I wake up that morning still thinking about that night of the Homecoming party. My dream about it kind of didn't let me forget it. Not that I would forget anyway. As much as I hated to admit it, it was on my mind every day, even far before I thought I could be pregnant from it.

Not having Ash to talk to about that night sucked. And I couldn't talk to Rusty either considering I didn't really want to talk to him about having sex with his best friend and big brother. And Rebecca and the other girls… well they would just judge me for sleeping with my ex boyfriend.

So I was left for the past three weeks to just think about it off and on. Think about the way we kissed, the way he held my hand as he stared down at me, us moving as one. The way he looked at me when he told me he loved me.

I had tried to put law school first, focus on studying. I'd been spending time with Katherine, who motivated me to be more studious like her. So that helped.

Well it did until the other day when I realized my period was late and I started to freak out.

So now I was here.

Here waking up in Cappie's bed with his arm strewn over me as he spoons me.

He's still asleep and I don't know whether to move him off me or whether to just enjoy this. Enjoy his embrace even though he wasn't conscious to realize what we were doing.

I choose the latter, letting myself cozy into him, smiling a bit at the feeling of cuddling against him like this. I knew I'd have to get up and get ready soon to go to the Women's Clinic but I'd bask in this for a moment. Or at least until he wakes up and realizes what's going on.

"Ughhh", I hear a noise come from his lips then as he yawns, waking up. "Case?"

He opens his eyes fully then, his raspy voice making my stomach toss and torn. Man, I missed this.

"Hi", I say awkwardly, him still spooning me.

"Oh…", He looks around, noticing what he's doing and immediately moves off of me. "Crap sorry Case, I didn't mean to do that, I must've… must've moved closer to you in the night out of habit".

"It's okay", I assure him. "Old habits I guess right?"

We look at each other awkwardly then, looking at each other in the light of day, his stubble, his wispy lashes, glacier blue eyes. He was pretty. Which I know was a weird thing to say about a guy, but he was. He was even more attractive to me now for some reason. Even just over one summer it was like he had grown up more, looked more mature than last year, and much more mature than when I'd met him.

"Yeah", Cap laughs, nodding. "Old habits… anyways I guess… I guess we should get ready".

"Yeah", I nod. "Um Cap? There's one thing I wanted to talk to you about, just to... apologize for".

He looks confused then, looking to me to explain.

"Yesterday morning when you came to check on me… when I was sitting on that bench in the quad panicking about being pregnant… I'm sorry I implied that that night was a mistake", I say to him.

"Oh it's okay", he waves it off. "I… I guess I can see where you were coming from".

"I know but I didn't want to hurt you, I was just really scared and felt like I should regret it because it's changed everything", I say.

"It's okay, we did… make a mistake I guess", Cappie shrugs.

"Yeah but…", I look to him then, trying to find the words. "I never felt like it was a mistake. I still don't. Even though I ended up getting pregnant because of it, it didn't feel like a mistake Cap".

His eyes light up then, a smile he tries to conceal finding it way across his lips.

"I've never felt like it was either", He nods, speaking softly.

"It's one of the reasons that I knew… I knew I was going to keep the baby if I ended up being pregnant", I explain. "Because that night wasn't like… a random hookup with a guy I just met, or someone forcing themselves on me or something like that…"

I sigh then.

"It happened out of love. I mean… yesterday when we were in the quad I know I called it 'fucking'", I explain. "But I don't feel like that's what it was Cap. Everything that happened that night was out of love… it was one of the most intimate times we've ever been together and I remember most of it pretty well… and it wasn't a mistake".

"Yeah?", He questions, looking a little surprised, a little bit giddy too.

"Yeah", I confirm. "I mean, not using protection was a mistake but… me and you being together, I wouldn't ever categorize that as a mistake… ever. And I'm sorry if I made you feel like it was".

He nods, taking in my words.

"It wasn't for me either Case. I just… felt bad after because you wanted me to leave so quickly and I really thought that you regretted it. And I hoped that I didn't… make a mistake by having sex with you when you were drunk. I felt like maybe I was in the wrong for these past few weeks. Every time I've seen you out… I felt like maybe you were mad at me for letting it happen", he confesses.

"No", I say right away, shaking my head and putting my hand on his arm. "I wasn't mad at you at all. I was actually… kind of mad at myself because I knew that I was probably hurting you and that's why I kept my distance. But now… now that night has forced us to talk again".

"Yeah", he lets out a slight laugh then, meeting my eyes with a smirk.

"I'm glad we cleared the air because… I didn't want you to think I thought that night was some terrible thing that I regretted doing. Because it wasn't then, and it still doesn't feel that way now. Not when it was so special", I say.

