"Oh Jimmy," she said at last, "I-I-I just…"

Her eyes darted everywhere but to his as he knelt helplessly before her.

"I shouldn't've asked," he said as the strength seemed to leave him. He no longer knelt on one knee but dropped the other as well and settled back on his heels. As he studied her for any more clues he just sank over and sat on the ground. "I left. I abandoned you. Of course you can't say yes. I don't deserve it. I don't deserve you and I especially don't deserve that babe you're carrying."

Faith knelt in front of him and reached out to take his face in her hands. She took a breath and struggled to find the words she needed to say.

"I'm glad you asked," she told him, "I am. I think it's the first time since I've been here you really told me what you were feeling, or part of it anyway. And it was a much better proposal than your first."

She gave a small smile that he returned. It wasn't much for levity but it was all they had.

"I want to say yes so badly," she assured him, "At least most of me does. But I can't yet. There's too much left to be dealt with, too much else to consider."

"I love you and I think you're telling me you love me too," he said looking at her and waiting for her nod which she gave him with a smile. "What else is there, Faith? What could we possibly have to consider besides that?"

Faith hated what had to come next. Hated that the ugliness had to come and mar what should have been her perfect moment, the one she had dreamt of.

"Aaron," she replied, "I'm still married and he's looking for me and, well, I just, I mean, I'm afraid."

"You're afraid I'm going to change like he did."

She only nodded refusing to meet his deep, soulful eyes. Her resolve would crumble if she looked into them and her resolve was the only thing keeping her objectivity.

Jimmy sighed heavily preparing to go through her objections.

"First of all, Teaspoon ain't convinced you still are married and even if you are he said it might not be too hard to get a divorce. He's looking into it now," he began, "And I ain't afraid of Aaron coming here. I'm pretty tight with the marshal and his deputy and I've been deputized before. I could be again. He ain't going to hurt you again, ever. That's not just my promise either. Those were Buck's words."

He looked up from his hands to see the tears sliding silently down her cheeks. He wiped them away with a gentle brush of his fingers.

"As for the last part," he went on, "I don't even know how to convince you I ain't ever going to hurt you. All I can do is promise I'll spend the rest of my life trying to prove it to you. I just need you to let me."

Faith couldn't keep her eyes from his any longer and once she looked into those eyes she could not deny his request anymore either.

"Yes," she said simply.

"Yes?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed, "Yes I will marry you!"

She beamed at him and he knew the moisture now forming in her eyes was not from sadness or fear.

"And I do love you," she told him, "I really do."

He pulled her to him then and the kiss they shared was probably fodder for the gossip circles for quite some time to follow but if Jimmy had been told that he would have shrugged it off as the jealousy of those old biddies that no one kissed them like that anymore if indeed anyone ever had.

Then he stood and helped her to her feet and the pair of them walked back to the marshal's office with Jimmy's arm around Faith's shoulders.

Teaspoon stood in front of his office with Buck and Jenny watching what they could see of the pair in the distance. At first he thought he should give them some privacy when Jimmy kissed her but then Jimmy dropped to one knee and he called the others to look on with him.

"Oh that don't look good for Jimmy," the marshal said when Jimmy sank to the ground looking dejected but then his hope rose again when Faith went to him and eventually he saw a very passionate kiss. "Looks like I better get to investigating if there's a marriage in their way or not."

As Faith and Jimmy made their way back toward Teaspoon and the others they became aware that their news was already out.

"I would think with a beautiful woman of your own you wouldn't need to be spying on other couples," Jimmy said trying to sound annoyed and failing miserably. He knew there was still a fair amount of rough road ahead of them but he also knew they wouldn't be walking it alone anymore and that brought him more joy than he thought possible.

"Even if I hadn't been spying," Teaspoon retorted, "I would be able to tell by the smile on your face."

Teaspoon then turned his attention to Faith.

"And as for you, young lady, may I say that a smile makes you even lovelier," he was rewarded with a larger smile although there was a blush there too that said he was treading on shaky ground in making her the center of attention. "May I be the first to officially welcome you to our family such as it is?"

