Burned by Shea K.

1: Perfection

The scene outside of the chic restaurant known simply as Donnie's was surprisingly quiet. Usually, there were fancy cars and limos pulling up to the elegant restaurant with valets moving like clockwork to get folks out of their cars and get the cars into the garage while an amicable doorman ushered the customers in where they rarely had to wait long for a table-and even if they did, there was plenty to do. The bar always had the best liquors and there was a dance floor where customers could go and wait until they were called for their table. If drinking or dancing was not to one's liking, there was an open garden that could put any city park to shame for the patrons to wander with fountains and sculptures for people to admire; and the garden was open to the public. There were even benches to sit and take in the atmosphere. On certain days, waiters would go into the garden and take orders right there for people sitting in the colorful yard. It was not uncommon for couples to picnic right out in the garden on Spring or Summer days. On the second floor of the restaurant, a terrace offered a lovely view of the lush garden and it was a favorite place for diners, who often needed reservations a couple of months in advance to sit out there.

Today the place was nothing like that. The front was free of cars and the gardens were void of people. The bar was open, but there was not the typical crowd. There were only a few people lined up by the neat, well-stocked bar. There was a gathering of people that mingled together, talking and laughing, on the dance floor. They were all very well dressed for the formal event that did start, but would not be official until the guests of honor showed up. The assembly was not made to wait long.

"Tegan, what the hell, man? You sure you can't handle this one your own? I leave in charge for one night and you can't handle one night?" a low, slightly deep voice huffed.

"Don, I can handle it! I've got no problem with handling it!" more high-pitched whine, replied.

"If that's the case, why I am here instead of out on the town with my damned beautiful wife while she's looking her sexiest?"

"You'll get to that soon enough. Why the hell are you complaining, anyway? You didn't even plan anything for tonight!"

"I didn't plan anything because Rae said she had it all under control, right, baby?"

A new voice, softer than the other two responded. "I did have it all under control, but I did not plan for Tegan."

"To hell with both of you!" the whiny voice declared.

The argument went on while everyone got in place, going into the main hall of the restaurant. The voices got closer and then the owners stepped through the large doors from the foyer. As soon as the trio stepped into view, their discussion was halted by the loud shout of "happy anniversary!"

Two pairs of eyes looked up in shock while spring green eyes danced with smug glee. Those first two pair of orbs turned to the owner of the green eyes. A grin also spread out on the owner's peach-colored face.

The two pairs of eyes, one light hazel and the other deep brown, turned back to the gathering, trying to take in everything. The sharp hazel eyes belonged to Donatella Bonaventure, better known as "Donnie" or "Don." She was an imposing figure with a demeanor that commanded obedience and attention. She stood five foot nine inches, but something about her always made it seem like she was more than six feet tall. She had an athletic build, almost as thick as a sprinter. Her hair was cut stylishly short, barely going to the nape of her neck and there were rust-colored highlights going through the dark brown strands. Her tan skin was dull and she often described it as being "dusty." She was dressed for a night on the town, wearing one of her favorite cream-colored pant-suits.

In contrast, the owner of the deep, caring brown eyes was short woman, barely five foot three. She was Rae Bonaventure, Donnie's beloved wife. She was petite with light, creamy skin and ebony hair that was curled and fell to her shoulders. She was dressed in a sleek powder blue dress that fell just below her knees with high heels that almost placed her at Donnie's height. Contrasting with Donnie's aura, she gave off comforting vibes that drew a lot of people in to her for advice or just to unload their troubles. Donnie often described her as a "cuddly person," not because Rae liked to cuddle, but it was easy to see that a lot of people wanted to hug her.

"Tegan, what's this?" Donnie inquired, somewhat demanding since she really did not know how to ask a question unless she was talking to Rae.

"Uh?an anniversary party, duh! Are you this dense, Don?" Tegan, the green-eyed woman, answered with an impish smile. She was almost Donnie's height with a little less weight and muscle on her frame, making her body a bit more average. She had hair the color of blood, which seemed almost on fire against her fair skin; it went just past her shoulders. She was dressed in a black suit with the jacket open, showing her form-fitting mint green shirt. Her ebony high-heeled boots were brand-new for the occasion.

Hazel eyes immediately went to Rae. "Did you know about this?" Donnie asked curiously, searching for some hint that she was not the only one in the dark about all of this.

Rae shrugged and shook her head. "I didn't know a damn thing. I was planning to take you to that dance show you've been dying to see."

"Oh, damn, you got tickets for that?" Donnie asked incredulously, staying focused on her wife instead of the crowd of people that were there to celebrate.

"It's all right, babe. They're open seats. I wasn't sure if you'd be able to get away from the restaurant tonight," Rae explained.

"Of course I could get away from the restaurant. It's our third anniversary and this is the reason I haven't killed Tegan yet," Donnie remarked while motioning to the green-eyed woman with both hands.

"Ha, ha. If you haven't done it in the thirty years you've known me, I don't think you're ever going to do it. Now, come on and help us celebrate! I had the staff cook up all of your favorite things?or at least things they're good at. I handled the main course, of course, and Ran was here for-fucking-ever to make the desserts. Your eyes are going to fall out of your head when you see the cake she made!" Tegan declared, bouncing around in a manner that Donnie was all too familiar with.

Donnie and Rae turned their attention to the people that showed up for the celebration. They smiled at everyone?Donnie looked a little more awkward than Rae. Donnie was just as flattered, but she really would have liked to go to the dance show since she had been dying to see it for a year now. Instead of complaining, she kept her awkward smile and allowed Rae to lead her into a crowd of friends and staff.

Once Donnie was in the crowd, her mood cleared and her smile changed into something more genuine. Rae stuck close to Donnie's side as they circulated through the crowd. Donnie's mood lightened even more as they came across one of her best friends.

"Spain, girl, did you know about this shit and didn't bother to tell me?" Donnie asked, speaking to her friend.

Spain was a woman that stood roughly six feet tall. She had rich chestnut skin with dark brown hair that was almost always done in a ponytail; that night was the exception and she had it styled hanging down past her shoulders. She wore sleek spectacles over her coffee-colored eyes. Like everyone else, she was dressed formally; her outfit consisted of black slacks with a matching vest and midnight blue silk shirt. Just from the way she stood, people always got an idea that she was physically powerful, even though they could not see her ripped muscles thanks to her flowing clothing. She did have broad shoulders, which added to the strong energy.

"Don, I barely knew this was happening. I didn't think Tegan had it in her actually," Spain remarked with a chuckle. Her eyes swept across the crowded hall and she nodded to herself, approving of the nicely done celebration.

"I agree. This shit seems a little too elaborate for her to pull off on her own," Donnie quipped, looking around at the elegant setup. It was something that she had seen many times in the restaurant, except she usually arranged it. Tegan rarely wanted to be involved in putting together parties, unless they included the press and cameras.

"I just hoped she remembered it was Rae's anniversary too," Spain commented, shaking her head. She then turned her attention to the aforementioned woman and engulfed her in a hug that was equally returned. "How're you doing? You look really good," the giantess said with a look of approval in her eyes.

"Is that your professional opinion, doctor?" Rae teased as they released each other.

Spain laughed a bit, thinking that joke would probably never get old to her. She was indeed a doctor, and whenever she offered her opinion on just about anything, her friends asked if that was her professional opinion. Never mind the fact that she was a surgeon and not a psychiatrist. A lot of the time, she felt it was her professional opinion because she feared that she might be the only one in their clique with any common sense.

"She's right and Tegan had help," another woman informed them as she came over and attached herself to Spain's side.

"Of course." Donnie nodded. That made a lot of sense to her. "It would be impossible for her to do this by herself."

"How are you doing, French?" Rae said to the newcomer, who was now glued to Spain.

"I'm good! I've been able to get Spain away from the hospital for a little while and I was able to help Tegan put together this little shindig for you two! You should've seen her, Don. She actually did some work!" French, the newcomer, remarked with a big grin. Her face was lit up with happiness, which was typical for her.

"I hear you guys talking about me!" Tegan huffed, a smile brightening her face as she strolled over and completed the group.

"We're saying better things than usual," French assured the fiery redhead.

Tegan stuck her tongue out at the short woman, who seemed even smaller standing next to Spain. They all thought it was funny that the smallest amongst them was paired with tallest in the group. They also thought it was funny that Spain was able to find a woman with a name that was of a similar nature to her own.

French was a petite woman with a round face. She was very clingy, which also something that made her seem like an opposite of Spain, who usually liked her space; it was trait that she shared with Donnie, and Rae surprisingly enough. French was fair-skinned with curly blonde hair and blue eyes that always seemed to shine; her eyes had a way of lighting up a room when she walked in. She was wearing a bright yellow dress that screamed "happy," which her friends expected of her. The dress hugged her just enough to turn heads, but it left a little to the imagination.

"You should be saying good things! I threw all this together!" Tegan declared with a grin, motioning for a server to bring over some champagne.

"You threw all this together?" French inquired with an arched eyebrow.

"Uh?with help!" Tegan added in as she grabbed a glass of champagne for each other them, handing them out. She then proposed a toast between the five of them. "To my dear, best friend and her wife for keeping up the perfect relationship for five years, and being happily married for three of those years."

Glasses clanged to that and they each took a little sip of champagne. The party went on and was pretty much a success. Tegan took all the compliments for the setup, which they expected, even though French did help her. The one thing the friends always agreed on was that the thing Tegan was best at was taking credit. They doubted that she even realized that she was doing it.

As the night went on, everyone had dinner, which was great. This time when Tegan took all the compliments, they were well deserved because food was the one thing that she could and did handle on her own. After dinner, dessert was served. A huge cake, one that would easily feed the large crowd, was wheeled out. The cake was covered in a white and tan frosting, a special concoction from the resident baker, a Japanese woman named Ran. Yellow trim and multi-colored flowers decorated the tasty treat. The top simply read "Happy Anniversary Donnie and Rae!" The celebrated couple was led to the cake in order for them to cut it and share the first slice.

"Before we cut the cake, Rae and I would like to make an announcement," Donnie informed the guests that were gathered around the monster-sized dessert.

Rae looked up at her spouse and smiled brightly; the expression earned her a smile in return. The guests were now intrigued. They figured that Donnie was about to say something that involved whisking her wife away from an extravagant vacation to celebrate their third anniversary. Donnie was the indulgent type, loving to spoil her wife.

"Now, Rae and I have been together for five years, the best five years of my life. Of three of those years, we've been married and you all know just how much I love that," Donnie declared quite seriously.

She took Rae's hand in hers and looked lovingly down at her spouse. They smiled at each other again. The crowd-used to such spectacles-knew that if they were patient Donnie would get back to her point before making someone vomit with the lovey-dovey mess between her and her wife.

"We've been so happy together for all these years and we've decided to share that happiness by starting our own family," Donnie announced to everyone, grinning as she spoke. Her eyes sparkled as she thought about having her own family.

"Family?" French echoed with a smile while Spain just smiled.

"Rae's pregnant!" Donnie announced and she threw her arms around her spouse. She pretty much engulfed Rae, seemingly swallowing the smaller female.

"You go, stud!" Tegan remarked with a grin and then she whistled loudly.

Donnie snorted as she laughed. "I'm going to take credit for this too because this is my baby Rae's carrying," she proclaimed with a bright smile of her own.

"And how's that, stud?" Tegan inquired, wondering what secret her best friend had been keeping from her now.

"We had my egg implanted into Rae's body. This wonderful woman here is carrying my baby!" Donnie held Rae tighter. Rae laughed heartily while pressing herself into her larger-than-life spouse. She laughed even more when Donnie started placing light kisses behind her right ear.

"Did you know about this?" French demanded to know, turning to her doctor girlfriend.

