The day arrived. It was time to get the ultrasound to check on the baby. Lester was anxious as we sat with the other expectant mothers in the waiting area. His knee bounced as the minutes ticked away on the clock. I placed my hand on his knee and gently squeezed.

Lester was the only husband in the waiting room. The other pregnant women were alone. I could have gone to the appointment alone, but I wanted my husband by my side when we saw our baby on the monitor.

"Are you sure there's a baby in there?" Lester asked, speaking in Italian. I smiled when the other women stared.

"It's rude to talk in a different language," one woman snidely said.

I rolled my eyes, then answered my husband by speaking Italian, "Yes. I'm sure. Otherwise, I'll be angry from getting sick for three weeks."

"Santos?" the nurse called. I followed her, dragging Lester behind me. "Step on the scale."

I removed my shoes and stepped on the base. The nurse slid the weight bar until it levelled. I gained one pound since the doctor confirmed the pregnancy. She handed me a cup to collect a urine sample. "There's a washroom behind you," the nurse said. I tried to read her name tag, but she wore a sweater over her scrubs.

"Are you serious?" I asked. "I'm here for an ultrasound, and you want me to pee?"

"Oh. I should have checked your file," she said. The nurse looked at Lester, giving him her best bedroom eyes.

"Would you stop looking at my husband in that way?" I asked. I got frustrated with the unprofessionalism of the staff. The receptionist wasn't much better than the stupid nurse.

My doctor overheard my comment. She pulled me into the examination room and locked the door behind us. "I'm sorry, Stephanie. I'll ensure Emily is the nurse on duty for your next appointment. Sasha is a sucker for military men," Dr. Stacey DiCecco replied.

"You didn't know he was attending the appointment," I said, letting her off the hook.

Dr. DiCecco shook her head. "It's inappropriate," she insisted. I wondered what it was with unprofessional women and my husband. "Change into the gown." Dr. DiCecco turned her back as I stripped. Lester watched as I removed the layers. He carefully folded my clothes, then placed them on the empty chair. My husband was considerate and incredibly thoughtful.

The door handle wiggled before Emily squeaked in the hallway outside the examination room. "Is someone trying to come inside?" I asked.

"I put the blue folder in the wall slot. Nobody should be attempting to enter the room," she replied. I was furious. My mind was made up. I refused to deal with the bullshit of the office. Nothing Dr. DiCecco could say would change my mind. She wanted to accommodate me, but I didn't trust the staff not to swap shifts without the doctor's knowledge.

A tear traced down Lester's cheek when the image of our child appeared on the sonogram screen. He entwined our fingers, then raised my hand to kiss my knuckles. "Our baby is beautiful," Lester whispered. It resembled a blob. Well, not really, but its head was huge compared to the rest of the body. Our baby's arms and legs were skinny; we could see the nose in the 3D image.

"The baby is around the size of an apricot," Dr. DiCecco said. She got some measurements and asked me to return between eighteen and twenty-two weeks for the spina bifida screening. I nodded and pretended to go along with her recommendation.

After I got dressed, Lester and I left the examination room with the sonogram image in my purse, carefully tucked inside the calendar I kept inside. Dr. DiCecco gave me the picture printed on paper.

We found Hector leaning against the wall, glaring at Sasha. "Don't forget to schedule your next appointment," Sasha called after us.

Lester and I left the clinic without scheduling the next appointment. "Did Celia complete her midwife training?" I asked when we got into the car. He called Carlos to ask.

"Not yet. Celia has another semester to go," Lester replied. "We're not coming back here."

"No. I didn't bother asking for my file. What the fuck was Sasha's problem?" I asked.

Lester appeared apologetic. "Do you remember that woman who kissed me at Club Carina?" he asked. I nodded. Tears flowed, dripping off my chin.

"It was her, wasn't it?" I whispered.

"Yes. I swear to you that I never went home with her. She obviously thought I wanted more with her. I pushed her away and chased after you," Lester replied. I didn't know what to believe. My heart broke. The reminder of that day hurt worse than I expected. Sasha was gorgeous. What did Lester want with me?

