I Dare You

What looked no different than a flicker on the monitor caused Mads to smile at the signs of life. Mads knew the rate of accuracy for at home pregnancy tests, so went to her doctor to confirm. It took a few weeks to get her appointment, but the ultrasound found the spark of life in only a minute.

"There it is," Mads' doctor said. "I'd say about four weeks."

"That calculus works," Mads said with a grin, then looked over at York who joined her for the appointment. York couldn't help but smile as well.

Heather and York had completed their fallout, and Heather came back for her stuff within a few days. Heather's firm had asked her to move to Colorado permanently, and she was planning on asking York once the project was complete. She moved immediately instead. York did have to buy her a new phone considering he smashed her last one.

Mads was prescribed prenatal vitamins and received a picture of her ultrasound. The other thing they received was an estimated delivery date of 17 September. They would both be doctors by then, and then after graduation York would begin his residency. Mads was planning on taking the next year off.

"September," Mads said on the drive home, York nodding.

"Are you sure you want to take the year off?" York asked.

"I always planned on doing that when I had a baby," Mads explained, making sure he did not feel guilty about it. "We need to start getting some ducks in a row though. First thing, are we planning on keeping the apartment? I know the lease is up in July."

"Maybe somewhere a little closer to the hospital. It was a good place for college students, but probably not for a baby," York said, Mads agreeing. "What about the car situation?"

"What about it?"

"Baby seat won't fit in this one, and your car is out of the question," York explained.

"My car is fine..." Mads said, then looked at York who answer by raising his eyebrows. "Point taken. We haven't even scratched the surface of things to take care of and my head is already throbbing thinking about."

"Right there with you."

"Do we want to gender reveal when we can?" Mads asked, and York really thought about whether he wanted the surprise. It did make planning easier.

"Yes," York said, Mads thinking for a moment, then determined she wanted to know as well.

"Would we still be living together?" Mads asked, and York looked at her, then back to the road. "Nothing is simple with us."

"No it is not," York said, then began to ponder that last question. Continuing to live together was the convenient answer, but more likely than not, it wasn't the right one. Mads was trying to have something real with Regina, who for now at least, was accepting the pregnancy. For the time being, the arrangement was not going to change, and they had a few months until the lease was up.

-

Aside from Mads' developing pregnancy and the complete absence of Heather in body and spirit, nothing substantial changed. Mads still went to the lab and put the finishing work on her thesis; York still split his time between the hospital, the school, and the gym. They hung out when they were both home and slept in their respective rooms. Regina stayed over more than she didn't, and from that she got to know York as well.

The hurdle York wanted to get over immediately was telling his parents. Introducing Mads to them was going to be interesting. Heather for all her faults, at least looked the part. Well dressed and well-spoken with no tattoos. Mads was more than capable of being well-spoken, and York would even admit she was smarter than him, however she typically chose not to be articulate. York knew his parents would focus heavily on her tattoos and start the meeting with distracting presumptions.

The schedule aligned to take the trip to Utah to meet his parents when Mads was twelve weeks and just starting to show. Regina dropped them off, understanding that this was necessary. York tried to prep her during the flight of what she would be walking into. After the last time he failed to give her a proper heads up, he didn't want to do that again.

"You said they were lawyers, right?" Mads asked.

"Yes, but don't talk about law, that's when they get the smuggest," York warned. "And if you are insistent on not wearing sleeves, they will be snobbish about your tattoos."

"I could cover them, but I don't want to hide anything. They should know who the mother of their grandchild is," Mads said, feeling that wearing long sleeves to hide her tattoos was like hiding herself. It was also kind of pointless when she had the scorpion on her neck.

"Any off-limits topics?" Mads asked.

"Well, law. Politics in general, they don't even agree with each other. Guns," York said, rattling off things that would open the dinner conversation to certain doom.

"What side of guns? Do I not bring up my Glock?" Mads asked.

"Wait, you have a Glock?"

"Top drawer of my dresser, back left corner, magazine and ammo on the right," Mads replied.

"You've had a gun in the apartment for two years and I didn't know?"

"Heather knew I have a gun. I took her shooting once."

