A couple of mornings later, I remember to call Xiu. Rian is still asleep in the bed, resting peacefully underneath the blankets. I walk over to where he is, running my fingers through his messy hair while he sleeps while waiting for Xiu to answer.

Rian's face looks so serene and peaceful while he sleeps that it causes a smile to creep on my face. His disheveled chocolate brown hair creates a fuzzy halo on his forehead, and his thick lips are parted.

As I look at him, the memories flow through my mind of when we first met. I remember how he fell asleep with me after he stopped me from having a one night stand with that man at the club.

I had woken up before he did, and I couldn't wipe that stupid smile on my face when I saw that he fell asleep next to me. Shortly, I had fallen asleep again because I didn't want him to catch me ogling at him.

Suddenly, I'm broken from my thoughts when I can hear people talking in the background.

"Hey!" Xiu exclaims, and I smile.

"Hey, how's your day?" I ask, and she sighs.

"It's going okay so far. What about you? I know you have to tell Rian's family about the baby."

"I already did that. They were all really happy for the both of us, and they're all ecstatic about it." I inform her, and I can picture her smiling.

"Soooo," Xiu sing songs. "Do you guys know the gender yet?"

I wish.

Rian says that he doesn't care about the gender of our baby, but I can just tell that he's praying for a little boy. Rian's going to teach the little boy how to be exactly like him when it comes to chivalry and a plethora of other things that Rian is amazing at.

That little boy would definitely be a mini clone of Rian, and I wouldn't have a problem with that. I'd rather have him follow his father's footsteps than go on a different path and disobey us.

I honestly don't care about the gender. As long as we have a healthy and happy baby, that's all that matters.

"No, I looked it up online. I don't find that out for a while." I sigh.

"How long is a while?" Xiu asks.

"I won't find out until I'm about sixteen to twenty weeks along, I'm only about four weeks. We've just got to be patient and wait." I say, and she groans.

"Ugh, I can't wait that long." She groans, and I chuckle.

"Okay, but who's the one who has to carry this baby for nine months?" I ask, and she doesn't answer.

"Right, my bad." Xiu says, and I smile.

"It's totally fine, Xiu. Anyway, how've you been? Has anything interesting happened at NYU?" I curiously ask.

I've been craving some information.

"Where do I even begin? Before I even got to the university, I met this guy on the street who saved my life and—" Xiu rapidly explains, but I stop her.

"What do you mean he saved your life?"

"I walked out into traffic and almost got hit with a taxi, but then someone grabbed me and pulled me back on the sidewalk." Xiu says.

"Nice," I say sarcastically.

"Hey! You know I'm not the most cautious." Xiu says defensively, and I chuckle.

"I'm aware of that." I laugh, and she does the same.

"Yeah, we all are."

"What's his name?" I ask, smiling from ear to ear.

"Levi," Xiu says, and I smirk.

For some reason, the name Levi makes me think of a man who's nothing but bad. But the good bad that girls fantasize about.

"What else happened?" I ask in a perverted tone.

"I didn't sleep with him, Alex! He's just not my type." Xiu exclaims.

"What do you mean he's not your type? I thought you had low standards." I say.

"I do, but still. He looks like the stereotypical bad boy with the leather jacket and tight jeans. He also has a tattoo."

I knew he was bad.

Trying to imagine Xiu, the ambivert who's got straight A's and constantly focuses on her studies with Levi who probably could care less about school forms a smile on my face.

That would be quite an interesting couple.

"He saved your life, Xiu." I say after a while, trying to make a point.

"Yeah, you're right on that, but he's actually kind of an asshole."

"How?" I ask, and I find myself twirling my hair around my finger like Xiu would.

"You know how bad boys are, they don't have a sensitive bone in their bodies and try to act like they're the king of the world or some shit. It's really annoying." Xiu groans.

"Ah, so he's arrogant. I'm not really surprised."

Xiu and I continue talking before she has to go to another class, and I hang up and continue to watch Rian.

Rian's head moves, and he rubs his eyes all of a sudden. I smile before leaning down and kissing him, and his hands temporarily waver before I feel them on my waist, and he trails them over my butt.

