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“Kate, why do you have six pregnancy tests under your bathroom sink?” Daphne asked as she strode down the hallway toward the living room where the rest of the girls were gathered. It was girls’ night and everyone was sitting on the floor around the coffee table. There were wine glasses, snacks, and various board games strewn about the table and floor, the room becoming messier by the minute as the night dragged on.
“Why were you under my bathroom sink?” Kate questioned, quirking one perfectly plucked eyebrow.
Daphne simply waved her off, plopping down on her spot on the floor beside Francesca. “I was looking for a band-aid. When we were playing that last round of Clue, I reopened the cut on my thumb from slicing fruit the other day." Before anyone could question exactly how that was the game she hurt herself on and not the violent game of Spoons they played at the beginning of the night, she continued on. "Anyway, why so many pregnancy tests?”
Kate sighed, picking up her glass of water and taking a sip. “Before it was confirmed we were going to be blessed with our first child,” she cradled her rounding belly, “Anthony sort of freaked out that one test wasn’t accurate enough so instead of waiting for my doctor’s appointment, he bought more tests.”
“There were more than the six that are in there now?” Eloise asked, gawking.
“No,” Kate giggled. “I put my foot down and made him wait until the doctor’s appointment to confirm my pregnancy. Those tests in there are the original amount he purchased when I threw up one morning and told him I suspected. Well, minus the first one I allowed him to make me take."
“How has he been this week?” Sophie asked with a kind, knowing smile.
“Hovering, as per usual. I tried taking a plate down from the top shelf in the cabinet this morning and I swear he almost had a heart attack.”
The siblings, as well as Penelope, all rolled their eyes, but Sophie, new to the group of girls as she had only been dating Benedict for a few months, was touched by Anthony’s worry over his wife.
“Oh my God, you know what we should do?!” Francesca exclaimed as she stood. She had at least one bottle of wine by herself and was obviously feeling the effects as she swayed in her spot. “We should take the tests!”
“What?” everyone sounded at once, confused by the excited look on the girl’s face.
“We should each take a pregnancy test! Come on, it’ll be fun!”
“Pregnancy tests expire, do they not?” Eloise scrunched up her nose, confused by her sister’s idea of ‘fun’.
“Not for years!”
Daphne narrowed her eyes at her younger sister who had just turned 18 a month ago. “Why do you know that?”
Choosing to ignore her, Francesca ran from the room, eager to gather the pregnancy tests. She returned quickly, out of breath, and dropped the tests on the floor beside Penelope.
“Kate could keep these, you know,” Penelope giggled, watching the usually calm girl as she tore open a box. “They can last up to three years.”
“I don’t mind, actually,” Kate shrugged. “I prefer getting my test done at the doctor’s office anyway. They're more accurate and you don't risk getting piss everywhere."
There was a grumbling of agreement.
“Come on!” Francesca urged them. “Wouldn’t it be funny if one was positive?” She snickered and then hiccuped loudly. She was sloshed.
“I’ll do it,” Sophie announced, meekly raising her hand.
“Me too!” Penelope exclaimed, nudging Sophie gently with her shoulder as they giggled.
“Why the hell not?” Daphne shrugged.
“Alright, well,” Eloise sighed. “Throw me a box, Franny. Let’s get this over with.”
One by one, they excused themselves to the bathroom to take their tests. Kate had the task of marking their initials on pieces of paper that were placed on the table as the tests were set on a tray lined deeply with paper towels. After a few minutes, there were five tests lined up. The girls were all trading barbs, placing bets on who they thought would have a positive test. The volume in the room grew louder and louder until the final timer went off.
“Okay,” Kate shouted over the catty women. “Everyone grab your test, but do not look at it!” The girls all scrambled to grab their tests, each obviously amused by the silly game they had created. “On three, flip your test over and share your results. One, two, three!”
“Aw, bugger,” Daphne pouted after looking at the stick, her shoulders deflating. “I wished it was positive. Simon and I have actually been trying.”
“Mine's bust,” Eloise shrugged, tossing the test carelessly over her shoulder before she took another swig of her wine. Daphne threw a few choice words at her until she picked the test up off the floor and deposited it back inside the box. Eloise stuck her tongue out at her sister and Daphne shoved her playfully in retaliation.
“Same here,” Francesca giggled. “Looks like I’m still going to uni on schedule!”
“Negative,” Sophie said, placing the test delicately back on the table. “I’d be surprised if it were positive. We use double the protection.”
“Gross,” Eloise and Francesca gagged, not wanting to think about their brother having sex.
Kate stayed silent as each of the girls shared their results, her eyes locked on Penelope who was sitting directly across from her. Since she flipped her test over, the redhead went completely pale, her mouth parted in a gasp. Kate watched her slowly, trying to decipher if the look on Penelope’s face was one of grief or excitement.
