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We go in and wait and my stomach is a knot of nerves. This is going to be my first ultrasound with this baby, and I’m nervous, excited. What if something’s wrong?

I’m called in and I have my checkup, with Demyanremaining outside. When he’s called in, Demyan enters calmly, almost like he’s reserved about it all.

Or something else.

I take his hand and draw him close as we wait for the technician and the doctor to return. “Demyan … is something wrong? Because it seems like something’s wrong.”

His pocket starts to buzz, but he just pulls out his phone and turns it off. “Everything is fine, like I told you.”

He squeezes my hand.

When the doctor and technician come in, they expose my stomach and the gel’s cold. Demyan’s eyes are fixed on the screen as the technician moves the wand to find the baby.

“There it is. See?” The doctor points out the tiny thing. “Heartbeat’s good, nice and fast, and where it should be at eight weeks.”

“Is… is everything else fine?” I ask.

“Everything looks great and your health’s perfect.”

When the doctor leaves, the technician smiles. “Would mommy and daddy like a picture?”

“Yes.” I look at Demyan, who’s still staring at the screen. “Thank you.”

When we get our picture printout, I’m left to clean the gel and I wait. The nerves grow as Demyan still looks reserved, his face unreadable.

He holds the picture, staring down.

“Demyan? You’re scaring me. Do… do you not want to do this?”

But he doesn’t seem to hear me. Then his mouth turns up. “It certainly feels real now that I’ve seen our baby on that screen and have this photo. How perfect is he?”

Oh hell, I’m going to cry. I blink fast. “It could be a girl.”

“I don’t give a fuck. It’s ours and I’ve seen him or her right from the beginning. The first picture.”

He kisses me long and hard.

Then he pulls out his wallet and carefully tucks the picture in.

Relief floods me.

Relief for the fact Demyan’s happy.

Relief the baby is healthy.

Relief I’m not doing this alone.

All through my pregnancy with Sasha, I was so worried. I didn’t know what to expect; I had to do it alone. Well, I had Kara, but I didn’t have the father, and it seemed okay, but with him now, I can see it wasn’t. What I wanted was him. Not just any man, but this one. And now… now he’s here.

This time, I’m looking forward to it all. With Demyan where he should be.

By my side.

Chapter Twenty-Four

DEMYAN

I don’t know.I’m still fucking stunned. We drive back from the appointment and I try to find the words, but I can’t. My emotions are mixed, tumbling, and in my pocket is a picture so damn heavy it’s pulling at me.