When V came back from Montreal and started her Bandslam premiere tour, I just thought I saw a little more of a beaming young actress than we had seen in other times. It was a thought that conjured up this story in my mind. Let me apologize now if you feel like I've left you hanging at the end. I want to save other thoughts for a future time when I think and hope I can put the ideas to a really, really good use in a seperate Z & V fanfic. :)

Thanks to everyone who is keeping in touch with me about Zanessa news, ideas, thoughts and just chatting in general. You are feeding my addiction and I LOVE it! Reviews, PM's and any notes are always welcome! KTZLF! -adc

It had been a month since they'd seen each other. The shooting schedule hadn't been completely overwhelming, but between sailing lessons, scuba lessons and some bungee jumping fun Zac had stayed occupied. Vanessa was occupied too with her own movie happenings. And since the last time they had been together a couple of other things had come into focus.

So the week before the Teen Awards show Vanessa was filling her time with public appearances, movie promotions, appointments she had to make time for and paparazzi-filled events. Since leaving Zac early in July her whirlwind had her pooped.

That was one reason she was in a daze the Wednesday before her movie premiere. Another reason was that a second set of not-so-subtle teenage pictures of Vanessa had surfaced in the media. To the public she was holding her head high and wasn't about to show weakness this time around. The weak one was the jerk who leaked the self-taken photos.

But to her family and to Zac she was showing a different side of Vanessa. To those who knew her it was a vulnerable side. It was one they were familiar with and one that Zac could see in the publicity photos, and hear over the phone.

"Nessa you don't have to go to the movie premiere. You don't have to face the questions, not without me there." Zac ran his fingers through his own hair as he sat on the couch in their leased Vancouver condo. The fact that he wasn't with Vanessa, again, during this photo assault on her was eating away at him.

Vanessa laughed gently but nervously through the phone line. "Contrary to your beliefs, My Dear, I do have to be at this premiere. If I don't show up the crap is just gonna get deeper. I'm not depressed this time Zac. I'm just pissed. Enough said. Next subject." She softly demanded.

"Uh-uh." Zac protested. "No new subject yet. You can tell me you're p.o.'d as much as you want to, but the pap pictures that I'm seeing of you tell me otherwise. You look different Ness. You don't look depressed, but you look different."

Zac had noticed it the minute paparazzi pictures of her had started surfacing that week on a couple of internet sites that they considered trustworthy. Something about his girlfriend was different. Was it the makeup, the choice of clothing? Or maybe it was just because she was back in the states and back home again?

They had talked every day since being apart. This week in particular he had avoided asking her how she was feeling or what exactly she was doing. Many of those answers he already knew…and could already see on his computer screen. Until the news about pictures came out he hadn't even thought about asking if she was 'ok'.

Vanessa stammered a little before answering. "I, I'm fine Zachary." A slight pause stilled the air across the phone line. "I wish you were here, but I'm fine." Her voice softened.

"You've got your lawyers on this, right? I talked to Greg and I talked to Brit. They're supposed to be sticking close to you until I can get there on Saturday." Zac needed to reassure her that he was trying to get to her as soon as possible.

"Thank you, yes Zac, my father barely let me out of his sight since I got home. He even went with me to the doctor's office which was a little embarrassing." She rolled her eyes. There were a few things in life that a 20-year-old woman didn't necessarily want to share with her father, no matter how close they were. A visit to the ob/gyn was one of those…but Greg had insisted.

Zac smiled. "Greg went with you?" Then the thought sunk in. "Wait, Ness, why'd you go to the doctor?"

Vanessa's eyes widened. She hadn't meant to mention the doctor visit to Zac on the phone. Now she felt the need to cover it up, which she knew was both impractical and impossible. "Routine checkup." She started pretty pointedly and then worked to smooth out the edge in her voice. "I believe Dad's words were something like…" she put on her best Greg Hudgens impersonation voice, "'It's me or your publicist. Zac wants one of us with you at all times till he gets home. So who will it be?'"

