Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. Any and all original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.

A/N: Hey, everyone! If you have stumbled across this story without reading Flying High, you're going to want to go back and check that out first, because this is the sequel. For those of you who stuck with Flying High all the way through, I want to thank you for following it here and continuing on with this story. It means a lot that you like the things that I'm writing, and I hope you like what I came up with for this first chapter. Thanks, and let me know how you think it turned out!

Stephanie didn't have time to play around with plus signs or random lines. She wanted to make life easier on herself, so she chose the carton enclosing a test with a digital readout. She caught sight of her reflection in a small mirror near the pharmacy area and nearly guffawed. She had gone incognito in the store, using dark sunglasses and a hat to hide her appearance, but, if anything, she was drawing more attention to herself by looking so...undercover, for lack of a better term.

Were she a regular woman with a 9-to-5 job, she wouldn't have taken any umbrage with entering a local drugstore to purchase such private items, but she was a semi-public figure, which meant she had to keep things quiet. Her husband was a wrestling fan and an avid reader of the online newsletters. If a fan were to spy her in the midst of making her purchase and report the news to their online sources, they would have a field day with it. If Chris was going to find out she was possibly with child, he wasn't going to get that information from a seedy internet fan.

Stephanie simply wouldn't allow it.

With it being so late in the afternoon, most people were enduring the busy drive home in rush hour traffic, which made for an uncrowded store. Stephanie silently thanked the angel watching over her, because there had to be some serious string-pulling in the works to make her surroundings shift so greatly in her favor. Of the few customers dawdling around, most were scouring the aisles for the items they needed and were too busy to be concerned with Stephanie's purchases, but she did notice a few odd looks from other patrons. Of course, her perception of those looks could have been her active imagination playing tricks on her. She was, after all, quite anxious.

Stephanie went through the line of the only cashier working at the front of the store, speeding right out of the building and climbing back into her car. Her keys jingled as she attempted to start the car up, and she glanced at the front passenger seat and the plastic bag that remained slumped there, precisely where she had tossed it upon entry. She sighed, blowing a few tendrils of hair away from her face, and turned the key in the ignition so she could make the short trip to Graham's elementary school. Chris was working late that evening and had basically been on the same extended work schedule for months, ever since he got bumped up to Assistant Creative Writer during the summer.

The position was a dream come true for him, but it also required much more of his time and attention to detail, which meant working longer hours. Vince was essentially grooming Chris to be his right-hand man, from what Stephanie inferred, and he was also beginning to scale back her hours in the office, just as she had requested. With Chris gone more often, she wanted to make sure she could be off of work in time to pick Graham up from football practice, so they could have dinner together each night and she could help him with his homework. If it turned out another little one would be added to the mix, she would have even more reason to be at home earlier in the afternoon, so she could be an active mother for each of her children.

Approximately 12 minutes of driving passed before Stephanie pulled her vehicle into the Covington Elementary School parking lot, and she easily found an empty spot and parked. She no longer got out of the car upon her arrival, the way she and Chris used to, mostly because Graham was passing through a phase in which he felt the need to prove to her and Chris that he could take care of himself. Only a few months past his ninth birthday, he was spending his days as a fifth-grader well, showing his parents that he was capable of earning more independence from them. Stephanie leaned back against the headrest and closed her eyes, placing her hand on her stomach.

She lost all track of time, until a low, rapping sound vibrated against the back passenger window. She had forgotten to watch for Graham. Her eyes snapped open, and she smiled when she saw him standing there, with his football bag slung over his right shoulder. She scrambled to press the unlock button, and he opened the door, tossing his backpack and football bag inside, then climbing into his seat. "Hi, Mommy."

"Hey there, sweetie, I missed you," Stephanie greeted. She glanced into the backseat and pulled her sunglasses off so he could send him a pointed stare. "What have I told you a million times, little one?"

"To buckle my seatbelt," Graham mumbled. He stuck his tongue out when he thought she wasn't looking.

"I saw that," she said. Stephanie smiled, waiting to hear the click from his belt so she could be assured he had secured the strap. When it was locked in place, she backed the car up, and they began the usual drive home, sans Chris. "Daddy's going to be a little late coming home again, as usual."