"It was special for me too Case", He bites his lip as he smiles, running his hand up and down my arm.

I half wonder if he's going to lean in and kiss me, but instead he seems to snap himself out of the moment.

"So…. You want something to eat? There's no Dale to cook for us here but… I can make cereal or toaster waffles?", He gives me a grin and I giggle. "Those are really the only two options at the KT house".

"Waffles", I settle on, smirking at him.

"Okay sounds good, I'll make it the way you like it", He smiles, getting out of bed and pulling some sweatpants on, looking back at me with a quick smile and then taking off downstairs.

I sit up in his bed. I can't lie, I'm kind of happy to be back here. It felt strange because after spring break I never really thought I would be. I didn't think I would be in Cyprus period, let alone in Cap's bed again. But the real kicker was being here 5 weeks pregnant with his baby. That's something I really never thought would happen after spring break a few months ago.

If I had just gone to GW, left the Joel thing alone and didn't try so hard to stay here, then I know I wouldn't be pregnant right now. It was weird how things worked out. I had to wonder if there was some cosmic plan that unravelled just the way it was supposed to for each of us or if everything that happened to us was just random. If things just happened for no apparent reason and we had to deal with them as they came.

I kind of think it's the latter, since that's always how things seemed to come along in my life. Although… if fate was a thing, meeting Cappie at that KT party 4 and a half years ago now was probably the closest example of it in my life.

Cappie comes back in then, interrupting my thoughts.

"What are you thinking about?", He scoffs, looking at the way I sit lost in thought. "Panicking about the appointment?"

"No actually…", I laugh slightly as I take a plate from him. A waffle with some chocolate chips and whipped cream, just how I liked it. "I feel like I did enough of that last night. I was actually… thinking about the night you and me met".

I look over to him then as he gives me a slightly surprised look.

"Oh yeah?", he scoffs. "That was a pretty amazing night".

He smiles sheepishly then, going back to eating.

"Yeah it was", I nod. "That me never would've thought we'd be having a baby 4 years later".

I scoff at the insanity of this situation, still not having my head wrapped around it.

"Yeah, tell me about it", Cappie agrees. "The thought wasn't even on my radar. And… by the next year… well by the next year you probably thought future you would be popping out Chambers' blazer wearing offsprings right?"

I can't help but laugh then at Cappie's joking.

"I don't know", I shrug. "I guess I thought me and him could have a future, yeah. Mostly because the girls in the sorority, mainly Frannie…"

"Ugh not the F word", Cappie groans and I giggle.

"Well they were pretty much obsessed with him… because he was Evan Chambers. So yeah I kind of thought that if I could just stay with him, keep him as my boyfriend, that I'd be set for life. We'd do law school together, go to DC, get married in some big huge, expensive wedding. Have kids when we're at least 30 of course. A boy and a girl. And a nice picket fence house in the suburbs…"

"Sounds… like something most girls would want I guess", Cappie shrugs.

"Well it's not what I want anymore Cap", I say strongly. "Not at all".

"What? You want to be having a kid who shares my genetics at age 22?", Cappie scoffs. "You don't have to spare my feelings Case".

"I'm not trying to spare your feelings Cappie", I assure him. "I told you yesterday that the only person I want to have a baby with is you. Because… because in that little scenario I just described… Evan definitely cheats on me with our kids' nanny".

We both laugh then.

"Yeah, you know you're probably right about that", Cap can't help but grin.

"That whole thing with Evan didn't work out for a reason Cap. And then things couldn't work out with Max either… because…", I say, looking over at him to meet his eyes to speak seriously now. "Because of you. So I promise…. the only thing that's making me less panicked about the whole having a baby thing is that it's with you. That's the only thing that makes me a little excited for this, that makes the panic I feel not so horrible".

"Really?", He smiles softly, surprised I think.

"Yeah", I nod, blushing. "Having a baby that's part you… and being able to share this whole thing with you… well I'm probably crazy for thinking this way, but it makes me a tiny bit excited when I think about it. Only a tiny bit…"

"Me too Case, me too", He nods, blue eyes shining.

"Well I guess…", I sigh then, putting my plate down on his bedside table, having finished eating. "I guess we've got to go confirm this whole thing right?"

I shrug nervously.

"Yeah, I guess so", he nods. "And maybe… see it?"

"Yeah…", I nod slowly. "I'm gonna put on some clothes before I think about it too much and panic again".

"Sounds like a plan", Cappie nods, turning around to his dresser to find his own shirt and jeans for today.

Actually seeing this 5 week old… fetus… was making me feel like I was going to throw up. Although that could also just be the morning sickness I've been experiencing. Either way, when I thought about seeing it on the screen it made my heart start to pound, made me insanely nervous.

