Chapter Summary: Shaun meets Lea's mother and brother for the first time, and it doesn't go well with Lea's mother. However, Lea's brother is able to give him a heart to heart talk. Shaun also remembers about his and Lea's first ultrasound.

AN: I must warn you, there is the use of the r-word (although not the whole word) in this chapter. Again, feedback and reviews are welcome.

Lea was officially 10 weeks pregnant, and she and Shaun still hadn't told anyone. Shaun thought it would be better to wait until Lea reached 13 weeks, which was when the risk of miscarriage would drop sharply, to tell Dr. Glassman and everyone else. So far, the only employee at St. Bonaventure who knew about this was Dr. Elizabeth Garcia, the hospital's head of obstetrics and gynecology. They had chosen her as their regular OB/GYN.

However, since they work at a hospital and are usually surrounded by a bunch of medical professionals all day, both Shaun and Lea realized that they wouldn't be fooling anyone for too long. Although she wasn't showing yet, with Lea's morning sickness, nausea, fatigue, mood swings, her sudden aversion to coffee, and her frequent need to use the bathroom, she believed that Dr. Glassman was getting suspicious because he definitely noticed all of it. The other day, he asked her if there was any way she could be pregnant, but she denied it. He even asked Shaun, but he dismissed it as well despite usually being an honest man.

And Dr. Glassman wasn't the only one who smelled something fishy. Debbie noticed it as well; and so did Claire, Morgan, Dr. Lim, Dr. Park, Dr. Andrews, Carly, JL, Nurse Petringa, Nurse Villanueva, Nurse Fletcher, Nurse Hawkes, Nurse Dhanoa...pregnancy rumors were probably already being spread. No matter how much they would question Shaun and Lea about it, they would always deny them even though the rumors were true.

Today was the day of their first ultrasound, and Shaun and Lea were both excited to finally get a glimpse of their baby. As they waited in the waiting room of St. Bonaventure's OB/GYN clinic, they hoped that no acquaintances would recognize them here. They wondered if they should go ahead and announce the pregnancy and get it out of the way. They didn't think they could keep it a secret any longer, especially Shaun.

"Lea Dilallo?" A nurse called, motioning for them to come with her. The two of them stood up and proceeded with her down the hall to an exam room, where she checked Lea's weight and blood pressure and also had her give a urine sample. "The doctor will be in with you in a few minutes."

As they sat alone in the exam room, Shaun and Lea's jitters, nervousness, and anxiety had increased at the rate of an accelerating bicycle. While clutching his repaired plastic toy scalpel tightly in one hand, Shaun tightly gripped Lea's hand with his other.

"Shaun, are you okay?" Lea, who was stiffly perched on the exam table, asked her boyfriend. "You're squeezing my hand pretty hard."

"I'm sorry," jabbered Shaun, loosening his grip a little. "Not really, I'm just excited...and I don't think I want to keep this a secret anymore."

"To be honest, neither do I," sighed Lea in relief. "I have to tell you, the wait is killing me and stressing me out. Want to just go ahead and spill the beans? We can do it tomorrow."

"I like that idea very much," acquiesced Shaun, eager to finally let the cat out of the bag. "But, I'm kind of nervous about it. I don't know if Dr. Glassman will like this."

"Relax, everything is going to be fine. Glassy might be a bit surprised, but hopefully not upset enough to resent us. I'm sure he'll at least be supportive even if he might still hate me just a little bit," Lea assured, cupping his cheek, and then allowing Shaun to place his hand over her belly.

Right on cue, Dr. Garcia walked into the room and greeted the parents-to-be.

Shaun's thoughts were disrupted by the sound of a knock at the door, hoping it didn't disturb Nell because he had just fed her and settled her down for her nap. He checked the baby monitor and saw that she was fast asleep. She stirred a little, but she wasn't awake.

He walked towards the door and then opened it, revealing a 50-something-year-old woman with brown eyes and wavy greying dark brown hair and a tall 30-something-year-old man with brown eyes and jet black hair. Minus the wrinkles, the woman had facial features that were definitely similar to Lea.

These people are probably Lea's relatives, thought Shaun. He heard that social services had finally located her family, but nobody warned him about them coming to his house without telling him first.

"Hey, um..." the man began awkwardly, scratching his head nervously as he tried to introduce himself. "I-I-I..."

"I'm Virginia Dilallo," the woman interrupted, introducing herself. "I was informed that this was my daughter Lea's latest address. This is Donnie, her brother. We were told that she not only just died four days ago, but she also just had a baby out of wedlock. We're here to discuss her funeral arrangements."

