Mia

I was never one for fairy tales. My Dad used to say I was too much of a realist. Even when I was a little girl, and mom would read to me, I was never interested in the same books as everyone else. Cinderella or sleeping beauty, they bored me. I always looked for some flaw in them, all the ways they were highly improbable. Even falling in love with Adam was not characteristically like me. I never had crushes on rock stars, I didn't swoon like other girls at my school for the newest 'it' boy on movies or tv shows. Even as it was happening, I wasn't really aware of it, I just knew that I really liked him, I felt happy when he was around.

That being said, I also wasn't the kind of girl who fantasized about her wedding day. It never really shocked me that we ended up having a baby before we would get married, it's not that I didn't see a future with us, I always did. Even after I left and we were separated, I always hoped that we'd find our way back to each other, somehow. I just never had the frilly white dress wedding day fantasy like most girls I know, but even if I had, any sort of fairy tale I would've imagined would pale in comparison to this day.

It's true what they say, it all goes by so fast. One minute I'm stepping out of the car, belly full of butterflies, ready to start, mentally willing my feet to move one foot in front of the other. The next I'm saying my vows and staring into the same eyes I fell in love with so many years ago, the same lips I wake up to every morning. Trying hopelessly not to lose my shit as Adam takes his turn, TOO LATE!,I think as tears roll down my cheek. I tried as best I could to brand every moment into my memory, to savor every second of this night, because I never want to forget one single moment of it.

It seems like all of a sudden it's over. The dancing, the music, even Adam,Liz, and Fitzy joined in playing with the band. He winked at me as they played a few old school Shooting Star songs, it's been so long since I've seen them all play together. Watching them on stage brought back so many memories, and such happiness to my heart. I think Adam felt it too, because he looked so Alive. My sweet baby boy fast asleep in my arms. I've held Teddy for so long, that when Liz comes over to take him from me my body slightly shivers, registering the lack of his body heat against mine. I see Adam give her a nod, and he starts walking over to us.

"Alright mama Mia" Liz says jokingly, reaching for Teddy. I look at her confused.

"You've still got a nite ahead of you" she smirks.

I instantly turn red-hot, not really sure what she's referring to but I know there's a sexual innuendo in there somewhere.

Adams at my side now explaining.

"I asked Sarah and Liz to watch him for us tonight. I have a little surprise for you... I hope that's ok?" He murmurs, putting his arm around my waist. He lightly kisses the top of my head, Instantly the butterflies are back and My heart starts pounding.

Not trusting my words. I nod.

I give my sleeping baby over to Liz and Sarah and give him one last kiss goodnight on his head, then they're off. And It's just me and Adam now, the way it always was, before Teddy.

He grabs my hand

"Ready?" He asks. There's a smirk in his crooked smile, and his eyes are alive with some sort of anticipation. Part of me feels a little nervous about what this surprise could be. But I just go with it, because why not.

I can't help but laugh a little as I respond,

"Always"

Adam drives us in Fitzy's borrowed car, towards the west side of town. I keep fighting the urge to ask him where we're going. My control freak nature kicking into high gear. Eventually He turns off the highway towards the west suburbs, it's dark out but I can see street lights illuminating the shadows of houses in front of us. The tall oak trees casting shadows of their own in the moonlight. This isn't too far from where Liz and Sarah live, and again I'm wondering why we're here. What is Adam up to. As we come to a stop light he turns toward me.

"Close your eyes" he implores.

I think he's joking so I just roll my eyes and laugh a little, but his face is serious. All of a sudden I feel nervous. Like I'm in trouble.

"I'm serious, Mia. Close your eyes.. And don't cheat!" He adds this time. He knows me so well.

I do as I'm told and close my eyes. Even though I can't see him I swear I can feel the subtle smirk written all over his face. He grabs my hand and doesn't let go, even as we start to go ahead further. I can't resist the urge any more,

"Where are we going?" I ask, in an almost whisper.

Adam takes my hand and lightly kisses the top of it, then quietly laughs.

"You'll find out soon enough. We're almost there." He murmurs.

I start to count down the seconds in my head to keep my heart beat from racing. I feel anxious not being able to rely on my sense of sight. It's a bit jarring. A few minutes later, twelve and a half, to be exact. I feel Adam turn the car slightly left and then stop. He cuts the motor and everything goes still. Quiet. There is no sound but our two racing heart beats, our anxious breathing passed back and forth in the silence. I can tell he's nervous, because he's quiet for a long moment, then he speaks.

"Are your eyes still closed?"

"Yes" I respond. And it's true, they are.

