"I think this is the one, Vi," Matt tells me as soon as he steps into the beach condo. I frown, looking around. There are stairs that curve up to the second floor. The beach condo has a large, open floor plan on the bottom level, but the upstairs is more of what I'm worried about.

"I don't know, Matt... We just walked in, let's look around, 'kay?" I say, walking up to his side and taking his hand in mine. My lovely husband grins down at me before nodding and kissing my temple. The Realtor behind us does a quick explanation of the house.

"Close to two-thousand square feet, with two bedrooms and two and a half baths. The beach is barely a block away and they're only asking for three-hundred thousand." The number of bedrooms is what makes me cringe more than the price of the house. The woman's phone goes off all of a sudden, and she excuses herself out of the condo to answer the call.

Matt tugs at my hand and we take a quick look around the bottom floor. The kitchen and main living space are connected by nothing more than the subtle flow of tile onto wood floors. The appliances are new and fully furnished. Matt almost has a field day when he sees the garage and all the space he has to put his bike and cars.

"I'm telling you, Vi, this is the place," he tells me yet again, kissing my hair as we slowly make it up the staircase to the second floor. The second floor is much smaller, only holding one bathroom and the two bed rooms. The Master bedroom and bath is bigger than the last place's, and where we live now, but I was more worried about the second bedroom. It looked like it could be more of an office, than a bed room.

"See? There's plenty of room downstairs, and then there's our room and the office. We don't need anything else." Matt walks into the second bedroom and looks around. I can already see him mapping out where he will put his desk and the gaming systems. My fingers fiddle with the others as I slowly look around.

"I don't know, Matty. Don't you think something bigger would be better? That way we have time to grow into things. What if my family decides to stay for the holidays? Or I need my own office if the bakery doesn't do so well or if I have to start working from home, or what if-"

As I ramble off with my vague intentions of wanting an extra room in the house that we decide on, Matt comes up behind me and wraps his arm around my hips, lifting me off the floor. I squeal in surprise, grabbing onto his tattooed forearms as he picks me up and laughs against my back. After a few moments I laugh in return and demand him to put me back down.

His laughter fills the air, and the contraction of the muscles on his chest stop moving against my back, and my feet are put to the ground. However, not that I'm really complaining, Matt presses his nose into my hair and take a deep breath. His nose then moves down to my ear, my neck and then my shoulder. There, he stoops down a bit to rest his chin on my shoulder and slowly rock us back and forth like he had on the slow dance at our wedding.

"You're always so adorable when you ramble," he tells me and I can hear the grin in his words. I roll my eyes and shake my head before gently pushing through his arms and stepping from his warmth.

"I'm just thinking of the 'what ifs'. You never know what's going to happen, and it's better to be-"

"Prepared for something that doesn't happen than unprepared when it does," he finishes, quoting the rest of what my mother would always tell me. I give him a playful glare before the look on his face sends me into a fit of giggles and I can't help but kiss the pitiful pout away.

"Love you," he mumbles to me as he begins to rock us again, and I can't help the silly grin that graces my lips.

"Love you too, Matty," I tell him before pecking his lips and then each of the dimples that press into his cheeks as he grins.

"So, can we get the condo?" he says, and my whole body starts to laugh.

"I knew there was something going on in that head of yours!" I giggle out to him. His grin upturns just a bit more and suddenly, I'm pressed against the wall gently, his hips pinning mine down.

"Yeah. Us christening every room," he growls out into my ear, and my legs shake just like they do every time he speaks of the unmentionable things he wants to do to me.

"Just one more house," I barely get out, my breath hitching when I feel his hand slide up the bottom on my dress and teasing the back of my knee and thigh. "Matt," I whine softly, pressing my hands against his chest to push him off. I can't see straight.

His playful pout turns into a frown, but he backs off nonetheless and lets me regain my barrings. "You okay, Vi?" he asks, just as I feel my face turn a violent shade of green and my stomach churns into intangible knots. I shake my head and quickly cover my mouth. Running from the room, I quickly find the nearest bathroom and proceed to kneel over the toilet bowl, ridding my body of the nice lunch Matt and I had eaten just before starting our search for a new home. Matt, like the loving, loyal husband that he is, kneels down beside me and holds back my long brunette hair.

