In Your Eyes

The aisle was not small, nor were Ali's choices.

She stood there with her arms limp at her sides, her eyes wide from the slew of names and packages and choices. Boxes in pink. Boxes in blue. Boxes claiming to be ready in three minutes. Boxes that told you with lines, words, and mathematical symbols.

Ali blinked. I don't have a clue what I'm doing.

Picking up the one at eye level, she flipped the box over and skimmed the promise of the brand: Guaranteed to detect pregnancy six days before your missed period.

"Bingo." Ali scanned the others, but decided the box she held was the one she was going home with.

As she stood in line and paid, she could tell her stomach still felt weak. Her headache was still there, and her nerves were as keyed up as ever. Most importantly: her period was three days late. She was never late.

Climbing into her SUV, Ali closed the door and sat there for a second, staring at the white plastic bag in the passenger seat.

What if I am.

She covered her face with her hands, rubbing her tired and anxious face.

But what if I'm not? What's wrong with me then?

Inhaling deeply, Ali put the car in reverse and put her nerves aside until she got home. Whether she spent another ten minutes worrying in the parking lot or not, it wouldn't change a thing. She would have to wait until she was home.

And then she'd know.

She chewed her lip the entire drive home, weaving in and out of midday traffic but barely seeing any of the cars around her. She kept the music off as well, listening only to the rush of air and the road beneath her tires. Eventually, freeways turned to residential streets, which turned into her cul de sac. She drove a little too fast down her street, but she didn't care. She needed to get home.

When she rounded the final turn that led her to her house - she let out a giant exhale in relief when she saw James' car parked in the driveway.

Oh thank God.

Ali whipped her vehicle in the spot next to his, grabbed the plastic bag and hurried up the steps leading to their front door. Upon entering, she saw James' gym bag and white and yellow Under Armour trainers by the door.

"James?"

"Up here!"

Ali sighed and closed her eyes. He really is here, thank God. She went into the kitchen and dumped the plastic bag of its contents onto the island. Her hands were shaking when she picked up the box, looking at it for the first time off the shelf.

James came down the stairway and moseyed into the kitchen, his mouth half full of food. He gave her a little tap on the ass. "Hey babe."

Ali turned and held the box up and said nothing.

James' eyes lowered from her face to the box, and he stopped chewing. "What...."

"I puked at work."

His blue eyes rose and grew rounder. "What does that mean?"

"I don't know." Ali stared at him, her hands still trembling.

"Do you think--"

"--I'm three days late" she said.

"What?"

They stared at one another, questions running through both their minds at lightning speed.

"What do we do?" James asked.

Ali looked down at the box in her hands. "I think there's only one thing we can do."

"We'll do it together." James took the box from her hands. "I'll hold it - you piss on it."

"Ew, no! You are NOT holding it!" She snatched the box back with a laugh. The fact that James had cracked her tension and fear with his humor made her realize just how much love she had for him.

"What do I do then!?" He was looking at her seriously.

"Oh babe." Ali gave him a sympathetic smile. "Just being home and being with me right now is enough."

Both of them looked down at the box in her hands.

"I'm afraid to do it" Ali whispered.

James saw the trepidation in her doe eyes, the corners of her mouth tense and firm as she gazed up at him. His heart was racing in his chest, his nerves heightened to a level that trumped any pre-game, pre-olympic, pre-playoff game he ever played in. It was an entirely foreign feeling, being that excited and that nervous all at once. It was even more than when he and Ali got married. That seemed so much easier now, compared to this.

"Help me, James."

He took the box from her and tore it open gently. He fished the directions out first, then the test stick. Holding it up, he cracked a smile. "At least it's all cute and pink" he said, eyes crinkling at their corners. "I'm glad they made it so pretty."

Ali laughed. "You should've seen the other ones."

"There's more than one?!?!"

"Like 15 others."

"Wow." James nodded, flipping the stick over and inspecting it like it was from outer space. "Who would guess there were 15 different ways to piss on a stick." His eyes moved to meet Ali's, and he smiled. "You ready?"

Ali silently stared at the stick as James handed it to her.

"I'll wait here." He hooked a hand around the back of her neck and squeezed tenderly. "And then we'll wait together."

They looked at each other and their worried gazes turned to ones of love and confidence in the other. Ali felt James' hand rubbing her neck beneath her hair and it comforted her more than he knew. His presence alone...all of his tall, athletic, handsomely-scruffy self standing there, being there for her....it gave her what she needed in that moment.

She looked down at the stick in her hands, and then back at James. "Be back in a few minutes."

* * *

Danika went down the list, one item at a time. "Linens, pictures and frames, laptop and various cords...blender?"

Piper took a swig of beer and nodded. "Yup. He doesn't have one."

"That health monster doesn't have one?"

"Nope. And he likes mine - so it's coming."

"Wow." Dani was impressed. She checked off that box on the list and continued reading through the rest of the items.

Piper listened from her sitting position on the floor, propped back against one of the large boxes of items she packed that week. It was weird to listen to the groups of her belongings being rattled off. When they were placed about her home, she didn't think of them so much as objects but as just part of her life or her home. To list them like she did made them seem so cold.

"I think that's it" Dani said, eyes rolling down the tablet. She looked up and smiled. "Looks like you're all done."

"Three days." Piper shook her head, slowly rolling it from side to side against the box. "Three fucking days." She rolled her head to the left to meet Danika's gaze. "Have you picked out when you're coming to visit?"

"Sid's still holding me to it, huh?"

Piper nodded as she drank. Her lips left the bottle with a soft smack. "You know it. Hell, I'M holding you to it."

"I'll check my little black book and get back to you...I have a business to run now, ya know."

Their eyes met and they both laughed. Piper closed her eyes satisfyingly, her beer resting in her hands in her lip. "Ahhh....Dani. You ever wonder if all this 'being in the moment' stuff we've been practicing for years and years and passing on to others is really the way one should live their life?"

"Yes." Dani took the beer from Piper so she could take a drink for herself. "Why would you question that? Look at how far it's gotten you."

"Jobless and homeless?"

Dani made a dissatisfied sound with her mouth. "You're not homeless."

"But I am jobless." She looked over at her friend with a half-tipsy smirk.

"You should do something totally different" Dani offered. "I mean...stay in the realm of our practice, but branch out!"

"To what?"

"I don't know..." Dani thought quickly. "Hatha? Ashtanga? Prenatal? Restorative?"

"Sports medicine?" Piper giggled, feeling the effects of that third beer really taking hold of her. She gasped and turned to Dani. "I could find a hockey player for you!! Then you can come move to Pittsburgh and we can--"

"---Slooooowww down, slugger." Dani was laughing. "You're getting a little ahead of yourself, don'tchya think?"

She shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not."

"You have Ali in town though, right? And her husband? You won't be alone, and before you know it - your new studio will be up and running."

Piper reached for the beer, but Dani held it away. She slumped back against the box, her legs and feet extended out before her. Dani watched her friend sit there looking down in the dumps, but she knew very well Piper wasn't; it was likely just the beer and a week's worth of packing and sorting finally catching up to her.

"Hey, you know I'll be down to visit, right?" she asked Piper.

"Yeessss, of course I know."

Dani nodded. "Good. I'll come every chance I get."

"I'll be back too." Piper lifted her gaze to meet Dani's. "I mean...you knew that, but I figured I should say it."

"You're so drunk."

"Am not. I don't get drunk." Piper pushed out her lip and started to laugh, especially when Dani joined in.

A phone ringing somewhere behind where they sat scared them both out of their laughter. Piper recognized the ringtone as hers, so she scooted herself upright and grabbed for her phone.

Danika watched Piper's entire face lift and she knew immediately who it was. "Oooooo, it's Loverboy!! Put him on speaker phone!"

"Shhhhhhh." Piper came over and clicked Talk, then hit the speaker phone button. "Hi baby!"

"Heyyyy, how's my girl?"

Piper and Dani looked at one another like two teenagers. "Just drinking a little and packing a little. Or maybe it's packing a little and drinking a little?"

"Or a lot?" Sid said with a laugh, his deep voice silky over the phone.

"Maaaaybe." Piper bit her bottom lip. "How are you? Getting my bedroom ready for me yet?"

"Only thing I need to do to get ready is hide every piece of clothing you own as soon as the boxes get here."

Dani's blue eyes shot upwards, her hands covering her mouth. "My god Piper" she whispered, smitten by his words and she wasn't even the girlfriend.

Piper readjusted her sitting position, trying to think of a witty comeback. "And how about the shower? That ready to go as well?"

"Actually?" Sid chuckled, this time a little softer and a little more bashful. "I did pick you up your favorite body wash and shampoo. You know...so you don't have to use my lame products."