Because it meant that this was really happening.


"Ugh that was so awkward Cap", I groan once we get put into a room to wait for the doctor.

"What do you mean?", Cappie looks at me quizzically.

"In the waiting room… we're like the youngest people here!", I say. "We looked like teenagers compared to everyone else".

"Who cares", Cappie shrugs.

He was pretty good at not caring about stuff like this, didn't really mind what anyone thought about him.

"Yeah I guess", I sigh and then hand him my purse as he sits down in one of the chairs in the exam room we're in. "I just hope the doctor doesn't think I'm totally irresponsible… or a slut. I'm already dealing with my law school classmates thinking I slept my way into CRU".

I sigh out then, feeling annoyed.

"Casey c'mon", Cappie gives me a look. "You're like the farthest thing from a slut. In the past year and a half you've only slept with one person, me".

I nod with a shrug at Cap's explanation.

"You didn't get pregnant because you were sleeping around and being careless… it was just a miscommunication thing", Cap tries to comfort me. "I thought you were on the pill and we could do what we usually do… and you went off it. It's an easy mistake to make. Yes, it's our faults but… we're dealing with it now".

"Yeah…", I take this in, nodding. "I guess you're right".

"Don't be embarrassed", He gives me a sincere look then and I can't help but smile a bit.

"Okay", I nod meekly and then pull my top over my head, it's a pink and white floral short sleeve top. I hand it to Cappie and then pull down the jeans I'm wearing, handing those to him too so I'm left in just my bra and underwear.

"Mmm", Cappie looks me over from my feet to my head as he smirks, holding my purse and clothes on his lap.

"Don't get any ideas", I roll my eyes playfully as I giggle. "We have to be… professional in front of this doctor".

I pull on the gown they'd left out for me and tie it on the back.

"Right… professional", Cappie grins like a devil, letting me know that the word professional is far from being in his vernacular.

Once I have the gown on I take my pink lacy underwear off, handing them to him too.

"I didn't know I was gonna get to touch your panties today", he grins jokingly. "I may have trouble giving these back to you when it's time to leave Case".

I can't help but giggle, rolling my eyes at him as I prop myself up onto the exam table.

"You're insane", I give him a look, moving my blonde hair out of my face as I lay back slightly, waiting for the doctor to come in. "I'm freaking out Cap".

I look over at him, giving him a scared look, unable to stop playing around with the bracelet on my wrist, scared as hell to actually confirm that I was pregnant.

"I know", Cappie leans forward to take my hand in his, speaking softly to me. "I am too".

"I just can't believe I'm here… doing this", I sigh. "I mean I'm missing my classes today… not that it even matters anymore anyway".

I groan slightly then.

"I know, I'm sorry", Cappie gives me a frown.

"I know… it's just… it's just how things worked out", I nod, trying to accept this. "I'm just really scared to actually have them tell me I'm pregnant and… and to have the ultrasound and to see… it".

I ramble on so much that I feel out of breath, taking in a breath sharply as I look at him with panicked eyes.

"I know… I know it's really scary", Cappie nods. "But I'll be here the whole time… I don't know if that helps or not but-"

"It does", I cut him off, nodding up and down.

"Okay good", He smiles softly then, I think happy that he's that person for me, the one that can calm me down when I'm like this. "Well I'm here and I'm sure the doctor will be nice and… we'll get through it, I promise".

"Okay", I let out in a meek voice.

There's a knock on the door then and I feel my eyes go wide.

"Um… come in", I let out, my voice cracking slightly in fear.

"Hi there", The woman comes in with a jolly look on her face. She's tall, average body type, and has dark brown hair and glasses. I would say in her mid to late 40s. "I'm Dr. Thomas. You're Casey?"

She smiles at me and extends her hand.

"Hi", I nod. "Yes, Casey Cartwright".

I give her a smile and shake her hand, my hands already shaking out of nervousness.

"And I see you've brought someone here with you today, that's great", She looks over to Cappie with a smile.

"Hi, yeah I'm Cappie", Cap smiles at her and leans forward to shake her hand as well. "I'm Casey's…."

Cappie looks to me while he's thinking, I just open my mouth but nothing comes out.

"I'm the father", Cappie settles on, giving her an awkward smile. "If there's a baby to be a father of, which we're… pretty sure there is I guess".

Dr. Thomas let's out a laugh then, amused by the two of us I think, and then she takes a seat on her wheeling stool in front of me as I sit upright on the exam table.

"Well what makes you think you're pregnant? Have you been having symptoms?", She asks me and pulls out a clipboard, I'm assuming to take notes and fill stuff out about me.

