Lady Jaye tossed and turned all night. When she did sleep, she had dreams of giving the presentation with a newborn in her arms. She was never so grateful for an early alarm. She got up and was hit with a severe vomiting attack. It was so bad that she was afraid that she might not be able to attend the proceedings. But eventually the dry heaves stopped. She was able to shower and get dressed, and she went down to the lobby early to try and grab something light to eat to hopefully further calm her stomach.

She exited the small café munching on a bagel, when she saw General Hawk. She walked over to him and shook his hand. "General, it's good to see you."

"I second that," Flint said, as he exited the elevator. He gave a quick smile to Lady Jaye before he shook Hawk's hand.

"Are you ready for this?" Hawk asked.

She wanted to answer that honestly she wasn't. Her nerves were threatening to get the best of her, which was probably the reason for her stronger nausea that morning. The idea of her then getting sick in front of a room full of Brass was stressing her out even more. So she seemed to be caught in a vicious cycle. But instead she slapped a smile on her face and answered, "Well, we are extremely prepared." Lady Jaye debated expanding further, but she figured Hawk should at least get the heads up that things might not go well. "However, the numbers are not going to lie."

Hawk nodded. "I expected as much. And you could only do so much with what you have. But I trust you to present a fair and detailed state of the Joe team."

"We won't let you down," Scarlett said as she joined the three of them. She too shook Hawk's hand and then they left the hotel.

"I'm parked down the street," Hawk said.

Flint did a double take. "You drove yourself?"

"Yes, I did. Every so often I do take advantage of a driver, like when I arrive late at night at the airport. But most of the other times, I am fully capable of getting myself from point A to point B."

Flint offered up the front seat, but both women climbed into the back. Hawk briefed them on what to expect that day, and then he and Flint got into a conversation about the generals he needed to meet with who may be on the review board.

Lady Jaye tuned them out. She laid her head back and rested her hand on her stomach. The bagel seemed to be settling her stomach down, and she hoped the short rest would help even more. She turned and saw Scarlett looking at her with concern. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be okay, I think. But be prepared to take over my part if I suddenly go running out of there." Lady Jaye glanced at Flint who was still talking to Hawk. She lowered her voice. "I didn't tell him yet, so please don't say anything," she warned Scarlett.

Scarlett nodded. "Your secret is safe with me."

They pulled into the Pentagon's parking area, so Lady Jaye pushed all thoughts of the baby aside. They cleared security, and Hawk led them to the conference room where the proceedings began on time. While Hawk addressed the room, and ran through their introductions and list of qualifications, Lady Jaye fought off one last case of the nerves. But once she took the floor, her nervousness disappeared.

She and Scarlett ran through their presentation flawlessly. It took about an hour's time. Then they spent the next hour answering questions. A couple of times, the discussion became heated among the generals. She, and Scarlett, however, kept their composure. Even during one particularly grueling session where one of the generals doubted that Cobra had existed at all. He tried to make the point of an imaginary enemy as he ranted that the Joes had been a drain on the budget for far too long. Lady Jaye looked over at Flint who looked to be in a battle with himself to stay calm and quiet. Hawk had a hand on Flint's shoulder which was probably the only reason why the warrant officer was keeping his mouth shut. That and General Howe, who was once again in charge of the budget proceedings, appeared to give little credence to the rant.

Mercifully, the general wrapped up his diatribe, and their session wrapped up a few minutes later. Lady Jaye let out a sigh of relief as they were dismissed for a short recess. As she walked into the hallway she searched out Hawk. She wanted to get his review but he was in deep conversation with General Franks and Colonel Sharpe, two men she hadn't seen in a very long time. She went over to introduce herself as well, but she was pulled aside by an admiral with a series of easy questions. Shortly before the break was over, she excused herself to use the facilities. Once she exited the restroom she found Flint waiting for her. "You did good in there," he said.

"Thanks," she said with a smile.

He smiled in return. "I bet that's a huge relief off your mind."

Lady Jaye forced herself to keep the smile on her face as she replied that it was. Yes, the fact that her part of the proceedings was over was a relief. But that only meant she now could focus on the other pressing concern in her life. But she was still glad she held off on telling Flint about her very likely pregnancy. At least he got to spend a few more hours blissfully unaware.

