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I Have a Secret - Chapter Four

Skylar sat on the bathroom floor and wiped her hair off her cheek as she reached for a towel on the rack behind her. She wiped her mouth and flushed the toilet before she leaned against the wall. "This is ridiculous." She sighed. "If I didn't know any better I'd think I-" Skylar stopped mid-thought. "No way." She shook her head and used the sink to push herself up.

Skylar went into the living room and grabbed her purse as she sat on the couch. Gage was playing with Bella, the little girl from three doors down. She pulled her pocket calendar out and flipped back to December. She sighed and closed her eyes. There were no check marks at all in December. She flipped back another page to look at November. She was relieved to see tiny check marks in the last week. She counted forward to today's date and blushed. Her period was officially and month and ten days late.

"Pack it up, Gage. We hafta go." She said suddenly.

"But, Mommy, Bella's gonna show me how to play with X-men." Gage whined.

"I'm sorry but maybe she can come back tomorrow and show you?"

"No, Mommy, she's already here." He pouted.

"I'm sorry. I have to run some errands and I need Oma and Opa to watch you for a bit."

"Maybe Gage can go to my house?" Bella asked as she began to collect her X-men figurines.

"Yeah! Mommy, can I go to her house?" Gage jumped up and down with excitement.

Skylar sighed and tucked her calendar back in her purse then reached for the phone. "Let me call and see." She dialed Bella's parents' house and tapped her foot while she waited. Her stomach hadn't settled down and now she had nervousness added to everything. "Hi, Dani? This is Skylar. How are you?" She asked when Bella's mom answered.

"I'm good. Is she being a terror?" Dani laughed.

"No, she's a doll." Skylar and watched as the little girl lined up the evil looking dolls in her pink Barbie bag. "I was wondering if you could keep an eye on Gage for like an hour or so? I have to run to the store and, uhhh- Maybe to the doctors and he doesn't want to go to my parents' house."

"Oh sure. Do you want me to come get them?"

"No, I'll bring them down."

"Okay."

"Thanks a lot, Dani." Skylar smiled and sighed with relief.

"Anytime, Sky." Dani laughed and said. "See you in a minute."

They hung up and Skylar rounded the kids up. "Okay, Gage. You're going to go play at Bella's for a little while so I can go to the store and stuff, okay?"

"Okay." Gage shrugged.

Skylar walked the children down to the neighbor's house and ruffled Gage's hair. "Be good." She smiled. "I won't be long."

"Don't worry about it. He's a good kid." Dani smiled. "You aren't by any chance going by Walgreen's are you?"

"Um- Yeah."

"Would you do me a huge favor and pick up my pictures? I only have one roll but they've been there for a couple weeks." Dani asked as she went back inside the house.

"Sure." Skylar nodded and followed her in as the kids took off for Bella's playroom.

"So you're going to the doctor too? You still have that flu?"

"No. I, uh-" Skylar paused and stuck her hands in her pockets as Dani looked for the claim ticket for her film. "I think I might be pregnant." She whispered with a smile.

"Oh mein Gott! You're kidding!" Dani laughed and covered her mouth. "How exciting."

"Yeah, so I'm gonna go, you know- Do the test and, if I am, I'm going to go have the nurse do a blood test."

"You're going to do both? Why not just go get a blood test?" Dani asked.

Skylar laughed and shook her head, "Because my sister works at the clinic and if I go in there first and I'm not pregnant- Well she has a big mouth."

"Ahhh, I see." Dani smiled. "Well good luck, hun, and let me know."

"I will. So if you see my car in the driveway it's only because I'm doing the test."

"Got it. I'll go ahead and keep Gage until you come and get him."

"Thanks a lot, Dani."

"You're welcome." She smiled and handed Skylar the claim ticket. "See you in a few."

Skylar waved and blew Gage a kiss before she left and headed into town. She picked up Dani's film first so she wouldn't forget. She walked over to the aisle to where they kept the pregnancy tests. She bought a handful of magazines, a candy bar and some Advil to help mask the fact that she was buying an EPT test.

She laughed at herself as she carried everything to the front. She felt like a teenager that could get caught buying such an item but she couldn't help it.

When Skylar got home she dropped the bag of magazines by the front door and carried the test to the bathroom. She opened the box and took out the instructions as she sat on the counter, as if she needed the directions, she'd done this before. She still read every printed word on the paper. She was doing anything to delay actually taking the test. When she couldn't stall any longer, she took a deep breath then did what needed to be done. She set the test stick on the counter and willed herself not to stare at it for the four minutes she had to wait.

Skylar folded and unfolded the towels on the rack in front of her. She stood up to tidy up her medicine cabinet. She dusted the shelves and threw out the expired medications before she checked her watch. One more minute to go.

She sat on the toilet and closed her eyes as she counted to sixty in Spanish just to have something to concentrate on. When she finished she opened her eyes and reached for the test stick.

As if she ever had any real doubt, there was a bright purple plus sign in the results window. All at once Skylar felt incredible dread mingled with a twinge of excitement. She was going to have to tell Tom and this time she couldn't put it off for four years. "Shit." She said under her breath. This was the very last thing he needed right now. Tokio Hotel was at the height of their popularity and having one of their members become strapped down with two kids would just about ruin that.

"But wait, there are several musicians out there with kids. If they can do it, Tom certainly can." She thought to herself.

She fought off tears as she went to the kitchen to call the clinic at the hospital. "Temple's Clinic. This is Katie. May I help you?" Skylar's sister answered.

"Kate?" Skylar laughed. "Hey, it's Sky."

"Hey! What's up? How's Gage?" She asked.

"Gage is good. I'm calling for me actually." Skylar took a shaky breath and said. "I'm, uh- Pregnant. I need a blood test."

"Are you shitting me?" Katie asked softly a minute later.

"Nope." Skylar shook her head, "I almost wish I was."

"Almost?"

"Well, I have to tell Tom and that's- That's not going to be what he wants to hear."

"But?"

"But at the same time, I guess I'm kind of excited." Skylar allowed herself a small smile.

"He'll be okay with it. You know him well enough to know he'll be decent."

"I know he'll be decent because he thinks he has to be."

"He does." Katie laughed. "Listen, men will shock you some times. Look at Jared. He didn't want kids till he was thirty. Now here he is at thirty-five and we have twins in their pre-teens."

"I know." Skylar nodded. "So can I come in?"

"Sure. Just come in when you can and I'll do it myself." She smiled. "Are you bringing Gage?"

"No, he's at Dani's. I'll be there in a couple minutes, okay?"

"Okay, see you then. Drive careful."

"I will." Skylar smiled and hung up. The moment of truth. Someone knew.

She grabbed her purse and her car keys and headed out for the clinic. When she arrived fifteen minutes later her sister met her at the door with a hug and a needle. "Let's see how accurate those home kits are." She kidded.

The blood test confirmed what Skylar had known for hours. She was, in fact, very much pregnant. "Well? It's signed and approved now. You're 100%, no kidding, take it to the bank pregnant." Katie handed Skylar her medical form with the positive test results documented in black and white. "Let's figure out your due date now though." She laughed.

"Doesn't the doctor have to do a sonogram for that?"

"No, we can use a good ol' calendar and figure it out ourselves. Do you know the date of your last period?"

"Yeah." Skylar nodded. She followed Katie to the front desk and they looked at the calendar on the desk. "November 29th."

"Okay-" Katie counted ahead on the calendar and looked up at Skylar with a great big smile. "I hope you don't have plans for September 19th."

"September 19th." Skylar whispered. "Wow. This is real."

"It sure is." She smiled and hugged Skylar again. "When are you going to tell Mom?"

"I don't know." Skylar said. The shock was finally sinking in. "You can't say anything Katie. I swear. You'd better not say a word."

"I won't, I won't."

"I mean it. Not one word. I get to tell Mom and Dad."

"Okay! I'm not going to say anything." Katie laughed and held up her hands in submission.

"Good."

"When are you going to tell Tom?"

"Umm- Never?" Skylar laughed nervously. "No, I don't know. He's not going to be in town for another week and I don't want to tell him over the phone."

"Can you go see him?"

Skylar laughed lightly. "I want it be on my own turf."

"I know the feeling." Katie nodded. "Just let me know when you tell Mom and Dad."

"I will." Skylar sighed and checked her watch. "I've gotta go get Gage. I'll call you later, okay?"

"Okay. Take care."

"I will." She waved over her shoulder as she left the clinic. She felt more confused than ever.

On the way home she did the math in her head. In September, Tokio Hotel would probably just be releasing their new album and planning their new tour, which would probably start around November again. That would give Tom two months to be at home with her and the baby. He'd be home when he wasn't at the studio or at whatever new TV show was hot that week.

Skylar sighed. This wasn't going to be as easy as she thought.

She got her things situated at home before she walked down to Dani's to pick up Gage. Skylar stood on the porch and knocked softly on the door. She heard the kids run down the hall toward the entryway to see who could get to the door first as well as Dani running behind them telling them not to open the door.

"Hi!" Dani said when she finally got the door open. "How'd it go?"

"Good." Skylar nodded and stooped to pick Gage up off the floor. "Hey there! You want some McDonald's?"

"Yeah!" Gage cheered.

"Was he good?" Skylar asked.

"He was a perfect angel." Dani smiled and patted Gage's head. "So?

"Yep." Skylar nodded and tried to hide her big smile.

"Congratulations." She smiled and hugged Skylar with one arm.

"Thanks." Skylar blushed and looked at Gage. "Let's go get some food."

"Yeah." Gage nodded.

"Thanks again, Dani. I owe you one."

"Anytime! See you guys later. Say bye Bella."

"Bye!" Bella waved as Skylar and Gage headed home.

