Lindsay sighed and ran a hand over her stomach as she walked down the aisles. There were very few times when she felt a wave of homesickness, but right now was one of them. Shopping for baby clothes was something she wanted to do with her mom. Instead she was here alone, trying to find gender neutral clothes as they had decided not to find out what they were having. She was getting frustrated at only finding ducks and frogs, wishing baby clothes makers would get the hint that solids were okay.

Frowning, she grabbed her cell phone and called Adam, hoping he had his phone on and could answer it.

"Hey honey," he greeted. "How's the shopping going?"

"I think I'm too grumpy for this. So far I've found socks."

"Well we can start a new baby fashion. Diapers and socks. All the hip kids will be wearing it."

She chuckled and looked through a rack of pajamas.

"As much as I would like to spark a trend with you, I am pretty sure that a winter baby is going to need a few more layers than that."

"Maybe. Any particular reason for your grumpiness?"

"Heartburn and I wish my mom was here."

"I'm sorry babe."

"It's okay. I'll be alright."

"Want to wait and try again when I get home?"

"No, I already drove all the way out here, I might as well keep looking. Besides, you're going to want to see what I spent all your money on."

"Oh yay."

She smiled again, feeling the frustration melt away.

"Why don't you call your mom? Might make you feel better."

"Yeah. I hadn't thought of that."

"I'll see you tonight hon. I love you."

"I love you too."

She hung up the phone and found a pack of newborn white onesies which she knew you could never have too many of. Exploded diapers, spit up and drooling made her grab another pack. The thought of laundry made her get a third.

She dialed her mom's number and waited while it rang a few times.

"Hello?"

"Hi mom."

"Hi honey! How are you? Are you feeling okay? Tired?"

"I'm fine, I feel fine. Not too tired. But I'm clothes shopping and I really wish you were here because I have no idea what I'm doing."

"Didn't you make a list?"

"Adam found one on the internet. But do I really need three pairs of shoes? It's going to be a year before the kid walks. And why is everything boy or girl? And why am I stressing myself out about getting six month clothes right now?"

"Because you're in the earliest stages of nesting and you've always been an over-planner. Don't worry about the shoes, you can get them later. For now just get the basics, enough for a few weeks and you'll get some more as gifts and then you can shop once the baby is here. Make sure you stock up on blankets and burp rags and when you think you've gotten enough, you haven't. Also, if you guys have the storage space, I would suggest buying a pack of diapers on every trip to the store so by the time the baby gets here you're stocked up for a few weeks."

"Is this written somewhere?"

"I got the hang of it around the time Eli was six months old. By the time I got to you it was all old hat, which is the reason you turned out so perfect."

"So you're saying this kid might be as screwed up as Jake?"

"It's what we love most about him, isn't it?"

"I guess so. I miss you mom."

"I miss you too baby."

"I wish you were here. This isn't as much fun alone."

"I wish I was there too. What about Austin, why isn't she with you?"

Lindsay sighed and inspected the washing instructions on a pair of overalls.

"She's in California visiting her brother. This isn't her kind of thing anyway."

"Hey sweetie?"

"Yeah?"

"You need to have fun. Get some coming home outfits, one for a boy, one for a girl and just don't worry so much."

"Okay."

"By the way, your dad finished fixing the old cradle and he's going to ship it next week. He fixed it so it rocks without making so much noise."

"He did?"

"He's pretty excited for you. He's already got most of January and February taken care of as far as who's going to watch the place for us, so we can fly out whenever and stay as long as you want."

"That will be nice. I'm predicting that I'll have a nervous breakdown by day three, so it will help to have you here."

"You're going to be just fine. You know that as well as I do."

"I know."

"Honey, I've got to go and pick Tessa up from school. Call me tonight and let me know what you got though, okay?"

"Alright. Thanks mama."

"You're welcome. Bye."

"Honey I'm home, and your credit card is very tired and slightly warm."

"Just as I imagined."

"Where are you?"

"Baby's room."