“Penelope?” she called out. The girl flicked her gaze up, blue eyes locking on Kate’s brown ones, and she immediately knew.
“What’s yours say, Pen?” Francesca asked, waving her glass of wine around carelessly. Daphne snatched the glass from her hand and replaced it with a water. Francesca began to whine, but Daphne shot her a stern look and she sighed, taking a sip of the water.
“Um,” Penelope swallowed hard, her hands shaking. “I-It’s positive.”
“WHAT!” Everyone except for Kate screamed.
Eloise scrambled over to her best friend, snatching the test out of her hand to look at the results. “What the fuck, Pen? You’re not even dating anyone!”
Penelope put her hands to her face, rubbing her skin harshly as she tried to take deep breaths. “No, I’m not.”
“Then how are you-” Francesca started to ask dumbly, but Kate interrupted her.
“It was Fran’s graduation night, wasn’t it?” she asked and after a long beat, Penelope slowly nodded.
“With who?!” Eloise shrieked.
“Eloise, don’t be rude,” Daphne scolded, crawling over to Penelope and wrapping her arm around her shoulders in an act of comfort. “I’m sure Penelope doesn’t hound you every time you have a one-night stand.”
Eloise had the decency to look sheepish at that, her cheeks a tinge of pink.
“Penelope, do you know who it is?” Daphne questioned gently.
Penelope stiffly nodded. “Y-Yes.”
One month ago…
The club was filled with people. After celebrating Francesca’s graduation at Violet’s house with many friends and family in attendance, the Bridgerton siblings took the girl out for a night on the town. Almost everyone was drunk within an hour of arriving. They were dancing, laughing, and celebrating the newest graduate. Penelope had just thanked the bartender for handing her the drink she ordered when she felt a presence behind her.
“Pen!”
She turned to see Colin smiling down at her, his goofy grin a sure sign he was drunk.
“Colin!” she replied with just as much enthusiasm.
“I missed you!” he shouted over the music, leaning down to her. “You’ve been gone so long!”
“I’ve been gone for five minutes,” she giggled, pushing his chest playfully. “I just needed a refill!” She lifted her drink to his eyeline and then brought the straw to her lips to take a sip.
“It felt like forever,” he continued to whine. “I need my dance partner back!”
Penelope rolled her eyes, leaning back against the bar. Colin took a step toward her, swaying closer and closer until his hand was on the bar beside her arm, his head dipping down so his nose was practically in her long red hair.
“You smell so good,” he commented, his free hand coming up to tug on one of her curls. “How do you always smell so good?”
“Okay, big guy,” Penelope pushed his chest and he stumbled back with a laugh. “Let me drink my gin in peace and I’ll meet you back on the dance floor in a minute, okay?”
“Yes!” he punched the air with excitement.
Penelope shook her head, watching him disappear into the crowd once more. She stayed at the bar for a few minutes, sipping her drink delicately. She was definitely tipsy, but not anywhere near as drunk as the rest of the Bridgerton clan. She could see Benedict and Sophie making out against a wall by the bathrooms, Eloise and Anthony partaking in a contest to see who could do the most shots while Kate cheered them on, Francesca and a boy from her school were dancing, Daphne and Simon were missing, and that left Colin, swaying stupidly by himself on the dance floor. With a sigh and a smile tugging her lips, Penelope tipped the last of her drink back and made her way over to her longtime friend.
“Come here, silly boy.” She grabbed his wrist and dragged him to her, pressing their bodies close.
Song after song played and they danced closer and closer together. He had his hips flush against her ass, her heels adding some height to give her the advantage to rub herself on him. His hands were on her hips, on her belly, on the tops of her thighs, teasingly lifting her dress so he could touch her skin. They danced the night away, having the time of their lives. As the night dragged on, the siblings began to disperse. They all hugged and shared sloppy kisses on the cheeks as they climbed into different taxis and Ubers, leaving Penelope and Colin on the sidewalk, leaning into each other on the crisp spring night.
“I’m glad Eloise went home with Phil,” Penelope said, holding onto Colin’s arm tightly. “I hate hearing her having sex across the hall all night long.”
“Eugh, Pen,” Colin gagged, shoving the small woman lightly. “Please don’t talk about my sister having sex right now. I’m queasy enough as it is.”
“Too much to drink?” she snickered as their Uber driver pulled up.
“That last shot was such a bad idea,” he groaned, opening the door for her and letting her slide into the backseat first.
They made it to Penelope and Eloise’s flat in fifteen minutes, the car ride filled with chatter of Colin’s last assignment in Tokyo. They stumbled into the flat, giggling like children, and Penelope shrieked when she lost her footing as she slipped out of her heel. She grabbed the closest thing to her, which happened to be a sloshed Colin, and down they went onto the couch.
