Sorry, I suck. Life in general has been busy and keeping up with more than one story isn't as easy as it used to be. It helps me not get too tired of one story in particular, but unfortunately it also means updates for each story are slower.

There is a small time jump from the previous chapter to this one- a few weeks. And there will be another small jump in the next chapter. I'm simply trying to keep things moving.

Thank you so much for the reviews and feedback on the previous chapter. (I know I'm a little behind at replying to reviews as well.) And, as always, thanks for your never-ending patience. :-)

"If that is what I think it is, you're a dead man."

Shawn looked up at his fiancée when she came into the living room. "What?"

She took the object out of his hands. "Is this or is this not one of our Save the Dates?"

"It is, but, Nomi-"

"You told me you mailed those weeks ago! How could you? We're already pushing it since we only gave ourselves nine months to plan. It's practically two months until the wedding. If someone whines to me about not being able to come because of short notice I'm sending them to you. And after that you can deal with the wrath of my mother."

Pointing out that her mother loved him, at least the majority of the time, would be a risky move at this moment. He reached for her arm and pulled her down to sit beside him. "I did mail out the Save the Date cards. I swear."

"Then explain this," she demanded, holding up the stationary.

"Look at the address."

She scanned the front of the envelope. "What does the address have to do with...oh."

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

"No, it's not I. I was acting like a total-"

"Bridezilla," he supplied with a smirk on his face. "That's okay. You were due for a moment. You haven't had one since your freak out over thinking the peach color swatch looked a little too much like coral."

Naomi rolled her eyes, but could hardly argue. She wasn't prone to irrational outbursts, but those color swatches had turned her into a ranting, raving psychopath. At least only Shawn and her sister were witness to that craziness. "But seriously…I thought you already said you wanted to invite Virna."

"I did…I do…I think."

"What's the problem? Are you afraid she'll say no?"

"No." He took the invitation back. "If I invite her she will say yes. And if she says yes, that means she'll be at the wedding."

"You trust her to be there and not flake out on you?"

"She hasn't lied or broken any promises since she got back in touch with me."

"Just so we're on the same page, would Virna being there be a good thing or a bad thing? Because if it's a bad thing, then to hell with her. We don't need her there."

"I don't know if it will be good or bad. But it will be complicated. What about the San San Kudo? I already asked Cory's parents to take part in that with us and your parents."

"Well-"

"And then there's the dance."

"What dance?"

"The other day the DJ called asking if we were having a mother/son dance since you and your dad are having the father/daughter dance. And if we were doing it, he'd like to know the song sooner rather than later. You and your dad need to pick a song, by the way."

She added yet another thing to her mental to-do list. "There doesn't need to be a mother/son dance. I think most people will understand if there isn't one. Or were you planning to ask Amy already?"

"Honestly, I forgot it was even a thing until the DJ called."

"What's your gut telling you?"

"I don't know."

"If that were true you wouldn't be so conflicted."

"It was difficult enough to get used to the two of us having to dance up there in front of everyone. You made me feel a lot better about it, but I still hate being the center of attention that way." He sighed. "If I dance with Cory's mom, I'll be thinking about Virna even if she technically forfeited her role in my life. If I dance with Virna I'll wonder if it's some weird betrayal against the Matthews'."

"Then don't have the dance, at least not an official one. I don't want you to be stressing about this. It's not worth it."

"You won't be mad?"

"Why would I be mad?"

"We're skipping some wedding tradition here."

"Shawn, if I really cared about upholding old traditions we wouldn't have been living together in sin for the past three years and I'd cave to my mom and grandma and have the traditional Japanese ceremony of their dreams. Seriously, if I have to listen to my grandma bemoaning the fact that we're getting married in a country bed and breakfast upstate and not a shrine I'm going to lose my freaking mind."

"We could always skip the wedding and keep living in sin," he joked. "I've always liked to consider myself a rebel and that would help the reputation."

