"Go on ahead, Stephanie" Dr Banzo said, taking his seat across from the couple.

"We kind of...slipped up."

"Oh? How so?"

"We had some physical contact." Stevie said. "Hugs, kisses..."

"Yes, a lot of that." Lindsey said and Stevie elbowed him. He laughed, seeing now red her face was getting. He loved to tease her.

"Alright, well that's to be expected. We will get into that in a moment but let's go back to the beginning. You began dating one of Lindsey's friends, Alan. How did that go?"

Lindsey shifted uncomfortably and Stevie took his hand. "It was great. He was a gentleman, very kind. We went out to dinner, dancing...even a few day dates to the park or the beach." Some of this, Lindsey heard for the first time. He realized then that he really had not been participating in his wife's life. "He would pick me up at our condo and we would drive, talk, listen to music. It was fun."

"Good! What did you like about Alan himself?"

"He loved to listen. He never seemed bored and he asked questions. He loved to hear about our daughter Arabella and we all know she is one of my very favorite subjects." Stevie smiled and Lindsey kissed her temple lovingly.

"As she should be. What would you take from your time with Alan and put into your relationship with you husband?"

"Spending more of our free time together. We are so busy and we spend so much time apart, we forget to ask what's going on in each other's world"

"Wise words" Dr Banzo praised. "Alright, Lindsey, so what was it like when Stevie was going out with Alan? We had talked privately about your strong feelings of jealousy, your need for control and feelings of inferiority."

"I lost a lot of sleep, in all honesty. You talked with me about my use of over the counter and old prescription sleeping pills. I know that taking them wasn't a good idea now because I was just masking my feelings and keeping them suppressed. I should have been talking to Stevie and being honest with myself."

"Great observation." Dr Banzo told him and Lindsey nodded, still hating these therapy sessions. "What do you believe will change when you go home and this experiment ends?"

"I think we appreciate what we have much more. I saw what it was like to be without her, have another man making her smile. I felt like an outsider in my own marriage. I missed her and when we had our little slip up...well, multiple slip ups...I felt whole again. In those moments, I had my wife back. I didn't think about anyone or anything else, just her."

Stevie leaned her head on his shoulder and he kissed her forehead. "Explain these...slip ups, since we're on the subject." Stevie cleared her throat, straightening in her chair. Lindsey looked at her and smiled.

"Well, um...I'm not sure how to really explain."

"We made love" Lindsey said and De Banzo chuckled.

"I knew it. I knew this would happen. I asked Stevie during one of our last sessions what took her so long to want to end the experiment. She had no answer. Maybe she wanted proof she was in the right relationship, or maybe she felt like she had no choice. I told you, Lindsey, that you were jealous and you wouldn't be able to keep her if you continued to be arrogant and think she wouldn't leave. These planted ideas and thoughts created an environment for you to prove me wrong. Your personality made you the perfect subject because you always have to be right." Lindsey lowered his eyes, choosing not to argue. "It's taking everything in you not to tell me this whole thing is a load of shit."

"He's got you, Linds." Stevie said and he nodded.

"Yeah, okay. So what if I think this experiment was dumb. I've said that since day one. I let this crap go on for 5 months to prove I'm good enough to be with her."

"That wasn't the experiment. I never said you weren't good enough for her, I said you would drive her away with your controlling and jealous nature. I know she loves you and it's obvious you love her. You both love your daughter and take great pride in your family. You proved me right. You wanted me to wrong about you, you wanted to prove to Stevie she didn't need anyone else but you to fulfill her in all ways. I knew that. I wanted you to feel challenged to be the best husband and partner you could be." Lindsey's face changed, he had been chosen to play this game and he fell right in line. "Now, what are you plans after this session?"

"We are going to see a house Lindsey has purchased." Stevie said excitedly. "It's a surprise for me, for our family. We have wanted to move or of our condo for a while and I think now is the perfect time. Fresh start."

"That's wonderful" Dr Banzo said.

Lindsey pat Stevie's belly though she was barely showing. "We will need a little more room. We're going to have another baby." Lindsey was beaming, so proud of Stevie and their growing family.

"Congratulations. Somehow I knew you were going to say that as well. I guess your newest addition is the result of your 'slip up'?"

"One of them" Lindsey said, embarrassing Stevie once more and the doctor laughed.

"Well, kids, our time is up. Congratulations on the new baby, and moving forward as a couple and as a family. I hope you have many, many happy years ahead of you."

"Thank you" Stevie said. The couple stood and shook the doctor's hand.

"If you need me, feel free to come back"

"I don't think so" Lindsey said and the doctor nodded, knowing he would say that. Stevie and Lindsey walked out of his office and pressed the button for the elevator. "Did you hear that guy?"

"Huh?" Stevie asked, looking up at her husband.

"He took all the credit. Not our hard work...it was all him. He made this happen."

"If it weren't for him..."

"We would have been fine" Lindsey said, finishing her sentence for her and Stevie gave him a look. "Okay, so he helped but I'm honestly surprised he didn't take credit for getting you pregnant too."

Stevie laughed. "Calm down." They stepped into the elevator. "Isn't the most important thing that we are here together, much happier in our marriage with a lot of our issues sorted out? We have a beautiful daughter at home and we're expecting again."

"It's perfect."

"We got our happy ending, Linds." Lindsey softened, his shoulders relaxing.

"You're right, you're right." He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. "I love you."

"I love you too. Now feed me and take me to our new house. I'm dying to see it!"

Lindsey laughed. "My pleasure"

THE END

A/N: thank you for sticking with me and reading my story. An epilogue is to follow. I will now stop neglecting All I Ever Wanted and will hopefully be starting a new story shortly! Your comments and votes mean the world to me. I love writing and will happily take suggestions or prompts in my inbox or in comments. Thank you once again. xxxx