Prologue

August 25, 2007 7:25 AM

“Good morning, baby. How are you? Are you being good for Daddy?” Spike cooed to Buffy’s stomach while she ran her fingers through his still sleep tousled hair.

“I don’t think Wills Jr. is listening too well,” Buffy joked.

Spike’s eyebrows met in a scowl directed at his wife. “Wills Jr. is not going to be his name.”

“We have lots of time to discuss the baby’s name,” she laughed as she bent down to kiss him.

Meeting her halfway their lips fused in a mutual need to share their happiness with the other. Spike dropped to his knees and pulled her forward until she was pressed against him. Desire raced through them as their tongues wrapped around the other.

“Mmm, we need to stop,” Buffy panted even as her lips joined his again. His hands slipped under her tank top kneading the small of her back when there was a knock on the back door.

“Damn,” Spike cursed as he rose to see who was here that early in the morning. “It had better be important,” he muttered as he pulled the door open.

“Good morning. I hope I’m not disturbing you.” Giles politely said in greetings.

“No, of course not. Come in,” Spike replied cordially.

Buffy darted over to them with a huge smile, “Can I tell him? Spike, can I tell him?”

Pulling her close to him he nodded his consent but before she did Giles turned and sat at the table. He looked up at them with a serious expression gracing his countenance.

“Did you hear from Max about the arraignments?”

Buffy’s face fell as Giles totally ignored that she wanted to tell him good news.

“Yes, they all went through. So, they will stand trial soon.” She snapped. “Giles, what’s going on?”

It was obvious that Giles was stalling about something and it was something that wasn’t going to make them happy.

“I know about the baby, Buffy. I’m sorry that I have to ruin the happy news.” He pulled his glasses off and began to wipe them as the couple came to sit with him at the table.

“Does everybody know about this child before me?” The expectant mother complained as she threw her hands up in the air.

“You’re a Slayer. It’s caused some mystic stir and the Council called me earlier about it.” Giles explained. “And because of it they have chosen a new Slayer.”

“Well, they would have to anyway since Faith died. Right?” Spike commented. “So, when she does get to Sunnydale?”

This was one of the hardest things that the Watcher had ever had to do to his Slayer. This was even worse than his betrayal on her eighteenth birthday or suggesting they destroy Dawn to protect the world. He sighed as he forced himself to look back at her and reached across the table to take her hand.

“She’s already here.” His voice was low and filled with grief. It took only a moment for Buffy to read between the lines.

“No, no, you all can not have my daughter. No, get out of here and tell them to go to hell.” She yelled at him as she pushed away from the table.

“Giles, you can’t be serious.” Spike asked in disbelief. Raven was still fourteen and totally unprepared for that life.

“I’m afraid that I am. They have chosen her because of the two of you.”

“What do you mean?” Buffy was backed up against the counter her arms wrapped her herself. It seemed there never stopped being a reason to cry. Their lives were finally settling down after the arrests of the Soldiers responsible for the murders. She was pregnant and the children were feeling secure in their place in spite of it. Now, Giles just walked in here with a decision made by men she hated halfway around the world that would totally turn their world upside down again.

“You two have changed history. There are effects being felt by your union all over the world. Demons are beginning to want their voices heard in the communities in which they live. Never before has a Slayer made it to her late twenties much less gotten married or had babies. They feel that a Slayer surrounded by family and friends and a support group has a better chance of surviving.”

“Duh,” Buffy scathingly mocked him.

“Buffy, I’m sorry. It’s already done. She’s been infused with the power. It’s time to tell her and start training. You two of course are going to be her trainers while I am technically her Watcher.”

“Well, gee, we wouldn’t want you out of a job, now would we?” Spike commented. “Never mind the fact that you want us to put our daughter’s life on the line just because they decided. Well, it’s not going to happen. Go tell them to choose someone else.”

“Daddy, are you all talking about me?” Raven asked as she stepped into the kitchen.

“Raven, go back upstairs. This is between Buffy and me and Giles.”

“No, you all are talking about me. I’m supposed to be like Mummy? A Slayer?” Raven asked cautiously. Spike had told her that eavesdropping wouldn’t give you what you wanted but even as agitated as her parents were, the idea of being a Slayer excited her. In the two short months she had been here she had gone from hating Buffy for it to respecting her position. The respect and loyalty that her mother held made her proud. She had watched Buffy train and spar with Spike and the control and strength of her body was something to marvel at.

