After my brief celebration in the middle of the hallway, I make my way back to Sofia's room to check up on her. Once I open the door, I see her parents sitting by her side and watching over her like hawks.

I can already tell that's how Alex and I will be once we have our little boy or girl.

The thought still causes me to smile like an idiot, and I already feel indebted to Alex. She's going to be the one who carries this baby for nine months, she's going to experience all of these physical changes, as well as mental and emotional.

Alex is going to be the one who either goes through hours and hours of agonizing pain, or she'll be cut open and then sewn back together just so that our baby comes out safely.

That's a whole lot of responsibility and pressure being weighed on her.

Ever since I've been treating Sofia's fever and answering the plethora of questions that she has for me has made me wonder what my child will be like. Whether he or she is very inquisitive about things and isn't shy about asking questions, or if they'll just figure things out on their own.

So many things to ponder.

I come back from my thoughts when Amanda's head perks up at me, and I give her a small smile before closing the door and approaching the bed.

"Sorry that we weren't here. Sofia had asked if we could get her something to eat, and I left the iPad with her so that she'd be entertained." Amanda explains, and I nod.

"It's totally fine, ma'am. Sofia had a myriad of questions for me to answer, so I'm sure she wasn't bored at all. I can tell she's very easy to fascinate." I say playfully, and Sofia smiles.

"It's true, Mommy. Dr. Peterson told me everything I wanted to know about my fever!" Sofia exclaims, and Richard smiles before running his hand over her hair.

"So, is there any new information on Sofia's condition?" Richard asks, and Sofia nods.

"Her temperature is lower than it was when she first got here, and the progress may be slow, but she's cooling down. Eventually, she'll be back to normal and she can go home."

"Is there anything that we need to do to make sure her fever doesn't relapse?" Amanda asks, understandably concerned about her daughters health.

"Just make sure that Sofia continues to take her antibiotics and or anti-inflammatory drugs and she'll be fine. Acetaminophen and ibuprofen works best." I notify her, and she nods.

Amanda and Richard both have relieved expressions on their faces after I feed them the information, and Sofia continues to smile at me. I feel relief wash over me as well because Sofia is going to be okay, and she won't have to be confined in this room for much longer.

These are the moments where I really appreciate my job and realize how much I'm truly helping people. The way they'll thank me and seeing the patient become exuberant and healthy again makes me feel more than accomplished.

When I was younger, the reason why I wanted to be a doctor so much was because I knew that I'd get to help people. I was still a little naïve, and I didn't realize that I'd have to witness some pretty gruesome and unpleasant things. Those things aside, I truly love my job and getting to say that I changed or saved a life really means a lot.

I know for a fact that my father would be proud of me.

He would've been a grandfather if he was still here, but he chose what he felt was right. I don't blame him for that, but sometimes I wish he would've chose his family. I also don't blame him for taking his death in his hands due to his misery, but everything was just so complicated that I chose not to see it.

"If you'll excuse me, again. I have to make an important phone call." I blurt out.

Amanda and Richard sit next to their daughter, and I walk out of the room again and walk inside of the men's bathroom. I pull my phone out of my pocket, and I have Alex on speed dial, but before I can call her, I'm admiring her photo.

The picture of us on the screen makes me smile, and her name is followed by a couple of hearts. The picture was taken a while ago, and we were on the way to the party where we celebrated the fact that I had gotten my degree.

Alex's bright smile is spread across her face, and her eyes are shining brightly in the picture. In the picture, I'm playfully kissing her cheek. The memories of that night make me smile as I continue to look at the picture, and I press her number and place the phone against my ear.

"You look so gorgeous." I said, watching her admire herself in the front camera.

"Thank you, baby. So do you." Alex said, giving me a wink.

Alex beckoned to me, and I gave her a kiss on the cheek before hearing the sound of the camera shuttering.

"Aww, we look so cute!" Alex squealed, making googly eyes at the picture.

"I'm going to make that your new contact picture on my phone just because you look so beautiful." I reply, and her cheeks reddened.

Once again, I'm torn away from reminiscing about the party when I hear Alex breathing heavily into the phone.

