Nathan was at the River Court, playing like his life depended on it, when Peyton drove up. She had to smile. This man had always loved basketball more than he loved himself, which, at least when they were dating, said a lot. He was still passionate about the game that he could always lose himself in, and she was thankful for that. He needed that.

He saw her, but continued playing. She got out of her car and stuffed her hands into the back pockets of her jeans as she walked onto the asphalt.

"Hey, Sawyer," he said breathlessly as he went in for a lay up.

"Hey, superstar," she responded, making him laugh. She walked to the bleachers and handed him his towel so he could wipe the sweat from his face. He sat down next to her and reached for his bottle of Gatorade.

"One more day, huh?" he asked, still trying to catch his breath.

She couldn't contain her smile. God, she missed her husband. She simply couldn't wait to see him again. It had been a long month. She hadn't thought it possible, but she loved him more now than she did when he left.

"One more day," she repeated.

"Look at you!" he teased, bumping her shoulder with his own. "Can't stop smiling. That's what I like to see."

"Whatever. I know you can't wait to call him and play one-on-one," she said with a kinked brow.

"Fair enough," he said with a nod, making them both laugh. "So what's up?"

"Why do you think something's up?" she asked with a grin, turning to face him.

"Whoa!" he said, throwing his hands up defensively. "It's a standard question."

"Actually, I do have a question for you," she said, causing him to turn to face her with narrowed eyes.

"Shoot.

"Would you rather be called Uncle Nathan, or just Nathan?" she asked, unable to keep herself from grinning.

His eyes went wide and a huge toothy smile spread on his face. "Are you serious!?"

"Yeah," she said with a smile, though she could feel the tear pooling in her eye. She'd gone to the doctor that morning and it had been confirmed. "I'm pregnant, Nate."

"This is awesome," he said. He pulled her into a tight hug, neither of them caring that he was drenched in sweat. "Wait, why are you telling me before you tell Luke?"

"Haley told Luke about Jamie before she told you," she said with a shrug. "You're my best bud, Nathan. I wanted to share this with you."

"Well, I'm glad you did," he said with a chuckle, shaking his head. "I can't believe it."

"Why? It's not that crazy," she laughed.

"No, not that," he said. "Just...you know, both Luke and I had always wanted real families. I mean, our moms are both amazing, and Lucas had Keith, but it's not the same. We both just wanted that chance to make our own really great memories, you know?"

"Yeah, I know," she said, rubbing his back with her hand. "Nathan, you're an amazing father."

He turned to look at her, surprised by her words. "Thank you."

"Luke better be as good as you, or we'll have trouble," she joked, making him laugh.

"I don't think you're going to have a problem with that."

"Me neither," she said with a smile as she looked at her lap.

"You're really having a baby." He said it like a statement, not a question, as though he had to say it out loud to make it true. He was going to be an uncle. When he heard her sigh loudly, he turned to her again.

"How am I gonna tell Luke?" she asked again with fear in her eyes.

She still hadn't thought of a way to bring it up, and she was really starting to believe that Haley's tactic of just blurting it out was the best way to go.

"He's not going to care how you tell him," Nathan said with a laugh, throwing his arm around her shoulder. "Too bad we don't have mini Ravens jerseys or something."

"Oh God," she said with a laugh. "Of course, it'd have to be about basketball with you."

"Come on! That'd be great! A baby sized jersey? Best ever."

Peyton made a mental note to pass that information along to Haley. "You know? When we first talked about having kids, his main concern was what jersey number our child would have."

Nathan could only smile and shake his head. "He's going to be so happy."

"I know." The smile wouldn't leave her own face, and when he wrapped his arms around her again, she started to tear up which, of course, he made fun of her for.

The two sat a while longer, mostly in silence, but occasionally making jokes or talking about Lucas or Haley or Jamie or the next and newest Scott. Peyton drove home feeling like this was it. This was her life. Her family. Her memories waiting to be made. She'd spent the afternoon with her brother-in-law; the man who would play with her child and babysit, and most likely be a Godparent. She smiled at the thought. This was her life.

She entered her house - their house - and made dinner for one for the last time. He was coming home. When she lay down to sleep that night, her heart felt a little more whole knowing he'd be there the following evening.

Little did she know that he had a surprise of his own.

