Part 2

It was only Tuesday, but Jennifer Hart was already exhausted, just as she had been for the past several weeks. It seemed she had never quite been able to recover from being up all night when the group of jewel thieves had taken them hostage in their own home and tried to steal millions in jewels from an unsuspecting international jewel salesman. After the thieves had been apprehended, Jonathan had bought her the emerald and diamond necklace. It was gorgeous.

Jennifer chalked up her exhaustion to all the work she had been doing lately to prepare for the benefit she and Jonathan were throwing for the Mission Street Orphanage that weekend. As she checked yet another completed task off her to-do list for the benefit, she glanced at her wristwatch. It was 3:30. Jonathan would not be home for a couple of hours, so she decided to take a quick nap before he got in. Without even bothering to straighten up the lists and papers that littered the coffee table and much of the rest of living room, she made her way upstairs to her bedroom to lie down. It was not long before she was fast asleep.

"Darling, I'm home," Jonathan called as he entered the house a while later. He dropped his keys on the table next to the door and walked into the living room, where he deposited his briefcase on the couch. "What a mess!" he thought as he observed his wife's plans and preparations for the upcoming benefit scattered throughout the room. "Jennifer?" he called. Receiving no answer from his wife, he went to look for her.

Max and Freeway greeted him when he entered the kitchen, but Jennifer was nowhere in sight.

"Hi, Mr. H.," Max smiled as he prepared dinner. Freeway sat at his feet, ready and waiting should any food happen to fall on the floor. "How are things at the office?"

"Pretty good, Max," Jonathan answered. "Have you seen Jennifer?"

"Yeah. Mrs. H. went up to take a nap a little while ago," Max informed him.

"Thanks, Max," Jonathan said, giving Freeway a pat on the head on the way, as he left the kitchen.

He quickly climbed the stairs and quietly opened the doors to the bedroom. He found Jennifer sleeping soundly, curled up in the middle of their king-sized bed. Gently climbing onto the bed, he placed a loving kiss to her temple and smiled as she sighed and stirred in her sleep. He bent and kissed the tip of her nose. He chuckled as a smile spread across her face. Leaning down one more time, he pressed his lips to hers and watched as her eyes fluttered open.

"Hi," Jennifer smiled, her voice gravelly with sleep, as she kissed him back.

"Hi," Jonathan returned. "Did you sleep well?"

"Mhmm," she nodded. "What time is it?"

"A little after 6:00," he answered as he laced their fingers together. He looked into her eyes. "Darling, are you feeling okay?"

"Fine. Why do you ask?" she said with a tilt of her head.

"Well, you usually can't sleep during the day." He kissed her fingers, never breaking their eye contact. "And Max said you've been up here for a while."

"I feel fine, darling. Maybe a little tired, but I've been pretty busy getting ready for the benefit on Saturday," she reassured him with a smile.

"I know. I saw the living room," he teased.

"Oh! I forgot about that," she said, getting up out of the bed. Jonathan followed suit. "I should go straighten everything up," she continued, "so I can find everything again after dinner." Together, they walked to the door of their bedroom.

"You're sure you're okay?" Jonathan stopped her before they left the room.

"Jonathan, I'm fine," she confirmed. "I promise." She kissed his lips, and they continued their way downstairs.

The evening of the benefit arrived right on schedule. Jennifer spent most of the morning and the better part of the afternoon nailing down and confirming last-minute details. Finally convinced that everything was taken care of, she decided it was time to get dressed. She wrapped herself in her robe and stood in front of the mirror to do her hair and makeup. She easily swept her thick auburn hair up into an elegant French twist. Just as she was sliding the final bobby pin into place, Jonathan joined her in the dressing area.

"You look great," he said with a smile. Standing behind her, he reached up and played with a rebellious tendril of hair that fell against her neck.

"I haven't even gotten dressed yet," she laughed. He wrapped his arms around her slender waist and kissed her neck. He looked up at her in the mirror with a devilish glint in his eye. "Oh, no, no, no, no," she protested, pulling out of his embrace.

"Aw, come on," he pleaded.

"Darling, we don't have time." She turned around to face him with a hand on her hip. He reached out and took her by the shoulders, drawing her into his arms.

"It'll be terrific," he promised. She could not help but laugh at him.

"It always is," she agreed. She leaned back to place a kiss to his lips. "But we really don't have time tonight, Jonathan. We will not be late to our own benefit. Be a good boy and get my black gown from the closet." He looked at her, silently pleading with her to change her mind. "If you get me my dress now, I promise you can help me get back out of it later," she offered with a smile.

"You're tough. You know that?" he said as he kissed her nose and handed her the dress.

"I know. I know," Jennifer teased, slipping the black silk over her head.

As she was getting dressed and finishing the final touches on her hair and makeup, Jonathan decided to get dressed, himself. He put on his tux and tied his bowtie. He returned to Jennifer's side to have her check his tie, and he found her struggling with the zipper of her gown.

"Darling, can you help me with this?" she asked, indicating her stubborn zipper. "I can't seem to get it to zip up."

"Sure, darling," he agreed, taking hold of the zipper. "You're sure you want me to zip it up?" He made eye contact with her in the mirror and smiled.

"Jonathan," she warned.

"I'm kidding," he said, pressing a kiss to her shoulder. Jennifer sucked in her stomach and willed the zipper to move as Jonathan pulled on the tab and gently zipped her dress.

"Thank you, darling." She released the breath she had been holding and turned around to straighten his tie. "All set?"

"All set," he confirmed, and they were on their way.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Jonathan greeted the crowd of people in the ballroom. "Jennifer and I would like to welcome you this evening. We're so grateful you could join us in supporting the Mission Street Orphanage, a place near and dear to my heart."

