(This is a sequel to "Down on One Knee", set about 4 months later.)
Chapter 1
~Surf Central~
"Hello?" Sara Mitchum said into the phone. "Yes, I remember… Uh-huh… yes… What? Are you serious?" She didn't mean to sound so childlike, but the news was astounding. "It's positive? Are you sure? Okay…. Okay. Thank you! Bye!" She hung up the phone and wrote a quick note to her husband, then ran out the door.
~another beach house~
"Wow, we finally got our own place here, Luis. Can you believe it?" Sheridan Crane said, smiling as she walked through the cozy apartment she shared with her fiancé.
"Yes, I can believe it. With love, anything is possible," her fiancé, Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald, responded. They kissed, but were interrupted by the doorbell. "Who could that be?" Sheridan went to the door and opened it. "Oh, hi, Sara," she said, greeting her best friend.
"Hi, Sher. Hey, Luis," Sara said. "Guess what. I have the most amazing news!" She was grinning from ear to ear.
"What is it?" Luis asked.
Sara smiled again. "I'm… I'm pregnant."
"What? Come here, you!" Sheridan gave her best friend a big hug. "Oh, Sara, this is so great! How many months along are you? Is it a boy or a girl? What about--"
"Sher, I just found out, like, 5 minutes ago. I'm about 2½ months along, and Casey doesn't know yet, so can you keep it quiet until I tell him?"
"Sure, sure, no prob," Luis said. "I'm happy for you, Sara."
"Thanks, Luis."
"Sara… I'm so excited for you!"
"You're even more excited than I am and I'm the one having the baby," Sara pointed out.
"True, true," Sheridan said, laughing. "Well, what are you waiting for? Go tell Casey!"
"Okay, okay, I'm on my way." With that, Sara left, and went to go find her husband.
~on the beach~
Sara was walking along the beach, looking for her husband. She was the happiest she'd ever been in her life, now that she was married to Casey. Just then someone wrapped his arms around her from behind. She knew exactly who it was. "Hey, Case."
"Hey, you," Casey said, kissing her head. "How are you today?"
"Oh, I'm fine," Sara replied. "Actually… more than fine." She grinned and Casey noticed. "You have something to tell me?"
"Yes, but not here. What do you say we go to dinner and I tell you?"
"Sounds fine with me. I've got great news for you too." They went back home and then went to dinner.
"What would you like to drink? Champagne? Wine?"
"Um…no, that's okay. I'll just take water," Sara said. Casey looked at her questioningly, but just brushed it off. I'll bet she has a good reason. "And I'll have a glass of Pino Gregot." (Did I spell that right? It's supposed to be the wine that Luis and Sheridan had at the Lobster Shack that one time.)
"All right, I'll be back with your drinks shortly." The waiter left and then Sara looked around. "Hey, Case, isn't this the restaurant that we were in when we bumped into each other when I was on a date with Jude?"
"Yeah… I didn't notice it. But anyway, Sara, why did you just order water instead of wine? I know you like wine, so…"
"Casey, do you want a family?" Sara asked.
"Yes. Growing up, I didn't have much of one, so I want one that I can take care of, and treasure, and… why are you asking?"
"Because…" Sara grinned, "we're going to have one very soon."
"Do you mean…?" He was starting to catch on.
"We're going to have a baby, Casey. I'm pregnant."
"Oh, my gosh! Come here, you!" He gave her a hug, and then kissed her. They could have stayed like that forever, but then the waiter came with their drinks. "Would you like to order?"
"Um… huh? Oh. Give us a few minutes." The waiter nodded and then left. "Wow… when did you find out, Sara?"
"Today. Like, an hour ago." She smiled. "I am so happy, Casey. You wouldn't believe it."
"I do, Sara, I do. Because I'm just as happy as you are. Marrying you was the best thing I ever did." He smiled at his wife and she smiled back. "Oh, this brings me to my good news. Though it doesn't even come close to yours." He smiled again… he couldn't seem to stop. "I got a new job today at Liberty Corp."
"Seriously? That's great news! Not that I minded you being a lifeguard, but…"
"Oh, I am still a lifeguard, part-time. The combined income will help us out a lot, especially now, with the baby. Today has been a great day, don't you think?" Casey asked.
"Oh yeah. One of the best days of my life."
~2 months later~
"Are you sure you want to come, Sara?" Sheridan asked.
"Of course! I don't want to stay in bed all day. That's boring!" Sheridan just laughed. Her best friend wouldn't take anything boring. "Well, if you can stay on your feet for the whole time, I guess you can come."
