Chapter Text
A/N: Welcome to my summer 2025 ficathon story! I’m so excited to delve into moments of Johanna’s pregnancy for this one and I hope to do one or two chapters for each month of her pregnancy! There is mention of a home pregnancy test in this chapter; they were new to the market in the late 70s; this chapter is set in late March 1979. Everything mentioned about this test was researched and the description and instructions are from the EPT test available in 1979. I hope you’ll enjoy this one!
Chapter 1
“Are you sure you’re feeling okay?” Jim asked as they made the trek to Jeff and Maggie’s door that Saturday morning.
She nodded. “Just a little queasy on and off…I told Maggie I’ve been sick on and off and that I probably shouldn’t come over but she insisted.”
“If you don’t feel up to being here, I’ll take you back home,” he told her.
Johanna shook her head. “No, I feel okay for the most part; I just don’t want her or the baby to get sick because of me.”
Jim gave her a small smile. “You two haven’t had a lot of time together lately; she’s missing you.”
“I know…and I do want to see the baby,” she replied with a smile of her own. “I’m sure I’ll be fine; I’ll just keep my distance from the baby after I take a peek.”
“I wish you’d go to the doctor and see if he can give you something to help get rid of this bug. It seemed like we both got over it around the same time but then yours kind of came back.”
“I know…believe me, I hate it. If it doesn’t clear out soon, I’ll go to the doctor.”
“You promise?” her husband asked.
“Yes, I promise.”
“This week, Jo; I’ll give you a few more days but I want you to go this week if you’re not feeling better.”
“I will,” she assured. Truth be told, she was getting tired of this on and off sickness herself. She had never had a flu like this that seemed to ease only to come back sporadically in the mornings or late in the evening.
“Good,” he murmured, giving her waist a squeeze before he knocked on the door.
Jeff answered the door, ushering his friends inside. “We didn’t wake the baby, did we?” Johanna asked, hearing a cry from the bedroom.
“No,” he replied. “Chrissy just isn’t a fan of having her diaper changed at times. How are you feeling, Sassy?”
“I’m okay.”
“She’s worried about making Maggie or the baby sick,” Jim told him.
“Maggie’s not worried,” Jeff assured.
“Just the same, I’ll stay away from the baby.”
“You can’t be anti-social with your goddaughter,” Maggie declared as she entered the room with the baby in her arms.
“I don’t want her to get sick,” Johanna said.
“She won’t, I promise,” Maggie replied as she moved closer to them. “Tell Aunt Jo hello, Chrissy.”
Johanna smiled at the small bundle in her friend’s arms, unable to keep herself from stroking her fingertip over the baby’s hand. “She’s so beautiful,” she murmured.
“That’s because she looks like me,” Jeff quipped.
“You wish,” Jim scoffed in amusement. “She looks like her mother.”
“My mother says she’s a carbon copy of me,” Jeff declared.
“You’ve never had blonde hair a day in your life,” Jim told him. “That baby looks like Maggie…honestly, it looks like you didn’t contribute at all,” he teased.
“You just wait,” Jeff told him. “You just wait until you two have a baby…because I’m not afraid to bet that your baby won’t look anything like you either…because Sassy’s beauty has to drown out your genes for the sake of the child.”
“You say that like I wouldn’t demand my child look like her,” Jim remarked. “Because I will demand it…just like someone somewhere took pity on Christina and kept her from looking like her father.”
“Alright, boys that’s enough,” Maggie said with a laugh. “Save some debate for all of those time outs during your game.”
“She’s right, we have to save something for the game…or the drive over at least,” Jeff quipped. “We better get going so we stand a chance of getting a decent parking spot.”
“Yeah, let’s head out,” Jim agreed. “Jo, are you sure you’re okay?”
She smiled and nodded. “I’m fine, I promise. Go and enjoy your game and I’ll enjoy my time with Maggie and Chrissy.”
“Yes, you two go on; we have girl stuff to discuss,” Maggie stated as she put the baby in her bassinet.
“Alright, we know when we’re not wanted,” Jeff teased as he kissed Maggie and then bent down to kiss his daughter’s forehead. “I’ll see you two later.”
“We’ll be here,” Maggie promised.
Jim kissed Johanna softly. “I’ll see you later, sweetheart.”