Vanessa giggled and waited for Zac to laugh, which he did, hesitantly. "Everything okay then?" Zac's mind was still stuck on the fact that she hadn't mentioned a doctor's appointment to him at all. He would remember something like that.

"Yeah, everything's fine. Other than people in the waiting room wondering if the old man was my father or some pervert." Again she giggled. "I'm telling you. It's all fine. Now I've gotta get ready to go. I'll talk to you tomorrow and see you on Saturday, ok?"

Zac leaned his head back on the couch. "Ok." He sighed. "I'm gonna miss being there with you. This is your big night Starlight!" He tried to smile.

Vanessa giggled at his poetic attempt. "I'm gonna miss having you there with me. But it's all good. Just a couple more days and we get each other again, right?"

Zac nodded. "You got it Baby. I'm home Saturday evening, we do the awards thing Sunday night and then you're coming back to Vancouver with me. I switched your ticket by the way."

Vanessa scrunched her eyebrows. "Huh?"

"Your plane ticket. You were gonna take an early flight on Monday morning, but I've switched that. We're leaving the ceremony as soon as you're done presenting. You're coming back to Canada with me." The tone of Zac's voice was obviously not an invitation or request. It was his 'take charge' voice and in this case Vanessa wasn't about to argue.

"Okay. Thank you. I'd like that." She smiled softly. "Zac?"

"Yeah Baby?"

"I love you. You know that, right?"

Zac smiled. "Yeah Nessa. I know that. And you know that I love you more than anything, right? Cause I do."

"I know. But it's nice to hear. I'll see ya Saturday." She finished.

And with a final 'bye' they each hung up the phone.

Zac held the phone in his hands for a few minutes and just sat there on the couch. He still had a couple of pictures of his girlfriend pulled up on the internet so he sat and stared at them. He replayed their conversation over in his mind a couple of times.

Vanessa was strong. Their support team of family members, friends, and management was strong. But they were even stronger together. As Zac stared at the pictures of Vanessa and thought about the various things she had told him, he realized that they needed to be together now more than ever…the reason she didn't even argue about the flight change became crystal clear.

All of a sudden Saturday couldn't get there soon enough. With each interview, each still picture of his girlfriend that came to his attention Zac was more anxious to get home. His usual last minute trip-packing happened a day early. And it was all he could do not to charter a flight that could drop him directly at Vanessa's house. The sooner he could physically get his hands on her again…would be so much better, for the both of them.

----------

Zac did his best to remain cool when he stepped off the plane. He had argued just a word or two with Vanessa before giving in to her demand that she would meet him at the airport this time. He knew the one halfway-secluded spot in baggage claim where he would see her.

Although he carried just a simple duffle bag that was the spot where they agreed to meet. And that's where their eyes found each other when he reached that location. Both smiled gently trying not to cause a scene. Zac purposefully walked slowly toward her, taking in the sight of her wearing a pair of sweats, tennis shoes and a long sleeve t-shirt that revealed just an inch of her smooth skin above the sweats.

When he reached her Vanessa held her hand out to him. He took it quickly and started to pull her close to him. But he stopped just shy of pulling them together and let one of his hands drift down to the skin that was visible just above the waistband of her pants. "Hey Baby."

His hand stilled just under the hem of her shirt as he quickly kissed her lips and looked into her eyes. The brown beauties looked into his blue gaze. Neither of them said anything else as they headed toward her car that sat protected by security in the loading zone.

Zac opened the passenger door for Vanessa and let her slide into the seat as she handed him the keys. They were quickly away from the terminal and as Zac settled in for the drive home his right hand moved over to Vanessa wanting contact with her.

She took his hand and glanced toward him. "So the flight was ok?" she asked just trying to make conversation.

"It was fine." He answered and returned her glance. Zac then looked down at their hands that were laced together on her thigh. He gently removed his hand and moved it up again to the space between her shirt and pants. Vanessa nearly moaned as his hand slipped, this time, just underneath the tie of her sweats.

