Non Sequitur

Autumn welcomed her father, Alan, into hers and Corey's condo. He gave his daughter a big hug before giving Corey a handshake. Autumn planned on telling Alan today that she was pregnant. She wasn't sure how he was going to react. Alan had grown fonder of Corey since he first met him, though he still wished Corey didn't play for the Blackhawks but instead for Alan's beloved Red Wings, but he'd moved on from that as much as he was going to.

"Hey Dad," Autumn greeted him. "How's your apartment?" she asked him. He moved in just over two weeks ago. She liked that he was closer than he had been when he lived in Canada, and yet, he was still far enough away that she wasn't going to see him every single day.

"Getting settled in," he nodded his head. "How are you doing sweetheart?" he asked her as he sat down on the couch.

"Well, there's something I have to tell you," she began.

He looked up at her. "What is it?"

Autumn looked over at Corey before looking back at her father. "Um, well Dad, I'm pregnant," she announced. Alan didn't speak for several moments, and Autumn started to get nervous. "Dad?" she finally prompted, looking over at Corey for some help.

Alan looked directly at Corey. "This boy got you pregnant?" he questioned.

Corey looked like a deer in headlights, not knowing how to respond. Autumn cut in, helping Corey out. "Yes, Dad, I'm not going around sleeping with a bunch of people," she joked. "We obviously weren't planning on it happening before the wedding, but we always knew we wanted kids," she explained. Again, Alan said nothing, though he continued to stare at Corey. "Dad, just tell me you're happy for me. For us," she requested.

Alan's expression softened as he looked at his daughter. "Of course I'm happy for you if you're happy," he said, embracing her in a hug.

Autumn wrapped her arms around her dad's waist. "I'm very happy," she told him.

Alan turned back towards Corey. "You better not even think about leaving her with this baby on her own," he threatened.

"It's not even an option," Corey assured him. "I'm pretty sure I want this baby more than she does," he said with a smile.

Autumn looked up at her father with a nod as there was a knock on the door, which Corey went to go see who it was. "He's not leaving me, Dad. In fact, he wasn't happy when I told him we have to move the wedding back," she explained.

"You're moving the wedding back?" a voice questioned loudly, and Autumn turned around to see that Corey had let Maya in. She wasn't supposed to be there for another fifteen minutes but apparently had arrived early. "What's wrong?" Maya asked.

Autumn smiled. "Nothing's wrong. I'm just…pregnant," she answered, putting a hand on her stomach that wasn't flat from the last pregnancy but was definitely not showing that she was pregnant once again. "I'll probably be due around our wedding date in June, so I want to move the wedding back. I was hoping you could help us with that."

"Well of course I can," Maya nodded assuredly. "I'm your wedding planner. I'm here to make sure whatever you want happens." She suddenly noticed another person in the room and turned towards Alan. "And, who is this handsome man?" she asked in a flirting tone, and Autumn looked over at her, wondering if Maya was really flirting with her father.

"Maya, this is my dad, Alan. Dad, this is our wedding planner, Maya," she said, glancing over at her father, whose full attention was on Maya. Autumn suddenly wished she hadn't picked a wedding planner that liked to wear shorter dresses that showed off her long legs.

Maya stuck her hand out with a big smile on her face. "Nice to meet you, Alan," she said. Autumn looked at Corey to see if he saw what was going on, and by the look on his face, he saw it, too.

"Maya, we can still talk about wedding guests!" Autumn interrupted the moment that was occurring between Maya and her dad.

Maya turned her head towards Autumn, seemingly forgetting that there were other people in the room or the reason she had come to Autumn and Corey's place to begin with. "Oh, right! Let's get started!" she said, looking around in her bag to find a pen and pad of paper she had brought with her.

They walked to the dining room table to sit down, and Autumn noticed that Alan purposely picked a chair right next to Maya. "Actually, hold on a minute," Autumn said before she sat down. "Corey, why don't we go ahead and order dinner," she suggested, pulling Corey by the arm towards the kitchen before he had a chance to sit down.

"Uh, sure…" Corey said, following Autumn.

"Do you see that?" she questioned through gritted teeth as she looked around the doorframe out to the living room, where Alan and Maya were talking.

"Huh?" Corey asked.

Autumn pointed out towards the two of them. "That! Oh my God, they're totally flirting!" she said as she watched Maya lean her head back and laugh at something that Alan had said, something Autumn knew wasn't that funny. "This cannot be happening! She's like, what, twenty-two? And he's my father! That's so gross!" she hissed.

Corey looked out at the two of them. "Well they seem to be taking a liking to each other," he chuckled.

Autumn shot a glare his way. "You find this funny?" she questioned.

Corey quickly stopped laughing. "Look, we can't do anything right now without making a scene. Maybe talk to your dad after Maya leaves," he suggested.

Autumn sighed. "Fine," she conceded, starting to walk back out into the living room when Corey suddenly caught her by the arm and pulled her back in.

She looked at him curiously. "We might want to order dinner so they don't know that we're in here talking about them," Corey pointed out. Autumn nodded her head, understanding his point. They decided on Chinese, and Corey called in to order, having them deliver it.

They then walked back out to the living room where Maya had her hand on Alan's arm. Autumn sat down next to her father, looking across the table directly at Maya. "Let's get to work, shall we?" she said, trying to keep the edge out of her voice.

