A/N: Hello all, I'm sorry this took so long, again. My life has an annoying habit of getting in the way of my writing schedule. Anyway, this chapter is about half as long as I normally write them because a) I think you guys deserve and update and b) I'm trying a new editing strategy. So to clarify, the italics are thoughts and/or flashbacks and the BOLD words are for emphasis.

Chapter 5

The next morning…

Alex woke up drowsily to the smell of cinnamon. She groped around the other side of the bed and realized Elliot wasn't there. He was cooking something.

She giggled to herself as she pictured him in an apron and oven mitt. Her stomach growled and she rubbed her hands over it. She was suddenly blinded by a bright light. She blinked a few times then her eyes widened when she saw that the sun streaming in from the window on the left side of the bed was glinting off the diamond ring currently on her left ring finger.

It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen, a large, pear cut diamond in a gleaming platinum setting. She felt her stomach doing flip-flops. She got out of bed, picked up Elliot's discarded shirt and put it on. Then she tiptoed to the door of the bedroom and peeked out to see what he was doing. She almost jumped when she saw him looking right back at her.

He was leaning up against the wall next to the door, as if he'd been waiting for her to come out, and he was indeed wearing an apron.

"Man, you sleep forever!" Elliot joked as he took a step toward her. Alex made a face at him.

"I'm pregnant, I'm allowed" she mumbled, feigning grouchiness. He grabbed her around the waist playfully and hugged her, neither of them pulled away for a while. He pulled her even closer and whispered in her ear, "Marry me."

Alex looked up at him but didn't say anything. Elliot had a big smile on his face. "What are you thinking?" he asked.

Alex bit her lip. "I'm thinking that… that I don't want you to think this is what I wanted." Fresh tears started in her eyes but she fought them back. She took Elliot's hand and pulled him over to the sofa so they could both sit down.

"Elliot, you don't have to do this, ok? I mean you really, really don't. I-I didn't get pregnant to get you to marry me. And I didn't come here to make you feel guilty or make you feel like you owe me something cause you don't Elliot, you don't, this is all my fault…" she trailed off as she lost her fight with her tears.

"Lexy, don't say that," Elliot said, rubbing her back soothingly, "babies are nobody's fault. It's not like you were trying to get pregnant."

Alex looked at him guiltily.

"You weren't trying to get pregnant, right?"

Alex shook her head fervently. "No, no I wasn't but I also wasn't exactly … on the pill."

"But you said..."

"I know"

"That's why we…"

"I know"

"I don't understand" Elliot was thoroughly confused. Why would she have lied to him about something like that?

"Please don't be mad," she replied nervously, "but a-after I went to the doctor and found out I was p-pregnant, I went home and checked my pills and I-I hadn't taken one in three weeks! I've b-been so stressed out at work lately that I just forgot about them I guess. I'm sorry, El; I r-ruined e-everything, I really didn't mean—"

Elliot put a finger on her lips to stop her from speaking. "Lexy, this is not your fault," he said calmly, "and this is not going to ruin us. I love you too much to let that happen," he moved his hand to her cheek and she melted into his touch. "We're gonna have this baby Lexy, together, even though neither of planned this, we're going to do it. And you and me and our little bundle, we're gonna be happy, understood?" he said earnestly.

"Understood," she replied smiling, "But there is one more thing I should tell you, about our little bundle."

Elliot's eyebrows went up. "What is it?"

Alex looked at him shyly, "Well…it's more than one bundle," she said slowly.

Elliot face paled, "Oh, god please tell me you're not having quints!" he blurted out.

Alex looked at him like he was a nutcase. "What! No, no, I'm having twins Elliot, calm down!"

Elliot let out a big sigh and cast his eyes toward the heavens, "Thank you Jesus." He said.

"Why would you think I was having quints, I mean why would you even say that?" she asked, completely bewildered.

Elliot shook his head and rubbed his eyes. "No reason, no reason at all," he said.

Alex was about to inform him of his impending psychosis when she was very rudely interrupted by the doorbell, which rang three times in rapid succession.

Meanwhile…

Casey woke up wrapped in her husband's arms. They slept like that a lot; he liked to hold her. She fidgeted a little and turned around in his arms, he didn't let go. She looked at his face and he was concentrating on something on the other side of the bed. It was the ultrasounds, five of them, each one focused on a different 12 week old fetus. Their babies.

Casey leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. "Hey babe."

Chester kissed her forehead. "Hey sweetie. You okay?"

"Yeah, I am now. Sorry I flipped out on you last night." She looked down self-consciously, remembering all too vividly how she'd woken up crying hysterically in the middle of the night and scared the crap out of him.

"I'm not mad at you sweetie, I just worry too much. It must have been a really bad dream you had." He caressed her face lovingly.

"Yeah…it was", she said quietly. She put her hand over his and held it against her cheek, feeling the warmth.

"You wanna tell me about it?" he asked, gently.

Casey shook her head.

"Ok, you don't have to. You wanna know what I think?" Chester said, changing the subject, he didn't want to upset her.

"Hmm"

"I think that we are gonna have three girls and two boys." He said this with the utmost confidence.

Casey cocked her eyebrow. "What?"

"Yup, mark my words, three girls, two boys, right there" he said, running his hands over her belly.

"You can't possibly tell that from the pictures." She leaned over to get a closer look at them.

"No, but I can feel it. Daddy's intuition."

Casey laughed. "Well okay then. It must be true."

Chester laughed too. He suddenly rolled Casey over on her back and started kissing her neck. "You're so sexy, first thing in the morning" he said into her skin. She smiled and put her hands on either side of his face. "And your so scruffy" she said scratching his stubble. She pulled his head up to kiss him on the mouth and he moved his hands from her stomach to her chest.

Chester is startled when out of nowhere, Casey pulls back abruptly. He stops touching her and looks at her face. He can't read her expression. She's not looking at him but he can see her eyes are glazed over and she's biting her lower lip.

"What's wrong?" he asks, perplexed. Her eyes slide back into focus and she looks at him again. "Um, nothing," she says cracking a smile, "I'm hungry, are you hungry?"

Chester scratches the back of his head. "Um sure," he says, "but I'll—"

"No, it's ok, I'll get up" Casey interrupts. She slides out from underneath him and pushes herself off the bed. She gets her robe off the hook in their closet and ties it tightly around herself without saying another word.

Chester's brow knits together in confusion. "Babe" he starts, as she goes straight towards the bedroom door. She pauses with her hand on the door knob, turns around and smiles at him again.

"I'm fine, I just need some pancakes" she says before zipping out and heading for the kitchen.

Okay what just happened? Chester thinks, laying back on his pillows. It's not like I've never felt her up before breakfast before. Chester feels his stomach growl and decides to get up and follow her into the kitchen. He figures they both could use some pancakes.

So that's it for now, the holiday weekend is here so send me some motivational reviews and you may get another chapter in the next few days! :) xoxo