In the last few weeks before the arrival of their son, there were a lot of things that were deemed necessary to be done before there was the presence of a child that they would never to be able to shake off. And while all the required things were useful—for instance, there were a handful of classes that Alejandro's parents had signed them up for, and those had taught them a lot about what parenting would be like—there was something lacking in the fun and relaxation department in those few weeks. How were either of them supposed to enjoy the last moments before their lives permanently changed, when they were both having to do a long list of things that had to be done?

The answer came in the form of a dinner date the night before Valentine's Day, one that had been in the works for a few months. When asked, by Heather, about why he would make a reservation out at a nice restaurant the night before the biggest romantic holiday of the year, while knowing that there was a chance that the evening would not go according to plan, Alejandro shrugged and refused to say anything on the matter. To him, there was nothing that could go wrong that night, no matter how much she reminded him that there were a lot of things that could already have gone wrong, and still more that could. "Yes, but nothing has happened yet, and we are not going to worry about that," he said as he smiled at her, before kissing her on the cheek. "Everything will be fine if you let it be fine."

"I don't think I should be listening to you about this, but whatever. I bet if I keep arguing with you, you'll force me into going whether I want to or not." Pulling her head away so that she couldn't be kissed again, Heather rolled her eyes and sighed. "But okay, let's just pretend that nothing can go wrong. We'll have a great night, right?"

"One of the best we will ever have," he corrected, placing a hand on the round and swollen curve of his wife's stomach, "as it will be one of the last nights we have without the living presence of our little one."

"First of all, he's alive in there. Don't act like he's dead. Secondly, all that talk there was just pretending. Something bad is going to happen out on this little 'date' you've planned for us, and I'm pretty sure we both know what it is." Again rolling her eyes, Heather pushed his hand off of her before speaking further. "I can't believe you honestly think this is a good idea. I mean, yeah, great, going out to dinner, that's a lovely gesture, but on a night where it's going to be busy? Oh, and let's not forget the fact that I could easily have this baby at any moment, shall we?"

Alejandro looked concerned for just a moment, before shaking whatever thoughts had clouded his mind away. "Is that what your issue with this is? I would not worry too much with that, as what is the chance that it would really happen while we are out? This date is to take your mind off of that, not to make you think more about it."

"Well, it's not working. Last thing I want is to start going through childbirth while we're out at dinner. It would just ruin everything." The tone of her voice sounded like she was trying to make a joke, but there was no humor in the seriousness of her glare that she was shooting at the man who was once again resting a hand on her. "I don't want to go out, not tonight, not tomorrow night, not on that night, not any night, until this child is out of me and I look like a normal person again."

"Such strong words, but if I told you that I could not take back this reservation even if one of us were to die, would it change your mind?" He got the answer he expected, a firm no, and even though the word lessened the harshness of the glare a bit, he knew he was going to have to try a bit harder to get her to go through with what he had planned. "Hm, well that is the truth, as I have already attempted to change when we shall go in to a better time and they have refused."

"That's nice. Don't really care. Still not going." The glare grew harsher again, her eyes narrowed about as small as they could get without being closed. "Did you really think that this was ever a good idea?"

"Truthfully, the date of the reservation and the expected arrival date of our son did not seem as close together as they are back when I made the reservation." Putting a finger to his chin, Alejandro couldn't help but laugh a little about that. "But the moment I realized there was less than a week between the two dates, I can assure you that I tried to change the one I could have some control over."

While it was a good explanation, it wasn't enough to convince Heather to change her stance on things. "You're still not dragging me out like this," she told him, and before he could try to talk her into seeing things his way again, she turned completely away from him. "I get it, you want us to do something with it being just us before things change, but I'm not running that risk. No way."

"Please, mi amor, this means a lot to me and I would really like you to—" He was silenced by her shushing him, giving him an obscene hand gesture before she walked (or, more accurately, waddled) off to do whatever she felt she needed to be doing then. After resisting the temptation to laugh at how ridiculous she was, the realization sank in that he hadn't been able to convince her to do what he wanted, and with the dinner being a handful of days from their current moment, he needed to come up with something.