They went to McDonald's and brought their lunch home to eat at Gage's little picnic table in the corner of his room. Skylar sat on the thick plastic stool and tried to get as comfortable as she could with her knees bent to her chest. "Hey, Gage?"

"Hmm?" He asked with his mouth full.

"How, um- How would you feel about having a, uh- A little brother or sister?"

"Like William?" Gage gave her a questioning look as he picked at his fries.

"Yeah, kind of like William is my brother."

"I'd like to have a William." Gage nodded.

"But it wouldn't be William, Gage. It'd be your own little brother. Or little sister." Skylar pointed out.

"That'd be okay too, Mommy." Gage nodded. "I could have someone here all the time to play with then."

"Well- Yeah, but not until they got older. See, at first it would be a little baby."

"Awww, Mommy that would be cute." Gage smiled. "A baby just for us?"

"Yep." Skylar smiled.

Gage frowned and took a sip of his soda, "But what about Daddy?"

"What do you mean?" Skylar blushed slightly as she concentrated on her chicken nuggets.

"Daddy maybe wants a baby too. Does he get to have one with us?" Gage asked.

Tears rose in Skylar's eyes and she nodded. "Yeah, I'm going to see if your Daddy wants one too."

"What if he doesn't?" Gage asked. "Then can we get one anyways?"

"Yeah." Skylar laughed lightly at his innocence. "Yeah, we'll get one anyways."

"But you know what Mommy?"

"What?"

"I think he's gonna want one because then we can be a big family and he said big families are cool." Gage smiled. "And Tom's pretty cool mom."

"Yep." Skylar smiled. "He's pretty cool." She took another bite of her fries and hoped that Tom would take the news as well.

One down, one to go.

"Hey, baby." Tom said as Skylar pulled the door open a week later. He pulled her in for a tight hug and dropped his backpack on the floor by the door. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm, uh- I'm okay." Skylar nodded as her cheeks turned a light pink.

"Tom! Hey, Daddy, guess what?! We get to- " Gage came peeling around the corner.

"Whoa! Hang on there." Skylar stopped him and clamped her hand over his mouth. "Remember the present?" She said softly.

"Oh yeah." Gage said when she removed her hand. He smiled and dashed off down the hall to Skylar's room.

"Present?" Tom followed Skylar into the living room and sat on the couch.

"Yeah, we got you a little something." Skylar cleared her throat and sat beside Tom.

"You don't have to get me stuff." Tom pulled her towards him and kissed her quickly. "You know that."

"I know." Skylar nodded as Gage ran back into the room with a small box wrapped in bright colored birthday paper with balloons all over it.

"Here, Daddy. It's a-"

"Hey! Hey! Don't tell him." Skylar laughed.

"Open it now!" Gage bounced up and down and crawled onto Tom's lap.

"Now?" Tom asked.

"Yeah." Gage nodded. Skylar had wanted to tell Tom while they were alone so if he had a negative reaction Gage wouldn't have to see it. But Gage had insisted on giving Tom the present s, like it or not, they were all gonna be there.

"Okay." Tom laughed and adjusted Gage on his lap. He tore the tape off of one end and slid the box out of the paper. "Ooooh! A box of checks! Just what I wanted." Tom laughed as Gage shook his head.

"It's not checks. It's a picture and something else." Gage said quickly.

"Shhh!" Skylar poked Gage in the ribs and smiled.

"Oooh, okay." Tom played along. He popped the tape on the side of the box and slowly lifted the lid. He stared into the box with a confused look for a second before he looked up at Skylar and then back at the box. He looked closely at the picture of Skylar standing on the beach in a dark blue bathing suit with a bright pink towel draped over her arm. She was striking a pose and very pregnant. There was a little note attached to the picture that said, "I hope you weren't kidding." He lifted the picture out of the box and looked at what was underneath as the blood rushed from his face. "What's this?" He asked softly.

"It's a pee stick." Gage laughed.

"Skylar?" Tom asked as he met her eye.

"What- What, uh- You're pregnant?" Tom asked with a complete lack of emotion.

"We get to have a brother or a sister." Gage laughed.

"Hey, Gage? Can you go in my room and find my purple shoes?" Skylar asked softly.

"You have purple shoes?" Gage asked.

"Yes. Can you go get them please? Now." Skylar pulled his hand to get him off Tom's lap. Gage scampered down the hall to Skylar's room and she took a deep breath. "Yes Tom, I'm pregnant."

"I, uh- Wow, Sky. I just- Wow. Whoa. How- I mean, how did that happen?" He didn't take his eyes off the box.

Skylar sighed and shook her head. "How do you think it happened, Tom?" She stood up and stomped into the kitchen.

Tom sat on the couch for another couple minutes trying to put everything together in his mind. This was nothing that he needed. In fact, this was exactly what he didn't need. He knew that for a fact. This could potentially ruin a lot of things for himself and the other guys. Sure other celebrities had taken that step but it was one thing to marry the girl you've been seeing for years and who the fans know as your girlfriend from the start. It's another story to have a baby with a girl no one has ever heard of. And, of course, the fact that Gage existed would come out also. That was what was going to be bad in the media. This could all be very bad.

Tom knew that. In his head he knew that this was the worst possible timing for all of this to be happening. But he couldn't help but feel excited and sad and nervous and totally in love. If there were one person in the world he would he would want to go through this with it was Skylar. Skylar.

"Mommy! I can't find any purple shoes! Not even one!" Gage shouted from the other room.

"Maybe look in your room." Skylar sent him on the search for her non-existent purple shoes to give herself more time alone.

Tom jumped to his feet and dropped the box on the couch behind him. He walked quickly to the doorway of the kitchen and stopped as he caught site of Skylar leaning against the counter with her eyes squeezed shut as she wiped the tears away. "Sky- I-"

"It's okay, Tom." She said quickly as she turned away from him to grab a napkin from the dispenser.

"No. No, Sky. It's not okay. I- " Tom started.

"Tom, stop. It's okay." She wiped her eyes with the napkin and took a deep breath, "I know this is like the worst possible news you could hear right now so I don't expect you to drop everything and deal with this. I don't, Tom. It's okay."

"Would you stop that?" Tom asked as he put his hands on either side of the door frame. "Stop assuming that you know how I'm going to react and what my plans are. You did the same thing with Gage. You just automatically wrote me off and basically told me you didn't expect me to be a father for him. Sky, I am his father and the fact that you expect any less of me makes me wonder what you think of me. You say I don't have to take responsibility for this? C'mon, you know me better than that."

"I don't want you to feel like I'm trying to pressure you." She tried to explain.

"Well, stop! Pressure me, Skylar! Make me do what's right."

"What's right for who? For you? For me?"

"For all of us, Sky." Tom crossed the kitchen and reached for her hand. "Do you really think that I can't do this?"

"No! God, Tom, that's not it at all. You've been wonderful with Gage! It's just that-"

"Let me decide what I need right now." Tom smiled and tilted her chin up to meet his eye. "No, this isn't the best timing and this isn't exactly what I need right now. But I don't care about that." He kissed her quickly and said. "You have to give me a chance to respond here, Sky. This is a huge shock. Give me a few minutes for it to sink in."

"I'm not asking you to marry-" Skylar started.

Tom put his finger on her lips and raised his eyebrow. "I'm not walking out that door so stop worrying about that. And I'm not stepping down. I just need to think about what I want to say." He held her gaze for more than a minute then said. "Are you ready to listen to me?"

"Mommy, there are no purple shoes anywhere in my room." Gage crossed his arms over his chest as he stood in the doorway with a frown.

"Did you check in the toy box?" Tom asked without turning around. Gage sighed loudly and turned to go back to his room. "I love you, Sky, and I love Gage. And I, uh- I love this baby too." He placed his hand on her still flat stomach and smiled slowly.

"Tom, I love you too but you-"

Tom interrupted her. "Enough with the 'buts!' My God, Sky. Can't you just accept the fact that I'm not going anywhere?"

"Tom-"

"You argue too much." Tom shook his head and smiled. "We can do this. Don't worry about that. I'll take care of the stuff on my end as far as the guys and the tour and everything. You just take care of this little guy." He wiggled his fingers on her stomach.

"The media is going to eat this up." Skylar said softly.

"This doesn't have to get out. We've done a good job keeping everything else quiet, right?" She nodded. "Okay, so this may be a little harder." Tom shrugged. "If anyone takes heat over any of this, it's gonna be me." He laughed lightly and said. "I'm ready for that."

"Are you?"

Tom thought for a second and smiled, "No, not really. But what can I do? This is what's happening."

"But this changes everything."

"Sure it does." Tom agreed. "But not that much. I've wanted a big family. I just wasn't sure I wanted it now."

"See?"

"So what? I wasn't sure and now I am." Tom shrugged. "So basically everything I've wanted is happening sooner instead of later."

"Yeah and now is the crappiest time for this to be happening."

"Not the crappiest. But Sky, we can't change that now, right?"

"I guess."

"Okay then. We've got to deal with this now, no matter what, so we may as well be happy, right?"

"Why are you convincing me to be happy about this? That's my job." Skylar laughed through her tears and wiped her eyes again.

"Because you worry too much about everything." Tom smiled and laced his fingers through hers. "Have you told anyone?" He whispered as he rested his forehead against her.

"Gage and Katie."

"Katie?"

"She gave me the blood test so, yeah, she knows." Skylar smiled.

"So when do we get to meet this little person?"

"September. I'm due on the 19th."

"September huh?" Tom's mind zoomed through Tokio Hotel's fall plans. They'd be right in the middle of tour rehearsals, but at least they'd be in Germany. "Is there any way we could do it in December or something? That would work better for me." He smiled.

"Sure. I'll see what I can do." Skylar laughed lightly.

