This chapter is for Sage because she's a doll and she GRADUATED COLLEGE LAST WEEKEND! GET IT GIRL! YOU'RE A GEM AND YOU'RE GOING TO DO GREAT THINGS!

(Also apologies if there are any mistakes because I uploaded this from my phone and I find it hard to proof there. Also I'm in a little bit of a rush because I'm getting ready to head to dinner but I just wanted to get this up! Hope you enjoy!)


The next morning was Thursday and she knew it was going to be another long night at work. But that was okay; if they could knock everything pressing out tonight she could be home at a decent time on Friday and have a rare weekend with her family. Plus she and Henry needed some quality time to process everything that was happening.

She was doing her makeup in the bathroom when Henry walked in; he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck.

She squealed at the feel of his morning stubble against her neck, "Henry I'm going to stab myself in the eye with this mascara if you don't stop that!"

Henry kissed her one more time and then let her go so he could start getting ready himself.

"Babe I know we still need to nail down a timeline for who we're going to tell and when but I think you should consider telling Frank and Matt about the baby. They're your main agents, they need to know."

Elizabeth shook her head, "No, I'm not telling them yet. Henry, their job descriptions literally put them in the line of fire with or without a baby onboard. The news isn't going to affect the way they do their job. I'll be fine. And I really don't need my detail panicking over me because you and Blake will do enough of that."

Henry sighed, "Elizabeth, I just think it would be good if they knew. What if you go abroad?"

Elizabeth sighed, she really didn't want to start out the morning with an argument, "Fine, if I take a diplomatic trip before we decide to tell them then I will do it."

Henry nodded, that was a compromise he could live with. He wanted her safe but he also didn't want to stress her out, "Okay, deal."

Elizabeth smiled, "Thank you, baby."

"You are going to confirm with Blake though right? I mean he already basically knows."

Elizabeth nodded, "Yeah, that would be really cruel of me to have made the poor kid go buy me pregnancy tests and then pretend the whole thing didn't happen."

Henry laughed, "Yeah, you might be right about that."

Elizabeth finished putting her lipstick on as Henry had wiped the last bit of shaving cream off his face.

"Good, I need to blot." She said, taking his face in her hands and kissing him, leaving a brownish red splash of lipstick across his lips.

When she let him go he turned to look in the mirror, "Oh, babe this is really my color."

She playfully smacked him on the butt, "That is definitely your color. Have a good day baby."

He wiped the lipstick off his face with a washcloth and then turned around and grabbed her hand as she walked out the door, "Hey, I know it's difficult and I'm not asking you to stop stressing yourself out because with your job I know that's impossible, I just want you to take a break if you feel yourself getting too stressed. Ten or fifteen minutes, I know you don't like to meditate but please just consider it, for me?"

Elizabeth sighed and squeezed his hand. She hated meditating but she knew if she agreed to this little thing it would help Henry with his own stress levels, "Of course." She said genuinely, "Can I call you and make you do the meditating for me?"

Henry laughed, "Absolutely."

When Elizabeth arrived at the office Blake was immediately at her side and of course he wasn't bringing up anything that had happened the last two days. He briefed her on the usual morning activities and Elizabeth was incredibly grateful for this normalcy.

He was about to sit back down at his desk when she asked him to come into her office.

He looked concerned but didn't say anything.

"Blake, I owe you an explanation. You've been wonderful the last two days keeping all my private...issues...well, private and not asking questions and I appreciate that." She took a deep breath, "As I'm sure you've come to conclude, I'm pregnant."

Blake's look was knowing with a hint of surprise mixed in, like actually hearing the words aloud had been what surprised him instead of the news itself.

Elizabeth continued, "You are the only person that knows besides Henry and my doctor and I really need to keep it that way for now. This was not something that was planned and Henry and I need to figure out how we're going to deal with it before the news gets out."

Blake just nodded along in understanding.

"I know I already ask a lot of you but I'm going to need your help hiding this, I don't even want Nadine to know at this point. I tend to get sick at around 1 pm so I'm going to need to keep that time period open unless you absolutely can't avoid it and then we'll figure something out." She sighed, "I'm sorry I have to burden you with this but I really need an ally right now."

Blake nodded, "Of course ma'am. I'm happy to help."

