"Are you ready?" Soda called from outside the bathroom the next morning. I was finishing up washing my face after throwing up my breakfast and was about to start brushing my teeth.

"In a minute!" I shouted back to him. I looked at the clock on the wall and saw we still had twenty minutes before my appointment. I was dressed in lazy clothes: a long flowy skirt and a tank top with a denim jacket. I finished brushing my teeth, all the while staring down at the ring on my finger. It fit so perfectly and it looked so nice against my light skin.

I couldn't believe this was really happening. I was a little bummed I could no longer propose to Sodapop myself, but the fact that we were engaged at all made me excited for our future. And on top of that, I was possibly pregnant. I just hoped this didn't end up being some kind of bug or if I did end up pregnant, it would actually work out.

I'd spent so long pining after Sodapop Curtis and now we were becoming a family. A real family.

I spit out the last of my toothpaste, then washed my mouth out and washed my hands. I took a hair tie and pulled back my hair into a messy, high ponytail before meeting Sodapop outside in the living room.

"Will you guys be okay by yourself for an hour?" I asked the twins. Claire was reading and Greg was flipping through TV programs.

"Yeah, we'll be fine."

"Okay. We'll be home soon. Call Darry and Tash if you need anything."

"Gotcha!" Claire called before Sodapop ushered me out the door.

"We have plenty of time, Soda, don't worry," I laughed.

"I know, but I'm anxious. I wanna know as soon as possible."

He was giddy and practically bouncing out of his Converse and all I could do was smile at him. We climbed into his car and he started it up. The whole drive over to the hospital, he held my hand, occasionally bringing it up and kissing my knuckles.

I couldn't remember the last time I felt this loved by a person. I mean, I know Andy had loved me. But the way Sodapop looked at me like I was the only person in the room, like I was the sun and lit up his life-- I knew Soda and I were meant to be together. We were so in love it almost hurt sometimes.

Sodapop pulled into a parking lot and I couldn't help but smile at the way the sun rays entered through the window of the car and illuminated him. He was golden.

"You ready?" he asked, sounding like we were about to open presents on Christmas morning. Hell, maybe we should have been.

"I'm ready." We let go of each other's hands and got out of the car. We reunited on the other side and walked hand in hand through the front doors and up to the front desk.

"Names please?"

"Curtis," Sodapop said. "Er, I guess it would be under Marshall."

"Marshall... Candice Roxanne?"

"That'd be me," I said.

"With Doctor Manny. If you could just fill out these forms real quick, he should be with you in about ten minutes. Just make sure you bring the paperwork back up here before you go back to the room."

"Okay. Thanks." Sodapop and I walked over to the waiting area and sat down. I filled out the papers in a little under five minutes and then signed at the bottom. Sodapop took them up to the desk for me and returned. We sat there, holding hands for a few minutes. I wasn't sure about what to say. It wasn't like there was nothing to say, but I was just so caught up on everything going on that I couldn't find the right words.

Sure, Sodapop and I had talked about kids, about names. But we knew it couldn't happen. Now that there was a possibility that it was, we were both kind of shell-shocked.

"Candice Marshall?" a voice called and Soda and I turned to see a nurse standing in the doorway, ready to lead us to Dr. Manny's room. Soda and I both stood up and I grabbed my purse with my free hand. My other hand still held his tightly and we followed the nurse back to the little room where they keep the scale.

"How are you today, Candice?"

"A little nervous," I replied honestly. The nurse smiled at me.

"Totally normal. I'll just need to get your height and weight and then I'll take you back and get your temperature and blood pressure."

She took my height and weight down.

"You're down twelve pounds from the last time you were here. Are you eating healthy?"

I glanced sheepishly over at Soda, who was trying hard not to laugh. For the most part, we did eat fairly healthy, but we also ordered pizza almost every weekend.

"For the most part," I said. "But I've also been vomiting a lot lately, so I haven't kept much down other than crackers and grapes."

"And your height." I moved over to the vertical scale on the wall and she took down my height.

"Five foot, seven inches." She jotted that down in her notes and looked back up to me. "If you guys wanna follow me back, then." She led us down the hallway and around the corner and into a small room. I'd been in here before a few times. Dr. Manny was my preferred obstetrician/gynecologist. I'd made the switch to her halfway through my pregnancy with Sam, as the OB/GYN I had before had no idea what he was talking about. Dr. Manny was well-educated and I trusted her.

