JC was shaking. He had come with Anna to the hospital for her one-month checkup. It had been almost a month since they'd gotten back together, and they'd never been closer. After the affair with Amy, JC had learned that he couldn't live his life without Anna. She was everything to him.
            He was in the waiting room, waiting for Anna to finish up. After all that happened, he knew there was a possibility that the disease could come back. It did last time. But he prayed almost every night that wouldn't happen again.
            He was still angry at himself for what he'd done by leaving Anna by herself and going to be with another woman. Though no one reminded him of his mistake anymore, it was still always in the back of his memory, reminding him of the pain he'd caused not only Anna, but himself. He had never been so miserable in his life. But now everything seemed like it was back to normal. The tour was starting in a few months. And everybody was happy. He just prayed it would last.
            It wasn't until his feet started to ache that JC realized he'd been pacing the floor for the last hour and a half. He knew that Anna was going to be fine deep down, but a part of him still worried that that stupid disease would come back and try once again to pull them apart. But damn, this time he wouldn't let it happen.
            A few minutes later, Anna came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "You really shouldn't do that," she said, knowing him well enough that she knew he'd been pacing in the waiting room the whole time she'd been in with the doctor.
            He was startled by her touch. He had no idea that she was there until he had felt her arms around his waist. "Don't scare me like that," he chuckled. "Is everything okay?" He got all serious all of sudden, but it didn't alarm Anna; she suspected he would ask right away if she was okay.
            "Um..yeah. I think so," she said cautiously.
            "You think so?" His brow furrowed. "What does that mean? Is it back or...?"
            "I'm cured of the disease," she replied. "But JC..."
            "That's all that matters." He lifted her in the air and spun her around in circles.
            "Put me down, JC. You're making me dizzy," Anna said, laughing. When he finally put her down, he gave her a soft kiss. "But there's some other news I don't know how you'll take."
            "Other news?" He froze. God, no. Not something else. He didn't know what it was, but he had a gut feeling it wasn't good. "What other news?"
            "You know how we set up that baby room after we moved in?"
            Her question confused him, but he nodded. "Yeah. What about it? And what does it have---" He cut himself off when he realized what she was trying to tell him. "Oh my God. Are you telling me that you're pregnant?"
            She nodded slowly. She wasn't sure if he was happy about this or not. JC was just standing there with an uncertain look on his face. But when he grinned slowly, Anna knew that he was as happy as she was when she'd heard the news.
            He had only been surprised because he hadn't been expecting it. He'd been spending too much time worrying about the fact that the disease might come back, that the idea of her being pregnant never even crossed his mind. But ever since they'd gotten married two years ago, he'd been praying that they would be blessed to have a family of their own.
            "Wow. Oh my God, we're going to have a baby!" he said excitedly. "I guess it wasn't a good idea to spin you around." When he laughed, he realized that he hadn't done that nearly enough lately.
             A month ago he had lost his wife, and felt lower than dirt. Now, he had his wife back and they were going to have a baby. What a month it had been! Every night they made love, JC trying to prove to Anna that she was the only one he wanted. He never thought that would bring them the precious gift of their own son or daughter.
            Anna pulled JC into her arms. "I'm so glad you're happy about this. I was so excited when the doctor told me. I was afraid that maybe you didn't want a family anymore," she admitted quietly.
            "I always wanted a family with you," he said as they walked into the elevator that would take them back downstairs, so they could go home. "We've always talked about having a family. Did you really think my mind would change in just a few months?"
            She shrugged. "I wanted to ask you, but I was so caught up in having you back again."
            "Baby," he said, wrapping his arms protectively around her waist, "my feelings never changed. Even when I was being a big jerk, I still loved you and I still wanted a big family with you. And that's never going to change. Ever."
            "I'm glad you feel that way." Anna kissed him. "Now let's go home."

            Elizabeth was going to be an aunt.
            Since Anna had no sisters or brothers, Anna had asked Elizabeth and Justin to be her and JC's baby aunt and uncle. Elizabeth had been excited ever since Anna had told her just a few days after Anna had found out about being pregnant. Justin was excited, too, but he had a more important thing on his mind.
            Justin shifted the box in his pocket. "Why am I so nervous?" he asked himself. Elizabeth would be home in a few hours, and he had nearly everything set up for the big evening, but he couldn't shake his jitters. After two and a half years, he was finally going to propose to her.
            The tour was set to begin in a few days, and he wanted to ask her before he left. It wasn't that he was uncertain what her answer would be, because she had said countless times that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. She had to have known that they would get married eventually. If it wasn't after they had made love, it was during those other times when it was just the two of them alone and he was looking at her like he was going to devour her. He knew that she meant every word she said, and he meant it too when he told her he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, too.
            Then why the hell was he so damn nervous?
            His hands were shaking still as he tried to set the table. He cussed loudly, and stuck his hands in his back pockets of his jeans. This is crazy, he thought. She's going to say yes. Stop fidgeting!
            "Come on now," he said outloud, "you can do this. You have to get things ready before she gets home." He removed his hands from his pocket and went back to setting the table. Within twenty minutes, he had everything set up.
            All he had to do now was wait for Elizabeth.
            And she was taking her sweet time.
            Justin glanced at his watch again for the fifth time in ten minutes. Where is she? he asked himself. But before he could do anything else, the door opened and Elizabeth stepped inside. Since the lights were out and only candles were burning all around the room, she eyed him suspiciously when she spotted him in the living room.
