End of June

School was out and another month had passed with no signs of pregnancy for Elizabeth. No nausea, no exhaustion and her period would be the next day if she was on time like she always was.

"Oh well," she muttered as she started the dishwasher and headed upstairs for more laundry.

Maybe it was good she wasn't pregnant yet. Maybe they could just continue enjoying their newlywed bliss for a while longer. Get to know each other more. Enjoy having a five year old and a little freedom.

"Moooooommmmm!" Noa yelled, running in the master and jumping up on the bed.

"Inside voice, Noa Faith."

"Can I get a hamster?"

"A hamster?"

"Yep! Or two. Two would be better so the first one wouldn't be lonely. Connie from school has two. And she has a tarantula."

"No tarantula in this house, Noa." Elizabeth shuddered at the thought.

"OK. Then two hamsters? Please? I want to name them Bluey and Bandit."

"When your dad gets home we can talk about it."

"Okay! Thank you, Mommy."

"You're welcome. Did you clean your room?"

"Its not dirty."

"Nice try. I need you to pick up your toys and hang up your clothes and then make your bed."

"That's a lot!"

"Yes, well, if you did it as soon as you made the mess, it would be clean all the time."

"That's boring."

"Scoot. Clean. I'll come check on you in ten minutes."

"Fine. Mommy?"

"Yes, Noa."

"Can we get pizza for dinner?"

"Maybe. I'll text Daddy and see if he can pick some up on his way home." Lucas was in the LA office this week.

"Yay!"

"Noa."

"I know. Clean," she sassed.

She felt a familiar twinge in her abdomen as Noa left the room. Her heart sank. Definitely not pregnant this month.

She texted Lucas. "Will u pick up pizza from Valley Pies please? And maybe grab some ice cream and some tampons?"

"Sure," he texted ten minutes later. "Leaving the office now. C U soon. Luv u."

"Luv u 2."

Lucas sighed. Not pregnant again. She wanted to be and he would love to experience the whole thing with her this time, but he was also enjoying their season of life as it was.

He pulled onto the freeway and turned his music on, trying to ignore the stress of five lanes of endless traffic.

Elizabeth heard the doorbell as soon as she changed from her jeans to her yoga pants and into her "My hot husband loves spreadsheets" t-shirt she had found online.

The doorbell rang again as she wandered down the stairs.

She opened the door and instantly knew who the beautiful, impeccably dressed and thin woman was.

"Janette?"

"Yes. You must be Lucas' Elizabeth." Janette grabbed her shoulders and kissed both of her cheeks.

"This is a surprise."

"Leave it to Luke to forget to tell you I was coming."

"Yeah well, I didn't find out you were at our wedding until we got home from our honeymoon so I guess I'm not shocked."

"Mooooooom!" Noa yelled, walking into the room.

"Noa Faith, quieter please. Come say hi to Miss Aucoin. She's Daddy's friend from New York."

"You can call me Janette. Aren't you precious?"

"Yep! And hi!"

"Say thank you, punkin."

"Thanks!"

"You're very welcome. Now where is Lucas? I have my bags in the car."

"Your bags?"

"Yes."

"You're staying….here?"

"He offered. If you'd rather I didn't, I can find a hotel." She grabbed her cellphone out of her pocket and started searching.

"Nonsense. You're a friend. You can stay in our guest room. Lucas is on his way home from LA. I'll help you with your bags."

"They're very heavy. That's why I'm not attempting it myself. They can stay in the car for now. Do you mind if I use your bathroom? It was a long flight from New York."

"Of course. I'm sorry."

Noa grabbed Janette's hand. "I'll show you!"

Elizabeth's phone buzzed. "Hello?"

"Babe, what do you want on pizza? I know ham for Noa. What are you in the mood for?"

"Lucas, did you forget to tell me something?"

He was silent for a moment. "Not that I can think of."

"We have company. Get a salad too please."

"Company?"

"And I'd love some garlic bread. Lots of it." She needed all the carbs. "With ranch."

"Alright."

"See you soon."

"Babe? Who's there?"

"Janette."