"Are you trying to drive me insane Efron? I honestly thought we'd both at least be able to wait till we got home." Vanessa placed her hand over his but didn't try to remove his strong fingers from their spot against her soft warm skin.

"How many weeks has it been?" He finally verbalized softly.

"Almost five." She answered and lifted her left hand to graze over his stubbled cheek.

"And it was three before that?" He asked curiously.

"Two, I think…well, almost three." She answered as she thought back to his last visit with her in Montreal.

"So practically eight weeks since we've really spent some q.t. together." Zac breathed heavily from the drivers' seat and pulled his hand away from her belly.

Vanessa shook her head and looked curiously at him. "I wouldn't put it that way. Didn't you think of the 4th of July weekend as quality time?"

Zac nodded as he continued looking out the windshield of her convertible. "Of course that was quality time… Quality time with my parents, your parents and several friends." He looked toward Vanessa and forced a smile toward her. "Nice, protected, quality time."

Vanessa stared at him for a minute leaning back against the car door to try and take in a full view of her boyfriend. After a couple of minutes Zac realized she was pressed against the door and quickly grasped her arm and pulled her fully back into the car seat.

"What the hell was that?" She questioned as she rubbed her arm just a little. His action had startled her more than anything.

"Sorry." Zac answered shyly. "The…the door's not locked. I just didn't want you to take a chance." He tried to answer.

They sat in silence again for a moment before Vanessa reached again to take his hand in hers. Zac squeezed her hand and finally turned to smile at her. They drove like that for another 20 minutes before Zac pulled into Vanessa's garage.

The conversation was miniscule until the garage door closed. But before Vanessa could unbuckle her seat belt Zac asked her one question. "When were you going to tell me?"

Vanessa looked at him with understanding finally covering her entire face. "Can we go inside first?" Her nervousness wasn't overwhelming but it was there. It had been there for the past few days. If she was honest, it had been there for the past few weeks…eight weeks to be exact.

She thought back eight weeks as she took Zac's hand and they walked into her house. From the feel of his hand in hers she knew he was thinking about the same thing. Both were thinking of eight weeks ago when the q.t. they spent was certainly alone together…alone, and unprotected.

They stopped in the middle of the kitchen when Zac pulled her into his arms and buried his head into the crook of her neck. Vanessa quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. "How did you know?" she whispered into his ear.

Zac relished in the feel of her arms and her body pressed against his. He moved his hands down and let his fingers find their way underneath her shirt before he answered. "So I'm right?"

They raised their faces together to look at one another. Vanessa unwrapped herself from his embrace just long enough to pick up a small box from the kitchen counter. She handed it to Zac and worked to smile at him as he lifted the top.

Inside the box were two items. The first was something that looked almost like a thermometer. But instead of numbers in the small window on one side, were two, now obviously dark, purple lines. The second item was a series of black and white photos. The upside down 'V' shaped images each showed something that looked kind of like a peanut.

Zac looked from the open box back to Vanessa with tears in his eyes. "I, I knew it! But why didn't you tell me? That's our baby?" he asked and pointed at the ultrasound images.

Vanessa used her thumb to wipe the teardrops from his eyes as she nodded at him. "I had to tell you this in person. And you know it's been crazy. I wasn't trying to keep this from you, I promise. We're eight weeks along and doing good so far." She smiled. "But how did you know…how did you figure it out?"

Zac sat the box down and gently lifted Vanessa up onto the kitchen counter. He once again lifted her top, but this time he lavished soft kissed around her abdomen. When he raised his head again to look at her he simply said, "paparazzi."

Vanessa's face looked startled. "What?!"

Zac shook his head and brushed his fingers down each side of her face. "Shhh, no…nothing like that." He reassured her. "It was just the pictures that came out this week." He softly pushed his index finger against the tip of her nose and then ran it across her cheek bones.

