Xanadu

"Ain't you lot got horses to tend?" Hugh growled to the cowboys, who he recognised. The cowboys obviously recognised his voice, because they seemed to go pale and jump back. He was on radio contact with his people a lot, but never face to face. They hadn't recognised the boss. "Now get out of here. We have business." he said, nodding his head to a general area AWAY from them.

Becca was very surprised by their reaction and how they just darted off and away from them. Biting down on her bottom lip she rolled her eyes and grabbed Hughs's hand. "Be nice, boss." Giggling softly she led the way over to the restaurant and entered. Glancing over at Hugh she frowned. "Uh...lead the way..."

"Well, I only just got to start this relationship." Hugh kissed her hand, which he was still holding "I'm not going to have some buck sure young studs trying to steal you away." He looked around, then lead her towards the table near the window. Might as well get a view with their meal. "Nice place this." he said, looking around "Ain't got too much variety. Rather a pie and coffee kind of place, but they do all the stuff like... steaks and burgers and stuff... you know?" He held out her chair for her, behaving the gentleman.

Becca smiled and took the seat he was holding out for her. Immediately a woman bustled over to them and place two menus of the table. "What can I git ya'll to drink?" The young waitress popped her gum and placed her hands on her hips as she waited for a response. "Uh...coca cola..." The waitress nodded and turned from Becca and practically drooled over Hugh. "And you, handsome?" Becca rolled her eyes as she sat back in her chair to read over the menu.

"Water, please." Hugh said, nodding his head to her and obviously missing the fact she was drooling over him. He moved around after Becca was seated, sliding into his own seat opposite her and smiling at her happily. He grabbed the second menu, reading it carefully as he thought about what he wanted to eat.

Becca found a chicken salad that appealed to her so she set her menu down and watched as the waitress came back with their drinks. Setting them down she smiled flirtatiously at Hugh. "You know whacha want?" Leaning a hip against the table she licked her lips seductively as him.

Hugh was, without a shadow of a doubt, either clueless, or ignoring her advances. Probably clueless, because of the way he was smiling happily back at her "Could I get a jumbo hot dog?"

The waitress nodded and reluctantly turned to Becca. "Uh and you?" Becca bit her bottom lip and shook her head. "A fried ceaser salad with thousand island dressing instead of ceaser." The waitress huffed softly and rolled her eyes. "Yeah...sure." Becca slammed her hand down on the table and stood, getting in the woman's face. "Look here... I have been nothing but polite to you. Just because I'm out with a sexy Cowboy and your stuck waiting on us doesn't mean you have the right to be a bitch." Just then the owner came up and cleared his throat. "Ma'am is there a problem." He nodded his head in hello to Hugh but kept his attention on Becca. "Yes! This waitress is being very rude and hitting on my date. I'd prefer for someone else to wait on us, please." The owner smiled apologetically at Becca and grabbed the girls arm. "My biggest apologies ma'am." Waving a different woman over she collected the order from their previous waitress and turned it into the kitchen. Their new waitress came over and smiled. "My name is Mindy. If you need anything just let me know." The girl paused before turning away. "By the way, she does that a lot. It was good that you said something." Becca sighed and sat back down, drained from her outburst. It was a good thing she was going to the doctor.

Hugh just sat there, blinking, pausing, looking both terrified and lost at the same moment. "Umm... she was... hitting on me?" he asked, sounding honestly surprised by that fact "I... umm... sorry, I didn't know. I would have rejected her straight away if I'd realised..." He was blushing slightly, looking a little awkward; he didn't come out enough to realise when someone was hitting on him, and now that it had caused a scene because he hadn't understood.

"Dont worry about it." They sat in silence for a few moments and then their food appeared before them. "Enjoy!" with that they were left in private to enjoy their meal. Becca mixed her salad dressing in with her salad and took a small bite. "Mmm..."

Hugh gave her a little smile. It seemed he wasn't the only protective one here. He began to tuck into his food, though it wasn't the healthiest thing, he certainly enjoyed it. He wasn't a salad kind of guy, but she obviously liked it. "Told you this place did good food."

