AN: Thank you to everyone for their reviews, PM's and favourite story adds. I very much appreciate it.

Thanks also to Purdy's Pal and DaisyDay for their help with this chapter.

My youngest is 14 now, so it's a few years since I have been pregnant. I know some pregnancy terms are different in the USA to what they are here. But I hope I've managed to get most of the terms right.

2

Voices floated in and out of Fiona's consciousness. She could feel the unmistakable touch of Michael's hand clutching hers, squeezing her fingers when she blinked heavily before she opened her eyes.

"Fi…" Michael's relieved voice drifted through her mind and she turned her head to focus on him.

"M…Michael…" she managed, trying to offer him a smile when he shifted closer to perch on the sofa beside her.

"I'm here," he told her as he clutched her hand to his chest. Reaching out with his free hand, he smoothed his shaking fingers over her face to stroke her cheek.

"What happened?" she asked in a voice that sounded foreign to her own ears. She could see by his red-rimmed eyes that something was wrong and instantly panic burrowed its way inside her mind. Fearing the worst, tears sprang to her eyes, and she shook her head, her voice catching on a sob. "No…please…not again…"

"What?" Michael gasped, leaning over her to gather her trembling body in his arms as she shook against him. "No, everything's okay…the baby's fine…shhh."

"But…"

"You fainted," he told her, whispering into her hair. "Sam called in a favour and he's found someone who's going to help. He wants to talk to you."

Fiona pulled back from him so that she could look up into his eyes. "The baby?"

"Is doing okay," he told her gently as he shifted to touch his forehead against hers. His fingers combed through her hair and he placed a soft kiss onto her skin, holding her hands close to his chest.

"Fiona?"

Fiona tore her eyes away from the man she loved to regard the stranger standing beside her, eyeing him warily. When he knelt down beside the sofa Michael instinctively moved closer to her when she grabbed a handful of his shirt.

"Fi, this is Peter Manson, he's an old friend of Sam's. He's going to be helping us." Michael told her reassuringly.

Fiona pushed herself up a little and watched the older man cautiously. "Are you a doctor?"

"I was a field medic back in the day, but now I'm a family practitioner," he nodded while he reached into his bag to pull a small device out of his bag. "I need to check a few things with you but first I want to make sure everything is okay with the baby. This is a fetal Doppler; it'll let you hear the baby's heartbeat. I just need you to lie flat."

Michael moved from the couch and helped her lay back down before switching places with the doctor, his hand finding hers again. They both watched when he moved Fiona's shirt up to her chest to press the device against her slightly rounded abdomen.

For a moment the sounds emmited from it sounded like static, but then a strong, fast heartbeat came through the speakers loud and clear, causing Madeline to stub her cigarette out into an ashtray in the kitchen and come into the room.

Her face lit up into one big smile and she turned to catch Sam's wonder filled gaze. When he saw her watching him, he cleared his throat and quickly swiped at his eyes.

"Something in my eye," he mouthed silently before regaining his composure and focusing on his beer.

"Sure you do, Sam," she told him with a beaming smile, wiping the moisture from her own damp eyes.

Fiona looked back up at Michael to see his gaze fixed on her stomach. The awe on his face was like nothing she had ever seen in him before, and when he turned to place a soft kiss onto her lips she couldn't stop the lone tear that slipped down over her cheek.

Neither of them spoke as the doctor moved the device around her abdomen, listening intently to the sounds coming from within. When he was satisfied, he pulled it away and turned it off to replace it back into his bag. Turning back to Fiona again, he knelt over her and pressed his hands down onto her stomach pushing down into her skin, causing her to scrunch her eyes closed and grip Michael's hand hard.

"You're about ten weeks, but a sonogram will give a more acurate date," he told them when he removed his hands, "and the baby has a good, strong heartbeat."

"Ten weeks? I thought it was just stress…it didn't even register that I was late…" Fiona's eyes sought Michael's incredulous gaze. "That means I was pregnant when…"

"I know," Micheal stroked his thumb over her forehead and nodded numbly. "If Sam hadn't shown up when he did, then the three of us would have—"

"But we didn't," she told him quickly, reaching up to lay her hand across his face. "We're all still here."

Doctor Manson caught Sam's incredulous glance and turned his attention back to the couple who seemed to have forgotten that everyone else was in the room.

"I take it you don't intend to have this baby at a conventional hospital?"

Michael's eyes left Fiona's and flashed an imploring look at the man before him.

"Didn't Sam explain the situation?" Michael asked him quickly. This was one of the reasons that they had talked about possible pregnancies in the past. While he was unprotected and still officially burned, any enemies they had could easily use his relationship with Fiona and their unborn child against him.

"Yes he did," he nodded. "It's not my usual method of pre-natal care…"

"Until I am officially reinstated, Fiona's condition has to be kept just between us for as long as we can."

"Pete understands the circumstances Mikey," Sam told him reassuringly, coming closer to pat him on the shoulder.

"Yes, I do," Doctor Manson nodded before turning his attention back to Fiona. "So, you have had bouts of sickness as well as dizzy spells?"

