Jack walked in to the dimly lit condo around four in the morning and heard a tiny meow. Beth mentioned she was going to get a cat so it wasn't a huge surprise.

He flipped on a light to get a glimpse. He didn't see anything yet but he continued to look. Then he found it, or them. Two cats.

"Hey, babe," she said, walking in to the living room. She sat down on the couch and tried to get the cats to come to her but they seemed skittish.

"So you got two?"

"Yep. After you rest for awhile, can you help me get the cat tree up here from the jeep, please?"

"Sure. Why are you up so early?"

"Couldn't sleep. Guess I was excited or something."

"Ok. I'm going to go shower," he said, gesturing toward the hall.

"Ok."

About twenty minutes later, he found her asleep on the couch with both cats curled up beside her. He smiled and walked to the refrigerator to see about some dinner/breakfast. "Yum! Chicken and dumplings," he mumbled.

"Meow? Meow?" He looked down at the larger kitty who was sitting in the doorway of the kitchen.

"I hope your name's not Fifi."

"Meow?"

"You certainly don't look like a Fifi."

He put the bowl of stew in the microwave and then bent down slowly by the cat, putting his hand out. She bolted.

"Ok, then," he said with a chuckle.

After finishing his food and putting his dish in the dishwasher, he wandered in to Beth. She was still asleep so he sat in the recliner and watched her.

That night, he and Wagner had been called to a home by a neighbor, sighting a loud disturbance. The woman in the home had been beaten. According to previous records, it happened frequently but the woman never said who it was. They assumed a husband or a boyfriend but she wouldn't talk.

Jack stared at his beautiful wife, her soft curls splayed out across the sofa arm. How anyone could ever hurt a woman was beyond him. The bible said a husband should love his wife as his own body. No man beat themselves up so a man should not beat his wife.

She opened her eyes and stared back at him. "Hi."

"Hi." She sat up, gently moving the kitten to the other end of the couch and walked over to him, sitting down to share the recliner.

"You ok, hon?"

"Yeah." He moved slightly and wrapped his arm around her. "I love you. You know that?" He gently turned her face so she was looking up at him.

"Of course." He slowly brought his lips to hers and kissed her and then held her tighter against him. "I love you too, Jack."

"What are the cat's names?"

"Tiffany and Fifi."

"Stop."

She laughed. "Ok. The mama is Jazz and the baby is Mozart."

"That's better. Pretty cool names."

"I think so too."

….

Grace took Julie to her next OB appointment a week later. They were going to go weekly now since her blood pressure was elevated.

"Bed rest? But I need to work."

"Julie, your blood pressure is even higher than last time. Your feet stay swollen and I'm concerned. I also want you to watch your salt intake. This is important to keep your pressure down until closer to your due date. I want your baby to stay inside as long as possible and that means bed rest."

Julie looked down at her tummy and smiled as she saw it jump. Lane was moving around a lot. It felt so weird but so wonderful to know he was hers. She was responsible for him.

"Ok. I'll do it. Lane is the most important thing."

"Good. Now I will see you in a week. Hopefully your pressure will be down."

"Yes, Doctor."

As soon as they went to the car, she called Mr. Yost and told him she couldn't work anymore, until about eight weeks after the baby was born. He told her to take care of herself and concentrate on keeping the baby safe.

Then she texted Tom. "Doc put me on bed rest!"

"What? Are you ok? Is Lane?!" Before she could respond, her phone rang.

"Tom, I'm ok. Lane's ok too. This is a precaution because my blood pressure is still high."

"Do you need anything? Can I come visit?"

"Aren't you in class?"

"Yeah, but I'd rather be with you."

"Just come after class. I'll be the one on the couch," she joked.

"Ok." She could hear the worry in his voice.

"Tom, everything is ok."

"I just love both of you. If something happened…I don't know what I would do."

"We will be just fine. Try not worry, ok?"

"Yeah. I love you, Julie."

"Love you too." She pushed the button to disconnect.

Grace looked at Julie and then back to the road. "He ok?"

