After Child Welfare bowed out the pressure was off. Noah and Molly’s relationship continued to flourish, and I knew Molly would have been heartbroken if Noah wasn’t in her life anymore. I’d made up my mind to agree to the both of us adopting Molly and once I had I was determined to make that happen before any decision was made about Rudi and the arrival of the child Noah and I had made together.

Every morning when I woke, I’d stare at Noah lying next to me. He was so handsome it was hard not to. Occasionally he’d get that feeling someone was watching him and would suddenly open his eyes.

A lazy smile would grace his lips then he always pulled me close and tell me he loved me. I couldn’t remember a time when I'd felt happier and so one morning like the one I described, I made up my mind to give in to his wishes.

I went to the store to grab some supplies on the way home. I was planning a special dinner to surprise him with the news. By the time I arrived home with Molly I was a little put out because the table was already set, and a caterer had been to deliver dinner.

Somehow, I managed to hide my disappointment and focused on Molly’s evening routine, after all it was only dinner, and the preamble to what I had to share with Noah.

Time had passed since the home assessment to the point where I could barely hide my swollen belly and I had decided it was time to tell Molly about the new baby.

I was nervous of her reaction to the news because she’d already been through so much change in her little life during the previous months and I was fearful of adding another level of stress to that.

Noah was great at keeping things even for her and was busy playing a board game with her as I changed from my day clothes into something more comfortable. When I went back to the playroom he and Molly were in deep conversation and when they heard me approach their conversation abruptly stopped.

As I came into their sights Molly turned to look at me, both hands flew to cover her mouth and Noah chuckled. “All right. What’s going on with you two?” I asked and stared at Molly who still sat with her hands over her mouth. She shook her head with a guilty look on her face. “You’re not going to tell me?” I asked.

My voice was a little sharp because I didn’t want Molly to keep secrets from me and thought if Noah had told her to, I would have had to have words about that.

“You’ll see,” was all she replied. I was not about to argue especially when Noah had a sly smirk on his face, so I turned and left the room pretending not to care. My stomach felt a little tight as I wandered into the kitchen and Noah swiftly followed. Sliding his hands around my waist from behind he swept my hair to the side and kissed my neck. Despite being annoyed I felt the sharp jolt of electricity when his lips connected with my skin.

“Don’t be mad, Maggie. Even though that pissed look makes your eyes full with fire I hate you being upset.”

“Then don’t tell Molly to keep things from me.”

“Ouch. Sorry. Please don’t be pissed it’s not good for the baby. I promise I’ll never do that again.”

His voice sounded full of remorse and the tension I had felt left my body.

“Come on, sit. I ordered dinner because I wanted to suggest something to you and I didn’t want to give you any reason to hate it, so I had someone else do the cooking.” When I heard how playful he sounded my anger completely dissolved and I smiled.

“What suggestion?”

“Ah… after dinner, okay?” he added. Without waiting for me to reply he released his hold and moved past me, then began taking the food out of the oven.

“Chicken Parmigiana—your favorite, right?” It was the meal I was going to make. It’s like he read my mind.

“I was going to make that for dinner,” I said surprised by his choice.

“Then I’ve saved you the effort,” he replied and gestured with his head for me to sit, “Molly, dinner’s ready, sweetheart. Go wash your hands and get here before Aunt Maggie eats everything.”

Molly scurried down the hall and was back in less than a minute. “Let me feel your hands,” he ordered, checking she’d done what he asked, and my heart squeezed because I knew what I had to tell him would make him deliriously happy.

* * *

Dinner was delicious, and I was just about to break my news to both him and Molly about the adoption when he suddenly stood, stepped back, and dropped down on one knee. “I’m sure there are a million more romantic ways of doing this, but I think you’d prefer it if I didn’t attract attention through grand gestures. I figured I’d focus this more on the people who matter to me. Maggie, since you came into my life it’s as if I’ve emerged from a long spell under water. I know its cliché to say, but since the second I saw you I knew you were… significant. I don’t know how else to explain it. But it wasn’t until I got to know you I learned how hugely important you were to me.”

