"J?" I called out from our bathroom.

"Yeah?" he called back from the closet.

I stared at it, my heart completely floored. My wedding ring caught my eye for a moment, a spark of light catching my attention and I smiled. 

The love of my life. His soft footsteps on the carpet neared until he poked his head into the bathroom.

"Hey," he said, his voice laced with curiosity. "You okay?"

I looked up and nodded.

"Um," I swallowed.

His head tilted and he leaned off of the wall to walk toward me. He ran a hand through his long hair and a soft smile danced on his lips.

"Al, what is it?"

I was speechless as his hazel eyes held mine. His eyebrows furrowed and he squat in front of me.

"Why are you sitting on the bathroom floor?" he smirked.

I couldn't get the words to come out. Speak Alice, just speak. 

"You look excited so I know everything must be okay..." he began. "Right?"

I nodded. 

His eyes held mine captive while he tucked some hair behind my ear. He kept his palm against my cheek. I leaned into it and closed my eyes.

"I love you," he whispered.

My eyes opened and I slid my hand over his.

"I love you."

He smiled and my heartbeat quickened. It seemed to do it more frequently the longer we were married, which was incredible to me. It was so against every marriage status quo, but not us. Three years in and still, he sets my body on fire and sends my heart soaring. 

"Need help up?" he finally asked.

I shook my head and with my free hand, I clutched his grey t-shirt into my hand and brought him to me, my lips locking onto his.

He moaned into my mouth and steadied himself with a hand on the floor, the other tangling itself in my hair. I wrapped both arms around his neck and he chuckled against my lips.

"Should we move this to the bed?" he murmured against my lips.

"Just one thing," I whispered, my voice shaking. 

He pulled back clearly noticing the shake. He tucked some more hair out of my eyes and waited patiently.

I reached behind me and pulled it out in between us. I held it in my palm, carefully, like it could break.

His eyes registered what it was quickly and his head snapped up. His eyes were shining.

"Is that..." he asked.

I nodded. 

He took it from my hand and began inspecting it.

"Wait, do those mean?" he glanced up at me for a second before his eyes fell back to it.

"Yeah," I was finally able to say.

His eyes met mine, his lips pulling up.

"Really?" he asked again.

"I'm pregnant, J," I whisper.

I couldn't believe it, but as he swallowed, his eyes actually began to tear up. 

He dropped the stick back onto the floor and grabbed my face into his hands, crashing his lips onto mine.

For a moment we were glued to each other, animalistic in how much we needed each other's lips. It was like we couldn't breath and our lips were each other's air. 

He wrapped his arms around me and picked me up, carrying me to our bed. Carefully setting me against the edge, he pulled away. 

"I love you so much Alice," he said.

"Are you happy?" I asked.

He looked bewildered. "Are you insane?" he kissed me again and pulled away quickly. "This is one of the happiest moments of my life."

I laughed through my own tears that were beginning to form.

"Oh my god," he shook his head. "We're going to be parents."

I nodded. I tangled my hand into his dirty blonde hair and kissed his jaw.

"Why am I so turned on at the thought of you being a Dad?" I murmured.

He laughed while he gently laid me down on the bed.

"Mrs. Vanderlin, so naughty," he teased, his finger tracing across my collarbone. 

"That never gets old," I whispered.

"Yeah," he smiled. 

Suddenly I could picture it, all of it. The sexy surfer/business man walking down the boardwalk with his daughter. Or son. My heart squeezed. 

His hand pressed against my stomach and I met his gorgeous hazel eyes. 

"Our little musician," he breathed.

I placed my hand over his and smiled. 

"Our little surfer."

"Adam is going to have to release you from the London tour now," he said suddenly, his face fearful. "Are you okay with that? Maybe we can--"

"Jesse," I interrupted him. "I don't care about the tour, I just want us."

"Well, which house are we going to raise a family in?" he climbed off of me and laid back beside me.

I thread my fingers through his and squeezed. 

"Can we talk about how amazing it is we have that choice?" I laughed.

He turned to face me and smiled. 

"LA or the Cape?" he asked.

"You know what I'm going to say."

He nodded.

"I'll have to baby proof the house, how do you even know what to baby proof? Do you think there's a website for that? Will the doctor tell us? Do you have a doctor yet?"

