"Well, this is..."

"Unexpected?" Kate tried.

"That's a good word for it. I mean, it's not a bad thing is it?" Rick asked with concern.

"No, God, no." Kate said as she brought her hand up to his cheek. "Unexpected doesn't mean bad." Kate murmured.

Rick smiled and kissed Kate gently. "So we're really doing this again? We're gonna have another baby?"

Kate laughed and nodded. "We really are."

Rick's smile grew and he kissed Kate deeply as his hand dropped to herabdomen.

"How are we gonna tell the girls?" Rick asked after a moment.

"Well, I don't think we should just say 'Hey, I accidentally got pregnant. Just so you know.' They might not like that."

Rick laughed. "Probably not."

Kate thought for a moment. "Do you mind if I tell Bex by myself? I don't want her going back to what she thought when she was 7. I mean, I know she's older now, butstill. High school is stressful enough without finding out your parents are having another baby."

Rick nodded. "Of course. Do you want to wait a little first?"

"With the boys, Lanie, and Gates, yes. But with our family, no."

"Ok then. Let's get dressed and head to work, and you can figure out how to tell Bex."

The next day, Kate left for lunch early and drove to Bex's school to sign her daughter out for her lunch hour.

"Mom?" Bex asked as she came into the office. "What are you doing here?"

Kate shrugged. "Figured we could have lunch together."

Bex smiled and followed her mom out of the office. Bex threw her bag into the back seat and climbed up front.

"So where are we going?"

"I figured we'd do lunch in the park." Kate answered as she headed toward central park. "Assuming that's ok with you."

"Sure." Bex said with a shrug as she pulled her phone out and turned it off.

Kate found a parking spot and they got out of the car. As they were walking toward the entrance, Bex spotted a pizza stand, and Kate bought them each a slice of pizza and a water before they headed into the park and to their family's favorite spot.

They sat down on the grass and ate in silence, save for the occasional random comment. When Bex finished her pizza, she crumpled her napkin in her hand and turned to face her mom.

"So what do you want to talk to me about?" Bex asked.

"Who says I wanted to talk to you?" Kate asked, suddenly unsure of how to tell her the news.

Bex laughed. "For someone who's supposed to be a world-class detective, you're extremely transparent."

Kate sighed and took Bex's trash from her. She stood up and took the trash to a nearby trashcan and deposited it before she came back and sat down beside her daughter. Kate wrapped an arm around Bex's shoulders and pulled her into her side.

Kate took a deep breath before she let the words fall out of her mouth. "I'm pregnant."

Bex turned to face her mother. "Is that it?"

Kate stared at her for a moment. "What do you mean, is that it?"

"Just that I already knew."

"How?" Kate asked, completely confused.

Bex shrugged. "I was old enough to remember when you were pregnant with Anna and Maggie, so I figured. And then I was using your bathroom- cause it's closer to the family room than mine is- and I saw the test in the garbage."

Kate just stared at her daughter for a moment. "Well, ok then."

Bex laughed. "I'm not upset, Mom. I know, given what happened when I was younger, that that was probably your concern, but I'm fine with this. More than fine, really. I'm excited for you and Dad."

Kate sighed and smiled at her daughter. "Thank you, Bex."

Bex smiled back at her mother and kissed her cheek. "You're welcome. Now, come on. My lunch ends in 10 minutes."

"Alright." Kate said as she stood up.

"Oh, and mom?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you try to have a boy this time? I have as many sisters as I can handle."

Kate laughed and shook her head. "I'll see what I can do."


I had a lot of people ask for something like this, so here you go.

Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)