A/N: Thanks to everyone who has read and provided feedback so far! So sorry about the delay in posting! Originally, I planned to update weekly as I always do, but life has gotten in the way. Plan for updates every week or two. I will try not to go longer than that!

This morning, the ringtone of Teresa's alarm woke him. The idea of returning to the real world after their brief vacation was unappealing to say the least. More than anything, he wished they could stay in bed. But that's not how life worked. Teresa would be on call through the following Friday, Annie had school, and he needed to check in on things at the dealership. Such was life, but he couldn't help but think how much he would prefer to return to that beach house with his family.

Sensing her movement, he draped his arm over her. "Honey, are you sure all of this running is good for the baby? Don't you want to rest more?"

"Good morning to you too! Exercise is good for both me and the baby."

"Are you sure the kid's not going to come out running marathons? Is that what we really want?"

She laughed loudly. "I'm 100% certain that's absolutely not how that works."

"Hmm. If you insist." He kissed her lips softly before she got up to change into her jogging clothes.

While she was out, he got her coffee started and his tea kettle going. When she returned, she wore a look of slight surprise on her face as she watched him making Annie's lunch.

"Oh. Are you making our lunches today?"

He shrugged. "Just thought I'd get started. Peanut butter and banana sandwich for Annie."

"Oh! That sounds good. Do you mind making me a couple?"

She blushed a bit. She'd never been shy about eating food in front of him, so if he had to guess, her blush came from asking him to make her sandwiches. Inwardly, it made him laugh a bit. She was the one who got him onto this whole lunch making thing. Before he met her, he was used to buying and eating whatever if he got hungry. Now, he had a regular mid-day meal, where he stopped and thought of, and sometimes checked in with, Teresa. Of course, he was happy to reciprocate the type of love and care she showed him.

"Not at all. That's what I'm here for!"

She kissed his cheek as he handed her a mug of her (now decaf) coffee. "Thanks, babe. I will chop some veggies when I get out of the shower. Is Annie up?"

"Not yet. I'll get her up here in a few." He winked at her. "I've got this. Go get your shower, my stinky wife."

"Oh, hush!" She kissed him again. With that, she was off.

After a quick breakfast of fruit and oatmeal, the three of them were packed up and ready to get onto their separate days. Annie hugged him and Teresa kissed him goodbye as they got into her golden Lexus and drove off. Initially, he was shocked at how easily they'd fallen into yet another routine. Being with Teresa was something that had come naturally since the night he met her. Though within seconds, he felt empty. He missed his girls already and could only think ahead to the next time he would see them.

The only thing he could do was get into "Patrick Jane of Jane Luxury Automotive" mode and get on with his day. He wasn't accustomed to taking extended vacations from the car lot. For a man with his income, he should have been used to taking time to do whatever, but none of that ever appealed to him. He focused on the business—on his people. His previous relationship had certainly never demanded any sort of time from him. No, he thought sarcastically, time away really suited Angela's lifestyle in ways that he now understood. Of course, there were signs that he missed as he poured himself into work and let the distance grow.

However, that didn't matter much anymore. Well, it mattered in the way that when people hurt you, you don't forget so easily. But having a fresh start with Teresa meant he didn't have to dwell on any of it anymore. In her eyes, he was everything. It seemed vain to think of it that way, but it's how she made him feel: loved, important, safe, and wanted. Even better, they shared common goals. Most importantly, they shared a life together. Their growing family held his focus.

Maya was waiting for him before he even entered the door. "Hey, Patrick! How was the vacation?"

"Fantastic!"

"I'm glad to hear it. The wedding was lovely!"

He grinned. "I thought so too. So what's been going on around here."

Immediately, the blonde began filling him in on the business of the past week. In his absence, she filled in for him in terms of decision making. She had a great head for business and an attention to detail that was only second to his in this office. She walked him to his office and explained to him what files were waiting on him and why. Though, looking at the mountain of paperwork before him, it was evident he needed to find a way to better manage time away from the office.

"Thanks for keeping the ship afloat while I was away, Maya!"

