After another long day, I walked into the apartment and stopped in the foyer to take off my boots. The light was on in the kitchen, but it was otherwise empty. "Casey?"

"In the living room," she replied, her voice soft and silky. I placed my boots on the rack, then headed for the living room. I'd only taken a few steps when I stopped short at the scene in front of me. Bathed in the glow of the Christmas tree's lights, Casey sat on the couch with Rosalyn in her arms. She held a bottle to the baby's mouth as she looked over at me and smiled.

A strange sensation rushed through me as I took in the sight.

"Hi," she grinned. "I hope you don't mind, but I already ate. Your dinner plate is in the microwave." The strange sensation intensified until my feet propelled me across the room toward her. There was an odd warmth filling my chest. One that I'm not sure I'd ever experienced before.

I eased down next to her and lifted a hand to stroke a finger along Rosalyn's cheek. "I don't mind at all," I replied and was a bit shocked to hear the softness in my voice.

Casey's smile grew as she looked from me to the baby and back. "Isn't she gorgeous?"

"She is," I replied. "And so are you." There was something so serene, so perfect about the image in front of me that it stirred an unfamiliar yet overwhelming need deep within.

Casey held my gaze for a moment before she leaned over for a kiss. When she pulled back her smile remained. "What are you thinking?"

Did I tell her the truth when we still didn't know if she could have children? Would my honesty upset her? Surprisingly, this new feeling didn't scare me as much as I expected it to. "You're glowing," I whispered.

"It's the lights from the Christmas tree," she replied.

I shook my head. "The glow I'm talking about is coming from the inside. You're happy," I said. "Happier than I think I've ever seen you."

"I am happy," she agreed as she shifted her gaze to Rosalyn. "How can I not be when I'm holding something so precious and innocent?"

"I'm happy too," I said as I watched her. "I mean, how could I not be with such a beautiful sight in front of me?" I pressed a kiss to her temple. "The only way this could be better was if Rosalyn was ours."

My heart clenched when her smile faded, and she looked away. "What if we can't have children?" she murmured.

I curled a finger under her chin and forced her to turn and face me. "Then we'll adopt, or we'll find a surrogate. If we want to be parents, there are ways to make that happen."

The way her eyes began to water caused me to worry. The last thing I wanted was to ruin the moment by making her cry. "You wouldn't be disappointed if it wasn't biologically yours?"

Her question made my heart hurt even as anger began to bubble beneath the surface. What I was coming to realize was that she'd been hurt long before Blackmore got his claws into her. That fact pissed me off way more than I realized. Never again would I allow anyone to hurt her like that. "Family isn't just about biology, Precious. You know that from everything that's happened."

"True," she sighed. "Bobby mentioned that you talked to him about my possible fertility issues. He researched and found a specialist for me. Maybe I should make an appointment."

"I think that would be a fantastic idea," I replied. "And I'll even go with you if you want."

Her smile returned as she stared at me. "I would."

I'd just finished my dinner when Manny texted me asking if we could keep Rosalyn for the night. I was excited about getting to spend more time watching Casey in her element, so I readily agreed. I ran down to his apartment and found the porta crib and extra supplies. We set the porta crib up in what was Casey's bedroom.

She hadn't slept alone again since our first night coming together. As far as I was concerned, she'd never sleep alone again.

It was about two in the morning when Rosalyn's cries pulled us from our sleep. "I got her," Casey said as she tossed off the covers.

I moved to get up with her when she stopped to look at me. "Lester, go back to sleep."

"Why?"

"Because you shouldn't have to lose sleep simply because I volunteered to babysit."

I waved away her explanation and then reached for my sleep pants. "You go make her bottle and I'll go get her out of the porta crib."

She frowned. "Are you sure?"

I stepped up in front of her and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Precious, if and when we decide to have children, there is no way I'm going to allow you to carry all the burden. That means doing all the tough stuff too, like diaper changes and getting up for midnight feedings."

"But she's not our child and you didn't volunteer for this right now," she argued.

I pressed a finger to her lips, stopping her protest. "Just go fix her bottle because that's something I don't know how to do yet."

Casey gave a slow nod, and then without another word, she headed for the kitchen, while I headed for what was originally her bedroom. By the time I reached the porta crib, Rosalyn was wide awake and protesting loudly. I scooped her up and then placed her in the middle of the empty bed. "Are you hungry?" I asked as I reached for the diaper bag. "Or do you need your diaper changed?"

A tiny balled-up fist made it into her gummy mouth, and she sucked, pulling a chuckle from me. "I'm betting both," I said as I pulled out a clean diaper and wipes. While it had been a while since I changed a diaper and I was far from an expert, it wasn't like I didn't have any experience either. On occasion, I'd changed diapers for both of my sister's kiddos.

Sure enough, Rosalyn was wet. So, I made quick work of the soiled diaper, cleaned her up, and got her square just in time for Casey to arrive with a bottle. She started to reach for her, but instinct had me pulling away. "I'll feed her," I said without thinking.

