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Serena woke up with the hangover from hell. She had stayed out all night with Dorian and even convinced her mother, Julianne to hangout for a whole 30 minutes. But now it was Sunday, the day of Sabbath, the day of holy rest, and paying for last night’s sins. Serena just saw it as a day to cure a hangover. A really bad hangover. Awful… hang…over…



Serena felt a surge of vomit and rushed to the bathroom.



“Jeez what did I drink last nig-”

“you know your period is a whole week late.” the voice in the back of her head chimed in interrupting her thought pattern.

Suddenly Serena’s heart started pounding and she felt like she was about to melt into a puddle. She could taste the adrenaline in her mouth, as she faced what could be a potential reality.

She did what she knew best.. running to her best friend and confidant, Ryn.



“… psst. Ryn?”



“Ryn…”

“…RYN!!! WAKE UP!!!”

Ryn was jolted awake by Serena’s scream. And seeing a figure standing over her bedside scared her enough to flinch and collapse out of the bed.



“FOR FUCK SAKE SERENA WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING STANDING OVER ME LIKE THAT YOU SCARED THE SHIT OUT OF ME DAMMIT!!” a grumpy Ryn grumbled



“I’m sorry, but I think I have an emergency.”

“Yeah?” Ryn rubbed the sleep from her eyes, “What’s the big emergency?”

“… I just threw up.”

“….”

“….”

“….”

Ryn gave Serena a blank stare. “Puh-lease don’t tell me that’s the end of the story”.

“…I’m a week late.”



“A week late?” Ryn reiterated as she sat on the bed, “do you think you’re pregnant?”

Serena let out a heavy sigh and sat on the bed beside her

“I dunno.” Serena put her arms in her lap and stared at the floor in thought. “I guess, I’ve been so busy with other things lately I hadn’t thought about it. When I didn’t get my period, I just assumed it was late. And then forgot all about it until just now.”

Ryn looked her best friend in the eye, “Serena… you need to take a pregnancy test. I have one in my dresser.”

“What on Earth are you doing with a pregnancy test Ryn?”

“Hey, I had a close call last month with whatshisface… Johnny. So I had bought like four tests”

“Johnny ZEST?! The town sleezer, Ryn??” Serena laughed

“Yeah… yeah I shacked the town thot, so sue me.”



The two women laughed and then there was a silence and they both knew why.

“… Ryn. What am I going to do? I don’t know if I’m ready for a baby.”

“Hey now, let’s not get all worry wart. And besides, you’ve been talking about starting a family since you turned 30 last year. C’mon”

“Yeah.. but. I just don’t know if I’m ready anymore” Serena looked down at the floor again lost in thought

Ryn focused on her friend’s expression, and raised an eyebrow. “Do you think you’re not ready for a baby… or that Dominic isn’t ready for a baby?”

Serena’s eyes widened as she looked up quickly at Ryn

“… or are you worried that he doesn’t want a kid at all? Or a family?” Ryn continued

“I just..” Serena paused and sighed, “I just don’t know what to think. I mean with the whole thing with Moira and the kids. He just told her he was going to divorce her not even that long ago. It just seems like things are going too quickly.” Serena’s head began to spin with the frustration of it all.

“Serena listen to me” Ryn’s voice was reassuring, “I thought of all of these same things when I was pregnant with Gigi. It will work out. I know me and Luca did not work out, but look what came out of it?”

“Gigi” Serena smiled as she thought of her goddaughter

“Exactly.” Ryn nodded, “go take the test. And then the rest will work itself out.”



And so she did. And sitting on the toilet, awaiting the results, Serena realized how her life could change. Dominic had been wanting to talk to her about something and lately he’s been very distant and burdened. What if he broke up with her? It was all just too much. Serena did not need another heartbreak… Marcus Flex was more than enough. Serena reminisced on the pain of her last serious relationship until the results were ready. It seemed like the longest minutes of her life.

She closed her eyes…

She took a deep breath…

And then she looked at the results.