Pippa wasn't even certain yet that she was pregnant, but Dr. Wells thought otherwise. And now she was faced with the choice of telling Viktre or, well, not telling him. Would he understand? The girl wove through people, Douglas' man following behind a short distance away. By the time they got to their destination, she turned and put her hand up, "This is where you stay... please..." Her eyes shifted down, finding the road rather interesting for a moment as heat filtered through her cheeks.

She knocked upon the door in question, then stepped back and looked pointedly at the man following her. Assuming he backed off, she then looked at the door and gave a sigh. She knocked a second time and left it at that.

While she waited for Viktre, she smoothed her now, worn hands over the gray colored fabric at her legs. She wasn't dressed in her Sunday best, he wouldn't care about that. And it wasn't excitement that had her belly flipping. Oh, goodness, she was starting to feel warm in a way that left her a touch breathless. She felt like she was going to faint! But she didn't, she tipped her head forward and took some steadying breaths. And then... the door opened.

Ayyen and Viktre were at the center table with papers and ledgers with receipts spread across it.  They were done with most of it now and were chatting and drinking vodka.  Viktre had sent a message to Pippa letting her know he was back from his latest sea trip.  They had spent several weeks out there charting where they got the best catches on the nets and where they found the largest fish for the rods.

 Coming back, both ships had been nearly overfilled, and the receipts showed just how fantastic their catches had brought.  This time Viktre had both caught the biggest fish and his crew had brought the heaviest catch.  Their party after dealing with the full holds and arranging to sell the fish had lasted almost twenty-four hours with the crew and the local "ladies" at the bar.  Ayyen and Viktre had managed to get back to their own office/apartments leaning on each other singing in Russian some very uncouth songs, had anyone around them known Russian.

It was now two days after that, and they were over the hangover and the formal ledgers and map charting.  Hearing the door knock, Viktre raised a brow.  "Expecting someone?"  In Russian.

"Nyet."  Ayyen shook his head.  The businessmen had already come and gone the day before with contracts and payments. 

Viktre was not expecting Pippa to come to the front door.  He had a back door that he would bring her in to protect her reputation.  He was expecting a message to have him meet her somewhere.  He got up.  "Maybe the messenger." 

He headed to the door holding a glass half full of vodka.  Opening the door, he raised his eyes wide.  Glancing around, he motioned her inside quickly.  He saw a few people and one man in particular seemed to be staring at him.  "Pip, come inside.  Not message?"  He closed the door behind her had she entered.

Ayyen looked up and seeing who it was, he smiled.  "Hello, Miss.  I will let you two have the room.   There are errands to do."  He glanced with a raised brow at his friend.  In Russian, "Ty zastavil yeye podoyti k tvoyey vkhodnoy dveri seychas? Eto dolzhno deystvitel'no imet' goryachiye tochki dlya vas. Ona znayet, skol'ko drugikh zhenshchin u tebya bylo na etot raz?
"  (***You have her coming to your front door now?  This one must really have the hots for you.  Does she know how many other women you have had this time?)

Viktre responded, "Ot"yebis', drug."  He gave a vulgar mostion of his hand.   (**Fuck off, friend.)

Ayyen grinned as he left and grabbed his hat from the coat tree.  Tipping it at Pip, he headed out.  Viktre indicated a chair.  "Sit, da?"

She nodded quietly to the man who greeted her. Pippa offered a smile even as she was having a hard time being there. When he left and Viktre directed her to a chair, she sat if only to keep her knees from buckling. Oh, no, and now she wanted to throw up. Why was she doing this to herself? She didn't love him. She took a deep and heavy breath, finally looking to the man who took her innocence.

And with the sight of those meltingly blue eyes, she girded her loins and lost the courage to tell him about the babe. In fact, her entire mission to end it with him hinged on not ending up in his bed again. "Sorry I used the wrong door," she said quietly.

Was there a quiver in her voice?

How did this go?

He probably wouldn't understand.

"Viktre..." she said at last.

"Is not problem."  He said in his thick Russian accent.  "Just want not ruin reputation."  He said not realizing how ironic that comment would actually be.  He then motioned "Would have drink?"  He indicated the bottle of vodka.  Thinking she would want something, even if something not as strong, a glass, he headed toward the small kitchen they had in this bottom floor back under the stairs.

She was usually more relaxed and as ease when they were together.  He noticed something was not the same.  He hoped all was okay but didn't press her.  Their time together had always been about enjoyment not serious topics.

"I know... And I thank you for that." She stood up and paced a little. Pippa turned to him worked up the nerve she needed, licking her lips.

"We're friends, you and I, yes?" She chewed her lip, not expecting an answer, but giving him time to anyway. Regardless of the answer, she found herself peering at him with tunnel vision. The edges of her vision darkened. She took in a deep breath and released it and then looked him in his eyes... A single tear dribbled from her eye.

She looked away and wiped it in annoyence and then said, "Baby..." and pantomimed a round stomach... Then she grabbed for his hand and placed it there for a moment, then dropped her hand from his... "младенец. (Pronounced mladenets.)"

He nodded his head at her question.  "Da."  He said it with a confused tone wondering why she would ask such a thing. At the sight of her now more obvious upsetness over something, he paused and moved back closer to her. 

