I'm still working on my fanfic, Beyond Routine, trying to put the next chapter together.

I don't own Diagnosis Murder or any of the original characters from the show. I thought it would be nice to do a segment of background story of Steve's own family's life, and later on how it came to be that he and Mark raised Steve's daughters, Stacy and 'Kat' Katherine together. This story will have different time-lines throughout the different seasons of DM, including some shots of Steve and Julie Sloan's married life, Steve's widower hood, and his role as a dad to two daughters. I'm not sure how long this fanfic will be, by I sure do hope someone likes it. Please leave reviews. I hope you enjoy.

This first chapter timing covers before season 1, but while Steve lived in an apartment and Mark didn't own the beach house yet.

How It All Started

"Honey, I'm leaving now!" Steve announced from the kitchen. He got no response from Julie, his bride of two years. "Honey? I'm going!" He repeated himself. Still nothing. Steve stomped back to the master bedroom and leaned his head against the door. "Julie? Did you hear me?" Steve called. He heard what he thought to be gagging from the bathroom. He rushed to the door and knocked. "Julie? You all right?" He asked, worried.

"Ugghh..." Came the response. Steve opened the door and peeked inside. Julie was sitting on the floor leaning against the wall near the toilet, with her legs spread out in front of her. She was pale and perspiring. Steve grew concerned and knelt down in front of Julie, brushing a wave of long brunette hair away from her face.

"Honey, you okay?" He asked, gently touching her cheek. Julie drew in a breath.

"I'm just kind of queasy this morning." She sighed, holding her stomach.

"Was it something you ate?" Steve inquired.

"Maybe, from dinner last night..." Julie stammered, then gulped hard and doubled over the toilet seat again and vomited. Steve held her in a protective grip as her body trembled while her stomach emptied. When she was through, she tried standing up but her knees were shaky.

"Come on." Steve said, and wrapping his long arm around her waist, practically carried her along to the bedroom. He gently helped her sit on the bed, and she lay back wrapping her arms around herself.

"Thanks, dear. You...better...you better go to work." Julie breathed heavily.

"Not today." Steve shook his head as he hovered over her. "I think you need to see a doctor."

"Pfft. Naw, I'll be okay in a little while." Julie shook her head. "You really need to go." Steve brought a cold, wet rag to her face and gingerly stroked her face with it. "Ooo! That's freezing." Julie yiped at the touch.

"I'll call the doctor and make an appointment for you this afternoon." Steve said, starting to dial on the phone. "I'll get Phil to fill in for me, and I'll take you."

"Steve, that's not necessary!" Julie argued. "I just have a little upset stomach, that's all. It's nothing, really. You go to work."

"Julie..."

"Look, I'm feeling better already. Really. I'll rest for a bit, then I'll be okay."

"I still think you need to go have a checkup." Steve insisted.

Overprotective, Julie thought. "I'm fine." She said stubbornly. "Look, if I'm not better by this afternoon, I'll go in. Okay?"

"I don't want to leave you here like this, Sweetheart." Steve moaned.

"It'll be okay." Julie smiled with a nod.

"I'd feel better if you weren't alone." Steve stated.

"I'll be all right." Julie declared.

"It's against my better judgement," Steve muttered, "but if you think you'll feel better, all right. BUT, if you have another bout of sickness, I want you to call the doctor, effective immediately! Do I make myself clear?" He finished firmly, with his hands on his hips and that inflexible cop stare of his.

"Yes, Sgt. Sloan Sir!" Julie answered playfully.

"All right," Steve sighed, still feeling in his gut that this wasn't a good idea. "If you need me for anything, call the station."

"I will." Julie smiled.

"Uh-huh." Steve smirked skeptically and bent down to her level, and kissed her good-bye. "You take care of yourself, honey."

"So sweet, a big guy like you so worked up about little old me." Julie teased, playing with his nose.

"Hey, I'm serious!" Steve declared adamantly.

