Chapter 4

The sun was streaming through the window, hitting Alex so that half of her face was in shadow. Piper just lay there looking at her, tracing the contours of her face with her eyes. She reached out to touch, but drew back at the last second. So rarely in the last three days had Alex relaxed. "She's so worried over nothing," Piper thought. "She's going to be a beautiful mother."

They had an appointment at 10:00. Piper and Alex both had arranged their schedules to be off for the rest of the day. There was paperwork for her to sign and Alex really needed to get the gallery ready before she left Monday. All of that could wait though. This was their time.

Alex rolled over and stretched, reaching out for Piper. Snagging her around the waist, she pulled her in and rested her chin on top of her head. "Morning Pipes. Sleep well?"

"Mmm, yes. Did you baby?"

Grinning, Alex said "Like the dead! Last night should happen every night!"

Piper laughed and snuggled in closer. Baths and showers used to be her happy place. Now this is her happy place. Surrounded by these arms, listening to the beat of Alex's heart; feeling her breathing in and out. "Can we turn off our phones, break the doorbell and do this when we get home today? I just want to hold each other all day."

"We can do whatever you want when we get back. But for now, we have to get up and get ready. Time for them to tell us the 37 sticks you peed on this week didn't lie!"

"Alex, stop. I did not use that many! Maybe six…or seven."

Alex laughed and got up to shower. Piper slowly got up and wandered into the kitchen to make toast and tea for herself, fruit and coffee for Alex. As she sat eating, her thoughts traveled to her mother. "Was she as scared as I am?" the thought. "Ha! Guess I'll never know, will I?"

Alex came in then, telling Piper to hurry up. Piper scooted off the stool and went to shower and get ready.

"Hi, I'm Piper Chapman-Vause. We have an appointment at 10:00 with Dr. Sharpe"

The receptionist looked at Piper, then over at Alex. She smiled and asked them to have a seat, telling them the doctor would be with them soon. They made their way to a pair of seats over in the corner. Piper picked up parenting magazines along the way. Alex laughed, shaking her head, "Seriously Pipes? Already?"

Piper just shrugged her shoulders. "There's going to be a lot happening Al. It's not like I have anything to compare it to. I want to know all I can, what to expect. Other mother's stories. I like to be prepared."

"God if this is anything like the wedding was, I'll be back in 9 months", Alex said.

"Alex Vause! You shut your mouth right now!" Piper said. Alex laughed and put her hand on Piper's knee. Piper calmed instantly. Leaning in, Alex whispered "I wouldn't miss a minute of this for anything in the world."

Piper smiled, "Even doing X with three strangers in drag on a beach in Cambodia?"

"Well…"

"Chapman-Vause"

"Lucky break, lady" Piper winked.

The nurse came in and drew blood and had Piper go pee in a cup. She came back in the room to Alex pacing. She just looked at Piper, a bit helpless. Piper sighed and went to her. "It's going to be ok."

"Yeah, I'm just anxious. I think I know how you felt in all those hotel rooms waiting on me to come back to you."

"Did you really just use me waiting on you to finish doing a drug deal in comparison to us waiting to hear we are pregnant? Alex…" Piper just shook her head and climbed up on the table. They settled into wait on the doctor. Piper reading magazines and Alex alternating pacing the room and walking over to stroke Piper's hair. Finally the door opened and the doctor walked in.

"Well, well. Look who we have here! I trust you are both well. Piper, anything going on you want to talk about before we get started?" said Dr. Sharpe.

"Can you give my wife a sedative? One that will last the next 9 months? I think I'm going to need it" Piper laughed.

Alex just looked at her and cocked her eyebrow, crossing her arms.

"Well Piper, as you suspected. You are pregnant," he said with a smile. "I would like to do an ultrasound to see how far along we're looking at, but I suspect only a little over a couple of weeks. If you will follow me, we will do that now."

Piper looked at Alex with tears in her eyes. Alex was shaking like a leaf. Piper couldn't help but smile. Her strong, badass woman was terrified. Piper slid off the table and took Alex's hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Alex squeezed back and kissed Piper on the cheek. They followed the doctor down the hall into a dimly lit room. A woman had Piper get up on the table and lay back. She drew her gown up and squeezed a clear gel onto her stomach. Piper jumped and squealed. "Sorry, it's cold, I know" the woman said. Piper gave a slight smile and tried to relax. Alex was staring at the ultrasound machine like it held the key to all of life's mysteries. Soon things started to move around on the screen. The woman moved the wand around on Piper's stomach, trying to get a better view. After what seemed like an eternity, the woman smiled and said "There, see that? That's your baby. Congratulations Mama".

Piper saw a tiny blip on the screen and instantly began to cry. Alex said "The blob? That's my baby?"

It wasn't lost on Piper that she called it her baby. Piper pulled Alex down for a kiss and tasted a mixture of their tears. "There she is, baby. That's our baby" Piper whispered against her lips. Alex buried her face in Piper's hair, breathing deeply. "That's our blob" she finally said.