"She's just over seven months along now." Joey informed Pacey as they were led through a narrow hallway in the obstetrician wing of Boston General Hospital. "She's due January 12th."

"Wow, that's getting really close."

"I know," Joey grinned excitedly. "I'm going to go shopping for baby things later this week. You wanna come? I can wait 'till you get a day off."

"I would love to."

"Okay," she squeezed his hand lightly.

"Room 102." The nurse gestured to a closed door, "Doctor Mithos will be in shortly."

"Thank you," Joey said after her, the blonde already walking away. Joey smiled at Pacey, "This is it," she knocked once on the door and stepped into the small room. Pacey couldn't believe how absolutely happy she looked. He hadn't seen her look that way for a very long time. Too long now that he thought about it.

A petite brunette with green eyes lay back on the exam table, her stomach huge in comparison to her tiny frame. "Hi Joey," she smile shakily.

A gangly looking blond rose from the chair beside her and held out his hand to Pacey, "I'm John, and this Robin."

"I'm Pacey. And this is Joey," he said shaking the young man's hand.

"Yeah, we've met," Robin smiled at him, rubbing a hand over her stomach. "It's you we've been curious about."

"I'm the elusive husband."

"I can't tell you how releived we are that you guys are letting us meet you first." John sat down again, taking Robin's hand in his. "Even though we can't keep the baby, we want to make sure he has a good family."

"He?" Pacey asked interested.

"John thinks it'll be a boy." Robin explained with a fond smile.

"It *will* be a boy," he insisted.

"It's actually up to you guys to decide on knowing the sex early or not."

Pacey looked over at Joey, "It would make baby shopping easier."

Joey tilted her head thoughtfully, "You really wanna know?"

"Well, we need to know if we need pink stuff or blue stuff. So, yeah, I want to know."

"Okay," Joey smiled, easily convinced. She approached Robin with her hand upraised, "Could we...?"

"Oh, of course." The blonde gestured to her stomach and Joey put her hand on it. "She's been kicking all morning, so you might feel it."

Pacey watched as Joey's face lit up like a Christmas tree, "I take it she is?"

"Yeah," she said softly, taking his hand and putting it on Robin's stomach. "Feel."

Pacey smiled softly as he felt the light thumping against his palm, "Amazing."

She tilted her head and gave him a soft kiss on his jaw before turning back to Robin. "How long has this been going on? Is she always this active?"

"He." John interjected with a smile.

Pacey shook his head, "Never argue with women. It will only come with bad consequences."

John shook his head, "I like arguing and it will be a boy."

Robin rolled her eyes, "*She* is usually active at night. When I'm trying to sleep."

"Does that make it hard for you?" Joey wondered, "You're still going to school and everything right?"

"Yeah, Our schedule allows me to sleep in the afternoons after school and then I'm wide awake when she is."

The door opened and Dr. Mithos walked in and smiled at the group, "Hello everyone. And how are we today?"

"We're just fine," Robin piped up, "The baby's been kicking."

"You must be Joey and Pacey," the doctor smiled at them, shaking hands. "I've heard a little about you. I assume you'll be present during the labor?"

"Oh, of course." Joey smiled brightly. "I know I'm getting ahead of myself, but how soon will we be able to take her home?"

"He." John corrected with a smile.

"Usually a few days, but probably a week at the earliest."

"A week? Why? Is there something wrong?" Her eyes flashed in panic.

"No, nothing like that." She assured her, "It's just that because you aren't her biological parent and wont be nursing, as policy we keep the baby here a few days longer."

Pacey put his hands on Joey's shoulders, "Calm down."

"Oh," Joey leaned into Pacey touch. "I've read all about the correct formulas and methods for feeding a new born, why can't she come home with us?"

"I'm sorry, Joey. That's our policy."

Pacey kissed the side of her head, "She'll be home with us eventually, Joey."

"He," John said from his chair.

"So," she smiled, "Let's do the ultrasound and make sure everythings in order. Have you decided on finding out about the sex?"

Pacey nodded, "Yeah. We want to know."

"Why don't you have a seat," she gestured to the chair next to John's. "It'll be just a minute." The doctor flipped on a few machines as Pacey sat down and drew Joey onto his lap. She pulled Robin's top up, and squirted a clear liquid over her stomach.

Robin giggled, "It's cold."

Joey leaned her head against Pacey's as he rubbed her back. "Better than being hot, right?"

"That's debatable." The brunette looked at the blank monitor as the doctor smoothed a receptor over her stomach, spreading out the lubricant.

Quite suddenly a hazy black and white image appeared on the screen. "And there's the baby."

Joey and Pacey both leaned forward. He felt Joey grip his shoulder, "There's the baby," Pacey whispered to her.

Her eyes watered and she could only manage to nod as the doctor pointed out the spine, the head, the arms and legs. The doctor flipped another switch and the sound of the heart beat echoed through the room. She bit her lip as a tear drifted down her cheek.

Pacey reached up and wiped it away, "So...can we see what it is yet?"

The doctor smiled at them, "If you look right here," she pointed to the screen, "It's pretty obvious that you'll be having a little girl."

Joey let out a surprised breath and buried her face in Pacey's neck as she started to cry silently.

"Will she be okay?" Robin asked worriedly, seeing Joey�s reaction.

