It's been a week since I took a home pregnancy test and found out I'm pregnant, three days since I told Steve he's going to be a father and less than twenty-four hours since Steve proposed. I don't wear any jewelry beyond a watch and small studs in my ears so I haven't missed not having an engagement ring. Besides, I don't need the whole world to know that someone asked me to marry them. The people who need to know either do or will soon.

There isn't much about Steve that surprises me anymore and yet he manages to surprise me by dropping to one knee next to the chair I'm sitting in while eating my breakfast.

"I should have done this already but yesterday was kinda crazy."

My confusion deepens when he takes my left hand in his and then my heart stops before resuming at a faster rate when he slips a simple diamond solitaire in a gold setting on my finger. It's beyond beautiful in its simplicity. "Steve-" I can't get words past the lump in my throat. "When'd you have time to go to the jewelry store?"

"I didn't. I found this in amongst some of Dad's things when I was going through them."

My breath hitches in my chest at what that means. "It's your mom's?"

"Yeah." He gets up and sits in his chair. "I thought she'd been buried with them."

"Surely Mary should have it."

He shakes his head. "There was a note that said they were for whichever of us got engaged first."

I hold my hand out and look at the simple princess cut diamond. "It's beautiful."

"Yeah." He takes my hand in his again and looks down at the ring on my finger. "I remember asking Mom once about how Dad proposed. He was in the Navy and they'd been dating for a couple of years; they were high school sweethearts. He asked her in a letter and this ring was inside."

"That's kinda romantic. I bet they learned more about each other in those letters than they did in all the years they'd been dating prior."

He nods. "They both kept each letter. I found them with the ring."

"I'm honored to wear your mother's ring." I lean over and place a kiss to his cheek. "Just so's you know, I'm taking the day off."

"Why?" He gives me a look. "Are you sick?"

"No. I want to go get Grace and I'll have better luck if I'm already there when she gets home from school."

"Okay, then. I wish you luck." He kisses me before getting up and heading to the office.

I haven't had a chance to tell Grace that I'm pregnant, and definitely haven't been able to tell her Steve proposed. So, I'm counting on Stan's love of Grace, and his inability to tell her no to get around the thirty day ban he put on me. Plus I've already filed papers to take care of the issue of the control he's had over me for far too long.

Pulling into the drive in front of Stan's house has my heart racing a bit with nerves. This could backfire spectacularly and that is the last thing I want. I sit in the car a few seconds after I turn off the ignition, trying to find my center, the Dominant inside, and then climb from the car.

Stan manages to surprise me by answering the door himself when I knock. He smirks at me. "You're not supposed to be here. Or have you forgotten that I took away a month of visits?"

I bite my tongue to keep from snapping back, nothing good ever comes from arguing with this man, and tuck my hands into my front pockets. "That's what I've come to discuss." I look pointedly over his shoulder. "May I?" I don't wait for his answer, just shoulder my way inside.

"You have less than twenty minutes. I want you gone before she gets home."

I grin at him. "Apparently you forgot that I never could say anything I need to quickly." Turning to my right, I head in the direction of the kitchen, forcing him to follow. "I'd like a glass of water, please." I take a seat at the kitchen table where I can see the door and look out the window.

Stan glares but fetches me the requested glass of water before sitting down across from me. "What do you want, Danni?"

"My daughter." I take a sip of water and cross my right knee over my left. My heart is pounding so hard against my ribs I'm afraid it's gonna beat right outta my chest. I haven't felt this nervous while exerting my dominance since I first discovered it. "Your lawyer should have received papers from mine by now. Sign them."

"Or what? You'll sic the Governor on me again?"

I can't help but chuckle at his tone. "Oh, Stan. How could you possibly believe I had anything to do with Jameson threatening you two years ago? Did Maria not tell you about the speech I made into the intercom after her convoy left?" I take another sip of water. "And besides, I'm not sure Denning really likes Five-Oh so he might not be amiable to helping me against you."

Stan snorts. "So what makes you think I'll sign these damn papers?"

I lean forward over the table and put on the voice that has Steve going instantly to his knees. "Because if you don't I will tell each and every one of your clients all about how you lied to them about me and why you have custody of my daughter."