“Be careful,” she murmured to him.
“I promise.”
They waved their husbands off and Maggie locked the door behind them as Johanna took off her coat and laid her purse aside.
“Soo?” Maggie said as she eyed her friend.
Johanna rolled her eyes. “Will you stop it?”
“Stop what?”
“You know what…that thing you’ve been harping on for days.”
Maggie smirked at her. “You’re just afraid I’m right.”
“I am not…I just know you’re wrong,” she said as she settled down in the chair.
“You sound so sure of that.”
“I am sure of it.”
“If you say so…but I got you something,” Maggie remarked.
“Oh? What is it?”
Maggie went to diaper bag in the corner and dug down into the bottom of it, coming up with a bag. She took the item from the bag and crossed the room to Johanna and pushed the box into her hands. “Take it.”
“Maggie,” Johanna sighed as she held the box containing a home pregnancy test that her friend had shoved into her hands. “I told you; I had my period.”
“No, what you told me was that you had a very light period,” Maggie reminded her. “In fact, you told me it was the lightest period you had ever had and with none of your usual symptoms and it was shorter than usual too.”
“Yeah, I had been sick. Jim and I both had the flu.”
“Yes, I know…Jim got over his in two days…you seemed to have gotten over yours but then claimed to have relapsed…mainly in the mornings.”
Johanna shook her head. “I probably just need some medicine to knock the rest of it out of me…which is why I probably shouldn’t be here. I don’t want to give it to you.”
“Believe me, I can’t catch it,” Maggie said.
“Why are you so insistent that I’m pregnant?” Johanna asked. “I think I would know if I was. I had my period; yes it was very light and only lasted two days…but that’s because I had been sick.”
Maggie nodded, reaching into the bassinet beside the couch. “Let me introduce you to the very light period I had that I chalked up to stress…you know her better as your goddaughter.”
Johanna stared at her for a long moment before her gaze drifted to baby Christina and then back to Maggie’s face. “What do you mean?”
“I thought I had my period too, Jo,” she told her. “It was light, didn’t last as long as usual, more pink than red…I had been very stressed with the whole getting married situation; you know I had started to plan a wedding, my father lost his mind and Jeff and I decided it was better to just elope which pissed off my entire family as you know…and work…and moving in together. There was a lot of stress so I thought that had affected my period…but the signs started showing up, like the morning sickness.”
She shook her head. “I’m not pregnant.”
“I think you are…why are you being so stubborn about it?” Maggie asked as she laid the baby back down in her bassinet.
“Because, I feel like I would know…and besides, I don’t think it’s going to happen that easily for me.”
Maggie’s brow rose. “What makes you say that?”
“Come on, Maggie; Jim and I rarely took precautions when we were dating and nothing happened then.”
“I remember one occasion when you did go to the doctor for a pregnancy test because you thought it had happened.”
“Yeah, and I was wrong…and that was a difficult thing to get through.”
“I know it was…but just because it didn’t happen that time doesn’t mean it hasn’t now.”
“I really don’t think so.”
“That time you were wrong; that’s when you went on birth control,” Maggie commented.
“Yes, that’s when I went on the pill.”
“And if I remember correctly; you said a few months ago that you stopped taking it…right?”
Johanna sighed. “Yes, I forgot to get them refilled in October, I asked Jim if he minded if I just stopped taking them. He said it was fine…but I highly doubt I’d get pregnant a mere few months after stopping; for all I know, they probably linger in the system.”
Maggie laughed. “When Jeff and I eloped, I forgot to take my pills with me to Vegas…meet your goddaughter once more.”
“Shut up,” Johanna replied.
Maggie shook her head as she continued to laugh. “Jo, face it, honey; it’s possible. You’re not on the pill anymore…are you using other forms of birth control?”
“No!”
“Are you having sex with your husband?”
Johanna glared at her.
“Well are you?” Maggie asked with a laugh.
“Of course I am!” she exclaimed. “We haven’t been married long enough for him to be tired of me yet.”
“I don’t think he’s ever going to be tired of you…but Jo, you have to believe that it’s at least possible that you might be pregnant. You’re not using birth control, you’re having sex…you had a very light so-called period, you’ve been sick on and off for over a week now. Face it…Chrissy is going to have a playmate in the not too distant future.”
