Fall in New York city is my favourite time of the year. Living near central park makes for the perfect scenery, and no matter what kind of mood I'm in walking through all the colourful leaves and crisp fall air can always make me feel happy. Except maybe today. Today is a completely different story.

The weird thing is that Harry loves Halloween. No matter what state our relationship was in, Harry was always so excited to get Sophie all dressed up and take her around the building with all the rest of the kids to go trick or treating. Our building gets really into it and there's decorations everywhere already for the last few weeks. He hasn't been working since the surgery and everything, so he's just been staying at home with Sophie. But ever since he got that call about his father being out of jail he's been so distracted and distant from both of us. I haven't gotten upset; I have no reason to, it's not about us. I just have no idea how to help him. Sophie is so excited to dress up with the other kids tonight, but every time she tries to talk to Harry he gets distracted and doesn't listen.

"Okay, go ahead," I tell Sophie, finally ending my restraint and letting her take off towards the playground. She takes off and I start heading towards a bench that's closer by. The leaves crunch under my boots, but I only hear my own footsteps. When I turn around Harry is just standing there, his boy angled slightly away from the playground with his fingers fiddling with his bottom lip. "Harry?"

"Hmm?" He turns towards me and the dazed look fades form his eyes. "Oh. Sorry."

His expression is hardly enthusiastic as he turns to follow me to the bench. My heart aches for him; I want to make this better but I have no idea how. We both fall onto the wooden bench and Harry leans forward with his elbows on his knees. His hair is a little more pushed back than normal, a little crazier since he's been constantly pushing his fingers through the tangled mess.

"Harry, you have to try not to think about it," I plead, placing my hand on his back. "You've been your own world ever since you got that phone call. He's not here, you don't have to worry about him."

"What if he goes after my Mum? Or Gemma? Or her family, I can't let that happen."

"What are you supposed to do? They live on another continent." I don't want to be insensitive but stressing about things you can't change is useless.

"I'm not allowed to worry about them?" he snaps. A silent sigh passes my lips.

"Harry, they're going to be fine. He's probably got parole and all kinds of rules."

"Right. Because the law was always so important to him."

"Okay, I know this is really bothering you, but you need to find a way to think about it and pay attention to your family. This family, the one that's here with you now," I remind him gently. I watch his eyes glue to Sophie, who is happily playing with another little girl. "She thought you were upset with her last night."

"What?" He turns to look at me with confused eyes. "Why?"

"Because you weren't listening to her. She was trying to talk to you about her costume and you just stared into space like she didn't even exist." The expression on her face at the time absolutely broke my heart.

Harry looks back at Sophie for another minute or two and we sit in silence. My intention isn't to make him feel guilty, not at all, but he does need to know that when he's like this effects more than just me. He needs to learn to put things to the back of his mind for the sake of his daughter. I understand that he's worried about his family back in England, but there really isn't much he can do for them from here. Sophie doesn't know what's going on and the only thing she understands is that her Dad isn't paying attention.

Without a word he stands and walks towards Sophie, talking to her between the wooden barrier on the playground's bridge. Her face lights up and her curls bounce as she nods her head enthusiastically. For the next twenty minutes I watch Harry catch her at the bottom of the slide, chase her around, push her on the swings and spend the time with her I know that he needs as much as she does. If there's going to be anything to distract him from his troubles it's going to be Sophie.

Of course I remember everything Harry told me about his father. I remember him telling me about it all like it was yesterday; after that I knew that I loved him. No matter what, we'd work through anything and we'd be together and back then that's exactly as simple as I thought it would be. I'm just as worried for Harry's family as he is- okay, maybe not quite as much since I didn't live with the man, but still. It's terrifying that someone like that would get out of jail so quickly. I can't imagine that he's too thrilled with his family for sending him to prison, but I would never say that out loud to Harry. He doesn't need me intensifying his worry.

The slight protrusion of my belly has already become a natural resting place for my hand. With my first pregnancy it was really hard to get used to having so much extra weight and taking up so much more space; the baby bump was more inconvenient then anything, and it wasn't until I was about six months and Sophie started kicking like a soccer player that I really felt like it was a part of me. Now, even though I'm dreading gaining weight, I'm actually excited about the baby growing and my stomach expanding with that progress. It's going to be an incredible experience this time; much less stress and anxiety about not knowing what to expect.

