Epilogue

Three months later:

This was embarrassing. Here I was, laying on a rock hard exam table with my shirt pulled up under my breasts to expose my fairly distended belly. John stood by the table holding my hand, nearly bouncing up and down with excitement. The morning after I showed up at John's, he'd called his attorney to have divorce papers drawn up, and instructions to have it done as soon as possible. Two days later, we'd gone to his lawyer's office so that I could sign the divorce papers. Martha, a pleasant lady, not at all what I was expecting from a lawyer, witnessed the document, and said all that needed to be done was getting Mickey's signature.

We left Martha's office and drove straight to the home Mickey and I had shared. When John pulled his mini cooper into the driveway, I nearly had a panic attack. When Mickey came storming out of the house with his parents following along slowly behind him, I nearly ran and hid behind John until it was over. Unfortunately for me, that was not an option, I had to face him whether I liked it or not. He yelled and swore at me to get in the house; that I was supposed to have ended my friendship with John. It made me even more determined to get out. I held out the manila folder to Mickey, not gracing him with my words. He flipped out until I reminded him of the hell that he and Heather put me through, using my guilt over expensive gifts to do so. He didn't deny it, and by his parents shocked expressions, he hadn't told them. His father responded with a firm, 'sign the papers son'.

Mickey signed the papers, scowling and growling as he did so. I took the smart phone he'd gotten me from my new denim jacket and threw it on the lawn along with my key ring with the house key and BMW key. My soon to be ex-husband finished signing the papers, put them back in the manila envelope, and glared at me as he shoved it towards my chest. I got sympathetic looks from both Ricky and Sarah before they disappeared into the house, but Mickey never even looked back. I flipped off his retreating form before climbing back into John's mini cooper with a satisfied smile on my face. I was free! Two weeks later, John and I were on a plane headed for the states with one-way tickets.

There were times where the going got tough for us both, however, we persevered through, and now we were here, waiting to hear what the sex of our baby was going to be. I groaned, trying to hold all of the liquid in my bladder, despite little one kicking it every 30 seconds. They'd told me to drink water before this ultra sound but not to go to the bathroom that way they'd have a bright, clear view of little miss or mister.

Finally after what seemed like forever, my fabulous OB/GYN came into the room with a big, warm smile. "Are we ready to find out what our new family addition will be?" She asked. I nodded enthusiastically and John replied with a very happy 'yes'.

Doctor Joan walked over to a device that looked like a crock pot, and pulled a familiar looking tube from inside. I was happy that in the doctor's office they took the time to warm up the ultrasound gel unlike the hospital where they put it on your skin ice cold. Then she wheeled the ultrasound machine next to the exam table. She squirted the gel on my stomach and powered on the machine. Then she took the transducer and placed it on my stomach, pressing down slightly. I briefly considered punching her in the face because I had to go to the bathroom so bad, and her pressing did not help whatsoever. However, when the screen came to life, and I saw my baby, any violent urges fled my mind. I was suddenly overflowing with love for my baby. He or she may not be John's biologically, but he'd be the only dad this baby would ever know.

"Well, your baby looks good. Heartbeat is perfect, and size is within normal range for your stage of gestation. Now, let's see if baby will behave and give us a view of what it is." Doctor Joan said, the transducer gliding across my belly. I squeaked and John squeezed my hand. "Ah ha! Your little one is playing nice today, I've got a very clear picture of your baby's gender."

"Well doc, are we buying pink or blue?" John asked, his brown eyes dancing with barely contained excitement.

"Congratulations mom and dad, you're going to be the proud parents of a bouncing baby girl." Doctor Joan said happily.

The tears of joy streamed down my face unchecked, the smile on my face threatening to tear it in half. I looked to John who was grinning widely, tears streaming down his face as well. He looked at me, love and happiness radiating from them and he brought his forehead gently to mine. "I can't wait to meet our daughter Mrs. Redfern." He said gently with a kiss to my nose.

"I can't wait to meet her either." I said kissing him back.

3 Months and 1 Week Later:

"I swear to God John, if Rachel Anne doesn't willingly make her appearance soon, I'm going to go crazy!" I bitched, sitting on a chaise lounge by our pool in the backyard of our home in the southern part of New Hampshire.

"Sweetie, remember Doctor Joan said if you go another week, she'll induce labor." John said smirking at me while he cleaned out the pool. It was early summer, and I felt like I was frying like an egg in a frying pan.

"But I don't want to wait another week!" I said banging my head back against the seat cushion.