"Ok. Open them"

When I open my eyes I feel a little disoriented. I don't really know where I thought we were going, but this definitely wasn't it. We're sitting in what looks like a drive way staring at a garage door. I glance around and notice that we're in the middle of what must be a neighborhood, although I'm not sure which one, somewhere on the west side. To my right is the house that's connected to the garage. It's a two-story craftsman style home, the outside is grey with black shutters, white awnings, and a bright red door. There's a huge tree in the front yard, and a porch, that from first glance seems to circle around to the side of the house. Except for the color, It looks eerily like the house I grew up in, so much so that I have to do a double take and then I remember that we're somewhere in the west suburbs, nowhere near where I grew up. The lights are off, there's nobody home. And if Adam is guessing that I just don't get it, he's right, I don't. I thought he was taking me to a hotel or something, so Why are we here?

"C'mon, let's go" Adam says with a light squeeze of my hand, as he starts to get out of the car.

I follow him, wordless. Because somewhere deep in my mind there is a realization that's taking root, but I just can't grasp it yet.

We reach the front door and Adam pulls something from his pocket, a key. My mind starts racing and my heart beat is pounding. I start to walk inside, but in one fast motion his hands have grabbed me and are lifting me off the floor, he carries me into the house then sets me carefully down. I'm still in shock. As I look around the first thing I Notice is there's no furniture in this house, it's nothing but bare wooden floors and empty built-in book shelves. It's as if everything in my mind clicks at once, a flip of a switch, and I turn to him. He's glowing, and his smirk is not discreet.

"What is this?" I ask shakily.

He smiles wider.

"This is a house" he responds, Arrogantly. part of me flames in anger. I calm it down.

"I know it's a house, Smart ass. What are we doing here?"

I think he senses my annoyance, because he approaches me carefully, softening his tone.

He cups my face in his hands and then lightly kisses me on the lips, for just a second. All my annoyance melts away, and I'm putty in his hands. Still Holding my face he responds.

"This is a house for Mia.. And Teddy and Adam." He glances around.

"...and whoever else may come along."

Subtle tears start to form at the edges of my eyes and I angrily swat them away.

"You bought me a house?" I Eek out. Still in shock. One stupid rebel tear drop falls down my cheek, Adam wipes it away with his thumb.

"Us. I bought us a house," he responds still holding my gaze.

I break the trance and start to look around. The living room, where we're standing is huge. The hallway connects to the kitchen, and formal dinning room to the left. There are huge windows in the front room and a giant bay window in the kitchen, there's also a pair of french doors off the dinning room that Leeds out to what looks like an ample sized backyard. Adam starts rambling on as I'm taking it all in.

".. Well it's still in escrow, but once that's done it's officially ours. The realtor let me borrow the keys tonight... Do you like it?" He suddenly turns to me.

Do I like it? I'm at such a loss for words. Was it not just a few days ago we were talking about possibly one day moving back here? Adam telling me not to stress about it, that we didn't have to make any big decisions right now. This feels like a very big decision. And he made it without me. Part of me feels annoyed, but then part of me also feels so flattered, so loved.

"I know I said no big decisions, but when I saw this house.. I don't know, it just felt like home. It felt like you and me. I saw our future when I looked at this house."

He seems nervous. Afraid that I'm angry.

"Adam!" I stop him from rambling on. He just stares at me. His eyes so unsure, waiting.

"I.. I love it." I stumble for words.

"I just.. When did you?.. I wish you would've told me."

His smile falls for a split second. Then recovers.

"I know...I wanted too, but then I also wanted it to be a surprise,You know. You've given me a home Mia, a family. More than I could have ever hoped for. I wanted to buy you this house."

Suddenly my whole body feels warm, like it's been lit on fire and all I really want is to feel his bare skin against my own. I walk up to him and kiss him hard. He tastes rather delicious. And my brain is lost in the smell of him,the heat of him, the weight of his body against my own. I let him kiss down the length of my jaw to my collar-bone, then he moves to his favorite spot, the spot that drives me crazy, right behind my ear, and it takes all my concentration to keep breathing properly. I suddenly realize how much of me wants to make love to him, right here on this floor, in our new home, but I don't. There is no furniture after all. I slowly pull away and stare into his eyes. I smile.

" I love the house... And I love you. It's perfect Adam. Thank you" I say through ragged breaths.

He smiles and takes my hands in both of his, blowing on them.

"I'm glad you like the house, and I love you too. So can we go and finish that kiss?" He asks.

I blush

".. I mean I'd take you right here, but I don't necessarily think it would be the most comfortable"

I can't help but laugh,

"Probably not."

I glance around the house one last time and smile. This is our home. I can feel it now, what Adam was saying earlier, it just feels like us. For just a moment I have this crazy vision, and I can see all our babies running a muck in here, I can see Adam playing his guitar or me with my cello, I can feel the warmth and happiness coming from here, and I feel so incredibly lucky. I turns towards him again and smile, slightly tilting my head

"So let's go" I implore.

His face lights up and he grabs my hand again, entwining his callused fingers with my own, and with that we're out the door.

