Chapter 1:

AN:So first of all we had this idea months ago but we didn't really start writing until a week ago. So uhm we're two people writing this and we are both in love with Parenthoood (such a great show) but we also hate it a little bit because one of our most favourite couple was broken up last season... We really think that Sarah Braverman and Mark Cyr belong together... So well after we heard that Jason Ritter is not going to be back on Parenthood next season we decided to write how we would have wanted it to continue... This was the beginning of it all

I want to say that it's been really fun to write with you Liz (although you always say your parts suck which is so not true) and that I really look forward to continue this!

Also a big thanks to Neeve for taking the time and beta this. We would be lost without you and to help us develop our writing skills. So thank you!

Was this cheesy enough, Lizzie?

Now ENJOY READING and please leave a review, good or bad we would love them all!

~Hanna

Disclaimer: we own nothing!

Sarah walked into the waiting room and sat down in a newly vacated chair and looked over at the displays of magazines on the table. She spotted a photography magazine and eagerly picked it up and started browsing through it to take her mind off her worries. She hadn't been feeling very well this week, but she had ignored it at first. It wasn't until Hank told her to go and see the doctor that she finally gave in. She was worried that something would be wrong and after seeing the struggle Kristina and Adam had faced not that long ago, she really hoped that everything would be fine; for once in her life things we're starting to look pretty good. She didn't want anything to come and ruin that. She just wanted to be happy, have a steady job, an income and have a nice boyfriend to come home to every day. She silently prayed that nothing would come and cause trouble in her and Hank's future now when she had made her choice and moved to Minnesota with him. It had taken a lot of debating back and forth, a lot of thinking about what to do now that Drew was going away to college. Finally she had made her decision and it felt so right.

She was startled from her thoughts as someone tapped her on the arm; she looked up from the magazine and jumped in her seat when she saw her doctor standing there with a concerned look on his face.

"Are you okay? I called for you twice but you seemed to be in your own little world," the doctor asked in a gentle tone.

Sarah flushed a little and shrugged, "Yes, I'm fine. I was just reading my magazine and I didn't hear you. Sorry ..."

The doctor just nodded and motioned for her to follow as he started to walk toward the exam room. Sarah put the magazine back on the table before she walked after the doctor and into the room, closing the door behind her. She sat down on the exam bed in the room. Dr. Shepard walked over to his computer and turned it on and clicked around until he found Sarah's folder.

"Okay so... You just moved here to Minnesota some weeks ago, is that correct?" the doctor asked.

Sarah nodded in confirmation and smiled politely at the doctor before he went on "As far as I can see here in the files that your old doctor sent you have been very healthy, there hasn't been any major illness or anything, so that's good. Now I know that you called and asked for an appointment because you haven't been feeling good this week, so why don't we start there?" the doctor suggested and smiled at Sarah.

Sarah nodded again and started telling the doctor how she had been feeling during the week as he took notes and nodded a few times. When she was finished Dr. Shepard put his notepad on the table and turned to Sarah. "Okay I think that we should do a basic exam, listen to your heartbeat, check your throat, your ears and take a few blood tests. Does that sound good?" the doctor asked.

Sarah nodded "Yes,"

"Okay then, let's start" the doctor said as he pulled out his stethoscope and gestured for Sarah to lift up her shirt. Sarah jumped at the contact of the cold medal against her skin but relaxed after a while as the doctor did the examination and then took the blood tests.

When the examination was over, Sarah gathered up her things and listened to Dr Shepard. He explained that everything seemed to be fine, but the blood tests would take around two to three days to analyze and he would call her when he got the result.

Sarah shook hands with the doctor before she left the room and started walking towards the exit feeling some of the weight in her stomach lifting, letting out a breath that she had been holding. Everything seemed fine, the doctor hadn't found anything seriously wrong with her. Maybe she had just slept badly, or eaten something bad or maybe it was just simply her nerves.

She wasn't used to being this far away from Drew and Amber, maybe that was what was bothering her, after all she was still a mother and a mother always worries. As she fished out her car keys from her bag she silently decided that was what had been bugging her during the week. She started the car and checked her phone, noticing that she had gotten a text from Hank.

