My follow-up to "Undefeated". It's Daria and Jane's ten year anniversary and Jane has a special gift for her wife.

Legal: Daria and her compadres are owned by Glenn Eisher and MTV

Ten Years

Jane set the last of the red candles in place. Stepping back to admire her handy work, Jane nodded in approval. Ten red candles lined the sides of the dining room table with ten roses sitting in front of them. Looking up at the clock, Jane went into the living room and waited for Daria's taxi to pull up. Still having a couple of hours to wait, Jane stretched out on the couch and closed her eyes. It had been four months since Daria left for the book signing tour of her latest Melody Powers novel. She was supposed to have arrived home yesterday, but wanted to visit her Aunt Amy who had been out of the country.

Visions of the past ten years filled her head, both good and bad. Her mind drifted back to the three month period five years ago when Sandi had tried to destroy their marriage. Since then, the good times far outnumbered the bad. Jane was so wrapped up in her dream that it took her a couple of minutes to realize that the kisses she felt were happening at that moment. Opening her eyes, she saw the face of her favorite person and smiled. Sitting up, Jane wrapped her wife of ten years in a warm embrace. Daria's lips gently brushed against hers. One kiss turned into another until several kisses later, their lips parted. Daria placed her head on Jane's shoulders.

"Happy Anniversary. I've missed you," Jane whispered.

"Happy Anniversary. I missed you too. That was the longest four months of my life. I'm just glad it's over, because that is the last book tour I will ever be doing."

Jane tilted her head to Daria in confusion. Daria continued, "While I was out in Los Angeles, I finally let my agent convince me to sign a contract to allow the Melody Powers series to be made into movies. With my publishing deal ending after the next book, I've already told them that if I renew, there will be no more book signings unless they are within no more than a couple of hours from here."

"That's fantastic. Why didn't you tell me that before now?"

"I wanted to tell you in person. I don't smell paint fumes, is everything okay? When is your next art show?"

Jane hesitated for a moment. "I haven't decided yet. My muse decided to go on a four month trip around America."

Daria flashed one of her signature half-smiles. "So what are we having for our anniversary dinner?"

Jane blushed slightly. "I was going to cook, but I fell asleep."

"How about we just order a pizza and spend the rest of the weekend in bed." Daria grabbed the phone and called their favorite pizza parlor.

While they waited, Daria went over the details of the movie contract. The pizza arrived and Jane led Daria to the dining room. Turning off the main light after the candles were lit, Jane sat down across from Daria. The two ate the silence, never taking their eyes off the other. After dinner, Daria blew out the candles, placed the roses in a vase, and cleaned up while Jane walked towards the bedroom. A few minutes later, Daria joined her on the bed, holding a small box in her hands.

"I was in Seattle and stopped into a store that made custom jewelry. I hope you like it."

Jane carefully opened the tiny box and pulled out the heart shaped tin earrings with opal, sapphire, and topaz encased inside. "Opal's my birthstone and topaz is yours. Why the sapphire?"

"Sapphire is this month's stone and tin is the traditional gift for ten year anniversaries."

"Daria ... I never saw you as a traditionalist. They are beautiful and there is plenty of room to add another stone."

Daria's facial expression instantly changed. "Why would we add another stone? I mean yeah it was Quinn and Trent who finally pushed for us to be together but - " Daria's mini rant was stopped when Jane pressed a long, thin finger over Daria's lips. Taking both of Daria's hands in her other, Jane slid them down until they rested on her abdomen.

"We will need room for his or her birthstone." Jane's voice was low but steady.

Daria's eyes widened as Jane's words repeated in her brain over and over again. Thousands of questions flowed through her mind at once. Seeing the inner chaos going on in Daria's mind, Jane decided to take control of the situation.

"Remember when we first got married - how we said that if we made it ten years, one of us would try to have a kid? Then we found out that it would be difficult for you to conceive. Well, you had just left for your tour and Quinn and I were having lunch and talking. I was telling her how I wanted to give you something special for our upcoming anniversary. The next thing I know, she is setting me up with an appointment for the fertility clinic she and Mack used."

Daria body leaned against the headboard as she began to process the information being told to her. Her hands; however, never moved from where they were resting. Finally coming out of her haze, Daria shook her head. Then the questions came flying out.

"Do you know who the father is? How far along are you? Has everything been going okay?"

"According to Dr. Russell, we're doing great. I'm two months along. I should be due around March 24th. Yes, you and I know the father. You see Jesse has always felt bad over what Danny tried to do to us. So he volunteered to be the donor as a way of apologizing to us for what his brother did." Jane paused for a moment. "I know that this isn't what you expected to get as an anniversary present."

Daria gave a slight chuckle before kissing Jane on the cheek. "No - I was expecting the nude painting of you that you promised me seven years ago. You are giving me something better - something I have always wanted - a family of my own, our own.

As they both laid down, Daria lowered her head and moved Jane's tee-shirt. She gently kissed Jane's stomach. Lifting her head back up, she caught Jane's face wearing a rare full smile. Wrapping Jane in a gentle, warm embrace, Daria raised her lips to Jane's ear.

"I love you both." She whispered as sleep began to over her.

"We love you too." Jane replied as she closed her eyes and began to dream of what the next ten years will be like.

End