Hector met us at home. He pulled me into his arms to comfort me. Lester was leaving in a few hours. I didn't want anything hanging between us to distract him from the reconnaissance mission. Lester couldn't afford to get distracted.

"I recorded her conversation with the receptionist," Hector said. Lester raised a brow. He knew Hector spoke English, but apparently, the bitches at the clinic didn't.

Sasha said, "I made out with him before he met that ugly bitch. He was ready to come home with me until she arrived. What does she have that I don't?"

"A personality?" the receptionist replied. "Give it up, Sasha. They're married. He chose her."

"Why? Once she gets fat from the baby, he'll be looking around for a sexy woman to warm his bed," Sasha insisted. "You saw him at the club, Jenny. He couldn't keep his hands off me."

"Have you always been this narcissistic? He was pushing you away, not pulling you closer. You threw yourself at him like the slut you are. Why are we still friends? I got you this job, and you're making me look bad," Jenny replied.

"Whatever. You'll see. He'll choose me when she gets fat and uglier," Sasha said.

"What a delusional freak. I should warn Stephanie," Jenny mumbled.

"You heard it directly from the skank's mouth, Beautiful. I never went home with her. You and our baby are my whole world. Nothing else matters to me - only you and our child," Lester said.

"We must change our phone numbers. I don't want to hear from that clinic again," I replied.

"I'll do it," Hector said. Hector used my laptop to get new numbers for our mobile devices. He got everything transferred when the guys arrived to pick up Lester.

"Take care of my wife," Lester ordered. Hector nodded and promised to protect me. Lester kissed me thoroughly before he left. His whispered, "I love you and our baby," would have to get me through the next few weeks or months. I had no clue how long he would be gone. Maybe Dad could tell me.

Hector took the order from my husband seriously. He moved into my house for the indeterminate future to remain close.

We, I should say Rangeman, hired Silvio Rossi and Jose Rodriguez to assist with the programming. Hector and Ranger, that's what Carlos asked us to call him, brainstormed for several days. They created a potential program to handle the research. I was working with the three programmers to hammer out the specifications. Ranger's idea was great, but the prototype was clunky. Hector promised to have the application ready to beta test in a few months. We'd have to make do with Google and social media to do searches.

I contacted Celia and asked about practical applications to her studies. She was trying to find a pregnant woman to complete her clinical practicum. "I'm getting kind of desperate here. Do you happen to know anyone who could help?" Celia asked.

"As a matter of fact, I do. Unless being married to your cousin Lester prevents me from becoming your patient," I replied.

"Seriously? You're pregnant? You married Lester? Nobody told me," Celia exclaimed.

"Lester and I got married over four years ago. We only told people who needed to know. I'm sixteen weeks now," I replied. "The doctor mentioned getting an ultrasound between eighteen and twenty-two weeks to check for spine abnormalities."

Celia arranged to have me visit in five weeks for that ultrasound. I'd have to stay with Mama for a few nights. It wasn't too much to ask. I knew she wouldn't mind if I brought my bodyguard.

I talked to Celia for a few minutes. Celia asked questions about the pregnancy to create my chart. I answered to the best of my abilities. "We should grab lunch sometime. Are you still working at E E Martin?" Celia asked.

"No. They terminated my contract upon discovering my pregnancy. I gave my notice, and they made it effective immediately. We can catch up after my appointment if you have time," I replied.

I checked the time on my watch, then ended the call with Celia. Valerie and I were supposed to go grocery shopping. She was afraid of Mrs. Sutton confronting her like the previous week. It didn't seem to matter when Valerie went grocery shopping. Mrs. Sutton always appeared. She probably had someone calling whenever Valerie stepped into the store.

Valerie rang my doorbell once. I opened the door and noticed Valerie's red eyes. She was crying about something. "Val, what's wrong?" I asked.

"Cal got the call a few hours ago," Valerie replied. "How do you do it?"

"It's not without difficulty," I confessed, removing the necklace from my neck. I unclasped the link and took my rings from the chain. A few seconds later, I had Lester's ring and tags resting between my breasts.