'Running a bit late home from work today, can you fix dinner? You don't have to cook anything, take out is fine! Preferably Chinese. Hope the doctor appointment went well. See you soon. X'

Sarah smiled to herself before putting the phone down, any doubts she had about her decision was suddenly gone. She knew it was right, she loved Hank, he loved her, and she could really see herself having a future with him. Which was something she had never been able to with Seth and something she thought she would had with Mark. She and Mark had had their ups and downs and their differences, she had really tried to make it work but unfortunately it hadn't. This was how things had turned out and she knew that this was the right path; for once in her life she really felt like this was the right road for her to go down.

As she had been deep in thought she hadn't realized that she had almost driven all the way home to their apartment. She had been like a robot that was driving on autopilot. She spotted the street that led to the Chinese restaurant and made a U-turn before driving down it to get their dinner.

She went into the waiting room and looked for a free place, she found a chair near the window and on her way there she picked up a magazine to occupy herself. She sat down quickly, putting the magazine in her lap and opening it. It was the same photography magazine as she had been reading the last time she had been here; a good way to distract herself. But as she was sitting there, turning over the pages, barely glancing at the pages, she got lost in thought.

She had gotten the call yesterday. The doctor told her that there was something he wanted to discuss with her in person. She knew there was something serious going on but she had no idea what it could be. Having seen Kristina going through her fight with cancer this last year had scared her. She didn't think something like this would happen to her, but she hadn't thought that about Kristina either. There was always a chance. Since she had gotten the call from the doctor she had been constantly worrying about that possibility, she knew this was probably completing unnecessary but it got stuck in her head. She hadn't told Hank about it.

"Sarah Braverman, you're next," A blonde woman said in a soft voice. She smiled at Sarah and motioned her to follow. They went down the aisle of medical practice and into a small room at the end of it.

"Doctor Shepard will be right with you. Please take a seat," the blonde said while motioning to the chair.

Sarah sat down in the chair the nurse had pointed to. She looked at her hands while the nurse made her way out of the room and closed the door gently behind her. Sarah looked around the room, it didn't look like a normal doctor's room but more like a small office with a desk and some chairs around it. There was a computer set up on the desk and Sarah could see her medical details on the screen.

She jerked when the door opened and white haired man came in with big brown eyes and a big smile on his face. Dr. Shepard must have been in his early sixties and still looked very handsome.

"Ah nice to see you again Miss Braverman," he said as he held out his hand for her to shake.

"Good afternoon," she replied nervously.

He looked at the computer, took a deep breath and turned around to face him, a smile on his face. This motion confused Sarah a lot, what could he possibly be so happy about?

"So, Miss Braverman, congratulations!" he beamed.

Now Sarah was really confused, "What... Why?"

"Well, you're pregnant!"

Sarah's eyes widened in shock. She was glad that she was sitting because she could feel her legs starting to buckle and the room starting to spin. Her heart was beating fast.

"What?" she whispered disbelievingly.

"You're pregnant," the doctor repeated gently.

She wasn't expecting this. She had thought about it a lot when she was in a relationship with Mark. He was so young but she had been so sure that he would be an amazing father. But it had never happened for them. She had decided what was best for her and it was the right thing to do. At least that's what she kept telling herself over and over again.

She sighed. I have to tell Hank, she thought and smiled a little. She saw how Hank was around his daughter, he really cared for her. His daughter meant a lot to him and Sarah knew that. She was still shocked but she was happy because she knew Hank would care for their child, unlike Seth had all those years ago.

As she walked into their small apartment, she began to panic. With sweaty hands she twisted the door knob and slowly went into the living room. Hank was lying on the sofa in his usual position while watching some documentary film on TV. He smiled as he saw Sarah and slowly got up from the sofa. Sarah smiled back and Hank came to her, kissing her softly.

"How was your day?" he mumbled absently.

"Good, it ... uh ... it was pretty good actually! Yours?"

"Ok, I guess,"

"Great, great ..." she muttered. She took a deep breath and continued, "Hank, I have to tell you something,"

"Oooookay?" he said slowly, elongating the word.

"I got the results of the blood test today ... and uh ... he found, he said that ... he said that I'm pregnant," she stumbled nervously.

Hank stood in front of her a shocked expression dominating his features, the color disappearing from his face. He looked really shocked. "How long?" was his only reaction.

