Author Note: Thank you guys for sticking with this story, only 3 more chapters after this! All the reviews and support mean the world to me in ways you will never know, so thank you for that.

Head on Beating Heart

"Oh God no, I as your best friend am not letting you wear that dress." Riley pushed herself up from the chair she'd been sitting on and circled around Maya, "Nope, no, this isn't you Maya."

Maya looked in the tri-mirror in front of her, Riley was right. It wasn't her, it was too long, had too much lace, it was more the kind of dress she would've picked for Riley if she'd had the big New York wedding. "I don't think I'm ever going to find a dress, the wedding is so soon Peaches, why is this so difficult?"

Riley was going through the racks of dresses, "Because you are one of a kind, and all these dresses scream Park Avenue not artist in SoHo."

Maya sighed as she returned to the dressing room, "I promised Jennifer I would find a dress today, I just don't think we're going to find one here."

"Then, let's go somewhere else." Riley smiled as she rubbed her expanding belly, "Let's go to that funky thrift shop that opened where Demolition used to be. Maybe you can at least find inspiration for what you really want, for what's really Maya's dream wedding dress and not Jennifer's."

Maya came out dressed in jeans, a black mock turtle neck and a yellow flannel over it, "I hope your right, because right now I feel hopeless."

"We will find the right dress, I promise." Riley hugged her friend as they made their way out to the street.

"Are you sure you can handle going to another shop?"

"Yes, I can. I feel so much better than I did the first trimester, besides my Father is hovering around the house making me more nervous than Lucas does. I need to get out for an afternoon and what better reason than helping my best friend find her wedding dress?'

"You're the best Riles." Maya hugged her as they went out onto the street, "I'm just glad we have the limo."

"Yes, remind me to thank Farkle for this." Riley slid in breathing a sigh of relief, "Have you and Farkle discussed this part?"

Maya smiled, "We've discussed it we're thinking eleven is a good number."

"Start with one, see how you feel."

"Are you happy?" Maya couldn't help but wonder.

"I am I might not look it since I'm exhausted most of the time, but I am. I have a wonderful husband who adores me more than I can ever fathom, we're having a baby we never thought we'd get to have, we have a nice home, our friends and family are nearby, how could I not be happy?"

"You don't regret not becoming a Princess?"

"I've always been a Princess to Lucas, and that's what really matters."

Maya rolled her eyes, "You guys are still disgustingly sweet."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

ZBofNYC
Okay, so what do we know about the future Princess of Glendova?

ADORERoyals
My research of Lady Rosalie shows that she and Prince Laurence (or as you so lovingly call Larry) were friends, possibly more before she ran off and married Clarence DuMont of Los Angeles. It wasn't long after that, that Larry married Angelic.

ZBofNYC
So Rosalie is like the one that got away, and now he's got her back huh?

ADORERoyals
That seems to be the general consensus of the people of Glendova from what I've seen.

ZBofNYC
Probably a much better match for him than the last woman he was engaged to.

ADORERoyals
The Nanny, those were only rumors ZB, all based on one picture from the ball.

ZBofNYC
Oh I know for a fact they weren't rumors. I know the woman he was engaged to.

ADORERoyals
You know Riley Matthews?

ZBofNYC
Yeah, she's one of my best friends. She's married to my best friend.

ADORERoyals
Zay Babineaux is that you?

ZBofNYC
Wait, who is this?

ADORERoyals
Do you still work at that same bar?

ZBofNYC
Yeah, really, who is this?

ADORERoyals
You'll find out soon enough.

Maya looked at the two dresses both had positives and negatives. Really if she could take the top half of one and the bottom of the other it would be perfect.

Riley studied them, "We should find a seamstress, see if she could take the parts you like and get you the dress of your dreams."

"That's what I was thinking." Maya looked at them both and then at the price tags, "They're not expensive either."

"And you'll get the dress you want."

Maya smiled, "See this is one of the many reasons we're best friends."

"So you're getting them both?"

"Yeah, I am, we'll find a seamstress and I will have the best wedding dress possible."

