Under The Sheets

T.J laid in his bed back in St. Louis all by himself. He laid on his back as he stared up at the ceiling. It was fairly warm here, closing in on July and the heat just kept rising. T.J moved his hair off of his sweaty forehead and kicked the sheets off of him. It was closing in on two in the morning and he couldn't sleep at all.

He heard the front door open and close once more. He sighed with relief. He got up out of the uncomfortably hot bed and walked out of his bedroom and down the hall towards the front entrance.

"Hi, baby." She smiled up at him once she took off her shoes.

T.J let out a tired, "mmm" in response before hugging her tightly.

"You're really sweaty," She whined, squirming beneath his grip. She laughed when he just hugged her tighter.

T.J breathed a sigh at relief. She was finally home in St. Louis with him. After he had gone to Sweden to get her they had packed her things and took the next flight back to Minnesota. They stayed with his family for a few days, but they spent the majority of their time holed up in his bedroom.

After some much needed rest and alone time in Minnesota they had travelled back to St. Louis to get Eden settled back into the apartment they were supposed to have together. Once they had settled in, Eden's father and sister came down for a very short, two day visit. T.J invited them as a way to show them that he was completely capable of taking care of Eden.

Eden had decided to work for a bit before heading back to school. She wasn't sure what she wanted to do after going back to Sweden. She thought that she might want to be a teacher, but she also thought she might want to write. She wasn't too sure, so she decided to work and volunteer where she could to get any ideas. She was currently working at a restaurant as a waitress/occasional bartender.

"How was it?" T.J asked, referring to the late shift she had just gotten off from.

"It was good," Eden nodded. "It was crazy around 9 and was steady until about midnight, then died off for the last hour."

"That's good," T.J nodded as they walked towards their kitchen.

"How was your night?" She asked, grabbing a bottle of water out of the fridge.

"It was good," T.J nodded. "I didn't do much. I just kind of lazed about, had a workout and then watched television for a bit. I haven't been able to sleep very well. It's too hot in here."

"Oh, Teej! It's beautiful outside! Do you want to go for a walk?" She asked, holding onto his wrist gently. T.J couldn't help but smile that she was being so gentle with him. She probably couldn't physically harm him if she tried.

"Uh, sure?" T.J laughed. "Hun, it's really late, though!"

"Whatever," Eden smirked, waving off the comment. "Let's just go get changed and we can go for a walk."

T.J nodded and followed her to their bedroom. For some reason they changed on either side of the bedroom, but faced one another. While Eden kept her eyes on her own body T.J was staring at hers. His eyes caught sight of the tiny purple lines across her lower abdomen. They were the stretch marks from her pregnancy. They were barely visible and anyone who wasn't aware of the pregnancy wouldn't have known that's what they were. But T.J knew.

T.J loved the tiny stretch marks. They were a symbol of what they went through. They were like a tattoo of their past and a ray of hope for their future. He loved them and what they represented, even if nothing came of them.

They got changed and went for a walk around their neighbourhood. T.J took hold of her hand and gently swung them back and forth.

"What are you thinking?" Eden asked, looking up at him.

T.J smirked and looked at the sky. The inevitable question for his quiet night. While T.J had "slowed down" since he and Eden had gotten back together, he had been off the last few weeks. Eden didn't know why and it made her nervous.

"I love your stretch marks," T.J stated firmly.

"Teej," Eden mumbled. The baby was still a sensitive subject for her. She didn't like talking about it too much. She was seeing a therapist for it, but it still bothered her.

"No, I'm serious." T.J stated, stopping their movement. "I love the stretch marks. They're like our story. They show what we've been through."

"Hell!" Eden added quickly. "We went through hell!"

"And now look where we are, E?" T.J smiled. "We're back in St. Louis together! Yeah, we went through some shitty stuff to get here, but we're here! Is losing the baby really as bad as living alone with a baby who will never know it's father while with a mother who is miserably and resentful of her own father?"

"No, I suppose not." Eden nodded. "I can see that."

"Eden," T.J stated, letting go of her hand and kneeling down in front of her. He fished in his pocket and found exactly the object he was looking for.

"Teej,"

"Eden, will you marry me?"