“No, you are not going to be a Slayer.” Buffy firmly insisted while looking at Giles. How dare he come in here and tell her that Raven was to be the next sacrificial lamb on the Council’s plate? She honestly felt that it was their way of getting back at her for never listening to them and not respecting their tyrannical and old-fashioned ways. It was a way for them to exact revenge against her by enforcing their will on her innocent child.

“Buffy, it’s already done.” Giles reminded her.

“Then the Slayer line ends.” Spike said. Fear was his most prominent emotion at the moment. The thought of Buffy and Raven both on the line terrified him. Faith’s death had not only taken away another friend but had tormented him with memories of losing Buffy. The thought of losing Raven was not something he could even contemplate.

“Raven, you were told to go upstairs, now go,” Buffy commanded.

The new Slayer ignored her mother’s voice and made her way toward the world weary Watcher.

“You were saying that things have changed. The world is changing. What difference is this going to make to a Slayer?”

“She has to change with it. Be aware of the difference between demons who are good and those that are still pure evil and need to be destroyed and have the wisdom to know that difference and act accordingly. She will be the one to bridge the gap between humans and the demon world. And to help bring the changes about that the world will need to cope in the years to come. Her job is no longer just about killing the monsters but about bringing life to creatures that deserve the best that the world has to offer.”

The teenager hung her head for a moment watching her foot move back and forth as she contemplated the role that was offered her. If she didn’t want it then she just needed to say to her parents and they would protect her from this calling. It was that easy to run from it. Her mind went over the things that she had seen in the last few months that had made her older and wiser than her short years should be. She thought of her parents dying for being in love, of Faith dying innocently by a bullet meant for her new mother, of Buffy and Spike’s fight to be together. She remembered the stories she was told of Spike regaining his soul to be a better person and of Angel’s fight to keep his. There was Clem, Sean, and Cordelia’s choice to be a demon, and Connor born of two vampires and her little brother that would eventually look to her for the right way to go.

Looking up she studied Spike and then Buffy and replayed the words they had told her that this was where she was meant to be and now she knew that this was why she had ended up in California instead of returning to the village of her mother’s birth.

Knowing this was going to tear Buffy to shreds she walked over to her and took both of her hands in her own.

“I want this. This is why I am here. With you and Daddy and the others here I’m not afraid of it. To end the Slayer line now would leave the world unprotected and unprepared for what is coming. I want to make a difference. Please?”

Buffy looked into the earnest face of her oldest child and knew in her heart that this was meant to be. Life always had its way of weaving fates when you were looking the other way. She pulled Raven against her and wept for the child that had slowly started to disappear the night her parent’s died and was now gone forever.

With resignation Spike gave Giles one last look of disgust before pulling his Slayers into his arms.

“So, you think you can kick my ass now, Princess?” Spike joked and grinned when Raven and Buffy laughed. ‘Life is about to become really interesting.’ He thought as he pulled them back into his arms. He squeezed his girls a little tighter as he realized that a new journey was just beginning for them.

TBC

Chapter 1 - Restoration

The campus was flooded with students moving about as if there was some great purpose to their migration. Spike smiled as he walked amongst them observing their joy and misery of college life. After a quick glance at the Rolex that now graced his wrist he picked up his pace toward the Science Building while his other hand took a moment to absently caress the present from Buffy.

While Raven had been planning her birthday party, she had asked her parents about their birthdays. She had marked Buffy’s in her calendar after being told and her gaze fell to Spike in anticipation of him divulging his. It had been Buffy who had quietly told her that Spike didn’t celebrate birthdays. The marking of the years wasn’t important to someone who would live forever. In light of the fact that his body was now aging and he had still refused to give up his actual birth date, the women in his house had decided the day of his change would be his day of marking. They had planned a small belated family party with just the four of them to celebrate. There had been a cake and presents, the watch from Buffy and sunglasses from Raven.

It was one of the nicer things about the changes. As much as he had wanted to be there for his family no matter what the time of day, there were a lot of things he hated about it too. He understood what Buffy meant when she had come back, about it being bright and harsh and violent. You couldn’t hide things in the day not like you could in the softness of the night. There was also the sweating, the sun burns, and getting sick. A cold had caught him in the first month of being changed and he had driven everyone crazy with his whining. It was horrible. The not being able to breathe when you knew you had to, the coughing and the burning up. All he had wanted to do was crawl into a freezer just to cool off for a few moments.

