Adam managed to make it about eighteen weeks or so into his pregnancy before he could absolutely no longer kid himself with the state of his pants.

"Aaagh! Goddamnit!" He cursed to himself, under his breath. "Shit!"

He fumbled with the increasingly giving zipper, hoping for at least slightly better luck with it than that godforsaken button that had popped off, before Amanda finally knocked on the bathroom door out of concern.

He jumped, inadvertently startled by the first knock, before looking back up at the mirror with a considerably more defeated appearing look about him.

"Everything okay in there?" She asked.

He let out an exasperated sigh. "I'm...fine. My pants are a different story, though.

"How's that?"

"How's that?" He sighed under his breath. "..I'm like four and a half months pregnant, Mandy. How do you think it means?"

"Sorry." She responded, a little more sympathetically. "...you want me to come in there?"

"Sure, why not? I could use another opinion." He sighed. "..door's unlocked."

He'd finally given up and was resorting to just trying to make do with the belt, on one of the looser adjustments, alone, when she let herself in.

"I don't know.." He muttered, looking up at her. "What do you think? On a scale of one to ten, how ridiculous do I look?"

He was lifting the bottom of his t-shirt up, to clearly expose the zipper that had only made it about halfway and the belt buckle, which did well enough to cover up where the button had broken off.

"Scale of one to ten?" She chuckled.

"Yeah."

She tilted her head slightly to the side, focusing on it, as if she actually needed to even look at it to come to her conclusion.

"On a scale of one to ten, I think you look four….and half months pregnant." She teased. "Seriously, Adam, it's fine. No one's gonna notice, certainly not with your shirt covering it."

He gave a small, sarcastic chuckle. "That's not what I asked."

"You asked if it made you look ridiculous, and I did answer."

"That I look four and a half months pregnant and whether or not I look ridiculous are not mutually exclusive, my dear." He smirked. "Don't you know, I'm a man of many unfortunate talents?" He gave another little, more sincere smile. "….but, thank you."

She smiled back. "Just telling it as I see it….and either way, again, no one's gonna see it, so...I think you're safe."

"Mm...right. Until I have to pull my shirt up for my appointment, tomorrow."

"Right." She chuckled. "Well, call me crazy, but I suspect that a doctor that probably sees about a hundred pregnant people a day is not gonna care very much either, and that's assuming they even notice."

"You're right, you are assuming they won't notice." He smirked.

She rolled her eyes. "Adam, you know what I mean."

"And again, thank you, I just...still have my doubts." He shrugged, letting out another sigh. "...I'll probably just go out before then and get some bigger ones."

She nodded. "...Hey, what about this Larry guy of yours?"

"What about him?" He asked. His tone, considerably more suspicious, almost defensive at the mention of his name.

"I don't know, he's got money? You should get him to get you some new ones."

"What, you think I can't afford clothes or something?" He scoffed. "I mean, I know my place was a shithole, but- "

"That's not what I said, Adam." She interrupted, sighing. "I would've offered to buy you some, myself, if I thought that was the case. I just- This is his kid too, isn't it? I just think he can stand to contribute a little more than a phone call every few days, or however often he checks in on you, and going to a couple doctor's appointments with you. I mean, you deserve that much."

Adam sighed.

She was right…...she was right and, deep down, he knew that.

Even if she didn't have any way of knowing the depths of it. How, sure, Lawrence did check in on him from time to time…..especially when Adam had been spewing his guts out most hours of the day, but he could be hard to get ahold of if it was Adam calling him.

…..but most of all, how he ached for some real reassurance that Lawrence was in it for this kid just as much as he was…...that he and this kid were more than just a permanent reminder of what had uprooted Lawrence's perfect little life.

"...It isn't like that." He insisted, anyway. "...he's not a bad guy, you just don't know what he's going through."

"Yeah, I get that. But, Adam…." She sighed. "...what about what you're going through?"

"Well….." The thought of her actually being genuinely concerned about him brought a small smile to his face. "...I have you, don't I?"

She smiled back at him. "Of course you do. Come here."

He let her take him into her arms, sniffling into her shoulder as the wave of mixed emotions that had struck was overwhelming him.

"Thanks." He whispered, chuckling nervously…..softly. "Sorry."

"Don't be." She shook her head, trying to reassure him. You're fine, it's okay."

He just nodded, letting quiet sobs escape into her shoulder as she held him and gently stroked a hand across his back.

