Holy Moly you guys, I am so sorry to have been so late in posting! Blame Thanksgiving and life in general! Thank you to Skovko for your review and to the guest who reviewed - this chapter will clear up exactly what is up with Renee...Seth is back in the next chapter, but this one was important to write, I think you'll agree...enjoy and please remember to follow, favourite, and review!


Twenty minutes after Dean and Olivia had separated in the lobby, Roman had texted Dean to let him know Renee was awake and asking for him. He willed the elevator to go faster, and narrowly missed running over a nurse who was waiting for the elevator when he got out. "Sorry!" he called behind him, his eyes never leaving his destination as he half-ran, half-walked the rest of the way down the hall to Renee's private room.

When he skidded up to the door, he exhaled a breath he hadn't realized he was holding when he saw Renee propped up and having small sips of water. Once Roman had Renee hooked into an saline drip to get some fluids back and prescribed a course of anti-emetics, she looked more like her usual self. She was still pale, and dressed in one of those shapeless hospital gowns that made her look like a patient, but when her eyes lit up at the sight of Dean, he knew things were going to be okay - they had to be. He closed the distance between them quickly, and tried not to crush Renee in his arms when he hugged her, "God, Ree….don't ever do that again…you scared the everlovin' crap out of me and Olivia both…"

Renee looked up at Dean, who positioned himself on the side of her bed, and stroked his face with one small pale hand, "That suits me just fine…it got boring after the fifth or sixth time on the porcelain bus anyways." She smiled when she felt the pressure of his cheek pressing into her hand, and his warmer hand covered hers, treasuring the touch.

Their hands dropped, but remained linked by her side, "Have they said anything to you about what's next?" Dean asked her.

Renee shook her head, "Not really, just that I was going to be here for a couple of days until I could actually eat without barfing it back up - did they say anything to you?" She took another sip of water and rested her head back against the pillow.

"Well I know they took a bunch of blood to run tests - the next thing Roman had mentioned to me was an ultrasound, soonish - he didn't say when exactly, but I'll stay up here with you until they say it's time," he leaned forward and rested his forehead against hers. "And I'm not going anywhere unless it's with you," he whispered.

A hospital porter knocked on the door, "Renee Ambrose? I'm here to wheel you down to Medical Imaging - are you okay to get into the chair, or do you need some help?"

Dean stood in front of his wife protectively and spoke gruffly, "I'll help her into the chair." He pulled the wheelchair from the porter's grasp and brought it over to Renee's bedside.

She moved slowly, but it was due more to tiredness than pain, "Are you okay to sit up for the ride down?" At his wife's nod, he gingerly slipped his arms underneath her and eased her into the chair, the IV stand rattling along beside them as he wheeled her after the porter into the elevator.

The technician met them at the doors to the ultrasound room, "Mrs. Ambrose? I'm Erica - I'm the ultrasound technician - we're going to do some intra-abdominal imaging on you tonight - it's not going to hurt, and hopefully you've haven't eaten or anything to drink in the last four to six hours?"

Renee rolled her eyes, "I wish - certainly nothing that's stayed down - I'm clean as a whistle."

Erica smiled a bit too brightly, "Then let's get you in and out!"

Dean wheeled Renee into the small room and helped her onto the imaging bed. Erica the Technician squeezed past Dean, who moved over to Renee's head where he was out of the way. Erica pulled a thin cotton blanket up and placed it just over Renee's underwear line under the hospital gown, and slid the hospital gown up so that her abdominal area was clear and her exam would be unimpeded. Erica looked at the two of them. In one hand she held a bottle of gel, in the other she held the ultrasound wand, "You folks ready to roll?"

Dean looked at Renee, who nodded, "Yeah, of course - let's do this." Renee realized she still hadn't seen Olivia , "Dean - what about Olivia? Does she know where we are? I don't want her to worry…"

Dean remembered Olivia was still out parking the car, "Just one sec - I have to let her cousin know where we are." He sent a quick text and hurried after Erica the technician.

I'm in Medical Imaging. They're taking Renee to get her ultrasound done - where are you?

Erica squirted a quarter-size blob of ultrasound gel on Renee's abdomen who flinched and gasped at the sudden cold, "JeEEEZ…give a girl some warning, will ya?"

Erica apologized, "Sorry about that, it should warm up pretty quickly." She began to smooth the blob of gel around, "Okay, let's start at the top and see what's what…" The exam seemed to take forever, and although Renee winced a bit every now and again when the ultrasound wand pressed too firmly into her abdomen, she didn't speak, choosing instead to fix a start on either Dean or the ceiling. Dean watched the screen intently, trying to see if he could spot the problem, but admittedly he didn't have the same eyes or experience Erica the technician did, and she seemed to be frustrated with the lack of any visible problem so far. "The upper intestine and descending colon look fine to me - I've taken a few pictures just so that Dr. Reigns has a point of comparison if we need to do another scan later on." She screwed up her mouth in determination, "I'm going to take a look at the lower abdomen and hopefully we can find the culprit."