"I know." Julie said wistfully. "I will, don't worry." Steve fixed her a glass of water and set it on the night stand next to their bed. Julie was sitting up now against the pillows. "Don't worry about me." She said.

"You're my wife, Julie. It's my job to worry." Steve retorted.

"Like father, like son," Julie rolled her eyes with a smug grin. "You'd better go. You don't want to be late."

"Frankly, I don't care right now."

"You will though when the captain rants on you! Now go on." Julie answered. Steve sighed and turned to leave, but not before blowing her a good-bye kiss. She sighed heavily with relief when she heard their apartment front door shut. "He's so sweet," She gushed to herself, "but so stubborn sometimes." Steve had been so preoccupied with work lately that he didn't know this was the fifth morning his wife had suffered with terrible nausea.

"Phone call, doc. On line one." Delores announced as Mark skated into his office.

"Okay, thanks, Delores." Mark smiled and waved, skating to his desk. His upper body fell forward and he grunted in annoyance with himself. He reached over and grabbed his phone handle. "Hello? Dr. Sloan?"

"Hi, Dad." Steve answered on the other line.

"Steve, hi!" Mark smiled widely. "How are you doing?"

"I'm okay." Steve muttered.

"Oh, that's good. How's Julie?"

"That's what I want to talk to you about, Dad." Steve replied. "I'm a little worried about her."

"What's going on, Steve?" Mark straightened up, more serious now and made his way over to his desk chair.

"I found her in the bathroom this morning throwing up just before I left for work. She didn't look very well. I tried to get her to schedule a checkup, but she refused." Steve explained.

"Sounds like someone I know. Guess it runs in the family." Mark grinned.

Steve rolled his eyes. "Dad, I didn't want to leave her home alone. I'm afraid she could be pretty sick."

"J-just calm down for a minute, Steve. Okay, let's see. Uh, how was she last night?"

"Okay, I guess." Steve replied. "I don't know. She was pretty much asleep when I got home."

"Do you know what the last thing she ate was? Has she eaten anything this morning?" Mark continued.

"I don't know, Dad."

"Well, sounds like it could just be a nasty stomach bug," Mark said casually. "Then, it could be food poisoning. But without knowing what she ate, I can't be sure. You want me to see her?"

"It'd sure make me feel a lot better, Dad." Steve answered.

"Okay, it's no problem. I'll head over to your place on my lunch break." Mark offered.

"Thanks, Dad. I'd appreciate that."

"Any time, son." Mark hung up.

Mark reached Steve and Julie's apartment, carrying his handy medical bag. He rang the doorbell. Julie squinted through the peephole and opened the door. "Hi, Mark!" She greeted happily.

"Hi, Julie," Mark smiled and hugged her and she kissed his face.

"Well, come in." She shut the door. "So, what brings you over here?"

"I just thought I'd stop by." Mark said casually.

"Steve sent you didn't he?" Julie squinted playfully at her father-in-law.

"Well, honey. He was worried about you." Mark replied.

"Well, there's no need. I'm okay now." Julie insisted.

"Why don't you let me be the judge of that? Come on, Julie. Let me just take a look at you. If it's nothing like you say, then we can rule that out and Steve can stop worrying." Mark said.

"All right." Julie gave up. "If it'll make him stop worrying, then okay." Mark gave her a thorough examination.

"Well, you seem to be in pretty good shape, Julie." Mark said with satisfaction, removing his stethoscope from around his neck. "However, I want you to make an appointment and come in for a full physical."

"But you said I was okay." Julie interjected.

"You are. But a little extra reassurance wouldn't hurt."

"Okay." Julie pursed her lips. "But I'll make the appointment. Not you, and not Steve."

"Okay. Well, it was good to see you again, Julie." He grabbed his bag to leave.

"Bye, Mark. And come again soon. We'd love to have you." Julie smiled.

"I will." Mark smiled and departed.

"Well?" Steve asked anxiously when Mark called him again.

