The air was thick and full of moisture as he walked up the long sidewalk to his home. Though he seemed to have picked up the pace of his steps to get into the welcoming air conditioned home that he shared with his wife and child, the humidity had seemed to take its toll on his body and he only slowed. Home was so close, yet so far away.

It was as if a weight lifted off of his shoulders when he pressed down on the doorknob and stepped into the foyer. Though his salary wasn't modest, his home was. He never felt the need to flaunt his earnings and wanted his daughter to have a sense of normalcy in her young life compared to the whirlwind his life had been in his teens and onward. The gray stone was his wife's pick, the wrap-around porch that had seen use because of the antique swing and toys strewn everywhere, railing covered in finger paints that he was pretty sure made his house a home.

"Em, I'm home," he called, tossing his cell phone and car keys onto the stand near the door. "Em?" Confusion etched on his face as his eyebrows knitted towards the center of his forehead, stepping into the quiet of his home that was usually full of sound and warmth. The warmth was there, but the happy coos or hungry cries of his daughter, along with the light voice of his wife were heard nowhere. Surely they were home. She wouldn't have forgotten.

She couldn't have.

Life had been hectic for the last few weeks, he going back and forth between studios in Los Angeles and helping produce another artist's album as he took a break from his own singing career to spend time with his new family (though it had been six months since Kaylee's birth). Emmerson (she hated that name with a passion) had been teaching a few yogalaties classes in the city as well, Kaylee spending time with her grandmother while both parents worked. He had probably seen his wife and baby together for a good two days before everything turned crazy.

A delayed album. Press releases. Promotion. Touring. All of these added up to the lack of family-time that he so desired and had taken advantage of while he had the time to, now yearning for it more than he ever imagined. He no longer was the man he was two years ago. He was no longer JC Chasez, performer, he was Joshua Chasez, family man. That title made him more proud than any award could ever possibly.

He made his way up to the bedroom he shared with his wife, it the largest room in the house with the most welcoming bed he had ever seen. 'This is going to be our kids' favorite place you know', he had said when she fell into it at the department store, a look of pure amazement sweeping over her own baby blues, 'this bed will no longer be ours when they're old enough to get up into it'.

'That's what so great about it', she had said, turning to look at him with a smile. She had been five months pregnant at the time, complaining about the 'rock hard' mattress that they had slept on beforehand, demanding that they invest in something that 'wouldn't make my back like an ironing board before I'm 40'. Hand resting on the mound at the top of her stomach as she inhaled deeply, she reached for his hand as he helped her up, she pulling him into the bed with him. 'This is our bed', she had stated, he bouncing a bit for effect and feel. At that moment, he agreed. It became their bed the moment he sat down, when he mentally saw his children climbing up into the bed after a scary dream, snuggling up to mommy and holding his hand in reassurance that no one was in fact going to get them, comforted by both parent's and falling into a deep slumber while they're eyes would meet over their child's head, a knowing smile on both of their faces.

But the thoughts were slowly pushed away when he saw a deep red envelope on his pillow, it a contrast against the white down comforter and pillows that rested around it. Stepping to it quickly and picking it up in his hands, he smiled when he saw her delicate hand writing addressing it to him, it simply saying, 'Happy Birthday, Joshua' with a heart below the words. He opened it, pulling out a three page letter with a smile on his face.

She didn't forget.

He lowered the letter, scanning the room for an abnormality, eyes centering on a piece of paper sticking to the mirror of her dresser vanity, turning it over and smiling to himself. In his hand, he held a piece of newspaper they had been looking at on their first 'date'. They sat for four hours in a coffee house doing crossword puzzles, teasing each other mercilessly at the lack of knowledge for the random and abstract that had been hinted for the ups and downs of the puzzle. Looking back at the letter, he shook his head and grinned. She had something up her sleep.

#2: Did I mention that I love the way your butt looks in jeans? Well, I do.
#3: And how your nose scrunches up when you smile. That's my favorite.

Oh, and you better get to the coffeehouse soon. Don't forget that Jake closes it at seven!

He grinned, looking down at his watch. He had a half hour to get to the one place that Emmerson took refuge in after her classes, it clear across town. Tucking the letter into his pocket, he then made his way down the stairs (but not before grabbing his keys and phone once more) and out the door, already hating the heat as he jumped into his car and back on the road.

The Grind was an laid-back, vintage looking place that served the best coffee he had ever known. Every Friday, there was an acoustic performance by a local artist or poetry reading (though he at first thought was completely boring but ended up loving) that he and Emmerson tried to catch when they had a night free (though, these days, they seemed fewer and further between).

"Jace, my man!"

