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Oscar was glad the waiting room was empty. It was awkward enough for him to even be doing this. He knew he was incapable of producing children, but Clare's words echoed through his mind. pushing every other thought away.

Had he been changed in other ways?

Even after he'd pulled up and parked, he just stared at the entrance for what seemed like an eternity before he finally exited his vehicle and went inside. If she was right, then, he didn't want to think about it.  He was infertile.

Now he sat awkwardly waiting for the nurse to lead him back to gather his sample.

What was taking so long?

"Mr. Lockmoore," a voice rang out.

Seeing as he was the only one in the room he hardly thoguht the formality necessary, but he nevertheless gave her a nod and rose to follow her. She explained the process of how to gather his sample and where to take it once done. Nonchalantly she handed him a magaazine and explained they had other materials if need be  - all he had to was ask. He politely declined and entered the room she showed him.

"Take your time and just bring it to the desk when you're done," she reminded him with  smile before leaving him to it.

He stared down at the magazine and the collection up. This was ridiculous. He tossed his reading material onto the small table and dropped into the only chair in the room with a sigh. His gaze stared at the cup, his fingers nervously tapping against it. Clare was still runinnng through his head, every scenario and outcome playing over and over - the worst being that he could in fact now have childreen and he'd screewed the pooch by immiediately denying it.

He relaxed sigh and did his best to push her from his mind and get it all over with.

-------

"Just look over everything and  make sure its correct then sign here," he was instructed when turning in his sample. "Thank you," the nurse said as he complied, tearing a yellow copy of the paperwork and handing it over.  "You should get your results in seventy-two hours. If you haven't received an email by then call this number and we can look it up for you," she added, pointing at the office's direct line. 

"Will do," he replied, taking the sheet, momentarily holding it up and nodding in thanks before taking off.

He pulled his phone out on the way back to his car, shooting a text to his ssister.

[txt Vinny] Free tonight? I could definitely use a beer and a free ear.

[txt Vinny] And some of your cooking wouldn't hurt either.

-----

Shock was an understatement to Jace's revelation. Pregnant?? Clare was pregnant?  How could that be?  While she had heard stories off Clare's wild ways, she hadn't actually seen her with anyone.  Not lately anyway. Not in the timeframe for a pregnancy.  Her mind wandered over who the father could be to warrant a response like this from her.

She barely registers his goodbye, almost breathlessly saying her own farewell long after he'd hung up. First the infection, then the found connections between soul mates, and now this?  What more could life possibly throw at them?

The buzzing of her cell phone going off with a message snapped her back to reality and she blinked her mind into focus.  A smirk tugged at her lips as a huff fell from her - she would love to see Clare confront whoever the s.o.b. was that knocked her up.  And she was willing to bet her brother would have lked a break from the woman's wrath.  Another chuckle escaped her with the thought that the two men would probably end up friends ovver the common enemy.

[txt OscarGrouch] Free as a bumblebee with beers cold and ready for you.

[txt OscarGrouch] I have news you're gonna want to hear.

[txt OscarGrouch] I thnk you'll be thoroughly entertained by it too.

[txt OscarGrouch] See you in a few.

------

"I'm telling you, this is amazing. You're going to shit yourself when I tell you what I found out," Emily started as she popped open two beers and handed one to Oscar.

Dinner had been short and mostly quiet, the two of them both having the same news to share with each other - albeit with two very different perceptions of it.

"Shit myself?" Oscar repeated with a slight chuckle, doinng his best to keep up his spirits for Em "Maybe you should get me a towel," he joked.

"I'm serious."

"About the news or shitting myself? Because now I really think Ineed a towel."

"Fuck off. Ok. Are you ready?"

It was a nice ditraction to hear her so excited and to see her so animated.  He  knews things had been tense with Eric lately, so it was refreshing to see her at ease.  He couldn't help but think Jace may have had something to do with it. That man coulld bring out the best in her no matter what kind of day she was having. He'd never seen her happier than when she was around him.  Not even with Eric.

"Ready as ever," he told with a tilt of his beer and taking a drink.

"Ok. You're going to just love this," she said readying herself, setting her beer down on  the coffee table. "Clare..."

"Yea?"

"...is pregnant," she got out, letting her smile widen a bit.