Or, rather, something that wasn't him needed to be able to change her mind, as his attempts at sweet talking her into going through with his wishes were never going to work. That something came in the form of mass media and its push to make everyone want to celebrate the romance holiday in some way, shape, or form, and being subjected to all the different advertisements on the matter was able to get Heather to accept that, if she wanted to do anything for the holiday, she was going to have to go through with that date. When she rather dejectedly told Alejandro that she had changed her mind about it, he didn't react like he was shocked or surprised. Instead, he took her hand and nearly dragged her into one of the many spare rooms that their house had, one that she had never been in before that day.

And in that room, hanging in the closet like it had been there all along, was a long gown that she figured was what she was going to have to wear for the occasion. "I, ahem, purchased this at about the same time I made the dinner reservation, so I do apologize if it is not quite the correct size. But I am sure that you will be able to make do with it, regardless of if it fits correctly or not." She looked at him with a bit of anger in her eyes, before realizing that he meant it out of love and kindness, and how was he supposed to have known back when he prepared everything how things would end up being?

That realization went straight out the window when she actually tried the dress on, and found that, while it definitely did fit and was just as beautiful on her as it had been on the rack, there was something to its pale pink color and the darker bow that tied around it that made her stomach seem like it was bigger than it already was. "I really like this, I do," she said, looking at herself in the mirror as she wore the dress, "but come on, it looks like I've got a huge beach ball shoved up in here, and I don't know if I like that."

"I think you look much nicer than you pretend to believe. When we go out, anyone who sees you will agree with me, and some may even get jealous of my luck, getting to be with such an attractive woman out on a date." Coming up behind her to hug her, Alejandro made sure to place both of his hands on Heather's stomach, much to her disgust. "Tomorrow night shall be one of the best nights of our lives, and you will look like a goddess for it."

She sighed, shaking her head and looking long and hard at their reflection. "I don't think goddesses typically look like they're going to pop if you touch them the wrong way."

"Stop being so negative and appreciate your appearance. I meant it when I said you will look like a goddess, and I do not want to hear you trying to argue against me." When she still tried to come up with some response, he silenced her with a kiss, one that he hoped would assure her that he wasn't just saying things for the sake of hearing his own voice. He truly did believe that she was beautiful, and what she saw as ugly he saw as something to be treasured, as she was carrying inside of her something incredibly precious to both of them.

There was always a catch to when someone believed that an event would go off without a hitch, and there was definitely always a way for things to go wrong when someone involved already believed that things were set up for failure. The next night, when they were going out to their pre-Valentine's Day dinner, everything seemed to be as perfect as it could possibly be, with them both dressed nicely and their reservation being honored the moment they walked in the restaurant's front doors, even though there was a several hour wait for seating otherwise.

But from the moment they were taken to their table, things only had one place to go, and that was straight downhill. Because of how busy the place was, it felt like a small eternity before anyone even bothered to come by and get their order started, and when someone did stop by they were treated to an earful from a grouchy, albeit absolutely gorgeous, Heather. She complained that they had taken forever to come take care of them, and that they were just discriminating against them because they looked young and out of place in such a nice restaurant. The member of the wait staff, naturally, tried to fix things as fast as they could, but even their fastest wasn't enough to please her.

"Would you look at that, this is going terribly," she said after they had finally gotten their drinks to the table, propping her head up on her hands as she did. "Can't believe I agreed to come out for this."

"To be fair, you should not have expected much from someone who makes very little in pay. Maybe if the job was done better, more money would be made." Alejandro spoke with a laugh, but he wasn't able to get even a small smile out of his wife. "Okay, you typically find some joy in my speaking ill of employees. What is the matter?"

She looked at him, before biting her lip and shrugging. "Nothing's the matter. Why would anything be the matter?" she eventually replied. "We're just going to have a lousy night, that's all."

