Cici sat with her best friends in the remodeled living room of her and Thorian's house. She rubbed her round belly and smiled down at the gift wrapped in blue wrapping paper and ribbon. Stephanie sat to her right and Melody sat to her left. Meredith was in the easy chair and Sunshine was sitting on the loveseat beside Layla Nash, the newest member of their squad.

"I hope you like it," Stephanie said, clapping her hands together.

Cici tore the paper off the gift and pulled out a rattle in the shape of a bear. She rattled it and cooed along with all her friends.

"Oh my God! It's so adorable," she said, looking at the little bear.

It looked so much like Thorian's grizzly that she could barely contain herself. She rubbed her belly again, knowing that she and Thorian were having a baby boy. They hadn't chosen a name yet, though they had a list of names and at the top was his grandfather's name, Walter. She said his nickname could be Wally, and they both thought that was really cute.

"Open mine now," Melody said, just as pregnant with Kirk's baby.

Sunshine was even more pregnant with Harrison's. They would all have their children at about the same time. Layla was only a few months along in her pregnancy since she and Liam had waited until after they’d thrown a big wedding at the Fate Rock Chapel to get pregnant. Everyone had had already celebrated Melody and Sunshine’s showers.

Everyone had gathered at Thorian and Cici’s remodeled house for the baby shower and a Fourth of July barbecue. The humid heat of the Fate Valley summer was kept at bay by the air conditioning. Cici looked over her shoulder out the window to watch Thorian working on the dock, preparing the celebration for that night.

"He's working awfully hard out there," Stephanie said, admiring Cici’s husband. Poor Stephanie still hadn't found her mate, but Cici hoped that would change soon.

"Are you looking at my husband's butt right now?" Cici giggled, tapping Stephanie's knee with the tips of her fingers.

"Why would I do that? It's not like he is a total hunk or anything."

All of the women giggled. All of them knew that none of them would ever want someone else’s man. Cici continued opening her baby gifts. She got a whole bunch of clothes from Melody and Kirk. Toys from Sunshine. A wonderful knit blanket from Layla and a crib from Liam. Stephanie gave her a six-month supply of diapers in multiple sizes. It was meant to be a joke, but Cici knew her little bear would go through them one way or another.

After they were done with the presents, they played a game called “never have I ever” and the winner was poor Stephanie. She had the least life experiences of all the ladies.

After the game, they went to the dining room with all the new wood floors and a big oak table and sat down for the baby shower cake. Since Cici had gotten pregnant, food just tasted so much better. She ate the delicious confection made by Grayson Baxter, Baker Bear himself, and felt her little bear kicking inside her belly.

"I think he likes the cake."

As the sun started to descend in the western sky, the guys arrived with barbecue. Sunshine’s mate Harrison fired up the grill, and Liam started barbecuing pork ribs, hotdogs, hamburgers and steak. Kirk had brought beer from Fate Valley Brewing, and the friends sat around the picnic tables as the hot air cooled in the evening twilight.

"When are we going to get to see these legendary fireworks?" Kirk teased.

"I've got them almost set up," Thorian said.

While they waited, they feasted on Liam’s delicious barbeque and Grayson’s fluffy biscuits. The friends had brought corn, potato salad, chips and fresh salsa from the garden, and a whole slew of other picnic foods. Grayson and his new mate even brought a strawberry shortcake for dessert. Alexander Ellwood, known as Antique Bear in Fate Valley, arrived with another twenty-six packs of beer. Benjamin Darling, known as Candy Bear, came with a big box of salt water taffy.

The group laughed and talked and everyone who didn't currently have a cub in their belly drank the artisan beer. Cici was so happy that she had so many wonderful friends all around her as she was expecting her first baby with her dear Thorian. She watched him as she ate taffy and admired his beautiful form, bending over to arrange the fireworks.

He had everything wired, lined up, and connected to a sound system so the fireworks would go off to the beat of the music. She had seen his show on New Year's Eve and it had been spectacular. He promised something even better for the Fourth of July. Thorian finished setting up his last fireworks and came running up from the dock, a huge smile on his face. He grabbed a beer from the cooler and trotted over to Cici where she sat on a comfortable lawn chair, a box of taffy in one hand and sparkling cider in the other. He bent down and gave her a big kiss on the cheek.

"Are you ready?" he asked, standing up to his full height.

He really was the sweetest, cutest man ever. She pinched herself every day when they woke up together in their big bed in their remodeled bedroom.

"Oh, I'm ready," she said. "I'm always ready."

She giggled as he smiled and winked at her and turned back to the rest of the group.

"Fireworks in five minutes," he said to everyone.

The party started oohing and awing as he went to his sound system and prepared for the celebration to begin. The ladies with round bellies sat beside Cici in comfortable lawn chairs, rubbing their bellies and smiling as they drank juice and cider and shared the taffy Candy Bear had brought.

"This is going to be amazing," Sunshine said.

"Thorian really is talented," Melody said. "His New Year's Eve show was breathtaking."

"He really is, isn't he?" Cici said with a huge grin on her face.

As the sun set and darkness descended over Fate Valley, Thorian began the music. He started with Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, a stirring and emotional orchestral rendition. A crescendo of notes boomed through the speakers. The first firework exploded into the sky, each rocket timed perfectly with the melody and the beat of the music. Cici sat stunned and awed, watching her husband's artistry explode across the night sky and reflect in the glassy lake waters. Her heart nearly stopped at the beauty. She watched him moving like a composer as he conducted his show.

"I think I’m gonna pee my pants," Sunshine giggled into her ear.

Cici almost snorted her cider through her nose, laughing at Sunshine's joke.

"Don't say that or I might pee my pants," Cici giggled.

The guys were standing on their feet, drinking their beer and cheering as the fireworks popped and sparked in magnificent bursts. Stephanie twirled around in her summer dress, dancing to the music. The second song to play was ‘We Are the Champions’ by Queen. And the intensity of the fireworks only grew as the melody softened. The final song and the conclusion of the show was America the Beautiful, sung by Ray Charles. It was as sweet, old fashioned blues recording, but the way Thorian mixed it with the fireworks made it just as profound as the anthems he’d played before.

Thorian trotted over the lawn and pulled Cici to her feet. He hugged her round belly to him. She leaned up on her tiptoes as she threw her arms around his shoulders. She could see the lights of the fireworks sparkling in his eyes, and he gave her that adorable awe-inspiring grin of his.

"I love you so much, Cici Reed. Every day with you is a celebration."

He leaned down and kissed her, and her heart exploded into a billion glowing lights as the final fireworks popped and sparked across the sky. Their love was so beautiful, the rockets exploding above paled in comparison. As he let her go and rested his forehead against hers, she knew that even the simplest of days with her fated mate would always be a true celebration.