You woke up the next morning to soft light caressing the empty space beside you.

"Minho?" You asked quietly, your eyes barely open, before you woke up completely and scanned the empty room.

With a small sigh leaving your lips, you got out of bed and grabbed a fluffy cardigan – Minho's – and opened the door. As soon as you stepped in the hallway, the smell of fresh food invaded your nostrils, and your mouth started to water.

Whatever Minho was cooking smelled sweet and absolutely amazing, and you were so hungry, like you hadn't eaten in days.

You first went to the bathroom to freshen up, then made your way to the kitchen.

"Good morning!" Minho smiled as soon as he noticed you entering. "You're up early! You should've slept more!"

"Look who's talking. What time is it?"

"It's exactly... 8:14 AM." He looked at his watch and then shook his hand in the air so that his watch would fall back down his forearm.

"What are you cooking?" You walked towards him and hugged him, pressing your head against his back.

You were irrationally scared that yesterday only happened in your mind, but feeling Minho's hand on top of yours made all the fears go away. The conversation did happen, he said that he loves you and wants to raise Amelia together. You wouldn't have to go anywhere.

"Just some pancakes. I saw grandma has a shelf full of maple syrup for some reason, so I decided, heck, why not use some of it?"

"Sounds really tasty. I haven't had pancakes in a while." You rose on your tiptoes and pressed a small kiss on his nape. You're my favourite cook."

He put the small spatula down and turned around, grabbing your cheeks with his hands and squeezing them, making you pout. Then, he leaned down and connected his lips to your pout.

"Minho!" You struggled to say, your cheeks still squished between his hands.

"Ahhh, I'm so glad I can finally kiss you. You're so cute."

"I'm not cute!" You protested and he kissed your pout again and again and again, until you both smelled something burning.

"Oh no, my poor pancake!" He quickly exclaimed and let you go, turning around and throwing the half-burn pancake straight in the trash can.

"See? That's what you get for bullying me!" You crossed your arms in front of your chest.

"Oh, no, dear, that's what you get for distracting me with your cuteness. That was your pancake! Now, you'll have to go hungry." He teased, sticking out his tongue.

"You wouldn't!" You gasped jokingly.

"Watch me!"

"I have to eat for two! You wouldn't dare starve Amelia!"

"No, you're right. Can't let my precious daughter go hungry." He bent down and kissed your stomach, and the butterflies you were feeling were too much. You were quite literally squirming with happiness.

"Minho, do you want to sign the birth certificate?" You asked on a whim, and you regretted it immediately. That was sure to be too much, to make him uncomfortable, so you switched your tone completely. "You don't have to-"

"Really?" He stood up and looked deeply into your eyes, as if searching for something in them. "Would you let me?"

Your eyes widened for a second before you realised he was truly serious. He really wanted this. He really wanted you and Amelia.

You nodded with a soft smile, and as soon as you did, he cupped your cheeks again and kissed you. When he pulled back, his eyes were glossy, and he wore the biggest smile you've ever seen on his face.

~

"So, isn't nature amazing?" Minho breathed in the fresh scent of the forest, looking at you expectedly. You were both dressed in winter jackets, and you were holding yours a bit tight around you, to protect from the cold.

"Is it. I love it. It's really peaceful out here." You remarked.

"Well, we managed to walk a bit today." Minho continued, looking back to the cabin.

Being in the mountains, you had to walk a bit uphill, which left you utterly exhausted. However, you were enjoying the fresh air as well, and it felt like a good break away from everything.

"Yeah. I'm sorry, I bet you would've rather hiked instead of going on this lame walk." You smiled apologetically.

"No, not necessarily. And hey – lame walk?" He chuckled. "A walk is a walk and it's pleasant either way. Besides, we can always come back after you give birth. We'll get one of those harnesses and I'll carry Amelia against my chest!" He spoke with excitement.

"Hahah, heard that, baby? Daddy wants to-" you started, and then you froze, looking at Minho. You instinctively called him that, and even though he said he wants to be on the birth certificate and bring her up with you, you weren't sure if you were not crossing too many boundaries all at once. You averted your gaze and covered your mouth with your palms, wanting to slap yourself. "Uhm..."

