A week after the cake tasting, Denise continued to suffer from her ailment. She basically survived on chicken and roast veggies because every other food she came across brought forth the urge to gag. She even had to give up on her banana smoothies in the morning because bananas suddenly tasted disgusting to her. Neither knew what it was that had Denise feeling the way she was. The symptoms exhibited hinted at a possible pregnancy, but after nights of discussion, they naïvely agreed that they were too careful for it to be true. It wasn't that they didn't want her to be, it was that they didn't want her to be yet. Even Chris, whose heart skipped a beat when Denise joked about babies, wished for it not to be true. She had too great an opportunity waiting for her in January, she simply couldn't afford to be a mother now. As excited as they were to start a family, it just had to be a in few years.

With 'I'm Pregnant' crossed off the list of reasons, they continued to scratch their heads even though there was a simple solution: a visit to their local clinic. Both were aware of the more practical option yet neither mentioned it. Instead, they chose to continue assuming in case they uncovered news they weren't ready for. Subconsciously they must have already known because since they agreed she wasn't pregnant, they'd both been mentally planning as though she were. But still, fear had them concluding it was probably the stress of planning a wedding and the lack of sleeping getting to her. "It's a big job to plan a wedding, that's why you're not feeling like you're usual self." Chris would reason and Denise would agreed. It was plausible reason but it wasn't the truth, and eventually the truth was going to catch up with them.

Moms had a sixth sense about things, and unfortunately for Chris and Denise, they were spending the day with their moms planning the seating chart for their wedding. Lisa had flown in from Boston, whereas Tina had just driven up from Holmby Hills. Both were spending the weekend to help their children complete as many wedding tasks as they could, hoping it'd lighten the load they had carried on their shoulders.

They'd chosen to start the morning early knowing the process was going to be tedious. Denise had scrambled eggs for breakfast, just like every other morning that week. Both moms looked concern upon seeing how worn Denise looked despite her getting eight hours of good sleep, but neither said anything knowing she had a lot on her plate with the wedding. It wasn't until Denise displayed some familiar symptoms that they decided to voice their concerns to Chris. They wanted to speak to him alone and knew it wasn't going to take long for an opportunity to arise, all they needed to do was wait for Denise to excuse herself upstairs to use the bathroom again. That was another issue she had: frequent urination. It wasn't just annoying, it was yet another symptom she wasn't ready to be having. She was still in denial but she was starting to see dents in her convictions.

"I'll be right back," Denise announced, getting to her feet. Dodger quickly followed suit, padding closely behind her as she made her way upstairs. Two weeks he'd been following her around, seemingly more protective of her than usual. There was a reason Dodger had appointed himself as Denise's guardian, but neither Chris nor Denise were ready to admit it.

"How's Denise been feeling these past few weeks?"

Chris felt his eyes narrow at Tina's out-of-the-blue question. She was subtle but he could already guess what she was hinting at. "She's- fine," he answered with a nonchalant shrug that couldn't hide his brief pause. It was then that both moms knew their assumptions were correct. "I mean- yeah, she's fine." He continued, rambling. "She's not feeling a hundred percent but that's 'cause she's stressed, which is understandable when the wedding is this close and we've still got so much to do. I'm stressed," Chris nervously chuckled. "I mean- it'll pass, she's fine."

"Has Denise's breasts been really swollen and tender?"

"Mom!" Chris' eyes widened at his mom's questions, feeling the heat rush to his cheeks. "Oh my God, stop. I know we talk about everything, but I really don't want to discuss my fiancée's breasts with you. Especially not in front of my future mother-in-law," he hissed through his clenched teeth.

Lisa and Tina exchanged knowing looks. They were unsure if they were happy, or worried for their children. Denise was very young with a fantastic career opportunity waiting for her in January, she'd made it clear she wasn't going to have kids for a while and Chris had agreed. But if they were right, and Denise was pregnant- how was the news going to be received? How were they going to handle their unplanned pregnancy? They could tell from the way Chris was reacting that he wasn't happy, he was nervous. He may have been ready to be a father but what if Denise wasn't? This wasn't the plan, she wasn't meant to have his child now.

"I'm not an idiot, I know what the two of you are hinting at. She's not pregnant," Chris shook his head firmly. "She's not," he affirmed when they tried to correct him. "She's not pregnant," he repeated and felt his eyes well with tears.

"Chris," Lisa sighed.

"No no no," he shook his head. "That's not- no," another head shake. "We talked about it, okay? We agreed it was just the wedding stress. We are always so careful when it comes to that, there is no way she's- She can't be," he shook his head again. "Oh God," he buried his face in his hands. He wanted a child with Denise but he didn't want a child with her now, not when she was on the verge of becoming something big. "No no no no no, no. This is not how it was meant to happen." He was so distressed that he didn't register Denise's and Dodger's steps, or the kick his mom gave him under the table to inform him they were coming back. "She's going to lose her mind."

"Who's going to lose her mind?" Denise quizzed as she sat back down next to Chris. Her voice jerked his head up and nearly had him falling out of his chair. "What?" She giggled at his reaction, scratching Dodger's head under the table. "Who's going to lose her mind?" She asked again, glancing between her fiancé and both moms. "What's going on?" Her smile faltered when she saw their angsty expressions. "Is it me, am I going to lose my mind?"

