The party was in full swing in the driver’s compound, it was early evening and Bryan looked at his watch, Belle had excused herself about 25 minutes earlier and had yet to return.
Isabella looked down at the counter. "I don’t believe this, just when everything was coming together. Daddy’s gonna freak."
"Belle you in there."
She sighed hearing Bryan’s voice. "Yeah, come in."
"You ok? You didn’t come back I got worried."
"Sorry, there was, uh, something I had to do."
Bryan looked down at the counter at what Belle was staring at. "Belle? What is…" He looked closer at it. "Oh God."
"Yeah."
"Pregnant? Are you?"
She nodded yes. "I had a feeling I was, I’m really late, part of me was hoping it was all the stress of getting ready for the season but it came back positive. I’m sorry."
He sat on the edge of the tub lost in thought when her words registered in his brain. "Why are you sorry? Not like you did this on your own."
"I know but you’re only 18, I don’t know I should have taken better precautions, I should have…"
"And you are 21 and your racing career just started and it wasn’t only your place to take care of it. We used protection, apparently not enough." He looked down then back up before standing and pulling her into his arms. He loved her, he had for as long as he could remember he just had to wait for her to realize it. He may have been a little kid but all those years that she spent in Memphis made him miserable. He only got to see her a couple times a year during her sickness and he vowed to never let her go again. They had been best friends since as far back as he could remember but it had only been in the past year that they turned that friendship into a relationship. No one expected anything because they had always been together, nothing had changed to the outside world.
Bryan sighed remembering their first time together. They had only been together for a couple weeks, she was 20 and he was 17. She was his first and afterwards Belle started crying not because she regretted it but because she was worried that it had been to soon for him, that maybe they should have waited. It took him several days but when he finally convinced her that he had waited his whole life for that one moment with her, that there was no one else in this world for him she couldn’t help but smile and she realized just how much she loved him, she always had even before she knew it. "What are we going to do?" Her words bringing him back to the present. "I don’t know if they will let me race, don’t know what our parents are going to do. Hell, they don’t even know we are seeing each other." She buried her face in his neck a mass of emotion whirling through her brain. "Of course that’s even if I…" He heard her tear up and he pulled slightly away from her.
"What? Belle, what is it?"
"The chemo, who knows what kind of effect it will have on the baby?"
He heard the despair in her voice. "I know you are worried about it but we have to just wait and see what the doctor has to say first. We need to make sure we know what‘s going on before we confront anyone with this, ok? But you have to know, no I didn’t plan on this happening so soon, but I love you, I’ve always loved you and I couldn’t be happier about you having my baby. We’ll get through this."
"I love you too." She kissed him then half smiled up at him, she had faced so much in her life why did this scare her so much.
"We can get into a doctor as soon as possible but how we going to tell everyone. I mean we are leaving tomorrow night, mom and dad are staying here. We can’t tell them yet."
"I know we either tell them separately or we get your parents up to Carolina."
"Well we will worry about that later." Bryan said hugging her tighter. "I’ll go with you to the doctor, think we can get in Monday?" He smiled trying to ease her worries.
"Really? You want to go to the girlie doc with me?" She laughed.
"Want to? Not particularly but nothing will keep me away." He wrapped his arms around her tighter and just held her while the party roared to life outside.
Belle and Bryan waited a couple weeks after seeing the doctor to tell anyone. They convinced Lexie and Steve to come up on the notion that Bryan had found a house and wanted to show it off, which wasn‘t completely a lie.
No one could believe what they were hearing….Belle and Bryan had been dating for a year….they found a house for them to live in…they were going to have a baby… Silence had taken over the room and the tension could be felt just hanging over all of them, everyone was shocked, no one knew just what to say. Leave it up to Dale to be the first to come up with something, whether it was right or wrong.
"I don’t believe this. First of all I move you into my house to help you out and this is how you repay me." He screamed at Bryan then turned to Belle "and you…Your career is just getting started, well it was, you certainly can’t race now. Although you have, you put yourself and that baby in danger by racing these past couple of weeks. How could you be so stupid?"
"Dale." Mandy said trying to calm him down, this wasn’t what any of them needed right now.
"After everything you have been through, all the fighting you did to get well enough to race just to ruin it this way. You’re only 21. Have you even thought about all the chemo and what effect it would have on this baby." Everyone looked to Belle. She was healthy and so full of life that it was easy to forget about the past 15 years and her illness.
Belle was crying too hard to answer so Bryan stood, his anger growing at Dale for yelling at her this way. "Look, yeah this isn’t what we planned but I love her and she loves me…’
"Love?" Dale scoffed. "You’re kids."
" yes we LOVE each other and we are having this baby and we are going to be a family. And for your information, no matter what you think we aren’t children, we have already talked to the doctor about the cancer. He said that there was a chance of a problem but that it was slim and there was no reason to assume that this pregnancy would be any different than any other." Getting in Dale’s face, which was a brave thing to do in the first place, Bryan had one more comment for Dale. "We will do this with or without you."
