AJ arranged the chair and the TV so that he could sit next to Alissa while they watched a movie. They had decided that a comedy was the best choice and the two of them laughed for the next few hours. The movie was coming to a close when they both reached for the remote. His hand landed on top of hers and both were surprised that the other one didn’t pull their hand back. AJ let his hand rest there for a few seconds before he lifted it.

“Sorry.” he whispered.

“There’s nothing to be sorry for.”

AJ glanced over at her. “Ok.” He stood up, pushed the chair back and stretched. “I think I’m going to head off to bed. Do you need anything before I go?”

Alissa looked into his eyes. “Can I ask a favor?”

“Anything.” AJ said eagerly.

“Would you mind just staying in here until I fall asleep?”

“Not at all.” AJ pulled the chair back over to the bed. “Mind if I put my feet up?”

Alissa smiled. “No.”

“Thanks.”

AJ settled into the chair and Alissa lay down and pulled the covers over her. After a few minutes, her breathing started to slow and AJ thought she had fallen asleep. He was about to get up when he saw her hand inch over to the edge of the bed. Not sure what she wanted, he put his hand up next to hers. He was shocked when she nestled her hand into his and fell asleep.

He held her hand tightly and decided to spend the night in the chair. He wanted so much more but was willing to take whatever she was offering.

 -------------------------- 

Alissa awoke in the middle of the night. Being pregnant meant she was going to make it more than a few hours before the baby made her get up. She noticed that her hand felt heavy and when she looked down, she saw that AJ had his hand intertwined with hers. He was sound asleep in the chair and he looked so uncomfortable.

She slowly pulled her hand out of his and climbed out of bed. After her trip to the bathroom, she pulled a blanket off the bed and draped it over AJ. He always made the cutest faces when he slept and it made her smile. She was just about to lean over and kiss his cheek when he opened his eyes.

“Ah!” he said almost knocking her over.

She started laughing and had to sit down on the bed. “Sorry AJ. You looked so cute.”

AJ stared at her.

“I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up. I thought you might be cold.”

“Did you want to warm be up by scaring me to death?” he said as he started laughing.

Alissa hit him in the arm. “No, I was just trying to get the blanket over you.”

There was no way she was going to tell him that she almost kissed him. She still needed to keep some distance between them but she had to admit it was hard being close to him all the time.

“Why don’t you go back to your room and sleep? You looked really sore in the chair.”

AJ shook his head. “No the chair’s fine. It’s pretty comfortable.” he lied as he cracked his neck.

Alissa giggled. “Oh yeah, very comfortable. Go sleep in your bed before you wind up needing a chiropractor.”

“Are you sure? I can stay in here till you fall asleep again?”

“Actually, the baby seems to have decided that it’s time for me to wake up for a bit. He’s been kicking like crazy. See..”

Without thinking, she grabbed his hand and placed it over her stomach. The baby was kicking up a storm and AJ was amazed at feeling his son kick his hand. He looked up and met Alissa’s eyes.

Alissa dropped her hand. “I’m sorry AJ. I wasn’t thinking. I didn’t mean to….”

“That’s incredible!” he said with a grin on his face. “I think our son is going to be a soccer player.”

Alissa eyes got huge. It was the first time AJ had referred to the baby as their son and it shocked her.

Seeing her face, AJ got concerned. “Are you ok?”

It took her a minute to recover. “No, I’m ok. It’s just…” She stopped talking.

“It’s just what?” he asked.

Tears crept into her eyes. “You’ve never referred to the baby as our son and it kind of caught me off guard.”

AJ had never been as sorry in his life as he was in that moment.

“I’m sorry that I was such a jackass Liss.” He used her nickname not caring if it was too much. “I promise that from now on, we’ll do this together. He’s our son and I plan on being the best dad I can be.”

Alissa wiped the tears from her eyes.

“You do believe me right?”

She nodded. “I do.”

“Good.”

Not wanting to push the issue any more tonight, he got up and stretched.

“I’m going to try and sleep for a little bit but I’ll be back in a few hours.”  

“Ok.” she said as she lay back down on the bed. AJ pulled the covers over her and leaned down to kiss her on the forehead.

He left and headed back to his room. If he had it his way, he would have crawled into bed next to her and stayed all night.