“I’m not so sure of that.”
“Take the test,” Maggie told her. “I bought it for you because I knew you wouldn’t buy it yourself.”
“I don’t know, Maggie,” she muttered as she looked at the box in her hand. “I don’t know if these things are reliable.”
“It says they are…it says on the box it’s the same kind of tests that doctor’s do.”
Johanna smirked. “Yeah, well, how do we know that for sure?”
“How do we know it isn’t?” her friend countered. “I know they’re new…but, I haven’t seen any bad press about them.”
“I’ve heard people say they’re not accurate.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to just take the word of that test,” Maggie replied. “If it’s positive, then you go to doctor and have him confirm it.”
Johanna worried her bottom lip. “What happens if this test says I am…but the doctor says I’m not?”
“Then we know not to trust those damn things,” Maggie replied.
“Maggie….”
“What?”
“I don’t want to get my hopes up…I don’t want to feel like I did the last time. I don’t want to tell Jim I took this stupid test and have him thinking we have a baby on the way and then I go to the doctor and he tells me I have a lingering flu and gives me a prescription and I go home and tell him I was wrong…again.”
“Jo; take the test…you can take the result with a grain of salt; you don’t have to tell Jim that you took it. If it’s positive, just keep it between us and tell Jim you’re going to the doctor Monday to see if he can give you something to get over this bug you have…because if I know him like I think I do, he’s probably been hounding you to go to the doctor anyway, hasn’t he?”
“Yes,” she sighed. “And I have been thinking about going since I can’t seem to entirely shake this thing.”
“Yeah,” Maggie said with a sympathetic smile. “You’re not going to be able to until the second trimester; but that’s all you have to say. Just tell him you’re going to call the doctor on Monday and see if you can get in to be seen.”
“If I have to go to the doctor either way, why don’t I just wait and have the doctor’s test done?”
“Because I bought you this one to give you an idea of what might be coming,” Maggie told her. “Humor me and take the damn test.”
Johanna sighed. “Fine, I’ll take it…but you’re going to be wrong.”
“We’ll see,” Maggie replied. “Let’s get started.”
In the bathroom, they carefully opened the box and took out the test kit. “This looks like a goddamn high school science experiment,” Johanna declared as she looked over the test tubes and attached mirror on the kit. “What the hell is the mirror for?”
Maggie couldn’t help but laugh as she read over the instructions. “The mirror is to show if there is a ring in the urine.”
“What?!”
“Listen, the directions say to put three drops of urine in the test tube, we then add the contents from this plastic vial and shake it up; we then put the test tube in the holder and we’re not to disturb it.”
“I’m suddenly reminded of why I hated science class,” Johanna muttered.
“It does feel a little like science class,” Maggie agreed. “But I’m going to leave you alone for a minute so you can…you know…collect what we need for the test tube.”
“I hate you so much right now,” Johanna sighed.
Maggie laughed. “That’s just the hormones talking. Let me know when you’re done so we can do what we need to do.”
A few minutes later, Johanna opened the bathroom door and allowed Maggie back inside. “Alright, I have what we need,” she said, a touch of sarcasm in her voice.
“Oh you’re so moody…totally pregnant,” Maggie quipped. “Get the little dropper there and put three drops in this tube,” she told her.
Johanna carefully put the three drops of her sample in the tube. “Now the other vial?” she asked.
Maggie nodded, glancing at the instructions once more. “Yeah, go ahead and add that vial.”
Johanna did as she was told and then Maggie put the cap on the tube and shook it. “Now we put it in the holder and we don’t touch it; it has to be undisturbed.”
“When will we know what the result is?”
Maggie glanced at the directions once more. “Two hours.”
“Two hours!” Johanna exclaimed. “I have to have this hanging over my head for two hours!”
Her friend shrugged. “Hey, last time you had a pregnancy test done, you had to wait days to know the answer.”
“Yes, and that drove me insane too! I shouldn’t have done this.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s going to hang over my head until I go to the doctor.”
“Because you know it’s going to be positive, don’t you?”
Johanna shook her head. “No; it’s going to be negative and then I’m going to be upset because you put the idea in my head that there was possibly a baby…and then Jim is going to know I’m upset about something and I’ll have to tell him I took this damn test and he’ll want to know why I didn’t tell him.”
