After four hours and five apartments that weren't suitable, Elizabeth was tired, emotional and just about ready to give up. As they sat in Henry's car, Elizabeth wiped the tears from her cheeks with the cuffs of Henry's marine corp sweatshirt which she had now claimed as her own and sighed.
"Maybe this just isn't meant to be Henry. The universe is telling us that we shouldn't be together." He quiet sniffs and red noise made Henry smile.
"You're truly adorable - You know that?"
She narrowed her eyes at him "I'm serious Henry! Not one of those god awful places we looked at are suitable and you said it yourself, you can't commute so we're back to square one. Me living at my apartment, you living at yours and us not being together." Fresh tears fell as she let that sink in.
Henry reached over and took hold of her hand. "We still have other places to view sweetheart and if we don't find anything today, we will just keep looking."
"But what if this is a sign that things shouldn't be this way?"
"Be what way? You're not making any sense now babe."
"Oh keep up Henry! We've never managed to get this right and now we can't find a suitable home. If it was meant to be, surely it would be far easier than this?"
"Nothing worth having is ever easy Elizabeth! You have to work at things to have them the way you want - And if we weren't meant to be together, why do we keep finding each other? We are having a child together - That's the clearest sign I can think of that this was meant to be! I love you and I know you love me so stop worrying constantly and be excited about what's to come."
"You're always so annoyingly upbeat Henry McCord." Her pout made him smile.
"I just know that I refuse to live without you so I will keep looking until we find the perfect home."
"I don't think what we're looking for exists."
"It does - We just haven't found it yet! Everything we want in a house is out there just waiting to be discovered - Ready for our family to make it a home."
Elizabeth shook her head at him and laughed "My god you are so full of shit Henry! And your cheesiness is getting worse by the day - But you always try to make me smile - And I love you so much for that."
"I think there's a compliment in there somewhere - Albeit rather backhanded."
"It's definitely a compliment. You make me laugh like nobody else ever has. I love you Henry - With all my heart."
"Who's being cheesy now?" Henry grinned and nudged her shoulder.
"That's not being cheesy - It's being honest! You've helped me finally find that honesty within myself." She looked down for a second and then her eyes found Henry's once again "I don't want us to start life as parents apart Henry! So, I don't care where we live, as long as we live there together."
"Then let's go and find somewhere - Shall we?"
Henry stood in the doorway of the apartment they were currently viewing and watched Elizabeth flit between the rooms, excitement etched all over her face. Of all the places they had seen that day, this was the only one that lit Elizabeth up. It wasn't the largest of places but it had two bedrooms and a reading nook which Elizabeth had gravitated towards instantly. He could picture her sitting in the window with their daughter, reading her fairy tales while holding her tight. It made his heart swell. He was about to get everything he never even realised he wanted.
"You seem lost in thought! Anything exciting?" Elizabeth drew him from his musings.
"Extremely! So what are you thinking — Do you like this one?" He took hold of her hand as she pulled him into the smaller bedroom.
"I love it Henry! I can just picture the crib against that wall, a rocking chair in the corner and the changing table over there." Her eyes were sparkling with glee as she shared her vision with him. "This room is so perfect for a nursery, don't you think?'
He smiled at her "I do. This is the place for us."
"Are you sure we can afford it? It's a little out of our price range."
"We will make it work sweetheart! If this is the home you want, then this is the home we'll have."
Elizabeth flung her arms around Henry's neck "Are we really doing this?"
"Yes! I've let you go too many times and it won"t be happening again. Shall we go and buy ourselves an apartment?"
With a huge grin and an excited squeal, Elizabeth nodded "I think we should."
With their offer accepted and their first family home secured, Elizabeth and Henry were back in Fairfax, taking a stroll around the park. There was a chill in the air and Elizabeth snuggled closer to Henry in an attempt to ward off the cold. She loved Autumn - The vibrant colours always caught her attention and reminded her of the oil paintings her father used to do. He would sit on the porch for hours while Elizabeth and Will played, painting and laughing with their mother. There had been several pieces of his work hanging on the walls of their home when Elizabeth was younger and she missed them. She missed everything about that home - The warmth, the feeling of belonging and of course, she missed her parents so desperately.
She had never really given much thought to how her parents had shaped her life without her ever knowing. Yes, they had died when she was just fifteen years old but their own hobbies and interests had seeped into her very being and now the things she loved were often connected to what her parents also loved so much, although it was never a conscious choice.
Things such as her favourite type of cookie or the car she drove or the way she did her laundry - It was all linked to the way her parents were and the more she thought about that, the closer she felt to them.
"You're deep in thought again." Henry squeezed her hand "You're worrying, aren't you?!"
Elizabeth smiled "I'm not actually Mr know it all - I was just thinking about my parents. My dad used to dabble with oil paints and he loved the oranges and browns the autumn brought. I think it's where I get my love for this time of year - It's a comforting memory."
Henry stopped and pulled her close "I'm glad you can allow those memories to bring you comfort. I want to hear all about your family. It's a way for me to get to know you better."
"I'm trying Henry, I really am."
"I know you are and there's no rush sweetheart. We have a whole lifetime."
Elizabeth went up in her tiptoes to kiss Henry but stopped just before their lips touched.
"Why are you stopping?" Henry breathed against her, his eyes still closed.
"Because I just felt our baby girl move."
When he looked down at her, Elizabeth had the biggest grin on her face "Really? Oh wow - Can I feel it?"