"Sid!" Piper and Dani looked at one another and mouthed a silent awwww.

"Other than that - yeah, shower's ready for your body. As is mine."

"Mmm....can you imagine what it's going to be like?" Piper teased. "Being with one another every day?"

"Thinking about it right now, actually."

"Ahem." Dani waved. "I'm still here!" she whispered, barely controlling her laughter. Piper covered the mouthpiece of her phone and fell in towards Dani as they began to laugh. Dani pressed the remainder of Piper's beer to her lips, needing every last drop if she was going to sit through any more of this flirty talk.

Piper cleared her throat, trying to put a serious face on. "Where are you right now? All done with practice?"

"All done, with the rest of the day free. Now I'm just relaxing on my bed." His smirk was so loud over the phone, even Dani heard it.

"So what is it that you're thinking about?" I'm so bad Piper thought to herself as she bit her finger. Next to her, Dani rolled her eyes and groaned.

"You riding my cock the way you did last weekend" Sid answered, his voice dipping lower with every reply. "Just think of the ways I'm going to fuck you when you're finally here and I don't have to wait to have you."

Piper fanned herself, completely forgetting Dani all together. "You're gonna make me do bad things tonight, baby."

"I'm gonna make you do bad things every night."

Dani was waving her arms wildly now. "I can't hear this! I gotta go!" she said, her voice as hushed as she could keep it at that point.

"Stay!!" Piper pulled her by the arm back down to the floor. "Stay! I'll hang up."

"No...no....there's no hanging up now." Dani set the empty beer bottle down on the floor, then quickly hugged her friend. "Have fun, okay? I'll see you tomorrow?"

Piper was nodding, even as Sid continued talking...his voice as gruff as she'd heard it in a while. She took him off speaker phone as Dani grabbed her jacket and trotted out towards the kitchen. She turned once and blew Piper a kiss, which she caught in her hand with a grin.

When she saw her front door close, Piper turned back to the man on her cell phone. "Time out, Captain."

"Yeah?"

The way Sid seemed to exhale just a little at the end of that one word made Piper turn to mush. His sexiness was so effortless. Jerk, she thought with a smile. "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything. You know that."

"It's rather…forward." Piper smirked against the phone. "Is your dick in your hand right now?"

Sid chuckled. "Not yet, but it sure looks like it wants to be from here."

His sexiness is so unfair, it hurts. Piper had to bite her lip again. "Okay, well - I'll get back to that."

"If you don't - there's always three days from now" he sassed.

"Oh we'll get to it then, too - now listen! I have a question." Piper waited for a response, but in true Sid form, he was already listening attentively. "Do your parents know I'm moving there in three days?"

"They do. Yes."

She gulped softly. "And….is your dad…."

"He's dealing with it fine, don't worry about that."

Except I can't stop worrying about that, she almost said. "And the In The Room taping?"

"They're staying in a hotel downtown. They already offered to give us time alone…plus…." Sid paused, and Piper imagined him shrugging one shoulder as he often did. "It'll add something new to the segment."

"Me?"

"Do you mind?"

Piper's half-tipsy apprehension turned to into a half-tipsy smile. "No, I think it's kinda cool. I've never been on tv before."

On the other line, Sidney sighed and it sounded very content. "If you're with me, you'll discover yourself on tv more than you probably ever wanted."

"And I'm still okay with that" she reminded him.

"Gonna steal the spotlight?" His voice taunted her in his good-natured way. "Gonna be the headliner of the episode?"

"Of ALL the episodes, baby."

Sid laughed. "You're the best."

Piper let the words sink in. She hoped she'd never get used to being with Sid, or hearing him say that, or hearing his goofy laugh. "Thanks, Sid" she said sweetly. "Now grab your dick, because I'm horny and I've had three beers."

Sid's laugh now turned into his rampant giggle. "See!? You ARE the best."

"I can't concentrate with you laughing like that!" Piper was laughing now too. She could see in her mind's eye hand going to his chest, his face scrunching in the most adorable way as he laughed, his sideway smile going full-on grin.

"Uggh." Sid's laughter died and he exhaled happily. "Three days is going to feel like three years."

"I've waited 26 years to find you, Sid" Piper told him. "Three days will fly."

On the other line, Sid closed his eyes and let his heart melt. Don't I know it.

