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"She really wants to do the whole thing herself?" Grace asked Will through the phone. Grace was sitting at her desk, going through some sketches. Karen had been coming in later since she got pregnant so that gave Grace plenty of time for gossip.
"The whole thing." Will said. "She had him sign over all of his rights to the child."
"How does she plan to raise a child by herself?"Grace asked. "I mean, we saw how she was with Olivia and Mason and just children in general."
"I don't know. Sometimes I can see it, but I remember that this is Karen we're talking about." Will chuckled.
"Oh, I gotta go she's coming up." Grace said quickly as she heard the elevator. She hung up the phone and waited for Karen to come in.
"Hey, Karen, how are you feeling?" She asked.
Karen's only response was a groan.
"Morning sickness?" Grace asked.
"That. And the fact that Rosario got rid of all my booze and pills." She said as she began to open the drawers of her desk. "Surely there's some around here- ah! Here we go."
"Karen!"
"Good Lord, honey what?"
"You know that you can't drink while you're pregnant." Grace told her. "Even you know that. Surely your doctor told you."
Karen was quiet and began to open up a bottle of nail polish.
"Karen," Grace asked. " Have you even been to the doctor yet?"
"Maybe-"
"Karen! Why not?"
"I don't know." Karen admitted. " I'm scared. I know I was drinking before I knew I was pregnant and, between you and me, I'm not twenty five anymore. What if something's wrong?"
"Karen, you have to go." Grace said gently. "The sooner you go, the better off the both of you will be."
"I guess you're right." Karen sighed. "I'll make an appointment with Lady Doctor."
The appointment was made for the next day at four. Grace went with Karen, partly to make sure she went at all. The two women sat down together after checking in.
"First baby?" The woman next to Karen asked.
"Yeah," Karen smiled a little. "How could you tell?"
"You look terrified." The other woman laughed. "I'm Linda."
"Karen."
"I remember when my wife and I had our first. She was a wreck." Linda commented. "Your partner seems to be more calm than most first time moms I've met."
"Wha-Oh you think?" Karen stuttered. "Oh no, Grace is just a friend. She's had a baby before."
"Oh, I'm sorry, I just thought..."
"It's fine. I've always thought that Grace had a crush on me. I mean, obviously she wanted to come to get a chance to get a peek at my-"
"Mrs. Walker, the doctor will see you now."
"Oh, that's me." Karen got up. "Nice talking to you Linda."
Grace and Karen walked back to the examination room.
"Mrs. Walker, if you could just change into this gown then we'll get started." The doctor handed me a thin sheet of a gown. The fabric was uncomfortable and synthetic. I changed after he left the room for a moment. I knocked on the door to let him know that he could come back in.
I laid on the padded examination chair as he began to ask questions.
"Mrs. Walker, about how far along would you estimate you are?"
"Gosh, probably a month and a half, maybe two?" Karen answered.
"Okay so this is a good time for your first appointment." He nodded. "Do you drink or take any prescription drugs?"
"I did until I found out I was pregnant." She answered.
"Well, you do need to stay away from those and while your age is a concern, you seem to be in good health overall." The doctor nodded as he looked over Karen's file. "Ready to see your baby?"
"Yeah." Karen nodded with an anxious smile. She looked over at Grace who also smiled.
"Mrs. Walker, it seems that you are actually beginning your third month of pregnancy."
"It can't possibly be that long." Karen said with disbelief.
"That's what it seems like." The doctor repeated, continuing to look at the screen. "See, there are the head and the arms. And we might be able to hear a heartbeat..."
The doctor turned on the speakers of the monitor and moved the wand around a little bit. Karen took Grace's hand in anticipation. Soon, everyone could hear the rhythmic thuds of the baby's heart beat. As soon as the sound was emitted, Karen's breath caught and her eyes filled with tears. That was her baby. That was the little life growing inside of her.
" I can get a copy of a picture from this ultrasound, if you'd like." The doctor offered.
"Hell yeah, I would like!" Karen said through her happy tears.
"Okay," He smiled. "I'll be back in a minute with that."
"Gracie, did you hear that?" Karen said. "That was my baby!"
"See, just think if you hadn't come. You wouldn't have gotten to hear that."
"Thank you, Grace. "
After a few more minutes, the doctor was back with a picture of the baby.
"There you go." He smiled. "Well, it looks like we're done here so I'll leave you to change."
"Thank you doctor." Karen smiled. She held the picture in her hands carefully, as if it were the actual baby. Karen sat there for a moment, studying the picture.
"Karen?" Grace interrupted. "We kinda need to go."
"Oh," Karen snapped out of her trance. "Sure honey, sorry."
The two women left the building and back to the limo, the entire time Karen hardly looked up from the picture.
It was her baby.
