Prologue:

Pink – two lines.

She turned back around and slowly stared at the pregnancy test stick once again, almost as if she had imagined the results the first several times – but no – there was no question in what she was seeing, both lines were clearly defined.

So, unless this the test was wrong – she was in fact pregnant.

There was joy.

There was fear.

There was – what if this is a false positive?

Echoes were suddenly heard from the other side of the door – it was his voice that threw her back into reality, knowing that keeping him in the dark for one more second wasn't an option, even though this wasn't planned or the best timing – especially considering that she was still knee deep in the middle of an undercover investigation, one where she couldn't just disappear without the suspect questioning her whereabouts.

Moving to the door, she exhaled before turning the knob and opening it.

"So?"

Lani reached for the pregnancy stick on the bathroom counter, feeling this nervous twinge as she turned back around in order for him to see the results. What are you thinking, she thought, as she watched him over the next few seconds? The only reaction that followed was a deep breath inward, focus solely locked into the lines of the test. "Two lines—that means…" he finally whispered before his words trailed off.

Lani finished his thought, "Possibly Pregnant."

He exhaled as the words left her lips – possibly pregnant.

The two knew that if she was, their engagement would need to be shortened or even put on hold, considering the idea of walking down the aisle pregnant wouldn't be in the cards, not with the kind of wedding dress she had in mind.

"Lani – "

Her eyes shifted from the pregnancy test up to him.

It was those eyes that snapped Eli out of the initial shock, and he bit down on his bottom lip and slowly reached for her hand – knowing that she had to be rocked to the core at the possibility of not only being pregnant and carrying another baby in her belly, also remembering the way it had ended tragically for them the last time.

This time would be different.

They were in love and he would be there from the start.

One more glance she told herself, right before setting the pregnancy test stick back on the bathroom counter, just to remind herself that what she saw was real. She then turned off the lights and led Eli out of the bathroom and back into the room, where she could finally sit down and process what just happened.

Clearly, she wasn't expecting to see those results.

Was this the right time for this to be happening?

Lani dropped her hand from his as they neared the bed and she sat down on the edge of it, feeling a little uneasy about what he would say – after all, this was happening because she had been on medication for an upper respiratory infection, and obviously it had caused the birth control pill to be ineffective, something that is very rare but possible.

"How are you feeling about this?"

He shoved both hands in the front pocket of his jeans – how did he feel? He loved her, that's how he felt. Having a baby with her – it was something that he thought about and it honestly had held more meaning for him after they lost David, it was then that he had realized just how important she really was to him and why.

And now – it meant more than he could possibly say.

"You know I love you."

"That's not what I asked."

True, it wasn't what she asked; it was, however, a big part of the reason that he wanted to dive into this without hesitation, no second glance backward and no regrets. "Maybe not—" he drew out in the midst of removing both hands from his jean pockets, walking over and sitting down next to her on the bed. "With you – I'm all in."

Lani found herself smiling cautiously as she met his gaze.

Feeling a sense of relief inside.

There wasn't this unnecessary stress consuming her about ending the pregnancy.

In reaching for her hand, the palm of Eli's covered hers when inching forward and placing a soft kiss against her lips, in an attempt to let her know that they would go through this – pregnant or not – together.

Their lips barely parted before she took a breath inward. "I guess I should make an appointment," she spoke softly, "to confirm whether or not we're really pregnant."

Eli pulled back and nodded. "I want to be there."

"You have that meeting—"

He quickly cut her off mid-sentence, "That meeting can wait – I want to be there."

Lani knew it was a losing battle, to sit here and continue going round after round with him about whether he should blow off the meeting, in order to be there for support – even if the test turned out to be a false positive or negative, she knew that he wouldn't feel right if he wasn't with her when she got the results.

This wasn't going to be like last time.

There weren't secrets and lies surrounding this pregnancy between them.

If she was pregnant – it was their time; it was meant to happen.

Standing near the window, watching the trees sway from the strong winds and the rain coming down, he turned back toward the bed when he heard movement as she shifted from his side back to hers, eventually grabbing the comforter a little closer to her body.

Eli had been filling the Commissioner spot for the past several months, neither knowing whether it would be temporary or not; however, for now, they had run into a few bumps along the way, especially between the two of them when it came to her field assignments – and as he looked back at her and watched her sleep, he knew that if she was pregnant, this was bound to cause another rift between them.

He'd want to keep her out of the field.

She would still want to be involved in the action.

Either way, it was something he found himself thinking about throughout the night, knowing that he would want her and the baby she was carrying to be safe and protected at all times, to do everything he could to ensure that she carried full term - after all, this was his family he was talking about.

Walking into the interrogation room a few days later – Eli found Lani deep in thought.

"You almost ready?"

She had been chewing lightly on the pen in her hand as she glanced upward from the laptop, right as he entered and closed the door from behind. It had been a tough morning – for her in particular, struggling to stay focused on the undercover assignment – what her next meeting would be and where, how she was going to stay locked in on the main goal; although, focus was not on her side that day, as she found herself staring at the clock every few seconds, something that wasn't exactly unavoidable.

Their appointment to confirm the pregnancy test was in less than an hour.

"I've been ready for hours," she admitted, closing the screen on the laptop and watching him intently as he sat in a chair directly across from her, which she tried to force an optimistic smile as he leaned forward with smile to match. "You know, it could be a false positive test. We might not be pregnant."

"I know."

Did he?

A part of her wondered if that thought entered his mind.

Lani wanted them to be realistic – the test seemed to show that she was pregnant; at the same time, though, there were so many ways it could have been wrong. What if it had been defective? She couldn't think of other reasons in that moment, but there had to be plenty of other causes for a test to show a positive result when it wasn't? And she just didn't want either of them to build up their hope on this being their time – that maybe – just maybe...this was their chance to be a family.

"I'm sorry, I just don't want to hope for something that might not happen."

Eli could sense her nervousness – he rose to his feet slowly, walked around and sat down on the edge of the table, facing her and waiting until she turned to him. "Lani listen…If it doesn't happen – we will be all right." There was that smile that she couldn't get enough of as he continued, "We still have each other; we're still getting married. We have time." He could always calm her like nobody could, and she did the same for him.

Not really overthinking it, she stood and stepped between his legs with every intention to thank him.

His hands rested against her hips as she cupped his face in her hands and brushed her lips over his, just long enough for him to inhale her breath and almost feel the warmth of her skin through the thin material of her top.

"What was that for?"

Lani shrugged, gave him a peck on the cheek and stepped backward.

A little laughter escaped as she gathered the paperwork next to the laptop, scooping the pile in her arms and taking one step back to him with a smile on her face. "For always knowing what to say to make me feel better – and loving me in the way that you do."

And he did – he loved her in ways that nobody else had or could.

She did the same for him.

Eli then stood from the table and followed her out of the interrogation room, knowing that they would soon find out if the test had been accurate, and whether or not they were about to be parents in 9 months. If not – that was their answer, and they would deal with that outcome. However, if she was, he couldn't help but wonder if that meant she'd be considered high risk, considering what occurred during her first pregnancy?

Once they knew – then what?