They made their connecting flight from Dallas to San Diego without a hitch.
There were no screaming children on board, no over loud voices in the seats behind or in front of them, no turbulence nor annoying jokes from the Captain over the airplane’s intercom. The flight attendants were smiling and cheerful and still Lachlan and Jessie had hardly uttered two words to one another throughout the entire trip home.

No, that wasn’t true; Jessie had tried speaking to him as they boarded their flight in Burlington. She’d asked him if he’d like the window seat as opposed to the aisle, and he responded by throwing her an annoyed look and then motioned towards his leg. Of course he needed the aisle seat! She tried to draw him out again by gently reaching for his hand, her soft brown eyes silently pleading for him to look at her, but he had pulled away from her grasp. He didn’t intend for his actions to be as harsh as they had been, but he didn’t apologize, either.

He felt no relief when the plane arrived in San Diego. Most travelers are happy to return home after a stressful trip, but Lachlan only felt empty over what awaited him. Jessie helped carry his bags as he lumbered through the airport parking lot on his crutches, keeping far enough ahead of her so that he didn’t have to see the knife blade of sadness reflected in her eyes.

The drive back to her place was equally silent. She could have just as easily dropped him off at his own apartment, but Lachlan sensed that a battle was brewing; this was Jessie’s chance to give him a good piece of her mind in the privacy and safety of her own surroundings. He figured that whatever she ended up doing and saying, he’d certainly deserved it and he’d let her rant and have it over with. He’d call for a taxi when she was finished and go back to his own place afterwards, feeling like a bloody arsehole, but having one less thing to worry about as he faced what was yet to come tomorrow.

Once inside and they wordlessly made their way to the living room. Jessie coaxed Kahlua out of his carrier while Lachlan sat down on the sofa and watched them, waiting. He could tell that she was trying to decide the best way to proceed; she was fidgety and kept glancing over at him, only to look away quickly when his eyes met hers.

She had to try one last time to reach through whatever it was that had driven this wall between them. Not knowing any magic words or phrases, she stuck with what she knew and went over and knelt down before him, her hand coming to rest gently on his good knee, her eyes silently pleading for him to respond. “Would you like me to fix you something to eat? I still have some of that frozen lasagna in the freezer and I could rub your shoulders afterwards.” The refrigerator was bare as she had cleaned it out before they left for Vermont weeks ago, but Jessie always kept a supply of something in the freezer, just in case.

Only Lachlan wasn’t hungry.

Silently accepting her defeat, she pushed up from the floor and sat down in the chair directly across from him, her hands clasped limply in her lap and her eyes dark and shiny. He could tell she was trying not to cry and he tried his best to ignore the needle pricks of guilt taking hold in his heart.

“I don’t know what’s happened between us, but I can’t do this any more.” She didn’t look at him as she spoke; she wanted to get out the words she needed to say before she started to cry. “I think it might be best if you spent the night at your own place tonight.”

“That’s fine by me.” He hated himself the moment he said those words. Dear God, he loved her. But in his gut he knew that it was best to let her go; she deserved a man who was whole. A man who knew where he had come from and who had everything to look forward to. He could offer her nothing.

Jessie couldn’t believe his attitude. From her point of view, it was as if he just didn’t care. Something happened just then; perhaps it was the fact that she had been walking on pins and needles for the past few weeks, because she never knew what kind of mood Lachlan was bound to be in and the constant stress of anticipating his moods had taken its toll. Or maybe it was because she had used up all her vacation leave to accompany Lachlan to Vermont and had given her boss only a few hours notice. No, that wasn’t it either. What had happened was that she had been trying so hard to be patient and supportive towards this man that she loved and he had been treating her heart it as if it were a ping pong ball. Hot, cold. Yes, no. Is Lachlan in a good mood, or is he in a bad mood? Will he snap at me if I try to say something supportive, or do I sit and keep my mouth shut and wait for the angry spell to pass? Should I breathe or should I hold my breath? Jesus Christ, do I really need this kind of bullshit, especially right now?

Jessie finally snapped. “Well good, because that makes it all so much easier then.” She got up from her chair and left him alone while she went back towards her bedroom. Lachlan heard some thumping and closet doors opening and closing and a few minutes later she reappeared holding a cardboard box full of his belongings. “You can take all this stuff with you when you go. If I’ve forgotten anything, I’ll pack it up and leave it on the porch and you can pick it up tomorrow while I’m at work.”

