Oh no.  This couldn't be good.  She had to check once more. Positive. It was all too clear.

"But the first one was negative," Ivy thought to herself.  She was worried.  

She had slept with Sam and now she might be pregnant.  Ivy thought back to that night.

(Flashback)

"If I do this, will you leave me alone?"  His voice was full of anger.

"Yes.  If you spend one last night with me, I promise I'll leave you alone," she replied.

"All right.  I really have no other choice," he said.

(End of Flashback)

That had been two weeks ago.  Now she might be pregnant.

"What am I going to do? There's only one thing I can do," she thought.  It made her stomach weak just thinking about it.  "I have to...sleep with Julian.  If I am pregnant, I'll have to pass this baby off as his.  I've done it once before; I guess I'll just have to do it again."

Julian say at his desk, reading the newspaper.  Ivy walked into the office and stood in front of the desk.

"Julian."

He didn't answer her.

"Julian."

"Yes, what is it Ivy?"  He didn't even look up from his paper.

"Can you focus your attention on me for just one minute?"

"Whatever you want to say, Ivy, just say it."

That was it.  She walked in front of his chair, yanked the paper from his hands, and threw it on the desk.

He closed his eyes.  "Ivy, was that necce..."  He stopped when he opened his eyes and saw her.  She was standing there in a sexy black negligee.  

Chapter 2

"Ivy, what on earth?"  He got out of his chair and stood in front of her.  He was very confused.  All of a sudden, she wrapped her arms around him.

"You look absolutely ravishing," he said.  "But this is quite unlike you.   What's going on?"  He put his arms around her and pulled her a little closer to him.

"Nothing's going on, Julian.  Can't I just want to be with my husband?"

He eyed her suspiciously.  "No.  I mean, you've never wanted to be with me before.  Why now all of a sudden?"

She smiled at him and narrowed the space between them.  "Well, I've had a change of heart.  I realized that I've been wrong about us."

Every word out of her mouth was a lie.  She didn't mean any of it.   But she had to do this.  She swallowed hard, and then, with all her might, leaned towards him and kissed him.  As they kissed, he removed the black robe that covered her negligee, and she removed his suit jacket.  His mouth left her, and he began kissing a path down her neck.

Just then, she pulled away and stepped out of his passionate embrace.

"Maybe we should continue this upstairs," she said in a breathless whisper.

"Yes, I think we should," he replied.  Then, Julian picked Ivy up and carried her upstairs to his room.  Right after they got into the bedroom, he closed and locked the door.

"Now, where were we?"

"I believe we were right here," he said as he resumed kissing her neck.

She loosened his tie, and he stopped kissing her just long enough to let her remove it.  As soon as she had done that, she untucked his shirt and began to unbutton it.  He pushed the straps of the negligee down her arms and started kissing her shoulders.  He moved one hand around her head, and caressed the sensitive spot on the back of her neck, making her gasp with pleasure.  His shirt was off, and she unbuckled his belt and removed it with ease.  Then she unbuttoned and unzipped his pants; and they fell from his waist.  He pushed the straps all the way down her arms, letting the negligee fall to a pool at her feet.  When they completely undressed each other, he picked her up and carried her over to the bed.  He laid her down gently and kissed her all over her body.

"Please Julian.  Don't keep me waiting," she said seductively.

"All right my dear," he replied.  He positioned his body above hers, then lowered his mouth to hers and engaged her in a passionate kiss as he entered her.

Chapter 3

Ivy lay in bed, wrapped in Julian's arms.

"That, my darling, was magnificent," he said.

"Yes, it was," she replied.  She had to admit, it had been magnificent.  But she had other things on her mind.  "If I am pregnant, I'll now be able to pass this baby off as a Crane," she thought to herself.

It was later at night and they were both quite tired, so they ended up falling asleep in each other's arms.

The next morning, Ivy woke up alone in bed.  Julian was already awake and downstairs.  Ivy put on a robe and went into the bathroom to freshen up before going downstairs.

Julian sat in the living room reading the paper.  He got up and poured himself a cup of coffee.  He turned to go sit down, when he saw Ivy walking into the room.

"Well, good morning," he said as he went over to her and kissed her.

"Good morning."  She poured a cup of coffee, then sat down with him on the couch.

"You know Ivy, when you showed up in my office yesterday wearing that sexy little negligee, I was very surprised," he said.

"I thought you would be.  You probably thought I was up to something, didn't you?"

"Well, as a matter of fact, yes I did."

Oh, but she had been up to something.

Two weeks later, Ivy went to the doctor to see if she was pregnant.

"Mrs. Crane."  The doctor had come back into the room. "Congratulations. You and your husband are going to have another baby," he said.

"Dr. Samuels, this may seem like an odd question, but is there any way to run an early DNA test on the baby?  I don't think I can wait nine months," she said.

"As a matter of fact, there is.  I can do it now and get the results to you in a few days," he replied.

"That would be wonderful.  Could you also run a DNA test on my oldest son, Ethan?"

He nodded his head to let her know that he would.  He ran the test on the baby, then Ivy went home to tell Julian that she was pregnant.

