A/N: I'm working steadily on this, though I've hit a bit of writer's block. I absolutely love the feedback, though, keep it coming!

Botan and Kurama lover: Thanks for the ideas! Glad you liked the Lynette line!


A week later, Susan woke up in the middle of the night with a familiar but unwelcome feeling. Without wasting any time, she jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom, reaching the toilet just in time. After she finished emptying the contents of her stomach into the toilet, she closed the lid and rested her head on it.

"Ah yes, morning sickness," she murmured to herself weakly. "Not my favorite part of being pregnant." She took a few breaths, then felt another wave coming up. She hurriedly lifted the lid again and threw up what seemed like nothing but water. "Julie!" she shouted, laying down on the floor. She soon heard the footsteps of her daughter, and lifted her head as she opened the door.

"Mom, what happened?" she asked, kneeling beside her. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, sweetie, just one of the joys of the first trimester of pregnancy," Susan replied softly. "I think I'm going to be here a while, so can you do me a favor and go grab a pillow and blanket? I don't think I can walk right now."

"Sure, hang on, I'll be right back. Are you sure you're ok?"

"Completely sure, Julie. It's normal, trust me. But go, the floor's hard," she said, motioning her daughter out the door. Before Julie got the pillow and blanket, she picked up the phone in her mom's room and dialed Mike's number.

"Hello?" a groggy Mike answered after a few rings.

"Hi, Mike? It's Julie," Julie replied, sitting on the bed.

"Julie?" Mike said more clearly, suddenly very awake. "It's 3:00 in the morning, is everything ok? Is your mom alright?"

"She's fine, I think."

"You think!"

"No, she's fine, but apparently her morning sickness has begun, and she basically can't get up from the bathroom floor. I just thought maybe you'd-"

"I'll be right over," Mike said instantly, already getting dressed. "Stay with your mom until I get there, ok?"

"Ok, I'll leave the door unlocked for you," Julie replied, grabbing her mom's stuff.

"Thanks, I'll be right there."

"Julie!" Susan called weakly.

"Coming, Mom!" Julie called back. "Bye, Mike."

"Bye." After she hung up the phone, she ran downstairs to unlock the front door, then ran back up to the bathroom with the pillow and blanket. Gently lifting her mother's head, she placed the pillow beneath it, then covered her with the blanket and sat on the toilet. "So how are you feeling?" she asked, smiling.

"Like I threw up my stomach," Susan moaned, closing her eyes. "I so never planned on doing this again, and if you're wise, you won't ever plan on doing it."

"Aw, don't you want grandchildren, Mom?" Julie teased.

"No, I do, I'm just giving you fair warning."

"Thanks, I'll take that into consideration."

"Ok, just make sure you find a good man," Susan said softly, sinking further into her pillow.

"Yes, and most importantly, remember: it's always the man's fault," came Mike's amused voice from where he was leaning against the doorway.

"Damn straight," Susan agreed sleepily, then sat up quickly. "Mike? What are you doing here?"

"Julie called me," Mike explained. "She thought I'd want to be here for this momentous occasion." He sat down on the floor next to her and took her hand, kissing it gently.

"You called him? That was so sweet," Susan said, smiling at her daughter.

"I knew you'd want him here," Julie explained. "Plus I have school tomorrow, and I need to sleep, but I didn't want you in here by yourself."

"Aw, thanks, sweetie. You should get some rest. I'll see you in the morning."

"Ok, Mom. Goodnight, I love you."

"I love you too, hon," Susan replied. Julie looked at Mike with a stern face.

"Take care of her," she joked.

"Always," he said. After Julie went back to her room, Mike stood up and grabbed a washcloth from the bathroom closet. Wetting it under the sink, he sat back down, lifted Susan so her head was in his lap, and placed the cloth on her forehead.

"Thanks for coming," Susan whispered, taking his hand.

"I wanted to," he replied sincerely. "I don't want to miss anything."

"You're sweet," she sighed, enjoying the feeling of his fingers running through her hair. "So how did you get so good at this?"

"I don't know, it's coming pretty easily to me."

"A true sign of a good father."

"Good to know," Mike chuckled. "I know we have a lot of this ahead of us."

