"Read story, Mommy." he mumbled, struggling to keep his eyes open.

"Just a short one, love. You�ve had a busy day and need your sleep." Kathy pushed his blonde hair up out of the way and kissed his forehead.

"Busy day." Andrew nodded his head sleepily in agreement. "Me tired."

Kathy laughed and picked out a story. She read the rhyming tale in a soft voice, singing the lullaby at the end with her lips next to Andrew�s ear. He was fast asleep before she was finished. She kissed him gently again, flicked on his fishy nightlight and left the room, shutting the door quietly.

"Nick?"

Kathy reentered the living room, her husband was nowhere to be found and the show she had been watching was now over.

"Where are you Nick?"

She shivered as a cool breeze brushed across her bare arms. Wandering into the kitchen she saw the slightly open patio door and knew at once where Nick had gone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nick sat at the edge of the water, not caring that he was getting soaked by the water running over his legs and past him on the sand before retreating backwards. He heard the patio door slide open and footsteps coming down their stairs. Kathy sat beside him, lowering herself to the sand with some difficulty, it sounded like. She placed her hand on his knee and lowered her head to his shoulder.

"Tigger in bed?" Nick tried to stop the emotions he was feeling from showing up in his voice.

"Yes, poor thing was almost asleep before we got to his room." Kathy murmured.

Nick nodded and kept his face pointing out towards the ocean. How he wished he could see it right now. Get on his boat and just sail right into the sunset and forget all his troubles, even just momentarily.

"It�s beautiful out tonight." Kathy told him suddenly, after a few moments of silence. "The sky is pink and so pretty."

He didn�t respond and after a few more minutes, he felt her fingers on his cheek, turning his head to her.

"Nick, what�s wrong?"

He shook his head and tried to turn away, but her fingers stopped him.

"You�re crying, what�s wrong?"

Nick took a shuddering breath and remained silent.

"Nick, please!" Kathy urged.

"It�s the phone call we got earlier."

Kathy let all sorts of horrible scenarios run through her mind. "What happened? Is everyone alright?"

Nick nodded and then shook his head slightly. "I don�t know."

"Nick? Who was it on the phone? No one in the family, none of the guys?" Kathy�s curiosity was killing her.

"It was Alexa."

Kathy leaned away from Nick. "What did she want?" she asked quietly, trying to not let her anger grow. She couldn�t let herself get upset, not when they had just started to work things out.

"She�s pregnant."

"Pregnant? Well that�s won..." Then the realization hit her and Kathy fell silent. Alexa was pregnant. She and Nick had unprotected sex and now she was pregnant. Maybe with Nick�s child. Kathy pounded her fists in the sand. How much more was she supposed to take before she cracked? How much was she supposed to willingly take and forgive Nick for? She loved him, she knew that now, but to have these thoughts was killing her. The mental images kept her awake at night sometimes, thinking of Nick with Alexa, how was she supposed to deal with a living reminder of his infidelity?

"I�m sorry Kathy. This is just so....I don�t know what to say anymore. I�m so sorry."

"Is she sure?"

"What?"

"Is she sure?" Kathy repeated. "Did she use the stick or go to her doctor? The doctor should be able to tell her how long she has been pregnant."

"I told her to go to the doctor. She didn�t have an official test yet. She just knew she was pregnant and wanted to let me know." Nick sighed.

"It�s not yours." Kathy replied.

"Pardon?"

"It�s not yours!" Kathy insisted. "It can�t be yours! We�ve been through too much! God cannot do this to us! It is not your baby!" She was raising her voice and Nick searched out for her hands, pulling her close to him, hugging her tightly.

"It�s not yours." she repeated. "It�s not, it can�t be. I won�t let it be!"

"I hope to God it�s not mine." Nick told her gently.

"It�s not." Kathy said defiantly. "It�s not your baby."

"Let�s go inside." Nick helped her up and held her around the waist as they climbed the stairs to the house.

"I love you Nick. I want this to end."

"Me too." Nick replied. "Me too."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alexa fidgetted on the doorstep after ringing the bell, twisting the hem of her shirt sleeve between her fingers. When she realized what she was doing she stopped, annoyed with herself for having picked up one of AJ�s habits. She took a deep breath and heard the door start to open. She felt herself smile when she saw AJ.

