It was hard, leaving on Sunday night. I didn't want to, but I knew I had to get back if I was going to maintain any sense of privacy for us. Already I'd fielded calls from Percy and Loretta on my whereabouts over the weekend. I hadn't realized how much we all were in each other's business until now and it amused me to think how like a family we genuinely were.

Still, I understood Simone's wish for a little privacy, especially considering how delicate matters still were for us. She came and hugged me, both of us leaning against the car in the twilight.

"Oh! I have an intake appointment at the Magnolia street clinic on Wednesday. Mostly paperwork I think although there may be bloodwork too. Can I call you if they need your info?"

"I'd rather be there," I told her quietly. "What time's the appointment?"

"Two," Simone told me, running her hand through my bangs. "But if you're busy, it's all right. I know how the job gets."

"For this I'll make time," I assured her, studying her face. "Sweetheart, are you . . . okay?"

Simone didn't answer right away, which made me a little anxious, but finally murmured, "I will be. This weekend . . . it's been a long time since I've had someone else around for more than a few hours. I'm not as social as you are, Dwayne. I'm more like one of my feral cats, you know? I still feel shy and a little awkward, even around you sometimes."

I was touched by that, and cuddled her a little closer. She'd hit on a truth about herself and we both knew it. Part of Simone's charm for me was her little cat solitary nature. "It's all right. Gotta admit this weekend was pretty intense for both of us. But it was also damned amazing and I'm looking forward to coming back in five days, if you'll let me."

She gave me that sweet smile of hers; the one with the dimples and soft eyes. "You have to— you told me we're going Thanksgiving shopping."

"Oh yeah. We'll fill at least two carts to the brim. Maybe three," I enthused, kissing her nose. "Nobody leaves my dinner hungry. Nobody."

"May I bring something?"

"Of course," I agreed. "What are you thinking of?"

Simone chuckled. "A surprise. But a good one."

We kissed goodbye and I drove off, wondering what she was going to bring.

-oo00oo—

We wrapped up the case involving the sex shop; something the higher-ups were glad to see closed, and found ourselves being called in for a case at the Navy biodynamic lab where a lieutenant had gone missing along with a set of schematics for a re-breather the military had been working on. Espionage was likely but we needed to check out all possibilities for our missing person, so I sent LaSalle to check out her home and had Gregorio check out the divers and their part of the lab.

Me, I spent part of the time they were out going over annual review paperwork, trying to strike a fair balance between the three of them. It was tough; I didn't want to hold any of them back, but I also knew each of them needed a little more experience and support before they could move on up. Sometimes it's hard to be the person making the call about those sorts of issues. I'd been putting it off, but now seemed as good a time as any, and if I timed it right, everyone might get a bonus by Christmas.

My appointment reminder went off as Percy finished briefing me on the lab; I checked it and told her I had an errand to run. Sonja gave me that look of deep suspicion she does so well.

"An errand. Couldn't get it done over the weekend?" she asked sweetly.

"No, not really. I'll be back as soon as I can," I replied, moving past her. "Hold down the fort for me, if you please."

"All right, but it better be Thanksgiving related," she grumbled. "Something to make up for my trouble."

"It is," I lied. "Completely. Be good."

She arched an eyebrow at that and I left, snickering to myself. Sonja Percy was in many ways a second sassy daughter and at least I knew how to deal with her most of the time.

The clinic on Magnolia Street wasn't far and I managed to make the appointment with a few minutes to spare. Soft pastel décor, several women in various stages of pregnancy around including one who looked like she was smuggling a thirty pound turkey under her shirt. I found Simone in a corner, busily typing into a loaner iPad; she smiled up at me when I headed her way.

"Blood type?" she asked me. "Thank you for being here. I really appreciate it."

I told her my type and added, "looks like they know what they're doing."

"This place has a solid reputation," she agreed and handed me the iPad. "I did my section; this one is yours, Dwayne. If you make it through these questions I will do all the Thanksgiving dishes myself."

"So they're either really tough questions or you're a glutton for punishment."

"You'll see which," Simone replied, sighing.

I glanced at the first one and then back up at her. "What does the age I lost my virginity at have to do with our purpose here?" I felt my face go red and quick memories of Callie Johnson flickered through my guilty mind. We'd both been fifteen year olds with too many hormones and too much free time that summer oh those many decades ago. If her mother had found out she'd have killed me if my own mother didn't first.

