OhmygodIdon'tknowwhattototitlethis

    Rain pattered hard on the window as Phil sat at his computer desk, hands over his face in exasperation. He sighed, dragging them downwards and peeking out to peer at the laptop screen in front of him. He shook his head as he reread the e-mail he had open and spun his chair to face the window, unable to bear reading it again. He threw his head back and groaned.

    “I cannot even begin to help you if you have AOL as your god-damned browser, and do not know the difference between an e-mail account and a personal one!” he lamented, staring at the ceiling. “These freaking old people. I am so sick of them.” The Gryff ran a hand through his short, spiked hair and gave another sigh, staring at the rain driving against the panes and the plants on the patio shaking from the droplets' force. It'd been going all day and hadn't let up one bit. The remains of cold, gray light were starting to fade as the sun went down. Phil turned to glance at the cable box; the time read quarter to seven.

    'Hm... Carm's still not home. Hope she's okay with the weather as it is.' he thought, tapping his fingers against his cheek with a frown. Another look at his computer made him grumble. 'I'll deal with this nonsense later.' He closed the laptop and got to his feet, heading for the kitchen.

    “Might as well get dinner started.” he said with a small grin as Cake came trotting in after him, nails clicking on the tile floor. Her tongue lolled and her tail waved back and forth as she stared up at him. “I'll surprise her with her favourite, how's that?” Cake let out a short bark in response. “Alright, sounds good! Haven't made it in a while though... I always forget the spice measurements.” Phil grabbed the little recipe box from the windowsill to retrieve the instructions and placed it on the counter, then walked over to the sink to wash his hands.

    “Okay, let's see...” the Gryff mumbled, drying his hands with a towel. He opened the cabinet above the sink and pulled out a box of penne pasta, then grabbed a large pot and filled it with water to boil. Humming to himself, Phil set it on the stove top and then began looking over the spice rack.

    “Garlic...” he took it out of the rack and set it on the counter, chuckling. “Good thing Caleb's not over tonight or he'd be ripping my head off.” The black-haired male opened the fridge and got out parsley, basil, cherry tomatoes, and Parmesan cheese next, setting them on the counter top too. “And now just olive oil, salt, and pepper, and we're set.”

    As he chopped up the tomatoes, Cake sat at his feet and let out a whine. Phil paused and looked down, grinning.

    “Cake, you know better. Carm says no table scraps.” He was answered with another bark. “Although, you're right, we're technically not at a table.” He grabbed a whole tomato and threw it across the kitchen floor. Phil let out a snort as the pink-and-white dog scrambled after it, nails scrabbling on the tiles. He watched her pounce on it like prey for a couple of minutes, his attention diverted moments later by the sound of the water boiling. He opened the pasta and poured it in.

    Cake suddenly stopped, head cocked and one ear held high while the other one flopped as always. A key jiggled in the door, and the dog took off to go meet it's owner.

    Phil smiled, hearing his girlfriend come in and close the door behind her. He immediately felt rejuvenated and excited at the thought of her being home, although it was short-lived. He was suddenly concerned as to why he didn't hear her greeting Cake enthusiastically like she always did, only picking up a soft and glum “Hi Cake” as he heard her throw her bag down on the couch and her shuffling footsteps approaching the kitchen. The Gryff turned around to greet her.

    “Hey honey!” Phil said with a grin as she walked up to him and gave him a quick peck on the lips. He felt his heart grip in his chest as he looked her over. A sad-looking smile adorned her face and she seemed completely devoid of her usual bubbling joy.

    “Hey.” Carmine replied, glancing around at the ingredients on the counter and back at him.

    “Oh, yeah, this. I figured I'd surprise you with dinner.” he explained.

    “That's sweet of you.” Carm said in a hushed and vigorless whisper. Her voice sounded sort of raw, and Phil was starting to worry.

    “Bad day at work?” he asked, wanting to drop everything, let the pasta boil into nothing, and hug her until she felt better.

    Carmine frowned, hunching her shoulders slightly as she averted her gaze and rubbed her arm. “You could say that... I don't really want to talk about it.” Phil's brow furrowed in concern, studying her. Her eyes looked a bit glassy and red.

    “Well, alright, but... are you sure?”

    “Yeah.” she replied curtly. “I'm gonna go lay down.”

    He opened his mouth to say something but she turned fast and exited the kitchen. He heard the springs of the bed squeak slightly as she lay down. Cake let out a whimper, following her. Phil's mood deflated instantly. He loved playfully teasing Carmine and joking with her, but he knew his limits. He knew not to push her for information when she was feeling under the weather, but he was extremely worried. Even when Carm was down, he was always able to cheer her back up. Tonight, she seemed just miserable, and it was obvious that something was very wrong.

    “Go away, Cake.” Phil heard her say from the bedroom as he poured the boiled pasta into a strainer in the sink. He set the pot to the side and watched it steam, pondering about what to do. He winced as his girlfriend yelled much louder, voice cracking, “I said, go away!” The dog came trotting out with her ears and tail drooped. She looked up at Phil sadly and went to go settle on the couch.

    “I know, girl.” Phil sympathized, eyebrows upturning with worry as soft sobs came from the hall. “I'll go see what's up.” He placed the cheese, herbs, and sliced tomatoes back in the fridge and warily headed off to go comfort Carmine.

    Phil went down the hall and stopped outside the door, which was ajar. He paused and frowned, listening to her crying. He then pushed the door open further, stepping in. The room was dark except for the light from the kitchen coming in. He saw her laying on the bed, covered in a blanket, facing away from him and towards the window. Her body shook from the racking sobs.

