"Allison," Amy whispered, gently brushing a finger across her daughter's soft, tiny cheek. She stirred just a little, opening her eyes slightly as Amy lifted her carefully and faced the Boykewich house. Ben shut the car door and quickly came back to her side. "Welcome home," Amy added. She took a beat, looking at the house herself as a smile spread wide across her face.

Ben watched the smile come upon her and he smiled too, breathing in and thinking just how beautiful she was. Amy turned her head to him and caught his gaze. He pressed a kiss to her lips. "Are you ready?" he asked, knowing that the moment they stepped in the door would be the start of the rest of their lives.

"I am," she nodded. He placed his left hand on the small of her back and they walked up to the front door. He turned the knob and allowed her to go in ahead of him.

"Dad?" Ben called upon entering the house. There was no response. "That's funny; I thought he'd be here."

"He'll be back, Ben. He's probably still at work. The sausage business is hard work, as he's said more than a few times." Amy replied with a smile.

"Hold your horses, I'm here," Leo replied, lumbering into the room. "You think I'd miss the homecoming of my granddaughter? I think not." He patted Ben on the shoulder before focusing in on Amy and the baby. "How are you feeling, sweetheart? It all happened pretty suddenly. I'm sorry I couldn't be at the hospital. You know the pressures of running your own empire."

"I'm doing fine, Leo," Amy replied with a smile. "I understand, but there is someone I'd like to introduce you to. This is Allison Marie," Amy added proudly. Ben thought she had the most wonderful glow, the glow of a new mother.

"Allison Marie," Leo repeated. "It's a lovely name, Amy."

"We thought so," Amy replied.

"And you're both in good health?" Leo asked again, looking up from the face of the newborn baby.

"We are; happy and healthy."

"That's the best news I've heard in quite a while. She's finally here after all this time, huh? Come on in and I'll cook us some dinner! You're probably starved after eating hospital food."

--

That night, Amy hummed a lullaby that she remembered from her childhood as she changed Allison's diaper and put her in her pajamas. The infant squirmed a little but Amy managed to secure the snaps on the front of the sleeper.

Ben leaned his shoulder against the door frame and watched her. "You're really very good with her, Amy."

"She's not exactly hard to deal with, yet."

"Still," he replied, approaching her. "I'm proud of you for the way you are handling this. I know it's not your ideal situation," he said standing behind her, gently running his hands down her shoulders and arms.

"No, it's not," she said, still not facing him. She picked up Allison and he sensed that it was time to move back. Amy walked to the baby's crib and placed her gently in it. "It's not the ideal situation," she repeated, looking up at him. "But some really great things have come out of it. Like us," she said reaching for him and wrapping her arms around his waist.

She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. Neither of them said anything for a moment as they enjoyed the chance to be very close together again, something that the baby had prevented them from doing for some time now.

"I wouldn't trade this for anything," she whispered.

"You wouldn't undo it all? Save yourself nine months of pregnancy and the pain of delivery? You wouldn't erase Ricky and everything else that's happened as a result?"

He knew she'd shook her head when he felt her chin brush left to right across his shoulder. "As crazy as it sounds, I wouldn't," she replied. Lifting her head, their eyes met again. "Some bad things happened, but things wouldn't be the same between you and me, if I hadn't been pregnant in the first place. I'd still be a lonely, shy freshman at Grant High School, playing the French horn and spending every weekend alone, or if I was lucky, hanging out with Madison and Lauren. I had time alone in the hospital to think and I just can't imagine it. I don't want to. You mean too much to me, so does Allison."

He cupped her face in his hand and stroked it gently. He smiled. "It's been a long couple of days, let's go to bed," he replied, taking her hand. Amy snapped on the baby monitor with her free hand and the two walked down the hall to their room.

They climbed into bed and assumed the position which had become so natural to them, him on the left, and her on the right with his arm around her as she snuggled in close. For a long time they were silent.

"It feels weird to not be pregnant anymore," Amy exclaimed breaking the silence. "I got so used to it."

"It's weird for me, for you not to be pregnant anymore, considering that the entire time we've been together you've been pregnant. I can hold you differently now, without worrying about hurting her," Ben replied.

"You don't have to worry anymore," she confirmed. "You took care of us and now that she's here, the worry is over."

"Amy, the worry will never be over. I will still worry about both of you, because I love you both so much. But, yes. It's a different kind of worry. We made it through nine months together and now things are normal again. I'm just not used to normal, because it never was. I don't know quite how to navigate normal, but I'll get the hang of it. Practice makes perfect, or so they say."

"You're already perfect," she replied placing a kiss on his lips. She turned to her side and he turned with her, wrapping his arms tighter around her, just the way he knew she liked to be held. She quickly dropped off to sleep and he followed.