----

It was 2:00 am and Lucas was walking up the steps to his house for the first time since he'd left. It seemed like ages ago. He felt a pang of guilt that he'd left his wife for that long, but he was home now. And he wasn't ever going to leave her for that long again; he'd already told his publishing company as much.

As soon as his official duties were done, he'd booked a seat on the next available flight out of New York. He wasn't scheduled to leave until the following afternoon, but he was told, to his relief, that he wasn't needed. Now here he stood, only a door separating him from the love of his life.

He unlocked the front door as quietly as he could and hoisted his suitcase into the house. He slipped off his shoes before making his way to their bedroom. He stood for a moment, just watching her as she slept. She hadn't migrated to the middle of the bed. Rather, she'd stayed on her side, as though waiting for his return. He noticed two pillows laying in the place that was usually his, and had to smile.

She looked beautiful in one of his old tee shirts. Her hair was splayed on the pillow almost perfectly, and her hands were tucked under her cheek. He simply loved that woman.

He crawled onto the bed and lay next to her so her back was to his chest, and pressed a chaste kiss to her temple. His heart swelled. He was finally next to her again. He didn't think he'd miss her as much as he did. At times it had been hard to breathe without her. He'd wake up in the night and reach out for her, frantic to find the bed empty. He really couldn't live without her.

She stirred in his arms and he kissed her once again, just to feel her.

"Mmm, Lucas," she muttered, half asleep and adorably out of it.

"Hey, baby," he whispered. He watched her eyes shoot open and she turned to him.

"Lucas! Hi!" She threw her arms around him and pulled him as close to her as she could. "What are you doing here? You're not supposed to be back till tomorrow!"

He laughed at her, but before he could answer, she was kissing him. His hand hooked around her back and pulled her into him. They stayed like that for what felt like forever, almost as though they were re-familiarizing themselves with each other.

"I missed you so much," he whispered breathlessly against her cheek.

"I missed you, too. So much," she echoed. "I love you."

"I love you," he said, puling away to look at her face. He brushed a piece of hair back and tucked it behind her ear, and kissed the tip of her nose for no reason other than he wanted to.

"How are you here right now?" she asked, snuggling against his side.

"I got an earlier flight. I had to come home and see you," he said quietly. He ran his hands over her body wherever he could. He needed to touch her. "I'm not leaving you like that again. Ever."

"Good," she sighed, leaning over to kiss the bare skin on his chest where his collar was open. "I don't like being without you."

His hand trailed up her spine and he felt her shiver. It had been too long without those touches. She leaned up and kissed him like she needed to. She needed him. She moved so she was straddling him, and pulled away from his lips, unbuttoning his shirt slowly as his hands moved idly on her hips. Her fingertips grazed the space below his belly button and he thought he was going to lose it then and there. He sat up and let her slide his shirt off his shoulders, then he laid her down so he was on top of her.

"God, Peyton. You have no idea how much I need you," he said softly, looking into her eyes.

"Yes, I do," she insisted.

She leaned up to kiss him again, as his hands slipped underneath her shirt, feeling the skin of her stomach. He pulled away from her lips and she whined at the loss of contact. And oh, how he loved that sound. He let out a hot breath on her neck as he kissed her and nipped at her earlobe.

"Lucas?" she whispered.

"Yeah, babe?" he muttered against her neck.

"I'm pregnant."

He pulled away and looked down at her smiling face. He let out a puff of air somewhere between a sigh and a laugh.

"You're...we're...Peyton..." he stuttered, and she felt his palm caress her stomach. "You are?"

"I found out yesterday," she said softly as she nodded.

He didn't say anything for a few moments. He just looked at her as his hand rested where his child was growing. She noticed a tear pooling in his eye, and reached up to cup his cheek.

"I love you," she whispered.

"We're having a baby," he stated with a smile and she nodded. "God, I love you."

He kissed her again and she felt the tear fall from his eye onto her own cheek. The sight and feel and thought of her husband unabashedly crying a tear of joy made her shed one of her own. He pushed the tee shirt up over her head. He'd always loved her stomach - he once said it was his favourite past time to kiss her tummy - but when he did it now, it brought a whole knew meaning.

----

Peyton woke up in her husbands arms and thought she might be dreaming. She didn't want to be one of those wives who needed her husband - she'd never been that girl - but she'd given up the hope that she could ever let Lucas go a long time ago. She did need him, and she didn't care who she admitted that to. Those who didn't understand obviously had never had someone like Lucas love them.