"It's legal, right?"

"Of course it is," Mads said to reassure him. "Do I or do I not..."

"Do not bring up your gun."

-

York was welcomed home by his parents Reginald and Caroline, his mother by hugging him warmly and his father with a firm handshake. Mads politely, and somewhat awkwardly, stood behind York as his parents greeted him, then turned to her. York recalled his mother and even his father, had met Heather with hugs and genuine smiles. They both only shook Mads hand with disingenuous forced grins.

"Nice to meet you Madison," Reginald said, Mads looking at York for a moment. 'Madison, really?'.

"You too, I typically go by Mads though," she replied then shook his mother's hand next. His father looked at York the same way Mads did. 'Mads, really?'.

"We've known about you for years, but we're only now meeting," Caroline said, and Mads could feel the eyes on her arm tattoos. Then on her neck.

"Nice to finally be more than just a name," Mads said, the group standing in the greeting room in uneasy silence before Caroline snapped back to being a host.

"Let me give you the tour," Caroline said, taking Mads away to show her the house while York stood alone with his father.

"Not the usual girl you bring home," Reginald said to bring some noise into the room.

"What is that supposed to mean? York asked.

"Well, the girls you bring home typically haven't looked like bikers," Reginald said, trying to be humorous but it fell flat. He cleared his throat when he realized his son was not amused. "What exactly happened with Heather?"

"Irreconcilable differences," York stated simply.

"It has nothing to do with getting your roommate pregnant?" Reginald said as a matter of fact.

"Oddly enough, no," York said, confusing his father who he walked past without saying anything more.

-

Caroline was trying her hardest to be polite without saying anything that could be interpreted as rude. Mads seemed pleasant enough as a person, even if she wasn't her son's usual type. She always considered herself a tolerant person and accepting of everyone else's lifestyle. Until her son came home with someone so remarkably not like them.

Mads admitted she was out of her element. Caroline explaining the origin of the wood and craftmanship of their coffee table; Brazilian cherry made from a single piece of wood. Retelling how they found the pottery in Poland during a vacation. The rug in the den and the other in the study were from Istanbul. Furthermore, the chairs in the living room were from the antebellum era of the American South. Caroline began to explain what 'antebellum' meant, before Mads let her know she didn't need it explained to her.

"What is your area of study?" Caroline asked.

"I'm a biologist, but specifically I am a Herpetologist with an added focus on natural toxicology," Mads explained, then waited a few seconds before she explained any of it. "Herpetologists study amphibians."

"Oh, of course," Caroline said to save herself a humbling moment. "Your arm." Mads looked at her left arm, at the tadpole swimming the stream of her arm into a frog on her shoulder. Perhaps Caroline wasn't avoiding the humbling moment after all. "Maybe you could tell me about your tattoos. Being in a legal professional has limited my options due to the expectations of a somewhat more traditional external appearance. I have a feeling I can tell much about you from them."

Caroline, as York had suggested, was slightly snobbish. Mads had to yield, Caroline was trying to meet her halfway. Mads needed to step next, having a feeling it wasn't as much of a landmine as York described.

"Absolutely, then after that, I would love to talk law."

-

York and Mads placed their bags in separate room, York taking his old room and Mads taking the spare guestroom. After she was settled, Mads knocked on York's open door to get his attention as she stepped into his room. Mads looked around and saw his wall of trophies and other achievements.

"Jesus overachieving Christ," Mads said with a laugh, walking down the wall. "Spelling bee, national honor society, science fair, track and field. What can't you do?"

"Wasn't a mathlete or in debate club," York replied. "Dad wanted me apply to Rhodes scholarship. Do Oxford and the rest."

"Why didn't you?"

"Hard to imagine, but I wanted to go to the same college as my high school girlfriend," York explained. "Dad was not happy."

"I imagine he wasn't, but why would that be hard to imagine?" Mads asked. York thought for a moment, and realized he probably framed that wrong.

"I don't know..."

"You are kind of a hopeless romantic so the idea you did it for a girl is perfectly in character for you. What was her name?" Mads asked.

