"Raleigh, please, don't be difficult." Jeremy Stewart raked his hands through his unruly blonde hair for what seemed like the millionth time since Raleigh had been in his presence.

"I'm not being difficult, Jerry. I simply know what I do and do not want to do right now. And another concert just one week after my long, grueling, three-month tour ended is definitely something I do NOT want to do." Raleigh turned to walk out of the office, but Jerry was out of his seat and in front of her in an instant.

"Raleigh, it's not a concert, its an appearance!" He tried to reason with her. "You only need to perform like, one song, say a few encouraging words to the problematic teens of America, and then you're off for the entire summer to do what please!" With the way he held his hands together as if praying, and the way his large blue eyes seemed to become even wider as he pleaded for her to do this "one last favor" for him, Raleigh felt herself slowly slipping. She was going to give in and she knew it. She always did.

Rolling her eyes, she let out an over-exaggerated sigh. "Fine. But you are the one talking to the band, Jerry!" She nearly fell back onto the hardwood floor when he surprised her with an attack hug.

"Thank you so much, Raleigh! I'll make it up to you, I promise!"

"You better." Raleigh pulled her hands away from his grasp and quickly left her manager's office and headed out to the parking lot. She wanted to relax and enjoy what was left of her afternoon.

As Raleigh drove home she blared the radio and tried to calm down. Why was he always doing this to her? He knew how she felt when she ended a tour. All she wanted was some time off for herself and he couldn't give her that even once? Why couldn't she say no to him? She knew she had the option, but she also knew she'd never want to cancel on her fans once a show was booked. Although this wasn't her typical show, she still knew that she could touch someone else's life with just a few short, encouraging words. So she'd do it. But she'd make sure that Jerry knew fully well this was not for him.

She'd been with his record label for four years now and for some reason she still felt like she owed something to him for taking his chances with her. Jerry had just been getting his company off the ground when Daniel told him about Raleigh. She decided she'd give him a chance as well and he never stopped telling her she was the best investment he'd ever made. But lately it felt as though he was beginning to take her for granted. Maybe she should find a new manager?

No, she knew she never would. Jerry was a friend and no matter what, she knew he'd always have her best interests at heart.

After stopping the engine, Raleigh grabbed her purse and stepped out of the car and into the warm spring air. She allowed the sun to spread its warmth on her face for a moment before she turned to head into the house.

"I'm home." Raleigh called out, slipping out of her flip-flops and setting her purse on the table beside the door. She suddenly had a comical vision of herself in a 1960's television show where the husband always announced when he was home from work. Turning her attention to the very, unusually quiet house, Raleigh called out again. "Dan? Are you home?" When silence answered her she moved towards the kitchen to see if he was in there. As soon as she came to the doorway, she heard a splash followed immediately by a loud giggle. A smile graced her features and she headed out the back door into the large backyard.

Coming to the pool's edge, Raleigh stopped and watched in adoration as her fiancé picked up the small boy and threw him in the water once again. Coming back up to the surface, the boy smiled and laughed as he swam his way back to Dan.

"You're getting good, Matty." The boy's brown eyes snapped over to where Raleigh stood and his entire face lit up.

"Auntie Ray!" Matthew swam to the pool's ladder and climbed out, running full force at her. Not minding at all that he was soaking wet, Raleigh held out her arms and scooped him up, hugging him to her chest. "I missed you."

"Oh, I've missed you too. How was school?"

"Good. I'm happy it's over."

"I'm sure you are." Raleigh placed a kiss on Matthew's forehead, returning the squeeze he gave her.

"You know I've missed you too. Where's my hug?" Dan pouted his lips out at her, standing off to her right side.

"You see me more than he does." Raleigh smiled and set Matthew down before turning into Dan's embrace, kissing him lightly on the lips. "Hello, my love."

"Hello." Dan gave her one more quick peck before moving away. "So what did Jerry want?"

"To give me more premature gray hairs. Did you two eat lunch yet?" Raleigh moved to grab Dan's towel to spot-dry herself off.

"Nope."

"Hey, Matty! What do you want for lunch?" Raleigh asked the boy who was now playing on the swing set Dan had built for him.

"Hot dogs and macaroni and cheese and pickles and chips and pop."

"That's a big lunch for a small boy. You gonna eat all that?" Matthew nodded his head fiercely so Raleigh just laughed and turned to go back into the house and get his food of choice.

"I'll be right back, don't go near the pool, ok, Matt?"

"Ok, Uncle Dan." Dan followed Raleigh into the kitchen and helped her with the food and plates.

"So what did Jerry really want?" The way Raleigh sighed and rubbed her forehead with her fingers, Dan knew whatever it was had annoyed her thoroughly.