Shaun couldn't believe it. Lea's mother and brother were actually standing right at his door. While Donnie showcased looks of grief and guilt on his face, Virginia was staring down at him with an expression of disapproval, displeasure, and disappointment.

"So, you must be Shaun," Donnie guessed. "The father of Lulu...Lea's child? We would call her 'Lulu' sometimes."

"Yes, and I know. She told me that," Shaun replied apprehensively, standing stiffly. "We were a couple. I'm a surgical resident at San Jose St. Bonaventure hospital, where she was a tech support worker and also the president's assistant."

"That's cool," Donnie complimented, timidly reaching out his hand for Shaun to shake. "It's nice to meet you."

Shaun didn't want to shake Donnie's hand, but he accepted it anyway. He really desired to make a great first impression to his "in-laws". Donnie was "bullheaded", according to Lea, but he also had the resemblance of a cool and chill man overall, almost like a male version of Lea. Virginia, on the other hand, was unfortunately definitely starting to live up to his dreaded expectations.

"Come on in," Shaun motioned, holding the door open for the two guests as they walked in. He closed the door behind him before joining the two of them.

"Where is my granddaughter?" Virginia demanded, glaring at Shaun like he just kicked a puppy off a cliff. "Let me see her!"

"No," protested Shaun sternly and assertively. "I just put her down for a nap and I don't want to wake her up. You can see her when she wakes up."

"I completely understand. It's okay, just take your time. My husband and I didn't want any visitors after our son was born," explained Donnie, shooting Shaun a kindly smile. "And I'm very sorry about everything that has happened. I can only guess this must be pretty hard for you."

"Lea has a nephew?" Shaun questioned, in disbelief, but really not that shocked considering what Lea told him about her and Donnie's last interaction.

"Yeah," sighed Donnie, his face ample of obvious regret and sadness that his son would never get to know his aunt. "His name is Mateo and he is six-months-old."

"He is also my grandson, and you and Rafael never allow me to visit," scoffed Virginia, her hands planted on her hips. "And now Lulu and Shane are doing the same thing."

"It's Shaun!" Shaun corrected in annoyance, his anger starting to boil up. "Shaun with a U!"

"And for the umpteenth time, my husband's name is Raul, not Rafael," added Donnie as rolled his eyes, followed by an awkward silence engulfing the room.

"Let's all sit down in the living room," suggested Shaun, breaking the silence and changing the subject. "I'll make tea for each of us and we'll start planning her funeral."

As the three of them arranged the plans for Lea's funeral, Shaun allowed Virginia and Donnie (mostly Virginia, actually) to make most of the decisions, submissive to whatever they decided. Shaun wanted to have Lea cremated, but the decision wasn't his because she didn't have a will and he wasn't her next of kin although he was her emergency contact. Instead, Lea was going to get the typical normative burial she didn't want. However, the three of them came to one compromise: Lea will be buried in Hershey, but her funeral will be held in San Jose.

"She needs to come home," Virginia said, frowning at Shaun. "Going back to California to be with you was a mistake."

"She didn't come..." Shaun was about to refute Virginia's words but was cut off by Nell's cries.

Once Nell finally woke up from her nap, Shaun decided to introduce her to her maternal relatives.

"Is that...my niece?" Donnie questioned, in complete shock and disbelief that the little bundle being held by Shaun was his sister's baby.

"Yes, her name is Eleanor. Eleanor Clementine Murphy," announced Shaun proudly, allowing Donnie to hold her. "But, we call her 'Nell'."

Donnie was in tears as he gleefully gazed down at his niece. "Eleanor. That was our grandmother's name."

"I know," reminded Shaun. It hasn't been that long, but he was already warming up to Lea's brother. As for Lea's mother, he still couldn't stand her so far. She was still sulking and not saying a single positive word.

"Mom, would you like to hold your granddaughter?"

"No," she replied coldly, folding her arms and giving her son and "son-in-law" a cross look.

"Why?" Shaun asked, clearly confused. "You were begging to see her minutes ago."

"You named her after my ex-husband's mother," the woman chided angrily.

"Don't listen to her," reassured Donnie nervously, cooing at the little girl. "I like your name."

"Thank you," obliged Shaun, who was now sitting next to Donnie on the couch.

"So, how did you and Lulu meet? Tell me everything," Donnie asked curiously, letting his niece grab his finger.

"Mm," hesitated Shaun, aware that this was a very long story. "We met back in October 2017 during my first year of surgical residency. I had just moved from Casper, Wyoming into my first apartment, where Lea and I were neighbors. She came knocking on my door asking for batteries."