"Don't suggest that on a day where I've already fielded four phone calls about the wedding. I may say yes." She leaned in for a kiss, but saw the clock out of the corner of her eye. "Crap, is that the time? I'm going to be late for work." She planted a quick peck on his cheek before running to the door, grabbing her bag and keys along the way. "I'm working ten hours today so don't wait for me to eat dinner. Love you."

As soon as the door slammed and she was gone, Shawn picked up the envelope from the coffee table and traced Virna's name with his finger.

/

/

Someone was watching her. That was the first conscious thought Angela had when she woke up. She hadn't even opened her eyes yet, but could practically feel a stare going right through her. The obvious suspect was the cat, but when she felt tiny, wet hands patting and pinching her face she knew the culprit. Her eyes opened and she found herself face to face with her daughter. Georgia had a mischievous look on her face, as though she knew she was doing something she shouldn't. Angela had a feeling she would be seeing a lot of that mischievousness as the years went on. "Mama sees you, baby girl." She chuckled when the baby looked up with a start. "Didn't know I was awake, huh? What are you doing?" The string of babbles that followed was music to her ears. It almost sounded like she was trying to say something. The intonations and rhythm were there. All she needed was the words.

This was quickly becoming her favorite time of day. It used to be the quiet hours before bedtime, when they would sit quietly, nursing and listening to Eric's nightly forecast. Now that teething was here in full force the nightly bedtime routine wasn't quite so peaceful. Lately it felt less like cuddles and hugs and more like trying to wrestle an angry grizzly bear into submission. Though, Angela suspected part of the fussiness was due to her being gone so much recently. She tried not to feel too guilty- she had to work and then her father needed her- but she couldn't help but blame herself a little...a lot. This was a common age for separation anxiety to show itself and Georgia didn't understand why mama wasn't there for her those nights and their routine disrupted. Her guilt caused her to continue the co-sleeping Eric began a few weeks ago. They didn't do it every night, only when any other option for rest seemed impossible. Still, it was a relief to have these mornings, mornings that started with smiles and cuddles and slobbery kisses. "Ugh, Georgia, you kiss like a Great Dane." She made an exaggerated face and moved back, which only seemed to delight and encourage the baby. "You think that's funny? Just wait until you see mama's revenge: raspberry attack!"

Eric leaned against the doorframe and watched the scene before him with a big, dopey grin on his face. He couldn't tell who was laughing harder, Angela or Georgia. How did he get so lucky? It seemed he spent every other moment of the day asking that question. He never came up with a good answer, however. He didn't deserve them and was thankful for every day they had together. Eric could only hope he made them even a tenth as happy as they made him.

In the back of his mind he heard a little voice saying that this would be lovely memory to go along with a proposal, but he couldn't yet. He still hadn't found the perfect ring and when he proposed he wanted it to be right. True, he knew a ring wasn't necessary, but their relationship had been such a whirlwind and so unconventional that he wanted just a little bit of tradition in there. He wanted to wine and dine Angela and sweep her off her feet with a grand gesture. She deserved it. She put up with his crazy work hours and one in the morning takeout food dates that took place in front of the television. She deserved a romantic proposal for the ages.

"How long have you been standing there," Angela asked a couple minutes later.

"I came in right before you launched the raspberry attack."

She was only slightly self-conscious as her gaze fell to Georgia. The laughter eventually became mixed with whines, a sign she was getting overstimulated and probably a little hungry. "It's amazing how willing I am to look like a fool to make her happy."

He walked over to the bed and sat down. "I think making your baby happy automatically means you're not a fool."

"Maybe a little silly, though. Why are you up already? We didn't get to bed until after four. I figured you'd sleep until you had to go to work."

"Thor. It was one of those mornings where he thought me feet were toys. He wouldn't let up until I got out of bed to give him his morning canned food. Then my mom called."

"What did she want?"

"She invited us over for dinner Saturday. Apparently she misses us. I said I'd let her know."

"I'll never pass up your mom's cooking." She winced and moved Georgia's hand. "We've discussed this, kid. Grabbing and pinching mama doesn't get you fed faster." She ran her thumb across the tiny fingers. "How does she need her nails cut again? I feel like we do it every other day."

