A/N: Just a little note of explanation. I realize that Aaron has been behaving in a somewhat jealous/possessive/slightly controlling manner. For one thing, he has openly admitted to that flaw in several chapters. I know it can be frustrating (for Julie, too!) but you kind of have to try to put yourself in his shoes. No, it doesn’t seem like Julie is going to go running, back to Matt, and yes, it seems like everything is going very well between them—but as he said in the last chapter, it was exactly the same way with Shannon. It was one of those situations where nothing was wrong, there was no gradual demise of the relationship, no signs of warning that his ‘perfect’ relationship had any weaknesses, and then suddenly it was all over, he was crushed, and she was having his brother’s kid. (Well, she didn’t, but she was pregnant.) With Julie’s situation paralleling that of Shannon’s, Aaron is bound to be a little paranoid. A lot of girls can’t handle that, but that’s why Aaron was single when Julie came along. :)

Personally, I wish I could find an Aaron; I’d take him, possessiveness and all. :)

That said, thank you ALL for your feedback!! I love you all! You inspire me!

The next couple of months went by pretty smoothly.

Since Aaron threatened Matt, there had not been another flower delivery. In fact, Julie found herself hearing from Matt only once in awhile, which may or may not have been because of her chilly attitude every time she was forced to converse with him.

At work, Julie and Aaron both faced new hours, as Leigh had finally pulled Aaron aside one day and told him that she needed to not work with him or Julie for awhile, and if that meant she needed to quit, she fully understood. Of course Aaron didn’t let her quit, so instead they rearranged the schedule so that Leigh never had to lay eyes on either one of them for more than a couple seconds—and when he could help it, he made sure he was the one that she had to see, not Julie.

Julie’s hours were cut quite a lot in working around Leigh, so come February when Flavor finally opened its doors to the public, Aaron gave Julie the position as the regular Monday and Saturday night hostess. Leigh was then able to work both of those evenings while Aaron took the morning shift before running to Flavor in the evening.

With such long work hours, the apartment hunt seemed to be put on the back burner, which suited Julie just fine.

Aaron’s family didn’t take as much interest as Julie had first expected them to. Considering everyone thought Aaron incapable of having children, she might have thought the news of his upcoming fatherhood would have prompted more excitement, but she found beyond a congratulations message left on the machine by his sister and the first phone call from his mother, no one seemed to care.

She shouldn’t have been so surprised, she realized as she thought back over the wedding trip. Clearly the whole family favored Matt, so why should they care that Aaron was reproducing?

Julie quickly decided that she didn’t like Aaron’s family at all, and she was glad that he didn’t seem to have much to do with them.

It was the end of March when the appointment that Julie had long been awaiting finally arrived—the appointment when they would get to find out the sex of the baby.

Aaron was so excited in the days leading up to the doctor’s appointment, and the night before as she snuggled next to him and tried to go to sleep, he was the one that wanted to keep talking—asking questions about baby names and would she really rather a girl or a boy. He couldn’t decide which one he wanted— he explained as she glanced over at the digital clock reading 1:38 a. m.—because there were good points and bad points for both. If it was a girl, she would probably be a daddy’s girl, which would be good, but he would eventually want to shoot every teenage boy within a ten mile radius, which would be bad. If it was a boy he could do the little league games and also carry on Aaron’s last name, but there would be all sorts of other things that might go wrong—he could get injured playing sports, he would be a more reckless driver as a teen, he could potentially take after Matt and—

Finally, just to shut him up at around 2:13, Julie started caressing him and then seducing him just to get him to shut up and go to sleep.

On that day near the end of March, Aaron’s excitement was palpable even as the nurse weighed Julie, which was really the least exciting part of the appointment.

As they walked to the room, Julie complained, “I have gained 12 pounds—do you understand how much that sucks?”

“You’re supposed to gain weight, that’s how we know the baby’s healthy. I would rather you gain 50 pounds and know the baby’s healthy than have you gain 5 pounds and have to worry that something’s wrong.”

