The following day, Lady Jaye kept trying to focus on the files that Scarlett left behind. She should have been thrilled to have work to attend to, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Her nausea-free streak had continued that morning, but instead of it bringing her the joy like it did the previous morning, she was starting to worry. Especially since she just didn't feel right.

Her hand rubbed at her abdomen. She got up to go to the bathroom, and gasped shortly thereafter. Her eyes filled with tears as she looked down and saw blood on her underwear. "Oh God, no." She then went to get a phone so she could call her OB-Gyn. The phone was busy the first couple of times she tried, which only added to her stress.

She finally got the receptionist, and after she briefly explained her problem, she was put on hold to speak to a nurse practitioner. She spent the minutes waiting by thinking the worst. She realized in that moment, that no matter how many negative thoughts she had the past few weeks that she was desperate to keep the baby. Even if it screwed up her career, she didn't care.

"Ms. Hart-Burnett? This is Gina. I'm sorry, all of the doctors are tied up, but maybe I can help you?"

Lady Jaye took a deep breath. "Hi, Gina, call me Alison. I'm eleven weeks pregnant. I woke up today, just feeling off, and I noticed a few minutes ago that I'm bleeding." She swallowed against the tears. "Am I having a miscarriage?"

"Alison, I know it's hard right now, but the important thing is that you remain calm. Some amount of bleeding during the first trimester is normal, and usually nothing to worry about. But I know how concerned you must be. Are you having any severe cramping?"

"No."

"Okay, that's a good sign. And have you experienced any other bleeding or cramping before this?"

"No. But I had really bad morning sickness up until yesterday."

"That's typical, as you are getting close to the second trimester. Like I said, I think everything is okay. But if you want, you can come in and one of the doctors could check the heartbeat to confirm."

"Please, I'd feel better if I know the baby's okay."

"Of course. When was your next appointment?"

"Monday. I was scheduled to do an initial ultrasound."

"Since that is only a few days from now, we might bump that up. I'm going to transfer you back to Becky, who I'm sure can get you in today."

A few minutes later, Lady Jaye had a late morning appointment. As she continued to try and reassure herself, she planned her next move. Flint wasn't due back until later in the day, but she knew he would want to be with her at the doctor's appointment. So she called him, and wasn't surprised when his cell phone went right into voice mail. She didn't want to leave him a "Hey, I might have just had a miscarriage" voice mail, so she hung up. She then dialed the number of her next closest person.

"Scarlett, is Flint back?" Lady Jaye asked as soon as Scarlett answered her phone.

"No, he's still on maneuvers. Is everything okay?"

Lady Jaye intended to be cool, calm and collected during the conversation, but her façade faltered. "I started bleeding."

"Oh, honey," Scarlett replied. Lady Jaye could hear the murmurs of activity in the background, and she felt bad burdening Scarlett with her problem. "Do you need me to come there?"

"No. I know you're busy. And I talked to the doctor's office. The nurse practitioner thinks everything is okay. But I still want to get checked out. I had hoped that Dash was back so he could come with me."

Lady Jaye noticed that the background noise had become quieter. Scarlett must have moved to a less noisy area. "What time is your appointment?"

"11 AM."

"Okay, let me just tie up a few loose ends, and then I'll come pick you up."

Lady Jaye's tears started anew. This time it was due to Scarlett's kindness. She knew she was going to miss her friend desperately. "You don't have to do that."

"I want to. And you shouldn't go through this alone. Just remember this when you're deciding on a Godmother."

Flint brought the chopper in for a landing. As he ran through the shut down procedure he watched Duke approach. Duke gave the exiting Joes a series of orders before he joined Flint in the cockpit. "Stalker said you have the paperwork?"

Flint pointed to the manila folder on the floor. "Yep. So I know we're shorthanded with Jaye on leave, but Scarlett has you doing her job now?"

Duke mumbled a reply, "Apparently today she does. Scarlett came to me about an hour ago with some cockamamie excuse about a family emergency. She claimed it was important, but I swear she has short timer's disease and it's just an excuse to go shopping."

Flint had stopped midway through his procedure. He, on the other hand, got a very bad feeling that there wasn't a frivolous reason for Scarlett's spur of the moment trip. But then he scolded himself for assuming that everyone else's life revolved around him and Lady Jaye. However, as he turned on his phone, and saw a missed call from Lady Jaye, he went right back into assuming the worst.

