A/N: Oaky, so sorry this was late! I'm having to go back through the other place I'm archiving the story at and convert all the chapters to word documents again, so's I can upload them here, and I've kida been avoiding doing that . . . ^^; I'll work harder at it!

Morgenson was waiting when Bethany pulled up to the curb. His arms were crossed over his chest and he wasn't smiling. Jack hesitated.

"Uh . . . I think he'd mad at me."

"Since when do you care?" Rachel asked as she opened her door and got out.

"I'll be back in an hour," Bethany said when Jack got out, too.

"You're so helpful," he muttered. She laughed and drove off. He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked up at Morgenson with a lopsided grin. "Hey, Doc. What's up?"

"Jack, Rachel." His eyebrows quirked. "My, how pregnant you look."

"Fourteen weeks today," Jack told him as he slung his arm around Rachel's shoulders and nodded. "Yep, I'ma be a dad."

"And it only took two years?" Now Morgenson was smiling as he held the door open for them.

Rachel blushed. "It was sort of an accident," she admitted.

"Oh?"

"We were fighting about me not wanting kids, which apparently put Rachel under enough stress that the birth control stopped working. Guess I shouldn't have been so keen on all that make-up sex, either."

"Too much sex can actually diminish the sperm count," Morgenson told him as he showed them into his office.

"Way to rain on my parade, Doc." Jack was grinning, though, as he pulled the ultrasound out of his pocket and handed it to Morgenson. "That was last week, and Rachel has an appointment with a doctor here in Gotham tomorrow. She uh, she failed to tell me that the risk of a miscarriage is highest in the first trimester, and goes up with age."

"I'm just fine," she assured him, looking around. Not much in the office had changed, which gave it an unfamiliar familiarity. Then Dr. Morgenson's wife poked her head in.

"Rachel! Oh, come let me see you, dear." She took Rachel's hand and pulled her out of the room. "I want to know all about the baby . . ."

Morgenson smiled after the two women as the door closed, then turned back to Jack. "So you're happy with the idea of being a father?"

Jack shrugged. "It, uh . . . it's kinda grown on me." He laughed a little. "No pun intended."

"How'd Susie and Janet react?"

"Does it matter?" Jack asked in return. "They're not my kids."

Morgenson was smiling slightly. "But you care about them."

Jack shifted in his chair and scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah, so? Is that a crime?"

"Not at all; I'm glad that there are people who aren't in your personal circle who you care about, now. It's a good thing."

He got a shrug. "Well, they wouldn't leave me alone. They're okay kids, really. Mom needs to stop drinking so much." Then Jack made a face and clasped his hands together. "Uhh . . ."

Doctor Morgenson leaned back as he let out a controlled breath. "What did you do, Jack?"

"I didn't do a damned thing," was the immediate response. Then Jack rolled his eyes. "Okay, so I ran into Mary in town and stopped her from buying alcohol when Rachel was out of town, see? Took her home, made her dinner. She let me stay over 'cause I'd have had to walk home otherwise." He slapped his legs in an erratic rhythm. "So uh, so she let me sleep in a guest room and she kissed me, right? But I didn't kiss her back. Well, maybe I hesitated, but I didn't really kiss her and I made her go to her own room and told her I wasn't going to bang her, y'know?" Morgenson was looking politely interested, which wasn't always a good sign. "So, uh, so that made me feel bad 'cause I made her cry, and I went to apologise and ended up falling asleep on her bed. But I didn't have sex with her!"

Now Morgenson's lips twitched as he leaned forward. "Did you forget she wasn't Rachel when you woke up?" Jack winced and nodded. "Did you have sex with her then?"

"Hell no!" Jack shuddered. "The woman's a lush, Doc. I'm not interested in her. But uh, well, we were both pretty embarrassed and then Janet was outside the door when I went to leave, and now she thinks I fucked her mom. Which I didn't."

"And you haven't told Rachel, have you?"

"Well . . . no. I mean, I didn't do anything wrong. Right?" Jack was frowning now, positive that Morgenson was enjoying his discomfort. "I stopped as soon as I realised I wasn't kissing Rachel. Okay, so I groped her a bit, too, but I didn't do it on purpose! Except now Janet takes every opportunity to not bring up that nothing happened."

He got a soft snort. "Except something did happen, and you're feeling guilty about it no matter what you say."

"Yeah, well, Rachel shouldn't have left me for a week," Jack grumbled.

Morgenson arched both eyebrows. "Are you blaming Rachel for you not being able to keep it in your pants, Jack?"

