Soul Serenade

26

"You think I should have told them when I left" Miranda asked Ben. They were lying in bed together a few weeks after leaving her parents. He was giving her a foot massage after a long day at the studio.

"I mean we were processing it ourselves and you hadn't even had a doctor's appointment yet" He shrugged "I think it's okay you didn't tell them"

"I have to tell them" She sighed "Damn"

"Miranda, you aren't 16 in high school. You're a grown woman with a career, a house, and a fiancé. Just call them up and tell them. Why are you scared?"

"I'm scared because of our track record"

"That was the past" He leaned over and picked up her sonogram" This is our future"

"A little baby Warren" She smiled

"We gotta think of names. Nursery decorations. Car seats. Are you going to breastfeed? Wait. Your nipple piercings. Can you breastfeed"

"Paging Dr. Warren. Slow down. We have time for all of that and I have a healthy 8-year-old, who was breastfed with no issues"

"Sorry. First time dad jitters" He laughed

"I see"

"Wait. You breastfed him"

"What else was he going to eat the two months I had him for" She chuckled "I breastfed him and made sure he got all his shots and then I took him to my parents."

"You know, you're truly an amazing mother, Miranda."

"Thank you, Ben. That means a lot"

"You've faced so much, yet you've never faltered in your love for William, I know you and your parents made up and he understands why you sent him there but I just want to say again. You did the right thing giving him to someone else to raise." Ben continued, his gaze soft with admiration. "But now, with our own little one on the way, I do not doubt that you'll be an equally incredible mother to our child."

Miranda reached out, intertwining her fingers with his. "I couldn't do it without you, Ben"

Ben gently cradled the sonogram in his hands, his eyes fixed on the precious image it held. "We're parents"

"Did you ever imagine?" She asked

"Having a baby with an amazingly beautiful singer that I'm going to marry? Nah never crossed my mind"

"Benjamin I'm being serious" She laughed

"Like I said. I didn't even care about being a father until William. And now we're having a baby. We're building our family. It's going to be me, you, Will, and a baby. I'm going to be a husband and a father. And I have so much joy in my life. This is better than when I became a doctor"

"I didn't imagine any of this" She admitted "Didn't even want it honestly. Thought it would just be me and my music forever"

"Are you glad it's not?" He asked

"More than words can describe. And I love you for being such a good man" She smiled "You're the best thing I never knew I needed"

"Woman, you're going to make me blush. But go on" He laughed

"Let me call off all the awards Ben Warren should get. Father of the year and he just started. Husband of the year and we haven't made it down the aisle"

"Kisser of the year maybe even of the lifetime"

"Refresh me on that one" She teased.
He scooted up next to her, cupped her face, and kissed her.