"Not that I don't like where you chose for dinner," she said in a rush. "But this is way more Serena and Damon's speed. I'd just as soon head over to Cattleman's and have a beer and some greasy French fries."

Yes. Dear God, yes. He had to control the urge to scramble out of his seat and haul her out behind him.

"You sure?" he asked calmly. It sounded so much better than hell yeah!

She shrugged. "It's up to you."

He held up his hand to motion for the check before the words were completely out of his mouth. Beer and French fries sounded damn good to him. Even better, tasting beer and French fries on her lips later.

Faith sat on the counter in the bathroom, her legs dangling over the edge. Gray stood between her knees holding the paper bag with the EPT test.

"Before we do this, I think we need to make a few things clear," he said in a husky voice. "Or at least talk about the possibilities."

She nodded as a flutter of panic scuttled higher in her stomach.

"How do you feel about the possibility of you being pregnant?" he asked gently.

She closed her eyes. Why couldn't he say how he felt first? Ah well, honesty and all that stuff. If her not embracing the idea upset him, then maybe . . . No, she wouldn't think about things like leaving the wedding called off. She and Gray were on the same page. She had to believe that.

"Terrified?"

His eyes softened, and he leaned in to press his lips to her forehead.

"You know I want children. Eventually. But Gray, I have to be honest. I'm praying so hard for this to be one huge false alarm."

"Me too," he admitted.

Her shoulders sagged in relief.

"Tell me, baby, is this why you called off the wedding? Did you get scared or think I might be upset if you were pregnant?"

"I wish I could say yes," she said glumly. "But the fact is, I didn't even think about the possibility of pregnancy until Julie mentioned it. My boobs have been tender, and I've been so hormonal. I was convinced you weren't interested in me anymore," she added in an embarrassed voice.

He stilled and then pulled away, his eyes narrow. He looked ... angry.

"Okay, maybe we should talk about a few more things before you take this test. What on earth gave you that idea? Are you not happy with the dynamics of our relationship any longer? You need to tell me if it's not working, Faith. We talked about all this before, but you're entitled to change your mind, you know."

Ugh. This was getting way more complicated than she wanted.

She reached up to touch him, needing that brief moment of contact before she went on. "I love our relationship, Gray. I haven't regretted ceding the power, the decision making, putting myself into your hands completely and wholly. I wanted to be taken care of, and until recently thought you did such a wonderful job of making me feel, well, taken care of."

When he opened his mouth, she placed a finger over his lips.

"I was an idiot, Gray. I swear I'm not usually so irrational. I just got scared. I'm not even sure what the hell happened. You've been wonderful, and I feel so unappreciative. I acted like a child sulking because she wasn't the center of attention. If I could take it all back I would. I just snapped."

"Snapped?"

He looked so perplexed she almost laughed.

"Yeah, uh I sort of had seduction in mind last night and when you didn't show up yet again after work, I got pissed, then I got overly emotional, and then I convinced myself in a fit of self-pity that you weren't attracted to me any longer and were avoiding me like the plague."

His mouth dropped open, and his eyes gleamed with silent laughter.

"Don't you dare laugh," she muttered. "It all sounds perfectly ridiculous now, but at the time I was convinced I was about to be single again."

At that his amusement vanished. He touched the tip of his finger to her chin, his eyes boring holes through her.

"You aren't the only one who screwed up, Faith. Yeah, my intentions were good, but how were you supposed to know that? I shouldn't have tried to keep the house a secret, and I damn sure shouldn't have spent so many nights over there with no explanation. In hindsight I'm lucky you didn't think I was cheating on you. All I can say is that it ain't ever going to happen. You're it for me, baby. And I sure hope to hell I'm it for you."

She sighed and nuzzled her cheek against his hand. "You are it for me, Gray. I guess we can be stupid screwups together."

He found her lips, kissing lightly, then deeper. "I love you."

She smiled against his mouth. "I love you too. Forgive me?"

"Of course. Now, we need to talk about this other matter between us."

He raised the paper bag between them so that they both stared at it. You'd think a snake was hiding in it with the way they eyed it so cautiously.

"If... if you're pregnant, we can do this," he said. "No, it's not how we planned it, but it won't be the end of the world. We'll adjust, and we'll be damn good parents."

Her lips trembled and she stared into his eyes, drowning all over again in love.

"I can't believe I almost did this without you."

"Don't make a habit of it," he growled affectionately.

"You going to watch me pee on the stick?"

"How 'bout I stand over here and study the ceiling while you do the deed. Then we'll embark on the longest five minutes of our lives."

She chuckled, and he lowered her down to the floor then moved away from the toilet. He leaned back against the counter while she tore away the packaging and concentrated on the instructions.

"Think we'll look back on this day and laugh ten years down the road?" Gray asked.

She pursed her lips as she turned the plastic tube the right way and then looked back up at him. "What if I am pregnant? I wouldn't want our child to ever know we sat here and prayed he or she didn't exist."

"First of all, who says we'll say anything? Second, I'm sure if you are pregnant, then we'll spend parts of the next eighteen years and beyond wishing he or she didn't exist."

She laughed, feeling some of the tension escape with each burst. "Okay, don't talk to me for a minute. I don't pee well under pressure."

He chuckled but fell silent as she wiggled and maneuvered until her underwear was where it was supposed to go and the plastic was where it was supposed to go.

"How do you keep from peeing on your hand?" Gray asked.

She froze and looked up to see a bemused expression on his face. Then she burst out laughing.

"Wouldn't it be easier to pee in something else first? That just seems to be an awfully small target," he said doubtfully.

Her shoulders shook so bad that she couldn't keep the test in place.

"Leave it to a man to make perfect sense of a female issue," she muttered. "But then a man probably invented the damn thing to begin with."

"Want a cup?" he asked with a grin.

"Please?"

Laughing he left the bathroom and a moment later returned with a foam cup.

"Not that this is likely to keep any more pee off my hand," she said as she eyed it.

Gray dutifully remained silent while she administered the test. When she was finished, she laid it gently on the counter and the two of them stared at it like it would go off after the allotted time.

She blew out her breath, puffing her cheeks as the air whooshed out. "Okay, so now we wait."