She had expected to feel relief once she told him but in that split second before his reaction a hot tear tumbled from the sad, sparkling blue of her eyes and her heart quite literally stopped beating in her chest.

 

[Keith Mercer]

Keith scanned Leah's features, hoping her expression would give him something to cling to. Something he could acknowledge. Some form of hope that it wasn't as bad as he thought it might be. His eyes fell down as Leah's hand shifted to her stomach. That didn't mean... Keith bit his lip, noticing Leah doing the same thing as he brought his eyes up to her face. The only way he could stop himself drawing conclusions was to bring his mind to a blank. To not think of anything at all. To push everything out, leaving him feeling numb.

When the words spilled from Leah's lips, Keith didn't grasp them. He stared at Leah, his eyes following the tear that skidded down Leah's face. He let his palm fall from her cheek, moving to catch the tear with the back of his hand before it slipped from her jaw onto her lap. The words caught up with him and hit him like a punch in the gut. He was taken back to the first time he had met Leah, at the harbour, his heart and mind had been reeling with thoughts of Avory and their child. Although it had never been his and he remembered the distinct disappointment. He withdrew his hand from Leah's knee, the warmth of her skin under his touch feeling as thought it burned. After he realised his actions, he looked up to meet Leah's eyes once more. "Leah I..." Keith began, but didn't quite know where he was going. He processed the thought of being a Dad and then being a Dad to Leah's child. He found the feeling he had gotten when Avory had told him wasn't returning as strongly as it had back then. He found himself wanting it, but not wanting it with Leah. He hated himself for his own thoughts and had to pull his eyes away from Leah in case she saw inside his head and heard what he was thinking. His heart beat against his ribcage, threatening to break out of his skin and jump away. He would let it too. His heart was screaming at him and sending all kinds of emotions darting through him. "Being a Father again has gone through my mind so much since Avory." He said, his eyes still on his lap. "But I didn't think the opportunity would come knocking again." Keith finished, his tone not giving any of his emotions away. "How are you feeling about this?" He looked up at the beautiful women, who usually so radiant, looked broken and worn down. It was Leah's call, because Keith was struggling to piece together any his emotions.

 

[Leah Bennet]

Leah’s jaw trembled vigorously as she tried to fight the onslaught of tears as they welled mercilessly in the spectacular blue pools of her eyes. But they came hard and fast over the rims once the pressure of his hand was no longer settled upon her knee. Not wanting to witness him run cowardly from the coffee shop, from her and the child she bore, Leah squeezed her eyes shut and yet silently willed Keith to leave before she opened them back up again. If he was going to do this then he should do it quickly and as painlessly as possibly. Not torture her with his impending absence. But she flickered them gingerly open and he was still there, perhaps with a bite of regret in his expression, a hint of confusion and maybe a sliver of pity. But Leah could not easily judge the emotion swarming in his pale blues through her blurred and refracted vision.

The words Keith spoke, although robbed clean of emotion, rattled the young woman. He was speaking about their child like it was a free holiday he had been offered but foolishly hadn’t taken. Her mouth fell slightly ajar and her thin eyebrows creased together in puzzlement as she ceased her sobs for just a moment. Not disclosing how he truly felt to her was on purpose, anyone could see that but what she wanted to know, even more then how he felt, was why. Would it hurt her, anger her, tip her over the edge? A tiny moan of frustration and helplessness escaped Leah before she hid her face amongst her delicately shaped palms, only to feel the sobs shake through her again as Keith asked about her feelings. “I went to the abortion clinic,” She hiccupped, just the potent memory of the sterile waiting room occupied by her and a girl that would have been barely sixteen choked the young woman up. “And I barely made it through the door, I couldn’t do it Keith, it’s just not me. But then I think about Jay and, god bless him, but having to do it all over again this soon? I don’t know which is worse.” Finally gaining control of her voice, Leah ran the backs of her index fingers under the rims of her eyes to catch the tears that were still stemming silently. “And then there’s you and how you must actually feel about this. I mean, we barely know each other, And your girls, how are they going to feel about all of this? I just... I just don’t know what I’m going to do but I guess I’m having this baby.”

 

[Keith Mercer]

Keith listened carefully to Leah's words, his heart clenching at the word abortion. He remained silent while Leah spoke and when she finished, Keith replaced his hand on her knee, tentatively although he wasn't sure she would accept him. "Leah, I will support you no matter what you choose to do." He said, surprising himself a little at the amount of truth he put into the statement. Keith took a breath and allowed himself a moment to sort through his emotions, which had considerably calmed down as Leah had spoken. He couldn't be selfish in this situation, it was more about Leah than it was about anyone. And she was right when she said they hardly knew each other. It would be difficult, but this was a life, a child. His child. Keith barely had time to process another thought before he was saying, "This is my child. Jessica won't understand and probably won't even care and Taylor will come to accept it. Things might seem complicated, but I can promise you I will not turn my back on this baby." He stated, making it clear that if she chose to not let this child be a part of his life he would fight for it. The more he came to turns with the situation the more he found the old feelings of excitement come back to him. He loved being a Father. Wouldn't it be amazing to go through it again? He had an opportunity right in front of him, why did he originally think it would be a bad thing?