She was doing the right thing. Wasn't she? As she looked down at little Matthew, sound asleep, in her arms she had no doubts. It just made sense. There was a grieving man with a newborn son, but without a wife and a mother to the baby. It felt right to step in and try to glue them all back together.
The house was quiet, it was the middle of the night. Stevie loved sitting in the nursery with Matt alone, that way she could ignore the fact the baby wasn't really hers. Unfortunately, it would only last until Kim would wake up from his restless sleep and wander in, exactly as he did right now.
"You're a blessing, you know." Kim smiled weakly, standing in the doorway in his pajama bottoms only. "I can barely function during the night."
Stevie didn't look up, but she smiled a little, too. Even though she was a night owl, with everything that had recently happened, staying up throughout the night wasn't easy for Stevie either. She didn't wonder if Kim realized, why she could gently rock Matthew back to sleep at 4 in the morning, while she was wide awake. He probably did and if he did, he didn't say a word.
"I love him." Stevie replied, pressing a soft kiss to the baby's forehead.
"I'm sure, he loves you, too." Kim said, approaching the two. "I wouldn't be able to do this without you, Stevie, I mean it."
"I need you both just as much." She lightly traced Matthew's cheek with the back of her finger. "No one else understands." Tilting her chin up, she locked their eyes. "Nobody can understand, what I'm going through, except you."
Suddenly Kim seemed nervous. Chewing on his bottom lip, he shifted his gaze, then exhaled heavily. "So, does that mean, you still think getting married is what we should do?"
"Why? You don't?" She asked, her eyebrows slightly knitted. "Kim, the wedding is next week. Everything is ready, the arrangements are made, the guests are invited-"
Laying a hand on her shoulder, he slowed her down and gave her a sincere smile. "That's not, why I'm asking. I'm just... I just want to be sure that this is what you want. I don't want you to do this out of pity."
"I'm not." Stevie shrugged, standing up. She kissed Matthew again and carefully put him down in the crib. "We can be a family."
"We can be... something." Kim nodded, following her out of the nursery. "I'm not in love with you and you're not in love with me. I believe that in time, I could... possibly develop feelings for you, but I'm just afraid that this is not what you truly want. You're making a huge sacrifice-"
"Don't try and talk me out of it." Stevie interrupted as they sat down together. She reached for his hand and laced her fingers through his. "We didn't just decide this, we've talked and talked first, before making any decisions. Are you having doubts?"
"I'm..." Kim sighed, giving a one shoulders shrug. "Yes and no. I'm happy to have you, I'm grateful that you're with us. I'm happy that my son won't grow up without a mother. But... at the same time, I'm..." Again, he trailed off, shaking his head. "I don't know. I just don't know."
"I do." She tried to encourage him with a smile. "Next Saturday, you and I are going to get married. We're going to be there for each other, support each other, help each other through this massive loss."
"You sound so sure." He appreciated that. Hugging her around the shoulders, he pulled her in a bit closer. "You're right. You're absolutely right." He nodded, taking a deep breath, he then breathed out slowly. "Next Saturday, you and I are getting married."