"Hey, baby." Alex says, but I frown almost instantly because she sounds miserable.

"I was actually just about to call you, Alex. What's wrong?" I ask, softening my voice.

"This morning sickness is a bitch. I just vomited three times within the last thirty minutes." Alex heaves, and I feel a part of my ache as I listen to her continuing to groan.

"It'll be okay, baby. I'll be home soon, and I'll take care of you then." I reassuringly say, and I can picture her trying to fight her smile.

"Man, I'm so lucky that you're a doctor. Scratch that, I'm lucky that you're my boyfriend." Alex says, giving off a slight chuckle.

"I love you, Alex. I know this is going to be a long nine months, but I'll be here for you."

"Do we have any food in the fridge?" Alex asks, and I smirk.

"Plenty of it. There's a lot in the pantry as well."

"I'm going to go eat some more. Call me back when you're on your way home." Alex begs, and I chuckle.

"I will, baby. Don't worry." I say, and I can imagine her smirking.

Once we say goodbye, I return to Sofia's room and she instantly smiles when she sees me.

"Hi, Dr. Peterson!" Sofia cheerfully says, and I smile before waving.

"Hi, Sofia."

"Who did you call?" Sofia asks.

"Sofia, it's not very polite to—" Richard intrudes, but I chuckle while shaking my head.

"No, no, no. It's totally fine, I always answer what Sofia has to ask me."

It doesn't bother me at all that Sofia has something different to ask me everyday. It's actually kind of refreshing.

"Sofia can be very curious," Richard says with a chuckle. "But I'm pretty sure you've figured that out already."

"Do you remember the really pretty woman that came in here?" I ask, and she giggles.

"Your girlfriend?" Sofia curiously asks, and I nod.

"I called her. It was a very transient call, but still rather important." I explain to her.

"What did you talk about?"

"Well, my girlfriend is pregnant. So I—"

"My mommy and daddy talked me about this! They said that a baby is inside the ladies stomach to stay safe, and that it comes out after nine months!" Sofia excitedly says, and I nod.

"You're right. Anyway, Alex hasn't been feeling too good lately so I just called to check on her." I say, and she nods.

"That's so sweet!" Sofia squeals, and I smile.

Her parents smile at her, too, and I finally get the chance to tell them more about Sofia's fever and what they should do once they get the chance to take her home. Once my shift is over, Jordan comes in and takes over for me.

"You gonna be okay? I can stay a little longer." I offer, and he shakes his head.

"Nah, man! Go attend your girlfriend, I'm pretty sure she needs you right now." Jordan says, and I thank him.

"Just letting you know, she asks a lot of questions." I whisper, and he chuckles.

"I can handle questions." Jordan boasts, and I roll my eyes before walking out of the room.

"Bye, Dr. Peterson!" Sofia shouts, and I stop in my tracks.

"Bye!" I reply, and I continue to make my way back to the parking lot.

I'll actually be sad once Sofia has to leave the hospital. She's been an excellent patient, and she's a total sweetheart.

I remember how empty I felt when Alex left the hospital after I stupidly told her to call her mother and try to work things out.

I remember hugging her before she left with her mom, and how I just stood in that room for a few more minutes just reflecting on everything that happened.

I begin to drive down the road, and I'm smiling to myself as all of the memories from that day up to today play through my head. Almost a year ago, I thought that I'd just be helping another patient, but I never would've guessed that we'd slowly fall for each other.

Alex and I came from two totally different worlds, but once they crashed together, it became a world that I never envisioned to be so amazing.

The clichés are true.

I finally pull into my driveway after an exceptional amount of driving, and I rush inside. Bruno barks excitedly, running back and forth while wagging his tail once he sees me. I beckon to him, and he literally leaps into my arms while licking the side of my face.

"Hey buddy!" I exclaim.

I stand back up, and I make my way up the stairs and to the bedroom. It's completely empty, and for a moment, my heart takes off.

Where's Alex?

"Alex?" I call out.

"I'm taking a piss!" She shouts, and I chuckle before following her voice.

When I finally find her, I see her flushing the toilet before sticking her hand in the bag of potato chips that's on the sink. I furrow my eyebrows while shaking my head, and she frowns.

