She's been asleep on the couch in the family lobby for nearly an hour when her phone starts vibrating in her pocket. Her eyes fly open, and she peels her face off the vinyl surface of the couch. She wipes the drool from her face, and shifts into a sitting position. She pulls the phone out of her pocket, and presses it to her ear.
"Hello?" She answers.
"Is this Kate Beckett?"
"Speaking."
"This is doctor Andrews from the Express care. I saw you here yesterday."
"Yes," she confirms.
"I just received the results of your lab work. Do you have a minute to come in and review the results with me?"
"No. I need to get back to the NICU. I've already been gone too long."
"I understand. Are you sitting down?"
"Is something wrong?"
"We just had a positive result on one of the tests that we ran."
"What test?"
"Are you sitting down?"
"Yes!"
"You're pregnant."
"Excuse me?"
"You're pregnant. Your levels were consistent with you being a few weeks along. You will want to follow up with your OB/GYN."
"Okay."
"I understand that you have a lot going on in your life right now, so I called in a prescription of prenatal vitamins to the pharmacy down the block."
"Thank you," she hangs up.
She stares at the phone in utter disbelief. With everything going on at the current time this is the absolute last thing she anticipated. She swallows hard, and suddenly feels short of breath.
"You found out in the hospital waiting room?"
"Yes," she confirms.
"When?"
"The day before her funeral."
He rubs his temples, and stares at her stomach. Suddenly the picture is becoming much clearer.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"How was I supposed to tell you anything? At that point I had already decided that I was going to take Levi home with me when he left the hospital. It was too early to tell anyone. Part of me hoped that it wasn't true. Part of me hoped that if it was it wouldn't come to fruition. After a couple of days I found myself consumed with taking care of Levi. I out it on the back burner for a few weeks. By that point our relationship was so damaged that I thought it irreparable."
"We both acted hastily, and foolishly."
"Yes."
"I'm sorry," he tells her.
"So am I."
"So where do we go from here?"
She shrugs her shoulders, "I wish that I knew. I feel like we're going in different directions. We want different things. I want them, and you don't."
"I just want you."
"I don't come alone, anymore. In fact I don't go anywhere alone anymore."
"I can see that. How are you doing this?"
"With a lot of help. My dad watches him a lot. On the days that he can't watch him Martha will watch him. Everyone has helped out."
"What does your dad have to say about all of this?"
She practically crawls to the door at seven am on day three of having a baby in her home on her own. She pulls the door open, willing to let a serial killer in, if they'll just let her sleep. Her dad walks in carrying bags.
"What are you doing here?"
"Lanie called me. She asked if I knew that you were trying to be Superwoman over here."
She wears pajamas, and her hair is pulled into a sloppy bun, because she hasn't washed her hair in two days.
"I don't understand."
"Where is he?"
"He's asleep, don't wake him up," she begs.
"I brought diapers, and wipes, and some clothes."
"Thanks."
"Katie, do you know how to swaddle a baby?" He queries.
"I have learned," she confirms leading him to the living room.
He stares at the makeshift baby room. There is a pile of baby clothes on the coffee table. There is a pile of folded baby laundry in the basket on the couch. In the center of the living room is a playpen that doubles as a basinet. He peeks inside at the baby who sleeps soundly. The baby is swaddled in a green blanket. He sucks on his pacifier as he sleeps.
"Are you hungry?"
She shakes her head.
"You look exhausted."
"He eats every two hours around the clock."
"Why don't you go lay down? I might be a little bit rusty, but I think I can handle him for a couple hours."
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely," he agrees.
She points to a spot on the couch, "Diapers and wipes are there. Formula is on the counter with the freshly sterilized bottles. Explicit directions are written on a post it note."
"I've got it covered."
"Are you sure?"
He nods, she turns and heads for the stairs.
"Honey, one more thing."
"Yeah?" She turns and looks at him from the bottom stair.
"What's his name?"
"Levi."
"What did he say when you told him that you were pregnant?"
"I never really told him."
"He doesn't know?"
"Of course he knows. He is over here all of the time."
"How did he find out?"
"He deduced it."