Savior

*9 Months Later*

Mary held her beautiful baby boy, Jordan, rocking him to sleep. She had mixed feelings as she thought about the past few months.

When she�d told her parents that she was pregnant, they were furious. They were both strict Catholics who believed that she should have saved herself for her husband. They pretty much disowned her. She was devastated, trying to change their minds by explaining to them that she�d thought they were going to get married soon. But her parents didn�t seem to care. The part that hurt the most was when they refused to be a part of Jordan�s life. That almost crushed Mary.

But then there was Josh. He was the only person she could depend on. She�d never had many friends, so she treasured her friendship with him. Right after they walked away from the abortion clinic, they�d gone out to lunch and talked about anything and everything. From the first time Mary had spoken to Josh, she�d felt comfortable around him. They began to trust one another. Neither would hesitate to tell the other their life story and their deepest secrets. There had been many tears on her part when they talked about her childhood because it hadn�t been too pleasant, but he�d been there to hold her hand and give her a reassuring smile. She�d learned that he was a retired famous popstar. Well, retired from the boyband he�d been a part of. Mary listened while he told stories of performing and hanging out with the guys. But they broke up after a while and now he was writing songs for other artists. Which meant that he was around a lot. Mary knew right away that they would become good friends.

And Josh was a great friend � her best friend. He was there all throughout her pregnancy when she had no one else. He was there to hold her hair out of her face as she leaned over the toilet, loosing her breakfast yet again due to morning sickness. He was there to go out and buy whatever weird food combinations she was craving that day. And he was there when she needed to vent. She cherished their late-night talks, whether on the phone or in person. He was a savior in her eyes.

When she had asked Josh to be there the night of Jordan�s birth, she was very nervous for some reason. He�d become so important to her and it just seemed natural for him to be there. Her nervousness didn�t last long because he�d said, �of course,� with a huge smile on his face. So he�d held her hand and tried to calm and comfort her. When Jordan was born, Josh had told her that he was the most beautiful child he�d ever seen. Mary had beamed before squeezing his hand and thanking him.

*One Week Later*

Mary winced as she was woken by a loud screaming coming from Jordan�s room. She felt like screaming herself. She�d gotten all of three hours of sleep each night the past week. She dragged herself to Jordan�s room, picked up the screaming baby, and rocked him back and forth. She felt like she would collapse at any minute.

She looked at the clock and sighed. 1:05. It was going to be a long night. She had a sudden urge to call Josh, but immediately felt guilty. �He must think I�m so pathetic,� she thought to herself, �I call him whenever I have a hard time with something.� He�d done so much for her. But she could really use some help now. She picked up the phone once she�d gotten Jordan to stop screaming and called Josh.

�Hello?� a sleepy voice mumbled into the phone.

�Uh, hi. I�m sorry I called so late Josh,� Mary apologized, feeling guilty again when she heard his tired voice.

�It�s ok, don�t worry about it,� Josh assured her, sounding a little more awake, �what�s up?�

�It�s just� I�m so tired Josh, I can�t even think straight,� Mary said, her voice cracking and her eyes filling with tears.

�I�ll be right over sweetheart, hold on,� Josh replied, already out of bed and pulling on sweats and a tee shirt. He got into his car and drove quickly over to Mary�s house, hoping she wasn�t in too bad shape. When he got there he tried the door, found it unlocked, and stepped inside.

�Mary?� he asked, wondering if she was upstairs or down. When she didn�t answer, he guessed that she was upstairs. He climbed the stairs, heading towards Jordan�s room. When he got to the door, he opened it and walked in. Mary was asleep in the rocking chair, Jordan in her arms, also asleep. Josh could see that she�d been crying. The tears had begun to dry in streaks on her face. He walked quietly over to where she was sitting, gingerly taking the sleeping baby from her arms, and setting him in the crib.

Then he stood back, studying Mary. She was so beautiful, inside and out. Middle length brown hair framed her face, and she had the more beautiful chocolate brown eyes he�d ever seen. He really didn�t want to wake her, but she�d be sore if she slept too long in that position. So he shook he softly, whispering to her when her eyes opened sleepily.

�I�m here now Mary, we need to get you in bed,� Josh told her softly.

�Yeah,� she mumbled, or a least that�s what Josh thought she�d said. He helped her up and guided her to her room. He laid her down and covered her up.

�Good night, sweetheart,� Josh whispered.

�Night,� she responded, already falling back asleep. Josh went to the linen closet, pulled out a blanket, and fell asleep on the floor of her bedroom.

He spent the next few days over at Mary�s house. He would get up whenever the baby cried, and let Mary catch up on her sleep. They had a lot of time to talk during those few days.

The fourth night Josh had stayed, they were on the couch watching movies, when he asked her if they could talk.

�Of course, Josh. What about?� Mary asked.

�Well, you see, I,� Josh said, stumbling over his words.

�What is it, Josh?� Mary asked curiously.

