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"The baby's going to get AD because of me!" she wept.

Hearing this, Adam moaned and leaned his forehead against hers. "Is that why you're feeling guilty? Honey, we don't know the baby will inherit AD. It has a fifty percent chance of not having the gene at all."

"But," Charlie continued to weep, "it's going to grow up without a mother!"

"Hey, now," Adam brushed the hair away from her tearstained face, "we don't know that, either. There's hope, Charlie. You may very well have a long and full life ahead of you, so don't give up so quickly!"

Burying her face against Adam's shirt, Charlie continued to cry. She had felt like crying for the past few days, but hadn't had a good excuse to break into tears until now.

Quietly, Adam hugged his wife. Fear kept nipping at his heels, but Adam continued to remind himself that he loved and trusted Charlie.

After Charlie had had a good cry, she went into the bathroom to clean her face.

Adam remained on the bed, thoughtfully silent.

"I feel so ridiculous," confessed Charlie, running a little water into the bathroom sink and splashing it onto her face. "Expectant mothers are supposed to be happy, and I'm acting as though someone has just died! Oh, Adam! Whoever thought this would happen to us? I thought you couldn't have kids!"

"Yeah," muttered Adam. He paused. "Charlie..." When Adam didn't finish his thought out loud, Charlie came into the bedroom with a towel to dry her face.

"What?" she asked.

Adam groaned and looked very uncomfortable. "If I'm not completely honest with you," he sighed, "I know what's going to happen to me."

"What are you talking about?" puzzled Charlie, finishing with the towel and letting it drop to the floor so she could get back on the bed with Adam. As Charlie rested her head against Adam's chest, he sighed heavily.

"I love you," he reminded her, "and that means I trust you." At this, Charlie's head bobbed up and she stared at him hesitantly.

"What are you trying to tell me?" she wondered.

"According to what my doctor told me," explained Adam, "I can't father any babies."

"I guess you should've gotten a second opinion," smiled Charlie, "because your doctor was wrong!"

"I did get a second opinion," informed Adam. "And a third, and a fourth."

Charlie was no longer smiling. After a moment or two to reflect on the situation, she straitened her back and folded her arms indignantly. "So?" she asked.

The unflinching gleam in her eyes did Adam's heart a lot of good, and he half wanted to back out of finishing his thought out loud.

"Don't think you can stop there, Adam Wallace Clark," pressed Charlie.

Adam winced. He always knew he was in trouble when she used his full name.

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