Zay wiped down the counter as he looked around at the Thursday night crowd. It was pretty quiet; a few regulars were in conversing with each other, watching the Rangers game on TV.

He almost didn't look up when door opened, the blast of late winter, early spring air hit him in the face.

"Zay, you really are still here." Her voice was smooth, comforting and a surprise to his ears.

He looked up, his mouth open slight, "Isadora?"

She smiled as she sat on the barstool, "It's good to see you Zay."

He leaned on the hard wood top of the bar, "What brings you by Sugar?"

"I told you, you would find out soon enough."

"Wait, you're ADORERoyals?"

She nodded, "How did you get into following the Royals of Glendova?"

Zay smiled as he looked up, "Well, Duke, well Prince Edward we're friends. We didn't know he was a royal until Riley went to be the nanny this summer."

"She was really engaged to Prince Laurence?"

Zay nodded, "Oh yeah, it was crazy. She comes back, Lucas is planning to propose, but she's already engaged to the Prince."

"But she and Lucas are married now, correct?"

"And expecting a baby in April" He smiled proudly.

She thought for a moment, the calculations in her head not adding up, "That can't be, not if she was engaged when she returned from Glendova after the ball."

"Lucas used whatever he could to try and get her back, didn't work exactly, he had to go and try to get himself killed riding a bull. Riley doesn't scare me often, but when she does it's terrifying. She went to Texas won him back, next thing I know we all get texts inviting us to their wedding."

She smiled, "I had to decline due to work commitments."

"You missed a hell of a wedding."

"I hear Farkle and Maya are engaged, how did that come about?"

"That's a good story, it involved Prince Edward actually." Zay poured her a club soda and placed it in front of her, "See Farkle and Maya started secretly dating, trying to figure out what they were feeling. Duke shows up and wants to romance Maya, Farkle feels insecure because we just saw Lucas lose Riley to Prince Larry at this point. He's sitting down at the bar, Maya comes in with Duke not far behind and next thing you know she's proposing to Farkle, and then he starts proposing to her. It was wild."

She wrapped her fingers around the glass, "I'm glad they found each other. I suspected near the end of our relationship that his feelings for her were greater than he realized."

"And what about you, have you found someone?"

"No, I have not. Have you?"

Zay pushed himself up, feeling his body stiffen, "I thought I had, but I was wrong. My heart was crushed once again."

"That's a terrible shame, hug?"

Zay gave her a look but then came around the bar to hug her, feeling her slender arms wrap around him protectively. As he pulled back he started to get lost in her espresso eyes before he felt her lips gently, tentatively meet his.

It only took a second before he began kissing her back, he wasn't sure if this was the right thing, but at the moment it felt like it before he pulled apart.

"Wow that was a fascinating experiment."

"Any conclusions?"

She nervously bit her lower lip, "I think further experimentation might be needed."

He smiled, "I think I might be up to that if you need to keep the variables the same."

"That would be preferable."

Riley came into the apartment, threw her purse down before finding a spot on the couch next to her husband. Lucas was in his sweatpants and a t-shirt as he pulled his wife close against his body, "You okay, you were out for a really long time."

Riley nodded as she rested her head on his shoulder, "Yeah, I'm much better now that I'm home. Finding a wedding dress in New York is not easy, you would think it would be, but it's not."

"Not everyone knows exactly what they want." He reminded her, knowing Maya probably really didn't have a clue what she was looking for.

Riley took his hand and placed it on her expanding stomach, "Yeah, but now we're home and this guy is about to get very active now that I'm sitting down."

Lucas smiled, watching her as she closed her eyes, "Get some rest sweetheart."

Riley just mumbled and he knew she was going to be out for a little while, at least until Baby Friar woke her up practicing soccer kicks.

Lucas pulled a blanket up around Riley as he went into the kitchen, preparing a quick dinner and making sure a plate was ready for when she woke up.

He moved about the apartment, straightening up while she slept, finally he settled down next to her just as she started to wake up. "Hey, she kicking?"

