"Do you think that little of me? That I'd be pissed at something you can't control?"

The words were soft, gentle despite their cold, hard ring, as were the arms that came around her from nowhere...finally holding her after weeks of being pushed away, finally resting hands on a belly he was touching for the first time since it began to swell with the growth of their second child.

"This kids' gonna be born." he whispered in her ear, chin a warm weight on her shoulder as he held her from behind. "You're gonna get checked out, May's gonna get told, and so's the rest of the world. And later, when he or she's born? We'll get married. And no more secrets...agreed?"