"Natalie. Broke up at the beginning of college. Thought she was too young to let herself be tied down in a relationship. Needed to find herself or some shit."

"She really just wanted to get dicked," Mads said with a laugh. "It's true. Do you have any idea how many naïve freshmen I've lured?"

"I'm sure more than me."

"You're not the lure freshmen type. There isn't a dishonest bone in your body," Mads said with a smile. York was the type who got taken advantage of.

A knock came from the door, and they both turned to see Caroline in the hall to inform them dinner was ready. They both said they would be downstairs in a minute, and Caroline nodded and walked out of vision.

"I need an extra minute, but I will be right down," Mads said, York wondering why, but did not ask.

"Okay, see you down there," York said, Mads excusing herself to the guest room, closing the door behind her. York made his way to the kitchen and took a seat at the table across from his mother and next to his father who sat at the end.

"Madison?"

"She's coming down, and she prefers Mads," York said.

A few minutes went by and none of them had begun to serve food, the family typically not beginning until all were at the table. Reginald tapped his finger on the table and Caroline took a sip of water and ran her finger over the rim of the glass.

"She is interesting, I will say that," Caroline started, York chuckling a little. He was almost sure she meant that as a compliment. Mads must have even impressed her somewhat.

"That's one word for her," Reginald said, and Caroline flashed him a look, and he rolled his eyes and sipped on a glass of whiskey.

They all could hear Mads open a door and begin to descend the stairs. His father adjusted in his seat to appear more upright, and his mother took another sip and looked to the entryway for Mads to arrive.

"Oh my," Caroline said, and York turn to see Mads enter the dining room.

Mads had changed into something York had never once seen her wear; a dress. A spotless, white sleeveless skater dress, leaving the entirety of her arms exposed. While it did not show any cleavage, it did not fully hide the tattoo of the spiderweb on her breast, the edges of the black lines showing. The dress was also backless, so when she twirled once to tease York, the lunar cycle on her back was shown.

York knew exactly what she was doing, and it made him laugh a little. She found the most innocent little dress she could find to wrap her tattoos in a cute little bow. His father looked rather stunned by the display, and his mother looked surprisingly tickled.

"Yes, I own a dress," Mads said then sat down next to York.

The dinner conversation was rather quiet, aside from Mads and Caroline talking while the men were silent. York assumed his mother would be the harder one to impress, and it seems like she charmed her in no time at all. Then suddenly it made sense to him. Of course Mads could impress his mother, impressing women is what she does. Mads had just taken a few pages from her playbook and played his mother.

"So, Madison," Reginald began, Mads turning her head to him. "What does the future hold for the two of you?" That was a thinly veiled way of asking if they planned on getting married.

"We're still trying to work those details out. I know we want to plan on being as close as possible to each other, so the baby has access to both of us. I do plan on taking the next year off," Mads explained.

"I mean, romantically. In a relationship context," Reginald clarified.

"We're not together," Mads said, looking at York, then back to Reginald. "We've been intimate, obviously, but not in a relationship."

"Is this why him and Heather broke up?" Reginald asked, his wife kicking him under the table.

"No, and it would be hypocritical if that was why considering I slept with her too," Mads replies, Caroline drinking water as she said it, coughing it up but managing to not spit it out and swallow it back down.

York grabbed her arm and squeezed a little, hoping to make her stop.

"In case York hasn't told you, and with his history of poor communication that is likely, or literally everything about me didn't give it away, I am a lesbian."

York's more liberal minded parents were frozen at this revelation. Frozen, and confused.

"A lesbian? But you're..." Caroline began.

"Three months pregnant? Yes I am."

"Was it a sperm donor kind of thing?" Reginald asked, wanting this to make sense.

"He donated it pretty directly."

"Mads..." York said, squeezing her arm again.

"I will say this. I do love your son. He is my best friend, and it took me years to even realize that much. The reason this happened, is because it was him. I would have made a different choice if it was someone else."

The table was silent, York holding his breath for one of them to say something. His mother surprised him first.

"Well for what's it worth, I am glad you did," Caroline said with a real smile. "Have you two decided on names?"

