A/N - Sorry for the delay with this chapter. I was away last weekend, and the week before was spent getting ready for the event I was at.

Cassandra sat in the passenger seat of Jake's truck, beaming down at the ultrasound picture that she held in her lap. She clutched it in one hand, the other hand resting in Jacob's. He was watching her out of the corner of his eye, a soft smile on his face.

"Are you happy?" he asked her when they reached a red light, turning to get a better look at her and squeezing the hand that he held.

For the first time since they had left the doctor's office and started driving home, Cassandra looked up at Jake. The look on her face told Jake everything he needed to know, though she answered him anyways.

"I don't think I've ever been happier," she spoke quietly and squeezed his hand in return. "You?"

"Same over here, darlin'," Jake's eyes returned to the road as the light turned green, but the smile didn't leave his face.

"Jacob?" Cassandra asked after they had driven another moment in silence.

"Yeah, darlin'?"

"I think I'm ready to tell my parents," Cassandra sighed.

Jake was startled briefly by the revelation. They hadn't discussed her parents again since the day the Sooners onesie had arrived. Though he had been dying to know if Cassandra actually was thinking about their conversation, he wanted to give her some space and not push the subject too hard. Jake looked at her for a quick second before returning his attention to the road, a mixture of shock and pride on his face.

"Good," Jake said softly. It was the first word that came to mind. "That's good, Cassie. If you're sure."

"I am," she affirmed. "I want to open that door. And now that we know," Cassandra gestured at the picture on her lap. "I feel all the more ready to tell them."

Jake smiled at that. He knew this was a big step for Cassandra, and he felt so proud of her. He had reached the lot for their building and had just pulled into their regular parking spot. Cassandra had let go of his hand and went to open her door but Jake gently took a hold of her arm, causing her to stop what she was doing and turn her attention onto her husband.

"Hey," he whispered, his eyes narrowing. "I'm proud of you." And with that, he leaned in and kissed her. It was soft and sweet, but he poured his heart into the kiss and his lips said more about his feelings than words ever could. When he pulled away she had tears in her eyes, but her smile assured him that they were happy tears. He wiped them away with his thumb and placed one last kiss on her forehead before they both got out of the truck and headed into the building.

Cassandra sat on the foot of the bed she shared with Jake, her phone in her hand. After they arrived home, she had excused herself into their bedroom, shutting the door behind her so she had some privacy. That had been twenty minutes ago and she still hadn't gotten up the confidence to dial her parents' number yet.

"You want to do this, remember?" she muttered, trying to build herself up. "Jacob wants you to do this, and you don't blame him. They're your parents, and no matter how poorly they express it, they love you...just keep telling yourself that." She sighed, and finally dialled the number, though she hesitated pressing the call button. She took a deep breath, her eyes closing as she willed herself to press that final button.

"This is ridiculous," she finally said to herself, louder than she had previously been talking. Then, before she could even allow herself time to think, she squeezed her thumb down onto the button and the phone started ringing. Then she winced, realizing that there was no going back now.

The phone rang three times before a male voice answered it.

"Cillian residence," Cassandra recognized her dad's voice immediately and willed herself to speak.

"Dad?" It came out like a question.

"Cassandra?" Her dad sounded happy to hear her voice. Not necessarily excited, but happy nonetheless. "It's been far too long. How are you? And that husband of yours? What was his name? Justin?"

"Jacob, dad. And he's good. We're both good."

"Good. I'm still sore you didn't ask us to the wedding," her dad added, sounding anything but upset.

"Sorry about that," Cassandra apologized. "It was a really small ceremony. With our schedules-"

"Oh yes, that important new job of yours!" Cassandra's father suddenly sounded excited. "Don't say another word, I understand completely. Work is important, and if you had to have a last minute wedding to avoid missing work, and didn't have time to invite your own parents to the ceremony, that's perfectly understandable. Your mother and I are very proud of you, Cassandra."

Cassandra rolled her eyes. After hearing Jake tell her how proud he was of her just a half hour ago, hearing it from her father sounded completely different. She couldn't hear the love behind the words the way she could when Jake had said them.

"Speaking of which, is mom there?" Cassandra went to change the subject. "I have something important I need to tell you both."

"She's right here beside me, just hold on one second," her dad said. Then there was a click as the phone was put onto speaker.

"Cassandra?" she heard her mom ask.

"Hello, mom."

"It's been too long. How are you?"

"I'm good, mom. I uh, I actually have some exciting news I need to tell you both," Cassandra took a deep breath and readied herself.

"Well it can't be that you got married without telling us," her dad cut in. "That already happened. I don't suppose this time you got divorced?" She knew that was her dad's idea of a joke, but Cassandra had never found her dad's sense of humour all that funny.

"No, dad," she didn't bother to acknowledge his comment. "No, it's good news. Jacob and I...well, I'm actually...we're going to…"

"Spit it out already," her dad was growing impatient.

"I'm pregnant. Jacob and I are going to have a baby," Cassandra blurted out. There was silence on the other end and she started to worry about what their reaction was going to be. After a moment, her father finally spoke again.

"I'm going to be a granddaddy?" he spoke softly and Cassandra thought she heard his voice catch.

"Yes," her voice was a whisper.

"Cassandra, that is the best news you've ever given us since the day you told us your tumor was gone," her mother spoke up. "We'd given up hope on ever becoming grandparents when you were just fifteen years old."

"I'm sorry," the words came out automatically. Growing up, Cassandra had gotten so used to apologizing to her parents that she often found herself doing it without thinking.

"Sorry? What are you sorry for?" her dad asked.

Cassandra shrugged, but realized her parents wouldn't see her reaction. "I don't know. I guess I'm just sorry my life didn't go in the direction you wanted."

"Don't be ridiculous, Cassandra," her mother said. "How could anyone predict what happened to you? It's not your fault you ended up with a tumor. And look at everything you've accomplished in spite of the circumstances."

Cassandra's heart sunk just a little bit. She couldn't help but notice that her parents hadn't said that they loved her no matter what, or that they didn't care what Cassandra did in her life as long as she was happy. They simply didn't blame her for the tumor. She didn't have time to dwell on details, however, because her dad spoke up again soon after.

"When can we come up and see you?"

"What? Dad, you don't have to-" Cassandra started to say.

"My daughter is pregnant and I haven't even met the father of my grandbaby," her dad interrupted. "When can we come to visit?"

"Whenever you'd like, I guess?"

"Good, good," her dad said. "In that case, we'll be up next week."

"Alright. I should probably let you guys go. Jacob said he'd have dinner ready soon. But you can call me back when you know for sure when you're coming."

"Sounds good," her dad agreed. "One last thing, Cassandra. Do you know yet if you're having a boy or a girl?"

Cassandra smiled and looked down at the ultrasound picture that she hadn't let go of since the doctor gave it to her. "We actually just found out this afternoon. We're having a little girl."