I would have been lying to myself if I said I wasn’t surprised by what Fiona had told me. I mean sure, I knew the ratios, the numbers and statistics when it came to sex, but since I had done very little of it myself, I had pushed down the possibility of getting Fiona pregnant. Now, looking back on it, the guilty feeling that rumbled in my stomach that night held more to it than I thought.

It pained me to see how she had exhausted herself to keep such a big secret from me. It wasn’t fair, and I felt the guilt wash over me. I could spend all day going over the ‘what ifs’ and ‘what I should have dones’ and shook them all away before the spiral began. For now, I needed to focus on what was more important, and that was the woman in front of me.

I kissed her to quiet her worries and freeze my own. It wasn’t the perfect solution, but it was better than yelling at one another. The tension in her shoulders eased as she snaked her arms around me and pulled me into her lithe body I imagined swollen with my baby. Our baby.

That image alone stirred up something instinctive inside of me, and my hands slid under the thickness of her tumbling hair. Our kisses grew needy, and I tasted all the emotions she held inside. The bitter and the sweet. The fullness of the news exploded onto my tongue. I wanted to scold her for it but knew it wouldn’t get us anywhere. The one thing left to do was to assure her I wasn’t going anywhere. That I had never planned on it.

Before the kisses became more intense, I pulled away to rest my forehead against hers. Her panting breath matched mine and her arms held me, and the indication was clear. She wasn’t going anywhere either.

“Fiona, that doesn’t change my mind about us. About quitting my job,” I breathed.

“Why?” she asked, no malice or challenge in her voice.

She caught my gaze as I spoke. “Because, no matter what, I want to be with you. You mean more to me than this job. More than any job. You, and now, this baby.” I placed my hand on her flat stomach for emphasis. “This is what is important to me and will be from here on out.”

She let out a shaky breath. “I think you’re making a mistake. I mean, if I hadn’t come around, we wouldn’t even be in this mess,” she muttered yet didn’t move my hand away.

I took that as another good sign we were finally getting somewhere. “You don’t think I haven’t thought long and hard about this? I’m a shrink, for crying out loud. I get paid to overanalyze the brain and people’s situations. I overthink for a living. Owning my practice is something I’ve always wanted to do and was once my end goal. It seemed so far-fetched I had forgotten about it. This hospital is a great place to work, but if you’re not careful, you get sucked in for life. I never wanted that, and it was happening to me. Then you came along.”

I took my hand off her stomach and curved it around to the small of her back. She squeaked as I pressed against her.

“Don’t you see? You woke me up, Fiona. You made me care again about my far-fetched dream. Not because of your looks or the way you and I clicked, but your passion in all that you do. I may have gone to school for eight years and did everything by the book, but you, you do everything out of selflessness. You’re so passionate about it and it reminded me how I was once like that about my own dream. Every time I saw you, it was brought back to the forefront of my mind.”

“Really?” Her eyes shone with wonder, and it took me a moment to find my composure and not kiss her from the corner of her eye to her pretty mouth.

“Yes,” I replied. “After our night together in your room, I started to do further research into what it would take to start my practice. I knew it would be difficult and time consuming the first year, but I kept my eye on the prize, knowing the first year of hard work would do me some good. Then I thought about your dream of having a non-profit organization and how with our powers combined, we could offer inexpensive mental health care for those in need. So I’ve made up my mind. I want to start up a non-profit mental health practice.”

She put her hands over her mouth in surprise. “Oh, my God, Josh, are you serious? That would be so wonderful. There are so many people I know if they got the proper help they could get back on their feet.” She put her hands down to reveal a grin along with the determination I loved so much about her.

I nodded. “I agree and want to set up a program focused just on that. We can run activities, events, and charities to help raise funds when things get tight and focus on the community as a whole. Hell, if I get the state to jump on the bandwagon, it would be even better. I could also see my existing patients on the side,” I explained, and her grin widened with every word I spoke.

“I don’t know what to say. I’m at a loss for words right now.” She exhaled.

I took her soft hands in mine and held them to my lips before I pressed them to my chest. “All I want to hear is you’re not leaving me. That you’ll stay and we can work this out. Besides, I have no clue what I’m getting myself into with non-profits, so I’m thinking I’m gonna need to hire an expert in that department. I happen to know the right girl for the job. She’s smart, knows her stuff, and, I dare say it, is pretty damn cute too. Plus she’s not afraid of calling me out on my own bullshit.”

Fiona rolled her eyes and pushed at me, a giggle under her breath until she grew solemn once more. “What if I can’t meet your expectations? I mean sure, in the past, I’ve done quite a bit when it comes to this kind of stuff. That was before my parents. Now…I mean, I just started to pick up slowly in my class work and have sent out a few emails, but I’m nowhere near as good at all this as I used to be,” she reminded me, the defeat clear in her tone.

“Then we take it slow. I’m not going to hire anyone else. You are perfect for the job, and whether you want to believe it or not, you’ve come a long way since the death of your parents,” I began, and she winced at my words. “You aren’t the same brooding, fragile woman who came into my office a little over a month ago. I can see it in the way you challenge me and challenge yourself by confiding in me about it all. Shit, just now, your whole face lit up when I even mentioned the word ‘non-profit.’ The Fiona Sims who is affectionate about her community is still in there somewhere, and she’s been slowly coming out, even with everything thrown her way. And…” I let go of her hands and cupped her cheeks, “your parents would be so proud of the woman you are becoming. How you decided not to let their unfortunate fate become yours. It’s always gonna hurt, Fiona. I’m not guaranteeing it won’t, but it will get a little easier to breathe every day. Especially when you have something so precious to look forward to,” I said as I glanced down between us.

Her breath hitched. “I guess I do feel better and it doesn’t hurt as much when you’re around. It’s why I was so drawn to you. You made me feel alive when you brought out those controllers and the way you treated me like a person and not based on my depression. It was so refreshing. Even when I found out I was pregnant and I freaked out, I was happy to feel feelings besides grieving for once. You and this baby give me another reason to live. To keep going. It’s why I love you so much, Josh.”

My name was caught in the middle of a cry and a breath, and I kissed her. “I love you too, Fiona, and we are going to take care of this baby together.” I pressed my reassuring words upon her wet lips. “My last month here starts today, and I already have an offer pending on vacant office space in the Mission District. It’s pretty spacious for the price, too.”

“Man, you sure do work fast,” she whispered, and I peered down at her with love and determination. Damn, she was so beautiful.

“I work fast when it comes to the things I love.” I winked.

She giggled and grabbed me by the lapels of my lab coat. “I guess you do. Now come back here and continue kissing all my worries away, Dr. Sullivan.”

“Well…” I leaned down to grab her behind her knees and hoisted her up into my arms bridal-style. She kicked her feet in protest, her long skirt riding up to show her creamy, smooth legs. “Since I’m an expert at getting rid of worries, I think I know what to prescribe you.”

I captured her lips as she clung to my neck as I carried her to the couch, locking the door on my way there, and made a mental note to add extra soundproofing to my new office. We would definitely need it if she would be working in such close proximity to me all the time.