25th December 2014

Nobody could possibly imagine how much strain trying for a baby can put on a marriage until they're in the situation themselves. But if there was anytime of year that a miracle could happen. It was christmas.

"Tom, wakey wakey!" Sam shouted and Tom opened his eyes to see Shadow standing on top of his chest, wagging her tail with her ears down. She was almost 6 months old, and she was close to being a fully grown border collie already, so Tom gently pushed her off of him onto the mattress besides him and then made his way into the living room. It was Christmas Day morning and he found Sam kneeling down by the christmas tree, under which was a small pile of presents and there were two steaming cups of tea on the table. "Merry Christmas." Sam smiled as Tom knelt down in front of her, and Shadow came and joined them too. Tom was just in his shorts and an old shirt, whilst Sam was in a tight white vest top, and blue shorts with her hair in a messy bun.

"Merry Christmas. Though I didn't have you down as the wake up early on christmas morning kind of person, I thought that was me last year." Tom admitted.

"Well, maybe you should just expect the unexpected." Sam said cleverly and Tom looked at her in confusion.

"That's an odd thing to say."

"Well I'm an odd person." Sam shrugged. "Right, that's to keep you occupied." Sam stated as she picked up a small football that had been wrapped several times with lots of cellotape to make it harder to unwrap and then threw it onto the carpet. Shadow dived onto the mysterious item and began shredding with her teeth it so Sam turned back to the pile of presents under the tree.

They made their way through the stack of presents, just small gifts for each other whilst Shadow got a few packets of treats and a few other toys when Sam decided that there was no time like the present.

"Stay here, I'll be right back." Sam said as she got to her feet leaving Tom to play with shadow for a few moments before she returned with her hands behind her back. "I forgot one present for you, I must've left it in the bedroom." Sam said nervously as she handed him a plain, small yellow gift box.

"Oh, thank you." Tom smiled as he took the box and took the lid off, only he froze as he saw two white sticks with purple ends, both with a digital screen saying 'Pregnant'. Sam glanced between the sticks and Tom's face, hoping that it was the news he wanted when he suddenly put the box aside and pulled her into his arms. "This is fantastic!" He chuckled as he rubbed her back with his arms. "How far gone?"

"Four weeks. I only found out yesterday so it was kind of a last minute present." Sam admitted.

"This is unbelievable I just... Wow." He couldn't stop smiling as he rocked from side to side with Sam in his arms but they both jumped when they heard a bold bark, and they pulled apart to see Shadow sitting there - presumably feeling left out. "You're gonna have a little friend to play with soon girl." Tom said as he tickled her under the chin.

"So it's good news?" Sam asked.

"Of course it is, it's the best news I could've possibly wished for." Tom stated as he took her hands in his. "I love you so so much."

"We love you too." Sam smiled as she pulled his hands forward and placed them on her stomach through her white pyjama vest top. Tom chuckled as he felt her warm abdomen which he knew would soon be stretched and taunted to accommodate for their growing baby.

"So when can I go shouting from the rooftops about this?" Tom asked proudly.

"Not yet. I really want to tell Fletch, and maybe Zoe, but maybe not everyone else until I'm 8 or 10 weeks." Sam replied.

"What's wrong with her? Normally we can't get her to come when we ask and now she won't go away!" Tom laughed as he and Sam were taking Shadow for a nice long walk in the local park to wear her out for the day and to get some fresh air. And usually, she would be bounding around the park, chasing a tennis ball or playing with the other dogs, but oddly she was walking in between Sam and Tom as they held hands.

"Maybe it's because the grass is frosty and her feet are cold; she probably prefers the pathways." Sam suggested.

"Sam, she's a dog." Tom stated.

"Really? I thought she was a cat." Sam joked sarcastically. Try enjoyed their peaceful walk through the park with Shadow staying close by when the silence was interrupted.