She shrugged. "Always happy to help, boss. Besides, everyone was really pulling for you and Teresa. She's a popular girl around here! Who was I to stand in the way?"

He laughed out loud at that. "Well played. I guess I better get to the paperwork."

"Also, Erica Flynn called."

"Erica Flynn? Did she say what she wanted?"

"Well, I know you've been on vacation, so you've probably not heard. Her husband died last week."

"Oh."

"She was looking to talk to you about some business you had with John."

He only died last week? John Flynn was a decent guy and one of the first acquaintances he'd made in the business world. By no means were they great friends, but John was how he got his start. He even held partial ownership in his auto racing shop. He didn't have a ton of interest in auto racing, but when John approached him about the venture, it seemed like it was a good idea. While John was a good guy, his vices had him bleeding money he didn't have. To protect his own business interests, he had certain assets frozen. The estate must be looking to liquidate assets, but this seemed like a rather quick turnaround time.

"Ok, I'll give her a call. We should…"

"Send flowers. Already done. She's actually out of the country for the next few months. Said she was taking time away to mourn."

Maya rolled her eyes. John was an older man, a rather chatty one at that. He'd been rather clear that Erica was his trophy wife. He choked on his drink the first time he heard him call her that out loud and watched her glare at him. If looks could kill, well, her looks would've killed him for being reduced to his prize. She seemed to have a good head on her shoulders. She probably wanted to buy him out and run the shop herself.

"Thanks for letting me know. I'll catch up with her when she's back in the country."

She pointed towards his desk. "You know, the photos should face outward, right?"

"Hmm?"

xxxxxxxxxx

To his surprise, Teresa presented him with a personal wedding gift when they returned home. For the man who swore he could read people like no one else, her ability to continue to surprise him in the sweetest, most personal and endearing ways amazed him. Other than she was the love of his life, he had no idea how she could still surprise him.

He was putting his clothes away when she walked up to him with a grin on her face and her hands behind her back. "I have something for you."

"Another pregnancy announcement?"

"No!" From behind her back, she brought out a picture frame.

"Personalized frames for our offices with our wedding photo."

"Wow. This is a beautiful photo of us."

"Well, we are two very beautiful people."

He laughed as he ran his finger over the photo. There they were, smiling and holding onto each other with the newly placed rings on their left hands front and center. Considering he'd not seen any of their photos yet, she must have leaned on the photographer to get these ones developed quickly.

"You got matching picture frames for our offices?"

"Yes. Is there something wrong with that? I figured you'd want a photo so you could brag." She flashed him a mischievous grin.

"Nothing wrong at all. I'm glad you got these so the men of the CBI have hard proof that you're taken."

She nudged his arm. Honestly, he was a bit surprised she ordered these specific frames. He saw similar frames online, but he thought the basic metal frame inscribed with "Mr. and Mrs. Jane" might be a touch too personal for Agent Lisbon's office.

Apparently, Teresa loved the idea. More than that, she wanted their family in her office, which brought a sense of pride to his chest as he remembered Kimball telling him how she kept her life private. She wanted the world to see that they were husband and wife.

"I put the order in the day after Christmas." Before continuing, she held her head up a bit higher and put her shoulders back. "And I may have greased some wheels the Jane way to get the photo expedited."

He laughed at that. "I love that you had these made, baby. They're very nice, and I can't wait to see the rest of our pictures."

She stepped closer to him, placing her hands on his shoulders. "I knew you would. A little piece of us in the places where we are often the most isolated from each other."

"Wow. I love your sentimental streak. Is this you or the baby?"

She pinched his shoulder. "Ouch! Definitely you!"

xxxxxxxx

Placing the photo on his desk, next to their Christmas Eve family pajama photo, certainly added to his office. Of course, he had trinkets and other personal items around his office. It made clients feel safe and brought trust to his office. He just never had many photos in his office. Most people decorated their office with the photos facing out for others to see, and while his family certainly made him happy and prideful, that could come later. For now, these little moments belonged to him.