He let her hold him for another good few moments like that before they eventually broke away.

The smile that he gave her faded shortly after, followed by a soft groan that he let out as he winced and placed his hands against his back for support.

"Mmn, God…" He muttered under his breath, inadvertently alarming Amanda.

"What?"

He shook his head. "Mmn, just my back is killing me. I'm gonna go sit down."

"Okay." She smiled sympathetically, following along beside him as he made his way out into the living room.

Early the next morning, when Amanda woke up and came through the living room on her way to the kitchen, Adam was already up and about….and from the sound of his end of a phone conversation with Lawrence, it was starting to sound heated.

He was pacing around the kitchen with his cell phone to his ear, looking emotionally drained.

"Lawrence, I reminded you- I- " He sighed. "I told you I made it for today, when we talked the other day, you said that was fine, that you could take the morning off again." A short pause passed. "11:30…." He looked over, finally noticing Amanda standing in the living room as she hesitated to continue on into the kitchen, to give him his space.

"What time is it now?" He mouthed to her.

She glanced at her wristwatch and whispered, "10:15."

"Thanks." He whispered back with a sigh. "It's about 10:15 now…...well, what do you want me to do now? Reschedule?" He let out another, more exasperated sigh. "..whatever, Lawrence, I- I'm so tired, alright? I'm tired of this, I'm tired in general. I got so little sleep last night. I- " He let out a soft whimper. "Yeah, me too…...no, don't bother, I can drive myself there…...I said it's fine, Lawrence...goodbye." He huffed as he snapped his phone shut and practically slammed it down on the counter that he was now standing in front of.

He then rested his arms up on the counter, burying his face in his hands as he took a moment to try to cool down and fight back tears that were threatening to break through.

"Fuck!" He whimpered.

"..Adam?" Amanda asked quietly. "...Are you okay, that sounded- "

"Yeah." He finished for her with a scoff. "Yeah, it- it was." He exhaled. "I'll be okay, though."

She nodded sympathetically. "You want to tell me about it?"

He scoffed. "Why, you didn't hear enough of it from that?

"Sorry…..I was...trying not to pry."

"Yeah, I know." He sighed. "I know."

"Would you like me to go with you?"

Adam perked up a little at the offer. "What?"

A little smile crept across his face.

"Yeah, you know, for…" She smiled back at him. "...for support. Someone should."

"You'd do that for me?"

"Of course I would." She reassured him. "...if you want me to."

"Mandy, you're the best. I don't know what to say." He was still grinning. "Yeah...yeah, I would.

"Alright then." She smiled again, glancing at her watch. "What time did you say your appointment was?"

"Uh..didn't. Not to you, yet." He clarified. "..and 11:30."

She nodded. "Perfect. Did you eat yet? Or?"

He rolled his eyes jokingly. "I'm always eating. Haven't you noticed?"

"Right, stupid question." She chuckled. "Alright. How about, I was going to make myself some eggs before we go, maybe some bacon. Want me to make enough for you?"

He nodded eagerly. "Yes, please."

"You got it." She chuckled. "How do you want em?"

"Mmm...scrambled's good."

She nodded. "Scrambled, it is, then."

Once at the doctor's, seated in the waiting room, Adam couldn't help but keep glancing toward the door every once in a while, as if Lawrence might've changed his mind or rearranged something on his end and might still walk in through it.

He sighed to himself.

He hated himself for it and Amanda's words from earlier, while admittedly comforting, weren't helping these thoughts.

Of course he deserved for Lawrence to actually act like he wanted to be here, of course he deserved for Lawrence to pick up the phone once in a while.

Of course, of course, of course….

….but it was the other side of things that still served to make him second guess everything he clearly knew.

The side that was the haunting memory of those last fateful moments he and Lawrence had spent in that bathroom, several months ago, how desperate he had been to get back to his family, and then how willing he'd been to throw away what he'd thought he and Lawrence had together, just for a chance that Allison would take him back, regardless of what that would mean for Adam.

What if what had happened today had had something to do with her?

Could he honestly expect Lawrence to cancel on his wife, to be there for the guy he'd knocked up behind her back?

He looked down at his, now clearly visible, bump and smiled sort of sadly as he rubbed his hand down and across it

Amanda looked up, over at him, from a magazine she'd picked up and gave him a sympathetic smile as she rubbed a gentle, supportive hand over his shoulder.

