A.N.: I wanted to take the time to thank all of you who have reviewed this story. It means so much to me and if no one liked it I would have stopped it a long time ago. And special thanks for the review that was sent in by Trina—it totally made my day—so, thanks.

This chapter will be short and I do have a reason here...so just bear with me for now...

Three weeks later:

It was happening again—and too frequently for her liking. She raced out of bed and into the bathroom, and, sinking down on the floor, let it all go. Well, she was pregnant—no doubt about it. She had known the signs even before she had taken the test. Her breasts were sore. Check. Her moods were a little swingy. Check. She felt sick every morning. Double check.

There was no need to wonder what the little stick would tell her.

Not after the four stolen pregnancy tests from the hospital had told her that she was most definitely with child. As she wretched and heaved she thought about Derek, then doubled over and felt a fresh batch of vomit surging up her throat. She hadn't told him, couldn't tell him and was completely at a loss as what to do next.

It was silly, really, not having the guts to tell someone the news that is supposed to make them happier than they've ever been—silly to be afraid to tell the love of your life that you are pregnant with their child.

Silly or not—the very thought of facing him with such huge news was utterly terrifying.

She got up after paying homage to the porcelain god, flushed the toilet and ran the tub. A nice bath before work would definitely be refreshing. As she sank beneath the bubbles her mind worked overtime. She and Derek had never really discussed children—not on a serious level. She'd been scared that he'd be scared away if she brought up such a 'huge' topic. He'd never really mentioned wanting to have a family—at least he'd never sat down and said 'let's try for a baby right now.' And let's face it—how often did that ever happen?

She knew he'd be a great father. He loved kids, loved everything about them. But what if he didn't want it? Would he tell her to raise the child by herself? After growing up without a father she knew how hurtful it was to not have a daddy like everyone else did. But nowadays it was uncommon to find a two-parent household. The question was did she want to do it alone if he was too afraid to commit to another human?

By the time she got in the car and headed toward the hospital she knew that it didn't matter; at least in the long-term aspect. If he wanted to be a part of the child's life than she would be thrilled—after all who wouldn't be happy about the prospect of their child's father wanting to be a part of his or her life?

Maybe, she fantasized as she drove along, he'd ask her to marry him. He'd say that they belonged together—always, just the way it should be. He'd want to buy a house—there wouldn't be room in the trailer and he could save it for a weekend get-away—A house that the three of them could live in together as a family. One perfect happy family.

As she thought about his would-be reaction she began to feel a little better. Of course he would be there for her. He loved her. He'd always loved her the best and no one could ever take that away from her. She knew he was being silly and scared when she should have never had a negative thought in her head—it was all going to be fine, just fine.

He was in his office with the door shut tight. She took a deep breath and knocked.

"Come in." He called gruffly.

She knew that he was stressed. He always spoke that way when he'd had a patient die on the operating table.

"Hey you."

"Hey." He smiled, although there were circles under his eyes and his shoulders sagged.

"You okay?" She asked, moving into the room and sitting down across from his desk.

He rubbed his hand over his face, and she could hear the scratchy stubble on his cheek. "Lost Mr. Rodriguez an hour ago." He admitted, then cleared his throat. "His wife slapped me across the face when I told her."

"I'm sorry, Derek. But I'm sure you did the best you could." She said softly. "And Mrs. Rodriguez should have been a pro wrestler. I bet it hurt." She added, trying to lighten the mood."

"Ya—well there's nothing I can do about that now." He mumbled, chin in hand. "Did you need something?"

"Well, I need to talk to you about something important."

"Okay. Go ahead."

"Well—" She began, her voice faltering a bit. "Do you remember when you said that you'd like to have kids someday?"

"Yes." His eyes looked alarmed, she noted with a hint of disappointment. "Why?"

"Do you still want to have kids?"

"Is that a trick question?"

"No."

"Then why are you asking me?" He looked down at his desk and shook his head.

"Does it matter?"

"I think so."

"I just want to know."

"Why?" He snapped. "Why now? Why do you want to know now?"

"Can't I ask you one question without you snapping my head off?"

He took a deep breath and sat back in his chair, now very alarmed. He actually clenched his jaw. "I don't know what to say."

"It's a very simple question."

"Is it?" He asked flatly. "Because I have the feeling that you're about to tell me something that I may not be ready to hear." His voice trembled.

"Well—" She began, tears now welling up in her eyes, because she knew, knew that he didn't want to hear what she had to say and it stung. Stung like hell.

"Don't!" He interrupted suddenly, pushing back his chair and sending it into the wall behind him. "I don't want to know." He hurried around the side of his desk in an attempt to get away from her.

"Derek!" She stood up and beat him to the door and leaned back against it.

"Don't you say it!" He warned, pointing at her, his face red. He was so darn upset and it pissed her off. "Don't you do this to me now, Addison! Don't you say it. Just when things are back to the way they're supposed to be!"

"I'm pregnant, Derek." She blurted. "And I'm keeping it—and I want us to give it another try."