Ethan/Kristina, Near To You (7/10)
Title: Near To You
Author: sarahbell05
Fandom: General Hospital
Characters/Pairing: Ethan Lovett/Kristina Davis
Table: Relationship
Prompt: Truth
Rating: PG-13 for mentions of domestic abuse.
Warnings: Kristina is 17 and Ethan is in his early twenties.
Word Count: 2406
Summary: Ethan and Kristina come to terms with their situation, and learn a few things along the way.
Notes: This chapter is going to go switch to Kristina's POV for part of it, because I've been wondering what Krissy's thinking is during this whole fic and I couldn't ignore it any longer.
Truth
Krissy looks everywhere but at Ethan, and he knows his guess was correct even before her barely audible 'yes.' Ethan feels like the ground is falling out underneath him, and stumbles to the edge of the bed. Krissy sinks down next to him, but doesn't touch him.
"How long have you known?" he asks after what seems like an eternity of silence.
"A few weeks." she replies. "I...I didn't know how to tell you. I thought you'd hate me."
Ethan is shocked, of course, but he knows he could never hate Kristina for something that was clearly an accident. She seems just as distraught by the whole thing, so Ethan takes her hand in his.
"We'll figure it out." he says, though he has no idea exactly how they'll go about that. To begin with, they aren't even in an official 'relationship.' Then there's the fact that Krissy is seventeen - legal, but barely. Hell, he's only twenty three himself. Add to the mix that her father will probably kill him or her mother will have him thrown in jail, and it makes for a very complicated situation.
"Molly knows." Krissy said after a moment. "She came into my room while I was reading the results of the test. She promised not to say anything but I'll have to tell my mom and Sam soon."
"Are you okay? I mean, have you been to a doctor or anything?"
Kristina gave him a small smile and nodded. "Yeah, I went last week and they confirmed it."
"And the...the baby's okay?" He couldn't believe that he was sitting here talking about a baby - his baby - with Kristina Davis. It was like he had stepped into the twilight zone.
"Yeah, everything's fine. I have to go back to Dr. Lee today and she also promised not to tell Mom before I do."
Ethan nods and they lapse into another silence.
"I have to go pick up Molly from Sam's." Kristina says after a few minutes, and Ethan helps her gather her things before walking her to the door.
"Do you want me to go to the doctor with you?" he asks, and Kristina smiles but shakes her head.
"No, thanks. It'll be less suspicious if it's just me. I don't want anyone running off to tell Mom or Sam that I was at the OB/GYN with Ethan Lovett. Alone it just looks like a regular checkup." Ethan nods, knowing she's right.
"Will you come back tonight? We should talk about this more." he says as she steps out into the hallway. She nods, and gives him another small smile before turning toward the exit. Ethan watches her go, and is struck by the silence in his apartment when he closes the door. He quickly showers and puts on a fresh change of clothes and heads down to the casino for the first time in days. Luke had eventually forbidden Ethan from manning the bar until he stopped being so 'sulky.'
Surprisingly for the early hour, Luke was standing behind the bar. He looked particularly rumpled, so Ethan surmised that Luke hadn't been to bed yet.
"Good morning Dodge." Luke greeted
"Good morning." Ethan replied, eyeing his dad up and down. "Rough night?"
"Ah, your beautiful stepmother threw me out of the house. Again."
Ethan couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him at Tracy's bi-weekly dumping of his father. This seemed to pique Luke's interest, and he gave Ethan a smirk.
"Feeling better are we?"
"Uh...yeah, I guess." Ethan replied. He was happy he was on the road to working things out with Kristina, but this whole pregnancy thing was definitely throwing him for a loop.
"Kristina's pregnant." the words leave Ethan's mouth before he can even think about stopping them. Luke freezes, but Ethan can't read him.
"Kristina Davis? Really?" he asks, and Ethan nods. "Hmm, that's too bad. The girl's been through a lot. I'm sure Natasha won't be pleased."
"It's mine." Ethan adds, and flinches when the crash from Luke's glass hitting the floor emanates across the crowded casino.
"What do you mean, it's yours?" Luke asks after a few tense seconds.