She blobbed more gel onto Renee and continued her search, but not for long…

A sudden intake of breath told Dean and Renee she had found something. A half dozen photos later, he couldn't wait anymore, "What?" he blurted out, sharing a worried look with Renee, and holding her cold, small hand in his. Erica the technician had a strange look on her face, like the cat that ate the canary. Dean understood she was happy to have found something, but he was tired and hungry, and his patience was wearing thin.

"Mrs. Ambrose, I'm pretty sure I've found the issue, but I need to speak with Dr. Reigns first. I think we're done here for now, I'll have the porter come and take you back to your room. You can wait here until he shows up." Dean knew that it wasn't Erica's place to say what she saw, but she didn't have to look so smug about it. Renee propped herself up on her elbows and rolled her eyes at Erica's retreating figure, "She really couldn't have told us what she saw? Wouldn't she be more qualified to say than Dr. Sexy?"

Dean snorted, "Well I'm not really an expert in medical imaging, so I couldn't possibly give an opinion, I - oof!" He was cut short by a surprisingly strong chop to the chest from Renee, and stepped back, laughing and rubbing the spot she'd slapped. "What…I'm not Dr. Sexy? I think you need to take another look…" He stepped closer to his wife and kissed her tenderly on the lips, closing his eyes tightly and wishing things were going to be okay.

"Seriously sweetie - man bun aside, that Dr. Reigns has got…it. He's a hot little tamale…" she giggled and Dean couldn't help a smile at seeing Renee able to have a laugh, even when she was just as frustrated as he was at the lack of forthcoming news from Erica the Technician.

"Oh my god, Renee - are you drunk? Roman? He's…he's okay, I guess...let's get you back in the chair and wheel you upstairs so Dr. Sexy can tell you everything's going to be fine." He helped her back into the chair and she lolled her head backwards, staring up at Dean's chin.

"I'm not drunk, but I am verrrrrry tirrrrrred…same effect…take me home, James! Yeehaw!"

When they all rolled out of Medical Imaging a few minutes later, Olivia was waiting outside by the doors to the clinic. She rushed over and fell to her knees beside Renee, "I'm so sorry I wasn't there, Ree...what did they say-did they find anything?"

Renee leaned into Olivia's hug and returned it with as much strength as she could muster, feeling tired tears spring up. She let go of Olivia and wiped her eyes, "Not that she's telling us - I think she's gone to speak to Roman, and hopefully once they've had their little confab, we get to find out why I haven't been able to go more than an hour or two without taking a puke cruise…"

"Okay, you know too many euphemisms for vomiting…" Dean muttered, pointing the wheelchair in the direction of the elevator.

"I've had two days to come up with them…there's eighteen I haven't used yet," Renee retorted.

Olivia smiled, relieved to hear the familiar banter back and forth between Dean and Renee - infinitely preferable to seeing Renee unconscious in a hospital bed with Dean frantic. Her little world was coming back together, and she hoped that whatever the ultrasound technician had found would give Dean and Renee a happy ending.

They had just gotten back to Renee's room when Roman knocked and entered, "I hear you're feeling better?" he asked.

Dean helped Renee get back into her bed, and tucked her in. He stayed by her side, sitting on the bed and holding her hand, "Well the last forty-eight hours have been phenomenally bad, so yes - I am feeling better, but still not great. I'm completely exhausted and I wouldn't mind sleeping for the next year - but I have a feeling you've got some news for us, so I can probably stay away awake for that…" Renee replied. She wouldn't normally have been so blunt to someone she hardly knew, but the lack of sleep was really starting to erode her personal filter, and she was really pissed that Erica the Technician didn't give them any information downstairs.

Olivia cleared her throat meaningfully, and Dean gave his wife's hand a small warning squeeze, and Renee sat herself up to glare at Dr. Sexy. Roman pulled up a chair and sat closer to Dean and his wife. "I appreciate that you've all had a long couple of days, but I'm sure Dean, you can appreciate the need to have all the information possible before making a diagnosis. I'm just waiting on the lab to finish with Renee's bloodwork. They're a bit backed up, but I'm sure that I'll have the results back in a couple of hours."

Renee groaned and flopped back into her pillows. Roman smiled thinly, pushed his chair back from Renee's bedside, and stood up to go. Dean followed Roman to the door, and caught him by the arm before he left, "Hey Ro, you would tell me if there was something to be concerned with, right? I'm thinking you've got a pretty good idea of what's wrong with Renee - I need to know she's going to be okay."

Roman extricated himself from Dean's grip, 'Look, Dean - I want to be sure…you want me to be sure. I don't want to get your hopes up on the basis of an ultrasound alone - I need the bloodwork to confirm."