"What do you mean?"

"My husband has an important job," I explained. "I love him and want him to be happy."

"And letting him chase after scary men make him happy?" Valerie asked.

"Not really. But making things explode does," I replied. Valerie giggled.

"That's what Cal does, too," Valerie offered. "Underwater explosions. How do you make something underwater explode?"

"I'm sure Cal knows. After all, he's the expert. It makes sense why Lester and Cal got along. Everything will work out. It would help if you kept the faith. We can keep distracted by interviewing the men wanting a job at Rangeman."

"Thanks, Steph. You always know how to make me feel better," Valerie said.

Valerie drove while I wrote my grocery list on the notepad I kept inside my purse. The edges were slightly frayed from getting shoved around whenever I searched for a pen or wallet.

We found a parking spot in the area for expectant mothers. I smiled at Valerie. She pointed at my baby bump. "It's about time it showed," Valerie teased. "Did Hector follow us?"

I climbed from the vehicle and watched Hector pull into a parking spot where he could watch our car. "Yup. He was three cars behind us for the whole trip."

"Huh. I never saw him," Valerie said, holding up a finger, "and don't even mention that I need to be aware of my surroundings."

I raised both hands in an "I give up" gesture. Valerie giggled.

We searched for Valerie's favourite products in the feminine hygiene aisle. Valerie couldn't find what she wanted, so she settled on the brand she used during high school. I attempted to raise an eyebrow as Valerie grabbed a box of twenty magnum-sized condoms. "Are you planning to have sex in Cal's absence?" I whispered.

Valerie shook her head. "Cal asked me to get these. He gets really horny after a mission," she quietly replied.

"Have you two hooked up?" I wondered how far Valerie had let things go before his deployment.

"Yes. After Cal got the call, he used his last condom. We don't want a child yet," Valerie confessed. I shook my head at Valerie. She was building her relationship off sex again. It didn't work too well the first time.

Steve's mother, Sandra, appeared as Valerie dropped the box of condoms into the cart. "I always knew you were a slut!" Sandra yelled. "You passed off the girls as Steve's daughters, but they belong to that lecherous asshole at the firm."

I glanced at Valerie, who was crying and shaking her head. Angie and Mary Alice belonged to Steve. Valerie got paternity tests done after Steve got arrested and relinquished his rights to the girls. She needed proof to shove in Steve's face. The girls were his biological children. "I never cheated on Steve," Valerie replied. "I have proof the girls are your grandchildren." I realized Steve used the "she's cheating on me" excuse to justify his actions to his mother.

"As if I believe those lies. You probably had someone at the lab change the results to screw my son over for the rest of his life," Sandra snapped. "Stephanie probably got pregnant by the same asshole." How the hell did I get dragged into that shit?

Mom surprised Valerie and me by stepping between us and Sandra. Grandma gently pulled me away from the swinging arms. Holy crap! Valerie and I stood in the feminine protection aisle as Mom and Sandra fought.

"Helen, enough," Dad ordered as he approached, with officers Gazarra and Costanza following closely behind. Eddie and Carl pulled the women apart. Sandra had a bloody nose, a red eye and scratches on her cheek. Mom had a fat lip and a chunk of hair missing.

"Don't you ever spread those lies about my daughters!" Helen screamed. "My Valerie is not a cheater. However, your disgusting son hooked up with a child. I'm glad Valerie is rid of that vile man."

"She was not a child. The woman is eighteen," Sandra said, defending her son.

"That's not what I heard," Helen yelled. "Lo," Mom said. I stopped her from mentioning the child's name. "The girl was fourteen."

"Mom?" I asked.

"Oh, Stephanie," Helen cried. She pulled me into her arms, making me raise my brows. The Plums weren't a hugging type of family. "I'm proud of you."

"What?" I stammered.

"All I wanted was for you to be married and have children. You're pregnant. I would love to meet your husband," Helen replied.

"I thought you wanted me to be married to a Burg man?" I asked.

"Your father told me about your husband. He's an honourable man like your father."

Colour me surprised.