After Maya left his office, he settled in and got started on the paperwork awaiting him. How much longer would he continue to do this daily? Obviously, not everyone had the kind of options he did. When Annie became a part of their family, he adjusted by bringing her here a few hours a day. But she was an easily distracted five year old.

With the new baby, his responsibilities were shifting even more. His office was not a suitable place for a newborn to spend a lot of time. While the dangerous nature of Teresa's job was always at the back of his mind, they had not spoken about it very much in terms of their family. They had only talked about her time in the field. Of course, he supported her doing what she loved. He trusted she would know when to take the time she needed.

Though, her job just didn't exactly provide for flexible hours. Her schedule could be a mess. Case in point: no time with her was actually guaranteed for the next 12 days. Learning to adjust for his family's needs and make necessary sacrifices was something he was more than willing to do. More than anything, his family was important. If he needed to run things with less hands on at the dealership so that he could stay home with the baby, he would do that. Besides, becoming a stay at home dad of sorts didn't seem like a terrible idea.

That afternoon, when he went to pick Annie up from school, he packed some of the files into his satchel. No reason he couldn't finish these at home!

"Hey, daddy!" Annie hopped into his car and made quick work of getting herself into her booster seat and belted in.

"How was school, sweetie?"

"It was good! I was the first girl picked for kickball at recess!"

"The first girl?"

"Well, they usually pick the boys first, but Jamie picked me first. Not even all the boys were picked yet!"

While this was undoubtedly an accomplishment to a five year old girl who loved her friends more than anything, all he could think of was how horrible that sounded. At this age, boys were keeping girls off their teams? Five year olds shouldn't be excluding each other, especially because of gender.

"You know, Annie you and any other girl can play kickball just as good as any of the boys at school. Maybe even better!"

"I know! And that's what I told Riley when he said I'm a bad kickball player and that Jamie only picked me because he was being nice. He's Jamie's best friend, and Jamie picked him after me."

"Oh. Well, he was probably just upset about not being first."

"Yeah. It's all in the letter."

He raised his eyebrows. "Letter?"

"Yep."

When they got home, she removed her homework folder and handed him a letter. "Annie, you picked the ball up and threw it at Riley?"

"Yes, because he kept saying girls cant play kickball, so I said 'fine' and threw it at him. Then, I left the game."

"You can't throw things at people for saying mean things, Annie."

"Well, why does he get to say mean things to me?"

"He doesn't. We're going to have a sit down with him and his parents tomorrow. Sister Mary Jean wants us all to talk to each other."

"I said I was sorry. I didn't even hurt him! He just cried like a baby for no reason!"

"I'm sure being hit with the kickball hurt him, and if it didn't, it probably scared him."

"Well, he should've thought about that before he said I couldn't play kickball!"

"Did that hurt you?"

"What?"

"When he said that, did it hurt you?"

She furrowed her eyebrows in thought. "Well, yeah. I was really happy that Jamie picked me first! And Riley was being mean to me!"

"He was mean to you, so you were mean to him?"

"Yeah!" Of course, in a five year old's mind, that made perfect sense.

"We can't do that, Annie. He doesn't get to be mean to you, and you don't get to be mean to him. And you don't ever walk away from things because someone else says you can't do something!"

A little too late, he noticed the harsh edge in his voice that sounded a little too much like his own father for his comfort.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

When he was about nine, they stayed in a town for a little bit when his dad had fallen into some trouble with folks in the carnival. Because his dad didn't want to deal with him, he sent him to school. At school, there was this local kid who was meaner than hell and much larger than most of the other kids for their age. He loved nothing more than making his life a living hell.

"Hey, carnie freak!"

"Don't call me that!"

"Oh yeah. What are you going to do about it?"

He just shrugged. He wasn't going to do anything about it. He just didn't like being called that. Before he knew what was happening, the bully drew his fist back and hit him in the chest. It hurt, and it hurt even more as the other kids laughed at him for being a loser. That happened on and off for a month.

One night, his father stumbled into his room and saw a new bruise he was nursing, he was also pissed-at his son.

"And you just let him walk away?"

"Yes. He's bigger than me."

"You know, I ought to give you another one on the other side."

