I never knew a person could experience multiple emotions at once. Yet, that was exactly what was happening to me as I stood on shaky legs staring at the dark spot on the screen. Shock, joy, excitement, and absolute terror were all dueling for dominance.
The one emotion notably missing was regret. Yes, I was shocked that it happened this quickly, but I was also happy that Casey would get to be the mother she wanted to be. Though, I will admit the thought of being a father was both thrilling and terrifying at the same time. I'd just become accustomed to the idea of having someone other than myself to worry over and take care of. In a few months, I'd have this completely helpless little person to care for and protect.
Damn, is this how Bobby felt when he found out about his baby?
A tiny squeak caught my attention and pulled me out of my stupor. I turned and looked down to find Casey with her other hand over her mouth and tears in her eyes. That wasn't the reaction I expected to see. "Precious, why the tears?"
"I-I," she stuttered, then closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. "I'm just so happy."
Her admission caused relief to wash through me and I relaxed.
Concern filled her gaze as she looked from me to the screen. "Are you happy?" she asked, her voice soft and tiny sounding. As if she was suddenly worried I'd changed my mind. As if I didn't have just as much to do with making this child as she did.
"Of course, I'm happy," I said as I leaned down to plant a kiss on her lips. Then I turned to look at Doctor Pickering. "I am just a little confused though."
"About?" Doctor Pickering asked.
"We only started actively trying like a week ago. Doesn't it take longer than a week to show on an ultrasound?"
"It does," she replied then motioned to the screen. "I can tell you that this is very early in the pregnancy. So early that I'm betting Ms. Miller may not have missed her period yet." She looked at Casey. "Am I correct?"
"I'm just a couple of days late," she replied.
Doctor Pickering nodded. "That's about right. By the look and size of this embryo, I'm guessing this conception probably took place between three and four weeks ago, which makes you four to five weeks pregnant."
Casey and I exchanged glances then looked back to Doctor Pickering. "We were using protection back then," I said.
"As I'm sure you know, no form of protection, other than abstinence, is one hundred percent, Mr. Santos."
I did, and at this point, it didn't matter anyway. "I know it's so early in the pregnancy-" Boy did that sound weird to say. "But from what you can tell, is everything okay with the baby? Is Casey okay?" I motioned to the monitor and then to Casey as a wave of irrational fear washed through me. With everything she'd recently been through, was her body even capable of carrying a pregnancy? "Do we need to do anything? Have more testing done or take any kind of precautions?"
Doctor Pickering smiled. "Relax, Mr. Santos. At this stage, Ms. Miller and your baby are both fine." She shifted her attention to Casey. "I'll get you the name of a great OBGYN. You'll want to call and make an appointment right away. You're going to want to watch your diet. No processed meats, like lunchmeat and hotdogs. Obviously, no alcohol, or smoking. No drug use, unless prescribed by your doctor, and no heavy lifting. I'd also recommend starting a prenatal vitamin. There are some good over-the-counter ones to choose from."
Mentally, I was cataloging everything she was telling Casey for a future discussion with Bobby. I'd also be having a talk with Casey and the core team about reducing the number of hours she was working. Ella was getting better and with Stella also around now, there wasn't any good reason for Casey to be working twelve-hour days nearly every day of the week.
Twenty minutes later, we walked out of the clinic, still a little shell-shocked. I beeped the SUV unlocked then held the passenger door for her while she climbed in. Once she was settled, I rounded the vehicle, slid behind the wheel, and sat there.
Casey reached out and placed a hand on my arm. "Are you sure you're okay with this?"
I leaned over to give her a quick kiss. "I'm thrilled, but I have to admit I'm also still in a bit of shock."
She nodded. "Me too. We went in, thinking a pregnancy might not ever happen and we came out knowing we're going to have a baby. It all feels a little surreal."
"I do know one thing," I said as I started the vehicle and put it in reverse.
"What's that?" Casey asked.
"My mother is going to be thrilled and want to kill me at the same time," I replied.
"Because we didn't do things in the right order?"
"Yep, and she's not going to get to put on the grand wedding that she would have wanted for me."
"I didn't want the grand wedding anyway," Casey replied.
"I know, and the last thing I want is there to be any unnecessary stress on you and the baby. So, what you say goes. However you want to get married is how we will do it."
"Maybe we could just have something small. So, your family could be there." She paused. "Maybe we shouldn't say anything about the baby yet either."
I glanced from the road to her and back. "What? Why?"
"Because it's so early. Absolutely anything could happen."
"Trust me when I say, that absolutely anything could happen at any time," I argued. "And if God forbid something bad did happen, wouldn't it be better to have people to lean on and help you get through your grief than to suffer alone?"
"You do have a point," she said. "That's pretty much how Maddie, Izzy, and I survived when Blackmore was holding us. We leaned on each other for support." She shook her head. "I still can't believe Izzy is gone."
I took one hand off the wheel and reached over to squeeze hers. "I'm sorry, Precious. I wish there had been a better outcome for her."