The break came to an end, and they took their seats. The rest of the morning went by fairly quickly, as Lady Jaye found several discussions fairly interesting. When they broke for lunch, Flint was sidetracked with networking with the various generals in the room. The idea of his promotion still unsettled her, especially with her news. But she was actually glad for the opportunity to avoid him for the hour, and not be forced to engage in meaningless conversations.

The afternoon session began, but unlike the morning one, it was long and very monotonous. Lady Jaye had to struggle to stay awake. The first two agenda items of the afternoon ran long, and she was afraid they were going to be forced to stay well past the scheduled quitting time. But luckily the general in charge of the proceedings decided to end the day after the second item was completed.

"Free at last," Scarlett commented as she stood from the desk.

Lady Jaye too was happy their portion of the proceedings was over. But her long day was really only beginning. She glanced over at Flint, who was happily chatting with yet another general, unaware how drastically his life was going to change that night. But despite the trepidation she felt, Lady Jaye knew she was ready to meet up with him, take a pregnancy test, and have them both find out the results.

The general shook Flint's hand and then left the room. Scarlett and Lady Jaye took that as their cue to walk over to him. Hawk then joined the three of them. "Great job all. We won't know for sure for probably a few more weeks when the budget is actually approved, but I've been hearing very positive feedback, so I am optimistic. I think this calls for a celebration. Come, I'm taking you out to dinner."

That derailed Lady Jaye's plans for the evening, but she couldn't see a way to gracefully bow out. Hawk hailed a cab, and a few minutes later they pulled in front of an Italian place that wasn't too far from their hotel. While they looked at the menu, Hawk ordered a bottle of wine, and a couple of appetizers.

Lady Jaye struggled with the menu, as she tried to decide what she wanted to order. The truth of the matter was that due to the stress of the proceedings, plus the idea that she still needed to confirm her pregnancy and then tell Flint about it had ruined her appetite. She settled on one of the less extravagant pasta dishes.

Once she ordered she turned her attention to the conversation at the table that she had been ignoring. She noticed that Scarlett was talking animatedly with Hawk, while Flint was looking at her with sadness. She smiled at him as she reached under the table to grab his hand. He gave her an enthusiastic squeeze in return.

The waiter brought the wine to the table, and after giving it to Hawk for a taste, he told the waiter to fill all the glasses. Lady Jaye went to protest, but she realized she didn't have a plausible excuse why she wouldn't be drinking. As she reached for her glass, Scarlett kicked her under the table. Lady Jaye shot her a look.

Hawk toasted the Joes and their presentation, and Lady Jaye faked drinking from her glass while the others did. The waiter then returned with the antipasto, and a plate of fried calamari. Lady Jaye stared at the appetizers a moment as she wondered if she was allowed to eat the calamari. She thought she remembered hearing some kind of report that for whatever reason fish was bad for pregnant women, but she had no idea what the specifics were. In fact, she realized she had no idea what the rules were for pregnancy. And then she wondered if she was overreacting, as she hadn't even confirmed her potential pregnancy yet.

She decided to be on the safe side, and just fill her plate with some of the antipasto, as she tried to pay attention again to the conversation at the table. Luckily, her small gesture to Flint seemed to improve his mood, so he was now chatting happily with Hawk.

She desperately wanted to leave and go back to the hotel. She was tired of waiting. She wanted nothing more than to stop at one of the drug stores to pick up a pregnancy test. At least then she would know for sure. And then she was going to admit to Flint what had been bothering her the last couple of days, regardless of what the results were.

She continued to mull over the potential outcomes, and what it meant for her future. She half paid attention to the talk going on around her, until one question from Scarlett caught her attention. "I overheard General Franks say the paperwork was in the works for your return to the Joe team."

Lady Jaye gasped and then grinned. For the first time in recent memory, she felt a glimmer of hope for her career. If what she suspected was true, than having Hawk back in charge of the Joe team would greatly improve her future chances. "You're coming back?"