She dropped the box unceremoniously at his feet. “And I want you to give me back my key.”

She held out her hand and with the look she gave him there was no mistaking her frustration. His feelings of guilt were suddenly misplaced with righteous anger and it was now Lachlan’s turn to snap.

Reaching into the front pocket of his jeans he pulled out his keys. “No problem. I certainly don’t need to have your bloody apartment key weighing me down.” He fumbled with the metal ring and tried to remove the offending key. For some reason, his fingers weren’t cooperating. Jessie crossed her arms in front of her, looking more annoyed than ever.  

“You might consider removing those car keys while you’re at. Your SUV got totaled, remember?”

Lachlan threw her a warning look. “I bloody well remember what happened. I have all this fucking hardware attached to my leg to remind me every time I try to fucking move, so thank you. I don’t know what I’d do without you to remind of something so bloody obvious.”

Jessie was having no more of his self-pity. “No, you don’t need me to remind you. But you’ve been doing your best to make certain that I sure as hell never forget!”

She stomped back off towards the bedroom, leaving him alone with the uncooperative key ring and his box of belongings. Even the cat had had enough sense to abandon the room. Bloody hell, did she just accuse him of feeling sorry for himself?

Tossing the keys in frustration onto the cushion next to him, he struggled to reach for his crutches and get up from the sofa. What he had ignorantly hoped would be a simple and mature parting of the ways had turned into something else entirely, and he was now determined to have the last word. Once standing, he maneuvered his way across the room and down the hallway, stopping just inside the doorway where he found Jessie sitting on the edge of her bed and holding the rosewood box he had made for her. He felt something grip tightly at his heart as he watched her, but he fought to ignore it. The harsh words he spoke next surprised even him.

“I just want you to know that I don’t need you or any other woman coming into my life and acting like she’s my bloody mother. I don’t need your sympathy or your accusations, and I got along fine before you came along and I’ll be just fine after.”

For a moment he was certain that she was going to throw the rosewood box at him; the look she gave him was full of hurt and anger and then it was if all the fight seemed to just suddenly leave her. He watched as she stood up and very gently placed the box back on top of her dresser and when she turned to look at him, her eyes were full of tears.

“You’re right. You don’t need me to do all those things. And I guess I don’t need you either.”

She pushed past him and as he stood aside he heard her say ever so softly, “The baby and I will get along just fine without you.”

She left him standing there in the doorway, heading back into the now darkening living room to stare blankly out the sliding glass door. The street lights were just starting to turn on outside and her reflection started back at her, displaying her grief in silver transparency. She felt the bubble of despair rising up from her gut and she couldn’t stop her gasp for breath as a loud sob escaped her chest. Oh Lachlan, oh my God, Lachlan …   

She brought her hand to her mouth for fear that she had spoken the words out loud, but then again, did it really matter at this point? Shutting her eyes tightly, she held her breath as a great wave of fear coursed through her and her shoulders began to shake as she fought not to make another sound.

Back down the hall, Lachlan was still standing in the bedroom doorway, staring absently at the dresser and the rosewood box. Jessie’s words kept playing over and over in his mind like a jumbled repeating loop …The baby and I will be just fine without you …the baby and I will be fine without you … the baby and I …the baby and I …the baby!

In the few seconds that it took for him to realize that he hadn’t imagined any of what she had said, he knew that his world was once again about to change forever. Leaning forward on his crutches, he clumped back into the living room where he found Jessie standing with her back to him. He could hear her sniffling and knew that whatever he was about to say next had better be fucking good.

“Jess?”

She didn’t answer, but that only meant that he’d have to move in closer. He leaned his crutches against the sofa and gingerly made his way over directly behind her. He teetered a moment but fought to keep his balance. She didn’t turn around, but she didn’t try to move away either.

“Sweetheart …”

The sound of him speaking that one little endearment was all it took for the pressure in Jessie’s chest to break free. She made a sound that was a cross between a gasp for breath and a cry of pain, and Lachlan spun her around and pulled her into his arms. Without his crutches he felt as if he was about to fall, but Jessie clung to him and helped hold him steady.

“Oh Lachlan …” 

Suddenly, nothing else mattered but that moment in time. “It’s okay, sweetheart; it’s okay. I’m sorry. Please believe me … dear God, I didn’t know.”