He was still sleeping next to her and she didn't want to wake him, and truthfully, she didn't want to leave his arms. So she lay there until she heard him take a deep breath, like he always did when he first woke up, before he'd even opened his eyes. She'd come to love the sound, and now it brought a smile to her face now, after not hearing it for so long.

"Morning," she said softly as she felt him pull her into his side.

"You know how much I missed this?" he asked abruptly.

"What? This?" she asked, trailing kisses across his chest and nuzzling his neck.

"Definitely that," he growled. "But I meant just waking up with you."

"I was just thinking the same thing," she said with a smile.

"Sorry I woke you last night. I just had to hear your voice and..."

"And what?" she asked coyly, pulling away to look at him. She noticed the embarrassed smirk on his lips.

"I just had to be with you," he finished softly.

"I'll never get sick of hearing that." She remembered the first time he'd said it - as teenagers, stealing kisses in the hallway, both terrified of their feelings and what they meant; neither of them knowing those very feelings would have brought them here.

She kissed him and her hand crept up to his face, running over the stubble that graced his jaw line. She slung her leg over his and he let out a throaty moan. He'd had painfully vivid dreams about those damn legs...

"It is so good to be home," he said. He looked down at her angelic face and her bare shoulders, and he still couldn't believe she was his. And it wasn't that he'd forgotten her news from the night before, it just still hadn't sunk in yet.

"Ugh," she groaned, rolling away from him. "I should get up. I'm getting hungry." She stood from the bed and his breath caught in his throat. Suddenly every little thing she did, he appreciated that much more.

"Peyt," he said as she wrapped her robe around the naked body he'd been admiring. She turned to face him and sat on the edge of the bed. He took her hand before he spoke. "We're really having a baby?"

She leaned forward and kissed the boyish smile he was wearing. "We are."

"I'm just kind of..." he started, before realizing that he didn't have the word to complete that sentence. "Wow."

She wasn't sure if she'd ever heard him say anything as wonderful as that. It was silly, really, that of all the words he'd said and written over the years, she found herself falling in love with him more over his inability to find the right adjective.

"The one bad thing, though?" she said softly, resting her hand on his thigh, covered only by a bed sheet, and moving it slowly. "I was kind of hoping we'd have to try. A lot."

He raised an eyebrow and smirked that way that only he could, and leaned in to kiss her. Somewhere between an innocent enough kiss and parting, desperately needing air as their heartbeats raced, she wound up on his lap with her arms around his neck.

"Mrs. Scott, are you seducing me?" he asked in the husky tone that he knew drove her wild.

"What if I am?" she inquired coyly.

His only response was to tug at the sash of her robe as he kissed her again, sliding the blue satin off her shoulders before laying her down again and mumbling an I love you against her lips.

So maybe trying would have been fun, too. But when he, out of habit, reached for the drawer of the night stand, she stopped him and looked up at him with a smile. Then she whispered something almost unbearably sexy into his ear, and he realized that this was definitely just as fun.

----

"Still hungry?" he asked as they lay together, tracing patterns on each others' skin.

"Is that an innuendo?" she asked, poking fun of the way he wrote his emails when he was away.

"It could be, couldn't it?" he said, kinking his brow as she laughed. "Earlier, you said you were hungry. I mean, before you took advantage of the man in your bed."

"Well, consider yourself lucky that it was you, mister," she teased. "I'm actually starving."

He stood and pulled on a pair of shorts and ran to the kitchen, leaving her laying in bed, stunned by his sudden burst of energy. She got up and pulled her robe over her shoulders for the second time that morning, and pulled her hair into a ponytail.

"What are you doing?" she asked with a laugh as she entered the kitchen.

"I'm making you breakfast. I want the baby to be really chubby and cute," he said with a grin, grabbing eggs and bacon from the fridge.

"Lucas, he's like, a tadpole right now or something," she said, laughing at her husband's eagerness.

"But he's our tadpole, babe," he said with a goofy smile, looking at her with love in his eyes.

She poured herself a glass of juice and watched him as he stood at the counter preparing to cook up their breakfast. She walked to him and tugged his arm gently until he turned to face her, then she smiled and kissed him chastely on the lips before walking to the table and taking a seat.