When she got home, Ivy found Julian at the desk in the living room, doing some paper work.

"Julian, can you come over here for a moment?  I have something important to tell you," she said.

"Of course darling," he said as he joined her on the sofa.  He took her hands and asked, "What do you have to tell me, my pet?"

She swallowed hard, looked into his eyes, and said, "Julian, I'm pregnant."

"You are?  Ivy that's wonderful," He said, hugging her.  Then, he pulled her into a very passionate kiss.  When they broke the kiss, he said, "I can't believe this.  We're going to be parents again."

She smiled, but seeing him so happy about this hurt her.

Chapter 4

Three days after her appointment, Ivy got a call from Dr. Samuels.

"Mrs. Crane, I have the results of the DNA tests.  The DNA from both of your children matches your husband's."

"Thank you doctor," Ivy said before hanging up.  "I can't believe this.  This means that I didn't get pregnant when I slept with Sam.  It happened when I slept with Julian.  And after all these years, I find out that Ethan isn't Sam's son after all," she said to herself.  She was shocked.

Julian walked into the living room.  He saw the shocked look on Ivy's face and went over to her.  He wrapped his arms around her from behind and asked, "Honey, is something wrong?"

The sound of his voice startled her and caused her to jump.

"No, nothing's wrong," she said, turning to face him.

"Good," he said as he softly kissed her lips.

She couldn't believe this.  Julian's personality had done a complete turn around.  But, she had to admit, it was a good change.  She hadn't seen him act like this in ages.

"Darling, have you told Ethan about all this?"

"Oh my goodness, I completely forgot," she said.  This was the first time she had ever forgotten to tell Ethan anything.  "I guess I've been so excited about the baby that it just slipped my mind."

As if on cue, Ethan walked into the living room.  He was stunned to see his mother in his father's arms.

"Good morning Mother, Father," he said, a bit cautiously.

"Good morning Ethan," his parents said simultaneously.

"Might I ask what's going on here?"

"Oh Ethan, you didn't know? Well, your mother and I have..." Julian paused and searched for the right words.  "Well, we've gotten back together."

Ethan's eyes widened in surprise.  "Really?  That's wonderful! I'm so glad that you two were finally able to admit your true feelings for one another," he said.

Sensing another one of his son's long rambles about true love and feelings, Julian piped up and said, "I think there's something that your mother wanted to tell you."  Julian took Ivy's hand and squeezed it gently.

"What do you have to tell me Mother?"

"Ethan, I wanted to tell you that, well, I'm pregnant."

"You are?  Mother, that's wonderful!  Oh, I have to go tell Sheridan!"

And with that, he left the mansion and headed for the cottage.

Chapter 5

"Well, that wasn't as hard as I-" Ivy started to say.  But she was interrupted by the front door closing and Sheridan practically running into the room.

"Did I hear Ethan right?  Are you two really back together?  And Ivy, are you really pregnant?" Sheridan asked with great curiosity.

"Yes, to all your questions Sheridan," Ivy said, smiling at her sister-in-law.

"This is terrific!  I'm so happy for both of you," Sheridan said, throwing her arms around Ivy.

After some talk about whether they wanted a boy or a girl and what they were going to name the baby, Sheridan left the mansion and went back to the cottage.

"Well, your sister seems very excited by all this," Ivy said, grinning at her husband.

"Yes, she certainly did," Julian replied, as Ivy walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him.  He started kissing her, but they were interrupted again, this time by the sound of the phone ringing.

Ivy gave Julian a look telling him to go ahead and answer it.

"Hello?" he said as he clicked on the speaker phone.

"Well, hello you two lovebirds," came Alistair's voice.

"It's so good to hear from you Alistair," Ivy said as she walked over towards Julian.  He put his arms around her as his father continued to speak.

"I just called to say how happy I am that you two are together again, and I wanted to congratulate you, Ivy, on your pregnancy," he told them.

"Thank you Alistair," Ivy replied.

"I also called to tell you, Julian," Alistair continued, "that I've decided to reinstate you as my heir."

"Really Father?  That's wonderful."

"Yes, well, I figured that since you and your wife have gotten back together, that it was the perfect time to reinstate you. And, to tell you the truth, all I've ever really wanted was for the two of you to fall back in love with each other.  You have, and I couldn't be happier.  Well, I must be going.   I'll speak to you both later," he said, concluding his speech.

"All right then.  Good-bye Father."

"Oh, and one more thing.  Ivy, I want you to keep Julian in line," Alistair added with a small chuckle.

Smiling, she replied, "Will do Alistair."

"All right then.  Good-bye."  And with that, he hung up.

Ivy kissed her husband.  "Well, I guess you're happy about this, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am.  You know, we should go out tonight and celebrate. Not just because Father reinstated me as his heir, but because of everything that's happened.  The two of us getting back together, you being pregnant.  I think that calls for a celebration," he said to her.

"That's a brilliant idea," she said, kissing him again.

"All right, then it's all set.  You go get ready and I'll go down to the cottage to tell Ethan and Sheridan."

