Art flows through: And my heart's right, thine inward love of heart.

I'm pregnant. I can hardly believe it. I love it.

Jared is being the sweetest thing too. He cooks and cleans as much as he can when he's home. Unfortunately for both of us, a policeman is expected to be on the job for pretty long hours though.

There is one other person who should know about this. Not that I'm looking forward to this conversation much.

"Mom?" That was as much as she let me say. From then, there was a tirade on how little time she had and why did I have to bother her.

"Seriously? Mom, can't you listen to me?"

"Mother! Listen! I'm pregnant, you're going to be a grandma soon." Well, that stopped the flow of how horrible it was that I interrupted her day. Now it was all about how she wasn't old enough to be a grandmother and how would her husband take the news.

"I fail to care what your Travis will think. He's met me, he knows that you have a married daughter."

"Fine! I just thought you should know."

How did Daddy put up with her as long as he did? Come to think of it, why does Travis?

The phone call put me in a gloomy mood. Then to make it worse, things in the house decided to break down. Of course, everything breaks when Jared is at work.

First it was the blasted sink. We've fixed this stupid thing every couple weeks since we've moved in.

Then the washer decided it was the perfect time to break.

It flooded the kitchen and nearly mangled most our clothes. I managed to keep it from eating our really good things.

Finally, Jared came home. I stumbled into his arms as soon as he'd shut the door.

"Sweetheart, I've had the worst day," I had been crying off and on since the washer broke and my voice was still shaky.

He pulled me close and his warm body was so comforting. "It's all right. Would you like me to cook dinner?"

I nodded, not trusting my voice.

He smiled and gave me a hug. "I'll be back in a second. I need to get more comfortable." The smirk that went with that comment made me raise an eyebrow.

When he returned, he only had on his underwear.

"Jared? What?" I was a bit surprised.

"Hey, I'm offering food and a show. You going to refuse?"

I had to smile, "Well, Handsome, when you put it that way, I would certainly never refuse."

There was something very soothing about watching my nearly naked chef. He's definitely well built, and he works out a lot as part of his job. It was nearly a perfect view of that delicious body. That thought gave me an idea. "Hey, Jared."

"I'm working here," he replied in a soft but slightly warning tone.

"If I get curtains around the house, can I have a completely naked chef?"

He chuckled softly. "Maybe, Cat, maybe. Feeling better yet?"

"If the dinner is half as good as the show, my day will be infinitely better."

Dinner was great, mine was gone almost before Jared had even reached the table with his.

"Are you still reading that pregnancy book?" he asked when he looked up from his meal.

"Yes, I am."

"But don't you have it nearly memorised?" he teased.

"I know, I know. But I want to be the best mom I can be."

"You will be. I know it."

"Well, my mother..."

"Cat," Jared cut me off. "I haven't really asked about your mother or what happened. But whatever she did, you aren't her. Do you want to talk about it?"

I shook my head. "Not really. Not tonight." I thought back to that horrible phone call. "She can be such a bitch though."

"Cat, maybe you need something more to distract you?"

I tilted my head to look at him. "Do you have anything in particular in mind?"

"Well, I know this big lovely bed. I think that some serious cuddle time is required."

He was giving me one of his smouldering looks and my heart melted. I was the luckiest woman alive to have him. "How do you always know what to offer?"

"I just have a gift, I suppose," he replied. We went upstairs and my worst day became a perfectly lovely one.

After that, I decided to spend less time at home. I have a lot of musical instruments that I want to master and they are mostly pretty portable. Another advantage to being in the park meant I didn't know if the appliances at home decided to break.

I found that playing instruments either with others, like Merlot,

or by myself was both a welcome distraction and a way to make a little extra cash.

Unfortunately, 'little' was the key word. I'd maybe make $20 on a good day. By the time you factor in lunch and fuel, it was just a couple of extra dollars for the family income.

I really should always invite Daddy to join in. He is fantastic on the bass, people always stop to give him tips.

Merlot did show up fairly often when I was jamming in the park. When he wasn't playing guitar, he frequently chatted up women. But always married ones, like Emerald Kane.

"Merlot, you know that I'm your friend, right?"

He nodded.

"You really need to stop this thing you've got for married women."

He laughed, "a little harmless flirting?"

I sighed. "Someday someone might take it too seriously. The woman you flirt with or the husband that finds out. Someone will get hurt and I don't want it to be you."

"I don't see any problem. I know they aren't available, they should know I'm not serious." He shrugged.

"I hope you are right."

Why is it that life is seldom simple?

My contractions start in a serious way and that's when someone wants to ring me? How awful is that timing?

Well, I wasn't about to answer the phone now, they'd have to ring back.

Jared wasn't being very helpful either.

"Baby? Baby! The baby is coming?"

"Yes, dear, the baby is coming. We better go."

"Go? Go where?"

"The hospital, silly man. Unless you want to preside over a home birth?"

He practically flew to the door. "Right this way, the hospital it is."

I let Jared drive and he sped down the streets. I would have been worried about getting a ticket if I'd been driving like that. But being a cop, even off duty has its privileges.

It was actually very quiet and quite beautiful. The moon was full and cast an eery glow all over town.

Some hours after we arrived at the hospital, Jackson Grant was born.

We were lucky and everything went very well. Before I knew what was happening, we were sent home.

"Night, night, my son. You sleep tight."

I know that's actually pretty unlikely. If there's one thing that everyone agrees on, it's that babies don't sleep as much as you'd hope.

Jared was practically dancing. "Oh, Cat. You're so gorgeous. And we have a son."

"I know Jared. Remember, I was there at the time."

"This has made me so happy though. My gorgeous family."

"Do you think we should head for the bed, my lovely wife?"

"Yes, Jared. It's been a very long day. I think I need a lot of sleep."

A flash of disappointment crossed his face, I believe Jared was hoping for a bit more than just sleep. Still, he nodded and we headed for bed.

"Jared?"

"Yes, Cat?"

"Do you hear the baby?"

A moment passed and there was a loud howl of protest from small lungs. With a heavy sigh, Jared got up to look after the baby.

The next time the little one complained, I got up to see to him.

He's such a lovely boy. I think he takes after Jared.

But he does have a very good set of lungs.

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Bonus pics