"COME HERE NOW!" They heard a man shout and suddenly Sam and Tom saw a Great Dane come bounding through the park gate as the owner chased after the massive dog with it's lead in his hand. The dog was running around but the owner had no chance of catching it, when it caught eye of Sam, Tom and Shadow - the only other people in the park with a dog. Tom had no time to react as the dog came charging towards Sam causing her heart to beat ten to the dozen, however Shadow jumped in front of Sam, growled and showed her teeth off and the large dog came to an immediate holt before Shadow chased the dog off.

"Are you okay?" Tom asked worriedly.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." Sam couldn't help but smile in the tense situation as she watched Shadow herd the Great Dane so that the owner could get his lead on the beast. "She's a sheepdog, it's in her instincts." Sam smiled as Shadow came running back to Sam and then sat at her feet. "Good girl." Sam praised as she tickled her behind the ear.

"I am so sorry if he scared you. I just opened the boot of my car and he leapt out and ran away." The out of breath man apologised as he kept the massive dog on a tight leash.

"Well it's a good job our dog is better behaved. My wife is pregnant. What what've happened if your dog got near her?" Tom argued as he stood in front of Sam and Shadow. "If you dog had jumped on her, she wouldn't stand a chance with the size of that thing!"

"I'm sorry mate, there was nothing I could do." He apologised. Sam stood behind Tom, smiling as he defended her, but she was just proud of Shadow for being so good when finally Tom finished arguing after several minutes of bickering and the man with the Great Dane stormed off.

"Merry Christmas, by the way." Tom shouted sarcastically and Sam giggled.

"I think we should be heading home now." She suggested.

"Yep. Y'know it's not all bad having a mutt." Tom smirked as he stroked Shadow on the back as they walked back along the path.

"I think she knows I'm pregnant." Sam stated.

"What? She's a dog how could she-"

"Well think about it, she protected me, not you. And she's staying with us rather than running off. I've read about it online about dogs being protective of their owners when they were pregnant because they can sense changes in human behaviour and they can detect hormones." Sam explained.

"Prove it."

"Alright. You see where this path splits up into two up here?"

"Yeah."

"You go left, I'll go right and see where Shadow goes. Don't say anything to her or do anything differently, just carry on walking until we meet up at the gate and see who she follows." Sam ordered.

"Okay, fine."

Sam and Tom continued walking with Shadow in between them, until they split on the path and the dog didn't appear to give it a second thought as she clearly stuck with Sam.

"Told you." Sam said smugly as Tom jogged over the grass and continued walking with Sam again.

"He's let that bloody dog go again." Tom said angrily as he turned around to see the large dog leaping around with it's lead dragging behind it.

"It's alright, they're the other side of the park. Besides, I've got my little guard dog." Sam said proudly.

Sam and Tom were sitting watching the news on TV on the sofa, and Sam had her feet on his lap as he gave her a gentle foot rub which she always enjoyed - pregnant or not - when she decided that it was time to share her news.

"Why don't we skype Fletch and tell him that you're gonna be a daddy?" Sam suggested.

"Yeah, though I'm sure he's probably still clearing up the wrapping paper from the mess that his kids would've made." Tom smirked as he used the remote to set up skype on their smart TV. "You really want to skype, while I'm rubbing your feet?"

"Fine." Sam huffed as she got up and then leant on Tom as she sat right next to him with her knees bent and her feet besides her. "Come here Shadow." Sam said encouragingly and the dog jumped up and curled up besides Sam. "Good girl."

A few moment passed until Tom set it up, then he called Fletch and waited.

"Hello." Fletch announced his presence as he too was using skype on his TV so it was in the living room where he was playing with his youngest on the carpet.

"Merry Christmas!" Sam and Tom said simultaneously.

"Merry Christmas to you two too." Fletch replied cheerfully.

"Fletch have we got any spare triple a batteries?" Natalie asked as she came into the room holding a remote control car as Mikey stood eagerly to play his new toy.

