You Stayed With Us

Four

Dr. Lee laughed. "You mean one baby?"

"She means she doesn't want twins again," I said helpfully.

"I love my sons," Lisa clarified quickly. "But they have the energy of twelve squirrels."

The machine whirred to life, and the room fell silent. Lisa gripped my hand even tighter as Dr. Lee moved the wand across my belly.

Then... the heartbeat.

Just one.

One.

Dr. Lee smiled. "Congratulations. One healthy baby."

Lisa screamed. In relief. "OH FUCK YES! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!" She looked up at the ceiling like she was talking to her ancestors again. "Tell grandma I owe her!"

She turned to me, eyes glassy. "Just one, babe. Just one."

And for the first time that week, I laughed without throwing up. Relief, happiness, and a touch of absolute panic all swirled together.

Because even if it's just one...

That still means we are about to have four kids.

_______________

The restaurant wasn't even fancy, but it felt like a five-star retreat after the morning we just had.

Lisa kept fidgeting with the menu, like she wasn't actually reading it—just pretending to calm down. I could tell. She'd been doing it since the ultrasound, like if she blinked too fast, the little flicker on the screen we just saw would disappear. But nope. That tiny heartbeat was real.

"So..." I started carefully, brushing my hair behind my ear as I placed the pregnancy folder beside the salt shaker, "...we're having another baby."

Lisa blinked. Then nodded very, very slowly. "Just one."

"Yes," I said, smiling faintly. "Dr. Lee double-checked."

Lisa exhaled like she'd just finished a marathon. "Okay. Okay, that's manageable. That's... we've done this before. We know what to expect. Kind of."

"Babe, the menu's upside down," I pointed out gently.

"It's for emotional protection!"

Her voice wasn't loud, but I still panicked and kicked her under the table. Lisa yelped.

"Oh my god—did you just ninja-kick me?" she gasped.

"I told you to whisper," I hissed, mortified as a couple across the aisle glanced our way. "We're not telling anyone yet, remember?"

She slumped forward, laying her cheek against the cold table. "This is karma. This is karma for that time I bragged to Irene that we were finally sleeping six hours straight again."

I sipped my water, trying not to laugh. "You mean that one time. One night. One lucky, magical, gifted night."

"Exactly," Lisa groaned. "Now we're back to the beginning. Sleepless nights. Cranky crying. Weird smells."

"That's just you," I muttered.

Lisa gasped. "You wound me."

"You'll survive. You're already a pro, remember?"

Lisa sat up straighter, like that word had physically lifted her spine. "I am a pro," she said with growing conviction. "I kept two feral boys alive, didn't I?"

"And Ella."

Lisa blinked. "Ella wasn't feral."

We both burst into laughter. Loud, open, ridiculous laughter that earned us a side-eye from the couple nearby, but I couldn't care less. For a second, all the nerves melted.