Jess hid out in the basement for nearly a week before Gabriel came looking for her. He was concerned about her long absence from the general day to day life of the house, and he wanted to find out if she was ok.
She reassured him that she was just 'doing the fox thing' which had become their code word for the times she withdrew into her own company for a bit of personal space. She'd done it before, and it was kind of what Gabriel been expecting to hear, so he took her at face value.
All the same he made it clear that if she needed anyone beaten up she just had to say the word.
"That obvious huh?" Jess asked.
"Pretty obvious. He's been acting like someone shot his puppy all week, and Marcus and Sabeen are pretty pissed with him for something - I'm guessing it's the same something that got in your antisocial fox mode." Gabriel said, hoping for a little more information.
"I'll bet."
"Not in the mood to share then?" He asked.
"Nope. I think I'll sit on it and brood a bit longer." Jess said with a wiry grin.
"Suit yourself. I'm in the mood to share though. Or at least get your opinion on something... I'm thinking about asking Max to marry me." Gabriel said, watching her face carefully.
Jess thought about it for a moment before grinning, and giving him a gentle punch in the arm. "Why are you telling me this? You should be telling her! You know we all love her to pieces, and it's pretty clear she's destined to be your mate."
Gabriel snorted. "It's clear to everyone but Max that we're destined to be together. And I'm asking because I didn't want to misread the situation... Who better to ask than you right?"
Gabriel and Jess had been working together ever since he had launched Hunter Enterprises five years ago. She had been young, stupid, and living with a mixed pack of shifters involved in gun running and stealing cars.
Gabriel had been in the country only two weeks before he'd caught onto them and decided to set down the law. Being an alpha male, and older than all the shifters in Jess's old pack it hadn't taken much bloodshed to convince the ring leaders to shut up shop and move the business elsewhere.
Jess had taken one look at Gabriel and decided she was done being dictated to by a group of street kids no better than a human gang. She shadowed Gabriel for a week before he gave in to the inevitable and gave her a job. He hadn't regretted it once.
She was a loyal friend, and didn't pull her punches when it came to the important stuff, so he tried to do the same for her whenever he got the chance.
"Listen.. Jess. I know it's not really on the table for discussion, but I just wanted to say that Finns a good guy. I don't know what's going on between you two right now, but you were pretty good friends once upon a time, and you go well together. He's a complete clown, and he brings you out of your shell a lot..."
Jess stared at him for a beat. "I know he's a good guy."
"Good. I just wanted to get my two cents in. Than being said, just remember, we were friends first, so I'm totally on your side if you want me to hit him."
"Gottcha. Thanks for the offer, but like I said, I think I'll just brood a bit longer." Jess said with a sigh.
Once Gabriel was gone Jess curled up on her couch. Max and Gabriel would be married and popping out babies soon too, which was nice for them. Gabriel would be a good Dad, and Max would be a kickass Mum. They'd be the parents that all the other kids wished they could belong to.
Jess had known a few parents like that. She had been in the state foster care system for all of her childhood, so she'd taken a lot of interest in other kids families. Not that being a foster kid was too bad. She'd only been re-homed a few times, and none of the foster parents were too bad, she'd just been acutely aware that they weren't hers.
When she had become old enough to shift for the first time she was lucky enough to be with a few other young shifters. They'd introduced Jess to the pack, and as soon as she was old enough she left her foster home and become a full member, learning how to live on the street, handle weapons, and tear apart cars. It wasn't an ideal childhood, but she'd done all right for herself.
Now that she was faced with the possibility of having to raise a child though? She felt in no way capable. Jess didn't have the first clue about how to be a mother to a baby, and she wasn't really interested in learning.
Wrapping her arms around her waist she took a deep breath, trying to still the panic growing in side of her. She had waited long enough, it was time to go find out whether or not she was pregnant.
***
On her way out of the house Jess hadn't seen anyone, so shrugging she decided not to bother with going to find someone to report her activities to. She took an overnight bag and one of the cars into town, stopping at a chemist for a pregnancy test, and a couple of bottles of hair dye.
She rented a nice hotel room in the city, and spent the first night out having a nice meal and then took herself dancing in one of her favourite clubs. She was approached a couple of times by men, but declined their drinks and propositions. She was just out to have a good time on her own.
The next morning she gave herself a quick hair cut and then dyed her hair black and blue. the colours suited her and she gave herself a grin in the mirror as she inspected the handy work - it felt like the first real smile she'd had in days.
After lunch she sat down and considered the pregnancy test. It took her two hours to decide she wasn't ready yet. She needed a little more time to just be herself, so instead she went window shopping at a knife and sword shop, and took herself to a couple of movies she'd been wanting to see.
Finally on the third day she did the pregnancy test. It looked simple - pee on the stick, wait three to five minutes, count the number of lines.
Jess nearly drove herself crazy in those three to five minutes. She chewed all the nails on one hand, and paced the bathroom trying not to hyperventilate. The timer dinged, and she pounced on the stick - only to stare unbelievingly at the empty window.
If one line meant no baby, and two lines meant a baby, what did no lines mean? Puppies? Two babies? Was shifter biology too different to humans to use one of these sticks? She didn't think so.
With a shriek of frustration she swept the stick and packaging into the trash. It was time to bring in a professional. She grabbed her purse and headed to a Shifter friendly medical centre that she used to frequent back when she was younger.
It had only taken the doctor ten minutes to pronounce Jess baby free. She did her best not to cry and faint in gratitude. Instead she got herself a prescription for the pill and filled it at the pharmacy. Outside the clinic she sat heavily on a bench and tried out her smile again - it was back to feeling fake so instead she scowled.
She shouldn't have had to come into town and take a pregnancy test. She shouldn't have had unprotected sex in the first place. She knew better than that, and Finn should have known better too.
He also should have known better than to not want her. She was a good catch - even if he didn't think so. She might not be able to stop her stupid feelings for him, but she could do herself a favor and stop hoping.
Finn had brought her nothing but trouble, and Jess was finally ready to give up hoping.
***
Back at the mansion it had taken Gabriel a day to realise that Jess wasn't anywhere to be found. Finn had known the minute he walked back into the house, the day before, that she was gone. He assumed that she'd gone to run errands or something for Gabriel.