She followed his voice into the minuscule second bedroom, which was big enough for a crib and a small chest of drawers that doubled as a changing table. It was cramped, but it would work.

Adam was sitting in the middle of the floor, surrounded by packing material and instructions, looking very much in his element, no matter how chaotic it looked to her.

"What's this?"

"Crib."

"You got one already?"

"Yeah. That one you wanted."

"But… that's too expensive."

"I found it on Amazon for cheaper, plus I had an old giftcard, and it was discounted because it has a little knick in it somewhere and it was also on free shipping. And it didn't come with the mattress, so it was even cheaper."

"How much?"

"I saved almost three hundred bucks. Of course we still need to get the mattress, but a penny saved is a penny earned, right?"

She smiled at him, not quite sure what to say.

"Also, I found some crib bedding that you might like. I left it up on the computer for you to look at. Apparently it's like so three years ago, but I thought you might like it and it's on clearance. And I thought that tomorrow maybe we could go rocking chair hunting. I know you said you didn't need one, but I think you would like it and women always say how the nicest things their husband can do is buy them a rocking chair when they have a baby, and I am guessing all those women aren't wrong. What's the matter?"

She hadn't even noticed the tears in her eyes until he said something, and she reached up to wipe them away.

"Nothing, nothing. I just can't believe… I mean I can believe you did all this, but I can't believe that you're doing it for me."

"Why wouldn't I be?" he asked, standing up and pulling her into a hug. "I love you and I love this baby and I want to make this as easy for you as I can. And I can't do the hard parts, so at least I can do this."

"I can't even tell you how perfect you are."

"Well don't try 'cause I'm not."

She shook her head and ran her hand over his chest.

"I don't see any imperfect parts. I just see you."

"Ready for more?"

"More what?"

"I am about to make you very happy."

"How's that?"

"After you called me today I was thinking about how much you miss your mom and how much you want her here and I thought, why not make it happen?"

"You didn't."

"I called her and asked if she wanted to come and spend a weekend with you and she said yes, of course. And Mac said he can schedule you around it, so there you go."

"Okay so how much do I owe you for this? Because honestly."

"You're having my baby. Pretty sure that's payment enough."

"Are you sure? Cuz I was thinking about something else, but if giving birth is enough then…" she trailed off with a shrug and a wink.

"Hey wait, I didn't say anything about that!"

"It always stops moving as soon as I touch you," Adam complained, turning the page in his book.

"Oh come on. This kid is really going to town. You're gonna miss it."

"It'll stop, it always does."

"Adam," she chuckled. "Touch your kid."

Grinning, and sure he would prove her wrong, he leaned over and placed his hand over her stomach. The baby jabbed back in return, making him laugh.

"See? I'm always right."

Adam was silent, concentrating on the movement of their baby under his hand. It wasn't intense movement, and certainly not enough to guess on hands or feet, but he could still feel it. It was the first time he'd had the chance, even though she'd been feeling it for weeks and it brought him into a deeper state of excitement than he had felt when she told him she was pregnant. Of course they had had ultrasounds, and of course he had seen her grow. But this made it really real. This brought it home.

"What are you thinking?" she asked as he repositioned to rest his head against her stomach.

"You know how they talk about your life flashing before your eyes?"

"Mm-hmm."

"I guess I was just letting things flash back. When we first started dating I never imagined it would be like this. I hoped it would, but I didn't think I was that lucky. And now it's two years later and it's all just right. And I can't even wrap my head around it really. I mean, you and I," he said, his voice dropping. "We made this."

She grinned at his description, amused and endeared by his simple words. Sometimes his love took her breath away and sometimes she could nearly nestle herself in it, feeling warm and safe and held up by nothing but that. So many times over the years she had wanted to stop time, either to get her bearings or to just bask in it. But never more than this moment, this second, this beautiful collision of lives.

Their hands joined on her stomach and she let out a sleepy sigh before closing her eyes. Only one thought pounded through her head in time with her own heartbeat and the movement of their baby.

Perfect.

Perfect.

Perfect.