Author's Note: Well, here it is.

Marco believed that things always happened for a reason. He wasn't entirely sure what the reason for this miracle, but also curse, had come to be. How and why had he ended up being the carrier of a baby? Was it to punish him or to bless him? To teach him a lesson? Marco wondered if he'd done anything to deserve it, and if he'd make it through. He wasn't sure if he was exactly happy about the situation, but he knew that if the pregnancy didn't work out, he'd be unhappy.

Marco lay back against Dylan on the couch, trying to concentrate on the paper that was on the computer in front of him he still had yet to finish. This wasn't like him. Everything was always done right on time, and he knew he'd regret it later on.

But he'd regret not spending time with Dylan more. He hadn't told Marco how long he was staying, but Marco assumed he was going to be home for just a short while. Dylan absentmindedly ran his hand across Marco's stomach, making Marco, for the tenth time, lose concentration.

"Dylan, I'm trying to work here," he whined, still snuggling further into his boyfriend.

Dylan laughed, letting his hand rest there. "Sorry," he whispered. "When are you going to be done with that?" he asked.

Marco sighed. Dylan didn't seem to understand that no matter what words he was saying at the time, they were still distracting and unneeded. "Well, faster if you stop talking." He rolled his eyes, but pulled Marco more tightly against him.

"Is it interesting?" he asked.

Marco shut his eyes, knowing Dylan couldn't really be that stupid. "Dylan, do you have a listening problem?"

Ellie, catching only that part of the conversation, laughed. "He's not very patient lately, Dylan," she said, amused.

"Thanks for warning me, Ellie," said Dylan sarcastically. "I really appreciate that."

Ellie carefully observed the scene in front of her, taking her book to the chair with her. If there was anyone that such a miraculous thing could happen to, Ellie actually wasn't surprised it was Marco. She hoped with all of her heart that Dylan would be around for Marco and the baby, and that the situation would work out. She had never considered the fact that if the pregnancy was successful, there would be a babe living in the house she lived in. Ellie liked babies.

Though, she didn't like babies crying, babies screaming, babies wanting to be picked up, babies using the diaper as their own private bathroom, changing them, feeding them…the only thing she actually liked, she admitted, was that they could sometimes be cute.

They were in serious trouble, and she didn't think Marco and Dylan were really paying any attention to that. Did they realize that, with hockey and college, they were also going to be parents? To a baby, no less? A crying, screaming, spitting-up, un-potty trained baby? As she watched Dylan hold Marco against him, watching, irritated as Marco typed up a paper, she knew they didn't realize it. Soon, there'd be a lot more to do than just that paper.

She knew how Dylan's patience was usually not at its height, so she was waiting (actually anxiously) for Dylan to experience all of the mood swings, strange food cravings, and emotional burnouts. She'd be surprised if Dylan could handle it all in the manner that Ellie and Paige had learned to.

"You'd better let him finish his paper, Dylan," said Ellie.

"Forget it, El," said Marco, pulling Dylan's hand off of him. He leaned over to put his laptop down on the floor. "I'm not going to finish with this overgrown child here."

Dylan smiled. "You have time later," said Dylan, the voice of reason, of course. He wrapped his arms around Marco's middle, leaning his chin on the younger boy's shoulder.

"So, you boys thinking about what you're going to do?" asked Ellie, sitting cross-legged. "The baby, I mean."

Dylan tightened his hold on Marco. "Why'd you bring it up, Ellie?" he asked, exasperated.

"Well, we do have to talk about it, you know," said Marco, turning around. "It's not going to go away!"

Dylan nodded, looking into his boyfriend's eyes. It had been neglected long enough, he supposed. "All right, but I warn you, I'm not looking forward."

Marco looked confused. "You're not?"

"I didn't mean it like that," Dylan assured him hurriedly.

"So, you don't want to have this baby?" asked Marco, hurt.

"Oh my god…" he mumbled, rubbing his temples. "That's not what I meant."

"Well," said Marco, getting off the couch, "then you don't have to help me with this, Dylan."

Dylan watched as Marco stormed upstairs to his bedroom. He winced as he heard the bedroom door slam.

"Sensitive…" said Dylan.

"Get used to it," said Ellie, rolling her eyes. "Just remember, he can't really control it. It makes it easier not to scream at him."

Dylan laughed. "I'd better go talk to him," he said, stretching his arms above his head. "Wish me luck."

"If you need help, scream," said Ellie, smiling into her book.

Dylan walked up the stairs, the first time he'd been up the stairs in a few months. He started feeling that he really had abandoned his boyfriend. Dylan knew he would feel this way when he came home, and he now wanted to stay instead of go back to Switzerland.

Dylan cautiously knocked on the door, and jingled the knob, realizing it wasn't locked. "Marco," he said, leaning against the opened door.

Marco looked up from the bed tearfully. "I'm kind of excited for this, Dylan," he said. "I want you to be happy about it."

Dylan walked over to where Marco was sitting, taking his hand in his own. "I'm going to try to be patient with your pregnancy, but you're going to have to understand that I don't know anything," he said, squeezing his hand. "I love you."

"I love you too," said Marco.

"No more tears?" asked Dylan hopefully, putting his hand on Marco's shoulder.

"Don't count on that."

