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This heartbeat sound is different though. Like the baby’s heartbeat is too rapid or beating out of sync. But before I can ask why the sound is different from what we had heard before, the tech says, “Alright, there’s Baby A… Looking good. Strong heartbeat.”

Baby A?

“And here’s Baby B, tucked in low. Also thriving.” She smiles.

But I’m not smiling.

And neither is Marlee.

We glance at each other confused.

Eyebrows raised, the tech adjusts the screen and points to it happily. “And…there’s Baby C! Hiding behind your left side. Sneaky little peanut. Probably why you’ve been more uncomfortable lately.”

“Wait. Baby A?—”

“B and C?” Marlee blurts out. “You said A, B, and C?”

I blink, completely speechless and then ask, “Baby C? What do you mean C? Like… there’s more than one baby in there?”

“Yep.” She nods. “Triplets.”

There’s a long pause followed by a lot of blinking before the tech speaks again.

“Did you guys not know you were having triplets?”

I shake my head as Marlee gasps and then explains that the first ultrasound we had showed just one baby.

One. Baby.

Not three babies!

“Oh,” the tech chuckles. “Wow, what a surprise this must be then, huh? I’m guessing babies B and C were hiding behind baby A at your first appointment. That would explain why you didn’t see them. Happens more often than you might think.”

Three.

“Three babies.” Marlee’s eyes widen and my jaw drops.

“Triplets?” I ask again. “Are you sure? Like really fucking sure?”

This has to be a prank, right?

No way are we having three babies.

“One hundred percent sure,” the tech confirms. “See here on the screen? A, B, and C. She points to each baby one at a time and I see it with my own eyes. Three heads. Six arms, six legs.

“Congratulations, guys. This is a very exciting time for you.”

“Oh my god!” Marlee laughs, bringing her hand to her mouth. “I thought the heartburn was just aggressive. But I’m literally carrying a small army.”

My mind is reeling from this new news.

Three.

We’re having three.

That’s…more than a line change.

The tech laughs and continues scanning, leaving us to spiral quietly together in stunned disbelief.

“Would you like to know the genders?” the tech asks before telling us anything else.

Without even thinking about it first, we answer in tandem. “No.”

Marlee turns her head toward me, surprised we gave the same answer but then I tell her, “Ever since we found out you were pregnant I’ve kind of had this idea about revealing the baby’s gender. I don’t know. Maybe it’s stupid but it might be fun to do something at the arena.”

“Oh, okay.” Her smile warms my chest. “Whatever you want to do.”

“I’ll tell you about it later.”

Because right now I’m still wrapping my mind around the idea of three babies. After a few quiet moments, Marlee turns her gaze from the screen and looks at me. “Are you okay?”

Lowering myself to my chair, I run both hands through my sweat-damp hair and then stare back at the monitor.

“There are three people in there, Marlee. That’s like…a whole group chat. That’s half a starting line-up.”

She starts to laugh but I think it’s more of a nervous laughter. “Oh, my God, they’re going to outnumber us.”

“They already do outnumber us,” I groan .

Three children.

Three screaming toddlers.

Three hormonal teenagers.

Three young adults.

It’s all up to us.

We’re responsible for their everything.

And that scares the shit out of me.

“I am so dead.” I rub my face again, then look at my beautiful Marlee, my expression softening into something infinitely more tender. “We’re really doing this.”

She nods, her eyes glistening. “Yeah. We are. You okay with this?”

I have to laugh at her question because do I have a choice? We planned for one and we got three. I’m sure as hell not going to give less love to the other two.

“Hell, yeah I’m okay with it.” I stand up and lean down to press a kiss on her forehead, then her belly, carefully avoiding the goopy gel.

“Hey, little team…take it easy in there, alright? No fighting for captain just yet. And go easy on your mother. She’s a strong ass woman but we need her healthy, okay? ”

Marlee laughs, blinking away tears. “You think any of them will inherit your slap shot?”

“God help us if one of them becomes a goalie,” I tell her. “I’ve got a complicated relationship with goalies.”

The ultrasound tech finishes her routine and helps Marlee clean up letting us know the doctor will be in soon. We’re still laughing when the doctor steps in several moments later with an update.

“ Hey Marlee. Vitals look great. We’ll monitor you for a few more hours, but so far it looks like a false alarm. Sounds like those babies were having a bit of a field day in there today and their placement may have caused you some pretty strong discomfort.”

“If that’s all it is, I’ll take it,” Marlee says, rubbing her belly with a tired smile on her face. God, she’s so beautifully strong.

“Well, I promise you’ll get to get out of here and go home soon. Just with a little more company than you probably expected.” The nurse winks and Marlee laughs.

“You can say that again.”

When the nurse disappears Marlee turns to me, wide-eyed and beaming.

“Triplets, Ledger! Can you believe it?”

I’m pretty damn sure I’ll spend the next five months in a state of disbelief.

“Guess we’re gonna need that minivan after all.”