Context: Cathy and Jamie have been married for a year, and she's now eight months pregnant.

Implied sexual situations at the very beginning.

I don't own the poem "As Long As You Love Me" by Kiera Finney.

Happy Anniversary

She tried to calm her breathing, her chest rising and falling rapidly and a sheen of sweat covering her body. Jamie lay on top of her, his head buried in her neck.

"You…you alright?" He was panting heavily, slowly pushing himself onto his elbows, gazing down at her through half-closed eyes.

She nodded, trying to find her voice. Funny, considering she'd let out a rather loud cry only moments before…

"It wasn't…I…I didn't…" He blinked worriedly, gently stroking her cheek. "Did I hurt you?"

"Not…not much…"

She immediately regretted saying it. She could see the agony in his eyes, the guilt of knowing he'd caused her pain. He kissed her softly, whispering "I'm sorry," against her lips.

"It's fine," she replied, smiling tiredly. She pushed his bangs off of his forehead. "It was lovely."

He still looked skeptical. She sighed, craning her neck forward and kissing his forehead. She finally felt him relax, and after a moment of holding him to her chest, he sat up, maneuvering them under the bed sheets. She turned over, facing away from him and looking out the window.

His arms pulled her against him, hugging her around the waist. She felt his lips brush against the side of her head.

"You doing alright?" he asked quietly, taking her left hand in his own.

"Just wondering why you're interested in my finger." She giggled, feeling both rings on her third finger being spun and twisted.

"I'm still trying to comprehend that a few hours ago, the most gorgeous woman in the world promised to be mine forever." He kissed the nape of her neck, nuzzling her shoulder with his chin. "Not to mention we finally were able to make love and it was bloody fantastic."

A smile spread over her face, and she snuggled closer to him. She slowly felt her eyes grow heavy, and she decided not to fight to stay awake. She took his left hand and kissed his palm. "I love you, Jamie."

Resting his chin in the crook of her neck, he sighed contentedly and whispered, "I love you, Catherine Bradley."

He'd been her first.

She'd been a bit daunted, knowing he'd been with plenty of women before her. He may not have slept with all of them, but he knew what he was doing. She, on the other hand…

There were a lot of things she'd heard about that made her worry. It was going to hurt. It wouldn't last that long. She'd bleed loads. It would be awkward. She found herself continually dreading it, almost wishing it didn't have to happen.

But the best thing about being married to Jamie was that he understood her, even if she didn't say anything. She didn't have anything to worry about.

Sure, it had hurt a little. It hadn't lasted all that long. She'd bled the teeniest bit. And it had been awkward at first. But he'd been gentle with her, going slowly and holding her close. Making sure she was comfortable. And she couldn't have asked for anything more.

A knock on the bedroom door stirred her from her thoughts. She sat up carefully, wincing slightly as the baby kicked. "Could you please calm down a little?" she muttered. She was now around eight months, and the baby was close to being ready to come out. She knew she definitely was ready; she hadn't been sleeping all that well lately, not with the baby moving so restlessly.

Jamie opened the door, a smile on his face and a tray stacked with food in hand. "Happy first anniversary, love," he said, walking to the bed and gently setting the tray down. He leaned forward and kissed her softly. "I love you."

She returned his smile, feeling a bit less tired. She still couldn't believe that today marked their one-year wedding anniversary; she wasn't sure if it was her hormones or her emotions that made her want to cry. When she imagined celebrating this special day, she hadn't been planning to be practically bedridden and unable to do anything other than complain.

Jamie had been absolutely wonderful, like he always was. He insisted on doing all of the chores, as well the foods shopping every weekend on top of his job. He went with her to all of her doctor appointments, and tried his hardest to follow her mood swings. They'd had a few more fights, but luckily she still found him sleeping by her side each night, no matter how angry she could get.

"Happy first," she answered. "I love you, too." She glanced down at the tray, which was loaded with scrambled eggs, bacon, plenty of fruit, and, of course, pancakes.

"I read over the list the doctor gave us. I made sure the bacon is low-fat and the pancakes are whole-grain." He looked up expectantly. "Is it alright? Do you want to wait to eat? Or do you want something else?" A line of worry creased his forehead.

"Jamie…"

"I just figured, since it's our one-year, that I'd surprise you, but if you want me to go get you something else, I can."

She laughed, shaking her head. "Jamie, I love it. Thank you." She hugged him and sighed. "I just…"

"Yeah?"

"You do so much for me already. I could have…"

He kissed her soundly, cutting her off. "Cathy, don't take this the wrong way…but you're larger than a watermelon." She slapped him on the arm. "Not in a bad way. But you need your rest."

"I'm perfectly capable of…" She yawned, her words lost.

Jamie chuckled. "I hear you up in the night. I want you to take it easy today, alright?"