"Oh, it stayed in my pants, Doc," Jack growled. "And . . . well . . ." His shoulders slumped. "I didn't take Mary home with the intent to make out with her. Yeah, I was a little confused when I woke up, but as soon as I realised she wasn't Rachel, I left. Why should I feel guilty for an honest mistake?"

"Would you have felt any remorse at all if this had happened three years ago? Two?"

"I probably would have started crying," Jack scoffed. "I was such a pussy after Harleen died . . ."

"Yes, you've developed quite the backbone," Morgenson said dryly. "Has there ever been a time in either marriage that you would have slept with another person?"

"Never got a chance to with Harleen."

"That's not what I asked."

Jack shifted in his chair with a frown as he looked to the side. "Well . . . maybe. I don't know. Not with Rachel, I mean, not at all. But Harleen?" He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm . . . not sure." He snorted. "She made sure that she was the only woman I ever thought I had a chance with."

"She really did love you, Jack," Morgenson said quietly.

"I made sure she did," Jack replied. "I mean, I did everything I could to make her happy. I didn't . . . want to be tossed away. So . . . she got her book deals and her interviews and her fame, and I got out of Arkham, a routine I could work with, positive attention, a steady supply of sex . . . It worked." He leaned back in the chair. "Besides, she's been dead almost four years. I really prefer the life I have now."

"Even with a child on the way?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "What the fuck do you people want from me? Yeah, I didn't want a kid with those murders going on, which will start up again, mind you --- but everyone acts like I'm just going to up and leave because Rachel's knocked up! Well, maybe I do want a baby," he growled. "Maybe I want to be a dad. Maybe I'm excited about it, huh?" He rubbed his temples with a wince. "And don't get me wrong, I'm excited about the baby. I'm just not reacting the way people think I should, so they're all on my case about it. I just want to be happy my own way, all right? I don't want people to keep asking if I'm happy, like they think I'm not."

"Do you remember when you told me you wanted a baby with Rachel?"

Jack groaned and covered his face. "Like I told you, I was such a pussy after Harleen died. And then when I fell in love with Rachel? Ugh, I was ready to try anything if it kept her with me."

Morgenson laughed a little. "So, you changed your mind about it? What would have happened if Rachel had brought up children before the murders started?"

Jack chewed at his scars as he thought. "I'd have probably . . . bitched and moaned and whined and found a way to replace her pills with duds." He grinned up at the ceiling. "I'm gonna be a daddy . . . heh . . ."

They moved on to other topics, including Jack's attachment to the Mitzi-thing and his friendship with her father. Morgenson was surprised that Jack had formed a friendship with a police officer.

"Tom's a good guy," Jack shrugged. "He, uh . . . his old man . . ." He coughed. "Yeah, we've got some things in common. I figure, if Tom's doing so good with the Mitzi-thing, I might not do so bad with my own."

"And what if he hurts her?"

"I'll kill him." Jack blinked slowly, not quite sure those words had actually come out of his mouth. "Uhm . . . did I just . . . ?"

"Yes," Morgenson nodded, "you did. It's all right, Jack. That's an admirable reaction, one that more people should have when faced with abuse. Maybe not to the point of killing people, but more people certainly need to put a stop to it when they're faced with it."

Jack relaxed. "Well, we've agreed that if either of us gets violent with our wives or kids, the other one has permission to beat the crap out of the abuser."

Morgenson laughed. "Nice plan."

"Thanks."

Fifteen minutes later Bethany pulled up, ending the meeting. Jack said his goodbyes and pulled Rachel into the car gratefully. Morgenson had advised him to tell her what had happened at Mary's, but he really didn't see the point. If he'd felt the slightest attraction to Mary, sure, he'd tell Rachel. But he didn't. Jack held Rachel's hand and smiled at her. No, everything was fine as it was.

"Are you ready?" she asked him as they got out of the car.

"Yep. Just uh, just get you down the aisle and then stand there looking pretty." He snorted with laughter. "It's easy."

He got a kiss on the nose, then the lips. "Good," Rachel whispered. She smoothed his black dress shirt down and smiled up at him. "You look so handsome."

"I tell myself so every day," he teased with a smile. "You're beautiful, as always."

Rachel blushed as she slid her arm through his. Her dress for the wedding was a summery thing, sleeveless, high waisted and knee-length. It had a yellow and orange floral pattern on a white background and the skirt had a flirty swish to it. The matching heels had straps around her ankles, which always turned Jack on. Something about that little strip around those delicate ankles . . .

"Are you thinking about my ankles?" Rachel murmured in his ear as they walked into the small house; it was Hideki's parents, she recalled.

Jack coughed and grinned. "Uh . . . yeah . . ."

"I thought so." She was smiling as a small Asian woman noticed them and hurried over.

