Warm sunlight streamed through the window and filtered through the old lace curtains, slowly bringing wakefulness to the two inhabitants of the big brass bed. Lindsay fought the coherence, wrinkling her nose and turning her face away from the window. Adam yawned and propped himself up on his elbow reaching over to twist one of her curls around his finger.

He loved waking up and having her beside him. This week was the longest they had been apart since the wedding, and he had missed her warmth being the first thing he was aware of in the morning. She sighed softly in her sleep and he moved his finger from her hair down to the hand that rested next to her ear, tracing over her palm. He knew they were going to have to get up soon but he loved watching her sleep, so he just laid there for a while longer. He moved a little closer and wrapped around her, his hand coming to rest gently on her stomach. She relaxed more under his touch, this sigh slower and longer than the last one. He was a patient man, but couldn't wait much longer and pressed his lips to her shoulder.

"Mm."

"We should get up," he whispered, the gentle movement of his hand causing her short night gown to ride up a little.

"Mm," she repeated, turning her head to face him but not waking up. His hand found her bare skin and she moved against him, cracking her eyes open a little.

"Hi."

"Morning gorgeous."

"Morning."

"You gonna wake up?"

"No."

He chuckled and moved her hair off her forehead.

"We don't have to go to church," she said, moving her hand down to play with his.

"Why not?"

"I dunno. It's just not something we do."

"It's something we both used to do."

"When we were kids and didn't have a choice."

"Did you ever feel forced?"

"No. It was just a part of life. Then I went to college and I didn't have time for that anymore really. Just kind of slipped away from it."

"Yeah. That's kind of how it was for me. Mom took me every week. Bible camp in the summer, all that. Then I moved out and it just felt like I didn't need to go anymore."

"Do you regret that?"

"I never really did until Colton was born. I want to give him all the good things in life. But there's that little part that I just can't do."

"Everything changed when he was born. The things that were so important before became an afterthought. And things I never thought about are now the things that keep me up at night."

"I don't really have a solution for this."

"Neither do I."

"Interestingly enough that makes me feel a little better."

She chuckled and twisted his wedding ring slowly around his finger.

"Adam, do you think we're doing okay?"

"How do you mean?"

"You and I are fine. Better than fine actually. I just worry if we're going to screw up this parenting thing."

"I think he's happy and healthy and that's the most important thing right now."

"It's scary."

"I know."

She yawned and stretched then sat up, even though she would rather spend the rest of the morning just as she was.

"Gotta get moving," she muttered, throwing the blankets off and climbing out of bed.

"Hey babe?"

"Yeah?"

"If you like, threw on some boots and went out and mucked the stalls just like that, I would be a very happy man and would never need another Christmas present as long as I lived."

"Oh brother."

"Hey, you should be glad that after all these years I still find you attractive," he teased with a grin.

"No hon, I think you're the one who should be glad that after all these years I still find you attractive."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

Grinning, she climbed back onto the bed and crawled over to him, placing a hand on either side of his face and kissing him deeply.

"Very attractive."

"Thanks for the reiteration."

"It would be very hard not to love you."

She kissed him once more then pulled away just as he was going to pull her closer.

"Honey we've gotta get ready," she half protested, pressing against his chest.

"I know. Sometimes I just can't help myself."

She snickered and kissed him a few more times before standing up and grabbing her robe.

"C'mon. Colton needs to be fed and dressed."

"Yes ma'am."

The service was fairly short and Lindsay sighed in relief when it was over. It wasn't that she hated it, she was just uncomfortable in the life she used to have. Seeing people she hadn't seen in years made up for it though, and she was thoroughly enjoying catching up. The novelty of her life in New York had worn off three or four visits ago, so she wasn't doing much talking, save for drawing stories out of the group of ladies she was standing with. It was nice to hear normal things, nothing about crimes and drive-bys and other things that occupied most of her conversations normally.

"Mama!"

She heard the voice a split second before feeling a happy toddler crash into her legs.

"Hey bud."

"Up."

She swung him into her arms and kissed his cheek, receiving a giggle in return.

"How did your shirt get so wet?"

"He discovered the drinking fountain," Adam clarified.

"Filling up for round two huh?"

