Grabbing my shirt, I pull the material up and gaze at my stomach. I softly poke the side of my bulging belly. I thought you were supposed to look radiant when you're pregnant. At the moment, I look like I've pigged out on breakfast and can't fit into a pair of comfortable jeans.

"What the heck?" I groan.

I turn from side to side to see the complete view. "I look so fat right now."

Blake's words swirl in my mind. He tells me I'm beautiful when I complain about looking fat. I do see the amusement swirling within his green eyes. However, I do laugh at his nightly jobs. We're both ridiculous.

Glancing at London, I see her crawl over to the bed. She grabs the blanket with her hands and pulls herself up. The blanket slides across the bed, but she manages to get to her feet before the blanket falls on her. London bends her knees and bops up and down while laughing.

She falls on her bottom and cries. Instead of rushing to her, I leave her be. London rubs her eyes with her fist before trying again. Once again, she grabs the blanket and stands up. Both of my babies are growing so fast, it's crazy!

"Come on, let's go downstairs." Covering my stomach, I walk into the bedroom and grab London off the ground. I open the bedroom door and walk downstairs.

Before I place London on the ground, I block off the stairway and shut the guest bedroom door. We've had to baby proof the cupboards since she's decided it's a fun game to pull everything out. Blake still can't get into the cupboard without struggling.

London quickly crawls away from me. I let her play while I grab my study books from the dining table to sit on the couch. I open up the book and start reading my course material. I keep an eye on London from the corner of my eye. She seems happy and less destructive today, which is a good thing.

As I get to the second chapter in my book, I hear a knock against the door. Getting off the couch, I walk down the hall. I half expect to see Angela with, but I'm surprised to find Tori.

Quickly, I open the door and notice the excited smile on her face.

"Hi," she says. "I wanted to congratulate you on passing fourteen weeks."

"Oh, thank you!" I grin.

It's nice to see a familiar face. I haven't had the chance to talk to my dad or mum since the incident. Angela seemed to hang around a lot to help me out with things. I think she's afraid I'll break down or something. I wouldn't be surprised if Blake told her to keep an eye on me too.

Having Tori at the house is nice, certainly refreshing. I don't think I could spend another day with Angela running around me.

"You're welcome," says Tori. "So, how is everything? I still can believe your fourteen weeks already!" The glowing smile continues to stay on her face, so I know she's genuinely happy for me.

If I'm being honest, me either. I thought time would last forever with the fight with my mother, but it is slipping away too easy. One day turns into weeks later. Still, no apology. She doesn't understand, she doesn't care.

I don't want her to hate me for much longer. I don't want to miss out on the fun things you do with your mother in preparation for the baby. I thought we'd shop for baby supplies, or even buy a ridiculous outfit with a witty saying about grandmothers.

"Yeah, it's going good." I nod my head. "I look more fat than pregnant." I grimace.

"Yes." Laughs Tori. "That's one thing they fail to tell you in the baby books!"

"I know, right." I roll my eyes.

"My parents tried to put me on a diet before they found out I was pregnant," says Tori.

"Ouch!" I frown.

"Yes, ouch indeed. My parents always had this warped idea of how I needed to look, you know?" Truth is, I didn't know.

As much as I want to hate my mother right now, I know she'll come around. She's always been very accepting of my brother and I. This baby might have thrown her off the cliff of acceptance, though. Otherwise, she was great at letting us decide for ourselves. Sometimes had to make our choices for us. I sort of understand it now.

"Enough about me, though." She shakes her head. "So the baby is healthy? That's great!"

"Sure is." I nod my head. "I was worried when they couldn't find a heartbeat on the first scan. But the baby is in a better position now." I smile.

Taking a step back, I let Tori walk inside so that I can close the door. As we walk down the hallway, I can't help but wonder – did Tori ever have feelings for Blake, or did she date him for her parent's approval? Even if Blake thought of himself as a bad boy, he's the kind of guy you take home to your parents.

