Some things have to be faced head on, regardless of how frightened the prospect seems. At least Gabi could be relatively reassured by the fact that her Aunt Miranda was back on Earth for a few weeks. She only had to brave her father's inevitable disappointment in her. But she had to do it now, today, or she would never have the courage to keep the appointed meeting with Ennis tomorrow. Both them, her father and her ex-boyfriend, deserved to know what it was she was holding to herself, even if it resulted in her being all alone once again.

Wishing, not for the first time, that Cian was here, Gabi lifted a hand and knocked on the door of Beecham House, trying to still the flutter in her stomach. It's just Dad, she told herself firmly. The worst he can do is say no. The little pep talk had absolutely no effect on her nerves, her hand shaking as she tucked her growing hair back behind her ear. The ruthlessly short crop she had inflicted on herself in the days after Frank's death had begun to grow out with a vengeance in the last few weeks - apparently a side-effect of her newest problem - the blonde locks now brushing her jaw and promising to touch her shoulders within another month or so.

She listened for the familiar thump of footsteps inside, and was startled when her father's voice reached her from her left, making her jump.

"Gabi?"

She turned, her smile a little too wide to be entirely comfortable, and hurried back down the steps of the house, running into her father's arms with a thumping embrace. He grunted in surprise, one arm wrapping warm about her shoulders as he hugged his daughter in return. The other hand held a lavender plant away from Gabi, not wanting to cover her in the rich, composted soil that clung to the straggling roots. Gordon Granger had apparently been throwing himself into his gardening when at home these days, with no children to distract and amuse him when he was alone.

"Hey now," he said in his gentle voice, leaning back to look down at her when it became obvious that Gabi was very close to tears, "what?s all this?"

She sniffled, pulling back before the tears could fall, and swallowed hard. "It's nothing, it's ..." She shrugged, rubbing her palm to the side of her neck. "I'm just really glad to see you."

"I'm gratified," was Gordon's wryly amused response. He reached out with one soil-covered finger to lift her chin, looking into his daughter's eyes. Gabi let him look, knowing that now he was sober, her father could read her like a book. He nodded slowly, appreciating the turmoil that was in her eyes, and let her go. "I see. Go and put the kettle on, sweetheart. Let me wash my hands, and you can tell me all about it."

An hour later, Gordon was sat down on one of the wide couches in his living room, one arm wrapped about Gabi's shoulders as she sniffled her way through her slightly panicked narrative. She hadn't intended to unburden herself on him so completely, but this was her father. Without Cian or Frank around to filter off the little dramas of her life before they ever reached Gordon's ears, Gabi had a lot to tell him, and he listened to it all with barely a word, letting her pour her heart out over the trials of the past year, waiting patiently for her to reach the crisis point that had brought her back to Beecham House.

She hesitated when she reached that point, wiping her eyes and nose on a crumpled handkerchief he had pressed into her fingers barely minutes after she'd begun her long tale. "You're gonna be really disappointed in me," she predicted in a shaken voice.

Gordon shook his head. "I highly doubt that," he assured his daughter. Adopted or not, he was absolutely certain that there was nothing Gabrielle could do that would disappoint him. "Just tell me, sweetheart. I won't bite."

Reassured, nonetheless it was a long moment before she spoke, staring fixedly at his knees when the words finally broke free. "I'm pregnant."

"I see." Gordon's tone was carefully neutral, hiding the surprise as much as the disappointment she had predicted. He never would have thought she would get herself into this sort of situation. He hadn't even realised she was seeing anyone. "And the father?"

"Human," she was quick to inform him, setting that worry to rest, at least..."We're not together anymore, but uh, we're still friends. I'm gonna tell him tomorrow, if I work up the guts to do it."

"All right, love." Gordon hugged her more securely with that one arm about her, sensing the very thin veneer she'd pulled over her emotions was on the verge of cracking again. "I assume you're keeping it?"

It was a question that needed to be asked. As fragile as Gabi was going to be throughout a pregnancy, he couldn't be sure that she wouldn't make the worse decision of having an abortion. He knew his daughter very well; she would never be able to forgive herself if she did that, and self-loathing like that was what had destroyed Frank. The last thing Gordon wanted was to see Gabi go down that same dark path.

To his relief, she nodded. "Yeah ....yes, I'm not going to have it flushed out or anything," she promised, and leaned into her father as his tight embrace gentled once again. The worst of the news was over, and there had been no fireworks. She could relax a little, though there was still one more thing that needed to be said. "Daddy?"

Gordon let out a slow breath, looking down at the sweet cherubic face that blinked hopefully up at him. "Yes, sweetheart?"

