...since several people seemed to like a bit of future joy, I'm adding a couple more stories to this grouping. They won't be in any chronological order, but will be flashes of different scenes in the lives of our favorite people...

many thanks to those who read and review. I hope you enjoy this one, short and sweet.

Future Perfect: The Second

It was dark. Elizabeth stood on the landing, looking out the window toward the backyard. The stars spilled across the sky in familiar patterns, and she smiled when she saw Orion, just barely clearing the trees as he headed south for the summer. Abruptly she frowned, took a deep breath, and glanced at her watch. She stood looking out at the stars for a few moments, then turned and headed back to the bedroom.

"Peter."

He rolled over without opening his eyes as she sat down next to him on the bed. "Hmm?"

"You should call Neal."

"Okay." His eyes opened slowly, and he blinked at her, frowning. "What time is it?" His eyes drifted shut again.

She looked again at her watch. "About two in the morning."

"Oh." His eyes opened again. "Oh." He sat up more quickly and rubbed his eyes. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." She handed him the cell phone from its charger near the bed. "Here."

Taking it automatically, he punched the number three and hit send, waiting as it rang only twice. "Hey, Neal. Yeah. Elizabeth told me to call." He nodded at the phone. "Okay." Closing it, Peter looked up at his wife. "He's on the way."

"Good." She stood up and walked over to her dresser, and he followed. Leaning his chest against her back, he wrapped his arms gently around her.

"You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm –" she stopped talking and gave a little gasp.

"Breathe." He ran his hands over her arms and waited, hearing her take a few quick breaths and blow them out. After a minute she relaxed back into his arms with a sigh, and he held her for a long while. Eventually she whispered.

"I hate this part."

"I know." He turned her around and kissed her, looking into her eyes with such warmth that she felt herself melt. "Thank you."

Elizabeth laughed quietly. "You're welcome." She stood on her toes and kissed him again. "And stop making me fall in love with you every five minutes. It's getting so that –" She stopped again, and he rubbed her back. Downstairs they heard the back door open, and a voice called up quietly.

"Okay, kiddies, Uncle Neal's here. How about you guys try to get there with more than half an hour to spare this time?"

Peter turned toward the stairs. "We're on our way down, Neal."

"Hey, Buddy. How's Elizabeth?"

Peter looked at his wife, breathing carefully as she stood in an oversized t-shirt and loose pants, beginning to break a sweat. "She's beautiful."

Elizabeth looked up at him, ready to make a snide comment, and saw that he was absolutely sincere. She shook her head and picked up her overnight bag, which he took away from her with practiced ease. "What did I tell you? About the making me fall in love?"

He grinned and kissed her cheek. "I'll try to get it down to every seven minutes. How would that be?"

"It's a start."

They ducked into Matty's room briefly and then walked downstairs. Elizabeth gave Neal a hug. "Thanks. We told him it might be soon, and that you'd be here."

"No problem. Don't worry about anything. Just call my cell when you have news." A round of hugs later, they were in the car, driving to the hospital.

oOo

Three hours and fifteen minutes later, Elizabeth gave a last yell and fell back into the pillows, clutching Peter's hand so hard that it must have hurt – if he'd been paying any attention to it. An annoyed little coughing noise gave way to one petulant cry, and Elizabeth closed her eyes and breathed a silent prayer. Relief flooded through her as the doctor called out 'ten' for the apgar. Too tired to lift her head, she watched Peter's face instead, seeing the smile that seemed to illuminate him from within.

He looked down at Elizabeth, his eyes wide, and actually giggled. "It's her."

The nurse walked over with the tiny bundle. "Mr. Burke? I'd like you to meet your daughter."

Peter folded her gently in his arms and spoke softly. "Hey, beautiful." He looked at his wife and grinned. "We lucked out. She looks like you." Then he gasped and looked back down to his daughter, who had grabbed his little finger, holding on as if she would never let go. He swallowed hard, and when he looked up again there were tears in his eyes. "She's got me."

Elizabeth gave him a tired smile, her eyes shining. "I know."

He leaned over to kiss her, and rested the baby in her arms. "I love you."

"I love you, too." She looked at the little girl and leaned her head against Peter. "But who is she?"

He reached out and ran a finger over the downy hair on his daughter's head. "Rebecca. 'Becca' for short."

"Really?"

"I'm sure."

Elizabeth giggled. "She does have that look about her." Looking up at him, she said, "You know, she may never forgive us for Becca Burke."

"She'll get over it."

Rebecca Burke took that moment to yawn widely. Her eyes opened as she looked up and blinked at them, twice, as if considering her choice of parents carefully. Satisfied, she closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep.