Chapter 11:

After getting her feet dried by her now fiance, Joseph, he sat on the couch while she retired to her room to change. Mary slipped into a comfortable pair of black maternity pants and a simple t-shirt that was 3 sizes too big...and therefore perfect when it came to it flowing over her swollen belly. Once she was settled and comfortable on her bed, Mary called out to him, letting him know she was decent. Joseph told her he'd be back in a moment and walked in holding a tray of various snacks and drink for them both.

Mary gave him a cute lil' half smile as she watched him hold the tray while he sat down against the headboard and put the tray in-between them.

"You know, I may get used to this, you doting on me and all," she smirked and popped a frozen grape into her mouth.

Giving her a seriously sensual smile, he leaned over the tray some and rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip...Mary felt frozen.

"Then you'll have to get used to it love," he whispered huskily before pulling back and started to snack on some of the grapes himself. "I believe we were talking about your doubts with your role in the new life God has given you," he mused.

It took a moment for Mary to snap back to reality after Josephs lil show of pushing the lines of 'innocent' affections.

"Oh..yeah. I..hate to even admit it because I swear I'm not doubting him, I'm doubting myself..which I know in a way is doubt God but...you get what I'm saying," she mused.

Joseph nodded, "I do love, I do know what you mean. My life was no vacation, a concept I know you empathize with," he said. He took a sip of some hot tea and pushed a mug he readied for her over. "I didn't put the tea bag in yet so you can see the bottom of the mug," he said, knowing she could (and rightfully so) be suspicious after the drugging incident.

Mary pushed the mug back over and handed him the Assam teabag (he brought her a few choices), I trust you. 3 sugars and heavy on the half and half please?" she asked and winked at him playfully.

Joseph chuckled warmly and made her hot milky tea happily then handed it over to her. He watched, his head tilted a bit as she took a few sips, his smile growing as her smile grew behind the mug.

"Its perfect, please go on," she told him as she sipped on her tea.

"There's an old quote my dear Mother that goes something along the lines of 'God tests more the ones he loves the most'. I believe in that quote," he told her.

Out of the blue, she frowned and looked displeased.

"What's wrong? The tea?" he asked.

"No...you calling me 'Mother'. I don't mean to be all over the place but...as a term of endearment from you, it sounds...almost creepy. Not just you, whenever I hear some guy refer to his wife as 'Mother'..it always struck me as weird. I know it's my title and I don't mind that..but, I was digging you calling me 'Love' or 'My Love' and 'My Mary," she said, admitting that last part with a blush.

He chuckled warmly, his hand coming up to stroke her blushing cheek. "You are incredibly cute and what you did there is something I greatly appreciate."

"What? interrupt a more thoughtful conversation to whine about a nickname?" she asked.

"No, the fact that you're vocal but not rude about things that bother you when it comes to 'us'. So many couples lack communication skills, so many just want to give cold shoulders and act passive-aggressive. I dislike that," he said.

Smiling, she leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Good, I'm glad. Now, please continue," she chuckled and went back to her tea.

"But yes, God does test his favorites more..in order to strengthen them for their tasks ahead. I know so much about that," he said, looking down at his legs.

Reaching over, Mary held the back of his neck warmly, just giving him some comfort. "Why don't you tell me about your life, the past stuff," she suggested. "If you're comfortable with doing so," she added.

Without saying anything, Joseph moved the tray onto the nightstand. He then took her hands and helped her to scoot over until she was sitting crossed leg between his legs. Leaning forward some, he pressed his forehead against hers and kept it there. Their facial features touching so lightly so Joseph felt her yelp as he gently took hold of her ankles. He pulled her legs straight then pulled her good and close to him, her legs wrapped around his waist while she sat on his legs that were underneath of her. In other words, she was sitting ( the wrong way ) on his lap with her legs wrapped around him and his arms wrapped around her.

Mary blinked a bit confused. She figured since he made the move it must be okay by the 'Big Man' in Joseph's book. He always seemed to be intimate when dealing with people so this didn't surprise her too much..still. It was 'off' enough that it made her think this was some sort of test he was springing on her to test her will.

"Is this okay Joseph? I can move if you want," she said nervously.

He smiled and rubbed his nose against hers, his eyes unfalteringly looking right into those emerald greens that enticed him the first time he ever saw her. "I am so damn proud of you for questioning me, I really am, you are so strong Mary," he complimented her. "But no, unless you're uncomfortable, I just find this to be as close as we can get physically before our wedding night," he told her.

Mary noticed his body start to tense up and he let out a hard breath as he thought about how he wanted to go about telling her what was practically his life story. She felt like he kept trying to push it back as if he didn't want to tell her anything about his life. She needed that bond to develop between them. A smile came over her face as she thought of something.

"You're uncomfortable and I don't think its because of me, or how close we are, or even that the story of your life bothers you..." she mused. Her hands came up and starting at his neck, she started to unbutton one by one.

"What are you doing?" he asked, lifting his head to look at her better.

"Getting you ready for your sermon, Father," she said, looking up into his eyes and smiled at him. Mary figured removing his shirt would make him feel like he was about to give a sermon since he was consistently shirt-less when he gave his sermons to his 'children'.

A very sincere smile crept up on his lips. "I do not mean to sound odd but earlier today..while preparing for the engagement, my thoughts had drifted off and I saw a scene play out in my head," he said to her. "It sparked something in me and gave me both courage and assurance."

"Yeah?" she mused as she undid the last button. Her hands moved back up to his shoulders so she could pull his shirt down off his shoulders. "What would that be?"

Once the shirt was off, he took both her hands lightly and held them warmly between their bodies. He looked right into her eyes...which made her realize how commanding his presence was...more so without his shirt and glasses.

"I was in my office at the chapel, standing, looking into the mirror I regularly use while getting ready...and I see you come up behind me. Mary, I swear to you, before I realized that it was you specifically, I remember thinking 'Ah, my wife and mother of our son and Mother to our Children has stepped into the room'. I knew your presence without seeing your face," he tried to explain to her.

Mary smiled blushfully tho she was holding back an even bigger smile. What he had told her about his little daydream made her feel odd. Nothing bad at all just...different.

"Okay, we keep getting distracted. Now, spill the beans," she told him.

"I worry that you won't like what I have to tell you," he said gently.

"I told you that I faked needing an abortion so a dude would give me 500 dollars that I spent on concert tickets...I'm not here to judge," she reminded him.