Callie Shaw looked down at the object in her hands again, not believing what she saw. Trembling, she put it down, raised both hands to her face, and slowly rubbed her temples, forcing herself to take slow, deep breaths. Okay, she whispered out loud. It’s going to be okay. She repeated this several times, trying to convince herself of her own words. God, she felt so scared and helpless, but not altogether shocked or angry. She had to accept it, though, before Frank could. It was the only way.

And she cared, and loved him deeply, despite his odd behavior as of late. Ever since… well, ever since the incident, the terrible choice and Joe’s horrible injuries, he had been acting distant. Frank, normally so very loving and affectionate, seemed to be pulling away from her. She honestly had no idea why. After all, it had taken her some time, but she had finally forgiven him; understood why he had chosen Joe. And, although it still hurt somewhere deep down, she loved Frank, and needed him. That’s why it was so confusing to her why his smiles had been less frequent; his touch more rare; his whole aura, somehow, faded.

And it wasn’t just with her, either. Callie noticed right away that he seemed to be acting strangely to a lot of people, as though he couldn’t…. trust them? Was that it? How strange, she found herself pondering again. Over the past several weeks, she had spent a lot of time with Joe, still fighting her guilt over her part in his injuries, although he vehemently denied that she had anything to do with it. Despite that, she wanted to help him to heal, to be with him through this most difficult time, and to thank him so much for all the sacrifices he had made on her behalf. Yet, whenever she found herself alone with Joe and Frank saw them, he seemed uncomfortable. Joe had confided to her that Frank seemed a bit off to him as well. Maybe it’s the stress, she thought at last. What incredible highs and incredible lows these past weeks have held for us- for all of us.

Shaking off her feelings of uncertainty, she struggled to remain composed, waiting for Frank to get home to the apartment they had rented together in anticipation of school starting again. She prayed for God’s help in getting them through this, and for Frank’s support in what she had to tell him. Without it, she’d be lost…

Frank took a deep breath before entering the apartment. He looked at his watch; it was almost midnight, far later than Callie would have expected him to be back. He had needed some time to think, to really ponder everything that he knew, or that he thought he knew. He felt guilty about not calling her; he had never done that before. Knowing Callie as he did, he knew she would have waited up for him, worried that something might have happened. He wished he didn’t care, but he did- very much. Quietly, he turned the key.

It was just as Frank had expected. The lights were still on, and Callie was curled on their little couch, asleep. She had the phone clutched to her chest. He could just imagine how many people she must have called, waiting for him to come back. When he walked slowly over to her and sat on the adjacent chair, he noticed the slightest traces of tears still on her cheeks, and he felt his own eyes fill with tears, which he quickly blinked back. He hated, more than anything, to see her in pain. Perhaps the worst feeling in the world, he realized at that moment, was knowing that he was the cause of it, and it was so easily preventable.

Looking at her, he felt his heart torn in two. The most dominant emotion was that of love for her. She was so beautiful. When he thought he had lost her, it had quite possibly been the scariest time in his life. Watching her sleep now, he felt a thousand positive emotions run through him, all filtered with shame for his most recent actions towards her. What was he thinking, being so distant?

Callie had been everything to him for so many years; she was his past, and she was his future. He could see her laughing and dancing, and could envision the sincerity and trust in her eyes. He thought of all the times she had stood by him when he felt alone, or when she had cheered him up on bad days. With the exception of his brother, he was the closest to her in the world. She was his best friend, his soul mate, the epitome of what people always dreamed about in a relationship, but so rarely found. She was graceful, but silly, generous to a fault, and unconditionally supportive of him. She had never given him any reason to doubt her. As the light reflected off her golden hair, he was almost overwhelmed by an urge to hold her, to make the ache in his heart go away. Almost.

But then the doubts came rushing back at him again; the doubts that he hated himself for even having- but they were real, and they wouldn’t go away. He closed his eyes, fighting back the uneasiness in his stomach, and willing himself not to cry. His heart told him to trust Callie; to trust Joe. But logic kept pointing to the evidence, albeit circumstantial, that proved the contrary.

There was the video that he hadn’t wanted to see, but had seen. Despite Callie’s declaration of how that video had come into being before he saw it, he couldn’t shake the horrific images, and couldn’t bring himself to tell her what he’d seen. God, it had been so awful. He had gotten physically ill several times as the images emanated from the screen, forcing him to keep coming back to them. He never would have watched it, either, had he not overheard the conversation between his brother and Callie- something about forcing their bodies together, and passionate kissing. Even now, it was too horrifying to fathom. If they would lie about that, why wouldn’t they lie about anything else?

There’s no reason for him to know, he had heard Joe say. We can keep this a secret; we have to, Cal. And then he had seen Joe take his Callie into his arms. He hadn’t bothered to see what else went on, his heart pounding in his chest. And, over the course of the next several weeks, he saw them together all the time. They were smiling, or teasing each other, and he remembered them holding hands, and exchanging hugs as they spent more and more time together. If it was just that… or just the video… or just the secret conversation… maybe he could have overlooked it. But all together, he couldn’t.

