A week later, Stevie made her way back into the studio. She didn't see Jimmy's car when she arrived and she was thankful. She didn't want another fight. She walked down the hallway, shaking like a leaf. The moment she opened the door she frowned. Tom was there with his band. She wasn't as early as she thought; she hoped to catch him alone. She shut the door behind her, her calf length floral skirt swishing and swaying with her movement. Tom heard her platform boots on the floor and stopped what he was doing to greet her.

"Well, hey there, stranger!" he said, kissing her softly. "Long time no see."

Tears began to well up in her eyes and his broad smile faded. Tom looked toward the guys and yanked his head toward the door. "Give us a minute" he said. They all put down their instruments and left, most likely to grab a smoke or a cup of coffee. "What's up?"

"I'm sorry," she wept, lowering her gaze. He took her purse off her shoulder and put it on the black leather couch.

Tom looked down at the petite woman he loved and touched her cheek gently. "Baby, I don't know what's going on. Why are you apologizing?"

"I fucked up, Tommy." He wasn't sure what to say. He was confused to say the least. After a second of simply staring at her, he pulled her into an embrace. She pressed her cheek to his chest and he swayed with her, rocking her as if she were a baby in his arms. He stroked her hair lovingly, knowing she needed the comfort. He felt a lull in her storm of emotions and pulled her away from him. He just wanted to look at her again but she was making that incredibly difficult. She turned her face away or looked down; he physically had to reach out and lift her chin to force her into making eye contact.

"Stevie, we're friends...hopefully more than friends considering the things we've done together." he said, trying to get her to laugh but she didn't even crack a smile. "You can tell me anything."

"Anything?"

"Yeah, of course." She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, taking deep breaths in order to quell another crying spell. "So tell me, how did you fuck up? Personally or professionally?"

Her eyes widened a moment, her eyebrows arching. She hadn't thought of it that way before. She pressed her lips together, deciding which aspect of her life would take the biggest hit. "Maybe both." she decided, picking at her nail polish.

"Shit" he mumbled under his breath. "What did you do? What happened?" His blue eyes looked so soft and curious. He loved her, she could see that and she loved him as well. In that moment, she felt like she was on trial. She had to be honest or face even worse consequences. He was patient, slipping his hands into the pockets of his jeans. She stared back at him, dropping her gaze once more. Her bottom lip began to quiver even before her eyes met his again.

"I'm pregnant" she said. Her voice was crystal clear despite the tears and he tried to read how she was feeling.

"Pregnant?" he asked and she nodded. "Oh Stevie..."

Was he unhappy? Obviously it was a shock but...he didn't want it. He agreed, she fucked up, she thought. His arms wrapped around her and he pulled her close.

"God, this is fuckin' fantastic." he told her, kissing the top of her head.

"Wh-what?"

"I can't believe it...we're having a baby." She pushed him away and his eyes grew wide. "Stevie—"

"Why aren't you mad?" she asked, wiping her tears. She crossed her arms over her chest and he chuckled.

"Did you want me to be?" Tom asked. Never in his life did he think a woman would want a man to be anything other than happy about this kind of news.

Stevie sniffled, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Well...no, not really." she said.

"It's mine, right?"

"Yeah, I just thought..." She trailed off. She was surprised. He's taking it all really well, he's obviously in shock, she told herself. "And you heard what I said?"

"Yep. I repeated it, didn't I? I heard you, baby doll."

"And you're okay with this?" She took a step closer, lowering her voice. "The-the baby, I mean?"

He put his hands on her shoulders and crouched down a little to look into her eyes. "Stevie, I'm so happy. You're having my baby, I'm on top of the world. I want to run around here like a crazy person telling every single person I see." She giggled. "I am so goddamn happy that we forgot to use protection."

"You're such a goofball!" She swatted at him playfully, fresh tears appearing in her eyes. He pulled her into his arms again and kissed her. "I love you." she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

His arms tightened around her. "I love you too." After a couple moments, he pulled back. "Now we have to do something about these tears or else the guys are going to think I'm a big jerk for making you cry."

Stevie giggled again. "I'm sorry."

"You should be! They like you more than me." he joked.

"Thank you for making me feel better about all this." Stevie said, sitting on the couch as Tom presented her with a box of tissues. He was smiling down at her, and her eyes followed him as he sat down beside her.

"I'm sorry that you were scared to tell me. I'm sorry that whatever we are or whatever our relationship was made you think that you messed up. We got pregnant, so what?" Stevie's lips parted. "I mean, not so what. I care about you and the baby, I do." He reassured her. He took her hands in his and kissed her knuckles. "Stevie, will you be my girlfriend?"

Stevie laughed and Tom looked down at their hands. She laced her fingers with his. "How could I say no now?" she joked and he looked up at her.

"You could. You don't have to be in a committed relationship with someone just because they knocked you up." Tom said and she wrinkled her nose. "I want to be with you. I think I told you all this before. What we were doing wasn't just sex to me."

"It wasn't sex to me either." He looked at her expectantly and she bit her lip. After a moment she nodded. "Of course I'll be your girlfriend."

He leaned forward and kissed her passionately. "I promise, I will make it worth it."

"You already have."

A/N: For my favorite maplestreetweirdo