Mark entered the ready room that morning, also at the break of dawn, to gear up for his first shift of the day. There was no one else in the room. He had just taken off his shirt and tossed it in his locker when he felt soft hands curl around his waist. He jumped in surprise and turned around quickly, not surprised when he saw Laura standing in front of him, a small smirk on her face.

"A little jumpy this morning, lieutenant?"

"Laura!" He said, surprised to see her at this time of the morning. "What are you doing here?" He quickly moved to don his uniform shirt but she pulled it from his hands and tossed it to the floor.

"You know what I'm doing here Mark." She started to walk towards him, which had him backing up until he hit the locker that was close behind him. She pressed herself to him and ran her fingers over his chiseled chest. He took a deep, surprised breath and quickly sidestepped her, pushing her lightly away.

"Laura, I'm really not in the mood okay? We need to talk."

She frowned at him as she moved towards him again. "Not in the mood? That's not like you Mark. Although, when I say 'in the mood' I use that phrase lightly of course, since we've never actually 'done it'." She smiled seductively. "First time for everything."

Coming towards him quickly, she planted a deep kiss on him and he responded by pulling back quickly, trapping her arms behind her back and keeping her from moving.

"Laura!" he said, looking down into her eyes. "Maddy and I are back together. I love her and we're done."

With that, he released her roughly and made his way over to his locker again, quickly pulling on his shirt. She turned to frown at him.

"You and Maddy are together again? I thought that was over for good?"

Reynolds continued to done his gear, glancing at his watch as he did. "We're back together for good. I shouldn't have broken up with her in the first place. I'm sorry I led you on Laura, it was completely wrong of me, but I have a girlfriend now so please, leave me alone."

He was doing up the straps on his armor as she nodded curtly. "Fine," she said, "I'll leave you alone. I just hope you're happy with that little girl Maddy. If you ever want a real woman, let me know."

With that, she was out the door. Reynolds shook his head and let out a heavy breath, hoping she actually did heed her own words.

OOOOO

That night, Mark had asked if he and Maddy could share dinner on the patio of their house. Both parents had agreed so Mark came early to prepare everything. He had bought several things from the market earlier in the day and he made a couple things himself. He didn't consider himself much of a cook but he was hoping Maddy would like what he'd made. He hadn't been able to see Maddy the day before because of work constraints.

Maddy's mom had sent her on an errand to keep her out of the house while Mark was setting up, and at exactly 6 o'clock she entered the door, carrying the packages her mother had requested. Mark had hid himself on the patio, waiting for Liz to usher Maddy to said place. After a moment, he heard footsteps approach the door and it slid open, revealing Maddy. She smiled wide when she saw Mark and he mirrored her reaction.

"What's all this?" she asked in surprise.

He smiled as he came over, shutting the door and wrapping her in a hug. "It's for you. I thought we should have a celebratory dinner in honor of our child and in honor of our relationship." He pulled away and took both of Maddy's hands in his. "Maddy Shannon, may I have the honor of dating you again?"

She laughed. "Of course!"

He smiled and leaned down slowly for a kiss. When their lips met, Reynolds could feel the familiar fire coursing through his veins. It was so different than kissing Laura, so much more real. They hadn't kissed in so long, months, it felt so foreign and yet so familiar. He opened his mouth to deepen the kiss and started to move his hands over her back. He could feel her responding to him. And then, suddenly, she pulled away, looking shy.

"Uh, Mark?" She screwed up her face and looked at him. "Sorry but, this is what got us in this mess in the first place right? So, maybe we should take it easy?"

He blew out a breath, calming his racing heart. "You're right Maddy, I'm sorry."

She laughed, hitting him lightly. "Don't be sorry. And anyway, the food is getting cold."

He had to agree with her on that one so they sat down to start eating their food.

"So," Maddy began, "My dad took me out this morning to the most beautiful place that I've seen yet."

He pretended to be upset. "I thought I took you to the most beautiful place, on our first date alone."

She smiled at him, swallowing her bite of food. "That was the most beautiful place, until my dad took me there." She sighed, thinking about it.

"Well," he said, "I'll have to take you there sometime."

She smiled and nodded. "I would like that. He also gave me this." She held out her hand so Mark could observe the ring that was on her finger. He took her hand and examined the ring carefully, raising his eyebrows.

"It's beautiful Maddy. It must have cost a fortune. Why did he give it to you?" He dropped her hand and watched her.

"Well, he said that he and mom had bought it for me yesterday from the market so that I would know they'll always be there for me and the baby." She smiled at Mark. "He also said something about lots of love being put into the making of this ring and likening it to the love they'll put into us." She giggled. "It was really sweet."

He smiled genuinely. "You're really lucky to have such an awesome family Maddy."

"Yeah, well, we have problems too, obviously… but I am really lucky."