"Wow. September." Tom smiled and kissed her softly. "Wow. Just wow."

"You guys. There are no purple shoes anywhere at all in my room or my toy box or Mommy's room. There's not any!" Gage sighed as he stood in the doorway.

Skylar laughed and wiped at her eyes again. "I think I left them at Oma's. I'll have to go get them later."

Gage heaved a giant annoyed sigh and crawled up into one of the dining room chairs. "So do you want to get a baby brother or sister with me and Mommy?" he asked Tom.

Tom laughed and looked at Skylar. "Do we get to go pick one out or something?"

"Not quite." Skylar smiled and squeezed Tom's hand.

"We have to keep the one that God gives us." Gage explained. "So are you going to keep it with us?"

"Yeah, I think that sounds like fun." Tom nodded.

"If it's a baby brother can I name him Bill, Georg and Gustav?" Gage asked with the most serious expression.

"What about Tom?" Tom asked.

"No, Tom is a weird name." Gage shook his head.

Skylar and Tom laughed. The tension was officially broken. "If it's a boy we can talk about those names." Skylar said cautiously.

"I'm not naming a kid after any of those morons." Tom shook his head.

"We have a long time to think about names." Skylar reassured them. She took a deep breath and smiled. That wasn't nearly as painful as it could have been. She squeezed Tom's hand and loved the feel of him squeezing hers back.

The guys from Tokio Hotel had held a huge party at Simone and Gordon's house to celebrate the end of their tour. Gage and Skylar had both attended and it was there that Tom shared their big news. The guys were stunned at first but were all excited as they hugged everyone.

Six weeks later Tom and Skylar were walking into the obstetrician's office. "What are they gonna do here?" Tom asked nervously.

"They're going to weigh me. The doctor will come in and listen for a heartbeat. They don't really do much at these exams." She shrugged and adjusted her purse on her shoulder.

"Do they have to- You know- Go inside?"

"It's not a spelunking expedition." Skylar laughed. "And, no, they won't do that this time."

"Okay." Tom nodded.

"But even when they do 'go inside' you don't see anything." She explained trying to contain her giggles.

"Okay." He nodded again and looked around nervously as Skylar walked up to the front desk to sign in.

"Don't worry. I doubt anyone will recognize you here."

"I know." He said yet he still kept looking around. "Sky, some of these ladies are huge." He whispered.

"Hi. I have a one o'clock appointment with Dr. Hodgins?" Skylar said to the receptionist. She turned to Tom. "You'd better watch what you're saying. I'm going to be that big soon." She said softly.

"I know but doesn't that hurt?"

"No, Tom. That doesn't hurt." Skylar laughed lightly and pulled him over to a seat by the door. They waited in silence for her name to be called and when it was Tom followed her back to the exam room.

Skylar hopped up on the scale and cringed as the nurse moved the little weight closer and closer to the right. "Not bad, Skylar. Three pounds since last month."

"That's good?" Tom asked.

"That's about average, yes." The nurse nodded. "Go ahead and have a seat. The doctor will be here in a minute."

"Okay. Thanks." Skylar smiled as the nurse shut the door. She hopped up on the table and sat with her legs dangling over the side.

"So you have to come here every month?"

"Yes. Well until it gets closer to my due date and then I'll go more often." Skylar nodded and smiled as Tom looked around the room at the posters and models of a woman's growing uterus and the developing baby.

"Whoa! That's crazy! Look at that. I just can't believe that comes out of that." He pointed at the diagram.

Skylar laughed and said. "Those have been coming out of that for centuries."

"I know. It's just weird to think about how big- nevermind. I don't wanna think about that." Tom blushed. "It's kinda cool though."

"Cool isn't a word I'd use to describe it." Skylar smiled and shook her head as the doctor came in.

"Hi. How is everything?" She asked.

"It's going good." Skylar smiled, "Dr. Hodgins this is Tom."

"Hi, Tom. It's nice to meet you." She shook Tom's hand and smiled.

"Nice to meet you too." He mumbled.

"Have you ever been to an OB before?" She asked.

"Um- No." Tom blushed again.

"Okay, well I'll be sure to explain that I'm doing to Skylar so you'll know what's going on." She smiled then looked at Skylar. "Go ahead and lay down. Let's find a heartbeat."

Skylar unbuttoned her pants and rolled the waist down a few inches. She pulled her shirt up to her bra so her tummy was exposed. Dr. Hodgins brought out a little device that looked like a microphone attached to a battery pack and placed it flat on Skylar's stomach. She moved it around to different spots but all they heard was static.

"How can you hear a heartbeat through all that noise?" Tom asked.

"Oh, you'll see." Dr. Hodgins smiled and moved the device to the left side of Skylar's abdomen. She searched for another minute before she stopped and smiled as the room was filled with the rapid swooshing of the tiny heartbeat.

"Whoa." Tom whispered as he looked from the doctor to Skylar. "That's the heart?"

"Yes. Sounds great doesn't it?" The doctor asked.

"It's so fast." Tom said softly.

"The heart rate is normal. Remember the baby is pretty tiny right now. Only about one and half to two ounces." The doctor explained.

"How big is that?" Tom asked.

"About the size of a shrimp." Dr. Hodgins laughed. "That's a good strong heartbeat though. Listen to that."

"Wow." Tom whispered. "You hear that, Sky?" He smiled and looked up at Skylar at the head of the table. His eyes were shiny with tears as he laughed and squeezed her hand. "The guys would freak out if they heard this. Especially Bill."

"They are not coming with us next time." Skylar smiled and shook her head.

"You're no fun." Tom smiled and looked back at the doctor. "So when will you be able to tell if it's a boy or a girl?"

"Not for another couple weeks. Skylar's at about ten weeks right now and the sex organs are visible at around 16 weeks. So not next month but the month after we will be doing an ultrasound."

"No. I don't want to know." Tom said quickly. "I want to be surprised."

"You haven't had enough surprises in the past year?" Skylar laughed.

"True." Tom smiled and squeezed her hand again. A year ago he'd been a carefree bachelor and now he had a four year old and a baby on the way.

The doctor finished up the exam and they headed back to Skylar's house. "Hey, Sky?" Tom asked as they pulled onto the freeway.

"Hmm?"

"I've been thinking lately. About us."

"What about?" Skylar turned to face him but he kept his eyes on the road.

"I, uh- I think we should get married." He mumbled quickly.

"You do?" Skylar fought the urge to laugh. "Tom, no you don't."

"Yeah. I think we should."

"I don't want to get married because we should."

"You don't think it'd be better to get married before the baby is born?" Tom asked.

"We weren't married when Gage was born."

"That's different."

"No, it isn't." Skylar shook her head and laughed. "If you want to get married... Fine. I'm all for that. But don't think about it because you think it's what we should do."

"I do want to get married." Tom nodded.

"Then say that. Don't say we should get married."

"I want to get married." Tom looked at her. "Is that better?"

"That's really romantic, Tom." She shook her head and sighed. "I'm just saying that I want to get married for the right reasons."

"And having a family isn't the right reason?"

"That's not what I mean. When we get married I want to do it because it feels right. Not because we think we have to."

"You're not making any sense." Tom sighed and pulled onto her street. "Why don't you and Gage come live with me? I have plenty of room. The baby could have it's own room when it's born."

"I like my little house, Tom." Skylar sighed. They'd already been over this conversation countless times in the past few weeks.

"When the baby is born, where will it sleep?"

"In the room with us."

"Yeah, right." Tom rolled his eyes. When she didn't say anything he looked over at her. "You were kidding, right?"

"No, Tom. The baby will sleep in our room for the first few weeks or so."

"Why?"

Skylar sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Because he'll be up every two or three hours and I'd rather not trudge down the hall to feed him."

"Or her." Tom said quickly.

"You know what I mean." Skylar scowled.

Not wanting to cause an argument, Tom avoided commenting. "So after those few weeks, what happens? I love your little house too but, realistically, my house would really be better. Once the fans find out they'll be all over your place. I'd feel a lot better if you guys were somewhere safe."

Skylar sighed and rolled her eyes. "We can talk about that later. We have plenty of time."

"I know. I'm just saying." Tom mumbled as he pulled into the driveway and turned the car off. They sat in silence for a minute before Tom took a deep breath and said. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Skylar said softly. "I'll think about it, okay?"

"Okay." Tom leaned over to kiss her quickly. "This is going to be exciting." He smiled and placed his hand on her stomach. That always caused her to smile.

With the tour being over, Tom had a more time to spend at home which was starting to drive Skylar nuts. She still had to go to work every day and Gage still had preschool so Tom was left to entertain himself or hang out with the guys for a few weeks. The last week in March the guys went back in the studio to begin work on their new album and from that point on Skylar never saw Tom.

Tom would leave for the studio early in the morning and finish up well after dark. He stayed at his own house during the week mainly because it was closer to the studio than Skylar's house so it was just easier for him. The only time they really saw each other was on the weekend. By then Tom was pretty much exhausted and didn't feel like doing much. "Would you guys like to come to the studio some time this week? You know, come see what it's like or something?"

"You mean like after work?" Skylar asked as she stirred a Kool-Aid packet into the pitcher of water in Tom's kitchen.

"Yeah, we're there late anyways." Tom shrugged.

"Sure, we could come by." Skylar nodded slowly.

"What? What's wrong?" Tom asked.

"Well, when you told the guys about everything, I asked you what they said you said 'They'll be okay.' So now I feel like they're mad at me or something?"

"No! Sky, they're not mad at you."

"Yes, they are. I could have just ruined everything that you guys have worked so hard on for so many years." She started to cry as she set the pitcher on the counter.

"No, Sky. They're not upset. C'mon. Don't cry." He put his cereal bowl down and walked around the counter to wrap his arms around her with his hands on her growing belly.

