Part 1-5

 It was late, later than you had told her you would be out. Fumbling with your keys at the door, you're mildly tipsy from a night out with friends, your first since the two of you were wed. You finally get the door unlocked. Worry washes over you as you open the door, expecting your love to be standing there, face distorted with anger, but you see nothing. The entrance is nearly pitch black. You could see a faint light coming from farther inside the house, and can hear some strange sounds. A slight sense of worry began to creep over you as you lurched forward into your home. In seconds you find yourself before the source of the noise and light: the television, still turned on and tuned in to some silly infomercial. All your worries laid to rest, you move to turn off the television and see her asleep on the couch, lying there like your personal Sleeping Beauty. Without thinking you find yourself moving towards the couch, as if propelled by some unknown force. You kneel down beside her to kiss your Princess, and as you do you feel a pair of arms wrap around your neck in a loving embrace and full lips coming up to meet yours. The feeling is overpowering, no matter how many times you experience it, like your whole world has frozen for a single moment. Surprised, you pull back. She does not let go of her grip and the two of you tumble to the floor. She releases her arms and pulls herself up, the first words that leave her lips are a shock even to you. "Welcome home, Darling. I was waiting for you. How did you enjoy your first night out in a long time? You know, the night is still young..." You saw a look of longing on her face as you felt her hand clench your own. Your heart swells with the warmth of her grip. You pull her closer and speak the only words that come to you: "I love you."


    You are awoken from your peaceful slumber by the blinding light of the Sun. You look towards the clock lazily. It's 7AM, far too early to be awake after such a full night. Your head pounds, no doubt the telltale signs of a hangover. You attempt to get up, but as you do you hear a faint groan. Looking down, you see her nestled closely against you. You find yourself transfixed by this gorgeous creature, nearly dumbfounded taking in every gentle curve, watching her chest rise and fall as she breathes, the serene expression on her face as she lies nuzzled against you. You are brought back to reality by the throbbing of your head. Moving yourself slowly so as to not disturb her, you get out of bed, tucking her in gently as you do. You walk towards the Kitchen, hoping to find some relief in a cup of coffee. You sit down with your cup and as you take your first sip you hear in a soft voice "Are you feeling alright?" Despite your best efforts, she was awoken by your movement and noise, she stands there clutching at her robe. You reply simply with "I'm fine, go back to bed and get some rest." She shakes her head and says "It's no good without you." A smile spreads across your face. "Care to join me?" you inquire as you stand to grab her a cup. You feel her arms circle your waist and her chest press against your back. "I would love to." You blurt out "Let's move this to somewhere more comfortable," and motion towards the couch. Elated by your suggestion, she quickly moves towards the couch, sits down and pats the cushion beside her. As you sit down, she places her head on your shoulder. You put your arm around your lover. Overtaken by this simple feeling of bliss, you sip at your coffee. "How about we spend the rest of our day like this?" you propose as you set down your coffee. In response she puts hers down, looks at you, and replies "That sounds perfect." Shifting your body, you pull her on top of you and lay yourself down with her on top of you. Letting out a little giggle she wraps her arms around you and pushes her head into your chest, "Just perfect."


    It's been a week since you spent that dreamlike day alone with her in your arms. Work has consumed all of the time the two of you could find. The stress and frustration are building up for the both of you. Friday again, the start of a few days of long-awaited and well-deserved relaxation after working so much overtime. On the drive home, you find yourself thinking about the small spat the two of you had the night before, embarrassed by your own thoughtless actions over something so petty and your own rudeness towards the love of your life. You find your confidence in yourself and your future at an all-time low. "Was this all I had in me? All I could handle?" These sorts of thoughts consume you for the entire drive. As you near your home, you see neighborhood children playing. "Children, huh? That's something we haven't talked about before," you mutter to yourself as you pull into the driveway and notice she had already gotten home. You exit the car and glance around, trying to get up the courage to walk through the door and see her face. Your hands shake a little as you reach for the doorknob. Steadying yourself, you open the door. There she stands with a welcoming smile on her face. "Welcome home, how was your day?" You find yourself relieved that she doesn't seem angry about the fight any more. "I've had much worse. How about you?" you reply, smiling back at her. "It's much better now that you're home and we can spend the weekend together," she responds, dragging you by the hand towards the living room. She pulls you down onto the couch and looks you in the eye expectantly. Your emotions well up. "What was I worrying for? She loves me with all of her heart, the same as I love her." You hug her tightly, saying "I'm sorry about last night, It was just stress. I'm sorry." She pushes you back from her, meeting your gaze with her own. "It's alright, I'm sorry too." She puts her hand on the back of your head lovingly and pulls your head down to her lap, beginning to stroke your hair. This simple action completely washes away everything. Your stress, frustration, memory of the fight, fear of your future. All gone in an instant with one loving embrace. Tears roll down your face, and she moves her hands to wipe them away. "We both have our hard times, but as long as we love and care for each other we'll get through it." Her voice resonates in your mind, as if you've heard for the first time words that you had been waiting for you entire life. You sit up and look at her own tear-stained face. You reach out to wipe the tears away, but as you do you feel yourself moving towards her, moving ever closer until your lips meet hers. You speak with actions the words of the moment that you could not bring yourself to express.


