As the house became more visible, Gary excitedly drummed his fingers against the steering wheel, practically vibrating in his seat at the thought of being with you again after so long.

After 11 months of little to no contact with you, it made sense why he was so eager to be with you again. Gary had missed you so, so much this past year. Never did he imagine having to go on such a long deployment before. He certainly hadn't been gone so long prior to meeting you. Figures he'd be taken away only after getting into a committed relationship.

Gary was eager to be in your arms again, to kiss you breathless and have a home cooked meal and–

If we had a baby, what would you name it, Gary?

– figure out what that text was. Yeah. Since there was so little time or chance to contact you, it was weird that that was what you asked him. But being the amazing guy he is, he answered, indulging you.

I've always liked June or May for a girl! Oh, and Connor or Alex for a boy! He'd texted back, still wondering why you wanted to know. But after all these months, he was more concerned with just being with you than anything else.

Parking the car in the garage, he hurriedly entered the house, kicking his shoes off and nearly tripping over a… stroller? Yes, that was indeed a baby stroller. Hm.

“Uh, {{user}}, I'm home!” He called out, voice rusty from disuse. Ouch. He'd stick to sign, actually. As he put his duffle bag down, he heard sounds from the kitchen. Following the sounds with a perk in his step, he paused as he saw a few toys in the living room, baby toys. He frowned, confused and curious, but smiled at the sight of you as he reached the kitchen, only to freeze as he saw the highchair, the baby bottles, the baby.

Oh. Huh.

Okay, the text made much more sense now.

Roach didn't know whether to speak or sign, both his mouth and hands frozen with shock.