Where You Belong

To say that Zack went off the deep end was the understatement of the year.

All of the guys were sent into an immediate uproar, scaring poor Mason awake and sending him into tears. I simply nodded as they each apologized before filing out of the room one by one, dragging a raging Zack with them and leaving us girls in the room with Mason.

I was quick to take Mason from Lacey, who had failed at handing him a pacifier. I decided now was good a time as any to go ahead and feed him, and adjusted my shirt so that I could breastfeed him. I was slowly weening him off breastmilk and onto formula, though it was difficult and expensive. Mason could tell the difference between a plastic nipple and a real one, and he clearly wasn't feeling it. But I just couldn't be one of those moms with a four year old child sitting on her lap, still sucking milk from her boobs. It had to stop somewhere, and since I was gone during the day, it was smart to just ween him off now.

Mason's suckling was the only thing I could hear in the otherwise silent room.

"What do you think happened?" Michelle finally spoke, breaking the tense silence that had settled over us all.

I blinked, having momentarily forgotten that my apartment had been broken into and was plastered all over the news. I looked down at Mason before looking at my friends with a helpless shrug, "I don't know, and I honestly am not sure I wanna know. Then I'd just be terrified to go stay in my own home again and that does me no good."

"Of course you should be terrified of going back there!" Leana insisted, slightly raising her voice, "Did you not hear them? Nothing was taken! Who breaks into a house and doesn't take anything?! They wanted something else!"

She had a valid point.

I sighed, "Lee, even if that were true, it's where I live. I have to go back--"

"No you don't!" she barked shrilly, causing me to raise an eyebrow.

"Britt, hear her out," Val's soft voice piped up, "It's not safe for you or Mason to go back there anytime soon. You don't know what the people could've been after or why you were the only one whose place was broken into."

"Y'all, I don't have the money to just up and move somewhere else, and before you even say it, I'm not staying with any of you. Thanks, but no thanks. Y'all aren't parents, and y'all aren't accustomed to waking up at all times of the night to a screaming infant. I couldn't do that to you." I said, noting the look that Val was giving me. She sighed as I finished my explanation.

"Then stay here."

"Huh?" I frowned, looking at Lacey, who'd spoken.

"Stay here," she repeated herself seriously, "You're here more than you're home, anyway. I'm positive Zack wouldn't want you anywhere else but here."

"Lace, you know I can't do that," I sighed, fixing my shirt and sitting Mason up so that I could burp him, "It's too soon for Zack and I to be living together for any period of time. We just started dating."

"It wasn't too soon for you to give him head in my kitchen pantry last Thursday when you thought no one was around," Michelle rolled her eyes, fixing me with a defiant stare.

Thanks for putting my shit on fucking blast, Michelle Louise.

Leana gasped, looking at me with wide eyes, "You didn't!"

"Wow," Val gaped, blinking from her seat next to me.

"Wow is right," Lacey agreed, nodding feverishly.

Leana grinned widely, "Was it good?"

"Alright, I'm so not discussing my sex life with you guys," I rolled my eyes before turning and glaring daggers at Michelle.

Michelle simply shrugged, "My pantry, my business."

I muttered a few choice words under my breath just as Zack came barrelling into the room, his pace quick and his face red with what looked to to be anger. The girls quickly went silent and watched him with curiosity.

"Baby, come here real quick," Zack sighed softly, offering me his hand. With a shrug, I held on tightly to Mason and allowed him to help me up from the couch, not missing the sly smirks and winks the girls sent me on the way out of the room, "What's up with them?"

I sighed, "Long story. So, what's going on?"

Zack then took Mason from my arms and pulled me back into his study, motioning for me to take a seat. Silently, I moved over to the leather armchair near the bookcase, tucking my legs underneath me before giving him my undivided attention. I immediately noticed the way he was pacing back and forth across the hardwood floors. I waited for him to speak.

"You know who was behind this shit, Britt," he started slowly, keeping his heated gaze on the floor, "You need to contact the police."

I nodded, choosing to answer quietly, "I know. But what do I tell them?"

"The truth," he answered honestly, "They'll be looking for evidence and suspects, and they'll ask you who could possibly want to do this to you if the act wasn't random."

"Okay," I agreed, taking a deep breath, "I'll call them. What about the apartment?"