Sarah was suddenly overcome with emotions. "Whaaa... What? That's your reaction?" She couldn't believe it, after all she had just told him that they were expecting a baby.

"I asked you a question! How far along are you?" he exclaimed, raising his voice slightly.

"Hank! Why... Why are you being like this?" she asked, the hurt etched across her face.

"WHY? Sarah, I don't even know if it's mine!"

"What? Hank! You know I would NEVER ..."

"That is not what I meant! I know that you wouldn't! I don't know if it's mine because of him!"

"Whaa... what?" She stumbled confusedly.

"It could be Mark's! I mean we've only been together for two months now and I don't know ... It could be his!"

And with that, wheels began to turn in Sarah's head and all Hank had said finally made sense. "Oh my god!" she said in a small whisper.

The doctor had said she was in her third month now and like Hank had said, she had only been in a relationship with him for two months. It was Mark's. "Oh my god!" she exclaimed again. How could she have not thought of this before? Slowly she sat down, trying not to look into Hank's face.

He took a deep breath, "So I was right ..."

"I'm so sorry!" Sarah looked down at her lap ashamedly, "I should have thought about that before I told you! I just was so excited and surprised that I couldn't think straight! I should have done the math before telling you! I'm so sorry!" she rambled apologetically.

Hank sat down next to her and looked her straight in the eyes. He looked so hurt and confused and all Sarah wanted to do was kiss him and tell him that it was all going to be alright.

"I don't ... I just don't know what to do! I mean, I am so happy with you, I really am. But do I tell Mark or keep it a secret? I mean he would want to be a part of the baby's life if he knew the truth. I really don't know what to do"

Hank's expression was getting softer by the time she had finished. He caught his anger and suddenly became calmer, almost sad.

He had opened his heart to this woman. He had only done this once before, with his ex-wife. He didn't even have the courage to tell her that he really loved her; now he was afraid it was too late.

There was silence for a while between the two of them. Both lost in their thoughts, trying to think of a way to get out of this. "I have to go and tell him ..." Sarah mumbled quietly, more to herself. But Hank heard her and looked at her, hurt. "He has the right to know it" she reasoned.

Hank nodded but he couldn't agree with her. It was her decision and he really didn't want to ruin their relationship, it was too important to him.

"I have to go back to Berkley, I don't know how long but I need to tell him in person and I need to go alone. I need to figure this out alone, get some space ... I have to clear my head ... It's all so much" she justified.

This morning she had woken up, thinking it was going to be a perfect normal day. And now she would go back, to all the memories she had left behind. She knew it was just to tell him but what would his reaction be, what would Mark do if he knew she was carrying their child? Questions after question; she felt like her head was going to explode.

"Don't go! If you go, it will be over!" Hank said it calm and quiet but Sarah could tell just how upset he was saying these words.

"Hank don't! Please try to understand, I'm just trying to do the right thing,"

"I know but you're going back to him, so please understand that I will not go through something like this, just let it end now before one of us gets hurt, I can't take this another time! I can't!"

With these words he left the apartment, he left Sarah there standing alone in the living room, pregnant, with a child that wasn't his. He walked out the door and Sarah couldn't hold back the tears anymore.

After a while she got up from the couch and slowly made her way to their bedroom. She went to the closet and opened it. She collected all of her things that she needed for her trip and put them in her suitcase. She had to go and she had to go as soon as possible. She didn't even care how long she would have to wait to get a flight; she just needed to get to a place where she could be alone and could figure out the next step.

She had almost closed her suitcase when a small piece between her clothes caught her eye. She freed it from the suitcase and looked at it. Suddenly tears were beginning to stream down her face. Why did she end in the first place? Why did she do such a horrible thing to him? He didn't deserve that, he was just trying to fix everything, to give her everything she wanted and to love her. Like he said everytime there is something good in her life she just goes and ruins it, oh and he was so good to her.

Slowly she put the photo in her bag. It was the family portrait, her family took this last fall. Mark was in it, standing next to her, smiling happily. She had been so happy and so in love with him at this time. Then she started working for Hank and their relationship started falling apart, slowly.

She didn't look back as she left the apartment. Deep down she knew she would never come back again and with that thought she closed the door behind her, not only a door was closed but also a phase of her life.