"I'll be fine, Jamie. I kind of wanted to do something special with you today."

He pushed the tray closer to her, fluffing her pillows. "We can go out later. I want you to get comfy and eat your breakfast."

She looked at the tray, then back at her husband. She gave in, realizing just how hungry she was. She finished the bacon quickly, and was dousing her pancakes with syrup shortly afterward.

"Oh! I have something for you!" she said through a mouthful of food. She sat still for a moment, trying to decide if it would be a good idea to get up. She eventually leaned back. "It's on my side of the closet."

Jamie got up and gave her a small smile, giving her a look that said he appreciated that she was listening to him. He walked over to the closet, starting to rummage through the drawers of the organizers that held her shoes.

"Top drawer," she said, spearing some eggs.

"Found it!" He emerged with a green-wrapped package, once again taking a seat beside his wife. "What, no card?"

Cathy froze; she'd had a feeling she'd forgotten something. "Shit! That's what I needed to buy. It totally skipped my mind, I'm so sorry -"

"Cathy, I was teasing you -"

"And I was going to get you one of those singing ones, as well," she continued. "I'm sorry, sweetie."

"Cathy." Jamie looked her right in the eye. "It's okay. I don't need a card to know how much you love me." He smirked. "You can make it up to me as soon as the baby's born."

It took her a moment to understand exactly what he was saying, and he laughed once the look of realization settled on her face. "Really, Jamie? Was that necessary?"

"What, you don't like being close to me like that?" He set the tray on the floor, wrapping his arms around her. "Catherine Lorina, what am I going to do with you?"

"JAMIE!" She squirmed as he began to pepper her face with kisses, laughing as she struggled to get out of his firm hold on her. "Jamie, let go!"

"Sweetheart, it's our anniversary," he mumbled, continuing to kiss her. "You can't blame me for wanting to smother you like this." He moved down her face, pressing his lips against the pulse point on her neck.

"Open the present," she gasped between breaths. "Just open it!"

"Fine." He sighed dramatically, relinquishing his grip and picking the package back up.

"There are actually two gifts. First one's from the baby." She felt a tiny kick in response, and she smiled. "Just a little something for his daddy."

"As if I need anything else for him," Jamie quipped, rolling his eyes slightly. "I can add it to the pile of baby shower gifts sitting in the nursery."

Cathy giggled, watching as he tore the first layer of paper away, revealing a tiny pair of knitted blue socks. His eyes lit up, and he tentatively picked them up, mesmerized.

"I know you haven't had a lot of time to go out and do any baby shopping," she said. She fell silent, watching him study the little socks. "I, um…thought it'd be a good idea if…"

He gently set the socks down and turned to her - or, rather, turned to her stomach.

"I love them," he said, placing a hand on her belly. "Thank you very much. Pretty soon, I'll get to see you wear them." He pressed an ear against her nightgown, his brow furrowed in concentration. She knew what he was listening for; a few seconds later, she felt another kick, and he was beaming once again.

"You'll get to see them soon enough," he went on. "Trust me, you'll adore them just as much as I do."

"You still have my present to open," Cathy reminded him. She watched anxiously as he ripped away the last of the green wrapping paper.

The smile faded from Jamie's face, and his eyes widened a bit. In his hands was a framed photograph of a man and a woman, smiling widely at the camera. They stood by an oak tree, surrounded by autumn leaves. The woman, in a beautiful white dress, was resting her head on the man's shoulder, her arms around his middle. The man, in a similar fashion, held her to him lovingly, his cheek pressed into her hair and his tie loose around his neck.

Cathy studied his face, a bit concerned when he fell silent for a few minutes. "Sweetheart?" she whispered. "Are…are you okay?"

He nodded slightly, his eyes still on the picture.

"Would…would you like to read what's on the frame?"

He finally lifted his eyes to hers, nodding again. He put an arm around her, cleared his throat, and looked to the carved words that surrounded the very first photo taken of them together on their wedding day.

"'As long as you love me, I'll stay by your side,'" he read. "'I'll be your companion, your friend and your guide.'" He glanced at her. "No offense, but…isn't this a bit cheesy?"

"Precisely why I picked it." She giggled. "Keep reading."

"'As long as you love me, as long as you care, I'll do anything for you, I'll go anywhere.'"

"You'll love the next stanza," Cathy said through her giggles.

"Oh, joy. 'I'll bring you the sunshine, I'll comfort your fears.'" He wrinkled his nose. "'I'll gather up rainbows to chase all your tears.' This…this is just getting painful…"

"Worst is over," she assured him, snuggling into his side.

He snorted. "Doubt it. 'As long as forever, my love will…'" He paused, reading silently, his throat closing up.

"Jamie?"

"I'm…I'm fine. 'As long as forever…my love will be true…'" He felt a few tears fall from his eyes. "'For as long as you love me…I'll only love you.' Kiera Finney."

