Mr. Lockwood did indeed allow Brielle to take the rest of the week off. When she’d called to speak to him, she wasn’t intending on telling him the complete truth, but it just sort of spilled out. He sympathized and agreed with her that that kind of stress wouldn’t be good for her or the baby. So he suggested she take the rest of the week off before she could even ask; he’d have no problem with hiring a temp for a few days until she was back in the office.

So the following day, Brielle lounged around the house feeling lazy and a little more than bored. Alex was off to the studio all day so to keep herself busy she tried her hand at a few recipes’. Dinner that night was actually edible; much more so than the birthday cake had been last month. The dessert…not so much. So they scraped it off into the trash and Alex ran out to get them some ice cream and the makings for sundaes.

On Friday, Brielle was glad to get out of the house as they traveled to their doctor appointment. The fresh air would do her good and she was excited to find out if her little one was a boy or girl. Honestly, she didn’t have a preference; she just wanted a healthy baby. As cliché as that was, it was nothing more than 100% true. Once they’d arrived at the medical building and made it safely inside with no signs of the paparazzi anywhere, Brielle was escorted to the back where she had blood work and a urine sample taken. Then Alex joined her in the exam room as they set up for the ultrasound.

Soon Dr. Morresau was gently guiding the wand over Brielle’s rounded tummy and both Brielle and Alex watched at the screen with wide, hopeful eyes, their hands locked together tight and hearts pumping in anticipation.

“Everything looks really, really good, Brielle,” Dr. Morresau spoke, keeping her eyes on the monitor as she examined the image. “I don’t see anything that might alert me or give me concern.”

“Thank God,” the blonde breathed out, the doctor’s words relaxing her somewhat. She peeked her eyes toward Alex then back to the screen. “I can’t believe that’s my baby right there.”

Alex chuckled and kissed her knuckles. “Pretty amazing, huh?”

“Very,” was all she could voice as tears filled her eyes.

The doctor smiled at the two. “Well, from what I can see, you two are going to have a very healthy baby. The measurements are right on for your due date and from what you told me about feeling the baby move, it seems your little one is as happy and content and healthy as can be.” Her eyes leveled with Brielle’s. “You’re doing a good job, Mom.”

The blonde laughed at that and wiped at her eyes. “Mom; I’m going to be a mom. That just sounds so weird.”

Alex kissed her hand again then turned to the doctor. “When will I begin to feel the movements?”

“Probably not for another three to six weeks yet. The more they grow, the less space there is and so the kicks and twists are a lot more prominent.”

He grinned. “I can’t wait.”

Dr. Morresau smiled and turned back to the video, gliding the wand a little lower on Brielle’s stomach. “You’re got quite the gymnast in there,” she proclaimed as they watched the baby twist and move around. “Very active; which is always a wonderful thing.”

“Can um…” Brielle wet her bottom lip and studied the monitor, “can you tell the sex?”

“You want to know?” She cast her dark eyes their way then back to the machine when they both nodded. “Alright, let’s see if we can’t figure it out.”

The next few minutes, Brielle watched with awe and wonder as the doctor studied the screen, moving the wand this way and that, trying to get a good enough angle of the baby to determine rather they were having a son or a daughter. Finally, she froze the image on the screen then split the screen into two so the image was on the left and the real time image of the baby was on the right.

“Can you tell the sex?” She motioned toward the frozen image and looked over to the couple.

Alex leaned forward some, squinting and trying to decipher exactly what he was seeing. It was a little hard to tell and all he could definitely make out was the baby’s back down to the bottom. “No, I can’t.” He chuckled low, feeling foolish for not knowing the answer.

The doctor’s eyes landed on Brielle and she just shook her head.

Dr. Morresau sent them both an understanding smile. “That’s quite alright, unless you’re trained to read these kind of things, it can be difficult.” Then she took a marker like object and began drawing on the screen. “You’re little one doesn’t seem to want to hold still enough to really get a good shot, so this is the closest I could get.”