Josh took her hand and said, �I love you, Mary.�

Mary looked at Josh in shock. Then the tears started to fall. Josh didn�t know what to do. His heart broke for her as her watched tears stream down her face. He wiped all the tears away and waited patiently for her to speak.

�I � oh Josh,� she cried, throwing her arms around him.

Josh was confused, but he hugged her tightly. She sniffled a few more times before speaking quietly into his ear, �no one had ever told me that before.� And then she began to cry again.

Josh�s jaw dropped in shock. How could a person survive with out those three words? He realized that he�d have to make up for all her years without love.

�I love you,� he whispered.

She pulled away slowly and looked into his eyes.

�I love you so much, Mary,� he told her again.

Finally, she spoke, �I don�t know how to love, Josh. You don�t want to love me.�

�Of course I do, you are a wonderful and loveable person Mary. I know it seems soon, but I really needed to tell someone. And you seemed like the most logical person to tell,� Josh replied, �but you love Jordan right?�

�Well, yes, I do love him. But this is different.� She shushed him when he tried to interrupt. �Wait. It�s different because I�ve never had a boyfriend besides� well, Tom. And I thought I loved him, but I didn�t.

�Well, I�ve never loved a woman before � besides my mom and sister. We can learn together,� Josh responded. Mary stared at him for a long time before saying, �ok,� and smiling.

****

They shared their first kiss on Jordan�s first birthday. Josh came over for dinner, bearing many gifts. Small toys and clothes for Jordan and roses for Mary. They had dinner and cake and ice cream and told Jordan many stories about Mary�s pregnancy. Josh even offered to put Jordan to bed, giving Mary a break. Then he came downstairs and they sat together on the couch, talking some more. They both laughed at some stupid joke Josh had told. Then their gazes met and Mary gasped. She�d never seen so much love directed toward anyone, even in the movies. Josh leaned forward, kissing Mary softly. He pulled away and saw Mary�s eyes still shut. Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled. Then she moved closer and kissed Josh.

*2 Months Later*

�Honey?� Josh asked, adjusting his tie.

�Yeah?� Mary answered from the bedroom they now shared.

�We�re going to be late!� he warned, wondering why their baby sitter hadn�t arrived yet.

�I�m coming, I�m coming,� Mary responded as the doorbell rang. Josh answered the door, while Mary gathered her purse. She greeted Tori, their first baby sitter, and gave her a list of instructions and phone numbers.

Tonight was their first night out as a couple. It seemed strange that they hadn�t been able to go out since they�d become a couple, even though they�d already moved in together. They now shared Josh�s house. Over the past few months they�d grown to love everything about each other. Josh loved Jordan like he was his own son. Mary loved to watch Josh interact with Jordan. It was adorable. So they�d been �dating� for a few months, five to be exact, but they�d never actually been on a date.

Josh had finally talked Mary into finding a baby sitter so they could go out to dinner. She was very over protective of her child, and at the moment she was fussing over him, wondering how she would be able to leave him, even if it was for just a few hours. She was glad that Tori had been available because she was sixteen and a close neighbor that Mary and Josh both trusted completely. Josh was finally able to drag her away from Jordan and to the car so they could make it to the restaurant on time.

When they got there, Mary was surprised. It was a very elegant place and even thought she�d dressed up, she felt like she was under-dressed. They were led to a table for two near the back of the restaurant. She couldn�t help but think how expensive the food would be. Not that she had to worry about money � Josh had insisted on paying for their outing.

They ordered their food and then chatted while waiting for it to be served. They never had a problem with conversation. There were no awkward silences or anything of that nature between them. And if they ran out of thing to talk about, Josh could just tell her a story about his days in *Nsync.

Once they�d received their meals, Mary noticed that Josh was looking a little nervous. It was strange because he�d never been nervous around her before, or she just hadn�t noticed him being nervous. She wasn�t sure if she should say something to him about it or not. She decided to mention it.

�Josh, you seem nervous, are you ok?� Mary asked him curiously.

�Yeah, I�m all right,� Josh said before pausing, �I have something important to ask you.�

�Ok, what is it?� Mary asked, becoming a little worried.

�I want to let you know how much I love you,� he started, taking her hand, �the past year has been the best of my life. I love spending time with you and Jordan, I love our late night conversations, but most of all, I love everything about you. You are a beautiful person inside and out and I don�t think I could ever stop loving you,� he took a deep breath and saw that Mary was crying.

�I don�t know what to say Josh,� she whispered, �I feel the same way about you.�

�Say you�ll marry me?� Josh half asked, half suggested. Mary�s eyes widened in shock. Josh reached into his pocket and brought out the most beautiful ring Mary had ever seen. It must have cost a fortune with all the diamonds that it held.

�Baby?� Josh asked, his voice full with the fear of rejection.

�Yes,� Mary whispered, squeezing his hand. Not only was the best friend she�d ever had such an amazing person, he was now her fiancee.

THE END