Spain chuckled a bit, but held up her hands in surrender. "I didn't have a damn clue. The most I ever got in this was a couple of years ago when Donnie once randomly said 'it would be so cool if Rae could have my baby.' And that was it," she swore, not wanting to suffer the wrath of her woman.

French smiled. "Okay, I believe you for now. You're lucky you don't lie well, babe."

Spain chuckled again; she supposed that was a good trait sometimes, although there were times when she would like to get away with something. They turned their attention back to Donnie and Rae as they finally cut the cake. The guests cheered as the couple shared a bit of the first slice.

After making sure everyone had cake and talking with a few people briefly, Donnie and Rae went to take a walk in the gardens. Deep brown eyes wandered the area with amazement and awe coloring them while hazel eyes focused on the svelte body pressed against Donnie. Rae loved it out there; her love of the garden had inspired Donnie to expend it and open it to patrons a few years ago. Rae cuddled so close to Donnie that it seemed like she was trying to merge their bodies.

"This was very nice," Rae commented, speaking almost in a breath. There was a peace in her tone that relaxed her spouse all the way to the center of her being.

"Yeah, Tegan went above and beyond for once in her life. She also gave us a great forum to announce that we're pregnant," Donnie replied with a soft smile, gently rubbing her wife's shoulder with one hand.

"Yeah, everyone was very supportive of that," Rae said, putting her hand to her still flat stomach.

"I can't wait. Seven months seems like such a long time," Donnie sighed impatiently, moving her hand to cover Rae's hand that was resting on her belly. Then she nuzzled the smaller woman's neck.

"It'll go by fast since you stay so busy. Besides, when all of the hormones and stuff start kicking in, you're not going to want to be around me anyway!" Rae teased.

Donnie laughed and placed a few more kisses to her wife's ear. "I'm always happy to be around you. I don't care how grumpy you get. We're going to have a baby. I can't wait!"

Rae smiled; she could not help believing that her spouse was as happy as a person could be about expecting a child. Ever since they had gone through the procedure, Donnie spoke about their baby, whom she affectionately referred to as "Lil Donnie," as if the child was already there. Rae was just as enthused and usually went right along with Donnie whenever she started up about the baby.

"Do you want to sit down?" Donnie asked cautiously as they continued through the garden, walking on the narrow cobblestone path that cut through the lively green landscape.

Rae giggled. "Baby, I'm not that big yet. We haven't been pregnant long enough for me to need to rest every couple of minutes," she lightly taunted.

"Oh?right?But, if you do need to sit down, you make sure you tell me!" Donnie ordered.

A small smile made its way onto Rae's face. "Of course, Don."

They strolled on quietly until they came to Rae's all-time favorite space in the garden. There was a fountain that looked like it had been plucked from ancient Rome with lights in that made the water glow an electric blue and circled by perfectly cared for flowers. They sat down on a marble bench next to the fountain, sighing as cool air came off of the flowing water.

"I remember years ago when I saw this in a magazine article about Donnie's. I always wanted to come here," Rae said, grabbing on Donnie's hand and giving it a light squeeze.

"Now, you never want to come here," Donnie pointed out with a teasing smile.

"It's not that. I love this spot and you run a damn nice restaurant, baby. It's pointless to come here because I want to be on a romantic evening and what the hell is romantic about the restaurant for you?" Rae countered, leaning against her spouse's side.

"This was romantic, but I can see your point. I wouldn't want to come here for a date."

"You know you're the only person in this state that can say that, right?" Rae remarked, teasing grin in place.

Hazel eyes were rolled and she leaned down to kiss her petite wife. Rae returned the embrace with a deep passion that she was sure she only ever felt for Donnie. It was Donnie that always engulfed her, taking over her senses, filling the air around her with her own energy. Donnie felt the same about Rae, like Rae seeped into every piece of her and occupied her entire being, especially when they kissed.

"God?I love it when you do that?" Rae whispered as she pulled away to take in oxygen. She felt like she was breathing her spouse in as she caught her breath.

"I love you point blank," Donne commented, earning a very sweet smile.

"Then take me home."

Donnie was standing in a flash and helping her wife to her feet. Rae smiled more, pleased with Donnie's manners. They went back into the dining hall, planning to thank everyone for coming and bid everyone goodnight. They were not surprised when Tegan popped up and tried to hold them up with idle conversation.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me you were trying to get Rae pregnant!" Tegan said, throwing her arm around Donnie, who grimaced and groaned.

"It might have a little something to do with the fact that you have a big ass mouth and I didn't want to jinx it or have the world know before we were sure she was pregnant," Donnie explained with an annoyed grunt.

"I don't have a big mouth!" Tegan proclaimed, thoroughly offended that her friend would suggest such a thing.

"No, just a loud voice," Donnie quipped, earning a chuckle from her beloved. After laughing, Rae gave Donnie a downright sexy look, reminding Donnie that she wanted to go home. Donnie turned her attention back to her best friend. "Look, Tegan, is that Jeff over there?" she asked, pointing to the far side of the room.

"Nice try, but I'm done with Jeff," Tegan commented with a smirk, wagging a finger at her friend.

"Damn it. Look, you threw a great party, but it is our anniversary. We don't plan to spend the whole night here," Donnie stated bluntly.

"You're just going to run out of my wonderful party?" Tegan inquired, as if she was totally crushed. She put on this fake pout and forced her eyes to water, like she was going to burst into tears any second.

"Will you let them go already?" Spain huffed as she approached the scene.

"I'm just saying that I went through all of this trouble to throw this together. The least they could do was stick around and experience it," the redhead argued quite seriously.

"They've experienced it enough. They've got other things to do with their anniversary. Let them go," Spain practically growled, glaring down at Tegan. Hard green eyes stared back with just as much seriousness as the coffee-colored ones.

Donnie rolled her eyes and took the moment to lead her wife out of the room while Tegan was otherwise occupied. She helped Rae into their car, a mid-sized red sedan. Rae breathed a sigh of relief as soon as they were moving. Donnie wanted to do the same thing, but she held it in because she knew her wife would tease her if she did.

The drive home was spent in silence, but Rae held onto Donnie's hand for the entire trip. They lived in a professional part of town, on a hill that over looked the city and also gave them a lovely view of the ocean, which was not too far away. There was a gate, which they actually just put up; Donnie thought it would be a good idea for when "Lil Donnie" was old enough to play in the yard and would not be in danger of running in the street. The house was large by most standards, especially for two people, but they were happy the population of the house was going to increase soon. Still, three people in a five-bedroom house seemed excessive to some.

After parking in the driveway, Donnie helped Rae out of the car and they went right up to their bedroom; they did not even bother turning on any lights in the house, except for the ones that they always left on when they were out. They did turn on the lights when they hit their bedroom, bathing the gigantic room in light.

The room was decorated in calming, earthy tones, mostly light tan and beige. The carpet was a sandy color while the walls were beige. The dressers were a smooth, tawny wood. There was a vanity that matched the dressers with rows of different beauty items lined up. The king-sized bed set up against the middle of the back wall was covered in a clay-colored spread that had a cube-design on it that matched the pillows perfectly.

"Baby, can you unzip me?" Rae requested as she slipped off her shoes. She turned her back to her spouse, expecting to have her dress slowly peeled from her body.

"Wait," Donnie begged, even though her fingers itched to do as requested.

"For?" Rae asked, turning again to face the taller woman.

"Your anniversary gift. I have to give it to you while it's still our anniversary," Donnie pointed out with a smile.

"Oh, yes, my dear, that you do," Rae remarked with her own delighted smile. She had given Donnie her present much earlier because Donnie really needed the gift. Damn it, the woman could break a watch with an ease that baffled her small wife. Rae wondered how long the watch that she bought would last Donnie. She suspected she would be buying another one next year.

"This is for the best five years of my life. I look forward to a lifetime of this. Thank you for being the mother of my child. Thank you for just being with me," Donnie said in a sexy purr, reaching into her pocket. She pulled out a black velvet box.

"You do know you can't propose to me again, right? You already married me," Rae joked, still smiling.

"This has nothing to do with proposing?" Donnie opened the box and pulled out a gold locket on a matching chain. "You can open it. I was hoping you'd put Lil Donnie's picture in here when she's born."

Rae's face light up like a box of fireworks as her beloved eased the necklace on her neck. "You know I am!" She then launched herself at her spouse, going in for a deep kiss.

Donnie knew what the kiss was for, so she decided to get to the finale of their anniversary. She wrapped her arms around Rae's lithe form, pressing her closely. Rae listened to her lover's heartbeat as she anticipated her spouse's next move. Donnie's nimble hand wandered Rae's back, trying to locate a certain zipper that was no longer needed. When adroit fingers finally found the zipper, she dropped it slowly, which Rae expected; Donnie was always into being sensual-or a tease as Rae liked to think of it.

The restaurant owner generally liked to go at a pace that simply made Rae beg for her after a while. Rae sometimes suspected that Donnie actually liked to hear her beg, but Donnie never admitted to that. The tanned woman always said that she wanted to make sure every inch of her wife was sizzling before she put out the fire.

"Please, baby, don't tease me like this tonight," Rae begged in a whisper as she clung to Donnie.

The taller woman shrugged and a sexy smirk conquered her face. "Your wish is my command."

-----

The happy couple curled up together after a couple hours of coupling. They were ready to just fall into a deep, coma-like sleep, but a thought hit Rae. She turned up to Donnie, who was a mere millisecond away from being knocked out for the night.

"Babe, is your friend coming tomorrow to start working on the nursery?" Rae asked curiously, voice low from being drowsy.

"She's not really going to work tomorrow. She just wants to see the room again and 'visualize' or whatever the hell she does when designing crap," Donnie answered.

Rae took a mock-hit at her spouse, only caressing her arm. "Don, don't make fun of her. Do you think she says that when she comes to your restaurant on nights where you're the head chef?"

"Uh?yeah, she's my friend, babe," Donnie answered with a chuckle.

Rae decided not to argue since she knew how Donnie and her friends were. "Did she say when she was coming by?"

"Knowing her, it'll be sometime in the afternoon. It's okay. I'll be here for it, so you don't have to deal with it all by yourself."

Rae smiled a bit and then cuddled into Donnie's warm form even more. They then drifted off to sleep, very satisfied with their anniversary. They were looking forward to getting things ready for when their baby arrived too.

-----

2: Hot cakes

"Rae, you want me to handle breakfast?" Donnie offered as she watched Rae move around their large, well-stocked kitchen. She was dressed in her pajamas, which consisted of a white tank-top and shorts that used to be sweatpants until she took a pair of scissors to them. Her hair was sticking up in every direction it could, silently begging for Donnie to use a brush soon. Lines underneath her hazel eyes showed that she was still partially asleep, but she wanted to be up for pancakes.

"Why would I want you to handle breakfast?" Rae inquired curiously, making pancake batter for their breakfast. She was also dressed in pajamas, which were a tee-shirt that was too big for her because it was actually Donnie's. She looked a little more presentable than her spouse, having her hair brushed back into a ponytail and her face washed.

"So you don't have to be on your feet," Donnie reasoned, sounding like it was the most logical thing in the world to her. She moved a little deeper into the kitchen without being very obvious about it. It seemed like she was trying to get a closer look at Rae, wanting to make sure her wife did not hurt herself somehow or strain herself in any way.

Rae turned to her beloved to give her an incredulous look. "Sweetheart, I am two months pregnant, not two weeks past due. If you're going to act like this now, what're you going to do when I'm showing and look like I'm ready to pop?" she asked in disbelief.

Donnie had the decency to appear embarrassed, blushing a little and putting her head down. She sat down at the island in the middle of the kitchen and watched Rae do what she did every morning-fix breakfast. Donnie, though a world-class chef, had no control over the kitchen at home. If she was going to cook, she had to take her butt down to her restaurant or her caf�; Rae told her as much whenever she found Donnie making anything more complicated than a bowl of cereal.