Colton grinned and pushed her hand away from his stomach, then tugged on her hair.

"What?"

"Go?"

"Yeah, we're going to go."

He pointed at the window and grinned, then stuck his finger in his mouth and looked at her seriously.

"Out."

"Oh you think you can tell me what to do?"

He nodded, not understanding what the question meant.

"I guess you're right. We'd better go and help grammy get lunch ready anyway."

She bid goodbye to her old friends and smiled as Adam took her hand and led her outside and to the truck they were using. They buckled Colton into his careseat in the middle of the bench seat, then climbed in themselves, Lindsay behind the wheel.

"I wanna go somewhere real quick," she said, as the old diesel roared to life. "It won't take long."

"Where?"

Biting her lip, she pointed to the cemetery on the side of the hill down the road from the church. He nodded.

"Do you want to stop somewhere and get flowers?"

"I don't leave flowers," she said softly.

He was quiet as she guided the truck up the winding dirt road, parking it under a willow tree. She took a deep breath and pulled some paper out of her purse, then unbuckled her seatbelt.

"Colton, want to come with mama?"

He grunted and reached for her, so she undid the straps in his carseat and pulled him into her arms.

"Adam, you wanna come?"

"Why don't you go ahead," he suggested, knowing she needed this time to herself. "I'll join you in a minute."

She returned his small smile and closed the door, walking around the front of the truck before setting Colton on the ground and taking his hand. He toddled along next to her happily, tripping only once to dirty up the knee of his corduroys. Adam watched them out the window of the truck, smiling as they made their way over the uneven ground. He took a mental picture of it, the way Lindsay had her jacket tucked around her against the wind, the way her flowered skirt swayed as she walked, the slight curl in her hair, her slender hand wrapped protectively around Colton's chubby one. The sky had turned overcast since the morning light, casting everything in a grayish hue. Not sad, just subdued. He watched as Lindsay walked over to a gravestone and knelt down. She put a folded up paper down and from his vantage point, he could barely make out that it was a cootie catcher. She pulled Colton into her arms and he could tell she was saying something to him. He was looking at her intensely, hanging on her every word not because he understood but because he was aware of the emotion with which she was speaking. After a moment she got up and walked a few feet to the next stone and repeated the actions before visiting the final one. He waited until she stood up before he got out of the truck and joined her. She smiled up at him as he took her into his arms and kissed her forehead.

"You okay?"

"Yep."

They stood there for a few minutes in silence, breathing in the fresh air and watching Colton pick at the grass.

"I'm really proud of you," Adam said finally.

"What for?"

"The last few days haven't been easy, but you've kept your head above water. I was worried that this might be too much for you."

"It was a lot," she agreed. "I think I realized that you're there for me no matter where I am, but when it comes down to it, there are things I have to do myself. And I can do them. That kind of came as a shock."

"Why?"

"I guess I attribute so much of the strength I have to you, when really…"

"I just made you see what you had all along."

"Exactly. I don't think I can ever call it even with you in that instance."

"Yeah you can."

"No Adam. I don't know if you understand what you did for me."

"Maybe you don't know what you did for me."

"Like what?"

"You gave me a purpose, Linds. Before you all I had was my job. Now there's just so much more than myself, more reason. That's worth everything."

"We really are perfect together, aren't we?"

"If we do say so ourselves. You ready to go?"

"Yep. Colton, let's go bye."

He looked up at her and grinned, handing her a dandelion he had successfully picked from the ground.

"Oh, thank you buddy."

She picked him up and kissed him before sticking the yellow plant behind her ear. He smiled happily and pointed to the truck.

"Go."

"Kid can't stay in one place for long," Adam noted. "Want me to drive?"

"Sure."

They climbed into the truck and Lindsay reached over to squeeze Adam's hand. She wanted to say she loved him, wanted to thank him for so much, but the words couldn't say as much as the touch did.

"Hey Aust, it's me."

"Stranger. What's up?"

"Nothing. I just felt like… well, I guess like a stranger, so I thought I would call. What's going on in your neck of the woods?"

"Well earlier Danny was playing airplane with Isa and she spit up on his face. So that was pretty great. And now I've got my feet up on the coffee table and she's playing with my toes. Danny's snoring on the floor."