"Do you want me to do it now while she's distracted?"

"No, we can wait until she's napping."

"It looks like she'll be in a milk coma soon."

Angela smiled when Georgia took hold of her thumb and squeezed it tight. "I'm going to miss this part when it's over. I gave breastfeeding a try because I read about all the benefits for the baby, but I never expected it to help me so much. I don't think it's possible to explain how close and bonded to her I feel. Even on the worst days when she's sick or crabby and nothing makes her happy we still have this. I wish I could explain it better to you, but it's weird and emotional and chemical. I love this time with her so much."

"Even if I'll never completely understand, I can see the bond. She's only seven months old. There's no rush to stop until you're both ready."

"Is she really seven months already? It can't be."

"As of today, yep, it's the nineteenth. We have to remember to take the picture of her with that stuffed turtle from my dad. Some months it seems she's hardly grown until I look at the monthly pictures of her with turtle to compare."

"It's going too fast. Soon we'll be planning her first birthday. August will be here before we know it."

"Don't say that. I'm not ready."

"Me either. I don't have any party ideas, but I do know how I want to spend the actual day."

"Oh?"

"Well, her birthday will fall on a Thursday so I was thinking we could have a little party either the weekend before or the weekend after, but her actual birthday is just the three of us. We could go to the zoo or the park…something just for us."

"That sounds nice." He chuckled when Georgia's head lolled to the side and her eyes were half closed. He loved her milk coma face. "I'll get the nail clippers for our little drunk."

Angela reached out and grabbed his arm. "Wait a second."

"What?"

"You have a while before you need to start getting ready for work, right?"

"About four hours, why?"

"I don't know, I guess talking about her first birthday is making me nostalgic for the present if that makes any sense." She could see that he wasn't totally following her, which was understandable since she was having trouble verbalizing what she felt. "I just think maybe we should slow down a little and enjoy these moments while they last. She's only this small for so long."

Eric smiled. "Are you asking me to nap with you?"

"Nap, lie here and enjoy the peace and quiet, however you want to phrase it. Unless you have something else to-"

He got into bed beside Angela and wrapped his arm around her waist. "I can call mom back later. Just so I'm sure, dinner on Saturday is a yes?"

"Like I said, I will never turn down her cooking."

"You obviously never had her vegetarian lasagna." He made a gagging sound.

She shushed him through quiet laughter. "Don't wake Georgia."

"I already built up good karma by offering to cut her nails."

"Whatever."

"Hey, it was a sincere offer. That's just as good as doing it." It was, by far, the baby duty they hated most and each tried to pawn it off on the other whenever the chance arose. They usually decided who was going to cut Georgia's nails with thumb wrestling. Eric's won more than he's lost, but not by much. Their records were almost tied. Angela's got some sneaky upper body strength.

"She still has her talons."

"That's only because you wanted to stop and enjoy this moment."

"You've got me second guessing that decision," she said sarcastically before leaning back for a quick kiss, ensuring he knew there was no real bite behind her words. "You'll still do her nails later, right? Before you go to work so she doesn't claw her eyes out?"

"An offer is as good as the real thing, or at least it was when you made up the rule for yourself. I'm afraid you're the next batter up, rookie." He gave a few quick pats to her backside. "Make me proud. Keep your eye on the ball and swing for the fences."

"Eric, we've been over this: me and baseball analogies don't mix."

"They will next month when you come with me to a game," he stated with a smirk.

One of her anniversary gifts for him was a promise to go to a baseball game. He gave classical music and foreign films multiple chances for her. She could learn about baseball for him. Even if she never became a season-ticket holding fan, she hoped to gain some insight as to why he loved it so much. "Oh, you remembered that, huh?"

"Remembered? It's marked on my calendar, twenty-four days and counting. Hey, how do you think Georgia would do at the game? I was a baby when my parents first took me. She won't need a ticket. We could just hold her or bring the wrap."

"I don't know. It's impossible to predict her behavior from one day to the next, let alone a month from now. But I think it might be too much for her. She's never been in huge groups of people for an extended time, especially groups of people where there's alcohol involved and a lot of yelling. I think it might be too overwhelming for her right now."

