Disclaimer: I don't own anyone, other than Brielle.
Rated: M
Warning(s): Slash, Het, Mpreg, Stripping, Exotic Dancing, Violence, Domestic Violence, Child Abuse, etc.

The next few weeks were little more than a blur as Adam divvied up his time between visits to the doctor, spending time with Alannah and Brielle, and making more plans for the wedding. They even had a date - October 5th. By that time, Adam would be well into his sixth month of pregnancy.

But there was also something else that he had planned. Once Randy had gotten Adam to agree to marry him and move into the house, he'd given Adam full-access to all of their bank accounts. Adam was pretty sure that, contained within those bank accounts, there was more money than he'd ever know what to do with or find a use for. However, he had managed to think of something. Every day, while the girls were down for their forty-five minute nap, he'd go into Randy's office, close the door, and log onto the computer.

Once there, he'd access a site for home listings in different states. All you had to do was put in the state that you were interested in, followed by the price range, and then click 'Find Me A House'. Over the last couple of days, Adam had looked at houses in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New Hampshire. While they were all beautiful, none had really fit his definition of 'the one'. Today, he decided, he'd look at houses in North and South Carolina. Another dancer - Tyson Kidd - had moved there with his lover, Brock, and had nothing but good things to say about it.

He went onto the usual website and started looking. Just like usual, nothing was really catching his eye. Most were one-floor with only one or two bedrooms. Adam had always lived in a two-floor house, and with the new baby on the way, they'd definitely need more than two bedrooms. What really surprised him was that these were expensive houses, and they didn't have much to offer. And while he felt as if they definitely had money to burn, he didn't want to waste it on something as important as a house. No, he wouldn't rest until he found perfection.

Perfection came at the bottom of page four. In South Carolina, there was a house for sale for a little upwards of two-hundred fifty thousand. There were three floors (this didn't include the attic and the basement), four bedrooms, three and a half bathrooms, an apartment-like attachment (basically a bedroom combined with a kitchen), a two car garage, and an in-ground pool in the back. The statistics said that it was in a good neighborhood, with a low crime rate, a park down the street, and excellent schools within walking distance. Adam printed it out.

Carefully, he rose out of his chair and, taking the printed pages in hand, and placed them into an already decorated box. He was planning on giving the present to Randy as a 'just because' - it would contain a picture of the house, along with all of the information that went with it; a booklet with "Baby's First Pictures' stamped on the front, containing all of the pictures of their baby pre-birth, along with all of the print-outs of the baby's condition. He didn't know when he would give it to him, but it was there when the 'right moment' arose. He replaced the lid and put the box back.

Adam really hoped that Randy would like his surprise. He knew that he would be reluctant to move - Adam was reluctant to move as well - but Adam couldn't stay here, not with all the memories that lingered in this town. Jeff was moving on with his life, moving on from this town, and if Jeff could do it, then so could Adam. Adam wanted to start fresh with this new baby. He wanted to live a good life... be safe for once... was that too much to ask for? He didn't think so. So, with one last look at the box, he turned off the computer and left Randy's office.

"I'm sorry that I haven't been home a lot recently, baby." Randy apologized softly, kissing his fiancée on the forehead. "There's a major dispute going on at work, and several of the higher-ups think that they're going to split it down the middle."

Adam's eyes widened, thinking about the box that he had waiting upstairs. "I'm so sorry to hear that, Ran. What does that mean for your job?"

"Well..." Randy leaned down, untying his work shoes and placing them by the door. "It means that I'm going to be promoted."

"Really? That's wonderful news!" Adam exclaimed.

Randy didn't seem so convinced, however. He unbuttoned his suit jacket and hung it up, before continuing deeper and deeper into the house. Adam followed close behind. "Not exactly. I really never had any desire to be the CEO."

"You can't just remain in your position as COO?" Adam inquired. Meanwhile, he was gently leading Randy to a barstool and fixing him something to drink. Randy said that he couldn't, because as COO, he was one-step below CEO and had to step up to the position or quit. "That sucks."