"Perfect Sunday. Especially the puking part."

"I think so too. How's your dad?"

"He's better. They're letting him go home tomorrow."

"And how are you?"

"I'm alright. Exhausted."

"Better having Adam there?"

"Much better. I miss home though."

"Does that include me?" Austin asked, using her best whiny voice.

"Occasionally."

"Thanks. So what are you doing?"

"Taking advantage of the fact that the whole family is outside playing bocce ball and it's super quiet in here for the first time in a week."

"You're slowly pacing the whole house and cracking your toes as you talk to me aren't you?"

"I love that you know me that well."

"Yeah, even after five days apart."

"Allow me a snort of amusement."

"Granted. What time are you guys getting home tomorrow?"

"Late afternoon. We have a layover in Salt Lake."

"Don't sign anything you didn't read and don't trust a man on a bike."

"Got it. Hey, how's your morning sickness?"

"Blah."

"Sounds good. Try opening a thing of ginger ale before you go to sleep and drinking it right away before you get up."

"How come you never make these suggestions until I've been suffering for a while?"

"It makes you stronger."

"Well in that case."

Lindsay chuckled and looked out the front door, watching Adam and Colton playing on the porch. They had a bunch of plastic animals, and were parading them around happily, lost in a world of their own making.

"Linds, you still there?"

"Uh, yeah. Sorry."

"What's going on?"

"Adam and Colton are playing outside and it's just… sometimes I just have to stop and stare at them."

"You picked a good guy."

"You did too."

"Speaking if your good guy, he asked me what you wanted for your birthday. All I could come up with was coffee."

"Sounds good to me."

"See, this whole bringing up your birthday thing was actually me fishing for suggestions on what to get you, because you are pretty much the hardest person to shop for. Ever. I thought Danny was difficult but you're like… you want for nothing."

"Sorry?"

"You've gotta give me something here. Anything in the whole world that you want."

"Maybe that teleportation device we've been talking about."

"Lindsay."

"I don't know, Aust. You're not easy to shop for either."

"Says the woman who already has my present done even though it's six months away."

"I couldn't pass it up. But really, I don't need anything. Let's just ditch the kids with their dads and go out to lunch."

"That's all you want?"

"Yep."

"Alright, then that's what we'll do. But you had better give Adam an idea soon because he's asked me at least four times now and the last time he looked at his wits end."

"I'll talk to him. After he's finished conducting this zoology lecture with Colton."

"Actually paying attention to something important? He is definitely your kid."

"He's drooling."

"Still yours."

"Shut up."

"Meanwhile I have a diaper calling my name, so I'd better go."

"Hey, just think in a few months you're gonna have diapers from two kids, not just one."

"Do you want to make me dread this?"

"Sorry. Maybe you can get them on a schedule so you can change them at the same time."

"You can come get them on a schedule and I will use it, how about that?"

"And there's your birthday present."

"Very funny. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay. Love you."

"Love you too."

She hung up the phone and went outside, stepping around Colton and sitting down one step below Adam. He pulled her into his arms and she leaned against him, watching Colton play with his zoo animals.

"You okay hon?" Adam asked, running his hand over her hair and rubbing her shoulder.

"Yep."

He tucked his finger under her chin and turned her towards him, then leaned down and kissed her. She was smiling when he pulled away, her eyes still closed.

"This is the most relaxed I've been in a long time. A really long time."

"Good."

He kissed her again as Colton stood up and toddled over to the porch swing, pushing on it and finding himself knocked down when it swung back. He gave it a look and stood up again, being extra cautious this time as he tried to climb up on it.

"Daddy?"

"You want some help buddy?" Adam asked, untangling himself from Lindsay and standing up. They climbed up onto the swing, Colton grinning when Adam made it move a little.

"Mama, up."

She grinned and joined them, pulling her legs up onto the swing and leaning into Adam while Colton curled himself into her chest and let out a sleepy sigh.

"A nap sounds perfect. Good idea, bud."

He nodded and sucked on his finger while Lindsay kissed his hair.

"Hey Linds?"

"Hmm?"

"It can't get much better than this, can it?"

"I highly doubt it."

He smiled and tucked her a little closer, content to let a little of life go by while they remained still.