The clocked ticked by slowly as she waited breathlessly for the two minutes to pass. She smiled, absentmindedly rubbing at her flat abdomen, wondering if she was indeed with child.

"A baby," she exhaled, the very idea of a baby growing within her lighting up her eyes.

Mary had dreamed of a household full of kids, two boys and two girls to be exact. In her eyes, she was already living the American dream- she had the handsome husband and she had the house, minus the white picket fence, but it was perfect. Now, all she needed was the pitter patter of little feet to make her life complete.

She glanced once more at the clock, groaning at the time. She still had a minute to go. She wrung her hands, looking around the room trying to focus her thoughts on anything but the little white stick that sat on the bathroom counter.

She failed completely as her eyes snapped back to it, her heart skipping a beat as the colored lines began to appear.

Her thoughts immediately shifted to the future and her hopes soared. They had always talked about having a baby and now that reality would be true. She heard rustling coming from downstairs and she realized that John must be home from his late night shift.

She glanced nervously at the pregnancy test and then grabbed the box. She carefully reread the instructions and practically jumped as she heard her husband's gruff voice call out to her.

"John!" She gasped as she twirled to meet him, letting the box fall from her hands.

He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her close as he did when he returned from his shift every morning. His gaze lingered over the contents on the bathroom counter and paused. "What do we have here?" He questioned, his eyes narrowing as he realized just what he interrupted. "A baby?" He gasped, his mouth dropping open in shock.

"Yes, no, I don't know," she rambled, glancing once more at the time and grinned. She reached out for the stick and held it up to him. "What do you see?"

John paused, looking at the two pink lines. "Uh, two lines."

"Two?" She smiled as she instantly wrapped her arms around him. "Oh, John!"

"Is that good?" He questioned, slightly confused as she giggled in response.

"Very good." She sighed as she stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him.

"A baby," He stated as he pulled away, gazing into her eyes. "Wow."

"Yeah," she smiled, resting her head onto his chest as he cradled her in his arms. "A baby," she sighed wistfully as she touched her abdomen.

"How long did you-" he began as he covered her smaller hand with his and they swayed in each other's arms.

"A month," she replied softly, gazing up into his eyes.

"Wow," he exhaled in awe, leaning in and kissing her.

She found herself giggling once more, unable to believe that soon they would be starting a family. She secretly hoped that she was carrying a boy.

"Dean," John whispered after a short pause. "Dean's a good name, a strong name."

"Dean," she repeated, smiling at the sound of it. "It's a very good name."

The End