It was a Saturday afternoon and the warm summer sunshine seemed to pour in through the windows of Missy's tiny apartment.

Missy had just finished her last full week of work. She had planned on going on maternity leave a little later but getting up at 6.40 every day and dragging herself around the office had become far too exhausting. Luckily her workplace had a good maternity plan in place which had been too good to pass up. Twenty weeks of leave all to her herself and the baby until she had to go back!

And so her work colleagues had thrown her a mini baby shower at 4pm yesterday and kindly given her a goodie bag full of baby-grows and cutesy stuffed animals.

It was probably the only baby shower Missy was going to get.

She had barley any friends in the city that weren't primarily Zach's friends. She had only moved here, to the city, because of him. Three long years ago.

Missy's mom lived down in Florida with her aunt, but her arthritis was so bad she couldn't even travel nowadays. Missy missed her so much, but she was a strong woman. She could handle this alone. She knew she could.

And besides, she had Wade now...

Her friendship with Wade seemed to be growing by the day.

He spend almost all of his time with her, out of office hours that was.

They really had a lot in common, and as irritating as his smart remarks could be, she liked him.

He had put up her baby crib (after a LOT of whining that the flat-pack furniture had managed to give him a splinter), he brought her food, and they hung out and had fun. And fun was something Missy really needed right now...

She didn't want to think about how she was going to cope when the baby arrived. Would she even be able to go back to work after her maternity leave was over? Even if Zach paid his dues she still didn't know how she would afford her rent and all her bills all alone...

The worry seemed to build up inside her with every day that passed. Could she really cope with all this?

Missy was currently stood in her kitchen, doing the washing up, pondering this thought, when a sudden voice from behind her made her jump out of her skin.

"Hey there preggo-eggo," came Wade in a light tone, as Missy swung around to face him, placing a soapy hand to her chest.

"You scared me," she murmured, placing a dish onto the drainer.

It was her own fault.

Wade's appearances in her apartment had become so regular nowadays she had begun to just leave her front door on the latch for him to come and go as he pleased.

Sometimes heaving her enormous-self off of the couch seemed like too much of a huge-feat.

Wade, dressed today in jeans, a white t-shirt and a grey hooded sweater, merely grinned, strolling over towards her.

"So, I thought, rather than staying in all cooped up on this fucking gorgeous day," uttered Wade, leaning up against the counter beside her, staring down at her pregnant form. "...we could maybe go for a walk...or a waddle in your case...."

Missy shot him a look, smirking.

"Alright, alright, I get it, I'm like a hippo at the moment," she uttered and with that, she dabbed at Wade's nose with her soapy fingers, leaving a puff of suds lingering on his long face.

He gave a chuckle, pulling away from her and rubbing at his nose, his face fixed into a wide grin.

"But yeah, sounds good," she continued, wiping her hands on a dish towel and turning away from the sink. "I'm kinda craving some ice cream....with hot fudge and loads of sprinkles."

Wade smiled, holding out his arm for her to take.

"Well mademoiselle," he murmured in a charming voice. "Your wish is my command."

Missy smiled, grasping his arm tightly, her stomach doing a weird backflip. Obviously just heartburn, she thought to herself....

Missy and Wade walked side by side down the street. As predicted, Missy walking excruciatingly slowly. But luckily for her, Wade didn't seem to mind.

The warm sun felt lovely on her long, caramel blonde locks, and today she was dressed in a pretty floral sundress that covered her bump nicely.

She glanced up at Wade, to find him already staring down at her.

"What?" she asked, with a small frown.

But the merc managed a shrug.

"Nothing," he replied easily. "Just checking out my hot, mama-bear BFF."

Missy smiled, nudging him with her hip.

" Your BFF?" she asked raising an eyebrow in his direction.

Wade nodded almost instantly. "Of course," he answered lightly. "What other person would I rather be spending my weekend with...and my weekdays? You realise that now you're on maternity leave you're not getting rid of me, right?"

Missy laughed as her hand lightly brushed his.

"Does that mean I get take-out for breakfast, lunch and dinner?" she asked in a teasing voice, raising both eyebrows.

But Wade gave a mock scowl. "With the amount that you eat, I'd be broke in like three days..." he said in a sarcastic tone.

"Hey!" replied Missy, patting her tummy. "I'm eating for two!"

Wade grinned, his eyes travelling over her, as they approached the ice cream store.

"Yeah, and little Chimichanga there seems to have the appetite of a sumo wrestler," he said in a playful voice, giving her the gentlest of nudges back. "So, is it Chimi that wants this ice cream or you?"

Missy pursed her lips, thinking.

"Oh definitely Chimi," she said rubbing her stomach lovingly. "But as I'm on the outside and in charge, I get to choose the toppings."

Wade gave a nod. "Of course," he said with a faux-serious look, as they entered the store.

Ten minutes later, they were out, Missy holding a ginormous ice-cream topped with every sugary treat imaginable.

Wade had insisted he didn't want one, but the moment they were out of the shop, had swiped his finger across her icy dessert.

"Hey!" said Missy loudly, holding it just out of his reach, as Wade stuck his finger into his mouth.

"What?" he replied defensively. "I paid for it! Jeez, remind me why I have such a soft-spot for you again? I'm starting to think you only like me because I buy you food."

"Yhhhmmm," she murmured in acknowledgment, causing Wade to chuckle.

