Author's note: There's lots of adorableness in this chapter. If you follow me on Tumblr, you got a little preview of a nice bit of this. Please feel free to let me know what you think.

Happy reading!

Chapter Twenty

"Where are you?" Sydney asked impatiently as she paced her apartment.

"Almost there, baby." Adrian reassured her. "Don't worry. And I have a special someone with me."

"I'm so glad you got to bring Rory. Rose and Dimitri are okay with it?"

He chuckled. "Yes. They are both on duty until the weekend, so instead of making her stay at the daycare, she's with me. Well, with us."

"Great! I can't wait to see you both. I miss that little girl. And you."

"We both miss you." He said.

"Yeah." She paused. "I've invited a couple friends for tomorrow."

"Oh?"

"If you don't mind."

"Of course I don't. Not much we can do about it, though, since you already invited them."

She laughed. "True."

"We're turning down your street. Meet us outside? You can cuddle the baby and I'll get everything else?"

"I'll very happily take you up on that offer. See you in a minute." She hung up the phone, picked up her keys, and headed out the door.

Adrian pulled into the apartment building's garage in a car with all the bells and whistles to keep them safe. She missed the Ivashkinator, but he needed a different car for transporting Lorelei. She reached in the back and picked her up out of the car seat.

"Hello, Rory." She kissed the baby's face. "Oh, I've missed you. You're getting so big."

"Isn't she?" Adrian wrapped his arms around Sydney and pressed a kiss to her lips. "God, I missed you." He kissed her again, their mouths opening simultaneously and their tongues slid along together lazily.

Sydney raised her hand and cupped his cheek. "I love you so much."

"And I love you." He brushed another kiss across her lips and then stepped back.

"It's cold. And there's a chance of snow, so let's get inside. I have a cup of hot chocolate with your name on it."

"Mmm. Sounds great." He took the bags out of the back seat and followed as Sydney headed inside.

"I have to go to work in a couple hours. I tried to switch, but so many of the kids took off for the next few days to go home."

"It's fine. Do you work tomorrow?"

"Yeah. I open. We're closing at noon so everyone can spend time with their families."

"So when are we eating and such?"

Sydney let them into her apartment. "I told everyone around eight."

He started making a cup of coffee for Sydney and hot chocolate for himself. "How many people? What are we eating?"

"Two other couples from the building and this girl I work with. So five others. Sadie is bringing sweet potatoes, Andrew and Carla are bringing stuffing, and Paula and Alex are bringing salad. We're doing turkey and pumpkin pie."

"Sounds good." He handed her coffee as he sat down on the couch beside her. "I think she missed you."

She smiled down at the baby asleep in her arms. "I definitely missed her. And you too." She smiled and took a sip of her coffee. "Good coffee."

He leaned in and kissed her cheek. "You too, baby." He watched the others for a while, combing his fingers through Sydney's hair. "I figured we can wake her up earlier and let her sleep some of the night so she's not asleep all day."

"Sounds good." She moved into his side. "I wish I didn't have to work this afternoon."

"How late will you be?"

"I get off at seven."

"I'll cook for you." She turned her face up and he kissed her. "But I'll miss you every minute."

"I'll miss you too." She kissed him again. "Would you mind going and picking up a few things from the grocery store for me?"

"No problem. You have the turkey and everything?"

"I have the turkey, but I didn't agree to the pumpkin pie until today and I don't have the ingredients. So could you get them for me? Would you mind?"

"No problem, baby." He kissed her. "Just five hours."

"We still have about an hour before I have to shower and then go. If you want, you can bring this precious girl to the coffee shop for a while. I'll give you stale cookies. And everyone wants to meet you. I talk about you a lot."

"You talk about me?" He smiled.

"Of course I talk about you. They ask, I talk."

"And what do they ask?"

"My first day, they started asking about my life. I didn't say much. Besides my tattoo, I don't show off anything. But I let it slip one day that I was planning for the baby's arrival. And of course I had to tell everyone about you and Rory."

"Do they ask a lot about your tattoo?" He ran his knuckles over her cheek.

"Not anymore. I just told them it was a silly thing I did one day at a little hole-in-the-wall tattoo parlor." She shrugged. "No one's too interested."

"Good." He pressed a kiss to the cheek bearing the tattoo. "Put her down for a while. I want to kiss you properly."

Sydney caught his mouth and then stood. She placed the baby in the play pen she left in the corner of the room. Then she returned to the couch with Adrian and sat down on his lap. She placed her hands on his cheeks and smiled as she ran her fingers over his skin. "Stubble. You rarely ever have stubble."

"I was in a hurry to leave today. I didn't take the time to shave. And it takes forever for me to grow it anyway."

She examined his face. "Maybe you should grow it out. It might be attractive on you."

"You think so?" He rubbed his cheek.

"Yeah. Maybe not a full beard. That would look weird. But you should play around with it."

