I managed, thanks to Ike's vigorous help, to sleep well that night. Waking early, wanting to mentally prepare for my meeting with Vera, and not wanting to wake Ike with my worries, I tried to lay still in his arms. He sensed it, or felt me shift slightly, because his lips were on the back of my neck and his hands were cradling our baby's currently living arrangement.

"I can call and tell her you'll do it another day," he offered, his breath wreaking havoc on my skin. I shook my head, my hands covering his. "Liz, you've got so much on your plate, if we can push one off-"

He was worried, remembering how sick I'd been in the beginning, I was certain. "If I push every unpleasant thing to the side, Ike, then it'll pile up and be waiting there anyway." I pressed tighter into his skin, his warmth calming me. "If I get all of it out of the way, then I can focus on us, the baby, our family, the future." I felt him hum his approval. "That means, Vera today, Meg tomorrow, and Klein waiting in the wings to make his move on my father. And once that mess was taken care of, the enjoyable parts. Redecorating our bedroom and Lauren's, getting ready for my first wedding to Ike, and then preparing for our baby's arrival.

We relaxed in bed until the last possible moment for the two of us to get ready for our day. Ike felt the tension build since I'd asked to meet Vera alone, and I was starting to feel marginally more calm. If I treated each situation like part of a list of chores to check off, then it would be simpler. And so, after we dressed one another, after Ike kissed my bump and whispered to it, after he kissed me deeply and lovingly, after we told Lauren goodbye, he walked me to the elevator and took me downstairs to cross the first chore off my list.

The Atlantis was dim, as dim as it had been the day Ike first suspected I was pregnant. I was early, and happy to see it. Walking behind the bar, I opened the refrigerator and sighed in happiness when I found orange juice. Pouring myself a large glass, I looked up when I heard the hiss of the door being opened.

"Making yourself at home, I see," Vera offered, but I couldn't tell if she was being rude or not. "Could I have a glass of that?" I poured her one and set it on the bartop. "I'm not sure sitting at the bar would be very comfortable for you in your-" I saw her flinch slightly, but she seemed to push it down. "Condition. We could sit at a table." I nodded and followed her to one of the booths close to the bar.

I slid in, having only a slight bit of difficulty when the booth curved around. "Good morning," was my belated greeting, but it was met with a small smile.

"I know that I haven't been-" she was looking down at the table, and seemed to be trying to apologize for her completely rational reaction to finding out about Ike and me.

"You reacted exactly how any wife would have, Vera, with less physical attacks." I had thought she'd strike me, slap me, or call me horrific names. What she'd done was sneer and shown her pain. Hardly worth apologizing for. "I never meant for any of this to happen." I was studying my glass, but I could tell she was looking at me, at the ring that gleamed even in the dimness of the room. Damn it.

"No, I reacted the way people expected a wife to react." I looked up and saw that the smile hadn't left her lips. "I met Ike right after Molly died," I knew this so I nodded. "If I'd been more worldly, or if I was thinking with something other than stars in my eyes at him being my knight in shining armor, I think I would have seen what we were supposed to be earlier." I waited, she wanted to tell it, and she needed to. "When you came along, I was so focused on Meg, on the thought that giving him a child of our own, of everything that wasn't going to work to keep us or tear us apart that I didn't see it." I felt my mouth go dry, here it comes, I thought, the anger. "He watched you, you know, whenever you were here, his eyes found you without him even noticing. I told myself it was because of Ben. That the strain of being in your father's debt made him want to keep you happy, but it was a lie I was telling myself."

I wanted to tell her something to make her feel better, but I was at a loss. "I tried to stay away," was all that I managed.

"I know," her smile turned rueful. "I know you did, Liz." She sighed. "I also know you helped barter a better deal for me in the divorce. How did you know?" Ah, about the pain she was in, how did I see it when others hadn't?

"You are the most graceful woman I've ever met, Vera," her smile stayed, but I could see she was going to wave me off. "You move like the dancer you are, but when you came upstairs when I first arrived? You were still moving gracefully, but it wasn't as effortless." She was watching me like she'd never noticed that I was so observant. "I know you love dancing, and I know that you want to stay a part of this hotel and family," her eyes widened. "Surely you don't think I'd be so cruel to want you out of our lives, Vera."

"I don't think I could-" I stopped her by reaching out and touching her hand, not grabbing it, but a slight touch so she could pull it away without feeling rude. She didn't so I patted it.

"For six years you were a part of this world, his world," her eyes met mine and I smiled. "Erasing you isn't possible, and I wouldn't want to." Vera stared at me. "I won't push, or press you into socializing with me, or with us, but having you fade away isn't right, you have to see that."

I went to Ike's office after Vera and I finished up, rinsing out our glasses, and leaving them in the small sink. His secretary waved me in, telling me that Ike's orders were for me to go straight in, whenever I came up to visit. Shaking my head, I opened the door to see him speaking on the phone with his back to the door. I watched him, paying no attention to the conversation he was having, simply enjoying seeing him work. When he turned around, his eyes landed on me and his dimples appeared. Ending the call soon after, he started to get up, but I told him to stay where he was.

"New Year's Eve," I said, moving closer, watching how at ease he looked behind his desk. "You were sitting right there when I came out of the bathroom," the darkness of the night had been his backdrop then, his tuxedo causing his tanned skin to stand out even more. Now it was a stereotypical Miami day, bright and blue skies. "I asked you if I was looking at the master of his domain," I was standing beside him, looking down and thinking how beautiful he was to me. "This," I whispered, as he pushed the chair back and reached for me, "is your natural habitat, Isaac Evans." His lips met mine, and I smiled into the kiss.

Ike was surprised and happy to hear how well my meeting with Vera had been. While I wasn't sure we could count on her attending our wedding, I was certain that we wouldn't be causing scenes in the hotel when we came upon one another. He told me that she'd signed the papers before our meeting, and Sid was working them through the family court system. Within the month I could finally become Mrs. Isaac Evans.