The hell?

"What? I was hungry!" Alex defensively says.

"I get that, but the food in bathroom?" I question her, and she shrugs.

"Hey, I was holding in my pee for a while and I knew I'd be in here for a while, so I brought a snack." Alex says, trying to defend her actions.

"And why'd you hold in your urine? If you do that for too long, it can cause UTIs, and those can cause miscarriages." I inform her, and her eyes go wide with horror.

"I—, I was just tired of getting up so much to pee so I held it in. I didn't know that it was that serious!" Alex frantically says, and I place my hands on her shoulders.

Tears instantly well up in her gorgeous eyes, and my heart stops momentarily as I see a tear escape and fall down her cheek.

Shit, I didn't mean to make her worried.

"Alex, calm down. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you nervous or anything." I whisper, and her cheeks redden.

"I'm already endangering our baby! What kind of mother am I going to be?" Alex whimpers, but I shake my head and pull her in for a hug.

"An amazing mother, Alex. Don't doubt yourself, okay? You didn't know, and that's fine."

Alex sniffles a few times before looking up at me, and she gives me a weak smile.

"I'm sorry for freaking you out." I apologize, and she shakes her head.

"It's okay!" Alex suddenly says very cheerfully.

The hormonal changes are already setting in.

Alex munches on some chips before talking, but her words are incomprehensible as she continues to stuff more and more of them into her mouth.

"Oh, my God! These chips are so fucking good." Alex moans, and she continues to scarf them down.

I reach for a chip, but she smacks my hand away, and she shoots me an evil look.

"No! These are my chips!" Alex pouts.

Just after she says that, Alex's eyes roll to the back of her head momentarily before returning to their normal state. Alex puts down the chip back, and she leans into the sink for support.

"Woah, you okay?" I ask, holding onto her waist.

"I'm so dizzy." Alex mumbles, and she holds onto my upper arms.

Without hesitation, I pick Alex up bridal style, and she leans her head against my chest as I carry her to the bedroom. Bruno follows us, whining and trying to tug at my leg.

"Not now, Bruno." I say.

Once we reach the bed, I gently place Alex down in it. She looks up at me, slightly dazed as her head sinks into the memory foam pillow. I sprint back down to the kitchen and take some ice from the refrigerator freezer and put it in a glass for her, and in a separate glass, there's water in it.

Once I make my way upstairs again, and Bruno is in the bed next to Alex, and she gives him calm strokes. I hand her the glass of water, and I set the glass of ice on the bedside table.

"Thanks baby." Alex says quietly, and I watch her take a large swig of the water.

"You're welcome."

Once she finishes the water, she reaches for the ice, and she crunches on each individual piece.

"This is going to be a long nine months." Alex says, letting out an exasperated sigh.

"I know, baby. If there's anything you need me to do for you, I'll do it." I whisper, and I kiss her hand.