Our lips break apart, and Rian's eyes sparkle instead of looking dull after a person wakes up. A smirk spreads across his face, and I mimic him and run my hands through his soft hair.

"Good morning," Rian groggily says, and I'm still weak in the knees when I hear his morning voice.

I become mesmerized by his dazzling blue eyes that stare intently into mine. Rian's hand reaches over, and his cool fingers glide over my belly button. His smirk becomes a wide, toothy smile as his hand continues to caress my stomach.

"Hi," I whisper, giving him a smile. "Did you sleep well?"

"I slept excellently. Especially with my pregnant girlfriend keeping me warm."

My cheeks blush as Rian continues to flatter me, and I bite my lip. My long hair that I had tucked behind my ear becomes loose, and it hangs down and drags across Rian's face.

Lately I've been thinking about cutting my hair, because it's at my lower back, and that's the longest I've ever had it. When I met Rian, my hair stopped at my shoulder blades, but lately, I've just let my hair do its own thing.

His hand reaches up and tucks it back behind my ear for me, and his long fingers wrap around the nape of my neck.

Rian pulls me down, passionately kissing me like there's no tomorrow. Our breaths are intermingling, and I inhale sharply as he pulls me on top of him. My heart flutters inside of my chest, and the warmth causes everything inside of me to combust.

His soft lips press desperately against mine, and I completely ignore the fact that both of us have slight morning breath. We pull away for barely half a second, and as I place my forehead against his, he pulls me in for another hungry and breathtaking kiss. A low moan escapes my mouth, and my thoughts are obliterated as his tongue begins to carefully glide across the underside of my jaw.

"Babe," I moan, and he smirks before kissing my throat.

I finally notice that my shoulders are trembling, and so is my chest. Not in the bad way, though.

That feeling when all of the blood rushes to my head and creates this dizzying feeling makes me feel like I'm the only person on this planet. When my breath shakes as Rian brings more pleasure to my body, it's indescribable what happens to me.

Rian continues to kiss on my neck, and my eyes roll to the back of my head as the intolerable pleasure washes over me. The warmth radiates from where his lips are, slowly spreading through the rest of me.

Rian lets out a small chuckle, and his lips make their way to my collarbone. He smiles against my chest, and his eyes look up briefly before he sucks on my skin.

Rian knows how much I'm enjoying this, and with all of my raging hormones, I know he's partly doing this on purpose. He wants a huge reaction out of me, and due to my hormonal changes, Rian might receive one.

All of a sudden, I feel something rising up my esophagus. I try to swallow it back down my throat, but the taste of it is so vile that I can't hold it in my mouth for much longer.

Seriously, this couldn't wait for about thirty more minutes?

Shit!

Quickly, I stand up from the bed and rush to the bathroom while covering my mouth. I get on my knees in front of the toilet, and I heave as my stomach violently contracts.

Damn it.

I knew that I'd have morning sickness, but I wasn't expected to have it this early.

The contents of my stomach are finally propelled into the toilet in viscous chunks, and the acidic stench fills my nostrils. Another heave forces more of the vomit out of my throat, and the metallic tang causes my lips to pucker. Rian crouches down, and he holds my hair with one hand while he gently strokes my back with the other.

To say that I'm embarrassed is an understatement.

I know that Rian has seen me cry before, and I'm an ugly crier, but I'd rather have him see me cry than vomit.

Don't look at me!

I grab some toilet paper and wipe my mouth with it, but my saliva continues to uncontrollably ooze from my mouth. I groan, and I lean back onto the wall once I think my nausea subsides.

Thank God that's over.

"I'm sorry," I say hoarsely. "I know that wasn't the most pleasant thing to watch."

"Why are you apologizing? In case you've forgotten, you're pregnant. Nausea is competing normal, so don't feel ashamed about it. A lot of women have morning sickness." Rian softly, and reassuringly says to me.

"I just wish it would've happened at a different time. We were in the middle of something, and I just rudely interrupted it." I say, and my cheeks flame out of embarrassment.

"Stop it, Alex. There's nothing you could do about your nausea."

"I love how understanding you are." I smile, and I finally look at him.

When my eyes land on his, that worried look is wiped off his face, and it's replaced with that charming smile. His eyes tenderly caress my face, and then my body. He grabs my hand and holds it while he continues to admiringly stare at me.

