A/N; A big thanks to my new beta K. And thanks to all of you who have followed and reviewed. I have a list of events, and moments I plan on covering in this story, but let me know if there are events or moments you would like to see played out!

Home

With any luck, I will be taking Alicia and Mira home in less than an hour. It's been ten days since Mira made her debut into this world, and already she's caused me more worry and stress on a few occasions, than I would prefer. Her respiratory system, and inability to keep her body temperature up, gave her some struggle for a few days, scaring the life right out of Alicia and I. "Get used to it." Alicia told me. "You will spend the rest of your life concerned in some way about her well being." I may never sleep well again at the thought.

Now the doctor's have given her a clean bill of health, and Alicia is finally strong enough to go home. I will never get over the determination in that woman. Her battle to regain her strength has been difficult. But she's done everything the doctor's told her to do, which wasn't very pleasant at some points.

Although it would have been nice to have spent some time at home with Zach and Grace while they were here, we made the best of things here at the hospital. Grace of course loves having a little sister, and insisted on putting a "little sister" outfit on Mira as soon as she arrived. Zach would probably never admit it, but he was pretty smitten with his baby sister as well. He would take his turn at holding her, but there was no gushing coming from him. Unless you count the time when Grace and I had gone to get some lunch and he thought Alicia was sleeping. When Zach had Mira to himself he showed his true tender side, telling Mira he wouldn't let his Mom and sister get too carried away with all the girly stuff, and that he would teach her how to defend herself against obnoxious boys. He also told her he would show her how to play a good forward in soccer after which he told her he would leave the basketball and baseball instruction to her father. I'm glad to know he and I are on the same page now that we no longer have an equal vote on things.

They stayed four of the seven days they had originally planned. We understood, this was not exactly the spring break they had planned on spending with us. School is out in another six weeks anyway, and they promised they would come for another visit before their summer jobs begin.

/

As we enter the apartment I can see the relief written all over Alicia's entire body. We move into the living room and Alicia looks around as if taking inventory. I set the baby down and take Alicia's coat.

"You kept it pretty clean while I was gone!" she says, smiling at me moving closer so that I can wrap my arms around her.

"I was hardly here, not really enough time to make a mess of things!" I say in response to her comment. I continue to hold her for a few minutes because finally I have her all to myself again. She looks up at me at and moves in for a kiss. The kiss is interrupted too quickly by someone who is already showing her dislike to her parent's many displays of affection for one another. We both smile and turn our attention to her.

"Get used to it kid." I say. "I love your Mom, and I'm going to kiss her whenever I feel like it!" This causes a chuckle out of Alicia who moves to pull her out of the car seat to be fed.

"After Mommy feeds you, I am going to give you a tour of your new digs. Then I'm cooking dinner for the adults in this house," I say, picking up Alicia's bag from the hospital.

"Will, you don't have to cook tonight. We can get take out from somewhere." She says as she sits down on the sofa. "I have really missed our furniture!" she says, as she begins to settle against the soft cushions.

"We have had enough mediocre food in the past two weeks to last a lifetime. I am making us something good tonight!" She gives me her smile that means she's grateful without having to say a word. I take her bag into the bedroom, and then move Mira's things to her room. When I return Alicia seems to be looking at something but I can't quite tell what.

"Where did all of the flowers come from?" she asks. There are large vases of flowers spread throughout the kitchen, dining, and living areas.

"From just about everyone we know! They started showing up two days ago when word got out that you two were finally coming home." I say sitting next to her. She smiles and shakes her head. "If you think there are a lot of flowers, you should see the pile of gifts stacked up on the bed in Grace's room," I say, putting my arm around her.

"You're kidding right?" she says, with a surprised look on her face.

"No! Remember you were supposed to have had a baby shower last Saturday while Grace was here. I've been told that everyone would still like to get together, but that you and the baby might need some of the gifts before then. Nearly every night when I've come home Chad has helped me carry an armful of bags and boxes up. There are definite advantages to having a doorman."

"Where are we going to put it all?" she asks.

I just smile. "I thought I'd let you figure that out! I'll also let you write all of the thank you notes!" I move back a little as she rolls her eyes because I know she's about to playfully slap my arm. She stands and walks towards the kitchen pulling Mira closer to her.

"Daddy thinks he's being funny! But I have ways of ways of dealing with that!" I laugh under my breath because she is dead right.

/

I have Mira in one arm and case documents in the other. I've worked it out so that I can stay home for at least another week with Alicia. There are advantages to having a home office, and being a name partner. But there is still work to be done. Alicia had been reading a book on the sofa, but stands and moves over to us. "I'm going to shower. At some point you are going to have to let her sleep in her own bed instead of your arms! She can't go to work with you." Mira starts to fuss, probably due to gas bubbles in her tummy.

I smile back at her. "Sure she can. The clients and judges would be so busy ogling over her when I stand to cross examine with her in my arms, I'd win all my cases!" This causes both of us to chuckle.

"She has to learn to sleep in her own bed." She says more seriously. Mira cries a little louder as if on cue, when Alicia says this.

