Abby sighed and looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. She groaned inwardly and patted her cheeks a bit.

"I'm fat," she whispered to herself. "I am definitely fat." She dragged the brush through her hair and then shook her head and let her hair fall over her shoulders. She leaned forward and studied her puffy brown eyes. She sighed and turned to see Luka standing at the door. He grinned slightly.

"What?" she asked sharply.

"I was just thinking about how beautiful you are," he shrugged. Abby rolled her eyes.

"Yeah...right," she said. She tried to ease past him and Luka didn't budge. He lifted a strand of her hair and let it slide through his fingers with a smile. His fingers traced a trail down her bare shoulder to her elbow and his blue eyes met her brown ones. He slipped a finger under the strap of her sleeveless pajama top and he raised his eyebrows.

"You can not be serious," she said.

"Why not?" he asked. She spread her hands and looked down at her bare stomach protruding above her pajama pants.

"Duh?"

"It hasn't stopped us before this."

"You have to go to the hospital."

"The hospital can wait." He snickered and tugged at the sleeve strap again.

"Please?" he wheedled. Abby sighed and suppressed a smile. He put his hands on her shoulders, turned her around and pushed her gently toward their rumpled bed. When her knees were pressing the mattress he stopped and wrapped his arms around her. His hands cupped her small, but delightfully fuller, breasts gently and he kissed the crook of her neck. Abby turned in his arms and drew his lips to her's. Luka chuckled and eased her back onto the bed carefully. His hands splayed over her stomach and he grinned as he felt the baby moving.

"Somebody wants to play, " he leered and dropped onto the bed beside her. Abby laughed as the mattress bounced and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

He was gone when Abby woke up later...her first official day of maternity leave. She was not on bed rest but restricted to the apartment. Stupid blood pressure. She puttered around and gathered up laundry. She put some chicken in the crock pot and plugged it in to cook for dinner. She loved the crock pot. It was brainless cooking and even she could do some good stuff with it.

The mail came and brought a large envelope package. She signed for the package and thanked the courier. She smiled when she saw the return address. It was from Susan. She sat on the couch and opened it. She pulled out a single sheet of stationary and read the note.

"Abby," it said. "Remember...this too shall pass." Then she pulled out a very pretty, white cotton nightgown with pearl buttons down the front. She put her hand in again and drew out a slinky black negligee. She burst out laughing. God bless Susan. She knew exactly how bring her out of a funk.

"Abby?" Luka said when she answered the telephone later. "How was your first day of maternity leave?"

"I'm bored," she said. "When are you coming home?"

"I am sorry but I am going to be stuck here for a little longer," Luka said. "No...maybe a lot longer...another whole shift."

"I made dinner..."

"Put the crock pot in the refrigerator and I will eat some when I get home."

"How did you know I used the crock pot?" Lukachuckled on the other end of the line.

"Is it something good?" he asked.

"Uh...yeah," she said.

"You used the crock pot." There was a knock on the door and she pulled herself up from the couch.

"'I gotta go," she said. "Someone is at the door. Call me later?"

"I will," Luka said. Abby went to the door and looked through the security peep hole. Neela and Chuny were waiting outside. Abby opened the door.

"Hi!" she cried happily and let them in.

"Luka is stuck at the hospital and we thought you might be up to some company," Chuny said as she set a covered salad bowl on the table. "We brought movies." Neela handed her a bag and Abby looked at the titles.

"Bend It Like Beckham...a soccer movie?" Neela shrugged.

"The clerk said it was pretty good," she said. "I couldn't find anything acceptable in Ray's collection."

"I probably would have," Chuny raised her hand and laughed. Movies forgotten, they had dinner together and pulled out the Scrabble board. It was an Abby massacre. She forgot to lay down the 'English only' rule...again. Between Neela and Chuny's Spanish she didn't have a chance. She was beginning to hate the game.

When Luka came home at 3 am, he found Abby sound asleep in their bed surrounded by the baby storybooks they had been collecting. She was propped up on a stack of pillows so she could breathe easier. He smiled and stacked the books on the table next to the bed. He undressed and slipped into his pajama pants and crawled under the covers next to her.

"Hi..." she murmured sleepily as he snuggled next to her. She turned on her side and moved over so he could share her pillows. Luka pressed up against her back and rested his hand on her bare belly. He chuckled when he felt the shape of a little foot kicking him. This was heaven to come home to. He sighed and drifted off to sleep.