"None of them have come by or even talked to me this whole time." She cried and turned around to bury her face in his chest. He was getting used to these emotional outbursts. He just still wasn't sure what to do with her when she got like this.

"Georg and Savannah came over last weekend." Tom laughed lightly. "And Bill called a couple times."

"Yeah but not Gustav."

"Gustav never calls. You know that. And he came by two weeks ago."

"Yeah but only to drop off your song book thing."

"Well, Sky, what do you expect? We see each other non-stop for months. When we finally get time off the last thing we want to do is hang out with one another. Besides, we're back at the studio now and after a 12 hour day they do what I do. They go home and sleep."

"I know Bill's pissed." Skylar wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

Tom didn't say anything for a minute. She was right. Bill was less than pleased. "Bill is mad at me, Skylar. Not at you." He said softly.

"See? But it's because of me."

"Come on now, Sky. He's not pissed. He's just worried about us. About all of us. You, me, the band. We've both known from the start that this wasn't the best thing as far as the band is concerned. But, listen to me, it's gonna be fine. Bill will come around when he sees that it's not going to break us up."

"No, he won't." Skylar sniffed.

"Yes, he will." Tom laughed softly. "I've known him my entire life. He's just stressed but you know how he thrives on stress. He's not mad at you."

"They won't get mad if Gage and I come to the studio?" She asked a few minutes later as she wiped her eyes with a napkin.

"No, they won't get mad." Tom smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Gage will have a great time pressing all the buttons. You can get a sneak peek at our new stuff."

"Okay." Skylar nodded. "We'll come by tomorrow after I get off work. Is that okay?"

"That's perfect." Tom nodded and kissed her quickly. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. This little gymnast is bruising my liver though." She frowned and placed her hand across her stomach.

"Yeah?" Tom lay his hand beside hers and waited for a minute. "I can't feel anything." He shook his head.

"Every time you put your hand there it stops." She smiled and shook her head. Her mood immediately lifted.

The next night after work, Skylar picked Gage up from daycare and drove across town to the studio where Tom and the guys were working. The girl at the front desk led them back to studio 9 and shut the door behind them. "Okay, Gage, we have to be quiet in here." Skylar held her finger to her lips.

"Okay." Gage whispered and squeezed her hand.

They walked quietly into the sound booth and waved at Tom through the thick glass window. "Just in time. We're ready for a break." Tom smiled as he set his guitar down and put his headphones on his stool. He came into the room and gave Skylar a quick kiss as the others dispersed to the snack machines in the hall to get some food and make phone calls.

"This is where you work?" Gage asked as he looked around.

"Yeah." Tom placed his hands on his hips and looked around the small studio. "This is it."

"Wicked." Gage nodded and put his hands on his hips imitating Tom.

"Yeah, we've been working on this track for three hours. I'm about ready to toss Bill through the wall. He keeps hitting the note perfect then saying, 'Ugh, do it again.'" Tom rolled his eyes.

"He just wants it to be perfect." Skylar smiled and pressed her hands into the small of her back.

"I know. I know." Tom sighed. "If he'd take three seconds to listen to it he'd see that it is perfect."

"But you're talking about Bill here."

"Yeah." Tom laughed and shook his head. "So what do you think, Gage?"

"What does this do?" He asked as he looked at the brightly-lit soundboard in front of him.

"That mixes the all the sounds together. It kinda puts all of our instruments in the right order so it sounds good." Tom tried to explain.

"Okay." Gage nodded.

"You wanna play with one?" The sound tech asked.

"Oh no. I don't want him to mess it up." Skylar grabbed Gage's shoulder as he reached for the soundboard.

"Ahh, he can't touch this one but that one over there is turned off. He can't mess it up." The tech smiled.

"Are you sure?"

"Sure. That's the one we let these guys play with." He laughed and nodded toward the other guys as they filed back into the studio.

"I guess that's my sign, huh?" Tom frowned. "Back to work."

"Yep, get in there. You guys sound good."

"Thanks." Tom kissed her and followed Bill back into the studio. They put on their headphones and got themselves situated as the sound tech got the tapes ready to record.

Skylar sat in the soundproof booth and watched as they bopped their heads to the beat and tapped their feet on the foot rests of their bar stools. She watched in awe for several minutes as Gage moved the levers up and down on the dark soundboard. He kept edging his way closer to the end of the board and soon he was dangerously close to the live board.

"Gage, you have to stay here with me." Skylar said softly as she pulled him onto her small lap. He sighed and leaned on the dark soundboard in front of her. "We have to watch from in here because they're recording."

"I know." Gage pouted and rested his chin in his hand. Skylar tried to pull him closer but her lap was getting too small to accommodate his tiny butt. "Mommy, you need bigger legs."

Skylar laughed softly and shook her head. "I know but the baby needs some room to grow in there."

"The baby needs to come on out then and grow out here so I can sit on your lap." Gage mumbled.

Skylar smiled and rested her chin on his shoulder. "Looks like fun, huh?" The baby inside did a somersault and Skylar shifted her weight on the chair.

"Don't, Mommy." Gage whined and tried to lean away from her.

"What?"

"Don't poke me. Please."

"I didn't poke you." Skylar frowned. "You're feeling things, Gage."

"No, you just poked me on my back." Gage turned around and looked at her. "And you went like this." He moved his hand in a circle.

"No, I didn- Wait, you felt that?"

"Yeah, Mommy. You poked me." Gage explained.

"Whoa." Skylar smiled and placed her hand on her stomach. She'd been feeling the baby move for a while now but Tom had never been able to feel it. It was always too slight. "Can, uh- Can you ask Tom to come in here?" Skylar asked the sound tech.

"Now?" He asked.

"Yeah. I mean, can you? It's not an emergency or anything." She said quickly as she noticed him staring at her stomach.

"Sure. They could use another break." He nodded and spoke into the microphone. "Okay, guys? Take five. Tom, can you come in here?"

Skylar watched the guys in the sound proof room remove their headphones and stretch as they headed for the door. Tom peeked his head in the room and said, "Yeah?"

"You're being summoned." The tech nodded at Skylar.

"Sky, we can't just stop in there, you know." Tom said as he came over to where she and Gage were sitting. He leaned on the board and crossed his arms over his chest. "Are you guys having fun?"

"Yeah." Gage smiled and played with the buttons in front of him.

"Get this." Skylar smiled as Gage slid off her lap to explore the levers and slides further up on the dark board. She took Tom's hand and lay it flat on her stomach. "Gage felt it a second ago." She whispered.

"He did?" Tom's eyes flew open and he knelt beside her chair. He put both hands flat on her stomach and waited.

"Here. You have to press harder." She pushed down on his hands as he pulled them away. "What?"

"I don't want to press too hard." He said.

"Tom, you can't press too hard. There's like three feet of padding in there." She laughed and brought his hands back to her stomach and pressed. "Here." She guided his hand to her side and pressed down. "That's a knee, I think." She smiled.

"Whoa, how can you tell?"

"Because the head has been bashing my right kidney all day." She laughed softly as the baby flipped again under Tom's hand.

Tom looked up at her with wide eyes and smiled. "I felt that! Das ist verrückt!" He laughed and left his hands where they were. "That has to feel weird for you."

"It does." Skylar laughed as the other guys walked into the room.

"I just felt the baby move." Tom announced proudly and called them over to where Skylar was sitting.

"Tom, they don't want to-" She started to argue but stopped when two foreign hands were placed on her stomach. Gustav and Georg crowded around trying to get the best spot on her stomach.

"It's moving?" Gustav asked.

"Where? Was that it?" Georg asked.

"Hey, I think that's the head." Gustav laughed and tickled Skylar's abdomen.

"Hey! Watch the fingers." Skylar slapped his hand.

"My cousin said if you tickle your stomach it makes them move." He explained as he leaned between Georg and Tom. As if on cue the baby turned around again.

"Whoa!" Georg looked up at her quickly and laughed. "You have to feel that all day?"

"Pretty much." Skylar laughed.

"That's awesome. There's really something in there." Gustav laughed and took his hand away.

"Well, yeah." Tom laughed. "What'd you think? She's toting around a basketball?"

"No, I just mean it makes it real when you feel it." Gustav blushed. "Hey, Bill! Wanna come feel the baby move?" Georg asked over his shoulder as Bill stood in the doorway.

"No, that's okay." He shrugged and looked out to the studio. "Let's get back to work." He tapped the door frame and walked back into the studio.

"Ugh, back to work." Georg sighed and stood up. "Thanks for letting us, uh- Feel that." He said shyly.

"You're welcome. How many girls can say that Tokio Hotel can't keep their hands off her?" Skylar laughed and stood up. "Gage and I are gonna go." She said to Tom as she reached for Gage's hand.

"No, you don't have to go. We're just gonna finish this up and head home for the night." Tom checked his watch and cringed. It was after eight and he knew Gage had to go to bed.

"It's getting late." She shook her head. "Are you coming over tonight?"

"Well I have to be back here at like 7:30 tomorrow." Tom covered his mouth as he yawned.

"Okay. Maybe tomorrow night then."

"I'll be there tonight." Tom said softly as he leaned over and kissed her softly. "I'll just have to sneak out in the morning."

"That's okay by me." Skylar smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'll see you later."

"Drive careful." Tom smiled as he picked Gage up and gave him a hug. "And you have good dreams tonight, okay?"

"I will." Gage laughed as Tom raspberried his cheek.

"Love you."

"Love you too." Gage kissed Tom's cheek and wiggled down. "See ya." He waved as Skylar and Gage headed out the door.

"Tom. Today." Bill said over the intercom. Tom sighed and turned to go back into the studio to finish up his day's work.

