The Decision
Part One
By Carianne
cxcarleo@naz.edu

I do not own any of the characters and make no money from their use.

Please e-mail me with any comments, good or bad...

It is around 7:30 AM and Carol is lying in bed, asleep. Her face is tear stained, and it is obvious she cried herself to sleep, not an unusual occurrence since Doug left about a month before. In her hands, she is clutching an old shirt of Doug's that still carries the scent of the cologne he wore.

Just then, the bedroom door creaks open, but Carol does not hear it. As the person enters the bedroom and walks toward the bed, we can see that it is Doug.

Doug sees Carol's tear stained face, and quickly, but quietly drops his suitcase on the floor and walks over to the bed. She is lying on her side, so it is fairly easy for Doug to reach one arm in back of her knees and the other behind her back and lift her up.

With Carol in his arms, Doug sits on the bed and leans back against the pillows. Carol is sideways in his lap. Doug has his left arm behind her back and curled around her waist and with his right hand, he brushes her hair back from her face.

Carol starts to stir, and within a few seconds, she opens her eyes. She looks up, surprised to see Doug's large brown eyes looking back at her. "Please tell me I'm not dreaming," she said softly, hesitant to move for fear that it would wake her from what she felt must be another of the dreams that had haunted her for the last month.

Frequently, she would find herself in bed, with Doug lying next to her, or in his arms, as she was now only to wake up and find that she was alone, as usual.

"It's not a dream," Doug said, kissing her gently on the lips.

"You're really here. I...I can't believe it."

"I got your message around 11, I had gone to return a video. I called the airport right away and the next flight out left at 12:30 so I had to leave right away. The flight had a stop over in Denver and I landed at O'Hare around 6."

"I'm sorry about that message, it was just that I needed to talk so badly. I slept with the phone right here by my head in hope that you would call. I woke up a couple times thinking the phone was ringing, but it was all a dream."

"I'm glad this isn't. You don't need to apologize for your message, you needed me and I'm glad you called."

"How were you able to get time off?"

"I'm not working," Doug admitted. "I had that temporary job at the clinic, but when they asked me to become a permanent staff member, I turned them down."

"Why? I thought you loved the clinic and seeing the kids."

"I did, but I didn't like the idea of a permanent job. It would make it too hard for me to come out here, when you or I wanted me to. It would make me feel like I was going to be there forever and I know that's not what I want."

"Me either," Carol said, shifting slightly in Doug's arms.

Doug didn't want to push Carol to talk when she wasn't ready, but he was really saddened by her tearstained face and puffy eyes. Realizing that he was looking intently at her face, she said, "I must look like a fright."

"No, you're beautiful, you always will be. I hate to see that you were so upset though. What happened?"

"I just missed you so much...And yesterday was such a long day at work. I just wanted to come home and be able to have you comfort me; I didn't want to be alone. Even though we had just talked the day before, I just wanted to hear your voice."

"I'm sorry I wasn't home when you called."

"As I'm sure you could tell, I started to cry while leaving you that message and I couldn't stop, I just cried myself to sleep."

"Oh baby," Doug said, pulling Carol closer. He heard her stomach rumble and asked, "Do you want me to make you breakfast?"

"Would you?"

"Sure. I'm pretty hungry too."

"I think I'm going to take a quick shower, ok? I'll meet you in the kitchen?"

"I'll bring the food up here."

About 15 minutes later, Carol emerged from the bathroom wearing one of Doug's t-shirts that he had left at her house. Her hair was loose; the way Doug loved it. "I was wondering where that shirt had gotten to," Doug said with a smile.

"It was in the laundry when you left."

"It looks better on you anyway," Doug said with a smile.

As they were eating, Carol appeared to be deep in thought, but Doug did not push her to talk, knowing that she would when she was ready.

When they finished eating, Doug took the tray off the bed and put it on the floor next to the bed. He lay on his side, facing Carol and reached his arms out to her. She moved closer and asked, "Can we talk?"

"Of course."

"I have something to tell you, that's going to effect both of our lives immensely."

"What is it? Please tell me you are ok," Doug said, concerned.

"I'm fine," Carol said. "I'm pregnant, about 6 weeks."

"Oh my..." Doug said, pulling her closer. "When did you find out?"

"Two weeks ago. I wanted to tell you, but not over the phone. I was actually thinking about taking some vacation to come out and see you and tell you that way, but then I realized I needed to save all my time for maternity."

"I'm so happy," Doug said. "I'll fly back to Seattle in a few days to get my stuff."

"Are you sure? I don't want you to feel pressured into coming back."

"I am positive, I have been thinking about coming back. I left so I could work, but I'm not working there either. And I'm miserable there. If I'm going to be unemployed, I'd rather it be here, with you."

"I'm so happy. Can you believe we're going to be parents?"

"It's amazing,"

Doug and Carol fell asleep soon after, with Carol in Doug's arms. It was the first good sleep either of them had gotten in some time.

When Carol woke up, Doug wasn't in bed and she wondered if the whole thing had all been a dream. But then, she heard the toilet flush and he emerged from the bathroom.

Reaching into his pocket, he took out what looked like a small piece of string. He unfolded it to be a small circle and asked, "Carol, will you marry me? It doesn't have to be now, but when you're ready."

Carol got tears in her eyes, and said, "Of course I will marry you, but..."

-August 23, 2000