Chapter 2 - Crystal

True to his word, Diamond's friend Garnet had prepared a beautiful venue for the wedding, on the second floor of the Red Rendezvous. The wedding was a small informal affair, with only their closest friends in attendance.

The view overlooking Twinbrooke Lake was spectacular, but Crystal only had eyes for Diamond, as he slipped the white gold wedding band onto her finger.

Then they shared their first dance together as husband and wife.

As they both drifted off to sleep that night, Crystal couldn't help but marvel to herself at the amazing turn her life was taking, a turn she would never have dreamed of a few short years ago.

After the wedding, they settled into a routine. Crystal would leave the house at dusk. The poltergeist problem was still rampant.

She had finally perfected her spirit locator, after much experimenting.

"I know you are here, spirit! Now show yourself!"

She was becoming quite good at convincing them to move on, and her clients were grateful.

Diamond, meanwhile, was garnering quite the reputation as a crack investigator, even being hired by the local rock celebrity.

"Yes, of course, I will locate your stolen guitar."

He spent his days searching for clues, and staking out suspicious activities.

Until one day, when their lives changed forever. Crystal woke up one morning feeling queasy, and it wasn't long before she discovered she was pregnant. She was ecstatic; they has been wanting a baby for quite some time now.

Diamond's eyes became big as saucers when she told him. This would mean huge changes in their life. They both agreed that it would not be good for the baby to be operating ghost hunting equipment while she was pregnant,  so she agreed to take some time off. Hopefully the hauntings would not get out of control while she was on leave.

As the delivery date loomed, Diamond started taking mainly cases he could work on from home. He set up his home office in the basement, and Crystal loved to watch him work. Hacking data bases seemed so exciting, but Diamond said it was "just routine."

He enjoyed taking time out of his day to play with Crystal's tummy.

"I can hear him kicking in there!"

"You mean 'her', don't you? I think it's a girl." Crystal teased him with a smile.

Then one early morning, Crystal awoke to painful contractions.

"Sweetheart, its time to go to the hospital!"

Diamond completely forgot what he was supposed to do.

"Just grab my bag, and help me to the car." Crystal calmly instructed in between contractions.

Later that day they arrived home with their adorable baby girl. Due to her rosy pink skin, they named her Coral.

Coral was daddy's girl from the very start, and Diamond was smitten, even though he had hoped for a boy.

Coral grew into a beautiful toddler, with Crystal's eyes, and more hair than either of them had ever seen on a baby before.

She loved the toys that Crystal made for her. Her favorite was a little wind-up dog whose feet and tail really moved!

"Doggy!"

She always had to have a hug before Diamond left for work in the morning. Then she would try and grab his hat.

"Hat!" Coral was an early talker, and Crystal and Diamond were terribly proud of her vocabulary.

As soon as he would leave, she would plant herself in front of the TV, and if Crystal didn't intervene, she would sit there all day. Crystal had to put her foot down, and turn it off after Sesame Cow, even though Coral fussed.

"Come on, Sweetie, lets play with blocks now. You can watch your show again tomorrow."

But as soon as Diamond arrived home, she would be in his arms. She really was a daddy's girl.

Too soon, Coral's toddler days were over, and it was time for her birthday.

"Happy Birthday, Coral!"