Begin!

~Karen's POV

We didn't encounter another villain during our stay. I suppose them never coming back telegraphed to their sender that they had been captured or worse. (Not that we do that sort of thing. We put them in jail not in Hell.) We stayed here for just over 3 weeks, making use of our time alone together, and making plans for when we'd get back.

But after the first week something bothered me…

Well more specifically it left a very bad feeling in my stomach; literally and figuratively.

I woke up on, I think it was, July 8th and Quinten was still asleep beside me. I felt horribly sick to my stomach and quickly ran into the bathroom.

Once I was finally done vomiting, I was able to try to process what was wrong with me. Perhaps it was something I ate? The room service here wasn't that good, maybe someone tried to poison me? No that can't be it, otherwise Quinten would have been poisoned too… and the other obvious reason is I'd be dead by now if that were the case. I racked my brain for any answer to this conundrum…

I felt the color drain from my face as one, very unlikely, possibility passed through my brain…

But maybe it was worth checking…?

I left the bathroom and saw Quinten was still asleep, which I was thankful for since I'd prefer if he doesn't see me doing this. I grabbed my travel bag off the floor and carried it back into the bathroom, shutting the door behind me.

I sighed and talked softly to myself, "Don't get excited… You've done this before and it's never… just stay calm, Karen."

I pulled a pregnancy test out of my travel bag. I couldn't honestly tell why I had bothered to bring this with me. At this point, it was just me being hopeful. But hope isn't what I should be feeling right now. Hope only raises expectations and mine were supposed to stay low. I was happier that way.

Wait. Wait. Wait…

The longest five minutes of my life and I've done this before. I've been with a couple other guys before Quinten; neither of them lasted, obviously but it didn't matter, what mattered was it meant I've done this before. I've had to do this same wait before. And it felt just the same.

When I was a senior in high school I had a scare like this with my first boyfriend, and that was what led me to a doctor telling me that I was unlikely to ever get pregnant. It was the worst day of my life. I've been through over a dozen missions since, some that nearly killed me, and I still contend that hearing those words hurt more than any broken bone, black eye, or whatever else I've had thrown at me over my volunteer career. I remember it vividly when I told Bea and she stayed awake with me all night while I sobbed my heart out.

And now I had to wait again. I don't like waiting for news I already know. It's redundant. Why was I bothering? I knew the answer to this question, and I knew I didn't like it so what was the point? That's just it, there was no point. I sat down on the countertop and couldn't even bring myself to look at the small stick lying next to me.

Quinten knew my feelings. We had agreed that we would try for the first couple years of our marriage and if it really seemed like it wasn't working then we'd accept it and move on. Maybe consider our other options at that point. But the chance was there. Bea reminded me of that fact. That there was a chance. A small one, but a chance.

Yeah… that's why I'm doing this. Cause there's a chance…

Beep

I closed my eyes instinctively. Should I even look? Was it worth the heartache? I sighed again. You started this, Karen, you have to look. My hands were shaking as I reached down and grabbed the thing. I took a deep breath and looked down.

Two pink lines.

My heart stopped.

No…

It can't be…

"Wait no, don't think too hard. It might be a false positive. I've certainly experienced that before… Maybe try another one?"

So I tossed the first test into the trash can; making sure to cover it with something so Quinten wouldn't find it. I dug into my bag once again and pulled out a back-up test. Call me paranoid for having a second one…

Beep

After another long wait the second test finished. I took another deep breath before picking this one up and looking at the results.

Two pink lines.

My heart stopped again.

I stared at it…

Was this real? It felt real. Was I dreaming? I quietly pinched myself and found that I was not in fact dreaming. I was very awake. I didn't even notice that I had let the thing fall out of my hands in shock; it landed in the sink. I took a step backwards and felt myself press against the door behind me.

I slid down to sit on the floor and burst into tears.

"Ok, now that you've finished crying, what should you do?"

