Thank you for all your reviews. I need to catch up on responding; sorry I haven't lately. I just started my final semester of Nursing School and it is a busy (and stressfilled) one! Please forgive any mistakes; I read this over, but who knows what I missed. Enjoy!

When Zip arrived at Stephanie's, he walked in and found her in the kitchen cooking dinner with Sophia sitting in her bouncy seat on the counter. Music was playing and Stephanie was swaying to the music. After leaning down to kiss Sophia, Zip grabbed Steph by the hips and spun her to him. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he began to dance with her.

Stephanie placed her hands behind Zip's neck and smiled up at him, "Welcome home," she said as she moved with his body. The song on the radio changed to "It's Your Love" and Zip began singing along while looking in Steph's eyes. He knew he was taking a chance at rejection, but he knew it felt right holding her in his arms, dancing, and singing to her.

At the end of the song, he leaned down and gently pressed his lips to hers. At first, he felt her stiffen, but then she relaxed and kissed him back. When his arms tightened around her waist, he felt her sigh. Resting his forehead against hers, he closed his eyes savoring the moment. Nothing was said and everything felt perfect in his world. He counted to ten and then opened his eyes, expecting to see regret looking back at him.

What he saw instead was a combination of fear and love. He understood the combination; he'd have been surprised if he didn't see fear. "I love coming home to you and Sophia. You two are my home."

"Justin," she stared, but he stopped her.

"Not yet. Let me speak first, okay?" He saw her nod and he continued, "I know you've been hurt many times in the past. I'd say you've been hurt by men, but in my book, they are not men. Not with the way they all treated you. I'd call them boys; even though I know they'd not appreciate it. Let me be the man that treats you the way you deserve to be treated. Let me be the one who shows you how wonderful it can be between two people that love each other completely.

"While I can't promise to never screw up, I can promise to never go to bed mad, never walk away from you without telling you that I need a few minutes to cool down, and I promise to never, ever, step outside our relationship."

Loosening his grip on her some, he leaned back a little and took a deep breath, "I've loved you for a long time, but spending the last eight months with you has allowed me to fall in love with you. When I'm at work, I find myself wondering how you are, what you are doing, and I can't wait to get off work and make the drive here. I know you have some apprehensions, and I won't push, but I really want a real relationship with you."

Looking down at her, he saw tears in her eyes and thought he'd messed up. Reaching up to wipe her eyes, he was surprised when she kissed the palm of his hand and leaned into him.

"How did I get so lucky?" she whispered so quietly he almost missed it. "I'm scared," she said a little louder. "This time, It's not just me. I have to think of Sophia and her feelings, too. I just don't know how to open my heart up again."

"We can take it as slow as you want and need. I just want you to know that I want a relationship with you."

"What would that look like?" Steph asked as she stepped from his embrace to check dinner on the stove.

"Well, we could go out on dates; dinner, movies, parties, whatever we want to do. We could stay here and watch movies and have dinner. I want to introduce you to my parents and the rest of the family; well, the ones that you haven't met yet. I want to be there for your good days as well as your bad days. I want to watch Sophia grow and learn things. I guess what I'm saying is I want it all with you."

"What would your family think about you dating someone who has a baby?"

"I doubt they will have a problem with it, but even if they did, it wouldn't matter to me. It's time for me to make my family. You've already met my sister and you know Junior is my cousin. They both know how I feel about you and Sophia."

Stephanie turned her back to Zip and checked on Sophia who was sleeping in her seat. She wanted to believe him, but her heart didn't want to let her. "I'm just not sure I'm ready to risk it yet."

Zip wanted to ask her to see that they are already in a relationship; he'd been with her for eight months and living with her for the past five weeks. But, he didn't want her to realize it, freak out, and ask him to start staying at Rangeman. So, he dropped the subject and decided to pursue her until she realized what he said was the truth.

Kissing the top of her head, he asked, "Do I have time for a shower before dinner?"

Stephanie turned around and smiled at him, "Of course you do. I know how quick your showers are. Dinner still has about fifteen minutes." Placing her hand on his cheek, "Just give me some time, please?"

Returning her gesture, he closed his eyes, kissed the palm of her hand, and leaned into her. "All the time you need. But, I'm going to continue showing you how a real man treats a lady." He gave her a quick kiss on the lips and gave Sophia a quick kiss on her forehead before he headed for the shower.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

It was early afternoon the next day when her phone rang. "Hello?"

"Hey Sweetheart. I have a surprise for you, and wanted to keep it a complete surprise, but figured I'd better let you know that you're about to have two visitors in ten minutes."

"Um, okay. Who and why?"

"Like I said, I have a surprise for you but figured I'd better warn you that you're about to have company. Enjoy your surprise and I'll see you tonight. Bye."

Stephanie stood there looking at her phone wondering who the surprise was and what Zip was up to. She didn't have to wait long before the knock at the door startled her. Peeking out, she saw Derrick and Jeffrey standing on her porch. She opened the door and quickly let them in.

"Oh my gosh. I've missed you guys. What are you doing here?" She asked as she gave them each a hug.

"Well," smiled Derrick, "I brought my table and oils. I want to get my hands all over you."

"And, I want to get some baby snuggles," Jeffrey said as he looked around for Sophia.

"Where can I set up my table? I want baby snuggles first while the oil heats up."

Stephanie told Derrick he could set up in her bedroom and she went to Sophia's room to check on her. When she looked in the crib, she saw Sophia was just waking up. "Did you have a good nap, Baby Girl?" she asked as she picked her daughter up. "Let's get you a clean diaper. You have visitors."

After she had Sophia changed, she walked out to the hall the same time as Derrick did after setting up his table and oil warmer. "Gimmie," he said as he held out his hands.

Stephanie transferred Sophia to him and laughed as he held her to his nose and inhaled. 'Oh, I think my brovaries are exploding."

Walking into the living room, they all sat down as Derrick kept a hold of Sophia and kept looking at her. "Are you to going to try for a surrogate or adoption?" Steph asked.

"We've talked about it before but aren't sure we want to ask someone to bring a baby into this world just for us. There is so much hate out there it just doesn't feel right," Jeffrey answered.

"What about adopting kids that are in the system?"

"We haven't really discussed that, but seeing him with a baby makes my heart skip a beat."

They watched Derrick with Sophia for a little while before they heard the ding from the oil warmer stating it was ready. "Well, go get undressed and under the sheet. I'll have off this cutie pie and be in to rub you all over."

Stephanie left the room as Derrick handed Sophia to Jeffery after smelling her one last time. Jeffrey sat on the floor, placed Sophia on the baby mat, and played with her. He realized that not only did he want a child for Derrick, but he wanted one as well. He didn't care if it were a baby or older child; he just wanted a child they could love and take care of.

TBC…