"You can relax, Steve. I believe she just ate something that didn't agree with her." Mark said reassuringly. "However, I did insist that she come in for a thorough going over."

"I appreciate that, Dad. Thanks a lot. And I'll make sure she does it." Steve said.

Julie seemed so much better that evening that Steve didn't think much of it and berated himself inwardly for being such a worrywart. But the next three mornings were the same. On the third morning, Steve came in, forgetting his car keys when he heard Julie's strained voice. He followed it and found her once again in the bathroom, throwing up. When she calmed herself, she stared up at him guiltily. "All right, that's it." Steve declared firmly. "You're going to the doctor! And don't argue with me!"

"I...I'm not." Julie gasped as he pulled her to her feet and helped her out to the car. He quickly drove her to the hospital and Mark met them as they entered the waiting room. Steve stood by as Mark examined Julie.

"What is it, Dad?" Steve asked.

"I'm not sure." Mark shook his head and stared at Julie from underneath his glasses. "Julie, have you eaten anything this morning?"

"Not yet..." Julie shook her head miserably then covered her mouth. Steve held up the trash can for her as she barfed. When her fit was done, Mark set her back on the table.

"Well, you aren't running a fever." Mark stated. "Steve, why don't you go to work? I'll take care of her and let you know how she is."

"No way. I'm staying here." Steve disagreed.

"I think she's gonna be okay, son. Don't worry."

"Dad, do you know what it is?" Steve asked.

"I have a pretty strong hunch about it, yes. Nothing for you to be afraid of, son." Mark smiled.

Steve stared anxiously at his father, then back at his poor, miserable wife. He wanted to be here for her, he didn't want to leave. But he trusted Mark's medical judgement."All right," Steve said uncertainly. "But call me if there's any change, good or bad!" He ordered. "Please, Dad."

"I will." Mark assured him. Steve walked over to the examining table and gripped Julie's arm.

"I hate to leave you like this. I'll see you later, Sweetie." He said quietly, stroking her sweaty forehead. "Dad will look after you."

Julie nodded. "You go ahead, dear. There's not much you can do for me right now anyway." Steve kissed her. "Thanks. I needed that."

"Okay," Steve sighed and reluctantly left the room, but not before blowing her kiss.

"Mark, I feel much better. Can I leave now?" Julie asked after her full physical was complete.

"I'm afraid not, Julie." Mark shook his head.

"Mark, what is it?" Julie gulped, suddenly feeling an awful wave of dread.

"Nothing that seven months won't cure." Mark smiled widely, removing his glasses.

"Seven months? What..." Julie stared in confusion. Then her eyes lit up as the reality dawned on her. "Y-you mean..."

"It's true, Julie." Mark answered. Julie shivered in delight along with laughing and sobbing happily. She jumped off the table and hugged Mark hard.

"Oh, thank you!" Julie exclaimed. "You didn't tell Steve, did you?"

"No. Not if you don't want me to."

"Oh, please, don't. I want to do that."

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of robbing you of the pleasure." Mark grinned.

"Thank you, Mark." Julie smiled warmly. "Thanks for everything."

"Sure."

Mark called Steve and insisted that Julie would be fine, she just hadn't been eating enough. Steve accepted that explanation and tried to get some work accomplished. That night, he entered the apartment and was greeted warmly by the mouth-watering aroma of roast beef. He inhaled a deep whiff of it and smiled. "Hi, honey." He said as he entered the kitchen.

"Hey, Sweetheart." Julie smiled and they shared a brief kiss. "What's that?"

"Well, you had such a rough start this morning I thought I'd bring takeout home so you wouldn't have to cook dinner. But I can see now that I was wrong." Steve answered.

"Awww, that was thoughtful of you, dear. It's okay. We can still eat it." Julie shrugged. Steve furrowed his eyebrows.

"Uhh...a little hungry, are we?" He asked, squinting. Well, after not eating enough, I guess I'd be ravenous too.