Cathy felt her husband's shoulders shake as he continued to cry. "Jamie?" she asked again, reaching up to brush away his tears.

"Sorry. I…I shouldn't be…" He took a deep breath. "I…thank you, Cathy." He brought her into his arms, kissing her forehead. "I love it."

"I didn't mean for you to cry," she murmured, locking her gaze with his.

"It's quite alright." He caught her lips with his in a chaste kiss. "I love you, Cathy. So much."

"I love you, too, Jamie."

"As long as forever?" He grinned through his tears.

"As long as forever." She laid her head on his shoulder, and they sat in a comfortable silence for the rest of the morning.

Later that day, Cathy had finally drifted off to a reasonably restful sleep - the first she'd had in a long while. She lay on her side, cushioned by nearly every pillow from the closet, her breathing slow and even. He hated to disturb her when she looked this calm.

On second thought, he really didn't.

"Baby, you liiight up my wooorld like nobooody else!"

Cathy jerked awake, sitting up quickly and clutching her stomach out of habit. What in the world was going on? Why was Jamie screaming?

"You don't know-oh-oh! You don't know you're beautifuuuul!"

He was jumping around the room, the radio cranked up to maximum volume. She watched him for a minute, still half-asleep. "Jamie, what are you doing?"

"Waking you up."

She covered her ears. "Please turn that down." She winced. "You know I don't care for this song."

He turned the dial on the radio, turning it off. "Way to ruin my fun," he said, crossing his arms dramatically. "Anyway, time to get up, sweetie. We gotta go."

"Go where?" She blinked tiredly.

"You said you wanted to go out, didn't you?"

She rubbed her eyes, nodding. "Well, yes, but I didn't…"

"Well, come on, then." He tossed her some pants. "We're sort of on a schedule."

"Are we, now?" Her eyebrows rose. "Where are we going?"

She didn't expect him to specify, so she wasn't too shocked when he said, "It's a surprise, of course."

"Jamiiiiiiie," she whined, pulling on the pants and walking to the closet to find a shirt. "Can't you be nice and tell me?"

"I can't, Cathy." He gave her his sweetest smile. "It's my present to you, and if I tell you, that would defeat the point, wouldn't it?"

She pulled on a t-shirt, frowning slightly. "Present?"

"Of course. You didn't think I'd just forgotten to get you one, did you?"

"No," she said slowly, "but I figured that making me breakfast counted." She was touched, but she felt guilty that he kept going to such lengths.

"Well, that was part of it. We have to drive if you want to see what the rest is."

"Jamie, sweetheart…I…" She winced, the baby kicking a bit harder than usual.

"You alright?" He grazed his fingers over her cheek. "If…if you don't feel good…"

"No…I'm fine." She forced a smile. "I really don't like you doing so much for me. I mean…I just feel bad, is all. I know, I know, I'm pregnant. But that doesn't mean I'm useless."

"Never said you were. I guess…I just want things to go well."

She took his hands in hers, guiding them to her stomach. "They will. Don't worry." She smiled more convincingly. "I'm stronger than I look." The baby gave a sharp kick suddenly. "And…so is he," she grunted.

Jamie smiled a bit. "Let's make a deal, then. I'll let you do more in terms of chores and keeping the house neat, and I won't pamper you as much."

"What's the catch?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"You have to trust me today." His gaze softened. "Please."

She sighed. "Alright. I trust you."

He cupped her cheek, kissing her gently. "Promise?" he asked.

"Promise."

"Cathy, you promised."

She snorted. "I didn't agree to this."

"We're almost there. Don't worry."

They were in the car, Cathy now wearing a blindfold over her eyes. Jamie had insisted she put it on, and while she had refused at first, he'd finally guilted her into it. She wondered what on earth could require her to wear one, and while she'd promised to trust him, she hadn't promised not to complain.

She heard him sigh. "Okay, Cathy, you win." He put the car in park and turned the ignition off. "I'll tell you where we are."

She turned toward him, trying to look as intimidating as one can with a blindfold over one's eyes.

"We're at the Victoria Caves."

He wasn't serious. He couldn't be. She laughed, suddenly finding the situation rather hilarious.

"Cathy?"

"Nice try, Jamie. Now tell me where we are."

"Victoria Caves. I'm not joking, Cathy. We're going spelunking."

She shook her head. "Jamie, tell the truth."

"I am. We're at the caves, and that's the big surprise. We're set to go spelunking for the next two hours."

His voice was even, and she didn't hear a smirk creeping into it at all. Her heart dropped, and she felt the color drain from her face.

"Honey…" Jamie took her hands. "I…I know you may be a bit wary…"

"A bit wary?! Jamie, you're the one who wants me to take it easy, and you decide to take me SPELUNKING?!"