Teaspoon would have liked to have offered a hug but he didn't want to frighten her so he merely took her hand and kissed the back of it bowing to her slightly. Faith blushed but made no move to him. He hoped in time she would come to know how safe she was with them.

That night as Faith washed the dishes and Jimmy dried them and put them in the cupboard they each pondered the day and most of their ponderings were happy ones too. Jimmy was the first to break their comfortable silence.

"So what did you think of Rachel?"

"I almost forgot," Faith said whirling around to face him so fast she nearly lost her balance. "She invited us for supper tomorrow. I hope you don't mind I said yes but she's very nice and I didn't want to be rude."

"Of course I don't mind," he told her, "I want you to get to know our little family and Rachel is real nice. Besides it'll be a night when you can get off your feet and let someone else do the cooking."

Once the dishes were finished the pair made their way onto the porch. When they had been together before it was how they spent nearly every evening and it still felt like a comforting routine.

"I think once I get that cradle made I might have to set to making us a swing for this porch," he noted as he pushed the chairs on the porch closer together so that she could lean against his shoulder while they gazed out into the night at the steadily twinkling stars. As they sat there Jimmy noticed Faith had moved one of her hands and was trailing it up and down the inside of his thigh. It was not uncommon for the night air to have this effect on her but he still stopped her hand.

"Sweetheart," he said swallowing hard because he did not want to stop her. He knew where her hand was going next and he really wanted it to and then he wanted to carry her inside and into the bed they now shared.

"When we did this before it all kind of happened fast or it seemed that way to me but I have to ask how safe this is. I mean in your condition and all, is it safe? Can it hurt the baby or you or, well, I don't want to cause you to have problems."

"It's perfectly safe to make love," she replied simply, "As long as we don't put weight on the baby."

"Is that so?" he asked with a glint in his eye, "Well I think I can manage that just fine."

Faith matched his glint and raised a smirk before standing and heading to the front door. She paused before disappearing into the house giving him what could only be described as a come hither look. Without a thought Jimmy stood as if his body was under the control of another which, if he was being honest, it was. He followed her inside and found her just as she was entering their bedroom. She moved as if to unbutton her blouse but he stayed her hands with his own and kissed her deeply. As he kissed her he took care of her buttons and when their kiss ended he quickly dispatched with the rest of her clothes.

Faith felt suddenly shy to be standing in front of him completely nude. Her arms went across her chest and she looked at the floor uncertainly. She nearly flinched away when he placed a finger under her chin but she allowed him to turn her head up toward him.

"Please," he said, "Please don't turn that beautiful face away from me."

Faith didn't feel beautiful, not any more. But somehow when he said it she almost believed.

Jimmy saw the trust in her eyes as she looked at him and swallowed hard from the weight of it. It was what he wanted after all. He just hoped he could follow through on all he had promised her. For now though the only promise that mattered was showing her how much he loved her. He kissed her again and impressed even himself by toeing off his boots and unbuttoning his shirt while never losing contact with her lips. Soon Faith was helping him off with his clothes and they were both naked by the time the kiss ended.

"There now," he said with a hint of that loopy smile that drew her in that very first day, "I think this is much more fair, don't you agree?"

"Much," she answered trailing her fingers lightly down his side. He could still feel the uncertainty coming off of her in waves.

"Why are you nervous?" he asked, "This is one thing we've always been good at."

"I'm sorry," she answered quickly and how quickly bothered him even more than her words. He sat down on the bed and pulled her to sitting next to him.

"What on earth do you have to be sorry for?"

"I can't seem to do anything right," she replied in a tiny voice.

"Sounds like we're a matched set then," he said and then saw how serious she was. He knew that talk. Thinking she couldn't do anything right, looking nervous until he ate his first bite of food and confirmed for her it was good enough, jumping when he came into a room or neared her, avoiding his eyes—it had all been the product of Aaron and what he had done and said to her.

"Faith," he began seriously, "You do everything right as far as I'm concerned."

He knew he needed to ask something then and he hated that he had to because his body wanted this so badly but he couldn't be the kind of man who would take advantage of certain situations.