"Wow!" Donnie looked astonished. "You actually knew each other that long? This is the longest relationship my sister has ever been in. She never told me about you when she came back to Hershey."

"We didn't get together right away, but she did kiss me before she left for Hershey. We became an official couple last year after surviving an earthquake. However, the rest of the story in between is complicated," explained Shaun. "Can I explain later?"

"No problem," assured Donnie, eager to get to know Shaun. "Anyway..."

"You know, it's your fault that my Lulu died!" Virginia shouted at Shaun out of the blue. "It was your fault!"

"Mom, please just calm down!" Donnie begged. Little Nell was startled by the sudden loud noise.

"They told us she died of a postpartum complication," she huffed. "You're a doctor, you should have known! You should have known something was wrong! You're also the one who knocked her up in the first place, so you did this to her!"

"Mom..."

"I don't even think you're a qualified surgeon! You actually sound retar..."

"Mom, don't you dare finish that sentence!" Donnie yelled right back at his mother, which caused Nell to cry.

"Now look what you've done! You woke up the child!"

"You're the one who yelled first!"

As the two of them continued to argue, Shaun couldn't help but feel hurt and he wanted to strangle Virginia for what she said. He mumbled panicked words and tried to restrain himself from smacking the sides of his head. Tears were welling up in his eyes as he hyperventilated. With Virginia and Donnie arguing and Nell screaming, Shaun was going into sensory overload and was seconds away from having a meltdown.

"Be quiet!" He yelled at the top of his lungs in desperation, breathing heavily. "Just stop it! Get out!"

It caught the attention of everyone in the room, but afterward, Shaun just stormed out of the living room and into his room to get away from the conflict. Not only did he need to cool down from his anger and sadness, but he also didn't want them to see him have a meltdown.

"So, Lea. How have you been feeling lately?" Dr. Garcia asked kindly.

"Mostly tired, sore, and nauseous. Also anxious. Shaun has been making sure I'm getting enough fluids and nutrition. But other than that, I feel fine," Lea answered, giving Shaun a mix between the stink-eye and a smug look. "He hovers...a lot."

Shaun looked away in slight embarrassment as Dr. Garcia lightly chuckled, smiling at the couple. "I assume this is your first?"

"Yes," answered Shaun.

"Great. Now let's get started," Dr. Garcia offered them an encouraging smile as she prepped her equipment and pulled on a pair of gloves. "Go ahead and lie down and pick up your shirt. I'm also going to need you to pull the front of your pants down so I can get access to your uterus."

Once Lea undid her belt and then unbuttoned and unzipped the front of her black khakis, she reclined back onto the exam table and lifted her rainbow-striped sweater up.

Shaun was already squeezing her hand while clasping Steve's old scalpel with the other.

Dr. Garcia pulled out a clear tube of gel and then squirted a portion of it onto Lea's exposed abdomen, which felt cold to the touch.

"Shaun, you were so right," Lea remarked as she flinched at the sudden cold sensation on her belly, smiling at Shaun. "That is really cold."

"Alright," said Dr. Garcia as she pressed the wand along Lea's lower abdomen and allowed it to roll around until the monitor instantly picked up the fetus.

Shaun had his eyes glued to the black and white monitor and the visible white peanut-shaped blob that happened to be his child...his and Lea's child, their child.

"Perfect. Lea, Shaun, here is your baby," noted Dr. Garcia, pointing at the mass on the screen as she turned on the sound, and then the loud, throbbing sound of the fetal heartbeat could be heard. "And there is the heartbeat."

Lea teared up as she and Shaun saw their baby on the screen, and then Shaun felt a tear of his own when they heard their baby's heartbeat. Shaun could feel Lea's grip in his hand tighten as she looked up towards him.

Shaun didn't usually cry like this when he was happy. He only cried when he was sad.

"Once again, congratulations," Dr. Garcia smiled as she continued to study the fetus. "The fetus is about 3 centimeters long and 0.14 ounces. They're about the size of a kumquat and can stretch their spine. The eyes and eyelids are more developed. The eyebrows are beginning to grow. The brain is developing fast, and the kidneys are now producing urine. The fetal heart rate is normal. Nothing seems to be concerning, and the fetus appears to be fine. Would you two like a copy of the sonogram?"

"Yes," replied Shaun immediately, Lea smiling with him in mutual agreement. "We would like that very much."

Shaun sat alone in his room, staring at the framed photo of their first sonogram, Lea and Nell's first picture together even though you could only parts of Lea seen in the photo were her uterus, cervix, and bladder. He was very hurt by what Virginia had said, especially since she was about to call him the worst disability slur of all time.

Lea told him that she could never seem to make her mother happy.