Zac smiled widely at his girlfriend but had to sniff back a few more tears before he continued. "Your nose and your cheeks…they just…I don't know… They look rounder I guess. Your face looks more full. Not in a bad way, don't get me wrong. You're beautiful. God, you're beautiful. But I just knew something was different."

Vanessa snaked her arms around his neck as she looked down on him with her now-glowing face. Zac raised up and pushed a much needed kiss to her lips. "And when you were talking about Greg going to the doctor with you…it all just kinda clicked."

They leaned their foreheads together and looked into each other's eyes. "We're pregnant Zac." The smile came off of Vanessa's face momentarily as she pulled her head away from his. Her eyes danced back and forth across his with a hint of worry.

"What?" Zac asked as he too pulled back but kept a firm grip on her thighs to hold her in place.

"When this happened…eight weeks ago…I swear to you it wasn't planned. When we made love we were both lazy and just didn't want to deal with the condom. I…I wasn't aiming to get pregnant." Vanessa let her gaze drop away from Zac's eyes. This really wasn't the way they had wanted this scenario to play out.

Zac lifted her chin until her eyes met his again. "Ness? Look in my eyes." He waited until he was sure that her gaze wasn't going to move away from his. "I'm ok with this. When it first hit me, I was terrified. But seriously, I'm not upset or angry. If anything…I don't know…actually, I'm pretty excited about it." He shrugged his shoulders and smiled at her.

"But what about you?" Zac continued to look into her eyes. "This changes a lot, mainly for you. You seem happy about it, but are you?"

The tears fell from Vanessa's eyes this time as she smiled. "I'm a little scared Zac. I'm happy about it. There's a little me and you inside of me. And you're right, that changes a lot of things. Right now I just don't want to hurt little Zanessa."

Zac grinned as he kissed the tears off her cheeks. "Zanessa?"

Vanessa grinned back at him. "It's who we are, right? I mean, that won't be the baby's real name or anything, but for now…till we know if it's a little girl or boy. I think it just fits."

Zac nodded. "Baby Zanessa it is then." He helped her down from the counter but didn't let go of Vanessa for one minute. "Can we go sit on the couch for a while?"

Vanessa smiled at him and led him into the living room. Zac sat on the sofa and pulled her down into his lap. With his arms wrapped around her Vanessa felt more than protected. They had a lot to discuss, plans to be made, and a number of plans that needed to change. All of those would come in due time. But at that moment only three things mattered…her, Zac and the baby they had made.

----------

"Who else knows?" Zac asked gently as he stroked Vanessa's arms. He had kept one hand on her abdomen since they had sat down on the couch. Vanessa squirmed just a little at first because it tickled. But she had quickly put one of her hands over his and just sat back to enjoy their time together.

"Just us…well, and my ob/gyn and the nurse." She stated from her perch in his lap.

"But you said Greg went to the doctor with you. He and Gina don't know?" Zac was just a bit confused.

"My dad thinks I was going for a check up and getting a prescription refilled…a prescription that's supposed to prevent this very situation." Vanessa felt Zac tense with the thought of her words.

Zac added a little pressure to her stomach with his hand that was stationed there. His thoughts weren't quite focused. Vanessa's last answer gave him cause for concern in a couple of areas.

"Ness, when we were together in Montreal the last time. When we ignored the condoms. You were still on birth control, right? I mean, that's part of the reason that we were lazy with my protection." Now he felt Vanessa tense a little.

"I was…but not the pill. Remember that I had that little bout of sinus issues and had to take an antibiotic?" she felt Zac nod his head behind her. "That was before you came up. The doctor suggested I stop the pills for June and go with an I.U.D. until I was feeling better."

Zac rubbed her arm again and placed a kiss in her hair. "You didn't get the I.U.D.?" He certainly wasn't angry about it, he just wanted to make sure that he was completely caught up on what had happened. Especially now, Vanessa's health was a top priority on his list.

"No, I got it. It was in place over a week before you came up. And had it just been our routine time together I think things would've been fine." Vanessa turned her face toward Zac's and placed several kisses on his jawbone and cheek. She could tell he wanted to ask something else.