"Okay, well let's start with the people you know you're going to invite," Maya began. "Are you inviting the entire team?" she looked over at Corey, who didn't know the answer.

He glanced at Autumn. "What do you think?" he asked her. The team was his family, but he wasn't sure she wanted twenty-five teammates plus their wives or girlfriends taking up that many spots.

"I think you have to," she said. "I mean, you can't pick and choose which teammates to invite. Besides, I don't have a ton of people, so most of the guests are going to be your side," she said with a small laugh. Corey definitely knew a lot more people than she did, and she knew that he would have a lot more guests than she would. "So, put them all on the list," she said to Maya.

Maya nodded her head and started writing down names. "What about your family, Autumn?" she asked.

Autumn looked at her father. She had no relationships with anyone from her mother's side of the family. When her mom took off, Autumn decided right then and there she wanted nothing to do with that family, especially when none of them reached out to her during that time or afterwards. And, her father was an only child, so there wasn't a whole lot of people to invite from his side either. "It's really just my dad and me," she explained. "As far as family goes. Again, Corey's got a bigger family. You've got your brother, and then your aunts and uncles, cousins, whoever else," she laughed. "Really this should just be a conversation between you and Corey," she joked.

Maya pushed the notepad towards Corey. "Get to writing," she chuckled.

Corey took the pad and started scribbling out names while Maya turned towards Alan. "Will you be bringing someone? I know Autumn said her mother is no longer in the picture," she said quietly.

Alan shook his head. "Not unless it's your pretty little self," Alan said, and Autumn almost choked on his words, completely disgusted with the flirting that was occurring right in front of her. Maya giggled and blushed, and Autumn rolled her eyes at them.

"Core, have you figured out your groomsmen?" Autumn asked him, wanting to not focus on her father and Maya any longer.

"Trevor's going to be the best man," Corey spoke of his older brother. "And then probably Seabs and Duncs. You're having Kat and Bri and Abby, right?" he asked, remembering her saying she was going to ask Abby Sharp to be her last bridesmaid. Katherine was obviously going to be her maid of honor, and Autumn and Brianna had grown so close over the last year that there was no doubt she was going to be a part of the wedding.

Autumn nodded her head. "I wish Harper and Ryan were old enough to walk down the aisle as ring bearer and flower girl!" Autumn exclaimed, but they'd both be just over a year old, and she didn't think that was quite old enough for those tasks.

"Well if you keep pushing the wedding back, they'll be able to," Corey muttered.

"Core, is it that big of a deal that we're pushing it back two months?" she questioned. Maya and Alan suddenly stopped talking and turned their attention towards the engaged couple.

"I just don't know why we're moving it back instead of forward," Corey explained his thinking.

"He's got a point," Alan cut in, and Corey gave a look that said "see, your dad agrees with me."

"Because I'm going to be pregnant, Corey. And I don't really want to try to find and fit into a dress when I'm seven months pregnant. Besides, we don't even know how this pregnancy is going to go. The last one, I was on bed rest for the last couple months. What if I have to do that again?" she argued.

"Then I'd marry you in bed," Corey said simply.

Autumn rolled her eyes, irritated at him. "That's ridiculous! You can wait two extra months, what difference does it make anyways? Nothing changes between us except we'll have a piece of paper that says we're married. We're still going to be living together, we're still going to be having a baby. Absolutely nothing changes."

"Except that I can call you my wife," Corey pointed out.

Autumn sighed. "Corey."

"I know I'm not going to win this argument," Corey finally said. "I never do. So let's just move on with the guest list," he said, knowing it was better to end the fight before it really got heated, especially when they had Maya and Alan there as well.

There was a knock on the door, and Corey stood up to go get it, assuming it was the takeout they had ordered.

"Corey's got a point, honey," Alan said gently. "He loves you, he just wants to marry you."

"Dad, are you defending a Blackhawk?" she asked, her eyes widening.

"I'm defending your fiancé. We're going to forget that he plays for the damn Hawks," he muttered.

Autumn laughed as she shook her head, knowing her father was never going to get over the fact that Corey played for the team that Alan detested. Corey walked back over and put the food on the table and went to go get plates and silverware from the kitchen.

Autumn followed him in there, putting her arms around his waist from behind him, kissing between his shoulder blades. "I love you, you know that, right?" she asked.

He turned around and put his arms around her, resting his hands on her lower back. He nodded his head. "Yes, I know that."

"And, I want to be married to you. I just want my dream wedding, too. You understand that, don't you?" she asked him.

He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss. "I get it," he assured her. "I love you, Autumn. And I love this baby we're going to have," he added, glancing down at her stomach.

Autumn couldn't help but smile at his words, knowing how excited he was to be a father. "This baby's going to have the best father in the world," she said, standing up on her tiptoes and giving him a kiss.

He grabbed the plates and utensils and held Autumn's hand as they started back into the living room, but Autumn stopped, looking at her father and Maya. "I can't believe this is actually happening. My father and my wedding planner. It's gross," she faked gagging.

Corey laughed. "You're all about romantic comedies. Now you're living one," he smiled at her.

Autumn didn't appreciate the joke and lightly punched him in the arm. "Shut up," she mumbled as she cleared her throat to interrupt whatever moment Maya and Alan were having in the living room.