Gasping, she said, “Bite your tongue! I better not gain 50 pounds in this pregnancy. I’ll be huge!”

“Well, I’m still pushing for those twins,” he said with a wink. “It would solve all this indecision about having a boy or a girl.”

“We have already heard the heartbeat, mister. There’s only one.”

As they waited for the doctor, Julie snatched her camera out of her purse and took a picture of Aaron sitting in the chair looking anxiously at the door as he waited for the doctor.

He scowled when he heard the snap of the camera and said, “Hey, you can’t do that.”

“I just did,” she said, sticking her tongue out at him. “When I get the chance, I want to get one of those 12 by 12 scrapbook page picture frames and a baby-themed scrapbook background, and then I’m going to make a scrapbook page from the ultrasound to hang on our wall.”

“Give me that then, we need a picture of Mom, too.”

She handed him the camera and sat there in her hospital gown, posing with her hands on her stomach and a big smile on her face.

“Do I look fat?” she asked, trying in vain to peer over at the camera. “If I look fat, take a different one.”

Rolling his eyes as he reviewed the picture, Aaron stated, “You do not look fat.”

“You can just put that back in my purse,” she said, nodding to indicate her purse on the floor.

“Speaking of hanging things on our walls, we have an appointment to go through a place on Thursday—that’s okay with you, right?”

Her eyes widened and she said, “We’re going through a place?”

“Yeah, you’re going to love it. I’ve already been through it; I think it might be the one.”

“You went through it without me?” she asked, pouting.

“Hey, you went crib shopping without me,” he accused.

“Only the preliminary round!”

“Well, it was just a preliminary look through the house. If the place was a dump, there would have been no point taking you through it, but I think the whole place looks like something you’ll love. And if we get it, you can hang your little scrapbook picture on the wall.”

“I want to take a million pictures,” she said. “We only get to do this once, I want evidence of every moment of it.”

“I agree,” he said.

“In fact… I was even thinking—and you can reject this idea, but—maybe we could get professional pictures done. I know it’s kind of corny, and I want them done when the baby is born, too, so it might be an unnecessary expense, but I would pay for it out of my own paychecks. I was thinking, you know how some couples get the pictures taken of the baby bump and the dad with his arms around the mom, hand on the belly, that kind of thing? It could be a cute idea.”

“No, I agree,” he said. “We should do that.”

Smiling, she said, “I’m so glad you’re as into this as I am. I want to do it before my bump gets enormous though, because eventually this fat is going to start spreading to my face and making me all… big and blimp-like. I would prefer to immortalize the glow before I’m the size of a mini-van.”

Before long, the doctor made his way in to ask her questions and take her measurements to make sure the baby seemed to be growing how it should be.

It seemed like it took forever for him to tell them he was going to wheel in the ultrasound machine and see if they could bring a visual up, and then he asked, “Did you guys want to know the gender or do you want it to be a surprise?”

“We definitely want to know,” Julie replied, and Aaron nodded his agreement.

“Okay, let’s see if we can find out for you,” he said with a smile, walking from the room.

When he came back, he rubbed the jelly on Julie’s abdomen and began moving it around. The baby showed up on the screen, and Julie gasped at the difference in size.

“Oh my gosh, he’s getting so big!” she said, grabbing Aaron’s hand and squeezing.

“I guess the nickname Poppy Seed isn’t very fitting anymore,” Aaron remarked, smiling at the screen.

The doctor pointed out different parts of the baby and told them about the baby’s growing, then he measured the baby and told them everything appeared to be going well.

“Well, can you see what it is?” Julie asked.

Smiling, he said, “I sure can. Sometimes they’re difficult, but I actually have a perfect view here.” Then he glanced back at them, prolonging the suspense, then he pointed to a little spot on the screen and said, “You two are having a baby girl.”

Squealing a little, Julie squeezed Aaron’s hand and said, “It’s a girl! Aaron, it’s a girl!”

Aaron was grinning from ear to ear as well as Julie bounced his hand up and down, gazing at the ultrasound machine.

