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Ryan took deep breaths as he paced back and forth in the kitchen. His housemates were all out and he was trying to rack up the courage to ask his long-time friend Darrion out.

"Come on, Ryan!" He said to himself, "It's not that hard, just say, 'Hey Darrion, wanna get a cup of coffee?'… No, that's lame."

He grunted. This was harder than he thought it would be. He didn't want to seem too forward, but he didn't want her to just think he only liked her as a friend. He looked out the front window. The girls lived in a house across from his and three houses down. From the window, he could see Darrion out the front hosing the lawn as she did every Saturday morning. He liked the way she wore her long brown hair in a high ponytail when she was working in the yard. When he'd met her, she had hair so short, he'd thought she was a boy before she spoke, but many years had passed since then and she seemed more feminine than ever. He gave himself one last moment to get his head together before he opened the door and tried to look as casual as possible as he walked to meet Darrion.

Darrion noticed in the corner of her eye someone headed her way with his hands in his pockets. A quick glance confirmed that it was Ryan. A small smile graced her lips and she continued hosing the front garden.

"Good morning, Ryan." She said, without looking from the garden.

"Hey." He said. "So, watering the plants, I see."

Darrion chuckled, "Why, yes I am."

"Cool."

Darrion felt butterflies in her stomach. She'd wanted him to have feelings for her and now he was acting so awkwardly she thought, maybe he did.

"Darrion?" he started, "So, I was wondering…"

"Yes?" she prodded.

"Well seeing as we haven't really hung out much since… I… got back. And we didn't really hang out much before without, you know, being held hostage… then maybe, we should… hang out?" Ryan blurted, incoherently.

Darrion giggled, "Ryan Daley, are you trying to ask me out?"

"Um." He said, studying his shoes, "Yeah?"

Darrion laughed, "Sounds good to me. Let's 'hang out' after I'm done here."

"Really?" Ryan replied, sounding surprised.

"Yes." Darrion smiled, "Do you want to go to the café down the road? We can walk there."

Ryan's eyes lit up, "Sure!"

Darrion grinned and shut off the hose. She rolled it up and put it away, and met Ryan around the front of the house.

"Shall we?"

"Cool." Ryan smiled and they set off down the street.

Judd was preparing lunch when he heard a voice call out.

"Hon?" Vicki called from the bathroom. She sounded calm, but at the same time, edgy.

He dropped what he was doing and ran to where her voice came from.

"Yeah?" Judd replied as he turned the corner into the ensuite.

Vicki was sitting on the edge of the bathtub holding a white stick in her hand with a look on her face that was a mix of joy and nervousness.

It took Judd a second to regroup and figure out what was going on. That stick? What was it? Then it all hit him and he was immediately overwhelmed.

"Is that…" he managed, "Is that what I think it is?"

"That depends," Vicki said studying the stick, "What do you think it is?"

"I think it's…" he couldn't say it, "I think it means…"

Vicki waved the stick in front of his flabbergasted face, revealing a little pink plus sign.

"Judd, we're going to have a baby."

For a second, the world stopped for Judd. Was she really telling him this? Was he really going to be a father? He looked at Vicki, her face was concerned, clearly awaiting his response.

"Are you gonna say something?" she asked.

Slowly an enormous smile spread across his face.

"Are you serious?" he said.

"Yeah." She said sighing with relief and dropping the stick in the bin.

She stood up and threw her arms around his neck. He wrapped her into the biggest hug he'd ever given, a tear of joy rolling down his cheek.

"I love you." She said, laughing with a sniff.

"I love you." He replied loosening the embrace and looking down at his wife who had tears of her own rolling down her face.

He laughed as he wiped them away with his thumb.

"Do you think we can do this?" She said.

Judd just laughed, "Sweetheart, we survived the seven worst years in the history of the universe. We lived through a worldwide earthquake, fought demon locusts, topped the Antichrist's Most Wanted list and were international fugitives. I think we can handle this."

After his initial shock of finding out he was going to be a father, Judd couldn't contain his excitement. Later that evening when they were lying in bed, Judd rolled over towards Vicki and placed a hand on her still flat stomach.

"Hey baby." He whispered to it, "I'm going to be your daddy."

Vicki giggled, "Hon, the baby is probably the size of the point of a pin right now."

"I don't care." Judd said smiling, "It's still ours."

That night he fell asleep with his hand over his future child and dreamed about his son or daughter that God had blessed them with.

Hooray for RyanxDarrion! Hooray for Baby Thompson! Hooray for life! As you would have noticed, I made the choice to not include Anne as Judd and Vicki's adopted daughter, as many do in their LBTK fanfics. She may pop up later in some way though, so hang in there!

Reviews always appreciated!

Peace xo