When they were done recording for the day, Tom packed up his stuff and headed across town to Skylar's house. It was only a little after ten when he got there but the inside lights were off already. He let himself in the front door and dropped his bags by the couch before going into the kitchen. He helped himself to a glass of water. He carried the glass down the hall to Gage's room where he peeked in on the sleeping boy. He stood at the doorway and watched quietly as his small chest rose in shallow even breaths. "I'm gonna have two kids." Tom whispered to himself. He shook his head in disbelief and shuffled down the hall to Skylar's room.

Tom set the cup on the nightstand and gently slid into bed beside Skylar. He scooted up behind her and wrapped his arms around her growing middle. "You know, if you moved in with me we could do this every night." He said as he kissed her neck between every word.

"Are you trying to pick a fight with me? Because I'll win tonight." She smiled with her eyes still closed.

"I'm not trying to pick a fight. I'm just saying-"

"You're just trying to pick a fight." She laughed softly and laced her fingers through his.

"No, I'm not." He smiled. "I would just like to live in the same house as my fiance and my son and my soon to be son or daughter."

"I'm not your fiance." Skylar giggled. "Not until you ask right."

"Whatever."

"Will you quit bugging me to move in if I do?" Skylar asked a minute later.

"If you do what?"

"If I move in with you. If we do."

"If you and Gage move in, will I quit bugging you to move in?" Tom laughed.

"Yes."

"Yes, I'll quit bugging you to move in if you do."

"Okay." Skylar nodded.

"So does that mean you will? Move in, I mean?"

"On one condition."

"What?" Tom asked cautiously.

"Gage's room has to be finished before we move in. And I get to do the baby's room."

"That's two."

"Are you arguing with me now?"

"No." Tom laughed. "That's fine. What does Gage want his room to be decorated in?"

"Music. Like music notes and stuff." Skylar smiled.

"You've talked to him about this, huh?"

"Yes. A little."

"A little, huh? You already have his room decorated in your mind, haven't you?"

"Shut up." Skylar laughed and shook her head. "He mentioned it a couple weeks ago."

"Moving?"

"Yeah."

"So he wants to?" Tom asked.

"Yeah. He likes your backyard and, of course, you have stairs in your house and there's nothing cooler than that when you're four." Skylar pulled the blanket up to her chin and snuggled closer to Tom.

"True." Tom nodded and kissed her bare shoulder.

"So when do you think you'll be ready for us?"

"A few weeks I guess. I'll have to get all that stuff out of the two spare rooms and stuff like that."

"Okay."

"So you're really going to move in with me?"

"Yes." Skylar sighed. "But only so you'll stop bugging me."

"Sounds fair to me." Tom sighed deeply and smiled.

They spent the next couple weeks cleaning out all of Tom's junk, and getting Gage's room ready which was an ordeal in and of itself. He kept changing his mind. One day it would be music notes the next it would be Pocoyo and then Scooby Doo. By the time they moved in completely Skylar was close to seven months pregnant and she was in no mood to unpack. She lived out of boxes for a few weeks before Tom got fed up and unpacked her clothes himself. After then she got to work unpacking everything else from her old house. Soon his house felt like their house.

"You really are beautiful when you're pregnant." Tom said softly as he wrapped his arms around her perfectly round belly. He kissed her ear and nuzzled her neck then switched the bedside light off. They had been living at his house for more than two months and it felt just like home.

"Don't get too used to it. There are only a few more days of this big belly." Skylar smiled and lay her hands over his as the baby did a cartwheel.

"I know." Tom whispered and kissed her neck again. "The baby's room looks really nice by the way. I stopped in when I got home tonight."

"You like it?"

"Yeah. I like Winnie the Pooh."

"Gage helped pick it out." Skylar nodded,

"He did a good job." He smiled and sighed. They both fell fast asleep.

"Tom?!" Skylar whispered loudly only a few hours later.

"Hmm?"

"Tom, wake up." Skylar said in a normal voice.

"What?"

"It's time, Tom."

"No, it's not. I don't have to be there until nine." He mumbled as he rolled over and fluffed his pillow.

"No. C'mon, Tom. It's baby time." Skylar sat up slowly and took a few deep breaths.

"Sky, it's like four in th- What?!" His eyes flew open and he looked at her sitting up in the bed. "You're having the baby?!" He was absolutely wide awake now. "Wait. Hold on. Don't push or anything yet. Just hold on. Let me call the doctor and tell her- Wait, Sky. Just don't do anything." Tom jumped up and reached for his phone on top of the dresser.

"Tom. Stop. Wait. Stop freaking out. I'm fine."

Tom stopped with his phone in his hand and looked at her. "You're fine?"

"I'm fine. Don't go crazy on me. Just call the hospital and tell them that my contractions are 6 minutes apart and I've been having them for about an hour."

"An hour?! You've been in labor for an hour? Sky, we hafta go. That baby's gonna shoot outta there-"

"Tom!" Skylar said firmly. "You've been to the classes with me. You know this can take hours. Just calm yourself and call the hospital." Skylar stood up and waddled toward the bathroom.

"Where are you going?"

"To the bathroom." Skylar laughed.

"Can you do that?" Tom asked.

Skylar sighed and rolled her eyes. She changed directions and went back to the bed. She sat on her side and picked up her phone to call the hospital herself. "Hi. This is Skylar Schnee. I'm a patient of Dr. Hodgins. My contractions are 6 minutes apart." She explained to the nurse that answered the phone.

"The party has started, huh?" The nurse laughed. "How long have you been having contractions?"

"Regularly? For about an hour or so."

"When did they initially start?"

"Sometime yesterday afternoon but they were only every hour two." Skylar ran her fingers through her hair.

"Your contractions started yesterday?" Tom asked as he picked his jeans up off the floor and pulled them on over his boxers.

Skylar frowned at him and turned her attention back to the nurse. "So we'll be on the way over to the hospital in a few minutes. I have to call my sister and have her come to watch my son but I know Dr. Hodgins wanted to meet us there."

"Okay. I'll give her a page right now. We'll see you in a little while. Has your water broken?"

"No, not-" Skylar stopped mid-sentence and cringed. "Yes."

"Just now?" The nurse asked.

"Yeah, right now." Skylar looked down into her now soaked lap. "Wonderful."

"What's it look like? Is it green at all?" The nurse asked.

"No, it's pretty clear." Skylar looked at her nightshirt.

"Great. Of course that means you need to get on in here."

"Okay, we'll be on our way. Thanks." Skylar hung up and waddled to the bathroom. "Tom, can you get me my sweatpants?"

Tom stood there in his jeans looking through her drawers for her sweatpants. "Call your sister."

"Tom, I have to pee. You call her." Skylar said through the door.

"Shit." Tom pulled the sweatpants out and walked them over to the bathroom. He opened the door and set them on the hamper. "Here."

Tom went back to the dresser and pulled out a clean shirt for himself as he picked up the phone to call Katie. "H'lo?" She mumbled into the phone.

"Katie? It's Tom. It's time. We're going to the hospital." He sputtered out quickly.

"Right now? Okay, I'll be there in ten minutes."

"We're leaving right now, Katie!" Tom said loudly.

"We're not leaving right now, Tom. Will you relax? I need to get my bag and say goodbye to Gage." Skylar said softly from the bathroom.

"We're leaving right now." Tom repeated into the phone.

"Okay, I'm on my way." Katie laughed and hung up as Tom made several more calls.

"What?" Bill answered the phone.

"It's me." Tom said.

"Tom?"

"Yeah. We're having a baby. We're going to the hospital." He said quickly.

"Okay." Bill said. He was completely confused. "Can I meet you there in a few hours?"

"Yeah, that's fine. This can take a couple hours, you know." Tom tried to sound calm.

"Great. I'll see you later." Bill yawned and hung up the phone. Tom's next call was to tell his parents.

"That's great, Tom." Simone said still half asleep. "We'll come as soon as we can get up and moving, okay?"

"Okay, Mom. I love you."

"I love you too. How's Skylar?"

"She's okay. She's peeing right now." Tom ran his hand over his face.

"Tom! Your Mom doesn't need to know that." Skylar came out of the bathroom in her dark blue sweatpants with her hair in a ponytail. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah. I'm ready. Lets go." Tom hung up with his Mom and reached for his keys and wallet on the dresser.

"Let me go say goodbye to Gage. Why don't you go turn on the porch light for Katie. She should be here any minute." Skylar grabbed her pre-packed overnight bag and waddled down the hall to Gage's room.

She pushed the door open and just stood in the doorway for a minute watching him sleep through the tears in her eyes. She crossed his new music note room and sat on the edge of his bed to stroke his forehead. "Hey, Gage?" She whispered. Gage grumbled like his father and rolled over. "Gage, guess what? Me and Daddy are going to go have the baby now."

"Me too?" He mumbled as he rubbed his eyes.

"No. Remember Aunt Katie is gonna come over. She'll be here when you wake up and when the baby gets here she's going to take you to the hospital to see us." Skylar kissed his forehead quickly as another contraction swept her body.

"Will she make me some peanut butter toast?" Gage lay back on his pillow and closed his eyes.

"I'm sure she will, angel. Katie will make you anything you want." She wiped her eyes quickly and sniffed.

"Does it hurt, Mommy? Why are you crying?"

"I'm just going to miss you so much." Her bottom lip trembled as she realized this was the last time it would ever really be just her and Gage.

"But when you come back you'll have a new little baby, Mommy. That's not sad."

"You're always going to be my baby, Gage." She leaned over and kissed him again, "I love you, sweetie."

"Love you too, Mommy. Have a safe baby." Gage laughed lightly as he lay back down.

Skylar chuckled and stood up. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay." Gage yawned and pulled the blanket back up to his chest.

"G'night."

