AN: I know it's been almost two week since the last update, but I was on vacation with family and driving back and I got distracted by more important work and also time with family. Anyway, here is the new chapter.

Also, I know the wiki page says that Baby Steve was born on May 1st (that's just the air date, though), but I'm going to say that he was likely born in July if he was born at 38 weeks and if Shaun and Lea decided to TTC in November and if Lea obviously wasn't pregnant in October. Also, I guess season 4 was a couple months ahead in where we were at the time. Seriously, screw this timeline.

Summary: Because there is a greater likelihood of miscarriage, Shaun and Lea debate when and if they should tell her parents about the pregnancy.

At seven weeks pregnant, the nausea and morning sickness was finally settling in, just as Lea expected, along with the exhausting fatigue and the bloating. Prenatal vitamins were being prescribed, appointments were scheduled, and diets were set.

She felt the same way she did during her last pregnancy, except she felt a bit worse this time. Just like last time, mint was a trigger and Shaun's breath made her sick whether he brushed his teeth or not (ironic since the internet often listed mint as a remedy). And with the holiday season approaching in December, the scent and flavor of peppermint was everywhere.

Lea munched on saltines (her best friend when coping with nausea) as she sat on the couch watching Schitt's Creek, staring at the sonogram that had been sitting on the coffee table for a week.

Shaun was cooking mashed potatoes, the only puke-proof dish for the hospital holiday potluck tomorrow at noon that he would tolerate and enjoy as well as something his pregnant wife could stomach and keep down. He searched for recipes with no garlic, onions, nuts, olives, mushrooms, anchovies, pickles, cheese, or red meat (Shaun's dislikes plus Lea's pregnancy sickness triggers combined)...and salted mashed potatoes seemed like something everyone else would eat, too.

Although everyone was mainly bringing sweets, cookies, and pastries, Lea wondered if she could tolerate the ham and cheese spinach puffs that Jordan would bring to the holiday potluck every year or the cheesy chicken fritters that Nurse Ocampo decided to make this year.

Last time, when Lea was eight weeks into her pregnancy, they happily announced it to Dr. Glassman and Debbie (although they already knew) and Lea's parents by emailing a picture of the sonogram with the caption "Baby Dilallo-Murphy, due March 2022". Then, they would send them every single sonogram until everything came crashing down at 22 weeks.

Many people at the hospital already knew that Lea was pregnant, but Lea's relatives on the East Coast, even her parents and brother, were still oblivious about the whole thing.

After Shaun finished the dish and then stored into the refrigerator, he sat down next to Lea on the sofa, folding his hands into his lap as he gazed at the sonogram from last week's appointment sitting face-up on the coffee table. Within the shades of gray nothingness was a black mass with a tiny little peanut-shaped particle.

"When are we going to tell your family?" Shaun inquired reticently. He didn't even tell Claire yet, and she was the one who broke the news to him that their last baby wouldn't survive.

"I don't know, Shaun," sighed Lea, rubbing her knees. "We don't even know if this will turn out to be a rainbow baby."

Shaun did feel the urge to reach out and touch Lea's bloated belly, but he and Lea didn't want to get attached to the embryo yet.

Pam and Mike knew about Lea's Asherman syndrome, though (and Lea assumed they had told Donnie). And they had been begging her and Shaun to come to Hershey for Christmas since they found out. They were really worried, calling their daughter all the time.

"Maybe, we should go see your parents for Christmas," suggested Shaun hesitantly.

Lea at first chuckled before getting serious. "If we go, Dad will force us to watch Die Hard , which he insists is a Christmas movie. Also, I'm not ready to tell them yet, and I'm pretty sure they'll find out for themselves even if we do keep quiet. I also don't want to have a miscarriage in Hershey."

"Pennsylvania probably has some abortion restrictions right now, but I'm sure you won't be..."

"That's not what I mean," interrupted Lea. Her concern about miscarrying in Pennsylvania wasn't about safety concerning traveling interstate while pregnant and having complications during post-Dobbs.

"Oh."

"I just don't want them to find out that way," explained Lea, who was convinced that this pregnancy would not succeed. "I don't want to lose the baby in front of them."

"They'll need to know sometime," advised Shaun apprehensively, respecting his wife's wishes to remain silent toward her family about this while also telling her that they might need to know soon...especially if they somehow make it to viability. "When would you prefer to tell them? Do you want to just surprise them?"

"I don't know," Lea shook her head before chuckling a little bit. "I don't want to call and say, 'Hi, Mom and Dad. I just had a baby.'"

"When would you prefer to tell?" Shaun asked again. "13 weeks, 20 weeks, 22 weeks, or 24 weeks? If you make it towards any of those weeks, it's a milestone."

"I mean, 13 weeks is definitely a no," confirmed Lea. "Because my risk of miscarriage is already high, and just because I make it to 13 weeks doesn't mean I'm safe."

"That's true," agreed Shaun. "Would 20 or 22 weeks work?"

"I guess," Lea concurred, still hesitant as she turned her head to look at her husband. "I'm not sure."

"It's up to you," reassured Shaun. He respected his wife's choice not to tell her parents, but keeping his mouth shut about it, whenever Pam or Mike wanted to talk to him over the phone, was torture, especially when they asked him about Lea's condition. He was also afraid of blowing up at his in-laws again like when he yelled at Pam over a onesie. "Do you not want to tell them at all?"

"No, I do want to tell them at some point," sighed Lea, debating to herself on when the right time to tell her parents would be.

All in all, the final decision on whether or not to tell her would be Lea's choice.

The two were silent for a bit before Lea came up with a decision. She didn't want to tell her family this early, but she also wanted to talk to her mom (who experienced two successful pregnancies and also lost two of them) about this at some point right now.

"Okay, we'll tell them at 20 weeks, but we'll tell them that I'm still not safe and that I still have four weeks to go until both me and the baby are safe," decided Lea.

"Okay," nodded Shaun, breathing heavily as he clasped Lea's hand into his own. "Can I still tell Claire?" He asked, still wanting to talk to his friend, especially since she emailed him about wanting to video chat soon.

"Go ahead," chuckled Lea, squeezing her husband's hand gently.

AN: I hope you all enjoyed. Please review :)

Next Chapter Prompt:
Lea's parents accidentally find out about the pregnancy.