"You don't know what you're talking about." His words sound hollow and I know I have him.

"I have Grace. She wants to tell the truth and I'm sure it won't take much convincing on my part to get her to do the right thing."

Stan leans forward as well and lowers his voice. I'm sure he thinks the tone is intimidating but it's not; not to a Domme like me. "You are not taking her from me."

I smile and judging by how he pales and swallows thickly it must be an evil smile. "I'm not you, Stan. I don't believe in punishing a child for bad behavior from the parent; and that's what you've been doing by keeping us apart: punishing her, not me. No, all I want is residential custody. You'll have the exact same visitation schedule that I have now."

"What brought this on? Your boyfriend decide he wants to play Daddy to my daughter?" It's obvious from the tone that he thinks very little of Steve.

"No, I've just decided it's time." He shakes his head in disbelief. "Oh, and since I'm going to be telling this to Grace soon, I feel you should know that Steve and I are getting married. And before you say one word-" I hold up a finger to stop him when he opens his mouth. "-we didn't start sleeping together until six months after we met."

"Danno!" Grace screams from the other room followed by the sound of the door slamming.

"Oh, and one other thing: I'm going to have Steve's baby."

Stan grits his teeth and growls low in the back of his throat. I grin at him and stand up in time to catch the flying leap Grace takes at my head. "Danno!" she screams in me ear, hugging my neck super tight. "Daddy said you had this big case at work and we wouldn't be able to see each other for a whole month!"

"He said that?" Grace nods. I sit back down with her perched on my lap. "Oh, well, it turned out to not be as big a case as Uncle Steve had first thought."

"Yay!" She hugs me again. "So, I'm going to your house now?"

"Actually,-" I set her on her feet. "-we're spending the weekend at Uncle Steve's."

"Awesome!"

"Yep." I turn her to face the door and give her a pat on the bottom. "So go pack your bag. He's waiting for us."

She squeals and skips from the kitchen. "You're not going to tell her I lied?"

"I wouldn't do that. Not in this situation. I'm just glad you didn't tell her I don't want her again."

He has the good grace to wince at my statement. "I'm sorry."

"No you're not. Because if you were, I'd have primary custody instead of the pitiful visitation you use to control me."

"I was angry."

"Yeah, I got that when you called me all those nasty names."

He looks down at the table. "Please don't take her from me, Danni."

I have to harden my heart against this or I'll never get what I want. "She's my daughter, too, Stan. And she's becoming a teenager. She's going to need me even more now."

When he looks up I can see the tears welling in his eyes. "I love her."

"I know you do. I love her, too. She needs to be with me, Stan. Much like she needed me as a baby. Do you have any idea how devastated I was when you took her the way you did? Or when my milk dried up? Do you even care?"

"Of course I care. I loved you."

I sigh because it's obvious we're not going to get anywhere. "You sure have a funny way of showing how much you loved me."

"I have no excuse for how I reacted. All I can say is I'm sorry."

Before I can respond, Grace comes back into the kitchen dragging her suitcase behind her. "I'm ready, Danno!"

"Yes, I see you are." I laugh at her. "You do realize it's just for the weekend, right?"

She nods. "Yeah, but I figured I should leave some stuff at your place. That way I won't have to keep taking a bag."

"Good thinking." I get up and press a kiss to her head on my way out of the kitchen.

At the door, I turn back to Stan. "Sign the papers. Don't make this into something it's not."

"Please don't do this." His voice is softer than I've ever heard it and his pain is almost a living thing.

"Sorry. You've had her for long enough. It's my turn." And with that I follow Grace out the door and help her get buckled into the car.

We're about ten minutes from Stan's when Grace speaks. "Danno?" I make a noise of acknowledgement. "Are we going to your house?"

"No, Baby. We're going to Steve's." Did she think I was just saying that in front of Stan?

"Yes!" She punches the air and I can't help laughing. "I love going to Uncle Steve's."

"I know you do."

The rest of the drive is spent with her telling me about her week at school and me biting my lip to keep from telling her about the baby and Steve's proposal. Only thing keeping me from spilling the beans is that I promised Steve we'd tell her together.

