Travis practically burst into his bedroom—correction: their bedroom, seeing as Katie had moved in about two weeks ago—and fist pumped the air, shouting in triumph. Katie, who was lounging on the bed with her hair up, her reading glasses on, and her laptop perched—you guessed it—on her lap, looked up in surprise.

"Travis?"

He spun around, grinning, and crawled onto the bed, grabbing his girlfriend's hand. The laptop was shoved aside as he pulled her up and into his arms. He held her by the waist and lifted her, spinning.

"Whoa! Travis! What's happening?"

He laughed and set her down so he could kiss her. She pushed his shoulders back and smiled up at him, her face flushed.

"Are you okay?"

"Your dad just called while I was on my way here and gave me permission to do something, so no, I'm better than okay. I'm perfect. Come here." He sat her on the edge of his—their—bed and took two huge steps to his—their—dresser, digging through his sock drawer for the little velvet box.

"Travis, you're freaking me out, babe."

He grabbed at it and threw himself onto his knees in front of Katie, lips split in a grin, his face red, his eyes huge. He held up the box and opened it. "Katie, will you marry me?"

The silence that filled the room was followed by a tension so thick that it was even stronger than the gel that held Connor's hair up, even though he would never admit it. Travis fidgeted and his smile grew smaller. Katie's mouth was open and she was just staring at him.

"Um...Katie? You in there?" He brushed his knuckles against her forehead jokingly. "Anybody there?"

This seemed to shake her and she looked down at the ring, her mouth closing. "Uhh…"

"Okay, maybe this wasn't such a good idea."

"No, no!" She grabbed his wrist when he tried to move away. "I'm sorry—I'm just shocked. I… Yes! Yes, of course!" She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him while his heart started beating again and kissed him when she pulled back. "Give me that ring, you dolt."

He stared at the rock on her finger and then up at her face as her eyes lit up. He never wanted to forget this moment.

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She walked towards him, the white dress trailing behind her on the rose petals, her gaze attached to his. His heart hammered hard and it was like there was no one else in the world but the gorgeous brunette walking towards him, her arm linked with her father's. The older man handed Katie to Travis and he took her hand, lost in her amazing eyes.

He was dead to the world until she said, "I do."

And suddenly, he was reborn. He kissed her softly and then, when she smiled sweetly at him, he muttered, "Oh, screw it," and scooped her into his arms, kissing her hungrily like he'd wanted to since she uttered her vows. Granted, that had been only moments ago, but still, he was used to getting what he wanted.

"Hey!" They looked up when Connor called them to attention, his arms crossed. "Save it for the honeymoon. Honestly, let's party!"

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"You're never touching me again!" she shouted as the nurse insisted she just keep pushing. "I hate you so much, Travis Stoll." She screamed loudly and held on tighter to his hand. Travis was sure his hand was about to break.

But then, a silence filled the room. One second. Two. Three.

And the wail of a child overtook everything. Travis put his forehead on his wife's shoulder, trying not to cry. A nurse took the baby for a moment and Katie released her death grip on Travis' hand.

"The baby," she whispered, her voice hoarse.

"Shhh. Sleep, sweetheart."

"No, no…the baby…"

He understood and looked at the nurse, who was grinning. Moments later, she walked over…holding the child in a pink blanket.

"Katie, oh, Katie, it's a girl. It's a girl!"

And Katie smiled, squeezing Travis' hand before falling asleep.

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"Honestly, Travis, he's just a boy."

"A 14 year old boy! Hugging my daughter!"

Katie rolled her eyes and grabbed Travis' hand. "She's going to be in high school in a few months. Get used to the fact that boys not longer have cooties."

"As long as he doesn't kiss her, I'm fine with that."

Katie smiled and leaned into her husband, watching her daughter blush as she waved goodbye to the boy. Travis opened his mouth to say something to her, but noticed how the boy looked back at her retreating figure and sighed. This was not heading anywhere good.

About a year later, he was The Boyfriend. A year after that, he was the Ex-Boyfriend and his daughter was behind a closed bedroom door, sobbing her heart out into her pillows. And to think he had given the boy a chance. Well, the next time someone tried to work their way into his daughter's life without a full background search, he was getting shot.

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"Oh, Daddy, tell that story again!" Travis' daughter cooed from her husband's lap as the family sat together on Christmas Eve. "About how you and mom began dating?"

Katie smiled and took her husband's hand. Travis returned the knowing look and glanced back at his daughter. "Well…like most great stories, it began with an almost kiss…"

A/N: THE END. So, Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. I'm thankful for each and every one of you that has taken the time to read my stories. Thank you all so much!

Love always,

E. M. Zeray