Gabi bit her lip, holding her father's gaze with a strange mixture of apprehension and hope. "Can I come home?" she asked softly.

There was a moment of exquisite relief that rushed from Gordon Granger and into his adopted daughter as he smiled, the expression not so much summoned as unveiled. That was what he had wanted to hear from her ever since she had taken the initiative to move out in the first place. He wrapped her up in both arms, any anger or disappointment over her condition forgotten in the wave of relieved happiness that came with the promise of having at least a little part of his family back together again.

"Yes, Gabi," he promised her as she curled into him, rocking her back and forth. "Of course you can come home."

"I don't really know, yet," she admitted quietly, relieved enough to lean against him, arm to arm, as they continued speaking. "I mean, it's not like we're not staying friends, and I'd never try and cut you out of this. I just ....I don't know what to expect. And I don't know how it works, having a baby with someone you're not married to." She paused, and offered up something vaguely reassuring. "If it helps, my dad didn't threaten to kill you."

When she relaxed, he put his hand over hers and gave a reassuring squeeze. "Well dat be good. Couldn't be no good to ya or the little one if I be dead." He smiled then and nodded. "And we be workin' dis ting out fer ourselves. Nobody be tellin' ya how or wut to be doin'. But, I hope y'understand..." Ennis pulled the ring off of his napkin, then slid out of his chair and held it up to her. "I have to be askin' ya now, Gabrielle. Will you be marryin' me" I want to do right by you, and not jus' coz you're carryin' m'baby."

"What?" Gabi could not believe what she was hearing. She stared at Ennis as though he had grown a second head, utterly shocked and completely overwhelmed. "Ennis, we just broke up, we just agreed that we don't work together. We're not in love, and having a baby isn't a good enough reason to try and force it to happen. I ..." She floundered, searching for something to say that would lessen the sting of this appalled rejection of his proposal. "God, I don't even know how to say this without hurting you, but ....no. No, I can't. I can't cope with so much happening all at once."

Ennis wasn't hurt by the rejection, had actually expected it. Sliding back in his seat, he put the ring down onto his plate and then reached to pat her hand. "I know, Gabrielle. I be knowing. I had t'ask, was the honorable ting to be doing. And I be proud of you da way y'said no immediately instead of hemmin' and hawin' about. You be stronger dan you tink, gurl."

She continued to stare at him as he shrugged off her rejection and sat beside her once again, holding that stare for a lot longer than most people would be comfortable with. When she finally surfaced, it was to pinch his side. "You're an a$$," she told him in a faintly exasperated voice, rolling her eyes. But there was a smile playing about her lips. "Just for that' You get to carry my heavy stuff back to Dad's house."

To the pinch and her threat, he laughed out loud. Then he reached across her shoulders to pull her to his side. "I be an a$$, but I be a good a$$." Looking down at her, he smiled broadly, every white tooth showing. Almost. Molars are hard to see. "We be alright, Gabi. We got our own ting goin' on an' if udder peoples don't like it, dey don't have to be lookin', now do dey?" He gave her a squeeze, then let her go. "But you do be wrong bout one ting."

She eyed him shrewdly, pretty sure she knew what he was going to tell her she was wrong about. She was always going to love Ennis, in her own way. He'd opened her up to the world of intimacy and friendship beyond just companionship, and she would always be grateful for how gentle he had been with her. "Friendship's just another kind of love, isn't it?"

"Aaaah, such a smart gurl." He chuckled and nodded. "Y'will always be dat gurl dat saved me from da madness when I first be gettin' here. I no be fergettin' a kindness." He canted his head, his grin wry with humor. "So you be comin' on inside? I be teachin' the cooks how to be makin' real Jamaican food. You be lovin' it." He glanced back to the club for a moment, and then back to her.

"Uh ..." She hesitated, looking toward the club for a moment. She hadn't yet been inflicted with the terrible nausea she'd heard described in the past, but she wasn't quite sure whether or not "real Jamaican food" might kick start the process. "Please tell me they're making something that won't make me vomit."

Ennis gave her a tender look and then shook his head. "I can have da cook make sometin' special for ya. Da jerk chicken wid some couscous. Be good fer anyting dat be ailin' ya." He nodded affirmitively, once again. Then, he rose from his seat and offered her one hand while gathering up the remains of his dinner. "Or are ya wantin' to be gettin' on home. Will be dark soon." He looked up at the sky for a moment, then back to her.

Gabi followed his gaze as he looked up at the sky, drawing in a soft sigh as she drew herself to her feet, her smaller hand sliding into his, ivory bright against his darker skin. "I can come in for a bit," she assured him. "It's still just me on my own for now. Haven't moved yet."

