Chapter 3!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. The song Ben sings is A Thousand Years and belongs to Christina Perri.

Hey Lucy, I remembered your birthday

They said it'd bring some closure to say your name

I know I'd do it all different if I had the chance

But all I got are these roses to give

And they can't help me make amends

-"Lucy" by Skillet

We found out the sex of our baby on Elizabeth's birthday.

"Our beautiful baby boy," I murmured to the ultrasound.

"Our beautiful baby boy," Elizabeth repeated.

The doctor smiled at us. When Elizabeth died, he visited me and told me how he took one look at us and knew we were the perfect couple and would eventually be the perfect parents.

It didn't make much difference to me then. After all, my wife was gone, and my son had gone with her.

I know what you're all thinking. Wife? When did that happen?

It actually happened later that day.

We were sitting at a booth in the restaurant I worked at; it was our favorite restaurant (which seemed kind of odd to me since I worked there, and I thought I'd hate it because I would associate it with work, but I wound associating it with Elizabeth rather than work). I'd asked the cooks to make a special dinner for Elizabeth and to have the karaoke machine up and running for the big event. I told them some of the details, but not the ending. Only I knew that part.

"Now, we have a performance tonight," Carl, one of my fellow waiters, announced. "Ben Wheeler."

I stood and climbed the stage with Elizabeth watching me, curiously.

"I'd like to dedicate this performance to my girlfriend, Elizabeth Sheridan. Happy birthday, Beth," I announced before the music began playing.

I could see tears of happiness in her eyes as I began to sing.

"Heart beats fast. Colors and promises. How to be brave," I sang.

I slowly descended the stairs, continuing to sing. I took Elizabeth's hand just as the chorus began.

"I have died everyday, waiting for you. Darling, don't be afraid, I have loved you for a thousand years. I'll love you for a thousand more," I sang.

The song continued as I stared into Elizabeth's beautiful eyes, my hand intertwined with her's. I could feel the eyes of everyone in the restaurant on us- every employee, my grinning boss, every customer- but they didn't really exist to me in that moment. Nothing existed except for me and Elizabeth

"And all along I believed, I would find you. Time has brought your heart to me, I have loved you for a thousand years. I'll love you for a thousand more," I sang the last verse.

The music stopped, but I sang one last line. It wasn't a part of the end of the song, but it perfectly summed up what I was going to do next.

"One step closer," I sang before handing the microphone to Janie, a waitress.

I stared into Elizabeth's eyes for another heart beat before getting down on one knee. Her hand rose to her mouth in shock and tears came to her eyes.

"Elizabeth Sheridan," I said, holding a ring in the palm of my hand. "Would you do me the honor of being my wife?"

She smiled. "You didn't even have to ask," she told me before we kissed. In the distance, I could hear applause, but the only thing that mattered was our little family.

"What should we name him?" she asked that night as we laid in bed together, our intertwined hands resting on her slightly protruding stomach.

I sighed. "Let's see… boy names. Andrew?"

We stared at each other before simultaneously shaking our heads. It didn't sound right.

"Samuel?"

Another simultaneous head shake.

"Max… Alex… Luke… Jackson…" I started going through every male name I knew, but none of them seemed right.

Elizabeth took over. "Evan… Jake… Kyle… Brandon…"

We must've gone through a hundred names before I thought of one that made my heart skip a beat, and I knew it was the right one.

"Michael," I said. "Michael Daniel Sheridan-Wheeler."

She grinned at me in the dim moonlight shining through our window.

"It's perfect," she murmured in my ear.

Months passed. I didn't tell anyone about my son or my wife. The only ones who knew were Elizabeth's parents. I wanted to wait to tell Tucker when he returned from wherever he was at now (I could never really keep track of him during those days), and I would tell my family the following Christmas. Michael would be born one, maybe two weeks, before Christmas, so it seemed fitting. I would be able to introduce them to their grandchild or nephew (in Danny's case).

I had an amazing wife that was too wonderful to be described with words. I had a son on the way, and I knew that I'd love him with every fiber of my being. I had a good job with friendly coworkers and a nice, understanding boss. My life was good. Better than good. I was happy.

Until I made the greatest mistake of my life.

Cliffhanger!

Thanks for reading! Bye!