"I know baby. Maybe we should start trying out those old wives tales?" John suggested wiggling his eyebrows up and down at me over his sunglasses.

"You're just looking for sex." I accused shooting a mocking glare in his direction.

"Can you blame me Rose? I am a guy you know." He replied pulling off his sunglasses so I could see him wink at me.

"Yes, I'm huge and uncomfortable, and I want this baby out. NOW!" I said. He laughed like I had told him the best joke in the world.

"Honey, go heat up the leftovers from last night, and put a healthy amount of tobasco sauce in it. You need a snack." John said putting his sunglasses back on and resuming his task of cleaning out the pool.

I worked my way out of the chair, slowly because of my oversized mountain of a belly, and waddled, yes, waddled like a duck back into our house, sliding the deck door closed behind me. I picked my iPhone up from the table to see if I'd missed any calls or texts from my mom. She didn't agree with my decision not to tell Mickey about the baby, but she supported it, and had kept it a secret from him. She and dad were there for John's and my wedding, and were planning on making the trip to meet their granddaughter, but they weren't sure when they could come over because Torchwood was busy as of late.

Seeing that I hadn't missed anything of great importance, just a few game notifications from friends that I'd made here in the states, I made my way into the kitchen to the refrigerator. Last night I'd had the craving for chili cheese nacho dip, and so I made a whole pan of it. At 10:30 at night. Yeah, John teased me about my pregnancy cravings, especially at odd times, but he surely indulged me. I pulled the saran wrapped pan from the refrigerator, and started preheating the oven when a gushing sensation had me trying to look at my feet. I figured I just didn't know I had to go to the bathroom when the gushing sensation came again, and suddenly I just knew what it was.

"JOHN!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. I stood in place listening to the slap of his flip flops as he ran to where he knew I was.

"Yes sweetie?" He asked running to the bar section of the kitchen.

"Let's go meet our daughter." I said smiling at him.

His resounding shout of 'yes' echoed off the walls, and I couldn't help but laugh at his enthusiasm. He ran out to put the cleaning net away while I turned off the oven, and put the dip back in our refrigerator, trying to ignore the fact I was getting amniotic fluid all over the beautiful hardwood floor. I waddled as quickly as I could to the bathroom where I stripped out of my panties and capri length yoga pants. I sat on the toilet and yelled for John to please bring me a new pair of panties, and another pair of my yoga capris. He miraculously appeared with both, and told me he would put the bag in the car, then would come back to get me. I nodded that I heard him, and shoved a pad in my panties for the ride to the hospital. By the time I was done, John was back in the house waiting for me. I waddled out, grabbed my iPhone from the kitchen table, and allowed my dear husband to help me down to the car.

I'm pretty sure John broke every speed limit to get me from our house to the hospital while I called my mom to tell her that I'd gone into labor. She assured me over and over that she and dad would be getting on a plane sometime that day. My next call was to the OB/GYN office. The receptionist informed me that she would page Doctor Joan, and that she'd be meeting us at the hospital. So far the contractions weren't that bad, however, the gushing feeling was getting on my nerves.

When we got to the hospital, we were immediately taken up to labor and delivery when John burst in the hospital yelling that his wife was having a baby. I was red as a lobster, but I knew he meant well. By the time I was changed into a hospital gown and hooked up to a fetal monitor, Doctor Joan had arrived and was ready to check how far along I was. I tried not to flinch during her exam, and then tried not to be frustrated when she told me I was only a centimeter and that it could take hours before our Rachel Anne made an appearance.

Hours passed, the pain kept getting worse and worse. To make matters even more trying for me, I was only progressing one centimeter every 2 hours. John and I had decided to try an all-natural birth with no meds, but I was currently regretting that decision. The doctor told me I only had a short time now before it was time for Rachel to make her appearance, and at the same time John announced that my parents were on American soil headed for the hospital. A clock told me that I'd been in labor for 25 hours.

Between the excitement of knowing my mum was on her way, and the raw nerves I had about delivering this baby without the help of drugs, before I knew it, it was time to push. Luckily for me, Rachel was easy to get out, and within an hour, she was out and screaming her lungs out. I cried, John was crying, and God help us, we couldn't stop.

Finally Rachel was placed on my chest, and John stood by the bed stroking our baby's head and kissing me on the forehead. He repeated to me just how much he loved me and was proud of me, and he thanked me for a family. I blinked away my tears as I realized my family was complete. I was whole again, and happier than I thought possible.

"Welcome to the world Rachel." I whispered. "I'm mommy, and the goofy guy beside me is your daddy, and we love you very much little one. Thank you for completing my perfect family."