Thanks to FF user SOLYAHU for inspiring some of this chapter!

Darcy was still in shock for a few more seconds before finally coming back to reality. He acknowledged Lizzie's tears and wanted to comfort her.

"Gigi... Lydia? Would you girls mind leaving Lizzie and I alone for a little bit?"

The girls exited the room quickly and quietly; heading down to the living room to talk about what had just occurred.

"Whoa...", was all Lydia could say.

"We're going to be aunts!", Gigi said excitedly, the shock subsiding and the happiness bubbling.

Meanwhile, back in Lizzie's room, Darcy had made his way over to Lizzie and just hugged her tight. Neither said anything for a few minutes. But it was Lizzie that broke the silence.

"I have no idea how this happened! Honestly!"

"Whoa, Lizzie, nobody is blaming you! There's always risks with sex, even if you use protection. I guess the condom tore or something that night back at your place. Because you can't possibly be pregnant from our recent time together, can you?"

"No, you're right. It had to be that night... I can't believe this!"

"Neither of us was expecting this, but now there's nothing we can do about it. We're both adults and financial stability isn't an issue. There's no reason why we shouldn't raise this baby.", Darcy said with more confidence than he felt. He was trying to put Lizzie at ease.

"Yeah, you're right. We have to accept our responsibilities. There's no reason why this kid shouldn't grow up happy.", Lizzie agreed. The fact that Darcy was rich put her at ease big time. Not that it was something she looked for in the father of her children, but she did have a sense of relief that the kid would never be lacking in the most basic of necessities.

"I'm going to call my trusted manager of house staff, Mrs. Reynolds. You didn't meet her last time because I give her weekends off. I can trust her with this very sensitive information. She'll arrange a doctor's appointment ASAP."

"Thanks, William. I'm still not used to the fact that I'm pregnant... but it feels good to know that I'm not alone."

"How could you possibly think I wouldn't be involved? That baby is half Darcy, too. And what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't stick around?", he joked. He knew he should be taking this more seriously, but right now he was just glad Lizzie had stopped crying.

Lizzie smiled and then went in for another hug.

Lizzie and Darcy made their way downstairs, hand in hand. Gigi and Lydia were relieved to see that things were still good between them.

"Gigi, would you mind entertaining Lydia for a couple of hours? Lizzie and I are going to go get her checked out to make sure everything is alright."

Gigi nodded yes and she and Lydia watched as the couple left the house together.

Lizzie had blood drawn and was laying on a cot, awaiting the ultrasound technician. She and Darcy were arguing about Lizzie paying half of whatever this was costing him, when in walked the lady.

"Are you ready for your ultrasound?"

Lizzie nodded yes and then looked over at Darcy. He closed the space between them in a couple of strides and held her hand.

Lizzie shivered when the lady squirted the ultrasound gel on her belly.

"Sorry about that! It's kind of cold sometimes."

Next, she began running the sensor on Lizzie's belly while looking at the screen. Lizzie and Darcy looked at the screen too but didn't know what they were supposed to be looking for.

"Aha! Here we are! Almost couldn't see it. That little bean-shaped creature right there is your baby."

Darcy and Lizzie were very matter-of-fact about the baby before, speaking about it as it if we're an abstract idea. But now there was concrete proof that it existed. The fact that that little spot would grow into a full-blown baby inside of Lizzie's womb, overwhelmed both parents. Lizzie teared up and Darcy squeezed her hand a little tighter. Their uncertainty dissipated and they began to accept the inevitable arrival of their unborn child.

The lady turned a knob on the machine and then moved the sensor around some more. "And this, folks, is your baby's heart beat. Judging by the beat and the size, I'd say your about nine weeks along, give or take a few days."

Lizzie thought that the sound of their baby's heartbeat was the most beautiful sound she had ever heard.

"Is it supposed to sound like that?", Darcy asked with concern.

"Yes. That's perfectly normal. Their heartbeats are really rapid early on.", the lady replied smiling. "Would you like a snapshot of the baby?"

Both Lizzie and Darcy said "Yes, please!" at the same time and then laughed.

As they waited for the pictures, a nurse walked in and announced that Lizzie's blood work revealed everything was fine and that all hormone levels were within range for her stage of pregnancy. "You're doing perfectly fine so far. Unfortunately, there's still a chance of a miscarriage. The risk is much less likely after you've entered your second trimester, which will be after you've reached three months. According to the size of your baby, you're about nine weeks. So in another 3-4 weeks you'll be in the clear. We've scheduled you for another appointment at that time."

"Can I work until then? I sit at a desk. There's very minimal exercise.", Lizzie asked, wondering if the baby would push back her independent study and in turn, her graduation.

"Yes. Go about your life as you normally would. Just be a little more careful. Take prenatal vitamins. Don't do extreme exercise and don't put yourself at risk of falling. Things like that. Your baby is doing fine and there's no need to put you on bed rest."