    “Carm...?” he whispered, pulling the door almost closed so light still filtered in from the hall. She stopped momentarily and sniffled, breathing coming in short, shaky gasps.

    “I-I'll be out in a bit, Phil. I j-just need a few minutes alone...” she choked out, not turning over to look at him. His frown deepened and he approached the bed, grabbing the box of tissues on the nightstand and reaching across to place them in front of her. She laid a hand on it and pulled the blanket closer to her. “Th-Thanks...”

    Phil nodded in response even though she couldn't see it and crawled into the bed beside her after some hesitance. She let out a trembling sigh.

    “Phil...”

    “Shh, it's okay...” he murmured, resting his chin lightly between her neck and shoulder and stroking her arm. At this, Carmine shook her head and fresh tears began to well up in her eyes again.

    “No, it's not!” she sobbed, grabbing a tissue and burying her face in it. Phil raised his head and gazed down at her, heart aching at her distress. Slipping his arms around her waist without a word, he planted a kiss on her neck as she cried and let her do so for a few moments. He gave her a tight squeeze and placed his hands over her stomach. She wriggled out of his grasp all of a sudden, pulling his hands off of her and scooting away, crying harder.

    Phil frowned, pushing himself up on his elbow and cautiously reaching out to touch her arm again, finally daring to ask outright, “Baby, what's wrong?”

    Carmine let out a small, frustrated cry and swatted his hand away as she sat up. “Don't! Don't s-say that word!” she wailed, breaking down into harder sobs.

    Phil blinked, confused, and instantly moved over to her, wrapping her in a hug. She covered her face with her hands and gave in, leaning into his chest. The Gryff rocked her back and forth, keeping his mouth shut and rubbing her back comfortingly.

    How much time passed, Phil didn't know, but Carmine cried for a while. He felt so clueless, so helpless for not knowing how to ease her pain. She didn't cry very often, and when she did, he was always there for her to lean on. Why was she pushing him away?

    He buried his face in her auburn hair, kissing the top of her head. Her sobs had quieted down a bit, but she was still hyperventilating as Phil cradled her. He continued to just rub her back, unsure of what to do, but figuring sitting in silence and holding her was the only think he could do at the moment.

    “I lost it.” she suddenly breathed, in a voice so low that it was barely audible. Luckily, Phil's hearing was superb.

    “What?” he inquired with a frown. Carmine remained silent for almost a minute before she spoke up again, this time louder and hoarse.

    “I was two months along.” she said, not meeting his eyes. “I was pregnant...” she paused, sighing. “But I lost it.”

    Phil's breath caught in his throat and he was sure his heart has stopped for a second. “You- Carm...”

    “The reason I was so late coming home today was because I was at the doctor's...” Carmine continued. “They had to remove... what was left.”

    Phil stared down at the top of her head, unable to form any words. Carmine? Pregnant? This was so difficult to process. They were always careful to use protection... There was, however, always the chance of it breaking. But now it was all starting to come together in his mind. He'd heard her in the bathroom some mornings throwing up, but she'd shrugged it off when he'd asked her if she was okay. Her constant nausea and high emotions made sense now too, as did her lethargy.

    “Honey, why... why didn't you tell me?” Phil finally managed after swallowing the lump in his throat. Carmine gave a slight shrug.

    “I wasn't even sure if I wanted to keep it in the first place. Then the time started passing so fast and I was... beginning to get attached to the idea. I didn't know how to tell you, or how you'd react... but I wasn't really sure if I was ready for something as big as that anyway... and then I was having pains so I went today and, well... I didn't have to decide...” She wiped her eyes and sniffled.

    “Carmine, look at me.” Phil murmured, taking her chin in his hand and lifting it gently to make her look at him. Her magenta eyes were clouded with grief and worry, and red-rimmed and swollen from crying. “You know I support whatever decision you make one-hundred-and-ten percent, right? And I will stick by your side no matter what. I would never flip out or leave or anything like that. Only cowards run away.” He gently ran his thumb over her cheek. “I love you so much... And I'm here for you. I hope you know that.”

    Carmine sniffled again, and her bottom lip quivered as Phil's words settled over her. “I-I love you too.” she replied in a choked whisper. He cupped her face in both of his hands and kissed her on the forehead with a smile before hugging her close again. After a pause, the brunette let out a small laugh, dabbing at her eyes again with a tissue.

    “Is it weird to think you could've been a daddy though?” she asked as she raised her head to gaze at him, her lips curled into a bit of a smirk. Phil chuckled.

    “No, no. Well, okay, maybe a little. Good weird. Mostly shocking.” he responded, running his fingers through her hair. Carmine's smirk grew wider as she slipped her arms around his neck. He leaned forward slightly to rest his forehead on hers and continued in a soft voice, “Let's hope I won't be shocked next time, huh? After all, I plan to be married to you at that point.” He smiled as she closed the distance between their lips.

    “You're such a cheeseball.” she said after pulling away. Phil grinned.

    “But I'm your cheeseball.” he replied as he pulled her off the bed and to her feet.. “And you're the future Mrs. Cheeseball, and our cheeseball kids are gonna rock.”

    “Oh my god, stop.” Carmine said, laughing and gently pushing him. The Gryff smirked and put an arm around her waist.

    “Come on, let's go finish making dinner and we'll watch TV while we eat. I recorded Project Runway for you.” She glanced up at him, reflecting his grin.

    “Oh, what am I saying? You're gonna make a great husband.”