The next morning, Dakota woke up to find Jamie with his hand still on her naked bottom and his naked body sprawled out beside her. She felt so well rested after the first night in their new house. She rolled over and looked at the clock, startling Jamie awake.

"Hey, love," he greeted, "How did you sleep?"

"Like a baby," she groaned, yawning to fill her lungs with air.

"As did I," he agreed, sitting up and kissing her deeply.

"Mmm, Jamie, it's 7am. We need to get on the road," she objected, not wanting to ruin the moment. She knew the later they left, the later they would return.

Jamie nodded and hopped off of the side of the bed.

"Where are you going?" Dakota asked.

"You said we need to get ready...well we both need showers. I'm going to start one. Join me in three," he replied.

Dakota shook her head in amusement.

Two hours later, after thoroughly cleaning each other in the large shower and heading to get a rental car, Dakota and Jamie were on their way. Jamie drove while Dakota looked out of the passenger window.

"It's so beautiful here," she said, finally breaking the silence since they got on the road.

"Made only the more beautiful by your presence," he agreed.

Dakota blushed. "Ok, so about last night. If you have any inkling at all that I might be expecting, why did you take me to a restaurant that is known for their wine? I didn't think drinking was allowed while pregnant."

"In the very beginning, it's okay to have a glass of wine, Dakota. I promise you, if you do have our little one growing inside of you, no harm came to him or her from last night."

"Oh," she said. She still frowned at the thought of drinking during pregnancy.

Jamie looked at her, "Not to worry, though, I made sure you didn't drink too much and when we know for sure you will be abstaining from any alcohol until you deliver," Jamie stated, a little too authoritative for Dakota's liking.

"If I could be pregnant I won't drink at all. It's my choice not for you to make decisions about whether I abstain or not. Wish I knew last night, I would not have had a drink at all. I love you and, if pregnant, want our baby safe," she replied.

"I thought you needed one last night after all that's happened the last couple of days. We need to find out for sure," he suggested.

Dakota nodded. "I haven't picked up a pregnancy test because I think it's still too early for any to tell. Next week I'll pick up a few."

"I'd rather you make a doctor's appointment as soon as we return to New York," Jamie replied, keeping his eyes on the road. "They can do a blood test and tell you for certain."

Dakota whipped her head around at him. "No...no needles. I'll pee on a stick next week," she stated, deciding to end the argument there.

"Dakota, you're going to have to get a blood test eventually anyway, better now than later," he replied. "You need to make sure you don't have any other problems going on. I want you and, if you're pregnant, our baby to be healthy, baby," he said as persuasively as possible. He wasn't going to relent to her on this subject, but he decided that an argument right now about it was pointless.

Dakota replied by pouting in her seat and dropping the conversation. She didn't understand what all the fuss was about anyway. She'd know soon enough. Why go through all of that if she wasn't carrying a child.

Dakota decided to turn up the radio to drown out the silence. Not long after, Dakota's phone rang.

"Hey, mom," she answered. "Ok, I'll let him know....no mama, we'll be fine. Ok, I'll pull up the directions. See you there." Dakota hung up. "We're meeting mom in Castella, CA. She thinks that's the best midpoint," Dakota said, looking over at Jamie.

"Perfect," he replied. "I was thinking of bringing Dulcie to the new house the next time we fly back," Jamie said, looking over at Dakota for her thoughts. "That is, if you and Millie are okay with it."

Dakota looked up with a brightness in her eyes that Jamie hadn't seen in awhile. "I'd love that!" she exclaimed. "We can go shopping and furnish her playroom."

Jamie was relieved at her acceptance. "Good...don't get your hopes up though. Not sure what Millie's schedule is like. They may have plans."

"We'll work around them," Dakota beamed. She loved the thought of spending time with Dulcie, and she thought some daddy/daughter time would do both Jamie and Dulcie good.

As Jamie hit Portland, he pulled off the interstate. "We need to grab something to eat. What would you like?"

"You choose," Dakota replied yawning, still clearly sleepy from their wild night.

"I chose last night. It's your turn," Jamie replied, keeping his eyes on the road and both hands on the wheel.

"I don't know."

"Well, do you want to sit down and eat or grab something fast and get back on the road?" he asked.

"Grab something fast," Dakota replied, deciding the faster they got there the faster they could head back home.

"Ok, well any fast food restaurant is going to be serving lunch now. Is that okay," Jamie asked.

"Yeah, I don't care," she replied.

They found a fast food restaurant not too far off the interstate. They ordered a couple of burgers and got back on the road.

Jamie found some music on the radio for them to listen to as he headed out of Portland and ate their lunch. Shortly after she finished eating, Dakota's mobile rang again. It was the people in New York asking if she'd be willing to do the interview early via Face Time. She agreed.

About an hour later, Dakota hung up with the people from the interview. Between a full tummy, the soothing music, and the exhausting night before, her eyes got heavy and she drifted off to sleep. The next thing she remembered is waking up to Jamie screaming, a horrible crunching sound, and blinding pain.