"You are being incredibly negative again, and I would like you to stop. Tonight is a special night, and even if the service we get while here is terrible, it does not mean that being in the company of one another has to suffer the same fate." He reached for his glass to take a sip of water, but as he did he saw that she was biting her lip again, her face showing the smallest sign of being uncomfortable. "Answer me again, what is the matter?"

"Nothing is. Trust me, if something was wrong, I would tell you." Giving him a big but obviously fake smile, she sat up straight, putting her arms down underneath the table. "Just stop focusing on me and worry about how you're going to make this horrible date up to me instead. Because, like I've said twice now, nothing is the matter."

"I would be inclined to believe you on the matter, but you are not one to express any sort of pain through facial expression, and I have caught you doing that once tonight. Either you are playing my care for you like a fiddle, or there is something wrong." Before he was able to get an answer out of her, she started biting down on her lip once more, closing her eyes as she did. "Heather, please tell me if something is wrong."

When she opened her eyes, he could tell that they were filling with tears, yet she still shook her head as if there was nothing going on. "I'm sorry, but there's not anything for me to tell you." Her voice was a bit shaky, but after she took a deep breath, she seemed to be back to fine. "Let's just get through this dinner, shall we?"

"We shall, if that is what you think we should do." By that point, Alejandro was half believing what she was telling him, but at the same time, half believing that she was lying just to let the date he had forced on her happen like he had wanted. But he couldn't argue with what she was saying, nor could he offer to stop the date right in its tracks. He had to go through with what was happening, whether there was something wrong or not. And while she would never be the one to admit it, for fear of putting him into a panic and ruining his plans, there was something very wrong, something she knew as the one thing she had warned him about when it came to this night.

It would have been in her right to tell him that she had told him so, but he was right in that she did not like showing pain to anyone, especially not him. She couldn't let his night be ruined just because she couldn't tolerate something for just a little bit. That was how they ended up spending the next two hours in that restaurant, with the incredibly slow service and the feeling inside of her that things were going very, very wrong. In that time, she had wanted to cry several times, but many more times than that she had found herself trying her hardest to keep from showing to him that she was in incredible pain. But once they were done with the meal and he suggested leaving, sans tip as per the usual, she was more than eager to take him up on the offer. "I wish you had suggested that sooner," she choked out, as another wave of pain hit her. "Can't wait to go home."

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we will not be going home," he replied, standing up and going to her side to help her up. She looked at him with disgust, but when she saw that his eyes were full of worry, her expression turned more to the helpless one that she had been trying so hard to hide. "You were right all along that this would happen, and I should have believed you."

"What do you mean?" Her voice was soft as she asked, even though she was fairly certain she knew what answer he was going to give her.

"I mean that you made it clear you wanted to stay for our dinner, even though the time has come for more important things to happen." The whole time, he had been reading her like a book, but didn't act on a thing simply because she didn't seem like she had wanted him to. "And, by the way, next time you try to pull this one on me, I will know from this experience what sorts of faces you make when you are in pain."

She looked at him with wide eyes as another wave hit her. "That's nice, but can we get a move on? I don't exactly think us staying here is going to do us any favors." He nodded at what she said and they got out of there as quickly as they could, getting to the birthing center that they had chosen for the occasion within an hour of leaving the restaurant.

It was a long rest of the night and morning, but by the time the next afternoon came around there were two completely exhausted parents and one small and absolutely perfect baby boy that they could call theirs.

"Oh my gosh, what did you guys name the little guy?" As the only person who wasn't family who cared about the baby, Sierra was given the opportunity to meet him a few days after his birth, and naturally her first question when she saw him was about his name. "I mean, whatever it is, it's gotta be great."

"Depends on what your definition of 'great' is, I guess," Heather said with a small shrug, looking down at the baby (even though it had been a few days, she was still having a hard time wrapping her head around the fact that this was her son) that she was holding. "I wouldn't call it great, but I'm sure someone around here would."

