Birds chirped outside the bedroom window as the sun rose over the horizon, arousing Chris from his sleep. He lifted his head and looked at the clock hanging on the wall, groaning when he realized it was only 6:03AM. His head fell back on his pillow and he turned towards Denise. Just as he was about to succumb to sleep again, he caught her pretty face in his sight and decided he'd much rather watch her sleep. He tucked his hand under his face and smiled in reminiscent of how their night had been spent. They'd pizza by the fireplace while discussing wedding details, and after- well, dessert, sweet kisses, and then some. It was no surprise things between them had grown more passionate since they started planning their wedding. The post-engagement glow that had been put on the back burner had resurfaced now that their wedding was actually happening. And boy, were they using it to their advantage behind closed doors.

Chris gently pushed Denise's hair out of her face, whispering, "ten more weeks." He leaned forward and planted a tender kiss on her forehead. "I can't wait to be married to you." He sighed with a great deal of satisfaction then settled back down in his original position and continued to admire his future bride. To him, she would always be the most beautiful person he'd ever laid his eyes on.

Denise woke shortly after Chris did. As quiet and gentle as he was being with his whispering, hair brushes, and forehead kisses, she was still awoken by it. She peeked at him through one eye and stifled a giggle when she saw him smiling at her. "I know we're engaged and hopelessly in-love, but waking up to you staring at me is still incredibly creepy." She teased and he chuckled, turning onto his back with his gaze still on her. "What time is it?" She asked mid-yawn, stretching her limbs.

"Time to get started on our day, I suppose." He rested one hand on his chest and yawned when he saw her yawn again. "Didn't you say we've got wedding cakes to taste today?" He quizzed and she sighed, noising confirmation. "What's with the sigh?" He chuckled. "We're going to four of the best bakeries in Los Angeles to eat cake. All kinds of cake. I'm excited and I'm not even as huge a cake person as you. It's going to be a very yummy day."

"I know it is," she sighed again as she sat up. She remembered how excited she was when she first told Chris about their cake tasting plans, her stomach practically growled when she saw the email responses from each bakery. But for some unknown reason, she wasn't excited anymore. In fact, just thinking about tasting cake- any kind of cake- made her feel like hurling. "But- I don't know, Chris." She turned back to him and he sat up, looking concerned. "I feel weird, I just-" she licked her dry lips. "I don't really feel like cake."

"That's okay," his hand rubbed her back soothingly. "You don't have to eat much, just a bite of each." As soon as he suggested that, she felt herself make a face. Her mouth became dry, her cheeks and jaw sore, like her body was preparing for her to puke. "That is- um," he chuckled then pursed his lips together at her expression. "That is not a face you want to see before a cake tasting." Every time Chris said the word 'cake', Denise felt her stomach churn. "Do you want me to call the bakeries and postpone the cake tasting?"

"I want you to stop saying the word 'cake'," Denise begged. Just thinking about what her day was going to consist of was starting to make her feel a little lightheaded. "And no, because we can't postpone. We have so much to do and so little time to do it all, we can't afford to lose this meeting." He nodded understandingly, sighing. "It's already the middle of July, Chris. We haven't even gotten quarter of the way through our checklist. You haven't even sorted our your wedding party, you've just got Scott and Sebastian so far.

"To be fair, neither have you." He pointed out then winced at her deadpan expression. "What? I'm just saying you've only got Luca as your maid of honor, so technically- I'm ahead by one person." She grabbed her pillow and whacked him with it. He laughed and she smiled. "Relax, okay? We've got plenty of time. On the bright side, our band is sorted already." Her smile widened as she shook her head. That was a tactic, every time Denise looked like she was about to flip out Chris would remind her that, "Ed Sheeran is coming to sing for us" knowing very well it'd calm her.

"I've only got Luca as my maid of honor because she's the only girl friend I have that is actually still living in the United States. Corrie is in Japan, Ember is in London, and Safiya's in Canada. I want them to be in my wedding party but I don't want them to feel obligated to fly in for things, they've got jobs and responsibilities where they are. And I'm not going to ask my brother's ex-girlfriend, I really should have known better than to grow close with her. It's not like I can invite her to the wedding anymore, do we want a huge cat fight between his ex and his current?" Denise asked then answered herself, "no, we do not." She ran a hand through her hair, wishing she didn't need a whole party. "Do you think Carly and Shanna would be a part of my bridal party if I asked? They wouldn't mind flying in from Boston once in a while, right?"

"Of course they wouldn't mind, baby. My sisters love you and they'd be more than happy to be your bridesmaids." He smiled when she smiled. "I'll even let you have Tara if you want, I don't need to get her to be a grooms-woman. I think she'd have a much better time with you ladies." Denise's smile widened and she kissed Chris' cheek. "So relax, okay?" He took her hand and squeezed it. "Bridal party or not, we're still going to get married. And if things get too chaotic, we do what Jim and Pam did in The Office. Okay?"

"Okay," she giggled.

"Okay," he chuckled and pulled his hand away, climbing out of bed. "I'm going to go get cleaned up first so I can sort Dodger's breakfast out while you do your thing, then we can head out for the day. I think we can skip our own breakfast considering you look like you can barely handle a bite of cake." Denise nodded in agreement as Chris headed for the ensuite. "Okay then," he glanced back at her, smiling. "We've got our game plan, now let's hustle."

