Ray of Hope

Washington Here We Come

"Oh god AJ..." Mia moaned as she felt AJ deep inside of her, he clasped the globe of a belly as he helped her with her movements.

It had taken them a while to figure out the best way to get in motion, but Mia had remembered reading something in a magazine about pregnant women being on top and boy had that worked out for them perfectly. Although at first it had been a little weird for him to touch her and know that there were two little people inside of her "Uh...you're sure they are going to be ok?" AJ asked with concern all over his face.

Mia chuckled "Yes...silly, they will be fine, come here..." she pulled him in for a deep kiss and that's how it had all started.

AJ let out a heavy sigh, his stomach still somersaulted with the memories of that night, he could still feel the warmth of her hands, hear the unsteady beat of her heart, and the way she spoke out his name. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, but his thoughts were rudely interrupted by Beth's voice.

"AJ, are you ready to go? Everyone will be waiting at the restaurant?" her voice was cheerful, unlike he was used to, which only made him feel like he had to return the gesture, in the same manner.

"Yeah, I'm ready, I was just getting some fresh air. Let's go." he placed his hand on the small of her back and walked beside her.

Beth looked over at him, "You're looking way better lately, but you're awfully quiet. Is everything alright?"

He hated to admit it, but after their wedding night, the big argument and the fact that he didn't come home. She suddenly changed, no longer did she put him down, or throw what she was doing for him in his face. It was such bad timing, since he had told himself that if she continued to be a bitch, he would end up leaving her. That never happened, so he was stuck making the woman happy, at least until he made it big.

He opened the door for her, and watched as she sat down gracefully in the passenger seat. Quickly he hopped into his seat and they headed out to meet their friends.

                                                                   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Angela giggled as she stuck the straw in her mouth, "Thanks Nick for the frap, I still feel bad, accepting to come with you. I don't want your girlfriend to get the wrong idea."

Nick couldn't stop staring at Angela's mouth as she spoke. "Wha..."

She chuckled, and nodded her head. "Come on Mr. Carter, don't you have a plane to catch..." she looked at her watch "In about two hours?" He nodded with a grin, "Well come on then...you don't want to make the poor girl more nervous." She grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet, then they began to walk. "So how do you feel about going to see your family? Do they like Ray?"

"Uh..." he was cursing under his breath. Why had she gone there? Now, his stomach was back into that knot from earlier and he was starting to get the jitters. He wasn't sure how the family was going to treat Raidyn, ever since his mother's visit and doing the training, he felt like they were slowly drifting apart. He was hoping that this trip would bring them closer together, not push them further apart. "You know my dad is a congressman, so he's in the public eye. I don't think he really means to worry about shit like images, but he's pressured."

"The son of congressman Carter, damn I should have known." she chuckled, taking the last sip of her frap and throwing the empty container in a nearby trash can. "What about the rest of them?"

"Well my mother is just a really uptight lady, with a lot of money. So she wants everyone and everything that surrounds her to be perfect. Sometimes I don't want to bother with it, and just be happy. I think my dad might be understanding and accept her the way she is, but sometimes...hell I'm not sure."