Author's Note:

Is this a filler chapter? Judge for yourself! (I personally think it so totally is.) But, more action is coming soon! It's not all smooth sailing for Ryan and Kelly, sad as that may seem.

Also, I've been SUPER busy (college likes to spring things on you) so I will definitely be updating, just not as frequently. Don't fear, dear readers! I promise this tale will be told.

Enjoy guys, and thank you so much for reading.

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As Ryan rolled over, tangled in the sheets and still half-stuck in a foggy dream that he had mostly forgotten, his arm bumped into something soft. He cracked open one eye. Something brown and soft.

Kelly snuggled closer to him, wrapping his arm around her and her breathing grew quiet. He'd just begun to think that maybe she'd gone back to sleep when her voice, throaty with dreams, rose up and settled on the sheets between them.

"Hey."

"Hey." He replied, tightening his grip around her, pulling her a little closer. He could feel her relax into his arms; see her smile even though she was facing away from him. He was smiling a little himself.

She was still for a long time, even though he could tell she was awake. "Do you want to feel something?"

"Hmm?" He wondered what kind of 'something' she had planned and hoped it was the same sort of 'something' he was thinking of. She laughed when he kissed the sensitive hollow of her neck, where it met her shoulder.

"Not that." She turned to face him. "Give me your hand."

Still aroused by the possibility, he held out one hand and she placed it on the smooth roundness of her growing stomach. He felt a tiny thumping, a slight twitch and his eyes met hers, full of questions.

"She's kicking," she smiled, and he felt a sweet twisting in his chest, somewhere near his heart.

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He stumbled out of the shower, dripping on the white tile as he wrapped a towel around his waist, steam still rising from his shoulders. Stepping into her living room, half-naked and still a little damp, he caught her, still in her pajamas, feet up on the end of the couch, in the middle of a conversation.

"Yes, I know, mama. I totally haven't forgotten you and daddy. It's just…" she sighed. "Work has been so totally hectic lately and I haven't even had time to go to the mall." She paused, not yet noticing him in the doorway. "Alright. Yes I will. I'll call you later okay? Maybe next weekend. I'll see what I can do. Totally, mama. Alright, I love you too. Bye."

Ryan hesitated, falling a little into his old self before he caught it and stepped into the room. "Hey, what's up?"

She tilted her head backward, smiling at the sight of him in only a towel. "Oh, nothing. Just my crazy-ass parents. I haven't gone to see them since like, May, and they're wondering what's up."

"So you haven't told them?" She moved her legs for him to sit down next to her.

"Considering they'd've totally killed me? Nope."

"Hmm…" Ryan was silent for a long time. "You have to tell them, don't you."

"Let's see….hmm….uh yeah, Ryan. I do." She caught the look on his face, the deer-in-headlights expression she knew so well, just before he did. Glancing down at her, he tried his best to smile and failed.

"Don't worry about it." She tried her best to come off as blasé. "I mean, it's just my parents. I've totally gotten away with worse things than this."

"Really?" He gave her a dubious look.

"Well, maybe not."

He ran his fingers through his hair and at once she knew he was nervous. It was as if those five months had melted away and at once she'd remembered every little mannerism, each slight tick he'd had. The ones she used to study when she was still searching for any sign that he cared.

"Hey, it's okay," she said, touching his arm softly. "It'll be totally fine."

"Yeah." He said, but she knew he didn't believe her. She didn't really believe herself.

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He left late in the evening, had work in the morning just like she did. He stood in the doorway with her in his arms for what felt like an eternity, and as she moved to kiss his cheek he turned his head to meet her lips, feeling her smile against his mouth. Sighing a little when he pulled away, she hugged him one last time, briefly, and closed the door as he bounded down the steps.

He'd called into work as soon as he'd gotten up, feigning the nasty 24 hour thing that had been going around the office already and nobody'd asked twice. It wasn't like he'd ever called in, anyway. Not since he'd gotten the Corporate job.

He hummed along to "Crooked Teeth" as he pulled up to his apartment building, drumming his thumbs on the steering wheel as he searched for a parking spot. As he unlocked his apartment door, dropping his keys on the table nearby, he grabbed a beer from the fridge, flipped on the TV and sunk into his black leather couch.

He hadn't smiled this much in years.

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As her phone rang in her ear, Kelly wondered how many times she'd called Pam in the last five months. Maybe just the last week. It had to be a pretty high number. Like, 35 or maybe 200 or something. Okay, probably more than that.

"Hey," she said, squeaking just a little into the phone. "You will not believe what happened last night!"

Pam couldn't help but feel a little of Kelly's happiness herself as it bled through the phone. She repeated everything to Jim, who was sitting next to her on the couch, listening intently to Kelly's story as the credits for Scrubs scrolled across Pam's TV.

"Why haven't you ever done something like that for me?" Pam asked when Kelly recounted the surprise Ryan had set up for her. Jim shrugged.

"Who'd've thought Ryan would outdo me in the romance department." He said.

"So what do you guys think?" Kelly said after she'd finished.

"I think it's adorable," Pam said. "He really has changed."

"He has." Jim admitted, albeit reluctantly.

"The only problem is," Kelly said, "My mom called me this morning to tell me that she and Daddy have been wondering if I've fallen off the face of the earth or something. If I don't go see them soon, they'll totally flip."

"That is a problem," Pam agreed. "What does Ryan think about going with you?"

"We talked about it some, but I can tell he really doesn't want to deal with them just yet. I think he's still adjusting to the whole 'she's-carrying-my-baby' thing."

"He's gonna have to get over that," Jim said. "I think you should probably tell your parents sometime soon. I mean, it's been what, like six months?"

"Five," Kelly corrected. "And yeah, I know. I think I'll talk to Ryan about going sometime in the next few weeks. They've gotta know sometime. At least Ryan and me are kinda back together and stuff. I'm pretty sure we are. After all, the whole awesome surprise thing kinda says it all."

"How are you going to tell your parents? There's no way they'll take this well," Pam asked.

"I have no idea." Kelly said. "What do you think I should do?"

Jim and Pam looked at each other. "Um..."

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How do you think Kelly should break it to her parents? Let me know, because even I'm not exactly sure!