"I saw an Alfredo on there...I'll have to try it next time." Becca quickly ate her lunch and glanced at the clock. "Oh...we have to go soon." She hadn't realized how long they had been in their. Her appointment was in just a half hour.

"Do you mind if I... don't come in?" the bill had arrived, and Hugh was paying for it. He really did pay for a lot of things didn't he? "I don't like the doctors." So he was just going to leave her go into a place she'd never been before, and... what? Wait in the car?

Becca sat there and stared at him for a moment before collecting her purse and standing. She walked out of the restaurant without a word to Hugh. Clearly upset by what he had suggested. Slinging the purse over her head and shoulder she began walking down the street in the direction of the clinic.

Hugh frowned slightly, but as he began to follow after Becca... he suddenly found that he didn't. He paused the moment he locked eyes on the clinic, and seemed uneasy. He bobbed on the spot, as if trying to decide what to do, then carefully moved back to lean against the wall. He would wait here.

Becca looked over her shoulder at Hugh before she stepped inside. Tears brimmed her eyes as she shook her head and stepped inside. Walking across the clinic she spoke with the nurse at the counter, filled out the necessary paperwork and then was ushered into a room. The doctor came in a short while later, he was young almost just out of medical school. "So...you want to be put on birth control. Well we have a few tests we need to run first if thats all right. An Ultrasound being one of them." Becca raised her eyebrows but nodded her head and allowed him to go through the tests. Once they were done she was told to remove her clothes and then laid down on a table and an ultrasound machine was wheeled into the room. A cold goo was spread over her belly and he started up the ultrasound and placed it over her belly. Dr. Trace's eyebrows furrowed slightly as he moved the machine over her belly. "Becca...I'm sorry but I can't put you on birth control. Because it appears... that you are already pregnant..." Dr. Trace shut off the machine and pulled away to look at her. "I'm going to put you on vitamins and such and set you up for another appointment in a month so we can see how you doing." With that he left the room for her to change. Once she was clothed she came out to get her prescription and appointment slip from a nurse. Done for the time being she walked over of the clinic as if in a fog. Pregnant... Leaning against the building she placed her hands over her stomach and sighed heavily. "What am I going to do..."

Hugh walked over to her... and seeing how she looked practically shell shocked, his arms wrapped around her at once, pulling her close and looking worried. This was why he hated the doctors. "Becca... Becca, are you alright?" bad news. It had to be. An STD, no, surely not that. But her old partner had slept around. She mentioned a miscarriage, could she no longer bare children? No, no point in jumping to conclusions like that. "What's wrong?"

Becca shrugged away from Hugh and headed for the car. "He wouldn't put me on birth control." Her breath caught in her throat as tears brimmed her eyes. Climbing into her car she waited for Hugh to join her before she buckled up and started the vehicle.

"Why not? Should we stop, buy some condoms?" Hugh asked, looking worried. Something WAS wrong down there. What had happened? He should have been there, but... A shudder ran down his spine, but he tried not to show it "Please, Becca..."

"I'm pregnant, Hugh!" Becca's voice was strained and distant as she pulled out and began driving back towards the ranch. "You can't prevent a pregnancy if its already happened." Sighing heavily she raced over the land and pulled down his drive. Pulling around the circle at the end she parked and hopped out of the suv. Hurrying towards the house she sighed heavily.

Hugh got out of the car as well, closing the door quickly after her and darting after her as quick as possible. "Wait- wait!" he called out, trying to catch her arm. This wasn't the kind of thing you said and then just walked away from.

Becca stood by the front door of the house and waited for Hugh before she unlocked it and strode inside. Setting her purse down in the kitchen she went and sat down in the living room. She needed to calm down. Just because she'd had one miscarriage didn't mean another would follow. Inhaling deeply she shook her head and waited to hear what Hugh had to say.