"I'm not going to let you leave the bedroom and I'm going to give you sponge baths-" Donnie started in, but Rae cut her off.

"And play doctor while I'm in labor, right? I can see you now with Lil Donnie, 'baby, I yanked you right out of your momma because I'm insane and also good at everything and know everything.'" Rae put on the most adorable, teasing smile, which got her spouse out of her chair.

Donnie went behind Rae and embraced her, love coming through the simple touch. "You know me so well, don't you?" she purred before placing a kiss to Rae's cream-colored neck.

"I know you well enough to know that you're going to be sorry if you make me burn these pancakes," Rae teased, still smiling. She gently patted the restaurant-owner on the butt to get her to back off.

"I would just have something else for breakfast then?and then make sure we went out for brunch," the tan woman remarked with a grin, placing another sweet kiss to Rae's neck. She was not pleasant to be around when she missed meals and they both knew that. She would never purposely make Rae suffer through her when she was hungry.

"We can't go out for brunch. We have to be here when Trisha shows up," Rae reminded her spouse, turning around to tap Donnie on the nose.

"Oh, right! Damn Trisha. She should've just come this morning," Donnie grumbled, a frown marring her face.

"She knows how you are in the morning," Rae chimed in, motioning to the way her spouse looked at the moment. It went beyond the wildness of her hair, but the fact that she was eagerly waiting for breakfast and implying that she wanted more than just food for her morning meal.

The taller woman snorted, getting the hint. "Okay, fine, I will leave you alone. I'm going to go call Jake and find out how things are running down at the caf�. You know how nervous he gets when I haven't jumped down his throat in a few days."

Rae chuckled a bit and turned her attention back to the pancake batter as Donnie exited the kitchen. She was very aware that Donnie was telling the truth about Jake, the manager of Donnie's caf�, which was located across town from her restaurant. Donnie checked in on the caf� almost daily because that was her baby and she hated that she could not be there as often as she was at the restaurant. While the caf� was her baby, the restaurant was her legacy and she believed that it deserved more of her attention because it was like the Bonaventure family jewels.

Donnie had inherited the restaurant, her grandfather signing it over to her a little less than ten years ago. She started out as a chef there, like her father and his father and his father and his mother. She worked her way up to being the head chef, even when her grandfather was still cooking there. Then, just like her grandfather had been given the restaurant, he did the same with her, retiring and leaving the whole operation in her capable, eager hands. The restaurant was the crown of the family and everyone that owned it made sure to take extra-special care with it, especially since it had been in the family for five generations. Every Bonaventure loved the establishment too, treating with the utmost respect all of the time and adding a little something of their own to it, making the place an extension of every Bonaventure that owned it.

She did a grand job with the restaurant. She always felt like the restaurant was such a huge success that she wanted to do more. The more involved opening a caf� that was more affordable than eating at the five-star restaurant, but also gave the patrons a touch of the Donnie's experience. The caf� was a hit almost immediately, earning Donnie all sorts of praise from her grandfather, which she just ate up.

By the time the food for breakfast was done, Donnie was standing behind Rae, just waiting for the go-ahead to dig in. She undoubtedly smelled the food and just ended the call with Jake, who was always fine anyway-according to him anyway. One day soon, Donnie knew that she was going to have go to the cafe to make sure. Rae put most of the pancakes on a plate for Donnie while keeping three for herself. Along with the pancakes, there were scrambled eggs, bacon, and hash browns.

"You make the best breakfasts," Donnie declared with a happy smile as she proceeded to dig in.

Rae smiled, always glad to hear a compliment from Donnie. She especially liked to hear compliments on her cooking considering who Donnie was. Donnie was one of the world's most sought after chefs and people traveled from very far to visit her restaurant on nights when she was in the kitchen. It would surprise them all to know that Donnie almost never cooked at home; Rae handled it and Donnie always loved what her wife served.

"You say that about every meal," Rae teased.

"I mean it every time I say it. I love your cooking!" Donnie proclaimed with a honest grin.

"I know. So, how was the caf�? Jake holding everything down well?"

"Yeah, he's got it under control as usual. Well, that's what he likes to tell me anyway. I still need to get down there soon for my inspection of the place. Last time I had to send Tegan down there because something came up at the restaurant. Tegan called me and she didn't sound too happy about what she saw, so I'm starting to wonder if Jake's blowing smoke up my ass or if Tegan overreacted," the master chef explained.

"Well, Tegan doesn't usually overreact on these things. Other things maybe, but not restaurant things," Rae replied.

Donnie nodded in agreement. "I know, which really worries me. But, I'm not going to think about that right now. Today is about getting things ready for Lil Donnie. How is Lil Donnie this morning anyway?"

Rae rubbed her stomach. "She feels fine so far. I think she'll stay that way as long as her mom doesn't get on her momma's nerves."

Donnie offered up an innocent smile before diving into her breakfast with typical enthusiasm. Eating was Donnie's second love; her first was Rae and her third was cooking. Rae watched her spouse eat for a moment because it was one of the rare times she was certain she could see what pure bliss was supposed to look like. Donnie did not just eat, but she experienced food, all the time. It was sight to behold, like watching a person go through a wonderful religious experience.

"So, are you going to be home tomorrow too or were you just taking the weekend off?" Rae asked curiously, eating her breakfast too. She could not recall the last time that Donnie took a whole weekend off, so she doubted that she was going to get another full day with her spouse. The look in her eyes showed that she was hoping deeply for another day, though.

"I'm going in late tomorrow. Tegan hasn't blown the place up yet, but she is scheduled to be in the kitchen tomorrow night, so I have to be there while she's heading up the kitchen," Donnie explained.

Rae only nodded. When breakfast was done, Donnie did try to do the dishes, but she was shooed out of the kitchen by her wife. Rae went so far as to swat Donnie with the dishrag to get rid of her. Donnie yelped as the rag smacked her on the butt and she ran out of the kitchen like a scolded child, as she always did when Rae kicked her out of the room. She decided to go handle some business and then waste time in front of the television, a luxury that she did not get to indulge in as often as she liked. Rae eventually joined her, which made her morning perfect, especially when her wife curled into her and wrapped her in a warm hug.

By noon, the couple decided to change into some proper clothing since they were expecting company sooner or later. Donnie, true to her lazy nature when at home, just threw on some black sweat pants and a tee-shirt. Rae went for something more outgoing, throwing on a pair of jeans and a lavender polo shirt. After they dressed, they went back to the sofa and got to watch a movie before the doorbell went off, alerting them that someone was at the door.

"I got it!" Donnie shot up like an enthusiastic child to get the door.

Rae sighed and shook her head, trying to fight off a smile. It was not because she thought Donnie was treating her delicately, but because of the child-like behavior her spouse exhibited. She thought it was adorable and that was why she could not keep the smile off of her face. She hoped that Donnie stayed like that, even when the baby came. Sure, it would be like having two kids around sometimes, but she thoroughly enjoyed it.

"Babe, it's Trisha!" Donnie called to her lover.

"Okay, but what have I told you about yelling through the house?" Rae scolded her spouse, even though she was yelling back in order to answer.

"She's got you on a rightfully short leash," Trisha remarked with a teasing grin on her face as she spoke to Donnie. Trisha stood eye to eye with Donnie, but was a more slender build than the master chef. She was dressed in tailored pinstripe suit and wearing her signature fedora, not caring how much she looked like an old-style gangster.

Hazel eyes rolled. "You're about to be on the same leash. You're about to work in her domain." With a sweep of her hand, she motioned to the inside of the house.

"Oh?" Trisha sounded very intrigued, arching a slender blonde eyebrow. "I never would've thought that from the first time I decorated."

"It was a different time then."

"I'm so sure." The sarcasm was so thick that Donnie would not have been surprised to actually see it spill from her friend's mouth.

"I can still fire your ass, you know that? In fact, I'd be happy to do it because I'm not interested in dealing with your shit," Donnie commented, sounding serious.

Trisha rolled her eyes now; they were an odd shade blue, so dark that they almost looked black. Her sleek blonde hair was cut short and almost hidden completely under her favorite hat. She stepped inside, her heeled boots making a little noise on the wooden floor in the foyer. She was trailed by a woman and that got Donnie's attention.

"You bringing women to work now? You are a sucky date!" Donnie remarked with a teasing grin, pointing at her friend while she spoke.

"Woman?" Trisha echoed and then she glanced behind her. She brushed the comment off with a wave of her hand. "Oh, no, that's just Audrey, my new assistant."

Donnie shrugged, accepted that, and did not give the other woman-Audrey-a second thought. The business-owner led Trisha into the house and Audrey followed silently behind. They went right to the living room where Rae rose from the sofa to greet them.

"Rae, I'm glad to see this big idiot didn't wear you out too much after that great party last night," Trisha remarked, going in to hug the petite woman. The embrace was very brief with Rae pulling away as quickly as she could.

"Donnie hasn't managed to do it yet," Rae replied, giving her spouse a teasing smile.

Trisha laughed while Donnie did not look amused by the remark at all. Rae ignored her spouse's sour look and then noticed Audrey. Rae did not need an introduction from Trisha, preferring to do it herself. She went right in to introduce herself to the stranger. Audrey smiled as they shook hands.

"I'm Rae Bonaventure," the ebony-haired woman said, pulling her hand back as soon as it was appropriate to do so.

"Audrey Miller," Audrey replied in a polite tone, still smiling.

"Audrey's my assistant," Trisha added in before Rae got around to asking. She sounded bored and uninterested in even saying that, but knew it was necessary.

Rae nodded to show that she understood. She was about to offer the two women something, but Donnie jumped right into work. The restaurant owner motioned to the stairs, silently saying that they should go to the room that would become the nursery.

"You do know we're going to have to child-proof everything too, right?" Trisha pointed out as the four women started up the stairs.

"I figured you'd do that too. You can, right?" Donnie inquired.

Trisha scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Can you make a roasted chicken?" she countered.

Donnie rolled her eyes too, making sure to look like she was sick of Trisha. Trisha, on the other hand, made it a point to not pay Donnie any mind at all. Rae noted the exchange and did not think anything of it, believing that Donnie had strange relationships with all of her friends. Audrey also saw the exchange, but she did not say anything; she also noticed the small, amused smile that Rae was sporting and how Rae's eyes twinkled when she smiled.

"Okay, so, for the nursery, we're going to use the room right across the hall from us," Donnie informed her friend as they came to the top of the stairs. They walked off to the left and were at the room in a few steps.

"This is a good choice for the room, but I figure you guys are going to give the spud a real room in a few years, so call me then too," Trisha commented as they stepped into the room.

"We're actually going to keep her in our bedroom for the first year," Rae chimed in.

Trisha glanced over at Rae and nodded, making sure to store that information away for when she started designing the room. She then took in the room, expecting it to be the size that it was, even though she had never been in it. No one really wandered around the upstairs of Donnie's home unless the person lived there because there was no reason for it. Donnie always made sure that her guest stayed on the ground floor, not wanting anyone nosing around her and her wife's personal space.

"What did this used to be before you emptied everything out?" Trisha asked curiously, doubting that the couple just had an empty room convenient for the arrival of their first-born.

"Nothing actually. We just used to throw shit in here," Donnie remarked with a little laugh.

"It was hell cleaning the place out," Rae added in.

Trisha nodded. "This is a good space. I can work with this. I think you guys will be very happy with what I do with it." She then snapped her finger and Audrey was instantly at her side.

Donnie and Rae eased out of the room as Trisha started riffing off things to her assistant. They knew that she would come and tell them all of her ideas once she was done with the space. They went back to the couch and after about a half-hour Rae got up to make lunch while Trisha returned to the living room. Trisha flopped down onto one of the very comfortable recliners and Audrey stood next to her, in case she needed her notes.

"So, what do you got?" Donnie asked curiously, regarding Trisha out of the corner of her eye rather than turning her whole head. Hey, she might miss something good on television and Trisha might make the mistake of thinking Donnie respected her if she actually turned to look at the blonde.

