She placed her hands on her stomach as her heart fluttered. At that moment she was happier than she'd ever dreamed. The signs were all there; the weight gain (who cared if it was only a couple of pounds?), the morning sickness….

Tears sprang to her eyes at the prospect. Finally, after all of this time…

She thought of all the times that she and Stephen had made love; those passionate, sensual moments that never failed to bring her to new heights. Just thinking about them now brought that familiar feeling in the place where she most liked to be touched. Perhaps it was a sign; her psychic powers trying to tell her something. Whatever it was, she could hardly wait to get confirmation that it was real. She could only imagine the expressions on the faces of Frasier, Martin and Ronee. They were sure to be thrilled.

For a split second she wondered what Niles would think of the news. It had been so long since she'd seen him and she missed him terribly; more than she thought possible. But she quickly pushed him out of her mind. To think of him brought nothing but painful memories. And so she concentrated on her happiness. She couldn't wait to tell her family; the one she had here, in Seattle. But the one person she looked most foreword to telling was Stephen. It was like a dream come true. Their baby… her baby… her first child, one that she and Stephen had created.

Quickly she did the math in her head. It had been almost a year since their magical trip to the Grand Cayman Islands. They'd spent the entire time on the beach and in their luxurious hotel room making love. And sometimes they made love on the beach, which was the most incredible thing imaginable. So after all of their passion, surely there was a baby growing inside of her.

What a time to break the joyous news; during the month of their wedding anniversary. She could hardly believe that two years of marriage had gone by so quickly. They were, without a doubt, the most wonderful of her life.

"Mrs. Ray?"

In one fluid motion, she rose from the uncomfortable chair; the one with the lumpy cushions that seemed to be the standard of all doctor's offices in Seattle. Her heart racing, she followed the medical assistant down the hallway and into a small exam room.

The young woman held out a thin blue gown with white ties. "Here, put this on and climb onto the table. Dr. Marks will be in shortly."

Daphne eyed the gown with distaste. To call it a gown was purely in the loosest sense of the word. It was paper thin and she was glad that Dr. Marks would be the only one to see her like this. Dutifully she climbed onto the table, finding it slightly difficult to do so. Most likely it was because of her recent weight gain but she wouldn't dare criticize herself for it. Not in the least. This was shaping up to be one of the happiest moments of her life. A bit premature, perhaps, but she didn't care.

Without warning the door opened and the tall dark haired woman with wire framed glasses entered the room with a smile. "Mrs. Ray, how nice to see you again."

Daphne laughed. "Please, Dr. Marks, call me Daphne. I've told you that a hundred times!"

"Right, you have haven't you? Well, Daphne what brings you in today?"

Daphne knew it was a routine question, one to get patients talking. Rhonda knew darn well why she'd come in. She'd found it hard to hold in her excitement when she'd called the doctor's office a week ago for the appointment. But Dr. Marks deserved an answer, didn't she? Daphne bit her lip, unable to stop grinning.

"I think I'm pregnant. I'm sure of it."

"Well, that's wonderful. I'm sure Stephen will be thrilled. But let's take a look just to be sure, shall we? Scoot back on the table for me and put your feet in these stirrups."

Daphne did as instructed, pushing herself further back on the table and placed her feet in the cold metal stirrups. And then Dr. Marks carefully slid Daphne closer to the edge and began the examination. "All right, let's see what's going on in here."

Daphne closed her eyes, focusing not on the fact that the exam was extremely uncomfortable, but the fact that her life was about to change dramatically. And before she knew it, Dr. Marks announced that she was finished. "All right Daphne. Everything looks good, but we need to do a pregnancy test to be sure. So the nurse will be in shortly to show you where to go and then we can talk after we get the results."

Daphne swallowed hard. "H-how long will it take?"

"Oh, not long at all. We'll send it to the lab and should have an answer in about thirty minutes."

With renewed excitement, Daphne followed the nurse's instructions and went to the bathroom, emerging seconds later with the sample that Dr. Marks had requested.

"Okay, go back into the exam room and get dressed. Dr. Marks will be there as soon as we get the test results."

"Thank you."

She hurried to the exam room and quickly got dressed, but it was impossible to concentrate on the outdated magazines that were somewhat haphazardly placed in the wall organizer. She flipped through page after page, having no idea what she was reading.

And suddenly the door opened.

She jumped in surprise and her heart raced as Dr. Marks entered the room, closing the door behind her. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, Daphne."

"Y-you didn't… I was just… So… what's the news?"

The smile disappeared from Dr. Marks' face. And Daphne's heart raced even further. "What is it?"

"I'm sorry Daphne. But you're not pregnant."

For a moment Daphne could only stare at Dr. Marks, unable to understand what she was just told. And instinctively she bit her lip to keep from crying. "I-I see… Well, I seem to have wasted your time. I'm sorry, Dr. Marks."

"Daphne, wait… please…"

But Daphne was already climbing off the table. "I-I really need to go." She ignored the sound of her name, brushing away tears as she made her way through the office and to her car. But even as she climbed inside, her throat tight with tears she would not cry. She couldn't.

Blindly she drove home, fighting the tears that were so close to the surface. And she managed to make it inside, tossing her keys and purse aside.

Stephen was in the den, reading a magazine. He rose at once when he saw her and went to greet her, kissing her full on the lips. "Sweetheart, there you are. How was your day?"

She smiled at him. "F-fine. How was yours?"

"It was all right. Nothing spectacular. Did you do anything interesting?"

"I-I went to the doctor. I-I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, but I -."

"Daphne, what is it?"

Her eyes met his and it only took seconds for her to burst into tears. He held her close, stroking her back as she cried into his chest. She cried for a long, long time; so long in fact that she couldn't stop. And still he held her.

"I'm so sorry, Sweetheart. We'll keep trying, okay?"

She didn't ask him what he meant because she already knew. They hadn't discussed having children, but now she knew that discussion wasn't necessary. He knew what was in her heart. And that made her love him even more.