"Lisa and I are um-" Tina began and Chris felt his heart leap with the hope she'd speak to Denise. "We're going to the store," she ended up doing the opposite, excusing herself and Lisa from the tough conversation. "We'll be back later." She got to her feet. Lisa nodded in agreement, getting to hers. Both Chris and Denise watched them with different expressions; Denise's was filled with confusion and curiosity, whereas Chris' was filled with mostly dread and slight annoyance. "It's going to be fine, I promise," Tina assured him before they took their leave.

"Do you want to tell me what's going on?"

"Not particularly," he shook his head and her eyes narrowed. "I just- I don't-" He just stared at her with his mouth agape, unable to say the words he needed to. All he could think about was what he'd done to her, what he was taking away from her. He was genuinely terrified to utter the words, "you're pregnant, sweetheart."

"Chris, what's going on?" She asked again, this time in a firmer tone. "You said 'she's going to lose her mind', is the 'she' me?" She waited but he didn't nod. "Did something happen with one of our vendors?" He shook his head. "Is it wedding related?" He shook his head again. "Well then- what is it? Did you cheat on me, or something?"

"No," he frowned. "You know I would never cheat on you."

"I know, but I had to ask because you look like you're about to give me the worst news of all time." She told him and he pressed his lips together. "Are you dying?" She raised a brow and he shook his head with a small smile. "Okay, so-" she chuckled, "what is it? I'm sure whatever it is doesn't deserve that look. That look is reserved for the really bad stuff, like terminal illness or unfaithfulness. Hey," she took his hand in hers, giving it a light squeeze. "Whatever it is, you can tell me. We'll work it out, alright?"

"I think you're pregnant," he blurted out.

"What?" She jerked away from his touch. "No I'm not, we said- No," she shook her head. "No no no," her eyes welled with tears as she continued to deny what she already knew. "How is this possible? We're always so careful."

"As careful as we are, we must have slipped up somewhere." He placed an hand on her back when she leaned over the table, burying her face in her hands like he had earlier. As hard as she'd tried to prepare herself, she was still in shock. This wasn't the plan, she wasn't meant to be a mom now. "Baby, we don't know yet," he whispered, kissing the side of her head.

"Yes we do," she mumbled into her hands.

She was done living in denial, she was pregnant. At first she did think she was just sick, or having an off day. She'd woken up hating cake before, the feeling wasn't foreign to her. It wasn't until her symptoms persisted and escalated that she actually considered that maybe she was pregnant. She wasn't ready to be which was why she spoke to Chris and got him to further her denial. He was a good candidate for that because as much as he wanted a child, he loved her too much to fast track his life plans and derail hers. Denise thought if she denied and ignored it, she wouldn't be pregnant. Unfortunately that wasn't how things worked, eventually she'd miss her period, then she'd have to take a test and- it just wasn't something she could make go away.

Though, as she pulled her hands from her face and placed one over her stomach, she realized it wasn't something she wanted to make go away. All those times she'd seen Chris with his nieces, nephews, and little cousins; the times she'd written a piece of fan fiction where Chris was a dad- she wanted this with him. She didn't plan for it to be so soon, but she wanted it. She realized having a child now would create a minor set back in her career. But she was young, she had time; she was a writer, she could work from anywhere. Being pregnant was a good thing, she was starting a family with the man she loved.

"Can you talk to me?" Chris asked gently, his hand still on Denise's back. "Are you okay?"

Dodger nudged his head into Denise's leg, she looked under the table and smiled. "Thank you for looking after us, Dodger," she whispered after kissing his furry forehead. Even before she knew, he did. He sensed something growing insider her- a new friend, a new member of the family, a sibling. "Can we go see a doctor?" She turned to Chris and he nodded, the tension from his shoulders loosened. "I don't want to wait until I miss my period, let's go get a blood test."

"I'm sorry, but um-" He smiled when he realized the smile on her face wasn't forced, faked, or one brought upon by bravery. "Is that a smile I see on your pretty face?" He asked and she chuckled, nodding. "So does that mean I can celebrate without seeming insensitive to the situation? 'Cause I am very happy, it was just masked by my worries."

"You can celebrate," she nodded.

"Yes!" He jumped up, the back of his legs knocking over his chair. It quickly sent Dodger into alert mode. Denise chuckled, placing a hand on Dodger's head to calm him before he started growling at Chris. "Oh my God," Chris grinned at Denise, "we're going to be parents." She nodded, getting to her feet. "This is amazing, Denise." He descended to his knees in front of her and gently placed his hands over her belly, drawing a growl from Dodger. "Oh, calm down." Chris scolded Dodger and Denise laughed, reaching down to pat the pup. "I'm not going to hurt her, okay? See," he carefully leaned forward and kissed her belly. "I'm not doing anything, so just relax." Dodger's tail wagged and he sat down, tilting his head at Chris. "Nice to know he's got you under his wing," Chris looked up at Denise and winked.

"What do you think we're having, a boy or a girl?"

"I don't care," he smiled as he got back on his feet, taking her hands. "Jack or Charlotte, I'm just excited to meet our little one." She laughed at the reference towards her original mini-series. "Is it going to be weird if we name our children after our children in the mini-series? I mean- I'm not trying to live out the story, but I honestly can't think of any other names I like."

"I think it's sweet, and honestly, I can't either," she agreed and he laughed, enfolding her into a tight hug. "We're going to be parents, Chris." She murmured into his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist with a smile.

"Yes we are."