"I appreciate that, who's my first meeting this morning?" She asked, needing to change the subject.

Blake didn't miss a beat, "Just Daisy ma'am."

Elizabeth nodded, "Great, thank you."

Blake got up to leave and when he reached her door he turned back around, "Ma'am?"

She looked up at him.

"Congratulations."

She smiled at him as he walked out of the room, a genuine smile because this time she realized congratulations didn't scare her, she was happy about this baby no matter how much change it was going to bring to her life.

Thursday was hectic as she suspected but Friday came without a crisis and she arrived home at a decent hour with her weekend wide open. The family had already eaten dinner so she puttered around the kitchen eating takeout straight from the containers as Henry just looked on in amusement.

"What is going on with you? Do I have food on my face?"

Henry laughed, "No, you're just...you're glowing."

Elizabeth blushed and then rolled her eyes, "Shut up. I threw up in my office for an hour today. Poor Blake basically has to follow me around with febreeze and perfume. I almost broke down crying after watching a humanitarian aide video. I swatted Mike B.'s hand away from my fries so viciously I think I scared him a little bit."

"Wow, that's actually kind of hot. I didn't someone without a soul could feel fear." Henry joked.

Elizabeth laughed, "My point being, I feel anything but glowing!"

Henry walked around the counter and wrapped his arms around his wife, his mouth trailing hot kisses up her neck and making her moan in pleasure. "You're beautiful and glowing and I love you." Henry whispered in her ear. Elizabeth dropped the takeout container she still held in one hand and wrapped her arms around her husband, their lips met in a fire and they were both lost in each other until they heard whines of disgust as Jason and Ali walked into the room.

Henry and Elizabeth reluctantly pulled away from each other and rolled their eyes at their children.

"Jeez, get a room." Jason lamented.

"Technically this whole house could be considered our 'room' because we own it while you just live here." Elizabeth said sarcastically.

Ali rolled her eyes, "Whatever, you're the ones who are going to have to pay for our therapy."

Henry laughed, "Yes because it's sooo difficult to grow up with parents who love each other."

Ali stifled a laugh, "If they're constantly making out like teenagers it is!"

"Fine, whatever, if Dad and I stop making out can we all watch a movie together?"

Ali's eyes lit up, "Really, you're not too tired?"

Elizabeth walked over to her daughter and draped an arm around her shoulder, "No, come on, you can even pick the movie!"

Jason groaned, "If Ali's picking the movie then I'm out."

Henry grabbed Jason playfully by the shoulders and pulled him back, "Come on buddy, it won't be that bad."

Jason groaned, "She's going to pick Pitch Perfect again."

Ali nodded, her eyes wide with excitement, as she scampered into the tv room.

Henry laughed, "Oh, relax buddy. You know you secretly love it."

Jason just laughed and shook his head; he would never admit that his Dad was right.

Elizabeth followed the boys into the tv room and they all made themselves comfortable while Ali started the movie.

Jason claimed the comfy chair while Henry and Elizabeth made themselves comfortable on the sofa and Ali joined them, curling up into her mother's side like she was a little girl.

Elizabeth wrapped her arm around her daughter and held her close, knowing their middle child occasionally needed this extra attention and hoping that this new baby didn't make Ali feel even more in the middle than she already felt.

Henry paid less attention to the movie and more to his wife and daughter. He recalled how Elizabeth had been terrified before Stevie was born. She was scared about having children, afraid she couldn't open herself up to love them the way they deserved, she was terrified to leave them in the tragic way her own parents had left her, and she was terrified to love them so much that the thought of losing them seemed unbearable. They had obviously gotten through that, Henry's unconditional love for her had managed to impart upon her the rationale that maybe it was better to love hard so that even if you did lose someone you didn't spend your remaining time wondering if they had known just how much they meant to you. Their family always knew she loved them, no matter how much she was away or how stressful her life was, Henry knew none of the kids ever doubted their mother's love for them. Henry never doubted her love for him either, but even after all these years her capacity to love after so much loss in her early years never ceased to amaze him. She loved their family so deeply and so passionately and that would forever inspire him.

After the movie was over Henry and Elizabeth headed to bed. Elizabeth slipped on a nightie and Henry knew exactly what she wanted.

Later they were lying in bed, covers everywhere and limbs tangled together. Henry tucked a rogue strand of her hair behind her ear and he had a goofy grin on his face, "You're beautiful."

