Chapter 37

thirty-seven

Fiona grinned as she and Cam stared at their sweet baby on the monitor while the rapid heartbeat filled the dim room.

"Look at those little arms," Cam said as he recorded the screen for their many excited family members who were eager for a peek at Baby Bennet.

Fiona laughed her wonder. "He or she is moving . Look at those itty-bitty wiggles and jerks."

Cam chuckled. "There go his or her legs."

Fiona nodded, beyond delighted. "I can't wait to feel every little kick."

The sonographer created various colored dots as she clicked buttons and made measurements.

"Everything looks okay?" Fiona asked. "Do you see any fibroids?"

The pretty woman paused, looking at her. "That's for the midwife to say, but I wouldn't do a whole lot of worrying," she said with a smile.

Fiona exhaled a quiet sigh of relief as she nodded. "Okay. Thank you."

"It looks like I have what I need. That's going to be it for today," the sonographer said, ending the ultrasound as she removed the probe and then turned up the lights in the smaller room. "I'll send these images along to Mindy, and we'll get you some pictures to take home with you."

"Thank you," Fiona repeated, accepting the printed pictures, thrilled that there was a clear shot of the baby's profile and another of his or her little arms and legs.

"I'll leave you to get dressed," the woman said, closing the door behind her.

Fiona beamed at Cam as she sat up. "Our baby looks amazing ."

He grinned as he stood, kissing her. "He or she is perfect."

She nodded her excitement. "Seeing him or her… It makes mornings like today's worth it."

Because the first couple of hours had started out rough . She'd been forced to sit by the toilet while Cam helped Brady through his morning routine, then took him to school when she'd wanted nothing more than to drop their son off together.

"You're my hero," he said, lifting her hand and kissing her knuckles.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'm a first-class puker."

He laughed as she grinned. "You're getting closer to your second trimester. Hopefully, crackers and vomit will be a thing of the past very soon."

"Let's definitely cross our fingers for that."

Cam grinned.

"But I don't mind because our sweet little one is growing bigger and stronger every day."

He sighed as he nodded, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I love that I get to share this with you—that you're as happy to welcome this baby as I am."

She touched his cheek, understanding that so much of this was new for him, too—that during his first experience with parenthood, he'd been the only one looking forward to Brady's arrival. "This little one is so loved , Cam."

He nodded. "Beyond words."

"Yeah," she said with a sigh, kissing him.

Pulling her back, he kissed her again. "It seems like we have the green light to tell Brady."

"It seems like we do."

"How about this afternoon?"

She snagged her lip with her teeth, finding the idea as nerve-racking as she did exciting. "He's had so many changes lately. Me moving in with you guys, him starting school last week, and our new mom and son status. You don't think it's too much too soon?"

He shook his head. "I think he's going to be ecstatic. Our family is growing in the best way, Fi."

She nodded, seeing the excitement in Cam's gorgeous eyes. "Okay. I'll pick up some balloons to accompany the big brother gifts we ordered in. And I saw an amazing book online that I'm hoping I can find locally at one of the bookstores."

Cam raised his brow. "You've already picked out a million books."

She wrinkled her nose as she shrugged, fully aware that buying books for Brady was one of her major weaknesses. "But this one will be something fun for him to enjoy during the entire pregnancy. I want this to be as special of a time for him as it is for us."

"Then I say go for it." He grabbed her clothes off the chair. "But you might want to put your panties on before you go shopping."

She laughed. "Definitely." Standing, she pulled on her panties and jeans, struggling a bit to zip them up. "They're getting too tight ," she said, giving her hips a wiggle. "I think this is the last time I'll be able to wear these for a while."

"And that clearly makes you upset."

Her grin was back. "Not even a little. Our baby's growing . I have the tiniest little bump."

He looked her up and down, stopping on her jeans. "I can see it."

She paused as she reached for her purse. "You can?"

"Well, no. But we can pretend that I do."

She glared before she grinned, swatting at his arm when he laughed. "That's not nice."

He pulled her against him, kissing her as he wrapped her up in a hug. "You're going to have a gorgeous baby belly soon enough."

She returned his embrace. "Yes, I will."

He kissed her again. "Let's get out of here so I can get to work before I pick Big Brother Brady up from school."

Cam opened the front door, letting Brady inside after an exceptionally chatty ride home. Not long after Brady had filled him in on the latest kindergarten highlights, he'd told Brady that their family needed to chat about something important.

Brady dropped his backpack as they both toed off their shoes. "I'm going to like what we talk about?"

"I think so." Or he hoped so. Because ready or not, it was showtime. "Are we good?" he called to Fiona who had spent the last little while setting things up.

"We're good."

Brady hurried down the hall, stopping as his gaze wandered to the pink, blue, and confetti balloons attached to the basket of gifts on the coffee table. " Wow ! I get to have presents?"

"In a couple of minutes," Cam said. "Let's sit on the couch and talk about some stuff."

Brady hopped onto one of the center cushions. "Okay."

Fi smiled, sitting on one side of Brady as Cam sat on the other. "Welcome home, buddy."

Brady returned her smile. "I had a good day at kindergarten. Show-and-tell was so cool ."

She brushed his hair back from his forehead. "I can't wait to hear all about it."

"I can tell you after we talk about the important news?"

She nodded. "Sure." Then her gaze met Cam's.

He tossed her a wink as he signaled for her to go ahead. Because it wasn't hard to tell that they were both growing nervous as the seconds dragged on.

She cleared her throat. "Um, we want to tell you about something very special that will be happening in our family."

Brady perked up. "Are we getting a puppy like Danica's family? 'Cause she got to bring him in for show-and-tell. He was so cute ."

