Chapter 1

Amanda,

I'm so sorry. I had to leave early again. I got a call from Erickson this morning. I'll be back as soon as possible. I'll make it up to you tonight. I love you.

Love, Mark

Amanda glared at the letter. He has had to go in early everyday lately. Amanda figured that he was avoiding her. And their 2 month old son. Amanda walked into their babies room and watched him sleep. He was peaceful. Amanda could tell he had Mark's eyes.

"I love you, John." She whispered as she stroked his hair. They had found it fitting to name their son John, because, had it not been for John Kramer, Amanda Young and Mark Hoffman never would have met. Though it was several years ago that John had died, they still felt a great deal of gratitude to him for getting them together. Whether his intentions were truly for them to get married and have a child or not.

Amanda walked to the living room and sat down on the sofa. The TV was on the news channel and Amanda felt to lazy to change it. She watched the news for several minutes before the telephone rang.

"Hello?" Amanda answered.

"Amanda? It's Jill."

"Oh." Amanda was slightly disappointed. Jill was John Kramer's ex-wife and their newborn's godmother. But that didn't mean Amanda had to like her.

"Sorry to bother you. I was just wondering how John was." Jill said.

"He's fine." Amanda replied. "You can come over and see him if you want." Even though Amanda didn't want her to.

"Oh, no, that's fine. Uh, I guess I'll let you go. Well, bye." Jill hung up. Amanda sighed in relief. She was tired. She was up all night with John.

Why can't babies sleep at night like normal people? Amanda wondered. She laid down on her bed and fell asleep.

She was awoken later that day by a crying John. She fed him and changed his diaper. She rocked him for a while until he fell asleep again. After she put him in his crib she heard the front door open and close. She hurried out of John's room and jumped into Mark's arms. She kissed him.

"I missed you!" She said. He laughed and spun her around once.

"I missed you, too." He said, then kissed her again. He stroked her cheek, sending shivers through her body. She released him and took a step back.

"Why are you home so early?" She asked. He seemed confused.

"Amanda, it's 6:30."

"What?! No way!" She looked at the clock to see that he wasn't lying. "Ugh. Honey, I'm sorry. I was sleeping and I didn't have supper ready and….." She trailed off.

"Amanda, it's okay." He said. Then cupped her face. "We'll order pizza." She seemed to like that idea. She wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I love you." She murmured.

"And I love you." He kissed her.