"Oh."

She sensed his disappointment and rolled over so they were now face to face. "It's very sweet that you can't wait to share this with her. How about we play it by ear? See how she is and make a game day decision."

"That's a good idea. Maybe we can take her to one of Josh's cross country meets to see how she handles crowds and cheering. Or Max signed his kids up for t-ball. We could go a game, too. Give her a nice baseball preview."

"T-ball for four year olds? That doesn't sound like much of a game. It sounds like a recipe for chaos."

He thought about the video Max showed from the kids' first "game" and couldn't help but concede her point. "Sort of, but it gives them a taste of trying to play on a team. Plus, it would show you what to expect if Georgia wants to play t-ball one day."

"I guess it could be cute to see a bunch of kids we aren't responsible for running around like maniacs. Okay, we can do a cross country meet and a t-ball game."

"Cool." Eric wrapped his arm around Angela and pulled her as close as possible. "So, how long do you think her milk coma nap will last?"

Angela raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? You get nervous doing it when she's in her crib across the freakin' room, but now? When she's less than a foot away in the same bed?"

"No! Not that. I mean, I appreciate that that's the first place your mind goes, but ew, no way, lady."

"Ew? Thanks a lot."

"You know what I meant."

"Still, work on saying it better."

"Sorry, what I meant was, how long do you think we can keep…how did you put it? Enjoying the quiet moment?"

No sooner was she about to answer does Angela hear soft coos and grunts coming from behind her. "I'd say about .02 seconds."

"I guess we should've been quieter."

"No, I think she decided this was more like a cat nap than a real nap. That's all our lives are right now; no sleep, just naps." She turned over and was greeted by the pouting face and watery eyes of her daughter. "No tears," she said gently, "no tears. You're not alone." She picked up the baby and sat her on her stomach before settling next to Eric again. "See, mama and daddy are here."

"Aw, did you think you were all by yourself?" He held out his arms, but Georgia didn't go to him. She did, however, grab his hand and brought it to her mouth before biting down. "Ouch. Hey, are you cutting another tooth?" He moved his finger around her gums. "Yeah, you've got a top tooth coming in. Make that two of them."

"This teething is never going to end, is it," Angela asked, laying her head against his shoulder. "We're going to be carrying her around and not sleeping when she's eleven because her mouth hurts."

"If she needs braces we just might."

"Hush. I don't even want to think about that." She was quiet for a moment. "Did you ever need braces?"

"No, you?"

"No. Let's hope tradition holds."

"Geez," Eric began after letting the baby gnaw on his fingers for another minute or two, "I don't know what hurts more, her nails or her little razor teeth."

"Believe me, I know. You want to trade places?"

"No, thank you. How about we get some breakfast, huh?" He sat up and took the baby from Angela and bounced her on his knee to circumvent any crying. "I hear a certain little girl is just crazy about scrambled eggs and strips of toast."

"Throw in some avocado or apple chunks and you'll hit all of her current favorites. Would you mind if I snuck in a quick shower while you handle breakfast? It might be my only chance to get under running water today."

"Take your time. Georgia, tell her, no one wants a stinky mama," he said in a ridiculous voice, getting the giggles he desired. "That's right, no stinky mama."

"Excuse me, stinky?"

"It's just a funny word. Nothing personal."

"Still, the person who comes home from work smelling like a high school locker room on the nights he and his coworkers play basketball has no room to talk. The only one who wants to be around you before you shower those nights is the cat. And that's only because he loves your dirty socks."

"Okay, I'm sorry. You always smell like coconuts and raspberries and sunshine."

She rolled her eyes. "You don't need to lay it on that thick."

"You were acting super offended."

"Sorry, it's just the lack of sleep, I guess. People keep saying she'll start sleeping through the night. I can't wait."

"Why, you know we'll be the parents who check on her every five minutes to make sure she's still breathing. We'll get even less sleep."

