**Trigger Warning- Blood, pregnancy loss, and loss of a child (not MCs') is mentioned. **

Wes Dalton

The excitement of our news was overwhelming in the most combustible way. My problem was that I couldn't bring myself to call anyone. There was an immense want to scream our news from the tops of buildings, project it on the megatron screens of Time-Square, and buy out all the sky-writing planes on the coast; not to mention telling my brother and my dad about the big news.

Sarah was the emergency break that had been pulled as these thoughts throttled through my head. She was my priority.

Since the appointment, Sarah had been distant. Unusually quiet. A week's passed and although I've been called away from her several times she hasn't been physically close to me.

We had gone from heavy petting and practically fucking with any proximity of each other to space between us in the bed. Even in sleep, she wasn't snuggling into me or trying to rest her head on my chest. I hated it.

Cooking her favorite meals, brining her the occasional beignets at work, and making sure she always had her choice of coconut water, Gatorade, or tea wasn't seeming to make much of a difference. Determined to make sure to keep her happy, I didn't stop.

"I'm looking for the beautiful mother of my—" I started as I walked up to the nurse's station where I saw Sarah when a short, curvy, skin as dark as rich caramel, hair tightly gelled into a bun, woman in scrubs stopped in front of me with an ogled appraisal.

"My, my..." She said slowly as her eyes climbed and descended my frame. "Is this him, Sha?" The woman before me tilted her head to the side Sarah was, clearly aiming her question at Sarah.

I'd instantly realized I probably knew who this woman was by the use of 'Sha.' Sarah had admitted to me that when she started here one woman in particular would call her Sha. Sarah had thought the woman was just mis-pronouncing her name and confronted her about it. She promptly sat down, and it was explained that the word was Louisianan for darling or sweetheart. Sarah had been close to this co-worker ever since.

"Ma'am," I said as I dipped my chin and smiled at her.

Her eyebrows flew higher on her forehead and her mouth parted as she pointed to me, then Sarah, looking between us before saying, "Well?"

I could see Sarah's smile as she turned to answer, but the woman became distracted. Holding out her hand, she said "I'm Jayla, yo lady's bestie."

"And she is married," Sarah chimed in as I took Jayla's hand.

Jayla tsk'd loudly, and flopped the folder in her other hand on Sarah's head. "Let me have my moment!"

"... and he is taken, Jay," Sarah added in amusement.

It was the first time that I'd seen her banter or give a true smile to anyone since...

"I know, I know! He is taken by you, Doctor GrumpyAss." She had pulled her hand back and was walking around the station to find her chair.

Sarah stood and groaned and pressed her lips together before blowing out a harsh breath and coming over to me.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Yup, just pregnant." She smiled up at me and I bent to press my lips to hers.

"How's your day going?"

"Better, now," she said as she curled her hand into my shirt to keep me close.

Momentarily, I searched her face but found honesty and acceptance. This time, she pressed herself into me, claiming my mouth with hers. I was sure this was an inappropriate display of affection for being at her job, but when I realized it was Sarah who had initiated it, I fed it. Sliding my free hand over her cheek to the back of her head and deepened the kiss.

Someone cleared their voice behind her and I snagged her lip with my teeth and smiled as she pulled away. Although Jayla began speaking, I could have sworn I heard a low whimper from Sarah and my cock was excited with the worst timing.

"You're handsome honey gonna stand there and distract us all, or—" I cut Jayla off by handing her the bag with sweets and she said in an excited whisper, "Lagniappe!"

Sarah laughed, turning to watch the interaction. Joy. Happiness. The melody of her beautiful laughter made me act without thought.

Guiding her face back to mine. I descended on her as I watched her smile transform into a heated hunger. I took her by the waist, splaying one hand against her lower belly. As if in slow motion, her eyes widened as I dipped my head to her ear.

"To see you happy, brings me unexplainable joy. I love you so much. I'm proud of you," I said and heard her sharp inhale. "I'm so proud of everything you've done with your life, for your kids, for your mom, for yourself," I paused when she wrapped her arms around me and finished after filling my lungs with her sweet scent, "and for everything you've done for me. So fucking proud of you."

