"This is the biggest mistake ever. I’m going to kill Brady! No, I’m gonna cut it off first and THEN I’m going to kill him," Mimi mumbled.

"Finally gone off the deep end?"

Mimi looked up to see the last person she wanted to see . . . well, at least top three of the list.

"What do you want Chloe?" she asked rudely.

"Nothing in particular, just thought I’d take a nice walk down to the pier, didn’t expect you to be going insane."

"Shove it, ghoul girl."

"Ouch. Trouble in paradise?"

"Oh yeah, you could say that."

Mimi was so upset, pacing back and forth urgently that Chloe’s sarcastic face and mocking tongue soothed when she saw it.

"What’s going on?"

"Nothing you need to know."

"I’m just trying to help," Chloe defended.

"Well I don’t need your help okay? Just go off and make up a new spell!"

"Fine, I’ll go. You seem to have so many close friends at the moment anyway."

Mimi stopped and watched as Chloe began to leave. She was right, she had no close friends. Jan had been sent off to have her baby with her parents blessing and hopes she could begin her adulthood minus a toddler. The Spears were always clueless to their daughter’s indiscretions and now when it hit them smack in the face they did what they thought was right.

But sometimes parents did what they thought was right and it was so *not*, the current fiasco showed that. ‘Oh, yes, Brady and Miriam would make a wonderful couple’. Blah.

"Wait," Mimi spoke.

Chloe stopped and expectantly turned. Mimi wondered if it was worth it but who else was there to tell? She couldn’t tell Belle, that girl could make any situation bright and happy but Mimi didn’t want bright and happy, she wanted to wallow in her misery.

"I have a problem."

Chloe didn’t say a word.

"Well?"

"Well what?" the bespeckled girl asked. "I need to know the problem before I can say anything."

Mimi let out a sigh and slumped onto one of the wooden boxes that always seemed scattered about.

"I tried to avoid the whole betrothal thing," she began and Chloe moved closer before taking a seat to face her. "I thought that Brady was a complete moron--"

"Good perception."

Mimi glared at the other girl briefly, "Me, problem, you, listen, and that *is* my fiancée your talking about."

"So I guess you got over the not liking him."

Mimi’s shoulders sagged and she looked at the planks beneath her, "In spades."

"Spades? You mean – you don’t mean you two . . . You and Brady?" she asked with a scrunched nose before shaking the face away. "No, no, go ahead, tell me the rest. I am here to listen and besides maybe I’ll get lucky and black out – forget the whole thing."

"Gee, thanks," Mimi sneered. She looked back to her feet and paused for a minute before speaking again. "I didn’t want to get married and he didn’t want to get married and . . . we tried to stop it. Tried . . . we talked to our parents and that didn’t work. We even got Jan to vouch that Brady was the father of her baby. That he took her virginity and everything."

"Yeah, like that would work," Chloe snorted.

"Hey, I’m not feeling very supported here!"

"Sorry, keep going."

"Well, Grampa I-have-millions-of-followers-and-they-will-find-the-truth kind of crushed that idea."

"Naturally," Chloe agreed. She was dating Phillip Kiriakis, she heard the stories.

"So now we’re stuck."

"Why don’t you just run away?"

"What?" Mimi asked.

"Take off."

"You are SO wonderful at good advice."

"Okay, so maybe that isn’t the greatest being you don’t have any money and--"

"It would break my mother’s heart. I couldn’t do that. And my father just wants what is best and they think this is best."

"Why won’t Brady leave?" Chloe questioned.

"The law for one, as long as his father made the marriage arrangements before he turned nineteen he has to follow through. Besides, he feels like he has to stay, to clash with his family, to . . ."

"To?"

"I don’t know," Mimi said quietly. Chloe had hit on something, Brady never gave her a reason.

"Mee--"

"What time is it?" Mimi broke in.

"About 3:20, why?"

"I have to meet Brady at the .com." She stood and began pulling herself together before she started away. She paused for a moment and then turning to look at Chloe. "I know I haven’t said it before but thank you."

"You’re welcome," Chloe responded with a soft smile. Mimi returned her gesture and left her behind, theses days she had more stressing things to worry about than freaking super glue hair-dos.

~*~

"Hey," Brady greeted as she sat next to him. He had been playing a game and when she came in he paused it to lean over and kiss her none-to-quickly on the mouth.

"Hi," she said once he had pulled back. She had to focus even if he WAS a really wonderful kisser. He started his game again and she watched him as she sat quite uncomfortably on a game chair so she could face him. He seemed like he was so happy these days – despite the responsibilities of marriage looming over their heads.

"So what did you want to talk about?" he asked, vanquishing an air invader as she watched his face . . . How could she think he was sweet? Talking to her while focusing on a game. Typical male pig.

"Can you shut that stupid thing OFF?"

Brady turned to her and her sudden change in attitude, she seemed stressed and worried. He quit his game and stood, she followed him to one of the booths and he grabbed her hand when she passed. He brought her next to him instead of her customary seat across and looked her in the eyes.

"What is it?"

        "That is a very good question. We’ll probably know in a couple months, you know, if we don’t decide to wait until it’s born."

        "W-- . . ." It was just about then he caught on. "You’re PREGNANT?"

        "Shhh!" Mimi hushed because of the stares they were now receiving. She grabbed his hand and dragged him through the hangout into the warm spring air.

        "Hey, it’s just a shock okay? It’s . . . son of a bitch! . . . Weren’t you supposed to be on the pill or something?"

        "I never said that! Did I ever say that? Never once did I tell you that and you didn’t ask."

        "I know," Brady winced. He had no idea what to do, he had thought of protection more than they had used it but ‘We’re engaged anyway’ or ‘Con-- Okay GOOD spot’, had usually over shadowed it.

        Mimi sighed and wrapped her arms around herself, "So what now?"

        "I have no idea," he answered. He gave a short laugh and she peered over at him.

        "What’s so funny?"

        "Just that we didn’t want to get married and be saddled by what went along with it but we never thought of preventing even more stuff."

        "It’s not stuff, it’s a baby, dork. Our baby."

        "That’s kind of weird you know. When I was talking about Jan all she ever said was ‘it’, like the kid was just an annoying . . . thing, and you’re atomically saying ‘our’."

        "Brady Black, I swear if this is a lead in to you asking me if it’s your child I will hurt you very badly in a *very* private place," she warned.

        "No, I wasn’t going to. I was just making an observation," he answered honestly.

        "Good," Mimi responded with a weary nod.

        "So can I, like, is it moving yet?" he asked as he approached her.

        "No, you won’t be able to feel it for months." Brady put his hand over Mimi’s stomach and looked at the red cotton covered spot. "I guess if you’re going to have a predicament you might as well do it up right."

        Mimi looked at him slightly more at ease and gave him a little smile. All things considered, this wasn’t so bad.

to be continued…