Another Day in Paradise

By Hikako

Tip toe, to our room.

Make a little love that's overdue.

But, someone had a bad dream.

Momma and daddy, can me and my teddy

Come in and sleep in between.

Just Another Day in Paradise, Phil Vasser.

The meeting had gone from slightly okay to utterly dreary in record time. The conversation with Reed went from comic books and new ideas for Atomic County, to demographics and marketing strategies, most of which Seth had no idea about.

He stared at his watch and expected it to be 6:00 or 6:30 at least, but instead he saw that he had only been in the meeting for the last hour or so. God! It felt like an eternity. He didn't even know half the people in this meeting, except Reed and Zach. Seth sighed morosely as Reed started talking about a new ethnic character, to boost sales in minority towns.

A knock on the door woke him out of his almost-comatose state. A secretary popped her head in and asked if she was disturbing them, Reed said no but Seth could see that the secretary had thrown off her rhythm. The secretary smiled apologetically and walked quickly over to Seth, who was sitting straight trying to look like he had been paying attention, and handed him a phone message.

Seth's eyes went big, and his jaw dropped slightly as he read the message. Immediately he sat up, ramrod straight, and began packing his papers into his briefcase.

"Uh, umm… I-I, uh, gotta go. S-sorry Reed. I'll borrow Zach's notes later." Seth said as he made his quickly for the door before the woman could begin ranting about the middle of meetings and what could be more important. Seth saw Zach give him a thumbs up and go-for-it look on his face.

The message floated to the ground, crinkled and forgotten, as Seth ran down the hall to the waiting cab. When the meeting was over, Zach scooped it up and read it. Blushing furiously he quickly dropped it into a wastebasket. He read 'I am ovu-." And that was as far as he dared go.

No need to get that terrible image in his mind this early in the day.

Nine Months Later

Seth looked down at Marissa and smiled. She was sweaty, her hair stuck to her forehead, her face was beet-red, she was panting, and her eyes weren't focusing. She had never looked so beautiful to Seth.

Marissa Cohen looked up at her husband, with that shitty grin on his face, and wished she had the strength to wipe it off. She bet he thought he had accomplished something, getting her knocked up and all, but she was going to give him a piece of her mind and tell him exactly how she was cutting him off forever. Right after she took a nap.

As his wife drifted off to sleep Seth patted her hand and smiled. The nurse came over with the bundle and handed Seth his child. Timidly he parted the blanket and took his first look at his daughter. She looked just like her mother, the same big, warm, eyes, and realized that his daughter had him wrapped around her little finger at barely an hour old.

When Marissa woke up she held the little girl that she had carried under her heart for the last nine months. She couldn't help but think of how much she looked like her daddy, the same chin, the same nose, thankfully not the same eyebrows. She looked up at her mother with those big brown eyes and a spark seemed to light up her eyes, like she was trying to say 'Hey. I know you.'

Seth and Ryan scrambled around the next few days, trying to get the nursery done. Each piece of furniture had to be taken back and replaced with pink, (Fking ultra-sounds was the most used curse as they moved the heaviest pieces), and the walls had to be repainted along with brand new toys for Seth's little girl.

When Marissa was finally release from her sterile prison she was ready to get back to her regular routine, but both Seth and the doctor said she had stay in bed for another week. Marissa's body just wasn't suited to pregnancy and labor; she was too tall and petite to be completely comfortable, opposite end of the spectrum from her best friend Summer.

Not only did Ryan and Summer not have problems with cramps, sore muscles, or swollen feet, they couldn't seem to stop having kids! In the last two years they had given birth to a set of twin girls and a baby boy and they were expecting another kid in the next seven months. Marissa had been so jealous during her pregnancy.

Marissa held her daughter to her chest as the tiny child took her afternoon nap. Just like her father the little baby had come up with a strict routine, you could set your clock by it. Six-thirty AM, feeding and then an hour of gurgling, seven-thirty was a small half-hour nap, then more gurgling until lunch and then another nap, followed by a feeding and another nap, and at last some more gurgling and cooing with Daddy and then sleep.

Marissa carefully set the child down on the bed and quickly got off the mattress and made her way into the kitchen. She began heating some water for her tea and she was reaching up to get the tea bags when the arms wrapped around her and pulled against a hard body.

Marissa let out a small gasp until she smelled Seth's cologne waft up into her nose. She felt his lips on her neck and she instinctively moved her head to the opposite side, even though she knew that would only escalate things. She let out a moan as nibbled on her ear.

"Where's my little girl." Seth whispered huskily into her ear, causing a shudder to go up her spine.

"Asleep." Marissa half-spoke, half-gasped out, as Seth's hand moved up from her waist and beneath her shirt.

"Hmm," Seth hummed slightly as he went back to work on Marissa's neck, "What d'ya say we try and give her some siblings." Seth snapped back to reality as Marissa broke free of his arms and began to walk out of the kitchen.

"Uh-uh, Mr. Cohen!" she gripped at him as she fled from him, "You know we talked about that! No more kids until she's three years old at least."

"Oh come on Ris!" Seth whined as he followed his wife, "It's been three months and I really need it! Puh-leeease!"

"I said no, unless you got a rubber in your pocket." His wife quipped back as she settled down on the couch in their living room. She quickly turned on the TV and turned it to some show. Seth, morosely and dramatically, settled down next to her and resigned himself to at least another day of celibacy.

Four years later

Seth nuzzled his wife's nose with his own as he stroked her arm. They were supposed to be watching the movie, but neither could concentrate on that right at the moment. Each wanted to be with the other intimately, nothing else mattered.

"EW! Mom! Dad!" the little brunette said as she looked at her parents making out on their couch. "Gawd, not when I'm in the room!" she screeched as she stomped from the room and up the stairs to her bedroom.

Seth and Marissa smiled as they began necking; their daughter could such a little prude sometimes.

Seth smiled as they made their way to their bedroom. Now we can finally give Trinity some siblings, he thought as he closed the door and locked it.