A/N: Dear Guest, I can't thank you enough for that review. It just... it gave me the boost I needed. I go a little crazy when I'm not writing. Thanks to your kind and compassionate words, I am going to try and finish this story as I had envisioned it. I'm currently working on the next arc, and once it is done to my satisfaction, I will put up the next chapter. My heart, my mind and the people who have to live with me thank you.
Thanks are due to everyone who is still reading this story and to all the new followers. I truly appreciate you, I do. Thank you.

"Not flesh of my flesh, nor bone of my bone,
but still miraculously my own.
Never forget for a single minute,
you didn't grow under my heart, but in it"

- Fleur Conkling Heylinger

Dr. Fleming hushed everyone around them.
"Listen to this"
She said to Veronica,
"What does Daddy say, love?"
Veronica raised her brows and stretched her fingers, as if trying to make a point. Her sweet, childish voice emulated an excellent mimicry.
"Actually..."
That sent all of her Daddy's friends laughing. Her Uncle Derek laughed the loudest.
Veronica went on.
"The earth is only 2% land. Statistically, pigeons poop the most"
Dr. Fleming said, amidst the laughter,
"Now do Monica. What does Monica say?"
Veronica craned her neck to the side, making her luscious brown hair fall off one shoulder. She batted her lashes and said in a sing-song voice,
"Dr. Reeeiiidd"
Her Uncle George laughed so hard he fell out of his chair. Then he laughed while sitting on the floor.
The now three-year old continued,
"Could you take the trash out? Pleeeease"
"Why does that sound so familiar?", Matt said.
He gave a meaningful look to his wife Kristy, sending everyone into another fit of laughter.
"Oh my god", Garcia wheezed, "I'm dying"
She wiped her tears, having laughed the hardest.

While the merriment went on in their front yard, on the occasion of Veronica's birthday, Spencer and Monica argued in the kitchen. He turned to her, wearing his apron,
"You agreed to take on the host duties! Go entertain! Go entertain"
She retorted.
"I didn't know you would be putting coconut oil in the food!"
"It's a curry!"
"A North Indian curry. They don't use coconut oil in Northern..."
"I read the recipe! Read it word to word. Are you seriously doubting my eidetic memory?"
"I worked in an Indian restaurant, Megamind. If you don't believe me, just look at the recipe again"
Spencer's raised voice dripped of sarcasm. He said,
"If that will get you out of the kitchen, sure!"
He pulled open the cookbook, hard enough to rip the pages. He read it aloud rapidly, not twenty thousand words per minute, but still fast enough to show Monica how annoyed he was.
"...vegetable oil. However, avoid using coconut oil or..."
He stopped.
He had read it wrong.
Or worse - he had forgotten. But how could he forget?
Spencer's face fell. He lowered his head as Monica put her arms around him. Seeing him look so humiliated had knocked all the fight out of her.
She offered.
"It happens sometimes. Maybe you overlooked it"
He mumbled,
"This has never happened to me before, I swear"
She grinned.
"I know, darling"

Out there in the yard, Veronica soon got bored with being the centre of attention. She played with her friends from school and the Simmons kids instead.
Morgan's son, Hank, tried to join them. But he kept coming back to play with Monica's nephew, Giles.
"Mommy, can we take him home with us, please?", he asked Savannah.
She laughed.
"No, sweetheart. He's just a baby. He needs his Mommy"

While Ted Knight and David Rossi talked of old times in the drawing room, Tara and Dr. Fleming struck up a conversation about psychology that amused them and them alone. JJ found herself chatting with Monica's sister Catherine. Derek caught up with his old team-mates, while George entertained the rest of the guests.
Max went into the kitchen. On seeing his sister's boyfriend frazzled to no end, he couldn't help but say –
"You need some help?"
Spencer replied,
"No, I'm almost done. Thanks, Max"
Garcia came in too then. She informed him.
"The kids are starting to chant 'Cake! Cake! Cake!' out there. And Veronica's already organising them in fighter troops"
Max took over despite of Spencer's half-hearted protests.
"You leave this to me", he said, "Go help Monica. I'll handle the cooking"
Spencer asked him,
"You sure?"
"Yeah"
Henry too joined them in the kitchen. He told Spencer,
"Aunt Monica said she wants you out on the yard"
"Yeah, I'm coming"
Max asked, looking around,
"Why did you cook three different cuisi..."
But he was left alone in the kitchen to deal with a boiling pot, a beeping oven and a whole array of appetisers.

