Chapter Forty Eight

A few days later, Brooke drove Haley to her doctor's appointment so Dr. Copeland could confirm the pregnancy. Haley was grateful Brooke had covered for her until she was ready to tell Nathan. She wasn't surprised to hear Lucas didn't believe Brooke when she tried to tell him it was Haley who was pregnant. She still didn't quite believe it herself. There had to be a mistake.

Dr. Copeland shook his head as he glanced at the test results again. "No, it's not a mistake. Congratulations! You are pregnant."

Haley stared at him in disbelief. "I don't understand. I can't have kids. How can I be pregnant?"

Dr. Copeland just smiled. "It's not uncommon for infertile couples to be able to conceive naturally. I see it all the time. I do understand you might be concerned about your baby. As long as you do everything I say: take your vitamins, eat a healthy diet, no more drinking coffee or any strenuous activities, you should be fine." Haley just nodded.

"Don't worry. I will watch her like a hawk," Brooke assured him. "Thank you for letting us come in on such short notice."

"It's no problem. You have my card. Please call me if you or Nathan have any questions or concerns," Dr. Copeland said as Haley and Brooke got up from their chairs. Haley didn't want to mention Nathan didn't have any idea she even was pregnant. "By the way, I would like to congratulate you and Nathan on your wedding."

Haley managed a smile. "Thank you." There was a short pause. "Do you have any idea when the baby is due?"

"It's a little early to tell, but I believe the baby is due in the middle of February," Dr. Copeland told her. Haley did the math and realized the baby had been conceived on her birthday. She was still quiet. Dr. Copeland looked at her. "Haley, I know you've had a rollercoaster of ups and downs when it comes to trying to have kids and you don't want to be disappointed again. But don't take this news for granted."

"I won't," Haley promised.

Brooke waited until they were back in the car before she spoke her mind. "So do you believe it now?" she asked. "When are you going to tell Nathan? I don't want to rush you, but I'm not great at keeping secrets. And it's hard enough trying to convince Lucas not to tell anyone yet. I just know he's going to tell Nathan and I want you to tell him before that happens."

Haley nodded understandingly. It was time to tell Nathan. "I know. And I don't know how I will be able to do it in private."

Brooke just smiled. "Just leave everything to me."

Once they returned to the house, Haley was able to convince Nathan to have a private dinner at their new house. Thanks to Lucas and Brooke, the kids were going to be taken care of for the night and they were able to set up a very romantic candlelight picnic in front of the fireplace. Nathan was surprised, but pleased he was going to have another night with Haley.

At first, the conversation was lively. Haley had an idea of how she would bring up the subject of her being pregnant. She just had to wait for the right moment. After they had a delicious dinner and dessert, Haley let out a happy sigh. "I'm so glad we're moving here. There's more than enough room for all of us."

Nathan raised his eyebrows, catching her words. "All of us? How many people are you expecting to move in with us? Lucas and Brooke have their own house and their hands full with four kids. And we're not getting any more pets. I'm glad Cassie never asked for a pony for her birthday."

Haley laughed. "Well, I hope she will be able to be given the chance when she is a little older. But I'm not talking about the pets. I'm talking about figuring out what we are going to do with the two extra bedrooms."

Nathan smiled. "Yeah, maybe we shouldn't have had bought a five bedroom house, but I wanted to make sure we had enough room for everyone. We can make one into a guestroom and then we can use the other one as your home office."

Haley shook her head as she sat up straight. She wanted Nathan to know she was serious. "Actually, we can't use both bedrooms as a guestroom and my office." Nathan frowned as he sat up too. "We need a nursery." There was a long pause as Haley was preparing herself to say the words out loud. "I'm pregnant."

Nathan didn't even have a chance to respond before Haley continued to speak. She was completely oblivious to the wide smile on his face. "You know how sick I've been feeling lately and it wouldn't go away. It crossed my mind it could be more than the flu, but I didn't think it was possible. So I took a pregnancy test and it was positive. I still didn't want to believe it. I didn't want to get my hopes up and then be disappointed again. I even went to Dr. Copeland and he confirmed it. This is not a mistake. I really am pregnant. I know this is a little earlier than we planned, but maybe this is meant to be." Nathan interrupted her by pulling her close and giving her a passionate kiss. She pulled away for a moment and looked at him. She let out a relieved sigh. "I take it you're happy about this?"

Nathan gave her a look. "Are you kidding?" He gave her a wide smile. "This is what we wished for. This is what the kids have been wishing for. A little brother or sister. Why didn't you tell me before? We could have told everyone at the wedding."

Haley was quiet for a moment. "Because I was afraid it wasn't true. I didn't want to get our hopes up," she replied in a whisper. Nathan squeezed her hand for comfort. Her voice became normal. "Besides, Brooke covered for me and told Lucas she was the one who was pregnant. And she made the excuse that she didn't want our wedding day to be overshadowed by their news."