Colin’s face landed in between her breasts that had been on display all night in her low-cut black dress. Penelope shifted under his dead weight, lifting her hips to encourage him to roll off her, but she paused and gasped when she felt something hard pressing into her stomach. Surely he was not…
"Uh, Col? Is that…?"
"Yeah," he groaned, attempting to tilt his hips back away from her. "Sorry."
"Don't be sorry," she giggled. "I'm just surprised."
He lifted his head. His hair was sticking out in all directions, his eyes were heavy with sleep and drunkenness, and his cheeks were a nice rosy pink that probably matched hers. "Why are you surprised?"
She frowned, confused by his question. "Well, because you're you and I'm… me."
"You mean because you're a beautiful woman and I'm simply a man, right?"
It sounded like more of a reprimand than a question. She bit her lip and didn't reply. It was all the answer he needed.
"Penelope," he pushed himself up to his elbows, their lower bodies still flush together, his erection not waning at all. "You're so fucking hot that sometimes just your perfume is enough to get me going. I cannot believe you don't see yourself the way I see you. The way everyone else sees you. You're incredible."
They were words she had always wanted to hear coming from him, but to her ears, they felt more like pity than an actual observation. Either way, she felt empowered and braver than ever before. So she kissed him.
And holy shit, he kissed her back.
He adjusted their positions quickly, his bulge pressed directly between her legs, and he rocked into her as their kisses became more heated and deeper. They each tasted of alcohol, the effects of the drink still clouding their better judgment, but the feeling of writhing together felt too good for either of them to listen to the voice of reason and stop.
Colin pushed her dress down, her tits spilling free, and Penelope tugged at his shirt, throwing it across the room so she could trail her nails up and down his back. His mouth sucked on her skin, leaving marks, and she gasped, arching into him. They quickly pushed apart whatever offending material was obstructing their lower bodies from touching, and with his jeans only pushed down enough so his cock was free and her panties pushed aside, he slid into her.
They moaned together, her squeezing him so tightly as she adjusted to his size. His hips pulled back and then slammed forward again, a slap of their skin echoing as he set a rhythm. It was sloppy and messy, but it felt fucking amazing.
He came with her tit in his mouth and the sensation of him filling her up whilst moaning and sucking on her nipple made Penelope cry out as she came as well. Colin kissed up her neck, grinding his hips a little even though he began to soften inside of her, and Penelope could not help but steal one last kiss from him, thinking she would never have the opportunity again.
She thought it would be a one and done deal, but clearly that was not the case. What she thought was her last kiss with Colin, quickly turned into something more.
It didn't take long for him to harden again as he shifted on top of her. He fell to the floor, making her cackle in laughter, but then she fell on top of him, her equilibrium clearly off balance as well. After some groaning, shuffling, and more laughing, she found herself straddling his thighs, his cock back inside of her, and she was riding him with wild abandon.
Her panties were still pushed aside and digging into her. Colin's hands were everywhere on her body, her tits, her ass, his fingers flicking her clit. Her second orgasm hit her harder than the first, and after he came, she collapsed, wincing at the burning of her knees.
The next morning was awkward, but manageable. After the third time they had sex (luckily in her bed not on the floor like they did the second time - those rug burns on her knees were fierce), they woke up around mid-morning and she took a shower while he made coffee. They chatted briefly, avoiding the obvious elephant in the room, and eventually Colin announced he needed to head back to his mom's so he could shower and eat breakfast.
At the door, they shared an awkward hug and before Penelope could stop herself, she told him "Thank you". Colin looked confused, flustered, and a little angry, but he only stiffly nodded and left.
It took a few days of silence and some awkward texts attached with silly TikTok videos before they felt comfortable enough to talk like normal again. Things were strained, but they weren’t bad. She thought they could move past their one night of indiscretion.
And now she was pregnant. With Colin Bridgerton's baby. She should have seen some of the signs, but honestly she didn't feel any different. She was on the pill, but she must have missed a day or two and her period was always spotty so she didn't think anything of it when she missed the last one. The world felt like it was crashing down on her. She was frightened of what it would be like to be single and pregnant with her best friend's baby. She supposed she didn't have to imagine much. She was living the reality. And it fucking sucked.
"Penelope," Daphne cooed, rubbing her back in circles. "What do you need right now?"
She needed to fucking run. She needed to stand up, grab her shit, and bolt for the door. She needed to call her doctor, call her mother, cry, scream, and possibly leave the country. She never dealt well with attention. And she was surrounded by his family. This had to be some sort of nightmare.
"If you know the guy, are you going to tell him?" Eloise asked bluntly.