"You know how much it sucks to go without kissing for a full month?" she asked teasingly.

He froze. He had to tell her about Lindsey. Sure, he could just pretend it never happened, but he wasn't that guy. Just because she wasn't there and because she'd probably never find out if he didn't tell her, didn't mean that she didn't deserve to know. He'd never kept a secret from her, and he wasn't about to start now.

"Peyton, I need to tell you something," he said, placing his hands on the counter in front of him.

"Why does that tone of voice scare me?" she asked from her place at the table. She watched his posture change and got a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach that she knew wasn't just morning sickness.

"Lindsey kissed me. I stopped her. It was barely a peck on the lips and I pushed her away and told her she was insane. I asked for a different editor," he said hurriedly, finally turning to look at her when he was done speaking.

"She kissed you?!" Peyton shouted, standing from her seat.

"We aren't working together any more and I reported her to her boss," he said, walking towards her and hoping to calm her with his words.

"Where does she live?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"What?"

"Where does she live? She's about to get her ass kicked by a pregnant chick," Peyton said, walking back into their bedroom and searching for clothes to put on. He started to think that she was actually serious.

"Peyton..."

"Lucas! Every single worry I had in my head when I first met her just came true. And I told you that if she tried anything, I'd come after her. So guess what? She's about to find out what having a Marine for a brother can do for your boxing skills!" She was pulling items from their closet and tossing them on the bed.

"Babe, you need to calm down," he said, putting his hands on her upper arms and pulling her so her back was resting against his chest.

"Fine. I'll calm down. I'll just tell Brooke, and she can kick her ass for me!" she said.

"Peyton," he protested.

"Luke, just be glad I'm not mad at you," she said, turning to face him before going back into the kitchen.

"Why would you be mad at me?" he asked defensively.

"Obviously, you did or said something to make her think you wanted her to kiss you! Did she not see your wedding ring?"

"Peyton, she's insane. She said she was in love with me or something. She's crazy," he said, kneeling in front of her where she sat at the table again. He took her hands in his. "I told her you're the only one for me."

"What a bitch," Peyton said, ignoring his sweet words, and instead focusing on the woman who'd attempted to steal her husband.

"Honey, I really need you to just calm down, OK?" He didn't want to patronize her, but she was worked up over something neither of them had any control over.

"Why did you even tell me?" she asked curiously as she stared down at their intertwined hands.

"Because you're my wife and you deserve to know everything. I wasn't going to keep it from you," he explained. She leaned forward and kissed him again.

"Thank you for being honest with me," she said, looking into his eyes. "She's lucky I don't fight her."

He was thankful he was still standing after his first of, likely, many encounters with Pregnant, Hormonal Peyton.

"Hey, I know," he said, standing and holding up his hands. "I seem to remember the shiner you gave Brooke for prom. Oh, and let's not forget Midnight Madness and you brawling with the rest of the cheerleaders. And the mascot."

"Shut up!" she laughed. "That was awesome, though. Me, Haley and Brooke against the rest of the squad." He just laughed from where he was at the stove. "You should not be laughing, Luke. There was a time when you couldn't do anything without getting into a brawl. Usually with Nathan," she pointed out.

"Oh come on. He usually deserved it. Besides, I haven't punched anyone in a really long time," he explained, as though him not hitting people was something she should be proud of. She just laughed at him as he turned back to tend to their breakfast.

She wanted to be angry and upset and maybe not talk to him, but she knew it wasn't his fault, and that he'd obviously done all he could to keep Lindsey away from him. And now they had much more important things to worry about, anyway.

As she watched him move around the kitchen, smiling and comfortable and acting like this wasn't the first morning they'd spent together in weeks, it dawned on her that in just under 8 months, she'd be sitting there with a baby in her arms as he cooked for her. He'd walk over and kiss both of them and maybe tickle a tiny belly before he sat down to eat. He'd be a father. Knowing that she was the one who would give him the child that she knew would make him blissfully happy, made her have to wipe her eyes again. They were the ones to give each other all the happiness in the world, and she believed that was the mark of the perfect marriage.

When she stood and wrapped her arms around him from behind, kissing the bare skin on his shoulders and the back of his neck, he just let out a noise she'd never get sick of hearing, and placed his hand over hers.

How she'd ever lived without him for a month was a complete mystery to her.

----