Randy nodded, "It really does. Quitting isn't an option - not now that I hired you on. I refuse to risk both of our jobs."

"But Randy, I don't want you stuck in a job you don't want simply because of me." Adam couldn't help but sound a little hurt.

Adam put Randy's drink down and Randy picked it up, chugging half of it down. He put the cup down onto the counter, "I'm not stuck anywhere, baby. I'm just... just not sure of what I'm going to do right now. But don't you dare think that I'm stuck anywhere because of you, okay?"

"Okay..." Adam trailed, not really sounding all that convincing.

"Try not to worry about it, baby. I'll think of something, so don't get so upset." Randy said. "Now, how was your day?"

"My day was fine." The bond shrugged, turning around and walking over to the refrigerator, pulling out the meat for dinner. "The girls both had their check-ups with Dr. Hart, and both are as healthy as we could hope for them to be. They're taking a nap now, because they want to stay up and watch the new Scooby-Doo movie."

Randy smiled. Adam was so good with the girls. "I want you to know that Alannah really loves you. Before you moved in, she was always asking about the pretty one with the fluffy blond hair. Now, she wants to be with you all the time. I can't get her to go to bed without you."

"Really?" Adam asked, causing Randy to nod. "I'm glad. I really love her too."

The stressful tension that had come over them earlier had dissipated considerably. Adam was still a little bit worried about what this huge move in Randy's career would mean for them, and also what it would mean for the present that he had waiting upstairs. But Randy didn't seem to concerned... in fact, while he wasn't exactly enthralled by the idea of becoming CEO, he didn't seem entirely turned-off by it, either. He seemed more concerned about protecting Adam and their family and keeping them in the lifestyle that there were used to (or getting used to) living.

After Randy finished his drink, he went upstairs to take a shower before dinner. Adam had already started dinner earlier, putting the vegetables in to simmer in beef broth sometime that afternoon. He'd quickly learned that the only way to get Alannah to eat her vegetables was to make it seem like they weren't really vegetables at all. Once the meat was cooking, he put the lid on the pan and turned on the timer. As if reading his mind, right then, two little girls came bounding down the stairs. Alannah hurriedly looked around, but when she couldn't find what she was looking for, she turned to Adam.

"Where Daddy?" She asked, confused.

"Randy is taking a shower, dummy." Brielle told her matter-of-factly. Alannah turned her confused look to Brielle, making it clear that she didn't know what a shower was. Brielle sighed. "It's like taking a bath, only you're standing up."

"Oh... okay." Alannah said, sounding as if she understood it now.

"Now, Brielle, it wasn't nice to call Alannah a dummy. I want you to apologize to her." Adam said.

"Sorry." Brielle forced out stiffly, not sounding like she really meant it. Adam sighed, knowing that this was as good as it was going to get.

"Who wants to help me set the table for dinner?" There were no volunteers. Adam sighed once again, rolling his eyes upwards, "Good little girls that help to set the table get desert, but bad girls don't get desert. And I just bought a whole tub of ice-cream too..."

"Ice-cream?" The two girls questioned in unison. Within seconds, they both had taken plates and silverware and were setting the table.

Everyone was so busy doing their share, that nobody noticed Randy return downstairs, dressed in a plain white t-shirt and blue sweatpants. "What did I miss?"

The two girls dropped what they were doing and threw themselves at Randy, hugging and kissing him, and telling him how much they had missed him. It was a pleasing sight, but dinner was getting cold. "I guess nobody wants dinner then."

The two girls charged at the table, nearly knocking over their chairs in the process. Randy laughed, walking over and pulling out the chair for Adam, who gratefully took a seat. As his pregnancy progressed, he found it more and more exhausting to spend any length of time exclusively on his feet. Randy went into the kitchen, grabbed the dinner, and carried it into the dining room, placing it on the table on the heart-shaped trivet (Adam's personal favorite). Dinner was thinly sliced beef briskets, slathered in vegetables and beef broth. He divvied it out to everyone, before taking his seat next to Brielle.