Her brows winged up in response and without protest, she handed me the bottle. I took it from her, made my way out to the living room, and settled onto the couch. Casey cleaned up the bedroom then stopped in the doorway and stared at me.

"What?" I asked as I looked up from where I sat.

"Has anyone ever told you how sexy you are all shirtless and holding a baby?"

I grinned. "No, but then there's a first time for everything."

"I believe this is one of those moments that Stephanie refers to as ovary exploding."

I barked out a laugh, startling Rosalyn in the process. "Oops…Sorry, sweetie," I said as I worked to calm her down again. Then I returned my attention to Casey. "You know, I can help with those exploding ovaries."

"Oh, you can?" she asked, her voice growing breathier as she spoke.

"Absolutely." I motioned to Rosalyn with my head. "Let me get her fed and back to sleep and we'll see what we can do about easing your suffering."

She pushed off the wall and angled a thumb toward the bathroom. "If that's the case, I should probably go protect ourselves."

The thought of her using protection pulled a quick and powerful wave of panic from deep inside me. "Don't," I blurted before I could stop it.

She paused and looked over at me, her brows arched in surprise. Shit! It was too soon for this. I knew it. She knew it, but that didn't change the fact that I had such an overpowering desire to try and make a baby with her. My mother would probably want to kill me for doing things out of order, but if I planned to marry her anyway what difference would it make?

"Lester?"

I glanced down at Rosalyn and then back up to Casey. "I know it's a gamble because we're not sure about your fertility right now, but let's take a chance."

Worry filled her face as she crossed back to me and sat down. "Is it possible you simply have baby fever because you're holding one right now?" she asked. "I mean, I know I found myself fantasizing earlier when I first held her. It's easy to fall into that trap when they're so sweet and innocent, but they're a lifetime commitment."

"I know that," I replied as I pulled the bottle from Rosalyn's mouth and moved her to my shoulder to burp her. "I also know that for the first time in my life, I can see a future beyond just what Rangeman can give me. Since you arrived, I can see my life through a completely different lens, and I like it."

Rosalyn let out a delicate burp, then snuggled her head against my neck and my heart did another tiny flip. Damn right, I wanted this. Casey shook her head. "You're tired and you're not thinking clearly."

"I beg to differ," I argued as I pushed up from the couch and headed back to the spare bedroom. "It's entirely possible that I'm seeing everything clearly for the first time in my life." I lowered Rosalyn down into the porta crib and made sure she was secure. We both back to the doorway and waited. When she didn't cry, I turned to face Casey, grabbed her by the hand, and pulled her back toward the living room. "Sit. I'll be right back."

I hadn't planned on doing this right now, but strangely enough, the time seemed perfect. So, I followed my gut and dug the ring out of the back of my desk drawer. When I returned to the living room, she was sitting on the couch with her hands in her lap.

I dropped down to one knee in front of her and scooped her left hand out of her lap. "I know I love you more than I've ever loved anyone in my life," I began. "I also know that you have a long way to go in your healing process. I want to not only be part of that process, but also have babies with you, in whatever manner they come, and grow old with you until it's time for me to meet my maker. Casey Miller, will you marry me?"

Her eyes went wide as plates as she stared at the ring I produced from behind my back and held it out to her. I swear my heart was pounding so hard I could hear it echo in my ears. "Oh my…Lester!" The tears came then as she began to nod.

"Is that a, yes?" I asked with a laugh.

"Yes," she giggled as she slid off the couch to her knees in front of me. "Yes," she repeated, then pressed her lips to mine.

"Thank, God," I said when she pulled back. "Now, this can go back where it belongs," I said as I slid the ring on her finger.

"Her brows knit as she looked down at her hand. "Back where it belongs. I don't understand-" The rest of her sentence morphed into a gasp as she finally got a good look at the ring. Her attention darted from the ring to my face and back. "That's…that's the ring Zachary picked out for his girlfriend."

"That's the ring you were sad to take off your finger," I said.

Her eyes darted up to mine. "How did you know that?"

"I was paying attention," I replied. "The picking out a ring was just a distraction to help keep your mind off the situation and get you somewhere that was safe while we secured the scene," I admitted. "Zero is nowhere near ready to get married."

"Then why did you buy it?" she asked.

"Because I saw the look on your face when you slid it off your finger and I realized I never wanted to see that look again," I said as I rubbed my thumb over the ring. "I almost gave Zero a heart attack when I handed over my credit card, but I knew that was the ring for you."

"I do love it," she admitted as her gaze darted from the ring to my face. "And I love you so much."

"So, what do you say, Precious?" Now that you know I'm serious about spending the rest of my life with you, you want to go try and make a baby?"

"What if it doesn't happen?" she asked, and I could hear the hesitation in her voice. It was obvious that she was still unsure about that particular topic. Who could blame her though, when she's had it drilled into her head for years that she was the one with the fertility issues? "Then we'll call it practice until we get some real answers."

The worry in her eyes disappeared. "I guess it couldn't hurt to try. After all, practice makes perfect, right?"