"I'm going with you," Casey said, descending the stairs.
"No, no, Case, that's okay, I can take care of myself, plus Sheridan is going to be with me. Don't worry. Besides, you have to go to work, don't you?" Sara pointed out.
"Yeah, but I can take a day off."
"Casey, don't be ridiculous. You're starting to remind me of my dad," Sara said, pouting.
He laughed. "Okay, fine. But… remember, you two, we're having our picnic today, okay?"
Sheridan sighed. "How could I not forget? Luis has been reminding me day in and day out for the past week. As much as I love him, today I'm actually glad to be away from him." They all started to laugh. "You can't be serious, can you, Sher? I would think that you guys are going back to 'those days,'" Casey said.
"Wow… that seems like forever, back in those days…"
::Flashback:: "I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself," Sheridan said, defensively.
"Right." Luis smiled.
"I always have. I always will."
"I'll call down for the ice." Luis went to the phone and dialed.
"I can make my own calls, thank you very much."
"You are not going anywhere except back on the couch."
"Don't tell me what to do!" Sheridan said, furious.
"Would you stop being so pig-headed? You can't put weight on your ankle, so you gotta stay off of it."
"I'll stand if I want to."
"Back on the couch," Luis demanded.
"NO!" Sheridan protested.
"You're not making this very easy." Luis walked to the other side of Sheridan.
"What are you doing?" she wanted to know.
Luis picked her up and walked to the couch. "What do you think I'm doing?"
"Put me down!"
"Yes, ma'am." Luis obeyed and dropped Sheridan on the couch.
"OW! Who do you think you are?" Sheridan said, now livid.
"Officer Lopez-Fitzgerald, at your service." Luis saluted her.
"Do you think you can go around and just do anything you please?"
"No." Luis picked up an apple from the basket in the hotel room and shined it while Sheridan was talking.
"You know, this routine might work back in Harmony, but when you have your tin star and your Smokey the Bear…" She was cut off by Luis sticking the apple in her mouth. Luis then walked over to the phone and picked it up. "Yes, room service… I'd like a bucket of ice, please…a large bucket? Thanks." Just as he hung up, Sheridan threw the apple at him.
"That's a good arm," Luis commented.
"How dare you!"
"Dare what? After I try and save you?"
"Oh, you are such a male chauvinist!"
"Yeah, but you know what? If you hadn't listened to me in the first place, you wouldn't almost have gotten yourself--and me--killed."
"Oh, so what, now it's my fault?" Sheridan asked.
Luis looked around. "Who else's?"
::Reality::
Sheridan smiled fondly as she remembered "those days," when she and Luis could do nothing but fight. No one realized that they'd end up together.
"Sher? Are you ready to go?" Sara said, looking at her best friend.
"Huh? Oh. Yeah, I'm ready to go. Just remembering the good old days." Sara smiled at her. "Don't worry, I do that all the time too. Okay, Case, we'll see you later." Sara looked down at her tummy, which was now starting to show. "We love you."
"I love you, too." Casey kissed Sara, then he kissed her stomach. "Take care."
"We will." Sara and Sheridan walked out the door.
~later, on the beach~
"Hey, you two," Luis said, as Sheridan and Sara approached the picnic blanket. "Dang! What did you guys buy?"
"Here, let me take them," Casey said, taking the bags from his wife and his cousin. "No wonder you guys were gone for so long. You bought all this stuff!"
"Well, with the wedding and the baby, we couldn't help it. You know, it's a girl thing," Sheridan replied.
"Right, right," Casey said, laughing. "Okay, come on, let's eat!"
*a little later*
"Hey, Sher, can I talk to you for a minute?" Casey asked.
"Um… yeah! Okay…" Casey and Sheridan walked along the beach. "How was Sara on the trip?"
"What? Oh, she was fine. Just having cravings for ice cream and cheese puffs." Sheridan giggled. Casey laughed as well. "But did she tire herself out? Did you guys walk around a lot? Judging from the stuff that you got, you went around a lot--"
"Casey, don't worry about it. Sara's perfectly healthy, and she's happy. She's going to be able to take care of herself."
"I'm just worried, you know? This is my first child and I don't want anything to happen to Sara or the baby."
"I understand, but loosen up a little. Then maybe you'll see that--" They had reached a corner and turned, and then Sheridan was hit over the head with a 2 x 4. She immediately fell to the floor. Before Casey could help her up, chloroform was put over his mouth and nose and he passed out.
Chapter 2