"Sweetheart," he said gently, "Did you really want to be with me like this right now? I know he used this to have more power over you. I don't want to do that. Anything we do I only want it if it's really what you want."

"It is," she assured him, "I am nervous though. I don't know why. I don't suppose I should be."

"What can I do to help that?"

She merely shrugged and looked away. Her reaction frustrated Jimmy a moment or two until he decided he was just going to have to figure it out himself. He ached to touch her so he did but gently, reverently as someone might handle fine china. Holding her close he was awash in the sensation of her skin against his. Her clean scent filled his nose and he allowed his fingers to gently, reverently play across her skin. Faith moaned against his neck and he knew he was making progress at getting her over her nerves.

At his urging she lay down on the bed, on her side facing him. His hands caressed her and he added a trail of soft kisses upon every inch of her face. Jimmy felt her hands begin to explore his chest and he allowed his fingers to trace circles around her nipples. Her breathing was coming faster and when her hand reached downward to stroke along his erection he let out a moan of his own and captured her lips with his while his tongue explored her mouth as if it was unknown territory. When her legs parted one of his hands snaked in between them and quickly found the hardened nub amid the moist heat. Their lips parted as she threw her head back in pleasure before grabbing hold of his throbbing manhood. He thrust his fingers into her using his thumb to keep rubbing and pushing her closer and closer to her bliss. At times she tried to rub him as well but she was too distracted by her own pleasure. That was fine with him. If she had been able to keep that up for any amount of time he would have gone off and he wasn't ready to do that yet. His ministrations were soon rewarded as her muscles clamped around his fingers and her thighs began to quiver before she arched her back and cried out his name.

The waves of pleasure Faith felt had not completely subsided when she began to roll herself so that he could enter her. She did want him inside her and knew she should not make him wait.

"Where are you going?" he asked pulling her back to him.

"I was getting on my hands and knees."

"Not yet," he whispered, "We have time and I want to see your face."

Faith began to protest but his lips silenced her and his hand between her legs once again made her forget what those protests might be. When their lips parted he whispered in her ear.

"Climb up."

At first she didn't move not exactly understanding what he meant but then he drew her leg across him illustrating his desire. Soon Faith was straddling Jimmy and he was maneuvering himself into her. She had forgotten how good it felt to have him so deep within her. Slowly she began to move and every movement brought deeper and more guttural moans from beneath her urging her on.

Jimmy was in a state of ecstasy he couldn't even fathom. Every move she made was electric through his body. In the soft lamp glow he could see her eyes darkening with pleasure and passion, watch as her breasts bounced and fully appreciate the look of pure bliss upon her face. Her movements became more rapid as she neared her end and he clamped his hands on her hips for his final thrusts. The fluttering of her muscles around him nearly drove him mad but he could still see she was spent and he reached up to cradle and guide her to lie next to him.

"Are you alright?" he asked pulling the blankets over them still holding her tight to his chest.

Jimmy could feel her nod against him and hoped she wasn't just giving him the answer he wanted. Then he felt a soft kiss on his chest and words whispered into the skin there, words he could not hear.

"Hmm?" he questioned hoping she would find the courage to answer him.

"I love you," she said a little louder.

They stayed like that for quite a while tight to each other but without words. It was enough right then to just be close and feel loved. Jimmy was surprised it was Faith who broke the silence with a tentative whisper.

"Jimmy, are you still awake?"

"Yeah," he answered softly not wanting to disrupt this sacred time with her in his arms, "What's on your mind?"

"Baby names," she replied.

"I guess we do have to name it, don't we?"

"That's traditionally how it's done," she said simply, "Do you have any opinions? Would you want him named after you if it turns out to be a him?"

"I never really thought about it," he said honestly, "I have a little time to think, right?"

"You do."

"What about you?" he asked, "Do you have any ideas? I know my sisters gave their dolls such elaborate names always planning what they'd name their own babies when they had 'em. I expect you did the same thing."

