29.

*Katelyn*

I finished my bowl of cereal and put the bowl in the dishwasher. A glance at the clock told me that it was almost time, so I continued with my task of bringing all of my bags and boxes downstairs so that the load up time would be much quicker. Finally, all of the things I was taking with me were downstairs and ready to go. I glanced around at all of the bags and boxes and I smiled. Finally, I'm getting out of here.

I refixed my ponytail and then slipped the rings out of my pocket. My wedding ring and my engagement ring. The set of rings that stated my love for Joe. And that stated his love for me.

Since I still had about twenty minutes, I took a final stroll through the house that I had been living in for about six months. The only thing that looked different was my room, and that was because some of my stuff had been packed up. I wondered how long it would take for my parents to figure it out; if they were even able to. I wondered if they would try to hack into the CIA database for information. Or maybe they would think that Antonio's men had done it. Maybe they'd go after them. Or maybe they wouldn't care, though I doubted that one. They wouldn't like to be outsmarted.

A glance at the digital alarm clock on the bedside table told me that it was about time. I went downstairs and took out a bottle of water, draining it all in a few seconds. Then, I went to the bathroom and then rechecked to make sure that I had everything.

And then there was a knock on the back door.

A grin spread across my face and I threw open the door to see Joe standing on the other side, wearing jeans and a red T-shirt, his hair messy as always. I threw myself into his arms and he laughed before pressing a quick kiss to my lips. "So, it worked?"

"Duh," I pulled away and gestured to the bags and boxes that were in a pile on the kitchen linoleum. "There ya go. I brought everything downstairs."

His eyebrows scrunched together over his bright eyes. "You shouldn't have done that. Those were probably heavy…"

I rolled my eyes and kissed him. "I'm pregnant, Joe; not crippled."

"Still-"

I cut him off by wheeling around and heading for the pile. "If it makes you feel any better, I'll only carry the bags. They're lighter. You can carry the heavy boxes."

He sighed. "Fine."

Together, we loaded everything up into the helicopter. We finished in about five minutes, and then Joe set the coordinates for the ride home. He sat in the back with me, and we both stared out the large window, me leaning back against his strong chest, his arms wrapped around me, his hands over my stomach. "I love you," he whispered, pressing a kiss to my neck.

"I love you, too," I replied.

"And I just want you to know," he said. "I'm okay with this baby."

"Really?" I asked, surprised. I had figured that he wasn't too happy with that fact, despite the way he had been so comforting back at the safe house in Paris.

"Yeah," he told me quietly, his hands moving in small circles on my stomach, above where his child lay. "I mean, maybe it isn't all that ideal, but it's still incredible."

"Incredible?"

"Yeah," he replied. "I mean, you're carrying our child in here. It's amazing."

"You're really okay with this?"

"Yes," he whispered, pressing a light kiss to my neck. "I am very okay with this."

"I love you," I said as a grin spread over my face.

"I love you, too."

A couple of hours later, we were coming upon Roseville. "I figured we were going to the Paris safe house," I mused.

"Nah," he said. "I want you close to me. You'll be staying at a motel here. It's small and it's not the Marriott or anything, but I checked it out and it's really nice and homey. Free breakfast every morning and the rooms are very clean."

"Sounds nice," I said.

"Should be. And then, when I get some time, I'll move you to another safe house that's not too far from here. It's currently being used by Zach, the guy from Blackthorne that I told you about before. But I'll stock up on everything that you'll need there and then we'll get you moved there as soon as everything is ready."

"Sounds good."

"Oh," he said, "before I forget; I got you a doctor's appointment in Roseville in a couple of weeks."

"Oh."

"You won't have to worry about medical records or anything. I took care of it all. Your name there will be Mrs. Ally Henshaw."

"My alias," I said with a smile. "One of them, anyway. So you're Mr. Henshaw?"

"George Henshaw," he said with a nod. "Naturally."

I laughed and the helicopter began to make its descent. "We're not far from the hotel," he said. "It's about a two minute walk."

I nodded slowly and when the helicopter landed, we both carted bags and boxes to and from the hotel room, for which he already had the key. After about twenty minutes, we had everything in the room and I glanced around, noting the nice looking carpet and the comfortable looking bed with red covers.

"It's nice," I commented and then yawned, finally realizing how tired I was.

Joe smiled as he moved to kiss me. "You should go to bed."

"I agree," I said, moving to find my pajamas in one of the bags. I found them and tossed them on the bed, then turned to Joe. He was smiling at me and I couldn't help it, I moved to him and kissed him with as much passion as I could muster. He was surprised at first, but he quickly began to kiss me back.

"Are you sure this is okay?" he asked as I peeled off his shirt. "With the baby and everything?"

"It's fine," I assured him and then he picked me up and carried me to the bed.