Chapter 1

Zoe Landau walked out of the bathroom early one morning. She had been crying for the past ten minutes and wondered why her boyfriend Cal Lightman hadn't come in to see what was wrong. She glanced over at the bed and rolled her eyes as she heard his light snores.

"Cal…" she called out softly, he snorted but never woke. "Cal!" she said louder as she slipped into her underclothes.

She was fastening her bra when he glanced up from the pillow. "Yeah," he grumbled before he leered at her sexily. "Ready to go at it again?"

Zoe looked down angrily as she slipped on her jeans. "No, I think we've managed to go at it one too many times."

Cal frowned at the tone of anger in her voice as he sat up in bed and blinked in confusion. "What's at supposed to mean?"

Zoe threw her sweatshirt on over her head and as she pulled it down she leveled him a gaze. "I'm pregnant!"

Cal's sleep addled brain was taking a few seconds to process what he had just heard and he sat there quietly as he felt the shock of her statement wash over him and his mind began to race.

Zoe snorted derisively and grabbed for her book bag. "I should've known!"

Cal finally looked up from his musings when the door slammed shut behind her as she stormed from his apartment. "Bloody hell!" he exclaimed as he jumped from the bed and raced for the door. The second he turned the handle it registered to him that he was completely naked. He rolled his eyes then raced to the bathroom. As he began to pee, he glanced down and saw the pregnancy test sitting on the edge of the sink. "Damn!" he sighed when he saw the truth of the results.

As he washed his hands, he glanced at himself in the mirror. "What the fuck do I do now?" He frowned and shook his head as he reached for a towel then looked back at his reflection. "Step up to the plate Lightman! For once in your miserable life, do the right thing!" he said aloud as he gave himself a pep talk.

He raced around the room looking for a clean pair of underwear. In an instant, he decided to go commando and threw on a pair of dirty jeans and a clean t-shirt. On his way out the door, he grabbed for a light jacket.

He wasn't worried about catching up to Zoe as he knew her schedule and knew she would never miss a class. He jogged a few blocks then hesitated briefly before he easily spotted her across the courtyard. Her shoulders were slumped and Cal frowned as he started to run to catch up to her.

"Zoe!"

He saw her body react the second she heard him and when she turned around he slammed to a stop. Tears were falling freely down her face and he didn't have to be a psyche major to see she was devastated by the news. He frowned when he realized that they were both scared to death.

He sighed as he walked up and drew her into his embrace. "It'll be okay, Darling…"

She cried harder as she buried her face into his shoulder. "How Cal?! How is it going to be okay?"

"I don't know, Luv, but we'll make it work."

Zoe leaned back and looked at him hopefully. "So you're going to stand by me and see this through?"

"Course I will."

"Really?"

Cal was starting to get offended and got defensive. "I just said I would, didn't I?"

Zoe nodded weakly as she realized he meant what he said. "You did, and I'm sorry if I acted like I doubted you."

"It's all right; my reputation isn't exactly the greatest…"

"No, it's not…"

"At's gonna change, right now…today…" At the look of confusion on her face, Cal elaborated. "I'm gonna do what's right...I want to get married."

"What?!"

"You heard me!"

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Why not."

Zoe sighed. "Not one of the most romantic proposals I've ever received but…"

"What do you mean, how the hell many bloody proposals have you gotten?"

Zoe looked at him defiantly then started to giggle. "Well…none…but I always thought they were supposed to be more romantic than that!"

Cal grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, well, how about I do it again…proper like…at dinner tonight?"

"Over cafeteria food?"

Cal shrugged as his mind began to form a plan. "No, it will be a surprise, though, wear something nice, yeah?"

"Cal…" Zoe rolled her eyes. "We can't afford anything…"

"Hush, Luv, let me worry about that okay?"

"Okay."

Six short but rocky months later, Cal had tears in his eyes as he held a screaming red faced bundle in his arms. He stared at her then smiled as he looked up at an exhausted Zoe. "She's beautiful, Darling."

Zoe smiled weakly. "She is…"

"You did a great job, Zoe."

"WE did a good job, Cal, thanks for being here, I don't know if I would have gotten though this without you."

"Oh, yeah?" Cal grinned proudly.

"Yeah," Zoe said as she smiled.

Cal handed her their new daughter and smiled as she latched onto her mother's breast for her first meal.

"Hey, that's mine!" Cal cooed as he caressed his daughter's head.

"Not anymore, Emily has first dibs now."

"Emily?" Cal frowned uncertainly. "That's my Grandmum's name."

"I know."

"You would do that for me?"

Zoe nodded. "Yeah, I would…and it also happens to be the name of one of my best friends when I was growing up so I think it fits her perfectly…."

"Yeah," Cal smiled as he looked at his daughter. "Hi, little Miss Emily Lightman…I'm your Da…and you and I are gonna be best mates…"

Zoe was exhausted and looked at him. "Maybe you could get help your best mate burp?"

Cal was petrified as Zoe handed him his daughter. "Bloody hell, Zoe, what if I hurt her?"

Zoe smiled at him lovingly. "You won't hurt her…just support her neck and put her against your chest!"

Cal brought her to his chest and held her head against his heart. As he tapped lightly on her back she burped lightly and he blinked in surprise. "That's my girl!" he smiled as he looked at Zoe. "Our daughter's bloody brilliant!"

Zoe's eyes were closed and she opened them slowly as she smiled. "Yeah, she's only a few minutes old and you taught her to burp!"

Cal sat back in his chair and slowly rocked Emily to sleep as he stared at his sleeping wife. "Wow, I can't believe I got this lucky!" he thought to himself.