No matter what Lea accomplished in her life - straight As, full scholarships, two gymnastics championships, treasurer of the engineering club, playing the clarinet in symphonic band, earning a part in a school play, being a member of the student council and national honor society, and even joining the varsity baseball, volleyball, and cheerleading teams. Even if Lea was the valedictorian or got into MIT, Virginia probably still wouldn't be satisfied.

She always made her feel insecure about her body; telling her that her breasts were too small or that she was either too fat or too skinny. If Lea was still here right now, Virginia probably would have made her feel bad about her extra baby weight. Whatever Lea would wear, Virginia would always have something negative to say about it.

Every guy Lea dated since high school, Virginia never approved of any of them even before meeting them. She always told her daughter that no man would ever want her. Whatever choice Lea made in her life - good or bad - her mother would always criticize her for it. Lea would always try to make her mother proud, but it was a goal she could never achieve. All Virginia would ever tell Lea was that she was a pathetic flake who can't do anything right and that she was going to end up alone.

Part of this was the reason why Lea could never keep a job or a boyfriend in the past. Virginia's toxicity is one of the causes for Lea's low self-esteem issues.

Shaun heard the door open, revealing Donnie with Nell. "Are you okay?"

"No," breathed Shaun, staring at the wall. "I don't want your mother here."

"I know," sighed Donnie, setting Nell, who had finally calmed down, into her bassinet before taking a seat next to Shaun on the edge of the bed. "I'm so sorry for what she said. She's pretty much a horrible person to everyone. It's why she and Dad got divorced. Our dad wasn't that bad, but he wasn't really involved with us that much. Grandpa Rod and Grandma Ellie were pretty much the only people we felt like we could talk to and turn to for support."

"My parents didn't love me," shared Shaun, letting his tears fall. "My father always drank too much beer. He was abusive towards me, and he always said it was my fault. He told me he wished I hadn't been born and that I wasn't worth the trouble. When I was 14, he killed my rabbit, and then my younger brother Steve and I ran away and lived in a bus. Steve died and then after that, I didn't have to live with my parents anymore. I didn't talk to them again until two years ago when my father was dying of pancreatic cancer. He told me on his death bed that Steve's death was my fault. Lea came to Wyoming with me to support me at that moment. I asked her to come with me."

"Oh, my god," Donnie gasped. "I'm so sorry, Shaun."

"Steve was my best friend," continued Shaun. "He was my only friend as the other kids at school would always bully me. After he and my pet died, that was when I decided to become a surgeon. I wanted to save people's lives. I wanted other people to live, which my rabbit and brother didn't have a chance to do. But I couldn't save Lea. I should have taken her to the hospital as soon as she started complaining of headaches."

"It's not your fault, Shaun," reassured Donnie. "I also have some regrets, too. The last time Lulu and I ever talked, we had a big fight after we tanked our grandfather's auto shop. We tried to keep it running, but we had a lot of disagreements over a lot of things, which put a strain on our relationship. After that, we just stopped talking. I wish I at least called Lulu to apologize."

"I know, she told me," said Shaun. "Lea was my best friend, and I was hers. She taught me to drive and she taught me how to live. She was the first person to actually fully accept my autism. To her, I was the only person who never judged her. She liked me for my brutal honesty. We made each other more. My mentor, Dr. Glassman, who is also her boss, didn't like her that much because of her spontaneity. He likes her now, but it took a long time for him to approve her."

"Shaun, I just want you to know that I definitely approve of you as both a father to my niece and as a boyfriend to my sister," heartened Donnie. "You seem like a good man for her, and not only am I glad that Lulu had you to turn to after what happened in Hershey, but I'm also I'm glad to know that she had a friend like you when she died. Lulu always had trouble making friends and I'm glad she didn't die alone. I'm glad she had someone who cared about her. That was always Lulu's biggest fear: being alone."

"Mine, too. Our lives were better with each other in them," added Shaun. "I'm sad that I lost Lea, but I'm grateful that I still have my daughter, which is a part of her." He reached his hand out towards Nell's bassinet to stroke her cheek.

"I should probably get back to my motel room," sighed Donnie, getting up from the bed.

"Thank you, Donnie," praised Shaun. "I'm glad we had this talk."

"Me, too," he sniffed, clapping Shaun on the back and handing him a piece of paper with his number on it, before walking out of the room and then out of the apartment. "You're a great man, Shaun. If there is anything you want me to do to help, just call me."

AN: Yes, it is confirmed that Lea's mother is the absolute worst. And, did anyone notice how Lea's family often calls her by her nickname (Lulu), but Shaun never does? It's supposed to symbolize the estrangement she had from her family.