I sighed as I stared across the table at the gorgeous man sitting opposite me. He was wearing a pair of faded ragged blue jeans and a navy blue polo shirt, a Corona beer baseball cap sitting crookedly atop his head and one flip-flopped foot resting awkwardly on the seat of the chair beside him. His facial hair had grown scruffy and his eyes looked amazing serene and peaceful, lacking all of the stage makeup he constantly wore during his touring days. He looked natural and beautiful to me, just sitting there at our kitchen table, reading the morning paper and sharing bits of his french toast with Lucifer, the cat.

Oh that cat... I hated that cat, Aj's cat. And in all fairness, so you don't think I'm just an animal hater, the cat hated me too. But the love between Lucifer and Aj surpassed the love of any animal and owner I'd ever seen before. I thought back on the beginnings of our relationship, back before the furry creature had been banned from our bedroom, to the nights when I'd wake up to find that damned cat just sitting on the bed beside me. Just sitting and staring... and oh if looks could kill that cat would have killed me a million times for taking his place in Aj's bed.

I laughed thinking back on the fateful morning I'd been abruptly woken up to the sounds of Lucifer wretching up a hairball right in the middle of Aj's back. Of course Aj had woken up as well... but he was too late and the results had not been pretty. Let's just say I was glad I didn't end up having to set my foot down about not having a cat sleeping in the middle of our bed. That was the very last night Lucifer was allowed anywhere near a sleeping Aj.

"What are you giggling about over there in lala land, crazy lady?" I heard Aj ask as I was pulled back to reality and realized I was indeed giggling to myself.

"Nothin'.

I couldn't stop giggling though and I knew I would have to get control quick because pregnant women with babies on their bladders and giggle fits did not mix... no siree. I stood and walked over to the fridge in the hopes of taking my mind off the cat and my husband. I grabbed the orange juice from the top shelf and turned just in time to run smack dab into Aj who was now standing at the counter behind me, leaning there in his sexiest manner with a smirk on his face. Dammit. Why did my husband have to be so sexy even when he wasn't trying? And why did my pregnancy hormones have to be all haywire? I could go from emotional to sweaty to horny to crazy all in the span of about 5 minutes.

"What?" I moaned, pushing him out of the way as I reached for the cabinet to grab a glass for the juice I really didn't want. I had, afterall, just gone to the fridge to stop my giggling. Now I had no real need for juice. It didn't matter anyway, Aj reached the cabinet first and grabbed the glass for me, taking the juice from my hands and unscrewing the lid as he gave me a concerned glance.

"You really should be relaxing on your days off you know?" He nagged as poured the juice into a glass and took my hand, leading me through the kitchen and out into the living room where he directed me to sit down on the couch. I rolled my eyes. I had been sitting at the table in the kitchen for cripe's sake, real strenuous work there. And seriously, if he didn't stop ordering me around I was going to have to shoot him. Or maybe I would just hurt him, you know, render him incapable of nagging me. He was constantly making me 'rest' or forcing me to sit around the house and do nothing, watching me like a ticking time bomb as if letting me lift a finger would make me go into labor early. It was getting rather annoying.

I shot him a dirty look as I sipped the glass of unwanted OJ. He nestled in beside me on the couch and kissed my cheek, rubbing my stomach gently with his hands as baby tad kicked furiously from inside me. I couldn't help but smile. He may be nagging the hell out of me, but at least he was enjoying this father-to-be thing. I could have the kind of husband who didn't get into the pregnancy at all.

"Hey babe?" He asked, pulling me from my thoughts again, his hand still circling gently around my popped belly button.

"Yeah Aje?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"You just did."

He laughed and rolled his eyes, "Smartass."

I nodded and waited for the real question which he seemed to be having trouble asking. His face contorted in a thoughtful expression as he removed his hat and ran his fingers through his messy hair.

"What is it Aj?" I asked, growing a little concerned. Aj and I very rarely had trouble talking about anything. True we may argue about things, but we argued and we talked... we never just kept things to ourselves. I'd always believed our ability to talk about things or argue them out was the only reason we'd ever worked.

I watched as he ran his fingers through his hair once again, "Do you... have you thought about what's going to happen when the baby's born?" He finally asked, nervousness evident in his voice. I sighed, amazed that this question had actually waited this long. I'd thought about it a lot, considered the options, what I would do, would I work or quit or take leave or would I change my lifestyle completely? It was a lot to think about but I'd considered all of my options carefully and had planned to eventually discuss it with Aj if the topic came up... like now...

"Yeah Aje... I have thought about it, a lot actually," I answered, watching as he took his hand carefully from my stomach and placed it in his lap, rubbing his hands together as if I were about to drop a bomb right in the middle of his very existence. "I think it would be best if I leave my job, at least for a good while and stay home with the baby."

I could sense his relief as he moved closer and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. I could tell he'd anticipated our relationship-long argument... the one where I didn't have to work but I wanted to and we argued on and on until finally I won. But this time it didn't happen and I think it shocked him just a bit.

"Are you sure?" he asked as he pulled me close and rubbed my tummy once more, "I mean, I don't want you to do anything you don't want to do..." and even though he meant it to be sincere I knew it wasn't. But it didn't matter because I'd made up my mind. Matthew was the last long-term patient I'd been caring for. It was a good time for me to leave... leaving without feeling like I was leaving behind incredibly important people.

I nodded, "I'm sure."

He hugged me again and I curled into his chest. I was looking forward to the time off work, the time spent with my husband and my child and the Backstreet family... but I couldn't lie and say that I wouldn't miss what I was leaving behind. My job meant the world to me... and my co-workers, but my family meant a whole lot more and seeing the smile on Aj's face as he sat there beside me and felt gently for the kicks of our unborn child... well that made it all so incredibly worth it.