"But you wanted to go to catering school," she reminded him. "I don't want you to have to give up on that just because my birth control decided to take a night off."

"I'd probably learn more on the job than I would in school," he told her. "Besides, I'm a little old for school, don't you think?" he asked, a teasing gleam in his eyes. "I'll find a regular job, Nali. Don't worry about it."

She laughed at his tease, kissing the tip of his nose affectionately. "You don't have to be the only one bringing in the dough, honey," she reminded him. "But thank you."

"I'm not baking bread for a living, Nali," he teased back, turning serious as another thought came to mind. "Is money a problem?" he asked, uncertainly.

She shook her head. "Not really," she admitted. "We have a pretty sizable nest egg. But I think we both need to be doing something, too."

"Well, Jack said this place gets pretty busy during surf season. What if we opened a cafe or something?" he suggested, though they'd need someone willing to invest in the business.

She blinked, surprised by the question, but that surprise was quickly overtaken by a broad smile. "You, honey, are a genius," she informed him, taking his face between her hands to kiss him with more enthusiasm than accuracy on the lips. "We could totally do that. You cook, I'll serve. It'd be like a little family cafe on the beach!"

"We can make our own hours, and hire a few people to help out," he suggested, chuckling as she kissed him with more enthusiasm than he'd kissed her. "It's just an idea, Nali, but I like cooking."

"I think it's a wonderful idea," she told him with a bright smile. "I suppose we should talk to Tommy and Jack about it before we start making any big plans, though."

"That's probably a good idea. The Cove belongs to them, after all," Rick replied in agreement. "It would be seasonal work, but if we make enough during the season, we could take fall and winter off."

She nodded, her mind already turning over the various hurdles ahead of them. "We wouldn't be ready to open until this time next year," she mused. "But we can support ourselves easily enough until we open, and it'd mean we wouldn't be trying to support a business as well as a newborn."

"Exactly. We'd have time to get used to being parents before the business opens," he said, following up on her train of thought. "What do you think" Do you like the idea?"

"Oh, was the kiss not obvious enough?" she countered laughingly, throwing her arms around his neck and planting another kiss on his lips. "I - " Kiss. "Love -" Kiss. "It." More kisses.

He chuckled into her kisses, winding his arms around her waist before returning the favor. "And I -" Kiss. "Love -" Kiss. "You -" Another kiss, deeper and longer than the others.

She giggled into his last kiss, only too happy to be pulled fully onto his lap and trade those kisses back and forth between them. "I guess Mom's going to get that nursery she wanted, huh?"

"I guess so," he replied, grinning back at her. "Maybe we should have just asked Future You and Future Me what we're supposed to do," he said, though that would have been cheating, and it seemed they'd cheated enough as it was.

She snorted with laughter. "You really think we would have told us?" Given the sheer amount that their future selves had managed to get arranged in the space of a single day, she didn't think they would have been easily convinced to share secrets.

He shrugged. "You never know. Maybe we sent ourselves a message only to be delivered and read on a specific date," he said, though that hardly seemed likely.

"If flowers show up at the hospital on the day our daughter is born, from her, I will vomit," she threatened in amusement. "That's just a little too weird, even for me."

Rick laughed again. "How do you think I feel" All of this is a little too weird for me, but without the weirdness, we might not be together, so who am I to argue?"

"Well, weird is a way of life around here, you're not wrong," she agreed with a low giggle, brushing the tip of her nose to his. "Part of me wishes we could have told your Mom we were expecting, though."

"I'm sure she knows," he said, with the faintest hint of a frown. He wasn't sure if she believed in an afterlife, but whether it could be proven or not, he didn't want to consider the alternative that there was nothing.

"I know," she agreed, her eyes crinkling in a wide grin. "Just would have been nice to see her tackle you into the sand twice in one day, that's all."

"Tackle me into the sand?" he echoed with a chuckle at the image that put in his head. "Do you want to pop back again to tell her?" he asked, though he had a feeling she would decline.

"We could," she mused, "but we'd be risking a lot to do it." Nali shrugged. "It's your choice, honey, not mine."

"We risked a lot to take Jack back, but he needed it," Rick said, knowing the risk was mostly to himself, as he was the one who'd cheated Death to come to Rhy'Din.

"He did," Nali agreed. "Perhaps we could bring her here for a visit' Send Lena or Jaz to get her, maybe? I don't think they would cause any ripples, and you'd be safe."

