Baby Steps

Chapter 2: I'll Stand By You

After approximately 3 minutes of letting Rosie just cry it out in his arms, Marco realized that she had stopped and regained composure. This time, he knew not force the answer out of her since she seemed to be in a better place. So, he just let her come out and say it whenever she was ready. Rosie then gathered the three pregnancy tests, took a deep breath and handed them to him.

"Marco, I'm..." Rosie began, but all too shocked to even finish the statement; which was okay because he could already tell by the clearly marked urine filled sticks that he had been given.

"I know, babe. But how did it even happen?" Marco asked as he placed the tests back onto the sink and washed his hands; all the while not taking his confused gaze off of the sticks. He and Rosie had never even talked about trying again since the miscarriage but then he assumed that God worked in a funny way.

"I don't know. But what should we do? What if it doesn't work out again?" Rosie asked as she wiped the last of her tears from the corner of her ocean blue eyes and rested her head on Marco's shoulder, all the while wearing a glum look on her face.

Marco then thought long and hard about his and Rosie's relationship. Sure, they didn't start out in the best way but somewhere down the line they grew to trust and love each other. Plus, they were old enough to raise a kid, they had a steady business going with flexible hours and the option of having their parents' help was always available; provided he and Rosie didn't mind driving 30 minutes with a screaming infant in the back. Marco strongly believed in old sayings such as "first is the worst, second is the best", so perhaps a second chance at parenthood was well deserved.

"And what if it does? We'll never know unless we try. And who knows? Maybe this is the one" Marco answered as he placed a gentle, assuring kiss on Rosie's head of chocolate brown curls.

"Are you sure?" Rosie asked as she looked up at her boyfriend with grave concern; remembering how worried he was last time, even to the point of suggesting that they get married first.

"I can't be sure if it's going to work out exactly as we want. But I know that I'm going to be there for you every step of the way" Marco responded as he lightly stroked her snow white cheek with the tip of his index finger and brought her close to him for a passionately comforting kiss.

Once the kiss had come to a conclusion, Rosie admitted that there was never a day where she had forgotten about the miscarriage or wondered what their lives would have been like at this point with a kid. She wondered how it was possible to love someone you hardly had a chance to know. However, she was nervous yet grateful for another opportunity; no matter how unexpected it might have been. Marco then promised that he would try to do everything he could to help ensure success. Keeping in my how much the loss affected Rosie the last time; he was determined not to let it happen for fear of losing her again. She was the best thing that ever happened to him; a fact he could only admit to himself for a while.

As they continued to talk about the pregnancy late into the night, Rosie and Marco agreed that they wouldn't tell anyone else until they knew that they were well past the point of avoiding another miscarriage. Even if Rosie had to fight off the urge to share the news with Courtney and Molly, it needed to be done. Plus, she knew that if she told them it would be too real and it would be harder to get over if the outcome wasn't what she and Marco were hoping for. The only thing Rosie and Marco seemed to be able to count on was the fact that both of them weren't all that close with their parents, so they probably wouldn't suspect anything.

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The following week after finishing a slow shift at The Cheesy Pig, Marco suggested that Rosie should go to the doctor to check up on their little miracle. As convincing as the home pregnancy tests were, he thought it would be a good idea to see just how far along she was and to make sure that everything was starting out well. The fact that he was already so involved and on top of things really warmed Rosie's heart and affirmed her faith in the fact that they could handle anything together.