"What do you mean by that?" Sierra's voice hinted that she was rather confused by the way that was worded. "Shouldn't you think it's great? Isn't that, like, something both parents should agree on?"

Still looking down at the baby, Heather rolled her eyes. "You would think so, but, you know, stupid family traditions and whatnot." When asked to explain further, she sighed. "Apparently it's a thing in Alejandro's family that the first son shares their first name with the father—which I guess is okay, because this kid looks just like him. But I don't know, I came up with some names that were a lot better."

Sierra cupped her face in her hands and squealed, causing the baby to stir a bit and start blinking his green eyes as he began to cry. "Oh, I didn't mean to wake him up," she quickly said, as she caught that Heather was glaring at her. "I just got excited about all of this, and I'm super sorry. I think it's so adorable that he's got the same name as his big and strong daddy, and I guess I expressed that the wrong way." Taking a second to note that she was still being glared at, she changed her happy expression to one that looked a bit sorrier for what she had done, then immediately changed it right back to her excited grin when the glaring stopped. "So, like, what should I call him? That's a big name for a little guy, don't you think?"

"That's why he has a second name that he's going to go by. Again, not my idea. All something that runs in the family." After moving the crying child so that he was resting more on her chest, and after kissing his head of dark hair a few times, Heather had managed to get him to calm back down enough so that she didn't seem annoyed as she spoke. "I'm honestly thankful that it worked out that way, because I don't know how I'd be able to survive in a house where one person hates hearing the only name I'd have to call the other."

"That's why I asked what I could call him. Totally figured that he'd have something else to go by that wasn't—" Before she was able to finish her sentence, she was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening, and both ladies looked to see who it was. As it should have been, it was Alejandro, but before he was able to say anything to either of them, Sierra was asking him the same question she had been in the process of getting the answer of: "Hey, what do I get to call your cutie of a baby?"

"I had assumed that you would know that long before I got here," he replied, closing and locking the door before joining the two ladies where they sat. "But I should have also assumed that you would be too enamored with him to get around to asking."

"Or I just got here like five minutes ago, and maybe was in the middle of finding out when you walked in." Sierra knew that her saying that wasn't going to exactly earn her any favors, but she was too excited for the reveal to really care. "Proud momma here told me that he's got the same name as you, which is great and all, but it's not what I can call him."

Before he answered, Alejandro made sure that he had taken the again-sleeping baby from where Heather was holding him, cradling him right in the crook of his arm. Once everything was situated to his liking, he looked to Sierra, a completely peaceful and happy expression on his face. "Yes, you are correct in that we will not be referring to him by his given first name. It is much too long for a child like him, and all alternatives are…" Rather than saying what he thought, he gave a small shudder, before returning to what he was saying. "That is why he shall go by his middle name, Andres, instead."

If Sierra's squealing had been loud enough to wake the child before, then the second time she squealed should have easily been able to raise the dead. "That is such a cute name!" she gushed, but when she realized that she had gotten too loud once again, she started backtracking and apologizing for how much noise she had made. The damage had been done, though, and now she had both parents glaring at her with the most disgusted looks they could manage, as they worked to calm the child who was crying once more. "I-I didn't mean to wake him up, promise. Just got a little carried away with showing how much I love the name he's got."

"While I do appreciate that you approve of the name I decided on to give him, you should be more respectful of his sleeping." Although he may have been in a peaceful state moments before, there was no hiding the fact that Alejandro was not pleased in the slightest that he was holding a screaming child. "Maybe we should have thought more about inviting you over now, and possibly had waited until he does not need to sleep so much. This sort of disruption cannot be good for him."

"This is the second time she's done this since she got here," Heather snapped, trying to grab the baby but being stopped by the way her husband turned and tried to calm him on his own. "I'm thinking if she does it again, she gets to fix what problem she caused."