"I've seen many pregnant women in my twenty five years of life, Alex. More than most people because I'm a doctor." Rian jokingly says, and I finally laugh.

"And because I'm your girlfriend." I add, and he chuckles.

That smile always makes me feel better.

"Yes, that too. I love you very much, and you know that. Just looking out for my girl, that's all."

"I'm proud to call you my boyfriend." I say, and I wrap my arms around him.

The embrace makes me feel whole, and every worry dissolves and is forgotten as his warmth wraps around me like a blanket. Rian kisses my temple before grabbing my other hand, and he helps me stand back up.

"You want anything, baby? Some water or something to eat?" Rian asks, and I shrug.

"Sure. I'll be downstairs in a moment." I say, and he winks at me before walking out of the bathroom.

I walk back over to the toilet, and I flush my bile down, and I watch it disappear.

Gross.

I shudder momentarily before shrugging and walking downstairs. Rian cuts chunks of watermelon on the cutting board, and he throws them in a bowl with other chopped fruits. He takes a spoon and mixes the fruit around, and the orange and yellow and red colors look bright and fresh as they mix together.

I smile and thank him when he hands me the bowl and a glass of water. We sit together at the table, and I can feel his burning gaze on me as I devour the succulent fruit.

Rian licks his lips as he watches me, and I smirk before putting a pineapple chunk in my mouth. Rian leans in, and the fruit is transferred from my mouth to his. He chews it slowly, and his eyes move up and down.

We both stand up, and I kiss him again. My hands cup his face, and I desperately try to fuse our mouths together. Our lips make smacking sounds as Rian continues to pull me closer and closer, but he lets go so that my stomach isn't pressed against his.

Alex, stop. You cannot have sex while you're pregnant.

Just because so many other women do it doesn't mean that you have to. It just wouldn't feel right.

Rian stops the kiss, and I feel his hands resting on my shoulders.

"Something's bothering you." Rian says observantly, and he furrows his eyebrows.

Damn his perceptiveness.

"Huh?" I blurt out, and I mentally kick myself.

You know what's bothering you, you dumbass.

"Tell me, you know I'll listen." Rian says, and that warm feeling develops in my chest.

God, I love this man.

"I love being intimate with you, but—" I start, but then pause as I try to find the right words.

"But?"

"I just feel like sex is going to be weird while I have a fetus inside of me." I awkwardly say.

"Well, technically it's still an embryo. At the end of your eighth week of gestation it'll become a fetus." Rian adds, and I smack his arm.

"You know what I mean." I say after rolling my eyes.

"I can see how you might feel a bit hesitant about us having sex during your pregnancy."

"Yeah, especially when my stomach gets huge. We won't be able to do much with my fat stomach getting in the way." I chuckle.

"I know, it's a lot to think of. We're sex addicts, and for a while we may not have sex." Rian chuckles, and his cheeks turn pink.

He's so considerate.

"Well, I don't know about no sex. We'll just have to see, I guess." I say, hesitantly.

"We'll start slow. Kind of like how we did when we first got together."

"God, I remember that. I used to be so awkward and shy around you." I say, and I sigh.

Rian's eyes glimmer as he smiles, and I can tell that he's reminiscing to himself. I remember how nervous I was on New Years Eve, and how hesitant I was before to love him.

I was still so insecure and still healing at a turtles pace. But now, I look at myself and I'm unrecognizable compared to the Alex from a year ago.

Due to my constant stress, my posture was constantly slouched, my face sagged and it made me look like I was naturally upset all of the time. The bags under my eyes from not getting any sleep, and the obvious wounds that I'd cover up by wearing pounds of makeup on one part of my face or wearing a large sweater in the middle of the summer.

That's what years of torment did to me.

Now, my entire face is lit up, and I haven't had a wound to cover up. There isn't a reason to lie anymore, and nothing is holding me down. My main priority is this baby, and my loving boyfriend.

"You want to try when I get home from work?" Rian asks, and I nod.

"We can try."

Rian kisses me again, and leaves me to eat my breakfast in private while he gets ready for work.

I look down at my stomach again, and I place my hand over it and I smile.