But all in all it was worth it. It was just going to take time for him and everyone else to finish adjusting. Right now all he wanted to do was catch up with Dawn. It was time. Buffy’s first doctor’s appointment with the obstetrician was tomorrow and Raven’s party was this weekend. They both needed Dawn in their lives right now and he was the only one that could give that to them. Out of respect for him they hadn’t attempted contact or even mentioned her name. So, for them he was going to try to talk to her, to see if they could reach some understanding.

He glanced up and realized he was now in front of the building he was seeking. There were students pouring from the glass doors and he waited. The students pushed around him as he stood in the middle of the sidewalk, unyielding as he looked for his Niblet’s face in the crowd. The term was almost sarcastic now because in a way she would never be that to him again. And with a sigh he also knew that she would always in a way be that to him but there was still a lot of anger still to work through.

He spotted her with Janice and a couple of other girls he didn’t know. At almost the same time she saw him, froze briefly then deliberately looked away. As she attempted to walk by him, he reached out to grab her.

“Let go of me or I am going to scream,” she told him bitingly.

“Go ahead and I’ll have you arrested for conspiracy to kidnap. Actually, one of the guys was more than happy to throw your name in the mix. Said you were trying to hire them to do it.” Spike cocked his head as he saw the guilt flood her eyes. “Is that what you wanted?”

“Let go of me,” Dawn bit out as she jerked her arm out of hand. She started to walk away but he stayed right beside her.

“Dawn, do you want us to get security?” Janice asked.

“You might want her to. Did you know the chip doesn’t work anymore? Makes me even more dangerous than you thought.”

It was too much. The guilt, the fear, the isolation from her family, Dawn stopped and turned to look at him. Her eyes filled with tears as she looked at her former hero. The one she had hung all her dreams of perfection on. The one she used to dream of marrying, of being her true love, and the one she used to want to be her first kiss. The same one who had broken every last one of them. Jealousy was a hard master and she had yielded to its call willingly. It was one thing to lose to Buffy. She had known from the beginning that Buffy had always held his heart but to lose to Donna was too much.

“Please leave me alone, Spike. Just go away.”

Spike sighed as he saw the heartbreak in her eyes. “I love you, Dawn. Always will. I don’t break my promises.”

“You lying bastard,” Dawn broke dropping her books and launched herself at him. They landed in the grass on the side of the walkway. He didn’t fight back as she beat him with her fists. “You promised five years ago that it was over and that Donna didn’t mean anything. But you ran to her. You left us. You left me and I have loved you so much and you lied. You lied. You weren’t here. You broke all your promises. I hate you. Do you hear me? I hate you.”

Then it was over and the storm turned gentler as she sobbed against him. Spike wrapped his arms around her as he sat up. He rocked her against him as she let go of the last of her teenage dreams. He had always known that her heart could be his, even after Buffy and after Josh. First love always had the strongest hold. Especially when you blocked out the flaws and set a level that could never be reasonable reached by the object of your attraction or anyone that would attempt to follow.

After a few minutes Dawn pulled back to sit on the grass and watched him with wary eyes. Spike sat up and reached over to gather her things and set them in a pile next to her. Then he waited for her.

Cerulean eyes met green ones as they each contemplated the other. Finally Dawn spoke, “I didn’t mean for you to be hurt.”

“What did you want?”

She laughed uncomfortably, “For you to hurt as much as me.”

“I never meant to hurt you. Or Buffy. I fucked up, Dawn, I’m the first to admit it.” Spike pulled his knees up as he wrapped his arms around them. “I got scared, started to feel I wasn’t any good to your sis anymore, and I went to someone who I knew wouldn’t demand as much from me.” Then he shrugged his shoulders.

“It wasn’t really my business,” Dawn muttered as she looked away from him. The intensity that was Spike was too much for her. It made her look at herself and it wasn’t what she wanted to see.

“Dawn, you have to let go of whatever fantasies or expectations from me that are left.”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” she bit out as she began to gather her books and as she hoisted them into her arms, she dropped them again. “As far back as I can remember when everything was dark and scary, you were always there.” Her gaze dropped to her hands that were in her lap, slowly wringing in a move that was pure Buffy. “I used to weave fairy tales that you would come rescue me on your motorcycle. That one day that you would see that I was really the one for you.”

