Jason blinked at the stick in his hand, not quite believing what he was seeing. But the clear plus sign in the window confirmed without question that he was, indeed, pregnant.

With a heavy sigh, Jason collapsed back onto the couch, not quite sure how to feel. On the one hand, this was what he always wanted. For most of his adult life, he had longed to be a parent. But after Izzy's miscarriage and their subsequent divorce, he figured that ship had sailed. So he tried to fill that missing space in his heart with work. A poor substitution, to be sure. Until, that is he unexpectedly found love with the dapper Chunk Palmer; a true gentleman who accepted the whole of Jason. Unlike Izzy or Diana, who simply wanted to pretend Jason's vagina wasn't there, Chunk embraced Jason's true identity, loving both the masculine and feminine in him.

Perhaps this was why, for the first time since his split from Izzy, Jason finally felt ready to try for a family again.

But even though Jason was ready, he was unsure of Chunk's feelings, and too scared to ask. Sure, Chunk accepted that Jason was a hermaphrodite. But would he change his mind when he saw the outwardly male Jason grow a life inside his womb? What if the very sight of it caused him to walk out on Jason in disgust?

Jason also worried that Chunk might think Jason had gotten pregnant on purpose, as a way to trap him into a commitment. But Jason was never so calculating. While it was true that he wanted a child, and he never took precautions not to get pregnant, he honestly never believed that his body was up to the task. He was certain that the male hormones in his body would somehow cancel out the female ones, making pregnancy impossible.

And yet, here he was.

Worried, overwhelmed, and too tired to think too hard about his situation, Jason stood, pregnancy test in hand, and made his way to the bedroom.

BullBullBullBullBull

The gentle touch of Chunk's fingers running through Jason's hair, lightly massaging his scalp, comfortably eased him into a state of wakefulness.

"Hey, baby. How are you feeling?" Chunk's soothing voice called to Jason.

Blinking green eyes open, Jason smiled up at the younger man. "Better now, " he answered groggily, slowly sitting up in the bed.

"I was worried about you." Chunk frowned. "Everyone was. I can count on one hand the number of times you've stayed home sick from work. Is there anything I should be worried about?"

Jason laughed nervously, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "That depends on how you look at things, I guess."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Chunk asked, taking a seat beside Jason.

Jason could feel his heart beat faster, an uncomfortable heat churning in the pit of his stomach in anticipation of Chunk's reaction. "Might as well get this over with," he thought, knowing he would be doing their unborn child no favors if he gave himself another heart attack.

Reaching over, Jason opened the drawer of his nightstand, took out the positive pregnancy test, and handed it to Chunk.

Chunk's brow furrowed, mouth agape as he took the test from Jason's hand. And for what seemed like an eternity, he just stared at the plus sign in the window, his expression unreadable.

Jason, meanwhile, sat silently; afraid to speak, for fear of Chunk's reply.

"Jason…y-you're pregnant," Chunk finally stammered, eyes meeting Jason's.

Seeming to have lost his voice, Jason could only nod.

"That's…" Suddenly, a smile spread across Chunk's face. "Jason, that's amazing!" Chunk declared, throwing his arms around Jason and holding him close.

"I'm glad to hear you say that", Jason chuckled. The weight of worry now lifted, Jason felt his entire his body relax in Chunk's arms. "I wasn't quite sure how you'd react."

Chunk slowly pulled back from their embrace, taking Jason's hands into his own as he stared at the older man with love and reassurance.

"I couldn't be happier," Chunk said, smiling warmly. "Jason, this is what I've always wanted for us. I just never said anything because I didn't want to put any pressure on you. I know how insecure you can be when it comes to your body."

"Yeah. I can be," Jason admitted sheepishly, looking down. "But being a parent…this is what I've always wanted, too. And after Izzy…I never really thought I'd get the chance again. Certainly not like this."

"So, why don't you seem happier?" Chunk asked, frowning worriedly.

"I just don't know how we're going to explain this pregnancy to people. I mean, it isn't something people see every day," Jason answered, as he felt the sting of tears forming in his eyes. "What do we tell the team? What do we tell the world?"

"We need to tell the team," Chunk insisted. "They should be aware of what's going on with you. As for everyone else…we can worry about that later. Tonight, let's just celebrate the fact that we're gonna be parents!"

"You're already a parent," Jason pointed out.

"It's not the same." Chunk shook his head. "Anna was already 6 by the time I found out she was mine. And she didn't learn the truth until years later. I never had the chance to experience fatherhood the way I wanted to. But this?" Chunk moved Jason's hands to his stomach, placing his own on top of them. "This is a journey we'll be taking together."

"Yeah. It is," Jason grinned, gazing with a thankful affection at the man beside him. "And I can't think of anyone I'd rather take this journey with."