I'm so, SO sorry for the wait. Work has been nuts and hasn't let up even though it was supposed to have done so by now. I'd much rather be writing. Maybe one day those lottery numbers will come in, lol. Or work will give me a break at least.

Your endless patience is appreciated. Truly. :-)

Angela removed her glasses and squeezed the bridge of her nose. She never imagined she would spend the hours after getting engaged choosing guardians for her daughter. Then again there was a point in her life when she didn't know if she'd be lucky enough to find someone to share her life with, let alone have a child she loved more than anything. "We both know where we're going to land, don't we?"

"Cory and Topanga," Eric concluded.

"I never would've imagined it when I was pregnant, but I think Cory loves Georgia almost as much as we do. He adores his little munchkin. He and Topanga are much stronger as a couple now than they were a year ago. If Jack and Rachel lived closer I would be conflicted, but I'd be comfortable with them raising Georgia if we were unable to, but if there's someone else you want-"

"It's him and Topanga. It feels right. We just won't tell them they're technically our second choice."

"No, that would be mean. Although Jack and Rachel have four kids now, two of them in diapers. Who knows if their sanity could handle a fifth? Cory and Topanga make sense across the board." She sighed and reached for his hand. "Feel better now that we've made a choice?"

"Actually I think I feel a little bit worse."

"Honestly? Me, too."

Eric laughed humorlessly. "Great, glad we had this talk."

"I don't think anyone enjoys discussing the possibility of not being around to watch their baby grow up."

"It's definitely a bummer."

"Now what?"

"We could go get checked out at the doctor. You know, get physicals and make sure we're healthy."

"That's smart. I'll call my doctor this afternoon. You can call yours'. We haven't quite reached the stage in our relationship where I need to make your appointments for you."

"Someday…"

"No, I'm sure when someday comes you'll still be just as capable of picking up a phone."

Eric put his hands on his chest and fell back against the couch in dramatic fashion. "Oh, the love…too much…my heart can't take it."

"Shut up." She laughed and balled up a piece of paper, throwing it his way. The sunlight caught her engagement ring, distracting her. "This is going to take some getting used to," she said, holding out her hand to admire the jewelry.

"In a good way, though, right?"

"The best way," she reassured him. "I've never seen anything quite like it. Finding a wedding ring to compliment it is going to be tricky. That's not a complaint, just an observation. I love this ring and wouldn't trade it for any other ring in the world."

"I wasn't sure whether or not to keep this a surprise, but there is a wedding ring. It doesn't exactly go with the engagement ring and Feeny said his great-grandmother wasn't able to wear them together. If you want something you can wear with this we can look for a different-"

"No," she interrupted, shaking her head. "I trust you. If it's anything like this I'm sure I will love it. This is perfect."

"Well, it is a Feeny Original. Not a George Feeny, but a…something… something Feeny. I didn't ask for his great-grandfather's name."

"I'm surprised you don't already know his name considering how much you love all things Feeny."

"I'm obsessed with one Feeny, not the whole family tree."

She gasped. "He finally admits it's an obsession. I never thought I'd see the day. Step one is admitting you have a problem. I'm so proud of you, babe. Now the healing can begin."

"You think you're pretty funny, huh?"

"On the contrary," she said, as she got out of her chair and moved to sit beside him on the couch. "I'm hilarious."

Eric wrapped his arms around her and held her close. "If you are then that's because of me. Living with me all this time has rubbed off on you."

"It's possible. I'd like to think we picked up each other's good habits and cancelled out the bad." Angela relaxed against him and closed her eyes. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I am so exhausted. I love you and I'm so happy about us and I still can't believe this is real, but then I think about Mr. Feeny and…"

"I know. Me, too. I feel like I could sleep for a week."

"Sign me up for that. Hell, make it two weeks. What did your mom say when you talked to her earlier?"

"The doctors were going to be running more tests. Lila wasn't sure if Feeny was going to be knocked out for those like the ones he had yesterday. But she said when he woke up this morning he was confused about being in the hospital. Then he got upset because he wanted breakfast but they won't let him eat solid foods yet because they're worried about something with his muscle control. And that's on top of being frustrated about not being able to speak clearly."