"Uh...I mean, it's my baby. Well, mine and Kristina's." Ethan replies, and he watches as Luke stares at the ground and takes a few deep breaths.
"Dodge...you know I'm never one to judge, but knocking up Sonny Corinthos' underage daughter? Not the best of ideas."
"She's seventeen, she's not underage technically." Luke rolls his eyes at this.
"That doesn't matter, not to Sonny."
And Ethan knows he's right.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Krissy brings Molly along to GH as moral support. Her little sister had recovered well after the accident, but if anyone got too curious she could always say she had to have some follow up tests done. Molly continued her never ending list of 'Why Sam and Jason are perfect together' on their way to Dr. Lee's office. Despite everything, the fact that she and Ethan were on the road to being at least best friends again made her feel better about the whole situation. And Molly, despite her young age, had been a true friend and support for her.
Molly (finally) stops her list as they near Dr. Lee's office.
"You seem like you're in a better mood." she says, and Kristina can't fight the little smile that creeps onto her face.
"I am."
"I assume you've made up with Ethan then?" Molly replies, and sometimes Krissy really hates how observant her little sister is.
"Yes, I did. And that's all I'm going to tell you." Krissy replies, a little stern but with a teasing edge. Molly just shrugs and they keep walking.
They're turning a corner when Krissy sees Maya Ward walking toward them. She instantly tenses up and fights down the urge to scratch the other woman's eyes out, surprised at how territorial she obviously is when it comes to Ethan. Maya notices them and makes a beeline for Krissy, and Krissy nudges Molly behind her, worried about what exactly is about to happen.
"Kristina, could I talk to you for a minute?" Maya says evenly, and Krissy crosses her arms in front of her.
"I don't think we have anything to talk about." she replies, looking Maya in the eye.
"Please? I promise, it'll be quick but I don't want to do this in front of your sister." Maya's eyes are pleading, and Kristina has to admit she's curious, so she turns around to Molly.
"I'll be right back. Wait here."
Maya nods and guides them around the corner into an empty room.
"Look," Maya begins, closing the door behind her. "I know how everything looked that morning, and I don't know what exactly is going on between you and Ethan, but I needed you to know that I didn't sleep with him."
Kristina knows shock must be etched across her face, and she can feel her mouth fall open. She shakes it off and resumes her steely gaze.
"I don't believe you."
Maya rolls her eyes at this, and Kristina suddenly really would like to punch her in the face.
"Look, Kristina. You can believe what you want, but I'm telling you the truth here. Yes, we had too much to drink and I crashed at his place. I slept on the couch and he was too far gone, in more ways than one, to make any kind of move on me. That boy, for whatever reason, is head over heels in love with you."
With that, Maya left the room, leaving Kristina alone with her thoughts. Ethan had said he didn't remember anything about that night, and Maya was now saying nothing had happened. Perhaps that was the truth? Kristina desperately hoped so, and left the room to find Molly feeling even better.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's close to five when Ethan feels his phone buzzing in his pocket. He fishes it out and smiles when the screen flashes 'Kristina'. He opens up the text message, and feels the bundle of nerves loosen a bit at the first sentence.
everything at the dr went fine. :)
However, the bundle of nerves triples in size at the next sentence.
i'm going to tell my mom and sam tonight.
As petrified as it makes him, he quickly writes back, asking if she wants him to be there.
no, I think they'll take it better if it's just me and molly and them. less targets and all that.
Ethan chuckles, and tells her to call him or come by afterward. She promises she will and Ethan gets back to work. Apparently, the Haunted Star falls apart at the seams whenever he's not there, and he's spent the better part of his day doing the inventory that has gone neglected in his absence.
He's so engrossed with the task at hand that he doesn't hear anyone entering the Haunted Star, and fights down a scream when he's lifted off of the floor and thrown against the wall.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Michael Corinthos yells, and Ethan is frozen as the younger man keeps him pinned to the wall.
"What are you talking about?" he finally asks, and this just seems to make Michael even more angry.
"What am I talking about? What am I talking about? How about that fact that you knocked up my little sister?" Michael replies, shoving Ethan into the wall roughly. Ethan briefly wonders how Michael found out, but before he can ask Dante and Lulu come rushing into the casino.