"Good," he smiled, squeeznig her hand. Depositing the trash into a bin, he lead her to the club, and held the door for her. Inside was a sparse crowd. The room had been decorated with tiki torches on the walls, posters of Bob Marley and peace signs hung in haphazard ways. A soft, ever changing in color, pastel neon glowed from the ceiling. The furniture was rattan and wicker, the floor dusted with sand. It was touristy, cheesy and an over all fun place to work. Once inside, he led her to a table. "Now you be sittin' here. I'll get you sometin' to eat." And then he was off, lost in a crowd of people dressed as brightly as he.

Shy of being left alone, but trusting Ennis not to abandon her for long in the midst of this crowd of friendly, smiling faces, Gabi slid down into the chair he directed her to, leaning onto her forearms to let her fingers play together awkwardly. But the worst was over. She'd told him the news, and - after freaking her out with a marriage proposal - he'd taken it pretty well, on the whole. It boded well for the months to come. There was still so much to discuss and share, but one thing was true ....She might now be two, but they were not alone and never again would be.

((Muchos thankees to Ennis' player!))

The Caribbean Calypso always seemed to be bursting with life and laughter, even as the weather began to turn, promising another cold winter ahead. As much as Gabi liked the welcoming atmosphere, there were days when she wished she could just slip in and not be noticed except by the person she was there to see. Like today.

Paler than usual with the slowly sinking in shock of news she had recieved only an hour before, she made it in through the door only to be announced with a loud cheer by one of the girls who worked the bar, Teja. "Hey, Ennis! Yo' baby-mama be here, boy! Take a break!"

If she could have, Gabi would have sunk through the floor right there and then. As it was, she just wrapped her arms tight about herself and closed her eyes, wishing for that to happen.

Ennis didn't need the announcement. It was hot inside of the little club and Ennis was sweating. Shirtless and shoeless, wearing just his raggedly cut capris and the straw hat as he banged upon his steel drum. He had been hoping for a break, just to get outside and breathe. With Teja's yell, the bar whooted almost in unison and the band came to an abrupt stop in the impromptu and improvised music. It was his chance!

Ennis quickly put the mallots down and leapt off of the stage and moved as quickly as he could to Gabi's side. Not missing a beat, he gently took her elbow. "Let's go outside. It be too hot in hea." And without waiting strode for the door.

Her eyes popped open as soon as Ennis took her elbow, and she nodded soundlessly, turning with him to head back for the door. Somehow, Gabi had managed to make herself look even smaller than usual today, enveloped in a cardigan that was about three times too big. But at least it wasn't black. In fact, nothing she wore was black today. Color was making a gradual reappearance into Gabi's wardrobe, much to the relief of almost everyone who knew her.

Once outside, Ennis released his grip on her elbow and wiped his face with his hand. He inhaled the cool, dry air, eyes rolling closed in relief. Blowing out his breath, he opened his eyes and finally got a good look at his best friend. He smiled warmly; it was always good to see Gabi. Even if she were hidden beneath too many clothes. At least they weren't....His eyes went wide and he smiled even wider. "You be alright?" Though gray was a muted and neutral color, it was still color. A huge leap, in his eyes, and he hoped she was coming out of mourning.

She nodded again, her brown eyes wide and ever so slightly wild. "Oh, I ....the doctor says I am," she qualified her answer before it even came out, moving to sit herself down on the low wall outside the club. "I, um, I went for the scan today. Dad came with me; I know you couldn't get the time off. Maybe the next one you'll be able to."

Ennis turned slowly, watching her as she sat down. the smile slowly began to dim, even with the good news that she was alright. Concern tinged his features now and he reached to gently lay his hand upon her shoulder. "Out wit it, den. What be da problem, Gabrielle?" He canted his head and ducked a bit so he could look into her eyes. "You can tell ole Ennis, no matter what it be."

"I, um ..." She struggled for a moment, pausing to take a deep breath and try again. "Ennis, we ....I ....You see, it's ..." But the words just wouldn't come. Dropping her gaze in defeat, she rummaged one handed in her bag, pulling out a small folded sheet of radiograph paper and offering it over to him. "It's pretty clear."

If one thing could be said about the relationship between Gabrielle and Ennis, was that their ability to communicate was second to none. There was nothing they couldn't talk about or say to one another. So when Gabrielle started to stammer and trip over her words, Ennis' look of concern turned into a frown that left lines between his brows. He was almost afraid to take the paper from her, didn't want to see that their child had some deformity or even worse. He stared at her, and slowly reached for the paper.

