Chapter 1

"You're sure?" Erica questioned again, despite the fact that Dr. Clader had already confirmed the results to her twice.

Dr. Clader nodded laughing softly, "Obviously this is a shock."

"You're sure?" She repeated again, despite the fact that Dr. Clader was still finishing up his exam.

"Erica," He started , offering her a soft smile when he was finished, "Joe ran the tests three times himself, and I ran them another two, and you're exam only helped to confirm that you are pregnant."

He could say it a hundred times but she didn't think she'd finally believe until she saw the baby for herself.

A few hours ago she'd gone to see Joe Martin so that he could tell her that she had the flu, and David would finally leave her alone. Now, she was laying on an exam table in Dr. Stan Clader's office, waiting for him to conduct to finish her exam and then do ultrasound to confirm how far along her pregnancy was.

"I'd say about twelve weeks, give or take," He continued, easing up from his chair so that he could take off his gloves before situating the ultrasound machine.

She nodded deftly, the words still refusing to process.

"I know this is a lot to process," Dr. Clader said, breaking through her silence, "but I have no reason to suspect that you're pregnancy isn't healthy and progressing right on target."

"I had no idea," She finally pushed out through a hard breath, her eyes meeting his for the first time since he'd confirmed Joe Martin's test results.

He nodded, offering her a soft smile, "That's perfectly normal," He assured, taking a few steps to his left so that he could wheel the ultrasound machine around to the other side of the exam table, "And now that you know, you can begin taking better care of yourself then you already have been."

"You really think that everything is alright?" She asked, refusing to let the smile that teased at her lips slide into place.

He nodded again, "We'll do an ultrasound, get a look at your baby, take some measurements to be sure, but so far everything looks great."

She smiled back at him finally, nodded slightly, as he began pushing her gown out of the way so that he could apply gel to her abdomen, "It's all so surreal," She blew out on a soft breath, "I came here to appease David. I kept telling him I had the flu."

"Well, all the symptoms matched," He told her with a smile, "This will be cold," He reminded her, as he applied gel to her abdomen, "And at your age, pregnancy isn't the first conclusion you'd jump to."

"No," She blew out, her body trembling slightly as her nerves flew into overdrive at the sight of him flicking on the monitor.

"Of course this wasn't a planned surprise," He half asked, half said, back to her as he punched a few states into the ultrasound machine.

"Not really, no," She acknowledged, "I mean, we weren't not trying. I don't think either of us expected this to happen."

He nodded, turning back to face her, "Things like this are without a doubt a miracle," He told her, watching her nod, and her smile grow that much brighter.

"Absolutely," She nodded, sucking in a hard breath when he picked up the wand, "David's not going to believe this," She said through a disbelieving laugh.

"How is he going to take this news?" Dr. Clader wondered, eyes meeting hers for a few seconds before he placed the wand against her abdomen.

"He's going to be thrilled," She told him, her smile finally spreading to fall watt, "He loves children and being a father is something he's always dreamed of."

Dr. Clader nodded, pressing the wand against her abdomen, "We'll lets make sure that we have a healthy baby for the two of you," He added, sliding the wand against the gel and her stomach as he searched for a heartbeat. "There we go," He said after a few seconds, the sound of the baby's heartbeat beginning to pump through the room, "Sounds very good."

Her eyes slid closed and she pushed a shaky breath through her lips, as the sound pulsed in her head. "Oh my god," She breathed softly, eyes drifting toward the screen that Dr. Clader had flicked on.

"If you look right here," He motioned to a spot near the center of the monitor, "this is your baby."

"So tiny," She whispered, in awe, "Is everything alright?" She asked quickly, fear easing into her voice as she studied the tiny image, who's heartbeat still pulsed through the room.

"I've got to take a few last measurements, but so far, everything seems absolutely perfect," He offered with a quick smile, "You're actually closer thirteen weeks," Dr. Clader said a few seconds later, after he'd finished taking measurements, "Size and weight look good. Heartbeat is strong and stable. I'd say you have a very healthy baby. Right here is the head…"

She nodded slowly, hardly hearing him, her mind and heart lost to the sight and sounds of her baby. She still wasn't sure how this was all possible or why she of all people had been granted such a miracle, but she was already thinking whoever it was up there that finally granted her the love and peace she'd been seeking her entire life.

To Be Continued