The flower danced in the wind, ruffled white tipped petals clung delicately together, held out by a calloused hand. 'They're the flower of the gods.' He had a boyish grin, head tilted in unabashed excitement, and piercing green eyes, muddied with brown flecks, their unwavering attention melting my heart, from the heat of attraction, into a soppy puddle. He reached his hand further, pressing the stem into the palm of my hand. I'd never met him before, but his name was James, and we'd both taken a sociology class. The end of the semester had come quicker than I'd expected, and we were both waiting for the tutor. She called us in, together, and James paused to open the door for me, dipping into a bow as I slid past, my heart melting faster. With my back to him, obscured from view, I allowed myself to bring the flower to my nose, taking in the muted scent of spices, smiling delightfully as the petals tickled the tip of my nose. 'Sophia?'

'Sophia?' I lowered the bunch of flowers, taking one last deep breath as I placed them delicately into a vase. I glanced over my shoulder at James, who leant in the doorway of my dorm room, the wait was starting to get to him, and impatience spread slowly across his face. I adjusted the flowers one last time before grabbing my coat and sliding up to his side. 'Thanks for the flowers.' I pressed my lips to his cheek, wrapping my arm around his waist. He huffed with a mocked annoyance, his boyish smile already lighting his face with joy, 'Happy one year, Baby.' I returned his grin, pulling the door shut behind me.

The door clicked shut and with hesitant excitement we ventured further into the apartment. 'It's got two bedrooms, one bathroom,' the man ran through a list of selling points as James and I looked around. I grasped his hand tightly in my own, pulling him around, I was falling in love with the apartment. It was small, the kitchen bleed into the dining room, which held the lounge and T.V. A set of stairs separated the living area from the sleeping quarters, and an old cream carpet spread across the floor. It was dinky, and undersized, but it offered hope, and joy, a place we might call our own. 'We're going to put in an application for this place.' Filled with ecstatic elation I crashed into James, his arms coming around me, nestling me into a warm celebratory embrace.

James smelled like home, I was so familiar with his musky pine scent that it had a calming effect on me. I hadn't given him a chance to finish his question before I'd attacked him with a feverish vigour, and now he was laughing at my obvious excitement. 'Sophie, you didn't let me ask you.' He didn't let me go though, as I told him the answer was yes, the brilliant gleam of metal and the precious flash of diamond glinting under the restaurant light.

James slid the ring onto my finger, eyes trained carefully on my face as he spoke, 'I've known you for four years, Sophie, and my love for you has grown with every day that has passed.' I didn't realise I'd stopped breathing until, heart pounding, I needed to gasp for air. 'I promise to love you, and cherish you, for the rest of our lives.' The priest said the words I had been waiting to hear all day, and I smiled gently at James as he stepped forward to cup my cheek with one hand, 'I love you,' he whispered closing the distance between us, sealing our union with a kiss.

James pulled away from the kiss, but continued to pepper kisses along the bridge of my nose, tracing my jaw line, and across my forehead. 'Are you serious?' he murmured against my skin. I nodded breathlessly, pulling the stick, which determined our future, out from behind my back. 'We're having a baby!'

'We're having a baby.' James's hand was clenching mine tighter than I was clenching his, his breath was coming out in short gasps and I just wanted to hit him, to get his sense's flowing again. 'Oh my god, we've having a baby.' a midwife caught my eye, and I almost asked if we could drug him instead, but another contraction raged through me and I clenched the sheets tightly in my hand to divert the pain.

Soothing the sheet to get rid of the wrinkles, I nearly collapsed onto the bed with exhaustion. Two voices squabbled loudly in another room and I almost cried at the effort it took to confront them. I cleared my throat behind the two young girls and their heads turned, eyes wide with feigned innocence. 'It wasn't me, Mommy.' I sighed heavily, hardly impressed, 'I thought I told you to clean up.' They both looked guilty as they youngest, only three, cried, 'we forgot, Mommy.' Wincing at the pitching wail I gathered her up into my arms cooing until she stopped warbling.

She sniffled in my arms as we stood watching her older sister strut confidently away. James curled an arm around me and kissed my cheek softly, 'It's okay, Sophie.' I shook my head vehemently, watching her in her oversized uniform as she turned back to look at us one last time, a flash of vulnerability crossing her delicate face, 'I can't do it.' I cried and James had to hold me back from going and collecting my little girl, 'I can't believe we made her.' I sighed, relieved, after she'd found someone her age. James chuckled and plucked our youngest from my arms, 'You hear that, baby? Ten years ago your Mommy and I met so we could create you little monsters.' She giggled happily in her father's arms, and I caught his eyes, mouthing 'I love you' as we forced ourselves to take the next step in our lives.

Word Count: 1000