Melinda was nervous and perhaps a bit ill, as she stared down at the test in her shaky hands.

A baby.

A completely unexpected, bundle of something...

They'd been careful, she'd thought. She had birth control, the same birth control she'd used since her late teens, and not once had she ever had even a tiny scare. And yet, here she was, clutching the tiny piece of plastic in her left hand, her right having come up, unconsciously, to trace the contours of her still flat stomach where the heavy weight of her child suddenly rested.

They hadn't planned this, hadn't even discussed the idea of having children.

"Though, perhaps we should have," she murmured with a tiny, humorless smile.

They were about to get married in a matter of weeks and she'd just gotten used to the appellations of husband and wife and now, abruptly, mother and father were on the table, sending her into a state of complete panic she hadn't experienced since he'd proposed.

'But he'd make a fantastic father,' she thought as her chest swelled with love for the man down the hall that was currently teaching, his voice no longer discernible behind the heavy door of the women's restroom, but soon enough, the gentle hum of students milling about filled the air, signaling that his class had ended. She waited until the noise died down before taking a deep breath, exiting the stall she'd holed herself up in and headed for his office after stuffing the test in her bag, the steady click of her heels echoing ominously behind her.

Melinda paused at his closed door, hand poised to knock and, fortifying herself against her barrage of emotions, she schooled her features and rapped on the door lightly, waiting until his quick, "come in" filtered through the wood before pushing it open.

Phil grinned as she stepped in and closed the door behind her, his smile happy and his eyes immensely soft as he stared at her before he moved around the desk to embrace her tightly in greeting. His lips found hers quickly and she sighed into it easily enough, the feel of his body against hers familiar and soothing, but she was too on edge.

He eased them out of the kiss before placing another, sweeter peck on her forehead, before smiling down at her. "Hi."

But for all of her preparation, her smile was weak and he frowned immediately.

"Mel? What's wrong?"

'A wonderful father, indeed,' she thought uneasily, slightly annoyed that he'd caught her so quickly, and she almost chuckled at the absurdity of it all. 'Between the two of us, our child won't get away with a thing.'

"Melinda?"

'Does he want to be a father? And if not, then what do I do?'

The words rose to her throat to choke her, "I'm-

He was waiting patiently, but she could tell he was growing more concerned by the second. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yes, I'm fine," she mumbled, brushing away his concern, deciding that she needed to just tell him, as if she was ripping off a band-aid.

He was watching her, or more accurately, he was searching her face as his hand came up to caress her cheek. "No, you're not."

Her heart was hammering away in her chest, her control slipping with each swipe of his thumb across her skin.

"I'm pregnant," she blurted before she could convince herself otherwise.

Phil froze, the blue eyes she loved so much widening in shock as his hand fell from her face.

"Pregnant?" he repeated to himself, his disbelief painted clearly on his features.

"I'm sorry, I don't-," she breathed. "We haven't discussed this and it's not what we had planned and I'm so sorry."

He said nothing as his eyes dropped to her hand that was resting on her stomach once again and, as if he was in a daze, his own hand extended out, his fingers itching to touch her, but he stopped, his arm halting in mid-air. And at the sight of his evident uncertainty, she bolted, suddenlyunable to bear the way he was looking at her.

Before she'd even realized it, she was out the door, hurrying down the hall as fast as her heels and her pencil skirt would allow as she bit the inside of her cheek to stave off her tears.

"Melinda!"

She was vaguely aware that he was calling her name, but she couldn't think over the white noise in her ears and over the pounding in her head as she passed her office and turned the corner, heading blindly down the stairs, but she didn't make it far and her breath hitched as his hand closed around her wrist. He spun her in the stairwell, pulling her into a solid embrace as she began to sob.

"Shh, it's gonna be fine," he told her gently, one hand wiping away her tears, the other running soothing circles across her back until she relaxed and she willed herself to calm as he linked their fingers together, tugging gently in a silent request for her to follow.

They ascended the stairs slowly, Phil's grip tight on her hand as he led her quietly and she made no protest as he pulled her into the closest, empty classroom he could find, which just happened to be her usual one, before locking the door behind them.

She stepped away as she wiped at her eyes, trying in vain to compose herself, but her emotions were impossible to ignore and she winced as a dull throbbing began in the back of her skull.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean for this to happen. I'm not even sure how it happened, but I'll understand if you don't want-"

"Please, don't finish that sentence," he interrupted faintly, his voice cracking slightly on the words, "because if you have to ask me that, then I've already failed you."

He walked towards her slowly, his eyes moving between her face and her abdomen and for the first time since they'd found color, his eyes were filling with tears as he stopped just before her.

"I'm terrified," she admitted softly.

"Me too," he nodded, "but we are going to be fine, Mel. And if you'll still have me, I'm going to marry you."

She nodded fervently, relieved as his words sank in. She was holding on to the desk for support as another insecurity crept up her spine. "But I don't know anything about being a mother, Phil."

"Neither do I about being dad, but we'll learn. And I know that this baby, our baby, wasn't planned, but I want it. I want it so much," he informed her, voice thick and wavering with emotion. "Don't you?"

And despite her fear, she knew with absolute certainty, that she did. And suddenly she could see it, a little girl with her own dark hair and dark eyes, but her father's kind spirit and gentle smile, and never before had anything been so utterly beautiful.

"I do."

And before she could register his movement, he'd closed the distance between them, kissing her with complete abandon in the empty classroom. It was a desperate sort of thing, the way his hands clutched at her, the way his lips moved against hers as if it was the last time he'd ever do such a thing and she was nearly overwhelmed by the force of it all, but he broke away abruptly, before he dropped to his knees in front of her, his hands on her hips and she shivered, closing her eyes and sighing in happiness when he placed a sweet, delicate kiss on her belly.