It was early the next morning and Tony had just gotten out of the shower. He was wearing a blue terry cloth robe and a damp towel was draped over his shoulders as he stood in front of his closet, selecting his clothes for the day.

The doorbell to his apartment rang and he headed out of the bedroom with a frown, wondering who it could be. In the whole time he'd lived in Iowa he'd never once heard it ring. In fact, he was a little startled to discover that he had a doorbell. He tightened his robe and shouted, "Just a minute!" when the doorbell rang again.

He grasped the doorknob and froze as he revealed the person standing in the hall. "Angela?" He asked in shock, his mouth hanging open. Was she really here, or was this just another one of those cruel dreams that had been haunting him lately?

"Hi Tony." Angela greeted him calmly. When he didn't move or speak, she began to feel a spark of nervousness ignite deep inside. "Can I come in?"

At her words, he seemed to recover himself a little. Still flustered, he pulled the door open wider and gestured with his arm. "Yes, yes of course. Come in, come in."

She walked purposefully to the center of the room and sat down on the sofa. "We need to talk."

Tony was staring at her openly, his mind whirling. She looked...gorgeous. Her blonde hair curled softly about her face and her outfit... Well, it was still a typical Angela outfit, but it complemented her body perfectly. He noticed that she seemed a little thinner than the last time he saw her, but there was something new about her too, a certain glow, as if she were lit from within. What was she doing here?

Angela smiled as she watched him standing at the open door, gazing at her in wonder. "Tony," she called, breaking through his trance. He shook his head and focused on her face. "Come, sit down. We need to talk." She patted the sofa beside her and waited.

He closed the door and walked over to where she sat, pausing a moment before joining her.

She smiled as she appraised him. "Nice outfit. What is it about us and answering the door in our housecoats?"

He glanced down at his robe, momentarily flashing back to the day they met. "Oh yeah...how about that." His mind was still so confused; he couldn't think of anything intelligent to say. He just kept asking himself what possible reason could bring her to his door.

She met his eyes and the old intense gaze was still there. The one that always made her heart flutter and race in anticipation.

Instinct, as ingrained in him as breathing, forced him to pull away and clear his throat. "So, uh, what do we need to talk about?"

With a pang of regret, she realized that things weren't going to go as easily as she hoped. She'd hurt him, and he'd gone back to being the Tony who treated everything about their relationship with kid gloves. Except this time, she wasn't going to let him do that. "I miss you Tony, and there's some things you need to know."

"Like what?" He was concentrating on getting through this conversation as quickly as possible, before he lost his restraint and told just how much he'd been missing her.

"Like that I still love you and that no matter how hard I try the wanting you doesn't go away. Like how not a day goes by that I don't think of you, and wonder what you're doing. I've got these elaborate fantasies in my mind and they're of you just going about your daily routine, only I'm still a part of it. Like how I keep going back and forth between hating you and hating myself for the situation we've put ourselves in. Like how I wonder each day if today is the day, you decide you don't love me anymore. Like how..."

"Angela stop." He had watched her and listened to her as long as he could, but as the words came faster and the tears began to gather in her eyes, he knew he couldn't let her go on.

"Why?" Her eyes blazed now. "You don't want to know what this has done to me? You've made your decision and now we all have to deal with it?"

He grasped her hand and held it tightly within his own. "Angela. God, you don't know how many times I've wished that you were here or that I was there or that things were different. I love you...more than anything, and the thing is, I know I'm never going to stop loving you or missing you. But I just don't know. So much of the time I just want to forget all about this job, this opportunity, and go home. I think about it a lot. But there are times when we win a game or a student has a breakthrough in class that I think, okay, yeah, this is what it's all about. I don't know what to do anymore and nothings changed."

She looked into his eyes and searched them for the truth. "Tony, maybe everything's changed."

"Angela, you can't live in this world. So the one that has to change is me, and I'm so unsure of, of everything."

"Tony, I'm having a baby." She waited for the news to register.

"A baby," he said blankly. Suddenly his eyes widened and he gulped for air. "A baby? Our baby?"

She bit her lip and nodded. "Yeah, our baby."

Still not quite believing her, he asked, "You and me? We're having a baby together? There's a little piece of you and me growing inside of you?"

Emitting a shaky breath, she nodded once again. "Yeah, we are. I'm pregnant."

"Oh Angela!" His arms enveloped her, and he held her tightly against his chest. He couldn't get over the wonder of it. He placed a kiss on her head and loosened his grip a little to see her face again. She smiled up at him through her tears and he all he could see was the beauty of her. Slowly, tentatively, he lowered his mouth to hers, and the touch was electric, sending fireworks down his spine. She wrapped her hands around his neck and drew him closer still. The reality of his touch was so much more than the memories she'd been holding on to. She knew they should be talking, working out a rational plan for how things were going to be, but she didn't really care about that right now. She was in Tony's arms, he was happy about the baby, and that was what mattered. Their kisses slowed, becoming less needy, more passionate. Tony leaned her backwards gently, wanting to touch her and feel the warmth of her as they held each other, but reality was slowly reasserting itself in his mind.

"Ang?" He was almost breathless. She held him tighter and brought her lips back to his. "Ang?" His voice was firmer now, but he still couldn't bring himself to move away from her. Slowly, reluctantly, he broke away, his eyes locked firmly on hers. "Angela, we can't... we have to talk."

She closed her eyes briefly; not sure she wanted to hear what he had to say. Reality was highly overrated.

He saw the uncertainty in her eyes, the way she set her shoulders as if to ward off disappointment, and shook his head. "No. No, it's not a bad thing. Really. We just... Wow. It's such a big thing. You and me are gonna have a kid."

"Tony, you don't have to..." She didn't know what she was saying but she knew she couldn't listen to him tell her he needed time or, or, whatever he was going to tell her.

He took her chin in his hand and forced her to look at him. "Angela. No more running, okay? I'm not telling you I'm not happy. I'm not telling you I don't love you. I'm not telling you I don't want this baby. I'm happy, I want this, and most importantly, I want you. But I've had all of five seconds to think about this so forgive me if I'm a little, um..."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Angela grinned, "Inarticulate?" She slipped her hand into his and squeezed it.

"Yeah, that too." He flashed her a matching grin, once again trying to read her eyes. He wondered why he found it so easy to get lost in her gaze, and why it always felt like they were having some sort of cosmic conversation when it happened. "I think I wanna move back home."

'Yes!' her heart screamed, but then, "Are you sure?"

"Are you?" The question was weighted with a lot more than what appeared on the surface. Was she sure she loved him? Was she sure she wanted to be with a man who had picked a job over her? Was she sure she wanted a man who wouldn't have a job or even much money if he did come home?

"I am." Two simple words, but they chased away all of his doubts. Her face softened and the brown of her eyes deepened as he leaned in to capture her lips again. "Are we through talking?"

"Yep." He placed a light kiss on her cheek. "I think I'm gonna have to call in sick."

"Uh huh. You are feeling a little warm." Her hand brushed down his chest.

"I think it's catching." He nibbled the soft skin behind her ear.

"Mhmmm. Definitely." Her hands toyed with the tie on his robe. "Hey Tony?"

"Yeah?" It was getting hard to bring his lips away from her skin.

"I love you." Did he feel it too?

Tony forced his gaze back to her face. He tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and smiled down at her. "I love you." He looked down shyly, "Always have, always will." Placing his hand gently on her stomach, he whispered, "And I'm pretty sure this is proof."