"Hey...you okay?"

He looked up and smiled back at her and nodded. "Just thinking….still a lot on my mind, you know?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

The moment was then cut short, just after, by the nurse that was standing in the doorway that connected the waiting room to the hallway, calling Adam for his turn to come back.

"...It's going to be cold, juuust for a second." The doctor warned, as Adam pulled his shirt up to expose his stomach, before she squeezed the ultrasound gel onto it.

"Yeah, I know the drill by now." He joked, chuckling slightly nervously.

She just chuckled along with him, as she moved the transducer across his stomach and looked toward the screen until the little being that was growing inside him became more clearly visible on the monitor.

"Okaaay, everything looks good here…" She explained, moving the transducer a bit more over, while Adam and Amanda continued to watch on in awe.

"Oh my god." Amanda whispered.

"Yeah…" Adam chuckled nervously.

The doctor smiled at the both of them. "...Did you wanna know the sex?" The question was directed more at Adam.

"Oooh, boy." Adam chuckled nervously, leaning his head back against the table more.

"It's okay if you don't." She chuckled. "Not everybody does."

"Oh, no. It's not that, it's just…" He sighed. "...it's just a bit complicated, is all…"

He looked over toward Amanda.

"Hey, don't look at me." She chuckled, getting a little smirk from Adam.

"You know that's not what I meant." He sighed. "...I mean, I want your opinion. I mean, don't you think we should find that out together, I mean...when he can be here?"

"Adam, I promised not to say anything else about him…" Amanda sighed. "...but I also fear you might not find out for another four and half or odd months from now, if you wait for him."

"...Yeah, I know." He sighed.

"You know, if you want…" The doctor suggested gently. "...I can also write it down for you and seal it up and you can decide to open it up and look later."

"That's very kind of you.." Adam sighed, taking another few moments to think about it.

"...but, I think I wanna know."

Amanda smiled at him. "Adam, are you sure?"

"Yeah…..yeah, I think I am." He smirked a little. "...I'm also sort of tired of just calling 'em an it...makes me sound like I'm harboring an alien or something."

The joke got Amanda to burst out laughing and also got a good laugh from the doctor.

"Yeah, I can understand that." She laughed again. "..just give me a second here, just need the baby to be in a good position…"

"Take your time." Adam chuckled.

Another good few moments passed of her having to keep an eye on the screen, watching as the little being seemed to shift around juuust enough that it was hard to get a good enough look, as she tried different positions over Adam's stomach.

Meanwhile, Adam had reached the point where he was silently joking to himself that he had jinxed it somehow and that he hadn't meant for the kid to take its time.

He chuckled quietly to himself over the joke.

"...Well…" She finally said, after some more efforts. "...I guess we're not- wait, I think I've got it."

"Oh, do you, now?" Adam chuckled with a level of disbelief.

"Yes, actually.. The Doctor chuckled. "..aaand it looks like you're having a little girl."

"Really?" He sat up just a little more, to better see the screen, at a loss for what else to say.

His smile only grew, as he looked closer at the image of his daughter on the screen, himself.

He hadn't had any real expectation for what it would be, nor any preference...but, if he was being honest with himself, the whole thing still felt pretty surreal for him, and it was more that having one or the other put into words like that in this moment that made it feel just that much more real.

"Yep…congratulations."

"Thank you."

"My pleasure." She smiled back at him. "Were there any other questions? Concerns?"

Adam shrugged as he considered for a second. "..No, I think that covers it."

.. Alright, then. You can go ahead and get cleaned up and I will get those prints for yout."

"Thanks." He took the paper towel she offered him. "'Oh, uh..I can get a couple of copies of those, right?

"

"Of course. " She assured him. "I will be right back."

Adam nodded, looking toward Amanda as she left. "Don't give me that look.."

"I am not saying anything." She chuckled.

"Right." Adam smirked, starting to get up.

"Here, let me help you."Amanda offered.

"I got it." He insisted. "I'm not that big yet."

"No one said you were." She chuckled.

"Mmhmm…and for the record, Larry should have one, and I'm just terrified of losing one of them."

"I am saying nothing." She chuckled, although, she was tempted. "..It's none of my business, anyway."

"Well, as long as we agree on something." He let slip a small chuckle.

"Right." She laughed. "Hopefully a little more than that, though."

"Maybe." He snickered, still smirking.