Rick furrowed his brows at Nali's suggestion, which opened another whole can of worms, as far as he was concerned. "If we bring her here, I'm not so sure I'd want her to go back."

"If she didn't go back, you would remember being abandoned by your mother, the way Jack was," she pointed out. "And would she want to stay, knowing she has a little boy to raise?"

"How far back are we talking about going?" he asked, that puzzled expression still on his face. If they went that far back, it might not be necessary to bring her to Rhy'Din at all.

"Well, Jack visited just after you were born," she said thoughtfully. "That doesn't seem to have had any after-effects. You don't remember it happening, after all."

"Fair enough," he said. If it was meant to be, it was meant to be. They'd find out soon enough, he supposed. "Do you think the future is changeable?" he asked curiously.

"I don't think anything is set in stone," she said, with confidence that came from the fact that they had already changed his future together. "But I see no problem with following a path we know leads to a good place."

"Then, we're going to have a daughter," he said, his voice uncharacteristically quiet. A little blond imp of a girl they'd caught a glimpse of during their peek at the future.

"And another baby," she said, her voice softer now as she recalled the sight of the bundled up baby that had been sitting on his future self's lap in the park. "We're going to have a family together."

He smiled at the memory of that. "We're going to have a life together," he told her, brushing a kiss against her lips as he held her close. Though the future wasn't set in stone, he was determined to make that peek at the future reality.

"Maybe I should start wearing, like, platform heels," she suggested with a low laugh, up as high as she could get on her toes and he still had to stoop to kiss her.

"Don't change a thing. I love you just the way you are," he told her, even as he smiled in amusement at her suggestion. "Think we should make the bed, Mrs. Connors" Because I plan on christening our new house by making love to my wife tonight."

She giggled. "We probably should," she agreed. "Because after the food arrives, I don't think we're going to do anything but christen the new house. Several times. In many earnest, kinky ways."

"Kinky, huh?" he echoed with another chuckle. "Care to tell me what you consider kinky?" he asked, eyes bright with amusement and curiosity.

Nali snorted with laughter. "All right, let's go with adventurous instead," she suggested in amusement. "But we need food first, and before that, we need a bed to finish up in later."

"Come on, Mrs. Connors. We'll make it together," he told her, touching another kiss to her lips before pulling away to take her hand and lead her to the bedroom. "Do you remember where we put the sheets?"

"In the airing cupboard," she answered easily, happy to wander through their house at his side. "Dad was really insistent that I make sure all the linen was unpacked so it didn't get crumpled or damp."

"And where's that?" he asked, vaguely aware of what she was referring to, though they'd never had such a thing back home in Texas, where his mother had hung the laundry on a line outside, or put it in the dryer when it was damp.

"Next to the master bath," she said, giving his hand a gentle tug to pull him up the stairs toward the master suite. Their children were going to be sleeping downstairs, unless they did a little rearranging. "I still can't quite believe we have a house!"

"It's a lot nicer than either of our apartments," Rick remarked as he took yet another look around at their spacious new house. "A lot roomier, too."

"I didn't realize three bedrooms would be so big," she agreed in amusement, opening up the cupboard door to pull out sheets for the bed. "It doesn't feel that big in Jack's house!" But, of course, Jack had two children and a dog.

Rick chuckled. "Jack's house is a little more crowded than ours," he said, though if their peek at the future was anything to go by, it wouldn't be long before they'd catch up.

"Maybe we should make the most of the space while we have it," she said cheerfully, tossing him a set of pillowcases. "We have a lot of rooms to christen, after all."

"A lot of empty rooms," he added with a smirk as he guessed what she had in mind, wondering if she was planning on doing it on the floor or against a wall.

"Does the attic count?" she asked teasingly, taking her armful of bed sheets into the master bedroom. There were a few boxes in here still to be unpacked, but thankfully the collective effort had at least constructed the bed and furniture, and put the mattress in place.

He'd caught the pillow in his arms and followed her into the bedroom to help her make the bed. "You want to christen the attic?" he asked, brows arching upwards.

"I'm just trying to work out how many rounds it would take to do the whole house." Nali laughed, pulling out the fitted sheet from her pile to begin making the bed with him.

"How many rooms are there?" he asked, with a smirk. He set the pillow down with the rest of the bedding and moved to the other side of the bed to help her with the sheets.

"Hmm, let's see ..." She grinned as they set about making their bed together. "There's the living room and kitchen, the downstairs bathroom, the two bedrooms downstairs ....the master bedroom, the master bath, possibly the attic. At least seven rooms."

"I hope you're not planning on christening them all in the same night!" Rick exclaimed with a chuckle. It seemed pregnancy had done nothing to slow her down or diminish her sex drive. At least, not yet.

"Maybe one a day," she suggested impishly. "A week-long housewarming, as it were." She wiggled her brows with outrageous mischief, disappearing briefly from view as they shook out the next sheet.

Rick laughed at his wife's suggestion. "Sounds like a tempting offer," he said, with a twinkle of amusement in his blue eyes. He waited for the sheet to drive back to the bed before taking the other side and arranging it on the bed.

"Of course," she added, diligently keeping her eyes on her hands as she tucked and folded, "that isn't to say I'm not going to ambush and ravish you in a room of my own choosing on a daily basis after that."

Rick laughed again. "Oh, really' I'll consider myself warned. Poor me," he said, as he ducked down to help her tuck and fold. Whatever had upset him earlier seemed to have been forgotten, at least for now.

"Oooh, baby, tease me more," she moaned, just as teasing herself as she reached out to catch his tongue between her chopsticks. "Wiggle it just right and see what note I hit."

He tried to say something but it was unintelligible with his tongue trapped between her chopsticks. He was tempted to give her raspberries, but withheld that temptation, reaching over to steal a hunk of pork from  her chow mein instead.

"Hey!" She released his chopsticks to hug her chow mein protectively, but too late - he already had his prize. That was something she was still learning to do; to let him share her food. Growing up in her family has resulted in Nali practically inhaling every meal, just in case someone finished before her and started eating off her plate.

He chuckled at her reaction. He'd never had to fight for his food like she had and found her reaction hysterical, especially since he had no intention of stealing her chow mein. "Trade?" he asked, offering her a bite of his sesame chicken.

She playfully considered for a moment. "Okay, you're forgiven," she said finally, opening her mouth for him to feed her. She knew she was lucky he didn't take offense to her occasional backsliding into big sister territory.

On the contrary, he found her behavior amusing, and in some ways, he even envied her. After all, she had grown up in a large family, and though he'd had three half-brothers, he had grown up an only child. "I'm so relieved," he replied, with a hint of sarcasm.

"You should be," she said with her mouth full. "I once went a whole week not talking to Colt after he stole my popsicle." She grinned, winking at him.

"Oh, the horror!" Rick said, trying to keep a straight face. "You couldn't stop talking to me for five minutes, much less a week," he taunted, as he gobbled up another blob of chicken mixture.

"I'm not going to say you're right," she informed him, grabbing another eggroll. "Because that is a line our relationship has not crossed yet." Apparently meaning that if he ever stole her frozen treat, there would be hell to pay.

"Whatever happened to 'What's mine is yours and yours is mine'?" he asked, the gleam in his eyes hinting at the fact that he was still teasing and obviously amused by the turn of conversation. "Are you going to be one of those wives who has a secret chocolate stash?"

She laughed. "Chocolate is your thing," she reminded him fondly. "I can't really hide a freezer anywhere, or I would definitely have a secret stash of popsicles."

"Sweetheart, I promise, you can have all the popsicles you want," he told her, and might have even laid a hand against his heart if he wasn't so busy trying to eat.

"And that's why I love my husband," she said with warm mischief, leaning over to kiss his cheek. "Have I told you how much I like the new look, by the way?"

"Hmm?" he murmured through a mouthful of sesame chicken. He'd recently ditched the retro 90's look and gotten his hair cut and his beard trimmed. It was a different look for him, with his hair combed back from his face, his beard trimmed closer to his face, and his wardrobe updated. "You approve" Do I look too much like Jack?"

"You look amazing," she promised him. "And no, you don't look too much like Jack. You look like you, like you're comfortable in your own skin. And it's gorgeous."

There were obvious differences between Rick and his older (but now younger) brother. Jack was clean-shaven for one thing, and his hair was blonder and shorter than Rick's. Jack was also quiet and shy compared to his more outgoing brother. Rick shrugged, as if it was nothing, though he was glad Nali approved of the new look. "I'm not undercover anymore."

