Author's Note: This is an idea that came to me randomly, after reading Beth (Hippiechic81)'s story, "A Baby Changes Everything." As I thought about it more and more, I knew I had to do it! I hope to get more up ASAP! I'm sorry to end it here for now, but I won't keep anyone waiting forever. :)

Mary stared at the test, unable to believe what she was seeing. Her heart pounded, and she wasn't sure if she could stand. But, as the shock wore off, she realized that the thin blue line wasn't going away. She was pregnant.

"How did this happen?" she asked aloud, although she knew the answer. Birth control pills usually kept her cycle regular, as well as preventing this situation from occurring. But, she hadn't been taking them quite as much lately. Her dating life wasn't always that exciting, which made the pills seem rather unnecessary. That had all changed a few months ago when she met Joe. He was unlike the men she'd dated previously. He was sweet and thoughtful. Things were going along perfectly, until the night she surprised him at his apartment. Mary knew she could never forget the moment when she discovered he wasn't alone. She'd tried to forgive his mistake, but found that her trust was broken beyond repair.

That had been about a month ago. Lately, she'd begun to feel tired and achy. At first, she'd chalked it up as a routine virus. But when she missed her period, she knew there was another, much scarier possibility. Now, that possibility was a very frightening reality.

Slowly, Mary's rational mind kicked in. She needed to talk to someone. Though she usually talked her problems over with Georgette or Mr. Grant, she knew neither one could help her at a time like this. She made her way out of the bathroom and back to the living room, going straight to the phone. She dialed without giving a thought to the time difference. "Please be home, please be home," she whispered.

"Hello?" Rhoda said as she answered the phone.

"Rhoda, it's me….Mary." She laughed nervously.

"Oh, hi, kid. How are you?"

"Oh, fine. There's just one little problem. You know how I haven't been feeling well lately? Well, I got a home pregnancy test, just to make sure that wasn't what it was. I mean, can you picture me pregnant?" Once again, she forced a laugh.

"It was positive, wasn't it, kid?"

"Yeah," Mary said. "What am I going to do?"

"Wow. Have you told anyone yet? Like, you know, the father?"

"No. Oh, Rhoda, how am I going to tell Joe? I told him I never want to see him again. Now I'm carrying his baby!"

Rhoda sighed. "That's not going to be easy. But you know me, I'd probably just go over to his house and blurt it out. That way you can't lose your nerve."

"That makes sense," Mary said. She imagined the scene. Even thinking about it scared her to death. "I can't do that," she said.

"Kid, you can't not tell him. This is pretty big news!"

"I know that. But I mean I really can't. I just remembered he's out of town for some big construction job. He was telling me about that right before….you know."

"Oh," Rhoda said. "Well, that complicates things a little. But it does buy you some time to figure out how to break it to him."

"But how can I go around for the next couple of weeks with this secret? I can't even think about putting on a news show with something this big on my mind!"

"You don't have to go through this alone," Rhoda said. "I know I'm here in New York, but you know you've got people out there who love you too, you know. Like Georgette and Murray. And Lou."

"How on earth do I tell Mr. Grant I'm pregnant?!"