The heartbeat echoed through the silent room as the two men stopped and listened to the monotonous beating, feeling every ounce of air escape their lips with each beat.

"It's alive." Andrew breathed out, holding the wand on one side of his slight paunch, "It's alive...What are we going to do Gregory?! I can't take care of a baby, NOT NOW!"

"You're going to care for it in nine months, Andrew." Gregory replied, "Or more if it's overdue. But there's no way you can take care of it now; you think you can grow a baby in thirty minutes?"

"STOP JOKING GREG!" The red head shouted, "This is serious! I'm officially pregnant, and I can't get rid of it!" The black-haired man shrugged and said, "Yeah you can, if you stabbed your stomach, or maybe drink yourself to death."

Andrew threw his shoe at Greg, but missed, grumbling, "Seriously, stop joking Greg. Those stupid smart-ass remarks are always getting you into trouble, and I hate it! WHEN WILL YOU GROW UP?!"

A heavy silence blanketed the room, broken slightly with the small heartbeat. Gregory shifted in place while tugging at his long bangs, trying to find something other than Andrew to look at. "Look, you need to be happy with what's happening." He began, "You have a new, fresh life growing inside you; a new human that is going to be more exposed to the future than what we are experiencing right now."

"But," Andrew argued, "I wanted to get with Sheila. I was hoping to date her, get married, and start a family with her. I didn't want to have drunk sex with some stranger I met at a party. And I definitely did not want to be the one pregnant."

Another wave of silence fell on the two, only to be broken by not a heartbeat, but with Gregory walking away. "Wait!" The red-head shouted, "Where are you going Gregory? Come back here!" But the usually joking jerk silently said over his shoulder, "Who's the one that needs to grow up, me or you? Because I feel pretty grown up right now."

And without another word or glance, Gregory left Andrew alone with his developing baby.

//

Later, at a bar called 'Saint Elsewhere', Gregory hummed a few bars of a commercial jingle as he shined another glass. "Shines like a diamond..." he muttered as he held the glass to the light, "But not like a star."  Placing the glass next to a pyramid of shot glasses, he got out another and began polishing again.

"Hey Greg!" A busty brunette greeted, "Why are you so gloomy? Did you lose again at the machine?" The bartender looked up and said, "Nice to see you Panda, but I'm not gloomy because of that." He set the glass down, and began to twirl his long bangs between his fingers. "I'm just not feeling right. You want the usual, right?"

The brunette pouted, her eyes nearly disappearing around the large globs of black eye make-up. "You're not telling Panda everything..." she grumbled, "Tell me now, or I'll kick your nuts again." Gregory looked at her, and then stuck out his tongue, asking, "How are you going to kick my nuts when I'm behind this counter? Now, you want your fancy Vodka drink or what?"

"I'll take my drink, but only if you tell me what's wrong." Panda bargained, "And if you don't tell me, I'll pour it down your pants."

The bartender shrugged and began to fix up Panda's drink, saying, "Alright, I'll tell ya. Don't see a reason though; you're still paying for the drink." In record time, the Vodka and Pomegranate cocktail was presented to her, decorated with a strawberry slice pierced with a red and blue straw. "Now, you want an explanation, right?" Gregory asked, receiving a nod in reply as Panda sipped her drink. "It'll be hard to explain but...Andrew's pregnant."

Panda's eyes brightened and she clapped her hands, saying, "Well, that's no reason to be gloomy! Congratulations to Andrew! But are you the father?" The bartender shook his head, saying, "Some guy he got drunk with is. It probably happened when we had that Jap-pop party here a month or two ago. But he doesn't want the baby, but it's kinda too late to get rid of it."

Panda stared at the bartender while he picked up a glass and began to polish it again. "So, you're sad because he doesn't want a baby? Or is it something deeper? You love him, don't 'cha?"

Greg dropped the glass, but quickly recovered and grabbed it before it hit the floor. "I don't love him." he responded, "I just...I just don't know anymore. In honesty, I thought I loved him, but the way that he feels about a baby when he's having it...It also killed me when he wanted to date that bank guard."

"You mean the blonde Sheila?" she asked, "That burly girl that swings a kid's club on her break?" Gregory nodded, adding, "Andrew wanted a kid the normal way; marriage, family, the whole nine yards."

"Then forget him." Panda said as she took another sip, "He can chase Susan while getting fat. Go find another guy or gal; it will be a flower-filled road that way." But Greg could only sigh and shake his head, replying, "I could find another guy, but my mind's on him. And it's on him even more when he's got a kid on the way! And I left him at the hospital when we went to see what's wrong."

His head hit the counter as he let out a low groan, his hands scratching his head furiously. Panda gulped down the rest of her drink and watched as the bartender performed his ritual of woe. She rolled her eyes and said, "Go to him if you still love him."

"I can't. He doesn't know I love him." he grumbled, "For all I know, he still loves Sheila the barbarian! And I know she'll drop him when he drops the 'p' bomb. And if I try to ask him then, I'll feel like a vulture!"

She knocked on the bartender's head as she said, "Big whoop, just tell him already! Offer to be the daddy and husband; you're great with kids, so it won't be a lie! Pregnant people who are down on their luck love it when people offer their services!"

"How do you know?" The bartender asked, getting the reply, "I perform parkour, and I pick up things as I go."

Gregory finally picked up his head off the counter, and stared at Panda as she pulled the strawberry off with her teeth. Without hesitation, he mixed up another vodka and pomegranate drink and placed it in front of her, saying, "It's on the house. Thanks for the advice."

//

Sorry about this; you can say this isn't so much an Mpreg story; rather, a drama. I don't think I would continue this...but I might if I find enough encouragement.