Sloan looked down at the contents of the sink in front of her, the little pink plus signs jumping out against the white porcelain bowl. F-ck, she thought to herself. She'd drank a quart of water in the last 30 minutes, taking pregnancy tests as fast as she could, hoping that each one would have a different answer.

At Duane Reade on the way home Sloan had thought about only buying one test, but had decided to splurge for the 4-pack. I can always use one for my next pregnancy scare, she'd thought. Clearly, this was not a scare. She scooped up the four sticks as she exited the bathroom, throwing them into the top drawer of her nightstand as she crawled into bed, fully clothed.

Sloan buried her face in a pillow, breathing in Don's musky scent. Sloan and Don had gotten married a year ago, but Sloan was still getting used to the constant reminders of their life together. Don's coats hanging in the entryway, his toothbrush next to hers in the master bathroom, his books strewn around the apartment, and his smell had seeped into every surface of the apartment. Everything seemed to have a little bit of Don in it. Sloan touched her wedding ring, yet another reminder of Don, and reached for the TV remote, flipping on ACN. Elliot appeared on the screen, meaning Don was nowhere near on his way home. Elliot was discussing a Supreme Court decision with a pretty DC political analyst. Sloan could see Elliot's earpiece and thought of Don on the other side of it, giving Elliot directions from the control room. Don… Sloan's stomach turned as she thought about telling him, she could barely even say the words in her head, I'm pregnant. She knew that Don would be overjoyed, he would be stunned, this wasn't exactly planned, but his shock would quickly turn into immense joy. Sloan on the other hand was terrified. The thought of another human being, one that she and Don had created, inside her at that very moment, a thing that would be a baby in 8 or so months, it all terrified her. Being a wife was a big enough change, but a mother, Sloan Sabbith as a mother?

Sloan picked up the remote switched the channel until Elliot was replaced by a cooking show. Onions were sautéing in a pan and the contestants seemed to be up against a clock. Sloan mindlessly watched the TV, her mind drifting off to Don and their life together. Should she tell him tonight or wait until the morning? He would be excited and would want to spend the rest of the night like giddy teenagers, calling their families with the good news. Sloan wasn't ready for that, the excitement or the parents. Her brain was still dealing with the fact that she was going to be a parent; that another human being was going to be completely dependent on her. Sloan rid herself of her work clothes, trading in a navy blue skirt and grey top for an old one of Don's Columbia t-shirts, and settling back into bed. She must have fallen asleep, because next she knew an arm was wrapping around her waist and warm kisses were pressing into her neck.

"Hey," she whispered, her throat a bit groggy from having dozed off.

"Hey yourself," said Don, pressing a kiss into Sloan's collarbone, his hot breath on her shoulder.

"I watched Elliot tonight, he was good," she was lying a bit, but she knew her approval meant a lot to Don.

"Yeah, I think the vacation did him some good," pressing another kiss into Sloan's shoulder, "We should take a vacation, you in a bikini for a week would definitely put me in a better mood."

Sloan flipped around so she was almost nose-to-nose with Don, gliding a lazy hand down his cheek until it stopped to rest on his chest. She looked into his grey eyes, they had had a fight over what color his eyes were and she had decided that they changed color with whatever he wore, he had remained firm that they were brown. Would the baby have his eyes? Will it have his curly hair? His love of baseball and Root Beer? She couldn't take being alone with this information.

"Don…"

"Yeah," he kissed her head as she rested it on his chest, feeling it rise and fall with each breath. "What is it babe?" he asked as he tucked hair behind Sloan's ear.

"I'm pregnant," she said flatly into his chest, she could feel him stiffen.

"What?" he said pulling back.

"Please don't make me say it again…"

"Sloan, I think you just said you're pregnant, you can't just drop a bomb like that and leave it hanging."

Sloan turned over and pulled open the top drawer of her nightstand, grabbing the four pregnancy tests. "Pink plus signs mean positive," she said, handing them to Don.

He looked down at them, his mind taking a bit longer than usual to register what he was seeing.

"So you're pregnant."

"Yes."

"You're pregnant."

"Yes Don, we've established that."

Don looked down at the tests in his hand again, "You're pregnant!" he dropped the tests on the bed and pulled Sloan into a kiss. "We're gonna have a baby." His voice was a bit shaky, but clearly filled with excitement. His hand trailed down to her stomach, and he placed his hand tenderly on her abdomen.

"There's a baby inside you right now?"

"That's usually how it works."

"How…?"

"Well, when a man loves…"

"I know how that works. I mean how did you find out? Why didn't you tell me you thought you might be pregnant?"

"Well, you know I've been feeling nauseous all week and I was in Mac's office today while she was eating lunch and I was complaining about the smell, I really don't understand how she loves chicken salad, and she said, 'when I was pregnant I could smell any food within a mile radius.' We shared a look and I did some quick math and realized I was two weeks late. I think Mac may have figured out from the look on my face that I was possibly 'with child,' but I made some excuse and bought a pregnancy test—"

"—or four—"

"—yes, four, there was a packaged deal and you know how I love deals. Whatever, I bought them on the way home and took them a few hours ago."

"I think this is one time you have truly left me speechless Sloan."

"I doubt that…" said Sloan, running a suggestive hand across Don's stomach, nuzzling her head under his chin, Don ran a hand through her hair.

"I love you," he said. "I love you so freaking much."

"I know," responded Sloan, burying her head deeper in his chest.

Sloan knew that Don was smiling even if she couldn't see his face and she didn't know how to tell him how terrified she was. She wanted to have a baby with Don, she really did, but they didn't plan this. A baby had been a distant idea, not a reality. Sloan wasn't ready for her life to change. She was pulled back into reality by Don going on about making doctors appointments and finding replacements at ACN for when the baby was born, and decided not to burden him with her nerves.

To Be Continued…