After they had finished eating and put away the spare food, Mark went to sit with Maddy on the couch, putting an arm around her and pulling her into him. She seemed a little tense when he did that, but she soon relaxed.

"Mark?" she asked after a moment.

"Hm?"

"Are you scared?"

"What do you mean, scared of having a kid or scared of dating you again or scared of living here?"

She laughed lightly. "I didn't know there were so many options… but, yeah, scared of having a kid."

He let out a grunt. "Yeah, of course I am. I'd be a fool not to be." He took a breath. "It's gonna be a big challenge. And it's not just going to go away in a year or two; it's going to be around forever. Which…" he laughed a little hysterically, "is more than a little scary. I think I'd rather face a pod of veloci raptors head on." He paused and then quickly added, "But that doesn't mean I don't want the baby! I do! It's just… it's a huge life change that's all, one I'm not sure if I'm ready for."

Maddy breathed deeply, trying to quell the butterflies that were invading her stomach. "Well, I know we're not ready for it. But, Mom says that no one ever is."

"I believe that," he responded emphatically. They sat in silence for a long moment and Mark couldn't stop thinking about his encounter in the locker room with Laura. He knew he should tell Maddy, knew he should be completely honest, but for some reason he didn't want to be. He knew she wouldn't care, it wasn't his fault anyway, but something was holding him back. After a moment of fighting with himself, he turned to her, determined.

"Maddy, I have something I need to tell you."

She turned to him, his arm sliding from around her, her expression concerned. "What's up?"

He took a deep breath. "You remember I told you about Laura? The one who I had a… fling with?" She nodded, frowning. "Well," he continued, "I was changing into my gear this morning and she pretty much ambushed me in the locker room."

Her eyes narrowed. "What do you mean by ambush?"

He steeled himself. "She… kissed me, pretty hard core." Seeing her face fall he continued quickly. "But, I pushed her away as soon as she started and told her that we're back together and that I love you. She said she'd leave me alone but, I don't know if that's true or not."

Maddy fought to keep the tears from coming again. She couldn't descent into tears every time something happened. "If she doesn't leave you alone, what are you going to do?"

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I don't know, probably talk to Taylor or something."

Maddy didn't look encouraged but decided to let it go. "Okay, just don't forget to tell me if something like this happens again." Reaching up a hand, she ran her fingers lightly over his cheek. "I want you all to myself. No sharing."

Mark smiled as he grabbed her hand and kissed it. "Absolutely no sharing."

OOOOO

The rest of the week was uneventful. Mark and Maddy went to school and work, Josh continued his silent treatment of both of them, even though Mark came for dinner every night. Zoe was happy, as was her mother, and her father was doing much better. He hadn't quite been able to talk to Mark normally but her mother said that would come with time. Soon enough though, they had to begin thinking about telling other people and decide what they were going to do.

It was Sunday night and they were just finishing dinner. Josh had left early, as usual, to avoid talking with Mark. Elisabeth asked Zoe if she would take a shower while they had some grown-up talk and she obliged, with the promise of sweets later.

"So," Liz began, looking at Mark and Maddy. "When are you going to start telling people the news?"

There was an uncomfortable silence while Mark and Maddy glanced from each other and back to her parents.

"Well," Maddy began, "I suppose there's no reason to keep from telling them now is there? I mean, will we be in trouble?"

Liz looked at Jim for the answer and he shrugged. "Hard to say. Taylor has some pretty stringent rules but I doubt teenage pregnancy made the list." He looked over at Mark. "You, on the other hand, may have something to worry about. I don't know what he'll do when he finds out you're the father."

Mark pressed his lips together. "Yes sir, I know he'll be hard on me. I just hope he'll let me keep my job." Jim raised his eyebrows in agreement.

"So," Liz broke the silence, "does that mean you should tell Taylor first Mark?"

He nodded. "Yes Ma'am, that's probably the best plan of action. I wouldn't want him hearing it from anyone else."

"Okay," Jim said, "And then… we'll just tell people when it comes up?"

Maddy nodded. "Yeah, I guess that's fine. I just don't know how I'm going to tell people at school. And what will their reaction be?"

Her mother smiled slightly. "You'll be all right honey."

Jim glanced at Liz and then began in a slightly uncomfortable tone, "So, I know you have some time before the baby comes but… well, you two are going to have to figure out how you want living arrangements. And I'm not saying you can live together if you're not married because that's not an option." He gave Mark a stern look which he nodded to. "What I am saying," he continued, "is that you need to decide how we're going to split responsibility for the child, between me and your mom and you and Mark. Your mom and I will help out as you need it but we are expecting you two to be the primary care givers for the kid."

Maddy and Mark both nodded in response. "We'll talk about it sir," Mark responded.

