Page 86 of Operation: Silent Angel
“Yes, Diana, what’s wrong?” Shepherd asked, his concern rising. He gripped her shoulders with both his hands, his eyes staring into hers.
Diana pulled the two pregnancy tests from her pocket and fanned them out in front of him.
Shepherd saw the two sticks she held, disbelieving what he saw. “Are those?”
“Yes,” she said with a big smile. “I didn’t believe the first one so I retook the test.”
“A baby?” he said, dumbfounded.
She nodded. “Yes.”
“Are you okay with this?”
“I’m just shocked,” she said. “And yes, I’m okay with it. I have to be. You know there’s no option for me other than to have this baby.”
“I know.” He knew his wife well. Terminating a pregnancy was not something she’d ever consider for herself. A smile spread across his face. He engulfed her in a hug. “We’re having a baby, Diana.” Besides Diana, no one could have been more surprised than he was.
“We’re having a baby, Sam,” she replied. “Let’s keep this between us until we can fully process it. And it’s really early. I don’t want to tell too many people yet, just in case I miscarry.”
Shepherd held her more tightly to himself. His hand caressed her back. “Agreed. You tell me when you want to share the news. I’ll hold off telling anyone until then.”
“Okay,” she said. “I'd better get back to my office. My first patient is due.”
As she tried to pull away, Shepherd pulled her back to himself and kissed her. “It’s your late night. I’ll cook a good dinner tonight, and we can talk more then. I’ll chill a bottle of champagne. I know we’ve talked about this previously and decided not to have children, but God made that decision for us. We can make this work. I’m happy, Diana.”
She smiled and felt joy bubble up inside her. Warmth spread through her at his words. “Me too, Sam, but make it sparkling white grape juice.”
Then she slipped back out of the door and trotted back down the stairs, once again entering through the back agency-only entrance. There, she found her mom standing in her office.
“Good morning, Diana,” Peggy Palmer said. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes, I just had to touch bases with Sam. He left for his office very early for a call.” Her heart was pounding in her chest. She had just told Sam she wanted them to keep their news to themselves, but she was very close to her mom and told her nearly everything.
Peggy eyed her daughter suspiciously.
Diana couldn’t contain her smile. That was when she decided to share the news with her mom. She pulled the stick out of her pocket. “I had to show him this,” she said, feeling giddy.
“Pregnant, Diana, you’re pregnant?” Peggy exclaimed.
“Yes!” Diana confirmed, swallowing her mom in a hug.
In the hallway, just outside of her office, her first appointment of the day, Mac, walked towards the bathroom. He stopped dead in his tracks and gazed into the office through the open door, making eye contact with Diana. Had he just heard what he thought he heard?
“Mac, please come in here for a moment,” Diana said, waving him in. “Please don’t tell anyone what you just heard. It’s very early in the pregnancy, and Sam and I don’t want it to be common knowledge.”
“Don’t worry about me. I have a top-secret security clearance. Your secret is safe with me. And by the way, congratulations.”
Diana smiled. “Thank you. I just found out. Sam and I are still processing it.”
“As I said, don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone.”
“I’ll be right with you,” she said.
“I was just going to use the bathroom before my appointment.” He pointed in the direction of the bathroom. Then he left theoffice and went to use the facilities. In the trashcan, he saw the two used pregnancy test kits and couldn’t help but chuckle. Shepherd was going to be a daddy. This was going to be interesting.
Zulu
Though all personnel were in town for Thanksgiving, the agency didn’t close and no leave time was granted. Angel decided to host an all-agency potluck Thanksgiving dinner at the office after touching bases with several of the other wives to get their buy-in. Since she’d married Sloan, Kaylee had become the unofficial party planner for the team. But her twins were just three months old, and Angel didn’t want to put any pressure on her, so Angel, Michaela, Madison, and Elizabeth Williams planned it.