"Without me, you are 18 what are you…." Steve and Mandy had both stood to get in between the two when they heard Belles’ screams.
"Stop! Stop it both of you." Belle stood gasping for air in between her sobs. "Daddy I am so sorry but I do love him and I already love this baby. First this didn’t just start when he moved in here, we’ve been together for over a year now. We never did anything in this house I swear, I wouldn’t disrespect you like that." She paused trying to catch her breath. "Don’t you think I am scared to death that something will be wrong with this baby that it could maybe not even make it. I am, I’m terrified that that’s exactly what’s going to happen. I always have been. My whole life growing up I wondered if I could have a family, I may not be able to ever have a healthy baby. I know this isn’t what you wanted to have happen, I didn’t plan for it to happen but it did. I’m sorry I disappointed you but I can’t change it and I don’t know what else to say to you." She slumped back down onto the couch exhausted from all the emotions attacking her body and mind over the past couple weeks.
She was crying uncontrollably now and Bryan made a move towards her when Steve grabbed his arm stopping him. They had all been friends way too long and Steve knew just what was going on in Dale’s head, they had all seen this many times before.
Everyone in the room disappeared and her words transported him back to the past. The fear in her eyes was the same fear he saw in Garrett’s all those years ago when he was scared to tell Dale he wanted to play hockey and not race. Disappointed. Disappointed. Disappointed. The words played over and over in his head. He looked to Garrett, who was sitting quietly by Taylor and Bryan‘s sister Sam, before stepping slowly towards his daughter and pulling her up into his arms. "God baby, don’t ever think that. I’m not disappointed in you. I never could be. Belle I love you so much and I want what is best for you, that‘s all I ever wanted for any of you. I know how good you can be in that car and I know how bad you want it," He caught his breath fighting back tears. "but it will be there for you when you are ready to get back in it." She looked up at him. "You are my baby, you always will be, and I will always be here for you no matter what."
She threw her arms around his neck and he felt her tears on his neck. "Thank you daddy, I love you so much."
He then looked at Bryan. "I’m sorry I…"
"It’s ok, I know you only want what’s best for her but you have to understand, so do I."
Dale just nodded. "Ok well, I have to find someone to fill that car."
"Daddy I can run this weekend."
"No. No you won’t. I won’t take the chance. One stupid mistake by someone else and…well…you have a lot more to lose now. Don’t worry, I’ll fill it." He smiled at her before he left them and headed to his office.
A few minutes later Mandy followed. "You want to talk about it?"
"What? Everything’s fine."
"Dale after 23 years I know when you are lying. I also know that you can’t be this upset about her not racing so what gives."
Dale paused as Mandy came around the desk and sat on his lap. "What if the baby is sick or has a handicap? Or worse?"
"We can’t think like that and you know it. We have to stay strong and help her through this just like we always have. There was a time that we weren’t sure that she would even make it to this day. None of us would have made it if we had thought that then and we can’t start now. Don’t do this to yourself or her."
"I know but I’m just so scared. I thought we‘d have a lot more time before we would have to deal with this."
She wrapped her arms around him. "I know. At least it‘s Bryan, she could have done a whole lot worse. Honestly I can‘t believe none of us saw this coming."
"They have always been inseparable, even when they were kids." Dale was silent for a moment. "God it feels just like yesterday."
"I know." She sighed looking at the papers in front of him. "Who you thinking of putting in the car? Too bad Mikey Jr. isn‘t older he would be perfect."
"Yeah I thought of him first but you know Michael will have him in his own car as soon as he is old enough. I talked to Smoke the other day and he said Anthony has been giving him grief about wanting to try stock cars."
"Tony ok with that. I mean when he quit Nascar and went to the IRL I thought for sure Tony Jr. would follow in his footsteps."
"Yeah he isn’t thrilled but you know Tony. Racing is racing and he isn’t about to stand in Anthony’s way to try everything, that boy is his father’s son. Even if he isn’t happy and doesn’t stay I don’t know who else to get on such short notice so I’ll let him race a few races and see what happens."
Anthony Stewart Jr. was 18 and had been racing the World of Outlaws series for a couple years. His father had quit Nascar a few years after Dale’s retirement and ran a few years in IRL finally winning his first Indy 500 and an IRL championship before going back to the dirt tracks he loved so much. His World of Outlaws team had flourished over the years and Tony Jr. was now driving for him. Tony Jr. however, being just like his father in more ways than one wanted to try his hand at anything that would go in circles. So he had ran a few races and finished reasonably well in a hand full of Arca races. Him and his father’s relationship had always been one based more on competition than anything else and Tony knew his son wanted to do everything he himself had done, only better so he wasn’t about to stand in his way when the opportunity to drive for Chance 2 came up.
Anthony Jr. of course jumped at the opportunity and by the weekend was taking the checkered flag in 29th place in his first ever Nascar race. Over the next few weeks his finishes quickly got better finishing in the top 15 twice and Dale and even Tony himself had to admit the talent that Anthony held.