My eyes darted over to Molly who was clapping her hands and bouncing up and down in her seat with excitement because she’d obviously been in on his surprise. Suddenly her response earlier made much more sense. I tried not to smile and focus on her too much because this was my moment… and Noah’s for that matter, to declare what we meant to each other.

“During the past few years there were many days when I felt I’d had enough. Life was dark and depressing because no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t see any other purpose apart from playing music for the pleasure of others. Personally, I even lost the joy in that.”

Reaching up he took my hand in his and placed a soft kiss on the back of it. “I was going through the motions of living without really involving myself in it. Then I found you… and then you, Molly,” he said involving her in his speech. He made a fist with his hand and held it over his heart, thumping it twice. “Both of you fill my days with laughter; your smiles are like rays of sunshine that constantly beam down on me and every second since I’ve met you both I’ve never been able to have enough of you. Maggie Dashwood, what I’m trying to say is, will you marry me? Will you and Molly have me for keeps?”

Molly jumped down from her chair and threw her arms around Noah’s neck. “You did it. You did great, Noah,” she said singing his praises before glancing up at me. Clinging tightly to his neck she said, “Well? Tell him, yes, Auntie Maggie.”

Looking at his face I saw honesty, warmth, love, and the deepest affection for me I’d ever read from anyone’s expression toward me. I had no doubts about spending the rest of my life with him, even if I was still worried about the rock star lifestyle and any other influences on Noah.

“Yes. Yes, I’d be proud to be your wife,” I replied as my heart pounded in my chest with happiness and excitement.

Noah stood up straight, lifted Molly into his arms and scooped me up in a hug. “You’ve just made me the happiest man alive.”

“I thought I’d done that already when we agreed to move in?” I asked.

“Exactly and now I’m even happier,” he said and smiled. The way he squeezed my hand emphasized that. “You’ll notice there’s no ring yet. I hope you don’t mind, and I know it's selfish, but I wanted you for myself a little longer if that’s okay? If I start shopping for rings it makes things much more complicated. We can do that together then you’ll have exactly what you want and what fits.”

I glanced up at him, “I don’t need a ring. I’d rather have you.”

“Is the correct answer,” he replied and gave me a smug smile and placed Molly back on her feet.

“By the way, thanks for hijacking my surprise tonight.” I said changing the subject because I knew my decision to adopt would mean even more to him after his proposal.”

“Surprise? What surprise? I had no idea you were planning anything.”

“Well, duh. That’s the whole point of a surprise, Noah.”

“Can I have it now?” he asked tentatively.

“Another surprise?” Molly shouted, then whooped and did a little dance.

“Yep, and this one involves you too, Molly.”

“Is it a puppy?” she asked clasping her hands and pulling them to her chest in hope.

“No puppy, but I think what I have to tell you, is even better.”

“Oh my. Is it a giraffe? Where will we keep it?” Both Noah and I chuckled, and I stared in wonder at the innocence of a child’s mind.

“It isn’t an animal, Molly, now sit back down because what I have to say is quite important.”

Noah lifted Molly and sat her back at the table, then sat in his chair and took my hand.

“All right. What an exciting night this is. My turn. A while ago Noah and I were talking about you, Molly, and us big people sometimes think about what’s best for the little people we care about.”

“That’s me, isn’t it?”

“Yes, Molly, that’s you.”

Molly straightened up in her chair, placed her elbows on the table and placed her chin in her hands.

“When your mom went to Heaven to be with the angels I became responsible for your care.” Molly looked sad and nodded.

“Well, Noah and I had some long conversations about that and we don’t think it’s fair for you to grow up without a daddy or a mommy. Noah’s head turned to stare at me and swallowed roughly because he had anticipated what came next.

“Are you giving me away?” Molly asked, her voice was full of alarm and tears had started to well in her eyes.

“Gosh. No. What we were thinking was… if it’s okay with you… that we could be your new mommy and daddy?”

Molly burst into tears, her lungs exhaling so hard she didn’t breathe until she changed color. Noah stood in distress, his chair scraping roughly along the floor in his panic as he made to grab her from her seat.