Grace is out of her seat belt within seconds of me parking the car in Steve's drive and is pushing against my seat to get me to move faster. "Slow down, Gracie-girl! Steve's not going anywhere."

"I haven't seen him in forever. Like a month or longer."

You'd think at the age of eleven she'd know that a month isn't that long. But then I think about all the changes that can happen in a month and decide that, yeah, it really is a long ass time.

"Okay, okay," I chuckle while getting out of the car and pulling the seat forward so she can shimmy out of the backseat and take off running around the corner where her squeal of delight tells me that Steve has caught her and probably tossed her upside down over his shoulder.

I follow at a more sedate pace and find that Steve has indeed tossed my daughter over his shoulder. In fact he has her so far down his back that he's only holding on to one ankle. "You do know that's my most precious possession, right?"

"What?" He lifts her foot until she's not even touching his shoulder. "This old thing? I was going to get rid of it for you."

"No! Uncle Steve!" Grace's laughter proves to be contagious and before long all three of us are doubled over, holding our sides.

"Okay." I wipe the tears from my eyes. "That's enough for now. Come inside. Steve and I have something to tell you, Grace."

"You're moving in together!" Grace jumps from Steve's back to the couch.

"Well, yes, once my lease runs out. But that's not what we need to say." I tug on her arm to get her to stop jumping on the couch. "Is this how we treat furniture?"

She shakes her head, sobering quickly and sitting down between Steve and I. "No, ma'am."

Steve and I share a look; I take a deep breath and just say it: "Steve and I are having a baby."

"A baby!?" Grace's eyes are as wide as saucers.

"Yeah," Steve says in a tone that says quite clearly that he has yet to get used to the idea of us having a baby.

Grace squeals and hugs my neck before leaning over and whispering to my belly, "Hey, this is your big sister, Grace. I can't wait to meet you. I have so much I want to teach you. So hurry up and get born!" When she sits up she turns to Steve and hugs him as tight as she hugged me. The look on his face brings a tear to my eye and I have to wonder just why I was worried about his reaction to the news of his impending fatherhood. "When're you due, Danno?" Grace plops her butt in Steve's lap

"We're not real sure, yet. But April or May for sure."

"Awesome! It'll be here in time for The Fourth fireworks at Pearl."

"It'll be too little still for that."

Grace frowns. "But we can see them from Steve's beach, can't we?"

"No, sorry." Steve runs one of her pig tails through his hand. "We can't see Pearl Harbor from here." Grace crosses her arms over her chest and pouts. "Hey, I bet there'll be fireworks out in Maunalua Bay. We can watch those."

"Yeah, okay."

"Oh, Monkey. We can go to the fireworks at Pearl the following year." I look up at Steve and smile at him over Grace's head. "But we have more news."

"You do?" Grace uncrosses her arms and sits up a bit straighter.

"Yeah." I hold up my left hand to show her the engagement ring Steve put on my finger just this morning.

Grace squeals again and launches herself at my head. "You're getting married! I get to be the flower girl, right?"

"Of course, Monkey." I hug her to me and laugh along with her. Steve smiles indulgently at us.

"Will the wedding be soon?"

"No. I want to wait until I've had the baby."

"Why?"

"It's much easier to find a wedding dress when your waistline isn't changing every week."

"You could go traditional Hawaiian, Danno." Steve's suggestion makes sense but I still want to wait.

"Alright, now." I push Grace back. "Go put on your suit and Steve'll take you into the water while I make dinner."

"Love you, Danno." She hugs me again and then places her hand gently on my belly. "Love you, Baby. Love you, Steve." He also gets another hug before Grace is skipping up the stairs, her suitcase thumping on the treads behind her.

Steve turns to look at me and I can tell he's trying to figure out how to say something. "What? Whatever it is, just say it."

"Do I get to know about that man you were talking with on Monday, now?"

"Been wanting to ask that all week, haven't you?" He looks sheepish. "It's okay. You were a good boy, for the most part, and took your punishment well." I stand up and move to the foot of the stairs where I can see up into the upstairs hall so I can keep an eye out for Grace. "He's my lawyer."

"What? Is Stan…?"