Tell Quinten? Well yes but… not yet. I wanted this to be done special. This was the biggest news I've ever gotten in my life, I wanted it to be a spectacle. Bea told me that she just sat Bertrand down and told him straight up when she got the news. But our situation was different. This was something that needed to be said to… shit I don't know, everyone! Quinten, Bea, Bertrand, Josie, Kit, Sammie, Dewey, Frank, even Ernest deserved to know if he still cared for me at all. Hell I'd scream it from the peak of Mount Fraught, if it meant I could express how happy I was!

And so I waited to tell Quinten. Normally, I hate keeping such exciting news to myself, but this is the one time I felt I could make an exception. I put on a facade to look like nothing had changed the whole rest of the weeks we stayed here. Quinten was none the wiser, but he was happy to see me in a good mood. (Not that he knew why I was.) I also might have placated him by being extra affectionate...

Once the three weeks passed we rented a helicopter to fly back home, since we were sure that our previous plane had been captured where we left it. Instead of heading home though we flew to the headquarters instead. We had to check in to show that we were fit for duty once more. Er, well, that wasn't entirely true. I wouldn't be likely to do any work soon once everyone heard the news.

And once we got there it turns out that Bea and Sammie were there. Bea had been showing Violet off and introducing her to people she hadn't met yet. When I asked Sammie why she was here she said she and her family were here for the V.F.D. party this weekend. (Apparently the Duchess wanted an excuse to celebrate the transporting of the sugar before telling everyone about it.)

A party? That was perfect! Everyone would be there! But first, since I had the opportunity I had to tell Bea and Sammie first. They say the first people that a girl tells when this happens are her closest friends, and I was no different. I was with them in a small room of the headquarters dedicated to being a daycare of sorts. It was for volunteers who have kids but aren't able to find a babysitter and have no other option than to bring their child to work with them. I saw Violet and Fiona playing together behind us while I talked with their moms. It made me a little more excited being in this environment knowing what I was gonna tell them.

"So your honeymoon didn't go as planned, huh," Sammie asked.

"No it didn't," I replied, I had told them about our problems getting through it. "But we made it back safely. And…"

Bea and Sammie gave me curious looks. "And what?"

"Well um… I have some news…"

They didn't respond so I shakily finished.

"Bea, Sammie, I'm pregnant."

Sammie dropped her drink. Bea nearly choked on hers.

"What?" They replied simultaneously.

I felt my eyes well up again. "Yeah… you heard me. I'm pregnant. Quinten and I are going to have a baby. I double checked. It wasn't a false positive…"

I saw Bea smile tearfully at me, "Oh my god…" She quickly enveloped me in a tight hug. "I'm so happy for you Karrie!"

Sammie was wiping her eyes behind her glasses before she gave me a hug too. "I told you this day would come, sweetie. You deserve this!"

"How did Quinten react," Bea asked.

"I haven't told him yet! So here's what we're gonna do…" I quietly told them my admittedly devious plan.

They both thought I was brilliant for doing it like this. Bea even promised she'd get a picture of Quinten's reaction when I announce it at the party. They swore to secrecy for me, even to keep it from their own husbands. Thankfully, Fiona and Violet were too young to understand what I had even just said; so we didn't have to worry about them. (They weren't paying attention anyway.)

Once the time for the party rolled around I convinced Quinten that we should attend, and he didn't ask any questions about why. It wasn't anything too formal, but everyone was here; even the Duchess herself. These kinds of parties were a good way to get updates on things.

About an hour in I gave Bea and Sammie my heads up that I was putting my plan into action. They wished me luck. (I also got a kick out of seeing that Fernald heard me and was visibly confused about what was going on since he was sitting with his mother.) Well everyone will find out in a minute.

With my heart pounding nervously, I asked the Duchess if I could make an announcement. She gave me a polite smile and said yes before giving me a mic, and gesturing that I could stand on the band stage area for this.

"Excuse me, everyone! Could I have your attention please? Hi, sorry, I have something important I want to tell my husband Quinten. And I felt that this was the best way to do it." I was smiling at Quinten the whole time. "Well here it goes…"

"Honey, I know the chances were low, but they still said 'maybe,' and now I'm happy to tell you I'm carrying your baby!"

~End of Chapter!