"Yeah I've been um… I've been really sick and nauseas and I've thrown up a couple times the past three days. And I thought maybe it was a stomach bug. But then I realized that my period is late, 9 days late now actually", I sigh. "And… my breasts feel different, and I'm having these sort of cramp like feelings off and on and I thought both of those things were just because I was going to start my period, but… I haven't still. So I took some pregnancy tests yesterday and they were all positive".

I sigh out nervously then, hands still fiddling with my bracelet on my wrist.

"Okay", She nods like this is nothing new to her. "And do you know the date of your last period?"

"Yeah it was October 2nd", I tell her.

"Alright yes, so you are definitely a bit late. And you're sexually active? When was the last time you had penetrative sex?", She doesn't look up from her clipboard and I feel myself cringe at the awkwardness of this even though it's definitely just another day for her.

I look over to Cappie who just stares back at me, I think knowing I'm gonna be doing the talking.

"Um… I wasn't actually sexually active at all since… last Spring… but then October 14th… that was the last time I had sex", I explain to her awkwardly. "That was the one and only time in the last few months so that's definitely when I… or we I mean… conceived".

"Okay well that's good to know Casey, that'll give us a lot more insight into exactly how far along you are and when the due date would be since we know the exact date of your cycle and the date of conception", she looks up to explain to me with a good natured smile.

"Okay", I nod, trying to return the smile, but just feeling too nervous right now.

"Well it sounds like you probably are pregnant considering the home pregnancy tests and your symptoms, but we're going to do a urine test here today as well as a blood test. The blood test will give us more insight into your HCG levels which tell us exactly how far along you are, but since you know that exact day you conceived, I can pretty well tell you that you're 5 weeks and a few days, give or take", She gives me a smile.

"Oh okay", I gulp. "Good to know. That's uh… that's what the digital test said too, 5 weeks".

"Well it seems like you figured things out pretty well yourselves", She gives us a slight laugh. "You seem very organized".

Not organized enough to remember to tell Cappie to use a condom, I think to myself as I mentally scold myself.

"Yeah", I shrug then, unsure really what to say, giving her a smile nonetheless though, even if its a little forced.

"Well my assistant Trudy will be back in to take your blood and you can use the washroom, it's just two doors to the left here and there's urine test cups in there. If you can do the urine sample and bring it back in we'll test it. It should only take maybe 20 minutes to get the results back for both, they're fairly fast to show the HCG hormone", She explains, looking back and forth from me to Cappie, who probably has no idea what the HCG hormone is.

"Okay, sounds good", I nod up and down.

"Great, I'll see you two in a little bit", She gives us a smile and then leaves out the door, closing it.

"Well that was awkward", I groan and let out a slight laugh, still unable to wrap my head around the fact that this was really happening.

"Case I'm sitting beside a plastic model of a vagina", Cappie laughs and holds it up. "Awkward went out the window like… 20 minutes ago".

I can't help but giggle at him then.

"Cap!", I laugh. "That's not just a vagina… it's the whole female reproductive system. It's the uterus, and the cervix… and the bladder and everything else too".

"Oh damn", He looks at it closer now. "This is making me realize I really don't know much about the female anatomy".

"Really? You'd think you would since you've been inside enough girls this point", I mutter off slightly bitterly as I give him a glare.

"Whoa!", Cappie laughs then, licking his lips, clearing amused by annoying me. "Is someone jealous?"

"No!", I say immediately, defensively. "I'm just merely… stating facts".

I cross my arms and give him a shrug then go back to tapping my leg anxiously against the table.

"Sorry… I won't suggest that you're jealous of me being with other girls ever again", He says with a grin.

"Okay", I look up to give him a look, unable to not smile at him. Something about Cappie made me get drawn back into him. I suppose it was his charm… or the fact that he was always there for me no matter what. "Well for the record… that's where the baby is gonna grow Cap".

I point to it.

"In here?", He points to the vagina part.

"No Cappie", I roll my eyes. "In there, in the uterus".

I point to the uterus part of the model with a laugh.

"I thought it grew in your stomach?", he smirks.

"No it's gonna grow in my uterus!", I continue to giggle at him.

I'm unsure whether he's just doing this because he knows I'm freaking out and on the edge of tears and he knows that he can make me laugh, knows that he can help me that way. Or maybe all guys truly did have no idea of what girls were like down there internally. I mean… he'd sure been with enough girls to probably know stuff. Not that I wanted to think about him being with other girls right now… or ever. I hated that thought, he was right about that.

But I was grateful for him right now, that he was here with me, that he was at least trying to make this a little upbeat for me.

