"Hey guys, Merry Christmas!" Maisy squealed when she opened her mama's door and pulled me into a bone-crushing bear hug. "Oh my God, Car... Look at you, you look pregnant!" she beamed.

"I know! And you too, oh my God, you're so gorgeous!" I gushed.

"Hey! No fair, what about me?" John asked with a playful smile, looking quite ignored with all of the presents and Tupperware containers.

"Don't worry, you don't look pregnant John," Maisy grinned, taking a few things from his arms and ushering us towards the sound of people talking.

The moment John and I entered the room it was like an extreme game of twenty questions, most of which were varying degrees of the same thing: how are you feeling? I had so many compliments on my belly and one of Maisy's younger cousins wanted to know if her cousin's baby and mine were going to be twins. Maisy's mother, looking oddly teary-eyed when she first saw me, wanted to see my first ultrasound and hear the baby's heartbeat, both of which John and I had on our phones.

I answered all of the questions with a proud smile, but throughout the first half hour, during which all of the attention seemed to be directed onto us, John remained very quiet and still, like he was afraid somebody would start asking him questions if he dared move a muscle or speak a word.

Eventually John left me to play a game of pool with Darryl and two of Maisy's male cousins, which was perfectly fine by me. I didn't want him to stay by my side all evening if he was going to be bored out of his mind.

"He seems like a nice man," Janelle, Maisy's mother, smiled, looking towards John and Darryl's retreating forms as they headed downstairs to the rec room. She placed her hand over mine and gave it a light squeeze.

"He is," I replied easily.

"He's the quiet sort isn't he?" Janelle laughed softly.

"Yeah, he's a man of few words," I answered, although that wasn't really the case with me anymore. It was weird being with him in groups, as it reminded me of how he used to be when we first met. "I really love him Janie... I love him so much it hurts sometimes... and he's been nothin' but good to me and the baby," I gushed.

Janelle listened to me as I rambled on about the man of my dreams, a big smile forming on her pink lips. She was like a second mother to me, so I felt like I could talk to her about these kinds of things the way I would've talked to my mama if she were still here.

"It takes some people years to find what you've found sweetheart," Janie said, brushing her thumb over my cheek. "I'm forty and I still haven't found mine. Now don't get me wrong, I love my life and I'm glad I spent it raisin' my daughter. I gave her everythin' I could... but sometimes I wonder if maybe I should've gone on that blind date, or if I should've given that nice fella my number all of those years ago... you know? To me it looks like John is one of the good ones, so hold onto him," she smiled.

"Yeah, I'll hold onto him," I laughed.

Dinner was fantastic. Maisy and I practically ate all of the food on the counter all by ourselves, which was quite the joke around the table that evening. Maisy and I volunteered to do the dishes after dinner; Maisy's mother started making tea, while some of the older folks decided to play a game of cards. About the majority of the young men gravitated outside to see Maisy's Uncle Fred's brand new truck.

"John's mouth is probably waterin' at the sight of that thing. He's had to put in a bit of work on his truck a couple months ago and he was pretty frustrated about it," I giggled, handing Maisy a plate to dry.

"Oh Darryl's the same... him and cars... I don't understand it," Maisy agreed. "Anyway, you're probably exhausted of hearin' this... but uh... how've you been?" she asked.

"It's been surprisingly great," I admitted with a small smile. "Findin' a good position in bed is gettin' kind of hard, but John's been good about that..." I shrugged.

Maisy burst out laughing.

"What–?" I began, but then it dawned on me that my words could be taken in a very, very different way. "Oh God, I didn't mean it like that, you pervert! I mean I can't sleep unless I'm on my side with the fan on, so John pretty much freezes to death all night and by mornin' he's practically been pushed off the bed," I giggled.

"Right, that's totally what you meant," Maisy drawled.

"How about you though? Did you decide if you want to find out the sex of the baby yet?" I asked her, recalling one of our last conversations, during which she'd been on the fence about it.

"Darryl wants to know but I'm still not sure," Maisy shrugged.

"John and I want to know as soon as possible," I told her. "So we can start thinkin' about names... I know myself well enough to know I'll take way too damn long to settle on one, so I want as much time as possible to think about it," I added.

"Yeah... I think that's what Darryl's worryin' about too. He wants to be as prepared as he can before the baby gets here..." Maisy nodded.

"There's also the nursery and buyin' clothes and stuff. We could always go gender-neutral everythin', but I don't know... I just think we've already got enough surprises to worry about; the gender doesn't have to be one of 'em," I laughed.

"What do you think yours is gonna be?" Maisy asked.

"If I have a boy he's gonna hate me for sayin' this, but I kind of want a girl," I told her as I placed down a few utensils on a towel in front of Maisy so she could dry them. "I've been callin' the baby a 'her' since pretty much day one, so at this point if it's a he... well, he's gonna have some identity issues," I laughed.

"Yeah, I've been gettin' girl vibes for this little one too... Hey, wouldn't it be great if we both had girls?" Maisy said enthusiastically.

"We'd force them to be best friends," I laughed.

We ended up going home at around one in the morning; John had a few drinks over the course of the evening so he handed me the keys to his truck. It wasn't the first time I was behind the wheel, but it might as well have been considering how John watched me like a hawk. He was the worst passenger ever.