Angela shook her head and laughed. "You're right. I never thought I would be that parent, but you're right." She ran her hand along the short hair that covered her baby's head. It was hard to believe she was still bald just a few weeks ago. "Of course, before Georgia I never thought I wanted to be a parent, so-"

"Back then doesn't matter. All that matters is now." Eric kissed her cheek. "Go take your shower."

"Thanks." She returned the kiss, placing a slow, lingering one on his lips. It wasn't long, however, before someone decided she was being left out. "Ouch, Georgia, no." She worked to free the hand from her hair. "No," Angela repeated in a slightly harsher tone of voice. "We do not pull hair." The baby's response was a laugh in her face. "I thought babies were older when they laughed at being told no."

"Clearly we gave her the wrong middle name. It shouldn't be Felicity, it should be Trouble."

/

/

"Cory Matthews," Cory started, answering the extension in his office. "How may I help you?"

"Mr. Matthews, your wife is here to see you."

"Topanga?" She never visits him at work. His mind raced for an explanation, but only came up with worst case scenarios "Send her in." A few moments later there was a courtesy knock at the door before Topanga appeared in his office. "What's wrong? Is it my parents? Your parents? Oh, God, not Mr. Feeny?"

"No, no, nothing like that. I'm sorry." She took a seat usually reserved for students on the opposite side of the desk. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"Then what are you doing here? I think I can count on one hand the times you've come in and they were all during lunch breaks. Lunch was two hours ago."

"It's work."

"Oh, no, you lost your job? It's okay, it's okay." He got up and paced the room. "I still have my job and while I don't pull in the figures you did, we can get by for a while. I'm sure it won't be long before another firm-"

She let out an exasperated breath. "I didn't get fired! Cory stop jumping to conclusions and let me talk."

"Okay, sorry."

"You know how I've been working on a case against that recycling center for improperly storing and destroying materials?"

"Yes." The case had been monopolizing a lot of her time recently.

"Well, there's a hearing coming up. We're pretty sure we have enough evidence to nail the owners."

"Topanga, that's great, but it still doesn't explain why you're here."

"The hearing is in Washington on Monday. The main branch of the recycling center is down there and that's where they've decided to try them."

He sighed in relief. "Oh, you have to go to Washington on Monday. That's not a big deal. You said hearings are usually just a few hours long so you'll be home that night, right?"

She fiddled with a paper weight she swiped from his desk. "Well, yes, but-"

"What is it?"

"I'd have to leave tomorrow and stay through Monday. And after that if things go our way we start prepping for trial."

"So, what does that mean? You'd be there until after the trial?"

"We'd be able to do most of the prep work here, but the trial itself would be in D.C.."

"And you'd need to stay down there during the trial," he concluded.

"I'd be home on weekends. Look, Cory, I didn't give them an answer yet. I asked for some time to discuss it with you and my boss gave me until the end of today to decide. If it was just a weekend or two, I would've, but if and when we do go to trial it could last a month…maybe a little longer. It all depends on whether the judge agrees with our evidence and if the jerks at the recycling company decide to plea bargain." Topanga studied her husband's face, searching for any reaction, positive or negative. "What do you think?"

Cory's gut reaction was to say no, but he realized how big it was that she considered their relationship and his feelings before automatically going with her gut reaction and saying yes. That had never happened before. When work said jump she usually asked how high, then jumped twice as high. This was a big deal. If anything it proved counseling was paying off and she was listening to his concerns. It wasn't just lip service given during their sessions. "Do you want to go?" She hemmed and hawed, hesitating with her response. "You do, don't you?"

"I really want to nail these jerks. They masqueraded as a good, ethical company and instead poisoned the planet."

"And would your status at the firm suffer if you excused yourself from the case?"

"Probably a little bit."

He took a deep breath. "I think you should go."

"Really? You won't be mad or hold it against me?"

"I can't promise I won't be a little frustrated sometimes and I'll miss you like crazy, but no, I won't hold it against you. It won't be easy, but we'll make it."

Topanga ran around to the other side of the desk and wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you. Thank you for seeing how important it is to me."

"Thank you for considering me- considering us -in your decision."