"Some people holding a concert got a hold of him and asked if I would be interested in making an appearance and he of course told them I would just love to."

"And let me guess, you of course told him you would do it?" Looking at Dan's smirk, Raleigh couldn't decide what she wanted to do more, smack him or grab him and kiss him.

"He did that stupid pout of his." Raleigh defended herself, crossing her arms.

"You need to learn to say no to the pout." Dan laughed, avoiding the punch Raleigh tried to send his way. "When is this concert?"

"Tomorrow night." Stopping in a halfway turn to the cupboards, Dan looked at Raleigh as though she had two heads.

"Tomorrow is Friday."

"Your wit astounds me, my love. Today is Thursday which means, yes, tomorrow is in fact Friday." Raleigh couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips as she put a pot of water on the stove to boil.

"Which means you're going to be gone all day tomorrow when we have tons of packing left to do for our trip that we leave for at six AM Saturday morning." Dan informed her, then couldn't help but to add, "You know, the day after Friday."

"Relax, honey. I won't be gone all day tomorrow and we still have all tonight to pack. Besides, I think you're exaggerating on the "tons of packing left to do" thing."

"Says the girl who waits until the last second to do everything and always packs way more than she needs." Dan moved to stand directly in front of Raleigh and leaned his hands on the counter top on both sides of her. "I bet you anything you're freaking out by noon tomorrow that you're not ready." Leaning slightly forward, Raleigh pressed her hands on his chest and looked up into his seriously teasing green eyes.

"Anything?"

"Anything."

"That's one bet I just might have to take you up on." Standing on her tippy-toes, Raleigh held her mouth so close to Dan's, she could feel his breath on her lips. "And when I win, I will be sitting there with all of my friends, watching you make a fool of yourself performing "I Will Survive" at the stag." Lowering back down so the bottoms of her feet were planted firmly on the floor, Raleigh grabbed Dan's arm and moved it so she could escape the close contact. Grabbing the plate with their frozen hot dogs on it, she turned back towards him and held it up.

"And when I win, I get that private strip-o-gram I've been waiting for." Dan smiled at her as he took the plate of hot dogs out of her hands and headed outside.

Shaking her head, Raleigh moved to grab a bag of salt-and-vinegar potato chips from the cupboard. When she turned back to set the bag on the counter beside the stove, she couldn't help but to glance out the window in front of her. She couldn't help the smile that passed along her face as she watched Dan play with the small boy. Her heart warmed at the sight and she knew, without a doubt, that Dan would make an amazing father one day.

Slowly, Raleigh's smile began to fade away as the disappointment weighed in on her once again. Nearly a year had passed and it still hurt just as badly as when they'd first found out. She could remember the day so clearly. It had been just after Dan had proposed to her. She hadn't thought anything of it at first, but as the third week came around, and still no period, Raleigh began thinking that maybe she was pregnant. Immediately she'd told Dan and was completely surprised with how he'd reacted. She'd been so scared telling him, afraid that he would push her away or say there was no way it was his. But now, looking back on it, she realized how incredibly ridiculous she'd been. He was with her the entire time, trying to hide his hope as best as he could as, together, they waited for the results of the test he'd gone out himself to buy.

Raleigh stood still as the worries she'd felt washed over her once again. Could she really have children after aborting her and Josh's baby? Was she ready to have a child? She had been at the top of her career, still was. What if she miscarried? She didn't know if she would be able to lose another baby. She remembered clearly that the thoughts had completely enveloped her, keeping her trapped in her mind until Dan had placed his hand on her shoulder to let her know the three long minutes had passed.

Raleigh had stood up and picked up the test off the sink. She'd taken a deep breath then looked down at the digital reader looking up at her. As soon as her mind could process what the single word staring at her meant, all doubts and fears she'd had fled and all she was left with was pure joy. Her lips had pulled back in a euphoric grin as she jumped into Dan's arms, letting him know it was positive. Immediately she'd called her OB-GYN to make an appointment to confirm the exciting news.

As the days passed until her appointment, Dan hardly let her do anything on her own. He treated her like a queen, pampering her, doing every little thing he possibly could to make sure she was comfortable and relaxed. Needless to say it annoyed the freakin' hell out of her. But still, she couldn't have been happier. Neither of them could have been.