A month has passed since your reconciliation. You find yourself at home alone. It's a day off. That, like most, does not coincide with hers, but that's all the better for your plans. 30 minutes before she gets home, everything is ready. You have cleaned the house, nearly finished preparing dinner, bought her a small gift to show your thanks for everything she has done. It will be an evening just for her, a token of gratitude for blessing you with her love. Your palms start sweating and begins heart race as the time for her to walk through the door draws ever closer. You haven't been this nervous since your first date. "Just 5 minutes left," you think to yourself as you light the candles on the table. You hear the door open. "I'm home. I'm exhaus- What's all this?" your love remarks, greeted by a bouquet of flowers and a spotless home. "Welcome home, dear. Dinner is almost ready," you say without missing a beat. She joins you in the Kitchen with a smile. "What's all this for?" she asks as she kisses your cheek. "Just treating my wife with the love she deserves. Go get changed quickly and we'll eat." As the words leave your lips she is already gleefully rushing towards your bedroom. The two of you sit down to eat. Enjoying the small talk over your meal, she tells you about her day, her friends, and how happy you made her when she got home. Times like these are when you can feel your love for her at its most vivid, the mundane made radiant by the words of the angel before you. After you've both finished eating you turn your full attention towards her and say "Wait for me in the living room, I'll be finished in a moment. I have another surprise for you." She looks at you brimming with excitement before heading to the living room. You check your pocket for the gift. "Okay, here we go," you mutter, reassuring yourself as you take a deep breath. As you exit the kitchen, you see her sitting on the couch tense with anticipation. You can't help but laugh, and as you did she stutters "W-what's so funny?" "Nothing. Nothing at all. You just look so nervous even after all the time we've been together. It reminded me of myself just before you got home." She looks at you and you both begin to laugh. "We're really made for each other, aren't we?" she replies with a little blush. "Here's your present," you proudly announce as you reach into your pocket for the small box and hand it to her. With the face of a child at Christmas she opens the gift you have so carefully selected for her: a pendant. Tears roll down her cheeks as she looks at it. You wrap your arms around her and pull her close. "I hope you like it. It doesn't begin to show how much I love you, but it's a start," you affirm, proceeding to kiss her on the cheek. Pulling yourself away from her you take the pendant in your hands and say "May I?" as you move to fasten it around her neck. "Please." she answers, still with tears in her eyes. As if it was the only response she could find to convey her feelings, she puts her arms around you, squeezing as tightly as she can. You find yourselves locked in this euphoric embrace for mere moments, but it feels to you like time has stopped. You can no longer imagine life without her. You push her backwards onto the couch gently. Her eyes, still filled with tears, stare up at you. You move your lips towards hers. The effort put into this making this evening all but forgotten in the instant your lips met hers. Gripped by passion, you simply wish this moment would last forever.


An uneventful six weeks have passed since your gift to your love. You find yourself awoken by some unsavory sounds coming from the bathroom. Over the last few weeks she has been complaining of feeling under the weather. You call to her in a groggy voice, "Honey, are you alright?" She replies, "Does it sound like I'm alright?" It's an unusually curt response from her. She comes out of the bathroom looking a little disheveled. "I'm sorry, I'm just a little moody from being sick," she says, looking a little ashamed. "It's alright, you haven't been sleeping well. Since we're both up, why don't I make you something? Tea, perhaps?" She seems to perk up at the suggestion. "That sounds nice. Thank you, honey." You walk to the kitchen and start boiling water. A moment later you see her sluggishly making her way towards you, using the wall to balance herself. As you move towards her to help your sickly love you say, "You could have waited in bed. Here, let me help you." She acknowledges by grabbing your now outstretched hand. You slowly guide her to a chair; she seems a little dizzy. "Thank you. I'm sorry for being such a hassle so early in the morning," she says, clearly feeling self-conscious. "What am I here for?" you declare with a little wink at her. She giggles. It seems some of her energy is returning. You finish making the tea and put the cup in her hand. You begin to question her about the symptoms of her condition, "It's just a fever and some aching. I've only started feeling nauseous today." Your complete lack of medical knowledge stretched to its limits, you announce: "I'm going to call off work today. So are you. We're going to see a doctor." She agrees with you, and you walk off to make the calls. As the phone rings, you watch her get up and head towards the bathroom. "Well, she did say she had been vomiting," you think to yourself. While speaking with her employer, you hear some odd sounds in the bathroom. Nothing particularly worrying, just the sound of her struggling with something. You hang up the phone and begin to dial the number for her doctor. After only a short moment on the phone with the doctor, the appointment is scheduled for 2PM. You hear the bathroom door open and footsteps start heading in your direction. As she enters your view you notice she is no longer using the wall for support, all signs of the earlier dizziness gone. The closer she gets the more unusual the situation seems to you, her eyes averted staring at the ground seeming very timid. You notice she is holding something in her hand. "I called your job, and got you an appointment with your doctor for this afternoon. I'll drive you." No response. She wasn't the type to just ignore you. Your curiosity getting the better of you, you look down at the item in her hand. She quickly pulls it away, still maintaining her sheepish demeanor. Now you're worried. "Honey, what's wrong? There's nothing to worry about. You'll be fine. You're just a little sick," you declare in a voice as reassuring as you could muster. In response to your distress she utters words you couldn't have imagined. "I'm pregnant." Her eyes, bloodshot from crying, come up slowly to meet yours. You see her face veiled in an expression of apprehension. You find yourself overcome with uneasiness. "We've never talked about having children before. What are we going to do? Will I make a good father? What is she going to do about work? What about money?" A barrage of thoughts overwhelm all of your senses. You feel like you are about to black out. As everything starts to turn dark and fade, you glance at her face one more time. You see anxiety and fear shrouding her beauty. She is just as worried as you are, if not more so. You visualize the future you will have with her and your new child and find a new source of determination. You find a smile creeping across your face even in this paralyzing moment. "So I guess It's time to start talking about names, huh?"