"Let him go Michael!" Lulu yells, but Michael doesn't flinch.
"No, I think I'm going to kill him." Michael replies nonchalantly, and as his arm moves back Ethan prepares for the impending punch. It doesn't come, and a second later Dante has pulled Michael off of Ethan.
"Thanks mate." says Ethan, rubbing his now sore neck.
"Hey, don't thank me." Dante replies, shoving Ethan's shoulder roughly and pointing his finger in his face.
"How did you find out anyway?" Ethan asks, throwing his hands up.
"Dad told me." Lulu replies from the other side of the bar, and Ethan rolls his eyes. No one in Port Charles is capable of keeping a secret.
"Thanks, Lulu. Krissy hasn't told Alexis yet, and you tell both of her brothers."
"Hey, don't pin this on me. I said work things out with Kristina, not get her pregnant."
"What's going on?" a new voice asks, and everyone turns to see Kristina and Alexis standing by the entrance.
Ethan steps around Dante and Michael to meet the mother and daughter by the door, and gives Kristina an 'are you okay?' look. She nods, but doesn't make a move toward him.
"Hello Alexis." Ethan greets, as friendly as he dares.
"Ethan." she responds, but doesn't look him in the eye. "I think we need to talk."
"Alright Michael, this is over let's go." Dante says, and guides his brother past Ethan (who gets a lethal glare from the Corinthos heir) and Kristina (who gives one right back to Michael). Lulu lets her hand rest on Ethan's arm for a second before following her boyfriend back out of the Haunted Star.
"Why don't we take this upstairs?" Kristian suggests, and they all silently move to Ethan's flat.
As they enter the one-room apartment, Alexis scans it, and Ethan can barely make out a mumbled sarcastic 'no place to put a crib.'
"Well," Alexis finally says after a tension settles over the room. "You two have gotten into quite the predicament. And the last time I checked, you had assured me you were 'just friends.'"
"I told you Mom, it's not like we planned it. It just...happened." Kristina replied, but this just seems to set Alexis off.
"And you didn't think to protect against it somehow? What happened to all of that birth control you went behind my back to get?"
"I stopped taking it after I broke up with Kiefer." Kristina says weakly, and Ethan knows she feels stupid for having to admit to such a thing.
"Look, Alexis..." Ethan tries, but she cuts him off.
"You don't get to talk yet. Not until I say what I have to say." she says, and Ethan takes a seat beside Kristina, pulling her hand into his.
"Kristina you are seventeen years old. Seventeen! You have your whole life ahead of you. How are you going to care for a child? How are you going to go to college? Where are you going to live? In this one-room hovel?"
"Yes, Mom, in this 'one room hovel' if I have to!" Kristina suddenly fires back, her Corinthos side suddenly in full view. Ethan stays frozen in his seat, shocked at the vehemence in Kristina's voice. "I've felt more safe here than I ever have in our house. Ethan makes me feel safe and wanted and loved, and if our child feels even a percentage of that then that will be enough. They might not have the fancy clothes or the gorgeous house or a flashy car but they'll have a better life than I ever could have hoped for because they won't be a Corinthos or a Cassadine, they'll just be a normal kid with parents that loves them unconditionally." Ethan knows Kristina's on the brink of tears, and he stands up next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.
"This isn't how any of us expected this to happen, Alexis." Ethan adds. "But I love Kristina and I'm going to take care of her and the baby the best that I can and do whatever she needs me to do so she can still do whatever she wants to do as far as college or her career."
Alexis stares at Ethan for a second before collapsing into the chair underneath her. Her face is buried in her hands and Ethan gives Krissy's shoulder a squeeze before nuding her toward her mother.
"Mom..." Kristina chokes out, getting down on her knees to face Alexis. "I'm so sorry." Alexis reaches for Kristina and pulls her into a hug, smoothing down her hair as Ethan can hear Kristina crying. He feels stupid just standing there, but he knows this is probably a moment they needed. Krissy had been handling the whole situation better than anyone could have expected, but at the end of the day she was still a young girl facing a terrifying situation.
