Doctor Bradley James, former Army medic before coming to Manhattan with the idea of starting up his own practice, considered himself many things.

He was brave… and he didn't think of that as tooting his own horn. He had done two tours in the Middle East in his time in the army, treating both military and civilians, from both sides of the fighting. He had been in many war-torn cities and countries. He had stuck it out when many of his comrades had either washed out from the stress, or called it quits when their first contract was up.

He was strong. He worked out several times a week, thanks to the Xanatos Corporation having an exercise center for the employees, even though it was hard to tell when he was almost always wearing his large white coat.

He was fiercely loyal to those he was close to, and considered most of the permanent occupants in residence here at the Aerie building to be either friends or an extension of family.

All that being said…

He had met his match in the Maza family.

He knew Elisa was one tough cookie.

He'd also known that she was going to tell her family the news soon, but he had wished she'd given him a heads up that it was going to be today.

Then again, from the sound of it, Elisa didn't know that they were here.

Ironically, they seemed to have surprised each other.

He had been trying to work his way through the typical end-of-month aches, pains, and the occasional insurance physical for the Xanatos employees. At his request, both Margaret and Kiersten had gotten in the habit of placing his appointments in order down the hallways. That way he could just start at one end and work his way down. It really did help with any confusion as far as paperwork being in place, triage done, and his actual appointments.

As he had done for years now, He started out the day at the far end and worked his way to the middle. After he'd finished at the last room, prepared to go back to the beginning and start again. He had stopped at the small nurse's station to drop off his notes for transcription and filing, only to be greeted by both his wife and Margaret looking uneasy.

"Ladies," He said cautiously, sliding the file from the last patient onto the counter. "What's the look for?"

"Uhmm," Kiersten began, still looking uneasy.

"The Maza family is here," Margaret burst out in soft voice.

Doctor James frowned. "Are they in the waiting room?"

"No," Margaret said, "They all came in separately, within the last half hour."

"They all have different symptoms and are insisting that they see you," Kiersten said. "I tried to explain that, since they weren't Xanatos Employees, we weren't technically supposed to treat them."

"But they insisted," Margaret said. "Rather firmly, I might add."

"Alright," Doctor James said, taking the small stack of clipboards the held the new patient information sheets. "Let's see. Peter is in room 1, complaining of stomach cramps." He set that clipboard down. "Beth is in room 2, saying she has a migraine." He set down the second clipboard on top of the first, "And Diane is in room 3 …complaining of a sore throat?" If she did indeed have a sore throat, it was probably from not being able to yell at her daughter.

He sighed and set the third clip board down on the stack. He had a feeling that he wasn't going to need them.

"How is the rest of my afternoon?" he asked, suddenly feeling tired.

"Not too bad," Margaret said sympathetically. "You have a good hour before any more scheduled appointments."

"Alright," He said, already bracing himself. "Kiersten," He gave his wife a swift kiss on the cheek, "Go lay down for a while. We've got this."

"Okay," Kiersten said, sounding hesitant. "If you're sure you won't need me…"

"I'm sure," He said. "Go take a nap, love. I'll come and wake you if I need you."

Kiersten nodded, suddenly looking grateful. She was almost a full month ahead of Elisa, and while she didn't have the morning sickness to the extent that Elisa had, she was tired all the time.

Straightening his tie and white coat, Doctor James made his way to the first exam room.

"Peter," He said as he opened the door, "Could you come with me, please?"

Peter Maza blinked at him in surprise, but got up from his perch on the table and walked outside of the room to follow the doctor.

Doctor James opened the next door and said, "Beth, would you join me this way, please?"

Peter frowned when his younger daughter came out of the room, a sheepish look crossing her face as she spotted her father.

"Beth?" Peter said in disbelief.

"Hey dad," She said, giving him a small wave.

"Come with me," Doctor James said and led them to the third room. He opened the door and stuck his head inside, "Diane, would you please join me in the conference room? It would be more comfortable."

"Of course," Diane said, sounding very intimidating for someone with a sore throat. She carried herself with a determination that, even knowing it was going to be aimed in his direction, Doctor James had to admire.

She seemed to deflate, just a little, as soon as she saw who else was in the hallway.

"This way," Doctor James said, and led the way to the small conference room.

Once inside, he closed the door and motioned for them all to take a seat in the wheeled conference chairs. "Have a seat."

He was the last to sit, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms. "Now," he said. "I'm going to make an assumption that none of you are really sick." He watched as the three heads nodded. "Okay. I'm also going to assume that this has something to do with Elisa."

Again, they nodded their heads.

Doctor James sighed. "I thought so." He sat up straight, setting his crossed arms on the table in front of him. "I would like to remind you that I'm held by HIPAA compliance. I cannot actively tell you specifics without Elisa's consent."

"We're a law enforcement family," Beth reminded him.

"We were just hoping you could give us some… vague, non-specific advice," Diane said.

Doctor James turned to Peter. "And you?"

Peter shrugged. "I was going to try to guilt or intimidate you into specific answers."

Doctor James shook his head and leaned back in his chair again. This may take a while.

"Ask your questions," He said tiredly, "And I will try to answer what I can."

Diane leaned forward, her gaze determined and intent on his face. "She said that she's almost out of her first trimester," She said. "And we both know that's when most miscarriages happen, so the fact that she's still carrying the baby… that's a good sign, right?"