Olivia rolled over in bed, her long hair spilling out across the pillow behind her. Norman lay sleeping opposite her, his eyes closed, resting peacefully even as the morning sunlight bathed their bedroom in a soft, buttery glow. It was hard for Olivia to admit, but she did love him, despite her issues around attachment and relationships. As an upyr, Olivia spent a large portion of her life disguising who she really was, hiding how she truly felt. It was a barrier that she never really brought down, not for anyone. Until now. She knew she had to let him in very soon, had to open up and be honest.

Since Letha's death, the Godfrey's had been a brokenhearted lot, moping around and acting like the world was ending. Of course, it had hurt Roman more than anything. But out of that pain, he had finally reached his full potential, and Olivia had been able to see him emerge from his cocoon of a mortal existence and blossom into something much more powerful, more beautiful and more… Well, better in every way. He was her beautiful boy- her precious son, and nothing was more important to her. She hated not having Shelley at home with them, but she knew that her daughter would return when the time was right. Olivia's love for her children was something unrivaled by anything.

But now, as the sunflower-golden light warmed the skin of Norman's face, Olivia knew that she loved him as well. Her face was dead-pan, totally straight, and she looked as if she might kick him out of her room at any moment and call him a cab to go home, but she never would. Instead, she slid closer to his sleeping body, laid her head on his pillow and rested her hand on his chest. His heartbeat was slow and steady, a metronome of life, the ebb and flow of blood in his human veins, the clockwork to his system. Perhaps it was his humanity that endeared him to Olivia, the way he was so very normal.

"Norman, darling," she spoke softly but firmly, her voice cutting through the silence that had previously only been graced with the soft sounds of their breath. "Wake up, we need to talk."

The man grumbled slightly in his sleep, but turned onto his side and put his arm around Olivia to pull her in close. He pressed his lips to the top of her head and breathed in the smell of her hair. Even in his half-asleep, dreamy state, he loved her. It wasn't even that she had made him hers by design, but that somehow, deep down, Norman knew that they were meant to be. He didn't know it, but Olivia had lived across many decades and never once found a man she cared about like she did for Norman. As far as her relationships went, Norman was a lucky man to have grasped her heart and held onto it for so long. She didn't give her affections freely- or at all, in most cases- but he had been there for her.

"Norman," Olivia repeated, louder this time. "Wake. Up."

"Unnngh… What time is it, Olivia?" Norman asked her with his eyes still closed. He let his hand trail up and down her back, ever so slowly and softly, fingers trailing unspoken words of love.

"Just after nine."

"Why are we awake?"

"Because I want to talk."

"About what?"

"About us. You and I. And our baby."