And, if Ethan was honest, he was just as terrified.
Author: sarahbell05
Fandom: General Hospital
Characters/Pairing: Ethan Lovett/Kristina Davis
Table: Relationship
Prompt: Truth
Rating: PG-13 for mentions of domestic abuse.
Warnings: Kristina is 17 and Ethan is in his early twenties.
Word Count: 2406
Summary: Ethan and Kristina come to terms with their situation, and learn a few things along the way.
Notes: This chapter is going to go switch to Kristina's POV for part of it, because I've been wondering what Krissy's thinking is during this whole fic and I couldn't ignore it any longer.
Truth
Krissy looks everywhere but at Ethan, and he knows his guess was correct even before her barely audible 'yes.' Ethan feels like the ground is falling out underneath him, and stumbles to the edge of the bed. Krissy sinks down next to him, but doesn't touch him.
"How long have you known?" he asks after what seems like an eternity of silence.
"A few weeks." she replies. "I...I didn't know how to tell you. I thought you'd hate me."
Ethan is shocked, of course, but he knows he could never hate Kristina for something that was clearly an accident. She seems just as distraught by the whole thing, so Ethan takes her hand in his.
"We'll figure it out." he says, though he has no idea exactly how they'll go about that. To begin with, they aren't even in an official 'relationship.' Then there's the fact that Krissy is seventeen - legal, but barely. Hell, he's only twenty three himself. Add to the mix that her father will probably kill him or her mother will have him thrown in jail, and it makes for a very complicated situation.
"Molly knows." Krissy said after a moment. "She came into my room while I was reading the results of the test. She promised not to say anything but I'll have to tell my mom and Sam soon."
"Are you okay? I mean, have you been to a doctor or anything?"
Kristina gave him a small smile and nodded. "Yeah, I went last week and they confirmed it."
"And the...the baby's okay?" He couldn't believe that he was sitting here talking about a baby - his baby - with Kristina Davis. It was like he had stepped into the twilight zone.
"Yeah, everything's fine. I have to go back to Dr. Lee today and she also promised not to tell Mom before I do."
Ethan nods and they lapse into another silence.
"I have to go pick up Molly from Sam's." Kristina says after a few minutes, and Ethan helps her gather her things before walking her to the door.
"Do you want me to go to the doctor with you?" he asks, and Kristina smiles but shakes her head.
"No, thanks. It'll be less suspicious if it's just me. I don't want anyone running off to tell Mom or Sam that I was at the OB/GYN with Ethan Lovett. Alone it just looks like a regular checkup." Ethan nods, knowing she's right.
"Will you come back tonight? We should talk about this more." he says as she steps out into the hallway. She nods, and gives him another small smile before turning toward the exit. Ethan watches her go, and is struck by the silence in his apartment when he closes the door. He quickly showers and puts on a fresh change of clothes and heads down to the casino for the first time in days. Luke had eventually forbidden Ethan from manning the bar until he stopped being so 'sulky.'
Surprisingly for the early hour, Luke was standing behind the bar. He looked particularly rumpled, so Ethan surmised that Luke hadn't been to bed yet.
"Good morning Dodge." Luke greeted
"Good morning." Ethan replied, eyeing his dad up and down. "Rough night?"
"Ah, your beautiful stepmother threw me out of the house. Again."
Ethan couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him at Tracy's bi-weekly dumping of his father. This seemed to pique Luke's interest, and he gave Ethan a smirk.
"Feeling better are we?"
"Uh...yeah, I guess." Ethan replied. He was happy he was on the road to working things out with Kristina, but this whole pregnancy thing was definitely throwing him for a loop.
"Kristina's pregnant." the words leave Ethan's mouth before he can even think about stopping them. Luke freezes, but Ethan can't read him.
"Kristina Davis? Really?" he asks, and Ethan nods. "Hmm, that's too bad. The girl's been through a lot. I'm sure Natasha won't be pleased."
"It's mine." Ethan adds, and flinches when the crash from Luke's glass hitting the floor emanates across the crowded casino.
"What do you mean, it's yours?" Luke asks after a few tense seconds.