Hawk laughed. "I appreciate the enthusiasm, but I wouldn't start printing out the transfer requests just yet. However, from what I understand they're holding firm to the idea that my stay here is temporary. So is General Bradshaw that bad?"

Lady Jaye and Scarlett simultaneously said 'Yes' while Flint said 'No'. Hawk let out another laugh. "This sounds like we need another bottle of wine."

Lady Jaye looked at her full glass and casually passed it over to Scarlett. The rest of the dinner passed quickly, and once they were done, Hawk flagged for the waitress to bring the bill. Lady Jaye excused herself from the table. She made her way to the bathroom, with Scarlett close behind her.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I actually just need to pee."

"Okay, wait. I got you a present," Scarlett said as she pulled out a pregnancy test from her purse. "I got it last night. I was going to give it to you after the proceedings were over, but Hawk's dinner plans got in the way."

"Are you nuts? You expect me to take that now?"

"Based on the three words you have said throughout dinner, I'm guessing it's all you can think about. Take the test. It may be negative and then you can pound the glass of wine you've been staring at all night."

"I really doubt it. So what if it's positive? Am I supposed to slap a smile on my face and go out there to chat with Hawk while continuing to avoid the questions and concerns from the father of my child?"

"No, in that case, I'll make the excuse that you're not feeling well. I'll then offer to take Hawk out for a drink, to give you time to finally talk to Flint alone."

Lady Jaye had to admit, it did sound like a good plan. "Fine." She grabbed the box and walked into one of the stalls. She followed the instructions and within a minute she had the answer she had been expecting. The stick in her hand showed her two bright blue lines. Despite the fact that she had been nearly certain she was pregnant, seeing the proof in her hand took her breath away. The thought that she was going to be a mother ran through her head a number of times. At first the idea scared her, but the more she repeated the mantra, the fear was joined by a sense of excitement. She continued to stare at the stick contemplating her impending motherhood until there was a knock on the door. "Alison, it's been nearly five minutes. Are you okay?"

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Shana, enjoy your drink with Hawk. And you can start with my glass of wine. I'm officially pregnant."

Once she exited the stall she was surprised to find Scarlett still in the bathroom. Scarlett pulled her close for a hug. "It's going to be okay."

Lady Jaye relaxed into her friends arms and let the tears that she had kept bottled up flow. "I'm trying to convince myself of that fact. I'm excited, but terrified at the same time."

Scarlett backed off enough so she could look at her. She kept her hands on her shoulders. "I know this isn't exactly how you planned, but look at the big picture. You're starting a family with the man you love. There are some that might be a little jealous of that." Scarlett then let out a choked sob, which brought on a fresh wave of tears for Lady Jaye. The two hugged and cried on each other's shoulders.

"Are you two okay?"

Lady Jaye broke apart from Scarlett and turned to see an older lady looking at them with concern. She wiped at her eyes as she realized what a scene they must have made. "Thanks for asking, but we're fine."

"She just found out that she's pregnant!" Scarlett added with a grin.

The lady smiled. "That's wonderful news, congratulations."

Once the woman entered the stall, Lady Jaye turned towards Scarlett. "You are nuts," she whispered. "Dash is going to be thrilled when he finds out that some random woman in the ladies room found out about his baby before he did."

"I guess that means you have no choice but to tell him as soon as you can. I can't be responsible for whom else I spill the beans too. Give me five minutes to convince Hawk to leave. And, Alison, I meant what I said that this is good news. I know how much Dash loves you, and he's going to love the baby just as much. Everything else will work itself out." Scarlett walked out, and Lady Jaye tried to compose herself. As she looked in the mirror, she hoped Shana was right.


For as good as the day had gone, Flint was pretty miserable. He thought that once the proceedings were done and they had gotten the glowing review from Hawk that Lady Jaye would have snapped out of her funk. But instead, she seemed worse throughout dinner. Flint was now convinced that his fears of the last couple of days were coming true. That she was indeed looking to end things with him.

Hawk turned towards the restrooms that the two women had disappeared into a few minutes earlier. "Do you ever wonder why they have to go as a group to the bathroom?"

This time, I'm sure it's so she could get some last minute pointers from Red on how to best go about dumping me, Flint thought. Instead he said as flippantly as possible, "It's one of society's greatest mysteries."