Oscar nearly spit out his drink.  He swallowed back what was in his mouth with a chokking cough, waving off hiis sister's concern. "Wrong pipe," he lied as he regained control of himself. "Did you say..?"

"Pregnant.  With child. Knocked up," she told him.

How had she found out? Given her visit to Oscar, he had assumed she hadn't told anyone else.  Yet here he was being let in on a known secret by the last persohe expected to be privy to this information - her and Clare didn't exactly get along either.

"How'd you find -- I don't -- pregnant?"

Emily shook her head and relaxed back into the couch, a satisfied grin on her face. "Jace went over to her place looking for her - you know since she's been off grid for about a week now. I bet that it's been pretty peaceful for you with her gone," she digressed with a small lau.

"Em. Focus. Jace went to her place and...?"

"Oh, and when he was searching her place for any kind of sign as to where she'd gone, he found loads of tests in the bathroom. Said they were everywhere."

"Tests?"

"Pregnancy tests.  Probably a dozen or so."

Fuck.

Oscar's heart dropped even further.  She hadn't been lying.  Really he hadn't had any reason to believe she would make up child, but the more he learned about the whole thing the more he began to see things from her perspective. And the more the signs pointed too it being his kid.

"Does she...does she know who's it is?"

"I don't know," she admitted with a slight shake of her head as she leaned up to get her drink.  She let it settle in her lap and picked at the to of the bottle, her mind still trying to figure that out.

"But given her choice in men, I bet he's a real keeper if you know what I mean," she said with a raise of her brow as she drank, unknowing that she was in fact ttalking about her brother.

"Yea," he forced a small chuckle out. "I can imaagine."

"Now that I got my news out of the way, what was yours? It must be just as exciting for you to come ovver here this late after work," she obs"I mean the last time we had an impromptu beer and food session was when Liv left."

Her eyes widened with incorrect realizaion. "Oh God. She didn't come back around did she?"

"No. No. Nothing like that," he waaved off her worry. "Trust me, Liv is gone for good. She made it clear we weren't meant for each other," he admitted with slight sadness, his heart still a bit shattered over the break up.

"Um, no, it's just work shit," he lied, decding not to tell her what had really happened.  "The Daybell/Vallow case is at a standstill and Sama managed to get himself put on leave after fucking up his ankle on a knock and see. He fell off their porch," he told her, this time with a genuine laugh.

"That's what was so important? Sam busting his ass? Come on Oscar. That's nothing new. He should walk around in a bubble suit he's so clumsy."

Oscar allowed yet another genuine laugh to escape him with the image of his partner wrapped up and protected. He was definitely the most accident prone of the bureau.

"Is that who you called about earlier?"

"Hmm?"

"When you were asking about your war wounds?"

"Oh, no.  That was just some rookie who seems to have it out for me.  Thought I was lying and I was sick of his shit," he lied "so what does Jace think about all this...Clare studd?" he asked as nonchalantly as he could to get more info out of her.  If everyone knew about the pregnancy, then did they also know it could be his?

------

His mind had been in a fog since leaving Em's place, focused on one thing and one thing only - his results. He clicked away mindlessly, his brain on autopilot as he filled out paperwork for cases until the notification popped up for his email.  He immediately abandoned his work and pulled it up.

Fear immediately flooded his senses as he stared at the news - he was no longer infertile.  It was both a miracle and a curse. He reread the email probably a hundred times before settling back in his chair.  He rubbed a hand through his beard absentmindedly as he straegized how to get into Clare's good graces.  They were having a child together and he was fully prepared to beg her forgiveness to be involved in their life - even if the two of them didn't get along.

He picked up his phone and dialed her number. No answer.  Not surprising all things considered. He shot out a text and was answered with the same amount of nothing.  His hand went to his scar, fully expecting it to be burning with his worry over her silence, but he felt nothing. Not even a tingle.

Without another thought he left his office and headed to Jace's shop.  If anyone knew what was going on it would be him.  At the very least he would be able to get ahold of her, right? Oscar now wished he had pushed harder for her to let him come to her place once in awhile.  Then at least he could have just gone straight to her place.

His distaste for her had begun to lessen to a quiet concern. She wasn't this quiet.  He worried he had drove the final nail into the coffin of what little they had together and this was it.  He couldn't have a kid out there that didn't know him as their father.  Especially since it was quite obviously a sign from the powers that be that they were, in fact, soul mates.

