She was pacing back and forth. And when the pacing became too much she stopped and simply stood there. It was right there on the vanity in front of her, mocking her! It's impossible for that to actually happen, but it was. Looking up to see her reflection in the mirror on the wall, she frowned. This situation was nothing that they had talked about. Well, that's not really a lie, they had talked about it but they never thought about taking the conversation further than it needed to go, to be anything more solid and have more meaning. She looked at her phone watching the timer countdown each second that ticked by bringing her closer to the answer the one that she feared. There was still a balance of a minute and forty-three seconds left before her life would change forever. She hopes that Rick will be happy, but she knows that if anything he'll be heartbroken when he hears the news. She can just imagine when he gets the news, he will be stunned at first, but then he will just fall apart when the news sinks in. She loves him, she knows him. None of this will be easy for either of them. She looks up once again from the countertop and takes a hard look into the mirror once more. She swears that she sees more grey hairs and her face has more worry lines showing on her forehead then she had only four minutes and thirty-two seconds ago.

The timer comes to its end and she doesn't have the power to open her eyes. Not that she wants to but she knows that she has to. She slowly opens her right eye to let in light and she looks down. It's there resting on the countertop of the vanity, mocking her still. She opens both eyes knowing that she needs to face her future good or bad. She raises the Clear Blue pregnancy test up to eye level and prepares for the result. She looks right at the sign it shows her in the small window. Two thin pink lines staring back at her. What she needs to do next is face the facts. On her next birthday, she will be 38 years old. Was she ready to have a baby? Was he? Is she good mother material? She knows without a doubt that he is a great father. He's definitely there for their child when she needs him. And she knows that he'll be there for this little one as well…. at least she hopes. Will there be complications since she's in her late thirties? What will she do if he has doubts about bringing another child into the world? When this baby graduates high school he will be close to turning fifty-seven years old. Is that too old?

She's startled by a knock from the other side of the bathroom door. Knowing that she needs to hide the test from prying eyes, she waits until the voice from the other side speaks to her, then that she will decide to hide it or not.

"Mom? Are you in there?" Alexis asks.

Alexis. She should have known. Ever since they were married, Kate has become a strength for her, someone who she can talk to, confide in. In reality, they've come to depend more and more on each other in the last three years.

"Honey, I'll be right out." Kate tells her through the door hoping she is hiding her apprehension.

"Mom is everything all right? What's going on in there?"

"Everything's fine Alexis, just give me a few seconds and I'll be right out." Well so much for sounding normal she thinks to herself.

"Okay, mom."

She knows that something's not right. Her mother never spends a half an hour in the bathroom no matter what she's doing. But she'll give her the privacy that she needs. About thirty seconds the door opens and her mom walks out looking a little tense. Alexis noticed this change immediately.

"Okay, out with it. What happened, mom? What's wrong?"

Kate takes her hand and walks her over to the two chairs that sit just outside of her bedroom. Once they sit down Kate looks at her and her face twists into what looks like fear. This is something that she'd never seen in her mother. She's so fearless and confident that she shouldn't let whatever this is be bothering her.

"Mom, did something happen at work? And come to think of it," she raises her arm to check the time on her watch "why are you home at two in the afternoon?"

Kate feels any sense of privacy retreat away from her soul. She really wants to tell her that she will be giving her a brother or sister, but it's complicated right now. Rick had just accepted a promotion from Lieutenant to Captain of the BDU five months ago. When Captain Hagen retired Rick was the logical choice to be promoted. He accepted and dove in head first making changes to make the unit work better with the detectives who were assigned temporarily to his unit for investigations. He had also revamped the unit as a whole, changed procedure and now they have a better response time to threats.

He actually got the idea from Kate. She had suggested that since his department was spread so thin he could use some help from detectives that were interested in helping him with the processing of a bomb scene. When it was introduced the idea was a hit and where ever he went in the city and he had a scene to process, detectives from that precinct were usually standing in line to sign up and assist.

Then there was the new apartment they had bought over a year ago. Deciding that they would need a larger home, Rick had moved from his apartment in Queens and Kate moved from her two-bedroom apartment to a loft in Manhattan. The loft was very spacious and they had made it their own with all the flairs that what made them, well them. She honestly never thought about her place anymore because that was not where she wanted to be. She wanted to be with him and Alexis.

Alexis was not necessarily a problem, but from the start, she had called her mom. She loved the fact that Alexis and herself had bonded so well. And one afternoon as Rick stood at the entryway to Alexis' room he noticed that she was giving Alexis some life advice, and decided right there that Kate needed to have more of a legal connection with his daughter than being just a stepmom. He had asked if she'd be willing to consider becoming her mother by adopting her. She told him that she would need to think about it seeing that this was a very big decision for all of them.

And now she added the fact that another child would soon be making an appearance to their list of problems. Well not really a problem, but more of a situation to deal with? Not a situation, but a life-changing decision. She looked at Alexis and told her,

"Sweetie, I do have something that I need to share with you. But one very important person is not here right now. I promise that I'll tell you when we're all together later tonight."

"Only if your sure mom, because you know that I can be a great sounding board if you ever need one." She pointed out.

"Sweetie, I do know that. And you are a big help when I have a very important decision to make. This, however, is kind of important and the subject is more personal."

"Mom, it's fine. Don't wor….

The front door to the loft unlocks and Rick steps in. He's instantly calling out for them.

"Where are my two favorite girls? Come on in here I have some news to share!"

Kate thinks to herself as she hears Rick call out to them,

"Well, there goes any hope for having the rest of the afternoon alone."

"Mom come on! Dads home and then you can tell us what's wrong, right?"

Kate can only agree by nodding her head. She is reluctantly pulled off the chair by her daughter and follows her downstairs….

A/N: This story takes place three years after Bomb I. Many readers have asked for a sequel and after much thought here it is.

A/N 2: Posting will be a little out of the norm for me, I am taking a cue from my fellow writers and friends Skygirl55 and Garrae. Chapters will be posted Thursday, Sunday, & Tuesday. Most of this story is already written and it will be about 18 chapters in length.

To those in the U.S. "Happy Thanksgiving!" Enjoy the time with family and friends!