"Never need to hide who you are around me, honey," she agreed fondly, setting down her carton with a happy sigh. "That was a gorgeous meal, thank you." Inhaling her food like it was going out of fashion was still her thing, it seemed.

He shrugged in answer to the compliment. "No need to thank me. I just ordered it," he said, unlike most nights when he did the cooking. He picked up the fortune cookies and held them out to her on the palm of his hand. "Pick one."

"But I like exercising my manners," she protested playfully. She considered the cookies on his palm before selecting one. "These things are usually hilarious for me."

"I think they're supposed to be," he said, closing his hand around the cookie that was left. "You first," he said, watching her in amusement. These things were usually pretty cryptic in meaning, and he was curious whether that was still true on Rhy'Din.

Grinning, Nali curled up on the couch beside him, cracking open her cookie to read the little slip of paper inside. She snorted with laughter, still giggling as she read out, "Don't worry, half the people you know are below average."

Rick chuckled, slinging an arm around her to draw her close and peeking over her shoulder at her fortune. "I hope I'm not one of them!" he said, reaching around her to break open his own fortune cookie and pull out the slip of paper hidden inside. He wrinkled his brows at what was written there. "You are cautious in showing your true self to others."

She tilted her head to look up at him. "You keeping secrets there, Mr. Connors?" she asked, her tone tender. She knew he was a little guarded with most people, after all.

"Not that I'm aware of," he replied, brows still furrowed. At least, not with her, but perhaps he was with others, even if he didn't realize it.

"It's just a fortune cookie, Rick," she reminded him with a fond smile. "It isn't a deep analysis of you personally - most people keep their very truest self guarded from everyone. They only show everything they have to the people they love."

"Yeah, I guess," he said, realizing she was right, though the fortune seemed to hold a speck of truth. "Do you think-do you think Jack is okay with us living here?" he asked, revealing the fact that he still worried about Jack's acceptance.

Her smile softened at his query. "Well, seeing as Jack's the one who chose the spot to put the house, and insisted on seeing the blueprints before all the foundations were put in," she said, carefully reminding him that his brother had been almost more active than they had been in the building of their home, "yeah, I think he is. I think he's very happy to have his own family nearby."

She whined like a child, laughing at her own ridiculous reaction. "Fine," she conceded, sliding her legs off his lap to stand up and stretch. "I am expecting at least one really good kiss before lights out, just so you know."

Blue eyes twinkled as he smirked up at her, before moving to his feet and sliding his arms around her waist again. "I think I can manage that," he said, brushing a soft but brief kiss against her lips, as if to entice her.

His lips found her smile, warm and soft as her own arms wrapped about him in response, trading that kiss for a kiss of her own before her hands began to smooth down along his arms. "Don't be too long cleaning up."

"I won't be," he promised, reluctantly letting her go, so that he could clean up the mess before joining her in the bedroom. He didn't want to wake up in the morning to spoiled leftover Chinese food, after all.

"All right." She smiled as she stepped back. "I'm gonna take a quick shower before bed. Won't be long!" With a wink and a surprising skip to her step, she slipped away, her footsteps on the stairs betraying that she was incapable of just walking when she was so excited about having a home.

He knew he should probably do the same and maybe if he hurried, he'd catch her before she was finished. He chuckled when he heard her skipping up the stairs before turning to gather up the cartons and packages from the coffee table and carry it all into the kitchen to be disposed of. There was still a lot of work to be done around the house, but it could wait until morning.

The worst of the heavy lifting and construction had been done by their families over the course of the day, and unpacking boxes would not take them long once they committed to it. Tonight, they could ignore the boxes and just enjoy the fact that they had a home that was all their own, and the prospect of many good years ahead of them.

It wasn't more than a few minutes before he was finished, taking the stairs two at a time as he followed her to the second floor, listening to hear if she was still in the shower or if she'd gone to bed.

The water was still running, the door left open and a trail of clothing leading the way to the shower which was, indeed, still occupied. Nali did like a good shower, after all.

He smiled to know he'd made it in time, quietly tugging off his shirt and climbing out of his pants leaving a trail of discarded clothes  to join hers on the floor. He quietly tiptoed into the bathroom, not so that he could startle her, but surprise her. He slid the shower door aside as quietly as he could before stepping into the shower and sliding his arms around her waist, his lips brushing the back of her neck in greeting.

She squeaked, surprised but already laughing at her reaction even as she leaned back into his embrace. "Fancy seeing you here."