"And you know, there can be weeks between the preliminaries and the actual trial. So it's not like I'll be down there right away."

"You can stop trying to sell me. This won't interfere with you being in Shawn's wedding, will it? Or the vacation we planned this summer?"

"The firm is already well aware of my summer commitments. I have years' worth of sick and vacation days that I've never used. It's about time I put a dent in that stack of vacation days."

He pulled her close for a kiss. "Thank you. Now go tell your boss you accept. I wouldn't want you to miss this because you took too long telling me."

"Right. I'll pick up something for dinner, okay? I won't be late. Any requests?"

"Nope, you and food, what more does a guy need?"

/

/

Shawn walked back and forth down the hallway outside of Virna's apartment, not quite ready to knock on the door. He didn't know what he was doing here. He didn't plan on coming here. Then before he knew it he was in his van driving and saw the sign welcoming him to Maryland. Naomi really was going to kill him one of these days for driving on autopilot. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out the Save the Date notice. He'd been walking around with it for days, meaning to drop it into a mailbox but never quite getting there. Nomi offered to do it for him, but he knew this was something he'd have to do himself. Shawn wanted Virna to be there. So why was this so difficult?

Just as he'd summoned enough courage to slide the envelope under the door and run like hell the front door opened. He found himself face to face with Virna's boyfriend. "Hi. Um, Reuben, right?"

The man nodded, startled. He hadn't expected to find someone right outside the door. "That's right, Shawn."

"Is-um…is Virna here?"

Reuben took a few steps back into the apartment. "Darlin', you got company."

"Is that just your sly way of telling me there's a delivery man standing there with more flowers? You really do spoil me too-" She stopped talking when she saw Shawn standing there. "Oh, Shawn, hello."

"Sorry for coming over unannounced. I can go if you're busy."

"No, that's okay. Come on in. Reuben was just leaving to go to work."

"I cannot wait until tax season is over," the man lamented. "If I finish early enough I will take you out for a birthday dinner. Otherwise I will make it up to you this weekend."

"Now you stop. My birthday pancake breakfast and the lovely bouquet of begonias were more than enough."

"Not quite. I'll call you later when I know what my schedule looks like."

"It's your birthday," Shawn said once they were alone. He wasn't sure if he was asking a question or stating the obvious.

"It is."

Was that why he was here? Is that why his subconscious seemed to lead him here to invite her in person? "Happy birthday," he offered, though it sounded lame to his ears.

She smiled warmly at him. "It certainly is now. But somehow I don't think that is the reason for your visit."

He averted his eyes. Virna had always been able to read him like a book. "Not exactly."

"Well, sit down. Can I get you water or coffee? A soft drink perhaps?"

"Soda would be great, thanks." He took a seat at the counter that separated her living room from her kitchenette. "This is a nice apartment."

"Thank you. I'm fond of it." She placed the soda in front of him. "How is Naomi?"

"She's great. I mean, she's getting a little crazy the closer we get to the wedding, but she's nowhere near as bad as some bridezilla horror stories I've hear."

"Weddings can be stressful. I hope you two remember that a wedding is just a day. It can be a wonderful day, but in the end that's all it is. The real work comes with the marriage."

"I know."

"Is there a specific reason you came to see me, Shawn? Not that I'm not thrilled you're here…just a little surprised."

He took a deep breath before placing the now wrinkled envelope on the counter. "I wanted to give you this."

"You drove down all this way? But the postage is already on it. That's a waste of a stamp."

"I just…I-"

"Relax. I'm kidding." Virna carefully tore into the envelope, smiling when she saw what it contained. "An invitation to your wedding," she asked cautiously.

"It's more like a pre-invitation, but yes."

"And you're sure you want me there?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Well." She couldn't help the tears that came to her eyes. "This is the best birthday present I could ever ask for. Thank you. You can count on me. I swear I won't let you down again."

He nodded, still not knowing why he believed her this time around, but he did. "I know. You can bring Reuben, too, if you want."

"I'm sure he'd like that."