"Becca... Becca, that's not a bad thing." Hugh said once she had stopped for him "You're... you're pregnant. You're going to have a child. Isn't that what you wanted? Wouldn't that make you happy?" He thought she wanted a child. Or was her worry about something deeper? He didn't know.

"Of course I want a child...but I've already had one miscarriage. That means I have a higher risk to miscarriage again." Leaning forward she massaged her aching temples. Stress...stress was a big no no during a pregnancy. Sighing heavily she closed her eyes and shook her head. Calm down...Stay calm. Everything will be okay. You'll be just fine...

Hugh paused, but reached forward and took her hand. He squeezed her hand gently, then tried a little smile "There's a risk... but there's always going to be risks. You can't worry over it too much. Your baby is in there, right now, perfectly fine. That's all you need to concentrate on right now." She was pregnant... it was his, surely. Right? Could it be her ex's?

Becca nodded her head and closed her eyes as she leaned back against the couch. Sighing heavily she thought about the months to come. Could she stay on here at the ranch and raise the child? She knew that it was Hugh's. She hadn't had sex with anyone else in months. The doctor had said he was surprised he could even tell because it was so early in the pregnancy. So it definitely had to be Hughs child.

Hugh was thinking along those lines, but he wasn't exactly sure. So, if it was his, it was merely a day old? The first time they had had sex had been yesterday. It was... a little sudden actually. It made him question things. He frowned, scratching his forehead, but decided not to question the doctor. He looked down at Becca, then slowly snuggled up against her side.

"If you don't think it's yours...I'll understand. We...we'll get a DNA test done when it's bored." Tears trailed down her cheeks as Becca realized that's probably exactly what that meant. He doubted it was his. Even with him cuddled close to him she felt as if there was a wall between them now.

"No... no, it's fine Becca. Any doubts... they're my problem. I ain't ever forcing them on you, you hear me?" he tried a smile, Hugh honestly did, but he was so worried about her right now "Please... don't you go worrying about it. I just... it was rather sudden is all."

"All it takes is one time, Hugh...And since I'm ovulating, its an even higher risk." Becca sighed heavily and shook her head. This was a disaster. This is not how she expected things to go with their relationship. She didn't want to have to worry about a baby just yet. What happened if she miscarried? Then what?

He wanted to reassure her, but he didn't know what was going on in her head right now. Hugh kissed her gently on the lips, pulling her close against him, trying to show how much he loved her. "Becca, it's alright. You don't have to worry..." that wouldn't exactly help, but it would... do something. Hopefully.

Becca nodded her head gently, resting against him. "Pregnant..." Chewing on her bottom lip she smiled slightly. She was happy, excited, anxious, and nervous. "Wow..." Giggling softly she shook her head and relaxed into Hugh's arms.

Hugh was glad she was no longer angry at him. He'd been... nervous about that. He smiled at her, kissing Becca's cheek and squeezing her against himself. "Should-a known." he chuckled gently "Only been a few days and I filled you enough to make you pregnant twice times over."

"Would this be a bad time to tell you 'I told you so'?" Giggling softly she shook her head as she turned her head and kissed him softly. "So what do you have planned for the rest of the day?" Sniffling softly she, kicked her shoes off and pulled her feet up onto the couch to get comfy.

"Well, you could go for another ride, you haven't been in a little while." Hugh said with a grin, running a hand across her stomach. He really didn't mind they had a child coming already... But... it was a little sudden.

"Sure...alone or will you be joining me?" Becca looked up into his eyes and smiled mischievously. Trailing her fingers along his arm, she stood shimmied her hips a bit as she left to go change into proper riding clothes. Glancing over her shoulder at Hugh she smiled before hopping up the stairs and into her room.

Hugh smiled slightly at the idea... oh, why not? What's the worse he could do, get her double pregnant? He stood up carefully, starting to make his way after her, but trying not to be heard. It was difficult for someone his size, but he was trying his best.

Becca kept her door locked figuring he'd do exactly what he was doing. Shaking her head she stripped off her clothes and changed quickly. Unlocking her door she came back out in a pair of tight blue jeans, cowgirl boots and a yellow halter top. "Let's go cowboy..." Smiling she brushed past him and down the stairs.

