“Are you nervous?” I asked Miles, adjusting his tie one last time, heedless of the people bustling too and fro in the hallway around us as we stood outside, waiting to enter the courtroom for his first case working with Omega House.

Miles patiently batted my hands away and pulled me in for a sweet kiss. “I’m fine.”

And he was. I’d never seen him more confident or at home in his own skin. Part of it was that pregnancy glow, but mostly it was that he was in his element. It was me who was the mess.

“You didn’t need to come, you know,” Miles said. “It’s not like this is my first case. We could have just met at the doctor’s this afternoon.”

“Don’t remind me,” I gruffed. “I missed your first real case. I’m not going to miss any more firsts if I can help it.”

My fingers had twitched up to adjust my own tie and Miles pressed his hands against mine. “Thank you. I appreciate it. I appreciate you.”

Then the court doors opened and Miles left me to go sit with his client. I felt slightly disappointed that I didn’t get to see Miles go into full oration mode, addressing a jury and pleading his client’s innocence or, I don’t know, whatever dramatic story my imagination had run away with. This was simply a motion to file for a legal separation between his client and his former alpha, who refused to acknowledge him, and also refused to let the omega access their former home to gather up the legal documents he needed to move on with his life.

I just couldn’t imagine being so cold and petty to someone I had once loved. Or cared for at all, at any point in my life. I waited patiently while Miles advised his client after they were dismissed, and then smiled proudly as he came to me.

“You were amazing.”

Miles laughed and tried to wave my compliment away. “It’s just normal stuff. Any lawyer could do it.”

“But not just any lawyer is doing it for low pay, while pregnant, without a hope for prestige.”

Miles blushed. “Well, it’s what anyone should do.”

I didn’t argue with him. We both knew that what people should do and what they did were worlds apart. We grabbed a quick lunch before our appointment at the doctor’s office.

While we waited, I couldn’t stop my knee from bouncing. “What if she sees something wrong?” I asked. “What if they realize the baby has Down’s, or they’re intersex.”

Miles’s eyes were concerned. “Then we’ll talk over things, and continue to love the child just as if it were typical.”

“I didn’t mean that. I didn’t mean… I just… I already feel so damn protective of this baby. I can’t bear the thought of the world somehow disapproving or not understanding them. Or of them feeling lonely. What if they have ears like I did as a kid, just elephant ears, and other kids make fun of them?”

Miles didn’t even bother to try and hide his snicker. “You realize how ridiculous you’re being, right?”

“Elephant ears are no joke,” I grumbled.

“Did you seriously have no friends?”

“No,” I admitted, shifting uncomfortably in the plastic chair. “But a lot of kids did make fun of me.”

“Then it will make our child into a kind, compassionate person who is understanding of others’ differences.” He pressed my knee down, forcing me to stillness. “Don’t borrow trouble ahead of time. Let’s just wait to see what the doctor says. And you’re going to forget all about those worries when you see the baby’s face.”

“Miles Schofield?”

Miles squeezed my hand as he rose, finally revealing a tiny sense of anxiety. I couldn’t understand how he could be so damn calm. We were lead to the ultrasound room, and the nurse handed Miles a gown to change into. And then the ultrasound tech was there. I held Miles’s hand in a vice grip during the thirty minutes she took for the scan. She made small talk, but didn’t tell us any of the particulars about the baby, saying that was for the doctor.

Miles had been partially right—when I saw our child’s face, my worries faded. It no longer mattered whether my child had a condition that would make the world harder for them. A fierceness instilled itself deep in my bones, and I practically dared anyone to give my baby a hard time. They’d have to face me to do it.

After she finished the scan, we were escorted to one of the normal examination rooms. Neither of us said anything, both feeling the anticipation of the doctor’s words. We only had to wait ten minutes, thankfully, and the first thing the doctor said was, “Congratulations! You have a beautiful, perfectly healthy baby girl.”

Everything she said after that pretty much went over my head. Miles seemed to have a better head about him, as he asked her a few questions, but she handed over our photos and sent us off with a reminder to schedule Miles’s next appointment with reception.

I felt like I was floating on cloud nine all the way home. We kept sharing giddy smiles all the way home, and as soon as we were safely ensconced at home, I was on Miles. I kissed him down the hallway, carefully pushing him backward, pressing him gently down onto the bed, kneeling to stay on level with him, my head just slightly lower than his, my hands buried in his hair, Miles buried in my heart.