"Vi, you okay?" he asks once I've finished the last of what dares come back up. Weakly, I nod and reach up to flush away the sickness. "You sure?" I nod again, and covering my mouth to hold back the stench of vomit-breath, I say:

"Yeah. I think it was that shrimp I ate. It didn't taste fully cooked." Matt frowns, not taking the obvious lie.

"No, it has to be something else. When you get food sick, it usually takes a good twelve hours for the food to actually be rejected from your body." I look up at him in amazement. It's like he knows me better than I know myself.

I try to hide the frenzy of nerves that start to act up and wave it off, continuing to blame my sickness on the food I had eaten.

"How about we just finish this another day and head home, okay? I don't want you getting sick again."

I shake my head, intent on getting to the last house. "No, I can handle one more house. An hour won't hurt."

"Violet, I'm serious. Let's just go home and just rest. I'm sure Marissa can reschedule for another day."

I look up at him with narrowed eyes. I'm headstrong about certain things, and I have to get him to that house today.

"I'm fine, Matthew. I can last another thirty minutes away from the couch and television. Let's just go look around and then we can talk over all the houses tonight. How about that?"

He purses his lips, not happy with me about refusing to go home and rest, but sighs and gives in. Hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn.

"Fine. Thirty minutes, tops. Then home and to bed with you," he says, trying to turn my hard look into a smile, and I can't help the grin that pulls at my lips.

"Good boy," I tell him, pecking his lips, before taking his right hand tight in mine and walking down the stairs. Marissa, the realtor, waits for us at the door, smiling at us with hopes that I had talked Matt into seeing the last house.

"So, how was it?"

"Perfect,"

"Too small,"

Matt and I say at the same time, and Marissa's hopeful smile falls slightly. The house is the woman's choice, not the man's. Beside, he'll be on tour half the time we live in it, so why should he care if there's an extra room? I mentally smile to myself and play with the belt wrapped around my waist.

"So, to the next house then?" Marissa says, leading us back to her car. Both of us nod.

"Yeah, but not for long. Violet isn't feeling well," Matt tells Marissa, and the woman sends me a knowing look. She's the one that helped me set up the small surprise for Matt at the last house.

"Oh dear, well, we'll make it a quick trip. I'll tell you about the place on the way over there. It's barely a five minute drive down the road."

We pile into the SUV, Matt and I in the back seat, while Marissa drives, telling us about the house. I've already picked it as the one I want, but continue to play along for Matt.

"It's four bedrooms, three bath, with a full kitchen, game room, and living space. Your wife was telling me that due to your job, Mr. Sanders, that you have a habit to do some studio work at home, and there is a basement that should be big enough for that purpose. The walls aren't soundproof, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem."

I giggle, and Matt looks over at me with another one of his grins, his dimples poking into his cheeks. His hand brings mine up to his lips, and he softly kisses my knuckles one by one, before on the two rings that rest on my ring-finger. My thumb rubs soft circles into the side of his wrist. Jimmy's deathbat smiles down on us.

"And here we are! You two go on in and have a quick look. I have to make a real quick call to the office." Marissa tells us, pulling out her phone to dial the number she needs. As Matt gets out of the vehicle, Marissa sends me a mouthed 'good luck' before pressing the phone to her ear. I subtly show Matt around the house, starting with the large living space that could be turned into anything. Then the game room and kitchen, before letting him walk down the stairs to the large basement.

By the grin on his lips at the already spacious, yet homey feeling house, I can tell I've pretty much won him over with it.

"What do you think, babe?" I ask, clutching his hand in mine as we slowly walk up the stairs. Matt starts to say what he likes about the house - the space, the feel of the place, the basement that's perfect for an inhome studio and office.

