"Riley! Stop touching everything!" Sydney hissed, as she sat on the exam table. "Riley!"

At the counter, Riley carefully poked and prodded at the model of a fetus within the uterus, trying to wrap his head around it.

"This is so weird," he said for the hundredth time, since they stepped into the room. "I mean, this is what's going to happen to you! A human, growing in you and then coming out down… there."

Sydney tried to suppress her groan, crossing her ankles together, as Riley continued to play around. "If you break that, they'll charge our insurance and I can guarantee that it wont be covered!"

He quickly pulled his hand away from the model and made his way over to the table. "How's your arm?" he asked, reaching out to touch the band-aid.

"Hurts," she pouted, looking down at the sight where the nurse drew blood. "Took her forever to find a vein, I could've sworn she was searching for treasure or something."

"Well hopefully they wont have to take anymore," said Riley, as she leaned forward to rest her head on his shoulder. "And hopefully this doctor will show up soon."

She nodded, "It's cold in here," she mumbled. "Exam rooms are always cold and it doesn't help that I have practically nothing on."

Riley looked down at the paper gown that Sydney changed into, her sock-clad feet swinging back and forth between them. A light knock on the door startled them, as it swung open to reveal the doctor.

"Hello," the middle aged man smiled, stepping into the room. "I'm Doctor Carlyle."

The couple stepped apart, each shaking the hand that was offered to them. "You must be Sydney Poole," he nodded, looking down at the chart. "And I take it that you're her husband."

"Riley," he nodded, as the man moved over to the sink.

"It's nice to meet you both," he said, washing his hands. "Sorry about the wait. My appointment with the previous patient went a little over."

Sydney shifted on the table, "So, we got the results from both your urine sample, since it'll take a day or two to get the blood results," Doctor Carlyle said. "That test came up positive, but I know you wanted concrete proof."

"I just want to make sure it's the real deal," Sydney nodded, as he came over to the table. "You know… before we go and get everyone's hopes up and nothing happens."

"Well, let's get you situated up here and I can start the sonogram," he said, pulling on a pair of gloves. "When was the last time you had your period?"

Sydney laid back on the table, placing her feet up into the stirrups that were pulled out. "Mid-July," she said, watching as he moved the cart over. "A week after the Fourth."

Carlyle nodded, turning the machine on, as he set up the transducer wand. "Any other symptoms besides the lack of period?" he asked, looking up at her. "Nausea, tenderness in the breasts? Discomfort during intercourse?"

"I threw up the other day," Sydney reported, as Riley stood at her side. "A little tenderness, especially when I wear bras or lay on my stomach. And I've been experiencing cravings already, which is crazy, because I thought that happened later on."

"Well, each pregnancy is different. One may have… severe morning sickness, while the other doesn't have any at all," he shrugged. "Let's get this started and hopefully you two will be going home with good news," he smiled, moving closer to the foot of the bed. "There's going to be a little pressure."

Sydney looked up at the ceiling, willing her body to relax, as the doctor pressed the transducer into her. Wincing at the discomfort, she quickly grabbed Riley's hand, pressing her feet into the stirrups as the wand moved around. At the foot of the bed, the doctor used one hand to tap away at the keys, bringing up the black and white image of Sydney's uterus.

"Well," he finally said. "You are definitely pregnant."

The couple quickly looked at the screen, as Doctor Carlyle pointed to the mass of cells that attached itself to the uterine wall. "It's really not much, but a mass of cells that are growing and forming into the fetus. Here are the hands, which look like little flippers. The legs are starting to form down here, very small, but they're here."

"Oh my god," Sydney gasped, sitting up to get a better look.

"I would say that you're about… seven weeks? Seems about right, based on what I'm seeing here," he continued, tapping at the keys to take pictures. "Everything looks good in here, Sydney. Between this and the notes that the nurse took, you're perfectly healthy as well as the baby."

"That's good to know," she smiled, turning to look at Riley.

Finishing up with the exam, Doctor Carlyle stood up and moved to the counter, writing a few notes down. "I want you to get dressed and meet me in my office," he said, picking up her file. "I want to go over what you two need to expect in the next seven months and there's a lot of paper work that you two need to read."

They nodded, watching as he left the room, leaving them both to process the news.

"There's a baby in there," Riley said, as he laid his hand on her stomach. "It's really in there."

"I can't believe it!" Sydney giggled, as he kissed her. "I mean, it doesn't look like much now, but it's our baby."

Riley chuckled, "It's got hands and feet already," he shook his head. "How crazy is that?"

Sydney climbed off the exam table, moving to grab her underwear off the chair. "And at seven weeks?! That's just.. amazing."

Quickly redressing, Sydney shouldered her bag and took Riley's hand. "Let's get home as soon as we can," she whispered, as they started down the hall. "I want to go home and celebrate properly."

….

A few days after the visit with the OBGYN, Riley and Sydney invited Ben, Abigail and Alex over for dinner. While Doctor Carlyle insisted they wait until they hit and passed the twelve-week mark, the couple was dying to tell their closest friends about their news.

"I mean, they both already have an idea," Sydney said, as she set the pan of chicken into the oven. "And Abby was there when I took the tests, so she already knows."