"Poor Mr. Feeny."

"Mom said to stay away and let the doctors do their jobs. Cory and Topanga are keeping her company in the waiting room before they have to drive back home tonight."

"Are you going to work?"

"Yeah, Tonya said she can cover the four and five o'clock shows, but I'm doing the evening and night broadcasts. I don't know how I'll be able to focus."

"It's where Mr. Feeny would rather have you anyway. He would want you to be at work and doing something productive, not sitting in a waiting room doing nothing."

"I know. Plus I have to run the fundraiser by the new PR person at the station. I don't think they'll have any issues with mentioning it on the air, but I can't just do it."

"Why?"

"Because it can snowball into everyone having a charity they want to raise money for and get airtime to promote. Worst case I can't mention it on TV but can use social media, which will work, too. I don't think they'll have a problem though. Mr. Feeny was a fixture at two of the biggest public schools in the city. A lot of people know him. Hell, I'm not the only one at the station who had him as a teacher or principal. I think it will work out."

"Good. So, did you tell your mom about us?" She studied her hand once again. "About our news?"

"No, I thought that was the kind of good news we should share in person."

"You're right."

"And I kind of forgot," he added in a small voice.

"What," she asked, laughing at him.

"There's been so much going on and we're running on fumes. It slipped my mind. You're not mad, are you?"

She hugged him tighter. "No, I'm not. It's so typical. Of course we'd get engaged in the middle of the night when there are a million other things going on. We just fit it into whatever else is going on with our lives. It's just so us."

"That wasn't how I wanted to do it, you know? I wanted to come up with something really romantic and-"

"Eric, stop. I wouldn't change a thing. Don't get me wrong, I wish Georgia would've waited until her mama and daddy got to celebrate a little before she started screaming, but-"

"You really loved it?"

"I hate that it was triggered by a nightmare, but that nightmare also got us to talk about some serious issues we'd been putting off because they were too scary to think about. And now look at us: engaged and Georgia has guardians. We multitasked."

When she put it that way it sounded like they just checked a few items off of a daily to-do list. It was nothing like the romantic proposal he'd wanted to give her, not at all. "Yeah, but-"

"The man I love asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. That's the important part. Everything else is just details."

"Okay, but I still wanted to put together some of those nice, pretty details for you because you deserve them. I promise you our wedding will be different."

Her breath caught. It was the first time either one of them had used that word. "Wedding?"

"You know the thing where we vow to be stuck together for the rest of our lives no matter how insane we make each other?"

She smiled at his choice of words. "I guess I never really pictured myself having one."

He remembered days long ago when Morgan would clomp around the house in mom's high heels with a towel draped over her head and flowers swiped from Mr. Feeny's garden clenched in her fists. Twist ties from loaves of bread often disappears as she fashioned them into little rings. "At the risk of sounding like a stereotype, don't most little girls grow up dreaming of their wedding day?"

"I didn't have an example of marriage that I wanted to follow. So maybe most little girls dressed up and played bride, but I was not one of them. To be honest I'd be happy to put on a pair of jeans, go to city hall, and elope this afternoon. Is that even possible," she pondered. "I wonder what laws are for applying for a marriage license in Pennsylvania. I know some states have a wait period."

Eric didn't want to get married that way, however, this was the bride's territory right? But surely he still got a say on his own wedding day. "If you really want to elope we can make it happen as soon as possible."

She sensed there was something he wasn't saying. "But?"

"Would you be upset if I said I wanted an actual wedding?"

"You do?"

"Nothing out of control crazy, but I want to celebrate. I always imagined our friends and family there when we said those vows. I want us to get all dressed up and looking hot. I want to take pictures, have the first dance, and the kickass cake that people talk about for months."

"Cake? Now I know where your priorities lie," she teased. "This is just an elaborate excuse for dessert, isn't it?"

