“Good morning.”

Hearing his voice, I smiled and hummed happily. “Morning,” I yawned. “What’s for breakfast?”

“I haven’t even moved yet! I’m starting to think you’re just after me for my ability to make a decent breakfast.”

“At this point? It’s probably true.”

I blinked a few times until my vision cleared and I could see John smiling at me. He looked like a god in the morning. No shirt, hair messy, lips pink and begging to be kissed. I landed the perfect man. I reached out and brushed my fingertips over his face as he chuckled and took my hand, kissing my palm.

“Don’t you have to go to work today?” he asked, shattering my fantasy of pretending I had nothing to do today.

I groaned. “Yeah, but not for a few hours at least,” I poked him. “So, make me food. Pleeeeease?” I drew it out and gave him my best puppy dog eyes.

“I’m going, I’m going,” he leaned over and kissed me softly before he slipped from the bed and went in search of clothes.

“You’re the best.”

“Kiss ass.”

“Hey!”

I threw my pillow at him, but he dodged it easily and slipped out of the door, laughing. I shook my head. Jerk. Rolling over, I nuzzled into the sheets. It didn’t take long for me to fall asleep again, only moving when I heard John’s voice drifting up from the floor below.

“Coming?”

I slipped from the bed and paused, pressing a hand against my belly as I faltered. The wave of sickness that hit as I smelled the food was enough to make me want to climb back into bed, but I shook it off and made my way downstairs, tying my robe around me as I went.

“Pancakes, eggs, sausage. Looks good, right?” John looked proud of himself. “Sit down and I’ll bring you a plate.”

I slid into my seat as he put the plate down in front of me. Normally, such a good breakfast would’ve made me happy, but something about it was only making me feel worse. John sat down and started eating, already talking excitedly about what he was going to be doing today. He must have realized I was a million miles away and only pushing the food around my plate.

“Are you feeling sick again?”

I shook my head. “No, I’m alright.”

John eyed me suspiciously, but I didn’t want to admit I was feeling sick. If I did, I knew he’d cart me off to the doctor’s office like he’d been threatening for weeks. I knew nothing was wrong with me and even though I worked in a hospital, I didn’t like going to the doctor myself; it made me uncomfortable. I picked up my fork and started eating slowly, taking my time to make sure I didn’t end up being sick.

Thankfully, I was able to eat, and I managed a bit before I put my fork down. John was nice enough to make me breakfast, I didn’t want him to think I wasn’t enjoying it. The only issue was how weird my stomach felt. I wanted to groan, but I knew that doing so would worry John and I wanted to put as little stress on him as possible.

“Was it alright?”

“More than alright! It was delicious.”

I carried my plate to the sink and began to clean up the dishes as I felt John come up behind me. His arms went around my waist, his nose buried in my neck as he hummed. I smiled. It wasn’t hard to see that John was happy. I’d been kind of concerned that he wouldn’t be able to settle down, but he seemed so content waking up and going to sleep with me every day. I was starting to trust him completely.

“I have to get ready for work,” I said as I put the dishes away.

“Stay home with me.”

“You know I can’t.”

“Please?”

“I love it when you beg, but I really have to go in today.”

“Ah, fine,” John pouted but he kissed me. “How about I make dinner for us tonight and we can sit out back around a fire?”

“I would love that.”

We parted ways, so I could take my shower and get ready for the day. It took a little longer than usual and I had to admit, even I was starting to get a bit concerned. Had I been overworking myself again? That was a possibility, it had happened a few times in the past. Or was I just getting sick and needed to take a few days off work? I couldn’t figure out which it was, so I decided to simply suck it up and push on.

John kissed me goodbye and I drove to work. It was further than I was used to, but I loved our house, so I was okay with the distance. I made my way into work seeing it was already busy. I hardly had time to think before I was thrown into the action, my help needed everywhere as I tried to keep up and keep my breakfast down.

Halfway through the day, I was exhausted. I stopped and held onto the wall for a minute to catch my breath as I shook my head and blinked a few times. The dizziness that had come out of nowhere was suddenly gone and I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thank god,” I mumbled.

“You alright over there?”

I looked up at the familiar voice and smiled at Corbin. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

“Are you sure? You’re looking a little pale.”

“I just need a tan.”

“Matthew,” his voice sounded like a warning.

“I’m fine, really. I think I’m just a little sick and need a bit of time to recover. I thought I could handle work today, but I’m actually pretty exhausted.”

“That’s it, you’re going home.”

I shook my head. “I can’t afford to miss another day! I don’t want to end up getting fired.”

“You hardly ever take days off! I mean it, Matt. I will go to your boss myself and tell him you’re getting the patients sick by being here.”

I groaned. “You’re such a pain.”

“I know, it’s so horrible that I care for you. Come on, let’s go get your stuff. I’ll take my lunch now and take you home. I don’t want you driving like this.”

I finally relented. “Fine, just this once I’ll listen.”

We retrieved my bag and Corbin carried it for me, helping me get into his truck. On the drive, I dozed off, my dreams full of John and our happy little home. I didn’t wake up until we pulled into the driveway and Corbin shook me gently.

“You really must be sick. Go inside and get some rest. Is John home?”

“He might be at the gym, but I’ll be fine. I’m just going to go take a nap for a while.”

Corbin frowned but nodded. “Just be careful, okay? If you need me, call me.”

I waved as he pulled out of the driveway and I slipped inside and headed straight upstairs. My bed was calling me, and I plopped my bag on the floor and climbed in without even taking my shoes off. The only reason I knew I’d passed out was when I came to. John was softly calling my name until I opened my eyes and blinked.