Cam shook his head, worrying a little. A puppy was tough competition, especially when Brady's surprise wouldn't be here for several more months. "Unfortunately, we're not getting a dog. Or at least, not right now."

Fi glanced at Cam, clearly worrying, too, when Brady's shoulders sagged. She grabbed the small box wrapped in pale-blue paper. "How about you open this?"

"Okay." Brady tore through the paper, frowning as he stared at the ultrasound picture Fiona had framed after the early afternoon appointment. "I don't know what it is."

"That's your new brother or sister."

Brady's eyes grew huge as he looked from Cam to Fiona. "I'm having a brother or sister?"

Fiona nodded. "A teeny tiny baby is growing in my belly. When I went to the doctor today, they took that picture of him or her."

Brady looked at the picture again. "I'm going to be a big brother?"

Fiona nodded again. "When it's springtime."

Brady's brow furrowed as his gaze wandered to Fiona's stomach. "It doesn't look like you have a baby in your belly. Bellies that have babies in them are really big."

"The baby still has a lot of growing to do. Right now, the baby's the size of a strawberry."

"Oh," Brady said, looking back at the picture.

Cam stared at his son, struggling to read him. Brady was rarely so quiet. "What do you think about the idea of being a big brother?"

Brady nodded. "I like it. Will it be a sister or a brother?"

"We're not sure yet. When your mom's belly gets bigger, they'll take more pictures of the baby. We'll be able to tell then."

"Maybe I can have a brother and a sister. Owen has a baby brother, and Davis has a baby sister. Sometimes she throws up, which is kinda gross."

Cam grinned. "Baby's do that."

Brady looked at Fiona. "Can I touch your belly? Where the baby is?"

Fiona nodded as she stood, taking Brady's little hand, putting it over the baby. "The baby's sleeping right in here."

"Hi, baby," he whispered to her stomach. "I get to be your big brother."

"Aw." Fiona grinned, hugging him against her. "You're going to be an amazing big brother. This baby is already so lucky to have you."

Brady nodded. "Yeah."

"Your mom and I are going to need help with some pretty important projects," Cam said. "We'll need to paint the baby's room and put the crib together."

Brady grinned. "I can help with that."

Fiona sat back down. "And we'll have to pick out clothes and blankets and some special toys."

"Yup," Brady said. "And we can teach the baby how to swim in the lake. I'll show him or her how to be a dolphin."

Fiona smiled. "I know the baby's going to like that."

"Why don't you open your special big brother gifts," Cam suggested.

"Okay." Brady moved to the coffee table, reaching for a package, opening a blue T-shirt. "What does it say?"

"It says I'm The Big Brother ," Fiona told him.

Brady nodded. "I can wear this to school, so everyone knows I'm going to be a big brother."

"You can definitely do that," Cam said.

Brady opened several books next, looking at each of the covers. "These will help me know how to be a big brother?"

Fiona nodded. "We can read about it whenever you want. This book right here is super fun," she said, showing him the one she'd tracked down at the local store. "Each month, as the baby grows, it tells us how big the baby is. In a couple more weeks, the baby will be the size of an egg."

Brady's eyes grew big. "An egg is little."

Fiona nodded. "But before we know it, the baby will be the size of a pineapple."

"That's much bigger."

Fiona nodded again. "Pretty soon, we'll be able to put our hands on my belly and feel the baby kicking. Sometimes, he or she will have the hiccups, and we'll be able to feel that, too."

He laughed. "That's silly."

Fiona grinned. "It is."

Brady opened the last gift—a box of Legos. "These are awesome ! I can make a dragon or a fish or a bird."

"You can work on them after you finish your homework," Cam told him.

"Thanks for my presents." He hugged Fiona, then Cam.

"You're welcome," Cam said, holding on to him. "If you have any questions or if you ever have happy or sad feelings about being a big brother, you can ask us or tell us."

Brady nodded. "How did the baby get in Mom's belly?"

Cam looked from Brady to Fiona. Because he hadn't expected that. "Uh?—"

"From love," Fiona commented quickly. "When moms and dads love each other very much, they sometimes have a baby."

Brady nodded, grabbing the picture frame. "I'm bringing my new picture for show-and-tell tomorrow. Everyone can see my baby."

Cam beamed, loving the idea. "That's a good choice."

"Now I can play with my new Legos. You can help me if you want," he said to Cam.

"I would love to."

"Let's build Legos in my room. That way, we won't wake up the baby."

"I'll be up in just a minute."

"Okay." Brady hurried upstairs with the box.

Cam puffed out a breath, looking at Fiona. "That went pretty well."

She nodded. "I wasn't sure how things were going to go for a couple of minutes there. Danica's puppy put a little crimp in things."

He grinned. "Puppies are pretty hard to beat." He pulled her against him, kissing her. "Nice save on where babies come from, by the way."

Chuckling, she locked her wrists at the back of his neck. "I figured we should keep it simple and let him ask more questions if he wanted to."

He nuzzled her jaw with his lips. "I like the way you think."

"Thank you." And then she yawned. "I'm going to lie here on the couch for a few minutes and nap."

"Tired, huh?"

"I could easily go to bed right now."

He kissed her again. "I'll take care of dinner tonight."

She shook her head. "I'll be fine after a power nap."

"Let me take care of you," he whispered. "Because I love you, and I want to."

She smiled. "Okay."

He gained his feet. "I'm off to make a dragon. Because we both know that's what he'll pick."

Grinning, she gave his butt a swat. "Have fun."

He smiled on his way up the stairs, relieved that Fi and the baby were healthy and his little boy was looking forward to being a big brother.

Life was pretty damn great. Brady had an amazing mom. He and Fi had an awesome son and a baby on the way. Ally had signed and returned the papers to Darius. The only thing he needed was to make Fi his wife. He smiled again because he had a couple of ideas about that.