He sat up so they were looking at each other. "Cake is just part of the package. I don't want getting married to be something else we fit into the rest of the chaos going on in our lives. I want it to be special. You deserve it. I want to celebrate us and our little family. If you really want to do the city hall thing I'll do it. I will and it will still be special because it's us, but…"

"But you won't be happy about it," she concluded.

"I'll be happy about marrying you whenever and wherever that happens. Don't ever doubt that. But no, I guess it wouldn't be the way I pictured it."

For someone who never had an image of their wedding in their head Angela could suddenly see what Eric described so clearly; an intimate ceremony with their closest family and friends. Her dad would escort her down the aisle. Despite their rocky relationship in recent years she still wanted that moment with him. Then she and Eric would exchange vows, take pictures, dance, and have- as he so eloquently put it- a kickass cake. She had to admit it was a nice vision. "Just promise me two things."

"Anything."

"Number one: we keep it small, just friends and family. We don't need to invite every person we've ever associated with."

"That's fine with me. What's the second thing?"

"I don't want a single candle within one hundred miles of the ceremony. I love you, but I don't think I need to elaborate."

"No, you don't. Cory still whines about the accidental fire in his dorm."

"It's not whining when you were the one who knocked over the candles and started the fire!"

"Sure. Take his side. But he was the moron who put lit candles right next to the curtains and-" His defense was halted when Georgia cried and alerted her parents that naptime was over. "Ha, saved by the Georgia."

"You or me?"

"I'll go, but you know which one of us she wants."

Angela tried, and failed, not to smile at his comment. "Stop."

"It's true. The whole time you were pregnant you went on and on about how I would be the favorite and when we found out she was a girl you bought out the east coast in Daddy's Little Girl onesies and T-shirts. We should've been buying all the Mommy stuff."

"Georgia adores you. You get the huge smiles and her biggest belly laughs."

"Maybe, but you are the center of her universe and the one she loves more than anything."

"Don't-"

"It's okay. Most days I don't take it personally. I just get a little jealous of you sometimes. I know it's stupid and petty."

"If it makes you feel any better from what I read it gets better when she gets older. Her preferences will flip flop between us." She was fairly certain when that day came she wouldn't handle it nearly as well as he did. "The good news is you'll be able to talk me down from the parental ledge when she decides to be all about daddy."

He winced when Georgia's cries became shrill. "She's reaching the Mariah Carey in her prime octaves only dogs can hear."

Angela held out her hand. "Let's both go. You change her, I'll feed her, and we'll see how our moody little drama queen is after that."

He took her hand and they walked to the stairs. "Since the weather doesn't suck maybe we can take her to the park for a little bit. What do you think?"

"Sure. I was also thinking we could invite Cory and Topanga over so we could ask them to be Georgia's guardians in person. Just get it over with today, you know?"

"Yeah, it would be nice to be done with-" Eric stopped talking when Angela let go of his hand and wedged past him on the steps. "Hey! We're supposed to let each other know ahead of time if we're going to race. It's cheating if you don't."

"That's a new cry."

It didn't sound new to him. To him it was no different from Georgia's typical, pissed off screeching that happened if you didn't appear instantly when she cried. He didn't get the chance to ask Angela what she meant because she was up the stairs and down the hall so fast she may as well have left tread marks and smoke trails in her wake.

"Eric, come here!"

He took the steps two at the time and ran the rest of the way to the bedroom. Was Georgia sick or hurt? He didn't think his heart could handle anything else happening to someone he loved, especially his baby girl. "What? What's wrong?"

"Look."

He followed to where Angela was pointing. He visually checked for any outward causes of distress- illness, injury- but saw nothing unusual. Georgia was standing there, crying. Tears were running down her cheeks and her arms were outstretched, her little hands opening and closing as she reached for her parents. What was so strange about….wait a second. "She's standing."

"I know."

"Since when can she do that," he exclaimed, relieved there was nothing wrong.

"Since today I guess. She's only eight months old. Isn't she too young for this?"