Penelope sighed, forcing her eyes off the positive test. "Maybe it's… false?" Her words were meek and quiet, the denial rolling through her in waves. "Should I take another?"
A round of agreement sounded from the girls, and for a good ten minutes, Penelope was feeling better, lighter at the thought that she got a false positive. That is, until she saw the second test, and her world officially tumbled like bricks falling off a deserted building, the tears following suit.
They gathered around her, hugging her and telling her she was okay, she had options, they were here for her, but it all sounded like buzzing in her ears. How was she going to tell him? There was no way she could be his friend and keep this secret to herself. He had a right to know as the father and as her best friend, the one she truthfully confided in more than she did Eloise.
It took a little while for her to calm down. She was being cradled in Kate's arms, her head on the woman's chest. Daphne had taken Francesca to the bathroom, the girl unfortunately emptying her stomach, and Eloise and Sophie were outside smoking. Kate was stroking her hair, and Penelope felt so comforted and warm, almost letting her eyes fall closed and forgetting about what she was even upset about in the first place.
"Are you going to tell Colin?"
She should have been surprised that Kate knew exactly who got her pregnant, but she really wasn't when she thought about it. Kate was the only sober one the night of the graduation party due to being pregnant. She was an observant one, and Penelope caught Kate giving her and Colin a curious glance every once and a while while they danced that night.
"Yeah," she whispered, feeling small in the strong woman's arms. Kate was a force to be reckoned with, but Penelope was fascinated by this soft side of her. She supposed motherhood did that to a person. "He'd want to know and I don't think I could ever keep it from him."
Kate nodded her head, her chin bumping against Penelope's temple. "He'll be excited. Surprised, but excited."
"You think so?"
Kate pulled back from the embrace and wiped the stray tears Penelope didn't realize were dripping from her eyes once more. "I have watched you and Colin since the first time Anthony brought me to Sunday brunch, and I knew within minutes how much he adores you. And you love him, don't you?"
Penelope nodded, holding back a sob, a small part of her relieved that someone else knew and she wasn't carrying the secret of love all on her own.
"Then all will be well," Kate assured her with a warm smile. She kissed Penelope on the cheek and brought her back to her chest, humming a lullaby as Sophie and Eloise came strolling back inside. Daphne entered shortly thereafter, telling Kate she’d deposited Francesca in the guest room upstairs. Before Eloise started in again with her questioning, the inquisitive expression on her face giving way to exactly what she was thinking about Penelope's situation, the front door opened and men's voices echoed throughout the home.
Penelope moved to get off Kate as Benedict, Simon, Anthony, and Colin all entered the room, but the woman held her tighter, and Penelope deflated, closing her eyes. She was not yet ready to face the situation she was presented with only an hour ago and Kate seemed to pick up on her feelings, keeping her close. She heard the voices around her, even the rumbling of Kate's as it echoed in the ear pressed to her chest, but it still sounded like buzzing.
"Pen?"
She opened her eyes, Colin’s voice soothing, yet jolting at the same time. He was kneeling in front of her, his hand burning a hole in her jeans as it rested on her calf.
"Want me to take you home?"
He was clearly mistaking her somber attitude for being drunk, but she nodded anyway, allowing him to pull her from Kate's arms. They said their quick goodbyes, Penelope receiving strong hugs from each girl. She smiled and offered them thanks as they whispered words of support. When she got into the passenger side of Colin's car, she took a deep breath and let it out, slowly working up the courage to tell him.
Colin started the car and for a few minutes there was only silence. Penelope stared out the window, raindrops from the light shower they had earlier sliding along the glass, reflections off headlights creating a kaleidoscope of color. She thought about every possible scenario before she told him, some ending great, others horribly, but Kate's encouragement from before continued to drown out the demons and before she knew it, she was speaking.
"I'm pregnant."
Her eyes stayed on the London streets. She wasn't feeling brave enough to see his reaction yet. She also wasn't brave enough to elaborate further apparently because the second the words spilled out, a knot formed in her throat and she was unable to say anything else.
Colin seemed to have picked up on the hint though. He pulled over as soon as he was able and parked the car in front of a 24-hour café. They were still ten minutes out from her apartment, but she couldn't blame him for needing a moment to process. Hell, she was still processing it all. After another few minutes of silence, cars passing by them on the rain-slick roads, the neon sign of the diner flashing and lighting the otherwise dark car, she finally turned her head to see Colin looking at her, his expression one she had never seen before.
"We're gonna have a baby?"
It was the way he said the words - his lips quirked up, his eyes shining with tears, his tone one of awe - that made the world that was originally crushing down on her since she discovered she was pregnant slowly fade away. Her tears fell in earnest, her bottom lip trembling even though she smiled at him happily.
"We're gonna have a baby, Col."
One heart, soon became two
Now there's three hearts beating