Elizabeth stared at Carson, mouth gaping. "You're joking," she said, feeling the breath leaving her lungs. "What's the real diagnosis?" Nathan was holding her hand, and she looked up as his tightened over hers. He wore a matching look of shock on his face.

Carson shook his head, prepping a probe. "I'm not joking. We won't know for sure until I take an ultrasound, but the blood work indicates a pregnancy."

"How?" Elizabeth gasped, laying back on the examination table at Carson's directive. "The twins are only five months old and I'm breastfeeding! I thought that meant pregnancy wasn't possible."

"Normally it isn't," Carson said, squeezing some ultrasound gel on Elizabeth's abdomen. "But every so often, a woman can get pregnant again soon after giving birth. That's the whole Irish twins phenomenon." He hid a smile as he placed the probe on Elizabeth's stomach. "I don't suppose either of you are Irish?"

"We both are," Nathan said, sitting in the chair beside the exam table, the shocked look still on his face. "But you know full well that doesn't actually have anything to do with it."

Carson chuckled. "I know." He moved the probe around Elizabeth's stomach. He didn't have to say anything as they watched the monitor. There, clear as could be, was a baby growing inside of Elizabeth.

Raising his brows, Carson gave a low whistle. "This isn't a new pregnancy," he said, looking between Nathan and Elizabeth. "It looks like you're about to enter your second trimester already."

Elizabeth's head shot up. "Seriously?" She mentally calculated backward. "So you're telling me I got pregnant when the twins were about two months old?"

"I'll have to run a few more tests, but yeah. So it would seem." Carson's hand froze. He squinted and looked more closely at the monitor. "Oh my."

Fear shot through Elizabeth. "'Oh my'? What do you mean by that?" she asked. "Is something wrong with the baby?"

Carson wore a look of stunned disbelief, but then he started laughing softly. Elizabeth was confused. "Carson!"

"I'm sorry," he gasped, trying to control his laughter. "Nothing is wrong with the baby. Or should I say...'babies'?"

"Say what?" Nathan and Elizabeth said in unison.

Carson pointed to the screen. "Say hello to Baby A and Baby B." He moved his hand from one part of the screen to the other as he said it. Sure enough, Elizabeth could see two distinct babies as Carson adjusted the probe.

"Oh my goodness," she said, sinking against the padded table, unable to say anything else. Nathan held her hand to his heart.

"Wow," he said, shaking his head. "This...this is a shock."

Carson became serious. "I know it is," he said gently. "The two of you are finally adjusting to being parents, and now you have a pregnancy to handle on top of caring for newborns." He hesitated. "And I'm not going to lie. This is a high risk pregnancy. That's why I wanted you both here to talk about it. It was going to be high risk with just one baby, but now with another set of twins it's even more so. Elizabeth's body has not fully recovered from the first pregnancy. That takes some time and generally contributes to a woman not conceiving in the first year after giving birth. She is going to need a lot of rest and as little stress as possible."

Elizabeth raised a brow. "Uh, Carson...I have two babies at home. How in the world am I supposed to rest when I need to care for them?"

"You can still care for them," Carson said. "But as you get along in this pregnancy, you have to realize that there's a very real possibility that I will order you to be on bedrest. Possibly for the entire third trimester, depending on how things go. And I'm going to want you in here every two weeks to make sure both you and these babies are healthy and strong. We're taking no chances."

Nathan smoothed some hair from Elizabeth's face. "I'll adjust my hours at work," he said. "And there's a lot I can do from home. I'll let Bill know what's going on and ask if I can move my office to our house for the remainder of your pregnancy. Lee can handle things from the station, and if they need me to come in for anything, he can let me know."

Elizabeth felt tears prick her eyes as she looked at her husband. "You would do that?" she asked, holding his hand tighter.

His face softened with a sweet smile. "Absolutely," he said, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. "Whatever it takes to keep you and our newest additions safe." He chuckled. "This is crazy, I won't lie. But what a journey it's going to be."

Carson nodded. "I think that's a very good idea, Nathan. I'm not concerned about anything right now besides Elizabeth taking it easy." He gave her a little smile. "That means no hiking, I'm afraid. Though you can still walk and swim as long as you don't overdo it."