Hawk nodded and thankfully, remained silent. Flint had been afraid that Hawk was going to ask him how his personal life post General Bradshaw was going, but it appeared the general meant it when he said he didn't want to know.

Scarlett finally came out of the bathroom, but Lady Jaye remained behind. "Hey, I'm sorry. Jaye's not feeling well, she thinks it might have been what she had for lunch."

Flint was concerned. Maybe he read the whole evening wrong. She had mentioned the other night that she had been feeling sick for a while.

But then Scarlett continued. "Flint, you don't mind waiting on her, while I take a Hawk out for a drink? We still have a lot to catch up on."

Based on that Flint knew his initial impression was correct. Scarlett had been sent out to get rid of Hawk, so Lady Jaye could talk to him. "Of course I don't mind. You two have a good time."

Flint shook Hawk's hand and told him it had been good to see him. Scarlett then gave Flint a quick kiss on the cheek as she subtly pushed Lady Jaye's wine glass toward him. "Drink it. You're going to need it," she whispered.

The two then left and Flint was alone with his thoughts. Scarlett's advice was like the final nail in the coffin. He wondered how long it would take for Lady Jaye to come out of the bathroom to deliver her bad news. He took Scarlett's advice, and had a healthy sip. While he continued to wait, he ran through the various breakup rebuttals he had come up with the previous night after Lady Jaye had sent him to his room alone.

His hand reached into his jacket pocket to reassure himself that the ring box was still in there. His grand plan had been derailed the day before, but he still kept it on him in case an appropriate moment arrived. But now it seemed silly to have it, since Lady Jaye was on the verge of ending things. If he pulled out the ring now, he was sure she would turn him down. The only thing he could hope for is that she gave him the opportunity to talk to her to hopefully change her mind.

Just when he had reached the point that he decided he needed to check up on her, the bathroom door opened. She came out looking miserable, and his heart went out to her. He hated to see her in any kind of pain, especially if he was the cause of it. He polished off the glass of wine, and then went to her side. "Do you want me to call a cab?"

"Yes, I think that's a good idea."

Flint spoke to the maître d, and within a couple of minutes a cab appeared at the front door. He opened the door for her and climbed in after her. He told the cabby the name of the hotel, and they were on their way. Lady Jaye spent the whole time in silence, staring out the window. He reached for her hand and was happy when she took it.

Even with the traffic, it only took a few minutes to reach the hotel. Once in the lobby, Lady Jaye stopped. "I want to go to my room to change. Do you want to come with me, or do you want to meet me there after you change as well?"

Flint was ready to get out of his Class A's but he didn't want to delay the inevitable any longer. Besides, if their situation wasn't as dire as he thought it was, there was still a slim chance he could strip out of his uniform in her room. "No, I'll just come up with you."

They entered her room and he watched her begin to undress as he took off his jacket. If this had been a normal situation for them, he would have been helping her strip out of her clothes from the moment they entered the elevator. But instead, he was standing there in complete awkwardness. Throwing caution to the wind, he decided to see just how far their relationship had deteriorated.

He kissed her as he began to unbutton her blouse. She kissed him back, and he took it as a good sign until she stopped him. "Dash, wait. I have to tell you something first."

He put his hand on her lips. If she was preparing to sever their ties, he was not going to go down without a fight. "Before you say anything, let me talk. First off, I love you. I honestly believe I fell in love with you the day I first met you and it's only grown deeper since. Secondly, I know that the last few weeks have been hard on you, and a big part of that is my fault. I know it doesn't seem like it, but I have heard everything you've said to me the last few days. I'm sorry if it's felt like I've only used you for my own needs, because that was not what I intended. I've missed being with you, so when those opportunities presented itself I got carried away. I hope I never hurt you."

Lady Jaye's eyes filled with tears, but she shook her head. Flint brought his thumb to her cheek and wiped away the wetness. "You also said you were afraid that we have no future together. That thought terrifies me. I still don't know what's coming next with the Joes, or my career. I can live with being transferred, I could even live with being fired, but I don't want to live without you. The one thing that has never changed in my future plans is wanting you by my side. So whatever I need to do to make sure we stay together, I am willing to do it."