"Yes, he is kicking" Riley shot him a look, "It's a boy Lucas, I just know it."

Lucas brushed her hair from her sleep filled eyes, "We'll find out next week, you don't still want to do the Gender reveal party do you?"

"Of course I do! I want us to do every cheesy thing we can with this pregnancy, it's very likely going to be our only one. So we'll go to the doctor on Friday, we'll have her put it in an envelope. We give it to my Mom says she has a plan on how it will be revealed to us."

"We could just wait until Baby Friar is born." He reminded her.

"We're not waiting, I don't want to wait and this little one already teased us once with just showing us his feet."

"Have you thought about names yet?"

Riley looked up, "Only boy names, you?"

"Only girl names" He kissed her forehead, "I was thinking Abigail or Charlotte."

"I like those, but we're having a boy Lucas."

He chuckled knowing that she really believed that, "What names were you thinking?"

"Lucas of course, Lorenzo, Lawrence, Matthew, Elijah, Wyatt, Holden, Nathan." She watched a fire spark in Lucas' eyes, "What is it?"

"No way in hell is our child going to be named Lawrence."

"Oh" It hit Riley what he meant, "Oh honey no, not after him. I was thinking my Mother's maiden name."

Lucas took a deep breath, "It's still off the table."

"Okay, I agree, I get where you're coming from any suggestions for a boy?"

"Joseph, after Pappy Joe."

Riley smiled, "Joseph Alan Friar, what do you think?"

"I like it, any thoughts on a girl's name, just in case?"

"Amelia Leigh Friar is what I'm leaning towards if I had to go for a girl's name."

"I like it, we have time still, no rush, but it is good to be thinking about it. Now I bet you would like some dinner since you slept through dinner time."

"Yes please, did you make something?" Her eyes glimmered with hope.

He kissed her forehead, "Stay here, I'll bring you a plate."

Riley watched as he went to the kitchen, she said a silent prayer that she was lucky enough to be blessed with Lucas and their child growing inside of her.

"Farkle are you home?" Maya called as she placed her keys in the bowl by the door.

"In the bathroom, come in here." He called out from the back of the large apartment.

Maya moved slowly, not totally sure what she was going to find once she made her way into the bathroom. As she got closer she could smell vanilla in the air. As she pushed the door open, she saw the candles everywhere around the room Farkle was standing near the tub with a bottle of her favorite wine and a glass in his hand. "Farkle, what is this?"

"I figured you could use a relaxing bath after dress shopping. I'm sure the shops my mother sent you to weren't your style, and hanging out with a pregnant friend is probably not the most fun even if it's Riley."

Maya didn't speak she just came over and kissed her fiancé, "You're right, the shops your Mom sent me to are not me at all. So Riley and I found a shop that was better, and I've got something being put together that no one else will have."

"Wonderful, so you found what you wanted?" He poured her a glass of wine.

Maya accepted the glass taking a slow sip, "Sort of, I think so if the seamstress Riley and I found does what I asked then yes."

"Well slip into this bubble bath, listen to your favorite album and relax." He took the glass from her.

"Only if you'll join me" She pulled him towards her kissing him deeply as her fingers worked to unbutton his shirt as his arms wrapped around her.

Farkle kissed her neck as his hands worked their way down to undo her jeans, his hand slipping into her panties, hearing her gasp when he touched her.

"Yes, that Farkle, that." She clung to him, feeling her body relax and crave his touch even more than she already was.

"Tell me what you want." His voice grew husky in her ear as his fingers worked magic on her.

"You, I want you, I need you, now Farkle." She kissed him before working his pants off and wiggling hers down as best she could before she felt him lift her up and carry her into the bedroom. "What about the bath?"

"I'll draw you a new one after we make love." He kissed her before he gently placed her on the bed, looking into her blue eyes that reflected the love he felt. No matter how many times they kissed, made love, just smiled at each other Farkle couldn't believe they were really together, that this was real and true.

"Who needs a bubble bath when I have you?" She asked before she felt his hands slip up her top, her body arching towards him as all other thoughts besides being with him vanished from her mind.