"My favorite name for a boy was Adam," she said carefully speaking each word to rein in the emotion and Jimmy wanted to kick himself for even bringing that memory up for her but then she continued. "James is a very good name but then there seem to be a lot of them around here. Like you said, we have a little time."

"It could be a girl too, couldn't it?"

"Yes, I suppose it could," she answered.

"Doesn't sound like you've given that much thought either," Jimmy noted, "I might have an idea or two about that though. Let me think a bit."

Faith felt better for having broached the subject at all and just nodded through a yawn.

"I think sleep sounds like a pretty good idea too," Jimmy said kissing her head and snuggling closer to her.

Faith rested her head against his broad chest and nestled herself deeper into the cocoon of his strong arms. A tear slid down her cheek at the realization that in this moment she was safe. He would not hurt her. He would not let harm come to her. He meant it when he said he loved her. She closed her eyes and thought of some evening in the not too distant future when she would rock their child to sleep and nestle it in the cradle its father had built and then mosey her way out to the porch where she and Jimmy could sit and watch the stars until it was time for bed. It was such a simple thought but nothing could be more wonderful to her.

Jimmy woke to bright sunshine streaming in through the curtains and looked up to see Faith at the foot of the bed beginning to lay out her clothes for the day. For the time being she stood there as she had been in his arms all night: naked. Most of her bruises were fading but a few were still very angry looking. He moved to the end of the bed and reached for her and for once was gratified when she did not flinch at his touch. His fingers traced an ugly purple spot in the small of her back where he could still see the knuckle marks. Faith tried to step away but he held her arm and gently brought her closer and turned her to face him. He had seen the bruises. He knew they were there but he had not really looked closely at them. It sickened him to see the outline of a boot at the side of her swollen abdomen.

"My God Faith," he said kissing the reddish purple boot print, "How could something like this happen?"

He hadn't meant it as an accusation against her but the reaction he got he knew that's how it had come out all the same.

"I'm sorry," she said backing away, "I'm sorry. It was the last time. I swear it was. I found a way to leave after that. The baby's alright. I promise. I'm sorry."

"Dammit Faith!" Jimmy bellowed, "Stop saying that. Stop doing that."

Faith closed her mouth and kept backing up until her back hit the wall. If she could have willed herself through that wall she would have. This was it. She knew it was coming. All she could do was brace herself.

"That's not even you talking anymore," he ranted on pacing wildly. Every time he neared she braced herself for an impact that never came and then he would stomp to the far side of the room again. "It's him. Those are his words and his thoughts he poisoned you with. I don't want any part of him in our bedroom again!"

His fist came down hard on the top of the chest of drawers. Faith jumped and let out a small scream quickly covering her mouth. She slid down the wall and tried to make her huge, ungainly body as small as possible but he didn't even seem to hear her.

"Oh Hell," he yelled making Faith jump once more, "It's my own damned fault. I left you. I could've lost you forever." He emphasized 'forever' with a punch to the wall. "I could've lost both of you forever." Another punch to the wall. "I wouldn't have even known. So stupid!"

He punched the wall again and again repeating the word 'stupid' over and over. As abruptly as the punches started, they stopped and he just stood there his shoulders rising and falling as he fought to catch his breath. He looked around fingers flexing and noticed for the first time he hadn't dressed yet. He quickly grabbed his pants and pulled them on buttoning them as he shoved his feet into his boots and stomped out of the room.

Faith sat still for a while and she wasn't sure exactly how long of a while. He hadn't hit her. He was angry and while not all of the anger was at her, at least some of it was and still he did not hit her. Even when he was yelling at her it didn't seem like he was yelling at her so much as himself or maybe someone not even in the room. Slowly she relaxed and stretched her legs and rested her hands lightly over her belly. It was then that she realized she was still naked and she was even able to laugh a little at herself. Getting up off of the floor was a challenge but not as bad as it would have been if she was closer to her time.

Her clothes were still laid out on the end of the bed and she put them on before sliding her feet into the moccasins that still made her feel warm and almost giggly for the spirit in which they were given. Cautiously she peeked out of the bedroom and found no one in the living room. She made her way through the house assuring he was not in the kitchen or the other bedroom either. Then she heard sounds from outside and dared to walk out and find him.

