Zoe shook her head furiously. "I can't. I'm sorry, but I can't do this."

Squatted next to the passenger side of the car, Max gave a sigh and reached out to hold one of Zoe's hands, "Please?"

Zoe shook her head again, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. "I want to go home, please."

"…No."

"No?"

Max shook his head. "I came here to see your parents. If you don't want to, you can wait out here, but I'm going inside."

Zoe stared in silence as Max walked up to the house and disappeared into it's warmth as she sat in the freezing car.

Zoe lasted half an hour in the cold before she finally made her way towards the house, desperate for warmth. She knocked on the door, but when it went unanswered, she pushed the door open and was greeted with a warm glow and the murmuring of voices from the front room.

She studied herself in the mirror beside the door first and smoothed her hair and then her dress before Zoe made her way towards the voices. It was in the doorway she panicked once more, for it seemed every family member she'd ever met was inside the room, and Max was nowhere to be seen.

She was considering turning and leaving again when a hand suddenly rested on her back. "Excuse me, baby shower cake coming through."

Zoe turned to stare wide-eyed at Max as he held the cake her mother had spent all week making. "…Baby shower?" she questioned, her voice almost inaudible.

"They called because they wanted to celebrate with you, Zo." Max offered gently before he slipped into the front room. "The woman of the moment is here!"

Before Zoe had a chance to think, her relatives were swarming her, offering congratulations as they attempted to rub her tummy. At first Zoe gave an uncomfortable, slightly confused smile and pushed their hands away, but after a short time she allowed a little spec of happiness into her mind. Maybe her Aunt hadn't told anyone, after all.

As people began to drift away, eager to get photos of their own children to show Zoe, a hand suddenly slipped around her waist as lips whispered, "How come you get all this praise when I am actually the one who put the little grapefruit in there?"

"Well a) she is bigger than a grapefruit now, and b) do you really want a group of middle aged men and women rubbing your crotch to congratulation your sperm?" Zoe whispered back, smiling when Max laughed softly and dropped a kiss to her shoulder.

"She didn't tell them, Zoe. She said if I was happy with the way things were, who was she to intervene."

"But are you happy?" Zoe asked softly.

"I've told you a hundred times that I am, but I'm not sure it's ever going to convince you." Max sighed.

"Tell me now."

"I'm happy. I'm so, so happy."

Turning, Zoe captured Max's lips.

An hour later, Zoe was sat on her parent's couch eating cake and watching Max attempt to feign enthusiasm as he unwrapped the 5th box of nappies of the evening. She couldn't ever remember being quite so content, and this thought made her lower her hand to rub her belly which had quickly been freed from the constraints of one of her tight dresses to a maternity dress purchased by her mother.

"How many relatives do you actually have?" Max questioned as he sat down beside Zoe, reaching out to pick up the cherries from Zoe's plate.

"Oh, hundreds." Zoe offered.

"Is it your turn to open presents, then?" Max questioned hopefully, rubbing one of his paper cuts.

"Mmm…nope. I can't open presents, I'm pregnant." Zoe responded with a smile.

"Oh, so being pregnant stops you being able to open things?" Max asked, matching her grin.

When Zoe nodded, Max's lips pressed to hers before he laughed softly and rested his forehead against hers, his hand rubbing her belly gently.

"I'm so glad I didn't miss you! I got here as soon as I could, but I've been on a date!" Zoe's cousin rushed into the room, squealing when she saw Zoe on the couch. Reaching out, she pulled Zoe from Max's arms and onto her feet so she could see her belly properly. "Oh. My. God. It's actually true. I cannot believe you got married AND pregnant before me!"

Zoe laughed, about to reply when her cousin's date entered the room hesitantly.

When his eyes fell on Zoe, and then drifted down to the middle that both Max and her cousin were caressing, he froze.

Matt.