Home Sweet Home (Vincent)

Candy was so happy that words could not even describe it. It was warm outside, and the sun shined showing that Spring was soon on its way. The air getting warmer and warmer as her belly got bigger and bigger. Smiling she gently reached down and touched her overly extended tummy. She was so happy that she was pregnant, so happy that it was Vincent's baby, and so happy that they had finally gotten the house of their dreams. It had been a couple of months since the fire, and Candy had to admit that during that time her relationship with Vincent had become strained. They had been forced to rent a small apartment until they could get the contract for their new home...and all that time just seemed to weigh down their attitude towards one another. It seemed that a night hadn't gone by when one or both of them hadn't begun yelling at the other. Fighting over who did the dishes, who would go grocery shopping, how long Candy should work, whether or not Vincent should do overtime. Just many, many, pointless arguments. But now it was all over and any minute her husband would walk through that door after work and they would enjoy a wonderful meal she had slaved over most of the evening.

They would eat out on the patio tonight seeing as the evening was so mild and perfect, and then they would spend the rest of the evening laying in their new bedroom or sitting in the nursery discussing their little Gracey's future. They had already decided on a name and they knew she would be a girl because Healer Marks had gone so far as to confirm it....now they only task was to wait for their baby to be born, and that alone was a challenge in and of itself. Stirring the pasta on the stove once more she felt a little thumb impact her tummy. Smiling gently she pressed her hand to where the little foot would have impacted on her stomach. Gently as she could she pinched the tiny foot and just like that it receded and Grace went back to laying in her home peacefully.

"It's okay little one," she cooed. "Soon daddy will be home and you can kick for him all you want."

Candy

Vincent was relieved to be off work tonight. He missed Candy and he just wanted to get home to see her, and their soon-to-be-born baby. He had the night off and intended to spend it with his family in their new home. It ws something they'd been waiting for for a long time, and he was only grateful to his parents for having opened an account for him as a baby, and then forgetting about it. He still had a good chunk of it left, and he was going to use it for Grace. She was going to have her baby room, and Candy wouldn't have to do a thing to help decorate it if she didn't feel up to it.

He walked up to the door of his new home, feeling a sense of belonging that he'd only gotten when they had gained the contract for their home. He needed to remember to write a very long thank you letter to Isaac Collins, the man responsible for the home Vincent was now entering. He'd spent every waking moment working on the house so that the new family could move in before the birth of their baby.

Vince opened the door and looked around the house's interior with a smile. Candy had a gift for decorating, and he was so proud of her. He walked through the house, smelling dinner all the way. Reaching the kitchen he found his wife, with her hand on her stomach, talking to their baby, telling her that she could kick for daddy all she wanted when he got home.

He moved over to his wife and wrapped his arms around her, his hands resting on her stomach.

"Well, Daddy's home, but I don't think that Gracey wants to be kicking Mummy while she's trying to eat."

Vincent

Candy felt a little thump as Vincent pressed his hands on her tummy. It was clear that little Gracey knew who her daddy was. Smiling she held Vincent's hand there so he could feel the little foot that was attacking her belly. She knew that Vincent loved feeling the baby move around, Candy did too. Although when little Grace moved while she was eating, it tended to make things rather difficult. There were times when it would actually make Candice seasick and she would become too nauseous to eat anything.

"We missed you love," she said gently turning to his arm and kissing it. "She sleeps all day you are not around, but as soon as you come home I become her little kicking bag."

Gently pulling away from her beloved she went back to making supper. They were going to have such a lovely eating, and it had been so long since Candice could remember her and Vincent having a little bit of romance. Of course, she wasn't sure if this could count of romance. Usually when that thought crossed her mind it was because they had been trying so hard to have a baby. Every weekend they would have sex, hoping that one of those days Candy would conceive. There was only one week a month that she would not have sex and that was when she was on her period...there wouldn't have been a point at that time.

"So," she continued. "How was your day...we get to decorate the nursery this weekend...so don't make any plans with that hot secretary you like to sleep with while I'm not around."

Candice winked and gently struck his backside with a wooden spoon.

Vincent smiled and kissed Candy's cheek as he moved to the table she'd set on the patio, laying a little bouquet of flowers in the center for her to find when she came out. He'd missed being able to spend time with her and them not be arguing. Both had been so much happier once the house was finished, and now all they had to do was do the decorating, and since it was Candy's talent, not his, he just put every thing where she asked him to so that she didn't do any of the heavy lifting.

