For the first time in a very long time, Gabi slept soundly through the entire night. She had everything she needed in life... the only thing she needed in life. Antonio Torres. He was her savior and she adored him. For the past six days they had been in each other's arms, blissfully together, the center of each other's universe. Ricardo knew the truth about them, at long last, as did Carmen. And Maria, and a few other select people.

 "Wake up." She heard the soft whispering in her ear. "Gabi, wake up..." His breath tickled her cheek and she smiled sleepily, turning into the warmth. "Gabi, come on... I want to see the sunrise with the most beautiful woman in the world next to me."

 She murmured a vague reply, undaunted by his blatant complimenting, and buried her face under the pillow. Antonio let out a small laugh and hugged her through the covers, brushing a kiss across her lips before standing up to go outside by himself. It was obvious Gabi was not in the mood to watch the splendor of the misty morning light blazing its way across the sky. Antonio grabbed his boxer shorts and donned a T-shirt that had been discarded days before, stepping outside and breathing in the crisp mountain air.

 Sensing the need to get away from the suffocating stares of friends and family alike, Antonio had arranged for them to spend a few days of quality time away from civilization. It had been a wonderful six days and neither of them wanted to return home, to the sunny little town on the California shores where they would be picked apart and questioned and interrogated for a time to come.

 Antonio stood outside, watching the sun creep its way through the peaks and falls of the mountains around them. Just as the bright orange flares began to turn a muted lavender, he heard the pitter patter of little feet... and the muttering of the woman those tiny feet belonged to. "...Should have worn shoes..." He was able to make out the grumbling complaint and laughed, turning around.

 "Uncomfortable? Allow me." Antonio grinned and hoisted her up, onto his shoulder. Gabi shrieked and clung to his neck, giggling helplessly.

 "Antonio!" They laughed together as he took them back into the small but more than adequate cabin, where he dropped her unceremoniously onto the bed.

 "C'mon, Gabi. We've got to pack." He ordered reluctantly. Gabi groaned and slid back under the covers, already having shed the robe she had slipped on before going outside.

 Antonio felt his body stirring as he sat down on the bed next to her, the tangled sheet revealing tantalizing skin. "You, uh, might want to rethink your... Ahh... wardrobe." He said. Gabi responded by sliding her hand across his thigh. Antonio's breath caught in his throat. She was using the pretense of reaching across to turn on the light, but even that disappeared when she mischievously used palm of her hand to rub him firmly between his legs.

 "Antonio..." Gabi sat up, completely nude, and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You..." She licked at his neck, then bit lightly, satisfied at the feel of his pulse accelerating. “.... You might want to..." She moved her lips across his. "...rethink your wardrobe..." He captured her in a deep kiss as she fumbled to pull off the white cotton T-shirt and boxers that covered his body.

 Needless to say, they did not start packing until much later.
 

 "Home sweet home." Gabi mumbled under her breath as they approached Sunset Beach. Antonio squeezed her hand comfortingly and brought it to his lips, kissing her palm. "Why do we even have to come back here, Antonio? Can't we just live in that cabin forever? We can send for our stuff, and..." Gabi let her voice trail off, knowing how impossible that was.

 "Hey, don't worry. It won't be that bad here." He offered her a partially confident smile.

 "It won't? Your mother practically disowned you, Ricardo hates us both, Maria probably hates me at least, and Meg and Vanessa can't even look me in the eye. Things are going to be bad, and you know it, so don't give me that smug little grin, okay?" Gabi snapped, her eyes filled with frustrated tears. She saw the hurt in his eyes as he tried to turn his head so she couldn't see his expression. After a minute, her anger faded and reaching out a hand, she apologized regretfully.

 "Antonio, I'm sorry... I really didn't mean to bite your head off like that. Forgive me?" She pouted playfully, unbuckling her seatbelt and scooting across the seat to lean against him.

 "Of course." He kissed her on the forehead and, keeping one hand on the wheel, wrapped the other around her shoulders. "I love you." He whispered, smiling. "I can't believe we're really together."

 "I know." The words should have been promising, but not when they were accompanied by a long sigh.

 "It'll be okay, Gabi. I promise." He knew that words wouldn't be enough, but he wanted to keep the situation as calm as possible. "It's not like we're going to be living off the streets, without a friend in the world or anything. Casey said you can stay at Surf Central for as long as you want, and I can get a room for a few weeks, until we find somewhere to stay. Somewhere permanent."

 "You mean together? You want us to live together?" Gabi's eyes widened in surprise.

 "I... uh..." Antonio blushed and dipped his head, regretting that he hadn't thought over his words before spitting them out. While on the outside it seemed like a wonderful arrangement, what would his former parishioners say if their beloved Father Antonio moved in with his lover before they were married? He couldn't live in sin like that... even though he had already broken his vows, and more than one of the commandments.

