"Hey, angel." Shane's voice is quiet. I'm sat on the couch, Betty on my lap. The TV is blaring, but I don't have any interest in whatever's playing. "How're you feeling?"

We had rushed to the clinic in the night, where Harvey had confirmed the baby didn't have a heartbeat and had died. I haven't slept since, and have just sat frozen on the couch all day.

"Fine." I mumble in response. Shane takes a seat next to me.

"You sure? I'm here for you. I hope you know that."

I nod, looking down at Betty and scratching her behind the ears. Shane places a gentle hand on my arm and rubs it. Then, I mumble. "Can you leave me alone?"

Shane doesn't say anything for a moment. "Alright. If that's what you want. Just give me a call if you need anything, alright, babe?"

I don't reply to him. I notice him hesitate out of the corner of my eye, but he leaves.

I try to sleep that night, but it's difficult knowing what happened the previous night. Shane looks at me worriedly.

"Angel, please, you've barely spoken to me all day. Do you want me to hold you for a while? Talk about it?"

I shake my head. "I just wanna sleep." I reply. My voice is a lot smaller than I expect it to be.

"Alright, honey. If you need more time to process, I'll let you have it. But please don't push it down, okay?"

I nod, rolling over. My stomach is still cramping, and I feel drained, so I naturally just want to sleep. Shane turns the lamp off.

But I can't sleep.

I sigh softly, turning over. My body is begging for rest, but I just can't stop the thoughts in my mind. I settle further under the covers, but no matter how well I'm snuggled, I can't sleep.

So, I roll over and wrap my arms around Shane. Almost immediately he pulls me towards him and kisses my forehead. "Hi, angel." he murmurs.

I break down into tears in his arms. He rubs my back gently. I don't look at his face, but I feel his chest jerking slightly and can assume he's crying too.

We hold onto each other for a while, until I feel his breathing return to normal and I feel confident enough to lift my head up. I sniffle and look at him, and his hand goes to wipe my face.

"I-I'm sorry, babe..." he mumbles, pulling me closer. "It's my fault this happened."

"How is it your fault?"

"They say alcohol addiction can reduce fertility, so it's probably me..."

I shake my head. "You know what reduces fertility more? Anorexia."

Shane sniffles and kisses my forehead gently. "No, angel. Don't blame yourself."

"Well-well, I don't want you doing that either." I murmur to him. He looks pained for a moment before nodding.

"Alright. It's nobody's fault. Sometimes these things just happen." I nod, wrapping my arms around him again as I bury my head in his shoulder. He kisses my cheek gently. "We can always try again."

"I don't wanna try again. I wanted this baby."

Shane is quiet for a second. "I know, honey. Sorry." his grip on me tightens. "We don't even have to think about that right now, okay?"

"I love you." I mumble.

"I love you too." He replies softly. "Lie down, angel. Try and get some rest."

***

"We can get another cat if you'd like." Shane says. A few weeks have passed, and we're sat in comfortable silence. While the pain is still freshly sitting in my mind, it's getting easier to return to daily life, and his statement catches me off guard.

"What?"

"If you want to, of course." he adds.

"Well... I don't know." I reply. "I'm happy with Betty. She's all a woman could need."

Shane gives a soft smile. "You sure?"

"Yeah, plus, Betty and other cats don't mix very well. She's a lone kitty. She only accepts my presence. And Cali, for some reason."

"How is Cali?"

I shrug. "No idea."

"You don't speak to her?"

"Well... no." I reply.

"I thought you were really close." Shane shrugs.

"We are."

"But... never mind." he chuckles to himself. "I don't know. I just thought I'd speak your language with the cat thing. If you're not ready to try again yet, I thought maybe we could get another little friend for the house. Especially one that would maybe like me."

I smile slightly. "Nope, Betty is all I need."

Shane pauses. "Madeleine, what are you gonna do when Betty d-"

"Do not say the words 'Betty' and 'die' in the same sentence or I'll break up with you here and now."

Shane blinks before chuckling awkwardly. "Oh, is this another one of your jokes? ...no? Okay, sorry."

I pick Betty up and kiss her head. "Betty promised me she would never die, so..."

"Right, of course. Sorry." Shane says. "Out of interest... who do you love more, me or Betty?"

I hesitate. "Well... I've known Betty longer."

Shane raises an eyebrow. "Uh huh, uh huh. So you love her more."

"Well, Betty just gets me."

"To be fair, for a woman and a cat, you're extremely similar."

I smile, putting Betty on the ground. She patters off somewhere, and I wrap my arms around him. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." He kisses my nose gently. "Babe, how are you feeling?"

"Alright."

"You sure? Look, we can get you referred to a councillor if you're struggling..."

I shake my head and hug him again. "I'll be okay."

He pauses, before rubbing my back. "Alright, angel."