"�Lexa," he gestured for her to enter the house, placing a hand on her back and leaning in to kiss her as she passed him. "Glad you came." He looked into her eyes for a second before stepping back and she swallowed the urge to just tell him she was pregnant right then. There had to be a better way.

He guided her with the hand on her back to the dining room where two places were set at the table. "Everything�s ready, you sit, and I�ll be right back."

Alexa turned to face him "I�ll help."

"No, it�s okay, sit. I�ll be a second." He was insistent, and Alexa didn�t want to argue.

She took a seat, and AJ disappeared from the room. "You don�t want me to help because you�re hiding take out boxes, aren�t you?"

AJ appeared, a plate of garlic bread in his hands, "Why would you think that?" He smirked at her before leaving the room again.

"Maybe because you can�t cook."

"Can too." He appeared again this time a plate in each hand.

"Please, the only thing you�ve ever managed to successfully cook is," she glanced down as he put the plate in front of her, "spaghetti." She looked back at AJ, who was grinning. "You actually cooked for me."

He shrugged. "Had to happen some time."

Dinner was calm, quiet, and they talked as if nothing had ever happened. It almost made Alexa forget everything. Except for one thing.

She almost told him several times over dinner. Once when he was talking about how Brian was reacting to LeighAnne�s pregnancy, again when he mentioned some kid in the mall, and later. It was so hard. She wanted to tell, but she couldn�t find the right words.

When he picked up the dishes and walked to the kitchen she followed him. He stood facing her and she stayed standing in the doorway. "I�ve got something that�s yours, �Lexa." He took a step forward and held up a house key. "You, uh. .. You left it when you left. You might as well have it back now, so you don�t have to ring the doorbell when you come here."

Alexa had to step closer to take the key, and she knew as she took it that now was the moment she�d waited for. She couldn�t put it off. "Alex, I ..."

She didn�t get the chance, as his hand brushed her face and then went behind her neck pulling her towards him and then kissing her. A million thoughts swirled through her mind, not the least of which was to push him away so she could say what she needed to. But she couldn�t do it. She gave in to the kiss, and felt herself wrapping her arms around his neck.Their tongues danced together in a long unpracticed dance, until both were breathless and wanting more.

Alexa knew when they broke apart that there was something she wanted to say but all she could think of was how much she needed him. Whatever it was would have to be later. Much later. "Alex."

He knew without her words, and led her up the stairs, neither of them saying anything until they reached the bedroom. "Gawd, Alexa, it�s been too long," he rasped before bending to suck at the sensitive spot on her neck. Her hands traveled up and down his back, desperately wanting the fabric of his shirt out of the way. She finally caught the bottom edge of it and pulled up, forcing him to break away from her so she could pull it off. Their mouths found each other again before he did the same to her, then unhooked her bra and tossed it aside before leaning her back onto the bed.

"You�re beautiful, Alexa," he said, staring into her eyes before he undid her pants and slid them and her underwear off. Alexa moved herself farther up the bed, lifting her head to watch as he shed his own pants before joining her on the bed. He kissed her, sliding one hand down the curve of her body and across her thigh, teasing. His mouth had found her breasts, giving first one and then the other attention. She could still feel his hand teasing at her thighs and she squirmed. She was wet and ready, had been since the first kiss in the kitchen and she gasped at the eventual touch of his fingers at her center.

She trailed her fingersnails on his arm, getting his attention, "Alex, please."

His fingers never stopped and her back arched, "What do you want, baby?"

Her fingernails found flesh on his shoulders and dug in, pulling him even closer to her as she breathed, "You. Now." She felt everything stop, and his mouth crushed down on hers as he entered her.

It wasn�t long before AJ could tell Alexa was close, and he stared into her eyes as she came, her walls constricting around him bringing his own release. He kissed her and brushed the hair off her forehead before moving out of her. "I missed you so much, �Lexa."

The loss of intimate contact brought back to Alexa all the feelings she�d had in the past few days, and she subconsciously reached out, clinging to him. As if she could get enough contact to last her a lifetime if she hung on tight enough. Because she was now convinced this was her last chance.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What on earth was that?" Kathy sat up in bed with frightened yelp.