Unfortunately, their hopes and happiness had been crushed when Dr. Fuller told them that she wasn't pregnant. That she must have gotten a bad test - it wasn't all that uncommon after all. She'd asked him why she was so late then and he simply told her the truth. She was a very active young woman with a demanding career. He suggested she take a few days to just relax and if she didn't start bleeding within the week then he'd run some blood tests. She of course told him that if she relaxed any more she might explode, but regardless they'd thanked him and left the office, neither not knowing what they could possibly say to the other. Dan tried to comfort her the best that he possibly could, but Raleigh just wanted to be alone. She knew that he was hurting just as badly about finding out that a baby was not in their near future, but she'd needed to deal with some things on her own. Maybe she had done more damage to her body than she'd realized.

As the days passed and she slowly came out of her mild depression, Dan suggested that they could try to get pregnant, but Raleigh just shook her head. She decided it would be better to wait until after the wedding. He supported her decision and that was that.

Now, they were a mere five months away from the pending nuptuals and Raleigh realized that she couldn't wait to have that baby.

Refocusing on her task at hand, Raleigh realized the water was now boiling so she turned down the heat and poured in the noodles. When the macaroni and cheese was finally done, she took that, as well as the bag of chips, a few paper plates and plastic forks, and headed slowly out to the patio table.

As they ate their lunch, Dan and Raleigh listened and responded enthusiastically as Matthew spoke animatedly about his weekend with his father.

"And then on Sunday we went to the zoo and then we went to get ice cream. Daddy bought me chocolate AND ‘nilla cause he knows they my favorites."

"Wow. I wish I had someone who bought me both."

"I woulda shared with you Auntie Ray, but you weren't there."

"Well thank you anyway, Matty." Raleigh mussed up his hair and laughed as he tried to fix it. "So where is Mommy today?"

"She went to see Gramma. Said it was grown-up time so I couldn't go. But you wanna know a secret?" He didn't give either of them a chance to respond. "I'd rather be here anyways. Gramma and Grampa are mean."

Dan and Raleigh could only share a knowing look between one another. They'd invited Mr. and Mrs. Anderson over for dinner once and it had been the most horrendous experience of their lives. The Andersons were the most rude and wretched people they could have ever hoped to meet.

After they'd finished lunch, they all decided to go for a walk and ended up at a nearby park, allowing Matthew to run wild through the jungle gym and down the slides with other kids his age. Eventually they'd made it back to the house and together, the three of them settled down to watch Spongebob Squarepants on Nickelodeon. Raleigh was personally impressed with how well Matthew battled his exhaustion. When five o'clock rolled around, Dan ordered a pizza for all of them before returning to Matthew's side on the couch.

When the pizza arrived a half hour later, so had Matthew's mother. Dan waited at the door for her before taking the pizza inside to be eaten.

"Hey stranger."

"Hey Dan. I'm sorry. If I had known I'd be gone so long I would have taken him with me."

"Autumn," Dan interrupted her apology. "It's fine. But I'm glad you're back. A man can only take so much Spongebob."

Autumn smiled as a blush creeped over her face. "Yeah, he's been enjoying that a little too much since he came back from his father's. Sorry, I forgot to warn you."

Dan just let out a laugh as he moved to the living room, Autumn following behind. "Look who I found." Matthew looked up over the couch's back and immediately jumped off, running around to hug his mother.

"Mommy!"

"Hey there little guy! How was your day?"

"Great! Me and Uncle Dan went swimming and then Auntie Ray came home and we ate lunch and then we all went for a walk and then we came back and watched Spongebob Squarepants, now pizza is here and so are you!" came his rushed, excited reply.

"Wow. Sounds like you had a really busy day. Are you tired?"

"Nope!" Matthew shook his head fiercely, denying his exhaustion.

"Oh? Who was it about to fall asleep on the couch a minute ago?" Raleigh crossed her arms, smiling at the small boy in his mother's arms.

"Auntie Ray!" He whined at her. "You weren't supposed to tell." He stuck out his bottom lip at her and Raleigh busted out laughing.

"I'm sorry, Matty. Can you ever forgive me?"

"I guess so."

"Thank you." Raleigh mussed up his hair and they all laughed as he tried to fix it, grunting at Raleigh.

"Hey Matty, wanna come help me set up in the kitchen?"

"Yeah!" Matthew leapt out of Autumn's arms and ran after Dan in excitement.

Turning towards Raleigh, Autumn immediately wrapped her arms around her neck. "I am so glad you're back. How was the rest of the tour?"

"It was good. Not nearly as good as being home though." Pulling away from the embrace, Raleigh looked into Autumn's overly emotional eyes.

"What did your mother want?" Autumn's immediate reply was to snort and roll her eyes as she turned to walk towards the table that sat in front of her.

"To piss me off. Is there ever another reason behind her wanting to see me? She had to get her fix for the month." Raleigh watched as Autumn chewed on her bottom lip, something she only did when she was insanely agitated.

