Raif held onto Lucinda's hand as they both had their eyes glued to a black screen. An ultrasound tech moved the wand back and forth on Lucinda's abdomen. Streaks of white appeared with each movement and then the tech landed on a solid shape. She captured several images and then kept moving the wand slowly, only to take more images. With a smile, she glanced at them and then turned up the volume on the monitor.

"That's your baby's heartbeat," the tech said.

Tears gathered in Lucinda's eyes as she squeezed Raif's hand. She felt droplets on her fingers and looked up to see Raif crying as well. Amazement was written all over his face with his wide eyes scanning the small movements from the tiny creature on the monitor—A being they created together.

"So is the baby ok?" Lucinda asked.

"The doctor will review the ultrasound and then we'll give you a full report in about an hour. I know it's going to be tough, but please sit tight for now." The tech smiled. "In the meantime..." She tapped a few buttons on the keyboard attached to the monitor, which prompted small polaroid-sized pictures to print out. "These can keep you company while you wait for the results."

Lucinda reached for them eagerly and held onto the images of her baby as if they were rare diamonds. Raif patiently waited for the ultrasound tech to leave and then turned Lucinda's chin to him.

"Lucinda. We need to talk."

"No," she replied, pulling her face away.

"You said you're fine, but what happened to you is not fine."

Lucinda closed her eyes and let out a breath. "I am fine. The baby will be ok. That's all I care about."

Raif threw his hands in the air and turned away from her. He began rubbing his face with his palms, trying to think of ways to get through the wall Lucinda was putting up. He lowered his hands and rested them on his hips. Why was she being so stubborn?

"Why don't you want to press charges?" he tried to ask as calmly as possible, but his blood was still boiling after being told about the attack. "Aaron... Samuel, whatever his name is, attacked you! He needs to be arrested. You say you're fine, but you could have been badly injured."

"But I wasn't!" Lucinda exclaimed.

"He banged your head against the floor, and you lost consciousness. What if he had caused you to miscarry... or... or die!"

"But that didn't happen," Lucinda snapped back.

Crouching by the hospital bed, he caressed her face, but she pulled away from his touch. Not wanting to give up, Raif placed his hand on her abdomen and tried to rationalize with her again.

"He attacked you. He left you unconscious. Why are you protecting him?"

Lucinda stared at the sonogram photo and traced her finger around the tiny shape that was growing inside her. The baby was real. She heard its heart beating and saw its tiny movements on the screen. This baby was hers, and no one could take the joy of it away from her. Not Aaron, not Raif, and definitely not Rachel.

"I'm not protecting him," she finally said. "I'm protecting Merrill and his daughter-in-law and his grandchildren."

"Lucinda...." Raif caressed her face again. "Babe, I know how much you love Merrill but you need to protect yourself too. What if he tries to hurt you again? At least get a restraining order."

"I don't think he was trying to hurt me." she finally looked Raif in the eyes. "I think he panicked."

"Panicked?"

"I know you think I'm being irrational, but for the first time, he couldn't manipulate me to do what he wanted. I stood my ground and he got desperate because he thinks I'll tell his wife about us. He wants me to stay away from Merrill and if I file charges then it just opens up a can of worms—which means his family learning about the affair. I can't have that. It would mean severing my relationship with Merrill and he has become my family," she said, her voice cracking.

Raif stood and paced around the small ultrasound room. "I just can't wrap my head around this. I think you need time to really think about what you're saying because you should tell the police what happened. For once, think about yourself and protecting yourself from that jerk of an ex, so that he never goes near you again, because I swear to God, if he ever looks in your direction again, I'll kill him."

"You don't understand..."

"You're right. I don't understand how you can let him get away with this!"

"I've let him control my life for so long, but I can't let it go on, so I have to let it go. Haven't you ever needed to just let something go?" Lucinda asked pleadingly. "This would devastate Merrill's family and it could divide them. I don't want that."

"But I can't let it go," Raif replied. "I can't have him hurting you again."

"This isn't your choice, Raif. It's mine," Lucinda said firmly. "It doesn't change anything either way."

"Yes, it does!" Raif exclaimed. "What he did-"

"What he did doesn't just go away because I press charges," Lucinda said quickly. "And restraining orders are nothing but pieces of paper. Just because I get attacked and you're here, and I'm pregnant doesn't change what YOU did either."

Raif stared at Lucinda. From the moment he saw her getting pulled out of the ambulance, he had forgotten all about why she ran away in the first place. They still needed to talk about what happened with Rachel.

"I can explain what happened. It's not what you think, and I swear to you," he said, holding up his hands in prayer form. "I would never betray you. Never."

"You can't promise me that."