He'd hoped that tonight would be a little romantic, since it had been so long. They'd spent so much of their married life trying to conceive, and once they had, they'd had to evacuate their home when an insane Death Eater had se their house on fire. Then they'd spent the next few months fighting like cats and dogs at times in a tiny little flat while waiting for their new home to be built.

He went back into the house and started getting the rest of the things that he'd brought for their dinner that evening. He'd brought Candy's favorite ice cream, which he'd noticed that she couldn't seem to get enough of lately. It warmed his heart to be able to get her little things and not be upset about it. She didn't deserve his temper. They were going to be having a baby within the next few months and he wanted Candy to be happy, healthy and content.

"So, what do we have planned for tonight, Sexy Candy?" he purred in Candice's ear when he'd wrapped his arms around her again. "I have the night free, and am not going to go in for anything short of death of the Ministry."

Candice smiled and felt another little thump as Vincent brought his hands to her tummy. She knew that their little one loved her daddy's voice and touch, and she could always tell that Vincent brought out the most movement in their little one. Gracey was already a daddy's girl and she didn't even know it yet. Smiling she turned to face him and gently kissed his lips. She loved him so much and words would never describe how grateful she was for that day when they had first met. He had saved her from suffocating that day, and from that moment on she knew that they were meant to be together forever. She was sure that Vincent knew it too, just the way his face held her gaze clued her in to how much he loved her.

"What's on our agenda for tonight?" she smiled. "Well...I was thinking that after we eat we could go and finish setting up the nursery...then maybe we could watch a little bit of the telly..."

Smiling she kissed him gently once more, allowing her lips to linger there and her tongue to gently move in and out of his mouth. He was so handsome and wonderful she just wanted to explore his mouth before letting go. Gently moving her hands up she strokes his cheeks and deepened the kiss. One thing Candice knew about being pregnant was that she was constantly horny. Vincent and her had sex all the time and it was almost like her body craved this more than it did strange foods.

"Mmm..." she purred pulling away. "And maybe....a little fun after we are done? Unless you are sick of having sex with me?"

Feeling Candy's lips on his made Vincent's body react immediately. He would have readilly skipped dinner and gone straight to the bedroom if his stomach hadn't insisted that he stay put. The organ growled loudly in protest, arguing with the rest of his instincts to follow what his body wanted.

"Candy, there is no way that I will ever get tired of having sex with you. You should know that I could die happy if all I could do from now on is have sex with you." He kissed her deeply, taking her face in his hands. He so loved being married to this woman. She was everything to him, and now their love was going to be expanding when their little Grace was born. He felt a kick against himself again, and laughed softly.

"I think Gracey is getting hungry, Sexy Candy. We should put this on hold and go enjoy the wonderful meal that you've made." He smiled and kissed her again, then took her hand and led her to the table, sitting her down and returned to the stove to get the pasta that she'd made for them. Bringing it back to the table, he served her meal then his own before sitting in his own seat and pulling Candy's closer to him, bringing her feet up onto his lap, tickling her ankles gently before they began eating.

He liked having her so close to him. It made him much calmer and happier than he was any other time of the day. Even when they'd been fighting, he was still happier to be home than at the Ministry. Now he was even happier, knowing that they were going to be having their baby in their own home, and she was going to grow up happy, healthy and have her own little playground in the back yard. As soon as she was old enough, Vincent was going to put a little swing set there for her. He started eating his dinner, his eyes closing happily. Candy was an amazing cook, and he loved whatever she made for him to eat. He finished his first plateful and dished up another before he spoke again.

"I think setting up the nursery is a wonderful idea. But you aren't going to lift anything, my love. You supervise. I'll do all the heavy work." He grinned at her, flexing his arms against the sleeves of his shirt. "I want you to have the room exactly as you want it, Sexy Candy."

Candice chuckled as she watched her husband flex his arms, he was such a ham. Taking his hand over the table top she nodded and smiled. Candy had no intention of moving furniture or anything, she just wanted to help set it up and maybe finish a little bit of the painting here and there. They didn't have too much work left when it came to their home and Candy was surprised that they were able to get so much of it done! Granted, a lot of the work was because they had magic...but it was still pretty impressive in Candy's mind. She put her feet back onto his lap and took a bite from her own pasta.