"Excuse me," he said to Duke as he dialed Lady Jaye's number. When it went right to voicemail, his dread intensified. He jumped down from the chopper and dialed Scarlett's number. She luckily answered.

"Red, what's going on?" he asked.

"I'm at the OB-GYN with Jaye. She had some bleeding a few hours ago." Flint cursed but he let Scarlett continue. "Dash, try to stay calm. The doctor said this isn't unusual, and most likely nothing is wrong. She's in one of the rooms now getting checked out. I'll have her call you as soon as she's done."

Flint was damned if he was going to sit idly by on base while she learned the fate of their unborn child alone. "No, I'm coming. Give me the address and I'll be there as soon as I can."

Flint had to go back on the helicopter to get a pen and paper to write down the location. Once he did he hung up the phone, and faced Duke who did not look happy. "Hauser, I'm sorry, but I have to go."

Duke sighed. "I figured that. What," he began but then he stopped. "You know what? I don't want to know. Go take care of what you need to do."

Flint raced to his car, and then headed to the address that Scarlett had given him. It was a short drive, which was good as it didn't give him a lot of time to dwell on his fears. Once he parked, he ran into the doctor's office. He saw that Scarlett was still sitting in the waiting room, calmly reading one of the magazines. He took that as a good sign. He went to her. "Any news?" he asked.

Scarlett shook her head. "No. But I'm sure you could go back there and find out what's going on."

Flint nodded. Before he left her, he put his hand on her shoulder. "Thank you for being here for her."

Scarlett smiled. "I know she'd do the same for me."

Flint talked to the receptionist to find out what room Lady Jaye was in. He stumbled over an answer when the woman asked if she was his wife. Exasperated, she then asked if he was at least the father. Once he said he was, she let him into the back.

Flint entered her room and immediately went to hug her. She fell into his arms. "Babe, are you okay?"

"I think I am. I feel fine now. And the doctor heard the heartbeat which she said sounded normal. She left to get the ultrasound, to make sure. She should be back any minute, so I'm very happy you made it here. Did Scarlett call you?"

Before he could explain how he found out, the doctor entered the room. He introduced himself and then Lady Jaye was prepped for the scan. He grabbed a hold of Lady Jaye's hand. It took a couple of minutes but then he recognized an image that he had seen before with his nieces and nephews. "Alison and Dashiell, meet your baby."

Flint looked at Lady Jaye and he knew they were wearing matching grins. He turned back to the screen. "How is he?"

"I can't say for sure just yet it is a 'he' but he or she is looking pretty healthy." Dr. Young then paused as a puzzled look crossed her face.

Lady Jaye squeezed his hand tighter. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing's technically wrong, I'm just looking at your dates. Are you sure about your last menstrual period?"

"I could be off," Lady Jaye admitted. "The date I gave you is when I had a very light period."

The doctor nodded. "Based on the development I'm seeing, and the current size, I estimate we're about two weeks off on the development. I think your due date is more like the end of April. So congratulations, you've been bumped up to the second trimester."

"But everything is okay?" Flint asked.

"From what I can see, yes. The uterus looks good, heartbeat is normal, and there are no apparent abnormalities."

Flint leaned over and kissed Lady Jaye's forehead. "So what caused the bleeding?"

"I don't know for sure. It could be for any number of reasons, the majority with no cause of concern for either Alison or the baby."

Flint wasn't satisfied with the vague response. "So, should she rest and take in easy for a while?"

Lady Jaye shot him a look of annoyance. "I have been taking it easy. I was off of work for a week when this happened."

"Out of an abundance of caution, and if you're already taking a few days off, I would say continue to rest for the next forty eight hours. Refrain from sex, or anything strenuous during that time. If at the end, you continue to not experience any bleeding or cramping, you'll be free to return to your normal level of activities."

Flint knew his next question was also going to irritate Lady Jaye, but he didn't care. "What is a normal level for her? She's on the Joe team, and they have a pretty intense PT workout."