"I'm hungry. What are we having for dinner?" Graham wondered. Along with another year of life came a larger appetite, and Stephanie had expressed her shock on more than one occasion at how quickly Graham was growing. She hadn't expected the growth spurts to come on so soon, but they were arriving in waves.

"Sara's making us lamb chops, mashed sweet potatoes, mixed vegetables, and homemade bread. I was home for a little while after I left work, and it smelled really good, so I'm sure you'll like it," Stephanie anticipated. She flicked on her left turn signal as she merged into the left turn lane and waited behind two cars stopped at the red light. "You've have lamb chops before, though, so this is old news to you."

"Yep, old news," Graham said. His words came out so flippantly that they brought a smile to her face. "What did you do today?"

"Well, let's see, I went to work this morning and gave a few presentations, with regard to our pay-per-view buy rates and merchandise sales, which really isn't my forte, but Papa Vince is making me take on different things and branch out a bit," Stephanie began. She continued relaying the events of her day, in as much of a simplified version as possible. "Then, I took a lunch break with Daddy, which was really nice. After that, I went back to work for a few hours, then went home, then made a quick trip to the store and came to pick you up right after."

"Did you get something good from the store?"

"Nothing edible, if that's what you're thinking," she laughed. "Just something for me."

"Oh," Graham said.

He quieted down for a few minutes and Stephanie used that opportunity to flip through the radio stations and see if anything good was playing. She had recently discovered an oldies station, which just so happened to be playing a Temptations song. She sang lowly along with the tune, which prompted Graham to join in, and before she knew it, they were engaged in a full-fledged duet. They were on a roll, but then Stephanie's cell phone cut into their concert, and she picked her phone up, thinking Chris might be trying to reach her.

When she got stopped by another influx of traffic, she used the opportunity to check her new picture message and gasped, bringing her left hand to her chest. "Oh, goodness, she's so big!"

"Who is?"

"Amanda just sent me a new picture of herself and Caylie. They look so beautiful," Stephanie complimented.

It had been nearly six months since Amanda had made her move to Montana in March, and although her heart had been broken at first, Stephanie was finding it easier to cope with each passing day, and especially when she had visual evidence of how well the girls were doing. Caylie's father had moved along with Amanda as promised, and thus far, Amanda had only positive things to say about the effort he was putting in to set their family life on track. He had transformed from the immature teenage boy who had initially shied away from parenthood, and Stephanie thanked her lucky stars for that. She had sent out lots of silent prayers and warm wishes for Amanda and Caylie, and to see that those wishes had been honored filled her heart with joy.

"Here, love," she said, handing her phone off to Graham. "Take a look at the picture so you can see how big Caylie is now. It's so exciting to see her."

"Whoa, she's really big!" Graham's jaw dropped when he saw the picture, making Stephanie laugh as she watched him in the rearview mirror.

"I told you."

"She's like three times bigger. That's weird."

"That's what happens, though. Babies grow up so fast you don't even know what to do with yourself," Stephanie said. She checked on Graham again, but he was still staring down at the picture on her phone. "Even with you, you're starting to grow so fast, and you're wanting your own independence, which is a big change from how you were last year. You spend time at your friends' houses now, and remember how you were always too afraid to do that last year?"

"Yeah," Graham said, laughing at himself a little. "That's because I was a big baby."

"Aww, I don't think you were acting like a baby. I think this environment was just new to you, and it made you nervous to be away from me or Daddy, but you're different now, so that's good. It makes us very happy when we see you having fun with your friends or staying after school for football practice. I can't even begin to tell you how proud we are that you've stuck with this football thing. You've been playing since last year, and you haven't given up once. It's very rare for boys as young as you to be structured enough to make genuine commitments, but you've done that, and that's a big deal," Stephanie said. "A very big deal."

"Daddy taught me not to give up, and so did you. That's why I won't quit football, because I like it and I'm good at it, but also because I don't want to be a quitter. If you quit something, then that's bad," Graham rambled on. Sometimes, Stephanie lost herself in conversation with Graham and began thinking of him as a much older child than he was, but then he would begin his classic rambling, and she would be shocked back into reality and reminded that she was speaking to a 9-year-old boy. "Can I look at the other pictures on your phone?"

"You sure can."