I shake my head. "No, but I am." Steve comes to stand behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist so he can place his hands on my belly. Ever since I told him I'm pregnant he seems to have developed an obsession with my belly. "I'm suing for residential custody."

"What's that mean?"

"It means that Grace'll live with me."

"Awesome. Why don't you want her to know?"

"In case the judge decides she's perfectly fine right where she is."

"Why would the judge decide that? You're a great mother."

I turn in his arms and rest my head on his shoulder. "Thanks. But the judge could use the fact that I willingly gave up custody and my occupation against me."

"They'd better not. You did what you thought you had to do in order to have any kind of a relationship with your daughter. And why would being a cop count against you?"

"It's a very dangerous job and I get calls at all hours of the day and night. And now there's the fact that I'll be married to another officer of the law."

"But we already have an excellent plan in place for if we get called in during the night. Not to mention that Grace is almost old enough to stay home by herself."

"Yes, but Mrs. Paleo can't be expected to always be available for that. And I'm not going to be comfortable leaving her at night for a while. Besides, what if something was to happen to the both of us?"

"Can we burn that bridge when we get to it?"

"That's not the saying." But it has done its job: it made me laugh.

When I hear Grace walking down the hall, I pull from Steve's arms and head for the kitchen.

"Hey." Steve grabs me around the waist before I can get too far. "I love you," he whispers against my lips.

I twine my arms around his neck. "Danno loves you."

"Ew, gross." Grace pushes between us. "You gonna be doing that a lot?"

"Some." I smile down at her. "So,-" Turning once again toward the kitchen, pushing Grace before me, I ask, "-what would you like for dinner?"

"Cheeseburger Mac!"

"Alrighty, then. On buns?" The look Grace throws me over her shoulder says 'duh!' plain as day. I chuckle. "Of course, how silly of me to forget that."

I begin pulling the ingredients out and setting up to make the requested meal while Steve and Grace get water bottles to take with them. Steve slaps my ass on his way out. "Hey!" He turns to walk backward and wiggles his eyebrows at me. "Don't think you won't be punished for that." I shake my finger at him. His grin just gets wider. I swear, sometimes it's almost like he wants to be punished.

I scratch my chin as I contemplate that. Maybe I need to put him in his place more often. With the coming baby we won't have the free time we do now so we might as well figure out how this'll work once we have a child around all the time before I deliver.

Looking through the window I see him step out on the lanai when I remember something. "Steven!" I knock on the window and he pauses. "Don't forget the sunscreen."

"Yes, Ma'am." He gives me a lackluster salute and continues on to where Grace is standing at the edge, waiting for him. "Danno says sunscreen first!" He grabs Grace around the waist and carries her out of my sight around the corner of the lanai where the sunscreen and towels are kept.

With a fond smile, I begin making my cheeseburger macaroni. While the water for the macaroni is boiling, I begin grating the cheese.

I use three different kinds: mozzarella, sharp cheddar, and Colby. I mix them all together and get them melting in a saucepan. Then I get out the ground beef; browning it before adding the seasonings, bread crumbs, onions, and bell peppers. By this time the water is ready for the macaroni. I stir the noodles into the water and let them cook for several minutes, stirring occasionally. The cheese is melting quite nicely. Once the noodles are cooked, I drain the water and add the cheese along with a dash of milk and the ground beef mixture.

Grabbing plates and glasses from the cabinet, I place them on the serving tray and carry it all outside. Steve's deep laugh is the perfect counterpoint to Gracie's softer one and it makes me smile that the two most important people in my life get along so well.

Back inside, I pour the macaroni into a serving bowl, grab the buns, and a pitcher of iced tea before heading back outside. Done setting the table I step off the lanai and put my fingers to my lips to whistle. Steve and Grace both look up, wide grins still splitting their faces with water dripping off their hair.

"Dinner!"

Steve races Grace from the water to the table, letting her win of course. He grabs me from behind in a great big hug. "You're all wet!" I playfully swat at his arm, laughing at his antics.

"And now so are you!" He places a big smacking kiss on my cheek. "My Lady." He holds out my chair with a bow.

"Wow, you did learn something this week." He growls a bit and kisses the tip of my nose.