"Cathy, calm down -"

"No! I won't!" She folded her arms. "I'm not getting out. You drive us home right now."

She heard the click of his seat belt, followed by the door opening and closing and his footsteps coming closer. He opened her door and unbuckled her. "Cathy, please come out."

"No. I'm staying right here. You can't make me move."

"What happened to trusting me?"

"YOU DIDN'T TELL ME WE WERE GOING TO A CAVE, JAMIE!"

"You promised."

Cathy bit the inside of her mouth. She knew that Jamie won, either way. But she was too stubborn at the moment to admit that.

"I'll stand here until you get out," Jamie said quietly. "I'm not going to force you, but it would be great if you got out on your own. For me."

He was using that tone, the one he reserved when he wanted her to know how much he loved her. The one that always made her do what he wanted.

Damn him.

She huffed out a frustrated sigh. "Okay, fine. I'll get out." She began to undo the blindfold.

"Not yet," he said, taking her hand and helping her out of her seat. "I'll tell you when to take it off."

She wanted to just rip the stupid thing off, but she followed him without complaining. She felt the temperature change a bit, and she knew they were inside a building. But this didn't seem like the sort of check-in for spelunking; it was much too quiet.

"Jamie, are you sure we're at the right place?"

"Yes, I'm sure," he said, opening another door. "Almost there."

The smell of chlorine hit her. Now she knew they weren't at the caves. A wave of relief swept over her, but she was also curious as to where they were. The only pool she knew of that they went to regularly was at Stuart's…

"Alright, love. You can take off the blindfold now."

She took her time untying the knot, her eyes squeezed shut as she let it drop.

"Cathy, you can open your eyes, as well," Jamie said with a nervous chuckle.

She slowly did so, her breath lodging in her throat.

They were, indeed, in Stuart's house, in the room with pool. But she'd never seen it like this. Covering nearly every surface except the water were bright red roses, all in full bloom. Sitting on the closest chaise lounge was a dark red rose, dipped in gold, shining as if made of glass.

"Jamie…this is…beautiful." She grasped his hand tightly. "How…how did you…?"

"Several paychecks, and a lot of help from Stuart and my mum."

She turned to him, her eyes shining. "I love it. It's perfect." She walked over to the chaise and picked up the gold-dipped rose. "You even remembered this…"

He licked his lips. "I was a bit unsure about that. I mean…since I first bought you one when…" He looked at his feet.

She gently touched his left arm. "I know. I still love it." She smiled when he met her gaze and gave him a kiss. "This is a wonderful present. Thank you so much."

He returned her smile. "Well, there's more to it than this."

She blinked. "There is?"

He nodded. "Why do you think we're in here, of all places?"

A few minutes later, Cathy stood at the edge of the pool, shivering slightly. Spelunking didn't sound too bad at the moment, she had to admit - compared to standing naked while very pregnant, it did.

"Come on, Cathy!" Jamie surfaced, shaking the water from his hair. "I thought you'd jump at the opportunity to do something like this."

"I would, if my stomach wasn't the size of Mount Everest." She self-consciously held her hands over the bump, unsuccessfully concealing it.

"Swimming's good for you. Remember what the doctor said?" He dove back under for a minute before coming up for air.

She bit her lip. "I…I don't know…maybe I could just sit on a chair or…"

"Cathy, you sit almost all the time." He swam toward her, standing when he was knee-deep in the water. "When are you going to get the chance to skinny dip with me, with no interruptions guaranteed?" He smirked up at her. "Besides, I know you find me irresistible."

She felt her cheeks become warm, and she tried not to stare. "Alright. I'll try it. For you."

He held out his hand, smiling wider. She took it, gingerly making her way into the pool. She pursed her lips; the water wasn't cold, but it wasn't warm, either. It took a moment to adjust to it.

"How is it?" he asked.

"This…this is amazing." Her eyes widened. "I can hardly feel my weight."

"Didn't I say this was a good idea?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, Jamie, this was an excellent idea."

He pulled her closer. "Exactly why you married me, right?"

"Of course." She laid her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. "I love you, Jamie."

"I love you, too, Cathy." He wove his fingers through her hair, his other hand resting on her stomach. They stood in silence for a moment. "Honey?"

"Yes?"

"What, exactly, are we going to do with all of these roses when we're done swimming?"

She laughed. "I have no idea. We'll think of something tomorrow."

"Sounds like a plan." He tilted her chin upward, looking right into her eyes. "I love you, Cathy. I always will." He leaned forward, pressing their lips together in a heated kiss.

Cathy felt her heart race, her arms wrapping around Jamie's neck to tangle in his hair. She faintly felt the baby kick, but for the first time in a while, it wasn't distracting in the least.

"Happy first, Cathy," he murmured into her lips.

"Happy first, Jamie. I love you."