"Wow…", He gasps and looks at the uterus part of the model. "So if it's in here… it's so… close to everything".

He gestures to the whole model with his finger.

"Does that mean we can't… you know like usual?", he gives me a suggestive smirk then, mischief on his face as per usual.

I roll my eyes at him then and laugh.

"No Cappie, we can still have sex", I give him a sight glare but I can't help the way the sides of my mouth turn into a smirk, the way my face turns red at the thought of it. "The baby's in my uterus so… having something in… there…"

I point to the vagina part.

"It can't even get that far up there. It definitely wouldn't even get close to the baby if that's what you're thinking", I giggle as I shake my head at his antics. "The cervix would stop it".

"Oh thank god", he breathes out like he's relieved. "I don't want to scar the kid for life before it's even out of you, that would be like… messing things up before we're even supposed to be able to mess things up. Also 9 months without being with you? We only lasted 5 and a half until you jumped me after our innocent little walk home last month".

He gives me a mischievous look then, his blue eyes getting that glint to them. He'd had this exact same look the night I met him.

"What, is someone counting?", I give him a look, smirking, and then I cross my arms.

I couldn't let him do all the teasing.

"Not counting… just merely a guestimate", He shrugs like it means nothing but I just scoff at him.

"Yeah uh… I hate to be the bearer of bad news but… who says we're going to be having sex anyways Cap?", I give him a playful glare, loving to spar with him like this, even if I wouldn't admit it to him, this is what I missed the most over the summer. Not necessarily even dating him, just not having him in my life anymore. Not having the way we joke around with each other, the way he presses all my buttons in the most annoyingly perfect way possible. If that even makes sense.

It was like the start of senior year, a little over a year ago, when we had taken a break from talking to each other after that all nighter studying. He'd told me he still had feelings for me and I was dating Max. And we decided to not be in each others lives anymore.

But, of course, I didn't even last a week before I was sitting in my room on the window seat crying because I never realized how much I would miss having him in my life.

Then I had to go through it all again in the summer. My life was just a lot more fun when he was in it.

"Well…", Cap shrugs then. "I can't get you drunk I suppose, now that you're with child of course…. Or at least we think you are."

He sighs jokingly.

"So I'll have to find some other way to get you to suppress your responsible side…", He thinks to himself jokingly. "I'll find a way to seduce you Case, mark my words".

He looks at me jokingly as I can't help but giggle.

The door opens then, startling me, and I know I'm probably red from blushing and laughing, Cappie's fault of course.

The model of the female reproductive system falls out of Cappie's hands then as he's startled by the door opening.

"Cap", I groan slightly and then look to the woman in scrubs at the door, Dr. Thomas' assistant I presume. "Sorry, he's just clumsy".

"That's okay", She laughs then. "It's nice to see a partner wanting to learn all about this process".

She smiles at the two of us then as Cappie gets the model back in place on the desk and then looks to the two of us with a grin, a little flustered.

"Exactly", Cappie nods with a laugh. "I just found out a baby doesn't grow in your stomach. You learn something new everyday".

"Well you're not the only first time dad to make that mistake", She laughs and then comes in and closes the door. I look to give Cappie a look, him looking absolutely petrified at her calling him a first time dad. "I'm Trudy. I'm going to be taking your blood today".

"Okay great", I nod.

I sit back while she sets up and then takes two vials of my blood

"Oh and I've got to do the urine sample too!", I remember, holding a bandaid onto my arm that Trudy had given me.

I prop myself up and off the exam table to go to the washroom.

Once it's done I bring it back and give the sample in a little plastic baggy to Trudy.

"Perfect, thanks Casey", She gives me and Cappie a friendly nod and then is out of the room.

"Well…", I sigh and move to come sit back down. "I guess here it goes. They're gonna tell us for real Cap".

"Yep", he sighs out then and I can tell he's scared too. It's not something I've ever really seen in him, it's rare to see him be nervous like this. He was usually the most confident and self assured person I knew. Maybe Trudy referring to him as a dad had truly rattled him. Or maybe us just being here, in this office, with all these posters about pregnancy is making this all a reality to him.

Him having held such a strong front the past few days actually made me feel a bit less panicked. But it was Cappie, he didn't really worry about anything. But today, I think this is becoming more and more real for him, and even though he's cracking jokes and trying to make me laugh, I can tell he's scared.

"I wonder if the doctor knows this was an accident?", Cappie laughs slightly, cutting through the silence between us, taking me out of my worried thoughts.

"Well we're 22… so I'd guess she'd probably assume so", I sigh. "Not to mention she totally knows this was a random hookup… I literally told her I only had one day that would have been the possible conception date because it was the first time me for in months".

I groan then.