Still young and naive enough to expect support from his father, he looked at him in exasperation. "For what?"

He tapped the side of his head hard. "You've got all of this up here and you can't figure out how to pull ahead? To get even and then some? A man—especially a Jane—works through situations and always finds a way to come out on top."

He nodded at his father's advice. The next time the boy approached him, he taunted him. It wasn't hard to figure out that the kid's parents were divorced and his step-dad really didn't like him. He also guessed he wet himself at night, which turned out to be a rather accurate guess as the kid wet himself as young Patrick read off a laundry list of everything that made him pathetic while the other kids laughed and laughed at his former tormenter.

At the time, he thought he'd done a good thing that day. It certainly got the kid to leave him alone, and his dad was very impressed when he told him the story that night. Of course, his father was always about getting ahead, not just getting even, so he loved hearing the boy was too embarrassed to return to school.

Though as he thought about that day later in life, he realized what he'd done was actually rather cruel. Obviously, the boy was going through things that made him that way and embarrassing him in front of their entire class surely did not help that. Unfortunately, that wouldn't be the last time he would ever do something like that in his life. It didn't mean that he didn't regret it.

If his father were here, he would have told Annie to sabotage Riley to make sure he never felt like he could play kickball again. He would not be repurposing any sort of advice that his father would give. Cruelty only begets more cruelty, and he would be nothing like that bastard. He shuddered a bit before returning his attention to Annie, who was already working on some homework.

xxxxxxxxxxx

When Teresa got home and learned of their summons to Sister Mary Jean's office, she rather predictably hit the roof. "Annabeth!"

"He started it!"

"We don't hit people just because they say things we don't like! That's hardly starting anything! The only time I ever want you to hit someone is to defend yourself if you can't walk away from a situation."

"But daddy said I should never walk away."

He intervened. "I did, but I meant that you shouldn't stop doing things that you like or are good at because someone is telling you that you can't do something. If you have a chance to walk away from a fight, you absolutely should." He wished someone had given him that advice when he was younger.

"Well, I'm sorry then."

"Ok, you're going to communicate that with Riley and his family tomorrow. It wasn't right for him to talk to you that way either. He owes you an apology, too, but two wrongs don't make a right. Do you know what a punishment is?"

Annie's eyes started to water. "Are you going to spank me?"

Teresa's face blanched. "What? No. We don't hit people! That's wrong, even for a punishment. We only hit people if they try to hurt us to defend ourselves. But because you hit your classmate, you will lose your iPad for two days. Go get your iPad and headphones for me please."

"But mommy, I said I'm sorry."

"I know you did, Annie. That's a good first step, but you have to remember our actions have consequences. Whenever you do something bad, you might face punishment, which is one reason we stay on our best behavior. Go get them please."

She held her head down and went to get her things. He noticed Teresa wrap her arms around herself, so he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine."

"Hmm." She was not fine. She was going away inside.

"She thought we would hit her." Her voice was tearful. "She was so scared of being hit. They hit her...I would never hit...I don't want us to hit our kids. Ever. It only teaches them fear."

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back into his chest. "We won't. That's not our style."

"Kids need to learn lessons but not like that."

"You know, when I read that letter something my dad used to say to me popped into my head, and all I could think of was how I would never say that to a child and how I wanted to be nothing like that. We want our kids to know they're loved and can trust us."

She rubbed his arm. "We do."

Annie came back with her iPad and headphones. Annie looked defeated. He was certain that as her aunt, Teresa wanted to just tell her to take her iPad back and give her some conciliatory candy or something. As her parent, she didn't have the same luxury.

"Come here, Annie." She reached for the little girl and wrapped her arms around her. "Are you upset that you're losing your iPad?"

"Yes! I said I'm sorry. What else can I do?"

"Right now, nothing. You can't take back what you did. We can't take everything back. I want you to know that we love you, and we're not mad at you. It's just that when we do something wrong, we face consequences."

"What's a consequence?"

