A/N: OK, I love all of you reviewers. Seriously. You all rock. Your comments give me the warm fuzzies, for serious. Keep 'em coming; y'all are my INSPIRATION! *cookies for everyone*

Lures

Luke's POV

Slowly turning the gold band in my fingers, I could feel the warmth from my fingers slowly heating it. Strands of blue fell over my eyes, but I didn't bother to brush them out of my face. It was kinda comforting, in a strange way…it reminded me that I was still there, a physical, living being, and not a wispy ghost.

Puppy whimpered and pawed at the ring. It slipped from my fingers, and rolled under the table, where it came to a stop by a loose floorboard. I sighed, and got on my hands and knees to crawl under the table. The ring still managed to glint, even though the shadows from the table all but encased it. I tucked the ring tightly in my palm, and started to back out, when I spotted a piece of paper barely sticking out from under the floorboard. Curious, I snatched it up, and then backed out from under the table.

I stood up, placed the ring on the cool wooden table, and then sat down in one of the chairs. The paper was wrinkled and smudged, but Angela's insanely neat handwriting stood out against the messiness of the parchment. I unfolded a corner, flattened it on the table, and began to read:

Dear Baby:

I feel so strange writing to you. I mean, I can barely believe you're even there. I guess it hasn't really sunk in yet. When Dr. Jin told us that I was pregnant with you, your daddy was so excited that he must've ran around the house fifty times, yelling and hollering so loud that he frightened the animals. Your daddy is one special guy, Baby. If you're a girl, I hope you marry a boy like him. And if you're a boy, then I hope you turn out to be exactly like him.

Dear Baby:

Ooh, my stomach feels like it's crawling, but I guess that's just you. I'm writing this against the tile in the bathroom, where I am currently balled up, a glass of soda by my side and a big porcelain toilet in front of my face. It's worth it, though. Your daddy must've announced to the entire town fifty times over how he's going to be a daddy very soon. I can't wait, either. Uh oh, here we go again…

Dear Baby:

Well, everything they say about pregnancy is true. But if this is all that I have to put up with, then it's certainly worth it. My tummy is starting to swell up. Your daddy is constantly telling me to turn sideways so he can record my belly's bigness with a camera. Haha. My heart swells with love whenever I think of you, and how little time there is before I can hold you in my arms. I'm so thrilled and joyful, and your father is, as well. We love you, baby.

Dear Baby:

We are starting to build your nursery, and, oh, baby, it's gorgeous. There's all kinds of things that I want to show you: the cutest little booties, the perfect crib that we already have on layaway, but, I especially want you to see my Grandmother's rocking chair that has just arrived today. I am so excited to sit in it and sing to you. I'm already thinking of my favorite lullabies from when I was little. I've been writing them all down in this cute little "Baby Scrapbook." I'll eventually copy all these notes down there, but I kind of like writing them on this little piece of paper. Who would think that something so small could make me so happy? Well, life's funny like that sometimes, I guess.

I paused for a moment. I reached up to brush the now-bothersome blue strands of hair out of my eyes. But my fingers touched wetness beneath my eyes. Tears. I ignored them and kept reading on. The next entry was different. The paper it was written on was tearstained and the ink blotched. My heart clenched, but I forced myself to read the words.

Dear Baby:

Well, for whatever reason, it just wasn't meant to be. I hate that phrase more than anything in the entire world, but it's true. I can still see myself rocking you to sleep, singing lullabies, wiping your tears away, but those visions are faint now. Is this what shock feels like? Baby, I want you to know that your daddy and I still love you more than life itself. That sounds pretty Hallmark-card, but it's true. Even though I will never even get the chance to see you, I love you. Nothing could ever change that.

I sniffled, feeling another batch of tears stream out of my eyes. Frustrated, I wiped them away with my sleeve, and then stood up. I left the paper there on the table. Crossing my arms over my chest, I walked over to the window, feeling the fading sunlight rain down on my face. I felt like curling up in a ball and falling asleep, comatose until the time when I could wake up and everything would be okay. But that was just a fantasy now.

*-*-*-*

I guess I did fall asleep, because Puppy's barking awoke me a few hours later. Dazed, I stared over at the Border collie, who was prancing around a cockroach and barking his tiny little puppy head off.

I walked over to inspect. The bug scurried around aimlessly, obviously startled by the obnoxious little dog. I raised my heel to end the creature's scrambling, but found myself unable to do so. Who was I to decide what creature should live, and which should die?

Instead, I kneeled down and pulled some boxes out of the pantry. I pulled a sleeve of graham crackers and a bag of marshmallows- you never know when the s'mores mood will strike, so you gotta stock up- and started breaking little pieces off. I must've sat there for an hour, making a little trail out of the door for the roach with tiny pieces of white stickiness and crumbling brown crackers, trying to keep Puppy from gobbling it up.

I sat there, watching, Puppy curled up tight on my lap, until the roach finally made its way outdoors. Long after, I was still positioned on the floor, just thinking about how much the small things in life really do make a difference.