It had been two months since she found out she was expecting and up until now, she just looked fat according to people who loved to point out her weight gain. But looking in the bathroom mirror, there was no more hiding her bump, which was starting to round out. She didn't know who to tell, who not to tell, or whether or not she should even mention it to anyone at all. After thinking long and hard about her options, she called Annie and Ruby over. They both came straightaway after she told them it was an emergency. But once they got there, all her nerve had flown out of the nearest window. The three of them stood quietly in the kitchen.

"Since no one else will say it: What the hell are we doing here?" Annie blurted out.

"I have news." Beth answered quietly, her voice the complete opposite of Annie's.

Ruby looked worried. "What is it? Is everything okay?"

Beth had realized that this was going to be the first time she said it out loud and the thought of doing so made her choke up a little. She swallowed and took a deep breath because she knew this life changing information couldn't be sucked back into her mouth afterwards.

"I…I'm pregnant." She took a sip of water, looking back and forth at Annie and Ruby's mouths hanging open. "That's it. That's the emergency."

"Wait. What?!" Annie shouted. "I thought you and Dean weren't really together anymore."

"We're not." she explained, shaking her head.

"Beth." Ruby deadpanned. "It's not."

Beth knew that Ruby had put two and two together. She had told Ruby and Annie about she and Rio hooking up a few times months ago, but she also told them that it stopped after those few times although it never had.

Ruby continued with her question even though she already knew the answer. "It's Rio's?"

"What?!" Annie's voice got louder and louder with each thing she said.

"Could you stop yelling?" Beth asked, not really asking but demanding. "There is nothing you can say to me that I haven't already said to myself. I feel terrible about it, but there is nothing I can do to change it."

Annie finally lowered her voice. "How far along are you?"

"Four months." Beth answered. "I couldn't feel worse about this. I just feel so awful." she said, starting to cry.

Annie and Ruby rushed to her side and wrapped their arms around her as she sobbed and it reminded her of the day she found out herself. There were people in her life who supported her and loved her no matter what. She didn't have to be alone in this. When she finally pulled herself together, they went and squeezed on the couch next to one another like they often did. It made her feel so much better to be able to talk about it.

"So what do you plan on telling Dean?" Annie inquired.

Beth shrugged. "I told him I've been seeing someone. He knows I'm sleeping with them, just doesn't know who."

At the risk of making Beth feel like she was being interrogated, Ruby snuck her own question in shyly. "What did Rio say about all of this?"

Beth grinned. "He asks me questions all the time about what it feels like and how I'm feeling. He's always bothering me, asking me if I need something. When it's just us talking, I forget about Dean and the type of trouble Rio's into. I feel waves of happiness, then they're gone."

"Do you know what you're having?" Annie asks, swearing to herself this is the last question. For now at least.

"Not yet." Beth answered, shaking her head. "I should find out at my next appointment in a few days. Rio's been begging to come with me, but I really need you two there."

They were more than glad to accompany her.

After her appointment, she said goodbye to Ruby and Annie before calling Rio to meet her at her house. He came right away, already in the best mood she had ever witnessed him in.

"So?" he asked.

"So my doctor keeps mentioning my advanced maternal age." she answered, rolling her eyes.

"You know what I'm talking about."

"You were right. It's a girl." She smiled.

"I knew it!" he shouted, smiling ear to ear, reaching out to put his hands on her small belly. He got face to belly with her and spoke. "I knew it was a Lia."

"Do I not get a say in what her name is?" Beth asked, giggling at how surprisingly adorable Rio was being.

"It's Lia." he answered, standing up straight.

"Since I love seeing you so happy, I'm going to let you decide whether or not you want to continue our conversation now or later." she said, sternly. The way the smile melted from his face hurt her a little. "You love her already, that's obvious. You have to get out of everything you're in if you want to be in her life."

"And do what?" he asked, taking a seat on the couch.

She sat next to him. "You're smart, so smart. You can do anything."

"Nah. I don't need some suburban housewife trying to be my guidance counselor."

"Is that all I am?" she asked, regretting bringing the conversation up and popping their happy bubble. "Just some suburban housewife? Nice to know how you feel."

He shook his head. "You know I didn't mean that."

"You say a lot of things you don't mean and I'm starting to think you mean them."

He knew he was in the wrong like he was a lot of the time. "I'm sorry."

"Me too. It's just really stressful trying to figure all of this out."

"You don't have to worry about anything if you just let me take care of you." Rio assured her. He hated seeing her so worried and feeling helpless.

She looked at him and already missed the huge smile that was on his face just a few short minutes ago. She wanted him to always smile like that and she knew how to make it come back. At least for the moment.

"Why do you love the name Lia so much?" she asked, genuinely interested.

"Was my grandmother's name." he answered, smile already tugging at the corners of his mouth. "She raised me, she was the only family I had. But now I got you."

Beth rolled her eyes and smiled when she realized he wasn't talking to her anymore. He had rested a hand on her stomach and started talking to their baby. Their baby . Twenty years and four children with Dean and their baby was about to change all of their lives. Beth and Rio knew soon after they started having sex that it wasn't just for fun, there was a connection. They never talked about it explicitly, only small things here and there. But before she rattled the lives of her little ones, the people who meant the most in the world to her, she needed things to be clear. And at this point, she couldn't be anything less than blunt.

"Do you love me too or just her?" she asked, immediately regretting it because she didn't even know what answer she was hoping for.

Rio's eyes slowly lifted to Beth's face, attempting to get a sense of where her thoughts were but she didn't even know.

"I just need to know so I can figure out if I need to let my children know that the man with the giant eagle tattooed on his throat isn't just someone Mommy's met once or twice." she explained.

"I love her." he answered and watched Beth's face start to drain. "And I love you. You should know that by now."

She exhaled. "You never say it."

"I show it. Words don't mean shit when the actions don't add up. But if you needed to hear it, there you go." He gave Beth a quick kiss on the lips. "Can I finish my conversation with her now?"

Beth laughed. "The ignoring me for her begins already. You do know that a lot of things are going to have to change for this to work out? Have to change for her?"

He nodded. "She's worth it."

AN: I hope that if you've gotten this far, you have enjoyed these two chapters! If there is any interest in me posting the rest here, comment or message and let me know! My biggest hope is that you enjoyed my work so far!