"Unfortunately," Susan agreed, then made a face and sat up quickly. "Hold that thought," she said before she bent over the toilet once again. Mike held her hair and rubbed her back soothingly as she threw up. When she was done, he pulled her back against his chest and she closed her eyes, miserable. "I hate this," she moaned.

"I know," Mike replied. "Come on, I'll carry you back to bed." He went to lift her, but she stopped him.

"No, that's not a good idea," she said. "I doubt I'm done. I spent many a night sleeping next to the toilet when I was pregnant with Julie."

"Then I'm just going to have to sleep in here with you," Mike decided, settling down on the floor.

"Oh, no, honey, you can lay in my room if you want to," Susan protested.

"Nah, I'm not going to leave you, so come on, lie down," he said. Susan smiled and lay down next to Mike, resting her head on his chest. He grabbed her blanket and draped it over the both of them, then wrapped his arms around her and dropped a kiss on her head.

"I love you," Susan sighed contentedly.

"I love you, too," he replied, closing his eyes.


Over the next week or so, Susan grew re-accustomed to her morning sickness, and Mike stopped sleeping in his own house, instead choosing to stay by Susan's side as she emptied her stomach into the toilet each night. One particular Friday morning, Susan was still not feeling too well after the night before, so she was still in bed when Karl came to pick Julie up for the weekend.

"Mom! Dad's here!" Julie called up the steps, and Susan sat up quickly from where she and Mike had been laying in bed, watching TV.

"Oh my God, I completely forgot he was taking her this weekend," she said.

"Relax, take your time," Mike said calmly, getting up.

"Mike, I have to get my stuff," Julie said, appearing in the doorway. "Can you answer the door?"

"Sure," he replied.

"I don't think that's the best idea," Susan protested.

"Why?" he asked curiously.

"I still haven't told him we're back together...or that I'm pregnant," she admitted.

"I wasn't aware you had to tell him."

"Well, no, but part of me really wanted to rub this in his face," she continued, turning red. Mike threw his head back and laughed, genuinely amused.

"That's really mature," he joked. "Why don't you just take your time, I'll answer the door, he'll figure out on his own that we're back together, and then you can come down and tell him the rest?" he suggested.

"I like the way you think. It's a plan. Go ahead and flaunt us, baby," Susan replied, laughing. Mike grinned and headed downstairs, then pulled open the door, revealinga smirkingKarl. The smug look on his face disappeared when he recognized Mike.

"You're the plumber, right?" he asked in a condescending tone. Mike controlled his urge to punch him in the face, and instead opened the door wider so he could enter.

"Yeah, Mike Delfino, we've met before."

"Susan didn't tell me you were back together," Karl said suspiciously.

"Yep, we are," Mike replied nonchalantly, but inwardly smiling. He turned when he heard both Julie and Susan coming down the stairs.

"There you are," Karl said to Susan. "Why didn't you tell me you were back with this guy?"

"This guy's name is Mike, Karl, and I wasn't aware I had to tell you," Susan sneered, borrowing Mike's words from before, which made Mike smile.

"I just didn't know. Hey, kiddo!" Karl brightened when he saw Julie.

"Hey, Dad. I'm going to put my stuff in the car, ok?" Julie replied, wanting to avoid the scene that was about to occur.

"Sure, I'll be right out. So what took you so long coming down, Susan?" Karl asked, trying to sound conversational.

"Oh, I wasn't feeling too well, I've been throwing up a lot lately," Susan replied, smiling at Mike, who winked.

"Oh man, that's no fun," Karl said.

"No, but that's to be expected with morning sickness." Susan and Mike awaited Karl's reaction.

"Morning-morning sickness!" he coughed, turning red. Susan pursed her lips and nodded curtly. Karl sputtered for a few more seconds, then continued. "You're pregnant?"

"I am."

"Since when?"

"6, 7 weeks ago?" Susan said, looking to Mike, who agreed.

"Yeah, I'd say that's about right." he said, barely hiding a smirk.

"Well then, congratulations to you both," Karl said forcefully. "I should go, Julie's waiting. See you Sunday," he threw over his shoulder as he strode out the door. Once they were sure he was gone, Susan and Mike simultaneously burst out laughing.

"Did you see the look on his face?" Susan asked, still laughing as she headed into the kitchen.

"That was great," Mike agreed, wiping his eyes and following her. "Can we tell your mother next?"

"Baby steps, Mike, baby steps."

TBC...


Boone