Dean nodded and sighed, dropping his arm, "You're right, Rome…I'm sorry, I just - "

Roman looked over at Renee's bedside, where Olivia was trying to convince her to get some sleep. He pulled Dean into the hallway to speak more privately, "Dean, I think what would best for all of you right now is to try to get some rest - the couch in Renee's room pulls out into a cot, and there's another one in the family room down the hall. Get a couple of hours of shuteye, I'll come as soon as I have solid answers for you," he gripped Dean's shoulder, "I promise."

So Dean found himself sitting in a chair beside Renee's bed, holding her hand and stroking her hair back from her forehead, lulling her into sleep. Olivia had said goodnight an hour ago, and retired to Family Waiting Room #2, leaving Dean alone with his wife. He watched her breathing get slower and deeper, until finally he heard the steady rhythm of sleep. He leaned over and kissed her gently before laying his head down beside their joined hands.

He slept fitfully all night in that chair - at one point the floor nurses had taken pity on him and brought him a couple of really thin hospital pillows and a blanket that, although scratchy, was warm. He woke every couple of hours just to stare at his wife, to make sure that she was still there. She looked so peaceful , her face was no longer pinched or pale, and her brow was smooth - that alone made Dean feel like they had turned a corner.

He woke one last time just before sunrise and sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes. He sat up and stretched, half-stifling a yawn then leaned down and kissed Renee's forehead, waking her up. Her eyes flickered open, then squinted against the sunrise just peeping over the horizon and in through her window. "Congratulations babe - you have gone a whole night without even a hiccough - what are you going to do now?"

Renee snorted and held a hand up against the sun now beaming in the window, "Is Disneyland an option?" Dean closed the blinds and came to sit beside her, "After we're out of this hospital, you name it - California, Florida, Bahamas…I'll even wear a Speedo, just for you…" He pulled her hand up to his lips and kissed it.

Renee laughed, "You're on, Ambrose." Dean looked at her face, eyes crinkled at the corners, teeth flashing with laughter - he realized that although Renee had only been the hospital overnight, it seemed like it had been much longer since he had heard her laugh.

She noticed him staring, "You okay? You look kinda - weird…"

Dean smiled, "I just…I love you, Renee." He leaned over to kiss her, but they were interrupted by a knock on the door.

Roman poked his head in the room, "Hope I'm not interrupting anything - Got the lab results an hour ago and thought you'd want to hear the good news..."

Renee looked to Dean and then to Roman, "Good news? You know what's wrong with me?" She gripped Dean's hand tightly, and he covered hers with his other hand, their buoyant mood suddenly snuffed out with the potential of Renee's diagnosis.

"I do." He opened her file and took out the ultrasound photos, "These weren't quite enough for me to give a solid diagnosis, so I had to wait for the blood work. He fanned the ultrasound photos in front of Renee and Dean, "These are of your lower abdomen, Renee - your uterus, to be exact. This is a yolk sac," he pointed to a fuzzy circle inside a black space, "and this," he pointed to another nondescript shape, "is why you've been sick." He looked at the both of them as they slowly processed the clues he was feeding them, "Renee you have hyperemesis gravidarum - it's not common, but hopefully the symptoms should begin to taper in about two months. I'd like to keep you in the hospital for another week or so, get a handle on the nutrition and dehydration, then see how you do at home."

He left the ultrasound photos on Renee's bed, then went to the table by the door and started making notes on Renee's file, "You're about ten weeks along, I'd say...when was your last period?"

Renee's head was buzzing, the reality of her condition was sinking in, and she struggled to remember, "I really can't remember - I've never been terribly regular, missing one every now and then isn't uncommon for me…I never even thought twice about it."

Roman made some more notes in her file, and continued to explain, "Hyperemesis Gravidarum can be caused by a number of things - do you know if your mother experienced anything like this?" Renee shook her head, "It's hard to pin down a cause, but we can treat it here at the hospital first - get things under control, then I'll discharge you next week and try to manage it at home. The symptoms usually go away by the 20 week mark. I'll refer you to a OB/GYN if you don't already have a family doctor - there are some excellent ones in this hospital - do you guys have a family doctor?"

Dean looked up at Roman, then Renee, who was silently outlining the nondescript shape with a single finger, "Holy shit, Roman - are you telling me Renee's been puking her guts out for the last forty-eight hours because she's - "

"I'm pregnant…" Renee looked over at Dean with eyes that were brimming with tears, and a grin spread across her features, "Oh my god Dean - I'm pregnant…you're going to be a daddy…" her voice broke as she reached for his hand.

He felt tears spring up in his own eyes and raised a hand to his wife's cheek, pulling her face to his for a kiss. Renee enjoyed the feel of Dean's touch until a thought crashed though her initial giddiness at being a mom. She pulled away abruptly - eyes wide, hand covering her mouth, an expression of fear on her face-

"Oh god, Dean - how do we tell Olivia?"