 "I think it's a wonderful idea, Antonio!" Gabi beamed, unable to contain her enthusiasm. "Oh... this is going to be amazing." She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. Antonio forced a smile, swallowing hard.

 Gabi had been so depressed throughout the entire four-hour drive back home, and she was so excited now. He didn't have it in him to break her heart like that. It would be a few weeks... he had to find a job, and get a steady cash flow coming in again. Gabi wouldn't expect this to happen immediately. So he could wait a while to tell her. Or. No, he mentally shook his head. No, Gabi wouldn't want to marry him this soon after splitting from his brother... would she?

 There was only one way to find out.
 

ONE MONTH LATER

  "Gabriella Martinez?" The tall, grandfatherly man stepped into the room, his eyes warm and comforting as he scanned over Gabi, trying to put her at ease. Still she shrunk back, hands twisting the chain around her neck aimlessly.

 "Yes... yes, I'm Gabi Martinez." She licked her lips and swallowed, extremely nervous. "Dr. Parsons?" She asked and he nodded.

 "Well... Miss... Martinez?" He said questioningly, his voice sounding to Gabi a little disapproving. She nodded and waited for him to continue. "I assume that you know why you've been nauseous, what causes these dizzy spells you've reported?"

 Gabi nodded, her breath caught in her throat.

 "Well," He glanced at the paper. "If you assumed that you are pregnant... then I can assure you that you're almost definitely right."

 "Almost?" Gabi sent him a puzzled gaze.

 "I won't have the results from your test until this afternoon. Leave your home number with the receptionist and I'll have her contact you when they're in."

 Gabi smiled a faint sliver of excitement that slipped through the cloud of worry. She could just imagine Antonio's expression when he found out that they were going to have a baby. He would be a wonderful father. But what if he didn't want to be a father yet? He hadn't even mentioned what might happen in the future... no plans of marriage, starting a family. He hadn't even spoken of getting a place together since she had showed him the apartment ads in the newspaper a few weeks ago.

 She couldn't help but worry that maybe he was regretting his hasty decision to be with her, to leave the priesthood.

 "Miss Martinez?" The doctor stared through tilted eyes at her.

 "Oh... oh, I'm sorry... my mind wandered. Are we finished?" She forced a fake smile and tried to ignore the knot in her stomach.

 "The receptionist will set up another appointment, and give you some pamphlets that might come in handy."

 Gabi smiled her thanks and stood up, more than a little distracted as she left the room. Now she knew for sure that she was pregnant, but her worry wouldn't be completely alleviated until she found out that Antonio wanted this baby.
 

 Antonio glanced around the small shop, feeling more than a little nervous. The butterflies in his stomach seemed to have wings lined in cement.

 "Monsieur? I am Pierre, can I be of assistance?" A thin, reedy little man with an exaggerated French accent stepped up behind the counter.

 "Ah... yes. I'm looking for a ring...,” Antonio said, glancing around. "An engagement ring."

 "Wonderful. We have just had a new group of gorgeous diamonds arrive - what is your, eh, price range?"

 Antonio named off the figure, which, thanks to Maria's generous help, was more than adequate. "Ah, wonderful, just wonderful." With considerably more liveliness, 'Pierre' stepped from behind the class encased counter to lead Antonio into a separate room. Half an hour later, Antonio exited the shop minus a lot of cash, but carrying a black velvet jewelry box.

 There was a distinctly evil gleam in Ricardo's chocolate eyes as he held his breath, waiting, impatient but knowing his future hinged on this moment. The bland chatter of two nurses rang in his ears as he damned the gossipy women for hindering him so. It was a matter of time, as everything was, and if he didn't hurry... all would be lost. He had worked too hard, too long, for something like this to happen... Then there it was, an angel's voice outshining the others by far. She was asking about another appointment... good, then he was right. The friendly good-byes were said, and the familiar clunk of Gabi's thick heels faded as a bell chimed its bright tune, signifying the opening and closing of a door.

 People came and went calls were taken, as first one hour... then two...and three... then finally came the words he had been dying to hear.

 "Maria? Those labs are back in, so you need to make a few calls." Ricardo recognized the gravelly voice to be that of Dr. Parsons, talking to his mousy secretary. "I'm going out for lunch. I have a 1:30, but they shouldn't be here for another twenty minutes."

 Ricardo smirked; this was going too easily. There had to be a catch somewhere. Silently praising God for granting him this, he slipped silently though the halls, hand buried in the white coat he had "borrowed" from the good doctor's closet. Hopefully no one in the busy office would notice how out of place he was.

 He found the office door that read GREG PARSONS and pushed it open a few inches. The lights were off, but the sun slicing through large windows provided enough illumination for the plans he had.

 The mahogany desk was crowded with folders; each labeled with a different name. Sifting through, he was as careful as possible to put them back in the order they belonged. "Dammit." Ricardo swore under his breath. Gabi's records weren't on the desk. He looked around until he found a gray metal file cabinet. Once again, to his luck, it was not locked.