"Er... Second draw on your right in the kitchen." Fletch replied and the two then disappeared again leaving Fletch bed his baby son in his lap on the screen.

"Fletch we've got something to tell you." Sam stated which caught his attention, before Sam nudged her husband.

"Sam's pregnant!" He smiled and Fletch broke into an even bigger smile.

"That's brilliant, congratulations!"

"It was quite the christmas present." Tom admitted.

"What? Did she give you the test?" Fletch asked.

"Yep." Sam nodded.

"That's what Nat did with Evie on my birthday." Fletch smiled at the memory. "So how far gone are you?" He asked curiously.

"Four weeks." Sam stated.

"Four weeks? Is that all?" He joked and Sam's mouth hit the floor.

"Fletch!"

"What? I was joking, you can't even tell that you're pregnant." He said reassuringly but he watched as Sam grabbed a cushion from the end of the sofa that she had been leaning on, and she hugged it over her abdomen. "Okay, that just makes it look worse." He smirked. "How's Shadow enjoying her first christmas?"

"She saved Sam from being rugby tackled by a dog at the park." Tom stated bluntly.

"Rugby tackled by a dog?" Fletch laughed.

"Yeah, it was a massive Great Dane." Sam moaned.

"Well those things are massive. I've always wanted a dog for the kids but it's like £500 for a healthy pup."

"Shadow was £650." Tom stated.

"But she was worth it." Sam pouted as she stroked the dog besides her.

"Of course she was." Tom rolled her eyes which caused Sam to elbow him and Fletch just laughed.

"You-" Fletch began before being interrupted.

"Dad! Dad! It's snowing, come look!"

"Mikey don't leave the back door open!" Fletch shouted. "Right, I'd better go because one snowflake falls and this house goes mad." He stated as he lifted his baby up and held him against his chest. "I don't know what you're smiling at Tom, you'll have to deal with this in a few years." Fletch stated as he stood up.

"Yeah, yeah. See you later."

"Bye." Sam gave a small wave before they disconnected and Tom turned the TV off. "Why did you turn it off? I thought we were going to watch the grinch when it comes on in about ten minutes." Sam stated after glancing at Tom's watch.

"But it's snowing!" Tom whined as they looked out to see the snow slowly falling diagonally because of the gentle winds before it landed on the grass in their back garden.

"How old are you?" Sam laughed. "Look, we'll watch the movie, and then you can go out in the snow. Then it might be settled enough to make a snowman or something."

"Pft. I'm not a ten year old I don't make snowman. I make snow forts." Tom stated and Sam rolled her eyes as she grabbed the TV switch and turned it back on.

"Can we pause it for a minute?" Sam asked halfway through the movie.

"Why?"

"Because I need the toilet, and I need to stretch my legs because there's been a big lump on them." Sam stated as she gently moved Shadow off of her and then stood up.

"Oh here we go. Soon we'll be stopping on the 15 minute journey to work at a petrol garage to use the toilet." Tom joked and Sam couldn't help but smile before she walked out of the room and to the bathroom. She soon returned only to find Shadow was curled up next to Tom in her spot.

"Did you put her there?" Sam huffed.

"No. She must've moved there because the seat was warm." Tom stated.

"Shadow, shift. " Sam ordered and Tom immediately realised that she was a bit grouchy because usually, she'd never move Shadow and she'd tell Tom off for doing so too. Reluctantly, the big puppy got up and plonked herself down on the carpet before she closed her eyes and drifted off again whilst Sam got back on the sofa and rested her head on her husband's shoulder.

"Would you like a back massage? Or a shoulder massage or a foot massage?" Tom asked kindly as he waited to press play to continue the christmas film.

"No, but thanks. Maybe later." Sam replied as she held on to his arm and then focused on the TV.

"I bet you can't guess who the grinch reminds me of?" Tom whispered.

"Me on a good day?" Sam joked halfheartedly.

"No."

"Louise?"

"No."

"Lily?"