"He's worried."

"You love him?"

"Yeah. I do."

"He is a good young man," Grace admitted.

"Yeah. Mom, I don't know what I'm going to do. I can't work. How am I supposed to pay for the things we need?"

"You know your father and I will help you. You don't need to worry at all. Just concentrate on Lane and keeping him safe, ok?"

"You're right." She rubbed her belly as she stared out the window. "I can do this." She had to. No turning back now.

…..

Tom showed up immediately after his class with a bouquet of pink tulips in his hands and that worried look on his face.

Grace let him in and smiled. "Hi, Tom. Flowers are beautiful."

He pulled one out of the bunch and handed it to her. "For you."

"You don't need to do that."

"Actually, that was my plan. I bought thirteen so that I could give you one."

"Oh. Thank you." She smiled and blushed as he kissed her cheek and moved toward the living room.

"Hey," he said quietly as he approached Julie and handed her the flowers.

"Hi. Oh, thank you!"

"You're welcome. How are you doing?"

"Ok. I just keep reminding myself that I am doing this for Lane. Then I feel better. And then you showed up and I felt even better."

He sat down next to her and pulled her feet onto his lap. "I was so worried."

"I know, but we're okay, I promise."

He nodded. "Julie, when you told me what the doc said, I realized even more how much I want to be his Daddy. I love him."

"As far as my heart is concerned, you are."

"I'm frustrated though. I want to marry you. I would do it today if I had more than a part time job. But, as it is, my income couldn't support us."

"Tom." She held out her hand and he took it. "We don't need to be in a hurry. Maybe let's wait until one of us can get insurance for all of us."

He pulled a little box out of his pocket and opened it. "Jules, I love you and Lane so much. I want us to be a family and I promise you I will be a good husband to you and father to him." She smiled at the ring. A beautiful emerald set in gold. She loved emeralds.

"Its beautiful."

He slipped it on her finger. "Will you marry me?"

"Yes. Of course I will." He gently moved her legs and then knelt beside the couch where she was laying. She smiled and touched his face. "My handsome Tom." She dried a tear that had slipped down his cheek and then welcomed his gentle kiss. "I love you too."

….

"Jack! Julie and Tom are engaged!"

She knew he was trying to unwind from work, but she had been bursting at the seams to tell him since the previous night.

"That's great. Tell them congratulations."

"Oh! You have a black eye."

"Yeah. Do we have a plastic bag or something so I can ice it?"

"Have a seat, babe," she told him, pointing to the recliner.

"I can get it."

"I know. Just let me take care of you, please?"

He sat as instructed and sighed. His head was pounding and his hand hurt from wrestling with the guy they chased.

She came back in the room with a bottle of water, a couple ibuprofen, and his ice pack. It was like she read his mind.

"Thank you." She kissed his temple and then left the room to get dressed for the day. She was heading back to Florence's class but today she was going to lead them a bit. It was her first time teaching them herself and she was excited and nervous.

She had spent time in the class over the past month or so and the kids seemed to enjoy her so that helped.

She dressed in her khaki's and polo and then slipped on her pair of sandals.

"You look cute," Jack told her when she walked back out into the living room.

"Thanks. Do you work tonight?"

"Yeah. At six. But only until midnight."

"Only a half shift?"

"Yeah."

"Ok. I will be home about 3:30 so I will see you then."

She started to walk away but he stood and stopped her by grabbing her fingers. "Can I get a kiss goodbye?"

"Of course." She smiled and stood on her toes to reach his lips. "Love you."

"Love you too."

…..

A few weeks later, Valentine's Day

Jack and Beth planned to have an early dinner that day, figuring he would be working, but instead, he had the night off so they went out to Sheila's Crab Shack. Beth had been wanting to try it so they decided to take advantage of their rare night off.

She slipped her red sundress on and added a pair of strappy sandals and a spritz of perfume. She may be slightly overdressed for the restaurant but she felt like dressing for the holiday. She walked back out in to the living room. "Wow, you look great!" he told her, giving her kiss. Then he pulled her into a hug. "Happy Valentine's Day, babe."