"Good." Jim raised his eyebrows and looked at Liz, who poked him in the side and gave him a covert look. He seemed unwilling but turned to Mark anyway.

"Mark," he began. "I'd like to talk to you for a while so… you wanna take a walk?"

He nodded and stood. "Of course sir."

Jim stood and looked at Liz, raising his eyebrows again. She smiled at him encouragingly. "Have fun," she said.

"Oh, we will," Jim replied at they made their way out the door.

OOOOO

The night was cool and a light breeze played on Jim's exposed skin. Reynolds walked next to him, obviously uncomfortable, straight at an arrow and looked for all the world like he was on military patrol. Good, Jim thought, let him squirm.

Jim cleared his throat. "So, Mark, I know we haven't talked since I beat you up in your house, which you deserved by the way, but I just wanted to make it clear that you're half responsible for this child."

Mark nodded. "Yes sir, I know that sir and I intend to take full responsibility."

"Good," Jim said as he glanced sideways at Mark. "When did all this happen, so I can avoid the same mistake with Zoe."

Mark glanced at him and then looked back to the path they were walking on. "Um… well sir, it was the day of the harvest festival. Maddy and I had gone to the festival together, danced, ate lots of food of course." He smiled at he remembered it. "It was a great night, probably one of the best in memory." He thought about it for a moment more and then the smile slid off his face. That was the day we were all at the festival until late,Jim thought, the house was empty and when we got home Maddy was already in bed. They broke up the next day.

"We went for a walk to get away from all the noise. We ended up on the porch, sitting on the swing. We were just talking and laughing. After a while, I needed to use the bathroom and Maddy was thirsty so we ended up going inside. I realized there was no one home so fully intended to use the bathroom and then go back to the festival but… things didn't work out that way" He paused as he remembered who he was talking to, but he plunged onward.

"So, I came out of the bathroom and Maddy offered me some pie, which, of course, I couldn't resist."

I don't blame him for that one, Jim thought, Maddy does make damn good pie.

"That was my first mistake. We sat down on the couch, which was my second mistake, and ate the pie. Then, well, we started kissing and kissing became making out and making out became feeling and-

"OKAY," Jim said loudly, "I get the picture."

Mark steeled himself and looked straight ahead. "Sorry sir. If you want to punch me again, you can sir."

Jim let out an exasperated sigh. "It's like you like getting beat up!"

"Well, sir, if it makes you feel better and it makes me feel like I'm atoning for my actions, what's the harm?"

Jim sighed loudly. "Mark," he said, a little annoyed, "physical violence doesn't solve anything. I hope you know that."

Mark looked at him and stopped walking. "Of course I do sir. I hope you don't think that I would ever hurt Maddy in any way-

"Well you've already hurt her. But I swear Reynolds if I ever find out you've hurt her in any other way, I'll hunt you down and have Taylor banish you, understand?"

Reynolds turned forward again, looking straight ahead. "Yes Sir."

Jim looked at him and sighed, trying to make himself not be so hard on him. It was difficult but, as his wife had said, he needed to be supportive and help Mark see him as someone who was on his side. After all, he didn't have anyone else.

"Look Mark," he said, making himself use his first name, "it's been hard for me to forgive you for what you've done but, my wife tells me I have to do it."

Reynolds continued to look forward as he listened.

"I love my daughter. She's my little girl and you've changed her future. It's still to be seen if it's good or bad, but you have a big part to play in whether it's good or bad."

"Yes sir, I know that."

"Good, then you also know that I'm going to expect you to be involved in the kids life, no matter what happens down the road."

"Yes sir."

Jim sighed. "Mark, look at me."

He obliged and Jim fixed him with a slightly softer stare. "I know this has to be just as hard for you as it is for Maddy. I can't imagine what I would have done if I were in your shoes at your age."

"Thank you sir."

"I know you and Maddy have decided to get back together. But, what I want you to know is, I don't want you tying the knot just because you have a kid. It's not a good reason. I only want that to happen if you think you can love her for the rest of your life. And I don't want you to do it on a whim either. You need to take time to consider your relationship, kid not involved, to see if it's something worth saving."

Reynolds seemed to be mulling this over, because his eyes had fallen from Jim's face, though his posture was still as upright as ever.

"And in the meantime," Jim added firmly, causing Mark to look up at him again, "no funny business. Maddy may be pregnant but that's no excuse. Sex is a lot more than just feeling good. It's not a responsibility you want to take on until you're ready; relationally ready, I don't care how old you are. Do you understand me?"

Mark nodded, his eyes firm. "Yes sir, I do."

"Good." Jim turned to start walking again and Mark followed. Jim knew Elisabeth would not approve of their one sided conversation so he dug deep and tried to find some love for the man who had impregnated his daughter.

"So Mark," he said as they walked down the path, "why don't you tell me something about yourself, I feel like I hardly know you…