"Uh...I mean, it's my baby. Well, mine and Kristina's." Ethan replies, and he watches as Luke stares at the ground and takes a few deep breaths.
"Dodge...you know I'm never one to judge, but knocking up Sonny Corinthos' underage daughter? Not the best of ideas."
"She's seventeen, she's not underage technically." Luke rolls his eyes at this.
"That doesn't matter, not to Sonny."
And Ethan knows he's right.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Krissy brings Molly along to GH as moral support. Her little sister had recovered well after the accident, but if anyone got too curious she could always say she had to have some follow up tests done. Molly continued her never ending list of 'Why Sam and Jason are perfect together' on their way to Dr. Lee's office. Despite everything, the fact that she and Ethan were on the road to being at least best friends again made her feel better about the whole situation. And Molly, despite her young age, had been a true friend and support for her.
Molly (finally) stops her list as they near Dr. Lee's office.
"You seem like you're in a better mood." she says, and Kristina can't fight the little smile that creeps onto her face.
"I am."
"I assume you've made up with Ethan then?" Molly replies, and sometimes Krissy really hates how observant her little sister is.
"Yes, I did. And that's all I'm going to tell you." Krissy replies, a little stern but with a teasing edge. Molly just shrugs and they keep walking.
They're turning a corner when Krissy sees Maya Ward walking toward them. She instantly tenses up and fights down the urge to scratch the other woman's eyes out, surprised at how territorial she obviously is when it comes to Ethan. Maya notices them and makes a beeline for Krissy, and Krissy nudges Molly behind her, worried about what exactly is about to happen.
"Kristina, could I talk to you for a minute?" Maya says evenly, and Krissy crosses her arms in front of her.
"I don't think we have anything to talk about." she replies, looking Maya in the eye.
"Please? I promise, it'll be quick but I don't want to do this in front of your sister." Maya's eyes are pleading, and Kristina has to admit she's curious, so she turns around to Molly.
"I'll be right back. Wait here."
Maya nods and guides them around the corner into an empty room.
"Look," Maya begins, closing the door behind her. "I know how everything looked that morning, and I don't know what exactly is going on between you and Ethan, but I needed you to know that I didn't sleep with him."
Kristina knows shock must be etched across her face, and she can feel her mouth fall open. She shakes it off and resumes her steely gaze.
"I don't believe you."
Maya rolls her eyes at this, and Kristina suddenly really would like to punch her in the face.
"Look, Kristina. You can believe what you want, but I'm telling you the truth here. Yes, we had too much to drink and I crashed at his place. I slept on the couch and he was too far gone, in more ways than one, to make any kind of move on me. That boy, for whatever reason, is head over heels in love with you."
With that, Maya left the room, leaving Kristina alone with her thoughts. Ethan had said he didn't remember anything about that night, and Maya was now saying nothing had happened. Perhaps that was the truth? Kristina desperately hoped so, and left the room to find Molly feeling even better.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's close to five when Ethan feels his phone buzzing in his pocket. He fishes it out and smiles when the screen flashes 'Kristina'. He opens up the text message, and feels the bundle of nerves loosen a bit at the first sentence.
everything at the dr went fine. :)
However, the bundle of nerves triples in size at the next sentence.
i'm going to tell my mom and sam tonight.
As petrified as it makes him, he quickly writes back, asking if she wants him to be there.
no, I think they'll take it better if it's just me and molly and them. less targets and all that.
Ethan chuckles, and tells her to call him or come by afterward. She promises she will and Ethan gets back to work. Apparently, the Haunted Star falls apart at the seams whenever he's not there, and he's spent the better part of his day doing the inventory that has gone neglected in his absence.
He's so engrossed with the task at hand that he doesn't hear anyone entering the Haunted Star, and fights down a scream when he's lifted off of the floor and thrown against the wall.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Michael Corinthos yells, and Ethan is frozen as the younger man keeps him pinned to the wall.
"What are you talking about?" he finally asks, and this just seems to make Michael even more angry.
"What am I talking about? What am I talking about? How about that fact that you knocked up my little sister?" Michael replies, shoving Ethan into the wall roughly. Ethan briefly wonders how Michael found out, but before he can ask Dante and Lulu come rushing into the casino.