"Hmm?I think we can do a lot with the space. Are you two sure you're having a girl?" Trisha counted, putting a finger to her chin in thought.

"We only just found out we're pregnant, so we're not too sure yet. No matter what, we're naming the kid Donnie, right, babe?" the chef called, leaning toward the kitchen to make sure her wife heard her.

"You know we are," Rae replied, turning around so that her lover could see the smile on her face.

Trisha laughed a bit and shook her head, not surprised by the name at all. She turned her attention back to Donnie and started going over the things that she wanted to do with the room and child-proofing the house. Rae came in the middle of the conversation with sandwiches, simple tuna melts on toasted rolls, but enough to get a big grin out of Donnie. Trisha grabbed one too without missing a word in her discussion with Donnie.

"Do you want one, Audrey?" Rae inquired, soulful brown eyes locking onto sky blue eyes that seemed a bit cloudy.

"Um?sure, thanks," Audrey answered and moved to grab a sandwich.

Rae kept things moving and did not sit down until everyone had fries and drinks to go with their sandwiches. Donnie and Trisha did not miss beat in their talk and Rae chimed in every now and then while curling up to Donnie on the sofa. When the food was gone, the conversation continued. Rae cleaned up the remnants of lunch and, by the time she returned to the living room, Trisha was ready to go.

"So, I'll be back tomorrow. One of you will be here, right?" Trisha asked the couple.

"Rae'll be here, of course?taking it easy," Donnie replied, glancing down at her wife to make sure Rae knew that second part of the statement was directed toward her.

"I'll be here," Rae agreed with a playful smile. She was tempted to tease her spouse, but she knew that any jokes about her running a marathon or something would not go over well now that she was pregnant. She then turned her attention to Audrey. "It was nice meeting you. I hope you enjoy working with us." She then put her hand out for the assistant to shake.

Audrey smiled and shook the offered hand. "It was a pleasure meeting you too. I'm sure I will like working with you."

With that said, Trisha and her assistant were gone. Donnie shut the door and then impulsively grabbed her petite wife into a tight hug. She picked Rae up off of her feet, earning giggles from the smaller woman.

"How's lil Donnie doing?" the chef asked before kissing her spouse on the cheek.

"Lil Donnie is fine. Now, let me go, you brute. What would you grandfather think he saw you acting like such a knucklehead?" Rae answered with a chuckle.

"He would be happy that I'm so happy!" Donnie replied and then she took a deep breath. She sighed into her wife's soft hair, her whole body relaxing as she felt totally at peace. "Baby, I love you so much. I'm so glad we're pregnant." Her voice held deep sincerity and a high level of tranquility that touched her wife's soul.

"I love you too," Rae stated. To Donnie, that was a signal that it was time plant an adoring kiss to her wonderful wife. The kiss was full of affection and passion. The kiss made Rae moan into Donnie's mouth as she clung to the taller woman. She could practically taste the bliss in Donnie that was caused by the pregnancy.

-----

The next day when Trisha and Audrey arrived, it was late in the evening. Donnie had already left to take care of her restaurant, so Rae was home by herself when the pair showed up. The greetings were quick, Trisha wanting to get to work right away. Rae expected that; it was habit that Donnie and all of her friends shared.

Rae, ever the polite hostess, offered the pair snacks and drinks. Trisha was all-business, though, and Rae eventually got the hint to just let the woman work. This was a dance that they did before when Trisha was helping with the house when Rae and Donnie first moved in. It was something that Trisha always seemed to win because when she was on the clock, she never strayed from her tasks. Rae still tried her best to make sure Trisha had anything that she might need, including food-food that Trisha never touched.

It would take a few days, but Rae found that Audrey was not very much like Trisha. Audrey arrived at the house one morning, on her own. Rae was shocked to see the assistant by herself, but she did not say anything about that. Instead, she went right into her polite hostess mode.

"Hey, Trisha sent me in ahead with a few things to set up around the house for the child-proofing. Is that all right?" Audrey inquired, standing on the front porch with a bag in her hand.

"Perfectly fine. Come on in," Rae said, using a sweeping motion of her hand to welcome the redhead into the house. "Can I get you anything? I just finished having breakfast with Donnie. There's still food left over."

Audrey was set to decline, but her stomach growled. She glanced down, embarrassment coating her sky-colored eyes and a sheepish crimson coloring her cheeks. Rae flashed a warm smile and laughed a little bit.

"Come on, you can eat before getting started. I'll tell Trisha I forced you to if she comes in while you're eating," Rae proposed.

"Sorry about that. I didn't get a chance to eat breakfast because I went to pick up all of the child-proofing things we would need," Audrey explained.

Rae waved her off. "No need to explain. If Trisha is anything like Donnie when it comes to work, I'm surprised you ever have time to eat."

"Oh?did you used to work for Donnie?" Audrey asked curiously while following Rae into the kitchen.

"No, it's just that being with her for so long I know how she is when it comes to work. Do you like pancakes?" the petite woman asked.

"Um?yes?"

"Good because I still have a few left over and I know they're still warm. Donnie practically swallows the damn things. But, then again?" Rae paused to laugh. "Donnie just loves to eat."

Audrey did not say anything and took a seat on a stool that was pulled up to the island in the kitchen. She was barely in the seat when there was food in front of her. A stack of four pancakes, sausage, and scrambled eggs. She was then handed silverware so that she could dig in.

"Orange juice, coffee, or tea?" Rae offered.

"Orange is fine," Audrey answered. "So, you're the one expecting?" she asked, wanting to make small talk with this friendly soul before her.

"Well, really, we like to say 'we're expecting,' but if you mean I'm the one carrying the little bundle of joy, then yes," Rae confirmed as she went to the well-stocked refrigerator to retrieve the orange juice.

Audrey nodded and regarded Rae with curious blue eyes. "You don't look pregnant."

"I'm not really that far along, just eight weeks. I can't imagine what things are going to be like when I actually look pregnant. Donnie's head is probably going to explode," Rae remarked with a giggle as she poured the redhead a glass of juice.

"That's cute how you're going to name the baby after her," Audrey commented as her drink was placed in front of her.

"Well, it's really a tradition in her family, going pretty far back. They name the first-born kid something that can be shortened into 'Don.' Donnie's name is actually Donatella. Her father's name is Donald the second and her grandfather's name is Donovan and his father's name was Donald and the start of the whole mess would be his mother also called Donatella. I think it's cute," Rae explained with a smile as she took a seat across from the redhead.

Audrey laughed a little, more to be polite than anything else. "Strange tradition. I've never really heard of anything like that before."

"I hadn't really either. I mean, I know some families where the father passes his name down and everything, but nothing like where you just give the first born a name that can be shortened into something."

"Do they all answer to Donnie?"

Rae shook her head. "Actually, her grandfather calls her 'junior.' They're very close. Other than that, her grandfather answers to 'Don' while her father answers to 'Donnie.' Her great-grandfather and so forth aren't alive anymore, so it's not too tough. I guess this one is going to have to answer to lil Donnie," she commented while rubbing her stomach.

"What do you want to have?" Audrey asked curiously while continuing to eat.

"I never really thought on it. I don't mind either way and I don't think Donnie cares either. We're just ready to start a family."

Audrey nodded. "You're sure you're ready?" she asked, voice ever curious.

"Yes, and if I wasn't, it's too late to take back now," the smaller woman quipped with a smile. "Why do you ask that?"

"I don't know. You look pretty young to be settling down with a family and everything."

"Thanks for the compliment, but I think it's about time and my family does too. I just turned thirty."

Audrey looked shocked. "You're kidding me!"

"Honest to God, I'm thirty."

"You're as old as I am," the redhead commented.

Rae laughed. "I prefer to think of it as mature, but considering that Donnie is older than I am and doesn't act very mature makes me think I need to find a better term."

Audrey chuckled a bit. "I like that. I think I'll start saying I'm mature."

The pair continued with their small talk until Audrey was done with her food. Audrey decided that she had better get to work before Trisha showed up. Rae agreed with that.

"Well, if you need anything, let me know. You don't have to act all robotic like Trisha does," Rae informed Audrey while gathering up the used dishes.

"I will if I need anything. Thanks for being so nice to me," Audrey said.

Rae nodded. "Hey, that's no problem. My mother did drill some manners into me," she commented with a smile.

Audrey nodded that time in response. She was a bit stunned by the hospitality that Rae came at her with because she had been around Trisha and knew how curt the blonde woman could be. She assumed that anyone that personally knew Trisha, as Rae and Donnie did, would be the same way. From what she could tell with Donnie, that was a correct assumption, but it did not fit Rae at all. Rae was a doll from what she could tell.

"I think I'm going to like working around here," Audrey muttered to the air when she was alone and she decided to get to work.

-----

3: Going with the flow

Rae was not sure how it happened, but over the next couple of weeks, she had become friends with Audrey. She could trace how it gradually occurred, but it still seemed a little weird to her. Maybe it was just because she had someone around the house who was not Donnie. She did wonder how Donnie was going to react when the master chef found out that she had befriended the redheaded woman. She was sure that Donnie was going to find it a little weird to come home one day and find someone other than Rae in the house.

"I can't believe you're a Scrabble nut too!" Audrey declared with a chuckle as Rae brought out her Scrabble board one day. She was not sure how they got on the topic of games, but eventually they started talking about how they both liked Scrabble and then the housewife went to fetch her game.

"I actually like everything with words. I like crosswords, jumbles, word search, things like that. I'm usually here by myself, so I don't get to play Scrabble too often," Rae explained, setting the deluxe board down on the glass coffee table.

"You're usually here by yourself? Donnie does live here too," Audrey commented innocently. Of course, having spent enough days there, she noticed that Donnie was not around very often during the day.

"Indeed she does, but there are a few reasons I don't play Scrabble often. One-Donnie's not very good at it. She'll force herself to play with me, but she doesn't really like it. Two-it gets boring to play the same person over and over again when she doesn't want to play in the first place. I don't want to torture the poor thing. Three-she actually doesn't play well, probably because she doesn't want to play, so I beat her a lot. She pouts when she loses." She smiled a bit as she thought about her wife pouting like a sad child because she lost at something. She did think that Donnie was adorable when she pouted.

Audrey nodded. "Donnie sounds like a big baby sometimes," she quipped, smiling and laughing a bit.

"Sometimes, she is. She's under a lot of stress with her restaurant and her baby, Don and Rae's Caf�, so when she comes home, all she wants to do is whine and laze around. She needs to be pampered sometimes," Rae defended her spouse, even though she did not think that Audrey's words were a malicious attack. It seemed like a good-natured tease, which did not bother Rae.

The redhead tilted her head curiously. "Oh, does she own that caf�?"

"Yup, that was her baby before this one came along." Rae patted her stomach. "She wanted to open some place that all people would feel comfortable in and not think about how much their meal cost."

Audrey nodded. "Yeah, I hear that restaurant of hers is freaking expensive."

"It's not that bad anymore. She's been trying to add things to the menu that don't cost an arm and a leg, but it is a world-class restaurant and has two of the best chefs in the world working there much of the time. And even when she and Tegan aren't in the kitchen, they have some of the best people on staff working for them." Rae continued to set them up to play Scrabble as they conversed.

"Still, it always seemed a little pretentious to me. Maybe because everything was so damned expensive last time I checked." Her comments were said as if they were mere observations, so they did not bother the housewife.

Rae nodded in understanding. "I used to feel the same way. Before I met Donnie, though, I always wanted to go there."

"And now?"

The ebony-haired woman shrugged. "I never really want to go there. It's not romantic for Donnie. It's always business for her, even walking in the garden. She always sees things, things that she wants to change or improve or she finds out that there's stuff she needs to yell at people for because something's not quite right. It's just stressful for her to be there because it's always work."