-----

"I can't take this anymore! All you ever do is accuse me of shit I haven't done! You know Eric, usually the guilty are the first one to throw stones. Maybe you have some explaining to do," Emily shouted at Eric as she followed him through the apartment during one of his, yet again, tirades about Jace. "He. Is. A. Client. End of story. Why do you insist on making life so difficult with your jealous bullshit? When have I ever given you a reason to think I would cheat?"

"Your little joy ride to the bar," he said flatly.

"That was months ago! And I already told you, he gave me a ride after our session so I wouldn't have to take the shitty bus."

"Oh, sessions," he said with air quotes. "Is that what you're calling it now?"

"Jesus Christ Eric. I can't take this much longer. Either you get your shit together or..."

"Or what?!" he yelled, turning on her with fury in his eyes.

Fear gripped at her chest and she had to swallow back the lump forming in her throat.  The past four years had been almost perfect. That was until Jace showed up.  He was an unexpected wrench in her plans and obviously Eric hadn't taken his arrival well at all.  It had driven a wedge between them she wasn't sure could be fixed.

"Or we're through," she said as firmly as she could.

"Through?  Through?" he repeated like a broken record, his shock and rage fighting to control the expressions on his face. Before she could dodge it, he grabbed her by the arm and shuffled her to the living room and shoved her onto the couch. "You are mine," he growled towering over her. "I won't allow you to just leave.  We have so much together and it would be awfully selfish of you," he said with the implied message that if he couldn't have her, no one could.

"Ok. Ok," she said trying to say whatever she needed to in order to get him away from her. "You're right.  I'm being selfish," she continued, her voice much less confidant and loud. "I'm sorry."

Immediately he released his grip and forced a smile to his face. "That's what I thought," he said lowly, taking a seat next to her on the couch. He went back to their evening as if nothing had happened. Emily however was just biding her time and as soon as he was at work the next day she set out to leave him for good.

Angrily she packed her belongings and took them to the taxi she'd called. "Fucking dick," she mumbled to herself through quiet tears.  Never had he expected them to end like this. Eric had lie the one and marriage had been her ulitmate goal with him.  Marriage, a family, a dog, she had wanted it all.  Now she just wanted to leave. Didn't make it hurt any less however.

She gave the driver the address to the studio and never looked back.  Eric was furious when he came home and saw that all of her belongings were gone. He went on a rampage, breaking a few pictures she'd left behind. His chest heaved, fuming from her deceit, and vowed to make her see how wrong she was for leaving.

-------

The longer she was away the worse Oscar felt.  Nothing he did could lessen the unnerving ache in his chest with her absence. His scar now never ceases its pain. Every shadow reminds him of her. His stomach had begun fluttering randomly unknowingly when the baby kicked in Clare's stomach. Too much pointed to Clare, reminding him of her every chance they could.

He had to find her.

Easier said than done however. When she left, she made sure to cover her tracks so that even he couldn't find her.  Nothing worked.  No one, no one, knew where she'd gone.  Even his resources at work hadn't dug up even a morsel of a lead.  She had vanished into thin air.

And his life had begun to spiral with her dispperance.  Not only with an unexppected yearning for her, but for the baby well. Whether or not she would have been able to put aide their differences, he could have for the sake of their child. And now he would never get a chance to prove otherwise.

It had been six months since his fight with her and it had been six months of literal hell for him. He'd been to every possible place she could  have gone to and came up empty every time. That was just as inffuriatng as her leaving.

He dropped onto his couch with a beer and let himself wallow in the sadness - his new usual routine after work each night, the dead end on leads beyond distressing.

-----

"I come bearing gifts," Emily announcces to the shop as she walkes up,  holding up a plate of brownies with a smile. "I felt like a little celebration. The shop has been going six months now and it's all thanks to you," she said in thanks, placing a quick kiss to is cheek. "Stupid I know but you have no idea what it means  for me," she admits through a sof smile.

She takes the treats to the office and grabs two from the plate, returning to Jace. "Also,I was thinking of Oscar making his world famous bbq for everyone tonight. He needs a distraction from, you know," she said with a rasie of her brow, handing over his treat.  "Think your guy's'll be down for dining on the feds' dime?" she asked teasingly.