"Night, Mommy." She heard him whisper as she shut the door and made her way to the front door where Katie was hanging up her coat.

"Hey. How you feeling?" Katie asked as Skylar walked up.

"I feel good actually." Skylar shrugged. "Where's Tom?"

"He's getting the car." Katie laughed. "He has come unglued. You know that right?"

"Yes." Skylar sighed. "I'm half tempted to drive myself."

"Can you fit behind the wheel?"

"Shut up." Skylar laughed and cringed as she had another contraction. "Okay. Where is he? The car is like ten feet away." She grabbed her bag and stepped out onto the front walk.

"Is Gage asleep?"

"Yeah, I just said goodbye." Skylar wiped her eyes again and laughed. "I've turned into such a cry baby around him."

"He's your baby." Katie smiled.

"I know." Skylar wiped her nose on her sleeve as Tom pulled the car around to the front of the house and jumped out. "You ready?" She asked him as he ran up and grabbed her bag.

"Yeah, let's go." He stopped suddenly and looked at her under the porch light. "You look beautiful, Sky." He said softly as he leaned in and kissed her quickly.

"See? That's what started this whole thing." Katie laughed from inside. She waved as they walked down to the car.

Tom drove them to the hospital and got Skylar checked in while she got herself situated in her bed with an IV. Tom walked in a few minutes later and stood beside her bed as Dr. Hodgins checked her out and pronounced her six centimeters dilated. "You're more than halfway there, Skylar. Good job."

"Whoa, that's pretty fast isn't it?" Tom asked.

"Not for a second baby. Once a woman has a baby, all the rest usually come faster since the body knows what it's doing." Dr. Hodgins smiled.

"Wow. So we could be done here in just a few hours?" Tom asked as he glanced at his watch.

"I'd say this afternoon is more likely though." She smiled. "You're looking good, Skylar. I'm going to go check on some of my other patients but if you need anything just ring the nurse, okay? And if you want to keep things moving you can always walk. Let gravity do its share."

"I will. Thanks." Skylar forced a smile as the doctor left. "Tom, you feel like going for a walk?"

"She was serious? You can walk around?" Tom asked as his eyebrows shot up.

"Yeah, it helps get the baby moving south." Skylar explained as she swung her feet over the side of the bed. She pushed the IV cart around the edge of the bed and nodded at Tom. "Come on. Let's walk."

Tom walked beside her and held her elbow to keep her balanced as they circled the nurse's station. When a contraction would hit, Skylar would stop and lean against Tom until it was over before they would continue walking. The doctor flagged her down more than an hour later and brought her back to the room to get checked out. "Whatever you're doing don't stop now. You're another 2 centimeters. I think it's time we put the monitor on and keep track of this baby."

"Okay." Skylar panted as her stomach muscles convulsed. "How about that epidural?"

"I thought you might say that." Dr. Hodgins smiled as the anesthesiologist came in with the epidural Skylar wanted so badly. "We'll get you hooked up with that and then you'll be just about ready to start pushing."

"This is it." Tom whispered as he cradled Skylar's head in his arms. "This is really it." He kissed her forehead and smiled. He could tell his life was all coming together.

"Okay, Skylar, you're almost there." Dr. Hodgins said as she patted Skylar's knee. She had been pushing for more than an hour and it was time to get the baby out. "You're ready."

"Okay." Skylar panted softly as she leaned on Tom.

"You're doing gr-" Tom started.

"Don't talk to me, Tom."

"I'm just say-"

"I'm serious. Don't talk." Skylar glared at him as she used his shoulder to pull herself into an almost sitting position.

"The next contraction I want you to push really hard, Sky." The doctor instructed.

"Okay." Skylar nodded and stared hard at her focal point, Gage's stuffed giraffe. "This sucks. Who has second kids anyways? Don't they remember this shit?" She grumbled.

"Selective memory. You'll forget all of this as soon as this baby is in your arms."

"Bet me." Skylar growled as her next contraction clenched her body. She grabbed Tom's sleeve and pushed as hard as her tired body could.

"Sky, you're doing so great." Tom said softly as he placed his hand on her back to help her bend in half.

"Do. Not. Talk." Skylar said softly as she continued to push.

"All right, Dad. You wanna be the first to touch your baby?" The doctor smiled up at Tom.

"What?" Tom asked as he moved toward the foot of the bed.

"If he's going to keep talking I want someone else to come in here and coach me." Skylar threatened.

"Here." The doctor moved to the side as Tom rounded the edge of the bed.

"I- Whoa- Oh wow-" Tom cringed and closed his eyes. "Ow- Shit- Whoa."

"Damn it, Tom! Shut the fuck up!" Skylar shouted.

"Is that the- Whoa, shit- Is that the head?" Tom asked softly.

"Yes it is. One more push and it'll be out all the way." The doctor said. "Would you like to touch your baby?"

"I, uh- Whoa- That's just- Can I?"

"Sure, it's your baby." Dr. Hodgins smiled as Tom tentatively reached forward and made a face.

His fingers gently touched the crown of the baby's head and he pulled away quickly, "Wow, Sky, you should see-" He stopped before he finished his sentence. The look she gave him said if he didn't stop immediately he would never see this child because she would kill him first. "Sorry." He mumbled as he went back to Skylar's side of the bed. He placed his arm behind her again and pushed her into a sitting position so she could finish pushing.

He remained silent by her side as she pushed through the next few contractions. She delivered the head and one shoulder. "Okay, this is it. One more big push and you've got yourself a baby." Dr. Hodgins smiled.

"I don't want to." Skylar whined.

"You can do it, Skylar." Tom said softly. He expected her to yell at him but all she did was grab his shirt tightly and press her face into his chest. "You're almost there, Sky. I love you, babe. You're doing so great." He kissed her forehead and rubbed her back slowly.

"Tom, can we get married now?" She asked softly into his chest.

"What?" Tom laughed. "Focus on doing this first." He smiled and shook his head.

"After this?"

"Yeah, yeah we can get married after this. I have the weekend off." Tom laughed and gave the doctor a look. "Do they always go crazy at the end?"

"Yeah." Dr. Hodgins smiled and patted Skylar's thigh. "Okay. C'mon, Skylar. One more. Let's go."

"Just one?" Skylar said as she pulled herself up again.

"Just one. One more big push."

"Okay." Skylar sighed and brushed her hair out of her face. "Okay, okay, okay."

Skylar pushed while Tom cheered her on. Two minutes later the doctor held up a screaming pink baby. "It's a boy!" Dr. Hodgins smiled. "Congratulations!"

"It's a boy." Tom said as he looked down at Skylar with tears in his eyes. "It's a boy, Sky."

"Yeah." Skylar took a deep breath as the tiny baby was placed on her chest. "Oooooh, Tom. He's perfect." Skylar said as she began to cry.

"He's beautiful." Tom said as his voice cracked. "Oh wow, Sky. He's so tiny."

"Tom? Do you want to cut the cord?" Dr. Hodgins held the cord scissors out to him.

"Yeah. Yeah, I want to cut it." He smiled and took the scissors. He cut where the doctor pointed then set the scissors down as the nurses took the baby off Skylar's chest to weigh him and clean him up.

The doctor cleaned Skylar up while the nurses wrapped the baby in a soft blanket and handed him to Tom. "He looks great." The nurse smiled. "Seven pounds and three ounces. Nineteen inches long. And look at that hair."

"Wow." Tom cautiously held the tiny baby in his arms and turned to face Skylar. "Sky, look at him. He looks just like Gage." Tom laughed through his tears and used his free hand to wipe his eyes.

"Do you want to go get our parents and the guys?" Skylar asked as Tom half sat on the bed beside her.

Tom just stared down at his son and shook his head slowly, "No. Let's just sit here for a minute." He handed the baby to Skylar and put his arm around her shoulder so that they could stare at the baby together. She slowly pulled the blanket back and looked at his hands, fingers, feet and toes. Tom stuck his finger in his son's hand and smiled as he squeezed tight.

"He does look just like Gage." Skylar whispered and wiped her eyes.

"I love you so much, Sky." Tom smiled and kissed her quickly. "I just can't believe he's here. He's ours, I mean- Sky, this is just so amazing." Tom sniffed and wiped his eyes on his sleeve.

"So what do you think? Liam or Jakob?"

"Liam Jakob." Tom nodded. "Happy birthday, Liam." He smiled and checked his watch. "2:51 pm on September 14th. One more date embedded in my mind."

"One more?"

"6:12 am on November 17th." Tom smiled as he rattled off Gage's birth date and time without a second thought. "My boys."

"Tom, he's beautiful." Skylar whispered.

"Yeah, he is."

"I want Gage to be here." She started crying again. "I want my baby. Can you call Katie and have her bring him right now?"

"Yeah. Sure." Tom reached for the phone and dialed their Katie's number. "Hey, Katie."

"Hey! So what is it?" She asked first thing.

"It's a boy. Liam Jakob." Tom listed off his stats for her then asked. "Can you bring Gage over now? Skylar needs her other baby." Tom smiled.

"Sure. We're on our way. Hang on." Katie put the phone down, "Hey, Gage, guess what?!"

"What?" He heard Gage ask.

"You've got a new baby brother." Katie smiled.

"Is that Mommy?!" Gage grabbed for the phone and said, "Hi! I'm a big brother now?"

"You sure are! You have a little brother." Tom laughed and ran his finger over Liam's hand.

"Oh, let me talk to him." Skylar grabbed the phone from Tom and started crying again, "Hallo mein Engel! How are you?"

"I'm okay, Mommy. Are you crying?"

"No, baby. I'm okay." She wiped her eyes and tried to harness her tears. "Katie is going to bring you to see your new baby brother. He looks just like you, Gage."

