Brand switched the ultrasound screen to 3D and Luke and Gage's little girl's face appeared on the screen. "Let's get a picture of that beautiful face," he said.

He loved this part of my job. If he'd been in a human clinic, he probably would have needed to hire out the ultrasound portion of my job to a dedicated technician, but since he focused exclusively on shifters, he wasn't busy enough to warrant that. There was nothing that beat seeing a parent's first glimpse of their little baby. And maybe it wasn't even the first, but it was a new view as their little bean grew, looking more and more like a tiny person. It was a feeling Brand yearned for, but had to content himself with watching second hand. He teared up every time. He knew it got old for some people, but not for him.

"She has your nose," Gage told Luke.

"Shut up," Luke said, sniffing. "You're just making things up."

"No, I swear."

Brand snapped a couple of stills and saved them to print. He had explained every step to the new dads as he measured each bone and organ. "You have a healthy baby," he told them. "Everything looks great. Just let me finish printing your photos and burning the video to disk while you clean up."

The men oohed and ahhed over the photos as the left.

"Luke, tell Sarah I want to see you in a month for your next checkup."

Brand hurriedly cleaned and sterilized the equipment. His next appointment wasn't for another hour and a half, but he had a visit to make.

The whole clinic was White Falls pack funded, and served several packs from the surrounding areas. There were certain things you just couldn't go to a human hospital for, and pregnancy checkups were one of them. It was uncommon for a fetus to shift pre-birth, but not unheard of. In fact, most children didn't shift until puberty, but there wasn't any hard line. Some families were more predisposed to early shifts than others. Stress could cause early shifts. There was any number of things that could prompt it, and some that were still not understood. It wasn't like shifter physiology was a hot research topic.

Just down the hall from Brand's office was his friend Tyler's rehab clinic, and he had a very special client today.

Brand kept in touch with as many of his babies as he could. He'd been delivering them for ten years now, and he remembered every one. And this one had been in a terrible car accident two years ago, losing one of his dads and breaking twenty-seven bones in his body. The shock and pain had prompted an early shift for Jax, who had been six at the time, and he'd spent the first two months after the accident in wolf form, which had complicated his healing process.

Tyler was working with Jax on stretching his legs. He was looking even stronger than last week, even though this far in his rehab, he didn't show the same jumps in ability the way he had early on. His fine motor control was definitely improving. Brand watched silently until they took a break. The last thing he wanted to do was interrupt Jax's progress.

"Jack Attack!" Brand said as he approached. "Looking good, man." Brand lifted his hand to Jax's and they smacked and bumped their way through their "secret" handshake. "Are you making Tyler work hard?"

Jax giggled.

"You have to make sure you work him hard so he doesn't get fat," Brand said, poking Tyler's middle. Tyler flinched away and grabbed at his head, but Brand clumsily slipped his attempt at a wrestling hold. His knee twinged, but he knew he hadn't pushed it too far when the pain didn't linger. "He doesn't listen to me anymore."

Tyler let Jax take a longer break to talk to Brand, and then put the kid back to work. The determination on that boy's face near broke Brand's heart all over again. Brand played cheerleader, and then Jax's appointment was over. His dad arrived and waved to Brand, and he waved back, but stayed perched on a spare exercise ball while Tyler updated Carter on Jax's progress. Carter had changed in the eight years Brand had known him, from a fresh faced young dad to a world-weary widower, but his love for Jax had never changed. Brand could still picture the tears in his eyes when he'd found Jax's tiny heartbeat on the monitor. They hadn't had 3D ultrasounds then, but he had been able to get a good, clear profile.

Brand wanted what Carter and Aaron had found in each other. He couldn't imagine losing his mate, even though he'd never even come close to finding him. Brand yearned for a mate, a child, a family of his own. But he'd known too many couples who jumped into it too soon. Who found they didn't suit. Who thought a child would fix their relationship. Brand was more than content to wait for the right one. For the ridiculous, "I knew it at first scent" mate. Every couple he knew who had found that person lasted. They thrived.

Well, perhaps Brand wasn't content. A traitorous voice in the back of his head wondered what he should do if he never found that person. At what point would he be willing to give up his dream of finding the right person and settle?

He shook his head and straightened his shoulders. Never. If he couldn't have it all, he wouldn't have anything. It was worth waiting. And if it never came… he would be content with helping others bring their families safely into the world. That would have to be enough.