"You and I are extremely lucky to have Rian apart of our lives. He's going to be your father, and I wouldn't have anyone else be your paternal figure but him." I whisper to myself.

Rian unexpectedly came into my life, and now that he's the father of our first child, I know that he'll stay.

Being a parent is going to be the most difficult thing we've ever had to do, but with Rian, I'm prepared for this long road that's ahead of us.

~~~

In the hospital, I'm still caring for Sofia to the best of my ability. We've managed to lower her fever before it could cause any brain damage, and her condition has been stable for the past couple of days.

"Dr. Peterson?" Sofia squeaks, and I smile at the mispronunciation of my last name, because she doesn't really enunciate the T.

"Yes?" I say, and I alternate from the acetaminophen to the ibuprofen.

"Do you ever get scared? Like, when the kids get super duper sick?" She asks, and she innocently looks up at me.

"It is a bit scary, to be completely honest. I get scared when the persons condition continues to get worse instead of getting better. You're cooling off, so I'm not very scared anymore." I say, giving her a small smile.

"Is it hard being a doctor?" She inquisitively asks.

"Very hard, Sofia. It's rather difficult, and at first it was extremely burdensome to me, but now I've adapted to the work."

"You must be super duper smart, Dr. Peterson! My teachers at school use super big words, and so do you!" Sofia excitedly says, and her entire face lights up.

This little girl is such a cutie. Amanda and Richard are lucky to have her.

"Well, yes, I am. See, I have two degrees and—"

"What's a degree?" Sofa asks, and my smile makes my cheeks hurt.

"It's an academic rank that you get after you complete a certain study."

Sofia just tilts her head, and her face looks so adorably confused that I don't try to explain it again. She gives me a giggle before places her own hand against her forehead to test her temperature.

"I don't feel cooling down at all, Dr. Peterson." Sofia whines, and I smile.

"It isn't much of a difference from the temperature you had when you first got here, but it is lower, and that's good."

"You wanna know what my friends mommy did? When my friend got sick, her mommy put her in an ice bath, and she was all better!" Sofia exclaims.

"We don't do that here in the hospital. If I did that to you, the abrupt change in temperature could cause you to have a seizure, and then your temperature might rise up again. You wouldn't want that, right?" I ask, and she pouts.

"I guess not."

"Everything's going to be okay, sweetheart. Just be patient."

"Dr. Peterson, you're my favorite-ist doctor!" Sofia squeals, and she wraps her small arms around me for a hug.

"Thanks, honey. You might be my favorite and most adorable patient, besides my girlfriend." I say.

"Was that the pretty lady that came in here?" Sofia asks, and I nod.

Pretty is too small of a word to describe Alex.

"Yeah, that was her."

"Are you guys married?" She asks, and I shake my head.

Questions, questions, questions.

That's one of the reasons why I love little kids. Their inquisitiveness and naïveté makes me smile.

They're still so young, and don't know anything about the world, so their constant need to ask questions amuses me.

"Nope. At the moment, we're just boyfriend and girlfriend."

"Are you going to marry her?"

"I don't know, Sofia. Hopefully, one day I'll ask her and she'll say yes. In November, next month, it'll be our one year anniversary."

"November is when my birthday is! I'll be seven years old." Sofia excitedly says, holding up her fingers.

"Yes, I'm sure you'll have quite the celebration."

"I'm going to have a party at my school! There's going to be cupcakes! I'll have my parents bring you one." Sofia excitedly rambles.

"No thanks, sweetie. You can keep your cupcakes."

"Is this because you're a doctor and you want to stay healthy?"

Man, the questions never stop with Sofia.

"Healthy people can eat sweet things, Sofia. I'll tell you what, I'll bring you an early birthday cupcake and congratulate you on how fast you're recovering. Does that sound good?" I ask, and she smiles ear to ear.

"Yeah!" Sofia cheers, and she giggles afterwards.

"I'll be right back, Sofia. You stay put." I say, and she gives me a thumbs up before reaching for her mother's iPad.

I walk into the hallway, just to take a quick break. Before I reach the water fountain, I see Jessica talking with a petite woman who looks like she's in her mid forties.

"Jess!" I call out, and she smiles at me.