"Yeah, sure." Julie nodded. "Uh, could you put this on the table for me?"

"Oh, sure." Steve took the salad from her. He eyed the mashed potatoes and string beans, gravy, and dinner rolls with a stick of butter to spread on them. "Ooo, and a cake!" He raised his eyebrows. "What's the special occasion?" He asked suspiciously with his hands on his hips.

"You and me, that's what." Julie pinched his cheek, then set the iced water pitcher down. "You know, dear, we've hardly seen each other lately. I thought this would be a nice switch."

"Well, you're right, it is a nice switch." Steve nodded. As they sat down, he couldn't help noticing that Julie appeared positively giddy. He stared intently at her. Unable to contain his suspense any longer, after taking another mouthful of potatoes, he set his fork down. "Honey," he spoke up, "why don't you just tell me what this is all about?"

Julie smiled widely. "I have something very important to tell you." She answered. Steve rose from his seat and came to her side.

"What is it?" He asked, not sure where this was heading. Julie stood up and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Steve, dear," Julie whispered, "are you happy we got married?"

"Of...of course I am!" Steve sputtered. "I'm your husband, Julie. I love you! We belong together."

"I'm so glad to hear you say that, Steve." Julie stared deeply into his blue eyes with her brown ones. "Because I have some wonderful news."

"You keep saying that." Steve teased.

"Be serious."

"Okay. I'm sorry." Steve said, not wanting to ruin this tender moment. "What is your wonderful news?"

"Steve, I'm pregnant!" Julie cried gleefully. "We're going to have a baby!" Steve gaped in shock, and Julie could've sworn he was in a trance. He keeled over, landing flat on his back on the hardwood floor, out cold. Julie dropped down next to him. "Hey," She spoke. "Steve? Steve! Hey, wake up! Darling, come on. Steve..." She shook his broad shoulders and gripping his chin, wagged his head back and forth. He grunted and fluttered his eyes open.

"Huh? What?" He groaned. Julie snickered as she leaned close to him.

"You silly guy." She teased, tweaking his big nose.

"What...happened?"

"You fainted. Are you okay?"

"I what? No, I didn't." Steve protested.

"Oh, yes you did!"

"I do not faint." Steve argued.

"Then how do you explain getting on the floor like this?" Julie asked. Steve glanced around.

"How did I get here? What do you look so happy about, honey? You're positively glowing." Steve stated in bewilderment, and he was sure he'd almost never seen her so radiant, except on their wedding day.

"Don't you remember, Sgt. Sloan? We're going to have a baby!" Julie exclaimed with ecstasy.

"A...a...baby?" Steve's eyes widened. "W-we're gonna have a baby?"

"YES!" Julie jumped on top of him and smothered his cheek with kisses.

"A baby." Steve stated again. "A baby. We're gonna have...a baby!"

He is just too precious, Julie thought to herself. "That's right, dear," She said smoothly. "You're going to be a father, Sergeant Steve Sloan. And I love you...so much!"

"A father..." Steve said, then his eyes widened even bigger. "Wait! I'm gonna be a father?!" Julie giggled.

"Are you happy, baby?"

"Happy? Julie Milton-Sloan, you've just made me the happiest man in the world!" Steve exclaimed, rising to his feet and twirling her in the air, making her laugh. Then she backed him into the armchair.

"And you call yourself a detective." She said sarcastically.

"Well, yeah, uh...look, I've never been accused of being a doctor!" Steve retorted. Julie kissed him.

"We're really having a baby, a kid of our own." Steve remarked wistfully. "I hope she looks just like you!"

"Oh, no you don't." Julie interjected tenderly. "I want him to be the spitting image of his daddy."

"Now there's a frightening thought," Steve said.

"Oh, noo. You're so cute. Especially when you look as overwhelmed as you do right now." Julie nosed him with hers.

"We're going to have a baby." Steve smiled and held her close.

"Yes, we are." She agreed, cuddling close to him.