All week, Keeley dreaded telling her dad the truth. She didn't want to disappoint him, or worse, have him question the depth of her love for Aaron. He'd surely realize their marriage was solely due to the baby if he asked.

She didn't want to face him alone, so she asked Aaron to come with her. It was the right choice. To her utter shock, her dad took the news in stride. They chatted casually about wedding plans, seemingly without a care in the world.

Aaron's arm was around her on the back of the couch. She sat in a stupor, disbelieving what she was hearing. He didn't ask a single probing question!

Was it simply because Aaron was there? Would she have to bring him as a shield every time she saw her dad for the rest of their lives?

A bizarre image popped into her mind: herself in medieval armor, wielding a shield bearing Aaron's face instead of a coat of arms. The stress was clearly getting to her; her imagination wasn't usually this vivid!

Keeley returned to the conversation when her dad asked, "I know it's early, but have you started thinking about baby names?"

"We haven't, but if it's a boy, I think we should name him Kaleb," Aaron said.

Tears welled in her eyes as she saw a picture of her grinning little brother on a bookshelf. In kindergarten, he'd named a goldfish he won at a school carnival "Kaleb Junior." He'd probably love having a nephew named after him.

"I think that's a great idea," she said thickly, leaning further into Aaron's embrace. He knew her better than she gave him credit for.

Robert nodded. "I do too. But what if it's a girl?"

Keeley considered. Monica felt outdated. Maybe she could use "M" for a middle name, since both her mother's children had K names (her maiden name was Krelman).

"I like plant names—something like Lily, Violet, or Rose." She turned to her fiancé. "What do you think?"

"Violet is a nice name," he replied mildly.

Violet or Kaleb. She wondered which they'd choose. The ultrasound wasn't scheduled for another three months. She'd already met with Valentina's teacher for a brief consultation during the week she was waiting to tell Aaron, and everything seemed fine.

Aaron wanted to accompany her to her appointment next month. Keeley didn't think it necessary—it was just a routine visit—but he insisted.

She couldn't dissuade him. He was just as worried about the baby's health as she was. Their last pregnancy had scarred them both.

What would he do when Alistair inevitably found out? Did he plan to hide his wife and child forever? Could he even get away with it?

Worried and exhausted, Keeley drifted off to an uneasy sleep nestled against Aaron.

"Poor thing's really tuckered out," Robert murmured, seeing his daughter sleeping against her fiancé.

Aaron sighed. She'd been like that a lot lately. He'd looked it up—fatigue is normal in early pregnancy—but it didn't make it any easier to see. She had so much to do.

Keeley had been exhausted last semester without being pregnant. How much worse would it be now? He might have to see if she could reduce her lab hours, or quit altogether once her research was finished.

He hoped she wouldn't fight him on this. She was going to be his wife; she didn't need to work herself to death. Hopefully, using the baby as an argument would convince her.

Finishing her PhD program would be hard enough. She didn't need anything else making it more difficult.

"She pushes herself too hard," Aaron said unhappily.

"Oh, she's always been like that. You should have seen her as a toddler—such a tenacious little thing. She insisted on doing everything herself, even when she struggled with her tiny fingers."

He could easily imagine a miniature Keeley doing that. "Could I see some pictures? I've never seen any, and it would be nice to have a reference for our baby."

Aaron was certain she'd never let him see her baby pictures while she was awake.

Robert happily complied, pulling out an old scrapbook. Initially, it contained only pictures of him and his wife, a petite blonde woman with the same smile as her daughter. He had a sad smile when he looked at them; he still missed her after all this time.

Aaron's heart went out to him. He'd been in Robert's shoes, but he was lucky; he got another chance with his wife. Over the past week, Aaron had wondered more than once if this was all a dream.

The pictures of newborn Keeley showed her wrinkly and red, like most newborns. She developed into a very cute baby over the following months, though. Eventually, she became a cherubic toddler with blonde pigtails sticking out like tufts on top of her head. Seeing those pictures made him hope that if they had a daughter, she'd look exactly like her mother.

As Aaron continued looking through the Hall family album, Robert spoke seriously.

"Son…I've known how much you care about Keeley for a long time. Even though she always smiles, she's been through a lot. Can you promise to take care of her and make sure she's happy?"

Aaron looked him in the eye and nodded. Robert didn't know the half of what his daughter had been through. Aaron would dedicate his life to making her life better.

"She's more important to me than anything in the world," he said softly, glancing down at her sleeping face. "Of course I will."

Robert smiled with relief, and they continued looking through the pictures as Keeley slept. Aaron wanted to be the kind of father Robert Hall was someday.

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