* * *

James and Ali sat beside one another on stools in their kitchen, both facing the downstairs bathroom door. They stared at it as if at any second, the boogieman might jump out at them. Each of them sat silently, deep in their own thoughts.

James looked down at his watch, then looked at Ali. "Two minutes."

She nodded, then looked back at the bathroom. It was like she couldn't feel anything in that moment; every emotion she had was on reserve, bent to strike, ready to be called at a moment's notice. Her mind was an empty void of thoughts. All she did was wait, counting the seconds along with her heartbeats.

"Should we look?" James asked, staring at the bathroom.

"It said to wait three minutes."

Their eyes met, and then they went back to staring at the bathroom.

James looked at his watch. "One minute."

Oh God. Ali's knee started to bounce. One minute.

She felt James' hand slide over the thigh that was bouncing, causing her to stop. Glancing at him, she saw his smile appear. Without saying a word, she slid her hand into his and their fingers
laced together.

Their gazes returned to the bathroom. Ali hardly blinked. She just breathed. She felt James' hand tight in her own, strong and warm to the touch. She tried to focus on his hand and how talented his hands were; larger than hers, skilled in their own way, comforting to feel in her own smaller hand. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw James lower his gaze.

"Time's up."

Their hands separated and they stood. Nervously, Ali wiped her hands on her pants.

"Hey."

She turned and faced James as he gazed down at her tenderly. He placed his hands on either side of her face, moving just a piece of her hair away from one of her cheeks. His smile grew, if only for her comfort. "Whatever happens....whatever it says in there? We're in it together."

Ali nodded, feeling her chest fill with a reassuring warmth. James bent and kissed her; quick and encouraging. He looked into her eyes, his half-grin fading and his hands leaving her face.

Inhaling, she went towards the bathroom. James followed, remaining just a step behind. He waited within the open doorframe, watching as she approached the sink. With every nerve ending feeling as if it were on fire, every beat of her heart slow and thick and echoing inside her, Ali picked up the stick. In the mirror above the sink, she saw her reflection as well as James' as he waited behind.

She lowered her head and looked.

Two pink lines.

Her hand went to her mouth and tears came to her eyes.

"What!? What is it?!" James felt his heart stop. "What is it, babe?"

She couldn't talk. The tears came hard and fast.

James came up beside her and looked over her shoulder. On the stick he saw two little pink lines. "What does that mean? Two is good, right?"

Ali nodded, tears streaming down her face. "Yes."

"Two is good." He repeated it as if to convince himself. "Oh my God."

"James." She faced him, her fingers tightening around the stick. "James!"

"Holy shit." He grabbed a fist of hair and stared at her. "Does this mean..."

She was nodding and grinning, tears glistening over both of her cheeks. "Yes."

"Holy FUCK." He opened both arms, his laughter filling the bathroom. "BABE."

"JAMES WE DID IT."

Ali jumped into his arms, clutching his neck as the tears came on even stronger. The indescribable elation that had been hiding cautiously inside her burst from her in the form of laughter and joyful crying.

"We did it." James said the words, but he couldn't believe it. We did it. He held Ali as tight as he dared, disbelief still in his wide eyes. Her tears were warm against his face and her sobs mixed with her happy, excited laughter. It was the greatest sound James had ever heard.

"Babe, we did it." He put her down so he could see her beautiful face, tear-stained and flushed from the flurry of emotion. "We did it."

"We're having a baby" Ali said.

Her brown eyes were clouded with heavy tears, but her smile was so big and beautiful. James would never forget it. He wouldn't forget how hard he laughed and how deeply he kissed her. He tasted the salt of her tears on her lips as he connected with her, and he would never forget the taste.

When their mouths separated, James got down on one knee in front of Ali for the second time in his life. His hands carefully moved to her waist, his gaze steady on her stomach. He very gently lifted the hem of her shirt and pressed his lips to her stomach, then rested his forehead there. He closed his eyes. That's our baby in there. We're having a baby.

Above him, Ali stood wiping her eyes even though she couldn't stop crying. When James looked up at her, the grin she adored spilled across his face, his ocean eyes clear and bright.

"I love you so damn much, Ali." He kissed her stomach again. "And I'm going to love this baby just as much. Our baby."

She hugged his head tight against her, blinking back her tears. "I love you too, James."

* * *

Notes

Shortest chapter of the story - but I knew you guys were waiting for it, so I wanted to get it out to you. :)