Jessie cried even harder as she digested his words. “I didn’t want to burden you any of this. I was afraid that you’d only get angry.”

Angry! Had he been such an ogre that he’d driven her to actually believe that he’d be less than thrilled to become a father? Yes, he had.  “Jess, are you sure … about being pregnant?”

She nodded her head and sniffled loudly, the great searing pain in her heart easing up as she recognized what was happening; the man she knew and loved was making his way back to her. “I’ve known for just under a month.”

Again, a huge wave of well deserved guilt hit him between the eyes and kicked him squarely in the ass. Of course she was afraid to tell him. They’d only been dating a few short months, and then the accident and all that came afterwards. “Would it make you feel better if I let you kick me for being such a bastard? Just be careful with the knee …”

Actually, he would have let her kick him in the knee if it would help make things better between them, but he wasn’t about to admit to that. “Jess, look at me. Please.” He tried to push her away just a little bit so he could look into her eyes and kiss her, but she only wrapped her arms around him tighter. Responding in kind, he tucked her forehead beneath his chin and shifted his weight back onto his good leg and tightened his hold around her smaller frame. He mentally gave himself a yet another kick in the head for being so dammed stubborn.

“I love you. You know that, don’t you?”

Another loud sniff as she hugged him tighter. The fabric of his shirt was scratchy and wet against her skin, but she didn’t mind; she could feel the beating of his heart against her cheek. “I love you, too. So much”

The wall of guilt was replaced with a cleansing wave of relief. Thank God, she still loved him. “How do you feel? Are you okay? Have you had any morning sickness or anything like that?”

“Not too bad. Not yet, anyway.”

He smiled as he felt her begin to relax, loosening her hold around his waist and melting gently into his embrace. He asked her again. “Please look at me.”

The room was now dark but as she did as he asked, the realization of how his behavior had been affecting her bore down on his shoulders and stabbed deep into his heart.

“Forgive me.” A moment as long as a lifetime passed between them as he waited for her answer.

“Oh Lach.” How could she not forgive him? “I forgive you … I love you.”  

He silently thanked God and held her tight, bringing his lips down upon hers, hungry for her taste and touch.

It was as if everything had suddenly been all sorted out in those few intense moments and once again began to make perfect sense. While he’d been wallowing in his despair over what he had lost, there was something wonderful being given to him in return. He’d been stubborn and foolish and so full of his own anguish that he never stopped to consider the effect it had all been having on the woman who had stood beside him when he had asked to believe his incredible tale. And she had believed. And she didn’t run away.

They held each other a little longer, until Lachlan’s knee began to throb. “Baby, I really need to sit down.”

He had never called her by that particular endearment before, but it sounded so natural when accompanied by his soft soothing growl. He held onto her as he maneuvered back over towards the sofa, pulling her down to straddle his lap as he fell back onto the cushions and throw pillows.

“I’m gonna end up hurting you.” She tried to move over and sit beside him but his hands grabbed onto her hips and held her fast.

“You’re fine just like this.” He worked his fingertips up beneath the hem of her blouse, smiling when she didn’t try to stop him. She leaned in and kissed him again, her lips sucking and pulling on his bottom lip, smiling in pleasure as a low groan growled deep in his throat. They both needed this moment of reconnection, but as much as Lachlan wanted Jessie naked in his arms with his cock deep inside her, he really needed to know more about the baby.

His child.

Their child.

“When did you … I mean, did we … when did it happen?” They’d been careful about birth control, but there was that one time …

“Right before the accident.” Jessie remembered the incident very clearly. “That morning in the kitchen … remember how you …?”

Oh yeah. How could he forget? She had been wearing nothing but a too small towel after heading out of the shower and was setting up the coffee pot; the sight of her perfectly shaped bum peeking out from beneath the fabric, combined with the realization that the height of the kitchen counter was just right…and they hadn’t used any protection.

“Well, I couldn’t really help myself, with your bum staring me in the face and all.” His hands slipped further up the front of her blouse, enjoying the warmth of her smooth skin against his palms. He smiled when he discovered that there was no barrier of a bra to keep his hands from going where they wanted to go. “Marry me.”

“Babe, you don’t need to feel obligated … at least not right away. I don’t want you to jump into something you’re not ready for.”

But Lachlan was certain. It all made such perfect sense. An idea began to take form in the back of his mind, pulling from a long ago memory and at that moment it didn’t matter if it had ever really happened or not. He was being handed what he so desperately wanted and he wasn’t going to let it almost slip away again. His life and his future were right here in front of him.