She shuddered in my hold and pulled back far enough to look at me.

Not fully sure what her expression meant, she leaned her forehead against mine, closed her eyes, and remained silent.

Again, someone cleared their throat, only this time, they were behind me.

As we separated, Sarah straightened her clothes as best she could and looked over my shoulder. Her cheeks flushed as she spoke, "Austin. Did you need something?"

Without removing my hand from her belly, I turned to see the good doctor. He had stopped in the hall. His eyes were on my hands. Hands that were pronouncing the swell of my children growing inside Sarah.

In my peripherals, I saw Sarah swallow hard as Austin continued to stare with a slack jaw. Had he not known? Didn't everyone know? Then I'd realized that even when Sarah wore scrubs, they were larger, hung off her, and didn't show her figure.

At home, with casual house clothes... black yoga pants and a cotton tank or tee... her figure was changing and I loved seeing it. That bump, the swell in size of her breasts, her change in her appetite, and all other changes that were happening to Sarah were because of me. Because of what she and I did together.

"Um, sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt, I just—" Austin had started.

I cut him off, "Hey Austin, how are you?" Extending a hand towards him as I curled Sarah into my side.

"Yeah, hey Wes." He shook himself from the moment and rearranged some folders he was holding in his arms. "May I borrow Sarah for a moment?"

"Of course! I don't want to interrupt work too much, just delivering a treat." I planted a kiss on Sarah's forehead and she sighed.

"Thank you for the visit. I'll see you at home," she leaned into me and placed her hand against my chest.

"Going to run some errands, but yeah. I'll be around." Feeling her reluctance, I gently pushed her to move.

Ignoring the twinge in my gut, Jayla pulled me with an arm linked in the crook of mine.

"Listen'me now, Sha," she said as she pulled me around the corner. She looked to where Sarah and Austin were, I followed her stare. They were looking over an open folder together and Jayla began speaking again. "I know what she'll say, so I'll say it to you and you will listen."

"I'll listen," I said as I turned back to her.

"Good boy," she said approvingly. "Cookout at my house tomorrow."

"Is she—"

"Yes she is off, I wouldn't suggest it if she weren't. I just wanna do something nice and have y'all over. 'Bout time anyway," Jayla muttered the last part.

Tilting my head to the side I finally asked, "You two haven't gotten together outside of work before?"

"Oh it's not like that. We have gotten together a few times, but they were mostly with a group of coworkers, not just us. Honestly, not many have the mental strength to deal with the drama some 'u them nurses got going on. Sarah has always been politely distant from most them."

I nodded in understanding, I took down her information for her home and time details. When I turned to see about saying bye to Sarah, she was already gone, but so was Austin.

Nodding to the bag, I said, "help yourself, but don't eat them all. Those have been a huge craving right now."

Holding her hands in mock surrender she said, "I ain't touchin' any o'em. She don't play when it comes to her food. I'll guard it for now. Thank you Sha."

Laughing as I left, I needed to find something to fill my time with so I went home. I was sure there would be something for me to get into. She had a garage full of things I could look into. Maybe I'd find my next project.

Sarah texted when she was on her way, which wasn't something she usually did. Something, bone deep, was wrong.

Immediately, I started a bath for her in the huge soaking tub before setting to work on dinner.

By the time she walked through the door, I was placing the prepared plates on the table with two wine-glasses of grape juice. Wanting to greet her and help her along, I stopped when I saw her.

"What's wrong?" I know I said it. It had come from my mouth as it echoed through my mind, but I'm not sure when she began to drop or how I was able to move.

Sarah hadn't changed. She was still in her work clothes, and she was covered. There was only Sarah. Nothing dropped from her empty arms or thunked or clattered on the floor. It was just Sarah.

She didn't answer me as her head lulled to one side and I slid into a kneeling position as she crumpled into me. I caught her and searched her body as her swollen, bloodshot eyes closed.