--

What felt like mere moments later, Amy awoke to the sound of Allison's cry in the monitor. She jumped and her movement woke Ben up. Amy got up and disappeared into the other room. Ben listened as the crying stopped. He rolled over and fell asleep again.

An hour later, after having fed Allison, Amy returned to bed to see Ben sound asleep sprawled out the other direction. She sighed and closed her eyes.

Two hours later, Amy awoke again and attended to her daughter's needs. Ben didn't stir this time.

And so it went on for the next several weeks, Amy attending to Allison's cries while most of the time, Ben didn't even wake up. He did every so often, kissing her on the cheek before she rose, but for the most part he just laid there.

--

"Good morning," Ben said, kissing her as he entered the kitchen. "You're up early."

"I just stayed up after Allison's 6 a.m. feeding," Amy snapped back.

"Are you okay?" he asked, noticing the tension in her voice.

She inhaled deeply and rolled her eyes. "Yes," she replied.

"I'm taking Allison to my mom's today for a visit, and to finish up on some last minute wedding details." Amy replied, sitting down to feed Allison.

"Have a good time. It's my last week of regular class before finals week. I can't believe it's May already."

"Time flies when you've got a baby in the house," Amy replied a bit sarcastically.

"Love you. See you tonight," he replied, kissing her and Allison once more.

That evening, Ben and Amy had fallen asleep mid-conversation discussing wedding and honeymoon plans. Ben had heard about how much she'd been excited at Mimzy's suggestion of a honeymoon in Paris, so Ben had booked a flight to Paris and a week in a rather expensive hotel. Amy was overjoyed to hear this, but she was also exhausted.

At 1 am, Allison's shrill cry pierced through the veil of sleep which hung heavy over Amy that evening. She rolled over, fighting to open her eyes and gather the will to get up.

"Stay here," Ben whispered, touching her gently. "I'll take care of her." He kissed the crown on her head and left the room. Sleep took over her body once again.

Picking tiny Allison up, Ben rocked her gently from side to side and went downstairs to get a pre-made bottle from the fridge. He continued his soothing motions as he heated the bottle in the microwave and tested it on his wrist. He traversed the stairs and headed back into the nursery, sitting down in the rocking chair to feed her. She accepted the bottle from him and he smiled. Ben rocked back and forth in the chair as she consumed the contents of the bottle. He placed her on his shoulder attempting to burp her, and then cradled her in his arms again to lull her back to sleep.

"Do you want to hear a story, Allison? I'll tell you the story of how I met your mother," Ben began. "I was a lonely guy who wasn't exactly popular. I had this idea that sleeping with a girl would make me less of a loser, but it wouldn't have worked. It would have been wrong for me and it would have been using some poor girl. Thankfully, I met your mother and everything changed. The moment I saw her across the hallway, I knew she was special. I hadn't even spoken to her and I knew that I had to spend time with her. She was so beautiful. I was excited when she agreed to go with me to the dance and though we were both nervous we had a great time. She was so funny and sweet. From there on out, it was like nothing else but her mattered to me. Even when I found out she was pregnant with you, I never once questioned that I had to be with her – to watch out for her and you. I waited so long to meet you, Allison. You're beautiful just like your mother, do you know that?" He looked down and saw that Allison was asleep in his arms. He stood and placed her in her crib, tucking a few light blankets around her.

"That's the story, huh?" Amy's voice spoke softly behind him. "You never told me that."

"Yeah, it is. I told you to stay in bed. I can take care of Allison, too."

"So, it was all about sex to begin with?" she asked, smiling so that he knew she was not angry.

"I'm ashamed to admit that it was. I'm pretty sure it is for all guys until they grow up, meet the right girl and understand that there is more to life than sex. It became about so much more than that the instant I saw you though. It is easy to talk about someone you don't know, some girl from the band like an object, but when you come face to face, you see what a tremendous jerk you were for thinking that a beautiful, interesting girl could ever be treated as some sexual object."

"Ricky never saw me as anything more," she replied.

"That's because he's immature and he never loved you. I fell in love with you the moment I saw you, and it's only grown stronger since. I'm sorry my motives were wrong, but I don't regret meeting you."

"I'm glad you don't, and I forgive you," she whispered, smiling back at him. He pulled her close and kissed her lips.

"I sent him the picture I took of you in the hospital. I figured he deserved at least that. I know you don't want him around, and I certainly don't want him around either, but it seemed like the decent thing to do. I hope you that it was okay."

She nodded. "I've made my peace with that situation. I'm glad he got to see her without me having to see him, though. I don't want him around. I want it to but just the three of us from now on. You're all I need."

Ben nodded in understanding. "That's what I want for us, too. If you need help taking care of her, let me know. I know I haven't been as helpful up to this point."

"I will," she replied. "I love you," she added.

"I love you. Let's go back to bed."