Authors Note: See disclaimer in Chapter One

Chapter Four: Telling Matt the news

Matt was on the phone with a local jewelry store. He had just put down another payment on an anniversary gift, and now he wanted to make sure that he could get it out by the twenty-fourth. After getting the confirmation and the final payment amount, he hung up the phone.

As he walked back toward his next examination room, his mind wandered to their first anniversary. The two of them barely had enough time to stop and breathe, let alone be romantic, since they were in the middle of midterms. Matt had silently vowed to himself that anniversary that he would always take the night off to celebrate it with his wife. Since they were separated the next year, he found himself celebrating it with Ruthie. Then, last year, he and Sarah had finally had the romantic evening planned only to get called in at the last minute to work. His only hope, and prayer, was that this year would go smoother than the rest of them.

Sarah, who had by now arrived home, turned on her laptop and logged onto the internet. After checking her e-mail, she decided to hunt down a pregnancy calculator. She entered the data and noticed the proposed conception date: Christmas Eve. As she sat there staring at the date, her mind wandered back to that night.

Christmas Eve Flashback

Matt and Sarah had gotten Christmas Eve night off- a rarity, but they knew that they had to work Christmas Day as well as the first two days of Hanukkah. This year Hanukkah fell after Christmas, so Sarah and Matt had been invited to her grandparents to celebrate whatever part of the holiday they could get off work with them.

"Merry Christmas, sweetheart," Matt whispered as they slow-danced in their apartment. The two had eaten dinner by candlelight and turned on the CD player. As the music had started playing, Matt asked his wife to dance.

Matt reached into his pocket and handed her a long thin box. Since they predominately celebrated Hanukkah, Matt usually gave his gift to her on the first night of Hanukkah- the one night they spent doing it together. He knew that they both had to work that night, so he decided to give it to her tonight. Sarah smiled and opened up the box. Once she did, she grinned. Inside the box was a pair of tickets to the first Yankee home game of the season. She reached up and gave him a sound kiss on the lips. As the kisses grew more passionate, Matt and Sarah both knew how they wanted to end their Christmas celebration. He picked her up and carried her to their bed. That night, the two had made love- love that was passionate and at the same time pure.

Back to the present

Sarah smiled and blushed at the memory. She saved the link under her personal favorites and headed to the bathroom. She knew she needed to get ready for bed since she had to be at work at 6:00 the next morning. After she had set the alarm, she placed her hand again on her stomach and whispered, "Eleven more days, baby, and Daddy will know that you are in there."

February 25th - Fourth Wedding Anniversary

Sarah, wearing her bathrobe, stared at the clothes in her closet. She was looking for something that was dressy yet comfortable. She knew she wasn't really showing yet, but she also knew that some things were already fitting snugger in certain areas- the chest and the waist especially. As she searched through her closet, she saw Matt's favorite dress- a red one that was knee length. As she eyed it, she realized it would work since it was a looser style. It hada belt that went around her waist that she knew she could do a little looser than she normally would.

Sarah sighed as she pulled it off the hanger. Pregnancy was taking its toll on her. She had not experienced morning sickness, but the exhaustion and tenderness was enough to drive her nuts. She also knew that she already felt huge and bloated- something she guessed would only get worse as the pregnancy progressed.

When Matt walked in, he was surprised to see that Sarah was already dressed and waiting on him. He grinned when he spotted which dress she was wearing. The red always made her eyes and hair stand out. It also showed off one of his favorite features- her long legs. He handed her the roses and she thanked him with a sweet kiss on the lips. He then helped her with his jacket and the two of them walked out of their apartment hand-in-hand.

After Dinner at the Italian restaurant

Matt and Sarah walked into their apartment holding hands. After dinner, the two had decided to come back and enjoy the quiet night. After they sat down on the sofa, Matt reached into his pants pocket andhanded her a small box. Sarah looked at him surprised and opened the box. Inside the box was a small pair of diamond earrings.

"Thank you so much. How on earth did you afford these?" Sarah asked after she gave him a sweet kiss on the lips.

"I've been saving since our last anniversary. I knew what I wanted to get you, and once I set my mind to get you something, it's hard for me to change my mind," Matt answered as Sarah handed him her gift- an envelope.

"Go ahead. I know it's rather simple." Sarah started to say before Matt gave her a sound kiss on the lips.

"Its fine," Matt whispered. He opened up the envelope and read the front of the card. When he opened the card, a piece of paper fell out. He picked up the paper and noticed that it was a prescription written for Sarah. He was trying to read it when he noticed Sarah's scrawling writing on the inside of the card. It read: "You're going to be a daddy in seven months."

Matt sat back and stared at it. He looked up and noticed Sarah's expression. All of the sudden, he grabbed her and planted a passionate kiss on her lips. As he gently pulled away, he placed his hands on her belly and whispered- "Hey baby. It's so nice to meet you."

Sarah, who was wiping away tears, asked," Are you happy about the news?""

Matt reached out and wiped away the tears with her thumb and whispered, "I am so happy right now. Surprised, but happy. How long have you known?"

"Since Valentine's Day. The prescription your holding is for my prenatal vitamins. I figured it would work to tell you that I was pregnant since I didn't actually take a pregnancy test," Sarah answered softly.

"How far along are you? When are you due?" asked Matt still trying to take in the surprising news.

"I'm about eleven weeks along. I'm due in early September. And I think this baby was conceived on Christmas Eve," she whispered before she methis lips in a warm kiss.

The rest of their anniversary was spent in celebrating their good news. Sarah and Matt both looked at a website giving them a detailed idea of how much their baby had progressed and what to expect in the next seven months. Matt insisted on fixing Sarah a glass of milk before the two of them headed off to bed. The two of them fell asleep with Matt's hand covering her stomach- already trying to convey his presence to their unborn child.

Author's Note: There are websites that you can do the pregnancy calculator on. I did it trying to get a good idea on when Sarah would find out, how far along she is, and when she would tell Matt.

Review and let me know what you think of how Sarah told Matt.

I should have up to six more chapters- I originally planned one for each month, but as I got writing I discovered that I had more to say. The story will end as they are flying to Glen Oak for Simon's non-wedding.

Warning: For those of you who have gotten used to me gettinga chapter up a day: it may take me longer to get the rest of this story up since I will be busy with VBS and other church events next week.