He simultaneously shrugged and shook his head. "She probably wants to practice so she can run away from her asshole parents who just stand here and watch her cry. And don't say anything about my language," he added before she could even give that lecture. "I'm too tired to pay attention to the words coming about of my mouth."

"What are you doing, little miss," she cooed, approaching the bed. "Are you standing? That's brand new, huh?" She lifted her daughter from the crib and held her close. Georgia curled into her and buried her face in her mother's neck- just like she always did when she needed comfort. "See? You're okay. Mama's got you." She rubbed slow circles along the baby's back as her cries dissipated. "Yeah, mama's got you."

Eric couldn't help but grin. It was difficult to believe there was a time when Angela questioned her ability to do this. He could handle the occasional feelings of jealousy if it reinforced what he always knew would be true; she was an excellent mother, so in tune with what their daughter needed it amazed him.

"What are you smiling at?"

"I'm allowed to smile at my family without being interrogated."

"Yeah, but that looked like more than a 'I love my family' smile."

"I'm in awe of you."

"Please," she scoffed and rolled her eyes. "That's not awe. That's delirium from lack of sleep and all the emotion from the last day or two."

"Nope, it's awe. You're so good with her. How did you even know it was a different cry?"

"She sounded scared, like she was panicking."

"You could tell that? To me it sounded like she was pissed we weren't getting to her fast enough. It just shows you deserve to be the one Georgia loves more because you know her better than anyone."

"She loves us both equal-"

"I'm complimenting you right now. Could you shut up and let me?"

She kissed Georgia's head. "Daddy has such a way with words, doesn't he?"

"Oh-bo-po-booey."

"Exactly. Oh-bo-po-booey. Mama couldn't have said it better herself. I wonder what that means to you because you say it a lot."

"The point is you're an amazing mom. Don't forget that. Right, Georgia? Tell mama she's awesome." He laughed when the baby looked at Angela and blew a raspberry right in her face. "Or do that, whichever. We'll just pretend it's a slobbery kiss."

Angela smiled at the baby before holding her out to Eric. "Take Erica Jr. and get her changed and then I'll feed her."

"Sure, now you come up with an alternative name to Georgia."

/

/

"So, what do you think?" Alvin had asked Joyce to meet so she could read what he had written so far in his memoirs for Georgia. He trusted that she was his best chance for an impartial judge. While Trish was more than happy to call him out on his bullshit as it was happening, she tended to gloss over the less than ideal moments after the fact. He wanted to be honest with his granddaughter about the kind of man her grandfather was...is...whatever he will be by the time she reads this.

"It's good," she began. "It has promise…definitely not bad."

"What's wrong with it? It's a factual retelling of my life."

"Yes, it is. It's nothing but facts."

"You'd rather I lie?"

"No, but you're writing as if it's for a school textbook instead of your granddaughter. It's very cold and clinical, detached almost. It's not personalized. I know you've never been a very demonstrative person in most regards, but if you want Georgia to see who you are then really show her. Let her see the protective young man who defended his little sister against kids who were giving her a hard time because of her braces. Or the creative teenager whose parents forbid him from going to concerts with his friends so he got a job as an usher to occupy his time. Or at least that's what he told his parents," she said, making him smile.

"They never asked me what kind of usher I was. They assumed movie theater."

"Yes, because they didn't think you'd lie about your age to get a job at a sketchy concert hall."

"I didn't technically lie. The manager assumed that because I was so tall…anyway, I saw some of the best musicians in the world at that 'sketchy music hall.' And my very first sip of alcohol was offered to me by a musical act that is still touring to this day."

"See, these are the kinds of stories you should be telling."

"Stories that could inspire Georgia to do her own lying or commit violence on behalf of her younger sibling?" Joyce's eyebrows went up. "Angela told me she and Eric don't want Georgia to be an only child. They don't know when that child is coming or how many more there will be, but if things go the way they want them to there will be more children in the picture."

She nodded, unable to come up with a response that seemed appropriate. She was the last person who should be giving their opinion, good or bad, on someone having another child. "I still think these are the stories that Georgia and any siblings of hers' need to know. They represent the man behind the military uniform."