"Yes," she nodded worriedly as she grabbed onto Michael's arm as leverage to sit up. Instantly, the room started to spin and she scrunched her eyes closed, gasping in a breath until the dizziness subsided.

Michael was by her side in an instant, rubbing her back as he cast the doctor a panicked gaze. "Is this normal?"

"I'm afraid every woman is different. Some woman sail through pregnancy and others, well, it can be rough the first trimestor…Are you eating healthily?"

"I'm trying to," she told him honestly, "but sometimes I can't even keep water down…and the dizziness started a couple of days ago."

"Try taking small sips," the doctor told her. "The dizziness will pass, but you can help yourself by resting as much as you can. I'll take your blood pressure and I'll draw some blood today just to be sure."

"What do you mean by resting, exactly?" Fiona asked cautiously, feeling Michael's eyes upon her. "Stop looking at me like that Michael. I can't spend the entire time sat down."

"Fi," Michael sighed. "For once, will you just not argue?"

"I'm not arguing," she told him with a knowing smile. "You know I relax better when I'm doing something!"

"Fiona," Michael's voice warned, even though he knew by her smile that she wasn't going to be doing anything strenuous to put their baby at risk.

"I'm going to give you some pre-natal vitamins," the doctor told her, his voice bringing their attention back to him, as he took his prescription pad out of his bag and began to write. "Have small meals throughout the day. Most of my patients find eating dry crackers every few hours helps with the sickness, and ginger ale is good at settling the stomach…and no, by resting I mean take things slower, not that you have to sit down for the entire pregnancy!"

"So she's okay?" Michael asked in relief, his eyes seeking Fiona's hopeful gaze.

"Yes, everything is perfectly normal." He turned his attention to Fiona again. "Michael told me you had a miscarriage some time ago?" he asked. "Do you know how far along you were?"

"I don't know," she shook her head. "Not far I don't think. I never had anything like I'm having now…why…does that mean I might lose—"

"No," reaching out he patted her hand. "It's just for my records. But from now on I do need to see you every four weeks. I need to schedule a sonogram and check your blood work, but we can do them after clinic hours if you're worried…"

"Thank you," Michael told him. "We really do appreciate this."

Doctor Manson handed Michael the prescription and regarded Fiona's pale face. "I want to see you for a sonogram within the next two weeks. I'll arrange it and call you with the details."

"Just one more thing, doctor," Michael started, intending to ask about things they should avoid, when the doctor pulled out a band and vacuum syringe to draw Fiona's blood.

"It's perfectly safe to continue to have intercourse, but—" he started, without looking up at them.

"Michael," Madeline stopped the doctor in mid-sentence and moved closer to pat Michael on the shoulder, there were some things that a mother didn't really need to hear. "Sam and I will be out in the yard if you need us."

"Thanks ma," Michael nodded, his eyes not leaving the woman beside him.

Madeline motioned for Sam to join her, and the two of them went outside into the sunshine.

"Is she okay?" Sam asked as he nursed his beer.

"As far as I can tell, yeah," she sighed. Lifting a cigarette to her lips, she lit it and took a long drag before blowing the smoke out into the air. "I swear, those two will be the death of me."

"Me too Maddie," taking a long swig of beer, he swallowed the liquid down and raised the glass bottle to his forehead, trying to cool himself down. "I swear, since those two have been together I've aged thirty years!"

"It shows," Madeline told him with a beaming smile, something she couldn't seem to stop doing lately. "Just kidding!"

"That's not funny Maddie," Sam groused. "I'm hurt."

"Yeah?" she laughed. "You'll get over it!"

000

Fiona was bored. Sam was out with one of his new lady friends, and even though she would never openly admit it, she missed his annoyingly witty wisecracks. He seemed to be able to take her mind off of the fact that she was missing Michael since he'd left for his meeting with management four days ago. She had been spending most of her time helping Madeline around the house and trying to keep busy. The sickness was still wearing her down, but after taking the doctor's advice she'd managed to eat small meals without rushing to the bathroom a few minutes later.

Her hand drifted down to her stomach as she tried to reassure the tiny life that grew inside her. Maybe it was just her hormones, or maybe she was just a little restless but her mind kept drifting back to the day before Michael left. He had drawn up some kind of backup plan with Sam, and asked him to take care of things while he was away.

She moved to the wooden dresser and pulled open the top draw, running her fingers over the clothes that he'd left behind. She wished she could stop feeling like this. Her moods constantly shifted from happiness to tears within minutes of each other and it was playing havoc with her emotions. Tears blurred her vision and her mind wandered back, once again, to that day.

"Why don't you let me do that?" he'd asked as she'd taken some of his clothes out of the bedroom dresser that Madeline had insisted they used, and put them onto the bed. "You're supposed to be taking it easy."

"I'm fine," she sighed heavily as she re-folded his t-shirts to pack them into the large bag that they'd brought with them. "But I'm warning you, if you're not back within a week I'm going home. The dizziness isn't as bad anymore."

"Fi, I thought we agreed." Walking around the bed to stand behind her, he'd placed his hands on her shoulders. "I don't know how long this meeting is going to take so I want you to stay here with my mom while I'm away. You know how much she wants to spend time with you."