"Everything we do in this world has a reaction. Sometimes, they're good. Sometimes, they're bad. It depends on what we do. When we do something that's right or really good, we get a reward. When we do something wrong or bad, we have to face the consequence. So for two days, you won't have an iPad to play with because you hit Riley. We don't hit other people unless we're defending ourselves from danger. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

She pulled her in for a hug. He never doubted for a second that starting a family with Teresa was the right choice. Seeing her hold Annie, showing her both love and discipline at the same time, reinforced the idea that she absolutely was the woman he was meant to be on this venture with and to build a future for their family that was free from the traumas of the past.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

The next day, he and Teresa made the trip to Annie's school. On one side of the room, they sat with Annie as she fidgeted and Riley sat with his parents.

Sister Mary Jean entered the room with a huff. It amused him how she was nothing like he envisioned a Catholic school nun being. She was nice, almost grandmotherly, and sweet.

"Miss Lisbon and Mr. Jane, Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan, thank you all for joining us."

Teresa responded, sounding a lot more like Agent Lisbon than Teresa. Obviously, she was already in mitigation mode. "Not a problem, Sister. We understand there was a situation yesterday."

"There was, and I thought it would be nice for the families and children to come together to mediate this problem."

Annie leaned into his side and whispered. "What's mediate mean?"

He started to answer, but Sister Mary Jean took over. "It means that we are going to listen to why you and Riley have a problem that led to violence yesterday and understand what we can do to make sure that doesn't happen again."

Satisfied with the answer, Annie nodded. Sister Mary Jean got the children talking. It was about them, which was good because after all, they needed to work this problem out.

"I'm sorry I said girls can't play kickball, Annie. I didn't mean it. If I were choosing teams, I was going to choose you first. I wanted you to be my friend, but I thought you wanted Jamie to be your friend instead of me."

"What? I can have more than one friend!"

"No, you can only have one boy friend at a time. Just like I can only have one girl friend at a time. That's what my mommy said." Looking to Mrs. Sullivan, her face was beet red.

The blonde haired woman spoke. "Riley, that's not what I meant. Of course, Annie can have many friends who are boys, just like you can have many friends who are girls."

"Oh. So she can be friends with me and Jamie?" The boy's mother nodded at him. He looked back to Annie. "Can we be friends, Annie?"

"Yes!" Teresa nudged her arm. "Oh, and I'm sorry I threw the kickball at you. I didn't mean to hurt you."

With that, Sister Mary Jean gave the children a snack and they were off, sitting just outside the window of her office talking like kids do.

"Thank you all for coming in today. I just believe in having parents here to ensure the process works. I was surprised by what happened yesterday. Both Annie and Riley are well liked children."

"Of course, Riley is well liked, but I'm still concerned that Annie is throwing things. It's clear that her family dynamic is different."

Teresa whipped her head around. "Excuse me?"

"I don't mean to offend you, Miss Lisbon, but as an unmarried mother I'm sure it's been hard handling Annie. I hope that she has more oversight at home to learn how to behave properly in society."

"Honey…" Mr. Sullivan placed his hand on his wife's arm as though to stop her from causing him embarrassment. Looking at Mrs. Sullivan, he could tell her clothes were designer-they were the same brands Angela used to buy-and she looked heavily pampered. She and her husband had money, and she was very obviously a helicopter parent. Her husband, however, was just hanging in there.

"Annie has a great deal of oversight at home, and her behavior has been corrected. Obviously, your judgmental behavior led us here. I mean, you had your five year old thinking what? That a friendship with a girl was a marriage engagement?"

The woman spluttered. "I-you don't talk to me that way! How dare you? Do you even know where her father is? Maybe if she had a father around…"

Teresa's face filled with rage. No, in fact, she did not know where her father was precisely, which still bothered her. However, being talked down to, like she was trash, triggered a nearly unbridled rage inside of Teresa. He needed to get her out of this office.

"Hey, why don't we get out of here? Sister Mary Jean has what she needs, right?" The nun nodded her head firmly, probably hoping the husbands would defuse this situation.

"So then, do you think we're trash, is that it?"

"Well, I didn't say it!"

"Teresa, come on. Let's go. Don't you have to get back to work?"

