Page 105 of Ascension

Both of them were standing in the doorway, dressed in soft neutrals, glowing in the kind of way that made everything else fade out. Each of them was holding a framed ultrasound photo, their smiles trembling but sure.

My heart dropped straight to my stomach, then climbed back up and filled my chest so fast it almost hurt.

I stood there, unable to move, unable to breathe, until Amiyah’s voice broke the silence.

“Congratulations, Baby,” she said softly, her eyes shining. “You’re in The Dad Club!”

For a second, everything in me went still. The sounds around us dimmed, the world narrowed until all I could see were them, standing there holding the proof of something I didn’t even know I wanted this badly.

Caleb clapped a hand to my shoulder, his voice thick with a grin. “You good, little bro?”

But I couldn’t answer him. My eyes burned, and my mouth wouldn’t form words.

All I could do was look at them, at my women, at the family we’d somehow built out of love and chaos and second chances.

I took a slow step forward, then another, until I was right in front of them. Calla reached for my hand first, grounding me. Amiyah’s other hand slid into mine, and I felt the weight of everything I’d ever been afraid of lift.

I looked at the photo, then at them, and finally found my voice. “This is real?”

Amiyah nodded, tears spilling down her cheeks. “It’s real, James, I’m 16 weeks today.”

The breath I had been holding escaped in a laugh that turned into a sob. I pulled both of them into my arms, holding on like I’d never let go.

Someone behind me whistled, another laughed, and the room erupted in cheers. The guys clapped, yelled congratulations, and a few pretendedto wipe fake tears.

But I barely heard them.

All I could think about was the tiny heartbeat I had just seen, the one that would change everything.

When I finally pulled back enough to look at them again, my vision was blurry, my face wet. Calla smiled up at me through her own tears. “You’re crying.”

I laughed shakily. “Yeah, I guess I am.”

Amiyah reached up and brushed a tear from my cheek. “You’re going to be an amazing dad.”

I didn’t even try to speak. I just nodded, my throat too tight for words, and kissed her forehead, for once, I didn’t need to have control, or the right answer, or a plan.

When the noise started to settle, I finally looked at Amiyah again, really looked.

It hit me all at once. The glow I’d noticed over the past few weeks, the softness in her face, the small changes I couldn’t quite name before, they were all there now, clear as day. The way her skin seemed warmer, the way her curves had deepened just a little, the way she touched her stomach absentmindedly like she already knew it wasn’t hers alone anymore.

Pregnancy was written all over her, in the quiet way she carried herself, in the peace in her eyes, in the love that poured out of her even when she didn’t speak. I felt my throat tighten again. How had I missed it?

Calla must have seen it in my face because she reached for my hand and squeezed it gently. “It’s a lot to take in,” she said quietly, her voice low enough that only I could hear.

I nodded, my chest heavy. “Yeah, it is. But it’s beautiful.”

She smiled at me, that slow, knowing smile that always grounded me. “We’ll let you haveyour moment with the guys and see you at home,” she said, turning toward the others. “We’ve got a table waiting for us at Olive & Oak, y’all behave.”

Caleb raised a glass. “Always.”

Amiyah leaned up to kiss my cheek, her whisper soft against my ear. “We’ll see you soon, Daddy.”

That one word hit me right in the gut. I barely managed to nod before they walked out, hand in hand, the whole room watching them with the kind of admiration that couldn’t be faked.

The second the door closed, every man in the room turned toward me.

Knox laughed first. “You look like somebody just dropped a piano on your head.”