Three minutes. Never before had three minutes seemed to tick by so slowly. Inez stood in front of the sink, her fingers nervously drumming against the countertop and willed herself not to look at the test beside her. She would keep her eyes on his watch and wait for the minutes to pass by, then and only then would she look.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to force herself to relax. What was the worst that could happen? A single line; that was the worst that could happen. And if that did happen, would it really be so bad? Disappointing, yes, but it had only been five months since they had made the decision to stop doing anything to prevent it. Five months wasn't an unreasonable amount of time to go without seeing results by most people's standards. She knew people who'd gone a lot longer than that. Not everyone could be like her sister, but she'd been so sure last month . . . and she'd been wrong. She'd taken three last month, each one had been negative. She hadn't told him about those, and if the dreaded single line appeared again, she probably wouldn't tell him about this one either.

Inez looked at the watch in her hand again. Only two and half minutes; there were still thirty long seconds to wait. Oh, how she hoped this month would be the one. She was late, and that wasn't normal. There could only be one explanation for that. She hoped so anyway.

The second hand finally ticked past its magic mark, and oddly Inez couldn't bring herself to look at the test. She waited almost twenty more seconds before deciding she was acting ridiculous. If it was negative they would just keep trying. Inez smiled; that wasn't an unpleasant prospect in the least. Closing her eyes, Inez took a breath and looked over.

Inez yanked the pregnancy test off the counter and stared at it in disbelief before picking up the box and looking over the instructions again to make sure she was reading things correctly. Once more her eyes went from the box to the test, and then once again just to be sure. Two lines; positive. She was pregnant.

A mix between a laugh and a sob came from Inez as she sat down on the edge of the bathtub. Tears filled her eyes as she stared at the test in her hand, hardly daring to believe what she was seeing. Was this really happening? She was really going to be a mama and Ezra . . . . Another sob rose when she thought about her husband. There was no doubt in her mind that Ezra would be a wonderful father, even if his mind wasn't as clear of those doubts.

Wiping the tears from her face, Inez stood. It was impossible to keep the smile off her face. She couldn't wait for Ezra to get home so she could tell him he'd been promoted to the position of papi. What would be the best way to tell him? Perhaps she should cook something special tonight. Enchiladas maybe; Ezra had always had a soft spot for those. Or maybe she should do something even more special like black-eyed peas and cornbread with chicken fried steak. She wasn't as familiar with the comfort food of his childhood as she was some of her own dishes, but she tried, and that fact always made Ezra extra appreciative of her efforts.

She moved to put the box in her hand away and heard the last test rattle inside of it. She pulled the remaining test out and stared at it for a long time, perhaps she should try this one too, just to make sure. The idea of another test made her uneasy; what if the answer was different? Inez mentally shook herself. She was being silly. The test was there, and in the interest of being sure, she should try again. Even following the sound train of that Inez found herself wandering around the house for nearly two hours, filling her time with meaningless tasks before she could bring herself to try again.

So began another round of waiting, pacing, and watching the seconds slowly tick by. Once again, she waited a little longer than the directions had stated, just to make sure. A smile spread across her face and tears filled her eyes when she saw those two lines. For several minutes she sat on the bathroom floor and cried; her relief and happiness too much to keep inside.

It wasn't until she heard the door open and Ezra call to her that she realized how late it was getting. "Up here," she called back hastily getting off the floor. Even with the news she had to share she didn't want Ezra to find her crying on the bathroom floor.

"What are you doin', my dear?" he asked walking into the room, the smile he'd been wearing slowly fading as he looked at her. "Somethin' wrong?"

"No," she answered suddenly unsure of how to deliver her news. "I was just . . . ." She looked down at the test again.

"Yes?" Ezra prompted, his eyes briefly following her gaze.

Inez looked at her husband watching her curiously and realized Ezra hadn't made the connection. He wasn't aware of what she was holding or the way it was going to change their lives. She smiled. "I was . . . I mean I suspected. . . ."

Ezra came closer. "You've been cryin'. What's wrong?"

Inez shook her head. "Nothing. I was only waiting for a test result."

Ezra's eyebrows went up. "A test?"

Inez laughed. The poor man was still completely lost with no idea what was going on. Tears filled her eyes again, and she shoved the empty box in his hands.

Understanding dawned in his eyes as he looked at the box. "Inez, you've already . . . . "

Inez nodded.

Ezra sucked in a breath. "And?" he asked his tone hopeful.

"Yes," she said quietly.

"Yes?"

She passed her most recent test over to him. "Yes."

Ezra stared at the test for a long moment before an uncharacteristic whoop left him. Picking her up he twirled her around the room, kissing her soundly as soon as her feet were back on the floor.

When he pulled away, she saw tears of his own standing in his eyes. "You are pleased?" she asked coyly.

"Deliriously so, my dear," he replied kissing her forehead. "Deliriously."

Ezra gave the test in his hand another look and a single tear made its way down his cheek. He met her eyes when she brushed it away with her thumb. He sighed and wrapped her in another embrace. "This is really happening."

Inez held onto him tightly, happier than she'd ever been in her life. "Congratulations, Papi."

A/N: Yes, I'm still alive, and no, I haven't forgotten about my other stories. Real life has been a beast the last few months and my work on my Mag 7 stories has been nonexistent. I'm currently working on my next installment for Buck and hope to have it up within the week. This was a little something I did last night to try and get the juices flowing again.