Nick sat up and listened for a moment. "It's storming out, probably one of the patio chairs got knocked over by the wind. Don't be afraid."

"Alright." Kathy wound her arms around his neck. "I guess Andrew is still sleeping." she whispered in Nick's ear. "He hasn't crawled in here yet!"

"We must have wore him out yesterday, we were pretty busy." Nick lay back down, pulling Kathy against his chest. "He probably didn't even hear it!"

"He'll probably sleep for a bit yet then." Kathy added.

"That's good." Nick yawned and hugged her waist. "I could use a bit more sleep myself. I didn't sleep much last night. Too much thinking."

Kathy pushed herself to a sitting position. "Nick." She leaned over him and pulled the blanket off, exposing his bare chest. She smiled and began softly kissing his scar.

"Oh!" Nick gasped in surprise.

"I've missed you Nick." Kathy licked the length of the scar and kissed it again.

Nick got her meaning immediately. "Are you sure he will sleep long enough?"

Nick felt Kathy get off the bed and heard her feet shuffling down the hall. Kathy poked her head in Andrew's room. Andrew was snoring softly, the blankets twisted into a snarled mess around his legs, blonde hair sticking straight up and his arms wrapped around his chest, Kathy noted with a smile. "Just like his dad!" She quietly closed the door and returned to Nick. "He'll sleep long enough. If we do it right now!"

"Are you sure?" Nick asked softly, as they lay beside each other once again on their bed. Kathy drew her fingers through his hair, kissing his lips and darting her tongue in his eager mouth. "This isn't just the hormones talking?"

"I'm sure Nick. We've been so foolish. I've been so foolish. It's been hell sleeping with you and not touching you."

Nick nodded his head in agreement. "I love you so much Kathy. I never meant to do anything to hurt you, to hurt our family." He held her tight to him. "I promise from this day forward, I will be there for you. I will do whatever I can to make things right for us."

Kathy returned the hug and tipped her head up to gaze at him. "I should promise too. I've pushed you aside in lots of things."

"No you haven't."

"You said I freaked when you did stuff with Tigger alone. That's wrong, you're his father."

"I'm also blind." Nick whispered. "He could get hurt with me. He HAS gotten hurt with me."

"No! Don't say that!" Kathy demanded. "It doesn't matter. You're his father. You would never put him in danger intentionally. I'm so sorry Nick." Kathy held his face in her hands and kissed his lips.

"You don't have to apologize to me. I'm the bad person here, remember?" Nick let his hands roam her body, stopping short at her stomach, which was bulging from her pregnancy. "I almost lost the chance to know our new child because of the stupid thing I did"

"We might still lose it Nick." Kathy tried to control her emotions and stop the tears from flowing again.

"We will not lose our baby." Nick insisted. "I told you that. Did you call anyone?"

"Nick, I'm so scared." Kathy hugged her husband close, trying to draw strength from him.

"Don't be scared, honey. I'm here for you, always. Our baby will be fine and we will get through this." He kissed her hair and brushed away her tears.

"Make love to me Nick. Please?" Kathy looked up at him, tears shining in her eyes.

Nick rolled Kathy onto her back and kissed her cheek. Tenderly, he removed her clothing, piece by piece, until she was laying naked beneath him. He kissed his way down her body, drawing a nipple into his mouth and slowly sucking on it. "Oh God, Kathy. I missed you. I missed your touch, your taste. I love you."

Kathy arched her back into him. "I need you Nick. Now!" she moaned urgently. His hands brushed across her thighs, fingers flickering over her center. "You're teasing." she panted protestingly. Kathy grabbed him by the shoulders and tried to pull him upwards. "Nick, please. Go slow later. I just need you in me. I need to feel you." He sat up to remove his boxers. Laying back down, he kissed her lips, sucking them into his mouth gently.

"I love you Kathy." He entered her slowly, until he was buried within her. They lay still, neither one moving, just enjoying the closeness. Slowly they began to move, thrusting, grabbing, kissing, until they were on the verge of exploding.

"I love you Nick." Kathy murmured, and then groaned as he lashed at her breast with his tongue once again.

