Kelly crept up the stairs quietly. Her white socks made almost no sound on the new hardwood except for when she stepped in the exact middle, causing it to creak. At the first creak, Kelly froze, her hazel eyes squeezed shut and her pretty, unlined face scrunched up as she waited for the explosion. None came. Peeking one eye open, she breathed a sigh of relief and her lean body immediately relaxed. She held on to the dark brown bannister as she walked, using it to hold some of her weight so there was less chance of the stairs creaking. When she got to the top, she smiled. Creeping along the carpeted floor, she stopped at an open doorway. Peeking in, her breath grew shorter as she tried to be quieter. She wound her finger in her auburn hair and tiptoed over to the cradle. She wrapped her arms around herself and smiled. The smell of fresh paint still sort of lingered in the room and Kelly was taken back to the few days ago when she and her husband had painted the room. She remembered how they had both argued over what colour the room should be. Her husband had wanted to paint it pink -because he knew they were having a girl- but Kelly had wanted her daughter to have a blue room. They had had an argument which ended with Kelly's old painting shirt suddenly turning pink and blue. When they had seen how pretty the two colours looked together, Kelly and Thom and decided to make the room blue with pink stripes.

Kelly walked over to the cradle and looked inside, love filling her heart. In the cradle lay the newborn, a yellow blanket covering her tiny body. Stroking the cradle quietly, Kelly remembered her first child whom she had lost in labor. Tears filled her eyes and she stroked her stomach under her soft, green shirt where, just a week beforehand, little Hannah had been. Now, the baby was asleep, but still lying there in flesh and blood.

Strong arms slid around Kelly's waist and she lay against her husband's broad chest. "I thought that you'd be up here," he whispered in her ear, his breath tickling her neck.

She leaned back, her head resting on his shoulder and kissed him on the cheek. "She's beautiful," Kelly said, hardly daring to believe the little girl was really her daughter.

Kelly felt Thom nod and tighten his arms around her waist. He rested his rough cheek against her soft hair and together, they watched the baby sleep. Kelly leaned back again and looked up into her husband's deep green eyes. She remembered how they met in the library that one day almost four years ago.

Kelly had gone in to see her sister, Sarah, the librarian. Thom was a friend of Sarah's husband, and together, the couple had set Thom and Kelly up. Sarah was happily married with two children and only wanted her little sister's happiness. Over the years, she had tried to set Kelly up with a number of different young men, but every tme, Kelly turned them down.
From the first moment Kelly saw Thom though, something was different. The two were drawn together like moths to flames. Kelly was immediately attracted to Thom with his green eyes and wavy brown hair. He had good posture and seemed to have good manners as well (unlike some people she had met.) He was kind and generous and always semed to be able to make Kelly laugh. Also, he didn't try to impress her too hard. He seemed like he was at ease in her company and acted like himself. Kelly had met too many men pretending to be something they weren't so she appreciated this quality in Thom.

Thom had been attracted to Kelly's grace and charm. She seemed to have an aura that brightened every room she entered. Looking at her for the first time, Thom hadn't believed that anyone's eyes could be so large and expressive or anyone's skin so smooth and clear. Her auburn hair shone under any light, catching Thom's eye right away. Her smile made his heart flutter and hearing her laugh at his jokes made him glad that he was the cause of her happiness. He realized almost immediately that she was the woman whom he wanted to spend the rest of his life with and hardly let her out of his sight since their meeting.

They had gotten married a year later in a small ceremony with only family and friends, and now, had the little baby, Hannah.

Leaning back, Kelly sighed contendedly. Unfortunately, her sigh seemed a little too loud for Baby Hannah's ears and she woke up. She opened her small, round pink mouth and let out a yell that caused Thom to jump.

"Man she can scream!" he chuckled.

Kelly nodded and picked up Hannah with a sigh. "You just ruined a moment little girl. Shame on you!"