Ani stood frozen to the spot, tears coming to her eyes as she placed her hands on her stomach. Emotions swept through her as she stared into the warm brown eyes she had been longing for for nearly half a year.

No matter how much she wanted to run into his arms, Ani stood her ground, waiting for him to speak.

Jack couldn't take his eyes off her; his beautiful, pregnant wife… wait… pregnant!

"Hi," he said as he found his voice. Ani snapped out of her daze.

"Hi," she said softly. There was an awkward silence before Ani spoke. "What… what are you doing here?"

Jack looked at her oddly. "I… I was looking for you… how have you been?" Jack mentally smacked himself. All he wanted to do was hold her, and yet he was acting as if they just met!

Ani felt tears coming, but she refused to show weakness. Jack too didn't want to give in, but the urge was too overwhelming.

Neither one was sure who moved first, but they wound up in each other's arms with Jack gently caressing her back.

"I am so sorry," he began. "Sorry that I yelled at you and left like that." Ani nodded and pulled away slightly.

"I know you are," she said softly. Jack eyed the bump against his stomach and Ani saw tears in his eyes.

"You're… you're pregnant?" he asked softly. He hesitated a bit as he reached out to place his hands on her, but Ani took his hands and placed them on their child. The baby kicked him and they both smiled a bit. "But… how?"

Ani sniffled back tears. "That night when we found out you lost your powers… it just happened…" she said.

Jack just smiled and Ani saw that he still wore his wedding band…

"Come on," she said as she pulled away. "I think we need to talk." Jack nodded his head and followed her down the corridors towards the apartment they once shared. Things were still strained between them, but they both wanted things to go back to the way they were before any of this happened.

Jack lingered a bit behind her, trying to get his thoughts together when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around, only to be caught with a fist in the stomach, sending him to the ground with a grunt.

Ani immediately turned and saw her twin standing over Jack.

"Sky!" Ani yelled as he went to grab Jack again. Sky leaned over the fallen man to hit him, but Ani raised her hand and used her powers to pull her twin away from her husband.

Sky skidded to a halt as Ani walked over to Jack. "I deserved that one," Jack said as Ani helped him. "And that's the only reason I'm gonna let it slide."

Sky stood with fire in his eyes. "You don't deserve to be here anymore. You walked out on my sister and the rest of us. Why the hell should I have any sympathy for you?"

"You shouldn't," Jack said. "That's why I came back… to make amends," he said as he looked at Ani.

Sky was fuming. "You promised me that you'd never hurt her, Jack… you broke that promise the day you walked out of here."

"Enough!" Ani shouted as she swayed a little. Jack was quick to steady her and Sky was instantly nervous. "Schuyler, I need to talk to my husband… alone. You and Jack can work out your issues later, alright?"

Sky squared his shoulders. 'Are you sure?' he asked her telepathically.

Ani nodded. 'Trust me,' she said back. Sky shot Jack a death glare and headed back to his apartment. She turned to Jack. "Are you alright?"

Jack nodded. "Are you?" She nodded.

"Just a little dizzy… it happens." Jack only nodded as they reached the door to the apartment. They entered and Jack was a bit shocked to see suitcases packed.

"You going somewhere?" he questioned as they sat.

"My dad suggested I move home until the baby's born just in case something happens."

"I suppose he and the rest of your family want to hit me too?"

"Pretty much, but they all know that we both messed up." Jack was about to say something when she interrupted. "We both said things we didn't mean."

"But I left you," he said. "I walked out on you rather than staying and trying to work things out."

"But I let you go… I didn't try to stop you."

"It's still no excuse for not contacting you."

"But I never tried to contact you either Jack."

Jack paused a moment and chose his words carefully. "Why didn't you… tell me you were pregnant?" he asked.

"I was hoping… hoping that you would come back for me… not just because of a baby," she said softly as she lowered her head.

Jack cautiously inched closer to her and tilted her head to meet his eyes. "Of course I came back for you… I love you. That never changed."

Jack leaned in and kissed her softly, reveling in the warmth that was coming from her. Ani leaned into the kiss and sighed as they parted.

"I love you too," she said softly. Jack pulled her into his arms again.

"I know you're still angry at me for leaving."

"Yup," she replied. "But I want to get through this… I always have."

"I know… and I've been doing some thinking about what I want to do." Ani craned her neck to look at him. "I want to open a shelter… maybe someday even a bunch of them here in the city."

"I think that's a great idea," Ani said.

"That way you could still work here, and I'd work on running everything over there."

Ani sighed as she settled into his arms. "Why didn't you think of this before?" she said half laughing.

"Plain old stupid pride," he said. "I was too proud to think of anyone but myself… I see now that I was more wrong about that than anything else," he said as he placed his hands on Ani's stomach.

Ani placed her hands over his. "I'm just glad you're back."

Jack kissed the side of her head. "Me too." Soon Ani was dozing in his arms and Jack decided to carry her down to their room. Even being pregnant, she was still light in his arms. As he laid her down and covered her, he thought of all the time he had missed with his beautiful, loving wife.

He was a fool to stay away for as long as he did. Now they were having a baby. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine this. Sure he had always held out hope, but Ani's testing had told them it was impossible.

His hands rested over his child for a few moments before he decided to get to bed himself. Not sure how she was going to receive him, Jack grabbed his pillow and kissed Ani's forehead before turning towards the living room.

However, he felt a tug on his body and turned to see Ani with her palm held out towards him. Grinning, he walked back over.

"You left me once before… I'm not letting you leave again," Ani said as Jack walked over to the bed. Once settled, Ani climbed into his arms and slept peacefully for the first time in months.