He turned, smiling at the familiar face as he stepped up, holding his hand out in greeting as he shook it. "Hey, Jake, how's it going?"

"Good man," he smiled. "Happy Birthday, you old fart."

"Ah, I'm not old until I've got a walker and glaucoma," he grinned, Jake setting down a cup in front of him. "What's this?"

"Your coffee, of course," he smiled, shoving his hands in his pockets as he stepped away. "Fresh and on the house, courtesy of Jake for the birthday boy."

"And now I feel like I'm 13, not 31," JC grinned, taking a sip of the hot concoction, it welcoming, regardless of the weather that seemed just as hot. "So, Emmy sent me here -"

"I know," Jake smiled. "Drink up. I've gotta close down soon."

He looked at him, shaking his head in confusion. "All right man."

"I'll be back." Jake disappeared quickly, JC pulling the letter back out of his pocket. What exactly was she trying to do?

#4: Your abilty to question everything. Don't ever question my motives, Chasez! There is always a reason for my little scavanger hunt! Though, if you didn't question every little detail, every little question, you wouldn't be who you are and that would not be the JC Chasez I fell in love with! Especially after our first date and us deciding to fare the weather and play in the snow.
#5: No matter who you are, where you are, you always had the same sense of who you were, and that made me respect you so much more.
#6: The smile that I know is stretched across your face right now. Beautiful, even if you don't like it.

Now, take that amazing smile and get to the park. You can't build a snowman in a coffeehouse! (Nor can you do it in 97 degree weather ...)

At her cue, he took one last drink of his coffee and got up, turning and jumping as Jake stood there, a grin on his face. "Thanks for the coffee, man."

"Next destination, eh?"

"You know about this all, don't you?"

"Of course," Jake smiled, crossing his arms. "C'mon man, who wouldn't want to go on a scavanger hunt when the ending is a mystery?"

"The ending ..."

"Is the best part, trust me," he grinned. "So get on so you can get there! And don't read ahead!"

He chuckled, folding up the letter and saying goodbye to his friend. "I'll try and come back next Friday!"

"Yeah, yeah!"

The park was actually just down the road from the coffeehouse, so the ride itself was quick and a lot less rushed than it had been to get to the first destination. The park where he stood then was where the second half of their date had begun and quickly ended (she was too cold, his hands had gone numb), though it wasn't quick to be forgotten. They had found a spot near the large tree in the center, building the most disturbing snowman he had ever seen.

'Why is the top half bigger than the first', she had asked, laughing as she stood there, hands on her hips as he tried to place the larger part on the top, almost failing miserably before it finally settled on the medium-sized middle. 'Jace, are you sure you know what you're doing?'

'I'm not sure about anything at all right now', he laughed, brushing his aching hands off as he looked at her, brown hair covered in snow and cheeks a pink. 'You're gonna catch pneumonia'.

'I'll live.'

He looked back down to the paper, smiling at reason seven. So she did know him well.

#7: I fell in love with you on our first date. Did you know that? Even if you were a perfectionist and couldn't just put an answer in the damn crossword puzzle to figure out another answer, or that you had to have three sugars and half a cream in your coffee (not a whole, because you're crazy), I still fell. You know when I fell? The moment you took your coat off to put on top of mine to keep me warm. Nobody has ever risked anything for me, even if it was just getting sick from the weather. Nobody. You changed that, Josh. You changed my outlook on the opposite sex and how there is someone out there for everybody. You, my love, are my someone.
#8: Did I mention that mouth? The way you kissed me the first time is permanently imprinted in my mind: unsure, reluctant, yet so ready and so passionate. It only got better.
#9: Of course, your singing doesn't suck, either. I actually prefer it over anyone else's.
#10: The way you automatically transformed from bachelor to husband to father. Watching you with my daughter is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen in my entire life, and I can't believe that you were the same man telling me four years ago that you didn't see marriage or children in your future. I guess I changed that, huh? I know, I know ... I'm that good.

He laughed to himself. Typical Emmy. She was never egotistical, but she was definitely someone who took pride in herself and her accomplishments. The moment she had taken the pregnancy test and read it's positive results, she had said to him, 'looks like children are also in your future, Chasez'. He hadn't been able to say anything about her pregnancy for weeks, and when the first ultrasound showed him what would soon be his baby girl, he had changed. He longer felt as if his life didn't need to have children (he also felt that way about marriage until Emmerson), but suddenly, even without Kaylee's arrival, he wanted more.

She had changed him.

Now, stop thinking about our daughter and go to the grocery store for me. I forgot to pick up some formula. I may be good, but I'm not that good!

He shook his head, smiling widely as he went back to his car and headed towards the grocery store, excited about what was to come.