"I wouldn't even know where to begin."

"I may have an idea, if you're willing to change course that is."

"What?"

"Talk to friends, family, co-workers, ask them to write down their favorite story about you."

"No, Joyce, I want this to be in my words to my granddaughter."

"It still can be. They can tell you their version and then you can recount your memories of the event to Georgia."

"I'm not sure."

"I think you should consider it. Besides, what better way to see what impact you've left on those around you then by what they pick as their favorite memory?"

"When you put it that way it sounds like I'm writing my own eulogy."

"Aren't you?"

Alvin looked away from his ex-wife and instead stared out the window. "No, I don't think…no. A eulogy is entirely tributes and adulations. I'm going to tell Georgia where I went wrong as well. She should know I'm not a perfect man. She deserves the entire truth."

"Are you sure about that?"

"What?"

"What do you remember about your grandparents?"

"Pop's dad died before I was born, but nana always took us shopping when Trish and I would visit. And mom's parents- gramps gave me a quarter whenever I saw him, Trish only got a dime because she was younger," he remarked with a smile. "He told me all about his days the army when I sat with him either working on cars or watching football. He's the reason I picked the army when choosing which branch of the military to enlist. And granny always had extra cookies and candy for me."

"Do you know of any regrets they had, things they wished they did differently, or monumental screw ups?"

"Not really, maybe my grandfather a little bit. He talked a lot while fixing cars."

"And I have similar memories of my grandparents. I think those are typical grandparent experiences. Maybe you need to think about why you're really doing this. Is it solely for Georgia?"

"Who else would I be doing it for?"

"For Angela," Joyce suggested. "This gives you yet another opportunity to apologize to her."

"That's not a bad thing."

"No, but that also means she'd have to relive all of those negative moments whenever she reads this with Georgia."

He sighed. "I didn't even think about that. I don't' want to cause her anymore pain. That's the last thing I want."

She rested her hand on top of his. "I'm not saying to lie about who you are and not mention any of the bad stuff, but I think things would go a lot smoother if you focused on the good instead of trying to explain the bad."

"I'll think about it." He took his notes back from Joyce and set them on the table. "Angela and Eric are engaged."

"Oh?"

"He asked her this morning." Alvin dug his phone out of his pocket to show her the picture that Angela sent him after calling at an hour that, for anyone else, he would've deemed too early and lectured them for it. She seemed unaware that Eric sent him a picture of the ring ahead of time and he didn't want to spoil it for her.

"They look happy," she remarked, a small smile on her face. "And that ring is impressive to say the least."

"According to Angela it's from Mr. Feeny's family." He recounted to Joyce what he was told about the ring's history. "He knew Eric was looking for a ring perfect enough for her and kept coming up empty. So he offered him that."

"Wow. That's quite the family heirloom to be willing to part with."

"Our granddaughter is named after the man. I'd have to assume he already considers them family."

"Do me a favor?"

"What?"

"I know ever since your diagnosis our relationship is twisted and weird and even we don't know how to categorize it, but my relationship with Angela is tenuous at best. Do not, under any circumstance, ask her if I will be invited to the wedding. I can tell you right now she won't want to see me and I don't deserve to be there. So do not even bring up my name."

He nodded but before he could say anything his phone buzzed. After a few swipes across the screen he saw that Eric sent him a video headlined, Guess Who Thinks She's a Big Girl Now? "No way," he said, speaking to the images on the screen. "She's too young."

"What?"

Alvin held out his phone so she could watch with him. "Georgia is standing." He hit replay and watched again, as Georgia used Angela's arm to pull herself to her feet. Then she looked around before starting to cry, as if at a loss for what to do next. "She was just a newborn. I swear it was just yesterday I could fit her in one hand. Hell, it feels like yesterday that I could hold Angela in one hand. Now Angela is a mother and her baby is standing and will turn one in a few months." He put his phone down before crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. "It's going too fast."

"What is?"