She blushed, "You're going to be singing a different tune in a few months when I'm fat and even crankier than usual."

Henry laughed and reached over to cup her chin in his hand, "I will always think you are the most beautiful woman in the world, no matter what."

She leaned in to kiss him lightly, "I love you."

Henry's hand snaked down to her belly once again and she reached down to interlock their fingers, "Can you believe there's a baby in there? I think a part of me is still in shock."

Henry smiled and nodded, "I'd have to agree. It feels a little like we're in a dream." He paused, "Hey, you know what we haven't done yet?"

Elizabeth furrowed her brow in confusion, "What?"

"Figure out when this little miracle was conceived."

Elizabeth grinned, that had always been one of the first things they had done each time she found out she was pregnant. She giggled, "I think Jason would disown us if he found out he was probably conceived in the closet at that boring UVA faculty event."

Henry laughed, "Well at least the other two were normal...fairly normal...places."

"Um our old sofa and being unable to wait long enough to go into the bedroom and grab a condom for Stevie isn't great. At least Ali was just some good old fashioned bed loving."

"And this one...what about this one?"

Elizabeth reached over Henry and opened his bedside table drawer to pull out the envelope, "There's a probable conception date somewhere in here."

Henry's eyes lit up and he sat up in bed. Elizabeth snuggled up against his strong chest and she pulled the papers out of the envelope and started scouring them. Her eyes lit up when she came across the date and then her face fell, "Oh my god, approximately March 15th."

Henry's brow furrowed as he backtracked to figure out he significance of the date and when he realized what it was his mouth dropped open, "Oh, right before you left for Iran."

Elizabeth nodded, trying to keep her cool, she wasn't going to let this get to her. The night before she left for Iran had been a very good night. She looked at Henry and he seemed confused as to how to act about this news. She smiled at him, "Despite what happened afterward, that was an amazing night."

Henry looked relieved that she was choosing to look on the bright side. He smiled, "You know, this is kind of the best karma ever."

Elizabeth looked at him, totally confused, "Karma? How is this karma?"

"Because you wanted to talk about if you died and me getting remarried!" Henry exclaimed.

Elizabeth burst out laughing, oh god he was so right! "That was mostly joking, to ease the tension!"

"Karma." Henry said simply.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and tried to contain her laughter, "So you knocked me up to get back at me for suggesting you remarry if I died?!"

"Yes, that was exactly my plan." He deadpanned but quickly got serious again; "Maybe it just means God always intended that you made it safely home from Iran?"

Elizabeth ran her hand down her husband's chest, "And that you and I have many more wonderful years together?"

Henry chuckled, "Many, many more wonderful years together."

Elizabeth took a deep breath, "And Fred Cole's sacrifice was for his country and me...and this new little baby." She felt her eyes get watery and Henry immediately saw and pulled her close.

She held on tightly to Henry, burying her head in the crook of his neck.

"That must mean this kid is destined for greatness." She joked, trying to make the mood a little lighter so she didn't start sobbing.

Henry pulled back and looked her in the eyes, "'Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.' You, my darling, seem to fill all three of those categories."

Elizabeth blushed and rolled her eyes, "You already knocked me up, no more need for flattery."

Henry leaned in to kiss her forehead, "It's not flattery, it's just the truth."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, "Why do I love that you're so cheesy sometimes?"

Henry shrugged, "It's part of my charm." He paused, knowing what else they needed to talk about and thinking Elizabeth in this relaxed state was probably the best time to do it. "Babe, we really need to discuss our timeline. I think this is going to hit us all faster than we realize."

Elizabeth sighed and buried her head in his chest, "Yeah, I know you're right."

Henry tilted her chin up so she was looking at him, "So…telling the kids?"

Elizabeth groaned, "Literally, right now I'd rather negotiate a treaty between India and Pakistan rather than tell our children they're about to get another sibling."

Henry stifled a laugh, "Okay, I don't think it's going to be that bad."

Elizabeth sighed, "We have to wait until after my three month appointment. I need to know everything is at least progressing normally before we tell the kids. I don't think I could handle it if we told them and something happened…" She trailed off, not wanting to think about that situation.