Steeling himself and forcing his hand not to shake, he took the paper and looked down at it. It took a moment, but then his eyes widened and his jaw dropped. His hands fell to his sides and he looked at her dumbly. "Two?"

For the third time, Gabi nodded, and this time it was slow and sardonic, her eyes rising to his once again. "Not only are you manly and virile, you also have sperm that like to overcompensate," she said, relieved she hadn't actually had to say the dreaded word 'twins'. Her expression crumpled into one of utter dread. "Ennis, how the hell am I going to cope with this" One scared me enough."

Ennis couldn't help himself. When she made the sardonic comment, he burst out laughing. That was quickly quelled though - she didn't think any of this was funny in the least. Wiping his face once again, he then reached for her and stepped close enough to cradle her head against his chest. "Not alone," he murmured. "And we can be takin' classes and tings to hep us learn how to do right by dem." He had heard of such classes, book and things to help expectant couples become prepared for life with a child. "No need to be scared, Gabi. We do dis ting together."

"Gods, I hope so," she sighed, leaning her forehead against his chest, not at all objecting to the stickiness of sweat that coated his skin. She'd been closer to him when he was sweatier, after all. This was all innocent. "It's just ....it's all so much bigger now, you know?" She sighed again, leaning back. "I wanted you to know as soon as possible, I hope I haven't distracted you from work or anything."

"It be gettin' bigger all da time," he chuckled as he spoke quietly, his hands finding their way to the bulge in her middle. "And don't you be worryin' bout dat. Dis be your home, too. Fambly comes first, and dey be da first to be tellin' me." He stepped away then, but kept one hand upon her bump. "As you saw when Teja spotted you."

She groaned lightly. "I could have done without that," she admitted with a low chuckle. Though the bump beneath his hand was not yet big enough that anyone could see it if they didn't know it was there, it fitted into his large palm snugly. A faint touch of something mischievous took hold of Gabi's expression as she looked up at her best friend. "She fancies you, you know," she added innocently. "Teja. I think she might be a bit jealous because you always skip straight to me when I come by. I don't want cramp your style or anything."

He could see the mischief in her eyes and he shook his head with a laugh when she said what he knew was coming. "She be a sweet gurl, but not right now. 'Sides if she be jealous o' you now, how she gonna be when da babies are hea?" He shook his head again. "Can't be havin' no fuss bucket. If she mellow her tune, den maybe."

She giggled softly. "Or maybe you should pay her a bit of attention," she suggested with a smile. "I think she'd be good for you. You're not made to be on your own. And besides, she knows all about us and the baby thing. No secrets there." Gabrielle Granger, matchmaker" Possibly not.

Ennis knew he couldn't win this one, so he put up his hands and laughed. "You win. I be payin' her some attention." He lowered his hands then and folded his arms across his chest. "But I be usin' protection dis time." He turned serious for a moment. "I be sorry, Gabi. I wasn't responsible wit you."

Her smile turned introspective, but didn't fade from her face. "It's just as much my fault as yours," she pointed out. "I should have been doing something to make sure, and I wasn't. Besides," she added with a smirk, "I wasn't very easy to fend off when I got the bit between my teeth, was I?"

"Not to be mentioning oder tings ya got yer teef into." He waggled his brows and smiled once again. He could share the responsibility of fault, especially when something so good and positive was the result. "Do you want to be comin' inside" Or can I take da res' o' da night off to be walkin' you home?"

Perhaps someone else would have objected to his thought that walking her home would take the rest of the night, but Ennis knew Gabi better than most. He knew she'd insist on him staying for dinner with herself and her father, and he was getting on well enough with Gordon that the chat after dinner could go on for hours. "Um ....that's up to you, I suppose," she smiled faintly. "I don't want to upset your evening or anything."

"You know bettah." He let his arms fall free to his sides and took a step back and to the side. "I be gettin' my tings." And with that, Ennis turned around and stepped inside. When door opened, a wave of sound rushed out only to be muted once again as it closed behind him.

Gabi smiled, already feeling more in control of the situation now she had spoken to Ennis. As complex as the situation was, she, he, and her father had settled into an odd sense of camaraderie and expectation. This wasn't going to be a conventional family, but that didn't mean that the baby - babies, she corrected herself - weren't going to have the best of both worlds, of having a mother and a father. She still had yet to meet Ennis' mother, who by all accounts was a formidable woman, but she wasn't too worried about that just yet. For now, she just needed to concentrate on staying fit and healthy and letting the two men left in her life look after her. And who knew? Maybe Cian would come back in time to meet the newest additions to their family sometime before they turned sixteen themselves.

((Magniflorious thankidoodles to Ennis' player for solving my exposition dilemma for me!)