Shauna and Max Covington tread down the hallway above her family's bar. She had informed her grandmother that the two had some news to announce which is her pregnancy. 

 

"You ready for this?" Max asks his wife reassuringly.

 

Shauna moves a strand of hair from her face.

 

"Yeah, I am," she replies amicably. "Uh, before we do, can I ask you something?"

 

"Shoot," 

 

"Are you okay about me being pregnant? she states. "I know it all came out of nowhere, but if you want, we can talk about it."

 

When she told him over Christmas, he seemed a bit less enthusiastic than she had envisioned when she gave him the news that their family was expanding.

 

Max slightly exhales while crossing his arms over his chest.

 

"I was shocked by it, to be honest, but it has nothing to do with you," he reveals. "I know that in his own way, he does love me, but I never want our child to feel the same way I do about my father."

 

Shauna can see the truth in his eyes, which makes her smile with care.

 

"Max, you are nothing like your father," she responds. "I know all the pressure you've felt over the years trying to live up to what Daniel wants for you, and anyway, this child will have the best father, which is you, because you will love and adore them no matter what they do," she consoles wholeheartedly.

​

Max squeezes one of his wife's hands and adds a smirk, thanking her for trying to ease his nerves about his foray into fatherhood.

 

Shauna grabs the key in her purse, which she uses to let them in.

 

"Grandma, we're here!" Shauna calls out as she walks into the narrow foyer of the apartment she grew up in; even though it looks the same, some new furnishings make it look different to her as well.

 

"Hey, you two," Mae Jackson says to them as she embraces them.

 

"So, what is this news you've got to tell me?" Mae wonders aloud. "You two aren't moving out of town?"

 

Max chuckles without offense while Shauna shakes her head in reaction.

 

"Nothing like that, Mae," Max tells her nicely.

 

"What a relief," Mae says.

 

Shauna turns to her husband with an endearing smile, then turns to the older woman.

 

"Grandma, in about seven months, you're going to be a great-grandmother," Shauna announces excitedly.

 

Those words make Mae instantly throw her arms around her granddaughter.

 

"Oh, my god! You're pregnant?!" She enthusiastically cries out.

 

Shauna can see how happy her grandmother is, and it also makes her feel good to do so since she is the woman who raised her along with her grandfather when her mother Cassie abandoned her to move to Miami all those years ago.

 

"I'm sorry; congratulations to you too, Max," Mae says while hugging him now.

 

"Don't worry; I will make sure Shauna takes it easy until she's due," Max says supportively.

 

"Listen to him, Shauna Latrice," Mae chortles.

 

Concurrently, Antoine Hall comes through the apartment wearing a long-sleeve red sweatshirt with black sweatpants and his gym bag, having just come from working out at the fitness center in town. He sees Mae being enthused over something with Shauna and Max.

 

"What's going on in here?" the bar manager and honorary Jackson family member ask.

 

Shauna and Max face him with a look of caution. Mae's wide smile tells a different story.

 

"This family is about to grow; Shauna is expecting; please come congratulate her," Mae says.

 

Antoine is taken aback by the announcement since he never knew his ex-lover was planning a family anytime soon. 

Nonetheless, he strolls over to her and hugs her.

 

He could see a knowing glare from Max, implying he was aware of his attraction to her, but she was his wife, and he better not betray that.

 

She inhales his usual scent mixture of soap and deodorant, which this time doesn't make her ill like before. He then smiles as he lets go of her.

 

"So that's why you were dizzy the other day?" he asks.

 

Max and Mae overheard what he said. Max gives his wife a look that expresses what he's talking about.

 

"That day when I came here to talk to you, Grandma, but instead I saw Antoine," she explains. "I was nauseous, and when I got up from the bar, I almost fell over, but Antoine caught me."

 

"Are you okay?" Mae asks with concern.

 

"Yeah, I'm fine; the morning sickness is pretty much over now," Shauna answers.

 

"As long as you're okay, that's what's most important," Max says outright.

 

Mae adjusts the topic by asking, "Haven't they told Max's family yet?" Meanwhile, Antoine treks to his room, realizing she has officially committed herself to Max.