"Kath, I will never leave you." Nick promised. "I love you so much." She grasped him with her inner muscles and triggered his release. "Oh God, Kath, unh, that's it, I can't..." He thrust once more and his body stiffened as his orgasm washed over him. As he relaxed, he gently thrust his fingers between them, bringing Kathy over the edge with him. She held him tightly, crying his name, both of them promising love and devotion for the rest of their lives.

"Moma, cry?" The bedroom door swung open suddenly and Nick desperately tried to locate a sheet to cover themselves as their son entered the room. "Daddy hurt Moma?" Andrew climbed onto the bed and laid beside the couple. Kathy pushed Nick off of her quickly. Despite himself, Nick groaned as his penis slipped from within Kathy's warm body. "Daddy?" Andrew looked at them curiously. "Where clothes? What you doing?" Kathy stifled a giggle.

"Well, umm..." Nick couldn't think of a thing to tell his young son. He wondered if he ever interrupted his mother and father this way.

Andrew wiped his small hands over Kathy's face. "Daddy hurt Moma?"

Kathy pushed Nick over a little bit and pulled a blanket over herself before pulling Andrew onto her lap. "No honey, Daddy made Mommy feel very good."

Nick climbed under the covers and wrapped his arms around his family. "Daddy loves Mommy very much, Tigger. I won't ever hurt her."

"She cry!" Andrew protested.

"Mommy was crying because Daddy made her feel very special." Kathy told him patiently. "Sometimes people cry when good things happen, honey."

Andrew eyed the two of them suspiciously. "No hurt?" He asked, still not satisfied.

"No hurt." Nick and Kathy assured him.

"No clothes!" Andrew wiggled out of Nick's hold and pulled the blanket off his parents, giggling. "Nudie Moma! Nudie Daddy!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the morning, Alexa lay curled up on her side, her back turned to AJ. She'd spent the last hour listening to him breathe and trying to figure out what was going on in her life. She had the appointment to see a doctor this morning, but she wasn't sure she even wanted to know what she was going to find out. A lone tear trickled down her cheek and she sniffled, then held her breath when she heard AJ move. She didn't want him to realize she was awake. He'd ask questions that she couldn't answer and things had been messed up enough without more lies and evasions.

She felt the mattress shift as he moved closer to her and her skin reacted as he moved the hair from her neck, placing a gentle kiss there. "Morning, 'Lexa." His breath at her ear made her shiver. "Alexa?" Concern in his voice when she didn't respond to him. "You okay?"

"Fine," her voice was quiet, covering up the torrent of emotion in her head. "I need to get up," she pushed herself out of the bed quickly and headed to the bathroom, leaving AJ confused.

"Alexa, what's going on?" No answer. "Where are you going? You don't work today." It was another minute before she said anything.

"I've got a couple of appointments, things to take care of." She came out of the bathroom, fully dressed, wrapping her hair into a ponytail.

"You gonna come back after?"

"I'll be back before noon." She didn't say anything else as she left the room, leaving AJ behind, wondering why he felt like he was missing something.

An hour later, Alexa was sitting in the doctor's waiting room, waiting. She'd had all the tests and because she knew the doctor and the people in the lab, had asked that they rush her results. Thankfully, they'd complied. She was having trouble with the minimal waiting; any more would have killed her.

"Alexa." The doctor called her back into the office and waited while she sat. "You're right. You're pregnant. About three months, ..."

Alexa didn't hear anything else. Three months. Too long to be Nick. Thank God. Everything was fine. Well, not fine. She was still pregnant, and she still had to tell AJ. But that couldn't be that difficult, right?

"Alexa?"

"Uh hmm?" She brought herself back to the little office for long enough to set up a later appointment and get to her car. She immediately dialed her cell phone. "Nick?"

"Lex?"

"You're safe." Finally the relief really started to sink in for her.

"Huh?"

"It's not your baby. It can't be." It took a minute before Alexa heard him sigh.

"Thank God!"

"I know, I wanted to let you know right away."

"Have you told AJ?"

All the relief Alexa felt faded away with that one sentence; in it's place, anxiety. "No..."

"Go do that. Now. I'll talk to you. And Lex, congratulations."

Alexa barely heard him as she contemplated how to tell AJ. She suddenly realized the phone connection was gone, and she put the car in gear, hoping she'd figure out what to say by the time she got home.