"Life…time…take your pick. You blink and it's over. Maybe I'm more aware of it now that I'm living on borrowed time, I don't know." His phone beeped again, this time alerting him it was time to eat and take his medication. "You can go."

"Are you all right? Do you want me to order something for lunch or pick something up?"

"No, I'm fine. The medication is the one that puts me to sleep so I'm just going to heat up some leftovers and take a nap."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Joyce," he responded in a slightly patronizing tone. "In spite of what you and Trish think I'm not completely helpless."

"We don't think you're helpless. We just worry that you don't always listen to your body when you're overdoing it. You don't want to accept your limitations."

"I think swallowing a pill and pressing some buttons on the microwave is within my scope of abilities."

She rolled her eyes, but didn't take it personally. It wasn't him talking. "Okay. You'll call if you need anything?"

"Yeah."

Joyce kissed his cheek before getting up and heading for the door. She stopped just short of the doorway before turning around again. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Good-bye." Once he heard the front door close and he knew he was alone again he got up and headed for the kitchen, playing the video Eric sent him again as he went. He watched it multiple times as he ate along with all of the other Georgia videos he'd been sent recently. He hated being so far away from his daughter and granddaughter. It killed him that because of his health he needed a checkup and the okay from his doctor before he could even get on a plane to visit them. He couldn't just decide on a whim to go to Philadelphia for the weekend. He felt like a prisoner.

He smiled as the next video started and Georgia waved and blew kisses at the camera. After his nap he'd call his doctor's office to see if his next appointment could be moved up. He needed to see his girls. Hell, he even missed Eric's silly behavior and remarks. Not that he'd ever tell him that, however. No need for it to go to his head.

/

/

"Are you kidding? You actually used the word crapshoot in a marriage proposal?"

"Well, we figured it would lighten to mood since we were talking about the fragility of life and how we were all going to die one day and nothing would change that."

Cory stared and his brother and Angela, mouth agape. "What's wrong with you two?! Are you some sort of morbid, psycho, dream killers?"

"Cory!"

"No, Topanga, no! There is a right way to propose and a wrong way. And talking about death, dying, and using words like crapshoot is the wrong way." He got down on the floor and sat beside Georgia. "I'm sorry you have to hear stuff like this, munchkin. Wedding proposals are supposed to be happy, romantic occasions." He accepted the baby's toy keys that she offered him. "Thank you. Are these so we can escape your crazy parents? Good plan. But I think I should drive the getaway car. I don't know if they make phone books anymore and that's the only way you'd be able to see over the steering wheel.

"You know I offered to help your daddy plan a proposal for mama. I practically begged him to let me help. After all, who knows more about being romantic than your Uncle Cory?" He was quiet for a few seconds, pretending her jumbled babbles were her agreeing with him. "Exactly. But did he ask for help? Nooo."

"Bo-bo."

"I'm glad you agree, munchkin."

"Cor, Topanga proposed to you and then mom proposed to her and gave her the ring. You didn't do a damn…darn thing."

"Well, no, but I thought a lot about-"

"And then I planned your wedding. Without me you would've had a sad little ceremony in the living room. By the way, I still never got a thank you present for that."

"The thank you present was me not beating you up since we wound up in jail because you didn't plan my wedding, you stole someone else's!"

"Oh, my, God, are you ever going to let the jail thing go?"

Topanga put her head in her hands. "I swear you two bring this up every few months."

"Come on, Topanga. It was our wedding night." He put his hands over Georgia's ears before continuing in a loud whisper, "The cops pulled us right out of bed!" He removed his hands from the baby's ears when she began to fuss. "Sorry, munchkin, you don't need to hear that either."

"Cory, I came to terms with it a long time ago. It was either that or kill Eric and the little bit we saw from the inside of a jail cell was enough for me. Besides, at the end of the day we got a glamorous wedding out of it."

"You're welcome," Eric gloated.

"Don't press your luck. I'm not thanking you. I just decided a long time ago killing you wasn't worth it."