Elizabeth gave him a wry smile. "I had a feeling you were going to ban hiking. But that's okay." She placed her hands over her stomach, feeling the sticky gel still resting there. "I want these babies to grow safely and as close to full term as possible. Since Arianna and Cecilia came a month early, I suppose we can expect something similar with these babies?"

"Most likely," Carson said. "That's another reason I want you to take it easy. You had a very healthy pregnancy with Arianna and Cecilia and they still came pretty early. These two could come a lot earlier simply based on the fact that your uterus hasn't had much time to heal. I want these babies to remain inside as long as they possibly can. We don't want them to end up in the NICU." He smiled. "Though if they do, you know Florence and Molly would take extremely good care of them. And you know how to care for our preemies, so if anyone is capable of handling it, you would be."

"But we still don't want that to happen," Nathan said. "We want them to grow safely inside their mama."

"Yes," Carson said. "I'll draw up a plan for you to make sure you have a healthy and safe pregnancy. Sound good?"

Elizabeth nodded as Carson began cleaning her stomach. "Thank you," she said. "That sounds perfect."

As they left the hospital, Elizabeth was still slightly shell-shocked, but she was also amused at Nathan's behavior. He had an arm around her and was leading her to the car as if she would break at a moment's notice.

"Nathan, I am capable of walking on my own, you know," she said, a teasing lilt in her voice.

He chuckled. "I know you are, sweetheart, but I can't help it. My protective side is out of my control."

Elizabeth laughed, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "I love that side of you," she said, snuggling closer as they approached their car. After getting in, they buckled up, but Nathan didn't start the car. He simply looked at Elizabeth for several long moments before letting out a long breath. "Twins," he said, shaking his head. "We couldn't conceive for nearly a year after our wedding, and now we'll have four children in the span of a year." He laughed. "God has quite the sense of humor."

Elizabeth smiled, reaching out for Nathan's hand. "That He does. Are you excited?"

Nathan's crooked smile lit his face "I am, Elizabeth. I'm shocked, but I'm excited." He studied her. "What about you?"

She nodded, a fierce sense of love washing over her. "I love these babies already," she admitted, placing her free hand on her stomach. "I love them and I want to protect them at all costs. And yes, I'm excited to meet them." She chuckled. "Though I have to admit I feel rather overwhelmed as well. Four babies, Nathan. Four! How in the world are we going to handle that?"

Nathan leaned over, giving her a long, lingering kiss. When he pulled back, he smiled gently. Elizabeth felt calmer just looking into his deep blue eyes, full of strength and love. "The same way we've handled everything else in this relationship," he said, running his hand down her cheek. "One day at a time."

Lee sat back in his chair, staring at Nathan with the same shocked expression everyone else produced when they found out about Elizabeth's pregnancy. "You're kidding," he said, eyes wide. "How is that even possible? She just gave birth a few months ago!"

Nathan shook his head. "Apparently it happens on occasion," he said, shrugging. "And it happened for us."

"Wow," Lee said. A grin spread over his face. "You, my friend, are going to be very busy in about six months. Four wee ones to care for." He shook his head. "Wow."

"You sound like Bill," Nathan said, gathering his things into a big box. "I don't think I've ever seen him speechless before, but he couldn't speak for a full thirty seconds after I asked to work at home for the next six months. And he couldn't speak for another thirty seconds after I told him why."

"So how does this work from home thing work with us being partners?" Lee asked, tapping a pen against his desk. "What if we're called to a crime scene or something?"

"I'll still be available for that," Nathan said. "Anytime you need me on a call or to investigate away from the station, I'll be there. But since ninety-nine percent of our job is paperwork and research, I think we'll be fine." He grinned. "Besides, now you can call all the shots around here. Won't that be nice for a change?"

Lee laughed. "Oh, sure! Call the shots without you here to listen to them."

Nathan grinned again. "Exactly."

Lee watched him for a few moments before his mouth tipped in a small smile. "I'll be honest, Nathan. It's going to be weird working here without you around for a while. I'm going to miss our daily interactions and bantering."

Nathan placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "I'm gonna miss that too," he said. "We'll just have to have more game nights and dinners together. Though they may have to be at our house for the foreseeable future. Elizabeth is supposed to keep herself from too much activity, so I think being at home as much as possible will be good for her."