Dylan moved so that the two of them could lie down comfortably. He reached out his arms to pull Marco closer to his body. "So, what are we going to do?" he asked quietly.

"I'm keeping it," said Marco, taking Dylan's hands off his back to entwine his fingers with Dylan's. "I want to have the baby."

"I want to be here for you," said Dylan, arriving at the confusing part of the conversation.

"You can come home when it gets closer to the due date…" said Marco, just throwing the idea out there.

"I want to be here for you now, Marco," said Dylan, moving closer to him, "when you need me."

"So, you could leave me with no problem before, but when there's a baby involved…"

"Please," said Dylan, feeling himself become frustrated, "don't accuse me of things like that, okay?"

"Fine," said Marco, "let's not fight."

Marco let go of Dylan's hand, pushing his head into his pillow to block the pain behind his eyes. "It's scary for me, Dylan," he said softly.

Dylan moved his hand to rest again on Dylan's back. "I know, honey," he said soothingly, understanding that this was going to be a bigger deal than they really knew at the present time.

Marco remembered his thoughts from earlier in the day. He pulled his face out of the pillow, and sit up, urging Dylan to do the same.

"Do you think this is good?" he asked. "I mean, do you think this happened for a reason? It's never really been known to happen before, right?"

Dylan laughed, despite his nerves. "We definitely have to be positive about it," he said, smiling.

"But really," said Marco, feeling his fear wash away for the moment, his face absolutely glowing, "I'm going to have a baby!"

Dylan's smile increased as he ran his fingers through Marco's hair. "I know," he said. He was nervous, but he was glad to see that Marco was becoming blissful with the idea. If Marco was okay, he could certainly be all right.

"I mean, this is something I thought could never happen," Marco continued excitedly. "I'm going to be a dad!"

Dylan rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Yes, you are."

It was the first time in a while that Dylan had seen his boyfriend so excited about something, something that would change his life forever. Dylan had hockey in Switzerland to make him happy, but Marco really had nothing. Maybe it was, as Marco said, something that was supposed to happen for them.

"I think I'm going to stay," said Dylan, hoping he wouldn't regret it. "I mean, I can't go back now."

Marco's eyes widened. "No, you can't," he said hurriedly. "After everything we went through for you to end up going, you can't come back now, Dylan!"

"But this baby is more important than a damn game of hockey," said Dylan wisely.

"Don't give it up," said Marco, biting his lip. He didn't want to be responsible for Dylan losing his entire life's dream. "I love you too much to let you do that."

Dylan shook his head. "I love you too much to leave you alone and pregnant," he said, taking Marco's hand again. "I told you once, and I'll tell you again, you mean everything to me. Everything means you come before a game."

"But I'll always be here, Dylan," said Marco, wondering why he was saying what he was saying. Dylan was offering to stay, and he had waited for so long for him to come back for good. Now he was denying that? "They want you now."

"I don't care," he said honestly. Marco could tell he was being completely serious. He was going to give it all up. "Marco, I'm going to stay here with you. Don't tell me not to."

Marco sighed. What could he say? He wrapped his arms around Dylan's neck, hugging him tightly. "I love you," he whispered. "I love you so much."

Dylan let himself be squeezed to death, hugging back just as tightly. "I love you too," he said, kissing the top of Marco's head when he pulled away.

Marco's face fell suddenly. "Dylan!" he exclaimed.

"What?" Dylan asked, confused. "What's wrong?"

Marco hit him on the head. "Hello! What the hell am I going to tell my parents?!"

Dylan rubbed the spot where he'd been hit. "Ow," he muttered. "I really hadn't thought about that part."

"Neither had I," said Marco, getting off the bed. "I have to change, get to school, somehow tell me parents…"

Dylan knew it was his job to comfort the distressed Marco. He laid his hand on Marco's shoulder while Marco kept his head in his hands. "Don't know what to do," he murmured into his hands.

"Not happy anymore?" Dylan asked, pouting.

Marco shook his head. "No, not happy anymore. Why does everything that makes me happy cause problems?"

Dylan didn't answer his question, just simply went to rub Marco's shoulders, hoping to make him feel better. "Do you want chocolate?" he asked.

Marco's head shot up out of his hands. "You got some?" he asked. Dylan supposed that had been the right thing to say.

"Mhmm," said Dylan, "I have it downstairs; thought you might want some."

"It's Swiss?" he asked, frowning.

Dylan proceeded to rub Marco's tense shoulders. "Yeah, why?"

"I have an opposition to any food coming from Switzerland right now…" he admitted, laughing.

"Well, okay," said Dylan, laughing with him, mostly at the lack of sanity Marco seemed to have. "I will go get it, bring it up here, and when you see how good it is, you can have it all."

"Thank you," said Marco, knowing he was going to end up eating it. Truthfully, he'd most of likely end up eating Swiss cheese again as well. Dylan was home for good.

Author's Note: Okay, so I'm done…as of this moment, but it's Wednesday…posting tomorrow…Thursday lol when I'm home from Pennsylvania. Today is Independence Day! Yay for celebrating the country I hate to live in at the moment! Anyway, please review. Also, I'm sorry if it's not the best chapter. I really didn't have any time to look it over. I tried…so don't shoot?