Thank you so very much for editing my stories and for everything you do for me Kashy. You are a Godsend!

In my babecakesrus group at yahoo (see my profile for a url), we have a weekly word challenge to write a story, any length, any pairing, any rating, containing carefully chosen words.

This week, we're to use the following words in no particular order:

Picture - pills - gum - scissors - envelope - box

One Missed Pill – By Devka aka Jeannie

When I missed my period just over three months ago, I refused to consider the fact that I might be pregnant. I mean how could that even be possible? A lot of things can make you miss your period, right? Things like stress for example. Lord knows my life was filled with all levels of stress. Illness could do it. I had been sick with the flu for a while and was down in bed for days.

I had always been careful and took my pill every morning when I brushed my teeth. I remembered opening the little round container and counting the remaining pills. I had missed taking just one little white pill. Could missing only one day really make that much of a difference? Apparently so.

After buying one of those home pregnancy test kits and reading the directions on the box, I performed the test as instructed. A few minutes later, when I saw the little blue positive symbol, I thought it was a mistake so I drove back to the store and bought another kit. It had the same results.

As the days after finding out I was pregnant passed into weeks, I accepted the fact that a life was growing inside of me. I really hoped it was a little boy who would be the spitting image of his father. I hoped he would have silky black hair and warm chocolate brown eyes, but big blue eyes would be okay too, as long as he had the black hair to go with them.

I took my pre-natal vitamin with a cold glass of water from the tap and closed the medicine cabinet door. At least I wouldn't have to worry about taking birth control pills everyday for the next several months.

Turning off the water that was flowing into the bathtub, I eased myself down into the hot steamy water and tried to relax. I thought about how this baby was going to affect everyone's lives.

How was I going to tell my family? How could I explain to them what had happened? I wondered if they even realized I had sex. I mean, I'm sure they knew I was capable of having sex, but did they realize that I enjoyed making love as often as possible? But what worried me the most was what my mother was going to say. How would she explain this to her friends? There was nothing like being the main topic of conversation around every breakfast table in the Burg.

Running my hand over my lower abdomen I could already feel the small bump there. Nearly everyone who knew me thought I was putting on weight. No one suspected I was actually pregnant.

I pushed the thoughts to the back of my head and quickly finished my bath. I couldn't be late for my appointment. Today the doctor was doing an ultrasound and soon, I would have the first picture of my unborn child.

My car was being serviced so I was driving Big Blue. It really was a monster of a car. It averaged a whopping eight miles to the gallon in the city. I slid behind the wheel and rumbled off to my doctor's appointment.

Because no other parking stall was available, I parked the car in the nether regions of the parking lot and began the long hike into the doctor's office.

I walked through the door and a receptionist greeted me. I gave her my name and signed in, acknowledging the fact that I was here. "Who are you seeing today?" She asked.

"Dr. Gennaro," I replied.

"He's running a bit behind schedule," she said. "Please have a seat in the waiting room."

I grabbed a magazine from the rack and sat across from a young girl who had an enormous stomach and looked as if she couldn't have been more than fifteen years old. I smiled at her and she popped her gum and turned away.

Opening the Reader's Digest magazine, I turned to the comic section and started reading 'Laughter in these United States.'

I could see the young girl studying me from the corner of my eye. Her gaze was intense as she studied me. "Are you pregnant?" she asked. "I mean, I don't want to be rude but it's hard to tell with that dress you're wearing."

Looking up from my magazine, I smiled. "Yes, I'm a little over four months along."

"That's cool. But aren't you kind of old to be having a baby?" She asked as she scratched her huge belly.

I gave her my best death glare and she was saved from my verbal assault when the nurse called my name from the doorway leading back to the examination rooms.

When I caught up with her, she had me step on the scales and told me I had gained only two pounds since my last visit. She took my temperature and blood pressure, telling me my blood pressure was a little on the high side.

She showed me to an examination room and explained that the doctor would be with me shortly.

I sat looking around the room and carefully studied the chart which detailed the stages of pregnancy. Already, my baby was between one to one and a half pounds, its eyes blinked and it probably had hair. The chart said that there was a chance I'd be able to learn what its sex was with the ultrasound the doctor was doing today. Did I want to know if it was a little boy or a little girl? Would it matter how I felt about it? I was agonizing over the question when there was a knock at the door and the doctor walked in wheeling a box type device over to the exam table.

He plugged the machine into the wall and had me lie on the table. He covered me from the hips down with a sheet and had me pull up my dress and nudged my panties down to expose my abdomen.

I felt the cold gel hit my stomach and flinched. The doctor laughed and apologized as he explained that the gel warmer wasn't working, but I don't think he was really all that sorry for the little joke. He put a wand on my stomach and turned the monitor a little in my direction so I could see the images as well.

Modern medicine is amazing. Right before my eyes I was able to see my child. The doctor passed the wand over my belly a few times and explained that he was making sure the baby's organs were all there and in the right places. After assuring me that everything was fine and I was progressing as expected, he took some time and showed me the baby's spinal column, its amazing little heart beat, and its tiny fingers. He asked if I wanted to know the sex and I decided to wait and be surprised. It really didn't matter if it was a boy or a girl. I was already very much in love with this tiny little soul.

The doctor printed off a picture for me to take around so I could show off to my family and friends. Using a pair of surgical scissors he withdrew from his pocket, he trimmed the edges and slipped it into a little cardboard frame then handed it to me.

I stopped off at the receptionist's desk and made an appointment for the following month then left the office. I hardly noticed the long walk back to the car. My head was in the clouds after seeing my baby for the first time.

Sitting behind the wheel, I buckled myself up and decided it was time to tell my family. I stopped off at Cluck in a Bucket and bought a big bucket of chicken with all the trimmings.

I arrived home just a few minutes before six and set dinner out on the table. I took the small framed picture of the baby out of my pocket, sealed it in an envelope and placed it across Frank's plate. I couldn't wait to see his reaction when he learned we were expecting our third child in mid May.

Far away in the distance I heard the clamoring of bells. Flying out of bed, I flew across the room and turned off the alarm and then stood there for a few minutes, disorientated and relieved as I realized it had all been a vivid dream. Or was it a nightmare? I placed my hand protectively across my abdomen and smiled.

The End