“You tell him because you didn’t know until I gave it to you and he can call me to clarify that,” Maggie replied. “But I’m telling you, there’s more of a possibility of that test being positive than you think.”
“We’ll see.”
“Yes, we will…in two hours.”
Johanna sighed. “Two hours…that’s going to feel like forever; and what if Jim and Jeff come back early?”
Maggie gave her an incredulous look. “When have you ever known a basketball game to end early? They’re not watching it at the bar; they’re at the actual game; we’re not going to see them until late this afternoon.”
“I hope you’re right about that at least. I don’t want him to know I did this stupid thing.”
“I’m right about everything that’s going on here today,” Maggie replied. “And please rest assured that no matter what it says, I’m not going to tell Jeff. We’ll get rid of it before they ever get here so that it can’t be seen in the trash can, okay? I promise, no evidence will be found.”
Johanna nodded. “Okay…but what am I going to do for the next two hours?”
Maggie smiled. “Chrissy will be needing a bottle before long; you can feed her…I know you’ve had plenty of practice but it might not hurt to refresh your memory.”
She smirked at her. “I don’t know if I should be holding the baby; I might still have a touch of the flu.”
“Trust me, she can’t catch your kind of flu. Come on, let’s go back to the living room and try to forget this thing is in here for awhile.”
Those two hours crept by so slowly in Johanna’s opinion as she kept her gaze on the movie she and Maggie were watching on TV after getting Chrissy put down for her nap. She didn’t know why Maggie was so insistent on this…did she just want her to be a new mother at the same time as her so they could go through it together…or was her friend going to start acting like some of her well-meaning relatives that kept asking her when she was going to have a baby? It wasn’t that she didn’t want one; she did…she just figured that it wouldn’t come along easily since nothing ever did for her. When she thought about having a baby, she figured it would be something she and Jim discussed and settled on a timeframe of being right…that they would be actively trying for that end result instead of just enjoying married life as they currently were. It didn’t have to be that way of course, there didn’t need to be an exact plan…but she didn’t want to let this thought of possible baby settle into her mind. She had done that before…had convinced herself of a pregnancy, bought booties and was planning how to arrange furniture…only to be told that she was wrong, that there was no baby, no need of booties or plans.
Johanna swallowed hard; that had been a difficult moment in time for her, that feeling of relief mixed with grief and the feeling that she had lost something when really she hadn’t ever had it to begin with. She couldn’t go through that again; couldn’t let herself get wrapped up in daydreams when in reality she probably just had a lingering remanent of the flu. No, she wasn’t going to go through that again. These at home tests, they were new and she didn’t personally know anyone who had used one although she had heard a few people talking before saying they weren’t always accurate…and that’s what she needed to keep in mind, that no matter what it said, there was a chance that it wasn’t correct…so she shouldn’t go getting ahead of herself if the result was positive…because that could just end in heartbreak. She didn’t want to get Jim worked up either thinking he was going to be a father only for it to be a false alarm; she’d feel foolish in that situation…and she was starting to wish that she hadn’t given in and taken that damn test. Damn Maggie, she thought to herself; she just wanted to drag her into the sleepless nights club with her; that’s all it was.
Glancing at her watch, she figured it was time to get this whole thing over with so they could continue on with their visit without this hanging over them. “Time’s up for that thing, isn’t it?”
Maggie looked at the clock on the wall. “Yeah; it should be time to look…are you excited?”
“No, I wish I hadn’t even done the damn thing.”
“Why?”
“Because I know it wasn’t necessary.”
“You’re so damn stubborn,” Maggie replied as she rose from the chair. “Let’s go see if we need to start planning your baby shower.”
“How about I just throw you another baby shower,” Johanna said as she followed her. “I think you just want to drag me into your new club.”
Maggie laughed. “Well I would like for our kids to grow up together but you know, I had nothing to do with it if the result is positive…you did that all on your own…well…not all on your own. We can’t ignore Jim’s participation.”
“Definitely not,” she replied. “But honestly; if you’re just wanting to go to a baby shower, I’ll just throw you another one for Chrissy. We’ll tell everyone she needs more than what she got the first time around.”
“I don’t think that would go over too well,” her friend laughed.
“Probably not; Sharon would be yelling that we didn’t throw her an extra party.”
