July 4th, 2003

Jing-Mei covered up the potato salad with purple saran wrap. She was going to the annual Pratt Fourth of July barbecue. She was nervous, but she knew she could handle it. It wasn't like they were the Chen's. She already met Leon and she liked him.

"You're going to come back weighing twenty pounds more." Greg said walking into the kitchen, "Pop makes the best ribs."

"So, you've been telling me." Jing-Mei smiled, "How do I look?"

"Yummy." He winked, slipping his arm around her waist, "Let's get going."

* * *

Greg led Jing-Mei into the back yard. It was filled with his family. Children ran around laughing, squirting water guns at each other.

"Yo, G!!" Leon ran over to Greg and gave him a bear hug.

"Hey, Buddy." Greg smiled, "Where's Grams?"

"Where do you think?" Leon chuckled. Greg looked at Jing-Mei.

"Come on." He pulled Jing-Mei into the house. Her heart pounded. This was an exciting experience. Already, his family seemed to be very loving. "Grams!"

"Gregory!" An older woman ran over. Greg hugged her.

"Girl, you're looking good." Greg laughed.

"As I should. I excursus enough. " She smiled glancing at Jing-Mei. "And this is the future Mr. Gregory Pratt?"

"Yes, Grams. This is Jing-Mei Chen." Greg beamed proudly, "Jing-Mei this is Lilah Pratt."

"Hi." Jing-Mei whispered. Lilah laughed and engulfed Jing-Mei into a hug.

"Don't be so nervous. I won't bite…Much." Lilah smiled looking at Jing-Mei, "How old are you?" Greg laughed loudly.

"Ah…thirty-four." She said. Greg shook his head and started putting the potato salad into a new bowl.

"Guess how old I am." Lilah smiled. Uh oh, Jing-Mei thought. She looked the trim woman over. Jing-Mei shook her head.

"You look sixty, but considering how much family you have that cant be right." Jing-Mei said. Lilah nodded.

"Child, I love you." She laughed. "I'm seventy-three. I do as many crunches every morning and jog five miles."

"She's healthy as a horse." Greg said licking his fingers. A little girl ran up to Lilah.

"Grandma P, can we eat now? I'm mighty hungry." She asked.

"Yes, Alexis. Go get everyone to sit down." Lilah chuckled. She looked at Jing-Mei, "It's buffet style, but we say a prayer first."

"That's great." Jing-Mei smiled. She sat down next to Greg as everyone gathered around.

"Let's bow our heads." Lilah said. "Our heavenly father, thank you for allowing us to be here to celebrate such an amazing occasion. Thank you for allowing us to be with friends and family and partake in the beautiful spread you have given us. Please bless this food and may it nourish our bodies. Amen. Let's eat."

"Thank god!'" Jing-Mei giggled. Greg winked as he placed some barbecued Chicken on her plate.

"This is to die for." He whispered. Jing-Mei grinned brightly as she watched the Pratt family and friends serve each other food. They were all laughing and sharing stories. This was utterly amazing to be watching. This was exactly what Jing-Mei had longed for. She was thrilled she was going to be a part of this family.

July 15th, 2003

Greg squeezed Jing-Mei's hand as they followed the realtor into a new house. They decided today was the day they were buying a house after so much talk. Greg's twenty-ninth birthday would be tomorrow and this was a present to himself sort of.

"You might like this house." Judy smiled at the couple; "It has three bedrooms and two baths. It's small but yet not cracker box small. It's perfect for a growing family." Jing-Mei smiled.

"We're growing soon hopefully." Jing-Mei said walking up onto the very large porch. She could picture a wooden porch swing on the far-left side of it. She could see her rocking there nursing her and Greg's children. Greg smiled at her as if he could read her mind.

"Let's have a look inside." Judy unlocked the front door and they stepped into a small entry way with a staircase. "Right up there are the three bedrooms and one bathroom. I'll show you them in a second. First follow me." Judy led them into a small room.

"Good place for the computer." Greg said. Judy nodded.

"That's what the previous owner had it as." She smiled and led them ito the very large kitchen; "Everything was just redone."

"Great." Jing-Mei went to the sink and peered out the window. There was tons of land, perfect for a playground set for a few of their future kids that she's been dreaming about a lot lately, "Is all that ours?" Judy nodded.

"Yeah. All of it. Down stairs is a laundry room. There is already a brand new washer and dryer there and down that hallway is a pantry and that door at the end of the hallway is the bathroom. New tub and toilet was just put in also." Greg opened the backdoor and looked down at the basement. He smiled and nodded.

"Nice." He said.

"Let's go to the living room now." Judy said and led them back through the office and to the living room. "The owners put in that bay window because the scenery was perfect." Jing-Mei nodded.

"I love it." She smiled.

"Could we see the bedrooms now?" Greg asked Judy. He needed to know where his kids would be conceived.

"Of course. Right this way." Judy led them upstairs. The first bedroom was very small but had a skylight. They could see it as a nursery. The next room was a medium sized room. It was perfect for a bunk bed. Jing-Mei giggled softly. The master suit was nice and big. There was a personal bathroom and a skylight.

"This is wonderful." Jing-Mei said. Greg nodded.

"I love it." He said. Judy smiled.

"There's also a two car garage out in the back." She said. Jing-Mei looked out the window and nodded. "There two more houses you can look at if you want." Jing-Mei bit her lip and looked at Greg.

"I don't want to keep looking." She whispered. Greg nodded.

"Me either." He whispered, "Is this it?" Jing-Mei grinned brightly.

"Yes. It's perfect." She said. Greg turned and smiled at Judy.

"We'll take it." He said. Judy smiled with dollar signs in her eyes.

"Great! I'll draw up the papers!"

* * *

That night they went to visit their house. Greg unlocked the front door to their new house. He looked at Jing-Mei and grinned.

"I need to carry you over the threshold." He said.

"Don't drop me." She said as he scooped her up. She giggled wildly as he walked in. She flicked on the lights. Greg's foot steps echoed through the empty house.

"I won't drop you." Greg put her down in the office.

"Thank you." She said looking around. "Can you believe this is all ours?" Greg shook his head.

"I've never owned a house before." He said looking around.

"Me either." Jing-Mei said. "This is perfect." Greg nodded with a grin. He grabbed her around her waist.

"Why don't we try to start filling this house up tonight?" He asked her. Jing-Mei's eyes twinkled.

"I could handle that." She chuckled, "We don't have a bed." Greg smiled.

"Since when do we need a bed?" He asked. Jing-Mei wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Since never." She whispered as she kissed him softly. They were now homeowners. They owned a home where they would raise their children in. They couldn't wait until the first one.

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