"Does that mean I get to hold him?" She knew that it was being suggested as a threat, but there was something about the idea of holding the baby that made Sierra want to squeal again right then. "I'd be up for that if you'd let me!" Her enthusiasm, even though she was being enthusiastic after doing something terrible, was enough to make them look between each other and decide that maybe it was for the best if she did get to hold the baby, before he even stopped crying. And so, after she situated herself properly to hold such a small child, he was put into her arms, still crying and now in the arms of someone who had never exactly held a baby before.

Within seconds, he was silent and just staring up at her with his green eyes, as she looked down at him and nearly started crying herself. "He's even cuter when I get to look at him like this," she said, blinking away a tear or two. "I just want to hold him forever. Can I do that, pretty please?"

"Uh, no, don't need him catching whatever sort of crazy you have," Heather said in response, looking at how close Sierra's face was getting to her son's and really having to resist the urge to swoop in and rescue him from the clutches of insanity. "Back away from him, will you?"

To satisfy the demand, Sierra sat up just a bit, but not nearly enough as she should have. It wasn't like she really cared, she was too in love with looking at the baby she was holding. "I can't stop staring at him, oh em gee! He's like a perfect mini version of his daddy, and that just makes it so fitting that he's sort of named after him. Sort of. What did you say the name I can call him name was again?"

Alejandro was happy to answer her question, as he saw her needing to be reminded as a sign that she was so enamored with the child in her arms that she had forgotten what she had been told moments before. "His name is Andres, named after one of the few cousins of mine that knew how to be polite to me growing up. It felt like a fitting way to honor his kindness, and only fair as he had promised to bestow my name upon his firstborn."

"That's cool. I'm gonna call him—"

"You're calling him his name, Sierra. It's kind of why he's got it." Finally acting upon her desires to snatch her baby back, Heather actually enjoyed seeing the look of horror on Sierra's face when she realized she wasn't holding him anymore. "We didn't agree on giving him two names for the sake of you giving him some dumb nickname he'd grow up hating."

"It wasn't going to be dumb," Sierra retorted, crossing her arms over her chest. "It was going to be cute. Like him."

"That is how my brothers tried to convince me that the unsavory nickname they had given me was nice. However, I did not ever once believe them, and I was correct. You are not giving him any sort of name of your own choosing." There would certainly have been more to the speech Alejandro started giving there, but a knock at the door caught him off guard, and he stopped speaking to go check it. As he went, Sierra started looking slightly excited, which worried Heather, as she had just been being told off. Why would she be excited?

The answer was simple. On the other side of the door were several other people who had been on Total Drama, and when they had been asked why they were there, they said that Sierra had told them that it was baby-viewing day. There wasn't much to do other than close the door on them and question Sierra as to why she would say such a thing. "Well, I figured it was an open-invite sort of thing, like the baby shower was! So when I was told I could come, I told everyone I was with at the time that they could come too, but after I got here. So it didn't look weird, yanno?"

"It would've been nice if you, hm, passed that idea by us before you said anything to anyone else. I only let you here because you cared. I don't want all of those weirdos seeing him right now. They're not allowed." To drive her point home, Heather wrapped her arms around the little baby in a protective motion. "In fact, I don't even know if I want you here anymore."

"Please, I didn't invite anyone weird! Just the ones I sometimes have lunch with, like my Codykins and Izzy and Gwen. That's all." Sierra put on her best pitiful face and realized that if she was going to have any chance in letting her three friends in, she should try to suck up to the person by the door. "Let them in, please! I'm sure, as the big, strong, and protective daddy here, you could beat any of them up if they misbehave."

"That is a good point. However, as nice as what you say sounds, I cannot allow something to happen that my other half does not want. At that, I do believe you should join your friends outside. Maybe there will be some time in the future where they can see him." No more discussion was allowed, as every time Sierra tried to argue her case further she was greeted with shushes, and she quickly decided that maybe leaving was best after all.

