"A Valentine in Three Acts"

A/N: This is part three of my Valentine's Day trilogy, albeit a bit late. Thanks again for the prior reviews. -Kathmak

Valentines Day 2004

Her hand trembles slightly as she unlocks the front door and slips inside the house. As she tosses her leather jacket onto the coat tree in the hallway, her mind races in a dozen different directions, and she feels slightly overwhelmed by thoughts of what lay ahead for her and John.

She replays in her mind what had transpired just an hour earlier in her doctor's office, and she thinks again about what John's reaction will be when he hears the news. They had talked about starting a family, of course. What newly-married couple wouldn't? Monica's heart beats a little faster and she starts to worry that perhaps it is all happening too soon. They'd had barely been married six months, after all.

Then a conversation popped into her head: she remembered something John had said to her even before they had taken their wedding vows. He had told her that, although Luke would always be in his heart, he wanted to be a father again. And he had looked into her eyes and kissed her and said that he wanted her to be the mother of his children.

"Someday, I want you to have my babies, Mon," he had said shyly.

Monica grins happily at the recollection and relaxes a little.

So they were having a baby.

She runs upstairs and hastily changes her clothes, opting for a pair of baggy blue sweat pants and one of John's grey t-shirts. John had suggested they go out for dinner to celebrate their first Valentine's Day as a married couple, but Monica had politely declined. She suspected that she would have some special news to share with her husband, and she wanted to be alone with him tonight.

When she told him that she would be more than happy with take-out Chinese food and sparkling grape juice, he had looked at her a little quizzically. But, she had insisted and John relented.

"Whatever Monica wants, Monica gets," he had remarked with a bemused smile.

Little did he know that soon they were both going to get what they had wanted for so long. The butterflies in her stomach start fluttering wildly again, but now she was anything but fearful.

On her way back downstairs she pauses briefly in front of the bedroom mirror and turns to the side, touching her now flat abdomen. She lifts her t-shirt a few inches above her waistline and tries to imagine how her body will look over the coming months as their baby grows inside her. Unlike some of her female friends, Monica wasn't at all worried about losing her slim figure. On the contrary – she was looking forward to experiencing all of the changes that pregnancy undoubtedly would bring. Besides, she had always been secure enough to know that John loved her for whom she was and not for how much she weighed. And for some reason, she suspected that he would be even more aroused by the sight of her bare, swollen belly – if such a thing was possible!

A few more minutes pass and she is still standing in the same place, trying to think of the best way to tell John that he is going to be a father. Then, Monica hears the front door open, and she listens for the comforting sound of his footsteps on the tile floor in the hall.

"Mon, you up there?" He calls out. "I come bearing gifts."

Monica pads down the stairs and pauses on the last step, taking a moment to bask in his presence. He is holding two dozen roses in one hand and a plastic bag filled with Chinese food in the other. She decides that John has never looked so adorable. She practically skips over to where he is standing and throws her arms around him.

She covers his face with kisses. "Happy Valentine's day, Daddy," she whispers, adding a little extra emphasis on the last word.

John's eyes grow wide and he drops the items in his arms. Oblivious to the fact that wonton soup is now saturating his shoes, he returns her embrace and holds onto her for dear life.

Monica relaxes in his arms and starts to giggle.

End