He pressed a kiss to her mouth, ran his hands down her sides. "You feel good under my hands."

"We don't have enough time for much." She pointed out.

"We have enough time for this." He reclined her on the couch and covered her mouth with his. Their tongues moved across each other smoothly.

Sydney moaned and slipped a hand under the back of his shirt. She tangled the other in his hair. He broke the kiss and smiled down at her. He brushed his lips across hers and then moved to her jaw. He nipped at her skin, making her giggle. He did it again and got the same result. He kissed her neck and then began gently sucking.

She pushed him away. "Hey, none of that. I have a reputation."

He chuckled against her skin and licked the spot before he made his way back to her mouth again. The kiss continued lazily for a long time. Sydney removed her hand from his shirt and slid it up his side. She cupped his cheeks and gently pushed him away.

She sighed. "I could do this all day."

He moaned, "Me too." He pressed his mouth to hers again and she let him kiss her for a while longer.

But she pushed him away again. "I need to get ready for work."

He looked at the clock. "Ten more minutes." He lowered his mouth to hers once more.

She laughed. "I can't do ten more minutes, Adrian. I really do need to get ready for work."

He rested his head against hers and then pushed himself up. "Rory and I will get bundled back up and go shopping and then we'll come down to the coffee shop and hang out."

She rubbed his thigh. "I'll make you my favorite smoothie."

He gasped dramatically. "You drink other things than coffee?"

She laughed and pressed a kiss to the palm of his hand. "They like us to know what we're recommending."

He leaned back down and kissed her again. He combed his fingers through her hair. "I'm glad your hair is finally completely blonde again. I was getting tired of the brunette."

She reached up and placed her hand on his chest. "It's still me underneath. I didn't change much, just my hair color."

"I know." He gave her another kiss. "Okay, you have to get dressed for work and I have to…figure some things out."

"What things?"

"How I'm going to keep myself busy at the coffee shop."

She pointed to a small book shelf on the opposite end of the room from where Lorelei slept. "Plenty of books to choose from. And you left those colored pencils here last time."

He nodded, "I did bring my sketch book."

"So you can draw people and things and impress the girls even more." She sighed, "My incredibly attractive boyfriend with the amazing artistic talent and a wonderfully adorable daughter. Every single one of them is going to be so jealous." She sat up and stretched. "Maybe not Jolene. She's a lesbian."

His eyes lit up playfully. "I like lesbians. Has she ever tried to hit on you?"

"Lesbians don't hit on every female they see." She pointed out as she walked into her bedroom.

He followed. "But you're hot. You should be hit on by one out of every ten people. At least."

She laughed. "I'd rather just get attention from you, sweetheart." She picked up some clothes and headed into the bathroom.

He sat down on the bed. "You get plenty of it."

"I do." She peeked out of the door. "Would you mind getting some more soap while you're out? My bottle's almost empty and I forgot to get some when I went shopping last."

He smiled. "Sure, baby, no problem."

"Thanks." She ducked back into the bathroom but left the door cracked. "I got a call from my mom the other day." She started the shower.

"Your mom? How did she get your number?"

"E-mail. We've been talking a bit. She and my dad have been fighting a lot. She's staying with Carly for a while until they work some things out."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Me too. No matter what he ever said or did to me, I know he really did love us all in some way. And my mom…well, she's never loved anyone else like she loved him. And he does what he does because he believes in it. I got to give him credit for that at least."

"Yeah." He listened to the shower running for a while. Then he called, "Hey, baby, is it weird to you that Rose and I are so close?"

"No. Not really. She's the mother of your child. You need to be on good terms for Lorelei's sake."

The shower stopped and she stepped slightly into view. Adrian leaned forward and pushed the door open the rest of the way. She smiled at him and went about drying herself off.

"That's my thought, but other than Jill and you, she's my closest friend."

"And?"

"It's just that a couple of my classmates said I was kind of an ass to talk to my baby's mother as much as I talk to my girlfriend. And Jill, but she's something different and I know you understand that relationship. I wanted to get your opinion on it."

She wrapped the towel around herself and leaned against the door frame. "I'm not jealous. I know you love me. I know that you love Rose, but in a completely different way. And if Dimitri or I were concerned, we'd let you know. At least I would, I can't really speak for him. For Lorelei's sake, I want to continue to be Rose's friend. I want you to continue to be her friend. Let's set a good example for our little girl."

He smiled and nodded. "I completely agree."

Sydney returned to the bathroom and dressed. "I mean, it's not like you don't need to talk to her. Figuring out how Rory is going to get places and when she's getting there. And I know that I like knowing she and Dimitri are still going strong as much as I'm sure she hopes it for us. This is your child we're talking about. Not talking to Rose would be unfair."

Adrian grinned. "I love you. Have I told you that enough?"

"I think so." She stepped out of the bathroom. "And now I must go." She leaned down and placed a kiss on his lips. "See you soon?"

