Author's Notes:

Thanks to all my reviewers. You guys rock! More should come soon…

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Kirsten went to Planned Parenthood to get her pregnancy confirmed and for her first prenatal visit. It would have been cheaper to go to the Student Health Center, but she was wary of what might happen if the school found out she was pregnant, and even worse, if her parents did. She hadn't allowed herself to think about telling them, and facing their disappointment. In her father's eyes, she was still a virgin. He had no idea that she'd been having sex with Jimmy for the last two years, and he didn't know about her abortion. Her mother knew about the abortion, had been the one who arranged it, but Kirsten was afraid that she wouldn't be so supportive the second time around.

So Planned Parenthood it was.

Sandy insisted on coming with her, which she was grateful for. She knew that not many guys would be so supportive of a girl in her situation. He had been the one to find this clinic, and he was paying for the appointment, even though she knew he didn't have a lot of money. She had protested at first, but he'd set his jaw and gotten what she was beginning to recognize as a stubborn look in his eyes, so she gave in. She would find a way of paying him back later.

Even though it was easier knowing that Sandy was helping her, it still terrified Kirsten to think of having a baby at all, let alone at this point in her life. Abortion wasn't an option. Even if she could bring herself to go through it a second time, she knew that Sandy would never agree to it. He was already talking about looking for a job while he finished law school, and suggested that some married friends of his might have some baby clothes to give away that their own child had outgrown. He hadn't planned on being a father this early, but Kirsten could tell that he was excited about it. As for her, she was just scared.

The receptionist called her name, and Kirsten stood up shakily. "I guess I'm up," she said to Sandy.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Sandy offered.

Kirsten did. She looked at the receptionist. "Can he come with me?"

The girl at the desk nodded. "He's welcome to stay through the interview, although he'll have to wait out here during the exam."

Kirsten blushed, but followed the girl back to a small waiting room, where she and Sandy were told to have a seat and the doctor would be with them shortly. No sooner had they sat down than a young-looking, dark-haired woman came in, introducing herself as Dr. Warner. She shook hands with Sandy and Kirsten and sat down behind the desk.

"So I understand you're here to have a pregnancy confirmed," the doctor began. "Is that right?"

Kirsten nodded. "Yes."

"Okay," the doctor agreed. "We'll do that in a little while, but first I'd like to ask you some questions. Is this the baby's father with you?"

Sandy nodded and managed a smile. "That's me."

"Great." She wrote something down on her notepad. "Why don't we start by going over your medical histories? Kirsten, when was your last menstrual period?"

Kirsten turned bright red. She should have expected this, after all, for all the doctor knew she and Sandy were married, or at least had known each other longer than a few hours before conceiving a child. She couldn't bring herself to look Sandy in the eye, but her guess was that he was either very amused or just as embarrassed as she was. "Um, seven weeks ago."

"And would you say they were fairly regular?" Dr. Warner continued.

"Pretty much, yeah," she mumbled, praying to disappear. "I was on the pill before, but I stopped a couple of months ago." Because Jimmy had broken up with her and she'd thought she would never have sex again, but she didn't want to admit that to either the doctor or Sandy.

"Any medical problems?" the doctor asked, changing topics. Kirsten couldn't help but be relieved. "Genetic conditions?"

Kirsten shook her head. "None that I know of."

"Mine either," Sandy added. Kirsten was grateful she didn't have to ask him.

"Any possible exposure to hazardous substances or toxic materials?"

"I can't think of any," Kirsten offered.

"Just bad coffee in the mornings," Sandy joked.

"Any allergies or mental health problems?" Dr. Warner asked.

"I'm allergic to peanuts," Sandy answered. "That's it as far as I know."

Kirsten wasn't sure if being depressed over Jimmy was a mental health problem or not. She decided it wasn't. The last thing she wanted to do was bring up Jimmy. "No."

"How about your family histories?" the doctor continued. "Have any relatives been diagnosed with any genetic diseases?"

"My sister is diabetic," Sandy answered. "And my aunt on my mother's side had cancer when I was younger. I can't remember what kind, though."

"My dad has hypertension," Kirsten continued. And his blood pressure is sure to go through the roof when he finds out I'm pregnant, she added silently to herself. "My grandfather had a stroke when I was ten, but he was in his seventies by then."

"One more question, and then we're done," the doctor promised. "Kirsten, have you ever been pregnant before?"

Shit. How was she supposed to answer this? She knew it might be important, but how could she sit here with Sandy and say that yes, she'd been pregnant when she was sixteen? "No," she lied, praying that the question wasn't all that important. "No, this is my first time."

"Great!" Dr. Warner smiled. "Sandy, you're free to go sit in the waiting room while Kirsten and I do the necessary tests. I'll have my receptionist call you back when we're through."

Sandy stood up and kissed Kirsten on the forehead. "I'll see you in a bit," he whispered.

Kirsten watched him go with a feeling of sadness. Sandy was such a great guy. Why couldn't she feel anything more for him?

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The test results indicated that Kirsten was six weeks pregnant, with a due date of June 14th. The doctor gave her advice on eating healthy and exercising, as well as avoiding any alcohol, nicotine, or caffeine. She was to come back in her twentieth week for the ultrasound, at which time they could find out the sex of their baby, if they wanted. Sandy promised that he would take good care of her, and do everything necessary to ensure a healthy baby.

It was past dinnertime when they left the clinic, and Sandy impulsively invited Kirsten back to his apartment for dinner. He saw her hesitate and quickly added that it would just be as friends, and that he made a mean omelet. She agreed, and Sandy hoped that he had eggs in the house. With everything that had been going on lately, grocery shopping was the last thing on his mind.

It turned out that Sandy had two eggs, a box of Saltine crackers, a jar of spaghetti sauce, and a bottle of mustard in his kitchen. "My mistake," he grinned apologetically at Kirsten. "I hope you're not going to think I lured you here under false pretenses."

"We can still order out," Kirsten offered. "Do you have any take-out menus?"

"Third drawer on the left," he answered. "How do you feel about Vietnamese?"

Kirsten's eyes filled with tears, and he wondered what he could have said to upset her. "Or if Asian isn't your thing, we could always order pizza instead."

She shook her head. "It's not you. My boyfriend, I mean, ex-boyfriend broke up with me over Vietnamese food."

"I didn't realize," Sandy said quietly.

Kirsten touched his arm. "You couldn't have known."

The sadness in her eyes was back, the sadness that had drawn him to her in the first place. He wanted to tell her that he was sorry, that her ex didn't matter anymore because the guy was an idiot for leaving someone as incredible as she was. He wanted to hold her until she felt better, but he couldn't, because he wasn't the one that she wanted.

"How about Italian?" he suggested.

Kirsten managed a smile. "I'll go get the menus."

He was already starting to fall for her. This wasn't looking good.