“You were really out cold.”

“What time is it?” I asked as I rubbed my eyes.

“Six. I’ve been home for an hour.”

“Six!” I shot up and immediately groaned. “Sorry, I think I caught a cold or something. I’m really not feeling so hot.”

“Then we should get you to the doctor.”

I shook my head quickly. “No, it’s just a little sickness. I can take care of it,” I smiled. “I smell food cooking.”

“Tacos,” he said with a grin. “Your favorite.”

“You remembered, yay!”

John chuckled as he leaned over and kissed my forehead. He took my hand and I gladly accepted it as we moved down the stairs to the kitchen. The table was set up for us to make our own tacos, something I was a fan of and John clearly remembered. I sat down and started making my plate.

Just as I was complimenting his cooking, my stomach churned. I shot up quickly, running for the bathroom, slamming the door shut and leaning over the toilet. My stomach decided it needed to be empty and I couldn’t move until I was done. When I eventually looked up, John was rubbing my back, a bottle of water in his hand. He wiped my mouth and I took the bottle as he flushed the toilet for me.

“That’s it,” John said seriously. “You’re sleeping all day, you’re hurting more than usual and now you’re getting sick. I’m taking you to the doctor’s, now.”

“They’re closed,” I said quietly as I sipped the cool water.

“Then I guess we’re going to urgent care.”

I sighed, but I could no longer protest. Even I had to admit that I was too sick to continue running around without being checked out. John helped me up and into the shower and brought me a fresh set of clothes. I washed up thinking about how lucky I was to have him. He really was the perfect mate.

I changed into the fresh clothes and stepped out of the bathroom. John had already cleaned up the food and put everything away, tidying up the kitchen. When he saw me, he jumped up and took my hand.

“Ready to go?”

I nodded. “Yeah. I still think it’s a little silly.”

“Your health isn’t silly.”

“So serious! I’m coming, I’m coming.”

As we drove into town, I started feeling a lot better. My stomach calmed down and we joked and laughed like everything was normal. I started to ask him to turn around and go back home, but I knew he wouldn’t do it. It felt like such a waste, taking time away from our night together.

* * *

“I hate waiting,” I groaned.

“We haven’t even been here that long.”

“I get cranky after having all of my blood stolen.”

John laughed. “It wasn’t that much!”

I scoffed. “It was enough!”

“You’re a nurse. You know very well they didn’t take that much.”

“I still don’t like needles,” I muttered.

“I know baby,” he said with a grin. “What do you think they’re going to say?”

“Anemia or the flu or something,” I said thoughtfully. “Nothing serious because I don’t feel that horrible, but it has to be something, you know?”

“That’s why I brought you here.”

We were interrupted by a knock on the door. It opened and a handsome young doctor walked in. He looked at a piece of paper in his hand for a moment before he smiled at us. After he shook my hand, he started asking me a few questions.

“So, what did the results say?” I asked after all the standard fanfare. “Is it my anemia acting up again?”

“No, your count is fine right now actually, though that might change over the next few weeks. We ran your blood and it looks like you’re pregnant.”

I blinked. “You said what?” I mumbled.

The doctor smiled. “You’re pregnant. We can do an ultrasound see how far along you are if you want.”

“O-okay.”

I didn’t know what else to say at that point. Pregnant? John and I hadn’t been trying for a baby, not yet. I looked toward him, he was just as confused as I was, staring at the spot where the doctor had been sitting moments before. What was going through his mind? Did he not want this? I could feel the shock slipping into panic. What if I wasn’t a good dad? What if I didn’t know how to take care of a baby? And work, what about that? I had too many responsibilities, what would I do about them all?

Before I could ask him anything or express my mini freak out, the doctor came back in and asked me to lie down. I glanced over at John and he must have read the distress on my face as he took my hand and held it tightly. That little bit of reassurance made me calm down, even if only a little. I laid down, pushing my shirt up so he could pour freezing cold jelly on my bare skin making me wince. He rolled the stick over it and after a few tense minutes, there was our baby. It was so small. I recognized the familiar whooshing sound.

“That’s the heartbeat, isn’t it?”

“It sure is,” the man smiled.

“That’s our baby,” I said slowly, my eyes watering. “I can’t believe it.”

John gave my hand a squeeze as he leaned down and kissed my head. “I can’t either,” he smiled softly. “Look at it. This is so bizarre.”

“I know,” I whispered.

The doctor let us take our time before printing out a picture for us. When he came back, he smiled and handed it to us to hold. I’d cleaned off my belly and adjusted my shirt. With gentle fingers, as if I’d break it, I took the picture and held it in my hands. That urge to cry started all over again. My emotions were a whirlwind, but above them all, I was happy.

“It seems like you’re about eight weeks along, it’s very early which might be why your morning sickness is so bad. I’ll write you a prescription and you should take it easy. It’s not such an easy task growing a child.”

I nodded. “Thank you so much,” as soon as he was gone, I glanced at John. “Are you happy? “

“It’s a shock, but of course I’m happy,” he stood up and wrapped his arms around me. “This is the best news I’ve heard in my entire life. We’re going to be parents.”

John was smiling more than I’d ever seen him smile before and I knew he was telling the truth. I smiled back, relieved that he wasn’t upset about it. Instead, he seemed so happy, already talking about fixing up a baby room and thinking over everything he had to do. I leaned up and kissed him suddenly, my heart pounding. We were going to have a baby together!

“Are you happy?” John asked when he pulled back.

“It’s a baby with you. How could I not be?” I touched my belly, my smile plastered on my face.