He's outgoing, good looking, and a total people person. Blake's grades were of model material, and he plays footie, which is something my father love.

"I had an ultrasound last week. Blake and I got to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time," I explain.

"Did Blake cry?" she interrupts.

"Yes." I giggle. "Snot and all. The nurse had to get a fresh box of tissues for him."

Tori laughs. "I should have warned you. He did the same thing with London. Very cute, though!"

"Yeah, sure is," I agree.

Tori and I walk into the lounge room. I grab my books off the couch while Tori grabs London off the ground for a quick welcome cuddle.

"Did you know she's getting ready to walk?" I ask.

"Aw, my baby girl is growing up." Tori places London back on the ground and watches her.

London crawls to the table and pulls herself up. She looks over her shoulder and smiles at Tori. She does the same thing as before – bops up and down before losing balance and falling on the ground.

She bursts into tears from the rough landing which prompts Tori to jump off the couch.

"You should leave her on the ground," I say before she can pick her up. "London seems to get back up after a little cry." Tori settles on the couch and waits. Her fingers nervously tap against her leg as she waits for London.

As expected, she stops crying and tries again. It's not that she's being over dramatic, it's rather an instinct to cry. When you bump into something, you say ouch. Babies tend to cry and get over it themselves.

"You're good with babies," compliments Tori.

"I'm still learning, but I've picked up some good tricks with my course." I shrug my shoulders. I wouldn't call myself a baby whisperer, but I'm not completely clueless.

"When the baby comes, I don't mind taking London on full-time," explains Tori.

Her surprise visit suddenly makes sense. It feels like she's campaigning for London to stay with her rather than support me. While I'm thankful for all of Tori's help, I still take caution when it comes to her. Bad habits always seem to have a way or following people, even if they try to shake them.

"Thanks for the offer." I smile. "But I think Blake would be devastated if he didn't get time with London.

"Just keep my offer in mind. Even if it's just for a couple of days, I don't mind." Of course, she doesn't mind. But still, I have trust issues when it comes to Tori. Besides, Angela is across the stretch of grass, she could always help me. I don't always want to lean on her for support, but I think Angela rather enjoys it.

When you become a mother you never stop being a mother. There's always something to worry about, a meal to cook, and something to clean.

"Thanks again, Tori."

London manages to stand for a total of five minutes before she falls and crawls away. She picks up a building block and tosses it across the room. London crawls over to the discarded toy and puts it in her mouth to suck on.

I remember the first time I met London. She was so tiny and wrapped up in a pink bundle. Now she's getting close to walking and teething. Same thing could be said for my baby. It's certainly rapidly growing inside of me.

A terrible stench consumes the air. London giggles, which gives it away. Before I have the chance to get up, Tori's sprung off the couch and grabs London.

"Don't worry, I'll change her," she says, always walking up the stairs.

It's weird having someone else running around after London. Blake is helpful, but sometimes you have to poke him to get moving.

Getting off the couch, I wander up the stairs and into the bathroom. As I walk inside, Tori holds up the empty bag of where the nappies should be.

"Do you have some elsewhere?"

"Shoot. No, we don't," I grumble. "Blake is doing the shopping tonight."

"Don't worry about it! I'll quickly drive to the shops and grab some nappies." I take a half-naked London from Tori and continue changing her. I throw out her old nappy and clean off the mess.

I hold onto London and ponder what to do. She reaches out for the bathtub, a longing look of excitement on her face.

"You're having a bath tonight," I say.

Still, she flutters her eyes and smiles at me.

"But I guess it wouldn't matter if you took one now. You're already undressed for one." Grabbing London, I place her in the bath and start running the water. I sit beside the bathtub and hand her toys from the basket inside the bath.

She grabs the floating rubber ducky while I grab the soaps to clean her body. It's only after washing, I hear someone downstairs.

"Look, your mommy's back with nappies." I smile.