"Ok, I'll see you back here in a bit," she said as she headed upstairs.

Chapter 6

Julian, Ethan, and Sheridan sat in the living room.  Sheridan was wearing a long, powder-blue evening gown; and Julian and Ethan were dressed in their finest suits.  Just then, they heard the click of high heels on the staircase.  Ivy walked into the room wearing a long, light pink dress.

"You, my darling, look positively stunning," Julian said as he walked over to his wife.

"Thank you dear," Ivy replied, smiling.

"Well, since everyone's ready, we should get going," Julian said.  They went outside, got into the limo, and headed to the Seascape.

They hadn't been at their table five minutes, when the band started playing a waltz.

Julian looked over at his wife and asked, "Ivy, would you care to dance?"

"I would love to," Ivy said, as Julian took her hands and led her to the dance floor.

Every other couple who had been dancing cleared the floor.  They couldn't believe what they saw.  Ivy and Julian Crane; together, dancing, happy.   Whispers came from all around the room.

"Is this all just an act?"

"Ivy looks so happy."

"Are those two back together?"

"Is it just me, or does Ivy look...pregnant?"

The people continued to talk, but Ivy and Julian didn't hear a word of it.   They just continued dancing.  When the music ended, the room erupted in thunderous applause.  Julian, still holding Ivy in his arms, pulled her closer and kissed her. Again, people around the room started to whisper.

"Oh, how sweet!"

"I've never seen them like this; so happy."

"They're so in love."

Ivy and Julian walked back to the table, hand in hand.  They sat down, and things around this room began to return to normal. Ivy looked over at her son, who was smiling at his parents.

"Ethan, darling, what has made you so happy?"

"Just seeing you and Father together and so in love," he replied.

Dinner came, along with two bottles of the finest champagne that the restaurant had.  When things had settled at the table, Julian raised his glass and began to speak.

"I'd like to make a toast.  To my gorgeous wife, with whom I'm completely in love."  He looked over at Ivy, who was blushing, then continued his toast. "To her, the child that she is carrying, and our continued happiness."

"Cheers," replied everyone at the table.  The clinking of glasses was heard before they all had dinner.

Chapter 7 (Final Chapter)

Ivy and Julian walked into the mansion.  Ethan had gone back to the cottage with Sheridan.  Ivy went up to their room, changed into her night gown, then headed back downstairs.  She walked into the living room and joined Julian on the sofa.  He put his arms around her and held her close.

"I had a marvelous time tonight, sweetheart," she said to him.

"As did I.  You know lovey, you dance just as well as you did the first time we danced together."

"Thank you Julian.  So do you," she replied.

Julian kissed his wife and said, "You know, my darling, we do have the house to ourselves."

"I know what you're thinking," she said, smiling.

"Oh you do?"

"Yes," she said, before kissing him.  When she pulled away, she looked at him and said, "Come on.  Let's go upstairs."  Before Ivy took even one step out of the room, Julian swung her up into his arms and carried her upstairs.   They got into their bedroom and he made love to her.

Months passed, and the love between Ivy and Julian grew stronger every day.  Neither one of them could wait for the day that Ivy gave birth.  Then, one day, while sitting in the living room, Ivy's eyes widened as her body tensed up and she put her hands on her stomach.  This didn't go unnoticed by Julian, who rushed over to her.

"Darling, is everything all right?" he asked, very concerned.

"Honey, it's time!  I need to get to the hospital," she said, half excited, half nervous.

Julian brought Ivy out to the limo and they raced to the hospital.

Ivy was in the delivery room, ready to give birth.  She keep calling out for Julian, but they wouldn't let him in there.

The doctors and nurses were positioned around the room.

"All right Mrs. Crane, I need you to push," came the voice of one of the doctors.

Out in the waiting room, Julian was becoming more anxious by the minute.

"Julian, why don't you sit down?" came Sheridan's voice.

"I just wish I could be in there with her," was all he said.

Back in the delivery room, the sound of crying could be heard.

"Congratulations Mrs. Crane.  It's a girl," the doctor said as he handed the baby to Ivy.

"Oh, she's beautiful," Ivy said, holding her daughter.  "Can my husband come in now?"

"Yes, ma'am.  I'll go get him right now," the doctor said, heading into the waiting room.

When Julian saw the doctor, he stood up and walked over towards him.

"Congratulations.  Your wife just had a baby girl.  You can go in and see her now."

"Thank you Doctor," Julian said as he walked into Ivy's room.

"Darling," he said as he went over to the bed.

"Julian," she said, smiling.  He leaned down and kissed her.

"I'm so proud of you," he said, smiling and gently caressing her face.  He looked over at their daughter, and his smile grew wider.  "Oh Ivy, she's gorgeous," he said.

"Do you want to hold her?" she asked, placing the baby in Julian's arms.

Julian's eyes lit up as he held the tiny infant in his arms.  

"What should we name her?" he asked his wife.

"How about Peggy Lynn?" she suggested.

"Peggy Lynn it is," he replied.

Ivy smiled at her husband.  "I love you, Julian."

"I love you too, Ivy."