“Marry me. I know I can make it all right for us.”

Jessie laughed. A sweet, melodious sounding kind of laugh that chased away all the pain and despair of the past few weeks. It’s funny how love can do that sometimes. “Yes, Lachlan Curry. I’ll definitely marry you.”

With a surprising amount of speed and dexterity Lachlan pulled Jessie’s blouse up over her head, tossing it somewhere over his left shoulder as his mouth came into contact with a soft puckering nipple. He sucked and rolled his tongue over the sweetly delicate flesh, stirred on by Jessie’s soft sighs of pleasure.

He had her at an advantage; it was easy to pull away at her clothes; once he had her out of her slacks, Jessie went to work with puling off his shirt, trailing her tongue down along his chest and scooting back off of him to unfasten his jeans. His cock was already hard and weeping, but the brace on his knee prevented him full freedom of movement. With Jessie’s help, he kicked off his shoes and shimmied his good leg out of his jeans, then pulled her back on top of him. Her long lean legs were smooth and warm as they straddled his hips once again. Smiling tenderly as she reached between them to guide his cock into her slick warm folds, she gave a soft cry of pleasure as he arched his hips to fill her deeper, his hands guiding her hips to just the right rhythm, his mouth hungry and wanting upon her breasts. He watched her expression, illuminated by the soft glow of moonlight, her eyes full of love and longing as he moved inside her. The scent of their lovemaking was thick in his nostrils as he felt the approaching pull of his release. He tried to hold back, but just then Jessie cried out his name.

“Oh Lachlan … so goooood …” He felt her tightening around him, her breath labored as she threw hear head back and gave in to her own pleasure. Her eyes shot open, wide and unseeing as Lachlan held her safe, his body responding as she quivered in his arms. His release followed right after, his hips bucking hard against her as his orgasm sent a shock wave through his system.

“Shiiiiit …” A cry that was hardly romantic, but effective nonetheless. Neither one of them moved right away, both longing to hold on to the moment of transcendence before it slipped away. However, Lachlan’s bladder won out.

He shifted beneath Jessie uncomfortably. “I gotta take a piss.”

Groaning at the intrusion of necessary bodily functions, Jessie slipped off of him and went to gather her clothes as Lachlan lumbered rather ungracefully towards the bathroom, holding the free leg of his half shed jeans in one hand while he braced his weight against the wall with the other. Jessie tried not to laugh, but Lachlan only ended up chuckling with her. It was a nice moment, a bit of awkward comedy after all the emotions being tossed around earlier.

Later into the early hours of the morning, Jessie awoke in her bed to find Lachlan missing. His clothes were still piled on the floor next to the mattress so she knew he couldn’t have gone very far. Sliding across the sheets she grabbed her robe that she kept on a hook behind the door and slipped into it as she made her way down the hall in search of him. A soft glow of light from the living room told her that Lachlan was most likely on the computer and she smiled when she found him sitting at the desk wearing only a towel around his waist and one of her heavy knit socks on his uninjured foot. His hand reached up to take hers as she came closer.

“Whatcha doing?” She glanced at the computer screen; why was he searching the net for real estate at three in the morning?

He glanced back at her and grinned. “Would you mind raising our family back in Stowe? There’s a couple of older houses coming up on the market and this one has four bedrooms.”

Stowe or Timbuktu, she didn’t care. As long as the Lachlan she knew and loved was there beside her.

“Stowe sounds lovely. Can we afford it?”

He gave her a knowing smirk. “Oh yeah, we can afford it.”

She didn’t press further, but she was concerned about how he was feeling about tomorrow. “Are you going to be okay when you report back in with your squadron?”

He nodded his head. “I think so. I was really disappointed at first when this all happened, but it’s not like I don’t have any other options open to me. I just wasn’t thinking straight. I am sorry for putting you through all of that.” He still felt the sting of shame over his behavior, but he realized that he had learned a valuable lesson. And Jessie was still in love with him.

“I’ll get even with you when I go into labor, so don’t sweat too much over it. Your time is so gonna come.”

“Better watch it, or I’ll sign the birth certificate when you’re not looking and name the baby Cleophus or Harriet or something else like that.”

Jessie giggled. “You wouldn’t dare.”

His smile reassured her that he was indeed kidding.