"Well actually, I'm 23 Case", Cappie smirks at me, matter of fact.

"Right", I nod then, having forgot that he turned 23 earlier in October. "Sorry, I really should remember since that night we… you know… you thanked me for your 'birthday present' in the morning".

We both laugh then as I use air quotes.

"Well it was the best late birthday present you could've given me", He looks at me mischievously.

"Better than getting broken up with on your birthday", I scoff and give him a bit of a glare, but I'm really just playing around with him like we always do.

"Right", He cringes. "Not my finest moment, I'm still really sorry about how that all played out".

"It's… fine", I shrug. "I'm just kidding… and I'm nervous right now…"

I sigh again then, anxious for the doctor to come back in.

"Case… for all she knows we could be a young married couple who were trying to get pregnant", Cappie shrugs. "Just trying very… infrequently and not referring to each other as husband and wife".

I scoff then at him.

"Cap you really think that there's 22 year olds out there actively trying to get pregnant?", I give him a look.

"Hey go to Dale's church group once… those people marry at like 16", Cappie jokes and I can't help but giggle. "I mean I would too if I had to have a ring on my finger in order to have sex".

I roll my eyes at him playfully as I shake my head. Typical Cappie.

"Well… hopefully she won't think too badly of me", I say nervously. "Because if this is all real she's probably going to be my doctor throughout this".

"This is her job, I'm sure she's not judging", Cappie looks to me seriously, looking empathetic. Then he shrugs and goes back to smirking. "Plus I'm giving you full permission to blame it on me and tell her that your idiot boyfriend came inside you without a condom".

I laugh then, blushing at him.

"Sorry, not boyfriend… friend I mean. Saying it is just a force of habit", He backtracks, shaking his head awkwardly.

Before I can even say anything, tell him it's okay if he wants to call himself that in front of the doctor, the door opens and I perk up immediately.

I feel my heart start to pound, seeing Dr. Thomas walk in and close the door.

I can see Cappie straightening up too, sitting tall on the edge of the chair he's on.

"Well Casey, you are indeed pregnant", She sits down on her stool, giving me a smile. "Your HCG levels are measuring at about 6 weeks pregnant which makes sense since with your dates you gave me, you're about 5 weeks and 4 days".

"Oh…", I nod up and down then, feeling like the wind has been knocked out of me. "So I'm really pregnant?"

I don't know why I'm confirming, it was basically clear as day, I had told Rusty and Cap that the other day. That I just knew I was, that I could just feel it.

I look over to Cappie then whose blue eyes are searing into mine as he searches over my reaction. He looks serious but not overly shocked, I'm sure he knew this was happening, that there wasn't going to be some crazy last minute miracle in which a bunch of tests were wrong.

"I know this can be really shocking so feel free to feel what you're feeling", Dr. Thomas looks at me comfortingly. "I… I don't want to overstep so let me know if I am, but was this pregnancy planned?"

"No", I croak out, shaking my head. "No, not at all. We're both students at CRU actually, I just started my first year of law school and… having a baby is like the last thing I thought would be happening to me right now".

I sigh then.

"Well you do have options if you want to go over them, we have lots of literature you can read up about… we're completely pro choice here", She smiles.

"That's… that's good, I am too", I nod. "But I've already decided to have it".

I gulp then, just saying that out loud, knowing one hundred percent now that I was truly having a baby, felt really weird to me still.

"It's not what I wanted but… I can't really imagine not keeping it now", I add and then look to Cappie. "And… I have some support so… maybe it won't be as bad as I think".

I shrug then.

"Well that's good to hear that you have people around you during this time", She smiles genuinely. "The thing that makes the most difference among the young mothers I see is the level of support they have. Sometimes it's their own parents, the fact that the father is involved in the baby's life, their friends and siblings being there for them… And we have a lot of resources we can help you out with too, free things you can apply for, programs and classes that can help prepare you".

"Okay", I nod up and down, feeling grateful to her right now. "Thank you. We're both really nervous… but I think it'll become more real soon and we'll start to plan things out more".

I look over to Cappie and he nods too.

"Yeah we'll… we'll make this work", Cappie says adamantly, looking to me when he says it, not Dr. Thomas, and I can feel my heart beat fast at the way he's looking at me. But I don't want to blush, don't want to smile or look too giddy in front of the doctor.

"Great, well this being your first appointment there's a lot of things we need to go over. I'm going to give you some forms to bring back next time, basically just detailing more about your medical history, and yours too Cappie, just whatever you can fill in", She looks from me and then to Cappie when she speaks. "As for today… I'm going to do a pelvic exam, take a swab just to make sure everything is good down there and then we'll do a transvaginal ultrasound and see how the fetus is doing in there, does that sound good?"