Lee raised a brow. "Didn't I see her walking around the neighborhood this morning? She was pushing the twins in their stroller."

"Yeah," Nathan said wryly. "Carson said that was good for her health. Walking and swimming will be the best forms of exercise for her without having a bad impact on the growing babies. She said there's no way she's staying in the house for hours at a time without movement. So I bought that stroller for the girls, and Elizabeth has already been getting some good mileage out of it. I think I'll rest easier when I can go on those walks with her, though. I hate to think anything might happen to her."

Lee patted his arm. "Relax, Nathan. Her body is designed to carry new life, even in circumstances like these. If she follows Carson's orders, I'm sure she will be just fine. As will your babies." He raised a brow. "So, are you hoping for at least one boy this time?"

Nathan smiled. "To tell the truth, yes. I think it would be nice to have a son. But if we get two girls again, I know I'll be happy with that as well. I just want them to be healthy and strong, regardless of gender."

"Well, for the record, I'm hoping you get a little Nate," Lee said, smiling widely. "Now, what can I do to help with the packing?"

Within an hour, Nathan had everything loaded into his car that was needed to create a home office. One of the two spare bedrooms was going to become his new office, while the other was going to become a second nursery. He had already gotten a desk, bookcase, and filing cabinet set up in the room, and now he just needed to transfer all his things from the office. It took him the better part of an hour to get everything situated in the house, but by the time Elizabeth got home from her lunch with Faith, he was satisfied with the outcome.

"Oh!" Elizabeth exclaimed, coming up behind him as he stood looking at his new office. "Nathan, this looks great!"

He smiled, greeting her with a kiss. "Thanks, sweetheart," he said, sliding an arm around her. "How was your lunch?"

"Wonderful," she said, leaning against him. "Faith made us some delicious tuna salad sandwiches with pickles." She sighed. "I love pickles."

Nathan laughed. "You're definitely pregnant," he said, pulling her closer. "You and your pickles."

She grinned. "I can't help it if our children seem to have a penchant for them," she said, giving him a sassy wink.

Nathan was glad to see her happy and smiling. Her dizzy spells were lessening, though the nausea had gotten worse. This morning had been the first in a while where she didn't feel sick. He pulled her into his arms, nuzzling his lips to her neck. "What would you say to a romantic dinner tonight once the girls fall asleep?" he said, trailing little kisses toward her jaw. "We can have whatever you want, and I'll make sure flowers and music and candles are involved."

Elizabeth smiled and slid her arms around him. "That sounds perfect," she said, reaching up on tiptoe so their lips could meet. Nathan kissed her deeply, enjoying the feeling of her in his arms and the way his heart pounded in sync with hers. He drew back slightly. "What would you like for dinner?" he whispered, his lips still brushing hers.

He felt her smile once more. "Pizza sounds good," she said. "I know it's not exactly romantic fare, but I'm suddenly craving it."

Nathan chuckled. "Perfect," he said. "What kind of toppings would you like?" He nuzzled her lips with his. "Pickles and anchovies?"

He felt her soft laugh against his lips. "Hard no to the anchovies, sweetheart," she said. "Though I will say yes to the pickles."

Nathan drew back, looking down into her eyes. She was serious. He groaned slightly with a half laugh. "I was kidding!"

She smiled up at him, blinking innocently. "You said whatever I wanted," she said sweetly. "And I think pepperoni, olives, and pickles sound like a downright delectable combination."

Nathan stared at her before laughing. "I did say that, didn't I?" he asked.

"Mm-hmm," Elizabeth said, pulling his head down to kiss him again. "And you never argue with a pregnant woman."

Nathan buried his hands in her hair, unable to think straight with the way his wife was kissing him. "I know what you're doing," he whispered between kisses. "You think I won't be able to say no to the pickles."

Elizabeth grinned. "Is it working?"

Nathan nodded, getting lost in another kiss. "Somewhat," he admitted. "But how about a compromise?"

"What's that?" she asked.

"Half the pizza with pickles, the other half without. Deal?"

Elizabeth chuckled, wrapping her arms around his neck and smiling up at him, her sapphire eyes sparkling. "Deal."