The nurse entered the room behind Soda and I. I took a seat on the bed and Soda grabbed a chair by the desk.

"Alright. Let's check your temp and while we're doing that, I'll get started on your blood pressure."

"Okay," I nodded. The nurse put a plastic cap on the thermometer and I opened my mouth for her to put it in. I closed my mouth around it, making sure it was placed securely under my tongue. She then moved and tightened the blood pressure cuff around my right arm.

The thermometer finally beeped just as she was finishing getting my blood pressure. "BP is one-ten over seventy, which is slightly elevated, but if you are pregnant, it's totally normal." She removed my thermometer. "Ninety-nine, which is slightly high, but not too bad."

The nurse situated herself at the desk and began typing up her findings on the typewriter.

"Are you on any kind of medication?"

"No."

"Do you smoke or drink?"

"Rarely."

"Any illnesses in the family?"

I shake my head. "Not that I'm aware of."

She continues typing.

"Okay, so, what are your symptoms? You said you've been experiencing severe nausea. Any headaches? Missing period?"

"No, I haven't had my period yet."

"Any breast tenderness?"

"Uh, yeah. A little bit."

"Have you been peeing a lot?"

I nodded. "Not too much, but more frequent than usual."

"Okay. All symptoms are consistent with pregnancy, but I'll have Doctor Manny in here and she'll help you with a pregnancy test. You've had a lot of water today, right?"

I nodded again. "Yeah."

"Have you taken one before?"

I gulped. "Yeah, a few years ago."

"Okay, so you probably won't need any briefing on it, then. I'm going to give Doctor Manny your information and she should be in in just a few minutes, alright?"

"Thank you," I said. She gave me a smile before turning and leaving. She closed the door behind her and Soda and I were left on our own.

"I'm so nervous," I told him.

Soda leaned forward and grabbed my hand. "Hey, it's gonna be alright, doll. Everything's gonna be okay. I just know it." He kissed my knuckles and I couldn't help but fall in love with him all over again. Every time I looked at him, all I could fee was utter love for him. Sure, he pissed me off and annoyed me sometimes, but every real relationship is like that.

I sent an adoring smile his way and he sent a toothy grin right back.

"I guess now that we might be having a baby, we won't be getting that dog I've been begging for, huh?" Sodapop joked and all I could do was roll my eyes.

"We'll have a totally full house."

"We're true Curtises."

"Candy and Soda Curtis," I said. I'd been rolling the names over in my mind all night last night.

"It sounds so perfect." He was about to lean forward to kiss me when Dr. Manny walked in.

"Hi, Candice," she greeted and I pulled away from Sodapop.

"Hi, Doctor," I replied.

"So. Here for a pregnancy test, huh?" She gave me a look like she thought I might be crazy.

"I know it's a small chance, but the symptoms--"

"Yeah, I looked them over. But, there's only one way to see."

Dr. Manny pulled out a jar and handed it to me. She gave me a paper sack to put it in.

"I'll be right back," I said and I quickly left the room. I headed down the hall to where I saw the bathrooms and slipped inside the women's. I had to pee so bad it wasn't even funny.

After filling the jar, I washed up and left the bathroom. I walked nervously back into Dr. Manny's room and handed her the paper sack.

"This takes about two hours. Would you like us to call you, or do you want to wait?"

I looked to Sodapop.

"If you could call us, that'd be great," Soda told her.

"Alright, then. You can go out to the front desk and they'll have your paperwork and bill ready for you."

"Okay. Thank you, Doctor," I said. We left the room, then walked back around to the front desk, where we collected the paperwork and paid for the bill.

Soda and I were anxious the whole drive home and, for the next two hours, we paced around the kitchen. Then, the phone rang and we both jumped out of our skins. It rang a total of three times before Claire shouted, "Pick it up already!"

"I'll get it," Sodapop said and he grabbed up the telephone. "Curtis residence... This is he." There was a long pause and the whole time I couldn't read Soda's face. "Thanks, doc," he finally said and hung up the phone.

He turned to me with a deadpanned look on his face.

"Well?" I asked him. "What did they say?"

Soda couldn't help the smile spread on his face.

"The test results came back positive." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "Candy Cane, you're pregnant!"