"No, no," I call to my troublemaker of a boyfriend. Him and Sophie both look at me with slightly guilty expressions, Harry knelt in front of her and undoing the zipper of her jacket. "Her sweater stays on."

"She's hot," Harry says. "She can put it back on, just let her cool down."

"Harry, it's not that warm out. She can handle keeping it on, she's not going to boil."

"Fine," he huffs, doing enough whining for both of them. I constantly find myself wondering how our family will change with this latest edition.

They carry on playing for a while longer until a tired-looking Harry comes back to sit on the bench with me. He rests his arm on the bench behind my shoulders, pressing a light kiss to my cheek.

"I'm sorry," he says. "I didn't realize how out of it I've been."

"You've got a lot on your mind. I'm not upset, I was worried about Soph."

"I need to call my Mum," he says thoughtfully. "I need to make sure that she's being careful. She already has a restraining order, but who knows if that'll make a difference."

"They all know how horrible he was," I remind him. "They'll be careful."

"It's just hard knowing that even if something does happen, I'm not able to do anything about it." He sighs. "I can't help them."

"Harry," I breathe, placing my hand on his leg. He lets his eyes fall closed and I can see quite plainly how torn up he is about this. He just wants to help everyone, for some reason he needs to save people. They're his family and he wants to protect them and it makes me love him even more. "They're going to be okay."

"How do you know?" he asks quietly. Not in a sassy way, just genuinely concerned since he doesn't seem to agree with the statement.

"I don't," I reply honestly. "But you have to believe that they will be. You'll go crazy worrying about them like this."

"I worry about you too, you know," he says, tucking my hair behind my ear.

"Me? Why?"

He smiles. "I always worry about you. Especially now that you're pregnant."

"Oh, so you're worried about how destroyed my body's going to be, too?" I joke. He lets out an airy laugh and shakes his head scornfully.

"You'll always be beautiful, Savannah."

"What if I get so fat that you have to roll me around?" He laughs and shakes his head again. "It could happen."

"You couldn't gain weight if you tried," he says simply. My weight has stayed surprisingly consistent, this is true. Even after having Sophie I haven't had a terribly hard time staying in shape. Baby number two could change that, though.

"Fine, but I'm going to have ugly stretch marks."

"Ugly?" He scoffs. "Nothing about you could ever be ugly."

"Stretch marks," I repeat. That can never be good. "Why is it that I have to get fat and have my skin stretched beyond it's limits and you get to keep looking like that?"

"Like what?" he asks, looking over at the playground.

"Like a fucking model," I clarify. He flashes a wide smile that only proves my point.

"What can I say. I'm just devilishly handsome."

"Shut up," I laugh.

---

When the three of us get home Sophie is completely exhausted. This was my plan all along; I knew she would have a hard time staying awake to go trick or treating, so I figured she could get all tired out and have a nap before dinner so she's ready to go. Now she's already almost asleep in Harry's arms, finally having convinced him to carry her when we were almost at our building.

"I'm going to put her in bed," Harry tells me when we get inside. I just nod and he walks off to her bedroom. I collapse on the couch, laying on my back and putting my arm over my eyes. I might need a nap too.

Harry doesn't say anything when he comes back, he just lifts my feet and sits down on he other end of the couch, his fingers massaging my tired feet. After a minute I remove the shield from my eyes and smile at him.

"Tired?" he asks. I nod. "Do you want to sleep?"

"It's the middle of the day," I remind him. He shrugs and lifts my feet from his lap again, this time crawling over to me and hovering over my body. My heart starts to race instantly.

There's some things you never get used to. Like colourful sunsets that never stop being beautiful or that moment of awe when you actually see a hummingbird and wonder how they manage to hover the way that they do. For me, kissing Harry is one of those things. There's never going to be a day when he can't make my heart race or my whole body feel warm. Just looking at him makes me feel fuzzy, nevermind what happens when he places his lips over mine.

He seems to be taking his time, short and soft kisses that leave me wanting more at first. Then he's sucking on my bottom lip, my fingers fisting his hair in anticipation. When his tongue glides across my bottom lip there's a tiny moment of relief. My mouth opens for him and he sighs, still taking his time. And driving me insane. But I know him just as well as he knows me, and when I trap his bottom lip between my teeth and tug on it he groans, instantly pressing his mouth harder against mine.