Like usual, Minho seemed to know exactly what you were thinking. How observant this man was. He stood up and squatted down in front of you.

"Baby, daddy wants you to grow up and be a strong girl who likes sports." He smiled and reinforced how much he wants to go on this journey with you. You put your hand on his head and petted him gently. "I want us to go fishing, to hike, to cook, to-"

"I love you." You confessed whole-heartedly in a whisper, cutting him off. "I love you, Minho."

"I love you too." He stood up and grabbed your hand. "Are you tired, do you want to go back? It's getting pretty cold."

"Yeah, we should go. Can you help me up?"

"Of course. Do you want a foot massage at home?" He lent you his hand.

"A foot massage sounds great right now." You grabbed his hand, and he pulled you up, and then, a sharp pain travelled all throughout your body, making you hiss and curl up. Minho hugged you immediately, concern plastered on his face.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"Ugh... I don't know..." You managed to straighten yourself, the pain almost gone. "I just... nevermind."

"Do you need to go to the hospital?" Minho asked quickly, looking you up and down.

"No, I'm okay..."

"Are you sure?" He continued inquiring succinctly, his voice holding the same concern as his gaze.

"Let's just go back inside. Maybe laying down will help."

"I'm sorry, Dal-Rae, maybe the walk was too much." He frowned. "We should've taken it easier."

"No... I enjoyed it, really. Pain sometimes happens, everything is okay."

"Do you need to sit down a bit more. maybe?"

"No... I'd rather we go back to the house and warm up." You smiled and tried to reassure him that everything was okay. However, you were concerned as well, the ghost of the sharp pain still lingering in your body.

"Let me know immediately if you're in pain again, and we'll drive straight to the hospital, okay?" Minho grabbed your face with his hands to make you look at him.

"Okay." You nodded softly.

"Promise me."

"I promise." You smiled again. He was so protective, it made your heart skip.

~

You headed back to the house and laid on the bed for a while and tried to relax, but you still had some cramps every once in a while, which worried you. These certainly weren't normal. Was anything wrong with Amelia?

Lots of what ifs clouded your mind, but still, you didn't voice any of these concerns to Minho, hoping that it was nothing. You didn't want to make something out of nothing, and thankfully, the cramps ended up going away on their own a while later.

The rest of the day passed by pretty quickly, and before you knew it, it was already Monday, which meant it was time to go back home.

"Do we have to stop to restock today?" You asked Minho, glancing attentively at his side profile. He was a truly beautiful person, and you really enjoyed his focused eyes when he was driving.

"No need. I went on Friday morning in case I was missing anything for the group dinner."

"Oh, I see."

"Do you want to go to the shopping centre, though, since we're free? Maybe we can pick out some items for the nursery."

"Yeah, that sounds good." You smiled.

"Are you sure? If you're tired from the drive, we could go home and order online."

"No... I mean, we're probably going to end up ordering them online anyway, but I'd rather see them in person first." You chuckled, fidgeting with your fingers. Thinking about going shopping with Minho for baby items made your lips form an upward curve that you were unable to wipe off your face.

For the first time in months, you felt relaxed, content, safe, happy, and most importantly, excited. You felt excited! You couldn't wait to go through shops and look at strollers and bassinets, and you certainly couldn't wait to hold Minho's hand while strolling through the mall.

"Okay. We can eat, and then go shopping. Sounds good?"

"Sounds perfect." You said, and Minho grabbed your hand and kissed it, making you smile again, content with the way your life turned out.

~

It took you about 4 hours to get back to the city, and when Minho pulled into the underground parking lot of the shopping centre, you were so hungry, your stomach was rumbling.

"I see Amelia is pretty hungry today." Minho chuckled.

"Both Amelia and I are starving." You whined with a chuckle.

"Well, that just means it's time for daddy to take care of his girls." He smiled and placed his hand on the small of your back, guiding you towards the escalators.