“God forbid if someone gets something that Sharon doesn’t,” Maggie quipped.
“Isn’t that the truth.”
“I’m surprised she hasn’t mentioned the possibility of pregnancy to you.”
“She has…I told her she’s wrong.”
“And she let it go?”
“Only because I told her if she didn’t, I’d throw up on her shoes the next time I got the urge to be sick.”
“Thanks for sparing me that threat,” Maggie replied as they entered the bathroom.
“Anything for my maid of honor,” Johanna said lightly. “Let’s get this over with. What does the directions say?”
“After two hours, if a dark brown ring is visible in the mirror of the test kit, it indicates an active pregnancy,” Maggie read. “So…if there’s a dark brown ring, it’s positive.”
“Is there a ring?” Johanna asked hesitantly.
“I haven’t looked…I thought you’d want to look.”
She shook her head. “It’s your idea, you look.”
“It’s your test,” Maggie countered.
“Yeah, but you bought it.”
Maggie smirked at her. “But you’re the one who’s so sure I’m wrong.”
“Because you are.”
“Then you shouldn’t have a problem looking.”
“Neither should you,” Johanna countered.
“Fine,” Maggie said. “We’ll both look.”
They both crowded around the test sitting on the counter and looked at the small mirror. “What do you think it looks like?” Johanna asked as she continued to stare at it.
“It looks like a dark brown ring to me…and if it doesn’t look like one to you, well, then I suggest we get your eyes checked after you see the doctor to find out your due date.”
“It could be wrong,” Johanna replied. “I mean this thing isn’t a doctor; what does it know?”
“The box literally says it’s the same test used by doctors.”
“And as we mentioned before, we don’t really know that,” Johanna added.
“Jo, you know as well as I do if they made a claim like that and it was found out to be false, that would be a nice big lawsuit waiting to happen.”
She shrugged. “I’m aware of that…but…I still don’t trust it.”
“You’re really standing there, staring at a dark brown ring that the box says indicates that you’re pregnant and you’re not believing it?”
“I’ll believe it when a doctor tells me so,” Johanna replied. “I know what you said about my period…but I’m telling you, I don’t think I am. So what I have some sickness on and off, I just can’t shake this flu virus, that’s all.”
Maggie shook her head. “You are absolutely ridiculous.”
Her jaw tightened. “You can think that if you want but I’m not putting blind faith in something that looks like a high school science experiment.”
“Jo, I thought you wanted a baby. Why are you so against the idea?”
“I’m not against it!” she exclaimed. “I do want a baby; but I don’t believe it’s going to happen for me so easily without even really trying for one. I just need more proof…this isn’t enough proof for me…and I’m not going to go getting my hopes up only to sit in a doctor’s office in a few days and have them dashed, okay? I’m not going to go through that…so no, I don’t care what’s in that mirror, it doesn’t mean a thing to me. I’m not going to set myself up for heartbreak!”
Maggie sighed softly as she studied the tense line of her friend’s jaw. “Alright; if you want to believe it’s wrong, that’s your right to do so…but I think really you’re just scared that it’s right…because maybe you weren’t planning on it happening right now…maybe you’re worried you’re not ready; and believe me, I get that, because I wasn’t ready; but it’ll be okay, you’ll see that after you get used to the news.”
“There’s no news right now,” Johanna said, tearing her gaze away from that dark circle in the mirror. “And remember, you promised you wouldn’t say anything about this test.”
“You have my word; I’m not going to tell anyone.”
Johanna tried to shove down the multitude of emotions that was suddenly running through her mind. “I’ll pay you for the test.”
“No,” Maggie said with a shake of her head. “You didn’t ask me to buy it; I bought it on my own accord. I don’t want the money.”
“Yeah, but you bought it for me.”
“So what? Look at all the money you’ve spent on Chrissy since she’s been born.”
“That’s different…she’s a baby.”
“It’s not different at all; I bought that test so you can know that you’re going to have a baby.”
“We don’t know that for sure,” Johanna said once more.
“I know, you’re firmly in denial for the moment…but, Jo; go to the doctor this week and find out for sure, okay?”
“Yeah, I’ll see if I can squeeze it in sometime this week if I don’t feel better,” Johanna replied as a cry sounded from down the hallway. “Look, I’ll get Chrissy for you if you can get rid of that so no one finds it.”