            "Was there a blackout or something?" she asked, setting down her bag and hanging up her coat in the hallway. She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him, giving him a quick kiss. She hadn't seen him all day.
            He smiled triumpantly. "No, there wasn't a blackout. But I do have a surprise for you."
            "Oh. This is just part of the surprise. You're so romantic," she said, giving him another kiss.
            "You're gonna distract me," he whispered. "Later you can have your way with me."
            "Oh goody," she said, laughing. "So...what's the surprise?"
            "You'll see." He grinned. He took her hand and led her to the kitchen where there were more candles lit, two of them on the table by two plates and two glasses of wine.
            She covered her mouth. "You cooked dinner." It wasn't that she was surprised, she just didn't know that he could cook. Or maybe he couldn't, she thought smelling something burning.
            "Don't worry," he laughed. "It isn't my cooking. I ordered in."
            "Then what's that smell?"
            He pouted. "Are you trying to say I smell bad?"
            "No," she laughed, "I just smell something funny."
            He pouted again. "Gee, aren't you being kind this evening."
            She couldn't help it; she giggled. "I'm sorry, sweetie." Then she realized that the smell wasn't the food, and it wasn't him, but it was the smell of the candles. He had bought wood scented candles. She coughed. The one smell she hated, and he bought the candles and had them lying throughout the house.
            Oh well, she thought. Who cares? "It looks lovely," she said, referring to the food.
            "Let's eat, then." He knew she would be hungry cause she'd been working all day, and he knew she rarely went for a lunch break.
            They ate the dinner in silence. She had to admit this was the best food she'd ever tasted. Though it was just chicken parmasean, it was the best she'd ever tasted.
            "It was good," she said later when they were done and snuggled up on the couch. He had his arms draped across her stomach, and his head was pressed up against hers. It still boggled his mind how he ever lived without touching her. Or loving her.
            "Hmm," he said.
            She laughed. Ever since she'd said that the first time they made love, Justin always found a time to use it. He, who always tried to be romantic.
            "Hmm?" he asked.
            She shut him up with a passionate kiss.
            That normally would have been enough to shut him up for the whole night, but he had something he had to do. When he got up, Elizabeth looked at him.
            "Where are you going?" she asked.
            He pushed her back on the couch when she started to get up. "Stay there," he said, as he got down on his knees. It didn't take long before Elizabeth realized what Justin was doing.
            She covered her mouth with her hand when he released the box from his pocket and opened it, revealing a beautiful, 10 carrat diamond engagement ring. "Holy shit," she muttered.
            He stared up at her in disbelief. He had never heard her swear before. He wasn't even sure if she knew how.
            "Don't say anything yet," he whispered. He noticed her hands were shaking, glad that he had her right where he wanted her.
            "I love you more than anything. And I know our relationship hasn't exactly been easy, and I know it will never be easy. But I know I could never walk away from you. From the start, I knew you were someone special. But after what happened with Meg, I thought I could never care about someone again. But you made me feel things that I never thought I'd feel with someone. You never treated me differently. When I would meet a girl, she would only see me for being in NSYNC, she never saw me for me. But you did. When we met, we were both going through hard breakups and we were trying to move on with our lives. When JC first told me that we were having dinner with Anna and her friend, I could have cared less if a building collapsed on me. I tried everything to get out of it. But JC had been right. I needed to get over Meg. And I know it was fate that I met you that night. If I hadn't, I wouldn't be with you now. I wouldn't be the happiest guy in the world. I know that being with me isn't easy, but I know that I won't ever let you go. You're mine, and I'm yours, and that's never going to change. This is it for me. What I need to know is if this is it for you. Will you spend the rest of your life with me? Will you marry me?"
            She took a deep breath and told herself to stop crying. But she couldn't stop the tears. That was the most romantic thing anyone had ever said to her. She knew even before he started talking what her answer would be. She had been hoping that he would propose one day...but she hadn't expected it to be so soon. She felt the same way as he did. When they first met, she had been a little skeptical, too. But from the moment they met, her life had been changed forever. She didn't know when she started loving him, but she knew now that she would never stop. She was going to spend the rest of her life with him. Who cares about what life threw them. They could deal with all the bad and the good together.
            "Yes," she whispered. "I'll spend the rest of my life with you. Yes, I'll marry you."
            He could feel the wet tears rolling down his face, but he didn't care. He was happy. He could cry if he want to. The person he loved more than anything had just agreed to be his wife. "I love you so much," he said, pulling her into his arms.
            "I love you." She started showering his face with soft, sweet kisses. Soon he was laughing, and rolled them both to the floor.
            "Wait," he said, sitting up. "Let me put the ring on your finger first."
            Elizabeth sat up and watched in amazement as Justin slipped the engagement ring on her finger. When he slipped it on, she took his hand in hers and looked into his eyes. "We can get through anything. It doesn't matter what life brings us, we'll get through it together."
            "I know," he said, wiping the tears from her eyes with his finger. "You made me believe in love again. And I'm going to show you everyday how grateful I am for all the gifts you've given me."
            "How about you show me right now?"
            Justin raised an eyebrow. Elizabeth had never been this forward before. But he loved this side of her. He felt his groin ache. Damn, that woman knew exactly how to get to him.
            And he was smiling wide as she pressed her lips to his, and dragged him back down to the floor.
            Yes. Life was definately going to be interesting having Elizabeth as his wife.