He turned to Angela. "I think I changed my mind. I don't want these mean losers anymore. They can't let anything go. Maybe we should ask Jack and Rachel instead. Or Max and Gina are our emergency backups. I can call them."

"What are you talking about," Cory asked. "What were you going to ask us?"

"First you have to promise to never bring up spending your wedding night in jail again."

"Okay, fine. Now what is it?"

"I want a real promise."

Cory rolled his eyes and held up his right hand. "Fine, I promise I won't ever bring it up again. Okay?"

"All right. Topanga?"

"Yeah, I swear, too."

He looked at Angela, not sure if she wanted to do the asking or him. "Well after we got engaged in our own morbid, psycho way…did I get that right, Cor?"

"You forgot dream killer."

"Right, well after that and talking about everything that happened to Mr. Feeny and the stuff Angela's dad is going through we realized that life is fragile, a toss-up if you will, and we don't want to think about not being around for Georgia but the smart thing to do would be to prepare now just in case." Eric jumped when he heard knocking. "What the-Cor, do you still think knocking on a piece of wood will stop something bad from happening?"

"It's better than doing nothing."

"What were you going to ask us," Topanga questioned, wanting to get things back on track.

Georgia had crawled away from her uncle and was now at her mother's feet. Angela lifted the baby up and sat her in her lap. "Well, we wanted to know if something ever happened to Eric and I…if we weren't able to be…" She still couldn't quite get the words out. "Would you raise Georgia if for some reason we couldn't?"

"Are you asking us to be her godparents?"

"Godparents, guardians, I suppose it's the same thing more or less."

"Of course we will! Right, Cory?"

"Are you kidding? We'd love it." He got up off of the floor and held his hands out to Georgia, smiling when she leaned forward to come to him. "Can you say Godfather Cory? Ew, seriously, what is with this kid and raspberries? She's going to drown me in drool."

"It's her thing."

"But think of all the fun we'll have, Georgia," Cory continued. "The townhouse has three bedrooms so you could have your own room even after we have a baby of our own. There's a park not too far from our house and the neighbor's kids are only a couple years older than you are so you'd get along well with them."

"Don't forget about the library," Topanga said. "I saw Nick pulling the kids to the library the other day in their red wagon. It was adorable."

Angela and Eric glanced at each other, confused. "Um…you do realize we're not handing her over today, right? This is supposed to be a worst case scenario. At least we thought it was worst case scenario. You're acting like you just won the baby lottery."

"Don't be ridiculous. Of course we know we're not getting her today." She wasn't completely sure where Cory was going with this, but figured she would know soon. For now she'd do her best to play along. "But someday-"

"If we die-"

"If the worst happens, you won't have to worry. Georgia will be taken care of."

"Right now I'm more worried how we'd die," he said. "Maybe we should get it in writing that the police have to get alibis from them," he suggested to Angela.

"Stop being crazy. Come to dinner next week. You haven't seen the townhouse in a while. We've gotten a lot of work done on it."

"Dinner? At your house? Who's cooking?"

"Who do you think?"

She didn't typically play into Eric's occasional paranoia, but could practically read his mind. "I agree. We need food tasters before we touch a thing."

"Why are you guys being so goofy?"

"How about because you're acting like you're one step away from knocking us unconscious and writing a ransom note?" Cory started to laugh. "What is so funny?"

"We're even."

"What are you talking about? Even for what?"

"Now I will never mention spending my wedding night in jail ever again."

Eric got up and promptly removed Georgia from his brother's arms. "Give her to me." He punched Cory in the arm as hard as he could.

"Hey, what-"

"You better hope I die because that's the only way you'll ever hold her again."

"Eric, come on, it was a joke."

"Georgia, what do we say to unfunny buttheads like Uncle Cory?" He was hoping for a raspberry, but instead she jabbered on in an aggressive sounding manner, almost matching his tone. "That's my girl."

(Meant to put this in the last chapter, but if you'd like to see what I'm picturing for Angela's engagement ring just message me and I'll send you a link. If you'd like it to be in your imagination that's cool, too. :-) )