 Grinning gleefully, he found the one labeled "M" and started his search anew. ...Mallers, Marquette, Martin, Masters... but no Martinez. Slamming it shut a little too loudly, Ricardo groaned. He glanced at his watch. About ten minutes until the doctor would be back.

 Just as he was about to give up, something caught his eyes. A folder not in the cabinet, but on top of it. Grabbing it, Ricardo felt like shouting for joy. 'Martinez, Gabriella' was typed in bold letters on the tab.

 Flipping pages, he passed by her personal records, medical history, things like that, until he found the page that told him what he wanted to know - how far along Gabi was. When he saw, a frown flickered across his face. No, that wouldn't do at all. Scanning the rest of the paper, Ricardo saw that his job would be fairly easy, and he set to it.
 

 Gabi returned from her walk on the beach, taken at Antonio's insistence, with a firm decision made in her mind. She was going to tell Antonio about this baby tonight, and whatever he decided was what would be. But what if he decided he didn't want the baby? Of course, Gabi knew that he wouldn't do that. Antonio was a good person... even if he didn't want it, he would accept it. The last thing Gabi wanted was to force a child on Antonio.

 Her worrisome thoughts had her almost in tears by the time she arrived at Surf Central. To her surprise, it seemed completely vacated. Michael and Casey's cars were both gone, in fact, her small sports car was the only one in the driveway. She pushed open the door and started to ask if anyone was home when she stopped, dead still.

 The lights were off, the room dark except for the candles flickering on the tables and on top of the mantle. A small card table had been set up in the middle of the room; the couch pushed to the site. The table was covered with a white lace cloth, and two chairs had been placed opposite of each other. A vase with a single blood red rose sat between two plates.

 "Welcome home." Gabi turned around to see where the voice had come from. Antonio was leaning against the wooden frame of the door, grinning smugly. "Well?" He said, after a pause. "Do you like it?"

 Gabi saw that he was holding a bottle of wine in his hand, and she watched as he placed it in a silver bucket of ice next to the table. "I love it." She smiled shyly, her eyes glowing as she looked at the romantic setting for two. "How... how did you do this? Why?"

 "Come on, Gabi." He took her hands in his and raised one to his lips, kissing her knuckles. "I think you know why."

 "What-" Gabi's heart skipped a beat. "How did you find out?" She was alarmed. "Oh! Did... do you mean the doctor called already?"

 Antonio's face slowly turned puzzled. "Doctor?"

 "About the baby."

 As soon as Gabi said the words, she knew that she had been wrong. But, unfortunately, neither of them had time to reply as the phone rang loudly beside them. Gabi moved to pick it up, but Antonio stopped her. "What baby? Gabi... are you...?"

 He left the sentence open as Gabi's eyes filled with tears. She moved away and grabbed the phone. "Hello?"

 Antonio, seeing that Gabi needed a moment to regroup herself, took off up the stairs with a wide grin on his face. They were going to have a baby! He would have preferred that it happen after the wedding, but he didn't really care. He wanted Gabi to be his wife as soon as possible and people wouldn't think it too strange that she was pregnant this soon.

 But downstairs, Gabi had no idea Antonio was as excited about their surprise as he actually was. "Gabriella Martinez?" She recognized the voice as that of the receptionist she had spoken with earlier in the day.

 "Yes." Gabi refused to glance over her shoulder at Antonio. "I'm Gabi Martinez."

 "This is Dr. Parsons' office calling. I just wanted to let you know that yes, you are pregnant, and so far, everything looks good. You should have a healthy baby in late October."

 "What? But... that's too soon." Gabi said, doing the math in her mind. "I'm not... I can't be..."

 "The tests indicate you're three and a half months along."

 "Oh." Gabi was speechless. "I... thank you." She hung up the phone and sat down. Almost four months along. Why hadn't she suspected pregnancy before now? Just in the past three or four weeks she had been getting sick in the mornings. And the dizziness, that had just started a few days ago. Other than that, her body was in normal condition.

 If she was three and a half months pregnant, then there was no way this could be Antonio's baby. She had slept with Ricardo... but they had used protection. Was it possible that it hadn't worked? Of course it was more than possible, if she was really that far along.

 "Gabi?" She spun around at the sound of her name on Antonio's lips. "Sweetie? That was the doctor, wasn't it? Is everything okay?"

 Then she saw. She saw the happiness in his eyes... and the box tightly clutched in his hand. "Antonio? What... what's that?" She pointed to the jewelry box.

 "Well... I was planning on giving this to you tonight, after dinner... but I just can't wait." And then, much to Gabi's amazement, he kneeled down in front of her and presented her with the most gorgeous diamond ring she had ever seen. "Gabriella Martinez, will you marry me?"

 Gabi looked at him, at the love in his eyes, the pure adoration, and the words flew from her mouth like magic.

 "Yes, Antonio... I will marry you."
 

And I Love You So by Don Mclean