She closed her eyes. "Annie apologized for throwing the ball at Riley. They're five! What exactly do you expect? A signed contract? Legal damages? A police report?"

"Well, if anything like that happens again because you're too busy working to raise your child, I may get the police involved. Maybe you need the state to provide some guidance for you."

Teresa responded in a very calm, controlled tone that frightened him a bit. "Please do. They'll send a rookie in uniform who will have a good laugh. In the meantime, if you'd like to call my social worker, have at it."

He exhaled loudly as Mrs. Sullivan continued. "Your social worker? So they already know that you have problems managing your child?"

"No, you cocky bitch!" She roared, which made him jump and Sister Mary Jean's face turned red. "Since you haven't stopped making assumptions or judging my family since you sat down, let me clue you in. Annie is my niece. My husband and I are in the process of adopting her. So when I tell you we've corrected this behavior, we have. She's five, in a new city, and adjusting to a new home. Maybe she's just going through something right now. Maybe-and stick with me here-they're just kids who are learning to socialize and you should reserve your judgment."

There was a heavy silence over the room for a moment. "You got married? Congratulations on your wedding!"

Hearing Sister Mary Jean's voice, Teresa's face went pale as she registered that she just had that meltdown in front of a nun.

He leaned over and spoke softly. "Teresa, it's ok. Let's go."

Suddenly, she burst into tears, and he brought her hand up to rub her back. "I'm sorry, Sister Mary Jean. I didn't mean to disrespect you. I should go."

"It's all right, dear. I'm sure Mrs. Sullivan didn't mean to assume the role of our father in heaven as judge." She looked at the other woman reproachfully, making her shrink in her seat a bit. "So we're also expecting a new little one?"

Teresa spoke through her tears. "We are."

"Well, congratulations, dear." She held a box of tissue over her desk. "If you need something to do in your time off, we would always love to have you come and volunteer with the kids. That was a big hit the last time! They loved the little street safety game you played with them. They kept talking about the lady police officer for weeks!"

He raised his eyebrows at this information. He didn't know Teresa had ever volunteered with the school.

Mrs. Sullivan spoke again. This time, she spoke in a shaky voice. "You're a police officer?"

Teresa sniffled. "I am. I need to get back to work."

He nodded at her, squeezing her hand. "I will finish up here and see you at home."

Like that, she was out of the office. He wondered if he should've been more supportive when the other woman verbally attacked her. He could've easily taken her down to save Teresa the embarrassment and frustration-but he remembered the thoughts of his father the night before. One of Teresa's weak spots was when someone questioned the integrity of her family because her family meant so much to her. Would she be proud of a husband who tore others down even in her defense?

When she got home that night, she apologized to him.

"What are you sorry for?"

"How I acted in that office. That woman pushed me, but I should've handled it better. I hope I didn't embarrass you."

"You didn't embarrass me. I don't think you could even if you tried."

"Is that a challenge?"

"Only if you want it to be."

"You know, I briefly thought about embarrassing the hell out of Mrs. Sullivan and her insignificance. I wondered if I should have done more to defend you."

"I didn't need you to defend me."

"And I know that. It's just that...we complement each other in a way that I can't quite explain."

She nodded. "I think that might be the point of all of this."

"It probably is, but I can't help but think of how I would rather be nowhere but here, how I would never want a family that's not this one. It's strange, but I can't even see anything else."

There was a brief pause. Suddenly, he wondered if he'd said something wrong until she clasped his hand and smiled sweetly. "Me neither."

"And I, for one, think we're doing just fine with Annie. Mrs. Sullivan can stuff it." She laughed at that as he pulled her into his chest. He loved holding his Teresa and she seemed like she could use it right about now.

After they put Annie to bed, he grabbed Teresa's hand and led her out to the back patio. Under the patio lights, he cued up his Songs About Teresa playlist on his phone and held his hand out to her. She smiled shyly as she accepted his hand and they danced around to the songs as they shuffled through. It didn't matter what song came up, they just swayed across their back patio with his hand at the small of her back and her head over his heart. Neither of them spoke a word for the rest of the evening. Nothing felt better than holding her as they danced around, figuring out this new life.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The following Monday, he put on his best suit as he tried to calm his nerves. He wasn't really sure why, but he felt like he had to put it on with the red tie Teresa had bought him for his office Christmas party last month.