"What do you mean by 'routine'? Zac finally questioned.

Vanessa smiled to herself then sat up on Zac's thighs so she could turn to face him. "'Routine' is not how I describe our love making. I assure you that word is the farthest from my mind when we're together." She continued smiling as she noticed the little smirk curling on one corner of Zac's lips.

"The routine I'm talking about is that usually after we, um, finish… there's like several hours of cuddling or sleeping before we start round two." At that comment she saw his smirk form all the way across his soft lips. "IF there is a round two." She added.

"But you just couldn't get enough of me could you?" Zac winked at her and noticed Vanessa's blush.

Her soft, supposedly innocent voice, squeaked from her lips. "I'm still amazed at your ability to recuperate so quickly…especially after the 3rd time."

Zac let out a deep breath as he remembered the amazing night they had spent together. "I missed you. And I wanted to show you how much. And I wanted to make sure you would remember." He stopped and let his hand move to his jean clad crotch to adjust himself. "Sorry. You know what this kind of talk does to me." He apologized sincerely.

He took another deep breath and watched as Vanessa's blush turned a little darker. "Apparently an I.U.D. is like a floodwall. It can hold back the normal amount of, well, you know. But apparently if it's bombarded with persistent little swimmers like yours some of the guys can find their way over the wall pretty easily." She explained.

"Nice analogy." Zac commented as he reached up to push some of Vanessa's hair away from her face.

"Doctor's words, not mine." Vanessa smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

A slight look of concern and embarrassment touched Zac's face. "You told the doctor about that night?"

Vanessa sighed and climbed off Zac's lap. She pulled him into a sitting position and sat back down beside him on the couch. "I was supposed to have my period two weeks after you left Montreal. When it didn't start, I got worried that the I.U.D. was causing problems. So when I went back to the doctor they asked me if I had had unprotected sex. I answered them, but I didn't let them know it was four times back to back. Can't have a jealous doctor on my case can I?" Vanessa nudged her shoulder to Zac who was well on his way into the land of 'eight-weeks-ago'.

"Back to back…" he nearly mumbled. "That's not even a possibility is it?"

Vanessa scooted away from him and glared at him through squinting eyes. "Hello? Eight weeks pregnant here. Let me tell my story or I'll go all hormonal on you…Daddy."

At the sound of that one word Zac's 21 year old brain snapped out of sex mode… most of the way.

"Sorry." The simplest apology and a smile coupled with a soft kiss to her lips made the story continue.

"So they immediately took out the device and told me NOT to start the pills again. They didn't do a pregnancy test there because of the birth control I'd been using. But after the fourth week I took the test that you found in the box. I got in to see my regular doctor last week. That's when they took the ultrasound pictures." Vanessa watched Zac's face for any hint of anger or sadness or any negative emotion. When he sat quietly she leaned her head over on his shoulder.

She heard him swallow before she felt him place a kiss to the top of her head and take a breath. "This isn't gonna sound right," Zac started. "But I need to say it cause I need you to know it." Zac let his shoulder slump under the weight of her head and then leaned his own cheek down onto her hair.

"I'm happy, and shocked and scared right now Vanessa. But I'm also sorry. This isn't the way we've talked about things happening. You have big things happening in your career right now and because I was lazy and couldn't keep my hormones in check your plans are on the line."

"Zac…" she tried to stop him and placed a hand on his cheek.

"No, don't…let me try to finish here." He took a deep breath. "I know…that you have…options. And we're not married…yet, so I really don't have any say in that at all…about your options I mean. But if my opinion means anything to you at all right now…Nessa, I really, really don't want you to think about not having this baby."

"Zac…" Vanessa tried again but stopped when Zac put his finger on her lips.

"I know. I know. It's not my decision. But little Zanessa in there is part of me and you. We made him or her…and I think that's pretty special." Zac finally stopped to breathe and dared to look at Vanessa's face.