"I know," she said. "Hopefully you guys will be able to find Maddie soon."
I hoped so too, for more than just Maddie's sake.
"So, we're okay with telling people?"
She shot me a small smile. "You really want to, don't you?"
"I do," I said as I brought her hand to my lips and kissed her knuckles. "I want to scream to the world that the woman I love is having my baby," I smirked. "I know a few of the guys who just might faint when they hear the news."
She started to reply when my phone rang. Seeing that it was the control room, I connected the call through the vehicle's Bluetooth. "Yo."
"Yo," Gene said. "I hate to bother you when you're at a doctor's appointment with Casey, but we have a situation."
"No worries," I replied. "We're done and heading back. What's going on?"
"Ram called a minute ago. He found Pfeiffer and there's a woman in the vehicle that he thinks is Madalyn."
A fresh wave of shock washed through me. For two months we'd been looking for Maddie with no luck. Then all of a sudden, she appears and there's a chance Pfeiffer got to her before us. "Where?" I asked.
"Heading North on route thirty-one," he replied. "According to the tracker on Ram's phone, he just passed The College of New Jersey."
"Vehicle description?" I asked then caught a glimpse of Casey riffling through her bag. Before I could ask what she was doing, she produced a pen and a small notebook. The same notebook she'd brought with her so she could take notes at the appointment.
"It's a dark blue 2001 Honda CRV, with damage on the front driver-side fender. Jersey license plate H26 FJ8," Gene replied.
I wanted to smile when I realized Casey was scribbling down the information.
"Has anyone notified Detective Shaw?" I asked.
"Affirmative, " Gene replied. "Vince called him. Tank called Morelli on his way to the garage."
"Who's in pursuit besides Ram?"
"Bobby and Binkie are headed that way. So is Tank and Ranger. Woody and Junior were already out that way on patrol. So, they're the closest besides you."
I glanced at Casey and then back to the road. If Pfeiffer stayed on Thirty-one, we'd intercept Pfeiffer and Ram. I couldn't in good conscious drive past them, but the need to protect my new family swamped me. "Don't even think about not helping," Casey warned. How in the hell did she know what I was thinking?
"I can't put you in danger," I argued.
"You can't leave Eric without any backup," she shot back without hesitation.
"Hang on," Gene said, drawing our attention back to the speakers. "Ram got on the highway. He's now headed two ninety-five towards the airport."
Shit! Shit! Shit! "How close is Woody and Junior?" I asked even as my thoughts continued to war inside my head.
"They just passed The College of New Jersey, but they already crossed over Upper Ferry Road. So, they have to double back to try and cut him off. That's only if he comes back toward Trenton."
"Where's Ranger and Tank?"
"They're coming up route twenty-nine. My guess would be they're hoping to cut him off before he can cross the bridge."
I was quickly coming up to the point of committing to a decision. "Lester," Casey said. "You promised me you do everything you could to find Maddie."
Wow. Way to guilt me into my decision, Precious. Against my instincts, I conceded. "Gene, let them know I'm going high," I said as I took the roundabout and turned onto Route five forty-six towards Pennsylvania. "I'm on five forty-six."
"Copy that, Les. I'm going to ping your tracker. Tank just radioed. Shaw and his men are coming in hot from Princeton, so watch for lights." If Shaw and crew were lit up and running hot, that meant they'd verified the vehicle and Ram was right. My stomach clenched with that thought. I didn't want Casey anywhere near that bastard, but I couldn't very well back out now. If anything happened to Maddie…. I didn't want to think about the consequences. "Wait…" Gene said, then all we heard was the muffled sound of voices carrying through the speakers. "Update," he said after several seconds. "Ram just took the exit for Bear Tavern Road. They're now headed North."
Depending on which route he took, we could intersect with him soon. I glanced over at Casey. I'm glad I decided to take one of the fleet vehicles this morning. The bulletproofing would offer a certain amount of protection for her, should the situation go sideways.
"Stay with me, Gene," I said when the speaker when silent.
"I'm here, Les. Just got an update from Vince. He said Morelli called back. He contacted Hopewell Township PD and filled them in on what was going on. They've agreed to stay out of the situation, but they are going on standby in case we need backup."
I had to give Morelli credit for thinking ahead. Since Hopewell Township was way out of our coverage and patrol area, we'd had very little contact with them. The last thing we needed was some newbie patrol officer accidentally mistaking one of us for the bad guy. "Morelli finally did something smart for once," I replied.
"Agreed," Gene said. "Update. They just passed the junction for Jacobs Creek Road. Looks like they're staying on Bear Tavern Road."
"Copy," I replied as I passed the turn-off for the other end of Jacobs Creek Road and put a little more pressure on the accelerator. A dozen different scenarios raced through my mind, many of which ended badly either for one of us, or Maddie. The facts were, that Pfeiffer had a pretty big lead and most of us weren't close enough to provide Ram with immediate help. All I could do was hope that we'd get there in time.