She smiled at him as he walked into the kitchen. "You look nice today, babe."

"Thanks."

"But I don't really know if the baby is going to care how impeccably their daddy is dressed."

She winked at him as she tightened his tie for him. Today, he was attending his first doctor's appointment with her.

He sighed. "Do I look stupid? Should I change?"

"No, I was just teasing you. You really do look nice. Are you nervous?"

"No."

She laughed. "Now, that's the least convincing lie I've ever heard."

He grinned a bit as he shrugged. "Maybe I am. Maybe I just don't know what it is that I'm supposed to do. I just want to be there."

"And I want you to be there. You'll pick me up at the CBI at 1?"

"I will, but you're sure about this? You're actually going to let me drive you to work?"

She folded her arms over her chest. "Why wouldn't I? Do you think it goes against how much control I need?"

She was having a field day with him this morning. Clearly, he was off of his game, but considering she was the one who knocked him off of it, he could roll with that. "Not at all. Just don't want anyone to think I'm a cave man who doesn't let his woman drive."

"Oh please! No one thinks that. Besides, my other car is at the CBI. I know how to get around if I need to."

"I don't doubt that."

After breakfast, they dropped Annie off at school. Then, he dropped her off at the CBI. As he nervously watched the time tick away on the clock, the day seemed to drag on and on until it was finally time to leave to get Teresa. At some point, he developed a nervous tick because he couldn't stop tapping his leg as they waited in the doctor's office. He wasn't sure what made him so nervous.

In some ways, it was like he was meeting their baby for the first time. Of course, he held Teresa and touched her hardening belly every day. He was the first to notice the first small physical sign their baby was in there. He also had the sonogram photo she gave him. But today, he would be there to make sure all was well and see the ultrasound for himself.

The nurse called Teresa back, and once she was changed into the gown, they sat in silence. It was not an uncomfortable silence by any stretch, but he just didn't know what to say. He was beyond excited and nervous at the same time to be sitting in this room with her, thinking of how funny life could be sometimes. He never expected his life to be here with a woman who so wholly understood him and who wanted their life together with no bullshit. He loved her more than anything.

Dr. Robbins came in and introduced herself. After her cursory exam, the tech came in to do the ultrasound. The oceany sounds as he watched their baby come into view on screen took his breath away.

"There's the fetus." Dr. Robbins pointed to the blotch. Of course, it was still little and not very distinctive, but that was their baby. Baby Jane. He felt tears fall from his eyes as Teresa grabbed his hand.

"Are you okay, honey?"

"I'm fine." He must have seemed very peculiar. After all, she was the one carrying the baby. Here she was handling everything just fine, while he broke down.

Dr. Robbins just smiled at him kindly. "It's ok. It happens from time to time. It looks like everything is coming along nicely for someone who's approaching ten weeks. Your blood work looks great. You'll be starting to show a little more visibly in the coming weeks. If you don't have any other concerns, I think we can see you back in two weeks."

Before he even knew what was happening, Teresa was dressed and they were at the check out desk, scheduling the next appointment. After they got into his car, Teresa smiled at him sweetly.

"Why are you smiling at me like that?"

She shook her head. "No reason. Do I need a reason to smile at my husband?"

He took her hand and squeezed it. "Absolutely not! In fact, I love when you smile at me like that. It makes me feel like I've done something right."

"Can we get ice cream please?"

With his other hand, he reached over the center console and caressed her cheek. "Of course, baby. Anything you want." She kissed the palm of his hand.

There was an ice cream shop not far from Annie's school that he took Annie to some days after school, so they stopped there. Sitting on the bench, sharing an ice cream sundae, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Watching her eat her ice cream with a look of complete content on her face, he once again thought of all of the things that brought him here, tying him to Teresa. He only wished those strings pulled them together sooner.