"Does he like the Pocoyo too?" Gage asked.

Skylar laughed and shook her head. "I'm sure he'll love Pocoyo. You can teach him all about Pocoyo and Scooby Doo."

"Yeah and I can teach him how to dunk it like Jordan. Is he really small?"

"Yep, he's really tiny right now. Go get your shoes and stuff on and Katie will bring you over and see him, okay?"

"Okay, I have my shoes on already and Aunt Katie has her keys ready to go." Gage laughed. "I'll be there in a minute! I love you, Mommy. Bye!" He hung up the phone and Skylar laughed.

"They're on their way."

"I'm going to go tell everyone out there. Is it okay if they come in?" Tom asked.

"Yeah, but just for a little while." Skylar nodded and turned her attention back to the baby in her arms.

"Okay." He kissed her again and kissed Liam's little head. Tom pulled the door open and walked down the hall to the tiny waiting room area where the guys were waiting with Skylar and Tom's parents. "Okay, guys." Tom laughed as he stood in the doorway with the biggest smile ever. "It's a boy."

Cheers erupted through the waiting room as everyone headed for Skylar's room. It was chaos for a few minutes before everything died down and Liam made the rounds being held by everyone.

"It's a baby!" Gustav smiled as he nervously held Liam out in front of him. "How insane is that?"

"I know." Tom smiled and shook his head. His face was beginning to hurt from the constant smile.

"He looks like you." Bill smiled over Gustav's shoulder and looked back up at Tom. "You're going to make this work, right?" He said at he glanced over at Skylar.

"Yes." Tom nodded. "It's all going to work out."

"Can I hold him?" Georg asked as he bounced over to the group.

"Be careful." Tom winced as Georg took the baby from Gustav.

"Watch his head." Gustav added.

"I've held tons of babies before." Georg sighed and held Liam out in front of him. "Your uncles over here are crazy. I'm the only sane one in the group. Anytime you have a question about girls or anything like that, you come see me. Those morons over there will lie right to your face. I tell it like it is." Georg explained to the baby as the others scoffed and rolled their eyes. "You're a cutie though and it's not often that I say that about another guy."

"Quit hitting on the baby." Gustav laughed as Georg ran his finger down Liam's forehead to the tip of his nose and made a surprised look.

"Okay, my turn again." Gustav reached for the baby and cradled him in the crook of his arm. "Hey there, Liam. I'm your Onkel Stavi and your Onkel Georg lies. A lot." He laughed lightly. Liam squished up his face and began to cry loudly.

"Gustav is pinching the baby!" Georg said loudly as Gustav began to look panicked.

"He's probably hungry." Skylar said from the bed.

"That's our cue." Gustav handed the baby back to Tom as he and the other guys waved goodbye to Skylar and headed for the door.

Bill stopped at the door and turned around. He took a deep breath then walked back to the bed where Skylar and her mom were sitting, "Hey, Sky? I, uh- I just wanted to say I'm sorry. You know, for being an ass." Bill smiled sheepishly and blushed. "You're the best thing that's happened to Tom and I'm sure this is only gonna make him a better person. We can deal with the media lashing."

"You guys are used to it." Skylar said softly.

"Yeah, we are. I'm sorry I wasn't supportive from the start." Bill took a deep breath before he continued. "I know it may sound stupid but I was afraid you were taking away one of the best parts of me. Tom has been my best friend since we were born. I thought nothing could come between us and then you and Gage came along. And then you got pregnant again. It felt like Tom was being ripped away from me. I see now how wrong I was. I didn't lose Tom. I know now that I never will. Not, not only do I have a brother, but I have a sister and two beautiful nephews. We'll a family." He leaned over and kissed her cheek quickly. "Tom's one lucky guy."

"Yeah, he is." Skylar smiled up at Bill. "He has three of the best friends anyone could ever hope for and the best brother in the world. Nothing can ever take that away from him, or from you."

"We'll see you later, okay?"

"Thanks, Bill." Skylar waved at the guys as they ducked out of the room.

"Okay. Time to clear out." Tom called from the doorway. "Parents and everything. Out."

"Tom, it's okay. They can stay." Skylar said from the bed.

"No. I have a special visitor out here who wants to meet his little brother by himself." Tom smiled.

"Where's my Gage?" Skylar perked up and smiled. "Okay, guys. Get out. I wanna see my Gage." She hugged her parents and Tom's before she sent them on their way. They'd had an hour with Liam.

"Hi, Mommy!" Gage poked his head around the corner of the bed.

"Hi, sweetie! Come up here." She patted the bed beside her.

Tom lifted Gage up onto the bed and said, "Be careful, Gage."

"I am." Gage shimmied up so he was sitting beside Skylar and leaned on her shoulder. "Is that baby Liam?"

"It sure is. What do you think?" Skylar asked as she tried not to cry.

"He's really small, Mommy. Like a toy." Gage looked closely at Liam and frowned. "Does he know his name?"

"I don't know." Skylar cast Tom a questioning look.

"Hi, Liam. Your name is Liam and my name is Gage and I'm the big brother. You're just a baby right now. You're not big like me." Gage explained to Liam. "He doesn't know his words yet."

"No, he doesn't talk yet. Not for a long time."

"But that's okay." Gage nodded. "He has small hands and everything." He reached out and touched the baby's hand.

"Yeah." Tom nodded. "You know you were this small one time too."

"I know." Gage nodded. "But now I'm the big brother and he's the baby. One day he'll be the big brother and we'll get another baby maybe."

"Don't count on it." Skylar laughed lightly and caught Tom's eye. "I think not."

"We can talk about that later."

"There's nothing to talk about." Skylar shook her head and smiled down at Liam. "I think this will be enough."

"No, I want a sister next time." Gage shook his head.

Tom laughed and reached over to mess Gage's hair. "So do you think we should keep Liam?"

"Yeah, we have to. Liam picked us for his family so he has to stay with us." Gage sighed. His parents just didn't get it.

"Sounds good to me." Tom nodded.

"Me too." Skylar smiled and kissed Gage's forehead.

Tom looked at the three of them on the bed and he couldn't stop smiling. "This is my family. My entire life is wrapped up in these three. As long as we're okay, that's all that counts. The press? The fans? I'm thankful for them, but the only things that really matter in this world are right here in front of me."

"So I know this is a touchy subject and all but now is a good time to clear up some rumors." Sway Calloway said as he smiled out at the crowd in the MTV studios. Tokio Hotel laughed amongst themselves. Rumors were always flying around about them.

"About me being gay?" Bill asked. "Because I'm still not."

"No, we all know that's not true." Sway shook his head.

"The one about me and Lady Gaga?" Gustav laughed.

"No. I haven't heard that one. What's that about?" Sway asked. "Actually, you know what? I don't wanna know. This one is actually about you, Tom."

"Me?" Tom asked. He knew this time would come. Bill looked at him quickly and smiled. "What's a rumor about me? There aren't any rumors that I know of."

"Are married with two kids?" Sway and the audience laughed. The guys on stage remained quiet.

Georg looked at Tom and raised his eyebrow. "Secret's out, Tom."

"No, that's not a rumor. That's a lie. I'm not married. Yet." Tom shook his head and blushed. This was the leap he'd worried about for a year but he was glad it was happening here surrounded by his friends.

"And the kids?" Sway smiled. He still thought it was all a rumor.

"Well, uh- Yeah. I've been with this girl for a while. It's a long story." Tom cleared his throat and glanced out at his fans. They hadn't quite caught on yet. "We just had a new little baby two weeks ago. His name is Liam."

"So it's true? You have a kid?" Sway asked in complete surprised.

"Yeah. Two. I have a four year old. He's almost five actually. Gage." Tom nodded and rolled his microphone between his hands.

"No way." Sway laughed, "You? Tom Kaulitz has two kids?"

"Yes." Tom nodded as Bill leaned over and pat his back.

"Is this the girl that was in the news last year?" Sway asked.

"No." Tom shook his head and laughed, "No, I don't know who that was. The girl I'm seeing now is an old friend obviously. We're not married or anything. Nothing like that yet." He smiled out at the fans who still looked shocked.

"I've gotta tell you guys, I'm shocked. How do you guys feel about Tom becoming a family man?" Sway asked the others.

"We're okay with it." Georg nodded and looked at the others down the line. "We all know his girlfriend and we've hung out with Gage and stuff."

"Everything kinda happened so fast with this. It was sorta hard at first, you know, wondering how the fans would react." Bill tilted his head to the side. "But no one really knew about it until, well, right now. Tom just didn't want Gage's over the tabloids. I think he handled it really well. And his girlfriend is a really great person. We all love her and the kids very much." Bill nodded and smiled at Tom.

"Why is this the first anyone has heard of it?" Sway asked as he looked at Tom.

Tom shrugged. "This is the first time anyone has asked. I didn't make an announcement because it's personal. I don't mind if people know but I just didn't want to draw a lot of attention to them."

"Well, congrats on your new baby and I hope things are good." Sway shook Tom's hand and laughed. "Now, back on topic. Your new album. How that's going?"

"It's going great." Bill said softly.

"What can we expect with this one? Will there be a new sound?"

"We hope so." Bill laughed, "It's different but we're also trying to keep our old sound. We've had some amazing people working with us and we're really excited for everyone to hear it."

"Are there some ballads on there? You know how your fans love those slow songs." Sway smiled out at the fans as they screamed.

"Oh yeah, there are some ballads. Three, I think?" Bill looked at the others for back up.

"Four." Georg nodded and counted on his fingers. "Yeah, we have four, I think. Well, one is kinda not a ballad, but it's slow."

"Can't wait to hear it! Thanks for stopping by and filling us in on your Daddy status, Tom."

"No problem." Tom laughed and shook Sway's hand.