"She's protesting the strict rules you have set for the two of us," I say, in Mira's defense. Alicia rolls her eyes.

"She ate not too long ago. She's been changed, and you played with her. You should put her in her bed for the night." She places a kiss on my cheek and moves towards the hall. I know she's right, but I really enjoy holding Mira, and her room is so far away from ours.

Alicia pauses and turns back towards me. "Will, you will appreciate my rules when she starts sleeping for more than three or fours hours at a time during the night." I turn and look at her. "Especially since you have to take care of her feeding in the middle of the night."

She isn't wrong. One of the key things to Alicia recovering is that she get enough sleep, and that means that for now she get at least five or six hours of continuous sleep during the night and plenty of rest during the day. So I will fulfill my fatherly duty and take care of the feeding that needs to occur during that nighttime period.

"I know." I say with a sigh. Alicia smiles and moves down the hall towards our bedroom. I put the documents down and stand up bouncing Mira slightly to help settle her stomach. I carry her in the opposite direction Alicia went, down the other hall towards Mira's bedroom.

"Mommy says you have to sleep in here all the way across the apartment from us. I think that means I'm not allowed to hold you again until you need to eat. Between you and me, I think Mommy is feeling a little jealous. She used to be the only one getting held in this house. But don't worry. I think she figures at night it's her turn for my attention. And she's probably right." I place one last kiss on her cheek and place her in her in the crib making sure she's swaddled up tight, and that her hat is placed firmly on her head. Before leaving the room I look around. It took me four hours to put the crib together, but it looks perfect in this room that Alicia had to design from a laptop while sitting on the sofa in the front room a few months ago.

Mira doesn't seem to mind Alicia's rules as much as I do. I turn out the light and close the door leaving it cracked just a bit. I turn out the lights in the apartment as I make my way back to our bedroom.

Alicia just finished showering and I can hear her finishing up her nightly beauty routine as I climb into bed. The extra noise in the apartment again is very welcome. I've wondered over the past week how I ever managed to be a bachelor for so long. Living alone at this point seems like a thousand years ago, and I wouldn't want to go back. The quiet sound of Alicia's footsteps on the dark wood floors, or the sound of her brushing her teeth has become soothing music to my ears.

I watch as she moves out of the bathroom in her favorite pair of pajamas that are so worn at this point that I used to tease her about it. I stopped doing that a few months back because they are one of many little things that I love about her. She and I stopped overlooking the little things nine months ago and began to treasure them instead. Seeing her in them brings a smile to my lips.

I watch her rub lotion into her hands as she moves around the bed. She sits down and continues to rub more of this ridiculously expensive lotion into her dry feet. She must sense I am watching her. "What are you staring at?" she says, turning to me continuing to rub lotion up her arms.

"You!", I say. This causes a tired but bright smile to cross her lips and she leans over to place a kiss on my lips. She turns out the lamp and moves close to me under the covers. I place my arm around her as she lays her head on my chest. Finally she is back right where she belongs. I have truly missed having her in our bed next to me at night.

Before she became pregnant, late at night in this bed was sometimes the only quiet moment of any given day we had to spend between the two of us, a hazard of our chosen profession. The bed became a more integral part of our lives after she became pregnant. At some points it became the whole of our apartment due to her bedrest. We did everything from here eating and sleeping, and we both worked, sometimes for three or four days at a time. After sleeping at the hospital for two nights Alicia convinced me to come home and sleep at night. That and she wanted to make sure someone was here with Zach and Grace so they wouldn't feel that their whole trip was a waste. But this large oversized King bed was very empty without her.

I lean over and kiss the top of her forehead. Something I've done nearly every night we've been in the same room together, even before she woke up from the coma four years ago.

"I'm glad to be home in our bed," she says, rubbing my chest.

"Me too," I respond, running my hand up and down her arm.

"Are you sure Mira will be alright in her room?" I question. I'm still worried she's going to stop breathing during the middle of the night, and we won't know until it's too late, or that she'll wake up and we won't hear her. Alicia chuckles as she lifts herself up onto her elbows and looks at me.

"I'm positive! That baby monitor you insisted we spend a small fortune on," she says, pointing to the lit up monitor on the nightstand next to the bed. "Will alert us to any noise she makes. And if you're really concerned you can push this button," she leans across me and pushes the small lit up button on the monitor. "And watch her for as long as you like." She says it lovingly running her hand across my chest. She knows it's just another concern of mine being a first time parent.

"Okay," I say, smiling at her. She reaches over me turning the video feature back off and places her hand on my cheek forcing me to turn my attention back to her. She leans over placing a kiss on my lips. Our lips stay locked for a long period. This is far better than kissing her each night before I left the hospital.

After she pulls away she looks at me again. I can make out the change in her eyes from the moonlight that's shining through the window. "Someday you'll be glad her room is far away from ours!"

I smile and lean forward. "Yes, I plan on making up for ten months worth of lost time, starting in about four more weeks, for years to come!" I say, placing another kiss on her lips. A few minutes later she returns her head to its resting place on my chest, exactly where it belongs. As I drift off to sleep all I can think about is how glad I am to have all of us home.