The month of June had come and Frances still was feeling quite ill...Her headaches had stopped, but she still had an aweful queasy feeling in her stomach, and she began having bad nosebleeds...

Fred was away at work and so Frances was home alone...and she felt another nosebleed coming on...

"Not again! This is the third time today!" She moaned, taking a handkerchief over her nose, and tilting her head back..."I used to get these all the time as a little girl...I guess some things never change..." Frances half-laughed. She felt blood drip into her throat...and that made her feel all the more nauseous...So she pinched her nose with the hanky and leaned forward slightly...and the bleeding stopped soon...

"Hallelujah..." Frances sighed in relief.

She was all too stubborn to go to the doctor. Until, her mother dropped by their place and practically dragged Frances, kicking and screaming into Dr. Walker's office! Well,...techinically...she wasn't ACTUALLY kicking and screaming! But with her stubborn and fiesty temperment, she might as well have been!

Frances had told Dr. Walker her symptoms...and he asked for further ones as he was examining her..."When was your last cycle?"

"My last cycle?...Why, in May, I believe...and I haven't had one since...and it was the strangest thing! It was only a small amount of blood...and it only lasted about three days...I figured I was irregular..."

"Hmmm...I see...Did you experience the same thing a month before?" Dr. Walker asked, looking at a medical book of his...

"Yes...I did."

"And a month before then?"

"Why, no...it was normal..."

"Have you had any breast changes? Do they feel fuller or tender? And is there any darkening in a 'certain area'?...If you know what I mean..."

"Ummm...yes sir..." Frances was embarrassed to be telling him all of this...but he was her doctor and she knew he was used to this...This was his job! And Frances had known Dr. Walker since she was a girl about 10 years old...She had known him and he had been the town's doctor for some time now. And his granddaughter, Helen Clark Spencer, was Frances' new friend.

"Have you gained any weight lately?"

"Yes sir...but not much."

"You said you've been feeling sick lately...Have you been throwing up?"

"Oh no, sir...I hate throwing up! I can't stand it." She laughed..."I've just been feeling very queasy is all..."

Dr. Walker smiled..."I guess you're one of the lucky ones, Mrs. Lay..."

"Lucky ones?" She asked, not really knowing what he meant.

"Why don't you put the rest of your clothes back on and then I'll tell you..." He smiled...and Frances stepped behind the changing screen and put her skirt and blouse back on again...She had a feeling she might know what he was about to tell her, but her heart was pounding rapidly in her chest...she was nervous and a little bit frightened.

"I don't know how else to tell you this Mrs. Lay..." Dr. Walker began...and all the while, Frances' heart was beating more rapidly every minute and her breathing had quickened...she was afraid something could be wrong with her. "...but congratulations...you're pregnant, Mrs. Lay..."

"Pr-pregnant?" She gasped.

"Yes...and again, congratulations..."

Frances stood there...grasping the back of a chair so she wouldn't faint...because, for the first time in her whole life...she felt like she was about to. Frances let a long breath out she had been holding in.

"Mrs. Lay?...Mrs. Lay...Frances!" Dr. Walker said and finally got her to respond to him..."Are you all right?...Here, sit down...Rest awhile..." He grabbed the chair and pulled it out for her and she sat down...

"I'm fine..." Frances said, still in a state of shock.

"Mrs. Lay, you've broken out into a cold sweat...Are you sure you're all right?" The older man questioned.

"Yes Dr. Walker...How...How far along am I?"

"Two...maybe three months...Your symptoms are pointing to three..." Dr. Walker placed his hand on her shoulder..."Are you sure you're okay?...How about I get you a glass of cold water?...It might help you some..." He said and he left his office and soon returned with a tall glass of cold water...

"Thank you, Dr. Walker..." Frances said, taking the glass and took a drink.

"Are you feeling better now?"

"Yes sir, I...I think so...The news..."

"Came as a shock to you?" He chuckled, finishing her sentence for her. "That's quite all right...Most women can't believe it at first...I'll give you time to let it all sink in..." Dr. Walker left the office. Frances sat there awhile and thought back to three months earlier..."Its June...three months before would've been...March...The night Fred showed me the house..." It hit her like a ton of bricks..."It only takes ONE time! It HAD to been then!...Oh my Lord! My family is going to find about this! I have to tell them about the baby...I have to tell Fred! Oh he's going to be so angry at me! I just know he will!...I REALLY messed up this time." She thought, with her head in her hands, and started weeping.

Frances heard footsteps walk across the wooden floor and she felt her mother's arms wrap around her in a close hug, and Frances started bawling into her mother's shoulder...Franziska rubbed her daughter's back..."What's wrong, sweetheart?...Now calm down, Frances...Shhh, calm yourself...What did Dr. Walker say?"

"I...I...I'm so...sor...sorr...sorry...Ma!" Frances said, as she was still bawling her brown eyes out...

"Sorry for what?"

"I...I'm...I'm pregnant, Ma..." Frances said, looking up at her mother, with tears streaming down her face...

"That's certainly no thing to be sorry about!...Why in Heaven's name are you crying over this, child?"

"Because I'm...I'm...three months along, Ma...Fred and I got married in April..."

Franziska was silent, letting this sink in...

"It was in late March...Fred picked me up to show me the house...I...I don't know what happened...One thing led to another and we found ourselves upstairs...in the bedroom..."

"Good Lord,...my daughter's a little tramp..."

"I knew you'd say that!" Frances wailed..."Its all my fault!...but...I wanted that night with him, Ma!...I...I just couldn't help it!...I'm sorry!...I understand if you want to disown me. I'm horrible!"

"Hey now, I was only teasing you about calling you a tramp...and I certainly will not disown you!...The important thing now is you and Fred are married...And you love each other..." She placed a hand on her daughter's thin belly..."And I know this baby was conceived through love...not just a one night thing. Hold onto that, sweetheart...Hold onto that fact that you two are married now,...that you love each other,...and that you both will love this baby...And I know you will..." She said, pulling her daughter into a hug.

"Then why am I afraid that Fred will be mad at me?" Frances asked, with tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Because that's just it...You're afraid of what he's going to think...What he's going to say about this...If he loves you like I know he does...He won't be mad..."

Big George strolled into the room where the two women were..."So what did Dr. Walker say, little girl?"

Frances stood up and wiped away the tears from her eyes..."I'm pregnant, Pa..."

"Already?...Y'all sure have been busy! Do I need to have a talk with that husband of yours?..." He brought his daughter closer to him, and held her..."Eh? Do I?" He smiled down at her and gave her a wink.

Frances laughed..."Oh no, Pa..."

"How far along are you? Did Dr. Walker tell you yet?"

"Yes sir..." She looked down, ashamed...but then braced herself and looked up at her father. "Three months..."

"Congratulations..." He smiled down at his only daughter.

"But Pa...I." Frances said, wanting to confess.

"But nothing...This is a wonderful, happy occasion!" Big George hugged his daughter. "Have you told that rascal husband of yours yet?" He laughed.

"No..." Frances chuckled and smiled...She couldn't believe how well her parents were taking this...

"Why don't you go tell him now, huh?" He still had his arm around her...

"George Michael! Let the girl tell her husband on her own time!...Good Lord! Give her time for it to sink in herself!"

"Cool down...Grandma..." Big George smiled.

"Watch the name-calling, George..." Franziska glared at her husband.

"I'm only calling you by your rightful name!" Big George laughed.

"In six months it will be...Not until." She smiled..."Grandpa..."

Both Big George and Franziska started laughing...and Frances smiled as they both hugged her and told her how happy and excited they were for her.

A/N: In this chapter, Dr. Walker, was actually a dentist, and I just used my little imagination and made him the town's doctor as well...but in real life, he was just a dentist, and none other than Walker Street is named for him. :) How cool!