“And your husband?”

Her eyes flew up to meet his.

“I love him with everything that I am but you were like always the one in my head. The one that he was measured against and if you could fail Buffy so much then maybe Josh would be like everyone else too and leave me.”

“I’m still here. You have a huge family that loves you.”

“I’m always going to be Dawn the pest. The youngest.”

“Quit your bitching, Dawn. It’s time to grow up. Buffy and Raven both need you right now. Josh needs you to love him for him not because he reminds you of me somehow.”

“How dare you?”

The former key stood quickly, grabbing her books before walking off. The truth was too much right now because she still expected the protection and coddling that was always there before from Spike.

“Raven’s birthday is Saturday at two and if you can remove the pole from your ass, you are invited.” Spike called out to her as she walked away. She was acting more like Buffy in her bitch days than the sweet girl that he had always taken care of. It hurt that she didn’t see how hateful and bitter she was becoming and he hoped that she would change before it was too late.

He trotted for a few seconds so that he was close to her again and stopped.

“Buffy is pregnant, you know. We are all there for her but she could really use you. Since you are going to be the child’s aunt and the only link she really has back to your mum.”

Dawn halted for a second before continuing on, refusing to look back at him. The news of a baby on the way really threw her. No one had told her yet about it. Pride made her keep going but all she could think about was her sister and how excited she must be. More guilt surfaced as she thought of her estrangement from Buffy. She still loved her sister and Spike was right; Buffy would need her in the coming months. Maybe it was time to rethink things after all.

Maybe.

TBC

Chapter 2 - Typical

September 20, 2007 12:15 AM

"Spike, get off me." Buffy pushed back against her husband, hoping to make him roll over. "SPIKE. OFF. NOW."

Sniff. Snort. "Buffy. What?" He asked and then once again settled closer to her wrapping his arm around her, his hand protectively covered her lower stomach where his child slept.

"Spike, so help me, if you don’t get off…NOW!"

Buffy flipped onto her back and pushed hard against Spike's chest.

"Damn it," Spike muttered as his eyes flew open from being pulled from the sleep he had finally achieved.

"Over there," Buffy pointed to the other side of the bed. "I’m burning up and you’re all hot and sweaty."

He glared at her for a moment before moving across the bed settling on his stomach where he could still watch her. Being pregnant had been a roller coaster ride for Buffy. Adjusting to hormones she didn't even realize she had. A Slayer's body as far as they knew had never carried life before and it was creating conflicting signals in her natural desire to fight and the woman side of her that wanted to nest. And, unfortunately for Spike, was making Buffy extremely mood.

"Argh, can the air conditioner go any lower before I spontaneously combust?" Buffy complained as she kicked the covers off. Even in her naked state, liberated from the covers, Buffy was still frustrated. "Don't get any ideas." She could feel Spike eyeing her nudity with wakeful interest. It had been days since they had had sex because hot flashes continually wracked her body and the last thing she wanted was to create any more heat.

"Kitten, the thermostat is set at 65 degrees. I had to put an extra blanket on Elijah so he wouldn't freeze."

"Kitten? I am not having a litter."

Spike intelligently kept his mouth shut, not wanting to make matters worse. He was jarred from his thoughts as she suddenly turned her head towards him with a gleam in her eyes that made him shift a little further away from her.

"Do you know what would make me feel better?"

He eyed her warily. The last scheme she had come up with was filling the bathtub up with ice water and that, of course, had not turned out well.

"Ice cream. Go get me some. Please. We're out. I finished all we had this afternoon."

"No."

"Please. I would for you and our baby."

“Yeah, and it was only two hours ago that you woke me up and sent me out for jelly doughnuts. And now I am trying to sleep in the crumbs of that particular midnight snack.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, knowing that she was irritating him although he rarely showed it.

That moved him more than the whining ever could; Spike sighed and got out of bed, reaching for the jeans he had pulled off only a short time ago.

“You don’t have to go.”

He leaned one knee on the bed so he could kiss her. She accepted his kiss and returned it with a fervor she hadn’t shown in a while.

“I’ll go. I want you to be happy and the little one.”

“Stay,” she murmured after pulling him down to her.

His eyes opened in surprise. “Are you sure?”

“I’m on top.” She commanded giggling at his hopeful expression.

“You won’t hear any complaints from me,” he growled as his eyes wandered over her naked body.