Maggie nodded. “Okay, you get the baby and I’ll get rid of this…and if I overstepped my bounds, I’m sorry.”
“No, you didn’t…I just…I don’t want to set myself up for disappointment, Maggie…and I feel like if I just believe that thing; that’s what I’m going to end up with. I know I sound like a bitch…”
“No, you just sound hormonal,” Maggie quipped.
Johanna rolled her eyes. “That may be…but I just can’t get in that mindset that there’s a baby…or I’ll be out buying baby clothes that Chrissy will be wearing instead of my own baby and I just can’t go through that,” she said before turning away and heading towards Chrissy’s cries.
Maggie shoved the test kit back into the box and then placed it in a bag that she took from under the sink. She left the room with it to shove it into the bag of garbage in the kitchen that she would then take and throw down the garbage chute. As she made her trek to the door, she could see Johanna in the baby’s room, changing Chrissy’s diaper at the changing table as she murmured softly to her. She understood her friend’s desire to protect her heart from disappointment…but she really hadn’t expected her to be so stubborn about what was clearly a positive result…which only meant one thing, she figured as she stepped out of the apartment with the garbage bag; Johanna’s pregnancy hormones were going to be even worse than hers had been…God help them all.
It was half past midnight as Johanna stood in the bathroom, brushing her teeth once more. She had been doing so well, she thought to herself. Jim had picked her up at Maggie’s and they had gotten takeout to bring home for dinner. She had ate and had kept her food down; she had even managed to eat a snack while she and Jim had played a game of cards. In fact, she had been feeling much better that evening, her stomach settled, feeling a little more energized than she had been. She had had a nice evening with her husband, talking, laughing, playful moments that had led to love making after her husband asked if she was sure she felt up to it when she gave every hint of accepting his advances. She had been up to it…had fallen asleep cuddled up to him; feeling better than she had in awhile…thinking about how wrong Maggie had been with her little drug store test kit.
But then, sometime after midnight, her stomach had started feeling queasy again…and she had no sooner pulled on her nightgown when she had to hurry to the bathroom and empty her stomach once more. Johanna closed her eyes, that image of that dark brown circle floating to the front of her mind once more. She had done so well with putting that image from her mind all evening; but now, in the silence of the bathroom, it came back once more as if it was mocking her. Her stomach was still queasy and the burst of energy she had felt earlier was replaced by tiredness. That dark circle stayed in her mind; the image burned into her brain…she was so sure that it was wrong…but now she was being forced to wonder if it was right after all.
“Sweetheart,” Jim murmured as he stepped across the threshold. “Are you sick again?”
“Yeah, I was,” she answered softly; forcing her eyes open as she rinsed her toothbrush.
His arms slipped around her waist. “You seemed like you were back to yourself this evening.”
“I know; I felt good…but I guess my stomach changed its mind.”
Jim pressed a kiss against her hair. “I’m sorry; I was hoping you were shaking off that last bit of that bug.”
“Me too,” she murmured; trying to ignore the image of that test result that kept flooding her mind as she turned in the circle of his arms. “You’re in court all day, Monday, aren’t you?” she asked.
“Yeah, why?”
“I was thinking, if you don’t mind me keeping the car Monday, I have a meeting early in the morning I have to take but I thought after that maybe I can try to get in and see the doctor.”
Jim nodded. “Of course; I wish you would go see the doctor, maybe he can give you something to help get rid of this.”
She gave him a small smile; the possibility that it wasn’t the flu lingering in her mind. “Yeah, I figure it’s time to find out if it’s something that has to run it’s course or if I need something to help me get over it.”
“I wish you had gone sooner,” Jim told her. “You know I hate to see you sick.”
“I know; I promise, I’ll find a way to get in Monday. I can come back and pick you up at the end of the day.”
Jim shook his head. “No, you go to the doctor and find out what’s going on and then come on home and get some rest. I’ll get a ride with Zach or Jeff, don’t worry about that, okay?”
Johanna nodded as she sank into his embrace; Monday suddenly felt further away than it really was…and she felt like it was the day that could possibly change everything.
A/N: Some of the bigger moment scenes will be saved for Reflections; so there will be a small time jump of two weeks in the next chapter.