"Yeah", I nod up and down meekly, all of her words scaring me slightly. "Okay".

"Perfect so I'm just gonna have you lay back here with you feet in the stirrups. These exams can be pretty awkward and personal, would you like your friend to be in the room here or he can wait in the hall?", She asks me.

"Oh no, it's okay", I shrug awkwardly. "He can be in here".

I confirm as I look over to Cap and then scoot down the exam table to reach the stirrups as Dr. Thomas guides my feet into them, pulling my legs apart.

"Well I was there for the first step in this whole baby process so… might as well keep the streak going", Cappie jokes awkwardly and I give him a look now from my reclining position as if to scold him.

He just returns a shrug and mouths the word 'what?' to me as if him joking about sex in front of this doctor isn't all sorts of awkward.

"Okay Casey so I'm just going to insert the speculum, have you had pelvic exams before?"

"Just one", I say. "When I came here awhile ago to get on the pill".

"Okay well then you know they can be a little uncomfortable but I'm going to just use some basic lubricant here to try and make it as easy as possible, it might be a bit cold", She explains.

"Okay no problem", I nod, a little nervous for this.

Eventually I feel her insert the device, bucking my hips up uncomfortably as I wince.

Cappie sits beside me looking a little lost but moves closer to me nonetheless when he sees the way my face contorts in pain.

"Alright got it", Dr. Thomas says eventually and she luckily takes the speculum out making me sigh out in relief. "Perfect now I'm just going to check your cervix here, do an internal exam with my fingers, let me know if it becomes too painful".

"Okay", I croak out awkwardly and look up to the ceiling as I feel her poking around in me uncomfortably.

"Alright well your cervix feels completely normal for almost 6 weeks so that's great", She confirms with me. "Now… what do you two say? Would you like to see what's the start of your baby?"

She pulls her stool around slightly and I sit up a bit, propping up on my elbows.

I look over to Cappie then who looks a little stunned, his eyes wide.

"Yeah I think so, right Case?", He gives me a smile.

"Yeah", I can't help but smile a bit, biting my lip. "Okay".

"Great", Dr. Thomas laughs slightly, seeing our nervous reactions. "Well I'll get the ultrasound machine hooked up here. I can't promise we'll see much, it's going to be very tiny at this point and won't look much like a baby. But it's still very cool to see, sometimes makes it a lot more real for expecting parents, to know that there's actually something there. We might even be able to see the heartbeat flickering, with this type of ultrasound often you can see something at about 6 weeks".

"Wait really? It already has a heartbeat?", I let out as I feel my heart pound itself at that fact.

"Yes, the embryos heart starts beating about 20 to 25 days after conception. It'll really just be a slight flickering at this point. At 10 weeks you can hear it much more clearly with a regular over the lower stomach ultrasound", She explains.

"Wow…", I take this in, not having expected this today. "Okay cool".

"Don't worry too much if we can't find any sign of a heartbeat, that can be normal too at this stage, but in about 75% of pregnancies we can see signs of fetal flickering at this stage", She gives us both a smile as she starts setting up the ultrasound machine. "Alright hun, so I'm going to get you to put this in, we find it's easier that way, more comfortable for you so you can feel around and have it go in comfortably".

She hands me the ultrasound probe as I sit up slightly, the length of it honestly worrying me.

"It can be very uncomfortable for some women but it's the only way to see anything at this stage", Dr. Thomas says, I think reacting to the way I look scared.

"No it's okay", I wave it off. "I'll try it, I want to be able to see it".

She nods and I sit up more to feel around to get the probe in.

This definitely makes it up there as probably the top most weird moment of my life, being in a room with this woman I just met, Cappie beside me too, as I try to stick this thing up me so I can see our baby. Or not baby I suppose, cluster of cells. But still… I actually really wanted to see that cluster of cells. I think it would really help me come to terms with this more. And I couldn't help the fact that I was actually excited to see it… that all night I had been thinking about this moment, scared of it but also knowing it was going to be life changing.

I move around a bit to try and get it in, cringing a bit as I feel the immediate discomfort of it inside me now. It's weird how bad medical instruments like this felt when you were completely not turned on at all, obviously, it made it hard to even get it every far up there.

"Okay I think I got it", I say awkwardly and Dr. Thomas pulls up my gown more to check for herself, taking over for me to operate it and move it around.

"Perfect, okay, so I'm just going to be taking a look here at your ovaries and your uterus", She explains as she twists and turns the probe around in me making it feel like I'm being jabbed uncomfortably, but I grin and bear it.

