6th May 2013. So the last chapter was essentially another negative result. Poor Lauren and Joey! So we're now at month seven or July to you and me... is this going to be the month?

Chapter 40.

July.

Lauren was miserable. She'd even stopped drawing... not finding any peace from it anymore. She wasn't stressed about getting pregnant now. She was well past that point. She'd given up all hope. Joey was just as despondent although he tried to hide it from her, not wanting to make her feel even worse than she already did.

Alice and Lesley had gone away on holiday for two weeks and it left Joey and Lauren alone together. They were supposed to be taking advantage of their time alone but as it turned out, the reverse had happened. They barely did more than kiss. Both of them were frustrated. "I'm just going to pop out for a little while." Joey said, kissing Lauren on the forehead as she lay in bed. "I'll be back soon."

*JL*JL*

Joey opened the door to the house about an hour later, "Lauren?" he called. He got no reply. He walked up the stairs to their room and pushed open the door. She was still lying in the bed. "Baby girl..." he whispered as he lay on the bed beside her, reaching for her.

"Don't..." she breathed and Joey froze.

"What?"

"Don't call me that..."

"Lauren..." She said nothing and he reached for her face, turning it towards him. There were tears on her cheeks and he brushed them away tenderly.

"I've let you down." She said, closing her eyes, forcing more tears to fall from them.

"Never." He told her gently. He kissed her softly but she pulled away from him. "Maybe it's time we go back to the doctor." He said quietly.

"So you think I'm a failure too..." she whispered in accusation, devastation written across her face.

"It might be me..." he said, hoping to hell it wasn't his fault or either of their fault really. He sat up on the bed and then stood up, pulling her out of the bed. "Come on, I've got a surprise for you downstairs." He told her. He led her out of the room and down the stairs. He opened the lounge door and held it open for her.

"Laur!" Oscar said as he looked at his sister, a huge smile on his face.

"Little man..." she said, rushing over to him and hugging him tightly. Her emotions overwhelmed her quickly.

"Joey came and collected me. And I'm not even sposed to see you this weekend." Oscar said in excitement. "Did you like our surprise?" he asked her.

"Very much, little man." She murmured, meeting Joey's eyes and staring at him. She hoped he knew how much this meant to her. "What do you want to do today?" she asked her brother.

"Can we watch some movies?" he asked. "And have popcorn and fizzy drinks?" Both things her parents would probably say no to.

"I think we can manage that, eh?" Joey said, sweeping him up into the air and hearing the giggles erupting from the seven year old.

"What films do you want to watch?" Lauren asked once Oscar was back on the ground.

"I brought some with me..." he laughed.

"And I brought popcorn and food for us to eat." Joey added. He nudged Lauren towards the couch and then placed her brother on her lap. "I'll be back in a few minutes." He said, kissing her forehead. He returned and found the brother and sister curled up on the couch, a blanket draped over the two of them. "Here you go, guys." He said, sitting beside Lauren and passing her the popcorn. A DVD was warming up in the player and soon the movie began, Joey pulling Lauren against his body. They were going to be okay.

*JL*JL*

That night Lauren lay in Joey's arms in bed. "Thanks for bringing Oscar over. I hadn't realised how much I needed to see him."

"I hoped seeing him would make you feel a little better."

They were both quiet for a few minutes. "We'll get through this, won't we, Joe?" she whispered.

"Of course we will, babe." He told her, brushing his lips against her forehead.

*JL*JL*

It was three days before they were able to see the doctor and it was three days filled with tension between the couple. Lauren had snapped at Joey several times, a row breaking out which ended with Lauren in tears and Joey comforting her. By Wednesday Lauren was barely speaking and they both sat in the waiting room in a tense silence.

"Lauren," the doctor greeted her with a smile. "And you must be the husband?"

"Joey," he told her, shaking her hand, then taking a seat next to Lauren in the doctor's office.

"I understand you're still having problems, Lauren?" she asked her softly.

Lauren nodded, tears flooding her eyes immediately. "I put on the weight like you told me to. And we tried to not get stressed about it but in the last month it's been difficult not to." She looked down at her lap, "I know it's my fault..."

"Don't say that, Lauren." Joey said, placing his hand on her knee and squeezing her leg. The term of endearment he usually used was temporarily banned from his vocabulary.

"Okay, well I'd like to start by examining you again, Lauren." The doctor said. "Why don't you go and get ready and Joey and I will stay here. Let me know when you're done and I'll come through."

Lauren went and got herself ready, much as she'd done the last time she was here. She was feeling even more nervous today than she'd been then and she wondered what the next few minutes would mean for her relationship with Joey. "I'm ready." She said softly, lying tensely on the bed.