A rust-colored eyebrow arched in bewilderment. "So, what do you two do for a romantic night out? What if you want to go out, does Donnie have a problem with visiting the competition?"

Rae chuckled. "Donnie doesn't mind going out and she'll eat just about anywhere. She knows how to make food to her liking with simple things. Plus, she eats just about anything too. Surprisingly enough, she's not very picky. As far as romantic nights go, Donnie would much rather curl up with me on the couch with popcorn and nachos than go out for a night on the town. She doesn't like dealing with people when she doesn't have to."

"And what about you? Do you like nights out on the town?" Audrey inquired, leaning forward a little. There was a slight twinkle in her eyes, but it went by Rae.

Rae's face lit up just for having a chance to talk about her face for the first time in a while. "I've been known to get a little wild when I want to. It's hard to get out much because Donnie doesn't like clubs or dancing. She swears she's the only Black person on the planet without rhythm," the petite woman remarked with a giggle. She silently admitted that she agreed with Donnie. Watching the poor girl even try to dance was painful sometimes, but most of the time she found it sweet (though embarrassing) that her beloved would try just for her.

"Well, I've been known to dance a little myself. Maybe we could go out club-hopping one night," the redhead proposed in a warm tone with a friendly smile.

"Sure, but I don't know how much fun I'll be. I haven't been out in a while and we're probably going to have to go before I start showing with the baby," Rae replied, rubbing her stomach again.

"Whenever you're free, I'm ready to go."

Rae nodded and their conversation was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening. "Hey, sweetheart!" Donnie merrily called as she stepped into the house.

"Baby, what have I told you about yelling through the house?" Rae countered in a semi-stern tone. It was not lost on her that she was doing the same thing that she was scolding Donnie for.

"I just want you to know it's me and not some robber breaking in through the front door," Donnie answered as she made her way into the living room. She stopped short and blinked in surprise when she saw that Rae was not alone. "Oh, didn't know we had company," the chef said.

"Baby, I'm sure you remember Audrey," Rae said, motioning to the redhead sitting across from her.

"Uh?sure?" It was clear on her face that Donnie did not remember Audrey at all. She had only seen the woman once and that was a few weeks ago.

"She and Trisha are doing a wonderful job on the nursery. You should go up there and see the room. It's almost done," Rae said, basically filling in her lover as to who the redhead was.

Donnie nodded and hazel eyes locked on Audrey for a moment before turning back to her wife. "I'll go look when I head up to change and everything. You made something for dinner?" she asked curiously, patting her stomach. She was lucky to lead an active life, which kept her stomach flat, because Donnie loved to eat.

"I didn't get a chance. I spent most of the day just talking to Audrey," Rae answered honestly.

Donnie nodded again and her eyes shifted to the redhead, who was watching her intently. Hazel eyes then went back to Rae. "So, babe, you want me to order something?" Donnie asked curiously, scratching the back of her head.

"That would be good. I'll take whatever you're going to have. Audrey, do you want something?" Rae inquired, glancing over at her guest.

"Where're you ordering from?" Audrey asked.

Donnie shrugged. "I don't know yet. You think you'll be around for another hour or so?"

"Depends on how many games of Scrabble we're going to play," the redhead answered. She leaned forward, almost as if she was anticipating something from the businesswoman.

Donnie shrugged again, as if she did not have a care in the world. "I hope you're ready for weeks then. Rae can play that damn game nonstop with no sleep or anything for days," she remarked with a fond smile.

"I love this game," Rae declared with a cheerful grin.

"I know you do, sweetie." With that Donnie disappeared upstairs.

The first thing that the tall woman did was go in the nursery and see what Trisha had done with the room in the couple of weeks that she had been working on it. First, it had been painted and Trisha thought that a soothing yellow would be good, especially since they did not know the sex of the baby. Donnie did not think it would turn out well, but Rae gave her okay and now looking at, Donnie was glad that she got out-voted for once.

The yellow was warm and calming; Donnie looked forward to spending hours in it, holding lil Donnie. The furniture in the room was a smooth and off-white. They had rocking chair and several empty bookshelves, waiting to be filled. They had not made the time to go out and buy any baby books that they wanted to read just yet, but Donnie was sure they would do that soon, as well as any other purchases that they needed to make. They had not brought a crib yet, wanting to wait and see what Trisha was going to do with the nursery. Also, it was purchase that the couple wanted to take time on and go out a few times together to see what was out there.

A smile graced Donnie's tan face before she moved on, going into the master bedroom's bathroom. She felt light as she went to go take her shower and wash away the stress of the day. Her head filled with thoughts of cuddling with her wife and talking about their baby filled her head, causing her smile to turn into an absent grin. Hurrying through her shower, she rushed into the bedroom, wanting to get to cuddling with Rae as soon as possible. Her scurrying was halted as she recalled that they had a guest downstairs. She then threw on some plain clothes as her smile dropped a bit, but she tried to shake the disappointment off since the guest seemed to be Rae's friend and Audrey was just over for one night. After putting on a white tee-shirt along with some gray sweatpants, she returned to the living room with the intense Scrabble play going on. She grabbed the phone on the stand by the couch and then took a seat next to Rae on the couch.

"Baby, I was thinking," Rae said, focusing more on her letter tiles than her lover.

"Hmm?" Donnie replied, the simple sound coming out rich and smooth. A little shiver went down her wife's spine thanks to the little noise.

It took a Rae a moment to remember what she was going to say. "Do you think you could just order a pizza? I want to get in some junk food before you start going nuts about our diet and everything," the petite woman commented.

"Okay, no problem. Your friend want anything special on her pizza?" Donnie asked, going through the phone to get the number of their favorite pizza parlor.

Rae hit her spouse lightly on the leg. "Baby, you can ask herself. She is right here."

"I could," Donnie replied with a wide, teasing grin. This just earned her another hit from her wife.

"Audrey, is there anything you want on the pizza? Usually, we get half vegetarian and the other half meat lovers," Rae explained. They generally did that not because one of them liked one and the other liked the other, but they both liked to have at least a slice of vegetarian pizza to feel like they were eating healthy.

"That's fine," Audrey answered with a wave of her hand. She glanced up for a moment, taking in the couple's position before turning her attention back to her letters. She saw Rae was leaning back against Donnie, who had her arm wrapped around Rae's waist. One of Rae's hand caressed the limb around her while her other hand moved around letter tiles for the game.

Donnie ordered the pizza and had no problem retrieving it when it was delivered, even though she made a whimpering sound when she felt Rae lift off of her, so she could get up to get the pizza. While Rae and Audrey continued their seemingly endless game of Scrabble, Donnie occupied herself with food and playing around on her laptop, first doing work and then taking a few minutes to play some games. This prevented her from cuddling into Rae since that was really what she wanted to do, but figured it would not be appropriate with Rae's company right there. She remained like that until Rae decided that it was bedtime and Audrey went home.

Donnie yawned and sighed when they entered their bedroom before merrily stripping out the tee-shirt and sweatpants she had put on because of the company. She dived to the bed while Rae took time to go shower and brush her teeth. By the time Rae crawled into bed, she thought that Donnie was sleeping. She learned otherwise when powerful arms wrapped themselves around her waist.

"How was your day, sweetie?" Donnie asked, pulling her wife to her. She pressed herself into the petite woman's back and then rested her head on top of Rae's soft, ebony mane. She inhaled the fresh smell of lilac from her wife's shampoo and soap. Several soft kisses had to follow because of how the aroma delighted Donnie's nose.

"It was good. Um?how did you feel about coming in with Audrey being in here? You didn't mind, did you?" Rae countered, voice quivering just a bit and Donnie had a feeling that had nothing to do with her kisses and caresses, but it did not stop her from continuing the display of affection.

"No, I didn't mind. I don't mind. She's keeping you company, that's good. Heavens knows I can't play Scrabble worth a damn enough to keep you entertained. I hope she plays all of those other games you like too," the chef commented honestly. Her mouth then went right back to placing small kisses on her wife's neck.

Rae smiled a bit and tilted her head, giving her lover better access to her neck. "She said she does like word games too and Scrabble is her favorite, like me. So, it's all right for her to stay over more?"

"Of course, babe. You two go ahead and play those word game things to your heart's content."

Rae smiled even more, purring slightly before continuing their conversation. "So, what would you think if she and I went clubbing sometime?" she asked, hoping that the positive feedback that she was getting would continue.

"Clubbing?" Donnie echoed like she did not know what that was and that paused her other activities. She leaned over and glanced down at her love, who looked up at her. They stared at each other for a few seconds. "You mean like on a date?" she asked in a puzzled tone with an expression to match.

Rae laughed out loud. "Of course not, baby! She's my friend, silly."

"Oh, well, if two friends are going to go clubbing, that's fine. I mean, not like I could take you out and dance with you or nothing. I hate clubs anyway. All of those damn people and crap. It's like chaos in those places. You shouldn't suffer because I can't dance and don't like being around people if I don't have to."

"You mean that, baby?" Rae inquired, shifting her body some and turning around. She was now halfway lying on top of Donnie and looking into deep hazel eyes.

"Yeah, of course. I want you to have fun and everything. I know it can't be fun staying inside all day, everyday. I'll miss you while you're out, though," the tan chef replied, poking her bottom lip out in order to look pathetic. It worked.

Rae sat up to kiss her spouse lightly on the lips. "Thank you, baby."

"I don't know why you act like I don't want you to have fun. Go out and have a blast. I'm happy you found someone that can dance and everything, just don't dance too close and be careful."

"Baby, I'm not going to dance close with Audrey. I'm a married woman, after all!" the smaller female declared with a grin.

"Happily married woman," Donnie corrected her wife, moving her hands to caress Rae's back. A shiver raced through her as she moved Rae's tank top out of the way to feel her soft skin.

Another smile lit up Rae's face. "Yes, happily. I will be careful too and I'll try to get it out of my system before we start noticing lil Donnie. Okay?"

"Sounds very good. Remember, no drinking when you're out."

Rae chuckled a little at her lover's overprotective nature. "I know, I know. I know what I can and cannot do now that I have lil Donnie taking up residence in my body, okay?"

Donnie looked away and had the decency to appear embarrassed for making such a big fuss. "I just get worried sometimes?" she mumbled, sulking just enough to get a kiss for her troubles. Of course, the kiss straightened out her features.

"I know, baby. You don't have to worry about me, though. You have so many other things in your life to worry about. I'm not one of them," Rae assured her spouse.

Donnie nodded to show that she understood. She held Rae closer to her and tried to get a little more cuddling in, knowing that she would not be able to stay away for anything more than some heavy petting. Donnie was able to go to sleep peacefully after a couple of minutes of light kissing. Rae gave her sleeping spouse another kiss before settling in for sleep herself. She looked forward to being able to go out with Audrey and do some dancing. She missed dancing, she realized as she drifted off to sleep.

-----

"Hey, Don, what're you still doing here?" Tegan asked as she poked her head into Donnie's office at the restaurant. The redhead was dressed as fashionably as always, but she had to change out of those clothes since she had been on duty as a chief chef that night. The smile on her face was so broad it was amazing that her cheeks did not split open; working in the kicthen would always be her first love.

"I'm catching up on some paper work," Donnie answered, glancing up at her friend for only a moment before letting her eyes fall back to her paperwork on her meticulously clean desk.

"Shouldn't you be getting home to the little woman?" Tegan inquired curiously. It was not like Donnie to stay so late anymore because she tended to worry herself sick, thinking about Rae being alone at their house. In fact, she often got on Tegan's nerves with it, which was why the redhead wanted to know why her best friend was still there.

"Rae went out with a friend tonight, so I've got nothing to get home to for now. She said she'd call me when she was headed back, so I figured that's when I'd head out," Donnie explained as if it was nothing.