"Leave it," he shrugged, "I'm sure the police are looking through it right now, but maybe you can schedule a time to go over there once you talk to the police. Then we can get your stuff."

"Get my stuff?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow in confusion.

Zack cocked his eyebrow back, "...Yeah?"

"What for?" I asked slowly, tilting my head to the side.

He frowned, "So you can stay over here until things have cleared up."

"Are you sure that's okay?"" I asked with uncertainty, watching as my boyfriend rolled his green eyes.

"Seriously, Britt?" he chuckled, holding Mason to his chest as he stepped forward, taking a seat on the arm of the chair I was in, "You're my fucking girlfriend. And you're still my best friend. Who else in the fucking world would I let stay in my home other than you?" he teased, elbowing my arm playfully.

I chuckled with a roll of my own eyes, "I just didn't wanna invade your space, Zee. Our relationship is still new and I don't wanna drive you crazy."

Zack smirked lightly, "You already drive me crazy, so it's fine. Besides, now I have an excuse to see you every day."

I smirked back, "Such a hopeless romantic."

"Baby, you ain't seen nothing yet," he chuckled, standing back on his feet and walking over to his desk. I watched as he grabbed the cordless phone off the desk before walking back over and handing it to me, "Now go ahead and see if you can't talk to the police. We'll straighten this all out, babe?"

I smiled. I already felt better about things.

***

"We're gonna figure this out, Britt, okay? Hang in there." Matt assured me with a smile, pulling me into a giant bear hug, nearly crushing my insides in the process. I squeaked a reply, causing Val to giggle before reminding her husband that he was cutting off my oxygen.

With a sheepish smile, the large man released me and ruffled my hair before allowing his wife to give me a hug of her own. She whispered a few encouraging words in my ear before grabbing Matt's hand and walking out the front door.

Brian was next, "Don't you worry about a thing, short stuff. We'll handle this." he grinned, also wrapping his arms around me in a tight hug. I smiled and nodded, moving onto Michelle.

"And you call any of us the second you figure out when to get your stuff from that apartment and we'll be here," Johnny commanded, stepping into one of his rare protective roles. I grinned, kissing his cheek in gratitude. No matter how wacky and out of it Johnny seemed to be, he'd always been there for me, being the same age as me, and always would be. I was glad to have him as a friend.

"And we'll come help with Mason," Lacey nodded, stepping forward and kissing my cheek, "You have enough stress on your shoulders as it is."

I sighed, knowing I couldn't change her mind and smiled, "Thanks, Lace. I really appreciate that."

"What are friends for?" Leana chirpped, yanking me into a hug. I giggled and hugged her back, then moved on to Jimmy, who twirled me around in circles for the longest time. When I finally got him to put me down, the room was spinning and I couldn't see straight.

Zack and I waved our friends goodbye for the night, watching as they all got into their cars and headed their separate ways. I was sure that Lacey and Johnny were on their way home, while Matt and Val were going out to dinner with some other friends. I wasn't sure what the others were doing, but I assumed they'd either do something together or go home for the night.

I turned to Zack as the long, winding driveway was filled with silence, watching as he closed the door, locked it, and turned to set the alarm. He then looked to me and smiled, reaching out his hand for me to take.

I did just that, and allowed him to guide me through the quiet house. The TV in the living room was cut on but the volume was turned down, and only a few lights were still on. It wasn't that late in the night, but after what turned out to be a rather draining evening, I didn't mind winding down a bit.

Smiling, I took a seat at the island once Zack led me to the kitchen, watching as he silently searched through the cabinets. I waited patiently as he pulled out two wine glasses and some kind of wine from the fridge. Neither of us were much of wine drinkers, but I knew that he kept wine around for special occasions and guests who tended to drink it, like Val and Leana.

Filling both glasses to the brim, Zack then winked at me and put the wine away before handing me one of the glasses. I smiled as he took his own glass, "I figured we needed something after today."

I nodded, "You figured right. You hungry?"

"You figured right," he mocked with a smirk, coming over and cupping my face in his hands. He placed a gentle kiss on my lips, one that somehow left me absolutely breathless and aching for more, "What's on your mind?"

I chewed my lip, "I'm sure there's enough stuff in here to make steak or something? And some kind of starch...mac n' cheese or mashed potatoes?"

Zack smirked, "How 'bout both?"

