Stephanie woke up, her back stiff. She looked down at Chris, who had slept in the chair next to her the whole night. No doubt his back was going to be hurting too. She laughed quietly, they could both be stiff for a while. Chris stirred, hearing her laugh. He sat up groggily and took a deep breath.

"Morning," Stephanie said.

Chris looked up at her, "Morning baby. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," she said, "My back's still sore, but overall I'm fine."

"You sure," he said, climbing into the bed with her.

"Yeah," she said, laying her head on his strong chest.

"So what are we going to do now?"

"I'm thinking about going to your parent's and staying with them and Regan so my back can heal."

"That sounds like the best idea," he told her, running his finger in circles around her temple.

"You can tell Trish I moved out," she said, trying to figure out what his reaction would be to not only Trish, but the plan as well.

He sighed and looked down at her. She immediately knew after hearing that sigh that he was apprehensive about going through with the plan. She could always tell what he was thinking, and this time was no exception. She just had to convince him this was the right thing to do.

"Stephanie, I--"

She leaned up and pressed her finger to his lips, "I know what you're going to say."

"You do?" he asked, kissing the tip of her finger.

"Of course I do. Sweetie, if Trish thinks that I'm gone out of the picture, it'll help the plan. I know you don't want to go through with it after what happened last night, but I'm fine, see I'm ok."

"But you might not have been and then you might've..."

"Shh, it's ok, I'm ok, I swear. And if we go through with it, I won't even have to be around. I'll be safely tucked away in Canada with Regan."

"Yeah, you would," he reasoned.

"And she wouldn't even have to know where I was, because you could tell her I moved out or went to England even."

"You've got a point," he said, slowly giving in.

"See, you can't say it's not foolproof."

"Steph, you know you don't have anything to prove around here."

"That's not the point Chris. The point is that this witch is trying to take my family from right out under my nose," she said, laying her head in the crook of his neck, "And I'm not going to let it happen."

"Well, at least I know I'm important," he teased.

"Always have been."

"Good, now let's get you out of here. We can fly to my parent's today, spend the weekend there, and then I can fly to the show on Monday."

"Well, seems you've got this all figured out."

"With you in my life, I gotta think on my toes."

A few hours later the doctor gave Stephanie a clean bill of health and told her she could be discharged. He took her out to the car and let her get in. Since they both had their suitcases with them, they headed straight to the airport to see if they could get on any flights into Winnipeg.

They were able to secure two tickets on the next flight and went to wait at the gate. Stephanie's back was still hurting so she sat on the floor in front of Chris's seat. He gently massaged her back as they waited.

"Mmm, that feels good," she said.

"Good. I still can't believe she would slam you up against the wall like that."

"Don't worry about it."

"Oh, ok Stephanie," Chris said sarcastically, "I'll just forget you got slammed up against a wall while you're pregnant with our child."

She looked up and rolled her eyes, "Chris, don't get your panties in a bunch."

He couldn't help himself, he laughed, "You know full well that I don't wear panties."

"Oh really?" she said, getting up as they said the flight was boarding, "Seems to me that's not always the case."

Chris got up and followed her, "Hey that was one time, and only because you dared me!"

"Uh huh," she laughed, pulling him onto the plane.

They sat down in their seats and waited for the plane to take off, teasing each other the whole time. The flight itself wasn't long at all and Stephanie and Chris were in Winnipeg in no time at all. After getting their luggage they went to rent a car to drive to Chris's parents.

"Did you call and tell them we're coming?" Stephanie asked.

"No, I thought a surprise was more appropriate," he told her, as he drove towards his parents.

"Ok, it'll be nice to see your parents again, we never get to visit them."

"That's true. I know they always love seeing you."

"Who doesn't?" she said, leaning over to kiss his cheek.

They got to his parent's house and pulled into the driveway. Chris got out and ran around to the other door to open it for Stephanie. She gingerly got out of the car, her back stiffened from sitting upright on the plane and car trips. He held her hand as they walked to the door and rang the doorbell.

"Don't you have a key?" Stephanie asked.

"Yeah, but I think it's a bit rude to just walk in the house."

She shook her head, "You're crazy."

Before Chris could respond, Chris's dad opened the door and looked surprised to see them there.

"Chris, Stephanie, what are you two doing here?" Ted asked.

"Steph and I felt a visit was in order," Chris said.

"And we missed our little girl," Stephanie added.

"Well, you're in luck that you caught us because we were just about to go to the mall and spoil our grandchild," he said, opening the door to them.

"Oh, I'm sure she'd love that," Chris said, as they walked in the house, "Where is she?"

"Kitchen baking cookies with your mother," he explained, "But don't I even get a hello from you two?"

"Sorry Dad," Chris said, giving his father a manly half hug.

"And how is my ever beautiful daughter-in-law?" he asked holding his arms open.

"Wonderful as always," she said, giving him a hug.

"It's so nice to see you, we always hate when we don't get to see you," he said returning her hug.

"Nice to know I'm wanted around here," Chris scoffed.

"Well, you weren't missing for two years so shush," Ted said.

Stephanie took a sharp intake of breath as Ted patted her lower back. Chris saw her cringe and gently pulled her away from her father. He looked at her and silently asked if she was ok. She nodded slightly.

"Stephanie, is everything ok?" Chris's father asked, sensing her discomfort, "Oh, you must be uncomfortable standing for so long with the baby."