"Holy crap! I totally forgot."

"And apparently you told her she could stay with us?"

"Yeah. You told me to invite her. To make it happen. The next day, two months ago at least, I sent her a text. She was in Europe somewhere and didn't respond so I forgot all about it."

"Okay." It made sense.

"Are you mad? I'm so sorry."

"No, not mad."

"Elizabeth?"

"I wish you were here. That's all."

"I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Bacon and mushrooms please. And don't forget the cheesy bread and salad. From the looks of her, I'm positive she doesn't eat carbs."

He chuckled. "I love you."

"I love you too."

….

When Lucas got home, he found Elizabeth in the living room on the couch. She was watching Noa and Janette dressed in tiaras and boas having a tea party by the fireplace.

She looked up at him and followed him to the kitchen.

"I'm so sorry, Beth."

She shook her head and put her arms around his waist. "I'm glad you're home."

He tipped her chin up so he could see her expression. Eyes filled with unshed tears. "We will try again, love. It will happen."

"I know. Will you just hold me tighter?"

He did as she asked. It wasn't a hardship. He loved holding her close.

He was her heart, her home. He made her feel safe, loved. She knew he would always have that effect on her.

She pushed up on her toes and kissed his sexy lips. "I can't wait to try again."

He smiled and met her mouth with his, glad Janette was keeping Noa busy…

"Hi, Daddy!"

He pulled back and winked at Elizabeth. "Hi, sweet pea. You hungry?"

"Yep! So is Janette. She's fun, Daddy."

"Good, baby. I'm glad."

"Don't act so surprised, Lucas. I've always been fun." Janette joined them, still wearing her tiara and boa too.

"If you call sarcasm and sass fun."

"Its good to see you, friend," Janette told him eyeing the fact he was still holding Elizabeth. "I can see I'm encroaching on family time. I'm going to get a room somewhere."

"You're welcome here, Janette. The guest room is yours. You're not encroaching on anything," Beth told her.

"What she said," Lucas agreed. "I'm going to go change and then we can eat."

…..

Faith and Carson's home

The pregnancy test she had taken back a few weeks before had been negative but these four she had just taken were positive. POSITIVE. She, Faith Shepherd, was pregnant and it was almost unbelievable. So scary that she may lose another baby but she really didn't want to dwell on the past years.

"Carson!"

He ran into the bathroom. "Sweetie?"

"Positive. All four of them. Positive! Without more in vitro."

He picked her up and spun her before thinking better of it. "Sorry. Wow."

"Yeah. I can't believe it. After six years of heartbreak."

He softly kissed her forehead and both cheeks and then mouth, letting his tears of joy finally fall, mixing with hers.

"I love you so much, Carson. I'm so sorry for how hard this has been on you."

"I love you too. It's been hard for both of us."

Faith had read about how difficult and destructive infertility was on marriages. But in the end, it had actually proven to make some stronger, relying on each other. It was the same for her and Carson. He was her best friend and he never wanted to experience life without him. He was her strength.

"Let's celebrate."

"Date night in?"

"My thoughts exactly."

…..

Later that evening, while Lucas was tucking Noa in, Elizabeth and Janette had a glass of wine and sat in the living room to get acquainted.

"So Lucas said your career takes you all over the world. Where's your favorite place you've been?"

"Hard question. Hmm. I think maybe Venice. It was gorgeous and shooting outside by the canal was something I'll never forget. I know you and Lucas met in Cambridge. Where else have you traveled?"

"Not many. Went to London with Luke but my favorite was Maui. I've never seen anything so beautiful and to be there with my new husband…" She shook her head. "It was perfect."

"I imagine it was. I'll have to go there one day."

"Ladies," Lucas said, sitting next to Beth, putting his arm around her.

"Hey."

"What are you two chatting about?"

"Our favorite places we traveled to," Elizabeth told him. "What about you, hon?"

"Here."

"Hope Valley?"

"Yep. It's where you are. Where we reconnected and where I found out about Noa. Second would be Cambridge because that's where I met you and fell in love with you."