The next morning I wake up to subtle strands of sunlight dancing across my face. It's early still, I can tell without even opening up my eyes. One of the perks of motherhood, and I use the word 'perk' sarcastically in this case, is that your inner alarm clock is somehow always set to the crack of dawn. Even when your baby is still sleeping soundly. In this case there is no baby here, just my sleeping husband laying next to me. HUSBAND, the word sounds so foreign to me, so adult, a word used by my parents, but also fills me instantly with an insane amount of happiness. I suddenly register the warmth of his strong-arm wrapped around my middle and subtly sigh, content. I'm still half asleep but my eyes flutter open for a moment and I take in the room around me. The rose petals are still splayed all over the floor around me, along with the scattering remnants of our clothing. There's an empty bottle of champagne on the night stand, a gift from Liz, Fitzy, and Sarah. My mind starts to flash back to the later part of last night, remembering every detail, I start to feel warmth on the inside.

After Adam showed me the house, OUR house, we got back in the car and headed for downtown. A swanky hotel in the heart of Portland turned out to be our next destination, another surprise cooked up by Him and Liz. When he opened the door and I took it all in, a huge suite on the top floor, with rose petals all over the floor and on top of the bed. A bottle of champagne over ice on the bar. Instantly my feet were swept off the floor again before I managed to take one step. Adam carrying me over the threshold and dropping me lightly on the bed. I laughed. My skin was suddenly on fire again.

"Want some champagne?" He'd asked, heading over to the bar.

"Yes" I responded, taking in the view around me.

There was a pair of doors across from the bedroom, that opened out to a large balcony overlooking all of Portland. Floor to ceiling curtains in some type of flowing fabric covered the doors giving us enough privacy, but I could still see all the sparkles of the Rose City blinking in the distance.

The pop of a champagne cork and Adam was walking back to me with the bottle and two glasses. I couldn't stop thinking about that last kiss back at the house, and how much I wanted him. And even more than that, how this whole day had been like a dream, perfect in every way, and how he was really mine. We cheers and took a swig of the champagne.

"So.." I began,

".. are their anymore surprises up your sleeve tonight?" I ask slightly laughing, while I take another sip.

He smiles.

"Nope. I'm afraid that's it... Disappointed?" He raises his eyebrow while smirking.

I sighed in amusement, feigning disappointment. I added sarcastically,

"Well, maybe next time you'll do better." We both can't help laughing now.

All of a sudden he brushes his hand by my ear wresting it on the back of my neck and it's like he electrocuted my skin. A thousand tiny nerves are all standing on end. He stared at me and then kissed Me. A slow and building fire. Everything was brighter. Every part of me a live wire, a magnet reaching out for its opposite charge. Everything else became a blur because all that mattered was him. Our bare skin reaching outward, our lips never leaving each other unless to breath, or find a new place to land. Seconds seemed like minutes, and hours seemed like days. He is a force of nature, a tide, pulling me under his spell with lips, and heat, and breath, and fire. His hands never leaving my body, and my eyes never leaving his. After awhile of being consumed, exhausted and completely out of breath, we just laid there for a while, I laid across his chest until I fell asleep.

Coming back to myself, I start to quietly get up from bed, but instantly feel his arm tighten around my waist, pulling me back to him. whispering in my ear,

"Leaving so soon Mrs. Wilde?" He asks, still groggy with sleep.

I feel a chill run all the way up my spine as he mentions my new last name, and an insane- can't erase that goofy smile- rush of happiness. He kisses his favorite spot, and I shiver.

"Not leaving.. Just going to order up some coffee." I respond. But it's no use I'm trapped in his warm arms again, and I could just as easily fall back asleep. He continues to kiss down the side of my neck.

"Coffee is a good idea" he murmurs.

"Mmmmm" is all I can manage. I'm enjoying this too much. Screw the coffee.

"Or we could do what Liz suggested, and you know.. work on baby number two.."

Two hours later we actually do get up and order some room service. After we've eaten, showered, and packed our bags we check out of the hotel and head back to Liz and Sarah's. The second we walk in the door I see Teddy playing with some of his toys on the floor in the living room, when he see's me his face lights up and my heart absolutely melts into a million little pieces.

"Mama" he coos.

Scooping him up in my arms I nuzzled my face into his hair and it's the best feeling in the world. Liz and Sarah are there having coffee, and I take a seat at the table. Fitzy's in the living room eating his breakfast and he starts talking to Adam. Liz starts asking me about the house, if I liked it, and when we think we might actually move back here. I Answer her questions as best I can, but all of it I'm barely listening to, because as I look at Adam from across the room and he looks at me, again I'm struck with this feeling of rightness. Of belonging.

We're just two tiny ships in a sea, sailing off together into the great wide unknown. It's always been Him and me. There are no guarantees in this world, and if you let it, it could break you. But in my life I know one thing without a shadow of a doubt, changes will come, and the sea's might get rough, but when everything else goes, we always have each other. That's the way it is, It's always been about us. Me, him, and Teddy Too. And whoever else may come along.