The Lovell Residence, South Pasture, Colorado.....
Silence filled the car as both Duko and Rae made the journey back to his family home finally having received the news they'd both been waiting for ever since they awoke that morning. Rae had not seemed to stop smiling ever since the doctor confirmed her pregnancy and Duke seemed to be more and more lost in thought. They continued their drive through the pasture and back to Duke's family home while he took extra care to escort her up the steps of the front porch and questioned her over and over again about her possibly being hungry. There was no sign of Charles for the moment as they entered the house and Duke lead her directly toward his childhood bedroom. Rae was still reeling from the fact that she'd been pregnant and Duke was of course on guard from any and every threat to ensure the safety of his new wife and unborn baby.
Rae took a moment to lie down on the bed feeling a bit tired from all of the traveling and the excitement of being a new mother. Duko seemed to be of the same line of thought as he quickly stripped down to his boxer shorts and climbed into bed with Rae wrapping his arms around her as she rested her head against his impressive chest. They sat in companionable silence for the better part of thirty minutes both no doubt thinking of what the future held in store for their new little family.
"Have you given more thought to the kind of place you want to live in?" asked Duko finally breaking the silence after the long wait.
"It's got to be somewhere near good schools." said Rae with a smile realizing how much she sounded like one of the moms on her formerly watched television shows.
"Okay." agreed Duke despite not being much for schooling himself in the past. "Anything else?"
"How about...a place with a big yard front and back...maybe a pool?" said Rae almost daydreaming about the way their future place would look.
Duke seemed amused and impressed by the vision she had for their new life together. Rae could hardly believe what was happening. Her life had changed rather drastically from those long nights in Trenton County at the mercy of the drunken bastard Ed Earl and every other loser in town. Now she was married with a child on the way and her husband was every bit as interested in having the best possible start for their new little family as she'd been.
She smiled once again at how everything had been turned around and found herself imagining what it would be like to have a normal family, aside from her husband being something of a fiend in the middle of the night when given to his affliction of lycanthropy. Rae had not known what to make of it, the beast that dwelled within the confines of her husband nor did she know what do about it possibly being something passed on to their unborn child.
Duke slowly began trailing kisses from her belly to her chest and lips as he demonstrated his delight of becoming a future father with the woman he loved at his side. He made up his mind that they'd leave the bike behind, as it wasn't safe to ride it with Rae's pregnancy to consider and he concluded that he'd take the car wherever they ended up.
"We're having a baby." said Rae still reeling from the conformation. "We're having a real baby."
Duke smirked against her skin as he kissed her once more before climbing out of bed and venturing toward the door.
"Get some rest." he said softly. "I'll get you both something to eat."
Rae nodded as she closed her eyes resting against the soft bedding that surrounded her.
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The Kitchen, The Lovell Residence, South Pasture, Colorado.....
Charles Lovell had been in his usual spot as he stared at the small television set and seemed to be pondering something as Duke made his way into the kitchen. The two men briefly exchanged greeting glances before Duke moved on to prepare something for his wife and child. Charles had not known what to say to his now adult only son as the awkwardness of his presence, despite their being over the incident in the past, lingered between them.
"Rae alright?" asked the older Lovell attempting to make conversation. "Heard you two went into town to see the doctor."
"Yeah." replied Duke casually. "Turns out the pregnancy test was positive...and the doctor confirmed it."
Charles had been shocked for a moment as he stopped staring at the television to process what he'd just been told.
"Rae's..." he began with a smirk. "Well I'll be damned."
"Guess you're gonna be a grandfather after all, old man." said Duke with a smirk of his own.
Charles could hardly believe it. His son had good reason to be pleased with himself as it wasn't every day a man like him even bothered to settle down much less have a family. The Lovells were a family once, and they had been shattered ever since the death of Charles wife and Duke's mother. Charles scrambled to pick up the pieces but he only caused more of a rift between them and now it seemed that Rae had become the much needed adhesive to put them all back together.
"I'll be damned." said Charles as Duke put a hand on the old man's shoulder.
He'd been so afraid for his son when he'd gotten word about the bombings in Iraq and how the lad was caught up in the brunt of the fire. He never truly thought he'd see his boy again and with the cancer diagnosis for him several years back it looked like he'd never live to see being a grandfather in any fashion with his son's lack of interest in starting a family of his own.
Now here he was cancer free, his boy back in his life and married with a little one on the way. Charles turned up the beer that had been sitting beside him on the table amid many sunflower seeds. For the first time in a long time, it seemed The Lovells were once more going back to being a real family.