The upstairs get him grinning even more. There's a large Master bed and bath, which is something I look very forward to using. There are two rooms that could be turned into anything, but the last room was left last for a reason. It's right across from what would be our bedroom, and the door is left closed tight. Matt frowns at this. I let go of his hand as he walks into the room, and my heart swells as he looks around.

The walls are painted a soft blue, something I had Marissa set up. As I said, I had already picked this house as the one and put down a small deposit until I could convince Matt into it.

The room is bare except from the blue paint and a small black and white picture pinned to the wall across the room from the door. I bite my lip as I watch him walk up to the picture. I'm standing a few feet inside the door. My arms are crossed tight over my chest, and I can feel my heart hammering harder and harder with each step Matt takes. Matt stops just a foot away from the picture and I can see him staring at it hard and long. Then, as I take in a deep breath and hold it, Matt unpins it from the wall and turns to me.

I know he's seen the name Violet Lynn Sanders printed in the top corner of the small three inches by four inches piece of paper. In the other corner, along with a small dotted circle helping to show evidence of it, is the word boy.

Slowly, Matt's bright hazel eyes rise from the piece of flimsy picture and to me. I smile nervously and before he can ask I nod. Matt looks back to the picture. Then, before my eyes, I watch as my strong, loving husband falls to his knees and begins to cry. My heart breaks, and I rush over to him, kneeling in front of him.

"Matt, baby? Matty, what's wrong? Are you okay?" I ask hurried, trying to lift his head from his chest, wiping away the hot tears that fall down his cheeks. The last time I saw him like this was during the mourning period of Jimmy's death, and while that period was still going on, it had eased down to just the occasional nightmare and the hour-long depression of watching old home-made videos.

"I've never been happier," he whispers to me hoarsely, his arms wrapping tight around my waist as he presses his ear to my stomach. My breath catches as I hear him whispering to what rests inside me. My arms circle around his head as I let him lay there, my fingers slowly going over the short cropped hair on his head.

"Hey, little guy," he says softly, choking slightly. My heart clenches and I can feel my own tears threatening. "It's your dad. Mommy's been keeping you a secret from me, hasn't she? But I love her anyways."

Then, Matt presses soft kisses to my stomach, and then sits up to give me a long, loving, passionate kiss on the lips. My hands hold the sides of his head, keeping his lips to mine. His arms circle around my waist, and he pulls me into my lap. We sit there for well over thirty minutes, Matt cradling me in his arms like I'm a piece of prized porcelain and there's a bull in the shop.

"When are you due?" he asks after a while of silence. My arms are tucked around his waist, holding him against me while he rocks us back and forth, sending me into a slight doze.

"Beginning of July," I mumble, curling up closer to his warm chest.

"July," he mumbles into my hair, his rocking slowing slightly. "I'm gonna be a dad in July." And then, unwrapping one of his arms from around me, Matt digs in his pocket and presses the first speed dial number he can get to.

"Hey, Bry, guess what?" Matt says after a few seconds. He chuckles after Brian says something, and I smile at the chuckle. "No, better than that."

"What's better than strippers and beer?" I hear a familiar voice say, which causes both of us to laugh.

"Vi's pregnant," Matt says, and I can hear the congratulations Brian shouts over the phone. Then, one by one, everyone in the family knows. Marissa had come to check up on us in the middle of Matt calling his parents, but I gave her a quiet thumbs up, that the deal on the house was settled, and she smiled, giving the notion back.

'I'll be in the car,' she mouths to me, and I nod. Marissa leaves us. We sit in a beautiful silence, holding each other, settled down into our peaceful lives.

"We gotta go tell Jimmy," Matt says, shifting me in his lap so we could stand. I push him back down and laugh, shaking my head.

"I've already told him. He was the first to know."

"Lucky little fucker," Matt jokes before wrapping his arms back around my waist, tight enough to feel the thickening skin on my belly, but not too tight.

"July," Matt mumbles again, and I can see him slowly counting down the days to the unknown due date. "July," he says one last time before kissing me, and only because I love the lucky son of a gun, I kiss him back.

Seems we finally agreed on the perfect house.