Chapter 5

"Ay oh, oh ay, that's not funny, Angela," Tony said, but as soon as the words were out of his mouth, he could tell from the apprehensive look on her face that she wasn't joking.

"Pregnant? How. I mean. What. I…," he stammered before Angela held up her hand to stop him.

"I know. Trust me. I'm just as shocked as you are. I'm usually on top of, umm, taking precautions," Angela said, her face growing warm. "It's just that weekend at Jonathan's camp, I was so worried about him that I forgot to bring my pills. And they're most effective when they're taken at the same time every day."

"It's not your fault, Angela. Not for nothin', but I didn't have anything with me either," Tony said, his mind spinning as he tried to make sense of what Angela had just told him while also realizing that he needed to proceed delicately with the questions that were now on the tip of his tongue.

"Umm, are you sure that's what this is?" he asked softly, hoping she wouldn't be offended by the question.

"Well, I still need to call my doctor and make an appointment, but I took one of those home pregnancy tests this afternoon, and it was positive," Angela replied looking down at her hands. "I guess it could be wrong but combined with the other symptoms plus my period being late, I'm pretty sure," she continued, her voice trailing off as she took a deep shuddering breath to try and keep her tears at bay.

"Hey, hey, we'll figure this out," Tony said when he noticed that she was close to crying.

Taking her hand in his, he scooted a little closer to her on the bed before quietly asking, "Do you want this baby?"

He couldn't help but think that one of the main reasons that Jonathan didn't have any siblings was because of how career-oriented Angela was. She had alluded to how difficult things had been for her both at home and at work when Jonathan was a baby, so Tony figured that's why she and Michael never had any more children before their marriage fell apart the first time.

"Oh, Tony, yes, I do. Very much," Angela replied, squeezing his hand. "I've wanted another child for a long time. So much so that when Michael moved back in last year and brought it up, I agreed. I'm just glad we never quite got around to trying before we both realized that our marriage was really over."

Looking directly into Tony's dark-brown eyes that were filled with both fear and hope, she continued, "I know there are so many obstacles and that our circumstances are less than ideal, but I can't help but think this happened for a reason."

"However," she continued, "You are as much a part of this child as I am, so what about you? Do you want more children?" Angela asked, her voice barely above a whisper unable to hold his gaze anymore.

Placing his finger under her chin to tilt her head up so that she was again looking directly into his eyes, Tony replied, "Yes, Angela. I've always wanted Sam to have a brother or sister. Before Marie got sick, we planned to have a whole house full of kids, but then…" Tony said, taking a deep breath before continuing, "And I guess after that, I just figured it wasn't meant to be. I mean, I never found anyone else who could hold a candle to Marie or that I would want to share that experience with."

"That is until...," Tony continued before looking away as he realized what he was about to say. "Umm, I mean, well, when we moved here, I felt like Sam would gain a brother in Jonathan, and she definitely has. But, you're right, this does seem like fate intervening once again," he finished as he thought about how often fate or the universe or whatever seemed to be pushing him and Angela together.

"So, what do we do now?" he asked. He felt dizzy thinking about everything they needed to discuss and figure out in addition to having just found out that his life had been forever changed in an instant. Changed for the better though, he thought to himself.

"I don't know, but I'm glad we're in this together," Angela said giving him a tentative but relieved smile. "It's getting late, so maybe we leave it here for tonight. I have to go into the office tomorrow as we have a big presentation for a new client in the morning. But, I'll try to come home after that, so that we can continue this conversation before the kids get home from school."

"Madonna-mi, Angela, the kids. How on earth are we going to explain this to them?" Tony asked, his eyes growing wide.

"We'll figure that out tomorrow," Angela said squeezing his hand again. "Nobody needs to know anything until it's safe to tell them and, more to the point, when we're ready to tell them. That includes my mother."

"You sure we can keep this from Mona?" Tony asked with a raised eyebrow. "Not for nothin', but when she suspects someone has a secret, she has that special way of going in for the kill."

Angela sighed because Tony was right. Her mother knew how to push her buttons and over the past year, she'd become pretty good at pushing Tony's as well.

"I know, but let's at least try for the time being. I mean, we've managed to keep what happened between us at the motel a secret even though she suspected there was something."

"Ok," Tony said as he stood up, awkwardly realizing he didn't know what he should do next. His and Angela's relationship had forever changed tonight, so should he lean down and give her a kiss or a hug or just do nothing?

Angela sensed his trepidation and immediately grabbed his hand in between both of hers before looking up directly into his eyes and saying, "Tony, I just want you to know that, despite all the complications, I'm really happy about this baby. And, I'm excited to be going through this with my best friend."

Smiling down at her, Tony replied sincerely, "I am too, Angela."

Grabbing the tray with the now empty tea cups, Tony closed Angela's door softly and then made his way back down to the kitchen. He managed to keep his thoughts in check while he rinsed the cups, placed them in the dishwasher and then headed back upstairs to his bedroom. But the minute he closed his door, the thoughts and questions started coming rapid-fire.

He staggered over to his bed and sat down still hardly believing what Angela had told him tonight. He almost felt like he was in some sort of dream, so he pinched himself to make sure he wasn't.

A baby. He and Angela were having a baby; together. He was going to be a father again. Sam was going to have an actual sibling (although she and Jonathan interacted as if they were brother and sister which Tony loved to see; at least most of the time!).

He'd been honest with Angela when he'd said that he'd let the idea of more kids go dormant once Marie had died. No one he'd been with since then had come close to waking up those feelings in him. That is until he'd met Angela. Not that he'd ever thought about having kids with her before tonight, but there were little flashes here and there in the friendship they had built that stirred something in him like only Marie had.

Could he see an actual future with Angela? She was his boss only now she was his boss that he'd knocked up. He knew he had feelings for her that went beyond friendship, but what did he have to offer her and this baby? He was a washed up former pro baseball player who had to take a job as a live-in housekeeper to be able to provide for the one kid he did have. And, he still couldn't afford to give Sam half the things that most of her friends had.

How was this even going to work? Could he continue to work for Angela while she was pregnant with his kid? The thought did not sit well with him at all. And what were they going to tell people? Granted, a lot of the gossips in Fairfield along with some of his friends back in Brooklyn, already assumed they were sleeping together. This baby would just seem to confirm to them that they had been right all along even though that wasn't the case at all.

Tony knew both he and Angela had wanted what happened in the motel that night to happen, but he was pretty sure neither of them saw anything more developing between them. Hell, they'd basically confirmed that when they talked the next morning. So, would this baby change things? Should they give dating and a real relationship a try? Or would it be doomed to fail because they'd be trying to force it because of the baby? And then where would that leave this little unorthodox family they'd formed?

Tony sighed as he realized that it would probably serve everyone best if he and Angela remained just friends, best friends. Maybe someday things would change between them, but not while they had so many young lives to protect…