"I don't know - You can try." She took hold of Henry's hands and placed them on her bump.
They waited but nothing happened. "I can't feel anything. Has she stopped moving?"
"Nope - I think this little one is going to be a gymnast - She's moving around constantly. It's such an amazing feeling."
Henry sighed "I guess it's just between you and her then."
Elizabeth pressed her lips against his in a sweet kiss and then cupped his cheek in her palm. "Don't you worry - You are going to have the most incredible bond with her and she'll have you wrapped around her little fingers. But right now - I get her to myself for a while! I have to do all the hard work after all so it's only fair."
Henry moved his hands down and squeezed her ass "You're right - That is fair! And I get you all to myself for now which makes me extremely happy."
Elizabeth giggled "Hmmmmm - I can tell! Good job I have all these hormones flooding my body! And as I can't drink champagne right now - Maybe we could go and celebrate finding our new home some other way?"
"Oh, I like your thinking Miss Adams—." The rest of his sentence never left his mouth as it was swallowed by Elizabeth's kiss. It was sweet and sensual and rapidly stealing all the air from her lungs.
She prised herself from Henry's grasp, her hands pushing against his chest "I need to breathe — You have a way of making me extremely breathless every time you kiss me."
"Well that's praise indeed! You all flushed and breathless is my second favourite view of you."
"What's the first?"
"You naked at the same time."
Elizabeth felt her legs tremble a little as Henry's words affected her in the same way they always had.
Their fingers tangled as they took a slow stroll back towards the car - Talking and laughing in a way that felt so natural. If Elizabeth had ever believed she'd been in love with anyone before Henry - It was in serious doubt now. This was how it should be - How it was meant to feel. Not always doubting if she was good enough or sexy enough. Simon had broken her heart - But Henry had put it back together and made it stronger than ever.
"Elizabeth!"
She stopped in her tracks, pulling Henry back slightly as she looked up.
"Simon?!" Her heart was thumping in her chest and she could feel herself shaking.
Henry looked at her with concern. He was holding her hand tightly and could feel her trembling.
"Wow! Look at you - I can't believe it." Simon's eyes were raking over Elizabeth in a way that made Henry uncomfortable. "You look incredible."
"Thank you."
"Pregnancy clearly agrees with you! You're absolutely glowing. So beautiful."
"Simon —." Elizabeth wasn't at all comfortable.
Henry's jealous streak was starting to kick in so he stuck out his hand.
"Hi - I'm Henry." He shook Simon's hand and smiled at him "I've heard a lot about you."
"Oh — Really?" Simon couldn't take his eyes off of Elizabeth.
"Oh yes - And none of it was complimentary."
Simon looked over at Henry with a perturbed expression "I'm sure I don't need to tell you that there are two sides to every story."
"Really Simon? And what other side was there to our story?" Elizabeth had recovered from the initial shock and was now just plain annoyed. "Please enlighten me."
"Your career will always come before everything and everyone else Beth and you know it. I was wrong to sleep with Shannon but you pushed me to do it."
Elizabeth couldn't help the deep laugh that escaped "I didn't see any sleeping Simon - I saw you fucking her in our bed and as for me pushing you into it - Get over yourself! I was working hard so we could live the life we wanted. The life that you threw away because you couldn't keep your dick in your pants for long enough to resist the whore from next door."
Henry smiled and nudged her "That rhymed."
Elizabeth grinned back at him "I know right! Maybe you're not the only poet in this relationship! Our daughter is going to be so talented."
Simon's mouth fell open "You're having a girl?"
"Yes we are." Henry's arms wrapped around Elizabeth protectively, although Henry was never more sure that she could handle herself perfectly well.
"I hope she grows up to be a little less insular than her mother." Simon's smirk was really pissing Henry off and he opened his mouth to rip him to shreds but Elizabeth beat him to it.
"She will grow up to be strong and brave and surrounded by love because that's what Henry and I have - Real, genuine, passionate love. Love that I never knew I could feel - And it's wonderful."
"We had love Beth and you know it."
"No Simon - YOU had control and cruelty and disloyalty — And I had a misplaced sense of inferiority, self loathing and misery! That was never love."
"You don't know what you're saying - Maybe it's all those pregnancy hormones making you mental."
Henry stepped forward and pushed Simon firmly in the chest "You're done talking to Elizabeth! If you have anything else to say, you can say it to me."
Elizabeth slipped her fingers in between Henry's and held his gaze "It's okay Henry — He can't hurt me anymore because I can see him for everything he is."
She turned her attention to Simon with a sweet smile "I feel so sorry for you, Simon. You don't know what real love feels like. You're chasing virility and that won't bring you happiness. All those women you were fucking behind my back —-."
"There was only Shannon —."
"Oh Simon — You don't get to the level I am at the agency by being blind or stupid. I always knew but if I couldn't actually see it happening, I could ignore it. And then walking in on you and Shannon shattered those rose tinted glasses I'd been wearing throughout our entire relationship and set me free. I can't thank you enough for that because I've now found the love of my life and we're creating a family — I never dared to dream I could be this happy." She leaned in and kissed Simon on the cheek "I hope you find it too one day Simon, I really do."
She looked at Henry and winked "Let's go home and start packing! I want our life together to start as soon as possible."
As they walked off, Henry turned to look at Simon and grinned "Sucks to be you Simon — But it absolutely rocks to be me."