Her comments at first even with the actions to indicate a pregnant belly, he didn't capture the meaning.  Then when she said the word "baby" in Russian he paused, blinked and looked at her belly.  "младенец????"  He repeated slowly with a question in his tone.  His face blank as he was still sorting through what she meant.

Then his face went white and he pulled his hand away from hers to look down at her belly a moment then reached suddenly for the half bottle of vodka and tossed back a long drink straight from the bottle.   Pausing then looking down at her again, he took another shorter drink still from the bottle.

Forgetting to talk in English, he started talking as he started walking around in a gaining frantic manner.  "Uvereny li vy? Eto nevozmozhno. YA vsegda ostorozhen." 

Then pacing back and forth as if walking might help him figure this out, he looks at her and remembers their first time together.  The one time he didn't pull out fast enough.  Mentally calculating, he tried to figure out how far along she would be.  He was so stunned he could not do the math.

"Kak daleko?"  He asked then shook his head again still not sure he was believing this was happening.


[**"Are you sure? This is not possible.  I am always careful."]

[**How far along?]

She didn't need a dictionary to decipher the meaning of his expression. She winced anyway, even having expected it. Pippa lifted a shaking hand, saying slowly, "I don't understand what you said..." she closed her eyes for a moment and then said, "The doctor is sure... and I am sure... I haven't bled since the day I met you... Not that you understand. Not that either of us understands each other!" she said, clearly frustrated.

She wasn't feeling well. She stumbled backwards and then moved to sit down heavily. DO. NOT. FAINT.

"Viktre..." she said ever so quietly before the darkness overtook her for a moment. The girl started to slither down almost jointlessly from the seat of the chair.

Viktre gave several quite vulgar words realizing that he had been speaking to the girl in Russian.  He held up a hand to stop her to let him gather his mind enough to speak in English.  Then she responded seeming to understand the intent of his tone and question body language.  The doctor was sure.  So, Pip had already seen a doctor.  He tried to think back about how the various family members that had babies had found out.  Not that it mattered at that moment or at all, his mind was just going all around inside his brain.  He had played with family children and held babies around the family members all the time, but to be responsible for one was different from being a brother or uncle or cousin. 

He looked at her.  "Viktre understand.  Just is shock."  He finally managed to speak out in English.  She then slipped downward, and he instinctively grabbed her and picked her up.  "Pip!?!"

His first fear was the pregnancy had made her sick badly or that something was wrong with the baby and making her too weak to sit up.  "Take you to upstairs."  He said not sure she could hear him with her looking fainted.  She knew the way and the room well.  He carefully carried her to the back of the central room to the stairs that led to the two rooms upstairs and to his own room that was directly above his office downstairs.

He laid her down gently on the large bed.  "Pippa?  Wake up, please.  Not know what to help."  He patted her hand, then went to the water pitcher nearby to wet a cloth to put on her forehead.

She found herself in his arms despite her desire not to be. He was carrying her up the stairs and she was resting her forehead on his shoulder. She jerked awake when he touched her hand, several moments later. Blinking the spots away, she sighed. "And until this," she slurred a little and indicated her belly with a limp gesture, "I was not a fainter. My whole family was killed in a fire. I didn't faint at that... A babe happens and all I can seem so do is faint."

Then she turned her eyes to him and she said, "I'm so frightened..." Her eyes closed then and she gave a humorless laugh that turned into a little bit of a sob. "And I just wanted to feel normal... I wanted to be wanted... I thought... I could just... be..." she trailed off and turned her head.


Philippa then rolled onto her side and curled into a ball. "I'm so sorry," she choked out.

Viktre was quite relieved when she woke up.  He listened to her.  She had been through a lot.  She had told him about some of it over their last few months when he had come back from the sea and sent messages to let her know that he was back.  That she was scared, he could understand.  He was a bit more than a little shaken about this himself.  He had been with various women over the years but always was careful.  Some had come up with pregnant as well, but they had been with various seamen or men from the Russian Naval sailors coming back to land for some time onland.  None had tried to figure out who the father was unless really finding a man that was easy to move into a marriage.  No one would consider Viktre for that kind of situation.

If it had been any of them, Viktre would have just gave her a few pounds and toss her out expecting it to be a trap.  However, with Pippa, he believed it was his child.  The thing now was to figure out what to do.  When she curled up on the bed, he gave her a look.  The young woman had no living family.  He didn't see how her employer would keep her as the maid with her situation becoming clear.  So, she would have no money and no place to live.  He looked around lost himself. 

Not wanting to ruin her, he had done just that and in a big way.  He thought of his family.  His mother would be thrilled and his father would tell him to do the proper thing.  But he had just gotten this business started and he was not one that had intended to settle down.  His mother often said he was old enough to get a family started.  That meant not going to the taverns and bars to have fun with the crew and the women.  He wasn't ready for that. 

He was enjoying exploring the world and being free.  He looked at her.  He would have a child.  Her crying made him all uncomfortable.  He was not great around women's tears, thus he usually spent his time with tough women that knew how to take care of themselves. 

"Pip is wanted.  This good times with us.  No need sorry."  He stood up and paced trying to think about it without the bit of freaking out thing coming back at him.  "Is two make mladenets.  Viktre should not taken deva
... maid?  Innocent?  to bed."