"Um…just so things aren't mixed up, it's just an invitation. I'm not doing a mother/son dance and there's a part of the ceremony where the parents of the bride and parents of the groom come up and take part, but I already asked Cory's parents and-"

"Honey, it's okay. Mr. and Mrs. Matthews are the most consistent parental figures you've had. It's natural that they're the ones who take part. I'm sorry that you found yourself in this situation and for the role I played in it."

"I'm trying not to live in the past anymore."

"I'm still sorry."

"I know." The next several moments passed in silence. Ultimately he was the one who broke it. "I guess I should be going."

"Right. Well thank you for coming. I appreciate the in-person invitation." She couldn't help but notice he made no move to stand, let alone leave. "Is there something else?"

Even Shawn wouldn't have been able to predict the words that came out of his mouth. "Do you want to get some ice cream?"

"What?"

"It's…every year on my birthday you took me to get ice cream. Even if it was a year with no money for cake and presents you made sure you had enough to get me my waffle cone."

She wasn't sure he remembered that, or, rather, that he would want to remember. "I'd love to."

/

Later that evening Cory opened the door and saw Shawn standing there with a pizza. "Hey. Did I know you were coming over?"

"Nope, but I figured you needed a distraction Topanga's first night out of town. Plus I need to tell you something."

He stepped aside so Shawn could come in. "Oh?"

"Virna's coming to the wedding."

"What?"

"She's coming. Don't make a scene. And no, this isn't up for debate."

Cory could yell at Shawn about what a bad idea this could be or he could shut up and accept it. He sighed. "What kind of pizza did you get?"

/

/

"Ew, Georgia just got mashed potatoes all over me," Josh whined, rubbing his napkin across the front of his shirt."

"Sorry, little brother, she's a messy eater." He laughed when Georgia slammed her hands on the tray of the high chair. Food flew in every direction. No one was spared. "Just pretend you're front row for Blue Man group."

"I saw them at a school field trip last year. She's messier."

"What were you saying about swimming," Amy asked.

"Oh, we signed up for family swim classes. It's good for kids to learn to swim early."

"But she's not even a year old yet. Aren't you rushing it?"

"Alan-"

"It's okay, mom. Bad things can happen when you mix water and small kids. We don't ever plan to leave Georgia alone around water, but if a fluke or accident happens, the idea is that she'll be able to float and not panic until we're able to help her."

"I suppose I never thought about it like that."

"And this way she'll love the water even more than she does now."

"So why do you two have to be in the class, too?"

"It will help with building trust and it's a different way to bond. It's good all around." There was a knock at the back door. "Feeny!"

George opened the door and entered the kitchen. "Eric, Angela, I'm glad I caught you."

"What's up, Mr. Feeny?"

"Would you have any use for my walnut credenza?"

"Watch your language," Eric scolded. "Baby ears."

He rolled his eyes. "Angela?"

"You're getting rid of your desk?"

"Lila and I decided to clean house of things we don't use anymore. We're offering things up to family and friends before giving them to a friend who owns an antique shop."

"That's sweet. Yes, I think we'll have the space. My desk is small and one of the legs keeps getting loose."

"Oh, good. It was hand-crafted by my grandfather and I'd like to see it go to people I know will appreciate it. Well, that's all. I saw your car and wanted to check with you. Eric, we'll arrange a day for you to pick it up. Lila and I are still going through all the drawers."

"Sure thing, Feeny."

"Good night."

"Oh, wait," Angela called out. "We can show you Georgia's newest milestone."

"She's learned something else?"

"Georgia, can you wave bye-bye to Mr. Feeny?" She waved as an example and moments later the baby was mimicking her. "Yeah, bye-bye Mr. Feeny."

George smiled. True, she was waving with her entire arm and practically threw herself off balance a few times, but it was precious all the same. He waved in return. "I told you, this child is going places. I'll alert my friend at Harvard in the morning, have a spot reserved for her in eighteen years."

"What, are you going to get her a waving scholarship?"

"Yes," he deadpanned. "Class one: the Miss America wave. Class two: Queen of England."