Lady Jaye was speechless for several moments. When she did speak her voice caught. "Do you really mean all that?"

"Yes. All I thought about the last two nights was how I didn't want to lose you."

She let out a choked sob. "Oh, Dash. You're not losing me. If anything, you're going to be stuck with me from now on. Dashiell Faireborn, you're going to be a father. I'm pregnant."

It was such the opposite of what his mind had been contemplating, that it took a few minutes to process the information. He took a few stumbling steps towards her bed and sat at the edge. Lady Jaye apparently misread his silence. "I don't blame you if you're reconsidering whether me breaking up with you is bad news."

"No, I'm not, it's just," Flint stuttered as he tried to string together a coherent train of thought. And since he had been so hung up on the idea of her ending things, he couldn't let it go. "So you don't hate me?"

Lady Jaye laughed. She took a seat next to him. "I have to be honest that I'm not really thrilled with you and your role in creating this life changing moment growing inside of me, but other than that, no I don't hate you."

"How long have you known?"

"Scarlett clued me in yesterday morning that maybe my sickness that I've been complaining about wasn't due to food poisoning, or a virus. But I didn't know semi-officially until about an hour ago."

"So this explains why you've been so distant the last couple of days."

Lady Jaye sighed. "Yes. I didn't want to tell you until I knew for sure, and I didn't want to know for sure until our presentation was over. Hawk asking us to dinner kind of threw my plans off. I'm sure he thinks there is something wrong with me as well."

"I bet one day in the future, we'll have another dinner where we'll tell him and have a good laugh about it."

"I hope one day I can look back at this and laugh. Right now I'll take just not being terrified."

Flint wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. "We're going to get through this. Alison, like I said, I have given a lot of thought about our future together." He stopped just short of pulling out the ring. One life changing announcement was enough for the evening. And now that he knew she wasn't leaving him, he could find a time to propose in the right way. "And how I do want to start a family."

"I want that too," Lady Jaye said quietly. "It's just now is insanely bad timing."

"But is it? You spent most of today telling the Bigwigs that all signs point to Cobra going into hiding. Maybe they'll come back, maybe they won't. We've spent the last couple of years talking about a time when Cobra was defeated, and we could focus on our personal life. Maybe that time is now. Maybe this is the wakeup call we needed to start figuring out a life beyond the Joes. I'm not totally opposed to looking for the dream house with the white picket fence that is the perfect size for our child and a dog or two."

Lady Jaye pulled away from him. "That's cute. You make it sound so happy and easy. But could you just walk away from the Joe team?"

"For you, I would," Flint answered honestly.

Lady Jaye's shoulders sagged. "That really means a lot to me. I wish I could be so selfless."

Flint was hit with a terrible thought. "Alison, are you thinking about not having this baby?"

She turned away from him. "I admit the thought crossed my mind. I spent the ride over yesterday thinking long and hard about all my options and what I want. I wasn't joking earlier about being terrified. Not only am I afraid what this is going to do to my life on the Joe team, but I have no idea how to raise a baby. I didn't grow up like you, surrounded by brothers, sisters and cousins. I feel like I'm totally out of my league.

"But still, despite all that, I kept going back to how much I love you, and how I already love the idea of having our baby. So the one thing I did decide, and I hope I don't end up regretting it, is that I am keeping the baby."

Flint felt such a sense of relief. She was right that there was going to be a major upheaval in their lives in the coming months. And there were probably going to be very painful repercussions as far as their Army careers went. But at the moment, Flint didn't care about that. The idea that his son or daughter was going to be brought into the world in a few months was outweighing any other negative consequences. He grabbed her hands. "You're not going to regret it. We may be in for a hell of a ride the next few weeks, and I don't know where we'll be at the end of it. But the only thing that matters now is you, me, and Junior."

Lady Jaye grinned. Her hand went to her abdomen. "Junior? That's the best nickname you could come up with? What if it's a girl?"

Flint matched her grin. It was the first time he had seen her smile in days. "I'm open to the name Alison Junior."

