Author's Note #1: Disclaimer- I do not own the characters and am not affiliated with the show. My only affiliation is being a dedicated (softer word for obsessed) fan. This idea/story was given to me by a friend at FanForum. She gave me the first 3 paragraphs of the story which are italicized and begin and end with an asterisk. From there she gave me permission to expand on the story. So to my co-mod and friend, thanks- I hope I did this fanfic proud.

Author's Note #2: Takes place shortly after episode 15, 'That's Enough of That'. To make the story flow better I omitted the scene where Ben filmed Amy. Amy did do that adoption video but it wasn't Ben who filmed instead it was just the receptionist. I also omitted the line where Amy says, 'my boyfriend and future husband Ben.' Also, some of the lines in brackets are dialogue I have used from episodes after E15. I thought that some of those moments were great and would flow well into what I was writing.

~*~*~*~*~

Amy looked down at the grainy, black and white picture for the fifth time since retreating to her bedroom. She had seen her baby through an ultrasound before, but it had been early on and the baby hadn't been much more than a blob in the middle of a lot of gray and black areas. This visit, however, the baby looked more like a baby. More importantly, the doctor was able to tell her whether it was a boy or a girl. At first, she hadn't been sure of how she felt about knowing that about the baby, not if she was planning on giving him or her up for adoption. But then the image of her growing baby appeared on the screen, the room filling with the sound of its rapid heartbeat as the doctor pointed out the different forming parts and Amy found herself choking back tears. When the doctor asked if she wanted to know the gender of the baby, Amy heard herself say yes despite all previous thoughts and reasons. The doctor smiled and told her it was a boy. Amy was having a son.

All other thoughts and worries flew from her mind as she sat there, stomach exposed, the image of her son on the screen in front of her. In that moment, the baby became real to Amy. She knew there was a baby inside her; she could feel it moving around these days. She knew there was a huge choice to be made, huge responsibility coming her way and yet, she hadn't really stopped to picture the baby. Not until that very moment. There in front of her, the grainy image had gone from a thing to a person: a living, breathing human being that she helped create.

Unable to hold back her emotions any longer, Amy had asked for the nurse to bring her mother into the room with her. She had wanted to do this alone, but suddenly everything was more real to her than it had ever been the past six months. She had a son, a little boy growing inside her. Her mother had come in with a worried look on her face until Amy tearfully, yet joyfully announced she was having a son. The two of them cried as they looked at the screen. The doctor went on to explain a few more things and assure them that the baby was growing big and healthy and there was no cause for concern. The doctor then asked if Amy would like a picture from the sonogram. She looked over at her mother, who told her it was her choice before nodding her head.


(First part by FanForum co-mod, Augusta)

Ashley walked in Amy's room, catching her crying with the picture in hand.

"Come on," said Ashley. "It's not that emotional is it?"

"I'm not crying on purpose," Amy said through her sobs. "I can't control it," said Amy, which was partially true as the hormones tended to go in weird directions sometimes.

Ashley took a seat on Amy's bed, "can I see it?"

Amy handed Ashley the picture. Ashley really took the time to look at her nephew. It was so nice to finally be given a gender description. Ashley knew that Amy had been conflicted on knowing or not knowing the sex of the baby but now she was glad Amy had found out because like for Amy, knowing had somehow made the whole thing more real.

"Cool," was all Ashley had to say. "So are you going to tell Ricky?"

"I don't know, should I?"

"Yeah, Amy I think you should since he is the father."

"I know but I think it would be better that Ben found out first."

"Amy I get that you love him and that he loves you but don't take this experience away from Ricky and don't let Ben do that either."

"We're not taking anything away from Ricky."

"If that were true then Ricky wouldn't be the one always finding out second hand. Ben knows that's not his baby so he should just take a step back. You know, this is Ricky's first kid too so let him share the experience that comes with that or whatever."

"I should never have slept with Ricky."

"Why did you anyways?"

"Haven't we all ready discussed this?"

"Not in details, no," Ashley said in that straight forward tone she normally took with people. "Come on Amy, I know you. And I think I know you well enough to know you're not the kind of person to have sex with a guy unless you really had strong feelings for him."

"I have strong feelings for Ben but I'm not sleeping with him."

"Yeah my point exactly."

"I don't have feelings for Ricky. I can't!"

"Why not Amy, would it really be that bad?"

Amy looked at her sister wondering where she had been. Yes it would be that bad given the kind of person Ricky was and given his family history. Of course Amy knew those were just excuses. Ever since she found out she was pregnant, Amy had tried to focus on her miserable life rather than the feelings she had for Ricky which were buried inside. She had hoped that they would go away but they never did and that scared her.

"Well," said Ashley, "while you're thinking about it, I'll leave you to it but while you do, maybe you should consider the possibility that Ricky won't be like his father. Goodnight Amy."

Amy sighed, "Night Ash."

~*~*~*~*~

Ricky sat in his room with a book in hand. His foster mom, Margaret, came downstairs when she had noticed his light on.

"Ricky, it's late. You have school tomorrow."

"I know," Ricky replied. "I'll go to bed in an hour, I promise."

Margaret glanced at the book he was reading and said read the title out loud, "1,000 Things to Know about Pregnancy. What brought this on all of a sudden?"

Ricky took a deep breath, placed a bookmark in the book, and then looked at his mom. "I just realized I don't want to be like him. I know Amy and I made a mistake but I don't want our baby to pay the price for it. I want to be different and do the right thing."

Margaret smiled, "I'm proud of you Ricky but what about Grace and Adrian?"

"They're old news. I don't love them the way I truly love Amy."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah it is. I know you might not believe me but there was something besides just sex at band camp. Amy's not the kind of girl to just give it away; she always likes to have a plan. And I'm not a careless guy. Amy is just different, she's special. And if she lets me I know I can go back to being the way I was when I met her."

"Is that what you want?"

Now it was Ricky's turn to smile, "For Amy and our baby yeah it is but mostly for Amy."