Henry pulled her close and kissed her head tenderly. She took a deep breath and continued, "As for Conrad and my staff I'd prefer to wait until 4 months provided I'm not showing until then."

Henry smiled and reached down to caress her flat stomach, "I think you should be able to hide it for that long, you did with the other three."

Elizabeth chuckled, "Yeah, but I was also in my twenties and early thirties, I think it will be a little different now."

"You are going to be fine, babe. But you are going to have to start eating better."

Elizabeth groaned, "How about I just balance out all the crap I eat with some decent stuff?"

Henry laughed, "Yeah, that's not going to happen."

Elizabeth found herself grumpy at his comment, "Henry, food is all I have to de-stress at work. I need it."

Henry felt her body tense up and squeezed her tenderly, "I'm not saying give up your fries or your takeout, just cut back a bit and switch it up with fruit or smoothies, hey you love smoothies!"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, she loved that he was trying to get her excited about eating better and she knew he was right but that didn't mean she was going to get excited about it. "Fine, just...talk to Blake about it. I'll be better if I don't even have the option of eating crap." She turned to Henry and he looked guilty. "Oh my god, you already talked to him!" She smacked him playfully on the shoulder.

"Hey, ow!" Henry said, "Babe, I'm sorry, but I'm trying my hardest not to add more stress to your life and talking to Blake felt like the best thing to do."

Elizabeth sighed, she couldn't be mad at him for this, she knew he was right and she knew he only did it because he loved her. She leaned in to kiss him, "I know and I love you for that."

"I know you do. Now go to bed, you need your sleep."

They both sank down into the covers, cuddled together and exchanging lazy kisses as they made themselves cozy.

"I love you, baby." Elizabeth whispered.

Henry's eyes were closed but he squeezed her gently, "I love you."

The next morning Elizabeth woke up feeling great but was immediately disheartened to find herself alone in their big bed. She threw on a pair of pajamas and a robe and headed downstairs to find Henry and Stevie cooking breakfast.

"Oh my god it smells glorious down here!" She exclaimed, "What are you guys making?"

Stevie looked up at her, "Blueberry waffles, fritatas, sausage, bacon, bagels and lox, if you want it, we're making it!"

Elizabeth laughed and walked over to her oldest daughter and kissed the side of her head, "Well, I am starving so I can't wait. When did you get home last night? I didn't hear you come in."

Stevie shrugged, "Not late, 12ish? Jason and Ali were still up but I didn't want to bother you guys."

"Honey, you could have woken us up. I like to know when you get home."

Stevie paused and pursed her lips as if she didn't know how to say what she needed to say, "You weren't sleeping." She finally said, her tone indicating she knew what they had been doing.

Henry's eyes grew wide and he mouthed, 'Whoops', to Elizabeth. Meanwhile she felt the blood rush to her cheeks and she figured it was best to leave the conversation at that.

"You have any plans today sweetie?"

Stevie shook her head, "Not until this afternoon. Why?"

"Well, I thought it might be nice to play a board game? We could do it after breakfast?"

Stevie nodded and smiled, "Yeah, that's cool."

Elizabeth helped Henry and Stevie bring the food to the table and Stevie announced she was going to wake up Alison and Jason."

As Stevie ascended the stairs Elizabeth walked over to Henry and wrapped her arms around his waist, "Why didn't you wake me up? You know how much I like waking up with you." She whined.

He reciprocated, pulling her body close to his own and giving her a light kiss on the lips. He pulled back just a little and smiled at her, "Because babe, you need all the sleep you can get and I wanted to make you a nice breakfast."

Elizabeth tried to suppress a pouty look. She groaned, "Ughh I can't even be mad at you for this because it's so sweet and thoughtful."

"That was the plan."

At that point all three kids bounded down the stairs and Elizabeth reluctantly pulled away from Henry. Alison was the last kid down the stairs and she looked like she was still half asleep. Elizabeth walked over to her and put her arm around Alison's shoulders, "Hey sleeping beauty, maybe you should get to bed earlier so you're not exhausted at 10 am?"

Alison managed a small smile, "I'm a teenager, I'm supposed to stay up late and sleep in late." She assessed her mother, "Hey, not fair, you look like you just woke up too."

Elizabeth smiled, "Yeah, well for me sleeping in just means catching up on all the sleep I can't get because I work too much."