After Adam cut up the food for both Brielle and Alannah, both of the girls stuffed their faces into their food. Naps always made them hungry, which was a trait that Adam would never understand. Randy and Adam attempted to make polite conversation with them, but they were too busy tearing into their food to notice - eventually, they gave up, and went on talking with each other about the events of that day. When Adam mentioned that they were having Jeff's going away party tomorrow, both girls' interest peaked. They loved any chance that they could get to spend some time with Doan and Loretta. They absolutely adored babies.

Once they finished up dinner, Randy took the girls into the living room and started up the new movie. Adam cleared the table, taking the dishes into the kitchen and putting them under water to soak. He could hear the Scooby-Doo theme song playing, followed by the giggles of his two kids, and he couldn't help but smile. They were all so adorable... and he was proud to call them his own. Yes, life was pretty good. A new baby on the way... a new job on the horizon... how could it get any better? And then he dropped the glass...

"You stupid bitch! Look at what you've done!" Wade was screaming at him, knotting his fingers in Adam's hair and smacking Adam's cheek a little too hard. Adam saw stars. "You've gotten cranberry juice on my white carpet! Clean it up - now!"

"I... I'm sorry... I didn't mean to..." Wade was pushing him down onto his knees, and he fell with a harsh, resounding thud, "I... It's gonna stain... I need..." The Brit was yanking on his hair, his free hand clenching into a fist. "Bleach! I need bleach!"

Wade only shook his head, releasing Adam's hair and throwing him down to the floor. "You made the mess. You get your own damn bleach."

Adam didn't even realize that he was screaming until Randy's arms were around him, holding him tight. "Adam? Adam, are you okay?" Randy pleaded with him, sounding as if he was breaking down himself. "Adam... what's the matter, baby? C'mon, now... you can tell me. What's wrong?"

Adam fell silent, tears slowly leaking down his face. He choked back a sob and whispered, "Nothing. It's just... nothing." Gently, he peeled himself out of Randy's arms. "Could you watch the movie with them and make sure they get to bed? I... I think I need to lay down."

"If that's what you want." Randy said softly. "Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?"

"I'm sure." Adam said. "Thank you."

Quickly, he crossed the room, reached the stairs, and took them two at a time. He felt as if all the eyes in the house were on him, following him as he had his little meltdown, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He just felt so broken... so used... and he wondered how all of this could have gone so bad so quickly. As soon as he was in the bedroom, he fell down onto the bed, buried his face into the pillow, and cried. He needed to get out of town as soon as possible. As long as the horrible memories of what had happened here loomed over him, he knew that he could never be happy.

Phil had certainly gone all-out in decorating for the party. While it was true that they lived in an apartment, their apartment was as big as some of the two-bedroom, one-floor houses that Adam had been looking at. It was all decorated in silver and blue, the colors of the school that Jeff would be attending. Over on the far wall, underneath the window, was a buffet table with different snacks, spaced out around two big bowls of refreshments. There was a live band, which played family-friendly music. The living room had been transformed into a gaming central, with the Wii, the Xbox 360, and the computer (connected to the flat screen) being the main attractions.

Randy was soon swept away into the crowd, and found himself talking to several of the dancers from the club that had formerly employed Adam. They had all wanted to come out and spend a little time at the party, considering the fact that Jeff had been special to each of them in many different ways. Adam followed Phil into Loretta's nursery, which was where all of the kids were. Phil introduced Adam to Luc, who was Tyson and Brock's son, and Kelly, who was the newborn daughter of new neighbors (and thus, new friends) Roman, Seth, and Dean. And yes, he confirmed - they were all together.

Whilst in the nursery, Adam ran into John Morrison. "John!" John turned at the sound of his name, smiling excitedly when he saw Adam. They quickly embraced. "I feel like it's been forever since we've last seen each other. How have you been?"

"Great! Actually, Mike and I just got some great news." There was a dramatic pause. "We're pregnant!"