Her glow was still present. The tears in her eyes just made them glisten and shine even brighter. And the soft smile on her lips was one that Zac could stare at forever.

"Do you love me Zac? Thinking about the baby and all. Do you love me?" She asked him gently.

"Of course I do." He answered like a young child.

"And I love you too." Vanessa smiled at him again. "And because of that, I don't have options. I don't know what happens to my next movie. I'm scared to death by the fact that I was using birth control of any kind when I got pregnant. And there's a part of me that's sorry too. But I don't have options Zac."

She stopped long enough to place a love-filled kiss on his lips. "We have lots of decisions to make about Baby Zanessa. We have to decide a real name. We need to make sure that he or she is really ok inside of me. And we have a whole bunch of people to tell about this before the paps get hold of it. But having this baby is not an option…it's a requirement. Unless there's a miscarriage or something…we will have our baby."

Vanessa wrapped her arms around Zac's neck and placed another kiss on his cheek. "Now…" Her voice lowered to a softer, more seductive tone.

Zac looked at her with wide eyes just wondering what was coming next.

"Did you like making love to me without the glove?" she whispered into his ear as she gently traced his ear with her tongue.

"Hell Yes." Zac pushed from his throat.

"Well I'm already pregnant and now I'm definitely in the mood. No need to worry about protection right now." She purred. "And with the way my hormones are working right now, if you don't do something for me soon I may just have to take matters into my own…hands." She bit down lightly on his earlobe while she put her hands to work on the zipper of his jeans.

Zac was putty in her hands. "Sweet Mother of Baby Zanessa…it's good to be home."

----------

"I don't think I can do this Ness." Zac crawled back into bed beside her with just his boxer briefs on. He immediately put a hand under the t-shirt she had thrown on and pushed the material up enough to see and feel her warm tummy.

Vanessa had just gotten off the phone with her Mom. It had been a while since Gina and Greg had seen Zac. And after Zac spoke with Greg the last time they had agreed to get together on Sunday morning for brunch…so both of the men in Vanessa's life could make sure she was doing ok.

The only problem with that was the information that Vanessa had shared with Zac. Information that Greg nor Gina knew. Information that she and Zac needed to share with them together.

Zac knew it had taken Greg a long while to believe that Zac loved Vanessa and that he would take care of her. It was a trust and a bond that had formed over a few years. And now…now Zac was beginning to fear that that trust was going to fall apart with just one statement.

He could see Greg's face turning to stone. The words 'I'm pregnant' coming from Vanessa's mouth wouldn't bring a smile to Mr. Hudgens' face. Zac was quite sure Greg wouldn't offer congratulations. Instead he would likely offer Zac a way to die…and the options would likely be quite painful. Zac cringed.

Vanessa looked down at Zac who had pulled the covers back up to his chest and had put his head down on the pillow while he kept one arm stretched toward her with fingers gently massaging around her belly button.

"What do you mean you don't think you can do this?" Vanessa's voice ran directly to his heart.

Zac looked up at her. "I can't tell Greg. Not in person. Nessa, he'll kill me. I…he…" Zac closed his eyes and Vanessa studied his contorted face. Zac pulled his other hand from under the comforter and put it over his mouth. "I think I'm gonna be sick."

"Shouldn't that be my line? I'm the pregnant one after all." Vanessa shook her head at him and patted his hand that remained on her stomach. "I'll get you a glass of water. Lie still for a minute or two." She ordered.

When she stood from the bed Vanessa put her own hand on her stomach and rubbed gently. "Baby Z…your Daddy…if he survives telling Gram and Grandpa about you we'll just be lucky."

"I am listening to you, you know?" Zac called from the bed. His right arm was resting across his forehead while his left was lying limp on the bed.

When Vanessa returned she climbed up on the bed beside her boyfriend. She noticed that he did look pale. Maybe he really wasn't feeling well. "Zac?" she traced a finger over his cheek. "You really aren't feeling well are you? Are you really that scared about talking to Mom and Dad?"