They walked over to the table and all sat down to dig into their meal, "So you don't have to work this weekend?" Jason asked his mother.

Elizabeth smiled, "Not unless there's some kind of crisis. So keep your fingers crossed."

Alison's eyes lit up, "Do you think we could go to the mall? I could really use some new practice clothes for soccer."

Elizabeth pursed her lips, she really wanted to go with Ali to the mall but she didn't want to risk getting sick while shopping. "Do you think we could go tomorrow morning? I was kind of hoping to spend all day in my pajamas."

Luckily Ali was fine with that, "Yeah, absolutely! Thanks Mom."

Elizabeth smiled and turned to Stevie and Jason, "What about you two? Care to join us?"

Stevie nodded, "Yeah, I'm up for the mall."

Jason laughed, "Shopping for clothing and makeup with these two? I'll pass."

Henry laughed, "You and I can find something else to do, buddy."

The morning went by quickly and they enjoyed the rare family time by playing monopoly and then Elizabeth, Henry and the girls decided to read in the living room while Jason played video games. Elizabeth so rarely got to read for pleasure and she was immensely enjoying herself until she felt her stomach turn. She squeezed her eyes shut, crap, she had put her morning sickness out of her mind. She got up as casually as she could and carefully made her way up the stairs, feeling more nauseous with each step. It only took Henry a minute to figure out what was happening and although he wanted to jump up and run after his wife he waited a moment so as not to alarm Stevie and Alison. He then casually made his way into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water for her and a stack of paper towels and then headed up the stairs and bolted into their bathroom. Sure enough his wife was clinging to their toilet. She looked pitiful, her face was pale and she squeezed her eyes shut as she heaved into the toilet. He grabbed a bag out of his sink cabinet before he sat down on the floor next to her and gently rubbed her back and held her hair, "Oh baby, I'm so sorry."

After a few moments she managed to look up from the toilet.

He handed her a paper towel and she flashed him a very small smile, "You are my hero."

He pointed to the water and the bag on the floor, "Water and peppermints for when you feel like it."

Elizabeth felt tears in her eyes, "You remembered that peppermint is the only thing that helps my nausea."

Henry grinned, "Of course I did. I've got another bag to send you to work with as well."

"Baby, I love you so much."

Henry just smiled and continued rubbing her back as another wave of nausea hit her. When it passed she sat back up, leaning against the cool wall. Henry handed her the bottle of water, "Drink up, please."

She took a big gulp, the cold water felt heavenly running down her throat.

Henry unwrapped a mint and handed it to her when she finished and she popped it in her mouth. She leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes, letting the peppermint melt in her mouth.

Henry watched her intently, "You know, I can come to your office and sit with you while you're sick? I don't like the thought of you suffering through this alone in your office."

Elizabeth opened her eyes and looked at her sweet husband, his face was wrinkled with concern and although she appreciated his offer she couldn't make him do that. She shook her head, "Henry, I'll be fine. I've already dealt with it for a week and with any luck it won't last too much longer. And anyway I don't want you rushing over to the state department every day and then rushing back to get to your 2 o'clock class. I'd worry too much about you."

Henry reached over to squeeze her hand, "How about I come over once or twice a week? It'll just look like I'm having a late lunch with you."

Elizabeth nodded, "A lunch date complete with a little vomiting, how romantic."

"Well a lunch date with my beautiful, vomit-stricken wife is still a better lunch date than one with anyone else who is not vomit-stricken."

Elizabeth giggled, "You're so cheesy, Dr. McCord. But I love it and I love you."

Henry leaned in to kiss her lightly on the lips before Elizabeth pulled back, "Oh my god, no, my breath must be putrid."

Henry laughed, "Yeah, it's disgusting babe, I'm going to scrub my mouth with toothpaste now but it was totally worth it."

Elizabeth laughed and whipped a peppermint at Henry as he got up to brush his teeth. She was the luckiest woman on earth to have found Henry McCord.


I'm really just having loads of fun writing this so I sincerely hope you're enjoying reading it! Review pretty please? They fuel my writing fire!

Also, I'm interested in knowing if you think the newest McCord should be a boy or a girl? (I've written for both but I'm leaning towards one.) Just leave me a comment saying boy or one saying girl and if you want explain your reasoning, I'd love to know! Thanks for reading!