Authors Note: See note at the beginning of the first chapter.

Chapter 3: February

Early Part of February

Sarah kicked off her shoes and sat down on the sofa. She was exhausted- it had been a long week, and the added stress that she could be pregnant was starting to weigh her down. The box with the pregnancy test in it sat in her locker, innocently mocking her each time she opened it. She bought it, but still hadn't decided to take it since she wasn't sure she wanted to know the results.

Sarah knew that she had missed her last period completely, and she didn't want to wait and deal with the stress of waiting. She was pretty sure she was pregnant- the small signs that were always mentioned in pregnancy magazines were there, but she wanted it to be confirmed by a doctor before she told anyone the suspicion. She had called her doctor and set up an appointment for the fifteenth.

As she walked toward the kitchenette, she thought about Matt. She still hadn't mentioned the possibility to Matt. She didn't know for sure how he would react and he was already stressed out from school.

Sarah fixed herself a sandwich and a tall glass of milk. As she drank the milk, her mind wandered back to the last time she suspected she was pregnant. It was at the end of their first year of medical school. She smiled at the relief she had when she started her menstrual cycle- one of the few times she had been glad to see it come.

After Sarah finished her snack, she went to the sofa and turned on the television. She lay down to get comfortable and within a few minutes was sound asleep.

Four Hours Later

Matt walked into the apartment and smiled at the sight of his wife sound asleep on the sofa. He knew that the two of them were beyond stressed out. He also knew that his wife had been tired lately and was glad to see her getting some much needed rest.

"Sarah" Matt whispered as he leaned down to kiss her on the forehead.

"Hmm," she muttered as she opened up her eyes. She accepted her husband's kiss and then sat up to allow him room to sit down beside her.

"I had an idea on my way home from the hospital this afternoon. Why don't we go to that new Italian restaurant for our anniversary?" asked Matt as he stretched his arm out, giving Sarah room to lean in against his chest.

"Why on our anniversary? I mean, why not Valentine's Day?" Sarah asked, still trying to reawaken.

"Well, we both have to work Valentine's Day. I put in for both of us to be off on the twenty-fourth and the doctor agreed since we both haven't asked for a day off since Thanksgiving," Matt said as he started to stroke her hair.

Sarah smiled and rose up to give her husband a sound kiss on the lips. She loved that her husband was so sweet and romantic. He had always been the more romantic one and this was just like him to think that far ahead.

Matt looked up and noticed the clock said 12:00. "Don't you have to be at the hospital at 1:00?" he asked.

Sarah groaned and jumped up to grab her jacket and lab coat. She leaned over and gave her husband a kiss goodbye and left for the hospital.

Valentine's Day

Sarah sighed as she updated the fourth chart she had done in the last hour. She had seen strep throat, a broken arm, pneumonia, and a man who she suspected only liked to check out the doctors. As she finished the chart, a single red rose was placed in the middle of the file folder. As she picked up the rose, she felt a pair of arms gently wrap around her.

"Matt?" she questioned as she turned around in the arms that held her. Her husband smiled and gently kissed her on the lips. "What are you doing here? When did you have time to get this?"

"I got it down in the gift shop. I'm on my first break and since I had to go by your floor on my way to the cafeteria, I figured I would surprise you." Matt answered, loving the look of shock on her face. He still had about 6 hours to go in his shift, while Sarah would get off within the hour.

"Thank you. I feel bad, since I don't have anything for you," Sarah whispered as she gently pulled back from his arms. Matt just grinned and laid a passionate kiss on her lips. Off her shocked expression, Matt whispered: "That's my valentine's gift from you- since you are my one and only Valentine."

Sarah smiled and watched her husband head toward the elevator. She walked to the nurse's desk. She began searching for a pair of scissors. She cut the stem and found a safety pin and pinned the rose to her lab coat.

"Sarah- I'm glad you stopped by. You got a phone call from Dr. Matthews. She said that she had an opening at the end of the day if you wanted to take it," said Nurse Kelly.

Sarah sighed with relief. She had hoped Dr. Matthews would have one today. She had called Sarah and told her that was a possibility, so Sarah nodded her head. "Can you page me and let me know, and the time of the appointment?"

Kelly nodded and noticed the rose. "Is that from your husband?" Sarah's grin grew wider, so Kelly took it as the affirmative.

Ten minutes later, Sarah had the confirmation that she had an appointment with Dr. Matthews at 5:30 that afternoon- a little over an hour away.

At the end of doctor's appointment

Sarah lay on the examination table waiting for confirmation to whether or not she was pregnant. After a series of questions and an urine test, Dr. Matthews walked back into the office.

Dr. Matthews took off her gloves and said, "Your suspicions are correct Sarah. I figure that you are about ten weeks pregnant. Since you keep track of your menstrual cycles, it makes it easier to figure out how far along you are."

"So, when am I due?" asked Sarah, still in shock of the confirmation of her pregnancy. She slowly sat up from the table.

"I'd say around the sixteenth of September. Now, I need you to remember to drink plenty of milk. Since you are in medical school, I'm going to go ahead and give you a prescription for prenatal vitamins. You need to go ahead and start taking these since your immune system is going to need to stay strong for both you and the baby," Dr. Matthews said as she handed Sarah the prescription.

Sarah took it and asked another question that was weighing on her mind: "What about my residency? I graduate in May, and I'm supposed to start my residency here in August."

Dr. Matthews sat down in the chair and answered, "Honestly, Sarah, I would see the Dean or whoever is in charge and ask them if you can have a maternity leave till January. They'll want to confirm it with me- which I will do. Since you're due in September, it makes you start your maternity leave start in late July- right before you would start your residency."

Sarah nodded and said goodbye to Dr. Matthews. Sarah reached down and gently touched her stomach: "Hey baby. I must admit I'm shocked that in there, but I can't wait to tell your daddy that you're in there."

Author's Note: See that little button down there- I would love to see a review before I write the next chapter.

Preview: Sarah tells Matt she's pregnat- but how?