39| A trip to the doctor

Not much had changed since Victor and Grace got back to New Port, she woke up without Victor, doing as she has been every morning Grace got up and went to shower before dressing in a pair of jeans and a grey jersey. This morning however Victor had come back from his morning workout while Grace was busy changing.

"Good morning amore, did you sleep well?" He asked kissing her on the cheek, she didn't know what it was but there was something different about him this morning.

"I did thank you, did you?" She asked as he walked past her into the bathroom.

"Sì" He smiled "wait for me before you go down to breakfast," he said before closing the door. Grace sat down on the bed waiting and wondering what had gotten into him. It didn't take him long to come out of the bathroom, and go into the closet, he dressed quickly and brushed his hair back before meeting her out in the bathroom.

"Before we go, I need to tell you something," Victor said taking her hand in his as she stood, Grace felt her heart rate speed up slightly. "Frank has escaped"

Grace looked at him surprised "He's not dead?" She asked

"Not yet" Victor confirmed

"How did he escape?" She asked

"I'm not sure tesoro, the surveillance has been cut" he sighed "There's going to be more people around the house, I've had one of my men in New York send in some recruits, so don't get a fright when you see some faces you don't recognize," He said kissing her hand before leading her out of the bedroom. As they got to the bottom of the stairs, Victor stopped, taking Grace's hand he twirled her around and pulled her into his arms so that her back was against his chest as he folded his arms around her chest, he buried his nose into her loose hanging brown hair, smelling her rose scent "You look absolutely gorgeous today tesoro, if I could I'd have you sit on my face all day" He said into her ear making her cheeks burn with color.

He let her go as they got into the dining room, he pulled Grace's chair out for her before one of the servers brought out coffee and juice. Grace still didn't know what was up with Victor but she knew for sure he was acting strange.

"Good morning," Debbie said sitting down next to Grace

"Good morning," Grace said softly as a plate of bacon and eggs was put in front of her.

"Grace I have a doctor's appointment after breakfast and I was hoping you could go with me," Debbie said looking at her

"Why can't Vincent go with you?" Grace asked taking a bite of her food

"Because I want you to come with me. Please, Grace?" Debbie asked tilting her head to the side.

Grace took a deep breath, things were a little fragile at the moment between her and Debbie but she could never say no. She nodded her head looking at Victor.

"Take Jacob and Malcolm with you," Victor said nodding to the two men at the other end of the table.

"Okay" Grace nodded

They continued to eat their breakfast, Grace couldn't help but blush every time she looked at Victor, each time she thought it to be appropriate to steal glances at him, his emerald eyes were already on her.

"If you're done, we should get going," Debbie said as she finished her food.

"Okay" Grace stood, Victor stood at the same time, motioning for Malcolm and Jacob to follow as he walked Grace and Debbie to the door.

"Be safe please Grace" He said with a serious look on his face

"I will" Grace nodded as Victor placed his hands on either side of her face.

His green eyes searched hers for a moment as he contemplated something behind them. "I..." He started, Grace looked at him confused as he argued with himself silently in his mind. With a sigh he placed his lips on hers kissing her with enough intensity and passion to knock the air straight out of her lungs "I will see you later tesoro" He said kissing her nose gently before walking away.

"What was that about?" Debbie asked as Malcolm held the door open for them

"Thank you," Grace said climbing into the black SUV, "I'm not sure" She looked at Debbie as Malcolm closed the door.

The doctor's office wasn't very far, it was the same doctor Debbie had when she got pregnant with Liam. Grace took a seat in the waiting area with Malcolm and Jacob while Debbie signed in before sitting next to her. They were silent for the most part, each of them occupied with their thoughts.

"Ms. Brennan?" The redheaded receptionist asked

"Yes?" Debbie stood

"The doctor will see you now" She smiled as Grace stood as well, following the receptionist down the hall "Unless one of you is the father, you'll need to wait out here," she said looking at Malcolm and Jacob who both looked at Grace for direction.

"It's okay" Grace nodded looking at the two men. Before following Debbie into one of the rooms.

"You can take a seat, Miss Brennan, the doctor will be with you shortly" the receptionist smiled before leaving the room. Debbie took a seat on the bed while Grace took the chair next to her.

"Okay, Miss Brennan?" The doctor who was a middle-aged man, who looked to be balding pretty quickly smiled walking into the room "I'm doctor Smith, what are we doing for you today?" He asked smiling at Debbie

"I took a home pregnancy test and it was positive" Debbie explained

"Well let's take a look" He smiled as she lay down on the bed. Grace watched silently as the doctor moved over Debbie's stomach with the wand.

"You are pregnant, about two months along" He smiled as he continued. "I'll print this ultrasound for you and then we can see if we can hear the heartbeat," He said standing up.

"Are you happy?" Grace asked when the doctor left

"I think so" Debbie smiled "it's not ideal and Vincent and I aren't together or anything but this is the consequence of my actions and I need to take responsibility for it"

"You don't have to keep it Debs," Grace said taking her sister's hand

"I know" She nodded "Vincent seems excited, he already started thinking of names" She smiled to herself.

Grace nodded giving her sister a small smile as the door opened "When could we find out the gen..." Grace stopped looking up. She was expecting to see doctor Smith and she did except, Frank was behind him with a gun at his head, and fear on doctor Smith's face was evident. Debbie stood instantly as Grace instinctively shielded her.

"This is how it's going to work" Frank spoke quickly as Debbie's grip on Grace's hand tightened, both girls feeling terrified listening to Frank. He looked like shit, his body was pale and his face bruised, his brown eyes unhinged. "Grace is going to come with me" He looked at her "and you are going to tell Victor to meet us at the harbor, warehouse one. At exactly seven pm." He looked at Debbie "He comes alone or Grace dies"

"Okay," Grace said nodding "I'll go with you, just don't hurt anyone."

"Grace" Debbie started

"It's okay, tell Victor," She said hugging Debbie quickly, her heart had sped up tenfold but she needed to make sure Debbie was safe.

"Is there a back exit?" Frank asked doctor Smith

"Down the hall to the left" He nodded

"Come" Frank said to Grace, she willed her feet to move forward before Frank grabbed her arm, letting go of the doctor his gun was pressed into her back as he walked with her.

Fear, was the only thing Grace felt, she knew Victor would come for her but having a gun pressed into your side didn't leave much room for optimism.