We went to bed the moment we got home and woke up early the next morning to open some presents in front of the Christmas tree. Despite the warm weather outside, John decided to crank up the A.C. and light the fireplace, which gave the room a more Christmas-y atmosphere.

"I know we said we weren't gonna get each other anythin' big... but this is our first Christmas together and uh... I wanted it to be special," John said a little sheepishly, taking a small rectangular box from underneath the Christmas tree and handing it to me.

A little too ungracefully I ripped the decorative paper – he was a really good gift wrapper – and smiled at the pretty velvet box, opening it carefully. My breath caught in my throat.

"It's gorgeous," I gasped, looking down at the heart-shaped pendant made out of sterling silver. There was a pearl in the middle where the two halves of the heart connected.

"That's our baby's birthstone," John explained, pointing at the pearl. "So uh... he better get here in June," he chuckled, glaring playfully at my belly.

"Oh my God... John!" I giggled, finding myself more and more in love with this man every time he opened his mouth and said stuff like that. He was such a romantic. "Help me put it on?" I asked him, wriggling around on the rug so that I had my back to him, sweeping my hair over one shoulder so that he'd have easier access.

He got me a few more presents too, which was seriously unexpected but certainly not unwelcome. He got me a scarf, a sweater, perfume, a box of chocolates, a body pillow that was literally the same size as me, and finally a pair of earbuds for my iPod since a horse ate my last ones.

"I hope those weren't too expensive," I told him with a wide smile, gesturing towards the earbuds. "They don't last me very long... Those last ones weren't the first that got eaten by a farm animal," I laughed.

I got him a few presents too, also going against our rule not to buy each other anything too big or expensive: a pair of boots, a hoodie, new guitar strings...

"This last one is technically for the baby too," I said with a small smile, pulling a significantly larger box from behind the tree and pushing it in front of him. Inside it was a car seat; it was multi-stage, so we wouldn't have to upgrade it once our baby started getting older.

Inside the car seat I also put three gray sweatshirts. John picked up the largest one and unfolded it, his lips forming into a grin as he read what was inscribed on the front: Hers. I took mine and showed it to him: His. He picked up the third sweatshirt, which was considerably smaller and absolutely adorable. Theirs was written in the same, elegant cursive fonts.

"That's fuckin' adorable," he laughed.

"It'll probably fit next Christmas, so we can wear them then," I told him.

When I entered Scott Atwood's house that afternoon, I immediately sensed the tension. He wasn't pleased with me, and his son, Dale, wasn't too fond of me either. I hadn't seen or spoken to either of them since Carly told them about her pregnancy over a month ago.

I didn't know what to say to them, and they didn't seem too worried about saying anything to me, so I stayed quiet, remaining close to Carly and letting her do all of the talking. Fortunately more people started to arrive near dinner time; adding the alcohol that was flowing steadily through my system at that point, things were a little more bearable.

It was right after dinner when I found Scott alone on the back porch smoking a cigarette. I went to stand next to him, looking out at the orange sky.

"Do you smoke?" he asked me.

"No sir," I replied.

"Good... I've been tryin' to quit for years," he chuckled.

We were quiet for a while, standing there side by side in the cool evening wind. He was about to finish his cigarette and still I couldn't muster up the courage to say what I was here to say, the words lost somewhere in my throat. I ran my hand over my beard and adjusted the Rangers cap on my head.

"Do you think I could have a word with you?" I asked finally.

He looked at me but didn't say anything.

I cleared my throat, drumming my fingers against the railing.

"I know you love Carly like a daughter and she cares about you a lot too," I began, feeling my mouth go dry. "I uh... also know you're not a big fan of me right now, and I respect that, I really do–" I continued, but he was quick to cut me off.

"I didn't say I wasn't a fan," Scott shrugged, taking another drag of his cigarette. "I don't like that you two have been shackin' up together the way you have, and I think she's mighty young to be gettin' pregnant... but I'd be hypocritical if I started judgin' her for that... or you... considerin' I was in the same boat with Dale and his mama once. You've got a good head on your shoulders son, and I respect you a whole lot for that," he added, catching me off-guard.

"Thank you sir," I said after a moment.

"Quit callin' me sir, goddammit, it's makin' me feel old," Scott chuckled.

"Right, well uh..." I trailed off. "I know you're supposed to ask a woman's father for their permission but since I can't really talk to Steven... I was just uh... wonderin' if... well uh..." I hesitated, digging into my pocket and pulling out a small, velvet box: my last Christmas present for Carly, the one I hadn't given her yet.

I popped it open and Scott let out an impressed whistle.

"I want to ask Carly to marry me," I said, the words coming out in one big breath. "This ain't because of the baby either. I'm crazy about her, sir – Scott – and I know I want to spend the rest of my life lovin' her and makin' her happy. She's the best thing that's ever happened to me, and–" I went on, but once again he cut me off.

"I never thought I'd say that to you of all people, but John please shut up," Scott laughed, putting a hand on my shoulder, his scruffy face breaking into a seldom-seen grin. "Carly's her own woman... she doesn't need nobody's permission, but I'll give it to you anyway. You're a good man John, and she's lucky to have found you."

I let out a breath I didn't know I was keeping in and pocketed the ring again. "Thank you sir... I mean, uh... Scott... Thank you," I grinned.

A/N: Were you guys expecting John to ask Scott what he asked him? ;)