So, I still love the idea of Milo and Maxie and wish the writers of the show would go there with them. Maxie deserves a good love interest. I know I'm pipe-dreaming though, but oh well, let me dream, alright? lol This is a two-part story. I hope you enjoy it.

Late 1

"Oh, no. Please no," Maxie moaned as she scrolled through her virtual datebook. "It can't be true. I mean, it's not true. There's no way. Just because I'm usually like clockwork doesn't mean I'm … that. I've been running myself ragged lately, what with the launch of Deceptor and moving into a new house, not to mention chasing after three rambunctious, high-energy kids. And I'm getting over being sick. That's stressful stuff, and everybody knows stress can make you late. It doesn't mean I'm … that. God, I can't even say the word. What am I - some kind of prude now?"

She stood up and tossed her phone onto the office desk. "Say it, Maxie. Say it. Pregnant. You could be pregnant. With baby number four. As if you don't have enough on your plate already."

She started to pace. "No, I'm not pregnant. It was only one time, and he wore a condom… Of course, one time is all it takes... No, no, it's not possible. It's not a good time to be pregnant. It's just not." She crossed her arms over her ample chest. "Look at me. I'm trying to talk myself out of being pregnant. If I am. And that's a big if."

"Oh my god! You might be pregnant?" A familiar voice said from the doorway.

Maxie flushed and spun around to see Brook Lynn standing there. "What the hell, Brook Lynn? Don't you believe in knocking?"

"I did knock. Three times. You were so caught up in weaving a line into the carpet and muttering to yourself that you didn't hear me. Is it true, Maxie? Are you pregnant?"

Maxie glared at her. "I am not dignifying that question with a response."

"So, it's true then. You really could be pregnant. Oh wow. Four kids! I can't even imagine. I mean, talk about a handful of-"

"Stop right there." Maxie felt nauseous. Her stomach was tied in knots. Was it merely nerves … or morning sickness?

"Who is the father? C'mon, Maxie, you know I can keep a secret."

"Stop with the twenty questions, Brook Lynn."

"I didn't know you were even interested in anyone."

Maxie rolled her eyes. "Can you drop this already? I've seriously had enough of this conversation."

Brook Lynn may have been a good friend, but Maxie didn't want to discuss this topic with anyone. It made it all too real.

Xoxoxo

After spending the rest of the workday brushing off Brook Lynn's intrusive questions, Maxie decided she had no choice but to head over to the drugstore and pick up a pregnancy test. Ducking inside the place, she was relieved to see that at this hour, it was mostly deserted, save for the clerk and an elderly man standing in a faraway aisle pricing hemorrhoidal creams.

Maxie grabbed a pregnancy test off a shelf and another just in case and hurried up to the register. She quickly paid with cash, keeping her eyes down and feeling every bit like a shame-faced, compromised teenager. The clerk put her tests in a small paper bag, and she hurried towards the door.

She wasn't looking where she was going and smacked face first into a solid wall of chest muscle.

"Oh damn!" She cried out as she went sprawling at the same time the bag went flying from her hands.

"Oh no, are you okay… Maxie, is that you?"

Horrified, she realized two things at once. One, she had run into Milo Giambetti and two, the tests were lying in plain view on the scuffed linoleum floor.

As Milo reached out to steady her, she silently prayed he wouldn't look at the tests, but no such luck. Because Maxie Jones didn't have good luck. She had terrible luck.

"Are you alright? I'm so sorry. I wasn't looking-" Milo started and broke off as his eyes zeroed in on the tests. "Maxie," he said. "Are those-"

Maxie disentangled from him and bent over to grab the boxes, stuffing them hurriedly into her handbag. "Nice to see you, Milo. Gotta go!"

"Wait a second, Maxie," Milo called to her. "Are those-" he gulped - "pregnancy tests?" He blushed a bit at the question. It was almost endearing.

Maxie muttered an unintelligible reply.

"Was that a 'yes'?"

"Erm... yes…"

"Are they yours?"

"Well..."

"Oh, uh ..." He tugged at his shirt collar. "Are you… Do you know when …" Milo shifted from foot to foot. "Is there any chance you could be pregnant from the time we … uh, we got together not too long ago?"

"You mean, the time we hooked up?"

"Yes…"

Maxie's face flushed and she looked away for a moment. "I was really hoping you wouldn't ask me that."

"Well, is there a chance you're pregnant? Would it be my baby?"

Maxie cringed. "Yes and … yes."

"Oh my god," Milo said. He grabbed his forehead. "I think … Everything's spinning. I don't feel so good. I'm light-headed."

"Milo, Milo, you need to sit down. I don't want you to pass out on me, alright?" Maxie sighed in frustration and took his big, paw-like hand in hers. She remembered how those steady fingers felt trailing over her heated skin and tried to shake off the memory and focus on the present.

She pulled him out of the store and forced him down onto the curb. She took the paper bag and forced it into his hands. "Breathe into that, okay? You're hyperventilating. I get it. I want to do the same thing, but I think at this point, I'm conditioned to expect the worst-case scenario."

Milo breathed deep, heavy breaths into the bag. He stared up at Maxie with wide eyes, pulling the bag away from his mouth to choke out, "Having my baby is the worst-case scenario?"

"Yes. No. Well, I mean, I have three kids already. I don't get to spend enough time with them as it is. Not as much I want too, anyway. I'm not looking forward to raising another kid on my own."

"I wouldn't leave you in a lurch like that. If you're pregnant, Maxie, I'll stand up. I'll be there for my child. I'll be there for you. Maybe we should - maybe we should get married."

Maxie gasped. Milo looked surprised by his own words but didn't take them back.

"Milo, don't say stuff like that, okay? I mean, don't you want to at least make sure I'm actually pregnant before you go throwing around wild declarations?"

"Sorry. I guess all this is shaking me up a bit."

"I get it. It's no walk in the park for me either." Maxie ran a hand through her hair. "I guess I better go take these tests now."

"Can I - can I be there?" Milo asked, watching her with a soft, searching expression in his eyes.

"You want to be there?"

"Well, not in the bathroom or anything, when you - you know … But when you read the results…"

Maxie swallowed hard. "Okay," she agreed. "You have a right to know the truth and if the test comes up positive, we will have a lot to discuss. Come on."

Milo nodded. He got to his feet and followed after her.