Once the door was firmly locked and there was no chance of her, or the others, getting in, Alejandro walked back over to be next to Heather, and noticed that she was giving him a bit of an odd look. When asked what the look was for, she shook her head and let her face return to its natural resting position. "Were the people she mentioned really out there? Like, okay, sure I'd let Cody in, he's not going to do anything wrong, but the other two? Did she really think we'd let a psychotic beast and a weird goth in here?"

"Yes they were all out there, and I am unsure as to why she thought we would let them in. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact we let her in, on multiple occasions. She may have assumed that it meant anyone was allowed." He shrugged at his own answer, not really sure if that was the case. "But do not dwell on that. They are out there, and that is what matters here." It was what mattered, and they both knew it, because at that moment, keeping their son safe was what was important, not if anyone got to see him or not.

The first year of that little boy's life was one of learning and brand new experiences, both for him and his parents. Granted, that was how it should have been, as he was growing up and starting to discover the world he was a part of (even if the closest he got to "discovering" anything was being able to pull himself to standing by his first birthday), and the two people raising him had never had to take care of a child before. They didn't know what to expect.

Not even the best books and classes could have taught them that sometimes, babies just liked to scream and cry even though nothing was wrong. There was no way of learning beforehand that the things that young kids liked were not things that this particular little guy liked. And there was no way that they were to know that, under no circumstances, were they supposed to put him in the same vicinity as a teddy bear. Something about the fuzzy and cuddly exterior of a bear made him scream, and that was one of those lessons that had to be learned through experience, not through reading something—even though, after the first time it happened, Alejandro was quick to try and find a reason for it from one of the many things he had read on children during those nights where there was no chance of sleeping.

Of course, the books would say that there was some sort of psychological reason, and that they should devote time to see what was wrong, but really, it was just that the kid did not like the way the bear looked. That was all the explanation there needed to be. But fledgling parents didn't know not to worry all the small things, and a lot more worry was spent on the situation than needed.

By the time that first year drew to a close, and the romance holiday that marked one long, eventful year with little Andres in their lives came closer, there were so many things that had changed that listing them off would have taken several hours and possibly not even getting them all. Having him around was an adventure, and every moment spent with him was a moment that both Heather and Alejandro would try to treasure forever (minus the moments where he frustrated them, at any rate). But the coming of his first birthday also meant that there needed to be some sort of celebration to mark the moment, and coming up with something to do for that was almost as difficult as completely babyproofing a house to protect the little boy who liked trying to stick his fingers in electrical sockets.

The decision they ended up making wasn't the best idea in the end, but it was the one that put the least amount of planning on their shoulders. However, getting Sierra involved in anything that involved babies was a terrible idea, and should have been discouraged from the get-go, even if she was able to bring together a lot of people who were willing to bring gifts for the little guy to give him for the occasion. None of those people were necessarily people that the parents wanted around their son, but it was the thought that counted, and if they were giving presents, then it was a bit more acceptable.

The whole "party" thing may have been more memorable if the only good moment, aside from getting to take three cameras off of Sierra's person to keep her from sharing pictures to the world that they didn't like, wasn't one that was set up to be priceless. There was nothing that could top getting to see a cute little boy grinning with cake all over his face and in his hair, his green eyes barely able to be seen through the mess. Not even the amount of screaming that followed when he needed to be cleaned off could ruin that moment.

When the celebrating was over and things were back to the way they were before, the weight of the situation hit and there was some time taken just to sit back and reflect on the fact that this child, this glimmer of light in their lives, had been with them for a year. Or, anyway, that had been the plan, but when thinking about it was mentioned, Heather called it too sappy and not something she wanted to do. It didn't seem like that big of a deal to her, something that she repeated time and time again, and when pressed to explain why, she shrugged it off.

It wouldn't be until much later that she'd give her reason, and that was ultimately for the best in the grand scheme of things.

A/N: Heh, so I figured that if I'm going to skip posting for a week, I should do so after this chapter. Why? Well, this chapter doesn't leave the world hanging when it ends. So maybe I'll post again next week, maybe I won't. Who knows. I just hope y'all are enjoying this thus far! :D