You barely walked a few steps, and your feet already started to hurt, but you pushed through the pain and tried to focus on Minho. You didn't want to miss out on anything today, not because of your still-very-present pregnancy symptoms. Your feet could get swollen and hurt any other day, but today, you were going to feel good and spend time with the most important person in your life.

Minho took you to a pizza place on the first floor of the shopping centre, after you happened to catch a whiff of it from somebody's takeaway box, giving you unbearable cravings. You just needed to have it right then and there, so he didn't waste any time to guide you towards the small restaurant.

After eating, you started making your way around, looking through shops leisurely and comparing every item you were seeing. As you were hoping, Minho held onto your hand for the entire time, except for those moments he wanted to pick up an item and check how sturdy it was, or a toy, to see which sounds it would make.

"This one might startle the cats." You tilted your head as one of the toys he picked up started making an incredibly loud noise.

"Yeah, you're right." He nodded in approval.

"It's quite annoying, too."

"Well, we can certainly agree on that." Minho chuckled, putting the toy back on the shelves and grabbing your hand again.

"So, do you like anything so far?" You asked, still looking around.

"I liked that stroller we looked at earlier."

"The one with the reversible handle?"

"Yeah. Seems convenient. And it also looked easy to fold. And it was pink." Minho added reasons one after another, as if trying to convince you to get that one.

"Okay, let's get it, then." You chuckled at his antics.

"What about you? Did anything catch your eye?"

"Hmm... Maybe we should check some more online." You contemplated after a while, as you couldn't find a bassinet that looked comfortable enough for your baby. "I'd like to get one of those co-sleeper beds that can also get attached to the bed."

"Your bed might not be high enough for those. You should start sleeping in mine." Minho grinned smugly and held your hand tighter.

"Minho, they're the same height." You chuckled. "But that was quite smooth, I'll give you that."

"Oh my God! Dal-Rae?!" You heard a woman's voice from behind you, that made both you and Minho turn around.

You recognised the woman and instantly wanted to grimace. Her name was Ara.

You got to know her through your ex, as she was the girlfriend of one of his best friends. You weren't particularly close to her, and she always rubbed you the wrong way.

"It's really you!" Ara exclaimed and approached you, stopping a few steps in front of you, as if unsure if she should hug you or not. She thankfully decided not to.

"Hi, Ara, it's good to see you." You forced out, but that couldn't have been farther from the truth. You didn't want to see her ever again, as this would surely reach your ex's ears.

Shit.

You felt uncomfortable and wanted to leave, but you tried to keep an unbothered smile on your face, despite growing anxious, and you gripped Minho's hand tighter.

"You're so big!" She exclaimed, watching your stomach in awe, and then her eyes travelled to your and Minho's linked hands. "And who is this?"

"Oh, this is... uhm..."

"Minho." He smiled sweetly and handed her his free hand to shake it.

"Nice to meet you." Ara smiled awkwardly. "Dal-Rae, may we have a word... in private?"

"I'm sorry, Ara. Maybe some other time. I'm really tired and would rather go home." You smiled, trying your hardest to look apologetical.

You couldn't wait to get away from her, and Minho seemed to feel your urgency.

"Yeah. We also need to do some cleaning up at the restaurant, right, Dal-Rae? Let's go. It was nice meeting you, Ara." Minho and you turned around and started walking again, but Ara simply couldn't stop herself.

"You know, Dan is really worried about you. Ever since you ran away, he's been trying to find you." She said, making you pause.

This time, Minho was the one to grip your hand tighter.

"We broke up." You said, turning your head back to look at her.

"Does he know about it?" She countered back, referring to Dan. "Because he certainly told us another story."

"Come on, Dal-Rae, don't bother." Minho whispered to you, and you nodded and decided to continue to walk away and not reply to Ara any further.

You tried hard not to let this encounter ruin your day, but once back in the car, you started hyperventilating. It was hard to breathe, and your emotions were all out of control, and you started crying immediately after sitting down, grabbing at your chest as if it would make it any easier to let the air reach your lungs.

"Hey, hey." Minho petted your hair and pulled you into a hug. "It's alright. Shh."