"Mm. This is so good, Danno," Grace says around a huge bite. I tug on her pig tail and smile at her.

Steve takes an even bigger bite of his. "Mm. Gracie's right. This is awesome! If you hadn't already agreed to marry me I'd be begging you to do so just so I can eat like this every night."

I just roll my eyes at their over the top praise. "I admit it's good, but it's not that good."

The rest of dinner is spent with Steve and Grace planning every single waking moment of the next two days. They seem intent on packing what feels like a lifetime of activities into forty-eight hours.

The weekend is just like any other with the exception of me sleeping in Steve's bed instead of in his old room and Grace stopping every hour or so to tell my belly that she loves the baby growing inside it.

Late Sunday I text Stan and tell him that I'm keeping Grace until Monday and will take her to school. If he has a problem with that he doesn't say; just texts back 'okay'.

Dropping Grace off at school has suddenly become that much harder for me to do. After Grace was safely tucked into bed, Steve and I discussed my plans for getting custody of Grace. He assured me that he is one hundred percent behind me on this and is more than willing to testify on my behalf, should that be necessary. One of the things we agreed on is that Grace should stay with Stan for the rest of the school year. There'll be enough upheaval to her life with the new baby, no need adding to it by having her move from the place she calls home; especially since she's has no memory of ever living with me.

A couple of months later we have our first official ultrasound and Grace is allowed to come along and see.

"You must be the big sister," Jasmine says, smiling at Grace.

She nods her head and pats my belly. "Yeah. Can we find out if I'm having a sister or brother?"

Jasmine looks at me. "No, Monkey," I say, brushing her bangs back from her face.

"But why not?"

"Because I don't want to know until it's born."

"But what about those of us that want to know now?" Steve frowns at me over Grace's head.

"Too bad. The wait is part of the fun."

"But what will we call it?"

I laugh at Grace's question. "Where do you think you got your nickname from? I got tired of calling you 'it' while I was pregnant so I started calling you 'Monkey'."

"Oh. So, um, how about…?"

Before Grace can come up with a name, I interrupt her with, "How about we wait and see what it looks like?"

"Okay." She wiggles in Steve's lap until she's pressed back against his chest.

"Doctor Meegs wants to know the sex so I'm going to try and get that first, okay?" Jasmine turns the monitor away and begins moving the wand over my belly.

"Does that hurt, Danno?" Grace touches my left arm.

"Not at all. It is a bit uncomfortable due to how hard she has to press but other than that-" I shrug.

"Ah, there you are," Jasmine mutters and pushes some buttons on the keyboard. "Alright now. Who's ready to see this gorgeous baby?"

"Me!" Grace bounces in Steve's lap.

We all laugh at her antics. Jasmine turns the monitor and I get my first look at my unborn child. Tears spring to my eyes and for the first time in a long while I let them flow freely. Steve chuckles a bit at my reaction and when I look I see that he's crying too.

I take Grace's hand off my arm with my right so that I can wipe the tears from Steve's face with my left. Grace turns and frowns at us. "Why are you crying? This is a good thing. Isn't it?"

"Oh, yes, Baby. This is a very good thing." I bring her hand to my lips so I can kiss her knuckles. "Sometimes people cry when they're happy. Tears are an expression of emotion. They can express anger, sadness and happiness."

"I'm happy too, but I don't feel like crying." She sounds so distraught over that.

"That's okay. Everyone's not going to react the same way." Steve buries his face in her hair. "You and your mom and the new baby make me so happy that I feel fit to burst. I guess that's why I'm crying. As for your mom…" He leans over and we share a gentle kiss.

"I'm crying because that-" I point at the screen. "-that right there, is every reason in the world to be happy, just like you said, Steve. With that little…" I pause and squint at the screen.

"Bug!" Grace says. "It looks like a bug."

"Okay. Bug, it is." I run one hand over her hair. "With that little bug growing under my heart, everything's right with my world because I have the three most important people in the world right here."

"Would you like to have a picture emailed to you this time, Danni?" I had totally forgotten about Jasmine.

But when I look at her, I find her staring resolutely at the screen as if she didn't hear a single thing my family and I just said to each other. "Yes, I would." I give her my email address. "Grace? Would you like one?"

