She was two months pregnant.

Gregory pulled the sheet of finality over the white face of the young woman who lay on the table.  Sighing, he pulled the gloves from his fingers.  Autopsies were never, ever "just another day on the job" - but this one had made his stomach churn.  Double murders always did that to him.

He knew he had to report in with the stats of the procedure, but all he could think about was facing the parents of the young girl.  They already knew that their twenty year old daughter was dead...did they know that she had been pregnant with their grandchild?

~

Mrs. Clarke grasped her husband's hand tightly.  His face was strained and pinched, and hers was wet with fresh tears when she recognized the man coming towards them.  His nametag read "Greg" and he had called them specifically to talk about Lily's autopsy.  She had hoped to be spared any details, but he had insisted on meeting with them.

As they walked back with him into an office, he gestured for her to gave a seat.  She felt reassured by the firm grasp of her husband on her shoulder.

Gregory cleared his throat, trying to make eye contact with the distraught woman.  Dissatisfied with her present condition, he turned his attention to the more composed Mr. Clarke.  Lacing his fingers together and resting his hands on the desk, he posed the question.

"Sir, were the two of you aware that Miss Clark was...carrying a fetus?"

The woman gasped, her small hand fluttering to her mouth.

Mr. Clarke shook his head.  "No," he said, finally.  The pit of his stomach sunk further.

"Did...did Lily even know?" asked Mrs. Clarke, obviously making an effort to steady her voice.

Gregory paused.  "We're fairly sure she did, m'am.  And...though the young man in custody won't talk much for us, we're fairly sure that he knows as well.  He's not father."

Mrs. Clarke winced at the mention of Lily's bad-tempered fiancée.  They hadn't been on good terms for a long while- but Lily had been too afraid of him to break off the relationship.  When she had left the house to do just that, it had been the last time her parents had seen Lily alive.

"Oh," said Mr. Clarke, heavily, as he grasped the weight of the situation.

Gregory continued, trying not to dwell on certain points.  "He will, of course, be charged with double count of manslaughter."  Compassion filled his dark eyes.  "I'm very sorry."  He paused.  "You can feel free to leave anytime."

Her eyes awash with tears, Mrs. Clarke looked confusedly at Gregory.  "But...why would he do such a thing?"  She grasped the arm of her chair, her emotions swelling over the thought of losing not only her oldest daughter, but her first grandchild.  

"Surely he wouldn't have lost his temper...if...if he knew that she was pregnant," she said, unable to face the thought of the pregnancy being the reason for the attack.  "He wouldn't have..." she whispered.  "It....it was a baby."

~

She was two months pregnant.

Becky sucked in a big breath as her boyfriend made a sharp turn.  They were already late for their appointment.  Andrew hadn't noticed her the whole trip, and Becky was scared.

Andrew glanced at her sideways, as if reading her thoughts.  Giving a soft sigh resounding in frustration, he cleared his throat.  "Beck, you don't need to worry, you know.  You're not like other girls.  You've thought this through.  Your parents want it.  They're paying for it.  You're not going behind their back or anything."

Becky fingered her lap-belt, trying not to look at her stomach.  "Yeah, I know," she muttered, knowing that if she cried she would only make Andrew feel bad.  "But...what if I don't know?" she added.

"You do know.  We discussed it."

"Maybe I've changed my mind."

Andrew laughed.  "Yeah, mhm.  You'd be saying the same thing when you get back to classes in August and everybody could tell what you'd been up to over summer break."

Becky sighed, wishing she had a valid argument.  She hadn't been nervous before.  Not really.  Or maybe she had just been pushing away any feelings that didn't make sense to her.

He pulled into the parking lot, which, thankfully wasn't very full.

"Well...I don't know, Drew.  It just doesn't seem...all the way....right, I guess.  I just don't know.  Sorry I'm not making any sense."  

Andrew looked at her- but it felt like he was looking straight through to her heart.  He pulled into a parking space, put the truck in park, and shut off the engine.  "I know what you're thinking," he said, as they both unbuckled.  He hopped out and walked around the front to get her door.  She stayed in the car.  Leaning on the open door, he took her hand.

"Beck," he said, his fingers closing around hers.  "Don't worry.  It's not like it's a baby yet."