Third person's POV
Since Derek took Tabitha and John back in a hurry from the island, he hadn't paid much attention to Klein.
According to Alvin, Klein had already returned to Canada and showed no intention to come back to Seattle to steal Tabitha away from Derek.
That was to say, to Klein, Tabitha was just a temporary fling or a plaything—no feelings involved whatsoever.
At the realization, Derek was both angry and upset.
Tabitha was the love of his life, yet apparently, she didn't receive the treatment she deserved from the father of her baby.
Derek was confused about how to deal with Tabitha. These days, even though he tried to convince himself to accept the baby, he just couldn't.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't bring himself to treat the illegitimate child as his own.
Since Tabitha had already been pregnant for about twenty days, she could use an abortion very soon.
But she wasn't in good health, looking way too frail. If she were to have an abortion, she had to have more nutritious food.
With that thought, Derek had someone deliver another batch of health-boosting ingredients.
After finishing the meal, John was hesitant, like he wanted to say something but didn't know how. Finally, Tabitha looked at him and said, "Dad, just spill it. What's on your mind?"
After a lot of back and forth, John finally spoke up, "Tabitha, are you still mad at Derek over your wrist? Since I came around, I've noticed that something was off between you two. He's been trying so hard to please you, but you won't even look at him. These past few days, he hasn't been coming home for meals. It's like he's avoiding you."
"Dad, there's indeed something going on between him and me," Tabitha admitted. "He's keeping away 'cause he knows I'm pissed."
"Tabitha, how come? You used to love him so much, didn't you? Nobody's perfect; we all mess up. As long as you own it and try to fix it, what's the big deal?"
Tabitha couldn't tell John the whole story yet. Also because of the discomfort and irritability brought about by her pregnancy, she didn't want to explain too much.
"Dad, it's nothing major. Seriously, don't worry."
"But..."
"Dad, I'm very tired. I wanna rest now," she cut him off, clearly drained.
John picked up on her off mood. She was getting cranky way too easily lately.
When Derek came for a visit, John told him about his finding. Derek patiently reassured him, "John, you don't need to worry about us. Tabitha's just in a bad mood and doesn't want to see me. That's why I'm avoiding seeing her. We'll talk when she calms down."
"Sorry you're dealing with this."
"John, I'm fine, you're over-exaggerating. Here, let me help you walk a bit," Derek said, lending him a hand.
John was able to shuffle along with some support, still slow, but better than Derek expected.
That eased Derek's mind too. The better John recovered, the less guilt Derek felt.
Derek only left after he calmed John down. He then snuck into Tabitha's room.
For the past few nights, he'd come in while she was sleeping, as he didn't know how to face her.
Whenever he saw her, he would think of the fact of her being pregnant with someone else's baby.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Tabitha, noticing his presence, immediately sat up, pulling the covers tight around her belly, instinctively protecting her bump.
"Just wanted to check on you."
"No need for that. I'm doing just fine," she snapped, gripping the blanket tightly. "You're not going crazy again, are you?"
The scene of Derek covered in blood that night was still vivid in her mind. She vomited uncontrollably then, and even now, the thought of the smell of blood made her nauseous.
"Tabitha, don't be afraid."
She replied, looking serious, "Derek, why don't you undergo treatment with Elena? You've got issues too, for real."