Ben stared at himself in the mirror over his sink in the bathroom. For the first time in sixteen years he’d grown a beard and he needed a haircut. Running his hands through the scruff on his face, he decided that it was time to put this heartbreak away and do something about just how much he missed Mary.

He went downstairs to his living room and saw the mess he still hadn’t cleaned up. His frustration had grown and he and Mary were spending most of their time online together. His home had suffered and the landlord would have a fit if they saw the mess. Picking up a cup, he set it right back down and swore. Nope, he just didn’t care. He’d hire a maid or something.

Soon after Mary left he’d realized his passport was due to be renewed. He sent it in early thinking that would hurry the process up. It had become lost in the mail. The papers he’d filled out for a new one had also become lost. Three times. He’d considered going back to England for a moment but realized he couldn’t leave without a passport. Would immigration officers in Britain even let him back in? He’d heard horror stories from mates going back and forth. He’d finally made a call to his lawyer.

Yesterday his new passport hard arrived. The papers he needed to bring Mary over were also in the post. Now he could bring the woman he loved over. She’d been acting odd lately though. She hadn’t turned her camera on in months without a blanket over her or with the angle solely on her face. She’d seemed distant too, as though she weren’t well and she was preoccupied. She insisted she was fine but he knew something was on her mind and that someone who stayed that cold must be quite ill. He knew ill, he knew what being cold all the time meant. He’d gone through it all with his wife.

Surely Mary would tell him something serious like that, though? She wouldn’t just wither away. She wouldn’t do that to him, he just knew it.

He had the papers they’d been waiting on now. It was hardly shocking that it had taken this long. Bureaucracy at its finest, he muttered to himself, scratching at his beard. Time to make a decision, he couldn’t wait any longer, something was wrong with Mary, and she wasn’t telling him so he had to go to her obviously!

Going back to his computer he closed the article he’d been working on and opened the page of flights he stalked every day. He’d talked himself out of buying a ticket since the moment she’d left and he’d finally lost the battle. He could only go to the states for three months before he’d have to leave but it would be worth it. He could wait, apply for a visa and spend thousands for the privilege, but he decided to forego it for now. He just couldn’t stay in Portugal a moment longer. Pulling out his debit card, he started typing.

* * *

Mary went through the first trimester of her pregnancy hacking her guts up in between checking her email and pretending she hadn’t spent the morning over the toilet when Ben wanted to hold a video call. They’d spent the last few months fighting for paperwork, waiting, twiddling their thumbs, and Mary tried to creatively hide her growing breasts and stomach. She didn’t gain much weight but her breasts and stomach swelled until she thought she was going to pop.

Now, she had two weeks left, according to the Ob/Gyn Doc Baker sent her to. The doctor was on standby, just in case, and Mary’s parents wouldn’t leave her on her own. Everything was ready in her room for the baby, she had clothes, diapers, toys, everything the baby would need. Now she just needed Ben. She was going to tell him two days ago, his papers were due, but nothing came from Ben.

They’d paced, they’d waited, they’d cried during their separation, but now it was almost over. But where had Ben disappeared to? It worried her, had her mother said something? Her mother denied any involvement but still there was no Ben! An ache low in her groin made her wince and stop as she waddled into the kitchen, starting breakfast for her parents. These Braxton-Hicks contractions were a pain in the butt.

Mary waited for the false contraction to pass then went back to pondering. Maybe he’d finally grown tired of waiting and had decided to pan it all. It was easy to swear loyalty and undying love over the internet. Maybe Ben wasn’t cut out for long distance relationships.

She hadn’t told him about the baby yet because she wanted him to make a decision for her, not out of some old ideas about chivalry and providing. She was going to definitely tell him but only after they’d decided what they were going to do. And after the papers arrived. Not before, not when he couldn’t even come over to see her if he didn’t run away as fast as he could. She had faith in Ben, she knew he’d take care of his child even if they weren’t together, but she didn’t want him pacing when he couldn’t get to her and she didn’t want him to come solely because of the baby. Now he’d just disappeared. Maybe his internet was out? Or another power cut? Maybe he really had grown sick of it all. International romances weren’t easy.

Mary winced as another pain hit her, bending over with how bad the pinching sensation felt. What the hell? The doctor had warned her about the pains but she hadn’t warned Mary that they could hurt this bad. Smoothing her hand low over her belly, she decided her parents were having frozen waffles and microwaved sausage for breakfast.