Adorable as ever, Veronica looked at all the faces surrounding her. There was a big grin on her own face. Monica was smiling at her, asking her to blow the candles. Veronica looked to her left and found Daddy. He said,
"Go on, Nica. Blow the candles"
She did.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU..."
Forgetting everything else, Veronica laughed.
So many happy faces. So many new friends. And they were all there for her.

Later in the evening –

Spencer was sitting in the study, making note of the day's expenditures. He could have done it orally but Monica insisted on having their expenses in writing. The woman loved documentation.
"She's out like a light"
Saying so, Monica entered the study. The notebook and pen Spencer had been fiddling with lay on the table forgotten. He leaned back in his chair, leaning back far enough for his head to touch her. But Monica stopped short of him. He reached a hand towards her.
"Come here"
She took his hand, and he pulled her along. Monica smiled down at him.
"You done with the tally?"
He smirked.
"Say it again"
"Say what?"
"Tally"
She rolled her eyes. Grinning, Spencer pulled her onto his lap. Her hands caressed the sides of his face.
"We pulled it off", Monica said, "Today was a success"
"You were right. And we saved $135 by not hiring a caterer"
"Say that again"
He asked,
"Say what again?"
"You were right"
She kissed his cheek as he smiled. Spencer said, reflecting,
"It has been almost a year. Doesn't feel like it"
"Not really"
His hand passed from her thigh to her waist.
"I don't want to sound conceited but, we did okay with her. Right?"
The undernourished, shy child that had walked towards him in Seattle was now just a memory. His healthy, thriving daughter would have pitied that baby if she could have remembered her.
"You have been spectacular with her, my love"
Monica straightened the collar of his shirt.
"I don't know how I could have done any of this without you", she said.
"You would have. You're pretty efficient"
That made her laugh. She put her arms around his neck.
"Then let's just say I'm glad I did it with you"
"Yeah, we make a pretty good team"
"Damn right"
"Blow it up"
She gave him a fist bump, smiling wide. Spencer settled his hand on her waist again. When he looked up, he saw the light from the table lamp glinting in her green eyes. Her face smiled down on him like an angel's.
She had never denied him anything, not her heart, not her body, not her home. But this, what he was about to ask of her, was a different matter altogether.
Spencer spoke his heart, before his mind could think.
"Would you like to do it again?"
To his utter relief, Monica took his meaning at once. Her smile faltered.
"You mean..."
Spencer said,
"The Neanderthal way"
She smiled.
"But you... when did you...", Monica asked, unbelieving, "You changed your mind?"
"Yeah"
"How? I mean, did something happen?"
"You happened"
Spencer took her hand and kissed it. Monica's bramble-bruised, life-giving, green-thumbed hands.
It was still a mystery to him how one man could find true love twice in one lifetime. And a love like Monica's... it was what every poet and every love song had promised him.
Looking into her eyes, Spencer recited the speech he had made up over a year ago. His voice was soft and calm.
"I want a baby, Monica. Yours and mine. With your eyes, your spirit, your smile. More than that, I want to make you pregnant. I am sorry if this sounds weird, but it's the greatest thing I can imagine - you pregnant with my child", he gave a coy smile, "I want to see you walk around, carrying our baby inside you. I want to rub your swollen feet, be mesmerised by your bigger breasts"
Monica chuckled, hiding her face in one hand.
Spencer added,
"Besides, a kid as perfect as Veronica deserves a sibling to grow up with, right?"
"Okay"
He raised his brows.
"Okay?", he said.
She nodded, grinning and turning the colour of her home-grown tomatoes.
"As in - okay, let's do it!"
He hadn't expected her to give in so soon. A ridiculous smile erupted on his face. He asked,
"You really want to have a baby with me?"
She laughed at him.
"Of course I do, you egg!"
Now overcome with emotion, Spencer buried his face above her chest, clutching her to him.
"Thank you", he said, "Thank you so much"
Monica kissed the top of his head, holding him to her heart.

They were going to have a baby. Veronica was going to have a sibling. Not even the worst news in the world could have ruined that moment for him.
"You know...", Monica said, "Our perfect kid?"
Spencer smiled fondly,
"Yeah?"
"She kissed Agent Simmons' son on the mouth today"
"SHE DID WHAT?!"

"Making the decision to have a child – it's momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking outside your body"

- Elizabeth Stone