Brielle watched as she circled something near the bottom of the baby then wrote on the top left corner of the screen; It’s A Boy. Brielle gripped Alex’s hand tighter. “A boy? We’re having a boy?”

Dr. Morresau smiled broadly at the couple. “You sure are; congratulations to the both of you.”

Alex felt his eyes widen. “A boy? Are you sure?” And he leaned forward again to study the picture.

The doctor chuckled good naturedly. “Well, these things are never 100% correct and until you have that baby in your arms and can see for yourself, there’s always a margin for error, but this right here,” and she pointed toward what she had circled, “appears to be the penis.”

Brielle stared at the screen then slowly brought her eyes to her fiancé’s. “A boy.”

He met her gaze, matching the same wide eyed expression she had. “A boy,” he echoed.

She nodded, feeling her eyes growing wet with tears. “We’re having a boy.”

“A son.” Alex blinked at the sound of that. “I have a son.” Then he laughed and kissed Brielle on the mouth. “We have a son.”

“Yes,” she laughed and tears slipped down her cheeks, “we have a son.”

Alex couldn’t stop the grin that was on his face. “Wow, I can’t believe it!”

Dr. Morresau chuckled low then handed Brielle some paper towels to clean the ultrasound gel from her stomach. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you.” Brielle wiped at her eyes then quickly wiped her stomach off. “It’s so crazy. I can’t believe we’re having a boy.”

Alex couldn’t believe it either. And though he’d been sure he’d have a girl first, all that was forgotten the minute he’d seen those words on the screen. A son, a little mini-me, someone to carry on his name; it was wonderful and he couldn’t wait till he had him in his arms.

The rest of the appointment went well and before they left, the doctor handed them a few brochures about different childbirth classes they might be interested in. Brielle was halfway through her pregnancy and if they were going to do any of the classes, now would be the time to start. The next appointment was made for March 4th, exactly one month later, and then the two finally took their leave and made it safely into the SUV.

As Alex maneuvered out of the parking lot, Brielle studied the sonogram picture the doctor had printed for them before they’d left. “It’s so surreal.”

Her fiancé glanced her way. “You think so? I think it finally is starting to feel real now that we know the sex of the baby.”

“Are you disappointed you’re not having a girl?”

“No,” was his immediate response, and a truthful one at that. “The instant we found out he’s a he, all I could think about was how I’d have a son to carry on the name and how I’d get to teach him things dad’s teach their sons.”

A smile tugged at her lips. “Like fishing and throwing a ball.”

“I’m not much of a fisher, but I’ll definitely teach him how to play catch.” He paused a moment. “Besides, maybe further on down the road we’ll have a little girl.”

The thought of having more children with him warmed her heart. “What if they’re all boys?”

“Then we’ll start our own basketball team; The McLean Clan.”

Brielle giggled. “How cute of a mental is that? You with like four sons that look like smaller versions of you.”

Alex chuckled lowly. “Honestly, I hope they look a lot like you too; I was a gangly and odd looking child.”

“Oh yeah right.”

He lifted his brows and looked her way. “My mom has the pictures. Once I got about 17 I finally stopped looking so weird, though I still feel awkward even at this age.”

“I find that really hard to believe.”

“Tell my mom that and she’ll waste no time in digging out the old pictures. You’ll see.”

“I just may have to do that, because now I’m interested in seeing these pictures. I bet you were the cutest little baby.” She giggled low at that thought.

“Baby, yes. Child through adolescent through now…not so much.”

“Well,” Brielle smoothed both hands over her small bump, “regardless, our baby is going to be cute and precious and beautiful at every age.”

Alex smiled and reached over to place his free hand on her tummy. “That’s right; and now that we know he’s a he … we can really start preparing.”

“Right,” she agreed, watching our hands splayed on her stomach. “Our little acrobat.”

That made him smile even more and he looked toward her stomach then back to the road. “So…you’re still pretty sure on no AJ Jr.?”

Brielle laughed. “Stop it; you don’t want an AJ Jr. either.”

“I don’t know,” he teased. “Now that I know he’s a boy … it’s kinda starting to sound appealing.”

“Oh, whatever,” she swatted lightly at his arm, “but when we get home, we can pull out the name book. We only have 20 more weeks, give or take, to figure out the perfect name.”

He grinned and caught her hand in his, pulling it over and kissing the back of it. “You got yourself a deal.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

The rest of the weekend went smoothly for both Alex and Brielle; mainly due to the fact that they played hermits and didn’t emerge from the house. They ordered Chinese take out one night and Italian another and then Sunday Alex made a delicious dinner of roast beef and carrots and potatoes for Brielle.

They scoured the baby name books and started a list of different boy names that they liked. They watched movies in the home theater and played Wii sports with Brielle kicking Alex’s behind in bowling and golf. And Brielle was already making up an online wish list of baby items they would need for when their son arrived. And once the whole media fiasco settled down she wanted to hit the stores and do some serious shopping. Now that she had her own money she didn’t feel guilty about spending it.

And then Monday rolled around again and Brielle felt sick at the thought of having to go back to work. What if they were lying in wait just biding their time until she appeared then surrounded her and swallowed her whole? The thought frightened her and she found herself dragging as she got ready that morning.

Alex, who was seated at the counter drinking a cup of coffee, watched her with a knowing expression. “You could quit your job, you know.”

“I like my job.” She buttered a piece of toast then reached for the jelly. “I like the work and the people I work with. I just don’t like the photographers up in my face and lying in wait like a snake waiting for its prey. That’s what they are, you know.” She aimed the knife at him and waved it around some as she spoke, “They’re snakes; slimy, sleazy, disgusting.”

He held in the chuckle and nodded his head solemnly. “I agree one hundred percent.”

“Ugh,” Brielle shuddered then continued to spread the jam over her toast, “maybe I’ll use the back door.”

“Ooh, there’s an idea.”

“They don’t usually like us to use the back door, but I think this is a situation that warrants it.”

“Maybe you call ahead and give them a warning so they know what’s going on.”

She smiled at him. “I think I will.” Then slipping her toast onto a plate, she moved around the counter and kissed his cheek. “The idea is already making me feel better.”

He returned the grin and gave her butt a pat. “And hey, maybe you’ll get lucky and they’ll be off chasing and hounding someone else.”

“One can only hope.” Then she slipped up on the stool next to his.

Alex arched a brow and watched as she reached for the toast. “Is that all you’re going to have for breakfast?”

The blonde paused and shifted her eyes toward the toast. “Uh…yeah.”

“Brie, you know you need to eat more than one piece of toast.” And he was off the stool and moving into the kitchen. “I can make you up some waffles or pancakes.”

“I’m not really hungry. I’m too nervous to eat.”

“Then take them with you to the studio, because you need to eat.” He sent her a serious look that matched the tone of his voice. “Waffles or pancakes?”

“Do we have time?”

His eyes darted to the clock there on the kitchen wall. “Yes. Now, waffles or pancakes?”

“Fine,” she sighed out and dropped the toast back onto the plate. “Waffles, but can you maybe mix in some blueberries with the batter?”

“Whatever gets you to eat, baby.” And then he was digging through the cabinets in search of the ingredients.

~*~*~*~*~

Nearly an hour later, and after a nice filling breakfast of waffles, toast and orange juice, Brielle was pulling into the parking lot of the studio she worked at. She’d been keeping her eyes peeled since the exit off the freeway and so far the coast seemed clear. There didn’t appear to be anyone lurking around the grounds with cameras so maybe they had lost interest and had moved on to an actual celebrity.

And it indeed seemed that way, because Brielle made it into the studio with no one jumping out and surprising her or trying to get her picture or comment.

Once inside, she stowed her things away then took a few moments to catch up on what had happened while she was gone. It didn’t take very long to get caught up then she ran through Mr. Lockwood’s itinerary and began to prep what he would need for his day.

