The Center of My Universe

::23::

Soon enough, their house was complete. One morning, Alex was making eggs in the kitchen, when he got distracted.

"Alex! Come here for a second!" Ellen called out, and Alex put his task on hold to see what his wife needed. He walked into the bedroom to see her staring into the mirror. She gestured for him to go closer and he walked towards her, confusion written on his face.

"What's goin' on?" He asked her, and she pulled her shirt up slightly.

"Look," she said, and he looked down to see a small baby bump. He smiled and kissed Ellen.

"Wow," he said excitedly, staring at her stomach, then making eye contact. "That's incredible!" Ellen giggled lightly.

"I know," she said. Ellen loved the sight of Alex excited and giddy about the situation. He sat down on the bed and pulled her over, sitting her down next to him. They laid backwards so they were both laying on their backs with their head turned towards each other.

"We really do things fast, don't we?" He asked, and she gave him a confused look. "You moved straight in after the airport. We weren't even together for a year when I proposed. Now we're having a baby."

"Yeah," she said. "But I kinda like it that way."

"I do too," he said. He leaned over and kissed her, before pulling her shirt up slightly. "Hi," he whispered. "I'm your daddy. Your mommy and I love you very much."

"You're adorable," Ellen told him and he sat up, grabbing her hand and pulling her with him.

"Thank you," he said in a confident voice, making her laugh. "Come on. Let's get some breakfast." They walked downstairs and saw Elvis chewing on one of their pillows.

   "Elvis don't do that," Ellen said softly, taking the pillow away from him and handing him a chew toy. Alex shook his head.

   "I told you that dog would be trouble," he joked. Ellen gave him a pointed look.

   "He's a New York dog living in a small town world," she joked. She went and sat on top of the kitchen counter, crossing her legs over each other to sit crisscross and drinking orange juice out of a coffee mug. Alex made coffee and stood at the other end of the room to drink it. "What are you doing?"

"The smell of coffee makes you nauseous," he said plainly. Ellen gave him a thumbs up and they talked from two sides of the room. "By the way my parents invited us to dinner tonight."

"Sounds good," she said. "Also, pretty sure Nicks proposing to Mallory."

"That happens every once in a while. It'll pass," he said, and Ellen laughed.

"Whatever you say honey," she said. He finished his coffee and set it in the sink, before checking the calendar taped to the fridge.

"What's this DA?" He asked, pointing at a marking for two weeks in the future.

"Doctors appointment. I can get an ultrasound and make sure everything looks right," she said, and he nodded. "Nothing to worry about though. They told me everything was fine last time."

"Okay. If you say so," he replied, moving to sit on the counter across from her. "Can I go with you?"

"Absolutely!" She said, and he smiled.

"God this doesn't feel real," he said with a wide smile, leaning forward and setting his hands on the counter.

"I know," she said. "You start work next week. Are you ready?"

"I think so. I have all of my lesson plans ready for the first few weeks," he said.

"Don't go to hard on these kids. They can't all be Alex Keatons," she advised, and he dramatically scoffed.

"They will have the time of their lives in that class," he said, and she rolled her eyes.

"Those poor kids."

"Hey!"

That night, they went to the Keaton's house, and were sitting on the couch. Ellen had her arm linked around Alex's arm in a hug, and her legs tucked up to her body, leaning on him slightly. Her other hand was on her stomach protectively, even though she didn't realize she was doing it. They were talking to Steven about his newest documentary. Then, they heard footsteps running down the stairs.

"Alex guess what?" Andy said, out of breath from running. Alex laughed.

"What?" He said curiously. Andy pulled out a paper.

"I got a 103 percent on my science test! It was the highest score in the class!"

"That's my boy!" Alex said as he ran to the couch, sitting next to him. They talked for a moment, before Ellen remembered something.

   "I'll be right back," she said. She grabbed the plastic bag from beside the door and walked up to Jennifer's room, knocking on the door. The younger girl opened the door and smiled, hugging her sister-in-law.

   "Hey," Jennifer said, letting her in. She walked over and sat on her bed, folding one leg onto it. Jennifer gasped. "Ellen you're showing!" Ellen looked down.

   "Yeah I am," she said with a wide smile. Jennifer walked over and sat down.

   "So what's up?"

   "I actually brought you this old poster," she said, handing Jennifer a poster from a women's rights march. "I thought it would match your room."

   "Thanks!" She exclaimed, unrolling it. "It's neat!"

   "Also wanted to check in with you before your big senior year," she said with enthusiasm, and Jennifer gave her a nervous look.

   "I can't believe it's here," she said. "I'm excited though."

   "I bet! And let me know if Alex is... being Alex," she said, making the younger girl laugh.

   "I will. Let's just hope he isn't the most hated teacher," she replied. Ellen nodded.

   "We can only hope," Ellen replied jokingly, before the two locked arms and walked back down the stairs, seeing Mallory and Nick walk into the house. Alex turned around and had mixed emotions on his face. He prayed that this wasn't what he thought it was. Ellen sat next to him and he whispered something to her, then pointed behind her. She looked and nodded. On Mallory's finger, was a ring.