Nathan raised his eyebrows. "Brooke told Lucas she was pregnant?" He laughed in amusement. "No wonder they seemed on edge lately." Nathan realized he was getting off topic. He gave his wife a comforting smile. He looked deep in her eyes as he kept his hands into hers. "I know you're scared, but you don't have to keep secrets from me. I'm your husband and I love you. We're in this together, always and forever."

Haley managed a smile in return. "I love you too," she replied before they shared another kiss. "You're the best." She let out a happy sigh. "We're going to have a baby." Saying aloud made it feel real. "We're going to have a baby." Nathan nodded as they shared another kiss. "I'm going to be a mom."

"You're going to be a great mom," Nathan assured her. "Because you are great with Tristan and Cassie. When do you want to tell the kids?"

Haley gave him a smile. "I told Brooke to bring them over later. I don't know if she can keep it a secret much longer. She is really bursting to tell everyone the truth. Luckily, my mom is a little more discreet." Nathan raised his eyebrows. "When everyone thought I was runaway bride, my mom found me expressing my frustration and anger with a bucket of water balloons."

Nathan nodded understandingly. "Are you still feeling that way?"

Haley didn't answer for a moment. "I don't know. I want to believe this is it for us. That my body is done playing games with me. And I'm truly going to be a mom." Nathan could hear the fear in her voice. "It's our dream come true. I'm just afraid it might become a nightmare."

Nathan didn't know how to comfort her. His voice became low. "You know, we don't have to tell the kids tonight. We don't have to tell anyone else until you're ready. We can wait until the second trimester."

Haley shook her head. "No, I want the kids to know. I want all of us to be together tonight. To celebrate as a family of five."

Nathan smiled. "That sounds good to me." He then made a guilty face. "I guess that means I can't surprise you with the bottle of wine I brought with me tonight." Haley managed to laugh. "We'll have to have chocolate covered strawberries without it."

Just as they were finishing up with dessert, they heard another car pull up. "How do you want to play this?" Nathan asked as they got up from the floor. Haley shrugged. "Ok, we'll play it by ear." The doorbell rang and Nathan opened the door. Haley was right there with him. They were both surprised when it was Lucas standing there with the kids. He let the kids greet their parents before Lucas asked to speak to his brother privately.

Nathan noticed the panicked look on his brother's face. "Nate, I have a confession to make." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "I think Brooke's cheating on me." Nathan tried not to show his amusement as his brother continued to speak. "Because there's no way in hell that baby is mine. After Bella's first birthday, I decided to get a vasectomy."

Nathan stopped him before he could go any further. His face was a dead giveaway. "Dude, you can relax. Brooke isn't cheating on you. She was just covering for Haley." Lucas looked at him baffled. "Haley is the one who's pregnant."

Lucas looked at his brother shocked. He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Really?" Nathan nodded. Lucas let out a relieved sigh before he smiled. "Wow, that's great. Congratulations." He embraced his brother in a tight hug. He lowered his voice again. "Is that why Brooke insisted on interrupting your evening with Haley and bring the kids over here?" Nathan nodded. "I'll leave you guys alone to share the news then."

"Please don't tell anyone yet. We want to keep the news low key until Haley's further along in the pregnancy," Nathan whispered to him. Lucas nodded understandingly before they returned to Haley, Tristan and Cassie.

They said their goodbyes before Lucas left to return home. "What are we doing here?" Cassie asked. She had asked that question already when they arrived, but Haley told her to wait until the brothers were done talking.

Nathan and Haley looked at each other, not sure who should answer. Or how to answer. Nathan took a deep breath. "Well, we are here to celebrate us as a family. We realized we should spend some time together before your mom and I go off on our honeymoon."

"Yeah, but there isn't any furniture in here yet," Tristan reminded him. "What are we going to do?"

Haley knew the perfect answer. "Well, your dad and I were talking about the bedrooms upstairs." She took Cassie's hand and led her family to the upstairs hallway. "We have three bedrooms chosen. The master bedroom, your bedroom and Cassie's bedroom. But we are trying to decide what to do with the extra two rooms. What do you think we should do with them?"

"You need an office," Tristan told her. "You can't be an event planner without an office."

Haley nodded in agreement. "You make an excellent point. What about the other bedroom?" she asked before she pretended to think for a moment. "What do you think we should make that room into? A playroom? A guest room?" There was a short pause. She had building up for this moment and she hoped for a great reaction from the kids. "Actually, those rooms won't work because we're going to have to make one room into a nursery."

"A nursery? Like for a baby?" Cassie asked as Tristan and Cassie looked at their parents. "Does that mean you're having a baby?"

Haley gave her a wide smile. "That's right. You're going to be a big sister. I'm pregnant." Cassie smiled in return as she cheered happily. She embraced Haley in a tight hug. Tristan was smiling too and he took his turn in embracing his parents. Haley wanted to tell them that they had to keep this a secret, but it could wait. She was going to enjoy this moment with her family. A family that just had their wish come true.