By Marie

Ashley grinned as she played with Lachlan’s curling hair. She was being a complete pest, but he hadn’t woken yet. He’d even batted at her finger in his sleep. She fought not to giggle out loud. She stretched and the sheet fell below her waist.

She stared in amazement at her body. Who did it belong to? She didn’t remember becoming an alien body snatcher, but this couldn’t belong to her. The fuller breasts and what seemed like a constantly expanding middle.

Ashley sighed. She rather liked her pre-pregnancy body with her nice high breasts, tiny waist and the slightly flaring hips. Lachlan liked it too, although he seemed to revel in her changing body. Of course he wasn’t the one to have to change it back once their baby arrived.

Her fingers strayed to her middle as the baby kicked her. This was the most amazing thing she’d done so far in her life. A special and wonderful life of theirs was growing inside her. What would the baby be like? Would he or she look like both of them and share traits from each of them?

Lachlan and she mused on about this frequently. There was so much anticipation. Ashley was enjoying her pregnancy now too. The first trimester had been awful with her constant sickness. She felt good now; even sexy most of the time.

They seemed to make love even more frequently than before her pregnancy which was pretty amazing considering they’d been newlyweds. Watching Lachlan splayed out on his back as he slept gave her salacious ideas.

She climbed over him and straddled his middle with her legs. Ashley leaned down and kissed his forehead, nose and lips gently. Suddenly the man below her awoke, grabbed her in his arms and rolled them over with Ashley now trapped beneath him. She giggled as she linked her fingers into his.

Lachlan stared down at Ashley. Her giggling was always sweet music to his ears. He drank her in with his eyes. Her long red hair was splayed out across the pillow. He kissed her gently at first and then with increasing passion.

"Morning, love. How’s my sheila? I was trying to sleep." He kissed her again after admonishing her gently.

"Awake." She grinned at him. "And wanting you awake too. I guess you could go back to sleep if you wanted to." She pouted prettily and turned her big baby blue eyes on him.

"Not bloody likely, Ash." This time the kiss he gave her was long and lingering. When she opened her eyes he saw some of his passion staring back at him. She wrapped her legs around his hips.

The morning love they made started sweet and gentle. And it became hungry and passionate. Afterward, he held her close to him as his hands roamed across her flesh.

"I don’t mind if it rains a few more days, Lach. We can stay in bed together the whole time."

He heard the smile and teasing in her voice. The inclement weather had grounded him. They rarely spent whole days together lately. The business of flying had been good since moving back to Australia. The down side was he’d been away from her a lot during her pregnancy so far. He’d been relying on Bud and Marie. They helped ease his worry about Ashley being alone.

"A bit of extra time won’t hurt anything." He nibbled on her ear.

Ashley snuggled tighter back into his embrace. She didn’t want to move for awhile. This would be a good time to tell him about her ideas. Ashley didn’t want Lachlan to feel guilty about being gone. He was doing what he thought was necessary for the future of their family. But Ashley had been alone a lot. And worse very lonely at times. She’d thought of a way to keep her a bit busier doing something worthwhile.

"Bridgid and I are starting to plan her wedding and our baby shower. And I was thinking I could help the town as secretary. Even job share with someone else. I could help with the finances. I do have a business degree, almost two, I should be using."

"Uh-huh." Lachlan acknowledged what she said in a noncommittal way. Was he being overly protective or selfish not wanting her to work outside their home especially while she was pregnant? He didn’t want her to do too much. Doing paperwork for the town wouldn’t be physically hard. She could probably do most of it at home.

"As long as you get enough rest, Ash…" Lachlan got no further. Ashley turned slightly in his arms to lean up and kiss his cheek. He could sense and feel the excitement building in her immediately. Was she really that bored at home? That would change once the baby was here.

"I hope I get the job. You know I’ll be careful, Lach." She kissed him excitedly again.

"And I was thinking after the baby was born I could volunteer for the fire brigade. Bridgid is a member. Wouldn’t that training be an excellent way for me to get back into shape while helping the Glen residents?"