The pair of them walked side by side in relative silence for a couple of minutes, before Missy suddenly turned toward Wade, glancing up at his long face.

He looked, as always, pretty happy, always with that same old confident smirk lingering on his features.

He was tall and, ok, he could be a bit of a dork at times, but he was the only one there for her, when she had been completely alone in the world...

"So are you on maternity leave too?" she asked him after a moment, taking a small lick of her ice cream. "Because for a mercenary you seem to spend a lot of your time on my couch watching Netflix lately."

Wade shot her a look.

"Obviously I have to wait for my ribs to full heal before I get back out there..." he said in a cheerful voice, giving her a nod.

Missy nodded back. "Oh, yeah, your ribs..." she said in a sarcastic tone. "Of course..."

They both chuckled, Wade's hand naturally moving to the small of her back as they made to head across the road, walking close.

But before they could do so, a sudden voice from behind them, caused them to pause.

"Missy?"

Missy glanced around, coming face to face with Marie and Andy, a couple about her own age.

Andy was Zach's old college buddy and the four of them would often go on double dates and go for after work drinks.

She noticed their eyes lingering on the contact between her and Wade.

"What are you up to?" asked Marie, her look slightly accusing, as she took in the close proximity between Missy and her tall neighbour.

Missy gave a gulp. Obviously neither Marie nor Andy knew that she and Zach were no longer together.

"Yeah, I-I'm great thanks," mumbled Missy, gesturing toward Wade. "This is my next-door neighbour Wade."

Both Marie and Zach gave Wade a long lingering look, their eyes travelling over his clothes and his slightly rough-around the edges demeanour and his face with a long scar across his eyebrow.

Their look was definitely one of disapproval.

Marie instantly folded her arms across herself.

"Zach ok?" she asked questioningly, her eyes narrowing back towards Missy. "I'm guessing he doesn't know you're out here with...Wade, was it?"

Her voice was poisonous.

Did they really think that her and Wade were together? That she was cheating on Zach?

After all he had done to her, she was not about to let him get away with being the innocent party in all this!

"Zach?" replied Missy in a light tone, placing a hand to her swollen stomach. "He walked out on me. And if you must know it had nothing to do with Wade here."

Missy took a step closer to her now 'ex'-friends.

"The asshole decided to leave me six-months pregnant to go off and 'find himself'," she snarled. "So perhaps you might want to get your facts straight before you start accusing me of something I'm not even guilty of."

She turned back to Wade, but didn't say anything... Wade already knew.

He took a step towards her, as she took his hand gently in her own.

"Let's go," she said quietly, her head bowed as Wade led her safely across the street, leaving Marie and Andy standing behind her, shame-faced.

When they were across the wide road, Missy let out a long breath, her shoulders slumping tiredly.

"C-Can we go home?" Missy asked after a moment or two as Wade watched her carefully.

All she wanted to do was get out of here and go back to where she and her bump were safe and happy...

"Nope," Wade replied suddenly in a firm voice. "You, my friendly neighbourhood prego-lady, are going to come to the video arcade with me, we are going to share some fries and I am going to kick your ass at Pac-Man."

Missy smiled softly, glancing down at her tummy.

How did he always manage to cheer her up?

She gave a nod.

"Pac-Man I'm terrible at," she said in a slow voice. "But I will  kick your ass at Mortal Combat..."

"As long as I get to be Johnny Cage," said Wade with a playful tone.

"Definitely not, because I'm always Johnny Cage!" she said shooting Wade a dark look.

The merc gave a groan, tossing back his head. "Ok, fiiiiiiine!" he uttered loudly, in a whiny tone. He pointed to her. "But I get to be Sonya Blade no take-backsies."

Missy grinned, sub-consciously rubbing at her bump as the baby kicked excitedly inside her...

Almost four hours later, Missy pushed open the door to her apartment.

"...there is no way you won, that little kid was too good!" said Missy laughing, as she walked inside her now dark living room, flipping on the light.

The pair had just spend their entire afternoon in Pete's games arcade down the street, where Wade had just had his butt-kicked by an eleven year-old kid on Dance-Dance Revolution.

"No way," said the merc, shaking his head. "Did you see my moves? I was fucking incredible!"

Missy smiled, glancing back at him over her shoulder. She was so exhausted, but had had a great afternoon.

"I think the scores told a different story," said Missy biting her lip before easing herself down onto the couch.

Her whole body ached....not having walked that far in a long while...

"So," said Wade hopping over the back of the sofa and landing on the cushions beside her. "What are we thinking? Binge watch the rest of The Walking Dead and order Chinese food?"

Missy gave a yawn.

"Hmmm, yeah....sounds good," she said with a murmur.

Wade picked up the remote, clicking onto their TV show and pressing play.

Missy let out a long sigh, her eyes blinking shut and as they settled down, leaning her head gently on Wade's shoulder.

The merc stared down at her as her breathing become deep and rhythmic, one hand placed protectively on her stomach.

His lips parted slightly as he suddenly lifted his arm gently and placed it over her shoulders.

For a the longest of moments his gaze travelled over her sleeping form...his eyes full of something he would never show when she was awake...

Missy murmured something he didn't quite seem to catch before nuzzling into his soft hooded jacket...

And that is how they remained for the rest of the evening, Wade choosing a football game on the TV instead and watching it with sound turned right down, a small smile lingering on his face the entire time...