Throwing the frozen meat into the microwave, Mary tossed some waffles into the toaster and leaned over the counter to wait on the pain to pass. Thoughts of Ben plagued her and even through her pain she knew she wanted some kind of response from him about their life because it was best to find out now, not later when the baby had graduated from college or something along those lines. Holding back her tears, Mary pulled her hair from her eyes and went to answer the knock on the door, trying not to growl about people coming so early. Who the heck was coming to their house so early? It wasn’t even seven o’clock yet!

“This had better be… Ben?”

A man with a long beard, wild hair, and a light coat was standing on the porch, his long sleeved shirt not enough to protect him from the cold air or snow. The hair, the beard, the unsuitable clothes did not scream Ben at her. Ben was too organized for that, but those eyes. Those were Ben’s eyes. “Ben?”

“Mary? What’s, oh my God, what is wrong with you? Why is there water… Mary, get in the house!” Ben was just as shocked. She could see it on his face.

Looking down at her wet feet, Mary looked at Ben in confusion. What was going on here?

“Mary, who’s at the door? Shut the door, it’s cold! Ben, is that you?” Lillian’s voice came from around the corner of the living room and she was soon sliding as she stepped in the puddle at Mary’s feet. Ben caught her before she went too far.

“Mary?” Lillian turned and looked at her daughter. She saw the puddle, the wet front of her daughter’s nightgown, and knew what had happened. “Walter! Get up! It’s time!”

Lillian guided her daughter to the couch in the living room, told Ben to sit down before he fell down, and pulled Mary’s legs apart to have a peek.

“Mary, why didn’t you tell us you were in labor, honey?”

“I thought it was that false labor, I didn’t know, did I? How was I to know? This is my first baby.” Mary’s face flamed as her mother peeked at her privates once more before throwing a blanket over her.

“Walter, are you on that phone?” Lillian wandered into the bedroom and Mary could hear him on the phone.

Ben moved over to the couch and stared at Mary. This was obviously not the reception he’d expected. “A baby? Mary?”

He sat down beside her, taking her hand. He pulled the blanket up and his eyes went round. Yep, that round belly was a good indication of what was happening down… there. “Mary, I think there’s a baby’s head down here.”

“No! It’s too early! She still has two weeks of baking!” Mary slipped into the phraseology she and her parents had been using for her pregnancy. It had also saved them a few times when someone near the phone or computer mentioned Mary and her baby.

“Baking? Is that why you’ve been baking so much? You’ve been “baking” our baby?” He looked down once more and knew there wasn’t going to be time to get her to a hospital. He didn’t think babies stopped once they got that far out.

“Ben? You’re here for the important part. The rest can wait. Your daughter is coming whether we’re ready for her or not.” Mary shifted on the couch, moving a rug under her feet and reaching between her legs. “Can you sit behind me Ben? I’ve researched how this is done, just in case we got stuck in here by the snow. Oh my fucking god that hurts so bad!”

Mary shrieked as the next contraction started and Ben jumped behind her, holding her and stroking her arms. He didn’t know what else to do so he muttered to her about his love, about needing her in his life, about missing her and why he’d come. And as his daughter slid into the world, he stopped talking and just watched.

Lillian shouted for Walter and a pair of scissors and some cord.

“We have to wait Mom, until the cord turns white.”

Mary was exhausted but pleased. “Well, she was determined.”

“Let’s get her cleaned up and warm, Mary, the ambulance is on the way.”

Mary didn’t care who was coming or why. Her daughter was here and so was Ben. “She looks just like you, Ben.”

“She does, it’s incredible. She’s just a little miniature me.” Ben sounded dazed but ecstatic. “My daughter. You’re sure?”

Mary looked at him but knew she’d only just left a relationship when she’d met him. “Yes, I was making my ex-fiancé wait. He didn’t get the pleasure but you sure did. And look what we have for our efforts.”

Lillian came back with the baby, her blond hair fuzzy on her head, wrapped in a blanket. “You have a beautiful little girl. Alisha, isn’t it?”

Albert the dog came out when all the noise quieted down. He might get fed now. The humans were cooing around a little bundle of puppy-human and more people came in, demanding to see the new mother. Albert knew he wasn’t getting fresh food in his bowl and went back to his warm bed in Mary’s bedroom. He’d find Walter later, when it was quieter outside.

As the new family was carted to the hospital to register the birth and check over mother and baby, Lillian smiled. She’d just had a letter from the Vogelsangs. They’d invited her and Walter to their villa for three months. Walter didn’t know it, but he had a passport now and no excuses. They’d all be in Portugal in three months if she had any say-so. Maybe not permanently, but they were going to be there for Mary, Ben and Alisha to get settled in. Life had suddenly become much brighter.