Jimmy worked away chopping the wood that was not all that necessary with the days getting longer and steadily warmer. What had been stacked there when he came out was sufficient for cooking for a month but it was this or shoot something and he knew he had messed up badly enough, scared Faith badly enough already. He couldn't have her sitting in there hearing gunshots too.

He knew all the reasons he blew up when he did. He understood why that triggered him but still he hated that she had seen that. His temper was always his worst feature and he tried so hard to control it. After everything she had been through for him to act that way was just terrible. Over and over he swung the axe trying to figure out how in the world he'd ever convince her she was safe now that she'd seen what she had. He wondered if she really was safe. Sure he didn't hit her and didn't even consider it but he really lost control in there. From somewhere in the back of his mind he heard the screen door on the house falling shut. She was there, watching him now. He let his arm fall to his side still clutching the axe.

Faith stood on the porch. She had watched him for a while before coming full onto the porch and letting the screen fall shut behind her. She knew he heard the sound when he stopped swinging the axe and just stood there gloved hands at his side and one still wrapped around the axe. The morning sun glistened off the sweat he had worked up chopping the wood and she only needed to think back a few moments to when the muscles rippled under his skin sending the light this way and that. So he was mad she told herself. She knew mad. She'd been living with mad for most of her life. Letting out mad wasn't a bad thing as long as you didn't hurt anyone.

She blinked free of her thoughts and saw he was still just standing there looking at her like he wanted to say something but didn't know how or maybe even what. Lifting her chin she strode over to him until she was only a couple of feet from him.

Jimmy stood still afraid to move or speak as if she was a bird that would startle and fly away from him. There was so much he wanted to say, so much he needed to tell her but he just couldn't get any of it unstuck from his head. She began toward him her head high and her eyes never wavering from his. A smile ghosted across her mouth and her hazel eyes shone as the sun picked those red strands of hair in her otherwise brown tresses. He marked every bit of this as he feared it would be the last he would see of these things. She stopped and stood in front of him and tilted her head up to meet his gaze. He studied her eyes and for the first time since she had come to Rock Creek he saw not a trace of fear. He opened his mouth to speak but her raised hand stopped the words before they fully formed. Her smile widened and he realized all at once that maybe getting mad was the best thing he could've done. She had been waiting all this time for the other shoe to drop and now that she had seen him mad and still come out unharmed she saw there was no other shoe. In what he thought was his worst mistake he had finally found the compelling argument for her trust.

Jimmy only vaguely heard the thud as the axe fell to the ground and he raised his gloved hands to cup the sides of her face bringing her lips to his. They had first met over seven months earlier and had even created a new life but somehow this felt like the very first kiss they had shared. In it every fear fell away, every wound they each had endured was laid bare and left to the nurturing of the other. This kiss spoke of sadness and heartaches of the past and the joy they might share in the future.

Jimmy thought of the rest of his life spent in peaceful evenings on the porch swing he would build with his arm around his beautiful wife. His thoughts were interrupted by a sharp movement against his own stomach. He pulled away from Faith with a soft chuckle remembering that they would not simply be a pair living out their days together but a trio.

For her part, Faith had not entirely gotten over the sight of him swinging that axe bare-chested in the morning sun and his kiss had done nothing to make her want him less.

"Jimmy," she said softly and only continued when he met her eyes. "Remember once you said not to keep it to myself if I had needs?"

A smile turned up one corner of her mouth as she blinked silhouetting her long lashes against her cheek before she reopened her eyes and stared into what felt like his very soul. Jimmy nodded thinking he was going to like where this was going.

Faith's hands ran up and down his chest tracing the muscles there and then she whispered, "I need you."

I had hoped to get this chapter done sooner but it took a turn it needed to take and I realized it needed to take it right then...So yeah...I knew all along she would say yes but well, she had to consider things too. She's been through a lot...

Hopefully this makes everyone happy...I have some serious meetings with the school this week and a couple other irons in the fire that need attention so I don't know exactly when I will get to the next chapter. At least I left them in a very good place.-J