Her hands moved over him as she rolled over and straddled him. “It’s been too long,” she told him as she sucked his nipple into her mouth. There was a quick nibble before moving further down to lap at his belly button.

“Can I touch you?” He asked then groaned in anticipation as she undid his pants. Her head popped up with a smile lighting up her face.

“Nope, just lie back and enjoy it.”

He didn’t need to know that from her position on top of him the air conditioner was blissfully blowing on her finally giving her some relief from the heat of her body. Plus she was still adjusting to how warm he was to touch. She was always going to miss the coolness of his body that he had before because it had felt good when he covered her overheated skin and now the two of them together were creating too much heat for her hormonal body.

Just as her hands were beginning to tug his pants from him there was a knock on the door.

“Mum, Dad, you still awake?” Raven called.

“Shit,” Spike muttered.

Buffy only giggled as she reached for her night shirt that had been discarded earlier and pulled it over her head. “Just a second,” she called as she slid back under the covers then after making sure that Spike was covered she told Raven to come in.

Raven peeked her head around the door before stepping into the room.

“Hey, sorry if I was interrupting anything,” Raven said with a big grin

“It’s okay, I am going to die being horny,” Spike muttered.

“Spike, don’t say things like that in front of her,” Buffy swatted him with the back of her hand.

“Sorry, Princess, how was patrol?”

“It was fine, got one fledging and one really weird looking demon with this chain through his face.” Raven responded proudly. “Well, Xander helped with the demon but I did the fledging all by myself.”

“Good girl,” Buffy congratulated her. “How did it go with Xander and Willow patrolling with you?”

Raven shrugged her shoulders unwilling to insult her Mum’s best friends.

“Truth,” Spike prodded her.

“They’re fine. I love ‘em to death and they’re really good but all,” she rolled her eyes, “they do is talk about the glory days. Every time we come across something its, ‘well, Buffy would have done it this way’. Or they tell me stories about when you all were in high school.”

Her parents laughed at her complaint. When they had let Raven out to patrol, Willow and Xander had volunteered to go with her some nights. In a weird way they missed those days and it was a way for them to relive them. Spike just teased them that they couldn’t face the fact they were growing old.

“And it’s not the same as…” Raven started then stopped after a quick glance at Spike.

“Not the same as Connor patrolling with you, huh?” Buffy asked kindly.

“No,” Raven shook her head.

“Are you encouraging her feelings for him? Because if you are…” Spike started as he glared at Buffy.

“No, but that doesn’t mean I can’t empathize.” Buffy argued.

Everyone in Sunnydale had been surprised when at the end of August; Connor had shown up at the Blood’s door announcing he was moving to town to go to college there. Spike had thrown a fit saying he couldn’t then when Connor refused to go back to LA, he had called Angel and told him to remove his son from town or Spike would do it for him. It hadn’t worked. Angel hadn’t wanted his son in Sunnydale anymore than Spike did but he was old enough to make his own decisions.

Raven had been in a cloud ever since even though Connor still treated her like a pesky little sister. He and Clem had moved into an apartment together between the campus and the demon side of town. Connor came by two or three times a week to help Raven train and to patrol with her. The only positive thing that Spike could see in the situation was that Raven worked harder at her training to try to impress Connor which only made her better in her new role.

“Daddy, don’t worry. Nothing is going to happen. He won’t look at me like that.”

“He better not and you had better not be flirting with him. Are you listening to me, Raven?”

“Oh, God, I am going to bed. Good night.” Raven rolled her eyes at her father one more time before she flounced out of the room.

After the door closed behind their daughter the air between them filled with tension. It had been an argument that Buffy and Spike had been having since Connor moved to town. Once again Angel was between them and they hadn’t been able to make peace about it. Spike was unyielding on the subject and because of it Angel had been unable to fulfill his promise to settle things between him and his Grand-childe.

“Please, don’t,” Buffy whispered as she turned to lay a hand on Spike’s chest. Her fingers gently caressed him in an effort to calm him.

“Don’t what? Protect my family. Protect her.”

“What is it going to take for you to see that Connor is not Angel? He hasn’t even looked at her like he is interested in her.”

“He is following the same pattern as good old Angel though, isn’t he? You can’t deny that. You got called, Angel followed you here, helped you out which is the same thing that Connor is doing to Raven.”