"No, that's okay. I'd rather have pictures that don't include your insides." We all laugh.

Over the next several months all Grace seems able to talk about is her sibling. I'm getting slightly worried about Stan's reaction but whenever we have to be in the same room he tends to ignore me. It's a bit confusing having him not try to start something with me every time he sees me. But I am enjoying the lessening of the tension on that front.

He still hasn't signed the papers or agreed to a court date or to see a mediator by the time Christmas rolls around and I've had enough.

"I'm going to call my lawyer tomorrow and have him file the petition," I say, climbing under the covers where Steve's already stretched out on his stomach, his back starting to sport bruises from his recent flogging.

"I was hoping he wouldn't force you to fight him."

"I was too; especially since he seems to have decided to cease all hostilities towards me." I lean over Steve, examining his back and he shivers when the tail end of my braid brushes the small of his back. "Hm, looks like I'm going to have to get a proxy." I gently touch a couple of spots where the skin is redder and might actually be broken.

"Why?" He bites back a moan when I trail my fingers down his crack.

"Because I'm getting too big to wield the flogger correctly. It's either a proxy or you don't get flogged until I deliver."

"It won't be the same."

"Of course it won't but it's the best I can do for now. We'll try it in two weeks. If neither of us gets off on it we'll just have to not do that for a while. It won't be the end of the world, Dog." I bury my nose behind his right ear and inhale his scent while moving my finger slowly closer to his hole.

He moans and spreads his legs. But I'm not really in the mood for sex; haven't been for a few weeks now. Of course that hasn't stopped me from making sure Steve gets what he needs. He's allowed to jerk off while I watch and of course I've used the dildos on him often in an effort to make up for him not being able to fuck me.

He buries his head in his arms and groans when I pull back. "Remember what the doctor said. My desire for sex will return." I run my hand up the curve of his right butt cheek and feel a tiny stirring of desire but not enough. "If you want you may jerk off until you come."

He turns his head and looks at me. "What I want, Mistress, is to fuck you."

"I know. I want you to as well but I'm not aroused and that's just no fun for either of us." I run my hand through his hair. "You have five seconds to make up your mind before I rescind the offer."

I can see him actually think about it but he eventually shakes his head. "No, thank you, Mistress. It's just not the same without you."

"Very well." I press a kiss to his shoulder. "Go get the ointment."

He slithers out of the bed and walks all loose limbed to the bathroom. It's obvious I need to up the amount of pain I give him. He seems to need it more and more often since I told him I'm pregnant. I wonder if he's feeling the stress that comes with the cost of being a parent.

When he comes back, I apply a thin layer to the marks on his back before going to wash my hands and returning to the bed. With a kiss to his temple, I roll over to my left side and fall asleep.

Two days later I get a call from my lawyer informing me that Stan has signed the papers and I now have residential custody of Grace. I text Stan to thank him and let him know that due to everything involved with the baby I think Grace should stay in his house until school is out for summer. He thanks me for that and agrees it would probably be best for her to wait. We also agree to not say anything to her until closer to June.

Then comes the day, just a few weeks later, when my desire for sex returns with a vengeance.

And of course it returns in the middle of an interrogation because Steve is fucking sexy as hell when intimidating a suspect.

I've been standing in the corner watching as Steve slowly breaks the creep that him and Chin arrested a couple of hours ago when suddenly I get hit by a wave a arousal so sharp I can't stop the gasp that escapes.

Steve stops speaking and stands up from where he's bent over the suspect getting in his face to frown at me over his shoulder. "D? You good?" I can feel the flush heating the skin of my face and I nod, knowing that if I speak I'll betray just what's wrong. "You sure?"

He steps closer and his scent increases my arousal. I bite my lip to keep the whimper at bay and take a deep breath (big mistake) before turning and sprinting from the room. I don't get very far before Steve's hand on my arm stops me. "Hey. What's up?"

I shake my head again. "I need to go home."

"What?" His eyes narrow with laser focus on my rounded belly. "Is Bug...?"

"It's not that. Finish here and come to me at home." I press a kiss to his lips and slip from his grasp.