"I'm thinking that we need to move the crib a away from the window and put the changing table there instead...I don't want all of that direct sunlight on the baby's face in the morning."

She was very paranoid when it came to her baby's health as well. Candy knew that the moment Gracey got her first cold of flu she would be running around like a mad woman. However Candy would also have to be careful herself. With asthma any type of cold could be extremely dangerous to her own health.

"I'm full..." she said pushing her plate back after three bites. "So...when you are ready to set up the nursery more let me know."

Standing she took her full plate back into the kitchen and set it on the counter top.

Vincent instantly became worried when Candy didn't finish her dinner. But she'd just said that she was full, not that anything was wrong. He picked up his own plate and followed her into the kitchen, setting it in the sink. Moving hers to the refridgerator after wrapping it, he added the rest of the pasta and took out a bottle of water.

He held out his hand and took hers, leading the way to the nursery. He opened the door on the pink and teddy bear decorated dream room. His and Candy's dream. The dream of a little child living in their house, calling them Mummy and Daddy. The dream of watching that child grow and make their own life, giving him and Candy grandchildren someday. Granted that would be at least eighteen years, or at least that was what he hoped.

Knowing that he was going to become a father to a little girl instantly put Vincent's hackles up about any boys trying to date his daughter when she reached her teens. No one was going to be able to get near his little Gracey unless he checked them out first. And maybe not even then!

He set Candy in a chair by the door of the room and opened every window. He didn't care what the person in that paint department had said. He wasn't taking any chances of his wife and daughter's health.

"So, what's left to be done, love?" he asked, looking at her and trying not to let his earlier worry show now.

Candice smiled and gently resting her hands on her tummy she began to rock in the rocking chair. What else needed to be done? That was a toughy...there was so much that she wanted to do. She wanted to move the crib and changing table around to see which looked better in this room, she wanted to set up little Gracey's mobile so that she would have that when she needed to sleep. They had so many stuffed animals they needed to set out all over the room. She wanted to lay the decorative rug she had bought down so that they floor wouldn't be completely scuffed when they walked on it.

"Umm..." she smiled, taking his hand in her own. "Well...we could rearrange some of the furniture, and I have that rug I would like to lay down on the floor."

Gently she stroked the top of his hand with her thumb and smiled. She didn't really know what they should do now that they were both actually in the room. Candice would have been content with them just going down to lay on the sofa together. Usually Vincent would rub her back or her belly to make her feel more comfortable, and they would snuggle under a blanket until one of them (usually her) fell asleep.

"What do you think needs to be done baby?" she smiled warmly. "This is OUR nursery...your opinion counts too."

Vincent looked around the room thoughtfully. He didn't want Grace to be getting too mcuh sun in her eyes in the morning, and that brought up that he didn't really want her to be near a window, since she would be more likely to catch cold that way. He didn't want their baby being sick so he pulled out his wand and started moving the furniture around the room, judging pieces in different positions. He didn't like many of them, they made the little room look a bit cluttered, and their wasn't anything that they could take out. The crib was going to be Grace's bed, the changing table was a necessity, as was the dresser and toy box.

While he was moving the furniture around, he lay the rug on the floor to protect it and little parts when Gracey started learning to move around on her own. He'd had Isaac make sure that there was absolutely no chance that his and Candy's Little Miracle could get a splinter, but they were still going to take extra care and put down the rug. If for nothing else, then to keep her little feet from freezing when she could walk. When it was on the floor, it was a little easier for him to judge how the room would look with the crib in different spots. Under the window was out, maybe against the corner. He liked it there. Good light, but not too much that it would glare it their baby's eyes, away from the draft of an open window, and it was on an inside corner.

When he finished he turned to Candy and surveyed the room. "So, what do you think of it now?"

Candice watched in amusement as Vincent kept rearranging the furniture. He was so paranoid when it came to their baby's health. He wanted everything to be absolutely perfect, he wanted their baby to be as healthy as possible, and he wanted their baby to be as happy as possible. Candice knew that he was going to try and be everything his father wasn't. And so that meant that he was going to try and be the best father in the world. Candice thought that was impossible, being that he already was the best! Smiling warmly at him she took his hand and pressed it, lightly, to her tummy. She felt a little thump as Gracey kicked at the warmth that was suddenly brought to her home.