"Well I can't do anything until you finish up in there," she reminded him, laying back down.

"I know, just don't fall asleep," he teasingly warned before he closed the ensuite door behind him.

The second the shower started running, Chris started singing. Denise smiled, letting her eyelids close. But before she could let herself drift off, Dodger came barreling in to pounce on her. "Dodger!" Denise laughed when he licked her face. "Oh my God, stop!" She squirmed under him, laughing hysterically as he continued to attack her face with kisses. "Oh bud," she ran a hand over his head, smiling when he stopped to look at her with a tilted head. "Aren't you a romantic? Giving me kisses so early in the morning."

Dodger barked in her face, causing her to flinch then laugh. He settled in front of her and gently rested his head on her belly. She smiled and stroked his fur, his head to his tail. He was a handsome one, that boy, and such a sweet and protective fella; a trait he no doubt got from Chris. Denise sat up and leaned forward, kissing the top of his head. Chris walked out of the steamy bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. At the sight of Denise and Dodger, his heart swelled and a smile danced on his lips.

"Forgot my underwear," he answered her eyebrow raise. He was about to walk over to scratch Dodger's head when he was growled at. "Excuse me." He stopped in his tracks and held his hands up in surrender. "What was that, pal?" He tried to take another step closer; Dodger's growl increased in ferocity and volume. Chris froze and narrowed his eyes at how protective his dog was being with his fiancée. "What's with him?"

"I don't know," Denise shrugged with furrowed brows. She pressed her lips to Dodger's head and murmured into his fur, "what's wrong, handsome?" She darted her gaze up at Chris, suppressing her urge to smile as she teased him. "Did Chris do something to upset you, hm? Can't say I'm surprise, he is quite the pain in the ass, isn't he?" Dodger settled his head back on her belly then audibly whined. Immediately, Denise burst into laughter and Chris scoffed. "What did you do to the poor boy, Evans?"

"Me?" Chris laughed. "I didn't do anything! He's the one who's forgotten who his real owner is." He joked and Denise rolled her eyes. "I see how it is, Dodger. A pretty girl comes into our lives and you turn on me?" Denise laughed, playing with Dodger's ears. "You know what, fine. Be that way. Don't come to me when you want to go on a run 'cause she won't take you running."

"I can take him walking," Denise quipped, defending her distaste of running. "Can't I, bud?" She cooed in Dodger's face. "Yes I can." He licked her cheek in response and she laughed, rubbing her hands all over his fur. Chris squinted at both of them evilly. It took a while for Denise to notice, laughing harder when she did. "Don't be jealous, babe." She teased him. "You know we've got love in our hearts for you, slightly deeper down."

"Yeah, whatever," Chris rolled his eyes. He involuntarily smiled as he walked back to the ensuite, overjoyed that this was his life now; his mornings were no longer mundane with Denise around. He turned around and stood in the doorway, a hand pressed against the doorjamb. "I can't wait to see where I stand when we have a baby."

"What do you mean 'when'?"

Chris' heart skipped a beat when Denise said that. Though he knew she wasn't pregnant, and it was a lead up to a joke at his expense, he still couldn't help himself. After years of dating women he didn't have a clear vision of his future with, he finally found himself with one he did. He was ready to have a baby with her, to start on the rest of their lives together. The only reason he was yet to do so was because she still had a lot she needed to do before she became a mother. He was understanding of that and willing to wait, but if she turned to him tomorrow and said "let's have a baby," he'd comply in a blink of an eye.

"I'm pretty sure we already have one." She continued, pointing at him. He laughed sarcastically then slammed the door shut. She knew he wasn't actually upset because she could hear him genuinely laughing on the other side of it. His laughter would always be incredibly contagious, leaving her to helplessly laugh with him. "He just proved my point," she whispered to Dodger, giggling. "I am so glad I've got you, I wouldn't know how to handle him on my own."

Dodger nudged his nose into Denise's hand and she smiled, scratching his head. She loved Dodger as much as she loved Chris, sometimes more than she loved Chris because Dodger would never do anything to annoy her or piss her off. Chris knew this and he used Dodger to his advantage when he got into fights with Denise, tying notes to Dodger's collar and sending him to find her. It was pretty cute and she'd always crack after seeing Dodger's adorable face. But then again, it didn't take long for her to crack at Chris' adorable face either. She was weak when it came to those two, just like Chris was weak when it came to Denise and Dodger.

It would be interesting to see what would happen when the time came for the couple to become parents. Denise always saw herself as the bad cop to Chris' good cop when she wrote, they both agreed he'd be a pushover when their first child came along. Be it a little man or a little princess- he'd waited too long for a child to be strict with him or her. Denise would most likely have to be the one to do the disciplining, though knowing her soft heart- she wouldn't be able to be the strict and authoritative parent she'd always imagined herself to be. But that was a long way down the road, not something either of them had to worry about now. Now, the only child Denise had to worry about was her fiancé because even Dodger was more mature than Chris. Chris, who was once again walking out of the steamy bathroom with just a towel, because he realized the pair of underwear he'd taken was Denise's and not his.

"Nice hair," Denise commented, trying not to laugh at Chris' wet and deliberately spiked up hair; it was the kind of hairstyle one would do to a two year old when one gave them a bath. He winked and reentered the bathroom, closing the door behind him again. "So much more mature," she chuckled into Dodger's fur when she gave him another kiss.