“I’m so excited. I didn’t want to give my preference before, but I was hoping for a girl. Little Alyssa Jane. Oh, Aaron, are you glad it’s a girl?”

“I would’ve been happy either way,” he stated honestly.

“But are you really happy that it’s a girl?” she prompted.

Chuckling at her excitement, he said, “Yes, I’m really happy that it’s a girl. Alyssa Jane…Kingsley.”

Noticing the way he hesitated on the last name, she remembered their previous disagreement over which last name the baby should have.

Knowing Aaron’s preference, Julie made a snap decision as she looked at Aaron and then the screen.

“You know… Alyssa Jane Turner is a very good name, maybe even better than Alyssa Jane Kingsley. What do you think, Daddy?”

“You’re giving her my last name?” he asked, visibly excited by the idea.

That made up her mind, and she grinned. “Yes, I think we should give her your last name.” Glancing at the doctor and then the screen, she said good-naturedly, “Don’t you think she looks like an Alyssa Jane Turner, doctor?”

Smiling, he said, “Yes, she sure does.”

Aaron was still holding her hand as the doctor printed out some pictures, and while the doctor was occupied with the machine, Aaron lifted Julie’s hands to his lips and brushed a kiss across her knuckles.

“Thank you,” he said simply.

Hugging his hand close to her and looking at the screen, she said, “No, thank you. For everything.”

He leaned down and gave her a proper kiss on the lips then, and he straightened back up as the doctor brought the ultrasound pictures to show them.

“Here are your pictures of your baby girl,” he stated, handing them over.

Sighing, Julie said dreamily, “She’s perfect.”

“Yes, she is,” Aaron agreed.

--

After the appointment, Julie and Aaron were too excited to go straight home, and since Aaron rarely got time off between the two restaurants, they decided to take advantage and do some baby shopping after the doctor’s appointment.

After perusing the cribs and comparing colors, Julie and Aaron decided on a very pretty white crib that looked unlike any of the others they looked at, with flat wooden planks as opposed to round bars. To complement the crib, Julie also selected a white shelf to hang in the baby’s room.

“We’re going to eventually have to get a bookcase, too, for all the baby books, but we should probably buy that last and make sure we have room.”

“We’ll have room,” he said.

“Yeah, but I don’t want the baby’s area to be cluttered. I’m thinking I really like the white furniture for the baby, and I had been thinking I wanted the other color to be mainly yellow, just in case it went either way, but now that we know it’s a girl I kind of want to go with pink. It is a shame I’ll never get to have a son, because I always wanted to do Noah’s ark for a little boy, but… there’s still plenty of time, anything can happen.”

“Did you want many children?”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “One of each would have suited me fine, and I did want to have a girl first, so… but it’s fine. This is a lot sooner than I planned on having a baby in my ten-year plan anyway, so a little girl will probably be easier. At least it isn’t twin boys.”

“True,” he said. “Brothers can be a handful.”

“Yes, I know,” she said wryly as she reached out and touched a bedding set. “Hmm, this one has pink and yellow.”

“You know, we could do pink and yellow in the baby’s room, then you wouldn’t have to choose. They’re both baby colors, they could go together.”

“Honey, the baby doesn’t have a room,” she reminded him.

“But she will. If you like the one we’re going through, that one has really nice sized bedrooms. I believe the baby’s bedroom is currently a light green with white trim, but I can always go in and paint if before we move in.”

“You are really pushing this place. Is it that great?”

“I love it,” he said.

Smiling, she said, “Well, that’s all that matters. Honestly, you don’t even have to run it by me if you don’t want to. It’s your apartment.”

“It’s going to be ours.”

“Are we going to be allowed to paint? I know some landlords are really funny about that.”

Chuckling, he said, “Julie, I’m not renting. I’m going to buy it, assuming that you like it.”

Her eyes widened and she said, “Buy it? Well, I guess I hadn’t thought of that. Is it in the city or…?”

“Yeah,” he said, nodding. “It’s a great building, it has a parking garage and a courtyard with a swing set. It’s on a safe block, but still close to everything we need to be close to. I’ve done my homework on this place, I really think you’re going to like it.”

