"Maria!" Alex protested in the doorway. "I was on the phone with Liz." Alex saw the desperation in Maria's face and immediately changed his tone. "What's wrong?"

"This," Maria said reaching for a white plastic stick on the bathroom counter.

"No," Alex lied to himself knowing what the stick must surely disclose according to Maria's panicked behavior. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut and slowly opened one not wanting to focus on the blue plus sign staring him squarely in the face. "No, no, no," he repeated taking the stick from Maria's shaking hand.

"Yes, yes, yes! Alex, what am I gonna do?" Maria demanded.

"Wait a minute," Alex rationalized shaking his head with skepticism. "It's been three months since he left. You would have known before now. There would have been...signs." He breathed sharply in realization.

Maria looked guiltily at her friend still standing in the doorway holding the bearer of bad news. "Alex, I..."

"How long have you known, Maria?"

Maria shook her head as tears began welling up in her eyes, "I didn't know. I assumed I missed a few because of the hormonal problems and weight loss."

"This," Alex said waving the stick, "is the cause of the hormonal problems and the weight loss."

Maria steadied herself as she accepted her new reality. She had been in denial for at least a month. And for the past few moments, she experienced fear and an extremely brief moment of sadness. But suddenly, she began to experience anger. She felt she needed to hit a wall, kick a tire, or throw something. She lunged at Alex and stole the stick from his hands. With all her strength, she threw the stick across the bathroom. It hit the shower wall and shattered into three pieces. Her breathing slowed as soon as she departed with some of her anger and built-up emotions. "Hmm," she shrugged looking at a stunned Alex. "Did I...really just...do that?" she asked beginning to laugh a bit.

Alex froze. He was unsure how to react to Maria's situation. "Uh," he began. "Kill the messenger?" They both laughed a little. Alex cautiously approached Maria and embraced her for a much needed hug.

Weeks passed and Maria tried to come to terms with the many new details of her life. She continued to go out on every audition Alex set up for her. They made a great team as Mulder and Scully. He researched opportunities and helped her prepare. Maria fought hard not let Alex down. He had worked so hard to get her gigs and she promised herself she would not let her expectant baby stop or even so much as put their plans on pause. When she began to show, Alex found Maria work singing offstage. A jingle she sang for a local car dealer paid the bills and put food on their table for two months. Still, Maria wanted more. She wanted to prove she was more than a small town dreamer. She wanted renowned success.

During the first few weeks finding out she was pregnant, she tried to push thoughts of her pregnancy far into a dark corner of her mind. She went through days of complete denial. When she wasn't singing, she cooked. When she wasn't cooking, she read. When she wasn't reading she cleaned. She refused to allow herself time to think about the baby.

Lately, however, she'd been thinking a lot about the baby. She actually found herself picking up a book of baby names in the checkout line at the grocery store last week. Without thinking, she turned to the M's and looked up Michael. "Who is like God," she read. "Well," she thought. "Not exactly...but definitely heavenly." She laughed silently at the irony.

At her sixth month, she and Alex sat down together to watch a videotape of a sonogram she had taken earlier in the day. "Alex, can this really be happening?" Maria asked Alex as she tried to come to terms with the phenomenon.

"Yes, ma'am it is," Alex answered cautiously wording his response so as not to upset his emotionally distraught friend. "It is indeed happening and it is wonderful."

To his surprise, Maria agreed. "You know," she thought out loud. "I'm gonna have a small piece of him after all."

"Small?" Alex jokingly argued touching Maria's swelling stomach. He took her hand in his and spoke softly. "I'm here. I will help you. And I'll be there for your baby, too." He rubbed his hand across Maria's stomach.

"Alex," Maria began to protest shaking her head. Alex had done so much for her. She felt guilty allowing him to take responsibility for her actions. Maria didn't want Alex to feel he had to do anything more than be her friend.

"No arguments," Alex said. "It's you and me, kid...and one more soon." He smiled at Maria's stomach and gently laid his ear against it.

Maria smiled thankful for Alex. She marveled at how lucky she was to have him in her life. Suddenly she felt a sharp jab on her left side. "Did you feel that?" Maria asked.

"Was that...the baby?" Alex asked astonished.

"Yeah," Maria laughed excitedly. "That's the first time it's happened."