At the house, I climb the stairs as quickly as I can, stripping my clothes as I go. In the bedroom, I pull out my favorite vibrator and settle back against the headboard. I rub it against my clit, getting myself off quickly to try and take the edge off.

Which of course doesn't work.

I lose track of how many orgasms I give myself before I hear Steve clomping up the stairs. He bursts through the door and skids to a halt when he sees me sitting naked on the bed, riding the vibrator for all I'm worth.

"Is this-" He waves a hand at me. "-the reason you ran out on me?"

"Yes!" Another orgasm crashes over me. "Now get your ass over here and fuck me!"

He strips his clothes off so fast he rips a couple of buttons. And then he's climbing up on the bed with me and sliding home in my pussy. The position is awkward and I lose the buzz I had been riding.

"This position isn't working for me." He pulls out and lets me arrange him to my satisfaction. But having him lying flat on his back isn't working either. My breasts are too heavy and bouncing hurts. "No." I roll over to my left side. He spoons up behind me and slips his hand behind my right knee to lift it enough so he can enter me.

We've never fucked in this position before and it's incredible. He can go fairly deep and my belly and breasts are properly supported. I lick a couple of fingers and rub my clit, hard, chasing my orgasm and soon I'm coming apart in his arms.

I let him maneuver me to my elbows and knees, one arm supporting my belly as he pounds into me from behind while working for his own release. About a dozen thrusts later he stiffens and I can feel his come flooding my insides.

When he collapses to his side, he takes me with him, his half hard dick still inside me. His harsh breaths stir the hair on the back of my neck. With a deeply satisfied chuckle he pulls me closer. "Guess your doc was right." His hand rubs over my belly and Bug kicks at it.

"I don't remember ever being this horny with Grace."

"Well, you weren't in a relationship while pregnant with Grace so."

"Hm. I suppose." I can feel my arousal building again and know that I'm going to be so incredibly sore by the time this phase passes. Not to mention, Steve cannot get it up as often as I'm more than likely going to want him to. "Thank God you like to lick my pussy," I say, pushing on the top of his head until he gets with the program and rolls me to my back so he can settle between my legs.

He chuckles and the feel of his breath on my damp curls pushes me even closer to the edge. "I have a feeling my tongue is going to be numb quite soon and often."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just eat me already!"

"Yes, Mistress." He doesn't waste any time, just starts licking and biting and sucking and soon my back is arching off the mattress as wave after wave of intense pleasure swamps me.

I must pass out because when I'm next aware of my surroundings, I'm lying on my left side with Steve spooned up behind me, nuzzling the back of my neck. I wiggle until I'm a bit more comfortable. "Did he ever break?"

"Oh, yeah. You missed it. Luckily it's all on tape so you can see it tomorrow."

I chuckle. "Nothing like a little incentive to make you work your magic, huh?" He leans forward and nips the back of my neck. "I say we sleep now. I may wake you in a few hours, though." His cock twitches against my thigh at that thought.

For the next three months I'm insatiable and it all ends just as suddenly as it began.

By the sixth month of my pregnancy with Grace I had had all the usual weird food combination cravings. But this time around I've only been craving one particular food (and despite what everyone thinks, I don't hate it, except on my pizza): pineapple. I can't get enough of it. It's gotten so bad that all three members of my team have taken to carrying some dried pineapple slices with them at all times. And Steve installed a mini fridge in my office so that I can have fresh pineapple whenever I want it without having to waddle (his word because I've only gained five pounds) to the break room to get some.

Another thing I've noticed is the baby seems most active when Steve is around and also when I'm near the ocean. Steve talks to my belly as often as he can get away with it and more often than not can be found with one hand resting on the evidence of my pregnancy. And of course the baby always kicks right where his hand is resting or right where his head is while he's talking to it.

I don't mind, most of the time. But the morning I wake up during my eighth month to find Steve with his mouth pressed to my belly whispering something I can't quite hear is a bit annoying.

"What are you doing?" I push his head away so I can get up.

"Talking to Bug." He follows me into the bathroom. "How do you sleep with Bug moving like that?"

I open my mouth to respond only to have the breath driven from my lungs by Bug deciding to give a vicious kick to my diaphragm. "I don't feel it when I'm sleeping," I say when I can finally draw enough air into my lungs to speak.