"W-what if she tells Dan and-"

"Dan? Your ex?"

"Yeah. Fuck. What if he finds me?" You raised your gaze and met Minho's. He was worried as well but tried to keep a brave face because the last thing he wanted was to make you feel even more anxious.

However, he was also anxious and slightly annoyed. He could never bring himself to forget how you looked like when you first stepped foot in his restaurant, but still, this Dan guy had the audacity to try and find you?

No fucking way.

It took you a while to calm down, and Minho figured out too much has happened in the past week, making it overwhelming to bear. First, his ex attacked you, then, the pregnancy just became harder since you were no longer able to bend down at all without pain, and now, this woman from your past life happened to bump into you at the shopping centre.

"It will be okay. Nothing is going to happen, I promise." Minho said, but truth was, he had no idea how to comfort you. The only thing he could do was to stand next to you and try to do his best as your partner and as the baby's father.

When you were calm enough and no longer sobbing, Minho started driving away back to the restaurant. You both went in and headed straight upstairs, where the cats were more than excited to play with you.

"How were you, babies?" You smiled upon seeing them, and then got sad again because you couldn't bend down.

And you started crying. Again.

"Hey, don't cry. Here." Minho tried to comfort you and bent down himself to grab one of the cats – Soonie – and placed him directly in your arms.

Soonie was thankfully complacent enough to stay calm and let you pet and kiss him, until you became happy again.

"Hormones are something else." You chuckled, your cheeks still tear-stained.

"They scare the shit out of me." Minho chuckled as well. "I never know what to expect."

"I'm sorry." You frowned.

"No, I didn't mean it that way." He caressed the back of your head gently. "I just wish you'd always be happy."

"I love you." You replied, and he smiled briefly.

"I love you too. Let's go to bed. We had a full day, and I bet you're tired."

"Yeah. I'm dying for a good night's sleep."

"Want to sleep alone tonight, or do you want to sleep with me?"

"Well, if you don't mind... I'll sleep in your room."

"Of course." He smiled. "I need to go downstairs for a bit and prepare for tomorrow, but don't wait for me and head to bed."

"Okay."

"Love you." He pressed a kiss against your lips.

Minho went back downstairs as you headed to the bathroom, starting your night-time routine. You turned on the water in the shower, waiting for it to get hot enough to hop in, and took your pants down to sit on the toilet.

As soon as you sat down, you noticed light bleeding on your panties.

You started growing concerned. What if something was truly wrong? It was just yesterday when you had those terribly painful cramps, and now, staining.

You wiped, but nothing came out on the toilet paper, so you thought that maybe the pinkish blood meant nothing. After all, you were quickly approaching your due date, only 3 weeks to go, so bleeding could be normal if it wasn't too often.

You shrugged and decided to simply bring it up with your health care provider at your appointment in two days, on Wednesday, and you hopped in the shower.

The hot water was pleasant, and you made sure to scrub well after 2 days without washing yourself.

When you were done, you headed directly to Minho's room and laid down on the bed. His room was similar to yours; it wasn't particularly decorated, and it only had essentials, but it fit Minho's persona. His bookshelf had more books than yours, though; while yours mainly had fiction, his had all sorts of books on various subjects, like politics, economy, business.

"What a long day!" Minho exclaimed, coming into the room, Dori and Doongie following immediately after. "Oh, right. I hope you like sharing, because they always sleep here."

"I don't mind." You smiled and patted the space next to you, making Dori jump and lay down with his belly in the air, waiting for pets.

Minho smiled fondly at the sight, then turned around to his dresser and grabbed some pyjamas.

"I'll go take a shower and come back. Want me to leave the light on?"

"Either way is okay. You can leave it on, so you'll be able to see when you get back."

"No need to, I know this house like the back of my hand." He boasted, turning off the light and exiting the room.

Shortly after, you heard the sound of the water running and hitting the shower floor. This sound combined with Dori's purrs made you fall into a deep slumber.

~

(A/N) And here I thought I could wait until tomorrow to post this.

I couldn't.

There you go, new chapter.

Love,

Storm