Steph's POV

"Mrs. Manoso?" the nurse said as she opened the door to the waiting room. Bobby and I were in for my next prenatal appointment. I was nine weeks pregnant now. The last four weeks since I'd been here were a blur of tears and mourning but also held some bright spots that gave me hope for the future.

"That's me," I answered quietly. I stood and walked toward the door with Bobby right behind me. We stopped for my weight and to give a urine sample and then were shown to a room to wait for the doctor.

"He should be here with me," I whispered with tears filling my eyes.

"I know, sweetheart." Bobby stood up and wrapped his arms around me. "I wish I could make him come back."

I nodded and buried my head in Bobby's chest. "Me, too. But I'm so glad that you're here with me. I couldn't have done any of this without you," I confessed quietly.

"You're not going to have do anything without me ever, Steph. You'll be tired of me and begging to me to leave you alone," he teased, and I laughed.

"Never gonna happen. I love you too much to tell you to go away. You're my best friend, after all! You'll be married with kids of your own and I'll still be bugging you," I joked.

"Thank goodness I don't have any interest in seeing anyone right now," Bobby joked back, and I smiled and relaxed a bit.

"Seriously, you're the best friend a girl could ask for. Thank you. I know I'm not the best about talking about my feelings, but I love you, Bobby," I said softly and then leaned up and kissed him on the cheek.

Bobby smiled and kissed my forehead. "And I love you too, sweetheart."

The doctor knocked and came in at that moment. She was happy with my weight gain and that my morning sickness had settled down. It seemed to be getting less frequent. We talked for a few minutes and then she and Bobby stepped out to let me take off my pants and panties and cover up with a sheet. They came back in a minute later and before I knew it my feet were in the stirrups and I was staring at my baby.

I gasped when I saw the image on the screen. The baby had just looked like a little jellybean at the last scan, but now I could clearly see the head, body, arms, and legs. It was incredible. I felt tears flooding my eyes and looked up to see Bobby's watery eyes. I reached over and grabbed his hand, so grateful to get to share this moment with him.

"That's incredible," I whispered.

"It is," Bobby agreed. "Thank you for letting me be here with you."

"You ready to hear the heartbeat?" Dr. Myers asked, and I nodded enthusiastically. She pressed a button and the room filled with a woosh woosh sound and a fast beating. "The wooshing sounds is your placenta. The fast beating is your baby's heartbeat. It sounds perfect," she explained with a warm, sincere smile.

"It's amazing," I whispered, the tears flowing freely now.

The doctor let us listen for a good minute and then printed out photos for us from the ultrasound. "Everything looks great. We'll need to see you back in another four weeks, but you can call the office if you have any problems. I know it seems early, but it's time to start thinking about birthing classes and whether you'd like to deliver at the hospital or birthing center. They'll give you information on both when you leave today, and we can talk about any questions you may have at your next visit. Any questions for me?"

We both shook our heads no and thanked her before she left the room. Bobby handed my pants to me and then turned around to allow me to get dressed.

"I'm finished," I said a few minutes later. Bobby turned back around and handed my purse to me. "Would you be my birth coach?" I asked before we got to the door. "I want you there when the baby's born, and I can't think of anyone other than Ric who does a better job of keeping me calm and centering me."

Bobby awarded me with a huge smile and nodded his head. "Just try and keep me away," he replied.

We walked to the check out desk to make my next appointment and get the information the doctor had referred to before leaving.

"Hungry? We could grab lunch before we go back to the office," Bobby offered.

"That sounds great. Maybe Chinese?" I asked.

We made the short drive to my favorite Chinese restaurant in a comfortable silence. I couldn't help but think about how drastically my life had changed in the last month. None of this was fathomable thirty days ago. Now I was a pregnant mother and a widow. Thank goodness for the Merry Men to get me through this. They had spent countless hours supporting and comforting Julie and me and cheering us up. We had a long road but we had an amazing RangeMan family supporting us.

Bobby and I enjoyed a nice, quiet lunch before returning to the office. The moment we pulled into the garage the door to the stairs flew open and it seemed like all the Merry Men came pouring out along with Julie.

"Well, Beautiful? What's the news?" Les asked excitedly when I'd gotten out of the car. This baby was already so loved.

"Everything looks perfect, and we got to hear the heartbeat. It was amazing!" I shared with them. I dug the pictures out of my purse and handed them over to their waiting hands. "Look, it even looks like a baby now! Only about ten weeks until we find out if it's a boy or a girl."

"Which do you want, Angel?" Cal asked.

I looked up with misty eyes and smiled. "I'd like a little Ric."

"Hooah!" came the response from the men.