"Not surprised," I snorted, causing him to playfully glare at me, "You wanna find some veggies from the freezer and pick a dessert?" I asked, knowing that the only way I could get the man to even think about greens would be to bribe him with sweets.

"Don't mind if I do," he grinned, taking off for the freezer.

Rolling my eyes, I went ahead and got started with the meat. Luckily, there was some steak that Zack had just bought already in the fridge, so I didn't have to worry about thawing it out. I quickly seasoned a few pieces on a pan before throwing them in the oven. By then, Zack had already tossed a bag of frozen green beans onto the countertop and was flipping through my cookbook for a dessert.

"Have you found anything yet, babe?" I asked, looking over my shoulder at Zack before turning back to the pot in front of me. I sprinkled some salt and pepper into the pot with the vegetables, hoping to give them a little flavor by the time they'd finished.

"Not yet," he mumbled in concentration, to which I giggled. I turned back to the food and continued.

It took a while before everything was finished, but Zack and I managed to keep busy with conversation. We'd gone over Christmas plans, as Christmas was roughly three weeks away. Zack's birthday was next week, something he seemed to be very excited about. My birthday was the week after his, and Christmas was the week after that. We'd decided to spend Christmas Eve with the group, and Christmas Day with our own families. Either both our families would get together somewhere, or we'd make two separate trips.

Once we'd hashed out our plans, the food was ready. The dessert, which ended up being a homemade sweet potato casserole complete with cinammon and marshmallows, would bake for just a bit longer as we began eating. I hurriedly fixed our plates, knowing that Zack was probably ready to explode at the sight of the food.

"God, this is fucking good," he groaned, snatching his plate and taking a bite of the macaroni I'd made, "You can just live here forever."

I giggled, "I'm glad you approve, Zack."

Another groan sounded from him as he shoveled more food into his mouth. I simply watched in amazement as he cleared his plate in a matter of minutes, shaking my head when he jumped up from the table to go make himself another plate. Looking down at my plate, I had only taken a few bites of my mashed potatoes and Zack was already done. I shook my head again.

"I'm serious," Zack mumbled through a mouthful of food, "You can just fucking stay here, and like...never, ever fucking leave. Ever. I'd be good with that."

"Mmhmm," I smirked, handing him a napkin, "Wipe your mouth, you slob."

I felt so much better once I'd finished eating, and I could say the same for Zack. He was nearly comatose after his fourth plate of food and his second helping of dessert. I couldn't even make it to the dessert, so I wrapped everything up and set it in the refrigerator for tomorrow. Neither of us minded eating leftovers.

I cleaned up whatever messes were left from before and checked the monitor that was connected to the one in Mason's nursery. He'd been out since before everyone had left and hadn't made a sound. I had one baby down, and one more to go, despite how big he was.

"Zee, get up, babe," I chuckled, patting his arm as he sat slumped in his chair, "You need to go to bed."

"It's not even that late yet," he mumbled, pointing to a nearby clock, which told me it was just nearing eleven at night.

I shrugged, "That may be, but if you fall asleep at this table, I'm not dragging you upstairs to bed. I'll have the whole bed to myself for the night and you'll wake up with cramps in your neck."

That got him up.

Flashing him a smirk, I simply walked off towards the stairs, swinging my hips as I went. I heard a low growl and within no time, Zack had caught up with me and pulled me into him. I chuckled, entering his room and immediately stripping down to my underwear. I turned to Zack's dresser, grabbing one of his t-shirts to sleep in after shedding my bra.

"Do you have to wear this?" Zack whined, tugging at the he of the shirt I had on.

I giggled, "Yup. I have to wear something to sleep, don't I?"

"No, I think I'd prefer you in something else." he answered simply, leaning forward and placing a soft kiss on my forehead.

I cocked an eyebrow, "Oh yeah? Something like what?"

He grinned, "Nothing at all."

Rolling my eyes, I lightly smack his chest before cuddling into his side, smiling as his large arms coiled around my middle. A comfortable silence settled over the both of us as we wiggled under the covers for some extra warmth. The sheets and pillows smelled of Zack, instantly bring peace to my mind. I felt my body relax and pulled him tighter to me, pressing a long kiss to his pierced lips. His vibrant green eyes were the last thing I saw before I fell asleep.

Somehow, I didn't think I would mind staying here for a while.