The doctor smiled and looked at Lady Jaye. "I'm going to give you a list of activities that are forbidden during pregnancy. Anything else, my advice is to trust what your body is telling you, since it's different for every woman. If you were able to do it before you became pregnant, within reason you should be able to continue to do so now."

"Thank you doctor," Lady Jaye replied.

"I almost forgot," Dr. Young said as she typed on the keyboard. "I have to give you a copy of your baby's first photo."

The doctor handed Lady Jaye the black and white image and then walked out of the room, leaving the two alone. Lady Jaye jumped down from the examination table, and with a grin Flint pulled her into his arms. "I love you so very much."

"I love you too." She looked down at the photo with a smile. "This is amazing. Look what we made!"

"It is unbelievable. And I'm so glad everything is okay."

"Me too. I probably overreacted, but when I saw the blood I got so scared."

"No, I'm glad you got checked out. And later on I'm going to have a little chat with Junior about how he shouldn't scare his parents like that."

Lady Jaye laughed. "Let's go tell Scarlett the good news."

Flint navigated the now very familiar route to the apartment. He really didn't have the time, as General Bradshaw's announcement greatly increased his to-do list. But at the moment he didn't care. He wanted to tell Lady Jaye the news in person.

He smiled as he figured this was a commute he was going to be making regularly. He loved the idea of putting in a day of work and then driving home to see Alison and their child. For as long as he could remember, having a family had been a top priority of his. He had always loved the idea of one day being able to toss around a football with his son, or to kick a soccer ball with his daughter, to help with homework, attend plays and recitals and all the other events that come with parenthood.

As far as Flint was concerned, he already accomplished the hard part of the goal by finding the woman who would one day, hopefully in the very near future, become his wife. Then getting the all clear from the OB the other day, meant the baby part was also soon going to become a reality. And today, the final piece of the puzzle fell into place.

He hoped his news would be the first step in putting an end to the frustrating subterfuge they had been engaged in the last few weeks. He was beyond tired of the lies, mistruths, and withholding of information from his friends and family. Lady Jaye's miscarriage scare two days earlier had been the proverbial straw. The event had left him shaken, and when they had returned home after the doctor's visit he had wanted nothing more to stay home with her to make sure that she and the baby were truly okay, and that she got the rest she needed.

However, he knew a long absence from HQ was going to raise too many questions, so he reluctantly left Lady Jaye alone after making her promise that she would follow the doctor's orders. Luckily, once he returned to base, Duke didn't question his impromptu errand, which briefly alleviated his conscience. But he was then left with a sense of sadness and loneliness. He had experienced one of the greatest moments in his life earlier in the day when he saw the first images of his son or daughter, and he couldn't share the experience with those he was closest to.

He had debated reaching out to his family, but he dismissed the idea. His parents would have too many questions that he didn't have good answers to. He could confide in his older brother, but Flint didn't want to burden him with a secret he too would have to keep. So he reluctantly kept quiet, and tried to continue on with his day as normally as possible. That night he did get a chance to return to the apartment, but since he didn't want to put Lady Jaye under any extra stress, he kept his thoughts to himself. He laid awake most of their night together, and only fell asleep once he made the decision that before she returned to the Joe team they were going to decide on a concrete plan. Which was why the news he had just received was so critical.

Flint parked and then entered the apartment. It was quiet so he called Lady Jaye's name, but he received no response. He frowned as he finished the walk-through of the apartment. He had parked next to her car in the lot, so he assumed that she was just out taking a walk around the complex, but he still couldn't help being worried that something more sinister had happened.

However before he worked himself into a panic, she walked through the front door carrying a box of dog treats. He pointed towards the box. "Did we get a dog?"

Lady Jaye smiled. "No. Our current situation is precarious enough without bringing another living being into the mix. I noticed the last few days while I took a walk that quite a few of our neighbors have a dog. And they are much more friendly, both human and canine alike, when you offer the dog a Milk Bone. Anyway, I didn't know you were going to come by."

"It was a spur of the moment decision. And I really can't stay long, but I have big news that I wanted to tell you in person."

Flint's enthusiasm was contagious, and Lady Jaye smiled despite her trepidation. She had enough "big news" the last few weeks to be worried about the latest one. Especially since she assumed he had gotten an early indication that his promotion was going through, which would mean yet another upheaval of their lives.