I pull the plug from the bath and wrap London in a towel. She struggles in the towel until her arms are free. She grabs the ends of the towel in-between her fingers to play with it.

"Are you home, Ava?" calls out Jude.

"I'm upstairs," I call out.

I walk into the bedroom just as Jude walks through the doorway.

"Has Tori come by? She said she'd be here," explains Jude.

"Tori was here." I nod my head. "She's buying nappies since we ran out."

"Oh."

"You're welcome to wait with us."

"Sure, thanks." He half-smiles.

I place London on the bed and start drying her off. She tries to crawl away, but I stop her from doing so. London thinks it's a game, so every time I drag her back, she laughs and struggles out of my grip.

Jude takes a seat on the bed and looks very awkward and out of place. Since we're alone, I use this moment to my advantage. I've always wanted to ask Jude questions, but I've never had the chance.

"So." I smile.

"Yeah?"

"You and Tori, hey?" I don't know how to address my topic of interest, so I start off with some small chat to soften the mood.

"What about us?" he asks.

"I have to know." I give up on the small talk and skip to the question. "Why did you tell her to leave?" It can't have been Blake, he was devastated when Tori left him.

"You think it's because I want Tori to myself."

I don't say anything, I wait. I don't know what I think.

"Well, you're not the only one." He huffs exhaustedly. "I loved Tori for a long time and it broke my heart to see her depressed. She tried to kill herself after London was born. Her parents weren't talking to her, she fought with Angela, and her friends exiled her."

"Oh." Is the only word that manages to escape my lips.

"She would lay on my chest crying for hours. One morning I found her on the bathroom floor passed out from an overdose. I got the pills out of her system, but she refused to tell anyone about it. So, I let it go and kept an eye on her." Jude's eyes remain focused on the bed cover in front of him, a haunting look on his face as he remembers those memories.

"Why did you do that? Is it because you thought London was your daughter?" I ask.

"Truthfully, I've never slept with Tori. I said we did because I owed a debt and it needed to be paid."

"What are you talking about? I'm confused." I frown.

"I'm sorry, Ava." Jude shakes his head. "But I can't tell you that."

"Who is the father then? Why all the lies and the secrets?"

"You know who the father is, just as you've always known who it's been."

"Blake?"

Jude doesn't expand on his cryptic message, he leaves me wanting for more. What is Jude hiding now? What does he mean by a debt he must pay? If anything, I'm sure it's Tori that owes Jude. This must be something huge if he's willing to risk losing his brother over it.

I don't get the chance to ask Jude more questions because Tori returns with the nappies. She thumps up the stairs and then gasps with shock when she sees Jude sitting on the bed.

"Hey, baby." His eyes light up at the sight of Tori.

"Hi, what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see you," admits a sheepish Jude.

"Oh, we can hang out soon. I want to spend time with London." Tori bypasses Jude and grabs London from the bed. She carries her into the bathroom and continues changing her.

"I'll leave you two alone to talk. I'll be downstairs if you need me." Jude gets off the bed and hurries into the bathroom while I head to the stairs.

Jude's new information circle within my mind. I've always known who the father is? I don't get if that's a reference to Blake or someone else. I've always known Blake to be the father until this mess surface. But a debt to be paid? Sounds like a gambling addiction rather than a screw your life up sort of thing.

As I shake my head to rid the thoughts, I get dizzy and lose my balance. I take a step forwards but miss the step and tumble forwards. My body hits the stairs in awkward twists – almost like a ball rolling down. I feel like a weightless object floating through the air until I collide with the hard flooring.

There's a scream and then a blurred image of someone hovering over me. I try to get up, but they push me down.

"Don't move, Ava," I hear her say.

The world around me fades into a cold darkness. I'm so exhausted that I don't fight it. I let the darkness wrap it's tentacles around my body and suck me in. So this is what it feels like to die. I didn't seem to know a lot. This is one thing I don't want to know about.