Tegan blinked hard from the surprise. "Rae went out? Is this friend another woman?" she asked, sounding suspicious. Green eyes narrowed as the wheels in her head began to turn. Donnie did not bother to glance up to see her best friend's expression.

"Yeah, apparently she's Trisha's assistant. I guess they hit it off while Trisha was doing the nursery."

Tegan nodded. "Trisha was telling me about her. She's not too sure if Audrey's working out. Something about Audrey seems a little off to her."

Donnie snorted. "Something always seems off to people with Trisha. She's paranoid."

Tegan shrugged. "You're right about that. Hell, she still watches French as if she's expecting her to strangle Spain or something. Still, you should watch Audrey around Rae. You don't want to come in one day and find her with her hands places-"

Donnie snarled, the noise cutting her feet off mid-sentence. "Rae is not like that! Don't you dare even suggest it!"

Tegan threw her hands up, in a gesture of giving up. "Okay, okay, okay."

"Audrey's harmless. They're just friends."

"Okay." Tegan decided that she needed to get going before she said something that really upset Donnie. The last time she upset Donnie, she ended up with a black eye?Sure, they had been ten at the time, but that still stuck with her. "I'm heading out, boss. You're going to be all right?"

"I'm fine. I needed to catch up on this stuff anyway. Not like I can count on you to do this junk." The business-owner motioned to the paperwork in front of her.

Tegan stuck her tongue out at Donnie. "Later, Don. Don't stay too long and don't let all this paper junk bug you."

Donnie nodded and waved her dear friend off. Tegan was gone on that note, sighing once she was out of the office. The restaurant owner was able to catch on her paperwork before her cell phone started ringing. She dug around her pockets for it, but did not find it until she noticed it was sitting on her desk, where she left it in case she got a call.

"Hey, sweetheart," Donnie answered when she saw it was Rae that was calling her. She smiled widely and her eyes twinkled when her wife's voice came through.

"Hey, baby! I'm just calling to let you know I'm all right!" Rae informed her spouse, shouting over the music to make sure she was being heard.

"I'm glad you did. I was just about to start worrying," Donnie said. She could not recall recently when Rae had been out past midnight and she was not with her wife. It did cause little butterflies to flutter in her stomach.

"I figured you would. Don't worry. I should be home in a couple of hours. Okay?"

Donnie sighed. "Yeah, okay. I'm going to try to eat something and then get back to this paperwork."

"Don't stress yourself out, baby. Make sure you eat," Rae ordered. She was stunned that she had to give that command since it was not like Donnie to miss a meal. "Did you eat dinner yet?"

"Um?" Donnie searched her memory. "No, I don't think I did. Guess I should, huh?" she asked with a slight blush. She sounded as embarrassed as she looked. She could not believe that she had forgotten to eat, but all she kept thinking about that day was how Rae was going to be going out and she was not going to be by her side. Her mind kept asking what if something happens to Rae and I'm not there to do something?

"Please do. I'll call again in a little while. Do me a favor and be home the next time I call you. I don't want you to wear yourself out and worry yourself sick."

"Okay. Love you."

"Love you too."

The call was disconnected. Donnie turned her attention back to her work for a moment, but a grumbling from her stomach reminded her that she was supposed to eat first. She got up and went in search for something to munch on.

-----

Rae swayed to the music while keeping an eye on Audrey, who had drifted away from her as the music continued to pump through the dimly lit, highly packed club. She checked her watch after a while and saw that it was getting on in hours; it was almost three in the morning. She made her way over to Audrey.

"Hey, Audrey!" Rae shouted over the music, speaking into Audrey's ear.

"Yeah?" Audrey answered, smiling. Her face was obscured by the shadows of the club, but Rae suspected her face was flush because she could smell the alcohol on her friend's breath.

"I need to get going!"

Audrey pouted. "Sure, you can't hang out a little longer? You don't have anything to do tomorrow."

"I know I don't," Rae replied, but tomorrow was Saturday, which meant that she could spend some time with her wife. "But, Donnie'll worry if I don't get home soon!" Although, Donnie is probably worrying herself sick right now anyway.

A snort escaped the swaying redhead. "Live a little, Rae! Donnie'll live if you stay out for a little longer!"

"But?" The housewife glanced away and frowned a little.

"C'mon! Have some fun before you have to go back to staying in the house by yourself all week!"

Rae opened her mouth to argue, but quickly closed it. She was going to be stuck in the house by herself for the rest of the week. This might be the last time she went out like this in a long time. Hell, this was the first time that she went out like this in a long time. I should live it up, she told herself.

So, Rae continued to dance until another hour passed. By then, she noticed that Audrey was having some trouble moving to the beat; hell, the redhead was really having trouble staying straight up. Rae decided that it was time to get her friend out of there before something horrible happened. Leading Audrey out of the club, Rae could smell the alcohol coming from her companion through her sweat from dancing all night.

"Audrey, I need you to tell me where you live," the short female said as she eased the intoxicated woman into her car.

"Ohhh! Rae's going to come home with me!" Audrey cooed, a goofy smile conquering her face.

"I'm going to take you home," Rae corrected. She could see now by the car light that Audrey's face was very flushed. Her cheeks were stained with a deep red hue, so she clearly had way too much to drink.

"That's so nice?" Audrey hummed, smiling like a content kitten.

"So, where do you live?"

Audrey never did answer. Rae had to dig around Audrey's purse for her wallet. She had to put up with driving with a lot of pointless giggling and other nonsense things coming from Audrey. Halfway there, the redhead thankfully passed out and Rae was able to drive in silence. She was also thankful that she knew the area and could find the apartment building with no problem.

"Audrey, I need you to wake up," Rae said, shaking the passed out woman.

"Hmm?" the blue-eyed woman groaned.

"Come on. You're home, but there's no way I can support you to get you to your apartment," Rae explained. It's at times like this that being short sucks!

Audrey made a noise that probably chased off any creatures of the night that were around them, but she did seem to understand what was being asked of her. She pulled herself out of the car and stood up on her own. Rae tucked herself underneath the taller woman to help keep her up and they entered the building. A light touch brushed her hips, but Rae ignored it, figuring it was just Audrey trying to keep herself from falling over. The ebony-haired woman got enough out of Audrey to find out what apartment to go to and she was able to find the keys in Audrey's purse. It took her a few tries to find the right key.

Inside of the apartment, Rae patted against the walls, hoping to hit a light switch while Audrey took in where she was and pushed away from Rae. The redhead made it the short distance to her leather sofa and flopped down. Rae paused for a moment, thinking that maybe she should just go, but she did want to put the purse and keys down some place that Audrey would be able to find in the morning.

"Rae, come here," Audrey purred, trying to beckon the smaller woman with a come-hither stare, but she could barely open her eyes. She just appeared to be in a drunken daze.

"No, Audrey, I can't stay," Rae replied as she finally got discovered the light switch. She flicked the switch and the apartment was bathed in gentle light. She took a moment to glance around the apartment, taking in the warm blue and eggshell white colors that decorated the place. Tasteful art hung on the walls and eye-catching furniture was set up around the apartment. It was clear that Audrey had taste, which Rae never doubted since she worked for Trisha.

"Please," Audrey whined.

Rae shook her head and put down the purse and keys on the nearby coffee table. Audrey reached for Rae, who gently pushed the redhead back. Audrey did not put up a struggle and eased back on the couch completely. Her head fell to the side and suddenly she was sleeping again.

Rae breathed a sigh of relief; she was not having much fun dealing with a drunken Audrey. She went in search of the linen closet and found it next to the bathroom in the short hallway. She grabbed a blanket and covered Audrey with it. That deed done, she left the apartment, pausing only to find out if Audrey's door locked when it was shut. She was satisfied with that and then took her drive home.

She yawned as soon as she stepped in the door. Rubbing her eyes, she made her way upstairs. She was worn out and was very tempted to skip taking a shower until the morning, but she knew that she would not be able to sleep with such a grimy feel on her body. After all, she was sweaty and suspected that she smelled like liquor thanks to being so close to her drunken friend. She sighed in relief when the hot water of the large, three-headed shower poured over her body. Yes, showering was definitely a good idea.

After the shower and brushing her teeth, Rae wandered into the bedroom wrapped in nothing but a towel. She decided to crawl into bed like that, not wanting to bother with the trouble of putting clothes on after such an active night. She was not surprised when two strong arms embraced her as soon as she hit the mattress.

"Good night out?" Donnie inquired in a low voice as she positioned herself against Rae's back.

"S'okay. I'll tell you about it in the morning. Right now, I just want to go to sleep," Rae answered with a yawn.

"Wore yourself out, huh?" Donnie asked with the hint of a laugh buried in her voice. Rae nodded, which Donnie more felt than saw due to the darkness of the room and the closeness of their bodies.

"You stayed up waiting, didn't you?" It was more a statement than anything else and Donnie nodded to confirm it. Rae sighed and laughed a bit. "You turned the bedroom light out as soon as you heard my car pull up?"

"I did. I was worried."

"Sorry I worried you. Sleep now, talk later?"

"Okay. Love you."

"Love you too."

With those words said, the couple drifted off to a peaceful sleep. Rae had time to forget about her mini-adventure and Donnie able to put off worrying herself sick. They did know that they were going to have to talk in the morning, but for now they were thankful for a peaceful slumber.

-----

4: Something about her

Rae woke up to the feel of kisses floating against her neck. She smiled and cooed while pushing closer to the familiar, adoring lips. After a few kisses, she turned her head and tilted it downward, leaning in to steal the next kiss meant for her neck. She moaned as soon as Donnie's sweet lips touched her own.

"Ready for a nice quiet Saturday together?" Donnie asked in a whisper as she pulled away. She sat up a little, the shift being felt in the mattress.

"Sounds good, but how quiet are you going for?" Rae countered with a devilish smile. The twinkle in her chocolate eyes sat her spouse's heart to flutter.

"I love it when you give me that look. I don't think quiet was the term I was going for," Donnie remarked, an impish sparkle in her eyes now.

"Oh?" Rae went in for a deep kiss, which was returned with great passion.

"Quiet definitely was not the term I was going for," Donnie corrected herself as she pulled away for a breath. Her hand went to her wife's hip and she began unconsciously caressing the curve. It felt so good that her other hand wanted to get in on the action.

"Then what were you going for?" Rae asked, biting back a soft moan as she felt hands wandering her body, which was nude already. Apparently, the towel that she went to bed in had come undone sometime during the night.

"Um?possibly busy, or loud, maybe both. You know how I am when I get confused." The smile that went with that statement got a giggle out of Rae that quickly transformed into a moan as Donnie went in for more.

-----

Rae made her way downstairs to fix breakfast after an eventful morning that she spent shouting to the ceiling and taking the Lord's name in vain. She was dressed for the first time in eight hours, wearing a white tank-top that was way too big for her and very skimpy mesh shorts. Before she made her way to the kitchen, the phone rang and interrupted her task. She quickly grabbed the phone.

"Hello?" Rae greeted the caller, sounding as friendly as always.

"Rae?" Audrey's pained voice inquired.

"Yes."

"I'm sorry about last night?" Audrey whimpered, sounding quite pathetic and sincere.

Rae shifted and bounced on the balls of her feet for a second. "?It's fine?" she lied. While she had had a good time last night, it was a little unnerving to be out with someone that was so drunk. Not to mention, someone that she had to carry home and that seemed to be making a play on her. She was a happily married woman, after all!

"No, it's not. I didn't mean to drink that much. I thought I would be fine, but I got carried away because I was having so much fun. I haven't been out in a long time and I just let that get to me," the redhead explained in a low voice, sounding like a child that was apologizing for causing mischief.

"Oh?" Rae could understand that, especially since she would have liked to have at least one drink last night. Who's to say that one wouldn't have turned into more, especially if I didn't have someone like Donnie waiting for me at home?

