Thank you all so, so much for all the wonderful reviews and love! You are amazing! Here is chapter three...hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 3- Kate

Pacing silently on the first landing of the stairwell was not doing Kate any good. She had been there for twenty minutes, just thinking. But her wandering mind refused to focus. It wasn't necessarily that she was afraid of his response; she knew how happy he would be. In fact, when she really thought about it, Kate wasn't even sure why she was nervous at all. It was simply a lingering feeling tugging at her insides every time she pictured admitting her situation to her husband.

Every few moments, she would stop pacing and put a hand over her midsection, as if it was going to become larger with her fear of what was to come. Her emotions swirled. One minute, she would look down and feel a rush of excitement. The next, she would feel as if she was shrinking, overcome with clouds of fear.

Her pacing became faster and more frantic as she realized what time it was. She had twenty minutes until Rick was supposed to meet her for dinner downtown. She had set up the meeting with the purpose of telling him, but soon realized how much harder it would be when they were surrounded by other couples, eating and drinking as if they had the world at their fingertips.

"Kate?"

She whirled around, startled at the sound of her name. For a moment, she felt like she was in a dream, floating through the stairwell, with it's white-washed walls and silver banisters. And he wavered in her vision for a moment. Her mind registered what was going on moments later, and she let go of the breath she'd been holding.

"Rick…what are you doing here?" She stammered, suddenly overcome with the thought that her time alone to contemplate the situation was over.

"I….live here." He responded, worry crossing over his face, "what are you doing here? I thought we were meeting for dinner?"

"Yeah…uh…we are. I just thought I would…come see you first." She said.

He watched her for a moment, skin pale and hands shaking slightly. He could tell she had been here a while. Before he had announced her name, she'd been pacing, running her hands desperately though her hair, as she often did when she was thinking, nervous, irritated, or all three.

"Why don't we go up to the apartment." He suggested, approaching her to take the bag she'd been carrying.

"Okay."

Together, they made their way up the stairs, stopping at each landing very briefly for Kate to catch her breath. Each time, she apologized, telling him she hadn't had enough exercise in the past few weeks.

When they reached the loft, Rick pulled the door open for Kate, who entered their home slowly and made her way to the couch, where she collapsed with a loud sigh. He followed her, setting her bag where she usually kept it by the door and sat next to her. To both, it felt like a repeat of the other night, when he prodded, she shut him out, and then she left. Rick stayed wary, keeping a few inches between himself and his wife. She seemed as if she was only half there.

"Kate, I know you're going through a lot right now." He started softly, "but please, talk to me. Tell me what's going on. I can't stand watching you in pain like this."

She looked up at him, trying to hold back tears, and decided it was pointless.

"Hold me?" She asked, voice breaking like that of a desperate, lonely child.

He didn't need her to ask twice. He scooted toward her and pulled her weak body into his lap, enveloping her in his strength. He felt her body immediately relax in his arms, and he let her sink into him.

"Talk to me when you're ready, okay?" He asked softly into her shoulder.

She nodded and lay in his arms for several minutes of silence before taking a breath, "I'm so stupid."

He was startled by her sudden self-accusation, "Kate…" he began to rub his hand up and down her arm, "never, ever say that."

"It's true," she pressed, "how do you even deserve me?"

"Wha…Kate how do you deserve me? How do I deserve you?! I…"

She stopped him mid-sentence, "I'm sorry, Rick. I've lied to you, kept things from you, mistrusted you. All you've done is hang around, watching my back. I'm so, so sorry."

He was silent, which sent fear through her. Either he was waiting for her to continue, or he was angry.

"There's nothing to be sorry about." He finally said.

"No Rick, there's everything to be sorry about. I've treated you like…like trash these last few weeks. But I love you. I love you so much. You know that, right?"

"Of course…I…"

"I need to tell you something. But I'm scared. I'm terrified, actually. And I don't know why I'm so terrified. But I am. So please, let me get this all out before you say anything."

When she was met with silence, she continued, "I've been on the hunt for these people for so long…but something made me really think about the choices I've made. And I've been so stupid. So ridiculously stupid." Her voice faded for a moment.

"Kate…"

"I'm pregnant."

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, her whole body seemed to collapse, as if something that had been held back inside her for so long had finally been set free. It hung in the air for several moments before he broke the silence.

"You're….are you sure?" He asked.

"I'm positive."

Silence took over again, but this time it didn't scare her. Instead of reacting, her let her emotions become his own, lending her the response she needed most. He didn't pick her up and spin her around, he didn't get upset, he just let her fill him with all of her worries and all of her pain. And suddenly, Kate felt like everything was going to be alright. Not because her situation was any different, but just because she knew he would stand by her every step of the way.

"Rick?"

"Yeah?" He responded softly, placing a kiss on her head.

"Thank you."

Thanks for reading! As always, your reviews are my brain food! :D Not sure yet where I'm going with this story from here, so if you've got a burning idea that you're dying to see in this story (or any of my stories...or a NEW story!) ...drop it in the comments and i'll consider it! Love you all.