Grown-Up Torture Chamber

Persephone was sitting in the Sequoia's back seat next to Danny who was sleeping safely strapped in the car seat as Chris drove the temporary trio back home. The two had just had a taste of pseudo-parenthood and it left a very bitter taste in their mouths.

Persephone noticed Chris looked unnaturally grumpy and his energy was off. She wanted to want to ask him how he was feeling or what was going on in his mind but having experienced what they just experienced, Persephone did not care.

Her eyes turned back to Danny's chubby little slumbering face instead. She reached in and stroked his plump hand, finding that just connecting to the baby lifted her spirits.

"You're so cute even if you did throw up on me," Persephone said out loud, more to Danny but Chris picked up the conversation.

"Why did we need to take him to The Mouse House?" Chris complained. "He couldn't play any of the games, he couldn't hold himself up on any of the rides and he has no teeth to chew through that alleged pizza."

Persephone moved her head from one side to the other to stretch her neck muscles. "Lisa had RSVP'd for three. She had no idea at the time that her grandmother's memorial service would be scheduled for the same time. She didn't want to leave a bad impression on her Lamaze class friend."

"The babies don't know any better, babe!" He argued.

"Please don't complain, Chris. I just dealt with the same angst you did, I know exactly what you're feeling, but we had to do this for Lisa and Daniel. They are part of a whole new world that has them fostering relationships with other parents. Kid birthday parties are a necessary evil in their existence now fir the sake of Danny's social skills," she paused when the baby stirred. Persephone stroked his cheek until he settled. "We had to take one for the team today, consider this your good deed for the day."

Chris sighed audibly. "I just don't know why we had to stay the full two hours," he grumbled under his breath.

"I'm sure you enjoyed that place when you were a kid," she countered.

"I don't know even know why," he spat. "In retrospect, the games are lame and most of them were always out of order anyway."

He approached their driveway and clicked the remote in Persephone's SUV to open the gate. He stationed the vehicle in front of the house and quickly exited to take the heavy baby carrier from Persephone after she dislodged it from the base.

As soon as they entered the home Chris placed the carrier on the sofa and carefully took the baby out. The child immediately stretched his little body to his full length before burrowing in his uncle's arms.

Chris sat down next to the carrier slowly, cradling the baby protectively as he continued to sleep.

Persephone laughed at the sight and began walking toward the stairs. Clearly the baby had the same magical calming power on her beau as he'd had on her. "Don't get too attached! We're giving him back in an hour!" She joked.

Chris looked at her with a tender smile as she began climbing the stairs to the second floor. As soon as she entered the bedroom, she threw her purse on the bed and removed the puke-stained silk blouse only to notice the baby had puked through the bra as well.

Grabbing another bra and another blouse from the closet, she went to the bathroom to change and wipe her skin with a wet towel. The moment the bra came off, she noticed her breasts were sore and swollen.

She sighed. Her period was coming. She quickly dressed and walked to the bed reaching for her purse, grabbing the cell phone. With her period coming, it would be time to schedule the IUD insertion with the new OBGYN she had found herself.

She opened the period tracking app to get an idea if her period was coming that day or within a few days. As soon as the calendar opened, she realized she forgot to enter last month's cycle. She groaned as she tried to mentally backtrack to some spectacular event when she had her last cycle.

She remembered it was when Michelle Sato asked Chris for his seed. Thankfully the woman had the decency to resign a week after.

She and Chris left for Europe soon after that.

Persephone frowned.

They were away for a full month, and she didn't remember having her period on the trip.

She gasped.

Her eyes darted to the phone screen as she fervently entered the dates of the last cycle she remembered having.

Her breath caught.

Her fertile period was when she and Chris were away - when they had carefree vacation sex every single day.

Every ...

single....

day.

No way, she reasoned to herself. No way!

There was absolutely no freaking way!

Was there?

She stood immediately and threw her phone on the bed. She began pacing nervously, halting when she remembered Lisa's gag Christmas gift was sitting in the bathroom.

Slowly, Persephone turned to the ensuite and as if in a trance, she walked to the bathroom and promptly peed on a stick. Once done, she replaced the cap on the plastic stick and placed the test on the edge of the sink. The screen was flashing.

Flashing? Was that normal?

She grabbed the box realizing the screen would say "pregnant" if it was positive.

She threw the box away and washed her hands.

She put her weight on her arms as she leaned forward staring at the test, which was still flashing. This was taking so long. Was this normal? Her breaths were shallow. She crossed her arms as she focused on the little window.

"Darling!" Persephone jumped as a familiar female voice called from the bedroom. "Do you know where Danny's binky is?" Micaela called out from the bedroom; her voice was getting closer to the bathroom.

With her heart beating erratically, Persephone quickly rushed out of the bathroom lest Micaela decide to walk in at that moment.

"It should be in the baby bag," she called out nervously, nearly colliding with Micaela at the door. "Back already?" She asked, as she closed the bathroom door behind her.

Micaela nodded. "The service is over. Lisa needed to feel Danny in her arms." Micaela narrowed her eyes on Persephone. "Are you okay, honey? You're pale as a ghost."

Persephone waved her concerns away. "You're nuts, I'm fine. Let's go get that pacifier." Persephone grabbed Micaela's arm and led her out of the bedroom.

The women went downstairs where George, Daniel and Lisa had joined Chris and Danny. Daniel immediately asked for a cup of coffee, and with a quick glance up the stairs, Persephone went to the kitchen to make it.

A few minutes later, she handed Daniel a coffee cup and noticed Chris and George were nowhere in sight.

"Where did George and Chris go?" Persephone asked as she stared at Micaela.

The older woman sighed and motioned toward Lisa, who was breastfeeding Danny. "As soon as this one popped a breast out, George suddenly realized he was tired and decided to go home to rest," she said. "Would you mind driving me home later, honey?"

Persephone shook her head. "Of course I wouldn't mind. Where did Chris go?"

Micaela turned toward the hungry baby. "He said he has to use the bathroom and ran up the stairs as if Lisa's boobs were chasing him."

Persephone's head immediately turned to the staircase as she gasped. It felt like time stood still.

"I'll be back," she said absentmindedly as she rushed up the stairs.

She practically ran into the master bedroom as she heard a flush come from the ensuite. She charged in the direction of the bathroom, opening the door and seeing Chris walk toward the sink.

He smiled at her. "Taking care of Danny is great, but you're right. It is better to give them back to their parents at the end of the day." He told her as he approached the sink and began washing his hands. "You're right. We're not ready to have kids just yet."

Persephone's eyes looked at the test next to Chris.

Her mouth went dry. She looked back at Chris nervously.

Chris turned back to her with a frown, "Are you okay, babe?"

He looked at the little white object next to the sink before looking back at her with a smile.

And then he looked back at the little white object. He leaned forward and took a closer look.

He straightened up and looked at her with a frown. "Babe, you're pregnant?"