She took a bite of the brownie and almost died - they were fucking good.  She leaned against Jace's workshop table and glanced around. After everything the past six months, she hadn't expected to feel so at ease there.  IIt was as if she had been there all along  the guys getting along with her just as well as they did him.  She felt like she belonged there and it was a welome change from what Eric had made her feel at the end of their union.

"And," she started, letting her gaze fall to her the brownig in her hands as she feigned interest in moving allt he excess crumbs from it. "I was thinking....maybe this weekend...you and I could, I don't know, have a night to ourselves?" she asked bringing her gaze to him. 

He had been such a gentleman since she'd left Eric - never once trying to force whatever it was between them to move faster than she was ready to. But now she knew this was what she wanted.  Irnoically Eric had been right all alone, he was just a little too early with his guess.

"You know, like, a date," she got out with a nervous smirk.

----

It had been two months since their first date, but it felt like they'd known each other for an eternity. Everything was just so easy with Jace. They had been picking out movies for their weekly night, happily teasing each other over their respective choices, when Eric passed by the video store.

"See you at seven then?" she asked Jace, smiling through their kiss goodbye just before she headed off to the grocery store to get the things for dinner.

Anger reared its ugly head when he saw how joyous she was without him.  He really had meant nothing to her. His incorrect assumptions sent his rage into a tailspin, his need for revenge over being dumped for him in full force.

Her smile hadn't faltered when she pulled up and parked, all the while Jace running through her mind as if nothing else mattered.  Now that she was free to be with him, she just couldn't stop thinking about him. She had been so preoccupied with her happiness that she hadn't even seen Eric's car pulling in slowly behind hers.

He paarked far enough away that he wouldn't be noticed, but close enough to grab herrr hen the time was right.  She came out with her cart of groceries and began loading them up when he grabbbed her from behind and threw her into his car.

"Eric?!  What the fuck?" she asked, shock and fear rushing through her system.

"I see you remember my name. I figured old pretty boy Jace, iss it, would have made you leave my name out of your outh and your mind. He sure did keep me from between your legs," he said visciously as he jumped in behinnnd her and crawled up front, driving off.

"Fuck you. Let me out," she said trying to yank open the door.

'Childlocks sweetheart.  You didn't think I'd be dumb enoug to let you escape before we could talk."

Tears quietly began to fall to her cheeks, the growing worry that she wouldn't make it through their little discussion. She should have just gone home with Jace and ordered in like he suggested.  But nooooo, she had to go and be a good girlfriend wanting to cook for him. 

How was she going to get out of this?

He yanked her from the backseat and led her through the back door to his complex, roughly forcing her up to his apartment before tossing her to the ground. She tried crawling to the bathroom, bedroom, anywhere away from him.

"Nice try beautiful, but I 'm letting you go twice," he said taking a handful of her hair and forcing her to stand.

"Eric. Please," she begged through her now freely flowing tears. "You're hurting me."

"Oh I'm hurting you??!  I'm hurting you?! How about how you hurt me?" he asked rhetorically, moving her down the hall and shoving her into the bedroom. He slammed the door behind them.

"YOU are the reason for all of this," he scolded her, agggressively poking her in the chest. "YOU were the one who strayed. YOU were the one who left and gave up on us. YOU were the sellfish one," he said letting his anger take full control and grabbed her throat.

Her fingers instinctively went to her hand and tried to fre it. He fought off her grasp with his free hand and slapped her into near unconsciousness when she wouldn't stop fighting back. A small yelp and choked back cough escaped her and he squeezed tighter. Her hands went to his face and tried scratching at it, the false hope was that it would distract his grip on her neck.

Instead she found a fist coming at her, blacking her eye and busting her lip.  It was only then that he let go of her neck, letting her drop from the force of his blow.  She fell into the edge of his bed   harshly, bringing forth a bruise on her arm.    She choked back her breath and tried to remove the growing static of her brain, only concerned with escaping. 

Emily started crawling toward the door, but Eric kicked her in the stomach and made her drop back down to the ground, following it with another punch to her side. A louder cry fell from her, her hand now grabbing her aching ribs. He managed to land a few more blows to her head and sides before an opportunity for her to turn the tables revealed itself.

As he was readying for yet another hit, she rolled on her back and kicked him in the groin as hard as she could.  He dropped with a yell and she forced herself to her feet.  She stumbled through the hall and out the front door, running as fast as she could for the stairwell.  Her vision blurred from the concussion he'd given her. Her lungs burned from beig deprived of oxygen. Tears streamed down her face.