"Harry, we can't," I say breathlessly when he starts kissing my neck.

"I disagree," he says simply.

"Sophie could wake up and come out here."

That makes him pause. His face hovers over mine for a moment before he stands up altogether, taking my hands to pull me off the couch. He smiles at me and pulls me close as he walks backwards to the hallway.

"We should be quiet, then," he deducts. I roll my eyes but laugh anyway.

"It's the middle of the day."

"And?"

"Harry," I laugh. He suddenly picks me up, making me wrap my legs around his waist. As he walks towards our room my fingers brush across the small scar above his eyebrow where he had stitches. He kicks the door shut and lies me gently on the bed to just stare at me for a minute.

"You look so serious," he says. My fingers travel down the side of his face, over his cheekbone and strong jaw.

"I almost lost you," I realize. He sighs and closes his eyes when I brush my fingers through his hair.

"No." He shakes his head.

"What if they killed you?" I whisper. His eyes open and I feel really dramatic for saying that. "They could have, Harry. If you hadn't gotten to the hospital on time-"

"Don't," he says firmly. "Don't think like that. I'm here and I'm fine, don't get upset about what might have happened."

"I can't lose you," I whimper. "I don't know what I'd do, I really don't. What if-"

This time he cuts me off by kissing me, and it does a much better job than what he said before. My mind goes hazy and the intensity of his kiss is almost too overwhelming for me. He slides an arm under my back and lifts me up to move further up on the bed. My fingers find the bottom of his shirt and he sits up to remove it completely, not hesitating in doing the same with mine.

"I'm not going anywhere," he says in a raspy voice, leaving a trail of kisses down my stomach. "Like it or not, you're stuck with me."

"Damn," I mutter, smiling to myself. When I open my eyes again he's above me.

All of my senses go into overdrive when he kisses me again, fingers fiddling with my jeans and starting to push them down my legs. With most things, the concept of forever is daunting or dull. With Harry, I can't wait to have a forever with him. It's the best thing that could ever happen to me.

---

"Go ahead," I tell Sophie, nudging her towards the other kids. There's a gathering in the lobby and one of the women that lives on my floor with her little boy offered to have Sophie go with them. "You'll be fine. We're right behind you."

She gives Harry a look of question, silently asking for his opinion. He nods and smiles at her, placing his arm around my waist. Sophie hesitantly turns towards the other kids and slowly walks towards them. She's always a little shy at first, but it doesn't take her too long to warm up to new people. She looks so adorable in her Elsa costume, I can't even get over it. When I asked her what she wanted to dress up as the first thing she said was Frozen, so I assumed she wanted to be one of those characters. When I showed her a picture of Elsa she nodded her head so fast I thought it'd fall off.

"We definitely have the cutest kid in the building," Harry says quietly.

"Totally."

"I'm sure she's fine with that lady."

"That lady's name is Kate," I laugh. "What's your point?"

"We could just go upstairs."

"I left a bowl of candy outside the door, we don't have to be there to hand it out."

He laughs and turns towards me, leaning in close so his mouth is close to my ear. "I wasn't suggesting we go hand out candy."

"Then what...oh." He laughs a little and kisses my cheek. "Harry, Sophie won't like it if we leave."

"But I don't want to wait that long," he says lowly. "I need you now."

"Harry," I whisper, my cheeks turning pink, my heart pounding.

"Please, baby?" he asks, his lips against my ear. Goosebumps raise on my arms and it takes all of my strength to make him take a tiny step back.

"Later," I promise, pecking his lips. He slides up behind me, his around around my shoulders and groin pressed against my backside. Apparently later my be inconvenient for him.

"See what you do to me?" he asks. "I'm going to be hiding this all night."

"Your daughter is here," I remind him, leaning back to see his face. He smiles and kisses me again. "Try to control yourself."

"The things I do for you."

Notes

ooooooh boy. i just love these three/four.

any ideas for whats gonna happen with harry's dad? would love to know what you guys think!!!

thanks for reading :) sorry updates are taking so long, im super busy atm