“And the difference is that we are aware of everything and we’ll be able to help her make better decisions than I did.” Buffy shifted closer to Spike and moved her hand so she could turn his face toward her. The pain and hurt in his eyes made her ache for him. She caressed his cheek knowing that he meant the best but his constant anger and hostility toward the young man would only drive Raven to defend him. “Don’t alienate her, Baby; she needs you to be there for her. Especially the further along I get.”

“I’m sorry. I just don’t want to see her hurt.”

“I know.”

Spike sighed and dropped it. It seemed that no one but him could see what could possibly happen between the two. Maybe they didn’t want to see the temptations that could come up and he didn’t trust Connor to be able to make the best decisions for his daughter. Whenever he and Buffy tried to talk about, they always ended up fighting about her past with Angel. Buffy would defend her ex and Spike would only get angrier and more frustrated about the whole matter.

“You okay?” Buffy asked softly.

“Yeah, just dandy,” Spike wrapped a finger around a lock of her hair and pulled her down to kiss her. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Sleep wasn’t going to come anytime soon for him so after kissing Buffy again he scooted out from under her.

“Where are you going?”

“Downstairs,” he answered as he fastened his pants.

“Spike, don’t do this. Please.”

“Do what? Go downstairs?”

Buffy sat up in bed readying herself for the argument that seemed inevitable.

“No, run. Keep secrets. Not talk to me.”

With a laugh he sat down on the bed again.

“I’m not running. Just feeling restless and I know I’m not going to sleep anytime soon. I’m going to go downstairs and start playing around with some ideas for the next book.”

“Thought you were going to wait to start writing again?”

“Am, pet. Just brainstorming some. Keep things fresh but I promised that I’d been around more to help out so no actually writing.”

Buffy’s gaze dropped to her hands as she sighed. She knew that there had been a lot of pressure on Spike lately. She needed him more because of the pregnancy. More help with the house and the kids. And they had been faced with the full demands of parenthood as soon as school had started. His book was going to go on sale shortly before Christmas and he was dealing with his publisher and the requests for public appearances. Then there was the whole thing with training Raven and the business with Connor. Of course there were also all the changes in him. Their life had just gotten fuller and busier in the last month then it had ever been. Even though most of it was cause for happiness, she also knew that neither of them had ever dealt with this much at one time and she was worried that they wouldn’t be able to handle it all.

“So, everything is okay? No secrets. No problems I don’t know about.”

She sounded so worried that Spike could only reach out and pull her to him. He hugged her tightly as she wrapped her arms around him.

“There is nothing that you don’t know about.”

As his words spilled over her in a comforting wave she still felt tension coiled in him. Buffy pulled back so that she could look at him.

“What?”

“I saw Dawn yesterday. I didn’t tell you before because I was afraid that nothing would come of it.” He sighed. “But I know when I do that it usually it ends up being a big deal.”

She laughed softly.

“It’s okay. You’re forgiven. I take it that nothing happened?”

Spike shook his head. “No, I told her about the baby though. And I invited her to Raven’s party. Why don’t you try calling her?”

“You don’t mind?”

“No, she’ll probably listen to you before she’ll listen to me.” He ran his hand lightly down her hair, “Wanna come downstairs with me and raid the refrigerator.”

“Best damn idea you’ve had all night,” Buffy said as she climbed out of the bed.

Laughter rumbled through Spike as Buffy headed out of the room. He stood and followed her. He was as worried as she was about all the stress they were under and tried to be as open as he could be about things. Unfortunately, there were things that they talked about, knew about, went round and round about but they never really got settled. Angel and Connor were a big one. There was the lack of sex since she had found out she was pregnant and he knew that it shouldn’t bother him so much but it did. It had always been one of the things that had made him communicate his love to her and made him feel her love for him. He missed the intimate communing with Buffy’s body that would always remind him of how close they truly were.

He chuckled as he entered the kitchen and found Buffy with her nose already in the refrigerator. Her eyes turned to look at him briefly, “Are you laughing at me?” she asked as she handed him the milk and some stuff to make sandwiches.

“Never Baby.”

When she turned and smiled at him again, he saw the love in her eyes and felt the tension slowly leaving his body. He knew there wasn’t anything that he and this woman couldn’t get through together. He reached for the bread and as they sat at the table they started to talk about their doctor’s visit only a few hours away and the things that they needed to get done. As the conversation flowed between them they found themselves settling into the roles that were now comfortable for them.

TBC