Summary: Now that Lea is pregnant, her OB tells her what will need to happen next. Set a week after "Broken or Not".

Lea read over the piece of paper Dr. Ferguson handed her after informing her that the CT would need to be postponed. She skimmed her name, date of birth, patient number, and other information only to notice the word "progesterone" on the lab report.

"What does this mean?" Lea asked the pathologist rhetorically, although she could guess that the amount of reported progesterone on her lab report meant that she was expecting.

"You're pregnant," transmitted Dr. Ferguson candidly before turning her back to walk away.

"Whoa, hold on," Lea giggled softly and apprehensively, denying the results on the paper as she lifted herself off the bed and then chased after Dr. Ferguson out of the CT room. "There has to be some sort of mistake. My OB said that the chances of me conceiving were low."

"I'm sorry, blood doesn't lie," sighed Dr. Ferguson. "Congratulations, I guess."

But this didn't feel like a happy, joyous congratulations.

Although Lea's hand turned out to be okay, they had something bigger they needed to worry about.

Shaun and Lea canceled their plans to buy the house once they learned they were (hopefully) going to have a baby and decided to save their money on their child. They hadn't told anyone about the pregnancy, not even Jordan or Dr. Glassman, but Lim and Andrews suspected something was up when Shaun informed them he would need to accompany Lea to doctor's appointments for a while.

Shaun squeezed Lea's hand as she was reclined on the exam table with her legs sprawled open and a sheet covering her waist. Dr. Winkler was performing a transvaginal ultrasound to see how far along she was in her pregnancy.

Thankfully, the morning sickness hasn't started yet.

"So, you decided you're going to continue the pregnancy?" ensured Dr. Winkler as she gently moved the wand around inside Lea after asking her and Shaun a plethora of questions.

"Yes," confirmed Lea, clasping Shaun's hand a bit tighter.

Dr. Winkler smiled at the nervous couple as she scanned Lea's uterus and typed on the keyboard near the monitor, where the screen displayed a black and white image with a small speck within the uterus. Once the image was visible, a faint whooshing noise filled the room.

Still holding Lea's hand, Shaun's eyes were intensely fixed on the screen, analyzing every single detail, looking for any possible abnormality. Lea just stared at the tiny bean within the mass on the screen, dreading the possibility she might lose this pregnancy.

"There is cardiac activity," observed Shaun.

"Yes, there is," nodded Dr. Winkler as she studied the screen and described what was going on.

"The embryo looks like it is six weeks," analyzed Shaun. "Which doesn't make sense because she said her last period was November 16th. Again, your menstrual period was implantation bleeding."

"He is right," concurred Dr. Winkler. "You said your last period was November 16th, right?"

"Yes," nodded Lea, staring up at the ceiling. "But it was kind of lighter than the one before."

"When was that one?" Dr. Winkler asked.

Lea scrunched up her face as she tried to remember, counting back some dates and remembering it was a week before Halloween. "October 25th, I think."

Dr. Winkler kept her eyes on the monitor as she did some mental calculations.

"Well, by my estimation, October 25th was your last period," calculated Dr. Winkler. "And Shaun is right. Your last period was likely implantation bleeding."

Lea felt so foolish. The bleeding she experienced before she learned she was pregnant - light rust, mostly spotting, lasted one day - was similar to the bleeding she experienced right before her awareness of her previous pregnancy. She mistook implantation bleeding for her period the first time, but she felt like she should have connected the dots this time.

"The embryo appears to be developing very well," analyzed Dr. Winkler. "The embryo is about 0.15 inches long 0.04 ounces. Early November is the most possible conception. And given my estimations and the development of the embryo, you are six weeks pregnant and are due on the first day of August. Congratulations," said Dr. Winkler hesitantly.

Within the gray area, Shaun looked at the adhesions and the tiny amniotic sac in Lea's uterus, finding both the embryo and the yolk sack. Unlike the last time he and Lea had their first ultrasound, he didn't want to bond with the baby yet. When he looked at the speck, the only thing he could think about was the possibility that they would lose this one, too.

Lea sighed, aware that her chances of losing this pregnancy were high and that this pregnancy wasn't going to align with her expectations of how she dreamed it would go before learning of her Asherman diagnosis.

Every moment since they learned about the pregnancy, Lea would go to the bathroom to make sure she wasn't bleeding, and Shaun would ask her every hour if she had any bleeding that looked like it was more than spotting. So far, spotting was the only bleeding she had; it was nerve-wracking for her.

"What happens now?" Lea sighed, holding Shaun's hand tightly and looking away from the screen as she was afraid to get too attached to this baby.

"You're going to need to be monitored very closely throughout the pregnancy. Your Asherman's is between mild and moderate, which makes your chance of miscarrying at 40% since it hasn't been treated," explained Dr. Winkler as she removed the probe and her gloves, disposing of them into the trash. "You may be able to carry to term, but if the pregnancy is successful, it will likely be a premature birth. And it's possible that you might need to deliver via c-section because of your prior surgery. It's not ideal, but for now, our primary priority is to at least get you to 24 weeks when the fetus reaches viability outside the womb."

Lea nodded understandingly, disappointed that her pregnancy would be high-risk and also possibly having a baby spend months in the NICU; terrified of the worst-case scenario.

As she sat herself up, Shaun, still in his navy blue scrubs, placed his hand over her shoulder and lightly squeezed it.

"I will monitor the fetal heart rate daily," Shaun reassured with a tone that sat somewhere between confident and dubious. "Whatever happens, I will be there for you."

It was true - whether it was a high-risk pregnancy carried to full term, a premature birth resulting in a baby in the NICU, another heartbreaking loss, or even a loss resulting in a hysterectomy - Shaun would be there for her.

Through their vows, they promised to be there for each other through the good times and the bad.

AN: The next few chapters will be filler chapters taking place between "Broken or Not" and "Quiet and Loud". Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed. Please review :)

Next Chapter Prompt:
Shaun and Lea wonder when and if they should announce the pregnancy.