That time he made her laugh. "Well, that's good to know. But we're going to need to have a long talk before I agree to name anyone Junior."

Flint smiled again but his mind reeled as he began to comprehend that what they were talking about wasn't a joke. He was going to be a father. A fact that he felt he was currently ill prepared for. Lady Jaye must have picked up on his thoughts. She walked towards him. "You look like you might need a few minutes alone to process all of this. I have to use the facilities anyway, and I want to get ready for bed. I'd like you to stay with me tonight."

"I want that too," he replied. He pulled her close for a kiss before she went into the bathroom.

Once the door closed behind her, Flint exhaled sharply. Her invitation was enough to clear his mind. He knew he was probably going to spend a sleepless night thinking about the future, but at the moment all he was focused on was being alone with her. He thought about going up to his room, but he didn't need to. Instead, he stripped out of his uniform and waited for her to emerge.

Once she did, he couldn't help but stare at her. She was wearing an oversized t-shirt, which was not exactly the sexiest thing she had ever worn. But the fact that she had invited him to stay which meant she wanted him made the moment very erotic for him.

She smoothed out her shirt as she looked down at it. "I'm sorry that I didn't pack anything more romantic."

He went towards her and pulled her close to him. "It's fine. You look beautiful. I really want to make love to you, if that's okay."

She gave him a nervous smile. "Well, the good news is that we don't have to worry about using protection."

"True. But that's not what I was concerned about. I want to make sure you want to. And that I'm not going to hurt you."

She kissed him and then slowly pulled away. "You're not going to hurt me. And I do want you too."

That was all the encouragement Flint needed. He took it slow as not only had it been a long time since they could take their time and enjoy their lovemaking, but he wasn't sure when they would get the opportunity again.

Once it was over, they lay together in the bed, Lady Jaye pressed against him. Within moments she was sound asleep. As Flint listened to her breathing heavily in his arms, he wondered how she could sleep so soundly when faced with such life changing news. But he remembered that she had known for about thirty six hours, and had a head start in coming to grips with it.

There had been a time or two in his past that he had envisioned what the moment would be like when he would learn he was going to be a father. He had to admit that the reality paled to his imaginings. The night the he had bought the engagement ring for Lady Jaye he had laid awake trying to come up with the perfect scenario to propose to her. He had then moved on to picturing what the future would be like for them. And he had assumed that kids would be part of their life. But he had figured that would come at a point when they had long since moved on from their Joe careers, were married and settled in a house, and were leading a stable life together.

The fact that the timetable had been pushed up was worrisome to him. He was old-fashioned enough to be bothered by the fact that they weren't married. He kicked himself for waiting so long, and second guessed his decision to postpone his proposal. He knew that a ring on her finger wouldn't change the feelings they felt for each other, but he still would have liked to have had a more legal bond between the two of them before a child was brought into the picture. But that was something that could be remedied. Flint may have lost the chance of the perfect surprise proposal, but he knew for a fact that he wanted the two of them to be married before the baby was born.

But how they were going to pull that off while in their current positions on the Joe team was a problem. There was the glimmer of hope that Hawk was going to come back, but Flint wondered if that would actually help them. Hawk had always been fine with ignoring rule infractions as long as they didn't interfere with the basic running of the Joe team. Obviously they would have to make major lifestyle changes to accommodate the raising of a child, but as long as the two of them worked together he figured they could still be useful members of the Joe team.

So maybe Hawk would allow it. But he wondered if that was just a pipe dream. Any change in family status needed to be reported to Personnel. Which meant a paper trail that might catch the attention of others outside of the Joe world. It was something that he would definitely need to sit down with Hawk to discuss and get guidance on.

But that still left the problem of what to do in the meantime. They still had to go back and deal with General Bradshaw. And Flint was pretty confident that General Bradshaw would not be as open to the idea of working with them as Hawk would. So their careers could possibly be over before Hawk ever came back to Headquarters.

Lady Jaye shifted in her sleep, and pulled out of his grasp. He rubbed his hand down her shoulder and she settled back down. He realized in that moment that if the worst did happen, and he lost his Joe career, he would be okay with it as long as he still had her and the baby she would bring into the world.