"What did she say to you." Raleigh demanded, not liking how upset Autumn truly was.

"Well," She sighed before continuing. "It started off nice enough. I asked how the cat is, she asked about my job. She wanted to know if I was successful. As we ate lunch she asked how Matthew has been doing and if I was ever going to let her see him again. From there the fake pleasantries stopped." Raleigh remained quiet as she waited for Autumn to continue, debating whether or not she should remove the glass object from her hand before she broke it in her vice grip. "The old bastard's dying and she told me not to expect anything from her. Can you believe that?" Raleigh's eyes widened as Autumn snarled the words her mother had said to her. She looked as if she were about to throw the glass rabbit Dan had bought for her two years ago at the window so Raleigh stepped up and removed it from her trembling hands. Setting a hand on Autumn's shoulder, Raleigh turned her to look at her.

"Please tell me you told her to go to hell."

"I said, ‘I haven't expected anything from either of you since I was twelve, why should I start now?' and I stormed out, making sure to pay my portion of the bill first."

"I'm proud of you. You've always backed down to her."

"Thanks Ray. It felt really good."

"I bet." Raleigh gave her a big smile before putting her arm through Autumn's. "Come on, let's go eat some pizza.

After devouring the large pizza, Dan and Raleigh said goodbye to Autumn and Matthew. It was seven-thirty before they finished cleaning up the kitchen and were able to go upstairs and pack for their week-long trip to Tennessee. All the while, Dan's eyes were firmly planted on his fiancé as she moved about, searching for any sign of the freak-out he'd learned to expect from her.

Much to his horror, it never came. She was completely calm as she spoke to him, pulling random shoes and pieces of clothing from her closet. He noticed how she slowly and carefully folded each article of clothing perfectly before setting it into her suitcase, never once glancing in his direction.

When they'd settled into bed for the night, he knew she wasn't done packing, but he was amazed that she didn't even mention it. It drove him absolutely nuts.

The next morning, when it was quarter to the deadline, Dan sat on the bed, watching as she searched through her jewelry box for the necklace she said "completed" her maid of honor look. But still, she was not flipping out like she normally did. Finally, he couldn't stand it any longer. He had to say something.

"I know what you're doing, you know."

"Really? And I was trying so hard to hide the fact that I'm looking for my grandmother's necklace." She threw a smile his way and he scooted to the edge of the bed.

"No, I meant I know that you're waiting until after noon to freak out so I'd be stuck making a fool of myself in front of the entire wedding party. That's cheating."

"Actually, I do think that I'll be ready by the time we have to leave for the airport tomorrow, but I'll have to remember that for the next bet." Again she smiled and immediately after, she let out a delighted squeal when she finally found the familiar white gold chain.

After fishing out one last sun dress and putting it into her suitcase, Raleigh straightened her back and put her hands on her hips before blowing her bangs out of her eyes. "Okay, I'm done." Dan's eyes shifted to the clock on the nightstand and he fell back onto his back, groaning in dismay. She finished packing - without freaking even a little - and she had four minutes to spare. Why did she have to choose now to prove him wrong?

Dan suddenly felt the mattress shift beneath him so he peeked through one eye to see just what Raleigh thought she was doing.

"Go away, cheater."

"Oh, now don't be like that, baby." Raleigh smiled at him coyly as she hovered over his body on the bed. "After all, I'm sure you'll survive."

Grabbing Raleigh arms so she couldn't move, Dan flipped them over so he was pinning her to the mattress.

"You think you're just so funny don't you?"

"I think I'm adorable." She tilted her face up in a smug smile. Dan narrowed his eyes at her before letting out a grunt of annoyance. "Oh come on! If I lost you'd be gloating too." He pretended to sulk as he rolled over on his back and Raleigh took the opportunity to take stance over him again. As she straddled his pelvis, she leaned forward so her chest rested on top of her forearms which sat atop his chest. "You know it's true." When he remained silent she moved forward and placed her lips over his, very slightly rocking her hips back and forth. She knew he could take the contact only so much before giving into temptation. He wrapped his arms around her and deepened the kiss. As soon as she felt his fingers sliding up underneath her tank top, Raleigh pulled away and jumped off the bed.

"I have to get ready to go."

Laying there for a moment, Dan tried to get his mind to wrap around the fact that just two seconds ago he'd been in the throws of one insanely hot make-out session, and now he was alone on the bed with a very big problem between his legs. Running his hands over his face, he growled at Raleigh as she seemed to bounce into the bathroom. "You are the cruelest person alive, I swear it!"

He knew the only real payback would be to join her in the shower, but he also knew she had to get going.

Fucking Jerry. Next time he saw him, he was going to kill him.