"Oh okay.", Lizzie said with relief. She wanted to at least have her degree before she gave birth.

Darcy cleared his throat and asked, "And the gender of the baby? When can we find out?".

"Probably a couple weeks after your next visit. We have to give the baby time to develop its organs in order to be sure. Any more questions before we finish up here?"

The couple said no and thanked the nurse.

They drove home in silence, each preoccupied with their own thoughts of what the future held for them. Lizzie kept staring at the ultrasound snapshot and was overjoyed. She couldn't believe that a few hours ago she had been sad at the fact that she was carrying a baby inside her. Darcy's thoughts weren't too different. He was excited- scared out of his mind- but excited.

When they arrived at Darcy's, he turned off the car and turned to Lizzie. He grabbed her hands and said, "I know this isn't how you pictured having your first child and trust me, I never even considered a scenario such as ours, but we're going to be parents. And I know we don't know each as well as we should, but I just want to say that I don't regret this. I think we're going to work out just fine."

Lizzie smiled and then leaned in to kiss Darcy. It was meant to be a sweet kiss to convey thanks and reassurance, but it quickly evolved into something much more passionate. This passion, however, was not fueled by Lizzie's erratic libido. It was fueled by Darcy and Lizzie's repressed feelings for one another. Neither wanted to say the L-word because of the fact that their relationship was new and they really didn't know much about each other. But the baby would bring its parents closer in the seven months left until it became the center of their worlds.

After a while, they stopped, and Darcy helped Lizzie out of the car. "Let's go show Lydia and Gigi their niece or nephew.", Lizzie said as Darcy opened the front door for her.

Later that night, Lydia climbed into bed with Lizzie. She was still going to stay in the room Darcy had given her.

"Sis, why are you still in here? I thought you were gonna go stay with Darceface? Actually, I would think you'd be packing up your stuff that we have at the house you're sitting for so you can come stay over here..."

"No. I'd rather not... We just started dating. I mean sure, I'm pregnant with his kid, but this bun is staying the oven for another seven months and I don't wan to make any rash decisions..."

"Hmm. Okay, I guess. But if it were me, I'd be cuddling up with my rich baby-daddy right about now..."

Lizzie hit Lydia with a pillow playfully.

"Fine, fine I give up, Lizzie... So umm... when are you planning on telling people? Jane and Charlotte... and our parents?!

"Ughhh... don't remind me! I wonder what they're going to think of me..."

"Well, we're your family so were gonna support you no matter what. I already know mom will be ecstatic..."

Lizzie groaned and just imagined having these conversations with her family.

Darcy was also having a sibling interrogation in his bedroom. Gigi and Lydia seemed to have planned their conversations.

"So, big brother... why is Lizzie not in here. It's none of my business but I was just wondering...".

"Gigi, you aren't subtle at all.", he chuckled. "But to answer your question: because she and I are taking things slowly."

"Ugh! There's not much worse that could happen..." and then she added under her breath, "...she's already pregnant...".

"Gigi!"

"What? It's true!"

Their conversation ended up like Lizzie and Lydia's and Gigi went off to bed unsatisfied.

The next day was Sunday and Lizzie woke up super early; she couldn't sleep. It seems Darcy also had trouble sleeping because it was 4:30am and they bumped into each other in the kitchen.

"What are you doing up so early?", they both asked simultaneously and started laughing.

"Well, I don't know about you, but with news this big, I couldn't help but think about it all night. All I could think about is this baby and then Lydia brought something up earlier that had me thinking..."

"What is it?"

"Well, Will, we've got to tell my parents! I mean, I'd rather tell them now instead of later when I can't hide it anymore. I don't know how everyone is going to react but I need to get it out of the way soon. Maybe we can make a trip to my parent's house next weekend?"

"Yeah, you're right. That sounds like a plan. And I don't know how I'm going to explain this to Bing and Fitz...maybe during work this week...".

"And I to Charlotte and Jane...".

"Don't worry, baby. We have amazing people in our lives, so I'm sure they'll come around eventually."

"Did he just call me baby?", Lizzie thought as her face betrayed her and she smiled a huge smile.

Lizzie didn't want to make a big deal about it, since that was something perfectly normal between boyfriends and girlfriends and he would probably get embarrassed that she called him out on it.

"Yeah, you're right... babe.", Lizzie said as she closed the gap between them and began playing with the rope of his untied silk sleeping robe.

Darcy put his hands on her waist and slowly moved them underneath her tank top and to her lower belly, where their baby was growing.

Darcy kissed Lizzie and she reciprocated eagerly. They eventually made it from the kitchen to Darcy's bed, where they made love as gently as their desire would allow (at Darcy's insistence, for he didn't want to hurt the baby) with slow motions and pleasant caresses. They enjoyed the fact that contraception is no longer a necessity and slept skin-to-skin and cuddled in each others arms, like the night that their child was conceived. Gigi and Lydia got their wish after all.