Eight months later I felt my knees go weak and it wasn't just another symptom of heavy pregnancy. It was seeing that face again, the one that landed me in this position, well obviously not literally. Those same blue eyes, that pale skin, and black hair parted to one side.

"And this is Dayton Blain, our manager" He turned around as his name was spoken and his beautiful eyes widened when he spotted, first me and then my rounded stomach, which was hard to notice. I still had three weeks to go but I had a feeling in the back of my mind, that the baby our baby wouldn't wait.

"Natisha Rhianne," I said, because I knew by now he'd have forgotten my name, I continued "Pleased to meet you" And I held out my hand for him to shake, pretending that I couldn't feel the exchange of sweat as we touched.

"Okay, so I'll leave you in the capable hands of Dayton." Suddenly we were alone and I watched as he stood there, silently counting the previous night's takings, barely able to hold the money with his trembling hands.

"Listen Dayton, I know you must be surprised to see me but just to get any awkwardness out of the way now­ the baby I'm carrying wasn't fathered by you" He kept his back to me but I heard him sigh his relief and I totally never expected the words that fell from his mouth to fall.

"You're pregnant are you?" and then he set the takings aside.

"Well yeah, seven months" I lied, in the hope that he wouldn't question me further.

"I thought you'd have noticed. I'm big enough" I smiled and lovingly caressed my unborn child. For the entirety of my pregnancy, it seemed that all I'd done was complain about chronic sickness in the morning or the constant ache in my lower back but I truly loved this baby, I knew that the first time I heard the soft grumble of its heart beating inside me but maybe this time it wasn't pregnancy symptoms that were causing my pulse to race or temperature to soar. It was the vision of the twenty-eight-year-old half Greek half Spaniard, tanned skin and the six-packed hunk who still had no idea that on the night we spent together, he had deposited something of his inside of me and this was now the result.

"Well, I tend not to take an interest in that area" And that's when he blew his chances of me ever revealing the true identity of my child's paternity before its arrival early in the New Year. For the next three weeks, I arrived at my new place of work in the convenience store and pretended everything was alright, until the night of Christmas Eve... Heavy snow had been falling all day and it was covering the ground like a thick white blanket and had now shut most of the businesses and locked most people in their homes. It also meant that Dayton and I were to lock up early, which we were in the process of undertaking when a weeks' worth of snowfall that had accumulated on the roof came crashing down and landed right at the door, barricading us inside.

"It's okay" Dayton declared. "If we shove it hard enough, it should open" and as he spoke the sentence, he slammed his shoulder off the solid glass door but his attempts were in vain. 

"Shit," he said as the realization kicked in "Looks like we're stuck here until morning."

"We can't be, it's Christmas Eve. I can't wake up here on Christmas day" At first he looked offended by my implication that we should not wake up together­ if only I'd thought about that in the spring­ but then he looked me up and down, remembering.

"Of course, the baby's father. He'll be worried, do you want to call him? Perhaps he could dig the snow out" He sounded so hopeful and it actually kind of broke my heart to tell him.

"No, well err, no longer together."

"Oh," he answered, all hope dashed. He placed his back against the door and slid down it

"I guess we should settle in then" Knowing he was right and that kicking up a fuss wasn't going to change our situation, I got down beside him and we sat there in the silence, our backs freezing against the door as either one of us thought about what to do, then he said "So, do you know what you're having?"

"No" I replied, placing my hands on the bump again. "But I can't wait to find out" I caught a look in his eyes that I had never seen from anyone before and I'm sure there was a hint of a tear there "Oh god Dayton, are you okay? I didn't mean to upset you" He sniffed the tears away and pretended not to try his eyes as he slapped his hands against his legs and stood up.

"Do you fancy a hot chocolate?"

"That would be nice. Can I get some cream with mine?"

"Of course" he laughed softly and then headed straight for the aisle that the packs of instant hot chocolate were kept in. When he was gone, I contemplated my next move, I'd slowly get to know him better then he'd be better prepared for the bombshell. Getting an intense pain in my stomach wasn't part of the plan, neither was my waters breaking in the middle of the shop floor just as Dayton returned with those mugs in his hands.

"Hot chocolate and cream just like the lady requested." he said and handed it to me but guessed by the reluctance of my taking it from him that something was wrong "What is it?"

"The baby," I said through gritted teeth "It's coming" and I felt a sudden urge to push. Before I could take the required action.

"Don't do that" Reuben declared as he stood there with the drinks still in his hands.

"Don't just stand there!" I yelled

"Call an ambulance" He threw the cups against the checkout desk so that most of the contents spilled out and he tripped over his own feet as he rushed to the phone "Damn it" wasn't the phrase I wanted to hear and things only got worse when he followed it up with.

"Phone lines are down" He paced the floor in thought as I breathed through my pain and then he removed his check shirt and seeing his perfectly naked chest exposed again wasn't what I wanted to see right now so to distract myself from the sight, I asked, "What are you doing?"

"Well, it's pretty obvious to me that the baby won't wait and somebody's got to be at this end to help it into the world" I pushed myself up, closed my legs together and lifted my underwear back up to my waist.

"You can't do it, you're a man"

"Well spotted" he laughed gently as another contraction crippled me.

"It's not fucking funny!" I screamed and pushed again "I don't want a man down there" This time, he hid his laugh but said "It's a bit late for that now" I gave in, what else could I do?

"Okay," I answered.

"Good, so I'll just get you some cushions to rest against" and he jogged off but not before I shouted after him.

"And hot water, you'll need hot water" He lifted his hand to acknowledge my comment and returned five minutes later with six cushions under his arms and a basin of hot water "I brought some scissors too. I figured that the cord thingy would need to be cut off" He placed the basin on the floor and propped the cushions up against the door.

"Are you ready?" He grabbed my wrist and began to help me move as I nodded "How many months did you say you were again?" 'Go on Natisha, this is your chance' my conscience spoke up.

"Eight" I answered before I could stop my mouth from opening "Eight?" he echoed as his face turned an unhealthy ghostly white.

"That night, shirt rubbing saying," I said and his hand quickly snapped away from my waist.

"It's my baby" he realized but my only answer was to scream in agony, which was enough for him to snap out of it and help me out It was all over in under an hour as I used the last of my energy to push the baby out and Dayton caught it in his hands, cleaned it up, cut the cord and then wrapped shirt rubbing its back until finally, it released a sharp cry.

"It's a girl", he told me as she was placed in my arms. He sat in the middle of the floor, panting slowly and resting his head on his arms which were lying across his knees as they were propped up against his chest.

"I'm sorry you found out this way. It took me a long time to accept it and when I finally did, I figured you'd have forgotten or you wouldn't want a baby" He lifted his head and our eyes met, he crawled towards me, reclaiming the earlier position he'd had when it first became apparent that we were stuck.

"Em, being a dad's all I've ever wanted in life especially as my own couldn't give a stuff after he got my mom pregnant.

"Really?" I asked though I couldn't doubt what saying.

"Really. And you know what else? I'm in love with you and I always have been" And before I knew it, we were kissing and when he removed his tongue from mine, he said, "We need to find a way to get out of here."