"AJ? Are you here?" Alexa let herself in the house, and looked around. She'd decided straight forward and right away was the best way to go with this news. The longer she waited the more she'd second guess herself. "AJ?.... Alex?" She called again, just before he appeared in the hallway.

"What's the yelling?" He wandered the rest of the way down the hall, hands stuffed in his pockets.

"Come, sit. I've got something I need to tell you." She pulled on his arm, trying to make him move faster and he looked at her strangely.

"What's goin' on? You're actin' weird."

She was anxious. Once she'd decided she was going to tell him then, she wanted to do it right then. "Sit!" She ordered and he did, still confused by her behavior. She took a deep breath as she knelt beside the chair he was sitting in, picking up his hand that was resting on the arm. "I've got some news. It's good, I think. Although it could be better at a different time, if it was planned maybe, but it's not bad..." She didn't realize she was rambling until he interrupted her.

"Alexa stop! You're confusing me."

She linked her fingers in his, and took another deep breath, "AJ...," she paused, swallowing, " Alex, I'm pregnant." She felt her heart speed up as he didn't say anything, and then his grip tightened on her hand.

"You're what?" Alexa couldn't bring herself to say the words again. She nodded. She wasn't sure how to read the look on his face. "How long have you known?" He was thinking back to the morning. She was thinking how that wasn't exactly the response she'd hoped for.

"Found out for sure just a little while ago."

He looked down at their intertwined hands, "And you're sure it's ... it's not ..." Alexa's breath caught in her throat. It was the question she'd hoped he wouldn't ask. She hated that he even had to.

"Ya, baby. It's you. I made sure of that, too. And I let Nick know he didn't have to worry... " Her voice trailed off as she realized what she was saying.

AJ turned suddenly hurt eyes towards her, "Nick knew? Before?"

Alexa dreaded having to answer but nodded slowly, "I needed to warn him. I wanted to tell you too. I tried, last night. I just ... I couldn't," she finished lamely.

"Even if it had been his, you would have had to tell me eventually. I would have figured it out." His eyes were less hurt now, more angry, distrustful. But his voice was still calm. "God, Alexa. I know we've been through a lot of shit, but you should want to tell me stuff like this first. Not as an afterthought."

"You weren't an afterthought," she sighed, taking time to find her words, "I didn't want to tell you anything until I knew I'd be telling you good news. At least I hoped it was good news. I wanted this to be a happy thing." She didn't even realize she was crying until he wiped a tear from her cheek.

"Ssh, 'Lexa." His hand stayed at her cheek, and he waited until she looked up, meeting his eyes, before he said anything else. "Are you really happy? Not just because you're supposed to be?" He was surprised by the way she was handling this; usually she'd be too busy worrying about everything going wrong to be happy about anything.

"I'd be happier if I thought you were." She searched his face for some clue. "I know, the timing's not exactly great, but I love you. And I love that I'm having your baby." She put her hand over her eyes and groaned, "That sounds so cheesy."

He pulled her hand away from her face so she could see him, "I love you too, Alexa. You and our baby."

Alexa smiled hesitantly, "So this is good?" She stood up beside the chair.

"It's not good, Alexa," He wrapped one arm around her waist, and pulled her into the chair with him, "You're having my kid. It's fabulous!"

She laid her head on his chest, and felt him kiss the top of her head. This was how life was supposed to be. AJ�s arms wrapped were wrapped around her, and she felt happy.

Until she heard her pager.

"Dammit. Why didn�t you turn the damn thing off?"

She got up from the chair and turned to look at AJ before going to get the offending device. "I can�t exactly tell people to stop being sick and dying so that I can spend time with my man, can I?" She glanced at the number, and rushed to the phone, not giving him a chance to answer her.

When she came back, her face was solemn. "I have to go do an ER shift. All the other doctors are either out of town or have already worked a double shift. Apparently all hell broke loose. I�m sorry. I can�t help it."

"It�s your job, we gotta deal right?" The thought crossed his mind to mention that she should be careful, being pregnant, but he figured she�d already thought of that. She probably knew better than him anyway. He followed her as she grabbed her purse from the door, "You coming back here?"

She kissed him quickly and then opened the door, "You gave me the key. Try and stop me."