"Let him go Michael!" Lulu yells, but Michael doesn't flinch.
"No, I think I'm going to kill him." Michael replies nonchalantly, and as his arm moves back Ethan prepares for the impending punch. It doesn't come, and a second later Dante has pulled Michael off of Ethan.
"Thanks mate." says Ethan, rubbing his now sore neck.
"Hey, don't thank me." Dante replies, shoving Ethan's shoulder roughly and pointing his finger in his face.
"How did you find out anyway?" Ethan asks, throwing his hands up.
"Dad told me." Lulu replies from the other side of the bar, and Ethan rolls his eyes. No one in Port Charles is capable of keeping a secret.
"Thanks, Lulu. Krissy hasn't told Alexis yet, and you tell both of her brothers."
"Hey, don't pin this on me. I said work things out with Kristina, not get her pregnant."
"What's going on?" a new voice asks, and everyone turns to see Kristina and Alexis standing by the entrance.
Ethan steps around Dante and Michael to meet the mother and daughter by the door, and gives Kristina an 'are you okay?' look. She nods, but doesn't make a move toward him.
"Hello Alexis." Ethan greets, as friendly as he dares.
"Ethan." she responds, but doesn't look him in the eye. "I think we need to talk."
"Alright Michael, this is over let's go." Dante says, and guides his brother past Ethan (who gets a lethal glare from the Corinthos heir) and Kristina (who gives one right back to Michael). Lulu lets her hand rest on Ethan's arm for a second before following her boyfriend back out of the Haunted Star.
"Why don't we take this upstairs?" Kristian suggests, and they all silently move to Ethan's flat.
As they enter the one-room apartment, Alexis scans it, and Ethan can barely make out a mumbled sarcastic 'no place to put a crib.'
"Well," Alexis finally says after a tension settles over the room. "You two have gotten into quite the predicament. And the last time I checked, you had assured me you were 'just friends.'"
"I told you Mom, it's not like we planned it. It just...happened." Kristina replied, but this just seems to set Alexis off.
"And you didn't think to protect against it somehow? What happened to all of that birth control you went behind my back to get?"
"I stopped taking it after I broke up with Kiefer." Kristina says weakly, and Ethan knows she feels stupid for having to admit to such a thing.
"Look, Alexis..." Ethan tries, but she cuts him off.
"You don't get to talk yet. Not until I say what I have to say." she says, and Ethan takes a seat beside Kristina, pulling her hand into his.
"Kristina you are seventeen years old. Seventeen! You have your whole life ahead of you. How are you going to care for a child? How are you going to go to college? Where are you going to live? In this one-room hovel?"
"Yes, Mom, in this 'one room hovel' if I have to!" Kristina suddenly fires back, her Corinthos side suddenly in full view. Ethan stays frozen in his seat, shocked at the vehemence in Kristina's voice. "I've felt more safe here than I ever have in our house. Ethan makes me feel safe and wanted and loved, and if our child feels even a percentage of that then that will be enough. They might not have the fancy clothes or the gorgeous house or a flashy car but they'll have a better life than I ever could have hoped for because they won't be a Corinthos or a Cassadine, they'll just be a normal kid with parents that loves them unconditionally." Ethan knows Kristina's on the brink of tears, and he stands up next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.
"This isn't how any of us expected this to happen, Alexis." Ethan adds. "But I love Kristina and I'm going to take care of her and the baby the best that I can and do whatever she needs me to do so she can still do whatever she wants to do as far as college or her career."
Alexis stares at Ethan for a second before collapsing into the chair underneath her. Her face is buried in her hands and Ethan gives Krissy's shoulder a squeeze before nuding her toward her mother.
"Mom..." Kristina chokes out, getting down on her knees to face Alexis. "I'm so sorry." Alexis reaches for Kristina and pulls her into a hug, smoothing down her hair as Ethan can hear Kristina crying. He feels stupid just standing there, but he knows this is probably a moment they needed. Krissy had been handling the whole situation better than anyone could have expected, but at the end of the day she was still a young girl facing a terrifying situation.
And, if Ethan was honest, he was just as terrified.