"I hope?I hope this doesn't change your opinion of me. I don't want us to stop hanging out?" From the way she sounded Rae could picture the pout and sorrow on her face.

"No, something like this wouldn't change that," Rae assured the nervous redhead.

"That's good." The smile she was sporting and instant relief that she felt could be heard in her voice. "And, I'm very sorry about that. Thank you so much for helping me home."

A small smile tugged at Rae's thin lips. "Hey, what are friends for, right? We're friends, so of course I'm going to help you."

"So?we'll hang out again sometime?" Audrey asked shyly. She sounded almost like she was blushing, but Rae could not be sure.

"Of course. I just hope you don't drink as much."

"I promise. I swear to you, I usually don't drink that much!"

"It's fine. Listen, I have to go and make breakfast. Talk to you later?"

"All right. Does Donnie ever cook at home?" Audrey asked, giggling a bit as the question left her mouth.

Rae laughed too. "Hardly ever. I'm sure she would if I asked, but I don't want to burden her with that. Besides, I don't mind."

"You're too kind, Rae. Way too kind."

"I don't know about that. Okay, I really have to go. Not feeding Donnie can be ugly."

Audrey laughed again; the sound was light, but not airy. It was clearly happy, but something else was buried underneath it. "All right. See you later."

Rae smiled as she disconnected the call. She breathed a sigh of relief as she walked into the kitchen to start breakfast. She felt better about last night now because Audrey did not purposely get so intoxicated. It made her feel better because she knew that when she told Donnie about the night, she did not have to include feeling just a little disgusted and disappointed in her new friend for her behavior. She did not have to include those things because Audrey did not mean for them to happen. Hey, it made sense to her.

"Something smells good," Donnie commented as she entered the kitchen. She was dressed in a black tank-top with matching shorts. Her eyes fell right on her wife, moving around the stove and kitchen counter. "Something looks good too?" the taller woman said, coming up behind Rae and putting her hands directly on Rae's ass. She groaned as she squeezed the perfectly rounded bottom.

Rae squealed in delight, but then quickly swatted at the distracting hands. "Baby, you're going to make me burn the omelets at this rate!" she scolded her amorous spouse.

Donnie flashed her a charming grin. "You always know how to back me off. What're we having besides your fabulous omelets?" the taller woman inquired, backing up all the way to the island. She pulled up a stool next to a cup of juice that was waiting just for her.

"I'm going to make some waffles too."

"Yes!" Donnie cheered, much like a child, going so far as to throw her hands up in the air. Once her arms were down, she settled into her seat and focused her attention directly on her wife. Adoration shined in her light brown eyes. "So, how was your night out? You got in so late," she commented, pouting a little.

"I know. I'm sorry about that. I didn't want you to stay up and worry. It seems that Audrey gets out as much as I do and once we got there, she didn't want to leave. I didn't want to leave her there by herself," Rae explained. She tried not to think of what might have happened to Audrey if she had left the redhead at the club by herself.

Donnie nodded. "Good idea. If you go out with her again, maybe you guys can agree on a time to leave."

"That's a good idea. It would've saved us some trouble if we had done that this time out. I think I'd like to go out again. You don't mind, do you?"

A shake of the head was the response. "It's all right. You like dancing and I can't do it. You shouldn't have to stop just because I can't. I don't want you going out a lot, though. You have to remember you do have lil Donnie in there," she remarked with a soft smile.

"I know." Rae knew that once she started showing that was going to be the end of going out because Donnie was going to worry about every step that she took. She could only imagine the stress she would put her poor partner through if she did go out once she was seven or eight months pregnant. Donnie would probably end up in the hospital. "So, did you catch up on all your paperwork?" she asked, changing the subject to get off the train of thought that she was having.

"Most of it. Talked Ran into working a little more, so now I can start selling her pastries down at the caf�. She put up such a fight on it," Donnie answered, shaking her head a little in amusement as she recalled her head pastry chef making a huge fuss over where she wanted to use her talents.

"I'm shocked she didn't pull a gun on you to get out of that one," Rae commented with a chuckle.

"Extra money amazingly enough goes a long way with her," Donnie laughed.

"I never would have guessed!" Rae said sarcastically.

The couple joked around for a while as Rae finished up breakfast. They were never short on things to talk about, despite the fact that Rae rarely left the house. They picked each other's brains, just finding out what the other was thinking. They ate and lazed around the house, cuddling on the couch until nighttime fell. At that point, Donnie had to go to work; she liked to keep an eye on the restaurant on weekend nights. One of the things that people liked about going to Donnie's was that on any given day they could meet and converse with the owner. Donnie liked going to the restaurant because she could catch problems quickly and fix them before they got out of hand, and the weekend was never short on problems. She also did not mind having one-on-one conversations with patrons; she was much better with individuals than with crowds.

So, Rae was alone again that night. For some reason, the silence that she should be so used to seemed bothersome now. Echoes whispered to her that she did not have to be alone, that Donnie would not mind her doing something with her time, like Donnie did not mind when she went out last night. So, she called up Audrey, who was eager to come over. Rae did set one rule, which happened to be no drinking, even though she did not know that Audrey drank liquor anyway until their little outing last night. Audrey agreed to that and came over for movie night and Scrabble play.

"You got here pretty fast," Rae noted as she opened the door to let Audrey in.

"Oh, it was no traffic coming this way. Everything's going downtown," Audrey pointed out, making a meaningless hand gesture.

Rae nodded. "Oh, right. Come on in. I made dinner."

"Oh, that's nice," Audrey said with a bright smile.

"Well, I like to send Donnie off to work with food in her belly. If I don't, she'll be grumpy for the night or stay in the kitchen half the night eating everything in sight," Rae commented with a warm smile of her own.

A light laugh escaped the redhead. "You make it sound like you should have to roll Donnie down the street with how much she eats."

"She does eat a lot. But, she's pretty active and she works out whenever she gets a chance. She more than likely stays in shape from running around at work, though. She's never still once she gets in the restaurant," Rae explained.

Audrey nodded and they went to the living room. Rae already had the Scrabble game out and waiting for them. While Audrey made herself comfortable, Rae went to go make her a plate of food. When Rae came back into the living room, she handed the plate to Audrey, whose eyes almost fell out of her head when she saw how much food was on the plate.

"Oh my. I don't know if I'll be able to eat all of this," Audrey commented, shaking her head a little.

"Oh, sorry," Rae apologized, sheepish smile on her face and a slight blush on her cheeks. "I'm so used to making Donnie's plate that I forgot most people don't eat like they've been starving for four weeks. Well, eat what you can. Those were the leftovers anyway."

Audrey nodded, smiling a little from the adorably rueful look in the deep brown eyes across from her. They got their night started after dinner, deciding to play their favorite game and watch some DVDs at the same time. Rae found a movie for them to watch and was surprised when Audrey said it was one of her favorite movies. Rae smiled.

"Really? It's one of mine too. Donnie hates it, though," Rae said.

"Does Donnie like anything aside for food?" Audrey asked with a laugh. Silently, she noted that Donnie did not seem to like anything that Rae liked and she could only wonder how they became a couple. Not only that, but how did they manage to stay together?

Rae giggled. "I make it seem like she doesn't like much, huh? She's more than a glutton, really."

"It doesn't seem like you two have much in common. How'd you two get hooked up and everything?" Audrey asked curiously. This might give her some insight on the couple and what kept them together, or at least explain why Rae put up with Donnie.

Rae was silent for a moment. She guessed that it would be all right to tell Audrey how she met Donnie. It was not like it was a big secret or anything. Actually, most people involved in their lives knew how they met.

"Well, we met almost six years ago, in Donnie's restaurant of all things?" Rae started.

-----(Flashback: five years ago)

Rae blew out a breath and tried her best to keep her jaw from dropping as she entered the city's most famous restaurant, Donnie's. She did not want to come across as immature or unsophisticated, but it was a sight to behold and she felt very fortunate to be there. It was as amazing as she thought it would be with perfect marble statues and fountains, looking as if they were plucked out of Rome itself. She glanced out into the garden, hoping that they would have time to go for a walk through the small, but praised area.

"April, I can't believe you brought me here," Rae said in a hushed voice, speaking to the woman that she was accompanying into the restaurant.

The woman, April, smiled. April was a statuesque blonde with an air of sophistication around her that was unmistakable. She held her head high all the time, usually with a tilt in her chin, often making her literally look down on people. She was dressed in a black pants' suit with a grey shirt underneath and heeled boots that made her dwarf her petite girlfriend, Rae.

They were seated immediately at a quaint table by the wall. Rae took a moment to scan the pieces of art that decorated the place and wondered how expensive the frescoes were. They added to the classical feel of the restaurant and she was surprised to find that there was also a comforting feel about the place too. Something about the pastel colors and warm scenes soothed and scrapped away the daunting, pretentious atmosphere she expected.

"Order whatever you want," April told Rae when their menus were brought to them. Her voice had a smokey quality to it that made her younger girlfriend want to melt much of the time whenever she heard it.

Rae nodded, but then winced when she saw that there were no prices next to the items on the menu. She was pretty sure that was not a good thing. It seemed like one of those if-you-have-to-ask-then-you-can't-afford-it deals.

"Are you sure about this, April?" Rae asked, even though she was used to April letting her order whatever she wanted when they went out. The aristocratic blonde had the money for it; it was something that she never let Rae forget.

"It's perfectly fine. Get whatever you want," April insisted, steely blue eyes pinning Rae to get her point across.

Rae nodded again, looking almost like a puppy, and turned her attention to the menu. While her attention was on the menu, there was attention on her. She was aware that April was looking at her, but there was also another pair of eyes on her.

"Don, what's up?" Tegan asked when she noticed the boss staring across the floor.

"I don't know. I guess I just thought that girl was cute," Donnie answered, discreetly pointing across the room.

"You think a lot of girls are cute. You don't usually stop and stare like that."

Donnie shrugged. She did not have much of an explanation for her behavior. She and Tegan continued on their way after a few seconds, but the short, ebony-haired woman stayed on Donnie's mind for a moment longer.

Rae had no idea that she was being watched from afar and was only focused on April, who was being surprisingly quiet. April usually talked a mile-a-minute about her business conquests or how great her staff had been that day or even what the traffic was like. She just enjoyed talking, so it was unsettling for her to be so silent. Rae tried coaxing her lover into conversation several times, but nothing seemed to be working. After a few minutes, their food was thankfully delivered and Rae had a reason to stop trying.

"You having a good time, honey?" April inquired out of the blue. Her eyes pinned Rae again; there was something odd about her gaze tonight, the younger woman noted.

Rae nodded. "Yes."

"Your food good?"

Rae nodded again. "Yes." Actually, the pasta that she was having tasted bland and she knew it was not the chef's fault. It had something to do with her company and the strange vibe coming from April.

"Is the wine good?"

Rae nodded again. "Yes."

April snorted. "Well, then could you take the time to look happy about things then? What the hell is the point in taking you some place nice if you're going to look like you're at an execution?"

A frown cut across Rae's soft face. Where the hell did that come from? "Sorry?it's just you're acting strange."

"I'm acting strange?" April looked like she was on the verge of being outraged. Her features hardened like stone and her face twisted for a moment, making her look like a cartoon version of herself. She then took a breath and calmed herself down. "You know what, I'm not even going to get into that. I'll tell it to you straight, Rae. This isn't working out."

"What's not working out?" Rae asked with a quiver in her voice. Her eyes were wide with shock, showing that she had a clear understanding of just what was not working out.

"You know what's not working out. We're just not compatible. I've already moved your things out of the apartment. I put them in storage for you," April said in a calm tone that Rae was very used to hearing. It was a tone that made her feel childlike and childish in the face of the worldly April.

"But?why??" Rae managed to squeak out. She thought that things were going well for the most part. Sure, they had a few fights, but that was with any relationship. Things had always been consistant, though, so this was really coming out of left field to her. Unfortunately, it was a field that she was used to playing in.