"And you got there eventually." Tom concluded before he pressed the play button.

Sam was stood inside by the back door, hugging a mug of hot chocolate whilst she watched Tom and a Shadow out in the snow - though she didn't know who was more entertaining. It was Shadow's first time in the snow, and so she had ran out and began rubbing her face in the snow as she kept on rolling over and then standing up and shaking the snow off of her. And Tom was busy trying to build a 'fort', however Sam couldn't help but giggle every time a part of his one foot pile of snow collapsed. She wasn't staying inside because she was pregnant, because she knew if she wrapped up, no harm would be done to her unborn child. She was staying inside because she wasn't as immature as Tom, and she didn't really care about a bit of snow that was only a couple of inches deep. Besides, she knew Tom would only throw snowballs at her anyway.

"C'mon you spoilsport!" Tom moaned and Sam could hear him through the glass doors.

"Play with Shadow." Sam shouted but her smile disappeared soon as she realised that he was making a snowball to throw at her puppy. "Tom don't!" Sam said sternly as she opened the door just a fraction so he could definitely hear her.

"What's she going to do?" Tom smirked before he threw the ball of snow at the dog, only she tried to bite it and ended up crunching some of the snow in her mouth before she hit her nose with her paw repeatedly.

"Tom she's probably got a cold nose now." Sam whined.

"Sam, she's a dog." Tom laughed.

"Shadow come." Sam called and immediately the dog ran in the door that her owner had opened for her, before Sam closed the door and grabbed Shadow's towel that had cartoon dog bones on it. "Let's dry you off and warm you up eh?" Sam said softly as she got down on her knees and began to rub the towel on her dog's fur.

10pm

After a long Christmas Day, the Kent Family were all tucked up in bed. Tom was at the edge of the bed, and he had Sam in his arms. Whilst in front of Sam was Shadow as they had decided that at almost 6 months old, Shadow was allowed to sleep on their bed because she was toilet trained and rarely had accidents.

"I still don't feel pregnant... Like, it hasn't sunk in because I don't feel any different." Sam explained sleepily whilst Tom stroked her hair.

"It will do in a few weeks, I'm sure." Tom stated. "But I think it is making you a little bit more tired because you're never normally this exhausted at 10 o'clock." He added. "However, no matter what you feel or go through, it's all because your body is creating a new life. And using only what you have in your body, you are giving me a son or daughter and I can't tell you how much you mean to me." Tom explained quietly. "What's so funny?" He asked confusedly as he saw her smirk.

"It's just that... When I realised that I was late yesterday, and I took a test... I didn't know what to do, and I was scared." She admitted. "Well, I still am scared." She corrected shakily.

"Oh Sam, of course you're scared." Tom said softly as he wrapped his arms around her a little tighter. "It's perfectly normal to be scared. But we're going to go through this together okay? I know I can't be the pregnant one and I can't go through what you're going to go through, but I'm going to be with you every step of the way. I promise." Tom said reassuringly. "Besides, you'll never be able to compete with Shadow on the toilet front. She can hold it for hours, and then she'll pee about 10 times in 2 minutes." Tom joked and Sam smiled to herself as she slowly blinked - tiredness was overcoming her sooner rather than later. "I want you to know that you can talk to me about anything okay? Even if it's a silly little worry that you think is nothing, I'm all ears. Or if you get heartburn, headaches, nausea etc then I'm right here for you."

"I know. I trust you." Sam mumbled.

"Was that said just to shut me up so that you can get to sleep?" Tom asked.

"Maybe." Sam replied sheepishly as she twisted her lips whilst she kept her eyes closed.

"Okay. Night night. And merry christmas." Tom whispered as he pecked Sam on the cheek, turned the light off and then closed his eyes before he drifted off into a deep sleep.

Coming up: Morning sickness occurs and Sam and Tom's central heating breaks down in the middle of one of Britain's coldest winters.

Thanks for reading, please review :)