"Did you think I'd go to bed without you?" he asked, glad he'd caught her in time. "We both need a shower, so might as well save water." That was his excuse anyway.

"Mmm, tough decision," she teased, turning about in his arms. "You all slippery and wet, or you laid out in bed, waiting for me. You're gonna spoil me."

"You can have both, you know," he told her, that smile still on his face, as the shower soaked them both, his hands moving over her waist and hips.

"See" Totally spoiling me," she informed him, rising up onto her toes to kiss him fondly. "You know, if it was possible, I would spend hours in the shower with you."

"We'd need a bigger hot water tank," he teased, giving her a kiss before reaching for the bar of soap so that he could wash the dirt and sweat from both their bodies. "We could get a hot tub," he suggested.

"Mmm, that is tempting," she agreed, swiping her hair back out of her face. "But where would we put it?" She grinned into his kiss, quite happy for him to wash her back so long as she was allowed to wash his.

"I'm sure we could squeeze it in somewhere," he said, though he wasn't too worried about it. He was thorough but gentle as he scrubbed her back clean, but it wasn't her back he was longing to touch, as evidenced by the way his hands quickly wandered to other more tempting parts of her body.

She giggled softly as his hands began to wander, her own fingers tracing their own designs across the warmth of his wet skin. "Maybe we should hurry this up so we can go to bed," she murmured impishly.

"Oh?" he asked, that smirk on his face again. "Is this the same woman who just said she'd like to spend hours with me in the shower?" he teased, as he dropped onto his knees as if in worship of her, his mouth trailing kisses down her body as his hands cupped her breasts.

"I ..." She interrupted herself with a soft moan, arching into his touch without any thought of reserve. "I maintain the right to change my mind on occasion."

"Mmhmm," he murmured, no longer able or willing to reply as his mouth was busy with more pleasurable things than talking - not only for her pleasure but for his. There was nothing he enjoyed more than making her happy, after all.

He certainly stole the words from her mouth, leaving her writhing in delight under his tender care. He knew her so well, so intimately, that even her added sensitivity was easily incorporated until she was crying out in pleasure, arched beneath the fall of the water.

Even though they hadn't known each other long, he was no inexperienced lover. He had quickly learned how to make her sigh and moan with pleasure and gloried in his ability to do just that. He didn't stop until she was putty in his hands, until he knew he had brought her to the pinnacle of pleasure, allowing her body to relax completely under his ministrations.

She was tired - relaxing her completely would probably result in her passing out right there in his arms. But Nali knew herself well enough not to give in totally, reaching to draw him back into her arms as she smiled breathlessly. "You're amazing."

She chuckled, shucking off the t-shirt to wriggle under the covers comfortably. "I claim the right side, then," she declared. "If you want it, come and get it."

He smirked. "I'd rather come and get you," he said, forgetting the boxers. If she could sleep naked, so could he. He tugged the towel away from his midriff and tossed it aside, revealing that he was already ready for Round Two, before stalking toward the bed.

Rolling onto her side to watch him approach, Nali offered up an innocent grin. "If you can helicopter, I'll make you breakfast in the morning."

"I'll helicopter when you twirl a pair of tassels," he countered, climbing into the bed beside her without indulging her request. He reached over to turn the light off before snuggling up close, sliding his arms around her waist.

She giggled, only too happy to slide into his arms as her own curled about his shoulders. "I think I do actually have a pair of tassels somewhere," she mused teasingly, brushing a kiss to his chin.

"Mmm, another night maybe," he said, feeling far too content at the moment to move an inch, even for that. "Are you happy, Mrs. Connors?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer to that.

She smiled, nuzzling into him in the warm darkness. "I'm very happy, Mr. Connors," she promised affectionately. "Are you?"

"Happiest I've ever been," he replied, though again, he didn't really have to. There was only one thing that would make him happier, but she'd already made clear how impossible that was. "Tired?" he asked, unsure if she truly was up to a second round, despite her warning in the shower.

Tucking herself in as close to him as she possibly could, Nali sighed softly. "Mmmhmm," she admitted. "Mind if I make it up to you in the morning, instead?"

"Nah, maybe I'll even helicopter for you," he teased, touching a tender kiss to her lips.

It had been a long, full day, and they had ended it the best way they could - in each other's arms. Always in each other's arms, he vowed, until the end of his days. Now that was a life sentence they could both live with.