Alex sheepishly smiles, and she leans forward to plant a kiss on my lips. After hours and hours of work, nothing feels better than the feeling of her lips against mine.

~~~

A few weeks later, Alex is getting closer to her eleventh week of pregnancy. I've seen another side of Alex, the cranky and moody and constantly hungry side.

"I'm so hungry!" Alex whines, and she stuffs her mouth with more gummy bears.

"We just ate lunch." I chuckle, and she frowns at me.

"Hey! I have to eat for two, don't make me feel bad about it!" Alex defensively shouts, still rummaging through the pantry for more food.

"I haven't forgotten, Alex. As a doctor, you should know that I'm extremely educated on stuff like this."

"You always turn everything into something medical." Alex grumbles, and I suppress a laugh.

Alex is going through a huge physiologic change, and it's a huge change from how she was a couple of months ago, obviously.

I kiss Alex's temple while her eyes scan every inch of the pantry for something that'll satisfy her needs.

"God, I'm so fat." Alex whines, and I frown.

"There's a fetus inside of you that's continuing to grow, Alex. Your stomach is naturally going to get bigger." I explain for what seems like the millionth time.

She doesn't realize how gorgeous she looks.

I know she may not feel very pretty, but she looks amazing.

Lately, Alex's stomach has been growing more and more each day, and it's getting closer to our first ultrasound appointment.

"We should start getting ready. I don't want to be late." I say into her ear, and she nods before putting the gummy bears away.

I follow her up the stairs, and she takes a shower before she struggles to put on a pair of jeans. Alex grunts as she tries to close the button, but after a while, she finally gets it.

"Ugh, I'm gonna need new clothes soon." Alex whines.

"Not just yet." I assure her.

She stands in the mirror, and she smiles while she rubs her stomach that's beginning to stick out.

"I still cannot believe this." Alex says, smiling at her reflection.

Me either.

"Our baby is beginning to grow. You look beautiful." I say, and her cheeks redden.

After we share a brief gaze, we both head out to the car, and I open the door and slowly ease her into the passenger seat. Alex nearly falls asleep on the way to the hospital, but her body jolts back up. I don't bother trying to wake her, because Alex needs some sleep.

Lately, I've noticed that she's producing bags underneath her eyes and because of her constant morning sickness, constant hunger, and with the occasional dizziness is draining her of her energy. Plus, as her belly continues to grow, she cannot sleep on her stomach anymore.

"Come on, babe." I say once we're in the parking lot.

Alex groans for a moment before rubbing her eyes, and she opens the passenger side door and pulls her sleep deprived body out of the car. We walk hand in hand through the hospital doors, and Alex scowls once she sees Kassandra at the end of the hall.

Kassandra stops in her tracks before continuing to walk in our direction, and my grip on Alex's hand becomes tighter.

"Is there anything I can help you guys with?" Kassandra asks, but her politeness definitely doesn't seem genuine.

"Yes, there is, but we're going to get help from someone else." Alex says through gritted teeth, and my other hand holds her at the waist.

"What? I can't help you guys? I understand that you're still not very fond of me, but the least I could do is help you guys out." Kassandra insists.

Like that's going to happen any time soon.

"You specialize in Otolaryngology, you're not an OB/GYN." I remind her, rolling my eyes as I do so.

Kassandra's eyes widen before she looks down at Alex's stomach, and she pinches her lips together before giving us one of the most artificial smiles I've ever seen.

"Congrats." Kassandra finally manages to say after wiping that stupid look on her face.

"Yeah, we don't take congratulations from you. Not after you try to ruin our relationship." Alex spits.

"I thought that we all moved past that." Kassandra groans, and I can feel my tolerance getting ready to leave my body.

Man, she's lucky that I don't hit women and that Alex is pregnant. If not, she'd be in rough shape like she was at the party.

"We have. Your attempt to break myself and Alex apart has failed, so if you don't mind, we'd like to attend our ultrasound without being interrupted." I reply, and Alex and I walk away without another word.

"I can't stand that bitch." Alex grumbles.

"Me either." I say in agreement.

Once we finally end up in the maternity sector of the hospital, I'm one of the only men that sits in the waiting room. There are about two others, but the rest of the room is flooded with females. Alex smiles as she watches one of the expecting women have her belly button being poked by a small boy.

After what seems like an eternity, we finally have our names called. People smile at us as we stand up, and I wrap an arm around Alex's waist as we begin to walk to the room. Alex relaxes on the table, staring up at the ceiling as we wait some more.

"What do doctors do during all of this time that they have us wait?" Alex asks, and I chuckle.

"That is a secret." I playfully say, and she scoffs.

"Do you guys just gossip for a while before returning to your patients?" Alex asks with a wide smile.

"Maybe." I reply, and we both laugh.

The door finally opens after about five more minutes, and we see a woman with light brown hair and glasses give us a smile as she enters the room.

"Alexandrianna Hawkins and Rian Peterson?" The woman says.

"That's us." I say.

"I'm Dr. Annamarie Carter, and I'll be your OB/GYN." She says, and we both shake her hand.

"It's nice to meet you." Alex politely says, and Dr. Carter smiles at us.

"Well, first I'd like to congratulate the both of you. Is this your first child?" She asks, and we nod in unison.

"Our very first child." I say.

"How exciting!" Dr. Carter cheerfully says, and we smile.