"You don’t want me there." he said."You’re putting me on the spot," she countered, trying to keep up with his arguments."Seriously what exactly have you planned?" he asked."Karen will be there for me during the birth" she replied. He shook his head as if she’d disappointed him, and he’d expected it all along."And where do I fit into any of this? Or am I meant to just miss out on the first few weeks?" His voice broke, betrayed the fear and despair behind his anger. "I want to be at the birth." he said.For a few moments, all she could see, hear, smell was blood, guts and embarrassment. She swallowed down her automatic refusal."Head end only. If I change my mind on the day you respect my privacy. And I still want Karen too"He looked up in surprise. "Okay, I can live with that. But when we get home, you know it’s just going to be the three of us."She stare

Of course he’d discovered one other way of finding the relaxed, happy, free Emma. And he knew he would prefer it.... A languorous morning of lovemaking. But he also knew she wouldn't want that. Hell, she wouldn't even look at him, not to talk of letting him touch her. Her reaction to his attempted kiss was enough proof she didn't want that.So he swallowed the very tempting suggestion and kept his thoughts to himself.He watched her stretch to put a glass cup on the top shelf. It obviously wasn't balanced, because as soon as she left it, it came back down and crashed on the floor in front of her.Daniel moved fast, scared of her hurting herself.Emma felt her body hit solid, warm muscle. The feel of his body was amazing. She hated that he could still make her feel this way. She let him pull her away from the broken glass turn her around."Are you okay?" he asked.He held her close.

 But he did love her her. He did. So damn much. Why hadn't he told her? The answer was right in front of him. He was scared.Scared of getting hurt. Scared of being taken for granted. Scared of her leaving him.... Because she was so amazing. Who wouldn't want her? She wasn't the only one who who was hurt.. and scared and frustrated. He loved her. He might not put stock in that emotion, but he believed she believed in it. And in that highly charged moment, he had seen they needed a breather. A reset of some kind. He’d been aware of that for a while now. Since they had started arguing about almost every single thing. Her words kept eating at him. Was this how she had been feeling since that mess with his family. Stung by a lack of faith so bitter all she could taste was gall? It was a terrible feeling. The irony was, he hadn’t been giving her the silent treatment as she

“So much.” Emma replied. Tears stung her eyes. “And I understand why he has a hard time trusting me, but I can’t live my entire life under suspicion. He doesn't love me either... Love and trust come together”"Oh dear" Amy said. "Relationships are hard. And if you two are ever going to work this out. The both of you really have to try to focus on what's important now. The baby. The baby is the only thing that matters. You definitely don't want your baby born into such a negative atmosphere. You guys have to do this for your baby. I know it might be hard, but you have to. So when you return and you are ready. You and Daniel should talk. Talk about how you truly feel.... Communication is very important. And have a conversation where you can both agree on certain things without letting emotions get in the way or cloud your judgment."Emma nodded, glad she had come her mother for support. Her mother had always been the one she could run to when she was

Emma gave her mom a small smile. "Sure, mom. Just a minute" she said. She turned her attention to Daniel once again and tucked her hair behind her ear. He was watching her carefully. "You heard her. I'm a guest." he said grinning, but the grin faded quickly as he asked. "Unless you don't want me here. I could go if you want, though I really hope you don't want to that. I really want to fix things between us and meet your family. They all seem really nice" "They are" Emma replied with a small smile. "And you don't have to leave. You’ve come all this way. Besides if you do, they won't stop asking me why and I really don't want to get into that right now... Especially when Isabel and Aunt Jen are around" Daniel smiled back at her. "Thank you" he said. "How's the baby? Are you sleeping well... Feeling well?" Emma simply nodded. "Let's go back into the house" she said, and began to walk to the door. Daniel followed closely behind. ---------------------------- They went back into the h