Riley nodded, "We could always tell our parents on Thanksgiving," he shrugged. "Or if we don't see them then, we can do it at Christmas."

"Or, we could always take a drive out my parents house," Sydney suggested. "I mean they live a little closer than yours. I'd just feel really bad for waiting that long to tell them."

"Then we'll tell them after twelve weeks," Riley said, carrying the stack of plates over to the table.

By five, the Gates' were hanging up their jackets in the hall closet, and Alex was handed off to his Godmother, as they settled in the living room with drinks.

"Auntie Syd got you some apple juice," the woman cooed, as she carried Alex out from the kitchen. "I diluted it with water."

Abigail nodded, "That's fine," she said, as Sydney sat down with the baby. "He actually likes the juice, rather than the formula."

Settling back, Sydney held Alex on her lap with one arm wrapped around him, carefully placing the nipple of the bottle into his mouth. All the while, Riley sat next to her and watched as she spoke to the boy, cooing and marveling over how big he was getting.

"Soon, I won't be able to hold you like this," she pouted, as Alex slurped down the juice. "You'll be wiggling around and wanting to run around instead of being cuddled."

"Hopefully that won't be for a while, "Abigail sighed. "We still have to baby proof the entire house and figure out where all the safety gates will go."

Riley visibly paled at the thought of extreme baby proofing, even though he and Sydney lived in a much smaller house than their friends. Sydney glanced at him and shrugged halfheartedly, while she fed Alex.

"What's for dinner?" Ben asked, setting his glass down on the coffee table, while Abigail elbowed him. "What? I'm hungry!"

"It's not our fault you locked yourself up in the study and skipped lunch," she rolled her eyes. "Ben's be offered a teaching position at Georgetown in the History department."

Ben shrugged, "Oh that's amazing!" Sydney smiled. "Did you take the offer?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "I start in the spring teaching a few undergrad and graduate level courses in American History. So, I've been trying to get some idea of how I'd want to lay out all the course work."

Riley frowned, "Don't you have to be certified in order to teach?" he asked. "I mean, are you like… allowed to do that without a teaching degree?"

"He's Ben Gates," Sydney snorted. "Founder of two mass treasures and it helps that his family history goes way back."

"And there's no doubt that his ego will inflate because of it," Abigail sighed, crossing her legs. "So, what's going on with you two? Anything interesting going on with work?"

The couple glanced at each other, "No, work is the same," Sydney shrugged. "And Riley's doing god knows what in that little office of his."

Riley rolled his eyes, "Trying to fix your computer is what I've been doing," he muttered. "Downloading virus-filled programs from torrent sites."

"Not everyone is smart as you, Riley," Sydney chided, shaking her head. "Anyways, we've been pretty… boring the last few days. We're still trying to figure out where to put everything from our old apartment."

"Why don't you hire that interior decorator that Abby hired?" Ben shrugged. "This place would be spotless and all done up by the time Thanksgiving rolled around."

Sydney hesitated, 'Well," she started, as Riley cut in.

"We need to take apart the spare room first, before anything," he nodded, glancing at his wife.

Their friends frowned, "What's wrong with the spare room?" Abigail asked. "Please don't tell me you found mold in there!"

Sydney shook her head, "No! No mold!" she instead, glaring at Riley. "It's just.. we're not having a guest room anymore."

"Aw man," Ben sighed. "Riley, where am I supposed to go when this one kicks me out after fighting?" he asked, ignoring the glare from Abigail.

"What's going on that you don't need a guest room?" Abigail asked, frowning at her friends.

"Because we're having a baby in seven months," Sydney stated. "We went to the doctor the other day and he confirmed it."

Abigail's eyes went wide, before a huge grin broke out on her face. "Thank god!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

"Congratulations!" Ben laughed, getting up to give them both a hug. "I'm sure you're both relieved that it's goo news! Riley was fretting about that night you two came over for dinner."

"I wasn't fretting," Riley blushed, as Alex cooed. "I was worried that it was something serious, but thankfully it's a baby and not something drastic… like cancer."

Sydney snorted, "So I'm due in May, which is great! I won't have to suffer in the heat with a eight pound baby floating around in here."

"Lucky," Abigail shook her head. "Oh, I'm so excited for you two! If it's a boy, it'll be a mini-Riley! I can just see all the cutesy clothes he'll wear, with Star Wars and Star Trek logos all over them!"

"I did see some cute boys clothes online last night!" Sydney nodded. "Just the thought of decorating is making me so giddy! I can't wait to put everything together and make this place all cozy for the three of us!"

As the girls got up to take Alex into the kitchen, chatting about baby clothes and cribs, the boys sat on the sofa in silence.

"Well," Ben sighed. "Welcome to the club."

"What club?" Riley frowned. "There's a club?"

Ben nodded, "The one in which expectant fathers have to endure nine months of mood swings, cravings, increased libido and having the right opinion on color schemes and themes for nurseries."

Riley's eyes went wide, "I rather have nine months of an increased libido," he admitted. "I don't know anything about color schemes and nursery things."

"I didn't either," Ben shrugged. "Then I Googled and learned so much from the World Wide Web."