"Oh no Ted, it's not that, I kind of sprained my back last night," she said, sitting slowly on the couch.

"And just how did that happen?"

Chris looked at Stephanie, giving a look of whether or not to explain the truth. Chris's dad was no more of a hot head that Chris was, and knowing that someone had hurt his precious daughter-in-law, he might snap and do something rash. The Jericho men had a nasty temper.

"Oh, nothing, the extra weight just caused me to sprain it," Stephanie said, hoping that explanation would fly with Chris's dad.

"Oh, well then rest, let me go get Regan and Loretta," he said, walking out of the room.

"You ok baby?" Chris asked, sitting next to Stephanie.

"Yeah, your dad just kind of hit me too hard there," she said laughing.

He kissed her cheek softly, "Ok."

"Daddy!" a little girl's voice screamed at the top of her lungs.

Chris grinned as Regan saw him as she walked in from the kitchen. He kneeled down and held his arms open to her. She ran as fast as she could into his awaiting arms, as he engulfed her in a huge hug. Stephanie smiled at the two of them.

"Hey there Princess."

"Daddy, you come see me?" she asked.

"Of course I came to see you, you're my baby aren't you?"

"Yeah," she said smiling sweetly.

"Why don't you give Mommy a hug too," Chris said, pulling away from Regan.

"Ok," Regan said, going over to Stephanie, "Hi Mama."

"Hey there sweetie," scooping Regan up and sitting her on her lap, "Have you been a good girl?"

"Uh huh," Regan nodded.

"Chris, when did you get here?" his mom asked.

"A little while ago. Stephanie and I wanted to spend the weekend with Regan."

"Actually," Stephanie spoke up, "I sprained my back and I'm not supposed to do anything but rest for the next couple weeks, so I was hoping if I could stay here with you guys?"

"Of course you can sweetie. You always know we love having you here," she whispered to Stephanie, "Probably more than we like having our son over."

"Hey! Mom!" Chris pouted.

"Oh, you know we love you, but we love the woman you married too."

"Well, I like to think I made a good choice," Chris said, winking at Stephanie, who giggled.

"So it's really ok if I stay?"

"Absolutely."

Regan yawned and leaned her head on Stephanie. Stephanie rubbed the girl's back as she closed her eyes. Chris smiled as Regan was obviously falling asleep. His mother hugged him and ushered him and his father into the kitchen to get him something eat. It didn't take long for Regan to fall asleep.

"Chris," Stephanie whispered loudly.

He came in from the kitchen a sandwich in hand, "Steph, did you call me?"

"Yeah, can you carry Regan up to her room, I can't cause of the baby and my back."

"Of course," he said, putting his sandwich on its plate and putting it on the side table.

He went over to Stephanie and gently lifted Regan off of her lap. She instinctively laid her head on his shoulder and he started to carry her upstairs. She followed him silently as they went into one of the guest bedrooms. Stephanie pulled the covers and Chris laid Regan down on the bed, putting pillow next to her.

"I think I'm going to take a nap with her," Stephanie told Chris.

"You tired?"

"Yeah, between the hospital and the plane trip, I'm beat," she said, laying down next to her daughter.

"Ok," he said, kissing her then kissing Regan's head, "You two have a nice nap ok?"

"I will," she said, smiling at him.

Chris walked to the door and took a look at them. They were the two most beautiful things on earth to him. He smiled and left the room, closing the door behind him. He headed downstairs, picking up his sandwich on his way to the kitchen where his parents had congregated. He sat down in his usual spot.

"You look too thin," his mom said, "Do you three eat enough on the road?"

"Yes, Mom, we eat."

"Well, I want to make sure, because Regan is a growing girl and Stephanie is eating for two now."

"I know Mom, they're both eating fine. I have a feeling they're going to gain weight while they stay with you."

"And what's wrong with that, they need a little meat on their bones."

Chris rolled his eyes, "You baby us too much Mom."

"You're my family, I have every right too," she said superiorly.

"Whatever you say."

"So what happened to Stephanie's back?" Chris's dad asked, "The real story."

"You're father said she sprained it."

"She did," he sighed as he thought about what had gone down, "She got in a fight."

"A fight, but she's pregnant," his mother said horrified.

"I know Mom, but it wasn't her fault. She got in a scuffle with one of the girls and she got slammed into a wall."

His mother gasped, "Oh my God."

"She's ok Mom, she'll be fine," Chris reassured her.

"But nothing's wrong with the baby right?" his father asked.

"No, the baby is perfectly healthy."

"Good, good. We're so glad you came to visit," his mom said.

"Mom, you act like we haven't seen you."

"Well, I haven't seen you since you and Stephanie got married again. How is it living with her without her memory?"

Chris looked at her in confusion. Then he remembered that only Kurt knew she had her memory back. He smiled at them, not showing that he hadn't known what they were talking about when they had asked the question.

"It's great."

"That's good to hear. You know when she was gone, we always worried about you and how you would fare without her," Loretta told him.

"I think everyone was like that Mom."

"Yes, but we saw how much her dying destroyed you. We thought you would never recover."

"Of course, we never thought she would come back either," his father joked.

"Well, I guess both of those came true, since she's back and I recovered right?"

"We're just happy for you Chris."

"I'm happy for me too," he said.

And he'd be happy when this whole stupid plan was over.