"Let's get on with the countdown. Coming in at number three this week is Breaking Down, the first hit from The Cat's Meow's debut CD." Sway led into the video then turned to the guys. "I'm really sorry, Tom. I didn't mean to put you on the spot. I thought it was just a rumor."

"No, it's okay." Tom smiled and sighed. "I knew it would come out eventually. May as well set it straight before it gets out of hand, right?"

"True." Sway nodded. "So you have a five year old? You've been keeping that one a secret for a while, huh?"

"It's a long story but I only just found out last year. Then she got pregnant again and so now we have Liam too." Tom continued to blush as he sighed with relief.

"How do you think the fans are going to react when this gets out?" Sway asked.

"I think they'll be fine." Bill nodded. "We have some of the greatest fans and I think they should be happy for Tom. He's a great Dad and he has grown up a lot. He has changed a lot too for the better."

"Yeah but I'm still just Tom." He laughed and placed his microphone on the stool.

"Do you have pictures?" Sway laughed as the video played on the monitors behind them.

"Yeah, in my wallet." Tom patted his pockets. "Which is back in the hotel. I'll have to show you next time."

"They're cute kids." Georg laughed. "They take after their uncles. Gage has the straight brown hair like mine and Liam has the short blonde cut like Gustav."

"No, they look like Tom. Which is scary." Gustav shook his head.

"Well, thanks for stopping by. You'll come on back after the CD release, right?"

"Hell yeah. We'll be here." Tom laughed as Sway cleared his throat and got ready to announce the number two video of the day.

The red light came on above the camera and he smiled, "That was The Cat's Meow's first time in the top three. I love that video." Sway looked over his shoulder at the monitor as it played the last few seconds of the video. "Tokio Hotel is about ready to head back to Germany so thanks for coming by guys and we'll see you when you release your still unnamed album." He shook all their hands then they waved at the crowd and headed off the stage. They stopped to take a few pictures and sign some autographs as Sway led into the number two video of the day.

The fans seemed thrilled for Tom and asked them all tons of questions as they left the studio. The reception was a lot better than Tom could have hoped for.

"You told everyone the secret!" Gage screeched with a wild laugh as Tom walked in the house after his long flight back to Germany. Gage was in his pajamas and ready for bed but he had insisted on waiting up for Tom.

"Yeah, I did." Tom laughed and scooped him up. He covered his mouth as he yawned and whispered. "Is Mommy mad?"

"No." Gage shook his head. "She said a bad word though."

"Uh oh." Tom pretended to look scared as they walked through the house to the living room where Skylar was sitting on the couch with Liam in her lap. Tom stopped in the doorway and just watched her wipe Liam's little mouth with the blanket. For a split second a feeling of fear washed over him. "This is the rest of my life from now on. I'm Tom the family man. The soon-to-be husband. Tom the father. No more random girls and wild nights after shows. From now on it's diapers and tiny shoes in the hallway, Matchbox cars and fevers."

Tom laughed softly to himself. "And I wouldn't change a damn thing." He leaned against the door frame. "How much trouble am I in?"

"You won't be in any trouble unless the house becomes surrounded with crazy stalker fans." Skylar smiled over her shoulder as she picked Liam up and placed him on her shoulder to burp him.

"I can't promise that."

"I know." Skylar sighed and patted the baby's back.

Tom set Gage on the floor and walked over to the couch. "Here. You want me to do that?" he reached for the baby.

"I've got it." She said softly.

"No, you get to hold him all day." Tom laughed and took Liam from her. He balanced him on his shoulder and began to pat his back softly. In the last two weeks he'd become an expert burper and he discovered that he enjoyed it. "So the world knows now."

"Yep." Skylar nodded slowly as Gage climbed onto her lap. "Hey, Gage. It's time for you to go to bed."

"Just five more minutes?" Gage whined.

"No, c'mon." Skylar stood up and pulled him off the couch. "Let's go."

"Hey, Gage? How about if we go over to Onkel Bill's tomorrow and play ball?" Tom asked.

"Yeah!" Gage cheered from the doorway. "I love my Onkel Bill!"

"You're not in the studio tomorrow?" Skylar asked.

"No, we're going in on Friday to take a listen to the final copy and make any last minute changes. Then we are done."

"Awesome." Skylar nodded.

"Then we get a week off before we start tour rehearsals."

"Great." Skylar rolled her eyes and herded Gage toward the stairs.

"G'night, Daddy!" Gage shouted down the hall.

"G'night, Gage. See you in the morning."

"Love you!"

"Love you too." Tom smiled and looked down at Liam who was now sound asleep against his shoulder. "And I love you too. Yes I do. Yes I do, Liam." Tom said in a baby voice. He stopped when he realized how stupid he must sound and smiled.

Skylar put Gage to bed then came back to sit on the couch beside Tom. "Guess what?" She said softly as she scooted closer and placed her hand on the back of Tom's neck.

"What?"

"I love you." Skylar leaned over and gave Tom a sweet and tired kiss. "And guess what else?"

"What?" Tom smiled.

"We're getting married in three days." She giggled like a school girl and lightly stroked Liam's silky hair.

"I know." Tom smiled and looked down at his sleeping son. The day they brought him home from the hospital Skylar had decided she wanted to get married. Not just because they had to get married before the baby was born or because they felt they should. Tom couldn't agree more and he was happy when she said she didn't want a big extravagant day long party.

Skylar had thrown everything together in a matter of weeks and kept it extremely low key. They would have a private ceremony and reception for family and close friends at Skylar's parents' house. They had a beautiful lawn with a Spanish style patio surrounding the entire house.

"You reminded the guys, right?"

"Yes, and they'll all be there." Tom nodded.

"Okay." Skylar smiled and kissed Tom again. "Are you nervous?"

"No." Tom said a little too quickly. "Not really anyways."

"Good because it's too late to back out now." She laughed lightly and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I wouldn't do that." Tom smiled. "This is just a huge step, you know."

"No bigger than having a baby."

"Well, I really didn't have a choice there." Tom moved Liam from his shoulder and cradled him in his arm. "I'm just a little nervous about everything I guess. Now that people know, you know?."

"I know." Skylar nodded. "I'm nervous too. But I'm happy at the same time. This is going to make everything perfect."

"Yeah, it will." Tom smiled.

"Yesterday hearts were breaking all over the world. Tom Kaulitz of Tokio Hotel, age 21 said good-bye to his bachelor hood and married the mother of his two children Saturday. This was only three days after announcing to his fans that he is a father twice over. His fellow band mates Bill Kaulitz, Georg Listing and Gustav Schäfer were in attendance, as well as the couple's five-year-old son Gage and newborn Liam. The couple tied the knot in a private ceremony at the bride's parents' house, where they joined their friends and family for a poolside reception immediately after. Tom was known worldwide as the playboy of the group but this weekend he proved them all wrong. The couple haven't announced any plans for a honeymoon but, with the groom's tour starting in less than 2 months, they've most likely decided to wait until that's over. Then again they haven't been announcing much lately. That's the news for now. More at ten to the hour." Kim Stolz smiled smartly at the camera as the MTV News music played in the background.

Skylar held her hair back and she leaned over the table to push the birthday candles in the Tigger shaped caked. She smiled slowly to herself as she headed back outside to round everyone up for cake. "Up!" said a little green eyed one-year-old at her side. Her dark blonde hair fell in her eyes as she looked up at Skylar.

"Hi, Brigette!" Skylar bent at her knees and picked the little girl up. "Hi there, sweetie! Where's your Daddy?" She asked as she scanned the crowd. "There he is. I see him!" Skylar laughed and carried the little girl across the back yard to the group of guys. "Look who I found."

"Brigette!" Georg grabbed the toddler from Skylar's arms and tossed her in the air.

"Will you be careful!" Gustav reached out protectively for his daughter and took her away from Georg, much to her dismay. Brigette extended her arms and reached out for Georg again.

"See? She likes it." Georg laughed and took the little girl again.

"Just wait till you have kids. You'll know what it feels like." Gustav shook his head and smiled across the lawn at his wife Olivia.

"Hey, baby." Tom's face lit up as he walked over to where they were standing and wrapped his arms around her expanding waistline. "Is it cake time?"

"Yeah. Where's the birthday boy?" Skylar smiled.

"He's playing ball with Bill and Gage." Tom glanced over his shoulder at the mini basketball court.

"Are there going to be two cakes?" Gustav asked. "One for the birthday and one for your anniversary?"

"No, Today is Liam's big day. And our anniversary isn't for another few weeks. We'll do something later." Skylar smiled and kissed Tom quickly.

"You guys need to stop doing something. Don't you think three is enough?" Georg asked as he playfully poked at Skylar's round stomach.

"This is the last one. I can promise you that." Skylar laughed and removed Tom's arms from around her waist. "C'mon, let's get the cake done so we can do presents."

Skylar walked across the lawn telling everyone to head back inside for cake and ice cream. The small herd of children and their parents wandered into the house and surrounded the kitchen table as they sang happy birthday to a very excited birthday boy. Liam laughed and clapped his hands as he blew out the three candles in the center of his cake.

Tom grinned at Skylar as he stood behind Gage and rested his hands on the young boys shoulders. "These are my kids. My kids. My wife. My life." Tom thought with a smile.

Skylar held Liam on her hip as he continued to blow on the candles and winked at Gage who was cheering his little brother on. Tom smiled knowingly across the crowd as Skylar placed her free hand on her stomach. Gracyn gave a light kick to Skylar's tummy to show her participation in the party.

Tom caught Skylar's eye and silently formed the words "I love you."

Skylar bent to help Liam blow out the last candle and mouthed the same words back. Tom followed Gage through the crowd as Skylar began to cut the cake. The party had begun.