"Are you sure it's not a boy?" John pouted.

Pacey nodded, "She'll be fine. She's just happy." Pacey looked at the screen. "Sorry to say but that is not a boy, John."

Robin still looked at Joey, then turned back to the monitor, "She's so small."

The doctor nodded, "Right now she's still a little small. But she still has two more months of growth." She pointed out the baby�s facial features, "Everything is right where it should be. She�s perfect."

Pacey rubbed Joey's back and whispered to her, "Hey, it's okay."

"I know," her lashes fluttered against his neck as she tried to blink back tears.







Pacey pushed a shopping cart up an aisle, following behind Joey, "We have a high chair and a crib. I think we need smaller things."

"Pacey, Pacey, Pacey," Joey shook her head, her pony tail bouncing. "We need a dresser, a changing table, a play pen, a car seat...and those are just the big things we still need."

"I know...I just don't want to carry it all."

"That's the man's job, Pacey. The women shop, the men carry." She winked at him over her shoulder.

He sighed, "Okay, here's car seats. Pick one."

She tilted her head, regarding the different colors and sizes. "That one," she pointed to a purple one that advertized adjustablity for use by toddlers. "It'll last me a while."

Pacey reached up and plucked it from the shelf. He placed it into the cart then looked at her, "I think we need another one of these."

"Okay, let me go grab one. Start looking at bath supplies." She guestured to the other side of the aisle as she walked away.

Pacey looked at the other side of the aisle, "I'm in way over my head." He folded his arms over his chest, "What the hell am I supposed to be getting?" he mumbled to himself.

A good looking red head approached him wearing the uniform of one of the employees. "You look terribly lost," she smiled at Pacey.

"No kidding."

"What can I help you with?"

Pacey looked at her for a minute, then shrugged, "I have no idea what she wants me to get."

"Well, what do you have already? That'll give us somewhere to start," she smiled brightly at him.

"Well, a crib, a high chair and a few smaller things like towels and stuff."

"And how old's your baby? It is yours, right?" she fluttered her long eye lashes at him.

"Well, she's not born yet..."

"Aww, when's she due?"

Pacey saw what the woman was doing and he decided to play dumb, "January 12th, I think."

"Well, since she'll be a newborn," the woman hooked her arm through Pacey's and drew him towards the the tiny plastic bathtubs. "You want something small."

"Something small. Okay, which one?"

"This is our best seller," she picked up a box from the bottom. "And it fits in most kitchen sinks. Plus, it comes in the pretty pink color. But maybe that wont be manly enough for you?"

"No, this is great. My wife will just be happy I found something while she went to get another cart."

"Well," she slipped her arm from around his and batted her eyes at him once. "If she doesn't like it, you know where to find me."

Pacey raised an eyebrow and shook his head as she walked away, he turned and looked at the small tub in his hand as he walked back to his cart. "Pacey John Witter," Joey stood waiting for him, her arms crossed over her chest. "Were you flirting with her?"

Pacey rolled his eyes, "No."

"Are you sure? Cause I could get into the jealousy thing."

He walked over to her and put his hands on her hips, "As much as I would love to see you jealous, you have nothing to worry about. You're the one I want," he said with a smile, moving his hands up to cup her face and placed a kiss on her nose.

"Well, damn." She sighed happily, "I was about to start the nagging wife bit."

He smirked, "So glad I missed that." He set the sink into the new cart, "Here."

"Awww, I'm so proud of you. Did you find towles, soap, bath toys?"

"Uh...not yet?"

She shook her head with a grin, "I'm not surprised. Come on."

"Yes, your Magesty."

"Ohhh, I like that. You can keep calling me that." She smirked at him.

"I have a couple other names for you."

She laughed, "Oh yeah? Do share, stud." She paused in front of a rack of bath supplies and started putting them into her cart.

"Mistress...Highness...but I like lover much better, how about you?"

"Lover's good," she agreed. "But I'm also particial to wife."

"Yeah, it's okay."

"We can stick to lover, though." She picked up a rubber ducky and squeaked it at him.

"Oh, that has to come home with us. We can sing her the rubber ducky song."

"The rubber ducky song?" She blinked at him.

"You know from Sesame Street. Ernie used to sing it all the time." When she stared at him blankly, he rolled his eyes, "You know...'Rubber ducky you're the one, you make bathtime so much fun'."

She grinned up at him and threw her arms around his neck to give him a deep kiss. "God, you're cute sometimes."

"I think I'm cute all the time."

"Hmm, only about 70%."

He smirked, "I can live with that." He kissed the tip of her nose, "So, what else are we going to get, because I'm ready to leave."

"Clothes, diapers, formula, bottles, toys..." she trailed off with a smirk.

He sighed, "Well, let's get to it."

"Pace, you don't have to help. I can handle it on my own. They said they'd deliver it to the house."

He shook his head, "Two people can work faster than one. The sooner we're done, the sooner we can go home and do...naked things."

Her eyes flickered with warmth, "You take that half of the store, I'll go this way. I'll meet you at the register in ten."

"Sounds like a plan." She started to walk away, "Hey Jo. One more thing," he said as he walked up to her. He kissed her soundly, one arm around her waist and the other cupping her face. He pulled away and smiled, "Good luck."

"Make it five minutes," she said breathlessly.