The doctor appeared and began her examination. "Relax, Lauren." She said, feeling the tension in her young patient. Her words didn't help and there was no way she was going to be able to examine her. "Would you be able to relax more if Joey was with you?" she asked softly. Lauren nodded, only slightly hesitant with her response. The doctor looked back out into the main office. "Joey?" she said softly and he walked into the curtained off area, taking position by Lauren's head. She could see him lean down and begin to talk softly to his wife and after a couple of minutes Lauren had relaxed enough for her to try again. The examination didn't take very long at all, "Lauren, I'd just like to do one more thing before we finish. Is that okay?" she asked. Lauren nodded, a slight frown appearing on her face.

Lauren gasped when the doctor returned and she clutched Joey's hand. "Is everything okay?" she asked worriedly.

"Everything is fine, Lauren. This is a vaginal ultrasound machine. It will enable me to get a better view of your uterus and ovaries. It won't hurt, in fact it should be less painful than the examination I've just done. Are you okay for me to do this? It will just give me a chance to see everything a little better and check things more certainly," she asked.

"You're sure there's nothing wrong?"

"I would tell you if there was anything you needed to worry about."

Lauren glanced at Joey and the doctor saw him brush her hair back from her face and behind her ear, "Okay." Lauren looked at Joey, wincing only slightly as the doctor inserted the probe into her.

The doctor looked at the screen closely then glanced up at the young couple. "Would you like to see?" she asked gently. She didn't wait for the answer and turned the screen towards them.

"What are you showing us?" Lauren asked, staring at the screen blankly.

"I thought you would like to see your child for the first time..." the doctor told them with a small smile.

"What?" Lauren gasped.

"I'd estimate you're about seven or eight weeks pregnant, Lauren." She pointed at the screen, a small blurry blob in the corner of the screen. "That, there, is your baby."

"I'm pregnant?" she whispered, tears forming once more in her eyes, although this time they were happy tears.

"Yes, you are." The doctor confirmed.

"But I did a pregnancy test... in fact I've done two in the last couple of months and they were both negative."

"You can get false negative results." She told them both.

"I'm really having a baby?" Lauren asked, surprise still in her voice.

"Yes, we are, baby girl." Joey said to her gently, his own tears forming in his eyes. He bent down and kissed her softly.

The doctor cleared away the ultrasound machine and left Lauren to redress. The pair soon walked back out into the main area of her office and she could see they were both clearly still in shock but much happier than when they'd first entered her office. "Now, Lauren, you need to tell your consultant about this. He will want to increase the frequency of the tests on your heart now you're pregnant."

"Oh god..." Lauren whispered. "I had my routine check up last month. I didn't know I was pregnant and they did tests you shouldn't have if you're pregnant. What have I done?" Her joy disappeared in an instant to be replaced by horror.

"Well there doesn't appear to be any problems with the embryo on the scan we just did. It is something we will keep an eye on. I'll speak to your consultant as well and discuss it with him and find out exactly what tests you had done. I'd like to continue seeing you throughout your pregnancy, if it's alright with you, Lauren."

"Please... I'd really like that too." Lauren said.

"I'm so pleased I was able to give you both some good news... quite often with my job I only ever get to be the bearer of bad news."

"Is there anything we need to be aware of? Could there be problems?" Joey asked.

"The first trimester is always the time when things are most likely to go wrong with a pregnancy. Most parents don't tell their immediate family or friends until they're through this time but it's completely down to you both what you choose to do."

"And you think I'm seven or eight weeks pregnant?" Lauren asked.

"That would be my guess but I can do a more accurate dating next time I see you." She flicked through the diary on her desk and found an opening for five weeks time. "Are you able to come and see me on 12th August? I can see you at 11am. We'll do another scan at that time. A normal ultrasound this time, so you'll need to make sure you've drunk plenty of fluids. The reception will be able to give you the information you need about the ultrasound when you leave."

"The 12th will be fine," Joey said quickly.

"I look forward to seeing you both then." She said, already knowing that both would be at the next appointment.

*JL*JL*

"I can't believe it, Joe." Lauren whispered as they walked to the bus stop.

Joey pulled her to a stop and turned her so she was facing him. His hands cupped both of her cheeks and he kissed her deeply, "You've made me the happiest person ever, baby girl." He kissed her quickly. "I take it it's okay for me to call you that again now?" She nodded, her cheeks flushed and she had a huge smile on her face.

"Do you think it would be okay to not tell anyone until we're past the first trimester?"

"I'd like that. I want it to just be us for a little while longer. Just the three of us." He whispered the last sentence.

"Oh Joey... it's finally happening." She whispered, tears falling down her face.

"Let's get you home. I've got to take care of you both now... and that starts today."

TBC

A/N: And that is the last chapter for the day... I think seven updates in one day is a record for me... although a lot of them were pretty short. Please continue to review, your comments mean a great deal to me. Also, thanks to everyone for the reviews today. Back tomorrow...

Off to sort out the final part of "Misery Loves Company". :-)