Vanessa POV

"Thank you," I said to Damian as he opened the car door for me and then held out his hand to help me out.

I stretched and gave him a kiss. Then I lifted my hand and stroked his cheek before wiping my lip gloss off his lips.

"Ready, Feliz?" he asked me softly.

I took a deep breath and then nodded. He quickly gave me a kiss on the forehead before getting his suitcase out of the trunk. Then he reached for my hand so that we could make our way inside together. 

It was a strange feeling to be back here. I missed it a lot. But I had enough to do to prepare for my new role as a mother. It was still scary, but slowly but surely I was looking forward to it.

And since I didn't want to spend all my time alone at home, I thought it would be good to accompany Damian from time to time. At least as long as I was allowed to fly and it didn't cause me any problems. Meanwhile, my little Pom-Pom enjoyed a stay at the puppy spa. It was only one day and she loved being pampered. I couldn't blame her for that. I loved being treated like a princess too.

"Oh my God! Oh my God!" I heard someone screech as soon as we were through security.

As you would expect, it was Rhea who came storming towards us with a big grin on her face. She had so much momentum that she almost ran us both over.

"Someone missed me." I laughed as she hugged us.

"You can bet on that. But now tell me... How are you, Mrs?" she asked, looking at me searchingly.

"Can you please keep it down? Not everyone needs to know. But I'm fine. And so is the little one." I replied after looking around.

"I'm glad to hear that... And don't worry. You're just getting wrinkles. For my part, I think it's great that it happened," said Rhea.

"What can I say to that? You know that none of this was intentional. We can't even remember. It's probably time to take care of it," I replied.

"There's time for that, Feliz. For now, let's make sure we get the other thing over with." D said and gave me a kiss on the hair.

"What other thing?" Rhea wanted to know.

I quickly explained what was going on and judging by the look on her face, she was anything but thrilled. Something told me that she had happily taken away Mitch's chance of ever having children again.

"Those two assholes! You know what... If he wants to force you to take a test, then his precious rebound girl should too. Who knows where she's been. I'm sure there's another reason why she married him so quickly.

"I've got to hand it to you, Nightmare... It's not a bad idea." Damian said.

"I agree. It's a good way to get at least some revenge." I nodded.

"Okay... come with me, Ness. The others can't wait to see you. And you... have probably got something to do too." Rhea said and took me by the hand.

"You're just lucky you're right. " growled Damian.

"I'll see you soon." I said to him as I pulled Rhea back in his direction.

I stretched so that I could give him a kiss.

"Take care of yourself, Feliz. Call me if you need anything." he replied and gave me a more passionate kiss.

"Eww... Weird." she then said.

"Says the one who wanted this more than anyone else." D replied as he gave her a look.

"Maybe, but it's still weird to see it." Rhea said before sticking her tongue out at him.

*****

"So you and Damian, huh?" Becky asked me when I was in the locker room with the other girls and we were talking.

"About time, right?" Rhea added with a laugh.

"Oh yeah. You've been beating around the bush long enough." Becky replied.

"Yeah yeah... we're both idiots. Alright, enough already?" I laughed and rolled my eyes at the same time.

I should have known that everyone would be harping on about this forever. I unconsciously rubbed my stomach with one hand. The more I thought about it, the sadder it made me. Somehow it was a missed opportunity.

"We're just teasing you, Ness. You know that I can best understand what it's like when a friend suddenly becomes more. It's great that you've found each other. And I'm convinced that something really great can happen when friends become lovers. I'm the best proof of that," Becky replied.

"Yes, I know, but to be fair, our situation is a little more complicated," I sighed.

"Oh sweetie... I know it's not ideal, but I promise you that this baby will have everything it needs. Look around you. You have a big family here. And the DNA doesn't matter. It only matters who is present.

Damian has always been there for you. And now? He knows what he's getting into and he's still there. And he'll always be there. Because there's one thing he's not and that's a coward." Rhea said.

"That's right. And now smile. Be happy. Everything will work out for the best. Uh! That reminds me. We'll throw you a big party. Or two! Gender reveal and baby shower! You're going to get tons of stuff." Becky added.

*****

Later that night, Damian came back from his match and I was eagerly awaiting him. He chatted with the producers for a moment until he probably felt my gaze. He looked up and smiled. Then he came to me and hugged me tightly.

"I'm so proud of you," I whispered in his ear.

"Thank you, Feliz. It means a lot to hear that from you. And now that I'm no longer champ, I can focus more on you and the baby. And on our future." he replied.

"Do you know how great you are?" I wanted to know.

"No. Maybe you should tell me." he said with a smirk.

"I don't know... wouldn't it be better if I showed you?" I asked.

Without waiting for an answer, I took him by the hand and pulled him into the nearest storage room.