When they arrived home, a powerful burst of mouthwatering scents hit Graham's nostrils as he marched in the door. Sara had put the finishing touches on dinner and was in the middle of preparing a large plate of food for Chris, which she did at the beginning of every meal, to make sure they wouldn't run out of food before they had a chance to set some aside for him. Graham wandered over to the stove, and his eyes widened longingly. "Yum, this is gonna be good."

"I sure hope you enjoy it," Sara said, patting the top of his head sweetly.

"I will," Graham said. He reached for a clean plate, but Stephanie caught him in time, placing her hand on his wrist.

"You know better than that. You need to bring your backpack and football bag upstairs to your room. Wash your hands while you're up there, then you can come down and grab a plate of food," Stephanie said. Her rules weren't only limited to Graham, of course, so she headed out of the kitchen to bring her purse into her bedroom and wash her own hands.

"Aw man," Graham grumbled, from directly behind her. "I already washed my hands at school, because I used the bathroom after football practice. They're clean," he said, holding them up for inspection.

Stephanie stopped short of leaving the kitchen and turned to him. "Please do what you're told, Graham. We go through this same conversation almost every day, and it would be nice if you would stop fighting me on it. I don't make you wash your hands because you hate it. I make you wash them because if you eat with germs on your hands, you're going to get sick."

"Fine," he relented, following behind her. Sara watched them go with a smile, returning to her food duties when they drifted out of sight.

Stephanie separated from Graham at the top of the stairs, slipping into her bedroom and closing the door. After ensuring she had engaged the lock, to prevent any embarrassing interruptions, Stephanie slipped the plastic bag off of her wrist and pulled out a single box. She rolled her eyes when she noticed that the box was covered in obnoxious, plastic packaging, and she used her teeth to bite the film off at the edges, which made the rest of it easy to peel. When the plastic wand was in her hand, she distracted herself from the enormity of the moment by skimming the brief instruction manual.

A simple 'Pregnant' or 'Not Pregnant' would appear on the tiny, digital display after three minutes of waiting time. Stephanie steeled herself for what she was about to do, even going so far as to return to her bedroom door and check the lock again. She couldn't have Chris coming home early and walking in on her unexpectedly. When she was certain she could continue alone, Stephanie snatched the box off the bed, jumping in surprise when an additional testing wand fell out. She hadn't realized there were two in a single box, but that made her feel more secure, because she would be able to test a second time to confirm the result.

On an odd note, Stephanie hadn't been ill at all, in recent times. Most first-time mothers only expected that they might be carrying a child when they came down with flu-like symptoms or persistent and excessive heartburn, but Stephanie broke the mold, in that sense. She hadn't exhibited any classic pregnancy symptoms, but she felt a shift in her body, an intangible difference that she couldn't even begin to explain to someone else. Her motherly instinct, which she hadn't even known she possessed, was urging her to take a test, so she listened to her body, because it had never failed her before.

After a deep inhale, she stepped into the bathroom and closed the door.

"Honey, I'm home!" Chris called out later that evening, as he entered through the front door. He used the same humorous greeting every night, and somehow, it still managed to never grow old. He set his briefcase beside the couch and peeled off his restrictive suit jacket.

"In the kitchen, sweetie!" Stephanie called back. Obeying the golden rule Stephanie had set for them all, Chris went into the half-bathroom, which was located right off the side of the main staircase, and he washed his hands thoroughly before even bothering to enter the kitchen.

"Hi, gorgeous," he said. Chris strolled to the dining room table and hunched over, pressing his lips to Stephanie's. Graham sat beside her, and Chris leaned over Stephanie to get to him, kissing the top of his head. "Hi, kiddo. I missed the hell out of you two today."

"I missed you, too, Daddy," Graham replied. "And I missed Mommy when I was at school and she was at work."

"How could you not miss me?" Stephanie smirked. She took Graham's face in her hands and kissed his cheeks. "I slipped two of my famous chocolate chip cookies into your lunch today so you would have something to remember me by. Did you notice them?"

"Yep, and I was real happy. My friend tried to get some from me, but I only gave him a little piece, because I wanted to eat them," Graham admitted.

"I'll have to give you a couple of extra ones next time, so you can keep two for yourself and give two to Nathan," Stephanie said. Graham smiled and nodded to indicate that he liked the idea, and she kissed his nose and tapped the packet in front of him. "All right, we had a little break, but let's get back to your math homework. Keep going through the problems like you already were and let me know if you get stuck on one. You're doing really well."