"Alright here we go… here's the yolk sac, if you can see here this is where the sperm and the egg has come together and implanted into your uterine wall", She explains. "Which is what makes you miss your period, and which is also why you're having morning sickness and breast tenderness, because the embryo starts giving off hormones pretty soon after implanting".

She explains to me and Cappie and I nod and then look over to him to see him listening intently, I'm sure probably not knowing much about the subject.

"Alright… oh here we go", she smiles and presses a button, pausing the screen. "Here it is, this is the start of your baby".

I feel my heart pound then, worry and excitement taking over me at the same time. I sit up slightly to see better.

"Wait that's it?", I point to the screen. "It's so small… it just looks like a tadpole or something or… a bean".

I laugh slightly, feeling weird right now, weird that I know this is inside me, weird that this is all very real. And especially weird that it's making my heart feel like it's a million sizes bigger in my body.

"Yeah, it does kind of look like a tadpole", Dr. Thomas laughs.

"Wow…", Cappie leans forward to stare at the screen, looking perplexed.

"Can you see this slight flicker here?", She moves the probe a bit and then stops in one spot, showing a slight flicker on the screen around the tadpole.

"Yeah", I let out a laugh, feeling so much right now. "I see it".

I look over to Cappie then to see an awestruck look on his face and then he meets my eyes, his lips turning up into a bit of a smile, as shocked as I am.

"That's the heartbeat", Dr. Thomas explains. "Next appointment we should be able to hear it, which is a really cool experience".

She smiles at us, I think amused with the way me and Cappie look absolutely entranced with the screen.

"I'm gonna print you guys out some pictures, does that sound good?", She confirms with us as she smiles.

"Yeah that would be awesome", Cappie nods up and down right away.

"Yeah", I echo his sentiment, taking in a deep breath because it feels like I've forgotten to even breathe for the last few minutes.

I feel tears come to my eyes then, feel my face start to get hot.

Dr. Thomas shuts down the machine and pulls the probe out but I'm too busy quietly sobbing now to barely notice.

"Hey it's okay Case", Cap brings his chair over to me when he notices I'm crying, putting his hand around to rest on my back, running up and down it.

"I know I'm just… I can't believe this is real", I let out a loud sob then, feeling a bit embarrassed about crying but unable to keep it in at this point. "Sorry… I don't knew why I'm crying so much".

I say this to Dr. Thomas as I let out a slight laugh.

"Oh don't worry honey", She laughs as she rests a hand on my leg. "You're definitely not the first, it's a very special, and sometimes really surprising experience to see what's the start of your baby for the first time".

"Yeah…", I croak out between sobs, my body wracking as I cry, Cappie's one hand on my back, the other now finding my hand to rest on. He's trying to comfort me, but I don't even really need comforting, because I'm not sad persay, I'm just shocked and emotional, and was totally unprepared to feel this way today. To already feel something for it when I had only even known about it for two days now.

I really hadn't expected to feel this way. Sure, I had decided to keep it, but now I felt like I was in deep. Felt like every single thing I was going to do from this point forward was going to be for the tadpole. It had to be, this already meant too much to me, even if it was still so early, even if I didn't want to be a mom right now, even if me and Cap weren't together.

"I'll let you clean up hun and then you can meet me up at the front to schedule your next appointment and give you some paperwork", She gives me a soft smile. "I'll let you guys have a moment".

"Okay thanks", Cappie answers for me because I'm honestly too incapacitated right now to say much. "Thanks for seeing us doctor".

"Of course", She gives him a sweet smile and then looks to me to give me a wave. "Take care Casey".

"Okay thanks", I let out, nodding as I wipe my eyes.

She smiles and then leaves out the door, closing it behind her.

"Cap I can't believe I've been literally cursing this… this thing, I feel so bad", I let out as I start to sniffle. "It's just been here, literally growing a heart inside my body while I considered keeping it or not".

I let out another sob then and Cappie moves forward to hug me and I feel him laugh slightly against my body.

"Hey it's okay, that's totally normal", He says. "Him or her has no idea anyway".

He laughs again slightly, giving me a squeeze.

"I know you're going to be great at this", He whispers against me then.

"Yeah?", I sniffle.

"Yeah", He pulls away now to look at me, giving me the worlds softest expression as he holds my hand. "Here… let's wipe away these tears".

He scoffs then, grinning as he uses the sleeve of his shirt to wipe my cheek.

"Thanks", I croak out.

"Yeah no problem", he grins. "Want to go… get something to eat and look at the pictures?"

"Yeah", I smile a bit then, thinking about that. "Yeah that would be nice".

"Okay cool", He smirks. "Let's get you dressed then and we can get out of here".

"Okay", I nod, smiling now as he helps me off the exam table.