April shook her head and waved a finger at the short woman. "That's neither here nor there. The point is this is over."

"But?but?but?" Rae was at a loss for words. She did not understand what was going on, why April was just giving up on the relationship.

April did not stick around to explain either. She put down a few bills, sure they would cover the meal, and left Rae sitting there with an audience watching her. Her lips, moist thanks to her light pink lip-gloss, trembled as tears slid down her face. She buried her face in her hands, muffling the sounds of her crying. She leaned against the table and bawled into her palms.

"Hey," a warm voice said and she heard something put down on the table.

Rae put her hands down just enough to see what was going on. There was a distinguished looking woman sitting across from her, Donnie Bonaventure. Between them was a large ice cream sundae with the works.

"Ice cream always cheers me up," Donnie explained with a small smile when she noticed watery brown eyes focused on the dessert.

"Thank you?" Rae muttered and sniffled.

"Here, try it. It's made from the best stuff on Earth," Donnie remarked, passing a spoon over to the crying woman.

"I thought that was Snapple," Rae mumbled.

A wide grin was her answer. "How can you claim you're made from the best stuff on Earth if you don't have ice cream or chocolate in you?" She then laughed a little and got a small chuckle out of her sorrowful company.

"I don't think I could eat all of this?" Rae said.

"You don't have to eat all of it. Just try some of it. I'm telling you, you'll love it."

Rae sniffled again and she dropped her hands. Her makeup was simmered thanks to her tears, but Donnie did not mention anything on it. She smiled when Rae picked up the spoon and eased her hand toward the mountain of ice cream in front of her that was covered in hot fudge, nuts, strawberries, a banana, and cookie bits. Rae took a small bite, but that was enough for Donnie, who then started up a conversation with the stranger across from her. It was so easy to do that it secretly stunned both of them.

Donnie made sure to keep the topic away from the scene that just happened minutes ago. She did not even talk about the restaurant. She brought up other things, hoping to get the young woman to forget about the disrespect shown toward her, talking about sports and the zoo of all things.

"I love the seals," Rae said, as they continued talking about the zoo and she continued to eat her sundae.

"I used to try to go swimming with them when I was little. My grandfather hated taking me to the zoo. I was always running everywhere and trying to climb over the guardrails and everything," Donnie replied, earning another laugh from Rae.

"You sound like a hoot. I was nothing like that. My brother was, but me and my sisters were good girls. When we went to the zoo, we always made sure to hold each other's hand and never get separated. My parents never lost us, but they almost always lost my brother."

"That was me and my granddad. I was always into something and I always lost track of him when I started up. You'd think it be easy to spot a guy that's six foot five and everything, but when you're five all those knees and ankles look the same!" Donnie quipped with a happy smile.

"Sounds like you and your grandfather are pretty close."

Donnie nodded. "Yeah, me and him were definitely a duo. No matter how much I got on his nerves, he always had time for me and he always made sure everything was okay with me. He's still like that actually."

"Did he raise you?" Rae asked curiously, intrigued by this stranger who came to her rescue with delicious snacks.

"It's complicated," Donnie answered and usually she did not say more than that, but her mouth kept going for some reason. "My dad and my grandfather never really got along, so when I was born it was sort of a second chance for my granddad I guess. My dad didn't really care too much about me one way or the other. I really don't know why. Sometimes, I figure it was just because my grandfather liked me. I don't know." She shrugged.

"That's sad. I can't picture my dad not liking me."

Donnie waved it off. "Your dad's probably not an asshole."

"Not to my knowledge, no," Rae admitted.

"That explains why you can't picture it then. How's the ice cream?"

"It's really good. Thanks for bringing it to me." Rae then suddenly paused, looking as if she had a realization. "I'm not keeping you from anything, am I?"

"No, nothing important. I'm having a good time here with you."

A light nod and a light blush accompanied a low, shy response, "Me too."

They continued on conversing until Tegan came over and interrupted. "Uh?sorry to butt in, but I need to borrow this one," the redhead said while pointing her thumb at Donnie.

"What's wrong?" Donnie asked, glancing up at her second-in-command.

"I'm going to wrap my hands around Ran's neck and not stop until I see her eyes roll up in the back of her head," Tegan explained.

Donnie sighed and turned her attention to Rae. "Excuse me for just a couple of minutes. Is there anything you want while I'm gone?"

Rae shook her head and with that Donnie ripped herself away from the table, walking off with Tegan. She was not gone for long and returned to see that Rae was starting to leave. Donnie rushed over to the table.

"Wait, are you leaving already?" Donnie asked, sounding close to panicking. Her light brown eyes appeared alarmed and distressed by the idea of the petite woman leaving.

"I didn't want to take up anymore of your time," Rae explained.

"You're not! I was having a really good time talking to you," Donnie replied with a pout.

"I don't want to keep you from whatever it was you're doing," Rae said, suspecting that Donnie worked at the restaurant in some manner. "I don't want to get you in any trouble with your boss?"

"Don't worry about it. You're not in any trouble of doing that," Donnie tried to assure her, throwing in a charming smile too. "Come on, let's sit back down. I can get us some more ice cream," she offered.

"That's all right. I need to start looking for a place to stay tonight anyway. Sitting around here and having a nice conversation isn't going to solve that problem," Rae pointed out, her expression falling into one of despair.

Donnie's face dropped like a thermometer in the arctic. "Oh?do you think I could get your number and call you sometime? Just to check on you and make sure you're eating ice cream?" she remarked, a sparkle of hope in her hazel eyes.

"Well, I don't know how long my phone'll be on. April handled that?" Rae admitted, eyes watering and face falling even more than before. Donnie decided she disliked that very much and quickly went to correct the look.

"It's okay! I'll give you my number and you can call me about anything. We can talk about the zoo again," Donnie offered. Rae hesitated, which Donnie noticed. "Seriously, just talk and be friends. Nothing beyond that."

"Oh, okay," Rae nodded and smiled.

"Cool. Can I call you a cab or anything too?"

"Well, first I have to find out where I'm going. Give me a moment."

Donnie nodded. Rae pulled out her cell phone and called a friend. Donnie busied herself by pulling her wallet out of her pants' pocket. She pulled out one of her cards and then took out a small pen held in the spine of her wallet. She wrote her home number on the back.

"All right, my friend is going to let me stay with her for the night and pick me up. I'm glad she doesn't live too far. I can't wait to get out of these shoes," Rae said with a little huff, obviously directed at the footwear.

Donnie glanced down at the shoes. While she was willing to bet they were uncomfortable, they were sexy as hell and drew a lot of attention to Rae's legs?which Donnie thought were beyond sexy and the rest of Rae was even hotter. She could not believe that idiot blonde walked out on Rae.

"April liked me to where these damn things," Rae grumbled. "I guess that's the one good thing about her being gone. I never have to wear these damn things again."

"That is a bright spot."

Rae chuckled a bit and they went on talking while strolling outside to wait for Rae's friend. When the friend finally arrived, the new associates were about to bid each other farewell when Donnie realized that she was still holding her card in her hand. She quickly handed it to Rae.

"Please, don't hesitate to call me," Donnie said, eyes begging for Rae to understand.

"As soon as things settle down," Rae replied. "Oh, I'm Rae by the way. Rae Harrison," she introduced herself. She almost laughed aloud as she thought about how she had been talking to a stranger for most of the night and neither of them thought to introduce themselves.

"Donnie Bonaventure," the restaurant owner replied and they shook hands.

"It was a pleasure to meet and spend time with you, Donnie."

"The pleasure was all mine."

Rae then climbed into her friend's car and was gone. Donnie stood there and watched the car disappear down the street, a goofy smile on her face.

-----(end of flashback)

"And then you lived happily ever after, right?" Audrey asked as they continued their Scrabble game. They had started the game while Rae was telling her story. Their dinner plates were cast aside at the end of the coffee table; Rae planned to get to them as soon as the game was over.

Rae laughed, a hearty sound that lit up her eyes. "No, no, no. After April broke my heart I swore off spoiled, rich girls and Donnie's card pretty much made me think that was what she was. I wasn't about to call her after I found out that she owned Donnie's. The woman is persistent, though. I don't know how she managed to find me, but she did and she sent flowers and little gifts. I treated her like shit for months, but she never gave up."

"Sounds kind of like a stalker to me," Audrey commented, glancing up from her letter tiles to gauge Rae's reaction to her words.

Rae shrugged. "I guess it does a little. Maybe there's a thin line between stalker and persistent. Besides, it wasn't like she was hiding in my bushes or anything. I always knew when something was from her. She never 'surprisingly' popped up anywhere I was or something like that. She never called my house and hung up or send weird text messages or anything like that. So, it wasn't really creepy."

"You didn't think it was creepy for her to just sit down with you after your girlfriend broke up with you?" Audrey asked incredulously.

"I did think it was a little weird back then, which is another reason why I never called her. But, it turns out that she does that a lot. Surprisingly enough, a good amount of people do break up with people at fancy restaurants. It sort of acts as a way of minimizing the chance of a scene and helps the jerk breaking up with someone feel less guilty about it. Also, sometimes proposals go wrong and people bolt. Donnie doesn't like to let people just sit there being heartbroken and embarrassed, so she tries to distract them with conversation and desserts."

"Do you think that she might?you know?pick people up like she did you?" the redhead inquired, leaning forward a little and speaking in a low tone as if she was suggesting something scandalous.

Rae's forehead wrinkled in thought and then unconsciously a smile works its way onto her face. "I don't think so. She says that I just caught her eye differently from any other woman on the planet. It started out with her being her usual friendly self and then turns out that she really liked me."

"Well?that's sweet," Audrey said with a somewhat forced smile.

Rae did not seem to notice the expression, focusing more on her letter tiles. She smiled again before making a word on the board. Audrey raised an eyebrow to the look in those brown eyes not the word.

"So, I guess you're happy with Donnie, huh?" Audrey asked, which did earn her a look from Rae. Chocolate eyes gazed intensely at the guest for a long moment.

The answer was short and to the point. "Very."

The redhead nodded and smiled a little. "You're lucky."

Rae nodded and internally breathed a sigh of relief. She guessed that she took Audrey's question the wrong way. She offered up a smile as an apology. The game continued on.

-----

Donnie entered the house a little after midnight. She went to the living room to find Rae leaning against the couch sound asleep while Audrey was up, looking at the entertainment system. Donnie cleared her throat, which caught Audrey's attention.

"Hey, she just drifted off to sleep after a few rousing games of Scrabble. I was trying to figure out how to turn your DVD player off," Audrey explained, glancing back at the entertainment center and then eyeing Donnie again.

The tawny-skinned chef was silent for a second. She looked at Audrey and then back at her wife before focusing on Audrey yet again. She then waved Audrey's words off.

"You can't keep her up past midnight twice in a row. Her body refuses," Donnie commented with a chuckle. "I'll get this stuff. See you around."

Audrey knew that she was being dismissed and she decided to take off without further ado. Donnie turned her attention back to her wife and easily picked the pregnant woman up. A slight frown over took Donnie's face, but she shook that away as she started for the stairs. She put Rae down in the bed before going back downstairs to turn off the DVD player, which was accomplished with the simple push of a button. She noticed the case of the DVD she suspected the friends were watching.

"Ew. Glad she got somebody to watch this movie with her again. You couldn't pay me to watch this thing twice," Donnie remarked to the air.

She went to go set the house alarm system before returning upstairs. She took a quick shower while trying to ignore a strange feeling that was wiggling at the back of her mind. She did not know what it was and was able to shake it away once she crawled into bed and wrapped her arms around Rae.

"Perfection," Donnie thought to herself as she rested her head in Rae's ebony mane and placed one of her hands on Rae's slightly swollen abdomen.

-----

Next time: perfection starts to look just a little flawed.