Hugh grinned, turning her around as she brushed past him and kissing her roughly on the lips. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close and gazing into her eyes "Can't I just... take a moment to hold you like this?" He was smiling to himself, obviously quite happy right now. It took some really bad news to get him down.

Becca eyed him carefully before wiggling free. "No..." Smirking she turned on her heels and headed downstairs and out the backdoor, grabbing her hat as she passed by the hat rack by the door. "Come on, Cowboy!" Trotting down the stairs she hurried over to the barn where Bolt sat with his friends. When he heard her approaching his ears perked up and his head swiveled in her direction.

That was a little cold, considering he really was just going to hold her. It felt as if she was angry at him about something, but he didn't know... exactly what. He moved downstairs, heading out with her and locking the door after him. Had he done something wrong?

As Hugh came into view, Becca smiled as she led Bolt into the barn. "Saddles or bareback?" She was already confident in her riding. She knew that Bolt wouldn't allow anything to happen to her. Running her fingers along Bolts neck she smiled adoringly at the majestic animal.

"Well, it's up to you in the end. Bolt is still a wild animal after all, but he's quite tame." Hugh wondered what she would do if Bolt was startled by something... And the number of horses around here, that might occur at any moment. "What would you prefer?" he would refer saddled, but he was letting her do this.

"We can do saddled." Shrugging her shoulders she grabbed the saddle she'd used before and began going through the motions of putting it on, after brushing him down of course. Once the saddle was in place she went and got his bridal. Placing it over his head she smiled softly and kissed his nose. "Who's my beautiful boy?"

"Me, I'm hoping." Hugh said with a small smile, looking hopefully at her; he was a bit worried that she... well... didn't like him right now. And he wasn't sure why. Perhaps he was fishing for compliments, but he'd never felt self conscious before.

Becca giggled softly. "Well, you too, but I was meaning Bolt. I wouldn't call you beautiful...I'd call you sexy, handsome, rugged." A twinkle in her eye appeared as she looked him over. Clearing her throat she shook her head. "Shouldn't you be saddling your horse?"

"Just... deciding which one to have..." Hugh said with a nod, before approaching a big Clydesdale. It was as tall as he was, and rippled with muscles when it walked. It was something that was used to hard work and long hours, not speed. "This is Spike." he said with a chuckle, going over to fetch a saddle big enough for the horse.

"He's beautiful..." Brushing her fingers along the Clydesdale's face she smiled. Bolt nudged her from the back and blew a gust of air out his nose, almost angrily. Becca giggled and shook her head. "Don't worry, I'm not replacing you." Giggling softly she shook her head and hugged him softly. "So spoiled..."

"He really is." Hugh said with a chuckle, going around and rubbing the muzzle of Spike firmly, his chestnut fur ruffling beneath the man's large hands. Spike seemed to nuzzle back against his hand before Hugh went around, slipping the saddle over the horse's back.

Becca mounted Bolt easily before walking him out of the barn. Stretching as the warm sun washed over her. Sighing contently she leaned forward against the length of Bolt and smiled softly. "It's a good day for a ride. Isn't it?" She whispered to the horse, his ears perked up and he bobbed his head as if he understood her.

Hugh and Spike were silent as they rode out of the barn, but a strange silence as if they had nothing to talk about any more. Hugh patted the horse's mane, grinning as he looked around at the open area. He was going to try to keep up with becca as she rode... She was in a rather delicate condition anyway.

Becca clucked to Bolt and he picked up his pace, working into an easy canter. "Thata boy!" Smiling softly she kept him at this pace, perfectly fine with the canter he was loping in. The wind rustled her hair, flipping it all around underneath her hat as they rode along.

Hugh chased after her on Spike, the horse's hooves thudding loudly into the floor. It wasn't a horse to ride if you wanted to sneak up on someone, it practically dented the earth as it ran, but it was staying a moderate distance away from Becca.


Xanadu Ranch