“But buying is so permanent,” she countered. “Are you sure you want to buy a whole apartment?”

“Well, I was going to just buy a bedroom and the kitchen, but then I thought, what if we have to use the bathroom?”

Shooting him a dry look, she said, “You know what I mean.”

“Does it really bother you that much?” he asked seriously.

Sighing, she said, “It’s not that it bothers me…”

He quirked an eyebrow wordlessly, causing her to sigh again.

“Okay, maybe it bothers me a little. But it’s just because… this really isn’t your burden, Aaron. I know that I’m not supposed to look at it that way, and in all other respects… I don’t, but you already do so much and I don’t feel like you should have to.”

“I thought we agreed that we were going to treat me as the baby’s father?”

“I do!”

“Yes, you do—in the good ways,” he stated. “You let me come along for the perks, Julie, but when it comes to the responsibility parts, you’re still acting like I’m not the one responsible.”

She was silent for a moment, trying to figure out how to say “Because you’re not” without proving his point.

“You can’t break it up like that, Julie,” he stated when she came up with nothing. “You can’t… try to give me the good and not the bad. It isn’t fair in any respect. For one thing, it isn’t fair to me, because every damn time you do it’s like slapping a reminder in my face.”

“Oh, but I don’t mean to do that!”

“I know you don’t, Julie. I know you mean well, but… you’re not understanding. When you won’t allow me to completely take the role—the perks and the responsibilities—you’re as good as telling me, ‘Stop trying to act like the baby’s father, because you’re not.’”

Her face fell and she felt instantly ashamed of herself. “That… is never how I wanted you to feel.”

“I know,” he said with a nod. “But that’s what you’re doing. That’s how it feels. I feel very temporary when you do that, Julie. Yes, buying a place is permanent—but so is having a baby.”

“But I do everything else,” she said, a small pout on her face. “We sleep together, we do happy baby things together… I don’t think of you as temporary.”

“But you try to protect me from the more serious sides of fatherhood. I don’t want you to. I want to be responsible for providing for you guys, I want you to yell at me when you’re in labor, and when the baby throws up on me the first time I’m trying to burp her, I don’t want you to rescue me.”

“You want me to point and laugh?” she questioned.

“Absolutely,” he said with a small smile. “I want to be the father in every way possible. And I want you to stop trying to take that from me.”

“Well, now that you’ve made me feel bad…”

“Don’t feel bad,” he said easily. “Just stop doing it.”

“I’ll try,” she promised. “But… I might have to fight the instinct a little bit. I can’t seem to help it; I do view you as my grumpy knight in shining armor, and… I guess I do try to protect you from the less than glamorous aspects. But from now on, I won’t,” she told him. “I will keep you strictly on daddy duty, and when my feet are swollen and my back hurts from carrying around this precious cargo, I am going to nag you and complain about it.”

“Good,” he said with a smile. “That’s a start.”

“And when Alyssa spits up all over you and wakes up in the middle of the night, I am going to ignore you and tell you to deal with it yourself.”

Chuckling, he said, “That’s the spirit. Now, as far as this place we’re going to look at…?”

Putting on her best nag face, she said, “You better get me a bigger place, Aaron Turner, because I didn’t come up with this baby idea on my own, and your kid is going to need a room so we have somewhere to put the crib and the bookshelf.”

Grinning, he wrapped his arm around her and said, “That’s much better.”

Smiling up at him angelically, she said, “If my being a nag makes you that happy, I will go above and beyond the call of duty to ensure that I live up to your expectations.”

"I appreciate that," he stated.

Shaking her head, she said, "You're crazy though, I feel it's only fair that I tell you that. Most men would be happy if their pregnant girlfriend was being nice to them."

"Hey, if I only treated you like half a girlfriend, you wouldn't be very happy either."

"We'll see if you still think that when you're covered in baby vomit," she stated.

A/N: Not the longest chapter I've ever posted, but I've posted some pretty long ones, so I thought I'd just post a smaller one and not make you wait as long. :)