“Yes…yeah… please,” she cried through her tears. My throat closed down with emotion and I also stood from my chair and caught a breath. Tears streamed down my face from her reaction and my chest felt tight with sadness and happiness in equal measure. No small child should ever have had to go through what Molly had.

“Then it’s settled, Molly. I’ll file the papers and we’ll celebrate as soon as the people who make decisions let us know we are.”

Noah dried Molly’s tears and swung her around making her giggle and with the distraction Molly regained her composure in a heartbeat.

“You’re right, Mom, this is better than a giraffe. I’ve never had a daddy before.” Her words stopped me in my tracks. What she had said was true; I’d thought it myself, but to hear her say it so soon after I’d explained the plan told me Molly herself had already noticed her difference from some of the other children at school.

It was then I decided to break our other piece of news to Molly and told her about the baby. I had been worried about how she would take it, but she almost burst with excitement again. There had been a huge amount of information for a small child to take in; however, I reassured myself Molly would cope. She had two loving people around her who had her back and I felt with our continued patience and guidance she’d be fine.

That night as we lay in bed Noah pulled the cotton sheet down my belly. I was fifteen weeks pregnant and although I hadn’t felt any movement yet, I’d read not to expect anything until mid-second trimester. Even though I had explained this to Noah he was impatient and lay talking to my bump most nights, waiting for a sign the baby was really in there. It was endearing to see how caught up he was in our life changing event.

His strong warm palm swept back and forth over my taut belly, “Can you hear me, son?” he asked and looked at me a little sheepishly. “Me and your mom can’t wait to meet you,” he murmured softly. Noah continued to stare at my bump like it was going to magically spring into action and lay as still as I’d ever seen him. That night he was deep in thought.

“What are you thinking?” I asked after a few minutes.

“How lucky I am. How I don’t want to go back to work. How I don’t want to miss a single second of this precious little baby’s life. This is never going to happen, but if a meteor struck this Earth and I did something wrong, please promise me you’d never keep my children away from me.”

My heart almost broke that he had to think like that. “I hope we’re never in that position, Noah, but believe me when I say a child has the right to keep in touch with their parents… that is unless that parent compromises their physical or emotional wellbeing.”

Noah moved closer and placed his cheek next to our baby bump. “Believe me when I say I will always love you, Maggie… no matter what. I hate the thought of going back to the band and the longer Vinny stays in rehab the less enthusiastic I am about the whole deal. Nine years is a long time to be stuck inside a revolving wheel, you get me? This is the longest time I’ve ever had off since we started.”

Clutching a clump of his hair, I tugged it gently for him to look up at me. He shifted his head on my bump to glance up and I saw a tortured soul in his eyes.

“We’ll make it work, Noah. There are very few fathers in life that get the opportunity to do what you do and can take an extended break like this. Most are lucky to spend a few weeks a year with their children and they spend the rest of their time bringing home the bread to feed them. You only feel this way because of Rudi. I hate Andrea for the way she’s kept you from your son and I don’t even know her. Focus on the positive parts of what’s happening, and the rest will take care of itself.”

He leaned over and took my hand in his and gave it a small squeeze, then lifted it to his lips. He kissed my fingers and let his mouth linger there before he glanced back again. “You’re right as usual. I’m so fucking lucky. Blessed. I have a job where I can at least control when I tour and to that end I think we should consider putting a nanny in place before this little man is born. I want Molly to be second nature to her and her to Molly before our new arrival. It will give us both peace of mind to know we have someone who’s familiar with Molly’s routines.”

I shuffled myself up the bed and leaned back, “I can’t get my head around the way you’re always thinking ahead. You’re a deep man and you have incredible insight, Noah. You amaze me at times, you know that?” He sat up quickly and carefully slid me back down onto my back then hovered above me surrounding me with all four limbs like he often did.

“I know… that’s why you find me so irresistible,” he mocked in a seductive way and buried his face in my neck. His soft warm lips connected with my skin and goose bumps riddled my body as tiny wired tingles radiated through me. Noah thought he was lucky, but he had no idea how lucky I thought I was to have him in my life.