"How can you not?"

I push past him and back into the bedroom. "I just don't." A sharp pain starbursts across my abdomen, pulling a gasp from me.

"Danni?" Steve's instantly at me side. "What is it? What's wrong?"

With each word out of Steve's mouth Bug kicks hard against my ribs. "Stop talking, please." I rub my belly and finally Bug calms down. "Every time you talk Bug gets excited and kicks up a storm." The pleasure that crosses Steve's face at my pronouncement makes me fall even more in love with him. "Normally it isn't that big a deal but this morning…" I sit down heavily on the bed. I haven't gained that much weight and yet I'm huge and it's exhausting being this big. "I think I'm going to use a sick day. Guess I should text my boss." I pick up my phone and text Steve that I'm taking the day off.

When his phone beeps he responds that I had better have a doctor's note since this is the third sick day I've taken in the past two weeks. I remind him I'm pregnant and will soon be taking maternity leave so he can just suck it.

"Really, Danno? 'Suck it, Boss.'? That really how you wanna play it?"

I nod and lean back on one hand so I can breathe easier. "Sure is."

He sits down on the bed beside me. "Maybe we should ask Meegs if it's time for you to go on leave."

"Was already planning on it." He gives me a shocked look. "It's obvious that this-" I wave my hand in a circle to indicate my huge belly. "-is all baby. Grace was a respectable six pounds, nineteen inches long. And that was a week early. This kid, your freak of a kid, is probably already six pounds or more and I'm only eight months along. I don't want to think about how big Bug'll be when I deliver."

He places his hand over mine on my belly and Bug kicks at us. Leaning over, Steve kisses the top of the swell and whispers, "You stop giving your Danno so much grief, huh? Once you're born will be soon enough." This time he gets a hand pressed against the stretched flesh.

"Alright, I guess I should get dressed. What time's your appointment?"

"9. You don't have to come."

"I missed several already due to my reserve training. Not missing any more than I have to." I nod. "I'll pick you up at 8:15?" I nod again then scoot back on the bed to lean against the headboard and watch him get dressed.

A few minutes later he presses a kiss to my lips and leaves for work. Not that he'll get all that much done before he has to come back to get me. But since he's the boss he feels he should be there for a little while first thing.

At my appointment, Meegs does indeed agree that I should probably be on bed rest due to how heavy the baby is sitting on me. He stresses that bed rest means I'm not to do anything more than light housework; mostly just laundry as long as I don't have to bend over or stand for long periods of time. Luckily the department has awesome maternity leave. I'm able to take these final four weeks along with up to four months after. And Steve is eligible for paternity leave as well and can take just as long as I do. But he's decided to wait until after I give birth to take his paternity leave.

By the third day of my bed rest I'm so bored I seriously contemplate asking my mother to come early. Only reason I change my mind is the fact that I'd probably kill her within the first twenty-four hours.

My due date (May first) comes and goes. Meegs is seeing me nearly every day and tells me ten days later that if I don't deliver over the weekend he'll induce on Monday. I call my parents and tell them to get the first flight out.

The rest of the day is spent with Steve trying to be helpful but really all he's doing is getting on my fucking nerves. Around 4 in the morning, we get up to go get my parents from the airport and Steve's hovering finally pushes me over the edge so I order him from the house on threat of murder, reminding him that I know how to hide a body.

And that's how I find myself sitting on the couch with my feet propped up on the coffee table in front of me, still pregnant nearly two weeks past my due date. Bug has gotten so incredibly heavy and I'm ready to deliver. I have enjoyed being pregnant this time just like I did with Grace but the time has come for this child to enter the world.

My frustration boils over and I find myself shouting at my belly. "Get out. Get out. GET OUT! Why won't you get out?"

Everything makes me so very tired these days and my outburst is no exception. I lean my head back against the couch and pant at the ceiling.

Suddenly pain rips trough my midsection. I double over, trying to get it to stop. It subsides a moment then comes again, stronger; strong enough to have me hitting the floor on my knees. I feel like I'm about to be split in two.

Steve's name comes out on a whimper, then louder and louder until I'm screaming like I've never screamed in my life.