This was the worst betrayal he’d ever felt, and what made it so unbearable was that his logic was struggling with his deep love for Callie and Joe; his instinct that they would never hurt him like this. Maybe that’s because if I admit it’s true, I can’t go on, he thought to himself. Thus, he found himself at times holding on to Callie more tightly than ever, and at other times, pushing her away. He was doing the same with Joe, grateful beyond belief that Joe was alive and would be okay; devastated beyond his worst nightmares that Joe could do this to him. He saw their confused stares, and he had no response to them. But WOULD they do it to him? Frank rubbed his eyes. He needed resolution, not able to go on like this much longer. Yet… there seemed no end to this in sight.

"Hey," he heard a soft voice say, and he opened his eyes to see Callie standing next to him by the chair. He saw the tremendous relief in her eyes that he was okay, and the deep worry that he had been gone. What he didn’t see, though, was anger. Is that how much she trusts me… that she’s not even angry I didn’t call? Frank hesitantly met her eyes, and forced a small smile.

"I was so worried about you," she went on, sitting on the arm of the chair. She reached over and gently pushed back his hair from his forehead. That was all she said.

"Aren’t you going to ask where I’ve been?" Frank asked, still amazed that she wasn’t angry.

"No," she said with concern. "I’m just so happy you’re alright."

Frank forced back the lump forming in his throat, again torn between love and betrayal. For a brief instant, though, he allowed himself to feel again. It was almost too much. Numbness had become has constant companion.

He reached up and pulled Callie onto his lap. He pulled her into his arms and held her close. Despite her façade of confidence, he could feel her trembling, probably consumed with worry. He wanted, so badly, to believe in her. "I’m sorry, baby. I should have called," he said, resting his head on top of hers. He wished he could hold her forever, and forget everything, lost in the moment. He hated himself for feeling; and he hated himself for not feeling.

"It’s okay," she whispered back, glad to be in his arms again.

Frank just squeezed her tighter.

Slowly, hesitantly, Callie pulled away from him. She kneeled down on the floor in front of the couch, and held his hands. She rested her head on his knee for a moment before looking up and meeting his eyes. She had never dreamed of telling him … this way… but she saw no other choice. Finally, he had opened up to her, even for a moment, and she had to seize the opportunity.

"Frank," she said shakily, "Honey, there’s something I have to tell you."

Frank instantly froze, and felt his heart stop momentarily. When the beating resumed, it was hard, unfriendly. Oh God, no. Please don’t let her tell me, he begged silently. At the same time, he had to know. He nodded, slowly.

Callie bit her lip, praying that Frank would be … understanding and supportive. "Oh, Frank," she managed. "I… I’m not sure how to say this."

"Just say it," Frank responded, barely able to breathe.

"I… I’m pregnant."

Frank just stared at her, listening to her words but not fully hearing them, stunned. He looked at her eyes, full of hope, longing… fear.

"W... what? W… when?" He managed to stutter.

Callie took a shaky breath. "I was trying to figure that out. It must have been Cape May, when we got engaged. That whole week… well, we weren’t as careful as we should have been. I guess we got caught up in the moment."

Frank released Callie’s hand and rubbed his temple, trying to make sense of it all. She was right- they hadn’t been careful.

"B… but... I mean, we were going to start a family anyway. This… it just happened a lot sooner than we anticipated. I think we can make it. I know we can." Callie finished her words, tears in her eyes.

For a moment, Frank looked at her, and felt a need to reassure her. "Okay," he said at last, touching her cheek.

Callie felt relief wash over her. If it wasn’t exactly enthusiastic, it wasn’t flat out denial or anger, either. She longed for him to hold her, or tell her that he loved her, words she missed hearing so much. "I… I guess I’ll give you a few minutes to process everything," she began. "I’ll meet you in the bedroom. I’m so tired." She met his eyes. "I love you, Frank," she finished.

She watched him nod, and ignored the resounding silence that hung in the air. She walked away, leaving him for a few moments, hoping against hope that those few minutes would bring him back to reality.

As soon as she left, it hit him like ton of bricks. He walked outside, and, by the light of the waning moon, broke down in tears. Cape May- which meant that this child, this promise of the future... might not be his. The thought sickened him, crushed him, and overwhelmed him.

Callie. Joe. I’m Pregnant. The video. The secrets. The affection. Highs. Lows. Nash. Jenkins. Love. Betrayal. His whole world crashed down on him.

What was he going to do?! He watched through blurred eyes, as the stars seemed to fade with his hopes and dreams.

Hello all!

As the conclusion of this story is upon us, we would like to take this time to thank everyone for their kind comments as the story progressed. Although we have chosen to remain anonymous for the time being, we are diligently reading all of your responses every day on each chapter that is posted. It is these comments that inspire us to keep going and to keep us motivated. Your continued support and encouragement are deeply appreciated.

Working together in a partnership has been an amazing experience for us. When we were tossing around ideas for a story, we were concerned that perhaps this one was too long, or that the subject matter might prevent people from reading it. However, you proved us wrong, and we are excited to now be working on not only the sequel to "Choices", but other stories as well. Some will take place in this age range while the boys are in college, and other times, stories may be completely independent from this time frame. We'll continue writing together as long as you continue to enjoy our efforts. Again, we sincerely thank you for all of the great comments, and we hope you enjoy our future collaborations!

"The Sisterhood"