Mr. Lockwood arrived about half an hour after Brielle did. He greeted her and asked how the rest of her week and weekend had gone and how she and the baby were doing then he disappeared into his office with the memos she’d prepared for him.

The morning seemed to start off smoothly and no one that stopped by to speak with her mentioned anything about any paparazzi lingering around. Lunch break came and she joined Ashley Underhill and Josie Beck at the Chili’s across the street. Again, there were no surprise attacks or people following her. Once she had returned to her desk and was filing away some folders her boss had set there while she’d been away, Brielle was certain that things had died down and she was safe and obscure to the public eye once again. Right where she wanted to be.

The phone rang at ten after three and Brielle picked it up, giving the usual greeting and letting the caller know whose office they had reached. When Alex’s voice reached her ear and bid her a good afternoon, she smiled and sank back into the seat.

“What’s my favorite girl up to?” He questioned in his rich, soulful voice.

Brielle giggled softly and twirled the phone cord with her fingers. “Just working; like I usually am at three o’clock on a weekday. What are you doing?”

“I’m on a smoke break and thought I’d call and check in on you.”

The blonde shifted her eyes to the phone. “I’m glad you did, though everything seems to be calm and I haven’t seen a single paparazzo all day.”

“That’s great, baby.”

She could hear the smile in his voice and felt one creeping across her face as well. “Yeah, I’m so relieved.”

“I bet you are. I’m pretty relieved too.”

“Mhm,” she swiveled her chair some and peeked toward the phone, “so, how’s your day going?”

“Pretty well, actually. We’re getting a lot done and I think we’re just a tad bit ahead of schedule. So that’s always a plus.”

“That’s great. What time do you think you’ll be outta there?”

“Hopefully by seven. I don’t really see any reason they’d need to keep us later,” came his reply.

“I could stop at that sandwich place you love on the way home and pick up some dinner.”

“Mm, you could, or I could take you out.”

Brielle lifted a brow. “Do you think we should? I thought you wanted to lie low for a bit and let all the media about us die down.”

Alex sighed and she could almost hear the gears turning in his head as he thought it over. Finally he responded, “We can’t let them dictate our lives.”

“So you wanna go out and not worry about what they say or what gets printed?”

“I never have before, why should I start now?”

She shrugged some. “I dunno, maybe because now there’s a baby involved and that kind of changes things.”

“I know it does.” He fell silent for a moment then spoke again, “But they’re going to find out sooner or later and I’m sure most of them already suspect or know. We can’t stay cooped up in the house after he arrives so they never get a picture of him.”

The blonde bit her bottom lip. “I guess I’m just worried. I don’t like them all up in my face or wanting answers from me. I’m not the celebrity here and I don’t want to be followed or for them to barrage me again.”

“I’m sorry it’s difficult for you.”

“It’s not your fault.” And then she felt bad for complaining. Rubbing her forehead, she sat up in the chair. “I’m sorry, I think I’m still trying to adjust to all this. We can go out to dinner tonight if that’s what you’d like to do.”

She could tell he was smiling. “I would like to. I want to take you out, take you on a date. We haven’t gotten to do that much.”

“Okay, you can take me out tonight.”

“Great!” His grin grew over the line. “Go home and get ready, wear something sexy and nice and be prepared to have your socks knocked off.”

“Ooh, I will.” She giggled softly. “Though I probably won’t be wearing any socks, so you’ll have to knock something else off instead.”

That made him laugh then his voice dropped an octave. “Oh, baby, I plan on knocking a lot off later. Much later.”

Brielle blushed then cleared her throat as Mr. Lockwood appeared in the doorway. “Okay, I have to go….I’ll see you tonight.”

“You sure will. I love you.”

She smiled and felt her heart flutter. “I love you too.” She waited half a second for him to hang up then reached and set the receiver back in the cradle.

A date tonight with her amazing fiancé. Sure, life had its ups and downs and sometimes maybe seemed more down than up, but at this moment Brielle felt like things simply couldn’t get any better.