"I think Grace likes it," Candice grinned. "So that means I do too."

Yawning she pulled herself up onto her feet and began to look around the room. They needed to hang pictures and the little teddy bear ornaments they had purchased at that little shop in London. They wanted her room to be beautiful and a place where she would be comforted and warm.

"Okay baby," she said, taking his hand. "What do you want to do next? I still need to clean up from supper, if you would like to help with that?"

Winking she kissed him softly on the lips before heading downstairs to clean up their mess.

Vincent followed Candy back down to the kitchen. He was happy to have the time to spend with her that he didn't want to leave her side for any longer than he had to. He helped her clean the kitchen and had just finished putting the last of the dishes away when he got into his mind that he wanted popcorn.

He walked to the large pantry off the kitchen and looked among the shelves, grinning when he found what he was looking for. He put the bag in the microwave and set the timer, then led Candy by the hand to the living room, settling her on the couch with their favorite blanket, then put one of the movies she loved into the DVD player just as the microwave beeped. He went to get the popcorn and brought the bowl back to the couch, settling under the blanket with his wife. He didn't know if she'd be hungry enough to eat the snack, but settled the bowl on his lap where it was accessible to both of them if she wanted any.

He thought as the movie started that he'd forgotten how funny, yet romantic this movie was. He didn't mind. He was sitting there with his Candy, in their beautiful new house, they'd just about finished decorating Grace's room, except for the things that went on the walls. He was more than happy to sit with his wife and watch a romantic movie with her. He turned his head to her and kissed her softly.

"Now, we just get to relax, and watch a movie together tonight, love. I'm happy with that, are you?" He nuzzled her hair with a grin.

Candice curled into her husband and gently picked at the popcorn. She had weird cravings occasionally but she never really ate anything in bulk. And after her vomiting to the point that she thought she would literally pass out things seemed too lose what little appeal they had left. She ate so that she could sustain a good weight for her and her little miracle, but that was about it. And she could tell that Vincent worried about her, well...her beloved always worried about her. And sometimes that was part of the reason Candice loved him so much. He took such good care of her and catered to her every whim like she was a princess. But sometimes Candice knew she took it for granted. Like forgetting her inhaler or forgetting to take her allergy medicine. Things that Vincent later had t fix because she had been too thick to do it herself.

"The Proposal, huh?" she smiled. "Look at you getting all romantic."

Holding his hand gently in her own she brought his palm to her tummy so he could feel Gracey kick again. But it was apparent that her little one had fallen asleep in her home. That was okay thought, sometimes when Grace moved around too much it had a habit of making her feel sea sick. So it was no skin of Candice's bones if her little one wanted to nap and take it easy. Closing her eyes she listened as the movie droned on and on. She was already tired, and normally she could stay up through anything...she was a therapist after all and Candice had heard some pretty boring life stories to know how to pay attention.

Shivering a bit in Vincent's arms she closed her eyes as sleep began to over take her body. She just felt so tired all of a sudden.

Vincent felt Candy starting to doze next to him. He'd expected this, she did so much during her day that she was bound to be tired, and the fact that she was carrying Grace added to the exhaustion, he was sure. He turned his head to kiss the top of hers and tugged the blanket over her a little higher, snuggling her closer to him. It was cool in the room, and he didn't want his wife and child catching a chill. He looked to the kitchen, seeing that their door to the patio was still open, and that was the source of the breeze. He was glad that he was a wizard at that moment, since it meant that he'd not have to get up to close it.

He shifted slightly to extract his wand from his pocket and closed the door. It was instantly a bit warmer in the room. That was better. Now he could concentrate on the movie and keeping Candy comfortable next to him. He went so far as to move the popcorn bowl and lay Candy's head in his lap, moving the blanket completely over to her. She was so beautiful when she was sleeping. Even more than she was awake, and that was saying something. He knew that he'd do anything to protect this wonderful creature, in fact, had, until the day that he had to leave her forever.

He turned his attention back to the movie as it reached its end, and pressed the off button.

"Candy, I think it's time for you to go to bed," he whispered, lifting her into his arms and carried her to their room, tucking her into bed.

"Do you have any idea how much I love you?" he asked when he had covered her with the blankets and kissed her forehead.