"You look good too." He was wearing a pair of khakis with a black button down.
"So good. It almost makes me want to stay home." She smirked and grabbed his hand leading him to the door.

"Almost? What do I need to do to really make you want to stay home?"

"It wouldn't take too much."

"So, something like this?" He leaned down and kissed her long and slow, pulling her as close as possible.

"Mm. Yeah," she whispered as he moved to her sensitive spot just behind her ear, his hands holding her hips. "Oh, um…we are totally staying home."

…..

In Hope Valley…

William, Grace, Viola, and her fourteen month old son Collin went out for dinner, leaving Julie home with Tom. He insisted on cooking her dinner. He made his specialty, chicken cordon bleu without the ham, to cut down a bit of salt, and asparagus with a cream sauce.

"Tom, that smells wonderful. I'm starving."

"It should be done in about thirty minutes."

"Great." She swung her legs off the couch and sat up.

"Where are you going?"

"Bathroom. I might as well just live in there at this rate."

He laughed and put the asparagus in the boiling water. "Do you need help?"

"No, I mean, probably. Yes." He smiled and walked over, offering his hands to his stretchy-black-pants-and-red-t-shirt- wearing fiancé.

"Hi," he said, kissing her softly. "I like having you upright."

"It feels good to stand. I'm sick of being horizontal."

"Only two more weeks, right?"

"Yeah. I can do it." She was due in four weeks but the doctor said she could move around more after two.

"Of course you can."

After she came back, she settled in on the couch, putting her feet up. Tom had lit a few candles and turned down the lights. He had also put on soft music and joined her on the couch.

"Tom, this is very romantic."

"That was the plan, sweetie."

This was their first Valentine's as a couple and as an engaged couple. He wanted her to know she was special to him, without any doubt.

Awhile later, she fell asleep on his shoulder after eating dinner, her arm wrapped over Lane protectively. Then she opened her eyes. "Oooww."

"Ow, what?"

"Pain. Ow." She rubbed her belly and frowned.

He watched her closely as she relaxed against him. Then a few minutes later she gasped. "What? Julie, tell me."

"My water broke, I think." She groaned through another pain and then stood up. "I think I need to call the doctor."

He handed her the phone and rubbed her back as she talked to him. "What does he think?"

"He said that if my water broke, I'm definitely in labor and I need to get to the hospital."

"Ok. Let's go then."

"I need to pack a bag for me and Lane. Then I need to call my parents and Beth and your parents. Oh owww."

He helped her to her room and made her sit on the bed while she told him what to pack. As he opened her underwear drawer, he hesitated and then he grabbed a few pairs and stuffed them in the bag.

"Tom, can you open the next drawer? Grab that blue sleeper out of there with the hat."

"Wow." He held it up the tiny piece of clothing. "He…I mean, it's so little. I can't believe we are going to meet him so soon."

"Ooww owww." She rubbed her back and breathed.

"Ok, let's go. You can text everyone on our way," he told her.

….

In LA….

"Babe, your phone is buzzing like crazy. Maybe you should pick it up."

"No. Whoever it is will need to wait." She was perfectly content laying in Jack's arms. She didn't want anything or anyone to get in the middle of their Valentine's Night.

….

In Hope Valley…

"Tom! Wake up." Charlotte nudged his shoulder.

"What?" he mumbled. "I'm sleeping, dear."

"I know but Julie is in labor."

He opened his eyes and turned to look at Charlotte. "She's early."

"Only a month. Now I'm going to the hospital. Are you?"

"Charlotte, we aren't the baby's grandparents."

"We will be in a little over a year. I say we get a jump on things. I want to hold him."

"Don't first babies take a long time?"

"Sometimes yes. Come on, let's go, old man."

"Who you calling old? As I recall, you're older than me!" He sat up and stretched.

"By ten days, Tom."

"Still older. If I'm old, so are you."

"Don't forget grouchy."

"Yeah yeah. Let's go meet our first grandson," Tom said with a chuckle.