This chapter is more centered on Rusty and Ethan. A little baby stuff, but mostly the new couple. Enjoy! Reviews are always welcome!

The afternoon went off without a hitch, well except that the Dodgers lost. Ethan fit in and talked to everyone easily. Rusty was so relieved. Besides Sharon, he cared most about what the team thought of Ethan. They were his family and he wanted, no needed, them to give approval. What surprised him most was Provenza's reaction.

"Rusty, I like this fellow of yours. Hold on to this one now." And that was it. No beating around the bush, or stumbling over his words (because let's face it, Louie stammers when it comes to his sexuality), he just came out and told Rusty point blank. He appreciated that more than Louie would ever know.

Ethan was engaging. He asked about the baby with Sharon, the upcoming wedding with Amy and Chuck, and interesting enough, technology with Tao. He was the center and life of the party, but not in the attention hog kind of way. Everyone just genuinely enjoyed his presence. Rusty felt a sense of pride wash over him when he saw the way Ethan looked at him when he was explaining how they met. It was the same look Andy gives his mom every day. He took stock in what Provenza told him, hold on to this one.

While the men still had baseball brain, the ladies went to see the nursery. They all "oooo"ed and "ahhhh"ed over the little clothes and little socks and little everything. They gushed over the pale blue walls and yellow and blue accessories. The baby shower was the following week, so some things were not in the room yet. Every last one of them squealed at the sight of the crib. It was painted white (by the father himself) and was Ricky's when he was a baby. It took them a while to notice the full name on the wall. Each name was in a white frame and in cursive. It was hanging on the wall with yellow satin ribbon. It had been Nicole's idea. She's the crafty type. As they left the room, it was time for them to leave. All but Rusty and Ethan left. It was late and they had been invited (persuaded) to stay the night. The house had enough beds to accommodate them both, but Sharon didn't inquire whether or not they would need more than one.

"Goodnight you two!" she called from down the hall. "Breakfast is at 9 in the morning!" With that, she and Andy went to their room.

"I think that went very well, didn't you?" Andy called to her from the bathroom.

"More than I thought it would," she said coming up behind him kissing his shoulder. "Next year's picnic will be even better though."

"Oh yeah! We'll have Connor with us! I bet you we won't even hold him that day. He'll just keep getting passed from one person to the next. He'll be at that age everyone loves, including Louie."

"For some reason, I think Louie is going to spoil Connor rotten."

"I don't doubt it!"

"Okay, I'm going to take a hot bath and then go right to bed. Today wore me out! And little man here didn't take it easy on me today. I think he's about ready to be with us."

"He just needs to know he's not ready yet. Got another 8 weeks at least! Didn't the doctor say not to be surprised if he's early though?"

"Yes, but not this early!"

"Good morning, you two!" Sharon said from the table. Andy was in the kitchen making pancakes for breakfast. "How'd you sleep?"

"Good morning. And very well, thank you Sharon," Ethan said to her sitting down next to Rusty at the table. "The guest room is really nice." Sharon couldn't tell if he said that because he actually slept there, or if it was to make them think he slept there. She didn't really care (okay, only a whole bunch!), but she was glad her son was happy.

"Thank you for making breakfast, Andy," Rusty said. Half because he knew Andy knew he likes pancakes, and half because he didn't want the topic of conversation to remain on where everyone slept.

"No problem, Kid. There not as good as your mom's," he said as he set a plate full down in front of him, "but not too far off if I say so myself."

"I'll be the judge of that," Rusty and Sharon said in unison. They both looked at each other for a minute.

"Whoa. That was weird!" They all turned towards Ethan. Andy was the first to start laughing and the rest followed. Rusty was glad that the morning was getting off to a good start. He was worried about what it was going to be like for his mom and Andy with Ethan when it was just them, no team or other people to talk to. As they finished breakfast, they went to their rooms to get ready for the day. Rusty and Ethan were meeting some friends from school for lunch and they wanted to go shopping for a friend's birthday coming up beforehand. They had just left when Sharon got dressed.

"I like Ethan, more than the others Rusty has brought home," Andy said buttoning up his shirt. It was more casual, not like the ones he wears to work, and no tie.

"Me too. Surprisingly enough, the guys he has brought over have always been respectful, but there's something about this one. And have you seen the way they look at each other?"

"Yeah I have. And it's the same one I give you," he said with a peck on her cheek.

"I can't tell if that makes me happy or terrifies me."

"Why?"

"Well, it's just other thing that means he's growing up. He's finding his place in this world. This is his last year of college, he has starting looking for jobs, and now he's finding love."

"These are all good things, sweetie. He needs all these things to be successful. But Rusty growing up does not mean he won't need you every step of the way. Ricky and Emily still harass you like crazy for help and advice," he paused, "well, Emily still harasses you for advice. And if all this is about losing your baby boy, in just a few short weeks we'll have Connor here and that's sure to keep us busy for a long time," he said with a slight chuckle.

"I love you. You always know just what to say," she whispered leaning into him.

"That's my job. In and out of the office. Come on, I have a surprise."

"What did you do now?"

"Don't worry. You're going to love it."