Hey! Thank you all for the sweet reviews!

I own nothing!

Elizabeth hadn't wanted her pregnancy to be a big deal at work, but as it turned out, it was a big deal.

The biggest deal.

As she argued with her frustrated boss over the phone, Elizabeth began to wonder if it was worth it. Her job had been nothing but a giant pain in her ass since the day she started, and a baby was surely not going to help matters.

Maybe she should just quit.

Quitting sounded nice. Quitting and moving to another city sounded very nice. A beach town, maybe? She could raise her baby in a cottage by the sea and no one would ever bother them and they would live happily ever after.

Yeah, right.

"Sir, I promise you this wasn't planned..."

"It was careless. It was careless and irresponsible, two things that a field agent cannot afford to be." Agent Cooper's voice was strained, as if Elizabeth had personally offended him by sleeping with her husband. Well Elizabeth was offended too. She didn't exactly know what for...but it really didn't matter.

"It's not like I really had a choice, Sir," Elizabeth sighed, but the lie felt heavy on her tongue, and she regretted it instantly.

"Oh you had a choice, Agent Keen."

And of course she had made the wrong one. She had chosen her lying husband over an honest criminal.

Not bothering with a goodbye, Elizabeth hung up the phone. Feeling a brushing against her leg, she looked down to find Hudson looking up at her, seeking some attention. Poor Hudson. Tom was gone, and Elizabeth might as well have been. Elizabeth reached down and patted him on the head, and then walked from the kitchen to the couch on the living room, whistling for him to follow her.

They cuddled on the couch for an hour, Elizabeth sprawled out in exhaustion with Hudson's head on her belly, as if he knew there was something in there...something that needed to be protected.

Smart dog.

Elizabeth was just about to drift off into what she was sure was going to be a fitful slumber when she felt a strange sensation in her stomach. Not the fluttering of butterfly wings she had been feeling for about a month now, but something a little more forceful. Something akin to a kick. Placing her hand on her swollen belly, she waited impatiently for the sensation to come back so that she could be sure.

She didn't have to wait for long.

One swift movement high in Elizabeth's belly confirmed it. The baby was kicking. Squealing with an excitement that hadn't been present before that moment, she rubbed her belly gently.

"Hi there. I don't mean to scare you or anything, but I'm your Mama." Another movement encouraged Elizabeth to continue. "I know I haven't talked to you as much as I should have, but I promise I'll do better."

Elizabeth was shocked when her first chance to do better came in the form of a phone call.

"Hey girlie. I know this is a little last minute, but I have just broken up with the third Mister Right in the past two months and I am in desperate need of a girl's night."

"Carrie?"

"Who else?"

Of course. Carrie was Elizabeth's only friend outside of work, a fact that Elizabeth tried not to dwell on. She hadn't even told her only friend that she was expecting. What mother doesn't find any and every excuse to brag about her kid?

"I was thinking Charlie's. They have the best margaritas in town and..."

"Carrie," Elizabeth interrupted, not wanting her friend to plan too much trouble for the two of them to get into. "Hold on..."

"Lizzie, if you have to work just tell them you're sick. This is more important than catching the bad guys. My little heart is broken."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. Carrie had not the first clue what it meant to have a broken heart.

"Carrie, I can't."

"Ugh! Why did I ever think you would come through for me? That damn job means more to you than..."

"Carrie! I can't because I'm pregnant."

The shocked silence on the other end of the line was totally expected, but the high squeal that followed was not.

"Lizzie! That's wonderful! How far along are you?"

Elizabeth paused for a moment. "Ummm...close to five months."

"Ugh," Carrie groaned. "Why didn't you tell me sooner? We could've been baby shopping this whole time!"

Carrie's excitement was refreshing. This was how people SHOULD react to a baby.

"I just wasn't ready. I haven't really gotten the word out yet."

"You're not ready? At almost five months? Who are you hiding it from?"

"I'm not hid..."

"Oh no!" Carrie gasped. "Is it the father? Wait...if you're almost five months... It's Tom's, isn't it? Tom is the father!"

Damn her perception.

"Yes. Tom is the father."

"Oh Lizzie...I'm so sorry! I can't imagine how this must feel."

No, she really couldn't. Elizabeth rubbed her belly and smiled at the small movement under her hands.

"It will be fine. WE will be fine."

"Of course you will. How about this? How about we just do dinner and leave out the drinks? I need to vent, and I'm sure you do too."

"Well...okay. I kinda do need to talk through some things."

"Great! Pick you up at seven!"

The line went dead and Elizabeth smiled. She needed a night out.

With hours to kill before her dinner date, she made her way up the stairs and was just settled in for a nap when her phone rang again. She grabbed it off of the nightstand without looking at who was calling, certain it was Carrie calling to change their plans.

"If you're calling to say you want to switch restaurants I'm going to go ahead and tell you that I have my heart set on Charlie's famous burger..."

"And now so do I. Who do you have plans with, Lizzie?"

Red's voice boomed loudly over the small speakers, and Elizabeth cringed.

"Not that it's any of your business, but I am going to dinner with my friend, Carrie, and we are going to gab and gossip and eat."

"Sounds fantastic," Red chuckled. "I guess I'll leave it to you then. Don't stay out too late."

"Red?"

"Yes, Lizzie?"

Elizabeth closed her eyes and swallowed her pride.

"So you know how you offered to take me shopping for maternity clothes?"

"Yes."

"And you know how I refused?"

Red sniffed. "Vehemently."

"Well I can't wear yoga pants and a t-shirt out tonight...and the thought of clothes shopping by myself is..."

"Say no more. I'll pick you up in an hour."

So much for a nap. Elizabeth smiled to herself as she tried to say goodbye.

"Thank you. I'll see you then."

"Lizzie?"

"Yes?"

"What changed your mind?"

He just had to ask that question. Elizabeth smiled down at her stomach.

"Nothing. It's just..."

"It's just what?"

"The baby kicked."

Elizabeth could hear the slight intake of air from the other end of the line.

"I see."

"My baby is strong, and I've got to be strong too. I'm not going to ignore it anymore, and I'm not going to wallow in it. I can do this."

"I never had any doubt. See you in an hour."

Elizabeth sighed as she hung up the phone. She had REALLY wanted that nap.