Raif returned to her side and gently turned her face to him but she maintained her stubbornness and wasn't making eye contact. He carefully looked her face over and could see the same scared and morose face Lucinda once had when she first stepped foot into his café. Except he was responsible for her pain this time. Not Aaron. That coward may have hurt her physically but he broke her heart. Raif let go of her and remained crouched at her side. Emptiness replaced the anger he was feeling from before and his eyes burned with tears that started to emerge.

"I know it's been hard for you to trust people, let alone allow them into your heart, but I mean it when I say I would never hurt you." Raif sniffled and wiped under his eyes. "I didn't cheat on you and I never would. Rachel wanted to break us apart. She knew that if you saw her, dressed the way she was, it would make you run. She admitted it to me and as her way of apologizing, she gave me your address so I could find you." Raif sniffled again and dried his runny nose with the back of his hand. "Please don't let her succeed in pulling us apart, Lucinda. I love you. I love you so much and I wish you would come back to Breeze Bay. Let's be a family. Let's raise our child together."

Raif stood up and wiped his face clean but felt so drained from the drive and fearing for Lucinda's well-being. Except this was the part he feared most, that Lucinda would refuse to make things work, and once again he would become a long-distance father. The door to the room squeaked open causing both Lucinda and Raif to shift in its direction. In walked the doctor and Lucinda began gripping the sides of the ultrasound table she was on, nervous for what he had to say. Even Raif stopped breathing.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Patel," he announced smiling and took a seat in front of the monitor.

"Hello," Both Lucinda and Raif replied.

"So, I've reviewed your ultrasound and lab work." The doctor paused and cleared his throat as he adjusted his glasses, causing Lucinda to grip the sides of the table a little harder. "And the fetus hasn't been harmed. The images also reveal that your baby's measurements are right on track with its gestational age, which puts him or her at about twelve weeks. So this means you're entering your second trimester, which is when pregnancy gets really exciting for expectant mothers!"

Lucinda stared at the doctor but her mind was still a whirlwind from being attacked and arguing with Raif. Her blank expression caused both the doctor and the tech to look back and forth at each other.

"Is everything ok?" the doctor asked.

"Y-yes," Lucinda stuttered. "It's just been a long morning and seeing the baby on the monitor for the first time... it's just so real now. What I mean is, I could have sworn that I had my period at least twice since moving to Breeze Bay, so it's never even crossed my mind that I could be pregnant. Even when I took the pregnancy test it didn't seem real. Plus we've always been careful, so I guess it's all just sinking in."

"Most likely what you were experiencing was spotting," the doctor replied. "It's common and can confuse many women into thinking that they're still having their period when they're indeed not. As for using protection, depending on what kind of method you use, it's never one hundred percent guaranteed. The only guarantee is no sex at all, but for a couple your age, that's not realistic." He winked.

Lucinda stared down at the ultrasound photo. "Oh... "

"And I'm assuming you're the father?" He turned to Raif.

"I am."

"Then maybe you're the one who'll need to explain to her how she got pregnant," the doctor chuckled.

"Right." Raif rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm not sure if I'm her favorite person at the moment, though."

"Ok, well... that's none of my business, so I'll get out of your hair, but first we need to know who will be your primary physician during your pregnancy so we can send them these images and lab results. Then they can track your progress."

"Umm..." Lucinda paused, trying to think.

If she took a doctor in Redwood Village then that would mean she was staying. If she took a doctor in Breeze Bay, then that would mean she was returning with Raif. However, she simply didn't know what she wanted. For some reason, she still felt angry at Raif. Was she being stubborn? Irrational?

Lucinda swallowed hard and replied, "I don't have a doctor."

"Tisk, tisk!" The doctor shook his finger at her. "You need one because although your lab work revealed that you're quite healthy, aside from getting banged up, pregnancy can create a lot of changes in a woman. I bet you haven't even taken prenatal vitamins yet?" Lucinda shook her head and Dr. Patel sighed while scratching his receding hairline. "It's very important that you see a doctor regularly, so please don't delay in finding one. In the meantime, I'll write you a prescription to get your prenatal vitamins going, ok?"

"Ok," Lucinda replied and the doctor left the room.

For a moment it was silent as Lucinda relaxed against the backrest of the exam table. Meanwhile, Raif leaned against the wall, trying to process it all. He never got to be there from the beginning with Gavin and somewhere inside of him was a fear that he wouldn't get to be part of this one either. Then Lucinda got up, creating crinkling noises from the sheet of wax paper beneath her. Raif looked at her from the corner of his eye, unsure if he should reach out to touch her or just give her space. Was Lucinda finished with him?

"Take me home, Raif," she finally said.

He pushed off of the wall with a flooding of hope in his eyes, however, just as quickly as the feeling came to him, Lucinda's body language sucked the hope right out of him. All expression was gone from her face and she was still avoiding eye contact.

"To my house in Redwood Village," she corrected. 

He swallowed but nodded. "Ok."