Zac removed his arm from his forehead and opened his eyes to look at Vanessa. She helped him sit up slowly and handed him the glass of tap water. He sipped just a little of it and then sat up holding the container in both hands. "Seriously. Greg's gonna kill me."

Vanessa nodded in his direction. "Probably." Her answer did nothing to calm Zac's nerves. "I mean yeah, he'll probably threaten to kill you. And he's done that before. And you guys are fine."

"But Ness." Zac somewhat whined. "Telling him that we're pregnant means that he'll know…you know."

Vanessa scrunched her eyebrows together. "He'll know what? That we're having sex? Zac, I seem to recall him giving you a little brown paper bag before our trip to Hawaii. I don't think us having sex is any surprise for my father."

"No." Zac sat up and put his hand on his forehead. "But the fact that I'm not responsible enough to use the protection that he put in that bag may be. He finally trusts me Ness." Zac shook his head. "I can't face him. I can't go talk to him." Zac laid his body back down in the bed.

Vanessa didn't respond with a laugh or any sound at all. Zac waited just a moment and opened his eyes to look at her. Vanessa was standing by the bed without a smile on her face. A look of anger, hurt, and determination was plastered on her normally soft features. It was the exact look Zac could picture on her father's face…just before Greg would kill him.

Vanessa stepped away from the bed and grabbed her cell phone from the bedside table.

"Who are you calling?" Zac choked like a defeated criminal.

Vanessa raised one eyebrow and looked him directly in the eyes. "If you won't go to them then they'll come to us. I'll just ask Mom and Dad to come over here for brunch. You'll have to cook, by the way. The smell of eggs and bacon cooking have been making me nauseous."

Zac clambered across the bed to take the phone from her hand. He tossed the device on the bed and wrapped his arms around Vanessa. "You've been having morning sickness? I didn't even think about that. Ness, I'm sorry. Are you ok?"

Vanessa's anger went out the window and she melted in his embrace. He was scared, obviously very worried about Greg's reaction to the baby. But at the hint of her discomfort his focus turned to her.

Zac lifted her back onto the bed. "Are you sure you're ok? I just need to put some shorts and a shirt on then I'll get your clothes. Are you sure you feel like going to Greg and Gina's?"

"Zac. I'm pregnant. I'm not an invalid. My stomach just gets a little queasy at some smells. I've only thrown up a couple of times. It's all okay, really."

He stood over her for just a minute and then placed one soft kiss on her forehead. Vanessa noted that he seemed to be coming back to his senses. She gripped his arm before he could walk away from her.

When he looked back down at her face she quickly pointed toward her lips. He smiled at her and bent down to place a kiss on those lips. Then he lowered his head farther down and placed a sloppy kiss around her exposed belly button.

"Ah! Zac! That's…did you just drool in my belly button?" Vanessa laughed.

Zac smiled at her then put his ear down on her stomach. He smiled in Vanessa's direction as she nibbled on her lower lip just wondering what he was doing. "Baby Z liked my drool kiss. She says she wants more."

Vanessa swallowed back the few tears that she felt in her eyes. "Oh she does, does she?"

"Mm-hmmm." Zac answered as he turned his lips back toward her abdomen.

"Hey…" Vanessa called softly toward the man who was spreading slurping kisses wider and wider across her midsection. He stopped long enough to look up at her beautiful face.

She again pointed toward her lips. "Mommy's getting jealous up here."

Zac stopped his baby kisses and crawled back onto the bed beside Vanessa. "Mommy's got nothing to be jealous about. She'll always be first in my heart." Zac whispered before kissing her quite soundly.

"We have to be at Mom and Dad's in an hour. Are you gonna be up for it?" Vanessa asked breathlessly when she pulled away from his kiss.

Zac leaned his forehead against her cheek for a moment. "Yeah. I'm fine. Are you?"

Vanessa nodded and linked her fingers with his and placed them back on her stomach. "Yeah. As long as we're doing this together, yeah. We're all good."