"Okay," Graham said, furrowing his brow in determination as he got back to work. Stephanie patted his leg and rose from her seat, giving Chris another peck on the lips.

"Have a seat and I'll heat up your food and get you a drink. The usual?" she asked.

"Yep, the usual is good. Thanks."

"Of course," Stephanie said.

She went to the refrigerator and pulled his plate out, ridding it of the saran wrap Sara had tucked over the top. Stephanie stuck it in the microwave and set the timer for one minute, returning to the refrigerator and pulling out a bottled water. She retrieved a drinking glass from the cabinet and filled it with ice cubes, dumping the water into the glass and placing it on the table for Chris. She attempted a return to the microwave to grab his plate, but Chris latched onto her wrist and yanked her into his lap without warning. She gasped, landing on him with a soft thud, and he wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"How you doin', baby?"

"How you doin'?" she returned. She cupped his cheeks and brushed her lips softly over his, nuzzling his nose, until the microwave began beeping to signify that the warming cycle had completed. Stephanie pushed herself out of Chris's lap and retrieved his meal, grabbing a clean fork from one of the pull-out drawers and placing it all down in front of him.

"Thanks."

"Not a problem. How was your day?" she asked, rounding the table to return to her seat beside Graham. "My dad wasn't going crazy, was he?"

"When is your dad not going crazy?" Chris asked, speaking around a bite of food. He picked up his knife and fork and sliced off another piece of lamb chop.

"Good point. You're still happy with the position, though, right?"

"Oh yeah," Chris nodded. "I love it. This is basically my dream career. I mean, don't get me wrong, because if I could have had a shot at being one of the actual WWE Superstars, then I would have done that in a heartbeat, but since I can't, working behind-the-scenes for your dad is the next best thing. It's awesome."

"I want to work for Papa Vince when I grow up," Graham said. Stephanie smiled at that, reaching over to brush his hair back.

"You can be whatever you want to be, Graham. I believe in you, and so does Daddy. Dream big and shoot for the stars," she told him.

"I will."

"Good, but first things first, which means finishing this math homework," she said, tapping the papers with her finger once again. Graham laughed at her expression of mock anger, and Chris laughed, too, shaking his head amusingly.

"Man, I love you guys," he snorted, taking a sip of his water. "You two are easily the best part of coming home from a hard day's work."

Only two hours after finishing his dinner, Chris tucked Graham into bed, and Stephanie was there to kiss his forehead and wish him a good night. She managed to sneak away stealthily and mighty fast, enough to make Chris suspect something amiss. Sometimes, she was simply impatient about getting alone time with him, so she would rush off to the bedroom to signal to him that he should follow as soon as he was able to. With Graham all set for sleep, Chris turned off his lamp, ending the night the same way he always did, by telling Graham he loved him.

Since Stephanie had fled Graham's room, leaving an air of urgency in her wake, Chris slipped into their bedroom, turning the light on to search for her. He didn't have to look far, since Stephanie was pacing the floor near her side of the bed, and she held something in her right hand, but it was just beyond Chris's line of vision. She looked apprehensive, but also on the verge of making a huge reveal, and she had awoken Chris's curious side. Something had certainly worked her up, and he wanted to know what it was. He needed to know.

"Stop pacing and tell me what's wrong," Chris ordered. He didn't have time to play any guessing games, and he wasn't going to let Stephanie draw the situation out any further than she already had. Whatever was going on, he had a right to know, as her husband. "I can always tell when something is up with you, so just make it easier on both of us and come out with it."

"Okay, if that's what you really want," she said. "Take a peek at this."

Her smile started small, spreading gradually across her face, and she held up some sort of plastic stick. Chris squinted, and even with the distance between them, he recognized the gadget as a home pregnancy test. His stomach swirled with unnamed emotion, like a paintbrush being dragged over his insides, and he sat down heavily on the edge of their bed, covering his mouth as he struggled to contain himself. Stephanie's smile widened, and she nodded to let him know that what he was assuming was true, but Chris needed to hear it from her mouth before he could consider it a reality.

"Holy shit!" he exclaimed, though the words were muffled by his palm. He dropped his hand and spoke clearly. "Is that what I think it is? I know we stopped using protection, but it happened this quickly?"

"Yes, sweetie. I'm pregnant."