She continued racing away from him, the cool air blasting her face a miraculous relief.  She only allowed herself a moment to catcher breath before flagging down a passing motorist.  Thankfully they were feeling generous and gave her a ride to the shop - the only place that was safe from Eric, his knowledge of its existence nil.

"Jace....I don't know.....He grabbed me...." she stumbled through relief to hear his voice, the controlled emtions now spilling forth uncontrollably wavering in her voice through broken sobs. "Just come to the shop. Please," she managed to get out before her sobs toook control and she hung up. She slid down by the phone and wept, unmoving and in the same position when Jace showed up.

Shakily she makes her way inside and grabs the landline, dialing Jace.

writingxthexsilence​:

Now he really felt like shit. 

“Clare,” he started softly as she started toward the door, his voice much softer and full of compassion.

Oscar may not have enjoyed their constant battles, a contradicting truth to Clare’s beliefs, but he endured them.  He had no choice in the matter.  Not since the meteor.  That daaay had forced everyone affected into lives they would have never seen had it not been for this infection. 

Same with her.  She hadn’t deserved his reaction. Why had he jumped down her throat? Because that’s what they did, oppose each other every step of the way, wasn’t it? Since meeting Clare his life had become messy and complicated and unnervingly out of his control. He hated the feeling and wrongfully blamed her for it. After Emily brought the theory to them of soul mates being connected, his mind had been preoccupied trying to disprove that theory - unable to see how the two of them could ever be meant for each other, failing miserably.

Her question just before disappearing back in to the hall echoed off his mind, rendering him motionless realization of it’s intended meaning hit. She was right. Until now he had only believed the infection to affect his emotions, primarily his anger - the hardest for him to control of all. But what if it had altered other parts of him?

Aside from the shock of the possibility, he began to grow angry at himself for not thinking of that sooner. If that was the case, then he had just fucked the one chance to actually get what he’d always wanted, a family.

As if snapped back to reality, he sprung into action - quickly shutitng down his PC and grabbing his keys before rushing out the door.  Clare was nowhere to be found, his internal malfunction with her words taking just that long to lose her. He ran to his car and headed to the only place he knew could settle this once and for all - ironically one of Clare’s favorite places - the lab.

—–

“Well maybe she’s in a dead zone or something,” Emily tried assuring him, shifting to hold her phone with her shoulder.

She had just gotten done  prepping dinner when Jace called, and she was busy cleaning up the mess. Cabinets could be heard opening and closing, along with dishes clinking lightly.

“Going off grid is sort of her thing when she needs space, isn’t it?” she asked, recalling what little Jace had told her about her unexpected absences.

Em pushed speaker and set the phone down as the clicking of the stove rang through the air, followed by a small wooosh as it ignited into a small flame.

“I never said I didn’t like her,” she began to protest. “I said I didn’t like how she treats my brother. They obviously will never get along and I see no point in becoming friends with his enemies,” she said with lightheartedness. “But yes, I would break into his house if he went AWOL,” she agreed.

He couldn’t see it, but a smirk spread freely across her face.  She still couldn’t believe the ease they had with each other. From the moment they’d met, they just clicked.  It w an amazing feeling and one that she had never experienced before.

But all her joy evaporated when he said something had happened. The worry in his voice cut through to her core and shattered any strategy to keep her at bay.

“What? What is it? Jace, is she okay?” she asked immediately worried for him.

She remembered the day she wiped her tracks from the face of the earth…and hoped that a new beginning would not call her name again.

 Raindrops poured down her windshield as she pressed the gas pedal, speeding toward her apartment. Her heart was stilling, the pulse barely pushing the skin and giving a sign of life. The rage was gone, that fiery fuel of her pride was now barely a feeble flame. The fire was replaced by a lonely sadness that resembled the gloomy weather that marked this day.

 After she ran away from her hometown for the first time, in the hope of escaping the terrible memories that only followed her through life like shadows, she believed that she would not have to do it again, that she would never feel such a threat that would surround her like gasoline and someone’s hand will throw a match. Today, that hand had an owner, and the match fell. Her fingers reached for the digital screen in her car, dialing a number near the top of the list. After the second ring, a piercing female voice answered.

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