"Very soon." He stood and walked with her toward the door.

Sydney watched the door anxiously. She saw the stroller before she saw the man pushing it. She jumped and rounded the counter as her coworkers laughed. She opened the door as Adrian backed through it.

"Hey, baby." He grinned down at her and brushed a kiss across her lips.

"Hi." She leaned over the stroller and pulled the blanket off Lorelei's face. The baby was sound asleep. "I thought you were going to wake her up." She teased softly.

"I couldn't bring myself to it just yet." He ran a hand down her arm. "Where should I sit?"

She pointed to a spot in the corner. "That's my favorite place to sit on my breaks. You can see the whole place."

"Good."

"I'll make you that smoothie." She stepped away and walked behind the counter.

Another customer came in and Sadie took the order. She stepped beside Sydney. "He is so hot!" She exclaimed.

She laughed. "Well, thank you."

"Let me bring that to him and get a better look." She held up the plain coffee she was making for the other customer. "That guy's almost as boring as you." She took the finished smoothie in return and walked across the room.

Sydney shook her head and handed the cup to the man waiting for it. "Here you are sir. May I get you anything else?"

"No, this'll be fine." He nodded and moved to a table across the room.

She looked over to the group on the other side of the café. Adrian had Sadie laughing. She leaned over and touched his arm. He smiled kindly at her and moved away slightly. She dropped her hand and then spoke for a little while longer.

She walked back behind the counter. "Oh, my god, how hot is he?"

"So hot." She smiled over at her boyfriend.

Jolene chuckled. "Yeah, he's pretty cute."

The other two girls eyed her.

"What? I can't appreciate a good-looking guy? I think we've had this discussion before." She walked off to the back of the store. She groaned, "I have to go clean things."

Adrian now had his sketch pad out and was watching them fleetingly as he worked. He winked.

Sadie sighed. "How did you get so lucky? A hot boy. An adorable baby. I'm so freaking jealous."

Sydney laughed. "I almost turned him down."

"No way."

She nodded. "It's complicated, but it wouldn't have worked out in my former life."

Her friend chuckled. "You talk like you were in the CIA or something."

Sydney shrugged. "My dad was really over-protective. So I grew up…It was hard to get past it."

"Sounds like it. My mom went through the same thing with her father. She was really chill with my sister and me."

"And I plan on being relaxed with Rory and any other kids Adrian and I have."

"So you plan on more, huh?" Adrian asked behind her.

She jumped and turned. "You scared me."

"I drew something for you, Sadie." He handed a sketch across the counter and then walked away with a wink.

Sadie picked up the paper to find a rendering of herself. She blushed. "I never thought I was that pretty."

"You are." She assured her friend. "And Adrian could see it."

"Lucky, lucky woman." She walked away to help a new customer.

After a while, Lorelei woke up and Adrian fed her a bottle. He held her on his lap afterward and continued to sketch, churning out one right after another. He handed a few of them to the subjects, especially if they noticed he was drawing them.

He worked for a long time on one drawing as the last hour of Sydney's shift came to an end. When she came over, he quickly shut the sketchbook.

"What are you working on there?" She asked, reaching for the corner of the book.

He caught her hand and brought it to his lips. "A surprise."

"When do I get to see it?" She asked expectantly.

He stuffed the book and his pencils into the diaper bag on the back of the stroller. "Not tonight." He brushed a kiss across her lips.

"I'm done here. So, whenever you're ready…"

"I'm so ready."

Sydney played with Lorelei on the floor of the apartment as Adrian cooked supper. The baby cycled between fussing and talking.

"She's tired." Sydney commented.

"Try to keep her up just a little bit longer." Adrian said.

"It will be okay if she doesn't sleep much tonight." His girlfriend pointed out.

"I know. But I want some quiet alone time with you."

"It would seem the challenge with having a daughter on vampire time will be you and me getting that time. Especially once she gets older and doesn't sleep as much." Sydney scooped the baby up and held her close to her chest.

"Yeah. But we'll figure it out." Adrian said. "I've almost got this done."

"I'll feed her a bottle and put her to sleep." Sydney said, walking into the kitchen.

He nodded. "That works."

Lorelei started crying as soon as Sydney started making the bottle.

"Sh, baby, it's okay. You'll get some food in just a minute." She assured the baby in her arms.

She started crying harder.

Adrian leaned over and kissed her forehead. "You'll be okay, Rory. Calm down."

As soon as Sydney stuck the bottle in her mouth, she finally did calm down. She sucked the bottle dry and immediately fell asleep. Sydney kissed her before she placed her in her bed. She covered her with her blanket.

Adrian stepped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He kissed her cheek. "I love how much you love my daughter."

"She's easy to love." She threaded her fingers with his.

"She is." He kissed her cheek again. "Food is ready."

"Good, I'm starving." She pulled him toward the table.