"Jesse," I laughed. "I just found out, it's okay, we have time."

He laughed. "I'm sorry," he shook his head.

I turned on my side and rest my head on his chest. He wound an arm around me and brought me closer.

"You are so amazing," I whisper into his shirt.

"No, all you baby Dess," he whispered back. 

I smiled, loving that he still used my old nickname. It was so us. We were always just us. Not much had changed since marriage. I was still working with Adam in New York, but we made our home in the Cape.  

I was so beyond lucky. Sometimes I couldn't fathom how I managed to have such a wonderful marriage and life. 

I stared up at Jesse while he stared at the ceiling with an easy smile. How did I manage to marry this guy? 

Suddenly, tears were forming again.

"I can practically feel your emotions," he chuckled and glanced down at me. "What are you thinking over there?"

"How incredibly in love with you I am...and our life," I murmured. 

His smile grew and he nodded. "You have no idea."

"I hope it's a girl," he said.

"Really?" I asked.

He nodded. 

"I can't wait to be her world, for her to be a daddy's girl," he breathed. 

I could picture it, obviously. Look at him, it was Jesse Vanderlin we were talking about. If this little baby is a girl, how could she not be madly in love with her Dad? She'll be just like me with my own father. 

He'll be incredible, so strong, so handsome, so kind and funny. He'll be the most perfect Dad.

"You're crying," he whispered and wiped a tear off my cheek.

I nodded. "You're going to be the best Dad."

"You're going to be best Mom," he replied with a smile.

Suddenly, he gasped. 

"Picture it," he sat up. "Our son or daughter in a mini shark suit during shark week."

"Jesse," I rolled my eyes, but laughed. 

"You love it," he smirked.

"I love you, there's a difference."

He leaned forward, his thumb tracing my jaw and leaving me momentarily breathless. I was entranced by his hazel eyes, strong jaw line and the sunscreen and ocean scent. 

"I didn't think I could love you any more," he brushed his lips against mine and pulled back just far enough to hold my gaze. "But picturing you...us..."

He shook his head, his breath coming out slowly. 

"I know," I murmured breathlessly. 

He kissed me, softly at first, but the hunger grew between us and soon we were lying face to face, full on making out like teenagers and I loved every second of it. I loved every second of our lives, even the messy bits and the occasional arguments. 

It was our life. It was us and soon we would be welcoming a third member into that 'us'.

The Vanderlins, party of three would be making its debut in just eight short months and somehow that made me love Jesse even more.

I was happy. In fact, that was an understatement. There wasn't a single word that could capture how I was feeling lately, it was just something you had to experience for yourself. Life had dealt me a rough card in the death of my father and while I often wondered how life could be so unfair, lately I've realized life isn't necessarily unfair, it's just life. Life has no biases and even if a lot of bad things can happen, life has a lot of good to give too. 

I realized to feel the good, you have to know the bad and to feel happy you have to let yourself be sad every now and then. It's beautiful if you think about it. What would life be like if it wasn't a roller coaster? Where was the fun in riding a smooth, even track?

I relished the highs and the lows. It means I'm alive. 

Today is just the beginning of a new climb and for once, I won't say I can't wait to get to to the top. I want to feel every single step. 

Jesse smiled down at me before lightly placing his lips against my forehead.

"Want to go to Target?" he whispered.

I grinned, "Is that even a question?"

We laughed and pushed off the bed. We sprint for the backdoor and nearly tumbled down the stairs to the jeep.

"Ahh!" he shouted and pumped his fist into the air. "I win once again!"

"Oh come on!" I shoved him off the driver side door, but he wrapped his arms around me and spun me away, kissing me just before he opened the door and hopped in.

"Music is mine my love," he winked. 

I rolled my eyes and walked over to the passenger side. 

"Why did we come up with this rule?" I sighed and shut the door.

He chuckled, "You came up with it, remember?" His head rolled to the side, some of his hair falling around his face as he smiled. 

"Whatever, just don't play LoFi, I need excitement," I grumbled and faced away. 

He put the jeep in reverse and tapped the volume button on the steering wheel, the chill sound of LoFi coming through the speakers. 

"Ugh, Jesse," I whined. He laughed and grabbed my hand while he pulled out of the driveway.

"Oh you meant this LoFi?" he teased.

I sighed. Some things would never change.