"Probably as a gauge for how much experience you have," Simone murmured. "I'm definitely an underachiever."

"Quality, not quantity," I mumbled, looking over the rest of the questions with a vague sense of alarm. General health questions gave way to more specific ones about STDs, sexual practices and lifestyles. I was tempted to scroll backwards and see Simone's answers but suspected I'd find out soon enough. I glanced up to see Simone eyeing me, right on the verge of a giggle.

"You look so uncomfortable right now," she told me. "Second thoughts?"

"Not about us," I assured her. "Just not expecting to roll out my uh, romantic history like this."

"Need more time?" she teased, and I made a face at her before getting back to the questionnaire.

I ploughed through it, dutifully answering questions about hygiene, proclivities and current situation, feeling by turns blasé and perturbed. The net result was that I was a bit on edge by the time Simone's name was called. We both stood up and followed a nurse down a hall where she ushered us into an exam room in soothing pastels and took the iPad, promising that the doctor would be with us shortly.

"Nervous?" I asked Simone, coming over to very lightly rub her shoulders. She relaxed a little and rolled her head from side to side.

"A little. Usually I'm good under pressure, but this is all new to me."

I looked at the feminine décor and nodded. "Yeah, we're a long way from the morgue."

Someone knocked and entered; a petite African-American woman with dreads and a tablet. She had on big chunky green earrings and a broad smile as she looked us over. "So you are Simone and Dwayne?"

I wanted to reply but this was Simone's appointment so I stayed quiet as she spoke up. "Yes, that's us. And you're Doctor Petrowski?"

"Ashante Petrowski, yes," she agreed, holding out a hand first to Simone and then to me. Good grip. "I tend to go on a first-name basis since we're going to get to know each other well. So, I've glanced over your questionnaires and there are a few things we need to talk about of course, but first off, you need to know that this pregnancy will be a slightly higher risk than the average, mostly due to your age. I say slightly because statistically it is, but you're in good health and good shape so personally I don't expect any complications per se."

I felt relieved until Doctor Petrowski—Ashante—looked at me and gave a little frown. "So we're going to need some specimens from you, Mr. Pride—blood, urine, semen."

I gulped a little. "Right now?"

This wasn't quite what I was expecting but it made sense, even as it embarrassed me.

"The blood definitely, and urine if your bladder's full at the moment," she shrugged. "As for the semen, we do have home kits but we'd like an initial sample for base comparison—you can arrange an appointment with Joe at the front desk. Since you've already fathered one child I don't expect any problems unless you've gotten a vasectomy or a bad case of the mumps since then."

"Nope to both," I murmured. Home tests sounded like a lot better deal to be honest. Simone took my hand and squeezed it, which I appreciated.

"Good!" Ashante beamed. "All right then, let's talk about what to get started before you sweeties two get busy."

Forty minutes later we were heading out with handouts on nutrition, stress reduction, genetic screening and a potential timetable, both of us with gauze and tape on the crooks of our elbows. Simone looked pale but happy, her green eyes bright as we stepped out onto the street. She waited until we were at her car before turning to me, holding my gaze with hers.

"Scared off yet?"

I took her hand, letting her warmth seep against my fingers. "Nope. I have the easy part, really. The downright fun part if we're being honest here."

"Oh it's fun for me too," Simone pointed out. "A lot more so than a clinical visit with a medical version of a turkey baster."

I shook my head, laughing. "That is just SO wrong. Now I won't be able to use one this Thanksgiving without terrible images in my head."

"I'm betting MY images are worse," Simone replied, shuddering. She glanced at the papers in her hand, re-arranging them before she spoke again. "It's . . . a lot. I'm glad they're thorough, but-"

"But it's better to start out with support and monitoring I guess." I checked my watch. "Gotta get back to work, but I'd like to stop by tonight if that's all right with you. I've got something for the back yard."

She nodded and we parted ways after I kissed her. Once I got to my car, I sighed, glancing down at the paper with the instructions and appointment time for my date with a sample cup.

Simple directions, starting with: Do not have sex or masturbate for at least three days prior to your appointment.

The only problem was that the earliest date I could get was right before Thanksgiving . . . . eight days from now.

Eight days without sex. I scowled.

I could do it, but I sure as hell wouldn't like it.