Chapter 14: Push Too Hard, Scare Her Off

Joy slipped the coat off her shoulders, meaning to hand it back to the doctor.

The doctor caught her hand quickly, palm warm against Joy's cold skin.

"I'm so sorry, Dr. Reeves..."

Joy glanced down at the soaked, clearly expensive coat, guilt flooding through her. "I ruined it. Let me have it dry-cleaned and I'll return it."

"Don't be silly, it's just fabric. Keep it on, you'll catch a chill." Naomi's voice was gentle. "Sweetheart, whatever's going on please take care of yourself."

Joy's throat tightened. She murmured a soft thank-you, pulled the coat tighter around herself, and said goodbye.

Watching her stumble off, unsteady on her feet, the elegant woman beside Naomi sighed.

"Such a pretty young thing. What kind of man does that to someone?"

Naomi shook her head, eyes drifting back toward the lake. "No idea. I just hope she doesn't try anything like that again."

Back at her building, Joy climbed to the fifth floor and spotted two familiar shapes waiting outside her door.

"Joy!"

Seeing her soaked through, Derek and Zoe both bolted down a flight of stairs toward her.

Derek looked ready to jump out of his skin. "What happened?! Why are you drenched?!"

Zoe's eyes went red instantly, pulling her into a hug. "Don't scare us like this! Was was the test bad?"

"No..." Joy shook her head.

"Your phone's been dead all day, we've been losing our minds," Derek said, pacing.

Joy patted Zoe's back gently and pulled back, forcing a smile.

"My phone got waterlogged, it's dead. Let's not do this in the hallway come inside."

Once in the apartment, Joy showered and changed into dry pajamas, carefully hanging Dr. Reeves's coat on a hanger before coming back out.

Derek and Zoe sat rigid on the couch, eyes locked on her, faces tight with worry.

Joy sat across from them and let out a long breath.

"I'm pregnant."

The room went dead silent.

"Pregnant?!" They said it in unison, both nearly coming off the couch.

Zoe stared, wide-eyed, looking her up and down. "...Since since when do you have a boyfriend? How did I not know about this?"

Joy dropped her eyes, twisting the hem of her pajama top. "I don't have a boyfriend."

"You don't?!"

Even Derek's face changed.

Zoe's breath caught, face going pale, voice shaking. "Joy did something happen to you? Did someone force you?"

"No. It's not like that."

Swallowing shame and bitterness both, Joy told them, haltingly, what had happened that night at the hotel.

Dead silence followed.

Derek and Zoe exchanged a look, both visibly stunned.

After a long pause, Zoe finally found her voice. "So... your boss has no idea it was you?"

"Right." Joy nodded.

"So what are you going to do?"

Joy looked up, forcing an easy smile. "I already scheduled it. This weekend."

At that, Zoe's eyes dropped to Joy's still-flat stomach, welling up instantly.

She took Joy's cold hand gently, forcing a smile of her own. "It's okay. Don't be scared. It's a simple procedure we'll be right there with you."

Joy sniffed hard, nodding, eyes brimming.

Derek stood, voice a little rough. "Alright. You've made your decision, don't second-guess it now. Zoe, keep her company I'll go make noodles."

He disappeared into the kitchen, shoulders a little heavier than usual.

"Thanks I was starting to get hungry," Joy called after him.

The two women were left alone in the living room.

Zoe pulled Joy into another hug, burying her face in her shoulder, crying freely now.

"How could this happen to you, of all people..."

She was crying harder than Joy was, wiping tears and everything else straight onto Joy's shirt.

Joy's own dry eyes finally gave way too.

The three of them ate together.

Derek dried Joy's ruined phone with a hairdryer. Half an hour later, he held the power button.

The screen flickered twice, then came on.

"Motherboard's fine."

Joy took the phone back, relieved. "Thank god. I almost had to buy a new one."

Night had fully settled in by the time Zoe left, lingering at the doorframe, glancing back every few steps.

"Joy, are you sure you don't want me to stay? I'm a quiet sleeper, I promise, no snoring."

Joy leaned against the doorway, trying to hold herself up straighter than she felt. "Really, I'll be fine. Go home, you've got work tomorrow."

"Call me. Any time, even the middle of the night."

"I will."

The second the door closed behind them, before she'd even caught her breath, her phone buzzed hard in her hand.

Two words lit up the screen: Nathaniel Cross.

Her stomach dropped. She took a few steadying breaths before answering.

"Hello, Mr. Cross."

"Why didn't you go to the hospital?"

His voice came through low, cold, edged with something demanding close enough it felt like he was standing right beside her.

For a second she could picture his face exactly, brows drawn, expression dark.

"I" She dug her nails into her palm. "I went to the public hospital near my place. The doctor said food poisoning, mild gastritis, gave me something that should clear up in a couple days. Going all the way to Cross Medical felt unnecessary."

"Is it serious?"

"Not at all."

Before she could finish the sentence, nausea slammed up her throat.

"ugh"

Her face went white. She dropped the phone and lunged for the bathroom, collapsing beside the toilet, retching hard.

"Joy? Joy!"

From the phone abandoned on the floor, Nathaniel's voice came through sharp with panic, almost losing its composure entirely.

Joy threw up until tears streamed down her face, then sank onto the cold tile, completely spent.

Shaking, she picked the phone back up, voice thin and wrecked.

"Mr. Cross... I'm here."

"You were throwing up?" His voice was taut, strained. "I'm sending a driver right now, straight to the hospital."

"No please, that's not necessary. The doctor said the vomiting will keep happening for a few days while it clears out of my system. I'll be fine by next week."

A few seconds of silence stretched on the other end frustration and helplessness barely held in check.

"Fine by next week."

"Yes, sir. Fine by next week." Joy closed her eyes. "Mr. Cross, I'd like to request leave. I have a follow-up appointment Friday morning."

"Take as many days as you need. Come back when you've recovered. And you're still going to Cross Medical for a full workup."

Joy's heart lurched. She refused as gently as she could manage.

"That's not necessary, sir. I already had a full round of testing today. It really is just gastritis."

Nathaniel went quiet for a long moment. Somewhere in the background, Ethan's voice muttered, "Push too hard and you'll scare her off."

His jaw tightened. "Fine. Take care of yourself. Rest.”