Blood covered her shirt, chest, and arms. I tried to see, but I couldn't see if her pants had blood on them or not. They were a dark material and in the dim light of the entrance, I couldn't see.

In a silent shake, tears flows freely down her cheeks.

"Are you hurt?" My tone was hard and I didn't care. I couldn't tell what the source of the blood was.

She let out a broken sob and it gutted me. I needed to make sure the was okay.

"Sarah!" I pulled back and tried to lift her shirt, see the swell of her belly, look for the fucking source. Where the fuck...

"I'm f-f-fine. I'm okay, W-Wess. It-it isn't mine. It's not my blood." Hiccups and sobs wracked her as she tried to reassure me.

Holding her away from me for another moment, I took her all in. Grief and sadness is all I could see in her eyes. There was no physical pain. As soon as my brain accepted that she was unscathed, I wrapped her into my lap. She broke; sobs physically crippling her as she clawed at my back to bury her face in my chest.

"Fuck," I breathed into her hair before tension began to leave me. As much as I wanted to know what had happened, I also wanted Sarah to know she was safe with me, that I wouldn't push this if she wasn't ready.

It seemed like longer, but around 45 minutes, door still wide open, Sarah pulled back to look at me. Her lashes were grouped together with tears and her nose was now running. She took a deep breath and softly stated, "I lost tonight."

My heart wrenched and I knew without her telling me that someone had died while she was working.

I knew loss and the strange phenomenon of watching as life left the physical body behind, but I was unprepared for seeing Sarah go through this. I also didn't have to say anything.

She continued, "38 week pregnant," she stopped to cover her mouth and held back another wave of tears. "She was in a hit-and-run. She won't even know until she wakes up. He baby... her baby is..."

Her lower lip trembled, and her eyes squeezed shut. I lifted her into my arms, stood from the floor, closed the door, and walked her to the bathroom.

I'm not sure when I had started to cry, but as I gently stripped Sarah out of her clothes, I watched as drops fell from my own cheeks and nose. Kicking out of my own clothes, I pulled the plug for the tub and led us to the shower.

Sarah silently followed as I guided her. After holding her beneath the warm water, I put her soap on her poof and slid it in small circles starting with one arm, across her chest to the other arm, her breasts and stomach, hips then legs, and finishing by turning her to massage my hands and poof into her tired muscles of her back and shoulders.

She moaned as the clean water removed the suds and she worked shampoo into her hair. I stood back and admired her.

Relaxed, without a care, swollen with twins. She was so strong. She had been fiercely independent for so long that I wondered if she thought she would even need me.

"Hey," her hand against my sternum snapped me back to the moment. She was finished with her shower. Done with her hair, and looking up at me. "Thank you," she whispered before pressing her petite, naked body into mine.

Kissing the top of her head and reaching out to turn off the water, she hung on to me. I pulled the oversized bath towel around us and nuzzled into the top of her head, whispering back, "Always."

Sarah had barely eaten, but did manage a few bites. She told me more about the incident and how the shift change happened as the woman's other child, a young girl, had flat-lined and Sarah was practically pushed out the door. She hadn't stopped to think about her outfit, she just started helping wherever she could, but the incoming doctors scolded her and sent her away.

Her things, purse with her phone and keys, were in the car. I'd gotten them when I knew Sarah was asleep.

I had learned more from doing some digital digging. The mother, daughter pair had been walking to get ice cream when a car blew through a traffic light. The mother had taken most of the damage, but the unborn baby and little girl had serious enough injuries...

A whole new worry crossed my mind. As silly or absurd it sounded in my head, I understood why some parents felt the need to bubble wrap their children.

It also made me hyper aware of Sarah. She was pregnant with two, not just one, but two babies. My babies...

I scrubbed my hands through my hair and made a few calls. I distantly recalled Micah Moretti's aggressive protective streak with his, at the time, girlfriend. All that mattered was that if I could keep Sarah and our little ones more safe, I was going to do it.