Jennifer stood beside Jonathan as he thanked everyone for joining them at the benefit. As she looked out over the crowd, she felt herself growing lightheaded. Shaking her head to get rid of the feeling, she realized Jonathan had concluded his speech.

"Darling, are you all right?" he asked as he guided her away from the podium.

"Actually, I'm a little dizzy," she replied, bringing a hand to her forehead. She shook her head, again. "I must have had too much champagne," she smiled.

"Jennifer," he said, "you haven't had any champagne."

"That's right," she remembered, swaying slightly on her feet. Jonathan steadied her and led her to a nearby table.

"Why don't you sit down for a little while," he suggested. "I'll go get you something to drink."

"Thank you, darling," she complied.

"I'll be right back," he promised, kissing her forehead. He returned shortly with a glass of water in his hand. He noticed that Jennifer had grown rather pale in the brief amount of time he had been away from her. "Darling, are you okay?" he asked, handing her the water.

"I'm not sure," she confessed. "I don't feel very well."

"Then, let's go home," he suggested. He took her by the arm and helped to begin to stand up.

"Darling, we can't just leave," she argued. "We're the ones hosting this evening."

"Of course we can leave," he asserted. "You're not feeling well, and I'm taking you home. We'll find someone to take over for us and make sure the rest of the evening goes smoothly," he promised.

Jennifer reluctantly gave in and allowed Jonathan to escort her to their car and drive her home. When they reached 3100 Willow Pond, he helped her inside and upstairs to their bedroom. As she got ready for bed, he could not help but remember the promise she had made to him earlier that evening.

"You know," he teased, "this isn't exactly what I had in mind when you promised to let me help you out of your dress."

"I'm sorry, darling," she apologized. "Tonight didn't turn out quite as I had hoped." She reached up and placed her hand on his cheek. He, in turn, turned his head and pressed a kiss to her palm.

"Jennifer, I don't like this," he confessed. "You're never sick. You never sleep during the day. You've been completely exhausted for weeks, now. I want you to go to the doctor to make sure everything's okay."

"Jonathan, you know I hate doctors," she protested. "It's probably just a little bug. I'm sure I'll feel much better tomorrow."

"And if you don't?" he wanted to know.

"Then I'll go to the doctor," she agreed.

"Promise?"

"Promise." She kissed his cheek and climbed into bed. Jonathan hurried to get ready for bed, as well, and climbed in bed with her. It was not long before sleep found both of them.

Jonathan Hart nervously tapped his pen on his desk. Jennifer was supposed to call him as soon as she was finished at the doctor's office. She had not felt any better the morning after the benefit. In fact, she felt worse, and spent most of the morning in the bathroom emptying the contents of her stomach. He reminded him of her promise, and she dutifully agreed to see her doctor. She had finally convinced him that he did not need to go to her appointment with her, and she ushered him off to the office with the promise to call him with the prognosis, even though she was convinced it was just a bug. She had yet to call him.

Jonathan anxiously picked up the handset of the telephone and listened for the dial tone. The familiar sound reassured him that the phone was indeed working. Returning the receiver to its cradle, he resumed his pen tapping. Patience had never been his strong suit. Suddenly, the intercom buzzed.

"Yes, Deanne," he said, pressing the button on the speakerphone.

"Your wife is here," his secretary replied.

He looked up to see Jennifer enter his office. He jumped to his feet and rushed to her side.

"Darling," he inquired, "what did the doctor say? Why didn't you call me? Is everything alright?"

"Hello to you, too," she laughed, kissing his cheek. "Everything's fine," she assured him.

"So it was just a bug after all?" he asked. "It's all over. You're fine." He breathed a sigh of relief.

"Not exactly." She shook her head. "It wasn't a bug. And it's not over. I'm afraid we're going to have to deal with this for the rest of our lives."

"But you said everything was fine." He felt his anxiety returning.

"It is," she confirmed. "Although, 'fine' isn't really the right word." Her eyes began to fill with tears.

"Jennifer, I don't understand," he admitted, using his thumb to wipe away a stray tear that had wandered down her cheek.

"To tell you the truth, everything is wonderful," she clarified.

"Why the tears, then? You're not making sense, darling." She had him completely confused.

"Darling, I think you should sit down," she suggested, guiding him to the chairs in front of his desk.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" He lowered himself into one of the chairs and sat on the edge of the seat. Jennifer sat down opposite him and took his hands into her own. She looked him straight in the eye and smiled.

"Jonathan," she cooed, "you're going to be a daddy. We're going to have a baby!" She was beaming.

"A baby?" he exclaimed in surprise. He jumped to his feet pulling Jennifer with him.

"Uh-huh," she giggled. He placed his hands on either side of her face and kissed her deeply.

"A baby," he whispered, and she nodded when they finally broke apart. "We're having a baby. How? When?"

"The usual way," she laughed. "We weren't exactly doing anything to prevent it. And as for when," she paused, "the doctor thinks Baby Hart will be making his or her entrance in about six months, around Valentine's Day."

He gave her a skeptical look.

"I'm not kidding," she promised.

"I suppose it is the perfect day for a Hart to be born," he surmised and kissed her again. He reached out to touch her still-flat abdomen, where his unborn child was growing. Jennifer covered his hand with one of her own.

"We're having a baby," she whispered, her eyes once more brimming with tears. He picked her up and spun her around, both of them laughing. When Jonathan set her back on her own feet, she whispered, "I love you."

"Not nearly as much as I love you," he promised. "Not nearly as much as I love both of you."

A/N: Thank you all so much for your glowing reviews! You sure do know how to make a girl feel good! Sorry this update took so long! I'm still working through my writer's block. Keep those reviews coming! I really do think they're helping!