York couldn't believe it. His mother just carried on like nothing happened. His father look liked he was trying to figure out a math problem. His son knocked up a lesbian. Maybe he was trying to determine if he should be impressed or not.

"If York has no objections, I want Monroe Kyle for boy, and Maxine Courtney for a girl," Mads replied, then turned to York for approval. Monroe was going to be his sister's middle name. York saw his mother give him a wink, telling him she knew that because she told her.

"That's a girl's name," York said, though his complaint was playful.

"Actually, since I decided that, I looked it up. Turns out, it has been given as a boy's name more often."

"Let me guess, when Ashley was a boy's name?" York asked.

"You are correct. Number two after Courtney that year."

"Oh come on, at least hit me above the belt."

"Well I think it would be wonderful. Reggie?" Caroline asked.

"Those names would be great," Reginald said, needed no goading from him wife.

"I'll live with it," York said, already had approve the names before he ever said anything.

-

"I don't know how, but you pulled that off," York said to Mads at the end of night. York helped unzip her out of her dress, watching her shimmy out of it without any concern of him seeing.

"Yes, you do," Mads said, pushing the dress to the floor, standing topless in only her panties. She stepped into a pair of shorts and dug in her bag for a shirt.

"I know what you did to my mom. You appeal yourself to women very well, you just removed the trying to sleep with her part."

"First I listened, then found a subtle way to let her know I have the intellectual framework to hold a real conversation with her. Then I just let her talk. She actually didn't like Heather," Mads said.

"What, no she loved her."

"Heather only talked about herself, and it bugged the shit of her. We talked about you, and I listened. I only talked about myself when asked," Mads explained, and York wasn't sure what to say, but believed her.

"My dad?"

"What does he respect?" Mads asked, settling on a shirt and putting it over her body.

"Honesty," York answered. "He's a trial lawyer, he knows when someone is giving him false testimony."

"So, I didn't lie, even by omission. I came down in that dress for two reasons. One, I wanted to see your face. Two, because a dress makes me feel naked. It hid nothing from them. I am not embarrassed by any of this. Certainly not for this," Mads said, placing her hand on her stomach.

"It's still a little crazy, right?" York asked.

"Of course it is. Just a few months ago if you told me we'd be having a baby, I'd laugh in your face and say you were overconfident."

"I still am," York said, Mads giggling a little.

"I know. I'll see you in the morning. Well, maybe not. Your mom is taking me to her book club, because they just so happen to have read a book I already did."

"Well, don't have too much fun without me," York said, wishing her a final goodnight before departing for his bedroom.

-

At roughly twenty weeks in the middle of May, Mads went to her doctor and received the baby's gender in a sealed envelope. York and Mads had debated on the presentation for a few weeks. Balloons, cake, that weird thing where two people in giant inflatable baby costumes fight and the winner is the gender. Mads was leaning on the latter, but York thought it was too ridiculous. He didn't even believe it was real until she showed him the video. They ultimately decided on the cake.

It was a joint graduation party and was held in the apartment. Mads had received her PhD in Biology and York his in Nutrition and was about to begin his residency for his MMed. It was attended by Regina, Maxwell, a few of York's colleagues from the hospital, and viewed via Skype with York's parents. The small gathering was intimate and they both felt the pressure to push forward the reason everyone wanted to be there.

"Let's find out," Mads said, as York set up Skype with his parents. When that was set, York handed her a knife to cut the cake, her refusing to do it at first but relenting. She carved out a piece and placed the knife underneath it.

"We are having a..." Mads said, picking up the piece and placing it on a plate, revealing the pink inside of the cake. "...girl."

"Maxine it is," York said, Maxwell smiling wide as the room clapped and congratulated them.

Everyone left the apartment, her father committed to making the drive home. She had to give up, but said it was not negotiable that he call her when he got home no matter how late. York said goodbye to his departing coworkers and helped Mads and Regina clean the apartment from the party and put away leftovers.

At the end of the night, they all retreated to their rooms. Regina had brought over some of her college work. Even though their semester ended, she was working classes through the summer in an optional program. Mads had done this program herself years before. Mads had other plans for the night.