"I'm not an invalid," she'd snapped as she zipped up the large bag in frustration. "I don't need a babysitter. I'll be more comfortable at home."

"I need to know that you're safe," he told her, turning her around so that he could see her eyes. "Please, just do this for me, Fi…"

She turned, ready to snipe at him, but the smile he gave her melted away all the tension and she found herself reaching for his hand on her shoulder, lacing their fingers together. "I'm pregnant, Michael. Women do this kind of thing all the time."

"Not with me they don't." The smile spread wider across his face as he'd watched her expression change to one of amusement, a smile matching his own appearing on her lips.

Fiona sighed heavily and leaned across to place a soft kiss on his lips.

"Try not to leave me so long this time! And please come back for the sonogram, I don't want to have to take your mother with me…or Sam!"

"I promise," he'd told her, flashing her a wide grin before he'd taken the bag off of the bed and guided them both down onto the mattress…

Moving towards the full-length mirror in Michael's old room, Fiona turned to her side and pulled her yellow sundress tight over her stomach. She turned in a few different positions, trying to see any obvious signs that she was pregnant, but apart from her breasts growing noticeably larger, her stomach remained only slightly rounded.

With a heavy sigh she flopped down onto the bed and blew her hair out of her eyes. She didn't do boredom well, but the call of the old garage, and all of her special toys was becoming too much to resist. If she couldn't do anything to exert herself, sitting down and tinkering couldn't hurt…could it?

Madeline was reading a magazine when she made her way through the kitchen. She lifted her eyes and beamed a smile at her. "Hey sweetheart. You feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I guess," Fiona sighed before pulling a chair out at the table to sit down next to Madeline. "Have you heard from Sam?"

"Not since this morning, no," Madeline told her as she put the magazine down onto the table, regarding her knowingly. "What's wrong honey?

"I need to be doing something other than sitting here," she grumbled before moving the chair back to slowly stand up. "I'll be in the…" she gestured towards the old garage as she moved away from the table.

Madeline's observed her fondly as she reached out for her cigarette box and pushed it aside. "Need any help?"

"Not exactly," Fiona told her with a smile. "But you can come keep me company."

An hour later, Sam returned to the house after Michael had called him, asking him to check on Fiona when she hadn't answered his calls. When he walked inside he found it strangely quiet and he was instantly on high alert. Madeline's car was still in the drive and the door was unlocked. Panic set in his mind and he drew his gun, scanning the room warily as he moved further into the house.

"Maddie," he called. "Fi…"

Muffled laughter was coming from the old garage and he cautiously made his way towards it, uncertain what he was going to find.

The sight that greeted him took him by surprise. Fiona and Madeline were sitting at the table that was piled high with everything from soldering irons to screw drivers.

"What the hell is going on in here?" he asked in exasperation, waving his hands in the air, pointing an accusing finger at Fiona. "You're supposed to be resting, not…what are you doing?"

"I'm fine Sam," Fiona grinned, shifting slightly in her seat. "Look, I'm sitting down…and I'm making a tracking device for Madeline."

"Yeah, Sam, zip it," Madeline shot him a glare. "I've got a problem and Fiona's helping me deal with it."

"With a tracker?" he asked incredulously as he tucked his gun back into the waistband of his pants.

Fiona shot him a look that told him not to ask questions, so he sighed in resignation and turned back to walk out of the door.

"Oh, Fi…"

When she looked up to meet his eyes he was suddenly taken aback by the fondness in her gaze. It threw him momentarily, but he regained his composure and shook his head.

"You might want to check your phone and finish up in here. Mike's been trying to call you, he's on his way home and he's bringing Jesse with him."

"What?" she gasped as she pushed her chair back and stood up quickly, regretting it instantly when sudden dizziness overtook her body. Reaching out, she gripped onto the edge of the table until it had passed.

"You okay, honey?" Madeline asked worriedly, coming to hold onto her arm.

"I'm fine," Fiona nodded gratefully and reached out to squeeze Madeline's hand. "I just got up too quickly. I'm okay now."

Madeline watched her carefully as she turned to walk past Sam and out of the room to go in search of her phone.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Sam asked as soon as she was out of sight.

"Of course she is, Sam," Madeline told him as she put a cigarette to her lips and lit it gratefully. "I've been craving for one of these for over an hour."

"It's not like you to pass up on a smoke, Maddie," he told her seriously.

"Well, Fi needed me more," she told him, taking another long blissful drag from her cigarette.

"You're doing a great job, Maddie," he told her with a fond smile. "Mikey's gonna be here soon, maybe we should, I don't know…make her sit or something."

Madeline's eyes lit up with his words and she couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her lips. "She's fine Sam, stop worrying... you're as bad as that son of mine!"

"Yeah, well. I can't help it…she drives me crazy."

"She's pregnant Sam," Madeline laughed. "Of course she drives you crazy!"

Walking past him, she patted his arm as she moved into the kitchen. "Let's go and find you a cold beer."

Sam sighed heavily, god help him, but he was becoming quite fond of the Irish firecracker that had stormed back into Michael's life four years ago. But he'd never openly admit it. No way….

tbc