"...Karen, are you even listening to me?" Grace waved her hand in front of her assistant's face.

"What? Sorry, I was just...thinking." Karen looked up at Grace. "What did you say?"

"I asked if you called Mr. Weiler, to reschedule the meeting tomorrow. Did you?"

"I tried, but no one answered." She started to feel dizzy, so she tried to concentrate on a point on the wall, hoping it would help.

Grace noticed something wasn't right. When did Karen ever do what she asked her to? "Karen, are you alright? You seem a little off. And I mean more than usual."

"I'm just feeling a little sick, no big deal."

"Do you wanna go home? Or see a doctor?" Grace started to worry about her friend. She took a few steps to get closer to Karen, and put her hand on her arm.

"No, it's fine, honey, I don't need a doctor. I'll go see Pharmacist on my way home, I think it's these new pills he gave me, they're just not as good as the old ones." She looked at her boss and smiled to ensure her she was going to be fine, although she herself wasn't so sure. Karen had been feeling quite poor in the last couple of days. She knew what it felt like when it came from the pills, and this was different.

"Alright, but if you change your mind, you tell me."

The dark-haired woman just nodded in agreement.

For the rest of the day Karen sat at her table, looking through magazines and trying to distract herself from the weird feeling she had. It had been years since she had last felt sick. Normally the alcohol and the pills numbed her so much that she wouldn't notice any ailments, but that didn't work this time. She couldn't even focus on the new fall collections which she had been excited about for weeks. She kept worrying that something was wrong with her. Really wrong.

When the phone in the office rang and pulled the dark-haired woman out of her thoughts it was already after five. She decided she had spent enough time of this day at work, got up and reached for her purse.

"You leaving?" Grace didn't sound surprised, and she really wasn't. Karen had a habit of coming in late and leaving early. After Stan's death four weeks ago she had started to spent a little more time at the office, because she said being in the manse always reminded her of him. It was a difficult time for her, even though they were getting a divorce when he died. And Karen would never admit it, but it was nice to be around Grace, and to know there was someone who cared about her and who she could talk to, if she ever felt the need.

"Yeah, it's getting late and I still have a lot to do. My pills won't refill themselves."

"Do you wanna come to dinner tomorrow? Will is making his Coq au Vin."

"Sure, honey, I would like that." Karen smiled at the red-haired woman. "Have a nice evening, Grace."

"You too."

"And then this cute guy, whose name is Benjamin by the way, asked me for my number and now I have a date tomorrow." Jack was beaming with happiness. And Karen was really happy for him, even though she herself felt horrible. She didn't sleep at all the night before, and for once it wasn't because of some pills.

"So, anything interesting happening in your life, William?" Jack looked at him expectantly.

"Well, I have this new client who-"

"I said interesting, not boring."

"Hey, my job is not boring." Will pouted a little. "At least not at all times."

Karen didn't listen to the rest of their conversation. She had other things to worry about than some office drama because someone wore the same tie as Will. After what was a bad day yesterday it just got worse in the evening. She had spent the whole night thinking about what she should do, and whether she should talk to her friends about what was going on. Karen didn't know how they would react and it scared her, because she really needed them by her side.

She only started listening to the others again when she heard Will say her name.

"Karen, are you alright? You haven't even touched your food."

"And more importantly, you haven't touched your booze! Is something wrong?" Jack looked at her worriedly.

"You said yesterday that you felt a little sick. But I thought you wanted to go see Pharmacist about it?"

"Yeah, I did." She looked down at her plate, trying to decide what to do.

"So, what did he say? Did he give you some other pills?"

"It wasn't the pills, Gracie." Will, Jack and Grace all looked at her, and Karen could see that they were getting really worried. She knew she had to tell them, they were her best friends, so she swallowed hard and tried her best to get the words over her lips. "I'm pregnant."