"Ah! Rachel and Jack!" Her accent was still obvious, her 'l's almost 'r's, and there was a very tiny 'u' after her end consonants. She shook Jack's hand. "I am Yuriko, Hideki's mother."

And on cue, her son started wailing from another room. "Okaa-san! Tetsudatte! Ore no nekutai ga shimenai!"

"Ah! Kuru! Kuru! So sorry," she said as Hideki continued to wail. "Damare!" she bellowed up the stairs. Rachel and Jack jumped as she turned a sweet smile on them. "Please, come in. Here is my husband, he will help you." She waved at a tall man, then bolted up the stairs.

"Sorry about that," the man said as he held his hand out. "Kid's having a nervous breakdown up there. I'm Aidan O'Hara."

"Jack Dawes. Uh . . . you've met Rachel, right?"

"Yeah, she came over once or twice. How are you? Congratulations, by the way. Hideki told us the good news."

"What, that Christ has risen?" Jack quipped.

Aidan blinked at him, then smiled slightly. "Not quite. I meant about the baby."

"Oh, that, too. Yeah, we're proud." He hugged Rachel's waist. "So, other than Hideki freaking out, every thing's good?"

"Surprisingly. He'll be screaming for you soon enough, Rachel, if you want to go up and see him. Raoul's in the downstairs guest room."

"Go on, tiger," Jack said as he pushed Rachel toward the stairs. "I'll uh, I'll go see what Raoul's up to."

"Right, send me to the hysterical one. I love you, too, Jack." Rachel blew him a kiss as she walked up the stairs, following the sounds of the argument to Hideki's old room. She paused in the doorway and watched him and his mother gesture at each other, Japanese falling from their lips faster than she could follow. Then Hideki caught sight of her and whipped around, still speaking Japanese as he waved his tie around.

"I can't understand you," Rachel interrupted. "You'll have to speak English."

"Eeeeeh?" He shook his head and blinked rapidly. "Ah! Oh. English. Got it." He batted his mother's hands away. "Haha, yamette! You know I can't put a tie on, Rachel. Tasukette!"

"I'm assuming that's something along the lines of 'help me.' Come here." Rachel smiled as she took the fabric from him and wrapped it around his neck, her fingers moving nimbly. "Other than your tie incompetency, how are you?"

"Is Raoul still downstairs? Have you seen him yet?"

Hideki sounded anxious and his lower lip trembled. Rachel laughed a little. "Jack's with him right now. What, are you afraid he'll skip out on you?" Her friend looked down at the floor. "He's not going to, Hideki. Isn't he the one who proposed?"

"Well, yeah, but . . . he's only twenty-five, you know? He's still young."

"And twenty-eight's ancient?" Rachel laughed. "I think he's ready for this, Hideki."

His brown eyes were shining as he beamed at her. "I'm ready for this. I'm so ready for this, Rachel. You know that scene in When Harry Met Sally, toward the end, when Billy Crystal tells Meg Ryan that when you find the person you want to spend the rest of your life with, you want the rest of your life to start right away? That's how I've felt since I met him."

Yuriko was sniffling into a handkerchief as Rachel hugged her friend. "He loves you, too, Hideki. And he's probably just as nervous as you are."

"Were you nervous before you married Jack?"

She laughed again. "Hideki, you were there. You don't remember me being hysterical?"

"Was Jack nervous?"

She nodded. "He was. He kept saying he had to be dreaming. And here we are, almost two years later, with a baby on the way. So don't worry so much, all right?"

Hideki took a deep breath and nodded. "All right. I can do this. You're the best," he said as he hugged her tightly.

Rachel hugged him back. "I try."

Downstairs, Jack was tying his hair back with a couple of black ribbons. "Nervous yet?"

"Of course I am," Raoul replied.

"Yeah, I was, too. Wayne had to keep me from crawling out the window."

That made the younger man laugh. "Are you sure he wasn't the one who suggested it?"

Jack shrugged. "Oh, he was, but he changed his mind when I took him seriously. Crap, that was almost two years ago . . ."

"Two years next month," he was reminded. "Do I look all right?"

"You look fine," Jack muttered. "I mean, you do. Do I need to blow you to prove it?"

Raoul laughed a little harder than the offer called for. "No, thanks. Just a little nervous, man."

"Oh, I feel you. Anybody from work gonna be here?"

"Just Gordon. We weren't going to invite him, but he pulled me aside a week ago and said that if he wasn't invited, he'd bust my ass back to training. So, uh, he'll be here." He laughed. "There's a reason we call him Commissioner Awesome."

Jack laughed. "Yeah, he's got some fight in him." Then he frowned a little. "Are your folks gonna be here?"