But it turned out this time it was actual good news. "It's official. General Bradshaw is leaving and Hawk is coming back. The transfer orders were finalized this afternoon."

Lady Jaye let out a shriek and jumped into his arms. "When does it go into effect?"

"I'm not sure. There wasn't a date attached, but it looks like it's only going to be a couple of weeks at most."

Lady Jaye nodded. Sooner was better than later. Finding out she was farther along in her pregnancy than she thought meant that time was quickly running out before she started to show. She knew she was lucky that she still was able to fit into her clothes, but that could quickly change. "That is great news, as I think Junior's existence will soon become obvious."

Flint leaned over to kiss her. "I agree. Once we have a timetable in place we can sit down and figure out where we go from here."

Lady Jaye wrapped her arms around Flint's neck. "I can answer that right now. As soon as General Bradshaw is on his transport away from Joe HQ, we're going to sit down with Hawk and the others and tell them the truth. So do you have time to do a little celebrating?"

Flint looked at his watch. "I think I can stay for a few minutes."

Lady Jaye smirked. "Thanks for squeezing me into your busy schedule."

"I'm sorry, but we have a conference call with DC scheduled for three. After running out on Duke the other day, I can't afford to miss it."

"I understand. I'm just giving you a hard time."

Lady Jaye kissed him, and Flint began to respond to her advances, but he pulled away. "Is this okay? What about the restrictions the doctor put on you?"

"They technically expired a couple hours ago. And she said as long as I hadn't experienced any bleeding or cramping, which I haven't, I could resume normal activity."

"Well, I guess if it's okay."

His response wasn't exactly an aphrodisiac so Lady Jaye decided to put a stop to any further activity. "How about we take a rain check?"

Flint looked relieved. "I'm sorry. I want to, I really do, but I'd never forgive myself if I cause any more problems."

Lady Jaye knew Flint was taking the cautious and reasonable approach, but she was still frustrated. However, she didn't want to force him into anything he didn't want to do. "You do need to get back anyway. But do you think you'll be able to sneak away later and spend the night here?'

Flint nodded. "Unless something comes up, that shouldn't be a problem. I should even be able to get away by dinner time. I'll call you to confirm." He pulled her close to him. "I love you."

"I love you too," she replied. He left a few moments later. Her disappointment in his abrupt departure was short lived as she contemplated all of the positive aspects of General Bradshaw's transfer. One in particular stood out, and she picked up her phone to call Scarlett. "Did you hear the good news?" Lady Jaye asked Scarlett once she answered.

"About General Bradshaw? I couldn't help but hear about it. This place practically burst out into a song and dance in celebration."

"You can't blame the team. It's probably the best news we've heard in weeks. Does this, by any chance, change your future plans?

Scarlett let out a sigh. "I wish it did, but it really doesn't. My problems started before General Bradshaw came on board, and they're not going to go away once he leaves."

Lady Jaye scoffed. "I find that hard to believe. You seemed pretty happy up until the moment Hawk announced he was leaving."

"Okay, that may be true, but that still doesn't mean life is magically going to return to that point. Too much has changed since then."

"I don't know. I bet Duke realized he made a terrible mistake and is just waiting for General Bradshaw to leave to come crawling back to you."

Scarlett exhaled sharply. "There might have been a point when I was willing to forgive Duke for all that he's done and take him back. That time has long since come and gone. If Duke had truly cared about me, he would have figured out a way to make our relationship work like you and Flint did. The fact that he took the exit door as soon as it was offered speaks volumes to me. Add in how he treated me like I didn't exist on the good days, and like absolute garbage on the bad, and well, quite frankly, I don't give a shit that he might be considering a reconciliation."

Lady Jaye went silent as she didn't have a response to her friend's outburst. A few moments passed before Scarlett continued. "I'm sorry. As you can probably tell this is a very sore subject to me. What makes it worse is that I think you're right that he realizes he screwed up. Ever since he found out I was leaving for Japan, he's been going out of his way to talk to me and be the same sweet guy that I fell in love with. Which just makes me angrier. He doesn't even have the decency to let me leave in peace."

"Shana, that just means he's afraid to lose you."

Scarlett muttered under her breath. "Maybe, but it's too late. My tickets to Tokyo are booked and nothing is going to stop me."