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Conrad looked up with a smile, "Hey, babe."

"Hi." Liz says trying to keep her trembling voice under control

Conrad's face falls, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm just tired." She says as he walks over

"No, you sound like you've been crying." He says cupping her face. His brows furrow at her red-rimmed eyes, "What happened?"

"It's nothing-"

"It's not nothing. Don't do that. What happened?"

Liz sighs, "Jere called."

"Yeah, he called me too. I haven't gotten back to him yet." He says, "What did he say?"

Liz shakes her head, "He hates me, Connie."

"What?" He asks softly, "What are you talking about?"

"He basically made me feel like a piece of shit because of the wedding falling apart. He thinks I'm throwing my life away for you and I don't feel like that at all I just-" She says beginning to cry again, "He doesn't want to talk to me ever again."

Conrad pulls her in as sobs begin to escape. His heart racing with anger as he replayed what Liz told him. He shakes his head, "He's just taking his anger out on you. He shouldn't have said any of that shit. I'm gonna talk to him."

Liz looks up, "Connie-"

"No, he doesn't get to talk to you like that. I'll talk to him." He says. He wipes her tear stained cheeks, "You go shower and we'll have dinner, okay?"

Liz sniffles, "Okay."

Conrad kisses the top of her head before she walks off into the room. He lets out a sigh and grabs his phone from the table. He pulls up Jeremiah's number as he walks outside. Holding the phone up to his ear as it rings.

"What-"

"What the fuck is your problem?"

"What are you-"

"Did you call Liz?" He asks. He nods to himself at Jeremiah's silence, "Yeah, I know you did. What Belly did is not her fault. You decided to call off the wedding. You could've married her if you truly wanted to, but you didn't. That's not on Liz and it's not on me. Don't fucking call my fiancé and involve her in your misery. Don't speak to her until you get your shit together. You got me?"

Jeremiah scoffs, "Whatever."

"Yeah, whatever. Fuck you, Jere." He spits before hanging up. Conrad shuts his eyes and lets out a deep sigh before heading back into the house.

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It had been months since the wedding. Months since Conrad and Liz had seen or really talked to their families. They had only really kept contact with Dakota, River, Laurel, and Steven. Which in Liz's mind, had been pretty much for the better. She had become a lot less stressed since then.

She was now five months pregnant. Aside from swollen feet and crazy cravings, Liz was happy. The happiest she had been in a long time. And it showed.

To Conrad, Liz was glowing. Her smile was brighter than he had seen it in a long time. She seemed to carry a calm that he felt each and every day. A calm that he treasured deeply.

Even now, as he watched her talk with a few friends across the room, the calming sensation filled him. He blinks a few times as Dakota claps his hand on his shoulder, "You good, dude?"

"Yeah." He nods, "Yeah, of course."

"Alright." He says, "So, you have any idea what it is?"

Conrad smiles and shakes his head, "No. Only River does."

"Damn it." Dakota sighs as Steven walks over, "She won't tell me."

"Because you can't keep your mouth shut." Steven says

"Fuck you." Dakota says, "I think it's a boy. It's gotta be a boy."

"No way. It's gotta be a girl."

"What do you mean, "it's gotta be"?" Dakota frowns

"Because I know, dude. I've never been wrong about these things."

"What gender reveal have you been to?" Dakota asks as Conrad chuckles

"I see them all over the internet and I've never been wrong when guessing."

"Oh, fuck off." Dakota scoffs

Steven then looks over at Conrad, "Jere not showing up?"

"No." Conrad shakes his head, "I don't want him to anyway. He hasn't apologized to Liz yet."

"He's so lucky I have no idea where he's at." Dakota says, "I'm gonna kick his ass the next time I see him."

"I don't blame you." Steven says, "She's good though, right?"

"Yeah." Conrad says as his eyes trail over to her, "Never seen her happier."

Dakota and Steven smile over at each other. River then steps into the middle of the room, "Okay. I need everyone in the living room please."

Everyone gathered around. Conrad stands beside Liz and looks over at her. The corners of his lips pull up, "You okay?"

"I'm great." She beams. The two turn as River holds out two confetti poppers.

"Okay. Whenever you're ready." She says and steps back into Dakota. She smiles as the two look at each other.

"3, 2, 1!" Their friends shout. The two twist the bottom and watch as pink confetti pops out. Their friends cheer as Liz's jaw drops. Conrad immediately turns and pulls her into a hug.

"Oh my god!" Liz cheers. Conrad chuckles as she jumps up and down in his arms. She pulls away and brings him down into a kiss. He pecks her lips once and then twice before Dakota, River, and Steven come over.

"Ah! I'm so happy for you." River says hugging Liz. She squeezes her and pulls away

"Yeah, I just lost my bet to Steven so, thanks for that." Dakota jokes, "No, but I'm so happy for you guys."

"Thanks, man." Conrad smiles

"Congratulations." Agnes smiles pulling Liz into a hug. Liz chuckles as she sways them side to side.

"Thank you."

"You guys really got it all figured out." Steven says

"I can't believe we're gonna have a kid in the family now." Dakota says, "That's insane."

"She's gonna be spoiled. I hope you guys know that." River says

"Obviously." Liz chuckles along with the others

•••

The house was quiet now. A comfortable quiet that the two were used to. Liz laid with her head on Conrad's chest. Her eyes glued to the TV that played a show the two had seen a million times. His finger trailed up and down her arm in a comforting motion.

"You know, River said we should start coming up with names." She mutters

Conrad chuckles softly, "She's probably right."

"I don't even know where to start. I used to have a whole list of names when I was younger, but it's long gone by now."

"Ah, that could've saved us." He jokingly complains making Liz giggle

"I remember some. There was like Mia, Aaliyah, with a double a, Leilani, or Maeve. I really liked Maeve."

"I like those."

Liz sits up on her elbow, "I also thought that maybe we could do something to sort of honor your mom in a way."

Conrad looks up at her and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, "Yeah?"

"Yeah, but I also know that it can be sort of hard or awkward sometimes for the person when they're named after somewhere who passed." Liz says, "I don't want to make it hard for her."

"We have a little time. We can think about it."

Liz nods with a smile. She then leans down and kisses him softly.

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