John stopped by Helena's quarters late that evening. When he didn't find her there, he knew exactly where she'd gone – since he knew she hadn't gone into work at all.

The West Pier was far from the occupied part of the city. It was the reason it was her favorite thinking spot. Nobody, except for John, went there, day or night. The view was fantastic and there was always a nice breeze. Her kitchen staff knew that they could find her there, but they were intuitive enough to know if she was there during duty hours, she needed a break from everything.

He walked out the doors and found her standing in a robe with her long hair flying wildly behind her. Her arms were crossed and holding her own waist.

"'Lena? You okay?"

She turned. She smiled softly. "Hello, John."

He walked over to her. "Are you okay?" he repeated.

She shrugged. "To be honest, I'm scared to death."

He put his arms around her. "About?"

She looked up at him. "'About?' Do you really need to ask?"

"I know you're worried, 'Lena, but why be scared?"

"I don't know the first thing about babies, John. I was an only child. My only experience with children has been a cousin I had who had a baby when I was nine. It's not like there are other women here who have had babies in the city that I can turn to for advice." She took a deep breath. "I'm just not comfortable with the unknown aspects, I guess."

John smiled at her. "I wonder if anyone is comfortable with them. We'll figure it out together."

She sighed and curled into him. "You know, it really is great that you are so okay about this."

He smiled. "I'm not 'okay about this'," he said. "I think it's great. Really, 'Lena. But I've gotta tell ya, I'm still terrified. This is new to me, too, you know."

Helena looked up at him. "Really?"

He nodded. "Yeah. And I'll probably get more scared when he's born."

Her eyebrows rose. "'He'? What if it's a 'she'?"

John smiled, looking at her hair whipping in the wind. "Can she have red hair and blue eyes?"

Helena grinned. "I rather like your dark hair with my blue eyes."

John whistled. "She'd be knock-out."

Helena smiled. "Or he'd be a heart-breaker, like his father."

John sighed. "Either way, we're going to have our hands full when it comes to dating age."

She shook her head. "Whoa! Can we get through the pregnancy and diaper age before we start thinking about that?"

"Speaking of diapers, when are…uh," he frowned. "I think it's called 'due date'?"

Her eyes widened. "You know, to be honest, I didn't think to ask. I was so shocked that I didn't ask anything."

John nodded. "Understandable."

She looked down, then. "I can't be that far along. I haven't noticed any weight gain."

He grinned. "Neither have I."

She grinned back, then stepped into his space. "Have you really been paying attention?"

"What are you trying to say?" he frowned. "That I'm not looking at you when we…well, you know."

She laughed out loud and hugged him. "Are you ever going to get comfortable with the word 'sex'?"

John suddenly looked uncomfortable. "I'm comfortable with the word. It's just…" he looked out, over her head, at the ocean. Then he sighed.

She frowned. Letting go of him, she stepped back to look at his face. "What is it, John?"

He looked at her with narrowed eyes, then back out to the ocean. "I don't think of…what we do…when we're together," he took a deep breath. "As 'sex'."

She frowned for a moment, then slowly a smile replaced the frown on her lips. She stepped in and wrapped her arms around him again. "Oh, John."

He cleared his throat and continued to look out to the ocean, but put his arms around her.

She reached up then and kissed his neck. Then her hands found their way under his shirt and her fingers began to trace feather light circles on his skin.

He looked down at her and was met with a kiss that was slow and deliberate. He responded in kind even as he felt his body react to her touch. He pulled her tight against him and relished the feel of her. His hands found their way under her robe, to find she was only wearing a filmy camisole under it. He pulled back and, frowning, looked at her.

"What?" she asked.

"You travelled all the way from your place here in a robe and underwear?"

She chuckled. "Would it make you feel better if I say I used the transporter?"

"Did you?"

"If it makes you feel better," she laughed. "Come on, John. It's the middle of the night. The only people who are up are a few scientists and those people working in the control room. I didn't pass one person the entire way here. Did you?"

John frowned. "No, but…"

She pulled her robe open the rest of the way. She took one of his hands and placed it over her heart, then with a wicked grin, moved just to the right, so that his hand now covered her breast. "But, what, my love?" Then she reached for him.

He growled and walked her backwards until she was against the wall, then picked her up, kissing her hungrily. He broke the kiss and started tasting her neck and she pulled his shirt up in the back to encourage him to remove it. Setting her back down, he pulled back to remove his shirt, but then stopped. He pulled back another step.

"What?" she panted.

He took a deep breath to get himself back under control. Without meaning to, his eyes went to her still flat stomach.

"Aw, what?"

He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry."

She frowned. "For what?"

"I don't want to hurt you."

She looked confused. "How would you hurt me?"

"The baby."

"The ba – " She smiled suddenly. "Oh."

He frowned at her. "Are you laughing at me?"

As her eyes danced, she bit her lip and shook her head. "No." She cleared her throat and tried to stop smiling, but failed miserably. "Ah, John." She giggled.

He crossed his arms. "Helena."

She bit her lip again. "The baby is in my uterus. If I remember sex ed. correctly, there is a wall that keeps…you…from going into my uterus." She sidled up to him. "It only feels like you're in my ribcage."

He frowned. "If you don't mind," he said, quietly. "I'd like to wait until the doc says…"

She sighed and let go. "Okay," she chuckled. "I can wait…I may be crazy come morning, but, okay."

He pulled her robe back up to cover her shoulders. "I hope you don't get upset, but I'm going to walk you back to your place and then go sleep at mine."

She frowned up at him. "What? You don't even want to sleep…?" Then she smiled. "Aw, John, Are you saying that I'm impossible to resist?"

John chuckled. "Repeated exposure tends to wear down one's resistance."

She laughed. "Okay, gorgeous man, walk me home."