Some of the light in Raoul's eyes faded. He licked his lips and shook his head once. "Ah, no. They're, uh . . . busy."

"Busy because they're flakes, or busy because you're gay?"

"Busy because I'm gay." Raoul cleared his throat and forced a smile to his face. "But Yuriko and Aidan more than make up for it. Heh, when I first met them, Aidan said he'd known Hideki was going to be gay since Hideki was five, and Aidan caught him wearing a neighbour girl's dress and posing like a princess in it. Said he knew right then. They're . . . proud of us both," Raoul murmured as he stared at his reflection in the mirror. "Threw me a party when I made Sergeant. My own folks . . . well, we don't talk."

"Sorry about that, man." Jack slapped his shoulder. "But hey, sounds like Hideki's parents more than make up for it, right?"

"You have no idea how to deal with this situation, Jack. Don't try." But Raoul was smiling again as Aidan knocked on the door.

"You two ready? Hideki's about to wet himself."

"Yeah, we're ready," Raoul said with a grin. "Come on, man, places."

Jack followed Aidan to the dining room, which opened out into the back yard. Rachel was already there with a stick of celery in one hand. He grinned at her and she rolled her eyes back.

"Not trying to climb out any windows today?" she asked sweetly.

"I only do that when I get married," he told her as he tweaked her nose.

"So if I ever catch you crawling out a window, I know something's very wrong?"

"Something like that." Yuriko came through then, shushing everyone and making sure they knew their places. Rachel popped the rest of her celery into her mouth and chewed as quickly as she could as Jack tried not to laugh, his hand at the small of her back. Bruce and Charles were right behind them, and he threw a smirk at the man before the door opened and he walked Rachel down the aisle. No amount of cajoling had managed to get Charles into a dress, but her shirt was off the shoulders and had a floppy trim to it, and her black slacks flared out on the bottoms.

Jack paid minimal attention during the ceremony. It was great that the two men were finally getting hitched, but he wasn't one for all the hooplah. Rachel was across from him, tearing up, but he'd been absolutely forbidden from doing anything that might embarrass anyone, cause a ruckus, or be otherwise inappropriate on camera. He'd considered disobeying, but Hideki and Raoul had been nice for his own wedding, so he figured he'd return the favour today.

"Whatcha thinkin'?" he asked later, as he and Rachel danced in the waning heat of early evening. Her breath was warm on his neck as she sighed.

"You."

"Me?" he whispered with a grin.

"And the baby."

"Baby, huh? Any particular thoughts about either of us?"

Rachel laughed, her curled hair bouncing across her shoulders as she shook her head. He enjoyed the warmth of her in his arms and brought their entwined hands up to his lips, kissing her fingers as he smiled down at her.

"Just . . . good thoughts. I love your arms," she whispered.

Jack's grin was ear-to-ear. "Yeah? Tell me about them." He flexed for her benefit, earning him another warm laugh.

"Well," Rachel said as she curled her fingers around his biceps, "they're strong, for one. Amazingly strong." Jack purred low in his throat. "I think you'll look so handsome, holding the baby in them. She'll be safe, protected . . ."

He hadn't thought of that. Jack's satisfied purr turned into a low laugh as the idea of a baby acquired a lot more appeal.

"She, huh? You really want me to terrorize it?"

Rachel smiled up at him. "I think you'll do better with a little girl."

"We'll call her Jackie," he said before he kissed her nose.

"What if I don't like Jackie?"

"Jackarina?"

She laughed again "Uhm, no. Too Russian."

The corners of his eyes crinkled. "You're the one who wanted me to pick out names."

"Pick them out, Jack, not make them up. Ooh!" He'd dipped her, holding her securely in his strong arms, and she laughed as dizziness washed over her. Rachel grasped at his shoulders. "That was mean."

"Really? I thought it was romantic. Psh, what do I know?"

Hideki skittered by, laughing as he plopped a woven straw cowboy hat on Jack's head. "I love you two!"

Rachel wiggled her eyebrows. "Yee-haw," she murmured. He tipped it at her and laughed.

"So what's up with Bruce and Charles, huh?" he asked as the two whirled past them.

Rachel shrugged. "I don't know."

"He seems pretty whipped."

That earned him another laugh. "You two finally have something in common, then."

Jack widened his eyes at her. "Hey! I am not . . . well, all right, I'm whipped. But don't tell anybody we've got some common ground, okay? I have my image to maintain."

Rachel placed a kiss right below his ear and he shuddered. "I promise," she whispered. She tugged at his ponytail until he leaned his head back and kissed his Adam's apple as he laughed again.