"You guys are way too lovey dovey for me plus my jet lag is killing me so I'm turning in." Janette carried her wine glass to the kitchen and headed upstairs.

Elizabeth put her glass down and leaned against Lucas, letting out a sigh. "You working from home tomorrow?"

"No, I need to go back to LA for a meeting. But that's the last day I need to leave for a while."

"We only have a few more weeks until our trip to Cape Cod. I'm so excited to go. I really think Noa will enjoy it too."

"It will be a nice place to make a baby," he mentioned. "House on the water, star gazing, walking on the beach."

"Hot tub," she laughed, kissing his jaw.

"Mm," he chuckled, kissing her temple.

"Sounds perfect," she whispered, closing her eyes and settling into a peaceful sleep. He didn't mind. He loved sitting quietly in the evening with her and holding her at the same time? It filled his heart.

"You are my heart, Beth," he whispered.

"Mm," she mumbled, snuggling as close as she could. He just closed his eyes and slept too.

At some point during the night, they woke up and went to bed.

The next morning…

Elizabeth heard noises from downstairs and smiled. Likely Noa and Lucas were making breakfast.

Then she heard a laugh. Janette. She didn't like the smidge of jealousy she felt but it was there. She trusted Lucas, of course, and Janette was nice but Elizabeth's own insecurities were bubbling beneath the surface.

She got up and headed to the bathroom and then dressed before heading downstairs.

"Hi, Mommy!" Noa said from her perch next to Lucas. "Waffle day!"

"Is it now?"

"Yep and we are gonna put blueberries on them and whipped cream!"

Elizabeth put her hand on Lucas' back, waited for him to look at her and kissed him, maybe a bit longer than a normal good morning kiss.

He looked down into her eyes, raising his eyebrows. "Morning, Beth."

"Morning."

"Mommy, can we take Janette to The Book Spot? Pleeeeease?"

"Does Janette want to go there?"

"I'd love to."

"Okay. Sure, punkin. We can go."

"Yay! Did you ask Daddy if I can get two hamsters, Mommy?"

"No, sweetheart. Not yet."

"Two hamsters, Noa? What happened to wanting a kitten?"

"I still do but I want two hamsters worse! They are so cute, Daddy! I promise I'll feed them."

He looked at Elizabeth and then plucked a waffle from the waffle maker. "What do you think, love?"

"Maybe it's a good starting point."

He nodded. "OK, Noa Faith. Tomorrow, Mommy and I will take you to the pet store."

"And Janette?"

"Its a family thing," Janette told her. "You go with Mom and Dad."

"But…you're my friend."

Janette thought Noa was so very sweet and she hated to disappoint her but she wasn't family. She also didn't want to overstay her welcome.

She knelt down and tucked Noa's curls behind her ears. "I am your friend, sweetie, but I have a little work to do before I head off to Madrid."

"Where's that?"

"Spain. Its far away."

"You'll come back to visit me, won't you?"

"You can count on it. Maybe we can even video chat sometime."

"Okay. Will you have another tea party with me before you go?"

"Promise."

….

Upstairs, a bit later

Elizabeth watched Lucas get dressed for his meeting.

"So that kiss earlier…"

"Mmhm?"

"What was up with that?"

"I wanted to kiss you good morning," she said, shrugging.

"OK so it wasn't something else?"

"Like what?"

He finished tying his tie and sat down on the bed next to her. "Like maybe you were feeling like you needed to shoe off a bit in front of our guest?"

"Lucas, I wasn't jealous. Much."

"You don't need to be, you know."

"My brain knows that but my heart…"

"You are my wife, the mother of my daughter. You were the only one who ever had my heart, Beth and it's yours forever."

"She's beautiful and well traveled and thin and…"

"And sassy and kinda stuck up and only my friend. That's all. We never had chemistry. She herself said I was like a big brother to her."

"Okay." She reached up and straightened his tie. "Have a good day at work, honey."

"I'll call you when I'm getting ready to come home."

"Alright."

He kissed her twice, gave her rear end a pat for good measure and walked out of the room.

"I sure love you, Lucas Bouchard. To the moon and back."